Geology

GEOLOGY 1111 Earth Systems
Instructor: Dr. David Schneider - 0011 Marion Hall

office hours: W 10:00-11:30, or by appointment
teaching assistants (TAs):

GEO1111@uottawa.ca
Name e-mail
Julian Kang mkang059@uottawa.ca
Victor Garcia victor.bpgarcia@gmail.com
Alexander Hill ahill075@uottawa.ca
Nicole Marsh nmars051@uottawa.ca
Megan Reich mreic084@uottawa.ca
Lindsay Reynold lreyn028@uottawa.ca
office hours: see syllabus; MRN 102

Schedule is subject to change!
Course Evaluation
Week Day Date Lecture # Topic Q&A
Week 1 Mon. Jan. 7 Lecture 1 Introduction Reich Exam I 20%
Wed. Jan. 9 Lecture 2 Structure of the Earth Hill Exam II 20%
Week 2 Mon. Jan. 14 Lecture 3 Earth Materials I Garcia
Wed. Jan. 16 Lecture 4 Earth Materials II Garcia Exam III 20%
Week 3 Mon. Jan. 21 Lecture 5 Earth Materials III Garcia
Wed. Jan. 23 EXAM I -
Final Exam 40%
Week 4 Mon. Jan. 28 Lecture 6 Volcanoes Kang (20% new material + 20% cumulative)
Wed. Jan. 30 Lecture 7 Volcanoes Kang
Week 5 Mon. Feb. 4 Lecture 8 Earthquakes Hill
Wed. Feb. 6 Lecture 9 Earthquakes/Tectonics Hill Note there are 4 exams during the term,
Week 6 Mon. Feb. 11 EXAM II -
Wed. Feb. 13 n/a - yet the evaluation is for only 3 exams (+ final).
Week 7 Mon. Feb. 18 February reading week - Your lowest mark of the 4 in-term exams will be
Wed. Feb. 20 February reading week -
Week 8 Mon. Feb. 25 Lecture 10 Economic resources Kang dropped.
Wed. Feb. 27 Lecture 11 Planets Reich
Week 9 Mon. Mar. 4 Lecture 12 Geologic time Reynolds
Wed. Mar. 6 EXAM III -
Week 10 Mon. Mar. 11 Lecture 13 Mass movements Reynolds
Wed. Mar. 13 Lecture 14 Unstable ground Reynolds
No required textbook.
Week 11 Mon. Mar. 18 Lecture 15 Streams Marsh Any intro-level Physical Geology or Earth
Wed. Mar. 20 Lecture 16 Flooding Marsh
Week 12 Mon. Mar. 25 EXAM IV - Science book is adequate.
Wed. Mar. 27 n/a -
Week 13 Mon. Apr. 1 Lecture 17 Groundwater Marsh
Wed. Apr. 3 Lecture 18 Glaciers Reich
final exam TBD FINAL EXAM
What should we be worried about?
7.2 magnitude, January 03, 2010
22:36:28 UTC, Solomon Islands
7.1 magnitude, January 02, 2011
05:20:18 UTC, Araucania, Chile
9.0 magnitude, March 11, 2011
05:46:24 UTC, Honshu, Japan
5 Dec 2018 - 5 Jan 2019
Yellowstone Ottawa
New Madrid zone

Natural Resources Ressources naturelles
Canada Canada
Magnitude
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Earthquakes in or near Canada, 1627 - 2017
EarthquakesCanada.ca
Eastern ON / Western QC
2010-2011 2006-2011
Eastern ON / Western QC
4.4 magnitude, May 2013 5.0 magnitude, June 2010

Yellowstone Ottawa
New Madrid zone

Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone Ottawa
New Madrid zone

Correlation?
Trauma cited in mysterious Arkansas bird kill

USAToday (Jan 2011)
~2000 birds fall from sky
(unrelated?) ~80,000 to 100,000 freshwater fish wash onshore
The science of the solid Earth
• Geology is the science that pursues an
understanding of planet Earth
• Modern approach is to examine Earth as a
SYSTEM:
Atmosphere Hydrosphere
Biosphere Cryosphere
Lithosphere
the intellectual & practical activity encompassing the systematic

study of the structure & behaviour of the physical & natural world
through observation & experiment
The nature of scientific inquiry
• Science assumes the natural world is

consistent & predictable
Geology differs from other sciences:
1) Deals with large spatial scales &

complex systems
• controlled experiments are difficult / impossible
• observation & description acquire proportionately
more importance
Nanga Parbat, Pakistan - 8.1 km Zircon crystal

(8100000000 microns) (200 microns)

2) Deals with time scales that are immense

compared to human lives
• impossible to observe entire process directly
(only able to view snapshots)
• spatial variation can be interpreted as temporal evolution
• Principle of Uniformitarianism:
geological processes & natural laws that operate today have
acted throughout geologic time
oldest continental rock:
4.6 billion years old
extinction of dinosaurs:
65 million years ago
evolution of Homo sapiens:

500 thousand years ago
last glacial maximum:

15,000 years ago
duration of average earthquake: <10 seconds

• Earth is ~4.6 Ga (billion years old)
Jan 1: Earth formed
..compressed into 1 year
Feb 21: life formed
Oct 25: complex organisms
Dec 7: reptiles evolved
Dec 25: dinosaurs extinct
Dec 31, 11:00 pm: homo sapiens appear
Dec 31, 11:59:59.97: Columbus arrives in Americas
• typical university course: 0.0000011% of Earth’s history

3) Geologic evidence is fragmented / incomplete
• conclusions & models may be non-unique and dependent on
intuition & experience
• art & science of "geologizing" – geocognition
• organize & resolve disparate data sources:
• chemistry the natural laboratory
• physics
• biology
• geography
• Scientists collect "facts" through observation &

measurements, but facts are secondary to
understanding
• Goal of science is to discover patterns in nature &

use the knowledge to make predictions
• It's not what you know,

but how you know it!
• How or why things happen are explained using:


Inductive (Baconian) method
early stages; • collection of data without regard to theory
reconnaissance • expect explanation will become apparent from organization &
synthesis of large data sets
Deductive (Darwinian) method

later stages; • devised model(s) accounts for set of observations, and used
focused to make predictions about nature
• iterative

• Hypothesis (model) – a tentative (or untested) explanation
--- model: testable, powerful, parsimonious
• Theory – a well-tested & widely accepted view that the
scientific community agrees best explains certain observable
facts
• Law – statement based on repeated experimental
observations that describes some phenomenon of nature
with high degree of confidence (does not always explain
WHY it happens)
• Deductive scientific method

1) Collection of scientific facts (data)
2) Development of one or more working hypotheses
to explain the facts
3) Development of observations & experiments to test
the hypotheses
4) Acceptance, modification, or rejection
Dinosaur example!
Not the only extinction event
Biodiversity during the Phanerozoic

A scientific inquiry
• Step One: Data collection or observations

• Dinosaurs extinct @ ~66 Ma
• Many plankton extinct @ ~66 Ma
• Many(!) other organisms extinct @ ~66 Ma
• Extinction was FAST
• Corresponds to unique geochemical anomalies
(Ir, S, C) in rock record
Ma = mega-annum = millions of years = 106 years

Ga = giga-annum = billions of years = 109 years
66 Ma
Iridium (platinum
group metal) found in:
• Earth's primordial lavas &
the core
• meteorites, comets,
cosmic dust
Sulfur derived from:
• Bolide impact on evaporite/carbonate terrain
(volatilization of gypsum/anhydrite : SO42-)
• Volcanism releases S
(reduced gases, SO2 … oxidized to SO42-)
66 Ma
K-T
Carbon…
(terrestrial C)
66 Ma
• Step Two: Theory development

• Comet or asteroid impact created the geochemical
anomalies (vs. lava eruptions)
• Testable? Side effects?
• Crater(s)
• Dust cloud + fireball = "nuclear winter"
instant death
(vs. synchronous numerous and thick lava flows)
• Step Three: Observations & experiments

• Test/confirm world-wide geochemical anomalies
• Test/confirm abrupt end to dinosaurs & plankton
• Identify crater
} multiple working hypothesis
• Identify large lava eruptions
Step Three: volcanic origin?
Deccan Traps (India)

flood basalts; 60-68 Ma
> 2,000 m thick
area > 500,000 km2
volume > 512,000 km3
Step Three: bolide impact?
Wanapitei crater, ON, 37 Ma

Manicouagan crater, QC, 214 Ma
Charlevoix crater, QC, 342 Ma
Sudbury crater, ON, 1850 Ma
nickel, copper, platinum, palladium, gold

Chicxulub crater: 66 Ma
Step Three: bolide impact?
• Crater identified
• Anomalies associated with ash, soot, glass (tektites)
• Step Four: Accept, modify, reject?

• Almost abrupt end to terrestrial & marine life
• Geochemical anomalies are world-wide
• Anomalies associated dust cloud/fireball
• Crater!
• Some large lava eruptions
Theory of Plate Tectonics
• Plate Tectonics • composite of ideas that explain the

observed motion of Earth’s lithosphere thru mechanisms
of subduction & sea-floor spreading which generate
continents & ocean basins
Theory of Plate Tectonics
• Plate Tectonics
• Centuries of observations have concluded that the Earth’s
composition and structure are not random.
• Pattern recognition: earthquakes occur where mountains rise &
volcanoes explode.
• Composite of ideas that explain the observed motion of Earth’s
lithosphere thru mechanisms of subduction & sea-floor spreading
which generate continents & ocean basins
Plate Tectonics can be summarized
with four concepts:
1) Outer portion (shell) of the Earth is composed of rigid layers called plates
2) The plates move …… slowly*
3) Most large-scale geologic activity occurs at plate boundaries
4) Interior (center) of plates are relatively geologically quite
*rate = fingernail growth

cm/yr
But:
HOW do we know?
earthquakes
volcanoes
meteorites
drilling
What is an earthquake?
• vibration of Earth produced by the rapid release of

energy stored in rock subjected to stress (plates
rubbing past each other)
• energy released radiates in all directions from its
source (like sound)
• energy is in the form of waves
• body & surface waves
Transmission of P & S waves thru a solid
Primary
Secondary
Significant characteristics of body waves
• velocity is proportional to density & elasticity

• velocity increases with depth
• P-waves propagate thru all mediums
• S-waves propagate thru solids
• P’s travel faster than S’s
• density/composition change in medium = waves are
refracted (bent) &/or reflected (mirrored)
How can we "use" earthquakes?
(not only quakes, but also nuclear testing)
• allows us to "x-ray" image the Earth (flashlight)

• variations in travel-times which are not accounted for by
distances traveled
• Remember:
boom (source)
- waves propagate in 3D
- shown as rays paths, not waves
Planet interior
• what would seismic waves thru a uniform, homogenous planet look like?
• But we know in Earth:
pressure (P) increases with depth (h) = increase density () (P = gh)
P increases with d = increase  = increase velocity
But we also know:
Earth is chemically (vertically)
differentiated
Waves can be refracted
across boundaries
Angle of wave refraction dictated by

Snell's Law:
Using travel-times to measure the depth of the 'layers'
Waves can also

reflect off boundaries
Law of Reflection says

that the angle at which the
wave is incident on the
surface equals the angle at
which it is reflected.
Using travel-times to measure the depth of the 'layers'
Discovering Earth’s major interior boundaries
• crust-mantle boundary
speed of sound = 1,236 km/h
• aka: Mohorovičić Discontinuity (Moho)
• discovered by A. Mohorovičić (1909)
• based on the observation that seismic velocities are slower in crust (6 km/s)
than the mantle (8 km/s) 21,600 km/h
28,800 km/h
• core-mantle boundary
• discovered by B. Gutenberg (1914)
• based on the observation that P waves
disappear at 105° from the earthquake and
reappear at about 140° - this belt is named
the P-wave shadow zone
Discovering Earth’s major interior boundaries
• core
• I. Lehmann (1936) proved seismic waves travel in/out of core
• characterized by bending (refracting) of the P waves
• the fact that S waves do not travel through the core provides
evidence for the existence of a liquid layer beneath the rocky
mantle (S-wave shadow zone)
Seismic waves & Earth’s structure
• abrupt changes in seismic-wave velocities that occur at particular

depths helped seismologists conclude that Earth must be composed
of distinct shells
• because of density sorting during an early period of partial melting, Earth’s
interior is not homogeneous
layers are defined by:

• composition / chemistry
• mechanics / physics
Layers of Earth based on chemical & physical differences:
chemistry/composition
crust: oceanic & continental; solid, strong, rigid; 30-70 km thick
mantle: solid, weak, ductile; 2900 km thick
core: outer (liquid) & inner (solid); 3480 km thick
physical/mechanical
crust & upper mantle = lithosphere (~100 km)
below lithosphere = asthenosphere (~140 km)
below asthenosphere = mesosphere
core outer (liquid) & inner (solid)
• continental crust
• 4000 Ma
• 3-70 km thick (0-100+ km) avg: 40 km
• Si-O, Al (K, Na, Ca)
• average: granite; : 2.7 g/cm3
• oceanic crust
• 180 Ma
• 3-15 km thick (0-20+ km) avg: 10 km
• Mg & Fe (Si-O)
• average: basalt; : 3.0 g/cm3
• mantle
..like the Moon.. • 3000 km thick
• Mg & Fe
• peridotite; : 3.3 g/cm3
• core
..like many meteorites..
• 3500 km radius
• Fe & Ni; : 11 g/cm3
• T: 6700°C
• So, Earth is layered but…
• competing P&T forces complicate things:
• increase depth = increase T = melting
• increase depth = increase P = increase rock strength
• Layers defined by physical properties

• depending on the temperature & depth, a particular Earth material may
behave like a brittle solid, deform plastically, or melt and become liquid
• main layers of Earth’s interior are based on physical properties and hence
mechanical strength
• lithosphere
• cool & strong; brittle
• continental: 100-200 km thick
• oceanic: 5-100 km thick
---- detached ----
• asthenosphere
• partially melted; ductile
• extends to depth of 660 km
• mesosphere
• strong & hot
• extends 660 km to 2900 km in depth
• core
• outer: liquid, metallic Fe, 2300 km thick
• inner: solid, Fe, 10% Ni (S, O), 1200
km radius
regina
• Earth’s temperature gradually increases with an increase in depth at a rate
known as the geothermal gradient
• varies considerably from place to place
• averages between about 10C to 20C/km in the crust (rate of increase is much
less in the mantle and core)
..why is there heat?

