GG 103 Aloha and Welcome to
Geology of the Hawaiian Islands
Nasir Gazdar, Ph.D, MPH
1. Course Website:
//www2.hawaii.edu/~nasir
2. Announcements, Lecture
notes and Study Guide Files,
Extra credit, Geology Events at
//myuhportal.hawaii.edu at GG
103 Course Site
3. Hawaii Atlas, Plate Tectonics,
Geology Text, CDs, DVDs at
The Library Reserve GG 103
4. Email for any help. Mahalo
for excellence.
GG 103 Exams and Grading
1st term exam 150 points
Midterm
150 points
3rd term
150 points
Final exam
400 points
Presentation
150 points
Total
1000 points
Extra credit – to be announced in the class –
Research would be a PowerPoint slide
presentation. 50 Bonus points for in class
presentation, additional 50 points for being the
first one(s) to present in the class.
All PPTs should be emailed for presentation in the
class. Last date is April 25, 2009.
Grade
A
B
C
D
900+
800+
700+
600+
• Geology is vital in human civilization
• Geology in Today’s World
• Geology - The scientific study of the Earth
– Physical Geology is the study of Earth’s materials,
changes of the surface and interior of the Earth, and the
forces that cause those changes
• Practical Aspects of Geology
– Natural resources
– Geological hazards
– Environmental protection
– Sea level Rise, Climate Change, Global Warming
Physics
•Geophysics
•Seismology
Chemistry
•Mineralogy
•Petrology
•Geochemistry
Biology
•Paleontology
•Paleoecology
Geology and Other Sciences
Astronomy
•Planetary Geology
•Helioseismology
•Economic Geology
•Historical Geology
•Hydrology
•Geomorphology
•Engineering
Geology
•Oceanography
•Petroleum Geology
•Volcanology
•Structural Geology
Pacific Ocean
Mahukona
Where in the World is Kauai?
Lanai
Kaho‘olawe
A view of Earth Planetary System
• Earth is a planet that is rocky and self-contained
– Earth System and Spheres
• Earth’s spheres
• Hydrosphere – water, oceans, lakes, rivers
• Atmosphere - air
• Biosphere – life and environment, ecosystem
• Lithosphere - Solid Earth
• Pedosphere – soil
– Cryosphere – ice sheets, Antarctica, Greenland
– Anthrosphere – Human built environment
Origin and Evolution of Earth
• Origin of planet Earth 4,600,000,000 years before
present, 4,600 million years, 4.6 billion years
• Most researchers believe that Earth and the other
planets formed at essentially the same time from
the same primordial material as the Sun, a medium
sized star in the Milky Way Galaxy in the Universe.
• Nebular hypothesis – explains formation of Sun
and Solar System, planets.
• Layered structure developed by chemical
segregation early in the formation of Earth
• Formation of Continents – land, and Oceans water
Nebular hypothesis
Explains formation of
Sun and Solar
System
Planetary System
Planets
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Dwarf Planet
Pluto
• Earth formed as a planet in the the Sun’s Solar
system from a nebula: 4,600,000,000 years ago
• Life on Earth began: 3,800,000,000 years
• Geology: Science of processes related to:
– Composition, structure, history and life of Earth
– Processes on the earth, landforms and islands
• Geology of Hawaiian Islands:
• Studies of Hawaiian Islands physical environment,
Birth and Life of the Isles
• It is geology applied to:
• Islands origin, volcanic formation and life stages
• Awareness of unique geologic environment
• Understand the geologic processes and hazards on the islands
Volcano
Subduction crack on the
Pacific Oceanic crust
Earthquakes
Oceanic crust is forced
below the fracture because
oceanic crust is denser than
the one composing the
fracture. Magma is created
at the subduction wedge
Magma Chamber
Hotspot
Geosphere
Our Planet’s “Five Spheres” or
Subsystems
• The Atmosphere:
– Nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapor
• The Hydrosphere:
– Oceans, lakes, streams, underground water, snow, and ice
• The Biosphere: Ecosphere, Sphere of Life
– All of Earth’s organisms, as well as any organic matter not
yet decomposed, Anthrosphere is Human Living
Environment
• The Geosphere – Crust, Lithosphere, Mantle and
Core
– The solid Earth from core to surface crust– Crust composed principally of rock, minerals, sediments,
ores and soils
– Soils are in Pedosphere
Layered Structure
and Composition of Earth
Given the abundance of
oxygen and silicon in the crust
- lithosphere, it should not be
surprising that the most
abundant minerals in the
earth's crust are the silicates.
Although the Earth's material
must have had the same
composition as the Sun
originally, the present
composition of the Sun is quite
different. The elemental
composition of the human
body and life in general is quite
different.
Iron,
Magnesium
Iron, Nickel,
Sulfur
Iron
Common Elements Important in Universe, Earth, and Living Organisms
Element
Symbol
Atomic Number
Percent in Universe
Percent in Earth
Percent in Human Body
Hydrogen
H
1
91
0.14
9.5
Helium
He
2
9
Trace
Trace
Carbon
C
6
0.02
0.03
18.5
Nitrogen
N
7
0.04
Trace
3.3
Oxygen
O
8
0.06
47
65
Sodium
Na
11
Trace
2.8
0.2
Magnesium
Mg
12
Trace
2.1
0.1
Phosphorus
P
15
Trace
0.07
1
Sulfur
S
16
Trace
0.03
0.3
Chlorine
Cl
17
Trace
0.01
0.2
Potassium
K
19
Trace
2.6
0.4
Calcium
Ca
20
Trace
3.6
1.5
Iron
Fe
26
Trace
5
Trace
Earth’s interior is hot
(~7000 degrees C)
‘Fossil’ heat from
Earth formation
Radioactive decay
40K, 232Th, 235U,
238U (Plus possibly
244Pu and 26Al in
early Earth)
Heat lost through
convection in the core
and mantle – Plate
tectonics
The Face of Planet Earth
• Continents – Land covers 29 percent of surface of Earth
• Most prominent features are linear mountain belts –
composed of Igneous and metamorphic rocks
• Shields – Ancient metamorphic rocks
• Ocean basins – covers 71 percent of surface of Earth
• Ocean ridge system – the most prominent topographic
feature on Earth
• Deep-ocean trenches
Dynamic Earth
8 Major Tectonic Plates of the Lithosphere
Ring of Fire
Ring of Fire
Today, there are 600 active volcanoes worldwide. Is
there anything we can do to predict how and when
they will erupt?