‘SIDE VIEW’
100,000 ly
‘TOP VIEW’
Solar System on outside
of Orion Arm
(25,000 light years from centre)
Nebular hypothesis
Important theorists: Emanuel Swedenborg (1734), Immanuel Kant (1755), Pierre-Simon
Laplace (1796), Victor Safronov (1972) – Solar nebular disk model (SNDM)
Evidence: observations systems at varying stages
1. Nebula: Giant Molecular Cloud (GMC) results
from collision(s) or explosion of dying star
3. H and He condense into Sun
4. Disk of matter (many elements) around sun
5. Disk slowly accretes into clumps (planetesimals)
that also contain heavier elements
6. planetesimals  planetoids 
planets and satellites
Hubble Space Telescope
view of a new solar system
1500 l-y away in the Orion
Nebula
Eons, Eras, Periods and Epochs
Superposition: youngest rocks superimposed on
older rocks “Relative time”
Dating by radioactive isotopes
Half-life: time for ½ of unstable isotopes to decay
“Absolute time”
Uniformitarianism:
“The same physical processes active in the
environment today have been operating throughout
geologic time” Hutton (1795), Lyell (1830)
Red ovals
indicate
major
extinction
events:
when
extinction
rate greatly
exceeds
speciation
rate
The Earth in
cross-section
Upper mantle
and lithosphere
ISOSTASY
Elevation of tectonic plates
determined by density/thickness
Mountain masses
displace mantle
material
Isostatic adjustment
due to loss of mass
by erosion
Deformation from
sediment load
Mineral
A natural, inorganic compound
with a specific chemical formula
and a crystalline structure
Examples
silicates (quartz, feldspar, clay minerals),
oxides (eg., hematite)
carbonates (eg., calcite)
An assemblage of minerals bound
together
• Igneous (solidify & crystallize from
molten magma/lava)
• Sedimentary
(settling & cementation)
• Metamorphic
(altered under pressure)
• from magma
(molten rock
beneath the
surface)
• intrusive or
extrusive
(from lava)
Laccolith
Sill
Dike
Batholith
plutons
Existing rock or organic material is
digested by weathering, picked up by
erosion, moved by transportation,
and deposited at river, beach and
ocean sites.
Lithification follows (cementation,
compaction and hardening)
Laid down in horizontally-layered beds
Conglomerate
Sandstone
Siltstone
Shale
Limestone
Coal
largest clasts
sand cemented together
derived from silt
mud/clay compacted into
rock
calcium carbonate, bones
and shells cemented or
precipitated in ocean waters
ancient plant remains
compacted into rock
note the
shells
Any type of rock is transformed,
under pressure and increased
temperature
Harder and resistant to weathering
Produced from any rock type by:
•Compressional forces due to plate collisions
•Regional and contact metamorphism
Shale
Slate
Granite
Gneiss
Basalt
Schist
Limestone, dolomite
Marble
Sandstone
Quartzite
Crustal
Movements
•Continents are adrift due to
convection currents in the
asthenosphere
•Mantle movements result in plate
migration
•225 M BP: Pangaea
Continents Adrift
Fossil Record (plant and animal)
Distribution of marsupials vs. placentals
Age of mid-oceanic ridge magnetic stripes
Age and thickness of oceanic crust
Subduction zones
“Ring of fire”
Mid-oceanic ridge
magnetic stripes
See: http://www.scotese.com/sfsanim.htm (animation)
Divergent Boundaries
(constructional)
Convergent Boundaries
(destructional)
Transform Fault Boundaries
URL: http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/Vigil.html
Source: USGS
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
The technique of _____ involves the measurement of
decaying elements and stable end products.
a) radiometric dating
b) relative dating
c) superposition
d) punctuated equilibrium
e) uniform dating
The technique of _____ involves the measurement of
decaying elements and stable end products.
a) radiometric dating
b) relative dating
c) superposition
d) punctuated equilibrium
e) uniform dating
Place the major concentric layers of Earth in order from
outermost to innermost.
