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APSC 151 - Geological Engineering > Week 5: Glaciation, Earth Structures, Solar System Geology > Flashcards

Week 5: Glaciation, Earth Structures, Solar System Geology Flashcards

1
Q

What is the equation for ‘compressive strain’?

A

(usually negative)

(Length of deflection - OG Length) / OG Length

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2
Q

Where do oceanic mafic lava flows typically occur?

A

Divergent plate boundaries where rapid cooling of magma occurs and new ocean floor is formed.

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3
Q

What is the difference between ‘compaction compression’ and ‘distortion’?

A

Compaction compression: uniform pressure placed on the object/material from all directions, shrinking it.

Distortion: pressure is placed in the vertical or horizontal direction, distorting it.

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4
Q

Describe ‘crystal deformation’.

A

Under direct pressure from tectonics, atoms can move slowly within a solid to create shortening in one direction (the source of foliation in rocks).

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5
Q

Describe elastic, brittle, and ductile deformation.

A

Elastic: recoverable deformation.

Brittle: deformation that causes fractures.

Ductile: permanent deformation (no breaking).

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6
Q

Describe the ‘dip’, ‘dip direction’, and ‘strike’.

A

Dip: steepest angle or inclination from the horizontal to the desired plane.

Dip direction: direction in which the inclined plan points from the strike.

Strike: perpendicular to the dip (or the DIP is perpendicular to the STRIKE).

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7
Q

What two factors play a key role in the deformation of rocks and other materials?

A

Temperature and pressure.

Ductile deformation = high temp. and pressures (high-grade metamorphism).

Brittle fractures = low temps. and pressures (near the surface)

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8
Q

Describe the anatomy of a fold (four key components)

A
  1. Axis (crest of a fold)
  2. Plunge (if applicable, the inclined axis)
  3. Axial plane (which divides the fold as symmetrically as possible)
  4. Limbs (two sides of a fold on either side of the axial plane)
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9
Q

What are the two types of folds?

A
  1. Anticline (with older material underneath)

2. Syncline (with newer material on top)

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10
Q

How do domes and basins occur?

A

Caused by 3D foliation of anticlines and synclines.

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11
Q

Differentiate between a ‘strike-slip’ and a ‘dip-slip’ fault.

A

Strike-slip: fault caused by brittle shearing of tectonics (occurs parallel to the strike of the fault).

Dip-slop: main deformation occurs on dip direction of fault. ‘Normal’ dip-slip fault means the hanging wall comes down, while ‘reverse’ dip-slip fault means it comes up.

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12
Q

Differentiate between a ‘graben’ and a ‘horst’.

A

Sort of like anticline and syncline: graben is the LOWERED body of rock in a fault, while a horst is the RAISED body of rock.

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13
Q

What are ‘joints’? Describe their significance.

A

Fractures in rock that result from brittle deformation (typically no displacement).

  • Chemical weathering concentrated along joints
  • Mineral deposits are emplaced along joints
  • Represent risk to construction projects
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14
Q

What is one way in which joints may be formed?

A

Water seeps and settles in the fractures of joints, freeze in the winter time, and expand, further cracking the rock open.

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15
Q

List the two continental ice sheets,

A

Greenland and Antarctica.

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16
Q

The Pertio Moreno Glacier (Argentina) spans _____ km with a width of _____ km.

A

The Pertio Moreno Glacier (Argentina) spans 28km with a width of 2km.

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17
Q

Describe the process of the formation of glacial ice.

A
  1. Snowflakes accumulate into granular snow
  2. Air is forced out
  3. Snow recrystallizes into a denser mass called a ‘firn’
  4. At 50m depth, firn fuses into a solid mass of interlocking crystals.
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18
Q

What are three ways in which a glacier may move?

A
  1. Internal deformation (occurs within the ice)
  2. Basal slip (entire mass slipping)
  3. Meltwater (hydraulic jack, lifting ice to move over rock)
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19
Q

What are the ‘zone of accumulation’ and ‘zone of ablation’ of a glacier?

A

Zone of accumulation: where a glacier forms and grows

Zone of ablation: where there is a net loss of the glacier

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20
Q

What is an ‘erratic’?

A

A large body of rock that was transported by a glacier.

21
Q

_____ produces rock flour and glacial striations, and occurs when a glacier grinds against rock like sandpaper.

A

ABRASION produces rock flour and glacial striations, and occurs when a glacier grinds against rock like sandpaper.

22
Q

The bright blue colour of Lake Louise is caused by:

A

Glacial rock flour, very fine sub-sized powder ground off land.

23
Q

List three examples of landforms created by glacial erosion.

A
  • Glacial trough (U shaped, deepening/widening/straightening)
  • Hanging valleys
  • Cirque (head of the glacier, forms wide crevice)
  • Tarn (the lake in a cirque)
  • Arete (sharp ridge)
  • Horn (pyramid mountain, like the one in Switzerland)
  • Spur (triangular cliff)
24
Q

List an example of a landform created by glacial erosion.

