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Hist. Geol Midterm
First 1/2 of the semester
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| A chronology of events and changes in Earth History | Geologic Time Scale |
| What indicates changes on the geologic time scale? | Major change in life and the environment |
| List the 4 parts of the geologic time scale. | EonsErasPeriodsEpochs |
| 2 important Scientific Theories important to understanding Earth History | Plate Tectonics Biological Evolution |
| Earth's outer shell (lithosphere) is composed of pieces that float on a hot, deformable asthenosphere-great unifying idea of Geology | Plate Tectonics |
| Great unifying idea of biology-process by which biological species give rise to other species by way of genetic changes | Evolutionary Theory-biological evolution |
| 3 important processes have substantially modified the Earth surface over time | Tectonics Action of water in various formsBiological Processes |
| Movement of lithosphere plates across planet's surface, recycling of rocks | Tectonics |
| Drive weathering and erosion and impact the formation of rocks | Action of water in various forms |
| Alter surface and subsurface areas, water systems, and the atmosphere | Biological Processes |
| Rocks and fossils formed during short, violent events | Catastrophism |
| Rock layers precipitated from ocean water | Neptunism |
| Father of Geology | James Hutton |
| Hutton's 3 fundamental Concepts | PlutonismUniformitarianismDeep Time |
| Formation by volcanic processes | Plutonism |
| Formation of rocks by gradual, constistent processes | Uniformitarianism |
| A very long history of Earth events | Deep Time |
| The 7 important Principles that guide our interpretation of Earth History and provide a way of deciphering historical events in their correct relative time sequence. | UniformitarianismSuperpositionOriginal HorizontalityLateral ContinuityCross-Cutting Relationships Included FragmentsBiotic Succession |
| Principle that processes acting upon the Earth today have also operated in the geologic past | Uniformitarianism |
| Science of layered rocks developed from 3 principles first created by Niels Stenson | Stratigraphy |
| First to formally recognize the importance of stratification or horizontal layering | Nicolaus Steno |
| Steno's 3 principles of Stratigraphy | SuperpositionOriginal HorizontalityPrincipal of Lateral Continuity |
| Rocks on the bottom of a sequence formed first and rocks higher up in the sequence record progressively younger events | Principle of Superposition |
| Sedimentary Rocks are deposited in flat layers known as sediment bed and remain horizontal unless they are deformed by later events-if beds are not horizontal then something happened after they were deposited | Principle of Original Horizontality |
| Sediment beds form as continuous sheets, so layers are continuous until encountering an obstruction | Principle of Lateral Continuity |
| Lyell's 2 principles | Cross-Cutting RelationshipsInclusion of Fragments |
| If a unit cuts across another bed of rock, the unit that is cut must have formed first | Cross-Cutting Relationships |
| If fragments of one rock bed are incorporated in an adjoining unit, the rock that contains the fragments is younger | Principle of Inclusion |
| The map that changed the world.Biotic Succession | William Strata Smith |
| Specific fossil species occur only in a restricted horizon of a sedimentary sequence-once a species disappears it never appears higher in the sequence | Principle of Biotic Succession |
| Species that are especially useful for linking sedimentary rocks of similar age-enable regional comparisons-by comparing them the age of rocks in different regions can be related to each other even when the rock types are different | Index Fossils |
| Good index fossils must have 2 qualities | Short interval of existenceWide geographic range |
| Surfaces that indicate a missing interval of time between rock units. These are gaps in the geologic history of a region, but the duration of these gaps is not obvious-indicates unrecorded events between the deposition of these sedimentary beds | Unconformities |
| Form layers parallel to others-igneous-layer that was metamorphosed or baked is older | Baked Contacts |
| Breaks between tilted and horizontal sedimentary beds | Angular Unconformities |
| Boundaries between sedimentary beds and older igneous or metamorphic rock units | Nonconformities |
| Erosional boundaries between sedimentary beds of different age -layers of old rocks deposited-some layers erode away-much younger layers are deposited on top of older layers | Disconformities |
| Earth's crust is dominated by: | Oxygen |
| Which element is most common on Earth? | iron |
| How many elements? | 92 |
| One atom loses an electron from its outer shell to another atom | Ionic bond |
| Specific electrons are shared between 2 atoms | Covalent Bonds |
| Atoms share many electrons-electrons in the outer shells drift from one atom to another as a result of close packing of the atoms | Metallic Bonds |
| A common polarity bond | Hydrogen bond |
| A weak secondary attraction Bonds between electrically neutral molecules that have one positive and one negative end | Van der waals forces |