.. three reasons..
• heat flow in the crust
• process called conduction
• rates of heat flow in the crust varies
• mantle convection
• no large change in temperature with depth in the mantle
• mantle must have an effective method of transmitting
heat from the core outward
Core
• Earth’s magnetic field

requirements for core to produce magnetic field:
1) composed of material that conducts electricity
2) it is mobile
liquid outer shell convecting around solid inner shell =
magnetic field
- inner core rotates faster than the Earth’s surface
- the axis of rotation is offset >10° from the Earth’s poles
What’s so important about
the Earth’s magnetic field?
-magnetic field has a North &
South magnetic pole
-magnetic field allows use of

compasses
-magnetic field occasionally 'flips’
-Normal polarity (now) &

Reverse polarity (time of opposite
poles)
..how do we know?
• rock magnetism and paleomagnetism uses mineral
magnetic alignment to determine the direction and
distance to the magnetic pole
• steeper dip angles indicate rocks formed closer
to the magnetic pole
• marine magnetic anomalies are
bands of normal and reversed
magnetic field signatures
• parallel magnetic bands
preserved in rock under ocean
• symmetric "bar-code" anomaly
pattern reflects plate motion
away from ridge coupled with
magnetic field reversals
Plate Tectonics
• 1962 Harry Hess proposed seafloor spreading
• seafloor moves away from the mid-oceanic ridge due to
mantle convection
• convection is circulation driven by rising hot material
and/or sinking cooler material
• 1965 J. Tuzo Wilson
• Earth is composed of lithospheric plates that move on
asthenosphere due to convection in mantle
• 7 major plates; several minor ones
• when sufficiently cool & dense, these rocks may sink back
into the mantle at subduction zones
• overall young age for sea floor rocks (everywhere <200 Ma),
ridge elevation, high heat flow, and abundant undersea
volcanism are evidence of this
• Gravity is the driving force: old tectonic plates sink at
convergent margins and are formed at divergent
margins – like a conveyor belt, they get recycled in the
mantle
• mantle convection may be the cause or an effect of circulation set up by:
• slab-pull: pulling of crust into mantle by down-going slab during
subduction
• slab-push: pushing of crust resulting from elevated position of
oceanic ridge system, causing crust to gravitationally slide down
slab-push flanks of ridge
slab-pull
• All evidence leads to theory of Plate Tectonics
• composite of ideas that explain the observed motion of
Earth’s lithosphere thru mechanisms of subduction & sea-
floor spreading which generate continents & ocean basins
• tectonic plates are composed of the relatively rigid, brittle lithosphere
• plates "float" upon ductile asthenosphere
• plates interact at their boundaries, which are classified by relative
plate motion:
• move apart at divergent boundaries
• slide past one another at transform boundaries
• move together at convergent boundaries
So .. working backwards:
Tectonic Plates are part of the lithosphere .. which is rock made of minerals
.. enriched in elements:
Si, Al, (K, Na, Ca)
-rocks termed felsic or acid (silicic, sialic)
Asthenosphere & mesosphere are rock enriched in elements:

Mg & Fe
-rocks termed (ultra-) mafic or basic
Minerals are building blocks of rocks:
-naturally occurring
-solid
-definite chemical composition (elements; expressed by a
chemical formula)
-characteristic crystal structure
("water" ice or quartz)
Elements is a form of matter that cannot be broken down into simpler form by
heating, cooling, or chemical reaction
(H, O or Si, O)
Compound – combination of 1 or more elements in specific proportions
-atoms bond to form minerals in regular geometric shapes
(crystals => H2O : ice or SiO2 : quartz)
Atoms – smallest particles of an element that retains all of the element's

chemical properties (distinguishing characteristic)
Classification of minerals
Combination of elements to form minerals depends on a few characteristics of

atoms of that element:
1) relative abundance of available elements (w/in crust):

O : 45% Si : 27%
Al : 8% Fe : 5%
BIG 8
Ca : <5% Mg : <5%
Na : <5% K : <5%
2) T & P at time of formation

- controls structural growth of crystal
- e.g. C = diamond & graphite !
(polymorphs .. same chemistry, different structure)
3) size & charge of atoms and ions

Composition of minerals
• Atomic structure
• central region called the nucleus
• Consists of protons (positive charges) and neutrons
(neutral charges)
• electrons
• Negatively charged particles that surround the nucleus
• Located in discrete energy levels called shells
• Atomic structure
• Atom is neutral if protons = electrons; so, why do atoms bond and interact?
• Chemical stability requires 8 electrons in outermost shell (octet rule)
• Second most abundant

element in Earth by
weight valence
(most abundant in crust) electrons
Element %
Fe 35%
O 20%
Si 15%
Mg 13%
• Chemical bonding
• Formation of a compound by combining two or more
elements
1) Ionic bonding
• Atoms gain or lose valence electrons to form ions
(charged particles)
• Ionic compounds consist of an orderly arrangement of
oppositely charged ions; neutral / stable
Electrons
valence
electrons
salt
electron
Sodium Chlorine
+1 -1
Halite (NaCl) – ionic bonding

2) Covalent bonding
• Atoms share electrons to achieve electrical neutrality
• Covalent compounds are generally stronger than ionic
bonds (C = diamond)
• Both ionic and covalent bonds typically occur in the same

compound (bonds are seldom 100% ionic or covalent in
character)
3) Other types of bonding

a) Metallic bonding
• Cloud of valence electrons are free to
migrate among atoms
• Metals = conductors
• Weaker and less common than ionic or
covalent bonds
b) Van der Wall forces (secondary bonding)
• Weak electrostatic forces
• Very weak (e.g. graphite .. also C)
POLYMORPH
same chemistry, different structure
• Not only is charge a factor in creating compounds, but also ionic radius
(distance from nuclei center to outermost electron)
• atoms competing for space in crystallizing liquid
Certain atoms have same charge & nearly same radius:
Fe2+ Mg2+
0.83 nm 0.78 nm
= easily substituted
= substitution of 1 atom for another is called
SOLID SOLUTION
Olivine: What's the difference
Mg2SiO4 between solid sol'n &
polymorph?
Fe2SiO4
different chemistry, same structure

• So now we can start building minerals - silicates:

4000+, 20 are common, BIG 7
(from Big 8 which make 98% of crust)
crust:
quartz SiO2
mica K(Al, Mg, Fe)2-3Si3O10(OH)2
potassium feldspar KAlSi3O8
plagioclase feldspar NaAlSi3O8 - CaAl2Si2O8
amphibole (Na, Ca)2(Mg, Al, Fe)5(Si, Al)8O22(OH)2
mantle:
pyroxene (Fe, Mg, Ca)Si2O6
olivine FeMgSiO4
2) Other minerals: nonsilicates

• Several major groups exist including
• Oxides Fe2O3 (iron ore)
• Sulfides PbS (lead ore)
• Sulfates CaSO4 (gypsum)
• Native Elements Au (gold)
• Carbonates CaCO3 (calcite)
minerals everyday…
Biominerals
tooth enamel (apatite: Ca5(PO4)3(F,Cl,OH))
bones of vertebrates (apatite)

stones in urinary track (calcium & phosphate deposits)
shells of molluscs and other invertebrates (calcite)

P5+ in seawater
The apatite
cycle
Igneous Rocks
Magma is molten rock and
contains crystals & gases
within the Earth.
Melt is generally only the
liquid portion of the process.
Lava is molten rock and
contains crystals & gases at
the surface of the Earth.
What is magma?
• Nature of magma consists of 3 components:
• Liquids (melt) composed of mobile ions
• Solids (crystals / minerals)
• Generally silicates, SiO2 : 40-70 wt% + variable
amounts of other oxides, e.g. Al2O3, K2O, Na2O, CaO,
MgO, FeO, etc.
• Gases (volatiles) dissolved in the melt from 0.5-5.0 of wt%
• water vapor (H2O)
• carbon dioxide (CO2)
• sulfur dioxide (SO2)
• N, Cl, Ar
Where does igneous rock come from?
• Before crystals / minerals form:

• liquid magma has random atoms suspended in
non-crystalline structure ..magma or lava
• During magma cooling:
• atomic vibrations slow & bonds begin to form
compounds & eventually a crystalline structure
• After cooling = igneous rock
• rock which cooled & crystallized directly from
molten material at/near surface
Vulcan (god of fire) & Pluto (god of underworld)
extrusive / volcanic & intrusive / plutonic
surface subsurface
Characteristics of magma
• Cooling of magma results in: systematic crystallization pattern
• Silicate minerals crystallize in: predictable order!
Bowen’s Reaction Series
• An explanation for the diversity of igneous rock types that appear to have
evolved from a single magma source (basalt)
• As they slowly cool in deep reservoirs (magma chambers) different minerals

achieve saturation at different temperatures
• Crystallization of the minerals changes the chemical composition of the magma
Bowen’s series crystallization occurs in 2 ways:

1) Discontinuous - Fe, Mg minerals crystallize one after another in a specific
sequence; composition & structure change (simple -> complex)

2) Continuous - Ca-plagioclase preferentially crystallizes early (hi-T); gradually as
magma cools, Na ions continuously replace Ca in crystal; little structural change

Bowen’s reaction series… assumes:
1) closed system
2) early minerals would remain in contact with magma, reacting to form new minerals
3) that a full range of igneous rocks could be produced from the same mafic magma
But reality is:

1) crystals settle to bottom of magma chamber or get
stuck on chamber walls
= fractional crystallization / magmatic differentiation
…analogous to distillation & precipitation of salts from
sea-water
2) Assimilation of wallrock material
3) Magma mixing
-Involves two bodies of magma intruding one another
-Two chemically distinct magmas may produce a
composition quite different from either original magma
How does magma form?
• 1 Temperature increase:
• radioactive decay within Earth
• early Earth produced during Big Bang
• ± frictional heat of tectonic plates
• transfer of heat (convergent margins) ..crustal thickening
Where does magma form?
• Intraplate volcanism
• Activity within a tectonic plate
• Associated with plumes of heat in the mantle
(transfer of heat)
• Form localized volcanic regions in the overriding
plate called a hot spot
–Produces basaltic magma sources in oceanic crust (e.g., Hawaii and Iceland)
–Produces granitic magma sources in continental crust (e.g., Yellowstone Park)
Volcanism on a tectonic plate moving over a hot spot
NOT material
from the core!
Tectonic plate moving over a hot spot
Tectonic plate moving over a hot spot
hot spot = extinction of the dinosaurs?
Deccan Traps (India)

flood basalts; 60-68 Ma
> 2,000 m thick
area > 500,000 km2
volume > 512,000 km3
Mackenzie Hot Spot
1267 Ma Dike Swarm
>3000 km long
Great Meteor Hotspot
150 Ma to today
• 2 Add flux (H2O, CO2):

