Geol Exam 1

hazard

A natural process and event that is a potential threat to human life and property

disaster

Hazards event that occurs over a limited time span within a defined area

Catastrophe

a massive natural disaster that requires significant time and money for recovery

Internal Processes

results of internal forces/ energy deep within the earth

Internal Processes Examples

Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis

External Processes

Results of external forces, such as atmospheric or gravity, energy from the sun

External Processes Examples

Extreme weather, storms, climate chance, subsidence, and floods etc.

Natural Hazards take an average of ____ every year over the last 20 years

80,000

Hazards cost United States between __ to ___ billion dollars annually

10 to 50

5 fundamental concepts

1. Science helps us predict hazards.
2. Knowing hazard risks can help people make decisions.
3. Linkages exist between natural hazards
4. Humans can turn disastrous events into catastrophes
5. Consequences of hazards can be minimized.

Environmental Unity

one action causes other in a chain of actions and events.

Prediction

Needs to state exactly where and when the event will happen, with enough specifics to be useful for response planning purposes.

Forecast

an estimation of how certain they are that their forecast will be accurate (probability information)

Rise=

(probability of event)x (consequences)

Acceptable Risk

the amount of risk that an individual or society is willing to take

Impacts of hazards depend on

Magnitude, frequency, other factors

Magnitude

amount of energy released

frequency

interval between occurrences

Magnitude-frequency concept

Frequency of an event inversely related to magnitude
Natural events with a moderate energy magnitude and more frequency => the most important shapers of events

Geology is the study of

the solid earth, which includes the materials that make up the planet and the various events that shape it.

Hypotheses

An untested, proposed explanation for facts or observations

Theory

Results from the survival of extensive examination of competing hypotheses relates to the topic

Principal or Law

Summaries of many experimental results and observations

Population of the planet

7.7 billion

Population of the United States

332 Million

Population of Texas

29 Million

Population ageing is a

Shift in the distribution of a country's populations towards older ages
It is reflected in an increasing median age in a population as declining birth rate and rising longevity (ave. age)

Rate of Natural Increase (r) =

Birth Rate (b) – Death Rate (d) ; r = b – d

Rapid growth of population results in problems with maintaining:

Water supplies for irrigation, drinking, and industry
Land is clearly a basic resource as well, farmland to produce crops to feed a hungry earth, (also manufacturing, transportation)
Food production is an energy-intensive business
Supply of energy and minerals for our material-based lifestyle (life quality)
Pollution of air, land, and water pursuing

The solar system formed about

4.6 billion yrs ago

The Big bang theory

the dominant scientific theory about the origin and evolution of the universe (12 to 15 billion years ago)

Types of planets in our solar system

8 total

Four rocky and metallic inner planets(Innermost planets very hot, nearest the Sun)

Four gaseous outer planets (Outer planets very cold)

Differentiation

dense materials, like metallic iron, would have tended to sink toward the middle of the earth. As cooling progressed, lighter, low-density minerals crystallized and floated out toward the surface

Types of energy sources

Earth’s internal heat (Plate Tectonics)
Gravity
The Sun, solar radiation
Impact of extraterrestrial bodies

The center of the earth is (tempature)

12,000 F

Where does the heat come from

Original Heat from formation
Radioactive Decay of isotopes in the mantle and crust

Geological Cycle

a collective term used to describe the complex interactions between the component sub-cycles:

Sub-cycles of the geological cycle

1. Tectonic cycle
2. Rock cycle
3. Hydrologic cycle
4. Biogeochemical cycle

Tectonic Cycle

the large-scale geologic processes that deform Earth's crust and produce landforms such as ocean basins, continents, and mountains.

Tectonic cycle involves

the creation, movement, and destruction of tectonic plates

Internal Structure of Earth

Divided into distinct layers based on chemical and mechanical properties.
Consequence of differentiation of the early Earth (density)
Most knowledge of the earth’s interior by seismic studies

P waves

fastest, gases, liquids and solids (all phases)

S Waves

higher amplitude, only through solids

crust

Thin rocky, outer shell of the planet. Oceanic and Continental

Mantle

Solid Rock Layer between the crust and the core. It has 2,885 km thick, and the mantle is 82% of the earth's volume (Iron-magnesium-silicates)

Core

an iron rich sphere with a radius of 3,471 km, mostly metallic iron, high temperature (sun surface) (Size of moon but hot as sun)

The outer core is

Liquid

The Inner Core is

Solid

The inner core is solid because

it is made of very dense, or heavy materials, like iron. Even though it is very hot, these materials don't "melt" very easily, so they stay solid.

Lithosphere

outmost and rigid layer

Asthenosphere

hot and slowly flowing layer (soft plastic)

Mesosphere

below asthenosphere, bounded by increasing of seismic velocity (stiff plastic).

Liquid outer core

temperature and pressure are so balanced that the iron is molten and exists as a liquid.

Solid Inner Core

The solid center of the Earth (solid).

Divergent

Plates move apart
New lithosphere created

Convergent

Plates move together
Lithosphere recycled

Transform

Plates slide past each other

The tectonic cycle is responsible for

hazards, such as volcanoes and earthquakes.

Rock Cycle

a group of changes between igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks. It is also the largest of the geologic sub cycles, and it is linked to all the other sub cycles.

Karst

limestone is composed of Calcite (CaCO3) which will dissolve in carbonic acid to form collapses succulent as sink holes

Shales

are composed if fine particles. Landslides hazards are easy to occur in shales

Clay

(smecite) can swell a lot when met water (subsidence, seal the well)

Three Families of rocks

Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic

Igneous Rocks

Formed from molten rock material, two types: Intrusive and Extrusive

Ignis

Fire

Intrusive Igneous Rocks

Magma, Coarse

Extrusive Igneous Rocks

Lava, Fine Grains, Frozen in disordered state

sedimentary rock form from

weathered pieces of pre-existing rocks into smaller pieces (sediments)
by direct precipitation from aqueous solutions

Meta

Change

Morph

Shape or Form

Metamorphic Rocks

Rocks that have undergone a physical and/or chemical change from its original from (phytolith) to adapt to changing pressure, temperature, and chemical conditions in the solid state

Hydrological Cycle:

Describes the continuous movements of water on, above and bellow the surface of the earth

Hydrological Cycle is driven by

solar energy: the cycle operates by a way of evaporation, precipitation, surface runoff, and subsurface flow, and water is stored in different compartments along the way.

Evaporation is the process

whereby solar energy releases water molecules directly from free water surfaces. Water vapor is the result.

Transpiration

the process that plants pump water into air

Evapotranspiration =

Evaporation + Transpiration

Precipitation

water falling from the atmosphere to the earth

Infiltration

the downward entry of water into the soil (events during precipitation

Runoff

the portion of rainfall which flows through the rivers, streams etc.

Primary reason for river flooding

Runoff

Biogeochemical cycle

the transfer or cycling of a chemical element or elements through the atmosphere (the layer of gases surrounding Earth), lithosphere (Earth's rocky outer layer), hydrosphere (oceans, lakes, rivers, and groundwater), and biosphere (the part of the Earth where life exists).

Largest element Cycles

Carbon (C)
Hydrogen (H)
Nitrogen (N)
Oxygen (O)
Phosphorus (P)
Sulfur (S)

photosynthesis

Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants

food chain

Carbon moves from plants to animals

Decay

Carbon moves from plants and animals to soils/fossil fuel

Respiration

Carbon moves from living things to the atmosphere

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS)

Describes long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon reduce global warming and avoid dangerous climate change.