Geology 101

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Instructor:

Prof. Jack D. Farmer [email protected] PSF-550 965 6748 Office hours: MWF 3 pm-4 pm

TA:

Aurora Hinckley (480) 965-5175 email: [email protected]

Office & hours: Please announce in class

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Website:

http://geology.asu.edu/jfarmer/ g_stu_1.html

1

Today: Course Overview

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Why are we here?

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A few ground rules…

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Stuff about me.

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Tools for succeeding in Geology 101.

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Course exams & grading.

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Overarching goals for this course.

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Prelude: What is Geology?

http://

geology

.asu.edu/jfarmer/g_stu_1.html

Note: NO “www”!!!

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Read the textbook

- Cover-to-cover, see Syllabus on Web page for weekly assignments 

Attend lectures

- Hear topical overviews & ask questions - Do in-class assignments & turn in & pick up HW - Exams, quizzes & extra credit opportunities 

In-class quizzes

- ~ Seven quizzes, each given after we complete a major - Will be announced the class before 

In-class exercises and homework assignments

- Exercises weekly & homework every other week

Required by all students:

While in lecture, please DO NOT :

 Forget to turn off cell phones  Read and rustle newspapers  Talk and have conversations  Sleep uncontrollably, endangering yourself and others  Break ASU rules/laws (e.g. Don’t cheat, smoke, chew tobacco, spit., etc.)

Required by all students:

While in the lecture, please DO

:

 Ask questions when anything is not clear  Engage in the discussions  Fully participate in in-class exercises  Geology is great! Have fun with it!

Top Five Reasons:

 You absolutely LOVE geology  You need a science credit to graduate & think geology is easier than physics &/or need it NOW to graduate (We feel your pain)  Just curious, it seemed like it might be cool  There was an ASU registrar computer glitch (Again, we feel your pain)  You have absolutely no idea

  I’m an ASU Professor in the Dept. of Geological Sciences and a geobiologist by training and inclination. I teach 2-3 classes/year & conduct research in geobiology, with applications to planetary exploration.

I am Director of ASU’s Astrobiology Program  field work.

  I love interacting with students and thrive on I am actively involved with exploring the planet Mars and am a member of quite a few NASA advisory committees as well as the Mars Exploration Rover team, a mission that will launch to Mars this June.

I teach GLG101 every 3-4 years, and in between, other courses having to do with geobiology, sedimentary processes and Astrobiology.

Ah! Mars….

Geology 101 Learning Tools:

1. Book

- Earth: Portrait of a Planet-Stephen Marshak - An excellent, up to date review of field - Nicely-illustrated with good study aids

2. How to study

Read the chapters before lectures - Review class presentations afterwards: - Course website: http:// - Ask questions in class - Check for terms in glossary given at end of text - Science Toolbox sections develop specific concepts - Interlude sections introduce larger topics - Study guide Use the book’s

Website

to: Reinforce concepts - Check knowledge by taking sample quizzes - See Geology in the news Use the Portrait of a Planet

CDROM

Useful visualization tools

Geology 101 Learning Tools:

3. Meet with your Instructor and TA!

- During office hours - Or, make an appointment (see class handout for times and places) - Use email!

4. Connect to Geology on a personal level and try to apply what you are learning.

- Think about how the concepts you are learning apply in your everyday life as you walk around on planet Earth!

PRELUDE: What is Geology?

“CONTEXT” SECTION 1. Cosmology & Birth of the Earth 2. Journey to the Center of the Earth 3. Drifting continents and spreading seas 4. The way the Earth works: Plate tectonics 5. Patterns in nature: Minerals “EARTH MATERIALS” SECTION INTERLUDE A: Rock groups 6. Up from the inferno: Magma and igneous rocks 7. A surface veneer: Sedimentary rocks 8. Change in the solid state: Metamorphic rocks INTERLUDE B: The rock cycle Midterm I (February 28)

“INTERNAL PROCESSES” SECTION 9. The wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic eruptions 10. The violent pulse: Earthquakes INTERLUDE C: Seeing inside the Earth 11. Cracks, crags and crumples: Crustal deformation and mountain building INTERLUDE D: Memories of past life: Fossils and Evolution 12. Deep time: How old is old?

13. A biography of the Earth 14. Squeezing power from a stone: Energy Resources 15. Riches in rocks: Mineral resources Midterm 2 (April 7)

“EXTERNAL PROCESSES” SECTION INTERLUDE E: Ever changing landscapes and the hydrologic cycle 16. Unsafe ground: Landslides and other mass movements 17. Streams and floods: The geology od running water 18. Restless realm: Oceans and coasts 19. Hidden reserve: Groundwater 20. An envelope of gas: Earth’s atmosphere and climate 21. Dry regions: The deserts of the world 22. Amazing ice: Glaciers and ice ages 23. Global change in the Earth system Final Exam (May 14, 2:40PM -4:30 PM)

Geology 101 Exams:

1.

There will be three Exams.

-In class, 1-hour, 100 points each -One for each major section of course -See web page for more information

2.

Review outline

Will be handed out before exams -Will provide a list of topics that will be covered

3.

Final Exam

-Covers last section of course, but all exams may call on basic concepts presented earlier.

4.

