Today: Lecture Overview

Prelude: What is Geology? Nature of the scientific method - Class discussion Overview of Earth Systems

Origin of the Earth and Solar System

Nebular hypothesis

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Prelude:

And just what is Geology?

Solid Earth

Interior of the Earth is losing heat. Primary source of heat: Radioactive decay Heat loss drives convection, based on density differences
Hotter stuff is lighter and rises Cooler stuff is denser and sinks.

Prelude: Earths internal structure

3 distinct divisions: crust

Oceanic 0-6 km (young, < 180 m.y.) Continental 0-34 km (older, up to 3.8 b.y.)

mantle core

Upper 34-670 km Lower 670-2900 km

Outer (liquid) 2900-5160 km Inner (solid) 5160-6370 km

Prelude: Plate Tectonics

Earths dynamic interior and crust

Heat loss drives plate tectonics Three types of plate boundaries

Prelude: Earth Systems

Solid Earth Atmosphere

Hydrosphere
Cryosphere Biosphere

Atmosphere
Blanket of gases surrounding the Earth

Protection from Suns heat & UV rays

Weather: due to exchange of energy between Earths surface & atmosph. between atmosph. & outer space Strongly interacts w/ surface

Hydrosphere
Water portion of Earth Oceans (most prominent) 71% of surface of Earth Streams, lakes, glaciers, underground water Atmosphere

Cryosphere
Icy portion of Earths crust

Glaciers Permafrost and ground ice Polar ice caps Frozen polar seas

Water is the primary agent of crustal weathering

Biosphere
Earths Ecosystems

Earths biosphere occupies both the surface and subsurface to depths of a few kilometers Life occupies an extreme range of environments Life strongly interacts with the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the solid earth to affect their composition and long-term evolution (these interactions are called ecology!)

Earth: The Living Planet

Most of the biodiversity on our planet is microbial!

The Three Domains of Life

Boiling mudpot, Yellowstone

Some extremes of life

Fungi and Plants

Plants consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen via photosynthesis. Most of the 21% oxygen in our atmosphere derives from this process! Fungi and and plants form symbioses called Lichens and Mycorrhizae that alter rocks and produce soils. Lichens Mycorrhizae

Credit: INVAM

Credit: Sharnoff

Against a constant backdrop of gravity, the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere interact with the rocks of the Earths crust to break them down and transport them to depositional basins (e.g. the oceans) as sediment. The cycle is renewed as internal processes of plate tectonics create new crust and uplift it to form mountain ranges.

Earth is one of nine planets comprising the Solar System

Earth
How did the Solar System form?

Earth Formation
Planets thought to have formed:

At same time
From same material as the Sun

Nebular hypothesis Solar system formed from giant cloud of mostly hydrogen and helium, and a small percentage of heavier elements.

Nebular Hypothesis: States that the planets of our Solar System were formed by the accretion of materials from a cloud of gas and dust called a solar nebula. Collapse of the nebula under its own gravity formed a rotating disk around a dense, central core of material. This core eventually became hot enough to form the Sun.