important equations/scales for eosc exam

speed of a tsunami

• shallow water waves

• c = 3.1 x √d

celerity is also

distance/time

james hutton

uniformitarianism - all things that happened in the past apply to today

william smith

fossils occurred in a definite sequential order, with more modern-appearing ones closer to the top

the great dying

250 ma

• pangea is dry

  • already ocean stagnation and sea level fall

• IMPACT BRECCIA

• SIBERIAN TRAP - lava that set coal deposits aflame + increased co2 emissions

• METHANE CLATHRATE MELTING

end triassic extinction

volcanism, climate change, impacts

adaptive radiation

organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into a multitude of new forms

how did trilobites go extinct

they were in ordovician oceans but went extinct in the end permian mass extinction

how did ammonites go extinct

they were in the seas of the cretaceous period but went extinct in the kpg impact of the end cretaceous mass extinction

steno

deeper layers of rock must be older

hutton

uniformitarianism

how does stratigraphy work

• studying strata (layers of rock)

• works because evolution occurs

faunal succession

fossils change over time due to evolution and that is how we are able to use biostratigraphy

• index fossils: ammonites, trilobites

background extinctions

5-10% of species wipes out

what hypothesis describes the kpg impact?

alvarez hypothesis

in what periods did dinosaurs exist

• triassic (not dominant)

• jurassic (dominant)

• cretaceous (going extinct at end cretaceous)

evidence of the alvarez hypothesis

• iridium anomaly

• soot

• fern growth

• tektites - tenis fossil site (rain of tektites)

• shocked quartz

• chicxulub impact crater

what would have happened after the kpg impact

• lots of suffocating dust

• it hit a limestone platform → release of co2

• deccan traps

  • lots of flood basaltic lava

  • also added onto co2 release

source of meteoroids

meteors, meteorites, bollides come from the asteroid belt

source of asteroids

rocky metallic larger asteroids come from the

1. kuiper belt - frozen , pluto

2. oort cloud - edge of solar system

shoemaker’s hypothesis

geological changes can arise from impacts

sepkoski hypothesis

extinction event every 25 myr

• nemesis

• plant 9 - beyond neptune that can shift oort cloud

• movement through galactic plane - denser areas= disruption of oort cloud

• coincidence

tunguska russia

happened in a forest, if it had happened anywhere else it wouldve levelled

comet shoemaker levy 9

jupiter gravity broke this asteroid apart but if it had hit earth it wouldve wiped life out to a microbial level

torino scale

communicates threats of impacts on a scale from 0-10

• risk assessment

spaceguard survey

asteroids larger than 1km are surveyed

• larger the more tracked

neo surveyor spacecraft

planned space based infrared telescope that will survey the solar system for hazardous asteroids

all impact mitigation requires

warning time and money

1 micromort

1: 1 million chance of death

micromort for dying in an impact : 1 in 3 million chance

what type of lightning strike is most common

intracloud happens 10 times more than cloud ground lightning; of cloud ground lightning, negative strikes happen much more from the cloud base

calculating lightning distance

divide time between lightning and thunder by 3

cumulonimbus

• thunderstorm

  • made up of cells that evolve over 15-30 minutes

stages of thunderstorm cell

cumulus → mature → dissipating

up draft → both → downdraft

no rain → heavy rain → light rain

no anvil → crisp anvil → fuzzy anvil

absorption of heat cycle

greatest accumulation of heat is near sunset at the end of each charging cycle

late afternoon and early evening → most likely time of day for thunderstorm formation

best season for hurricane development

fall and late summer

country that has most lightning worldwide

africa

province in canada that has the most lightning

alberta

state that thunderstorms frequent

florida

where is solar energy absorbed

the thermosophere (non visible light)

the stratosphere (uv by good ozone)

earth’s surface (direct heating)

surface heat budget

absorption of sensible and latent heat (evaporation that increases humidity) and sensible heat (temp +)

• amount that is reflected off

ALL IS KEY

environment and climate change canada ECCC

weather radars across canada that measure from outside a storm

• can see the up and down draft and mushroom cloud

dbz scale

radar echo intencity

• measured in decibals

• indicator for rainfall rate

extreme rainfalls can cause flashfloods

mesocyclone

thunderstorm that is large, single celled that cause the most violent tornadoes and hail + precipitation

low precipitation supercell

lots of hail

classic supercell

rainy downdraft, rain free updraft

high precipitation supercell

updraft rainy

gust fronts

• cold, horizontal wind that is related to downburts

on dry ground : haboob

in moist air : arc cloud

normal humidity in air

0-4% water vapour

78% nitrogen

21% oxygen

• trace gases

mixing ratio

amount of water vapour / all other gases

adiabatic cooling

warm air rises and as it expands it cools adiabatically, when water cools, it cannot hold water vapour as well and produces precipitation

