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Geosci 021
Plate Tectonics, Nucleosynthesis, Rocks
75
Geology
Undergraduate 1
02/15/2010

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Cards

Term
Alfred Wegener
Definition
Presented evidence of continental drift and was NOT widely accepted
Term
Continental Drift
Definition
movement of continents with respect to one another
Term
Core Formation
Definition
earth was homogenous, eventually it differentiated into mantle, core, crust because the more dense material sank to the floor
Term
Physical Zones
Definition
Lithosphere and asthenosphere
Term
Oceanic Crust
Definition
in lithosphere, made up of basalt
Term
Continental Crust
Definition
in lithosphere, composed of granite
Term
Lithosphere
Definition
on top, rigid, skin of earth...Lithosphere floats on Asthenosphere like an iceberg on goo
Term
4 ways we know about the earths structure
Definition
composition of meteorites, density of earths materials, seismic waves, samples from earth interior
Term
Asthenosphere
Definition
like goo, not complete liquid, under the lithosphere
Term
Thermal Convection
Definition
driven by temperatures of bottom and top of the tank
Term
Earth's Magnetic Field
Definition
discovered through cold war when dragging sub magnets, liquid in core is convecting which is why the magnets exist
Term
Stripes under the sea
Definition
everytime magnets crystalize, they record the polarity at that time...so tripe pattern is the rocks recording polarity
Term
Seafloor spreading
Definition
drives continental drift...younger at site of spreading
Term
Plate Tectonics
Definition
boundaries between plates are sites of major geologic activity, such as volcanism, earthquakes, and mountain building
Term
Plate Tectonics
Definition
boundaries between plates are sites of major geologic activity, such as volcanism, earthquakes, and mountain building
Term
Epicenters
Definition
Origins of earthquakes
Term
3 types of plate actions
Definition
crashing, ripping, sliding
Term
Depositional Environment
Definition
an area that has different physical chemical and biological characteristics than adjacent area
Term
3 ways we figure out Pangea
Definition
fossils, sedimentary rocks, paleomagnetism
Term
Inclination
Definition
dip of the magnetic field into the earth revels the latitude at which an igneous rock cooeld
Term
paleogeography: fossils
Definition
lycopads dominated the coal swamps of the late paleozoic
Term
Paleogeography: sedimentary rocks
Definition
deposits in sedimentary sequence, tells us that the climate was warm, tropical
Term
How do we reconstruct paleogeography?
Definition
paleomagnetism, fossils, and sedimentary deposits
Term
Stellar nucleosynthesis
Definition
responsible for creation of carbon, iron by nuclear fusion...stars are nuclear furnaces in which H and He are fused into heavier nuclei
Term
Big Bang is responsible for
Definition
H, He, Li, Be... happened in first 3 minutes... formation of protons and neutrons
Term
Big Bang stopped because...
Definition
expansion and cooling, no elements heavier that lithium could be formed
Term
Presolar grains
Definition
-have chemical and isotopic signatures of the stars they came from
- high melting points
- show that our planet is made form debris of different supernovas
- formed in the atmosphere of giant stars of supernovas
Term
Hydrogen Burning
Definition
- occurs in our stars, and sun
- process catalyzed by small amount of Li and Be and CNO cycle
Term
Helium Burning
Definition
creation of carbon and oxygen
Term
Supernova
Definition
occurs at end of a stars lifetime, the core collapses if a star is particularly massive
Term
where did the elements and big bang come from?
Definition
supernovas
Term
Red Shift
Definition
tells galaxy's velocity, by recording light
Term
Nucleosynthesis
Definition
tells where all the "stuff" in the universe came from
Term
Catastrophism
Definition
global foods caused by supernatural forces formed most of the rocks on the earth's surface
Term
Carbon 14 dating
Definition
plants take up carbon 14 in their biomass and when they die is seals the jar and the carbon can be dated.
