ChapterOne

IntroductiontoGeology
Geologyliterallymeans"studyoftheEarth."

PhysicalgeologyexaminesthematerialsandprocessesoftheEarth.
Historicalgeologyexaminestheoriginandevolutionofourplanet

throughtime.

Geologyisanevolvingsciencethetheoryofplatetectonicswasjust
acceptedinthe1960's.
Platetectonicsistheunifyingtheoryingeology.

Althoughgeologiststreatitasalawplatetectonicsisstillandwill

likelyremainatheory

Geologyisanextremely
controversialsciencethe
theoryofevolution
(paleontology)iscentralto
geology.
Geologyseekstounderstandthe
originofourplanetandour
placeintheUniverseanswers
tothesequestionsarealsoposed
outsideoftherealmofscience.

HistoryofEarlyGeology
Catastrophism(JamesUssher,mid1600s)HeinterpretedtheBibleto
determinethattheEarthwascreatedat4004B.C.Thiswasgenerally
acceptedbyboththescientificandreligiouscommunities.Subsequent
workersthendevelopedthenotionofcatastrophism,whichheldthatthe
theEarthslandformswereformedoververyshortperiodsoftime.
Uniformitarianism(JamesHutton,late1700s)Heproposedthatthe
sameprocessesthatareatworktodaywereatworkinthepast.
SummarizedbyThepresentisthekeytothepast.Hutton,not
constrainedbythenotionofaveryyoungplanet,recognizedthattimeis
thecriticalelementtotheformationofcommongeologicstructures.
Uniformitarianismisabasicfoundationofmoderngeology.

M
A
L
B

!
O
M

Althoughcatastrophismwas
abandoned,thereiscertainlyevidence
thatsuddeneventsdooccur.

GeologicTime
RelativeDating:Puttinggeologiceventsintoproperorder(oldest
toyoungest),butwithoutabsoluteages.Weuseanumberof
principlesandlawstodothis:

LawofOriginalHorzontalitySedimentaryunitsandlavaflows
aredepositedhorizontally.
LawofSuperpositionthelayerbelowisolderthanthelayer
above.
Principleoffossilsuccessionlifeformssucceedoneanotherina
definiteanddeterminableorderandthereforatimeperiodcanbe
determinedbyitsfossils.
LawofCrosscuttingRelationshipsArockisyoungerthanany
rockacrosswhichitcuts.

GeologicTime
Absolute(Radiometric)Dating:Usingradioactivedecayof

elementstodeterminetheabsoluteageofrocks.Thisisdoneusing
igneousandmetamorphicrocks.

GeologicTime

Theconceptofgeologictimeisnew
(staggering)tomanynongeologists.
ThecurrentestimateisthattheEarthis
~4,600,000,000(4.6billion)yearsold.
Ashumanswehaveahardtime
understandingtheamountoftimerequired
forgeologicevents.
Wehaveagoodideaofhowlonga
centuryis.Onethousandcenturiesisonly
100,000years.Thathugeamountoftime
isonly0.002%oftheageoftheEarth!
Anappreciationforthemagnitudeof
geologictimeisimportantbecausemany
processesareverygradual.

Geologictimeisdividedintodifferent
typesofunits.

NotethateachEon,EraorPeriod
representsadifferentamountoftime.For
example,theCambrianperiod
encompasses~65millionyearswhereasthe
Silurianperiodisonly~30millionyears
old.
Thechangeinperiodsisrelatedtothe
changingcharacteroflifeonEarthand
otherchangesinenvironment.
ThebeginningofthePhanerozoic
representstheexplosionoflife.
ThetimebeforethePhanerozoicis
commonlyreferredtoasthePreCambrian
andrepresentsover4billionyearsoftime.
ThePhanerozoiceon(abundantlife)

Ourgenerationisuniqueinitsperspectiveofourplanet.From
space,Earthlookssmall,finiteandfragile.
What'sthefirstthingthat
younoticeaboutour
planetwhenyouseethis
image?
TheEarthiscomposedof
severalintegratedparts
(spheres)thatinteractwith
oneanother:

atmosphere

hydrosphere

solidearth(lithosphere)

biosphere

(cryosphere)

TheEarthSystem
Hydrosphere:theglobalocean
isthemostprominentfeatureof
our(blue)planet.Theoceans
cover~71%ofourplanetand
represent97%ofallthewateron
ourplanet.

