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geo102 test 2 Lec 12-13
Processes inside the Earth that produce heat and materials, like tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
External processes driven by the Sun that shape land through weathering, erosion, and movement of air, water, and ice.
A dating system that links rock layers to time, dividing Earth's history into eons, eras, periods, and epochs.
The current geological era (last 65.5 million years), known for the rise of mammals
Erosion
the removal of surface materials, such as soil and rock, by wind, water, ice, or other natural agents, followed by the transport of these materials to new locations.
Radiometric Dating
A technique that determines a material's age by measuring the amounts of certain isotopes in it.
Mineral
A natural solid with a fixed chemical makeup and crystal structure, formed from non-living Earth materials
rocks that have had their form changed due to temperature, pressure or chemistry. can start from igneous, sedimentary, or other metamorphic rocks.
The process that leads to the formation of fractures in the Earth's crust due to stress.
superposition
in any undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rocks, the top of the rock formation is the youngest and the bottom is the oldest.
Solar system and earth age
Estimated to be 4.6 billion years old
Holocene
the youngest geologic epoch, which began approximately 11,700 years ago after the last major ice age.
formation of the earth
was condensed from a nebula of dust, gas and icy comets about 4.6 billion years ago
Two dominate materials from the formation of earth
are silicate rocks and metals (iron).
Earth aftermath of creation
during the formation it was so hot the silica and iron were in liquid state and as the earth cooled and solidified, gravity sorted out materials by density.
lithosphere
solid, brittle, outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and the upper mantle, which is broken into tectonic plates.
asthenosphere
soft (plastic) layer between the lithosphere and the upper mantle, allowing for the movement of tectonic plates.
Buoyancy ( earths crust )
the earths crust floats on denser layers of the mantle due to buoyancy forces, allowing tectonic plates to move and interact.
isostatic
the state of gravitational equilibrium between the Earth's crust and mantle, allowing for adjustments in land elevation.
rock cycle
The cycle that forms and transforms rocks, continuously recycling Earth's materials.
convergent plate boundary
converging plates that produce a subduction zone where one plate is forced under another, often leading to volcanic activity, mountain formation and earthquakes
divergent plate boundary
plates diverge in areas of the seafloor creating new oceanic crust and often forming mid-ocean ridges.
transform boundary
a type of plate boundary where two plates slide past each other horizontally, often causing earthquakes.
topography cru
relative positions of the Earth's surface features, including elevation and landforms.
crust deformation process
rocks subjected to stress tectonic forces, gravity and pressure can change shape or volume
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