Geology 103 Midterm

Geology 102 with Blackwell at University of Oregon

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By: Jessica Frankel
Created: 2011-04-17
Size: 100 flashcards
Views: 56

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Catastrophism

-changes on earth (rocks, fossils, landscapes) resulted from forces operated in ways that cannot be observed today.

-theory explains rock records as a result of sudden, short-lived and violent global events. Ex. formation of the moon, dinosaur extinction

James Hutton

-founder of modern geology

-believed that rocks are formed by processes currently operating at/near earths surface

-published Theory of the Earth which established 1st founding principle of geology: uniformatarianism

Uniformatarianism

-present day events are key to the past

-there are inviolable laws of nature that have not changed in the course of time ex: water flows from high to low

Charles Lyell

-convinced that the natural processes of the past are the same as those seen today

-published Principle of Geology; geological remains can and should be explained by reference to geological processes in operation and thus directly observable.

Actualism

the application of modern processes to explain the formation of ancient rock, in accordance to the principle of uniformatarianism. Ex. modern ripples ---> ancient sandstone

Walter Alvarez

-discovered iridium anamoly (rare, concentrated in meteorites) in Italy

-believes an asteroid 10km in diameter struck Earth and killed dinosaurs

Nature and Origin of Igneous

Melting ---> cooling

Nature and Origin of Metamorphic

pressure, temperature

Nature and Origin of Sedimentary

weathering, erosion--->sediment--->sedimentary rock

Fossils

-remains or signs of ancient organisms

-found in sedimentary rocks or sediments

Sediments

material deposited by water, ice or air

Gravel

conglomerate <2mm

Sand

sandstone 2-1/16 mm (sedimentary, pre-existing rock)

Silt

siltstone 1/16-1/512 mm

Clay

claystone, shale >1/512 mm (sedimentary, pre-existing rock)

Limestone

formed from skeletal remains

Evaporates

formed from chemical precipitates

Stratum/Bed

tabular layer of sediment accumulated in discrete episodes

Nicholaus Steno

proposed 3 principles to account for the accumulation of sedimentary rock layers

-principle of superposition, principle of original horizontality, principle of original lateral continuity

Principle of Superposition

oldest strata are at bottom in an undisturbed sequence of strata

Principle of Original Horizontality

all strata are horizontal when they form

Principal of Original Lateral Continuity

strata were originally unbroken flat expanses, interrupted by erosion

Geological Time Scale

-absolute age:numerical value

-Earth is 4.6 billion years old

-division of Earths 4.6 billion years history is divided into different time units: eon, era, period, epoch

William Smith

-father of English geology

-known as "Strata Smith"

-fossil occurrence is not random but in particular vertical order

-a definite sequence of strata can be correlated between different locations

Fossil Succession

-gives relative age

-gives temporal relationship between rock strata

Eons

Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, Phanerozoic

Phanerozoic (eon)

interval of well displayed life/conspicuous fossils

Paleozoic (era)

interval of old life 545 mya

Mesozoic (era)

interval of middle life 250 mya

Cenozoic (era)

interval of modern life 65 mya

Remains

hard parts and soft parts of ancient organisms, perminilization

Signs

molds, impressions, trace fossils

Hard Parts

most commonly preserved feature of a fossil ex. teeth and bones

-invertebrate w/ internal skeletons embedded in soft tissue like a crinoid (marine animal)

-external skeletons

Soft Parts

-rarely preserved

-when preserved, they require oxygen free environment, and buried in fine-grained impermeable sediments

Perminilization

-produces petrified woods like wood tissues and leaves

-pores of plant materials are filled with minerals like calcite, iron, and chert

-after plant dies, individual cells degrade, and only cell walls are left

Molds

fossil skeleton dissolves and there is a 3-D negative imprint

Impressions

squashed molds, 2-d impression of outlines and surface features

Carbonization

concentrated residue of remaining carbon

Trace Fossils

records of movements, provides behavioral information about extinct animals

-tracks, trails, burrows, marks

-not all fossils are exposed at surface

Conodants

-cone-teeth, originally thought to be teeth of a marine animal

-later determined to be an eel-like fish, vertebrate

Organism 3 Domains

plants, fungi, animals

Prokaryotes

-include Archaea, and Bacteria

-all are unicellular and some protista are too

Eukaryotes

-include everything but Archaea and Bacteria-plants, animals, etc.

