Geologic time

Geologic time
from evidence in _____________________
interprets ⊕ history
perceptions of time
human -> ~80 years
recorded history -> ~3000 years
age of ⊕ _____________________ (Ga)
4.6 Ga into 365 days
Feb: oldest known rocks
Sept: 1st multi-celled organisms
late Nov: land plants
mid Dec: dinosaurs rule ⊕
sunset, 12/31: oldest hominids
11:59:45 12/31: Rome rules W world
11:59:57 12/31: Columbus disc Amer
_____________________
rocks placed into their proper seq or order
_____________________
uses several “_____________________” and “Laws”
Sed’y rocks
Relative dating
_____________________
_____________________
original horizontality
Cross cutting
Correlation

_____________________
a rock or fault is younger than any rock or fault
through which it cuts
_____________________
matching rocks of similar age in different areas
physical characteristics
 minerals, rocks, thicknesses, structures
fossils
Correlation
Correlation
_____________________
# of yrs since a given geologic event
_____________________for a rock
_____________________ spontaneous decay of certain
unstable atomic nuclei
elements w/ diff _____________________
_____________________
time required for 1/2 of the parent to decay to the
daughter
Half life
Constant rate for the _____________________
U238 -> Pb206 4.5 billion years
K40 -> Ar 40 1.3 billion years
C14 -> N14 5730 years
Clock starts at
Crystallization (ign)
Cooling (meta)
NA for sed rx
Half life problem
Original mass parent = 20 g
Present mass of parent = 1 ¼ g
T1/2 = 10,000,000 yrs

How old is rock?

Half life problem

Remember half life:
20/2 = 10 1 half life
10/2 = 5 2 half lives
5/2 = 2 1/2 3 half lives
 2 1/2 /2 = 1 1/4 4 half lives

4 x 10,000,000 = 40 million yrs old

Geologic time scale
division of 4.6 Ga of ⊕ history
boundaries mark maj changes in life-forms
Geologic time scale

_____________________ 66 ma - present
_____________________ 245 ma - 66 ma
_____________________ 570 ma - 245 ma
_____________________ 4.6 Ga - 570 ma

Tectonic Evolution of North America

Tectonics
Regional _______________
Historical evolution
Uses __________________
3 boundaries: diverg, converg, transform
Etc….
Tectonic terms
_________________ process that prod mtns (Gk, oros,
mountain)
________________ a mtn building event
________________ mountain chain
________________
__________: volcanic arc
__________: fold
________________
__________: rifting
Mountain types (1)
_______________ intense folding, faulting &
metamorphism
____________________
 Urals
Himalayas
Appalachians
northern Rockies
Mountain types (2)
__________________ mtn formed by displacement of
rock along a fault
____________________
____________________
Basin and Range
Tetons
Mountain types (3)
________________
Andes
Mount St Helens
Mt Ranier
Mt Shasta
Mountain belts in world
Geologic Time
_________________
66 Ma -> present
_________________
245 -> 66 Ma
_________________
570 -> 245 Ma
_________________
4.6 Ga -> 570 Ma

PreCambrian
“NA” S of equator (remember animation)
Part of __________ until ~1 Ga
_______________
Rodinia
New Madrid Seismic Zone
Breakup of Rodinia
___________________ failed rift of triple junction
formed during initial breakup of continent
___________________

New Madrid Seismic Zone

Paleozoic
“NA” near equator (remember animation)
_______________ along ‘______________’
_________________ bet Africa, Eur, SA, over 200 Ma
formed Appalachian Mountains; ME - GA
3 orogenies: Taconic, Acadian, Alleghenian
Ended w/ ___________________________ (200 Ma)
Taconic Orogeny (500 Ma)
first episode of Appalachian Mountain building; N
Appalachian Orogen
Taconic Mountains
Green Mountains
Berkshire Mountains

Acadian Orogeny (380 Ma)