| Minerals that make up rocks are divided into groups based on their chemical properties-are of primary importance in interpreting Earth History | Common Rock-forming minerals |
| How many rock-forming mineral groups are there? | 20 |
| The 2 mineral groups that contribute most to the rock world are: | Silicates and Carbonates-common in sedimentary |
| List the 4 Eons of Earth History and their time frames | Phanerozoic-550 MA-PresentProterozoic-2.5GA-550MAArchean-3.9GA-2.50 GAHadean-4.5GA-3.9 GAArcheanHadean |
| GAMA | billions and millions of years |
| What is a mineral? | Naturally occurringsolid materialwith defined compositionhave a crystalline structure-fixed arrangement of atoms |
| Has a silicate tetrahedron as the basic chemical property and are the dominant group in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks | Silicate Minerals |
| Common Silicate Minerals | QuartzFeldsparMicahornblendeolivine |
| Have Ca, Mg, Fe, or other ions attached to a carbonate ion and are important in sedimentary rocks and can form the metamorphic rock marble | Carbonate Minerals |
| Common Carbonates | CalciteDolomiteAragonite |
| Have metallic ions combined with sulfur and occur igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks-form near igneous intrusions | Sulfide Minerals |
| Examples of Sulfides | GalenaPyrite |
| Have positive ions such an Na and K attached to negative ions such as Cl and Br.-most occur in sedimentary | Halides |
| Commmon Halides | HaliteFluoriteEvaporate Deposits |
| Have Ca or other ions attached to a sulfate ion and most of these occur in sedimentary rocks | GypsumAnhydriteBariteEvaporite Deposits |
| Have metallic ions combined with oxygen and occur in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks-found in many rocks but low quantity | Oxides |
| Common Oxides | MagnetiteHematite |
| Naturally occurring solids containing one or more minerals-come in many flavors | Rocks |
| How many different types of minerals? | 4,000 |
| Formed during the cooling and crystallization of magma | Igneous Rocks |
| Usually layered, formed from sediments and minerals precipitated under aqueous conditions | Sedimentary Rocks |
| Rocks whose original mineralogy or texture has been transformed through any combination of heat, pressure, chemical environment or shearing stress | Metamorphic Rocks |
| 2 Rock Classification Systems | DescriptiveGenetic |
| According to their texture or fabric and their description | Descriptive Classification System |
| Classify rocks according to their origin | Genetic Classification System |
| The science of Earth, including its composition, its structure, its origin, its life forms, the physical and chemical processes that affect it, and its history | Geology |
| Study of the origin and development of Earth, including its forms, through time. | Earth History |
| Comprises the Geologic Processes occuring on and within the Earth | Earth Dynamics or Physical Geology |
| What constitutes the basis of religion | Belief System |
| A general term for a scientific investigation involving an iterative process of empirical observation, hypothesis building, and testing | Scientific Methodology |
| A scientific concept that is tantamount to fact | Scientific Theory |
| Outer, relativley rigid layer of Earth approximately 100 km thick, overlying the asthenosphere and it includes the entire crust and upper mantle | Lithosphere |
| Outermost layer of Earth defined by density and composition and seismic velocity differences from the underlying mantle | Crust |
| The layer within the upper mantle and below the lithosphere where rocks are relatively ductile and easily deformed | asthenosphere |
| Prediction in a backward direction in time | Retrodiction |
| An idea in need of testing and one that is not necessarily widely accepted by scientists | theory |
| Sum of the physical, chemical, and biological processes operating on and within Earth | Earth System |
| 4 major components of the Earth System | HydrosphereBiosphereGeosphereAtmosphere |
| Regolith or drift | unconsolidated rock debris left behind by glaciers |
| Sedimentary features that are used to identify the top or bottom sides of beds | Geopetal structures |
| Thinly layered sedimentary mounds that grow upward because they are formed by photosynthetic bacteria | stromalites |
| A solid composed of atoms and molecules that have a regular internal structure and an external form defined by flat faces | Crystal |
| Smallest individual particles that show all the distinctive properties of a chemical element | atom |
| most fundamental substances into which matter can be separated by normal chemical means | Elements |
| each type of an element as defined by its atomic weight | isotope |
| Radioactive or unstable isotopes that decay to form other isotopes | Daughter products |
| A conceptual model that describes the origin, alteration, and destruction of rocks through the action of Earth processes | Rock Cycle |
| molten rock including any suspended crystals and dissolved gases | Magma |
| Biological Precipitation | biomineralization |
| unconsolidated particles of rock that have been transported by agents of erosion and unconsolidated particles formed as skeletal material through biomineralization | Sediment |
