Geology and The Earth Part 2

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Geology and the Earth

Lecture
Earth is the third planet from
the Sun and the only astronomical
object known to harbor life.
According to radiometric
dating estimation and other
evidence, Earth formed over 4.5
billion years ago.

Earth orbits around the Sun in


365.256 solar days, a period
known as an Earth sidereal year.
Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted
with respect to its orbital plane,
producing seasons on Earth. Earth
is the densest planet in the Solar
System and the largest and most
massive of the four rocky planets.

The gravitational interaction


between Earth and the Moon
causes tides, stabilizes Earth's
orientation on its axis,
and gradually slows its rotation.
Earth is the densest planet in the Solar System and the largest and
most massive of the four rocky planets.
Earth's outer layer (lithosphere) is divided into several rigid tectonic
plates that migrate across the surface over many millions of years.
About 29% of Earth's surface is land consisting
of continents and islands. The remaining 71% is covered with water,
mostly by oceans but also lakes, rivers and other fresh water, which
all together constitute the hydrosphere.
The majority of Earth's polar
regions are covered in ice,
including the Antarctic ice
sheet and the sea ice of the Arctic
ice pack. Earth's interior remains
active with a solid iron inner
core, a liquid outer core that
generates Earth's magnetic field,
and a convicting mantle that
drives plate tectonics.
Within the first billion years
of Earth's history, life
appeared in the oceans and
began to affect Earth's
atmosphere and surface,
leading to the proliferation
of anaerobic and, later, aero
bic organisms.
In the history of life on
Earth, biodiversity has
gone through long periods
of expansion, occasionally
punctuated by mass
extinctions.
The Earth can be divided into two
main parts.
Atmosphere: measured from the
surface of the Earth upwards to
150 km (anything above this is
called space)

Solid Earth: measured from the


surface of the Earth downwards
to the core
The Earth’s
Atmosphere
The Earth’s Atmosphere
The atmosphere makes up less than
one millionth of the total mass of
the Earth, and contains mainly
nitrogen and oxygen (99% of the
total) as gases.
Other important components of the
atmosphere are hydrogen, carbon
dioxide, and inert gases such as
argon and helium.
The Earth’s Atmosphere
The Earth's atmosphere and
climate have changed since the
Earth first formed more than four
billion years ago.

We know this from the geological


record of the earliest known
sedimentary rocks which could
only have been deposited in water.
The Earth’s Atmosphere
The presence of these early
sedimentary rocks indicates that by
four billion years ago, the surface
temperature of the Earth must have
cooled below 100° C.

Also, some of these early


sedimentary rocks are carbonate
rocks (mainly dolomitic), indicating
these rocks were formed in water that
contained dissolved bicarbonate ions.
The Earth’s Atmosphere

Currently, the early


atmosphere is understood
to have consisted of
nitrogen, carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide, water
and hydrogen.
The atmosphere is divided
(measured from the surface of the
Earth) into:

 Troposphere (0 km - 13 km)
 Ozone Layer (13 km - 25 km)
 Stratosphere (25 km - 50 km)
 Mesosphere (50 km - 75 km)
 Thermosphere (75 km - 700 km)
 Exosphere (700 km – 10,000 km)
The Solid
Earth
The Solid
Earth
Continental Drift
Today, most people know that
landmasses on Earth move
around, but people haven’t
always believed this. It wasn’t
until the early 20th century
that German scientist Alfred
Wegener put forth the idea
that the Earth’s continents
were drifting. He called this
movement Continental Drift.
Continental Drift
Wegener came up with this idea
because he noticed that the coasts of
western Africa and eastern South
America looked like puzzle pieces,
which might have once fit together
and then drifted apart. Looking at all
of the continents he theorized that
they had once been joined together
as a supercontinent (which was
later called Pangaea) around 225
million years ago.
Continental Drift
Pangaea

Pan Gaia
(Entire) (Earth)

The name Pangaea comes from the Ancient Greek words


“pan,” meaning entire, and “Gaia,” meaning Earth. Pangaea
is not the only supercontinent believed to have existed.
Older supercontinents are also believed to have come before
Pangaea.
Continental Drift
The idea of moving landmasses
seems obvious now, but
Wegener’s Theory of Continental
Drift was not accepted for many
years. Wegener did not have a
convincing explanation for the cause
of the drifting. Secondly, he was
a meteorologist, not a geologist, so
geologists didn’t think he knew what
he was talking about.
Continental Drift

Fossil Evidences
Fossils of similar types of plants and
animals in rocks of a similar age
have been found on the shores of
different continents, suggesting that
the continents were once joined.
Plate Tectonics
Tectonic plates are pieces of the lithosphere and crust, which float
on the asthenosphere.
Plate Tectonics
There are currently seven plates that
make up most of the continents and
the Pacific Ocean. They are:
1. African Plate
2. Antarctic Plate
3. Eurasian Plate
4. Indo-Australian Plate
5. North American Plate
6. Pacific Plate
7. South American Plate
Plate Tectonics
Tectonic plates not only move
land masses (continental crust),
but also oceans (ocean crust).
Since the plates are floating on
liquid rock, they are constantly
moving and bumping against each
other. This means that the sizes
and positions of these plates
change over time.
Plate Tectonics
Tectonic plates are able to move
because of the lithosphere but are
moving at a very slow rate.

The speed of the plates ranges from


a typical 10–40 mm/year (about as
fast as fingernails grow) to as fast as
160 mm/year (about as fast as hair
grows).
Mountains and Volcanoes
Both are large, steep landforms
made of rock that are formed when
tectonic plates are pushed and
pulled.

Whether you get mountains or


volcanoes depends on the type of
tectonic plates and where they are
colliding.
Mountains and Volcanoes
To understand whether you will get
mountains or volcanoes, you need to
remember two things.
1. There are two major types of
tectonic plates: oceanic and
continental.
2. Oceanic plates are denser than
continental plates.
Mountains and Volcanoes

Volcano

When two oceanic plates diverge (pull apart), undersea volcanoes are formed.
Volcanoes are caused by cracks in the Earth’s crust. An example of this is the Mid-
Atlantic Ridge, which extends from the Arctic Ocean to beyond the southern tip of
Africa. There are so many volcanoes in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and they are so large,
that it is considered the longest mountain range in the world. Iceland is located on this
ridge.
Mountains and Volcanoes

Mountain

When two continental plates converge on land (collide into each other), mountains are
formed. This is because both of the plates, which are similarly dense, will push up
against each other, causing the rock to get all folded and bunched up. The crust in the
region of a mountain is thicker than the surrounding crust. The Himalayan
Mountains are the result of this type of process.
Mountains and Volcanoes

When an oceanic plate converges with a continental plate, the oceanic plate will move
under the continental plate (subduction) because it is denser. The oceanic plate may go
deep enough under the continental plate and into the mantle that it melts and
forms magma. Increased pressure from beneath the Earth can build up and cause the
magma to seep up through weak spots in the crust. Magma under high pressure sometimes
comes through volcanic vents in the form of flowing lava, forming a volcanic cone.

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