Introduction To Geology
Catastrophism
Baron Georges Cuvier worldwide catastrophes are the agents of change that alter the physical features of the Earth over time and that the latter remains unchanged
Types of Seismic Waves
Body Waves- can travel through the earth's inner layers Surface Waves- can only move along the surface of the planet like ripples of water
Geohazards
Earth processes that cause life and property loss Flooding Earthquake Volcanic Activity Landslide
The relevance of time
Eon- a unit of time equal to a billion years Era- divides an eon into smaller units of time Periods Epoch Age
Major Plates of the Earth
Eurasian, African, Australian, Antartica, North American, South American, Pacific Plate
Criteria for a celestial body to qualify as a planet
It must be in orbit around a sun It must be large enough that it takes on a nearly round shape It has cleared its orbit of other objects
Uniformitarianism
James Hutton continuously modified by geological processes that have always operated throughout time
Shape of the Earth
Oblate Spheroid
Heating
Primordial Heat is the internal heat energy accumulated by dissipation in a planet during its first few million years of evolution. The main contributions to the primordial heat are accretion energy
S-waves
Second eave felt in an earthquake. Only moves through solid rock. This waves moves rock up and down, or side to side.
Nebular Hypothesis
The Big Bang produces enormous amount of matter: rotating cloud go gas and dust Most of the mass became concentrated at the center, forming the SUN The remains matter condensed to form the planets: terrestrial and jovian
Cooling
The denser elements sank while the lighter ones floated out into the surface, creating a differentiated Earth
The expanding universe
The galaxies outside of our own are moving away from us
Mining Geology
combines principles of economic geology and mining engineering to the development of a defined mineral source
Physical Geology
composition, structure, physical properties Deal with the materials that comprise the Earth and the processes that affect it
Geochronology
determine the age of rocks , fossils, and sediments using signatures, inherent in rocks themselves
Paleontology
fossil animals and plants
Cryosphere
frozen water part of the Earth system. Include frozen parts of the ovens such as the waters surrounding Antartica, Arctic
Biosphere
global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere
crust
hard outer layer... made up of different rocks igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks
Environmental Geology
managing geological and hydrogeological resources such as fossil fuels, minerals, water and land use
Historical Geology
origin, history The study of the origin and evolution of the Earth through time
Petrology
origin, small-scale structure and composition of rocks
biota
other forms of life
flora
plant life
The issue of scale
reference for scale Texture: grain sizes of rock
Retrograde rotation
rotate in a westward direction VENUS, Uranus, Neptune
Mineralogy
study of chemistry, crystal structure and physical properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts
Petroleum Geology
study of origin, occurrence, movement, accumulation and exploration of hydrocarbon fuels.
Geochemistry
study of the chemical composition of the Earth and its rocks and minerals
Geomorphology
study of the physical features of the surface of the earth and their relation to its geological structures
Big Bang Theory
the Universe originated from a cosmic explosion that hurled matter in all directions
Atmosphere
the envelope of gases surrounding the earth
Stratigraphy
the order and relative position of strokes and their relationship to the geological time scale- rock layers
Geophysics
the physics of the Earth
lithosphere
the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust , upper mantle
Volcanology
the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena
Rayleigh Waves
travel along the surface of the Earth. The motion is a combination of the longitudinal compression and dilation that results in an elliptical motion of points on the surface. Produces a long wave duration on seismographs
P-waves
travel through a continuum (gases, liquids or solids). The name P-wave can stand for either pressure wave as it is formed from alternating compression and rarefaction. Fastest.
Engineering Geology
application of the geology to engineering study
Accretion
The solar system was a cloud of dust and gas known as a solar nebula... Earth's rocky core formed first, with heavy elements colliding and binding together
Seismology
The study of earthquakes and seismic waves that move through and around the earth
Continental Crust
Thick and old. Sialic Crust ( Silica Aluminum) Orogen: Monuntain Belts Craton: Basement complex or shield Stable Platform
Ocean Basin
Thin and young. Simatic Crust ( Silica Magnesium) Deep Ocean basin: Trenches, Seamounts( mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface), Abyssal Floor Oceanic Ridge System
fauna
animal life
Jovian planets
a large planet composed mostly of gasses such as hydrogen and helium with relatively small rocky core Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Terrestrial planet
a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Love Waves
a result of the interference of many shear waves (S-waves) Surface seismic waves that cause horizontal shifting of the Earth Travel at a lower velocity than P or S waves but is faster than Rayleigh waves
upper mantle
a.k.a. asthenosphere, made up of rock that is fluid and can move. It is this fluid and can move. It is this fluidity that powers the movement of the tectonic plates of the Earth's crust
Anthroposphere
a.k.a. technosphere. part of the environment that is modified by humans for use in human activities and human habits
Planetary Geology
aka astrogeology/exogeology, planetary science concerned with the geology of the celestial bodies such as the planets and their moons asteroids comets and meteorites
Hydrosphere
all the waters on the earth's surface