EARTH SC-202 PHYSICAL GEOLOGY

GEOLOGY
• Geology – The scientific study of the earth.

• Physical Geology
• Physical Geology
A large division of geology concerned with
earth materials, changes of the surface and
interior of the earth, and the forces that cause
those changes.

 
WHY UNDERSTAND GEOLOGY?
• Helps us:

• Avoid Geologic Hazards

• Supplies Things We Need
• To Protect the Environment
• To Understand Our Surroundings

 
SYLLABUS
• Introduction to the course • Metamorphism and
• Minerals Deformation
• Igneous Rocks and Volcanoes
• Earthquakes and Earth's
• Weathering and Erosion Interior
• Evolution of Landscapes
• Continental Drift and Plate
• Sedimentary Rocks
Tectonics
• Evolution, Fossils, Geologic
Time • Resources from the Earth
• Glaciers • Geology of other Worlds
• Wind and Wave Erosion
GEOLOGY AND OTHER SCIENCES
Physics Chemistry Biology
•Geophysics •Mineralogy •Paleontology
•Seismology •Petrology •Paleo????ology
•Geochemistry

Astronomy Geology •Historical Geology

•Planetary Geology •Economic Geology •Geomorphology
•Helioseismology •Hydrology •Oceanography
•Engineering Geology •Structural Geology
•Volcanology
WHAT GEOLOGISTS DO:
• Locate Geologic Resources
• Geologic Hazard Mitigation
• Geological and Mining Engineering
• Site Study
• Land-Use Planning
• Environmental Protection
• Environmental Impact
• Ground Water and Waste Management
• Basic Research (Furnishes fundamental knowledge for
the applications)
SOME UNIQUE ASPECTS OF GEOLOGY
Importance of Relationships
• Sequential
• Spatial
Importance of Time
Distinctive Problems of Evidence
• Slow Rates
• Rare Events
• Destruction of Evidence
• Inaccessibility
SOME GEOLOGIC RATES
Cutting of Grand Canyon
• 2 km/3 m.y. = 1 cm/15 yr
Uplift of Alps
• 5 km/10 m.y. = 1 cm/20 yr.
Opening of Atlantic
• 5000 km/180 m.y. = 2.8 cm/yr.
Uplift of White Mtns. (N.H.) Granites
• 8 km/150 m.y. = 1 cm/190 yr.
SOME GEOLOGIC RATES
Movement of San Andreas Fault
• 5 cm/yr = 7 m/140 yr.
Growth of Mt. St. Helens
• 3 km/30,000 yr = 10 cm/yr.
Deposition of Niagara Dolomite
• 100 m/ 1 m.y.? = 1 cm/100 yr.
SOME UNIQUE ASPECTS OF GEOLOGY
(CONTINUED)

Reliance on Inference and Deduction

Intrinsically "Unsolvable" Problems
• Ancient Landscapes
• Mass Extinctions
• Ancient Ocean Basins
SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES IN GEOLOGY
• Parsimony (K.I.S.S.)
• Superposition
• Uniformitarianism

Using these, plus observation, we establish facts about

Earth Processes
PARSIMONY
• The simplest explanation that fits all the data is
preferred
• Doesn’t guarantee that things must be simple!
• Theories with lots of ad hoc or unsupported ideas are
probably wrong.
PARSIMONY: WHAT IS THE BEST
INTERPRETATION OF THIS WELL DATA?
PARSIMONY

• This?

• Or This?
 PARSIMONY

• Rock layers
throughout NE
Wisconsin are
nearly flat and little
disturbed
• Glacial deposits • Therefore this is the
are always on top most likely
of bedrock interpretation
ONE IMPLICATION OF PARSIMONY
How do we know the laws of nature are the same
everywhere?
• Out to the farthest stars, everything seems to obey the
same laws of nature
• We find nothing in the rocks to suggest the laws of
nature were different in the past
Either:
• The laws of nature change but just happen to produce
effects that look like the presently-known laws of
nature – or –
• The laws of nature really are the same everywhere
ANOTHER IMPLICATION OF PARSIMONY
• We live in a universe of patterns
• If someone claims there is an exception to
a known pattern, the simplest explanation
is that he/she is wrong
• Therefore the burden of proof in science is
on the challenger
SUPERPOSITION
Whodunit?
• Last night, one of Green Bay’s premier
beer can collections was stolen
• The only clue is footprints in the snow
• The thief was the last person to leave the
premises
THE SUSPECTS

• The Nephew Has a seeing-eye dog

• The Maid Drives a car
• The Cook Rides a motorcycle
• The Handyman Rides a bike
• The Butler Walks to work
 THE CRIME SCENE
• The
Nephew
has a
seeing-eye
dog
• The Maid
Drives a car
• The Cook
Rides a
motorcycle
• The
Handyman
Rides a bike
• The Butler
Walks to
work
CONTACTS
A CONTACT:
MINDORO CUT,
WISCONSIN
UNIFORMITARIANISM

Continuity of Cause and Effect

• Apply Cause and Effect to Future -
Prediction
• Apply Cause and Effect to Present -
Technology
• Apply Cause and Effect to Past -
Uniformitarianism
UNIFORMITARIANISM DOES NOT MEAN:

• Catastrophes never occur

• Physical Conditions on Earth never Change
• Earth has always been the same
• Physical processes always occur at the same
rate or intensity
• Laws of Physics have always been the same
UNIFORMITARIANISM DOES MEAN:
Using our knowledge of physical laws, we can test:
• Whether catastrophes have occurred
• Whether physical conditions on earth have changed,
and if so, how (ice ages, warm periods, high or low sea
level, etc.)
• Whether physical laws themselves have changed in
time, or elsewhere in the universe.