- dates day of DEATH, not birth
Term
Unstable Nucleus Decay
Definition
- loses protons and neutrons
-also loses other small decaying particles
Term
Parent Isotope
Definition
The isotope that is being decayed
Term
Daughter Isotope
Definition
The product of the decaying, the waste product of the parent isotope, formed from the decay
Term
Atoms and Isotopes charges
Definition
Protons are positive, neutrons are neutral, electrons are negative
- different protons = different element
Term
Greenhouse Effect
Definition
sun that gets to planet + how reflecty the planet is + how much the planet absorbs
Term
How did the core form?
Definition
core was mainly liquid from accretion and then over time differentiation separated the core, mantle, and crust.. heavier materials to bottom, core made of iron
Term
Why is the carbon cycle important?
Definition
If all of the carbon was tuck in one spot then everything would die, and CO2 in the atmosphere is necessary for greenhouse effect, and for temp to be maintained.
Term
Plate Boundaries
Definition
oceanic/oceanic (ridging) , oceanic/continental (subduction), continental/continental (mountain uplift)
Term
greenhouse as it affects the planets
Definition
smaller planets cool faster and also have less gravity due to smaller size and thus their atmospheres are weak and there is little greenhouse effect
Term
plates move because of
Definition
convection
Term
would carbon-14 dating be appropriate to date a lock of hair from the mayan ruins?
Definition
YES
Term
igneous rocks cool from
Definition
magma or lava flow
Term
All isotopes (are/aren't) radioactive
Definition
are not
Term
Isotopes are atoms that differ in their number of
Definition
Neutrons (they are neutral so they change and determine isotopic states)
Term
greenhouses (do/don't) absorb infrared radiation form the earth
Definition
DO
Term
Isotopes are atoms that differ in their number of
Definition
Neutrons (they are neutral so they change and determine isotopic states)
Term
Planet Order
Definition
My Very Simple Method Just Simply Uses Nine Plants
my very simple method just simply use nine planets
my very simple method just simply uses nine planets
Term
Unconformity
Definition
a surface between rock layers, due to erosion, important in correlation
Term
Accretion
Definition
colliding and sticking together
Term
Accretion
Definition
colliding and sticking together
Term
T-Tauri Star
Definition
Young star
Term
Protosun
Definition
collapsing and heating up and will one day be a star
Term
Accretion builds..
Definition
planetesimals from small bodies including ice and dust
Term
Solar Nebula
Definition
dense cloud of cosmic dust
Term
Solar Nebula Theory
Definition
interstellar gas cloud -> gravitational collapse -> solar nebula
Term
Lithified means
Definition
cemented
Term
Correlation gives relative
Definition
ages to rock layers observed in different locations
Term
3 types of geology information
Definition
lithostratigraphy- rock type
biostratigraphy- fossils
chemostratigraphy- rock chemistry
Term
Principle of uniformitarianism
Definition
the present is key to the past
Term
Principle of original Horizontality
Definition
all strata are more or less horizontal when they are deposited
Term
Principle of original lateral continuity
Definition
strata originally have continuous tubular shapes, eventually thinning to zero against the edge of the basin in which they form
Term
Principle of superposition
Definition
in undisturbed rocks, the oldest are on the bottom
Term
principle of intrusive relationship
Definition
the rock that intrudes is younger then the rock that it intrudes
Term
Principle of cross-cutting relationships
Definition
faults are younger than the structure that they transect
Term
metaphoric rocks
Definition
deformed and altered by changes in temperatures, pressure, and chemistry
Term
Sedimentary rocks
Definition
hardened, lithified rocks
rocks that landed in a basin and cemented together
lithified (cemented) sediments
Term
Atom (matter is made of)
Definition
neutron and proton
Term
two kinds of chemical bonds
Definition
ionic an covalent
Term
The rock cycle includes 3 types of rocks
Definition
igneous, sedimentary, and metaphoric
Term
igneous rocks
Definition
cooled lava flow, rocks which have cooled form a melt
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