Atmosphere:theswirlingclouds
oftheatmosphererepresentthe
verythinblanketofairthat
coversourplanet.Itisnotonly
theairwebreathe,butprotectsus
fromharmfulradiationfromthe

sun.

TheEarthSystem
Biosphere:includesalllifeon
Earthconcentratedatthe
surface.Plantsandanimalsdon't
onlyrespondthetheir
environmentbutalsoexercisea
verystrongcontrolovertheother
partsoftheplanet.
SolidEarth:representsthe
majorityoftheEarthsystem.
MostoftheEarthliesat
inaccessibledepths.However,
thesolidEarthexertsastrong
influenceonallotherparts(ex.
magneticfield).

TheEarthSystem
Thisfigureshowsthedynamic
interactionbetweenthemajor
spheres.
Ashumans,wedesiretodivide
thenaturalworldintoartificial
portionstomakeiteasier.It
shouldbestressedthatthese
divisionsareartificial.
Whataresomeofthe
interactionsbetweenthese
spheres?

TheRockCycle
Threebasicrocktypes:
igneousformfrom
magma/lava
sedimentaryformfrom
sedimentandchemical
precipitationfromseawater
metamorphicformfrom
otherrocksthatrecrystallize
underhigherpressures
and/ortemperatures.
Anumberofgeological
processescantransformone
rocktypeintoanother.

TheRockCycle

TheFaceoftheEarth

Thecontinentssitjustabovesealevel,exceptforthemountainbelts,
andincludecontinentalareaswhichareslightlycoveredbytheoceans
(<100mdepth).
Theoceansareabout5kmdeepinthebasins,butrunto10kminthe
trenchesandasshallowas2kmonthemidoceanridges.Something
systematicisgoingontoproducetheseglobalpatterns.

TheOriginoftheEarth
TheEarthandtheother8planetsandtheSun
accretedataboutthesametimefromavastcloud
ofdustandgas(nebula).
About5billionyearsago,thenebulabeganto
gravitationallycontract,begantorotateand
flattened.Eventually,theSunignited(fusion)
andthenewlyformedplanetsbeganto
differentiateheavierelementsandchemical
componentssanktothecenterandrockymaterial
formedthecrust.Thenewlyformedplanetsand
moonsreleasedgasformingearlyatmospheres.
Wewillspendmoretimetalkingaboutthe
Earth'splaceinoursolarsystemlaterinthis

course.

Earth'sInternalStructure
TheEarth'sinterioris
characterizedbyagradual
increaseintemperature,
pressureanddensitywith
depth.
Atonly100kmdepth,the
tempis~1300C.
AttheEarth'scenter,the
temperatureis>6700C.
Thepressureinthecrust
increases~280barsforevery
kilometerdepth.

Earth'sInternalStructure
TheEarthconsistsof3
majorregionsmarked
bydifferencesin
chemicalcomposition.
Crust:rigidoutermost
layeroftheEarth.
Consistsoftwotypes:
1.

oceanic315kmthickand
iscomposedofbasalt
(igneous).Young(<180
millionyearsold).

2.continentalupto70km
thickandcomposedofa
widevarietyofrocktypes
(ave.granodiorite).Ranges
fromyoungtoold(>3.8

billionyearsold).

Earth'sInternalStructure
Mantle:comprises~82%ofthe
Earthbyvolumeandis~2900
kmthick.
Themantleischaracterizedby
achangeincompositionfrom
thecrust.
Themantleisabletoflow
(plastically)atveryslowrates.
Core:composedofiron,nickel
andotherminorelements.
Theoutercoreisliquid
capableofflowandsourceof
theEarth'smagneticfield.
TheinnercoreissolidFeNi.
Thereisnomajorchemical
differencebetweentheouter
andinnercore.

Lithosphere(0to~100km)
It'sverystiff,andfracturesifyoupushtoohard
Theouter75km(withbigvariationsbetween10and300km)ofthe
earthisaregionwhichdoesnotgetheateduptonearmeltingbecauseit
islosingheatrapidlytothesurfaceitisstuckatatemperaturecloseto
0C.Thisrelativelycoolshelliscalledthelithosphere.Thelithosphere
isfracturedintoafewlarge
platesjustenoughsothat
themovementoftheplates
candeliverinteriorheatto
thesurfaceparticularlynear
thespreadingboundaries,
wheretwoplatesaremoving
apart,andnewmaterial
wellsupfromdepth.