Eastern NA collides with Europe
Ouachita (OK) crushed by NW Africa

Eastern margin of NA
Allegheny orogeny (330-250 Ma)
suturing of Africa - Europe
collision with NA
welded FL onto SE NA
remained after Pangea split
Alleghenian Orogeny - 270 Ma
____________________
Interior of NA craton
LS’s early -> __________for IL
Swamps later -> __________ for IL
Mesozoic
NA moving N (remember animation)
Breakup of ______________
Orogenies along “_________________”
__________________________ w/ mult volc/island arcs
______________________ during Mesozoic
Alaska
W coast NA
Mesozoic
_______________ & rebound of Appalachians
Shed E & W
Formation of __________________
Filling of basins

Cenozoic
____________ creates Basin & Range
Uplift (5Ma) carves ___________________
Cenozoic
Multiple _________________ (18) in last 2 Ma
Continental
Covers most of Midwest & N Europe
_____________________ sediments
‘breadbasket of world”
______________________________
Migration of fauna
Alpine
Laurentide Ice Sheet
Summary of NA tectonics
NA is mostly accreted terrane
craton (Rodinia) assembled in Precambrian Era
extends in subsurface to as far south as TX
 aulacogen of Mid-Continent Rift is cause of much
of Mid-Continent seismic activity
Paleozoic
multiple orogenies along eastern margin
continental-continental convergence
end coincides with assembly of Pangea
Summary of NA tectonics
Mesozoic
multiple orogenies along western margin
continent-oceanic convergence
Accreted terrane west of continental divide
Cenozoic
erosion of Appalachians forms coast
continental glaciers covers Midwest to east coast
fresh / unweathered sediments
“Breadbasket of World”

Summary of NA tectonics
Early to Late Paleozoic
5 to 6 Intracratonic basins
locus of deposition
carbonates in early Paleozoic
oil in IL
cyclothems in Late Paleozoic
coal in IL

Orogeny and plate tectonics

_____________________boundary
volcanic mountains
Aleutian Islands
_____________________boundary
volcanic mountains
Andes
_____________________boundary
 folded,fault-block
accreted terrane

Evolution of life
Fossils
preservation of _____________________ or
_____________________ of organism
rare & ‘happenstance’
often pieces, parts
fossil record inc

Uses of fossils
Aids _____________________
Energy levels
_____________________
_____________________
biologic
geologic
What are fossils?
_____________________
Unaltered remains
Body parts
Bones
i.e., dinosaur
_____________________ fossils
Trace fossils
Remnants of _____________________
tracks
trails
burrows,
coprolites
gastroliths
 Indirect fossils
Indirect

Principle of _____________________
Invertebrates 750 Ma
Fishes 510 Ma
Land plants 470 Ma
Amphibians 375 Ma
Reptiles 330 Ma
Mammals 220 Ma
Birds 155 Ma
Monkeys 39 Ma
Hominids 4 Ma
Homo sapiens 0.1 Ma
Precambrian (4.6 Ga to 570 Ma)
Atmos mainly _____________________
oldest rock 4.04 Ga!!
_____________________~ 2 Ga
Beginnings of _____________________
Precambrian
Primitive unicellular
Bacteria & blue-green algae
_____________________
Consumes CO2 , produces O2
today in Australia, deserts

_____________________
cyanobacteria
distinctively layered mounds or columns of CaCO3
Paleozoic Era
Cambrian “_____________________”
DNA exchange
1st shelled organisms - _____________________
 skeletons
Life restricted to _____________________
Late Paleozoic
_____________________, Canada
Haplophrentis
Pikaia
Anomalocaris
Hallucigenia
Opabinia

Some _____________________critters
Trilobites
Brachiopods
Cephalopods
Late Paleozoic
diversification _____________________
primitive _____________________Late Silurian (410 Ma)
_____________________@ end of Paleozoic
‘Permo-Triassic crisis’
Sea-level?
Global warming?
Anoxia?
Asteroid?