• addition of volatiles along plate margins reduced
the melting temperature of a solid
• wet melting: volatiles 'disrupt' chemical bonds of
other compounds
• Igneous activity along plate margins

Subduction zones
• Occur in conjunction with deep oceanic trenches
(plate convergence)
• Descending plate partially melts + release H2O
(wet melting)
• Magma slowly moves upward (transfer heat)
• Rising magma can form either:
• An island arc if in the ocean
• A volcanic arc if on a continental margin
Subduction zones, cont.
• Associated with the Pacific Ocean basin
• Region around the margin is known as the
'Ring of Fire'
• Most of the world’s explosive volcanoes
• 3 Pressure decrease:
• Hi-P results in higher T to melt solid (bonds are
closer together = stronger)
• If quickly release Hi-P, solid will melt
• (plate divergent margins) ..crustal decompression
• Igneous activity along plate margins

Spreading centers
• Greatest volume of volcanic rock is produced
along the oceanic ridge system (plate
divergence)
• Mechanism of (decompression) melting
• Lithosphere pulls apart
• Less pressure on underlying rocks
• Results in partial melting of mantle
• Large quantities of basaltic magma are
produced
compositions
How do we know?
polarizing microscope
thin sections
Magma compositions: 1) mafic
• Igneous rocks… silicates dominate!!!
• Dark (ferromagnesian) silicates
• Olivine
• Pyroxene
• Amphibole
• Biotite mica
• 45-55 wt% SiO2
• + MgO, FeO, CaO
• 'fluid', low volatile
concentration
Where does rock come from: Volcanic
• Erupt, flow, or explode at the Earth’s surface

• Cooling times range from seconds to years
• May have no crystals (all glass) or
small + large crystals
• Basalt is the archetype - composed of very fine
grained minerals (chiefly Fe- and Mg-rich
minerals, ~50% SiO2), forms mostly on the
ocean floor; = 70% of all magma erupted
Magma compositions: 2) felsic
• Igneous rocks… silicates dominate!!!
• Light (nonferromagnesian) silicates
• Quartz
• Muscovite mica
• Feldspars
• >65 wt% SiO2
• + K2O, Al2O3, Na2O
• viscous
Where does rock come from: Plutonic
• Intrude at depths of 0.1's-10's of km within the

crust
• mm-cm scale crystals are generally evident
• Can form huge masses that likely cool over a
million years
• Granite is the archetype - composed of K-, Na-
and Si-rich (~70% SiO2) minerals and
commonly found on the continents
Magma compositions: others
3) Intermediate (andesitic) composition

• Contains 55-65 wt% SiO2; relative to granitic: more
FeO & MgO, less Na2O & K2O, less volatile, less
viscous
• Associated with explosive volcanic activity
4) Ultramafic (komatiite) composition
• <45 wt% SiO2; high in MgO & FeO
• Rare composition that is composed of olivine and
pyroxene; common >2.6 Ga
textures
Igneous textures
• Texture is used to describe the overall appearance of

a rock based on the size, shape, and arrangement of
interlocking minerals
• Factors affecting crystal size:
1) Rate of cooling
• Slow rate promotes the growth of fewer but larger
crystals
• Fast rate forms many small crystals
• Very fast rate forms glass
2) Amount of silica (SiO2) present
3) Amount of dissolved gases
Igneous textures
• Igneous rock textures…
• Phaneritic (coarse-grained)
• Crystals can be seen without a microscope
• Why???
• Aphanitic (fine-grained)
• Microscopic crystals
• Why???
• May contain vesicles (holes from gas bubbles)
Igneous textures
• Porphyritic
• Large + small crystals
• Large crystals, called phenocrysts, are embedded in a matrix
of smaller crystals, called the groundmass
• Why???
Igneous textures
• Glassy
• No crystals visible
• # silica: obsidian; foamy: pumice
• Why (glass, foamy)???
Igneous textures

• Pyroclastic
• Fragments ejected during a violent volcanic eruption
• Often appear to be layered or composed of shattered
rocks
Igneous textures

• Pegmatitic
• Exceptionally coarse grained
• Form in late stages of crystallization of granitic magmas
with high volatile content
Mafic, intermediate, or felsic?
Mafic, intermediate, or felsic?
]
What is a sedimentary rock?
• Sediments - rock fragments that settle & accumulate in layers

after being transported or precipitated
Latin sedimentum – to settle
• originates from mechanical / chemical breakdown
• 5% (by volume) of Earth’s outer 15 km &
75% of exposed rocks
• contain evidence of past environments
• tectonics, climate & life (fossils)
Rock types are based on the source of the material
• detrital/clastic rocks: transported sediment as solid particles

• chemical rocks: sediment that precipitates from sol’n or
extracted from water by organisms (converted to
shells/skeletons)
Sedimentary process
Physical features in rock tell how seds were deposited &

environmental conditions of deposition
rock
1. weathering (breakdown)
2. erosion (mass wasting) sediment
3. transport
relocation
4. deposition
5. lithification (compaction & cementation) rock

Weathering
Physical & chemical changes (weakening & break down) that

occur in rocks when they are exposed to the atmosphere &
biosphere
Factors which control weathering:
1. parent rock (e.g. granite vs salt)
2. climate (temperature and rain; e.g. desert vs rainforest)
3. soil / vegetation cover
4. time
Physical breakdown
Chemical breakdown
Clastic sedimentary rocks
Chief constituents of clastic rocks:

• Quartz
• Feldspars
• Micas
• Clay minerals
..those that are stable

on the Earth's
surface
Classification of clastic rocks
• Texture (reflects process):

• grain size
• related to properties of parent rock
• proportional to energy level of transport medium
(hi-E = smaller grains)
• grain sorting
• process by which a transport medium ‘selects’ particles of
different sizes, shapes, densities
• well-sorted to poor-sorted
• grain shape
• angular to rounded
• proportional to energy level or distance traveled (more
collisions = rounded)
typically lighter, smaller =

deposited farthest & last =
more rounded
Classification of clastic rocks
Transportation &
deposition leads to
characteristic rock
textures
• Mudstone (shale & siltstones)
• Clay to silt-sized particles in thin layers
• Deposited in calm waters (lakes, lagoon, deep ocean)
• >50% of sed rocks
• Variable color: red (Fe & O rich), green (Fe & O poor),
black (not enough O to decompose organic matter)
• Sandstone (graywacke, arenite, arkose)
• Composed of sand-sized particles; mostly quartz
• Forms in a variety of environments (rivers, beaches, glaciers, mountains, deserts..)
• Conglomerate and breccia
• particles > 2 mm in diameter in a finer
grained matrix
• conglomerate - rounded gravels
• breccia - angular particles
Chemical sedimentary rocks
• Consist of precipitated material that was once in solution

• Precipitation of material occurs in two ways
• Inorganic processes (precipitate from water .. sea or fresh)
• Organic processes (biogenic origin)
• Common chemical sedimentary rocks

• Limestone
• 10-15% of sed rocks
• composed chiefly of the calcite- CaCO3
• marine biochemical limestones form as coral reefs, coquina
(broken shells), and chalk (microscopic organisms)
• inorganic limestones include travertine & speleothems
fossiliferous limestone
limestone coquina
• Factors controlling CaCO3 precipitation:

1) controlled by solubility of CaCO3
(proportional to CO2 in water)
2) cold water has more CO2, as water warms CaCO3

precipitates
CO2(dis) ⇋ CO2(g)
3) also effected by agitation of water (tides),

photosynthesis (uses CO2), and water depth
What does this difference in shell size
sediment size = ~ 2.8 cm tell us about energy level fluctuations?
ANSWER: nothing!
The critter that secreted the shell was bigger
sediment size = ~ 2.0 cm


• Chert
• microcrystalline quartz
• silica? ..skeletons of small animals
• varieties include flint and jasper (banded form is called agate)
• Evaporites
• evaporation triggers deposition of inorganic
chemical precipitates
• requires restricted basin + warm temps
(Great Lakes salt, Mediterranean Sea)
• examples include rock salt & rock gypsum

• Coal
• From the decay and compression of land plants rich in

resins, waxes, and lignins
• Organic matter accumulated in swamps (anoxic
environment)
-warm, moist, calm, little O2, rapid sedimentation
• Burial results in peat-lignite-bituminous and anthracite coal
• Widespread distribution, e.g. Carboniferous-age (c. 300 Ma)
units in N.S. & B.C.
• Plentiful supply but pollution??
Principle energy
source in the world!
Process of Forming Coal
Peat Lignite Bituminous Anthracite

Coal
U.S. Coal Fields
• Economic considerations:
• coal
• petroleum & natural gas
• sources of iron, aluminum, & manganese
• evaporites – salt, gypsum
• phosphates – fertilizers
• Science considerations:
• fossils (ancient life)
• geologic histories / reconstructions
Metamorphism
lo-T
equilibrium =
mineral stability
hi-T Rocks do not suffer

metamorphism, they enjoy
it!
Metamorphism
Greek meta (to change) & morphe (form)
• Process by which T, P, & chemical reactions alter mineral
content & structure of pre-existing rock (w/o melting .. solid-state
only)
• Occurs when T & P break some atomic bonds
• Metamorphic rocks produced from:
• igneous rocks
• sedimentary rocks
• other metamorphic rocks
• All metamorphic rocks start as some other rock, so 3 questions:
1) What is rock now (mineralogy, texture)?

2) What was it before (protolith)?
3) What caused the change (tectonics)?
Controls of metamorphism
1) Temperature
• Not absolute T, but change in T
• Rocks under new environmental conditions come into
equilibrium with surrounding conditions
• Recrystallization results in new, stable minerals (at those
new conditions)
• Geothermal gradient varies from 10°C/km in stable parts
of continents to >100°C/km in tectonically active areas
2) Pressure (stress)
lithostatic/confining
• pushes on rock equally from all directions
• rock becomes more dense; no shape change
• increases at a rate of 0.3 kbar/km depth
directed
• pressure is greatest in one direction
• change in shape
• new mineral growth aligns perpendicular to P = foliation
Pressure in metamorphism
3) Fluid activity
• H2O & CO2
• enhances migration of ions
• increases potential for reaction
All of these control the process (degree) of metamorphism, but

the composition is controlled by the protolith
Example of metamorphism
sandy limestone metamorphosed to marble

Example of metamorphism
At 200°C, sandy limestone is made of:

quartz & calcite
At 600°C, minerals no longer stable together - each can exist alone, but together they form
a new mineral:
wollastonite
SiO2 + CaCO3 = CaSiO3 + CO2
(volatile)
-relative amounts of elements do not change, only restructuring and regrowth
-CO2 is released & can leave rock (usually involves decarbonation; or H2O released in
dehydration)
-if CO2 leaves, reaction cannot go back when rock cools
(cannot revert to quartz + calcite unless CO2 is added)
Metamorphic environments
@ plate boundaries!
Impact Orogenic
metamorphism metamorphism Contact
metamorphism
Orogenic
Contact metamorphism
metamorphism
Seafloor metamorphism
Burial metamorphism
1) Regional metamorphism
a) Burial - T & lithostatic P within sedimentary basins
(Mississippi Delta, Bay of Bengal)
• progressive increase in P exerted by the growing pile of
overlying sediments & sedimentary rocks and the
increase in T with increased depth of burial
lithification
Diagenesis grades into burial
metamorphism at depth
Burial metamorphism: depths of

2-3 km
T of 100 to 200°C
Burial metamorphism defines the

economic basement of oil & gas
resources (organic matter is
converted to methane & CO2 at
>130°C - not crude oil or natural
gas)
1) Regional metamorphism
b) Dynamothermal (orogenic) - occurs in response to P&T
changes induced by large-scale tectonics; directed P
(foliated rocks) (convergence: Himalaya, Appalachians)
Regional Metamorphism
metamorphic grade
2) Contact metamorphism
• response to T change produced by intrusion of magma
into cooler rock
• local in scale
• an aureole, zone of alteration, forms in the rock
surrounding the magma
3) Hydrothermal metamorphism (a.k.a. metasomatism)
• Chemical alteration caused when hot, ion-rich fluids circulate
through fissures & cracks that develop in rock
• Most widespread along the axis of the mid-ocean ridge system
most of ocean crust is metamorphosed
1 Influx of cold seawater
2°C
1 7
1 2 3 Alteration of oceanic crust at <150°C
4 pH drops to ~3 (acidic)
2
60°C
5 Heating of seawater to ~450°C
3
6 Leaching of Cu, Zn, Fe, Au

150°C 6
4 and S from surrounding rocks
Formation of hydrothermal
5
400-450°C 7 precipitates in contact
Magma with cold seawater
1200°C
basin sea floor + contact
Classification
• Degree of metamorphism reflected in texture

-metamorphism increases grain size
(in the absence of deformation - directed P;
deformation decreases grain size)
• Composition of rock reflected in mineralogy
Classification of metamorphic rocks based on texture
Foliated rocks: Granoblastic rocks:
• Size of crystals • Because granoblastic

• Nature of foliation rocks are non-foliated,
• Degree to which light classification is based
& dark minerals exclusively on mineral
are segregated composition
Porphyroblasts may occur in both, foliated &

granoblastic rocks (name of the porphyroblastic mineral is
added to the rock name)
New metamorphic minerals may grow
into large crystals surrounded by fine
matrix – these crystals are called
porphyroblasts
(garnet & staurolite)
Generally, metamorphic
rocks are classified based
on the occurrence of foliated
& granoblastic textures
Classification
Some metamorphic rocks do not show

foliation, due to the lack of platy
minerals
Granoblastic -
crystals that grow in interlocking equant
(equidimensional) shapes;
typical of monomineralic rocks:
- calcite = marble
- quartz = quartzite
- simple igneous rocks
(metabasalt)
Classification
Granoblastic metamorphic
rocks
Hornfels - high-T contact

metamorphic rock of uniform grain
size that has undergone little
deformation
• Typified by a granular texture,

but commonly contains some
pyroxene & mica
Classification
rocks
Quartzite - very hard, nonfoliated

white rock derived from quartz-
rich sandstone
• Massive, may contain

preserved bedding
• Commonly contains thin

bands of slate or schist
(relicts of clay or shale
layers)
Classification
rocks
Marble - metamorphic products of T

& P acting on limestone or dolostone
• White & pure marbles (e.g.