when do storms strengthen

latent heat > sensible heat

what does condensation in storms do

releases latent heat back as sensible heat → making storms warmer

what do fujita scale and torro scale both measure

wind speed in tornados

what is the difference between the fujita scale and the torro scale

fujita is F0 to F5 2-3 = roof falling

Torro scale is T0 to T11 6 = roof off

tornado risk and outbreaks

tornado outbreaks happen every year in NA and 75% happen here in NA

air lightness has more to do with temperature than level of h20

saturated air is composed of water vapour which is lighter than nitrogen

lightest to heaviest:

warm and wet air

warm and dry

cold and wet

cold and dry

where does most weather occur

tropopause

• anvil also exists here

what do mammatus clouds do

underside of anvil

• no purpose, just pretty

acceleration

V new - V old all / time interval

forecast equation for the wind

Vnew = Vold + [(F/m) x time interval]

buoyancy

up down

warm = less dense= up

cold = more dense = down

• drives thunderstorms as latent heat = condensation, it warms tstorm air

pressure

force per area unit

F

pressure gradient force

left right

push of war

what kind of pressure is at the bottom of the core

low pressure, it sucks in air

atmospheric rivers

giant flowing streams of water vapour, warm tropical air hits mountain ranges and forces air to rise → cool → rainfall

what links both horizontal and vertical winds in circulation

continuity → air is spread relatively smoothly

when a buoyant parcel rises, it leaves a hole which needs to be filled up

height and diameter of hurricanes

15 km , 150-300km

what is at the eye of the hurricane

relatively clear, calm, low pressure setting that has a little bit of a downdraft

how is fuel created in hurricanes

low pressure in eye, boundary layer (bottom of atmosphere) flows in ward

• the closer in, the faster

• faster winds = large ocean waves

• IT IS EVAPORATION THAT ENHANCES MOISTURE

what is the main condition of hurricanes

• central pressure must be low to maintain the gradient

  • not enough warm humid air = weakening

what is an earthquake

sudden release of elastic energy, it is a brittle failure

how is energy released

seismic waves

displacement

heat and energy

where do earthquakes not occur

the crust

wegener

continental drift

• proposed that there is a centrifugal force (not necessarily correct)

hess

found spreading centers after examining topographic features

what are tectonic plates controlled by

force: gravity

composition, density, temperature

earth’s mantle

middle layer

high density rocks- peridotite

consists of asthenosphere- HOTTER, MORE EASILY DEFORMED

earth’s crust

0-100km deep

• low density silicate rocks

• consists of lithosphere, the most uppermost solid mantle

  • brittle, rigid, not close to melting

  • FLOATS ON MANTLE

density

mass/volume kg/m³

density of continental crust

2200 kg/m³- 3000 kg/m³

density of oceanic crust

3000 kg/m³

density of mantle

3300 kg/m³

density of core

9700 kg/m³

rheology

how a material deforms

brittle (perm)

elastic (reversible)

ductile (can be shaped or changed without breaking

normal faults

extension

divergent plate boundaries undergoing TENSIONAL STRESS

tensional stress

hanging wall down

reverse fault

compression / compressional stress

convergent plate boundaries

hanging wall up

strike slip fault

from shear stress

transform plate boundaries

faulting

continuous

• can only occur in lithosphere as it is brittle

divergent plate boundary

rift valley → creation of oceanic lithosphere

divergent plate boundary earthquakes

shallow: 5-10 km

max magnitude is 6

converging plate boundaries

2 plates move towards each other

ocean to ocean subduction

ocean to continent (cascadia)

continent to continent (mountains) mag 821

earthquakes in subduction zones

deepest (up to 700km)

biggest magnitude is 9.5 as lithosphere is cold and strong

where do earthquakes occur

all of crust and upper most of mantle (lithosphere) where everything is brittle

transform plate boundaries

no lithosphere destroyed or created

shear force→ strike slip faults

strength of plate boundaries and magnitude of earthquake

convergent is cool and strong, mag 9.5, 0-700 km deep

transform boundaries are inbetween, warm to cool, mag 8, 25< km depth

divergent boundaries are weak, warm, depth less than 10 km

seismograph

records earthquake magnitude

primary p wave

first to reach, compressional wave that can move through liquid and rock

S wave

Seismic wave that can only pass through solids

Mw moment magnitude

Quantitate measure - 1-8 energy released = strength of rock x area of fault X now much it moved - one unit = 10 times more shaking & 32 times more energy

Mercalli scale

Quantitate measure - 1-8 energy released = strength of rock x area of fault X now much it moved - one unit = 10 times more shaking & 32 times more energy