Mesozoic
_____________________
conifers (Petrified Forest)
reptiles
1st bird
dinos !
_____________________extinction
Cenozoic
‘explosion’ of _____________________ into niche
vacated by dinos
flowering plants
insects
3/4 of all known animal species on ⊕

Hominid evolution
1st monkeys _____________________
1st hominidae – _____________________
Homo habilis , _____________________
Homo sapiens sapiens _____________________

Climate
General atmospheric circulation
_________unequal heating____________
insolation @ _______equator_____ >
______poles____________
atmos transfers heat transfer sys
balance ___________insolation__________
heat: equator ⇒ pole
cool: pole ⇒ equator
Rotating earth
3 pairs of cells
_________polar________& tropical____cells
thermal convection
mid-lat complex
Fig 18.15
Idealized global circulation
semipermanent H & L over ocean
equatorial L
rising air, high ppt
subtropical H
20-30º
sinking air
hot, arid
 deserts

Global winds
__________trade winds___________
outward flow fr subtropical H to eq
___________westerlies__________
outward air flow fr subtropical H to mid-lats
Fig 18.15
Polar air
polar H
subsiding cold, polar air
__________polar front___________
interaction of warm westerlies fr subtropical H
Fig 18.15
_________ITCZ____________
intertropical convergence zone
NE trade converge with SE trades
@ equator
stormy!!

Continents
disrupt circ patterns
semipermanent H in subtropics : Bermuda
cold in winter: H
warm in summer: L
large changes
monsoons
Mid-latitudes
_____________________ bet 30º & 60º N lat
cyclones & anticyclones move W to E in NH
Upper air movement
__________polar jet___________
S in winter
stormy in southern states
 N in summer
World climates
interaction of components of climate system
__________aggregate___________ weather
conditions
temp & ppt most imp
complex interactions between ‘spheres
Climate classification
____________koppen_________classification
uses easily obtained data
mean monthly & annual temp, ppt
unambiguous criteria
Page 561
_________climograph____________
Plot of
Temp
ppt
A: ___________humid tropical__________
winterless
all months have mean temp >18°C
Sub zones of A
_________tropical rain forest____________
Constant high temp
Year round rainfall
___________savanna__________ (Aw, 19.5)
tropical grassland
rainy season
draught
B: _________dry____________
evap > ppt
constant water deficiency
Subzones of B
__________steppe___________
Semi-arid
 N Mex & SW US
BSh, BSk
Low latitude deserts
Tropics Cancer/Capricorn
sub-tropical H
Mid latitude deserts
__________rainshadow___________deserts
Leeward = dry
Windward = moist
C: _________humid, mid-latitude, mild
winter____________
mild winters
avg coldest month <18° C & >-3° C
Humid & dry subtropics
dry-summer
subtropics
35° -45° N
__________mediterranean climates___________ (Csa)
D: __________humid mid-lat with severe
winters___________
warm summers
cold winters
avg coldest month <-3° C
avg warmest month >10° C
Most continents in mid lats

Other D’s
continental
_________none in S hemi____________
severe winter
high ann temp range & summer ppt
CHI is __________Dfa___________
Humid mid lat, severe winters (D)
subarctic
 _____________________
coniferous forests (gymnosperms)
cP source
bitter cold winter
warm/short summers
highest temp ranges on earth
E: __________polar___________
Winters dark & summerless
avg temp warmest month <10° C
__________tundra___________
Treeless
Severe winters
__________ice caps___________
no single month >0°C
no veg, perm ice & snow
9% of land area

Global Warming
The debate regarding the eventual consequences of
the ongoing buildup of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere concerns the magnitude of the coming
changes
Dr. Wallace Broecker 1997
Paradigm’s of Global Warming
1. atmospheric CO2 causes warming of planet
2. man’s activities are incr CO2
3. average temp of ⊕ inc ~0.5ºC last 100 y
4. global temp will inc another 1.5 - 4.5ºC w/in 100 y
if drastic measures not taken
5. GW will melt ice caps, flood cities, mass extinction,
deterioration of civilization as we know it
Greenhouse effect
Atmos abs of TR
Scientific theory behind global warming
 Global temp
Greenhouse gases
trace gases in ⊕’s atmos that trap TR
H 2O
CO2
CH4
CFC’s
N2O
O3