Eukora 4 Kingdoms

Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Animalia

-can be grouped into producer and consumer

-plantae=producer

fungi, protista, animalia=consumer

Taxonomy

classification of organisms

Kingdom

largest taxon

Species

smallest taxon

-can produce fertile offspring

Phylogeny

evolutionary relationship between organisms

-tree of life

Structure of Tree

-each leaf represents a species

-species cluster with those of similar traits into genus, family, order, class and phylum

Clade

-cluster of species that share a common ancestry

*all species within each taxon must be traceable to a common ancestor

Cladogram

-a diagram representing phylogenetic relationship of taxa based on derived traits, which make a branching point

-primitive traits: appear only in evolutionary history

-derived traits: evolved later in evolution and present in only some subgroups

Disadvantages of Cladogram

- only describes the relative phylogenetic relationship of taxa

-all organisms appear on top of branches

-there is no complete information of phylogeny i.e. who evolved from whom

2 Kingdoms of Prokaryote Bacteria

archaebacteria and eubacteria-similar morphology (spheres, rods, and spirals)

Archaebacteria

-tolerate hostile environment very low/high temperatures like Hot Springs and Antarctica

-extreme pH conditions

Cyanobacteria

- photosynthetic bacteria, spherical, thread-like, can form mats or scum

Protista

diverse eukaryotes that are not plants, animals or fungi

-simple organization, can be multicellular and unicellular without highly specialized tissues

Algae

capable of photosynthesis, originated in mesozoic era

Unicellular Algae

-dinoflagellates, diatoms, nanoplankton

Dinoflagellates

-type of unicellular algae

-two flagella for locomotion and drift

-often fossilized as cysts

Diatoms

-type of unicellular algae

-two part skeleton of opal, freshwater and marine

-accumulations can produce chert

Nanoplankton

-type of unicellular algae

-small spherical cells with overlapping plates of calcium carbonate

-mostly marine plankton that can produce chalk

Multicellular Algae

-much drift, some attach to sea floor

-some secrete calcite carbonate, skeletons produce limestone

Protozoans

-prostists that are decomposers

-amoebas: change shape

-flagellates: for locomotion

cilia: for locomotion

Amoebas w/ Skeletons

Foraminifera, Radiolarians

Foraminifera

- amoeba w/ skeleton

-chambered skeleton of calcite carbonate, very abundant in ocean or on ocean floor

Radiolarians

-amoeba w/ skeleton

-skeleton made out of opal

Fungi

-kingdom of decomposers

-obtain nutrients from dead organisms i.e. yeast, mushrooms

-poor fossil record, no skeleton

Biogeography

-studies distribution and abundance of organisms on a broad geographic scale

Limiting Factors of Biogeography

-temperature is greatest limiting factor

-diversity increases towards equator and barriers can affect dispersal

Fossil Plants

-reflect ancient climate conditions

-sensitive indicators of climate change

-distribution allows reconstruction of climate patters

Tropics Climate

smooth, waxy leaf margins

Temperate Climate

jagged leaf margins

Pelagic Sediments

-oceanic sediments, fine-grain, accumulate slowly by settling through the water column

three types:

-clay (to form shale)

-calcareous ooze (to form chalk)

-siliceous ooze (to form chert)

Deep Sea Clay

-most abundant sediment on sea floor (50-70% of total sediments)

-carried by wind, water and ice

-accumulated slowly and consolidated to shale

Siliceous Ooze

-accumulation of single-celled planktonic siliceous protists

-diatoms (A, unicellular algae) and radiolarians (P, amoeba's w/skeletons)-composed of opal

-consolidated to form chert (fine-grained sedimentary rock)

Calcareous Ooze

-accumulations of single-celled planktonic calcareous organisms

-forminifera(P) and calcareous nannoplankton(A)-composed of calcium carbonate

-consolidated to form chalk

Origin of Petroleum

1) sunlight supports the growth of organisms

2) dead organisms and organic matter settle down on the ocean floor

3) as sediments accumulate, organic matter is buried into the depth

4) at depth, where temperature is high, large organic molecules break into small pieces

5) molecules with >5 carbon atoms are liquids, crude oil.

