General Geology - GEOL 1113Section 005

• Instructor: Dr. Glen S. Mattioli, Professor

• Office: Ozark Hall 27B• Office Hours: MW 10:30-12:00 & TR 11:00-12:00• Office Phone: 575-7295

• Class Web Page – http://comp.uark.edu/~mattioli/geol_1113.html

• Email: mattioli@uark.edu

2009 Exams, Syllabus, and Grading

Class Purpose: To introduce undergraduate students to physical geology, Earth’s internal structure and materials, and Geologic Time. Emphasis will be on developing close connections between Earth materials and processes within a Plate Tectonic framework.

Three Partial Examinations and Comprehensive Final

Part I - Rocks and Minerals: Thurs. Sept. 24th

Part II - Geologic Time and Surface Processes: Thurs. Oct. 22nd

Part III - Deformation, Earthquakes, & Earth Structure: Tues. Nov. 24th

Part IV - The Big Picture: Tectonics & Orogenesis: Final Only

FINAL - Monday, December 14th, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Some Expected Learning Outcomes

• An understanding of geologic time and dating methods.• Development of skills to recognize major rock types, their constituent minerals, and their origin.• An appreciation of how the Scientific Method relates to the development of the Theory of Plate Tectonics.• An introduction to the origin and distribution of natural resources.• An understanding of three-dimensional analysis of Earth structures (big and small), and the stresses that produce them along with how major landforms relate to geological processes.• An appreciation of origin of major geologic hazards and their impacts.

Grades and GradingApproximate Cutoffs for Letter Grades

>85% A71-85%B61-70%C50-60%D <50% F

Physical Geology, 12th ed.Charles C. Plummer

California State University at Sacramento

Diane H. CarlsonCalifornia State University at Sacramento

The Late David McGearyEmeritus of California State University at Sacramento

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Required Text

NB that any edition of Plummer et al. from 10-12 will be OK

Chapter 1

Introduction toPhysical Geology

Why Study Geology?• Mitigating Geologic Hazards

– Earthquakes– Volcanoes

• Supplying Things We Need– Metals– Minerals– Petroleum

• Protecting the Environment– Water cycle– Global Change: Warming and Sea level rise

• Understanding Our Surroundings– The Earth’s relationship to other planets– Geological Time

Los Angeles Basin

Recent Southern California Earthquakes

Northridge (94) San Fernando (71) Sierra Madre (91)

Whitter Narrorws (87) Long Beach (33)From: http://www.scecdc.scec.org/labasin.html

TIME: January 17, 1994

4:30:55 am PST

LOCATION: 34° 12.80' N, 118° 32.22'W;

20 miles west-northwest of Los Angeles1 mile south-southwest of Northridge

MAGNITUDE: MW 6.7

TYPE OF FAULTING: blind thrust

FAULT INVOLVED: Northridge Thrust (also known as the Pico Thrust)

DEPTH: 18.4 km

Northridge Earthquake Facts

Northridge CA earthquakeJan. 17, 1994,

Northridge Earthquake

Northridge Aftershocks

Original AVS animation by Ian Sammis and Damien Sullivan.

Northridge Rupture Model

Wald, David J., Heaton, Thomas H., and Hudnut, K.W. The Slip History of the 1994 Northridge, California, Earthquake Determined From Strong-Motion, Teleseismic,GPS, and Leveling Data, Special Northridge Earthquake Issue of the Bull. of the Seismo. Soc. of America

Convergent Margin Magma Genesis

Eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, June 15, 1991

Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat Dome collapse pyroclastic flows

Photo credit: D. Williams

Plymouth, Montserrat - Destroyed by pyroclastic flows in 1996/7

Photo credit: G. Mattioli

Automobiles - Always Thirsty for Gas!

Source: http://www.wtrg.com/oil_graphs/oilprice1947.gif

Alaska Pipeline

University of Arkansas

Geoscience Graduates vs Oil Price1938 - 2005

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1938194019421944194619481950195219541956195819601962196419661968197019721974197619781980198219841986198819901992199419961998200020022004

Number of "First Degree" Geoscience Graduates per Year

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World Oil Price Annual Average in 2004 US Dollars

Note: Oil Prices from WTRG Economics (www.wtrg.com) and Graduate numbers from University of Arkansas

Understanding our Environment

• Global change through time• Stable Oxygen Isotope record – Earth’s climate has varied considerably over geological time

• Sea Level Rise• Related to retreat of the last continental glaciers\ The Ice Age – new warmer climate makes the Earth more hospitable for humans• Atmospheric temperature rise now also contributing to additional rise in sea level – how will this impact coastal cities?

Stable Oxygen Isotopes18O‰ = [(Rsample - Rstandard)/Rstandard] x 1000

Sea Level Changes

An Overview of Physical Geology—Important Concepts

• Internal Processes: How the Earth’s Internal Heat Engine Works  

• The Earth’s Interior

• The Theory of Plate Tectonics

• Surface Processes: The Earth’s External Heat Engine - the Sun

Some Heat Transfer Mechanisms

• Conduction - requires direct physical contact - slow; generally associated with solids

• Convection - temperature gradient causes a density gradient and results in flow - faster; generally associated with fluids (liquids and gases)

• Advection - transfer of heat and mass - fluid flow through cracks; can be fast

• Radiation - Direct heating via EM waves without any requirement of mass along path - fastest

Convection Examples

Rayleigh-Benard Convection

Earth Structure

Convection in the Mantle

convection in the mantle

models

observed heat flowwarm: near ridgescold: over cratons

from: http://www.geo.lsa.umich.edu/~crlb/COURSES/270

from: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~vdpluijm/gs205.html

From: "Dynamic models of Tectonic Plates and Convection" (1994) by S. Zhong and M. Gurnis

Earth’s Plates

obvious from space that Earth has two fundamentally differentphysiographic features: oceans (71%) and continents (29%)

global topography

from: http://www.personal.umich.edu/~vdpluijm/gs205.html

crust

Convergent Margins and Magma Genesis

MORB Genesis

Submarine Pillow Basalt Formation

Ocean Crust Age-Depth Relations

Simplified Geologic Time Scale