Sources of GHG’s
natural
volc
ocean evap
respiration
anthropogenic
burning
wood
hydrocarbons
oil, gas, coal
Water
THE MOST IMPORTANT GHG

interactions not well understood

not in GCM’s
water vapor
60-70% of greenhouse effect
clouds
oceans
absorbs 50% sun’s rad’n
ice & snow
CO2
carbon in plants, animals, soil, rocks, oceans, atmos,
etc
 all plants absorb CO2
C budget poorly understood
high CO2 can be beneficial

Anthropogenic CO2
pre-industrial- 274 ppm
current level (3/06)-381 ppm (2.5 ppm inc in 2005)
CH4
1.9 ppm (2/05)
35X more effective a GHG than CO2
budget less understood than CO2
CFC
chlorofluorocarbons
Anthropogenic
0.00008 to 0.0005 ppm
4500 to 6100X effective a GHG than CO2
O3
ozone abs rad’n from ⊕
abs UV from sun
OZONE HOLE IS NOT GLOBAL WARM

Computer climate models

models ⊕ ’s climate in future
climate
computer model
mathematical equations solved in computer
should include every factor influencing climate
IF eqns correct -> predictions reliable
General Circulation Models (GCM)
GCM
simulate ⊕ ’s climate
3D grid
310 x 400 miles (~RI)
9 layers of atmos
 18,000 squares that mutually interact
some variables for each square
air pressure, wind speed & dir, temp, dew point,
daily, weekly, seasonal variability, clouds, snow
cover, evap , ppt , soil moisture, GHG’s , sea ice,
storms, solar cycles, ...

GCM results
19 GCM’s used
2X CO2
results vary by 300%
temp increase
1.7º to 5.3º C
sea level rise
9 to 29 cm
major source thermal expansion (50-70%)
GCM’s
same models used to predict weather
But only predictive tool, what-if’s
Most not coupled (w/ oceans)
sometimes global cooling
then flux corrections
predictions of the 19 GCM’s in use do not correlate
different assumptions
Summary
Scientific agreement over
greenhouse effect as scientific theory
Current warming of ⊕ from buildup of GHG
Warming will continue if we don’t do something
controversy over predictions of warming
causes-> anthropogenic or natural
amount & timing of warming
implications for society
not all are bad!
 what to do about it?
Glob Warming: Observable facts
Global recession (melting) of glaciers
Glacier (?) N.P. (150 to 30, none in 20)
Major calving of Antarctic ice shelf
Greenland Ice Sheet melt rate double
1990’s warmest decade since 1800’s
Avg global temp inc 0.6 C since 1850
Increased storms / droughts / rainfall / …
Global sea level rise (4-8”) in last 100 y
Earth paunch
Maldives
Blanched coral
“Freshening’ of N Atlantic
Stop conveyor????
Mistimed migrations & breedings
Migration of biomes
Catalogue of Arctic changes
Temperature increase in last 30 y
Earlier breakup of river ice
Increased freshwater runoff
Damage from thawing of permafrost
Shrinking glaciers
Longer growing season
Melting sea ice; 9% per decade
Trees & shrubs encroaching on tundra
“The Adelies are the canaries in the coal mine of
climate change in the Antarctic” Bill Fraser, ecologist
66% decline in breeding pairs along Antarctic coast
in last 20 years
Replaced by Gentoo penguins, subantarctic
Caribou from the Porcupine herd, Alaska National
Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) declined from 178,000 in
1989 to 123,000 in 2001
“The big melt has begun” Jennifer Morgan, director of
WWF’s global climate change campaign
The climate system is like an large angry beast, and
we are poking sticks at it
Dr. Wallace Broecker
Columbia University