| Igneous rock usually coarsely crystalline, that resulted from the cooling and solidification of magma within Earth's crust | intrusive rock |
| All intrusive igneous rock bodies, regardless of their shape and size | plutons |
| An irregular body hundreds of square kilometers in diameter that cuts across preexisting rocks | batholith |
| Intrusive bodies of irregular shape and smaller than 100 km2 | stocks |
| Last-cooled portions of igneous intrusive bodies, places where crystals would grow several centimeters or more in size | Pegmatites |
| Tabular, sheet-like intrusion that extends parallel to the layering or fabric of the rocks it intrudes | sill |
| Extends parallel to the layering or fabric of preexisting rocks but when it was emplaced it caused the intruded rocks to bend upward into a dome | laccolith |
| a roughly cylindrical structure resulting from the solidification of magma in the natural pipe that once fed a volcanic vent | volcanic neck |
| Precursors of sedimentary rocks, are particles composed of silicate minerals | Siliclastic sediments |
| A mineral deposited under evaporative or hot, dry conditions | evaporite |
| Layering in sedimentary rocks also known as lamination | bedding |
| If water is present in the pore spaces, it is squeezed out in this process | dewatering |
| All the chemical, physical, and biologic changes that sediments undergo between the time of deposition and time of lithification | diagenesis |
| Due to an alignment of crystals that grow perpendicular to the direction of stress applied to the rock during metamorphism | foliation |
| Metamorphism that affects large areas of the crust | Regional Metamorphism |
| Localized metamorphism associated with the intrusion or extrusion of an igneous magma, heat and hydrothermal fluids may be involved in the metamorphic ability | contact metamorphism |
| Technique of establishing a chronology of events arranged in relative sequential order | relative age dating |
| technique of establishing when events occurred according to how much time has elapsed since their occurrence | numerical age dating |
| Matching of strata from one location to another | Correlation |
| Stratigraphic correlation on the basis of rock type | Lithostratigraphy |
| Fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy; it has a definable top and bottom and is mappable across geographic space | formation |
| Zoning of stratigraphic layers and arrangement of those layers according to relative time of deposition, using the ranges of fossils | biostratigraphy |
| A stratigraphic interval defined by its fossil content and usually given the name of a characteristic fossil present in that interval | biozone |
| Correlation of strata using ratios of chemical isotopes | chemostratigraphy |
| A positive or negative shift in the isotopic ratio of an element as recorded through a succession of stratigraphic layers | isotopic excursion |
| Correlation of strata on the basis of erosion surfaces that separate packages of sediments or sedimentary rocks called sequences | Sequence Stratigraphy |
| Global Sea level | Eustatic sea level |
| A relatively conformable package of sedimentary strata that is bounded below and above by unconformities or their equivalent conformities | Sequence |
| An internationally ratified point in strata marking the boundary between 2 time-rock units and their equivalent time units | GSSP |
| A time-rock or time-stratigraphic unit, the tangible representation of a geologic time unit | chronostratigraphic unit |
| Where a chronostratigraphic criterion is applied | GSSA-Global Standard Stratotype Age |
| Correlation by integrating statigraphic proxies for geologic time | chronostratigraphy |
| Chronostratigraphic equivalent of an eon | Eonothem |
| Chronostratigraphic equivalent of an era | erathem |
| The fundamental unit of chronostratigraphy | system |
| unit of geologic time equivalent to a system | period |
| Chronostratigraphic equivalent of an epoch | series |
| type of sediment deposited in one area and are not directly tied to time intervals | facies |
| Refers to the dating of rocks according to their numerical ages | Geochronology |
| In a radioactive decay series, unstable isotope that decays, or transforms, into a daughter product | parent |
| An isotope formed from the radioactive decay of a parent isotope | daughter |
| Type of nuclear fission in which the parent splits into 2 daughter products | Alpha Decay |
| Composed of 2 protons and 2 neutrons | alpha particle |
| Can involve emission of a beta particle accompanied for reasons of symmetry by emission of an electron antineutrino from an atomic nucleus | beta decay |
| A parent nucleus captures one of its own electrons and then emits a neutrino | Electron capture |
| Amount of time it takes it takes for one-half of the parent to decay to a daughter product | half-life |
| Based on the counting of tracks left by the fission fragments of uranium-bearing minerals or glasses enclosed with crystals of some minerals | fission track dating |
| Major eras on the geologic time scale | CenozoicMesozoicPaleozoicNeo-ProterozoicMeso-ProterozoicPaleo-proterozoicNeoarcheanMesoarcheanPaleoarcheanEoarcheanLower ImbrianNectarianBasin GroupsCryptic |
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larryc166
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