Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
- geo = earth
- logos = discourse
- study/science of the Earth
- materials, processes, products
- history of the planet and its life forms since its origin
- study of the Earth and all other solid bodies in space
(astrology)
- its beginning is lost in antiquity
- modern geology was born in the 1788
- 1968 Unifying theory of Earth sciences (44 years old)
- Earth: 4.5 4.6 Billion years old
Major Branches
1. Historical
- history of the Earth and its life forms
- stratigraphy
- strata/strarum : layers/beds of rocks
- relationship, composition, fossil of rocks
- paleontology
- paleo=ancient
- history of life forms, ancient organisms
- micropaleontology
- the ff. are protists (one-celled):
- foraminifers
- skeleton: calcareous
(CaCO3 or calcium
carbonate)
- HCl
- radiolarians
- skeleton: siliceous
(SiO2)
- HF
- geochronology
- study of sequence/timing of events
2. Physical
- materials, processes and products
- crystals: Crystallography
- mineral: Mineralogy
- rocks: Petrology
- volcanoes: Volcanology
- land forms: Geomorphology
- structures: Structural Geology
- weather: Meteorology
- earthquake: Seismology
- Eclectic science
- ideas from other fields of science
- geology + physics = geophysics
- geology+ chemistry = geochemistry
- geology + biolody = paleontology
- powerful tool: geologic mapping
- color represents specific rocks with the same history
- topographic map: contour lines = equal elevation
- has demonstrated the immensity of time
- provided the background for organic evolution
- Charles Darwins theory of evolution
- boring and fascinating science (field-oriented)
Applications of Geology
1. Mitigation of natural disasters
- NDRMMC: gov. agency
2. Environmental impact assessment
- Foundation stability analysis
3. Preservation of natural resources
4. Utilization of water, energy, and other natural resources
3. Crust
Erastosthenes
- Greek mathematician, geographer, astronomer
- used geodesy
- applied math
- measurement of the Earth and other
large areas
- (distance between 2 points/angel
OBSERVATIONS:
1. Shadows at noon are shorter, shadows get shorter as the
time approaches noon, closer to the equator
2. A part of every well is in shadow during the summer solstice in
Alexandria, Egypt
3. However, there is no shadow in Syene at noon.
4. Alexandria is 925 km due North of Syene
ASSUMPTIONS:
1. The sun is so distant that its rays are virtually parallel.
2. A plabe passing through Syene and Alexandria at noon would
also pass through the center of the Earth
3. Plumb lines point directly to the center of the Earth
- plumb bob (for leveling)
4. The east and west walls of the well in Alexandria are NorthSouth planes.
5. The Earth is a sphere.
Polar circumference
= (distance from Syene to Alexandria)360/(angle of suns ray to
the vertical Alexandria)
= between 45,000 and 47,000 kms
- 14% bigger than actual: 40,008 kms
ERROR:
1. Syene is not in the North of Alexandria
2. Syene is not in the Tropic of Cancer
Earth
- oblate spheroid
- a degree latitude is bigger in Finland than in Peri
1976: International Union of Geogesy and Geophysics
Polar diameter
Equatorial diameter
Polar circumference
Equatorial circumference
12,713.54 kms
12,756.32 kms
40,008.00 kms
40,075.16 kms
ATMOSPHERE:
- gaseous envelope of the Earth
- 78% Nitrogen, 21% oxygen
HYDROSPHERE:
- constant motion
- Global Ocean
- most prominent feature of the
hydrosphere, 70.8% of the Earth
- Glacier
- glacial ice
- land: 29.2%
BIOSPHERE:
- narrow zone extending from the photic zone to
the snowline in tropical and subtropical
mountain ranges
- photic zone: sunlit surfaces 200-300 m
below surface
- snowline: 6000 m above sea level
- main factors: temperature, pressure, chemistry
LITOSPHERE
- biggest
- Continents
- triangular
- N hemisphere
- flat
a. Basement complex or shield
- deformed rocks eroded down to sea
level
- Canadian Shield
b. Stable platform
- basement complex is covered with
veneer of sedimentary rocks
- platform in Nashville, Tennessee
c. Folded mountain belts
- applachian mountains
- less dense rocks
-