Carrara marbles, Italy) are
prized by sculptors
• White & smooth, even

textures, banded, or mottled
Classification
Metamorphism imprints new textures on the rock that

it alters (sizes, shapes, & arrangement of minerals)
Most common textural Platy minerals: mica

feature is foliation
-set of flat or wavy parallel

planes produced by directed
pressure / deformation
Needle-like
-minerals are rotated minerals:
or recrystallized hornblende
lineation
Orientation of platy minerals is perpendicular
to the main direction of force
Foliated metamorphic rocks
Slate - foliated rock that forms at

low T & P
• Very fine-grained – individual

minerals cannot be seen w/o a
microscope
• Typically forms from shales or

200-300°C volcanic ash
• Used for roofing tiles

Phyllite - forms at slightly higher

T & P than slate
• Characterized by a
glossy sheen resulting
from mica crystals that are larger
than those in slates
• In contrast to shales, phyllite

cannot be split into sheets
300-400°C
Classification
slate
phyllite
Classification
Schist - more intensely

metamorphosed rock with platy
crystals that are large enough to
be visible to the naked eye
• Minerals are typically segregated

in lighter & darker bands
400-600°C • Characterized by a pervasive

coarse, wavy foliation referred to
as schistosity
Classification
Biotite schist Garnet-mica schist

Gneiss - coarse grained rock that

forms under high T & P
• Consists of light & dark layers

resulting from segregation of
minerals
>650°C • Granular : platy minerals is

higher than in schists
• Poor schistosity & little tendency

to split
Migmatite - forms at very

high T where parts of the
precursor rock begin to melt
• Typically highly deformed &

contorted – contain many veins,
small pods & lenses that
represent solidified partial melts
>750°C
feldspar
porphyroblasts
augen gneiss
migmatite formation
Classification
Mineralogy & Texture
Granoblastic oatmeal cookie
Foliated peanut butter cookie
Chocolate chip (porphyroblastic) cookie

Regional Metamorphism
Rocks can be described with respect to their
metamorphic grade
low .. to .. high
Volcanoes / Volcanic Eruptions
Anak Krakatau
22 Dec 2018
420 died as result of tsunami
before
summit:
338 m
island is 1/4 of original

pre-eruption size
after
summit:
110 m
Volcanoes / Volcanic Eruptions
Toba
- deposited an ash layer
about 15 cm (6 in) thick
over the whole of south
Asia
- decrease in global mean

surface temperature by 3-
5°C (as much as 15°C); 6-
10 year volcanic winter
- may have caused 1,000-

year period of cooler
temperatures
- has been linked to a

genetic bottleneck in
human evolution;
human population sharply
decreased to 3,000-10,000
surviving individuals
Mt Vesuvius
Pompeii, Italy
Volcanoes
• Name the tallest mountain on Earth
• Name the largest volcano on Earth
• Visualize your expectations of what this mountain should look like
Volcanoes
Mauna Loa
9 km high!
Volcanoes
A size comparison of the three (of four) types of volcanoes
9 km high!
Igneous activity & plate tectonics
• Global distribution of igneous activity is not random

• Most active volcanoes are located within or near
ocean basins
• Correlation with active volcanism and earthquakes
• Volcanoes produce new material called igneous rock
• >500 active volcanoes
• four major types of volcanoes, classified according to
their shape, composition of their magma, and the
style of eruption
Distribution of some major volcanoes
Igneous Rocks
Magma is molten rock and
contains crystals & gases
within the Earth.
Melt is generally only the
liquid portion of the process.
Lava is molten rock and
contains crystals & gases at
the surface of the Earth.
226
The nature of volcanic eruptions
• Factors determining the "violence" or explosiveness of a

volcanic eruption
• Composition of the magma (#Si = high viscosity)
• Temperature of the magma (lo T = high viscosity)
• Dissolved gases in the magma (low gas = high viscosity)
- <5 wt% of a magma
- Mainly H2O, CO2, SO2
factors actually control the viscosity of a given magma
which in turn controls the nature of an eruption
• Felsic (granitic, rhyolitic)

• Si-rich, v. viscous
• Mafic (basaltic)
• Si-poor = much more fluid-like
227
Relative viscosity
228
Materials extruded from a volcano
• Felsic (granitic, rhyolitic)
• Si-rich, v. viscous
• Mafic (basaltic)
• Si-poor = much more fluid-like
Molten material is less dense then surrounding rock = magma rises to surface
Under shallow pressures, gases start to form bubble (like carbonated beverage)
Magma and bubbles begin to expand
- If lava is low viscosity, then bubbles can escape = non-explosive eruption (effusive)
- If lava is high viscosity, then pressure inside lava builds up = explosive eruption
229
Materials extruded from a volcano: effusive
Pahoehoe lava: resembles a twisted / ropey texture
230
Aa lava: rough, jagged blocky texture
231
232
Pillow lava: underwater
233
Lava domes / volcanic domes: bulbous mass of congealed lava
Most are associated with explosive eruptions of gas-poor magma
234
Materials extruded from a volcano: explosive
• Pyroclastic materials – "fire fragments"

Types of pyroclastic debris
• Tephra: ash & dust - fine, glassy fragments
• Cinders - pea-sized material
• Pumice - porous rock from 'frothy' lava
235
Materials extruded from a volcano: explosive
• Pyroclastic materials – "fire fragments"

Types of pyroclastic debris
• Lapilli - walnut-sized material
• Particles larger than lapilli
• Blocks - hardened or cooled lava (meters)
• Bombs - ejected as hot lava; teardrop shape
236
• Eruption column
• Cloud of gas and tephra; can reach
45 km high
• Heavier material falls back to Earth
after traveling some distance
237
238
239
• Lateral blast
• Build up of pressure, and magma/
gas is directed sideways (not up)
• Could also occur if flank collapse
exposes magma chamber
240
Mt St Helens:
lateral blast
241
242
243
• Pyroclastic flows & surges
• Mixture of hot (~500-700°C) gas & rock (ash-block) that flows like an avalanche
• Velocities from 10’s - 100 m/sec; travel kms - 10s kms
• Generally confined to valleys
• Originate from column collapse or dome collapse
244
• Pyroclastic flows & surges
• Mixture of hot (~500-700°C) gas & rock (ash-block) that flows like an avalanche
• Velocities from 10’s - 100 m/sec; travel kms - 10s kms
• Generally confined to valleys
• Originate from column collapse or dome collapse
• "Ash hurricane" responsible for the holocaust at St. Pierre, Martinique, 1902;
30,000 people killed in minutes
245
Pyroclastic flows & surges
nueé ardente (glowing avalanche)
• Fiery pyroclastic flow made of hot gases
infused with ash and other debris
• Move down slopes at speeds up to 200 km/h
246
Pyroclastic flows & surges
nueé ardente (glowing avalanche)
• Fiery pyroclastic flow made of hot gases
infused with ash and other debris
• Move down slopes at speeds up to 200 km/h
Drive faster!
247
Eruption types
Hawaiian: low-viscosity; fire fountain discharge 1 km high; little pyroclastic material; non-explosive
Strombolian: blasts of lava, including bombs and tephra, create low elevation columns and pyroclastic
flows; mildly explosive
Vulcanian: sustained explosions of highly viscous magma; columns reach several km high and collapse
to produce pyroclastic flows; very explosive
Pelean: result from collapse of lava dome producing nueé ardente; violently explosive
Plinian: sustained ejection of magma resulting in eruption column up to 45 km high; ash cloud can
circle the Earth in days; violently explosive
Phreatic: results when magma mixes with shallow groundwater, which flashes to steam and explosively
erupts; no new magma reaches surface
248
249
Volcanic landforms
• volcanic cone - hill or mountain
• vent - surface source of eruption
• volcanic crater / caldera - depression surrounding vent
250
• volcanic crater (small, <1 km) / caldera (large) -
depression surrounding vent
251
• fissures (linear features) on land = flood lava (basalt)
252
• volcanic pipes and necks - short conduits
that connect a magma chamber to the surface
253
lava tube - metro system for lava
254
Types of volcanoes
255
Shield Volcano
• results from effusive eruptions from/near main vent
• Mauna Loa is a classic shield volcano
• very little pyroclastic material
• slope angles are gentle, size (diameter) is large
• composition/viscosity?
256
Shield Volcano: Olympus Mons
257
Composite cone or Stratovolcano
• results from layered pyroclastic eruptions + v. viscous lava flows
• often produce a nueé ardente
• most violent eruption
258
Composite cone or Stratovolcano
Large, classic-shaped volcano (1000’s of m high & several
km wide at base)
Most are located adjacent to the Pacific Ocean (e.g. Mt.
Vesuvius, Fujiyama, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Ranier)
259
Pyroclastic or cinder cone
• tephra and loose pyroclastic material
• small, steep sided
• Sunset Crater, AZ, Parícutin Volcano, MX
260
Lava domes / volcanic domes
bulbous mass of congealed lava
most are associated with explosive eruptions of gas-poor magma
261
Types of volcanoes
262
Geysers, Fumaroles and Hot Springs
• fumarole is vent where gases emerges at the surface of the Earth
• hot springs or thermal springs are areas where hot water comes to
the surface of the Earth (usually along a fault)
• geyser results if the hot spring has a plumbing system that allows for
the accumulation of steam from the boiling water. When Psteam > Pwater
the steam will move rapidly toward the surface, causing the eruption of
the overlying water.
263
264
Geothermal
Energy!
265
266
267
Volcanic eruptions
• Primary effects
- Lava flows: not explosive, slow moving, threat to buildings
- Eruptions and pyroclastic flows: most dangerous aspect; fast, hot, and
potentially widespread (ash fall)
- Gas emissions: hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), hydrogen

fluoride (HF), and carbon dioxide (CO2); flows as dense fog
• CO2 gas emission from Lake Nyos (crater of volcano) in Cameroon killed more
than 1700 people and 3000 cattle
268
2010: Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) erupts
269
Volcanic eruptions
• Primary effects
- Lava flows: not explosive, slow moving, threat to buildings
- Eruptions and pyroclastic flows: most dangerous aspect; fast, hot, and
potentially widespread (ash fall)
- Gas emissions: hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), hydrogen