a) mantle > outer core > inner core > crust
b) inner core > outer core > mantle > crust
c) outer core > crust > inner core > mantle
d) crust > outer core > inner core > mantle
e) crust > mantle > outer core > inner core
Place the major concentric layers of Earth in order from
outermost to innermost.
a) mantle > outer core > inner core > crust
b) inner core > outer core > mantle > crust
c) outer core > crust > inner core > mantle
d) crust > outer core > inner core > mantle
e) crust > mantle > outer core > inner core
The process of cementation, compaction, and
hardening of sediments into sedimentary rock is called
_____.
a) carbonation
b) geomagnetic reversal
c) lithification
d) isostasy
e) metamorphism
The process of cementation, compaction, and
hardening of sediments into sedimentary rock is called
_____.
a) carbonation
b) geomagnetic reversal
c) lithification
d) isostasy
e) metamorphism
The most common extrusive igneous rock is _____.
a) sandstone
b) basalt
c) granite
d) gneiss
e) limestone
The most common extrusive igneous rock is _____.
a) sandstone
b) basalt
c) granite
d) gneiss
e) limestone
Pangaea is the name given to
a) the part of California west of the San Andreas fault that is
moving into the Pacific Ocean.
b) the period of geologic history that predates modern life
forms.
c) a rift valley in east Africa where a new ocean is forming.
d) the name of a previous supercontinent thought to
have broken into several plates.
e) the larger feature that makes up the Hawaiian Islands via
hotspot volcanism.
Pangaea is the name given to
a) the part of California west of the San Andreas fault that is
moving into the Pacific Ocean.
b) the period of geologic history that predates modern life
forms.
c) a rift valley in east Africa where a new ocean is forming.
d) the name of a previous supercontinent thought to
have broken into several plates.
e) the larger feature that makes up the Hawaiian Islands via
hotspot volcanism.
The interconnected mountain chain on the ocean floor is
built by upwelling flows of magma in a process called
_____.
a) trench widening
b) metamorphism
c) sea-floor spreading
d) isostasy
e) subduction
The interconnected mountain chain on the ocean floor is
built by upwelling flows of magma in a process called
_____.
a) trench widening
b) metamorphism
c) sea-floor spreading
d) isostasy
e) subduction
A batholith is most directly associated with
a) intrusive igneous rocks.
b) chemical sedimentary rocks.
c) relative-age dating.
d) extrusive igneous rocks.
e) metamorphic rocks.
A batholith is most directly associated with
a) intrusive igneous rocks.
b) chemical sedimentary rocks.
c) relative-age dating.
d) extrusive igneous rocks.
e) metamorphic rocks.
The collision of India and Asia to form the Himalayas
is an example of a _____ plate boundary.
a) drifting
b) convergent
c) divergent
d) transform
e) upwelling
The collision of India and Asia to form the Himalayas
is an example of a _____ plate boundary.
a) drifting
b) convergent
c) divergent
d) transform
e) upwelling
Subduction is most likely to be located _____.
a) at the collision of two pieces of continental crust
b) underneath mid-ocean ridges
c) within the outer core
d) at the collision of oceanic and continental crust
e) in the middle of ocean basins
Subduction is most likely to be located _____.
a) at the collision of two pieces of continental crust
b) underneath mid-ocean ridges
c) within the outer core
d) at the collision of oceanic and continental crust
e) in the middle of ocean basins
A map of global volcanoes and earthquakes reveals that
they are most commonly found
a) along plate margins.
b) in the center of plates.
c) at hot spots.
d) along mid-ocean ridges.
e) in Australia.
A map of global volcanoes and earthquakes reveals that
they are most commonly found
a) along plate margins.
b) in the center of plates.
c) at hot spots.
d) along mid-ocean ridges.
e) in Australia.
The location of the Mohorovičić discontinuity is best
described as residing between
a) continental crust and oceanic crust.
b) the outer core and inner core.
c) Gondwana and Laurasia.
d) the Nazca plate and the South American plate.
e) the crust and the mantle.
The location of the Mohorovičić discontinuity is best
described as residing between
a) continental crust and oceanic crust.
b) the outer core and inner core.
c) Gondwana and Laurasia.
d) the Nazca plate and the South American plate.
e) the crust and the mantle.