A
  • Roche moutonnees (asymmetric bedrock knobs with steep sides indicating direction of ice movement)
  • Fjord (water-filled glacial trough along a coast)
25
Q

What is till? Differentiate between ‘lodgement’ till and ‘ablation’ till.

A

Material deposited directly by glacial ice.

Lodgement till = compacted till plastered down by ice. Low permeability, uniform in nature, difficult to excavate.

Ablation till = loose piles of debris, cohesionless and easier to excavat, high permeability.

26
Q

List two examples of landforms made of till.

A
  • Lateral/medial /end/ground moraines (ex. Oak Ridges Morain, which is currently located under a large part of Ontario and is the source of much of the province’s groundwater)
  • Eskers (Aretes that have formed trailing hills, tunnels, etc)
  • Drumlins (pieces of bedrock interrupt sediment flow, ice moves over bedrock)
  • Glacial deposits/outwash (anything that doesn’t become part of a landform)
27
Q

Slightly more than __% of the world’s water is tied up in glaciers.

A

2%

28
Q

If the Antarctic ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise ___m. If the Greenland ice sheet melted, sea level would rise ___m.

A

60m, 6m

29
Q

Major glacial stages occurred during the __________ Epoch, _____ years ago.

A

Major glacial stages occurred during the PLEISTOCENE Epoch, 18,000 years ago.

30
Q

What theory touches on the causes of Ice Ages? What are its postulates?

A

The Milankovitch hypothesis states that ice ages are caused by:

  • Variations in shape of Earth’s orbit over 100,000 years (eccentricity)
  • Angle of Earth’s axis changes (obliquity)
  • Earth’s axis wobbles (precession)
31
Q

The increase in carbon emissions is warming the earth at a rate ____ times faster than Earth has seen through natural swings.

A

100 times faster.

32
Q

Which theory supports the most widely-accepted view of how our solar system formed?

A

The Nebular Hypothesis.

Solar system coalesces out of dust cloud remains produced by earlier supernovae.

33
Q

How long ago was the Hadeon eon, and what significant events occurred during this time period?

A

Hadeon Eon (4.6 - 4 bya)

  • Earth congeals
  • Unstable crust forms
  • Iron is pilled to the core
  • Moon forms
34
Q

Why does the sun not collapse in on itself?

A
  • Sun is held together by gravity, but pulled apart by internal gas pressure
  • Fusion occurs (H to He)
  • If pressure was turned off, sun would collapse in less than 1/2 hour
35
Q

What is the cause of the sun’s complex magnetic field?

A

Different layers of the sun spin at different rates, which prevents a uniform magnetic field.

36
Q

What protects Earth from solar flares, and where does this source of protection come from?

A

Earth’s magnetic field - caused by Earth’s iron core and the liquid mantle surrounding it.

37
Q

We are __________ years overdue for a magnetic field reversal.

A

300,000 years

38
Q

Mercury rotates every _____ days and orbits the sun twice during every _____ rotations.

A

Mercury rotates every 58.65 days and orbits the sun twice during every THREE rotations.

39
Q

Surface collapse/shrinkage and the presence of a magnetic field on mercury indicates…

A

There is likely tectonic movement and a partially liquid core.

40
Q

There is evidence of tectonic movement on Venus due to the presence of…

A
  • strike-slip faults
  • contractile folding
  • extension fractures
41
Q

What evidence do we have to show that Mars used to have a magnetic field?

A

Used to have a liquid core because parts of the crust are magnetized, like on Earth!

42
Q

The formation of stupendously large mountains and volcanoes on Mars can be characterized by…

A

The absence of tectonics (mounds will keep growing, but will not erupt, so nothing to show for it)

43
Q

What is the cause of Jupiter’s strong magnetic field?

A

Mantle composed of metallic hydrogen, e’s are free to move however they want, so both the core and the mantle are huge conductors.

44
Q

What are the four Galilean moons [of Jupiter]?

A

Io (most volcanic activity in the solar system)

Europa (crust made of ice, possibly water underneath)

Ganymede

Callisto

45
Q

_____ is the biggest of Saturn’s 82 moons.

A

Titan (huge candidate for housing archeaen life).

46
Q

Around Uranus, moons orbit _____.

A

Vertically

47
Q

Pluto contains mountains of _____ and glaciers of _____.

A

Pluto contains mountains of WATER/ICE and glaciers of METHANE/NITROGEN.

48
Q

What are some factors that omit Pluto as a planet?

A
  1. Pluto does not orbit the sun directly like other planets.
  2. It has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit (which render it a dwarf planet)
  3. One cannot decipher between Pluto and its moon (same size)

APSC 151 - Geological Engineering (15 decks)

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