CHAPTER 2

THE EARCH AND ITS SYSTEMS

CEE 340 ENGINEERING GEOLOGY
FALL SEMESTER 2014
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Earth System
Plate Tectonics
Geologic Cycle
Geologic Time

The Earth and Its System
Solar System
Saturn
D
i
s
t
a
n
c
e

f
r
o
m

S
u
n

(
k
m
)

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Impacts from smaller bodies of accreting
matter in solar nebula, planetesimals
Compression of the newly condensed matter
Decay of radioactive elements



Heat Source
Swirling eddy of nebular materials
Accreting as a solid body
Differentiation of the earth
Planet stratified by density and temperature


Differentiation of the Earth
Internal Structure of the Earth
Core
Mantle
Crust
Core
Very dense
Metallic iron and small amount of nickel
Mantle
Thickest layer; 83% of earths volume
Magnesium-silicate, thickest layer
Primarily peridotite, igneous rock made of olivine
Crust
Thin Skin
Oceanic crust: Mostly basaltic rocks
Continental crust: Mostly silica-rich
igneous and sedimentary rocks
Earths Layers: Composition
Core
Inner core
Outer core
Mantle
Upper mantle
Asthenosphere
Lower
Crust
Oceanic crust
Continental crust
Internal Structure of the Earth
Upper Mantle
Solid
Asthenosphere
Upper part near melting
Lower part 3,500-4,000C, but solid from pressure
Behaves plastically, flows slowly
Partial melting generates magma (molten material)
Lower Mantle
Solid


Mantle



Crust and upper mantle
Solid outer layers of the Earth
Rock and soil

Lithosphere



Atmosphere
Ecosphere
Hydrosphere
Lithosphere

Earth System
Earth System
Plate Tectonics
Geologic Cycle
Geologic Time

The Earth and Its System
Could not provide
a convincing mechanism
to demonstrate
how the continents could
have moved.


Plate Tectonics Theory
Alfred Wegener
Continental Drift Hypothesis in 1912
Plate Tectonics Theory
Unifying Theory
Widely accepted.
Explains many geologic phenomena.
Volcanoes and earthquakes occur at the boundaries
between the plates.

Convective churning of mantle rock
Rising hotter rock cools near crust, and then sinks
Mantle Convection
Rigid Lithosphere is divided into PLATES.

Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics Theory
Plates move over the asthenosphere
as a result of convection cells underneath


As plates move over the asthenosphere,
they separate mostly at oceanic ridges and collide and
are subducted into Earths interior at oceanic trenches.
Plate Tectonics Theory
Plate Tectonics Theory
Divergent boundaries
Convergent boundaries
Transform boundaries
Plate Boundaries
Tension pulls plates apart.
Most divergent boundaries
occur along the crests of
oceanic ridges.
Volcanic eruptions at
divergent boundaries.
Divergent
Boundaries
Volcanic activity
Magma
Wide ocean
East African Rift Valley
Example of
Divergent Boundaries
Oceanic - Oceanic boundary boundaries
Oceanic - Continental boundaries
Continental - Continental boundaries
Convergent Boundaries
Oceanic Oceanic Boundaries
Two oceanic plates collide.
Larger ocean plate subducts beneath the margin of the
smaller ocean plate.
Island arcs of volcanic islands.
Volcanoes result from rising magma produced by the partial
melting of the subducting plate.
Oceanic Continental Boundaries
Oceanic plate and a continental plate collide.
Denser oceanic plate subducts under continental plate.
A chain of volcanoes forms on the nonsubducted plate.
Continental Continental Boundaries
Collision between the two continents.
No subduction.
Create large mountain range.
Transform Boundaries
Shear forces cause plates to slide horizontally
past each other.
Long linear faults.
San Andreas fault
Example of
Transform Boundaries
Location on Earths surface where a stationary column of magma,
originating deep within the earth has slowly risen to the surface
and formed a volcano.
Mantle plumes remain stationary within the mantle while plates
move over them.
Determine rate and direction of plate movement.
Hot Spots
Earth System
Plate Tectonics
Geologic Cycle
Geologic Time

The Earth and Its System
Solid aggregate of one or more minerals,
and non-crystalline matter such as
natural glass or organic material like coal.
Rock
Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic

Crystallization of magma as it cools or
Consolidation of volcanic eject.




Intrusive Igneous Rock
crystallizes beneath the earths
surface.
Extrusive Igneous Rock
crystallizes and cools at the
earths surface. At times it
cools so fast that it forms a
glass or ash.

Granite
Intrusive Igneous Rock
Basalt
Extrusive Igneous Rock
Igneous Rock
Deposited in layers formed from:
Rock/mineral fragments
Precipitation of minerals from solution
Compaction of plant and animal remains.

Limestone
Precipitation from seawater
Conglomerate
forms from river gravels
Sedimentary Rock
Form from alteration of other rocks by:
Heat
Pressure
Chemically active fluids


Quartzite Gneiss
Metamorphic Rock
Interactions between Earths internal and
external processes.
How three rock groups are interrelated.
Plate movement is the driving mechanism of
the rock cycle. Plate interaction determines,
to some extent, which of the three rock
groups will form.


Rock Cycle

Lithification
Crystallization
Melting
Weathering, Erosion
and Deposition
Weathering, Erosion
and Deposition
Heat, Pressure,
and fluid activity
Melting
Heat & Pressure,
and fluid activity
Earth System
Plate Tectonics
Geologic Cycle
Geologic Time

The Earth and Its System
Study of the dating and relationships of
geologic events
Relative Time: sequences of events
Absolute Time: actual ages for rocks
Geologic Time
Structural relations of rocks
Principle of Superposition by Nicolaus Steno (1638-1687)
Undeformed sedimentary rocks, top layer is youngest.

Relative Time
Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships
A fault is younger than the youngest rocks it cuts.

Relative Time
Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships
A fault is younger than the youngest rocks it cuts.

Relative Time
Application of Radioactivity
Radioactive element decays and releases atoms;
can stay same element or become a new element.
Half-life: Different compounds have different half-
lives and can be used for different age ranges.
Absolute Time
Radioactive Isotopes used for Geological Age Dating.
Absolute Time