Intro

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The Solar System consists of:

PLANETS
A planet is a large, round heavenly body
that orbits a star and shines with light
reflected from the star. We know of nine
planets that orbit the sun in our solar
system. Since 1992, astronomers have
also discovered many planets orbiting
other stars.

What are the nine planets?

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto

VENUS
Venus is the sixth largest planet in the
solar system and the second in
distance from the sun. Venus is the
brightest planet in the solar system
and the one that comes closest to the
earth.

Introduction to Geology
Geology literally means "study of the Earth."

Physical geology: examines the materials composing earth and

processes of the Earth.
Historical geology: examines the origin and evolution of our planet
through time.

Historical Notes About Geology

Greek Philosopher Aristotle-wrote about
fossils, gems, earthquakes and volcanoes
Explanation about natural world were not
derived from keen observations and
experiments
He believed that rock were created under
the influence of the stars and that
earthquakes occurred when air in the
ground was heated
Fossil fish-many fishes live in earth as
motionless and are found when excavation
are made

In
mid
1600s-James
UssherArchbishop
Earth was only few thousand years old
Widespread acceptance in Europe

Catastrophism
During 17th & 18th centaury doctrine of
Catastrophism
Subsequent workers then developed the notion of
catastrophism, which held that the Earths
landforms were formed over very short periods of
time.
Mountains and canyons are formed by sudden and
often worldwide natural disaster
Reason is unknown

!
O
M
M
A
L

Although catastrophism was

abandoned, there is certainly evidence
that sudden events do occur.

Birth of Modern Geology

Scottish Physician and farmer named James
Hutton
Published Theory of the earth in 1975
Theory of Uniformitarianism- it states that
physical, chemical and biological laws that operate
today also operated in past
Shaping of our planet today have been at work for
a long time
Understand ancient rocks, we must understand
present day process and results
The present is the key to the past

Uniformitarianism
The Present is the Key to the Past
Laws of nature DONT change with time
Past events explained & estimated by modern processes

Age of earth
Hutton and others recognized that geologic
time is long-no accurate method to determine
age of earth
Dinosaurs died about 65million years ago
Age of earth 4.6 billion years

Time in geology Time in geology- Two ways

Geological event million years ago (Ma=106
years ago)
Billion years (Ga=109 years ago)

Geologic Time
1. Absolute (Radiometric) Dating

2. Relative Dating

Topic 11 will cover more details

Geologic Time
Absolute (Radiometric) Dating: Using radioactive decay of
elements to determine the absolute age of rocks.

 Relative Time determination of the age of

a rock or geologic event by comparing with
other rocks/geologic events

Can you infer who is older?

He is

Geologic Time
Relative Dating: Putting geologic events into proper order (oldest
to youngest), but without absolute ages. We use a number of
principles and laws to do this:
Law of Original Horzontality - Sedimentary units and lava flows are
deposited horizontally.
Law of Superposition - the layer below is older than the layer above.
Principle of fossil succession - life forms succeed one another in a
definite and determinable order and therefor a time period can be
determined by its fossils.
Law of Cross-cutting Relationships - A rock is younger than any
rock across which it cuts.

Howd that get there?

In the 17th C., Nicolas Steno made an
important observation:
"Sediments are usually deposited in
horizontal layers."
He called this

ORIGINAL HORIZONTALITY

Law of Superposition
Youngest

Oldest

This law states that the oldest rock layer is

the layer on the bottom and the youngest
layer is the layer on top.

Law of Cross-cutting
Magma under pressure squeezes into nearby
rock whenever fractures form in the rock. Then
the magma slowly cools and becomes rock itself.
This newly formed igneous rock is younger than
the rock it intruded.

Law of Cross-Cutting
Relationships
Any feature that cuts across a rock or layer of
sediment is younger than the rock or layer it cuts

Figure 1.6A

Figure 1.6B

The
geologic
time
scale
Will be discussed
on next class

What's the first thing that

you notice about our
planet when you see this
image?

Water portion
Gaseous envelop
Solid earth

The Earth is composed

of several integrated
parts (spheres) that
interact with one
another:

Atmosphere

Hydrosphere

Solid earth
(lithosphere)

Biosphere

The
Earth System
Hydrosphere:
the global
ocean
is
the
most
prominent feature of our
(blue) planet. The oceans
cover ~71% of our planet
and represent 97% of all
the water on our planet.
(freshwater- groundwater,
steam, lakes and glaciers)
Atmosphere: the swirling
clouds of the atmosphere
represent the very thin
blanket of air that covers
our planet. It is not only
the air we breathe, but
protects us from harmful
radiation from the sun.

90% of atmosphere within 16km of earth

The
Earth System
Biosphere:
includes all
life on Earth - concentrated
at the surface. Plants and
animals
depends
on
environment for life. It
extents from ocean floor to
several kilometers into
atmosphere.
Solid Earth: represents the
majority of the Earth
system. Most of the Earth
lies at inaccessible depths.
(Detailed lecture on solid
earth in Topic 02)

The Earth System

This figure shows the dynamic
interaction between the major
spheres.

What are some of the

interactions between these
spheres?

Figure 1.11