earth and life science

tarantado

Big Bang

other galaxies are moving away from our own at high speed, in all directions

the entire vastness of the observable universe, was compressed into a hot, dense mass just a few millimeters across.

a massive blast allowed all the universe’s known matter and energy to spring from some ancient and unknown type of energy

Georges Lemaitre

he theorized that the universe began from a single primordial atom
1927

Edwin Hubble

who proposed that galaxies are speeding away from us in all directions, and from the discovery of cosmic microwave radiation by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson

cosmic microwave background radiation

a tangible remnant of leftover light from the big bang

inflation

gravitational waves rippled through our infant universe during an explosive period of growth

after the universe burst, space itself ripped apart, expanding exponentially

NASA-developed detector technology on the BICEP2 telescope at the South Pole

Planck satellite

European Space Agency mission for which NASA provided detector and cooler technology

B-mode

gravitational waves produced a characteristic swirly pattern in polarized light

Ptolemaic System

arrangement of this geocentric Earth-centered plan
Earth has been assigned the central place in the universe

Nicolaus Copernicus

who proposed the modern heliocentric or sun-centered system of planetary motions in 1543

Immanuel Kant, Laplace

people who postulated the the solar system was derived from the condensation of an enormously dispersed gaseous atmosphere surrounding the sun (1755-1796)

Nebular Hypothesis

solar system started out as a large nebula of gas, dust, and ice which eventually spun out into the shape of a disc

Planetesimal Theory

planetary system was formed from materials removed from the sun by tidal action caused by a passing star

projection became masses of gases that revolved around the sun

Carl Friedrich von Weizacken and Harold C. Urey

proponents of Dust Cloud Theory 1945

Dust Cloud Theory

composition mainly of hydrogen and helium

Interactions of the gas molecules accelerated the lighter ones so that they mostly escaped from the nebula

interactions also produced swirls, forming lumps in the nebula that could grow to become planets and satellites

Protoplanet Hypothesis 1949

the original nebula was so massive that on further contraction and flattening, it broke into separate clouds or protoplanets

Gerald P. Kuoper

proposed protoplanet hypothesis in 1949

crust
mantle
outer core
inner core

layers of earth

crust

brittle outermost layer
thickness ranging from five (5) to 10 km from ocean basins to 25 to 70 km from the continents

mantle

composed of molten silicate rocks
behaving as both solid and liquid, many believe that the mantle might be a non-Newtonian fluid.
100 km cool hard, below is weak and flows slowly like

core

hottest layer
made of iron and nickel

Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Atmosphere

parts of the earth

water
energy
time
recycling
bonus features

Characteristics of Earth that are Necessary to Support Life

habitable planets conditions

central star should not be more than 1.5 Mo (Solar mass)
central star should be at least 0.3 Mo to be warm enough to create a large orbital zone which planet could retain liquid water
central star should not flare violently or emit intense x-rays
planet must orbit at the right distance from the star
planet’s orbit must be circular and stable enough
planet’s gravity must be strong enough

geology

study of the earth’s rocky parts found on the crust (lithosphere) and its historical evolution

Physical Geography

study of the physical features of the Earth’s surface
different processes and patterns in the natural environment

Geophysics

studies the shape of the Earth, its reaction to different forces as well as its magnetic and gravitational fields
most vital for mineral and petroleum explorations

Soil Sciences

cover the Earth’s outermost layer which is the crust
Major sub-disciplines of soil sciences include edaphology and pedology

Oceanography/Hydrology 

studies the marine and freshwater domains of the hydrosphere

Glaciology

studies the ice and icy parts of the Earth known as the cryosphere

Atmospheric Sciences

study of the gaseous parts of the Earth

Formation of Earth

The creation theory
the big bang

The Creation Theory

biblical in origin asserting that everything in the universe, including humans were created by a supreme being in a span of 7 days

Big Bang Theory

speaks of the Earth's formation in a scientific perspective. It states that the universe is formed sometime between 10 and 20 billion years ago from a cataclysmic explosion.

Continental Drift Theory

Alfred Wegener theorized that there was once a vast supercontinent 200 million years ago which he named Pangaea meaning "All-earth".