Asthenosphere(~100to660km)
It'shotandflowslikemolasses
RadioactivedacaycausestheEarthtoheatupontimescalesof
millionsofyears.Inthecourseoftens/hundredsofmillionsofyears,this
heatproductionisenoughtowarmtheinteriorbyhundredsofC.
Thisheatiscarriedawaybytheconvectivecirculationoftheearth's
interior.Theconvectiondeliversheattothesurface,soitcaneventually
belostintospace.
Mostoftheearth'sinteriorisheatedtoatemperature(>300C)which
makesitductile,sothatitissoft,andcanflowlikeaviscousliquid.You
haveseenthisbehaviorasglassisheatedtonearitsmeltingpoint.The
softregion(justbelowthelithosphericplates)iscalledtheasthenosphere

Mesosphere/LowerMantle(660to2900km)
Rockinthelowermantlegraduallystrengthenswithdepth,butitisstill
capableofflow.

Outer(2900to5170km)andInnerCore(5170to6386km)
Outercoreisliquidandcomposedofanironnickelalloy.Convective
flowofthisfluidgeneratesmuchoftheEarthsmagneticfield.
Innercoreissolidironnickelalloy.Itishotterthantheoutercore,but
theintensepressurekeepsitsolid.

PlateTectonics
Arelativelyrecenttheorythatthe
Earth'scrustiscomposedofrigid
platesthatmoverelativetoone
another.
Platemovementsareontheorder
ofafewcentimeters/yearabout
thesamerateasyourfingernails
grow!
Thereare3typesofplate
boundaries:
1.divergent
2.convergent
3.transform

PlateTectonics

Convergentboundariesplatesmovetogetherformingasubductionzoneand
mountainchains.
Divergentboundariesplatesmoveapartformingthemidoceanridgeandseafloor
spreading.
Transformboundariesplatesgrindpastoneanother.Theseboundariessubdivide
themidoceanridgeandalsoformtheSanAndreasfaultsystem.

Asimplifedmodeloftectonic
platesandthelocationand
natureofearthquakes.

PlateBoundaries:wheretherealactionoccurs.
Theplatesareallmovingrelativetoeachother.Attheboundary
betweentwoplates,theremustbesomemotionofonerelativetothe
other.Yougetthreepossibilities:

Spreadingcenter:Divergentboundary
Atthetopofarisingconvectionlimb.Heatisbeingbroughtup.
Volcanism.Usuallyunderocean.Oftenassociatedwithariftvalley.

Collisionzone:Convergentboundary
Coldlithospherebendsdownwardandbeginssinkingintothemantle
(subduction).Mountainsaresqueezedupherebythecollision.Most
earthquakesoccurhere.
Parallelplatemotion:Transform/Transcurrent/StrikeSlipfaulting
TheSanAndreasFaultisthemostfamoustransformfaultsystem.

PlateMargins

OceanicOceanicConvergenceExample:Japan

Atanoceanoceancollision,oneplatesubductsbeneaththeother,
leavingatraceoftheprocessinvolcanoesandearthquakes.Atthe
fastcollisions(FijiTonga)thesubductingplategetsasdeepas700
kmwhilestillcool:itisherethatyougetthedeepest(deepfocus)
earthquakes.

OceanicContinentConvergenceExample:Andes,Cascades

Atanoceancontinentcollision,theoceansubducts,andthe
continentrideshigh.Volcanoesarebuiltonthecontinentalsidedue
tomeltwhichcomesoffthesubductingplate.NazcaSouth
Americaisanexcellentexample.

ContinentContinentConvergenceExample:Himalayas

Acontinentcontinentcollisionislikeatrainwreckbothsidesend
uptakingseveredamage.Neithersidewantstosubduct.Theentire
AlpineHimalayanmountainsystemfromSpaintoThailandis
behavingthisway.Mountainbeltsarestackedrangeuponrange
acrossthelandscapefor1000'sofkm.Thesemountainsare
permeatedwiththrustfaults,whichcarryslicesofcrustmany
dozensor100'sofkmoverotherslices.

OceanicDivergentBoundary
Example:MidAtlanticRidge

ContinentalDivergentBoundary
Example:RedSea/E.AfricanRift

ThisimageoftheSinaipeninsulashowswheretheRedSeaspreading
centerforksintotwobrancheswhichcanbeseenasformingabrand
newoceanicriftintheland.

ContinentalDivergentBoundary
Example:BajaCalifornia

ContinentalTransformBoundaryExample:SanAndreas