fluoride (HF), and carbon dioxide (CO2); flows as dense fog
• CO2 gas emission from Lake Nyos (crater of volcano) in Cameroon killed more
than 1700 people and 3000 cattle
270
Lake Nyos, Cameroon
271
Volcanic eruptions
• Secondary effects
- Lahar: unconsolidated tephra + water* = mudflow, rapid down slope movement of
material (thick water to wet concrete)
- * snow, ice, groundwater, rainfall, or crater lake
- may occur during eruption or many years later
- November 13, 1985 a mudflow generated by a small eruption on Nevado del Ruiz
(Columbia) flowed down slope and devastated the town of Armero (50 km away)
which was built on old mudflow deposits. The town had several hours of warning
from villages higher up slope, but these warnings were ignored, and 23,000
people died in the mudflow that engulfed the town.
272
Nevado del Ruiz
273
274
paleolahar
fossil lahar
275
Volcanic eruptions
- Debris avalanches and debris flows: relatively unconsolidated volcanic material
(+ other) which flows downslope due to gravitational instability
- avalanches, landslides, and flows do not necessarily accompany eruptions
• 1980 Mt St Helen eruption was preceded by a M5 earthquake; this lead to an
avalanche which removed the top 500 m of the mountain and flowed into the
adjacent lake raising water levels 40 m
- Tsunami: flows, avalanches, landslides, caldera collapse entering a body of water
• 1883 eruption of Krakatau, between Java and Sumatra, several tsunami were
generated by collapse of caldera. The tsunami killed about 36,400 people, some
as far away as 200 km
• Flooding: flows can block (dam) or re-route rivers. Jökulhlaup occur when melting
of glaciers results in rapid burst of water release
276
277
Volcanic eruptions
- Atmospheric effects: both solid and gas particles are released during eruptions,
which cause a reflection of the solar radiation
- temperature of Earth’s surface increases by 2-3°C for as much as 10 yrs
- Acid rain: SO2 + H2Oatm = H2SO4
• Volcanic gases like CO2 are greenhouse gases which help keep heat in the
atmosphere. During the Cretaceous period (70 to 120 Ma) the CO2 content of the
atmosphere was about 15 times higher than present. This is thought to have
been caused by voluminous eruptions (sea floor, Deccan Traps). Average
temperatures were about 10 to 12°C warmer than present.
278
279
- Geothermal energy
- Metallic ore deposits
- Outgassing of Earth = atmosphere
- Fertile soil = food & drink!
280
Volcanic monitoring
• Active volcano
- shown eruptive activity within recorded history (n: 600, 10% erupt/yr)
• Extinct volcano
- shown no signs of recent/historic activity
• Dormant volcano
- ‘sleeping’ .. something in between
- Mt St Helen was considered dormant; no activity for 130 yrs
- Mt Pinatubo was dormant for 400 yrs before 1991 eruption
- Mt Vesuvius was considered extinct prior to 79 AD eruption
281
Volcanic monitoring
• Long term forecasting

- Knowledge of the geologic and
eruption history of the region
282
Volcanic monitoring
• Short term forecasting

- Seismic monitoring and exploration: Earthquakes
usually precede and accompany volcanic eruptions, as
magma intrudes and moves within the volcano;
volcanic tremor (also called harmonic tremor) is a
type of continuous rhythmic shaking
- Using characteristics of P and S waves to locate
magma body
283
284
285
Volcanic monitoring

- Ground deformation: As magma moves into a volcano, the structure may
inflate, causing deformation of the ground surface
- Tilt meters measure changes in the angle of the Earth's surface (measured in
microradians: 0.00018°). GPS tracks changes in distance between several points
on the ground to monitor deformation.
286
Volcanic monitoring

- Changes in heat flow: As magma
approaches the surface or as the
temperature of groundwater increases, the
amount of surface heat flow will increase.
- Changes may be small, but can be
measured using infrared remote sensing.
287
Volcanic monitoring

- Changes in magnetic field: Rocks
contain minerals such as magnetite that
are magnetic, which generates a
magnetic field.
- Above a certain temperature (Curie
temperature), magnetic minerals show
no magnetism.
- Thus, if a magma body enters a
volcano, the body itself will show no
magnetism, and if it heats the
surrounding rocks to temperatures
greater than the Curie temperature
(~500°C) the magnetic field over the
volcano will be reduced.
288
Volcanic monitoring

- Changes in electrical resistivity:
Rocks have resistance to the flow of
electrical current which is highly
dependent on temperature and water
content.
- As magma moves into a volcano this
electrical resistivity will decrease.
- Measure the electrical resistivity by
placing electrodes into the ground, may
allow tracking of the movement of
magma.
289
Volcanic monitoring

- Changes in groundwater system: As hot
magma enters a volcano it may cause changes in
the groundwater system, causing the water table
to rise or fall and causing the temperature of the
water to increase.
- By monitoring the depth to the water table in
wells and the temperature of well water, spring
water, or fumaroles, changes can be detected
that may signify a change in the behavior of the
volcanic system.
290
Volcanic monitoring

- Changes in gas compositions: The
composition of gases emitted from volcanic
vents and fumaroles often changes just prior to
an eruption.
- Increases in the proportions of hydrogen chloride
(HCl) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are seen to
increase relative to the proportion of water vapor.
291
Comparison of Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruption predictors
292
goat #1910
Mt Etna goats
293
Volcanic hazards in Canada
294
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndB2WRwyK1w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVBn8R4qzYQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddzU-rkzKF0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFIWWM0Iv-U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmMlspNoZMs
plate motion:
• Gravity is the driving force: old tectonic plates sink at
convergent margins and are formed at divergent margins –
like a conveyor belt, they get recycled in the mantle
• mantle convection may be the cause or an effect of circulation set up by:
• slab-pull: pulling of crust into mantle by down-going slab during
subduction
• slab-push: pushing of crust resulting from elevated position of
oceanic ridge system, causing crust to gravitationally slide down
slab-push flanks of ridge
slab-pull
plate motion:
Divergent / constructive margins
• plates move away from each other

• can occur within ocean or within continent
but always leads to creation of ocean basin
• marked by faults, volcanoes & uplift
• crust is stretched and thinned
• normal faults mark rift zones
• decompression causes melting
• hot rocks are thermally buoyant
Rocks can behave 3 ways:
1) if deformed materials return to original shape after stress removal,
they are behaving elastically • stress results in irreversible
• however, once the stress exceeds the elastic limit of a rock, it changes in shape or size of rock
deforms permanently • strain is a change in size or shape
2) ductile deformation involves bending plastically in response to stress
3) brittle deformation involves fracturing/rupture stress is the applied force
strain is the deformation
Ductile deformation (flow) & folding
Side note: not all rocks break (fault)

Folds
• wave-like undulations in rock layers
• mm-km scale features
• result from horizontal or lateral
compressional forces
• dome
• upwarped displacement of rocks
• basin
• downwarped displacement of rocks
Rocks can behave 3 ways:
1) if deformed materials return to original shape after stress removal,
they are behaving elastically • stress results in irreversible
• however, once the stress exceeds the elastic limit of a rock, it changes in shape or size of rock
deforms permanently • strain is a change in size or shape
2) ductile deformation involves bending plastically in response to stress
3) brittle deformation involves fracturing/rupture stress is the applied force
strain is the deformation
Brittle deformation (rupture) & faulting
FAULTS
Faults are fractures in bedrock along which movement has occurred

• loss of cohesion of a body under the influence of deforming stress
• usually occurs along sub-planar surfaces that separate zones of
coherent material
• considered "active" if movement has occurred within the
last 15,000 years (last ice age)
FAULTS
Joints are fractures or cracks in bedrock along which

essentially no movement has occurred
• multiple parallel joints are called joint sets
FAULTS
fault terminology:
hanging wall & footwall
FAULTS
1) Normal fault
• HW moves down with respect to the FW
• Younger units are placed on top of older ones
• Results in thinning of the crust (extension)
FAULTS
Transform / conservative margins
• plates slide horizontally

past one another
• no igneous activity
• mass (plates) is conserved
FAULTS
2) Strike-slip/transform fault
• dominant displacement is horizontal;
HW & FW slide past each other in
horizontal plane
• rock unit order is uninterrupted
• types of strike-slip faults
• right-lateral
• left-lateral
FAULTS
Convergent / destructive margins
• plates move toward each other

• marked by collisional zones:
compression / crustal thickening, thrust faults, high
relief, igneous activity
• nature of boundary depends on plates involved (oceanic
vs. continental):
1) ocean-ocean convergence: marked by deep
ocean trench & volcanic island arc (subduction
zone)
FAULTS
3) Reverse / thrust faults faults have
movement parallel to the dip (angle from
horizontal) of the fault plane
• HW moves up with respect to the FW

• Older rock units are placed on top of
younger ones
• Results in duplication of rock units and
thickening (compressional forces)
• plates move toward each other

• marked by collisional zones:
compression / crustal thickening, thrust faults, high
relief, igneous activity
vs. continental):
1) ocean-ocean convergence: marked by deep
ocean trench & volcanic island arc (subduction
zone)

vs. continental):
2) ocean-continent convergence: marked by
ocean trench, volcanic arc & mountain belt
(subduction zone)
• moderate thermal heating, voluminous igneous
activity, moderate crustal shortening

vs. continental):
3) continent-continent convergence: marked by
mountain belts & thrust faults
• extreme thermal heating, some igneous activity,
extensive crustal shortening
FAULTS
Faults are fractures in bedrock along which movement has occurred

• loss of cohesion of a body under the influence of deforming stress
• usually occurs along sub-planar surfaces that separate zones of
coherent material
• considered "active" if movement has occurred within the
last 15,000 years (last ice age)
What is an earthquake
• produced by the movement of rock bodies past other ..
the stress has to exceed the strength of the rocks in brittle
manner (cohesion is lost)
• the loci of the earthquake movement are faults, i.e., brittle
deformation zones
• faults come at all scales: millimeter to separation of
lithospheric plates (e.g., San Andreas)… earthquakes can
come at all scales as well
What is an earthquake
Faults & elastic rebound

• fault creep (slow migration of crust along fault plane;
weak vibrations)
• rocks bend & store elastic energy (build-up of strain)
• frictional resistance holding the rocks together is
overcome = earthquake
• release of strain (slippage)
• elastic rebound of rock (as rock tries to return to
original shape)
Vibration of Earth produced by the rapid release
of energy stored in rock subjected to stress
• energy released radiates in all directions
from its source, the focus or
hypocenter
• location on the surface directly above
the focus = epicenter
• energy is in the form of waves
measured as magnitude; felt/observed
as intensity
seismology - study of earthquake waves
• instrument that record seismic waves called
seismographs/seismometer
>1 type of seismograph is needed to record
both vertical & horizontal ground motion
• records of seismic waves from seismographs
= seismograms
rely on inertia of suspended weight to
record motion
• Types of seismic waves … REVIEW!
Body waves
1) P waves (compressional) 6–8 km/s. Parallel to direction of
movement (slinky); also called primary waves. Similar to
sound waves.
2) S waves (shear) 4–5 km/s. Perpendicular to direction of
movement (rope); also called secondary waves. Result from
the shear strength of materials. Do not pass through liquids.
• Types of seismic waves
3) surface waves
results in horizontal & vertical-orbital motions with
long period & great amplitude; travel along outer
part of Earth
a) love (L) waves
• side-to-side
• Types of seismic waves
3) surface waves
results in horizontal & vertical-orbital motions with
long period & great amplitude; travel along outer
part of Earth
b) rayleigh (R) waves
• like an ocean wave
• most destructive
San Francisco
City Hall, 1906
Locating the source of earthquakes
• epicenter is located using the difference in velocities of P & S waves
• locating the epicenter of an earthquake
• a circle with a radius equal to the distance to the epicenter is drawn
around each station
• the point where all three circles intersect is the earthquake epicenter
• Earthquake belts
• 95% of the energy released by earthquakes originates in a few relatively narrow
zones
• major earthquake zones include the Circum-Pacific belt, Alpine - Himalayan
chain, and the oceanic ridge system …plate boundaries
90% of quakes
<100 km depths
seismicity in
E On & W Qc
…not plate boundary?

