Engineering Geoscience ERTH2404 Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the Engineering Geoscience ERTH2404 lecture notes.

Geoscience

The study of Earth, including its structure, processes, and the materials it is composed of.

Seismology

The scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth.

Landslides

The movement of rock, earth, or debris down a sloped section of land.

Volcanic eruptions

The expulsion of molten rock, ash, and gases from a volcano.

Uniformitarianism

The geological principle that the same natural processes we observe today have been at work in the past.

Relative dating

A method of determining the age of a rock or fossil by comparing it to other rocks or fossils without assigning a specific numerical age.

Absolute dating

A technique used to determine the exact age of a rock or fossil by measuring the decay of radioactive isotopes.

Steno's Rules

Four principles that guide relative dating in geology, including original horizontality, lateral continuity, superposition, and cross-cutting relationships.

Biostratigraphy

A branch of stratigraphy that uses fossil content to date and correlate rock layers.

Radiometric dating

A method used to date materials based on the radioactive decay of isotopes, allowing for absolute dating.