In class quizzes

- Multiple choice, matching - 10-15 minutes, 10-15 points

MAKE-UP EXAMS

 There are none! Exceptions include a health problem or ASU sanctioned event, which will require written confirmation from your doctor or a presiding ASU official. Make-ups under these exceptions will be 1-hour oral exams.

TERM PAPER OPTION

 You can substitute a 12-page term paper for one of the exams, provided it is on a topic drawn from the content for that part of the course. This must be arranged ahead of time and the topic must be approved by the instructor. The term paper will be due the day of the exam for which it is being substituted. You will still be responsible for any major topical areas that are covered from that part of the course on subsequent exams.

Extra credit opportunities

4 ways to pick up extra credit points (see web page for details)

1. Optional field trip to Papago Park

Two dates: (1) Tuesday, April 15 & (2) Thursday, April 24

2. Geology in the news

Email me a short blurb drawn from geology in the news during the week presented. Be prepared to stand up and give a 2-3 minute summary to the class.

3. Geology songs/poems

Write a rap/poem/song that conveys geologic concepts for that part of course

4. In-class demos

Devise a practical in-class demo for a specific topic

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ASU Course catalog says:

GLG 101 Introduction to Geology I (Physical).

Basic principles of

geology

, geo

chemistry

, and geo

physics

. Rocks, minerals, weathering, earthquakes, mountain building, volcanoes, water, and glaciers.

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But also, we have these goals:

 To develop critical thinking skills & a basic understanding of how the science works  Become familiar with some of the observational methods, reasoning processes and analytical tools used by geologists to understand the Earth and its history  Learn the basic scientific concepts and principles essentially the current paradigm for how the Earth and its systems interact to produce what we see.

You will be learning a new language!

 Geology is a broad, interdisciplinary science with a rich vocabulary. The terminology we will use throughout this course will require that you learn a new language.  We will all work together to find ways to become familiar with this vocabulary and the ideas it is designed to convey. But more is needed than simply memorizing terms. You also need to develop an understanding of the conceptual framework that the terminology is a part of, and how the words and concepts relate to each other.

Application of this new knowledge:

 Enrich your understanding of the planet we depend upon for our survival.

 Broaden your perspective of the relationship between humans & their environment.

 Become as more responsible citizen and make smart investments in your future, and the future of your children.

 Maybe you will decide to become one of the true, the proud and the brave and go on to major in geology!

Lecture style designed to address the fact that different people learn differently:  Seeing/visual learning  Reading the written word  Hearing about it  Engaging through personal inquiry and discovery  Connecting what we learn in the classroom to what is out there!

What methods will we need to succeed in geology?

 An innate curiosity and willingness to ask questions  Good observational skills to recognize basic patterns and spatial relationships  A systematic approach to documenting, analyzing, and predicting observations  An ability to visualize in 3-dimensional space, while integrating the 4th dimension, time.

 Willingness to learn and apply basic scientific principles from other sciences (physics, chemistry, math)

Time…

Geology deals with have complex historical systems that evolved and changed over time.

Time is thus a fundamental variable in geology.

Coupled processes , operating over time produce all that we see.

A Prelude:

And just what is Geology?

Geology: The study of the Earth and its systems You are here!

Prelude: Box P-1 Science Toolbox Text pages 9-10

Nature of scientific inquiry Basic Concepts:

 Scientific method  Observation    Hypothesis Test Scientific “certainty”  Paradigms and the nature of scientific revolutions  Theory

Nature of scientific inquiry

Science is based on:

assumption that the natural world behaves in a

consistent

&

predictable

manner

Goals of science:

understand underlying

patterns

in nature (from careful observations/measurements ) form

hypotheses

that lead to

predictions

Nature of scientific inquiry

Scientific method

gathering information through careful

observation

to formulate

hypotheses

and

theories

note: involves

insight

and

creativity

from conditioned accepted views to break free

Nature of scientific inquiry

Four basic steps: 1) collect the facts

(observation/measurement)

2) develop hypothesis

(one or more)

3) test hypothesis 4) accept/modify/reject

Nature of scientific inquiry

Process begins with Observation!

Formulation of Hypotheses:

Construction of a tentative (untested) explanation for something observed Value of multiple working hypotheses

Testing hypotheses

Evaluate explanatory power. Certainty in science and the nature of scientific proof Science has been described as the orderly accumulation of rejected hypotheses.

Nature of scientific inquiry

Theory

- well-tested/widely accepted hypothesis that “acceptably” predicts observed facts. - also: explains additional observations not used originally to form theory - predictive power - still testable and subject to disproof!

Geology: The study of the Earth and its systems You are here!

Prelude: Earth Systems  Atmosphere  Hydrosphere  Cryosphere  Solid Earth  Biosphere

Atmosphere

Blanket of gases surrounding the Earth  Protection from Sun’s heat & UV rays  Weather: due to exchange of energy between Earth’s 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 Earth’s crust  Glaciers  Permafrost and ground ice  Polar ice caps  Frozen polar seas

Biosphere

Earth’s Ecosystems  Earth’s 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 (these interactions are called ecology!)

Prelude: Earth’s 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

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: Plate Tectonics

Earth’s dynamic interior and crust

 Heat loss drives plate tectonics  Three types of plate boundaries