Measuring the size of earthquakes
• Two measurements that describe the size of an earthquake are

1) intensity – measure of the degree of earthquake shaking at a given
locale based on the amount of damage
2) magnitude – estimates the amount of energy released at the source of
the earthquake
Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale was developed using California
buildings as its standard
Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale was developed using California
buildings as its standard
1811 Earthquake,
New Madrid, Missouri
Modified Mercalli
Intensity Scale
• Magnitude scales
1) Richter scale
• based on the amplitude of the largest seismic wave
recorded 100 km from epicenter
• accounts for the decrease in wave amplitude with
increased distance
• magnitudes < 2.0 are not 'felt'
• 1 unit of Richter magnitude increase =
10x increase in wave amplitude (shaking) &
33x energy increase
• Magnitude scales
2) moment-magnitude scale
• gauges quakes total energy
total length of fault rupture x

depth of fault rupture x
total amount of slip along rupture x
strength of rock (stress:strain)
moment
Earthquake destruction
• "earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do"

• Worst earthquake in the 20th century occurred in China (T'ang Shan
Province), killed 240,000 in 1976. Occurred at 3:42 AM, Magnitude
7.8 earthquake and magnitude 7.1 aftershock. Deaths were due to
collapse of masonry (brick) buildings.
• In 1989 an earthquake near San Francisco, California (The Loma
Prieta, or World Series Earthquake) with a Moment Magnitude of 6.9
killed about 62 people. Most were killed when a double decked
freeway in Oakland collapsed.
• Worst earthquake so far in the 21st century was a magnitude 7.0
earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 12, 2010 with an
estimated death toll of 230,000! (The death toll in this earthquake is
still debated. The Haitian government claims 316,000 deaths, while
U.S. estimates suggest something between 46,000 and 86,000).
Potential Earthquake Hazard, Worldwide
• amount of damage attributable to earthquakes
• intensity & duration of the vibrations
• nature of the material upon which the structure rests
• design of the structure
• Destruction from earthquakes:

• ground movement & fire (building collapse)
• floods & landslides (dam break & courses of rivers change)
1906 San Francisco
1964 Anchorage

• liquefaction
• unconsolidated materials
saturated with water converts
into a mobile fluid; no water
added
• seiches …say: saysh
• the rhythmic sloshing of water
in lakes, reservoirs, & enclosed
basins (+10 m high)
• waves can weaken reservoir
walls and cause destruction

• tsunamis, or seismic sea waves
• generate speeds up to 500–800 km/hr in open ocean
• in the open ocean height is usually less than 1 meter
• in shallower coastal waters the water piles up to heights that occasionally
exceed 30 meters
• can be very destructive

• tsunamis, or seismic sea waves
• generate speeds up to 500–800 km/hr in open ocean
• in the open ocean height is usually less than 1 meter
• in shallower coastal waters the water piles up to heights that occasionally
exceed 30 meters
• can be very destructive
March 2011: a M9.0 earthquake near northern coast of Japan = tsunami that rose up to 40 m
above sea level and killed over 20,000 people, yet only minor destruction from the earthquake
itself. The earthquake was so close to the coast, that little time was available for people to react.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOgJof0u_bs
March 2011 Japan (Honshu Island (1300 km long)
Main quake: M 9.0
Foreshocks: M 6, 6.1, 6.1, 7.2
Aftershocks: 400+
Size of fault rupture: 290 km long
Depth of quake: 24 km
Duration of shaking: up to 5 min
Distance island moved: 2.4 m
Change in length of day: 2 microseconds shorter
Japan Trench
Perceived
Shaking
Extreme
Violent
Severe
Very Strong
Modified Mercalli Intensity Strong
Moderate
Light
Weak
Not Felt
Modified Mercalli Intensity

Earthquake predictions
• rocks under stress begin to dilate (expand in volume) = produces physical

changes in crust
• short term predictions (unreliable)
• swarms of (micro)foreshocks
• tilt/bulge in crust or land surface
• changes in seismic wave velocity
• changes in gas (Radon) & groundwater (levels & chemistry)
• strain monitors
• paleoseismology
• animals?
• radio waves?
• atmosphere?
Principals of:
Horizontality
Superposition
Cross-cutting relationships
Earthquake predictions
• long term predictions (more reliable?)

• seismic gaps - locked
segments of a fault which have
been ’quiet’, use of time series
analysis
• strain monitors & ground
deformation
Long Term Predictions
seismic gaps
Seismic gaps at the Aleutian Islands subduction zone
Seismic gaps along the Himalaya collisional zone
Potential Earthquake Hazard, Worldwide
April 2015, M7.8 earthquake occurred with an epicenter
77 km NW of Kathmandu, Nepal, home to 1.5 million
inhabitants. Second M7 earthquake struck in August
2015.
The earthquakes flattened homes, buildings and temples,
causing widespread damage across the region and killing
>2,300 and injuring >5,000.
The earthquake triggered a major avalanche
on the south slopes of Mt. Everest, located
approximately 160 km east-northeast of the
epicenter.
The avalanche destroyed the base camp,
where climbers were waiting to ascend the
mountain. The avalanche killed at least 17
people and injured 61 others.
Map of >M4 earthquakes since 1990. Four earthquakes >M6 have occurred within 250 km of the April 2015
earthquake over the past century. The largest included a M6.9 in 1988 and a M8.0 in 1934 which severely
damaged Kathmandu. The 1934 earthquake is thought to have caused around 10,600 fatalities.
Perceived
Shaking
Extreme
Violent
Severe
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Light
Weak
Not Felt
MMI
This map shows the M7.8
earthquake (mainshock) and
the distribution of 40
aftershocks of >M4 that
occurred over the following
27 h.
The aftershock distribution

outlines the rupture zone of
the mainshock. The rupture
during the mainshock M7.8
April 25, 2015
initiated beneath the
epicenter and propagated
toward the southeast.
On the next slide, a map of

fault displacement during the
earthquake is superimposed
on this same map.
This map shows fault displacement
during the earthquake. The red star 20 km
is the epicenter and the purple arrow
shows the direction of rupture
propagation towards the southeast.
Contours show the rupture front in 5

s increments after rupture initiation. 5
Small red arrows show the direction 10
and amount of motion of the rocks 15
20
above the fault with respect to the
25 30
rocks below the fault. The amount of 40
slip is shown by color of shading. 50
60
Kathmandu
Maximum fault displacement of

about 3 m occurred in the rupture
zone about 20 km north of
Kathmandu.
Because it is built in a basin underlain by lake
sediment, Kathmandu was particularly
vulnerable during this earthquake. The city is
located in a broad valley surrounded by the
Himalayas. This valley was formerly the site
of a lake within which river delta and lake
sediment accumulated to thickness of about
100 meters.
Economic Geology
Mining to meet consumption rates
▪ In North America, each person uses about 20,000 kg / yr of crushed rock, cement,
sand and gravel, fertilizer, oil, coal, metals, and other mined commodities
▪ For the world as a whole, the consumption rate is about 9,000 kg / yr (per person)
▪ About 54 billion tonnes of material is dug out of the Earth and used each year
Canadian mine production by commodity

▪ Most useful metals in the crust are geochemically
scarce
▪ They are present at concentrations of <0.1 wt%
▪ Most occur as atomic substitutions in more
abundant rock-forming minerals
▪ Atoms of the metals such as nickel, cobalt, and copper
substitute for more common atoms in rock-forming
minerals (such as magnesium and calcium)
Mineral Resources and Human History
▪ Evidence of mining flint, chert, and obsidian for tools >160,000 years ago
▪ Metals were first used more than 20,000 years ago
• native copper and gold were the earliest metals used
• 6000 years ago, copper was first extracted by smelting of sulphide ores
• 5000 years ago smelting of lead, tin, zinc, silver, and other metals began
▪ 4000 years ago, the technique of mixing metals to make alloys was
developed
• bronze composed of copper and tin
• pewter composed of tin, lead, and copper
▪ 3000 years ago, the smelting of iron ore was introduced
• at about the same time, the first use of coal instead of wood was
introduced by the Chinese
What are they used for?
What are they used for?
electronics (highly
Ag photosensitive application Cs
electropositive)
Al aluminum (construction, wire) Cu wire
hardener in batteries diamond (jewelry, abrasive,
As C
(preservative) cutting)
Ba heavy cement, drilling mud F chemical industry (HF acid)
lasers, light-emitting diodes
B borosilicate glass Ga
(GaAs)
semiconductors, transistors,
Be high melting point applications Ge
optics
Bi non-toxic replacement for Pb Hg electrical switches
batteries, plating, plastics
Cd Hf nuclear control rods
stabilizer
Co superalloys (turbine engines) In thin films for LCDs
Cr corrosion resistant steel K whitener, ceramic flux, fertilizer

... but there is more
Mn steel Sr glass for TV tubes
Mo hardening for high-stress steel Ta capacitors (cell phones)
Nb superalloys (heat-resistant) Te semiconductors, solar cells
Ni stainless steel Th high-T ceramics

radiation detection, infrared
Pb batteries, ceramics Tl
sensor
Pt catalytic converters Ti white pigment in paper, paint
Re catalyst for producing Pb-free fuel U nuclear fuel
RE electro-optical devices V alloy with aluminum
S sulfuric acid, cosmetics W catalyst, metal hardener

flame retardant, hardener in
Sb Zn galvanized steel, rubber
batteries
Se photoconductor in photocopiers Zr refractory in ceramics
Ore Minerals
▪ Most ore minerals of the scarce metals are found as sulphides
(e.g. FeS2, ZnS, PbS, CuFeS2)
▪ A few, such as the ore minerals of tin and tungsten, are oxides
▪ Ore minerals rarely occur alone
▪ They are mixed with other non-valuable minerals, collectively
termed “gangue” (e.g. quartz, calcite, feldspar, mica)
acid mine drainage

pyrite (FeS2) + 4O2 + 3H2O =
Fe hydroxide (Fe(OH)3) + sulfuric acid (2H2SO4)
What makes an ore deposit?
350 years of serious thinking about ore deposits ....
De Re Metallica, Agricolla (1556) Mineral Deposits, Lindgren (1913)

Origins of Mineral Deposits
▪ Minerals become concentrated in 5 ways:
1) Concentration by hot, aqueous solutions flowing through
fractures and pore spaces in rock to form hydrothermal
mineral deposits
2) Concentration by magmatic processes within a body of

igneous rock to form magmatic mineral deposits
3) Concentration by precipitation from modified sea water to

form sedimentary mineral deposits
4) Concentration by flowing surface water in streams or along

the shore, to form placers
5) Concentration by weathering processes to form residual or

supergene mineral deposits
A simple set of rules ...
Source Transport Trap

rocks or magma melt or fluid physical or
enriched in metals that can carry chemical process
that can be supplied metals from a that concentrates
to the “ore-forming” source to a site the metals into
system of deposition an ore deposit
Layered mafic intrusions Fractional crystallization Sulphide settling

Volcanic eruptions Geothermal fluids Hydrothermal precipitation

Erosion of a source Fluvial Transport Gravity concentration

Where are Mineral Deposits found?
▪ Mineral deposits are found in a variety of plate tectonic settings

depending on where these processes operate
Where are Mineral Deposits found?
▪ Mineral deposits are found in a variety of plate tectonic settings

depending on where these processes operate
Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic
Continents Oceans
volcanic arc
Metallic Mineral Deposits
▪ Magmatic ore deposits
• Some of the most important accumulations of metals are

associated with magma that forms igneous rocks
• Different metals are naturally enriched in different types of

magma (e.g. Cu and Au in felsic magmas, Ni in mafic
magmas), and they are further concentrated during
cooling and crystallization of the magma
▪ I. Magmatic deposits: 1) fractional crystallization / magmatic differentiation
• heavy minerals that crystallize early, settle and concentrate on the
bottom of the magma chamber
High-density minerals, such as chromite, sink to the bottom

of the magma chamber (Bushveld Complex, South Africa)
▪ I. Magmatic deposits: 2) immiscibility
• segregation of metal-rich (sulphide) liquid from the crystallizing
magma (e.g. Sudbury, Ontario; Voisey’s Bay, Labrador)
• dense, metal-sulfide melt settles to the bottom of the

crystallizing magma chamber
At Voisey’s Bay, Ni-

sulphides crystallized
out of a large mafic
(gabbroic) body
Sudbury Basin
▪ I. Magmatic deposits: 3) pegmatites
• melt remaining in last stages of crystallization of
granitic magma is rich in volatiles and rare elements
• such a melt is very fluid and invades cracks and

results in large crystals
Pegmatites look like

hydrothermal veins but
they are injections of
granitic melt and are
mined for uranium,
thorium, beryllium,
lithium, tantalum, …
▪ II. Deposits associated with metamorphism
• Many important ore deposits are produced by metamorphism of country
rocks adjacent to an intrusion (especially reactive carbonate-rich rocks
which act as a chemical trap for metals)
• These are referred to as “skarns”
• sphalerite (zinc)
• chalcopyrite (copper)
• scheelite (tungsten)
Skarns = contact metamorphism
magma
▪ III. Hydrothermal ore deposits
• Associated with igneous activity: 1) veins
• Among the best known and most important ore deposits are generated from
hot water
• Many originate from hot, metal-rich fluids expelled from crystallizing intrusions
• Fluids move along fractures, cool, and precipitate the metallic ions to produce
vein deposits
• Hydrothermal fluids in open fractures precipitate vein minerals as they cool