Laurasia and Gondwana

pangaea broke into 2 smaller supercontinent

luster penetrability color streak

optical characteristics of minerals

luster

property of a mineral to reflect light; describes how brilliant or dull it is

penetrability

optical property of minerals to allow light to pass through

transparent, translucent, opaque

types of penetrability

color

optical perception described through certain color categories; considered to be unreliable due to impurities affecting color quality

streak

mineral's color in powdered form; minerals with higher hardness cannot leave streak marks on the porcelain

mineral strength tenacity hardness cleavage fracture

types of mineral strength

mineral strength

determines how easy minerals break or deform when exposed to stress

Tenacity (or toughness)

refers to the mineral's resistance to breaking or deforming

Hardness (or strength)

is the measure of a mineral's resistance to abrasions (or scratches)

Cleavage

is the tendency of minerals to break along the planes of weakness

Fracture

form of splitting where a mineral is split despite not having any cleavage plane due to its strong chemical bonds between the mineral's atoms

Specific Gravity

is the measure of a mineral's density

by slow cooling
by rapid cooling
by pyroclastics

formation of igneous rock

by cementation
by chemical precipitation

formation of sedimentary rock

through pressure
through temperature

formation of metamorphic rocks

clastic
bioclastic
chemical crystalline

identifying sedimentary rocks

foliated non foliated

identifying metamorphic rocks

exogenic

any process that includes geological phenomena and processes originating externally to the Earth’s surface

Weathering

gradual on-site breakdown of rocks into sediments

exfoliation
thermal
expansion
wedging

types of mechanical weathering

exfoliation

splitting of intrusive rock sheets from its original formation

thermal expansion

breakup of rocks due to being heated

wedging

forcefully breaking rocks apart via external factors

oxidation
hydrolysis
carbonation
acid precipitation
erosion

types of chemical weathering

erosion

weathered and unweathered materials from its substrate due to gravity or agents of transportation

gravity
wind
water
glaciers

agents of erosion

Traction
Saltation
Suspension
Solution

types of water erosion

traction

movement caused by rolling or dragging large sediment grains aided by smaller grains pushing against them

saltation

movement caused by repeated bouncing of sand grains as they are transported by water

suspension

movement observed in fine particles such as silt and clay

solution

Movement found in soluble materials such as salts

relief
slope stability
fragmentation and weathering

types of mass wasting (gravity)

deposition

where sediments settle out of the transporting medium, usually associated with water

endogenic

process that includes geological phenomena and processes originating within the Earth’s surface

decompression melting
flux melting
heat transfer melting
partial melting

generation of magma

decompression melting

temp is constant thruout while pressure decreases

flux melting

volatiles (gaseous substance) are added to the magma

burial metamorphism

type of metamorphism pressure from compaction within the affected sediments exceeds the natural limits

cataclistic

type of metamorphism rocks affected by lateral motion earthquake

dip slip
strike slip
oblique slip

types of fault

relative dating
absolute dating
fossils
geologic time scale

earth’s history

Uniformitarianism

states that all geological processes known today also occured in the past, operating slowly thru out the ages

Original Horizontality

materials forming any stratum were continuous on the earth’s surface unless some other bodies stood in the way

superposition

at the time when any stratum is formed, all matter resting upon it was fluid and none upper strata exists

oldest layer - bottom
youngest - top

Cross-Cutting Relationships

any rock that cuts thru established rock strata is the youngest

Inclusions and Components

any foreign material found in another material

faunal succession

strata that have been known to hold fossils

chronostatic time

any physical subdivision and the time they represent

unconformities

a missing stratum

angular unconformity
nonconformity
disconformity
paraconformity

types of unconformity

angular unconformity

originally deposited horizontal layer that has been folded, weathered and eroded

nonconformity

rocks come in contact with sedimentary beds indicating period of uplift and erosion of previous rocks

disconformity

sediment layers are uplifted without folding but exposed to weathering and erosion creating an irregular surface

paraconformity

strata are parallel with each other

alpha ++
beta plus +-
beta minus --
electron capture
gamma

radioactive decay types

half life

time radioactive material takes to lose half of its mass

tree rings

display alternating bands which when counted, its possible to find the number of years tree lived

ice cores

formation of snow-dust strata

varves

alternating sedimentary bed found at the bottom of lakes especially at the end of glaciers

stratigraphy

ordering and analysis of earth’s layers

hadean eon

the burning earth
earliest iteration
how solar system came into existence
earth is devoid of life and still made of molten material

archaean eon

the first rain
newly formed crust after iron catastrophe began to cool down
Vaalbara was formed

protorozoic eon

the first glacier
life began to dominate earth

arctica
atlantica and columbia
rodinia
pannotia

supercontinents that formed during protorozoic eon