APES GEOLOGY

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What makes the Earth dynamic? (geology and earth's resources)

• A constantly changing layered sphere 

Solid part: 

Core

• 2 layers of dense, intensely hot metal, mostly iron. Generates magnetic fields around the earth. 

Mantle

• Hot, pliable layer surrounding the core. Less dense than core.

Crust

• Cool, lightweight, thin brittle outermost layer. Floats on top of the mantle. 

Tectonic Mosaic

• Crust is a  patchwork of sliding tectonic plates floating on the magma convection currents of the mantle below it. 

• Constant circulation of molecules (cool and warm molecules) moving by the heat. 

• Being heated through the core and rising causing the plates to move. Plates colliding works by the more dense one are pushed below. 

Earth's constructive and destructive processes 

Mineral

• Naturally occurring, inorganic, solid element or compound with a definite chemical composition and regular i

Rocks

• Solid, cohesive, aggregate of one or more minerals 

Anything can be a rock but not everything can be a mineral. 

The Rock Cycle

• Cycle of creation, destruction, and metamorphosis (change) of earth's crust. 

Types of Rocks

Igneous rock: Most common type of rock

• Solidified from magma.

• Fine grained + quick cooled 

• Coarse Grained + slow cooled 

Metamorphic Rock

• Preexisting rocks are modified by heat, pressure, and chemical agents.

Sedimentary Rock

• Formed by erosion/weathering. (mechanical or chemical)

• Deposited materials that remain 
  

Many rocks/minerals have economic importance 

• Precious metals have economic value to us (gold, gems, coal, sand, limestone), therefore changing the landscape. 

Environmental Impacts of Extraction And Processing 

Mining

• Disturbed habitat

• Ex. Placer, underground (coal mining), open pit/strip, mt. top removal

• Processing methods (smelting, heap-leaching)

Geologic Hazards

• Earthquakes: Sudden movements of earth's crust that occur along faults where one rock mass slides past another

• Tsunami: As series of waves causes by an earthquakes, or some other abrupt disturbance

• Volcanoes: Undersea magma vents. 

• Mudslides

• Monsoons 

• Floods 

• Meteorite strikes