6) After crude oil is formed, it migrates upwards.

7) When the oil is trapped underground, an oil field is formed.

Early Petroleum Industry

- Native Americans gathered oil from seeps and springs along Oil Creek, PA since the 1400's.

- It was skimmed from the surface of the water with wooden paddles or soaked with blankets.

Edwin Drake "Crazy Drake"

-started oil industry

-Hired by Seneca to explore oil in Titusville, PA. Drilled nearly 70 ft down.

-Acquired his name by extending credit to the poor and misguiding new friends and his own family.

Hubbert Peak Oil Theory

At any given geographical area, from an individual oil field to the planet as a whole, annual petroleum production follows a bell-shaped curve.

x=time y=annual oil production

Origin of Coal

-plant debris accumulated in swamps and blogs

-sand and clay then cover the plant debris

-then the plant debris transform under temperature and pressure into peat

Lignite

-type of coal

-soft and brown in color

-made of compressed, dehydrated woody material

-carbon content 20-35% by mass

Sub-bituminous

-type of coal

-dull black in color

-carbon content 35-45%

-relatively low in sulfur content

Bituminous

-type of coal

-soft, dark, and dense

-carbon content 45-80%

-most common type of coal in the U.S.

Anthracite

-type of coal

-burns very cleanly, smokeless coal

-formed after coal deposits are exposed to abnormally high temperatures

-highest carbon content 80-96%

Soil

loose sediment containing organic matter and accumulated in contact with atmosphere

-depends on climactic conditions

Top Soil

-upper zone of many soils

-sand and clay mixed with humus

Humus

-organic matter that gives topsoil its dark color

-derived from decay of plant debris by bacteria

Caliche

-type of soil

-warm and dry climate

-calcium carbonate produced by evaporation of groundwater

Laterite

-type of soil

-moist, tropical climates

-iron oxide rich soil produced in moist tropical regions

Stratigraphy

study of stratified rocks, especially their geometric relations, compositions, origins and age relations

Stratigraphic Units

strata or groups of adjacent strata that are distinguished by physical, chemical or paleontological properties

-based on fossil occurrences

Guide Fossil

-abundant enough in rocks to be found easily

-geographically widespread and thus can be used to correlate rocks over a large area

-occurs in many kinds of sedimentary rocks and therefore can be found in many places

-easily distinguished from other taxa

-has a narrow stratigraphic range, which allows for precise correlation if its mere presence is used to define a zone

Radioactive Decay

-provides absolute ages of rocks

-discovered by Becquerel

-uranium undergoes spontaneous decay

-atoms release subatomic particles and energy

-changes to another element

-decays at a constant geometric rate

Isotopes

-distinctive atomic weights of same element

Atomic Number

-number of protons, unique to element

Atomic Weights

-mass of protons and neutrons

Radioisotope

An unstable isotope of an element that decays or disintegrates spontaneously, emitting radiation of particles and photons.

Problems with Radiometric Dating

-the best candidates for most radiometric dating are minerals in igneous rock, not very useful for strata

-minerals with strata only provide maximum age

-there can be errors in age estimate

Marker Bed

-allow correlation over wide area

-bed of sediment

-same age throughout (ash fall)

-bishop tuff

About this deck

By: Jessica Frankel
Created: 2011-04-17
Size: 100 flashcards
Views: 56

About StudyBlue

“I have been getting MUCH better grades on all my tests for school. Flash cards, notes, and quizzes are great on here. Thanks!”
Kathy