• Quartz and calcite are among the most common vein minerals
Vein deposits are concentrated in areas of intense faulting
Where do hydrothermal fluids come from?
• Some originate when water dissolved in magma is released as the

magma crystallizes
• Some are formed from rainwater that circulates deep in the crust,
close to hot intrusions
• In the oceans, such as near midocean ridges, hot seawater is
circulated into the ocean crust
▪ These fluids are corrosive and can leach

metals from the rocks
▪ Dissolved metals precipitate from the fluids

as they rise and cool
▪ Associated with igneous activity: 2) disseminated
• In addition to veins, metals can also occur as
disseminated deposits in which the metals are
distributed throughout the rock body, rather
than concentrated in veins (low grade, large
volume)
• Most of the world’s copper comes from

hydrothermal veins and disseminations
derived from large porphyritic intrusions
(these are referred to as porphyry copper
deposits)
The “root”
of volcanoes
Bingham Canyon, Utah
Morenci mine, Arizona

Global Distribution of Porphyry Deposits
• Associated with igneous activity: 3) VMS
• Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) deposits are
lenses of sulphide minerals that accumulate on the
seafloor from hydrothermal vents
1 Influx of cold seawater
2 3 Alteration of oceanic crust

at <150°C
4 pH drops to ~3 (acidic)
Heating of seawater to
5
~400°C
Leaching of Cu, Zn, Fe, Au
6
and S from surrounding
rocks
Formation of hydrothermal
7 precipitates in contact
with cold seawater
Hydrothermal Deposits at Black Smokers
The same process seen today was responsible for many VMS deposits (as old as 3 Ga)
Lenses of Cu, Fe, Zn and Pb sulphides accumulate on the seafloor
and are buried by younger lavas
• Associated with sediments
• Massive sulphide deposits also form from seafloor
hydrothermal vents in sedimentary basins
• These deposits are sometimes referred to as sedimentary
exhalative deposits (SEDEX)
• A present-day example is the Atlantis II Deep of the Red Sea
• SEDEX deposits form thin layers of metallic sulphide in the
sedimentary rocks (e.g. Red Dog and Sullivan Mines, BC)
SEDEX deposits
typically occur in
the sediment that
fills rift basins
Unconformity-Associated Uranium
Oxidized uranium-bearing brines moving through coarse-grained
sedimentary rock are forced upward into reduced sediments, which
promotes the precipitation of reduced uranium minerals
Mississippi Valley-type Deposits
Oxidized metal-bearing brines migrate toward a basin edge and infill
cavities in limestone (karst environments)
▪ Sedimentary ore deposits
• Reducing conditions during much of the early

history of the Earth allowed dissolved iron to
accumulate in ocean basins
• Eventually photosynthesizing bacteria

generated enough oxygen to precipitate iron
oxide minerals
Banded Iron Formation

▪ Sedimentary hosted deposits
• Placer deposits – formed when heavy metals are
mechanically concentrated by currents in rivers
• gold, platinum, diamonds, tin
Klondike 1902 Klondike 2002
More than half of the gold recovered

historically came from placers
Concentration of
placer deposits
in stream beds
▪ Sedimentary hosted deposits
• South Africa’s fossil placer deposits
• The largest concentration of gold on Earth is in the
ancient placer deposits of the Witwatersrand Basin
• Conglomerates deposited about 2.7 Ga
▪ Deposits associated with weathering
• Residual enrichment – concentrating metals into economically valuable concentrations
• Laterite (enriched in Fe, Al, Ni) forms by deep weathering of the parent rock and
leaching out elements such as silica
• Forms in rainy, tropical climates; not found in glaciated regions
• All of the very large bauxite deposits formed in the last 25 million years
Bauxite – principal ore of aluminum

▪ Deposits associated with weathering
• Supergene enrichment occurs when soluble minerals are
dissolved near the surface and reprecipitated at depth near
the water table
• Low-grade primary ores in large porphyry Cu deposits are
enriched by supergene processes (secondary ores)
• Form in arid climates
Nonmetallic Resources
Significant Industrial Mineral Deposits in Canada
• Potash (KCl salts) is one of the most important mineral deposit types
• Diamonds are a “new” deposit type in Canada
▪ Diamonds
• Most diamonds are found in rare ultramafic igneous rocks
called kimberlites
• Kimberlite magma originates at great depth (>150 km)
and rises quickly to the surface, picking up diamonds from
the upper mantle
Kimberlite pipes
& diamonds
Diamonds form at high pressure, deep in the crust,

under “old, cold” lithosphere
Fossil Fuels
Coal
• From the decay and compression of land plants rich in resins,
waxes, and lignins
• Organic matter accumulated in swamps (anoxic environment)
-warm, moist, calm, little O2, rapid sedimentation
• Burial results in peat-lignite-bituminous and anthracite coal
• Widespread distribution, e.g. Carboniferous-age (c. 300 Ma) units
in N.S. & B.C.
• Plentiful supply but pollution??
The process of forming coal
Peat Lignite Bituminous Anthracite

Coal
U.S. Coal Fields
Estimated worldwide OIL reserves by region (2010)
Fossil Fuels
Oil & Gas
• Unlike coal - derived from the remains of marine plants

and animals rich in proteins lipids & carbohydrates
• Formation complex & incompletely known
• Deposition of sediments rich in plant & animal remains
under anoxic conditions
• Burial over millions of years produces hydrocarbons
• dT/dP must be correct petroleum window
Types of oil traps
• Most petroleum formed in shales

from where it migrates upward
• Reservoirs must be porous &
permeable
• Oil-pools!!
• Trap (folds, faults or stratigraphic)
that is an impermeable seal is
necessary to hold fluid
Fossil Fuels
Tar & Oil Sands • Viscous and "immature oil” (bitumen) that
cannot be pumped
• Found in unconsolidated material, plus
shales and limestones
• Alberta has major resources: ~20% can be
mined; remainder heated and pumped
• 2 trillion barrels in reserve (worldwide)
• Possible environmental impacts from
extraction
Fossil Fuels
Oil & Gas Shale
• Contains kerogen, a waxy substance from

which fuels can be derived
• Found in abundance in western US
• Deposited in vast shallow lakes c. 50 Ma
• Exploitation energy intensive
• ..emerging industry..
• Possibly impacts of fracking
Shale gas
Why so innovative? Or is it?
First well: 1820s; fracking: 1940s
Why care (the positives):
• Less (environmental) impact than coal power plants

• Less water consumption
• Lower greenhouse gas emissions; half as much?
(sulfur dioxide, fine particulates, & volatile organic
compounds)
• Less (visual) impact than coal mining, wind turbines
• Energy independence from Middle East & Asia
(Russia)
• Economic interests: $27B worldwide reserves
(open up other deposits .. shale oil)
Shale gas
Why so innovative? Or is it?
First well: 1820s; fracking: 1940s
Why care (the negatives):
• More (environmental) impact than expected

• Domestic water contamination
• “Leaking” of methane into atmosphere
• Use of unknown chemicals during fracking
• More (visual) impact
• Earthquakes !
pumping H2O =
increase in P =
lowers sn =
earthquake
Fossil Fuels
Gas Hydrates
• A new resource
• Clathrate structure in which gas
(CH4) is enclosed in a water
molecule cage
• Found in cold temperature relatively
high pressure at the bottom of ocean
basins in hydrated sediment layers.
The methane is produced from the
breakdown of biological materials
• Possibly a huge potential source of
clean energy
Fossil Fuels
Impacts of gas hydrates
• Evidence suggests that there was a large injection of methane

into atmosphere at ca. 55 Ma
• Evidence in fossil record of forams and their C isotope records
show that a massive amount of carbon was released in a short
period of time (hundreds of years)
• Oxygen isotope record shows that surface temperatures may
have increased by as much as 7ºC
• Ocean warming may have triggered release of frozen methane -
a green house gas
• The methane would quickly have oxidized to form CO2
• Presence of gas hydrates can affect stability of slopes leading to
slope failure and large submarine landslides
Geologic time (geochronology)
• Earth is ~4.6 Ga (billion years old)

Jan 1: Earth formed ..compressed into 1 year
Feb 21: life formed
Oct 25: complex organisms
Dec 7: reptiles evolved
Dec 25: dinosaurs extinct
Dec 31, 11:00 pm: homo sapiens appear
Dec 31, 11:59:59.97: Columbus discovers Americas
• typical university course: 0.0000011% of Earth’s history
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2_6cqa2cP4
Historical perspective
Ussher, 1625: Sat evening, 22 Oct, 4004 BC (Bible
genealogy; catastrophism)
Hutton, 1770-80’s: like, really 'old,’ man
Kelvin, 1890’s: 24-40 Ma (cooling molten earth model)
Joly, 1890’s: 90-100 Ma (ocean salinity model)
eo-1900’s: 3 Ma to 1600 Ma (sediment deposition model)
Becquerel & Currie, 1896: radioactivity discovered; first age
estimate = 1640 Ma
1) relative dating – compare 2 or more

entities to determine which is older
2) numerical dating – specifying the

actual number of years (± years) that
have passed since an event occurred
(also known as absolute age dating)
We learned how to
classify rocks..
now we need to
classify time
Principles of relative dating
Rules to compare rocks that are not located near one another:
1) Principal of Uniformitarism (Hutton) .. "present is key to past"

• same processes act throughout time, but possibly at different rates
• more influential than catastrophes - hurricanes, floods, impacts
• for general cases: OK

(rivers flow downhill; volcanoes erupt lava)
• specific cases: ?
(there has not always been rivers; volcanoes not always erupt same composition lava)
e.g. ancient Earth spun more rapidly than does modern Earth (440 ‘days’ v 365 days)
But still useful to determine how rocks are 'positioned'

2) Law of Superposition
• most sediments settle from water / wind
• young rock material (sediment) is deposited on top of
earlier, older deposits
3) Principle of Horizontality
• layers of sediment (& lava) are generally deposited in a ~horizontal position
• when/if tilted, how identify upper or top surface?
ripple marks
mudcracks
4) Principle of Cross-cutting Relationships
• intrusive (igneous) formation must be younger than rock it
cuts across; also used for faults
vertical correlation
• superposition
• horizontality
• x-cutting relations
what about lateral

correlations?
Matching of rocks of similar ages in different regions

is known as correlation
• Lithostratigraphic - matching up continuous rock
sequences
• Chronostratigraphic - matching up rocks of the same
age; usually done with fossils using biostratigraphy
only the
last 500 Ma
Matching of rocks of similar ages in different regions

is known as correlation
• often relies upon fossils
• William Smith (late 1700s) noted that
sedimentary strata in widely separated area
could be identified & correlated by their
distinctive fossil content
• fossils: remains of ancient organisms, or other evidence

of their existence, that became preserved in rock
• only 1% of all species ever existed are preserved as
fossils
• use superposition & horizontality to determine age of
rock/fossil within = relative age of fossils
5) Principle of Fossil Succession

• fossil organisms succeed one another in a definite and determinable
order, and therefore any time period can be recognized by its fossil
content
• short-lived, widespread organisms = index fossils
time
5) Principle of Fossil Succession

• fossil organisms succeed one another in a definite and determinable
order, and therefore any time period can be recognized by its fossil
content
• short-lived, widespread organisms = index fossils
Which fossil would make a good index fossil?

Correlation of rock layers
• Vertical and horizontal relationships of rocks

• How about their regional rock unit boundaries?
1) Conformable sequences
contact • layers of rock deposited
w/o interruption
2) Unconformity:
• a gap or break in the rock record produced by erosion and/or
nondeposition of rock units
• implies tectonic movements (uplift)
a) Disconformity – strata on either side of the unconformity are parallel,
but ages differ
How determine?
• composition change
• deposition style change
• paleosol (ancient soil)
• conglomerate/breccia
• color change?
2) Unconformity:
b) Angular unconformity – tilted/folded rocks are overlain
by flat-lying rocks
2) Unconformity types:
c) Nonconformity – metamorphic or igneous rocks in contact with
sedimentary strata
sed
sed
metm
metm
Unconformities in the Grand Canyon
Principles of numerical dating
Neutrons decay to
protons and electrons
Sometimes relative dating is enough..
but other times we need to know the age
(in years) of a rock or geologic event
# of neutrons
Common numerical dating relies on the rate of
decay of radioactive isotopes w/in minerals
the stable isotopes

of all of the elements Protons capture an
are shown as black electron
squares
# of protons
• Radioactivity
• spontaneous changes (decay) in the structure of atomic nuclei
• Nucleus
Protons – particles+ with mass
Neutrons – neutral particles with mass
• Electrons: particles- that orbit the nucleus
Rutherford-Soddy Law
number of radioactive atoms decaying at any time
"t" is proportional to the number "n" of atoms present
¶n
µn N(t) = N(t=0) e [0.693/T1/2 *time]
¶t
produces isotope- new form of element; same # protons, different # neutrons
thru emission or capture of subatomic particles
• Parent – an unstable (decaying) radioactive isotope (U238, K40, Rb87)

• Daughter – the isotopes resulting from the decay of a parent (Pb206, Ar40, Sr87)
• Half-life – defined by the decay constant λ for each isotope – the time required for
one-half of the radioactive nuclei in a sample to decay
• Do not know exactly when the individual (kernel, atom) will convert (pop, decay)
• Do know the probability that it will occur in the next time interval
Types of decay
1) Alpha emission
 particle = 2 protons & 2 neutron (i.e. He)
• nucleus decays (expulsion of) alpha particle
• mass number is reduced by 4
• atomic number is lowered by 2 (U238 -> Th234)
2) Beta emission
 particle = electrons
originate from breakdown of neutron in nucleus
• increases # protons
• increases atomic # (K40 -> Ca40)
3) Electron capture
nucleus steals electron from atom’s own orbiting cloud
• creates new neutron; decreases atomic # (Ca40 -> K40)
6) Principle of radiogenic dating

• percentage of radioactive atoms that decay during one half-life is
always the same (50%)
• however, actual number of atoms that decay continually decreases
Counting half-lives:
• Half-lives: 1 2 3 4
• Parent: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc.
• Daughter: 1/2, 3/4, 7/8, 15/16, etc.
• P:D: 1:1, 1:3, 1:7, 1:15
Ratios of 1:3, 1:7, 1:15, etc. are for
whole half lives, but any ratios can be
measured; e.g. 1:4.2, or 8.6:1
6) Principle of radioactive dating - assumptions

• rates of decay have been measured and do not vary
through time
• assume closed system (initial mineral has only
parent material; no loss of daughter after mineral
forms)
• radiometric clock in minerals starts when daughter
product begins to be trapped in mineral (usually
controlled thermally)
What happens to age if some daughter is lost?

Isotopes used in geochronology and produced by supernova explosions

before our solar system formed (explosive nucleosynthesis)
geochronology for igneous & metamorphic rocks

age equation
t = ln (P+D)/P
λ
• only two measurements are needed:

1) parent : daughter (measured w/ mass spectrometer)
2) decay constant (λ , measured w/ scintillometer)
measure the # of atoms of U-235 and Pb-207

age equation
t = ln (P+D)/P
λ
A zircon mineral collected from northern

Canada has 4500 atoms/gram of U-238
and 4300 atoms/gram of the Pb-206
product. How old is the mineral?
t = ln [(4300+4500)/4500]/[0.693/4.468 byr]
t = 4.32 billion years before present (or Ga)

Radiogenic dating (constraining) of

sedimentary sequences
Other chronometers:
• varve chronology (layered lake seds)
• dendrochronology (tree rings)
• lichenometry (lichen diameters)
• crater impact density (surfaces of planets)
• surface exposure age dating; intergalactic cosmic-ray
bombardment of Earth’s surface
• C14 dating (bones, wood, paper, cloth); carbon-14 is
produced by cosmic ray bombardment of nitrogen-14 in
the atmosphere; dating is useful for about 10 half lives, or
only about 57,000 years
C12 (6 protons + 6 neutrons) is the most common isotope of carbon
C14 is a rarer isotope that is produced by the bombardment of N14 (7 protons + 7 neutrons)
by rogue neutrons
N14 gains 1 neutron but loses 1 proton, changing it to C14 (atomic mass stays the same, but
atomic number changes)
C14 becomes incorporated into CO2, along with the more common C12, which circulates
in the atmosphere and is absorbed by living things (all organisms, including us, contain a
small amount of C14)
As long as the organism is alive, the proportions of C12 and C14 remain constant due
to constant replacement of any C14 that has decayed
When the organism dies, the amount of C14 gradually decreases as it decays
to N14 by the loss of an electron (so one neutron is changed to a proton)
protons: 6 protons: 7
neutrons: 8 neutrons: 7
By comparing the proportions of C14 and C12 in a sample of organic matter,
and knowing the rate of conversion, a radiocarbon date can be determined
Summary
• C14 occurs in organic remains rather than in minerals

• C14 is absorbed by all living organisms from the
atmosphere or the food they eat
• Clock is 'set' when an organism dies
• Carbon is extracted from the buried sample
• C14:C12 ratio is measured by Accelerator Mass
Spectrometry
Eon – the greatest expanse of time
Era – subdivision of Eon
Period – subdivision of Era
Epoch – subdivision of Period
Cenozoic (“recent life”)

Mesozoic (“middle life”)
Paleozoic (“ancient life”)
•Cenozoic Era (65 Ma- ): mammals
flourish
•Mesozoic Era (251-65 Ma):
Dinosaurs flourish & become extinct;
reptiles evolve
•Paleozoic Era (543-251 Ma): From
marine invertebrates to dinosaurs
•Phanerozoic Eon (543 Ma- ):
Advanced life forms; modern tectonics
•Proterozoic Eon (2.5 Ga-543 Ma):
More evolved rocks, oxygenation of
atmosphere & development of more
advanced life forms
•Archean Eon (>2.5 Ga): Ancient
primitive crust preserved some
unicellular microorganisms
The Solar System and Impacts
Solar System
• Consists of our star, the sun, the planets, their

satellites, and asteroids
• Located on the arm of a very large spiral galaxy
• Within the Milky Way galaxy (system of stars held
together by gravity)
Geocentric Perspective
• Proposed by Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

• Geocentric universe deeply entrenched in church doctrine
• But, was challenged by Aristarchus (312-230 BCE)
• Simple spheres containing the planets and the sun
revolving around Earth did not explain the retrograde
motion of planets
Retrograde Motion
Geocentric Perspective
Ptolemy (150 CE)
• proposed that planets

also follow a smaller
circular orbit (epicycles)
• predictable periods of
retrograde motion
Retrograde Motion
Copernicus (1473-1543)
• suggested that because Mars has the larger

retrograde motion it is the closest to Earth while
Saturn, having the smallest retrograde motion is the
furthest from the Earth
• proposed that the Earth spins on its axis leading to
sunrise and sunset
Kepler (1571-1630)
1) law of ellipses
The orbit of each planet is an ellipse with sun at
one focus
2) law of orbital harmony
For any planet, the square of the orbital period in
years is proportional to the cube of the planet’s
average distance from the sun
3) law of equal areas
3) law of equal areas
A line drawn from a planet to the sun sweeps out equal
areas in equal time
The orbital velocity changes
4th century BCE 17th century CE
Compared to astronomy, geology is a very 'young' science

12,756 km diameter of Earth
142,800 km diameter of Jupiter

1,400,000 km diameter of the Sun
International Astronomical Union, 2006 proposal
Scaled-down representation of
the solar system
Let’s shrink the solar system

such that the distance of the
Sun to Pluto (5.9 x 109 km) is
100 m
At this scale, the Sun’s diameter

of 1,400,000 km reduces to a
2.4 cm wooden ball
red super giant

Scaled-down model of solar system
distance (m) diameter (cm)

SUN 0 2.4
Mercury 1.0 0.008
Venus 1.8 0.02
Earth 2.5 0.02
Mars 3.9 0.01
Jupiter 13.2 0.24
Saturn 24.2 0.20
Uranus 48.6 0.09
Neptune 76 0.08
Pluto 100 0.004
Mercury, d = 4,880 km,  = 5.4 g/cm3
Messenger, 2011 NASA
scarps?
0 satellites
• 70% metallic & 30% silicate composition; internally layered
• largest T range (-170° to 425°C)
Venus, d = 12,104 km,  = 5.24 g/cm3
0 satellites
• Earth's twin; ancient volcanoes (tectonics?), few impact craters
• thick (deadly) atmosphere (inhibits telescope observation)
Earth, d = 12,760 km,  = 5.52 g/cm3
1 satellite Apollo 8, 25-DEC-1968, NASA

Moon,
d = 3475 km,
 = 3.3 g/cm3
Impact theory
of formation during
initial spiralling of
nebula
Highlands:
• 90% plagioclase feldspar
• "foam" on magma ocean
Maria:
• flood basalts
Maria Moon evolution:

• formation of crust
• lunar highlands
• maria basins
Highlands • rayed craters
Mars, d = 6,787 km,  = 3.96 g/cm3
polar ice
Hubble space telescope, MAR-2001, NASA
2 satellites
• ancient volcanoes & tectonics; internally layered; crust: basalt
Evidence for water on Mars?
Jupiter, d = 143,000 km,  = 1.33 g/cm3
layered
atmosphere;
giant storms
surface is
liquid hydrogen
63 satellites + moonlets
Cassini mission, 7-DEC-2000, NASA-ESA

core region is surrounded by dense metallic hydrogen,
which extends outward to about 78% of the radius of the planet
Io, one of the four Galilean satellites
• currently volcanically active

• melting is from tidal energy
Galileo mission, 3-JUL-1999, NASA

Volcanic plumes on Io
- fountains of lava gushing 160 km in height
Galileo mission, 28-JUN-1997, NASA

Saturn, d = 121,000 km,  = 0.69 g/cm3
Cassini mission, 7-MAY-2004, NASA-ESA
rings: <100 m thick
56 satellites + moonlets
Core similar to Earth surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen
an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium and an outer
gaseous layer; magnetic field
Titan (moon): (liquid methane) lakes and seas + atmosphere
sinkholes and karst landscape
Mimas (moon) .. Or Death Star?
The Twins ice dominating over gases = Ice Giants
a rocky center, an icy mantle and an outer gaseous hydrogen/helium envelope; ice: water, ammonia and methane
Uranus, d = 51,000 km,  = 1.27 g/cm3

27 satellites
Neptune, d = 49,500 km,  = 1.76 g/cm3

13 satellites; Triton contains cryovolcanism
Triton contains cryovolcanism
DEMOTED !
Pluto, d = 2,300 km,  = 2.3 g/cm3

largest member of a distinct population of rock, metals, and ices called the Kuiper belt
(dwarf planets, moons, planetesimals)
534
Terrestrial vs Jovian planets
• hard silicate rocky surfaces • dense metallic cores

• close to the Sun • few satellites
• larger ones have atmospheres
535
Terrestrial vs Jovian planets
• very large outer planets • very low density
• turbulent • many satellites
• composed of gases, H, He, NH3
536
Solar nebula theory
Some observations to consider…
• All planets revolve around the Sun in the same direction (ccw when
viewed from top, i.e. Earth north).
• All planets revolve within the same plane (ecliptic) except for Pluto
(17° tilted from the ecliptic).
• Nearly all planets revolve ccw on their axes (Venus is cw, Uranus is
severely tilted).
537
Solar nebula theory
Some observations to consider…
• Sun also revolves ccw on its axis (25½ Earth days).
• Axes of rotation of sun and planets are nearly all ⊥ to the ecliptic.
• Terrestrial planets have high density,  = 4 to 5.5 g/cm3, rocky
surfaces with metallic cores.
• Jovian planets have low density,  = 0.6 to 1.8 g/cm3, composed of H,
He, NH3, CH3.
538
Solar nebula theory
• Solar nebula, cloud of He, H, some
heavier dust
• 4.6-4.4 Ga ago, gravitational
contraction, cloud initiates rotation
• Gravitational collapse, increase T, light
elements driven towards outer edges of
disk
• Planets result from accretion of dust,
planetisimals
• Sun originates from concentration of
mass at the centre
539
Solar nebula theory
A few problems:
• Venus rotates cw, contrary to the

majority of planets
• Origin of the asteroid belt (between

Mars and Jupiter), destruction of an
early planet by collision or failed
accretion of planetisimals?
• Rotation speed of Sun is too slow

given its position at the centre of the
disk.
540
Age of solar system
• Meteorites 4.53 to 4.58 Ga

• Moon rocks 4.4 to 4.5 Ga
• Oldest rock on Earth, Acasta gneiss in NWT is 4.03*
Ga (but Earth is tectonically active, rocks keep getting
recycled…)
• Oldest mineral on Earth, zircon in Australia is 4.4 Ga
*4.28 Ga in N. Quebec; highly controversial
541
2013 Chelyabinsk, Russia
2016 Toronto, Canada
542
Meteors: glowing fragments of rock that are outside the Earth’s atmosphere
(shooting stars)
Meteoroid: a meteorite before it hits the surface
Meteorite: piece of rock from outer space that hits the Earth
Fire balls: very bright meteors
Meteor showers: when Earth’s orbit passes through a belt of cosmic dust and
rock (Perseid – mid-August; Leonid – mid-November)
543
Stones: resemble rocks found on Earth; most common type of meteorite
Meteorites • chondrite: most common, Fe-, Mg-, and Ni-bearing minerals, magnetic
composed of small round spheres (chondrules); 4.6 Ga
• achondrites: same composition, but lack the chondrules
Irons: composed of Fe-Ni alloy (high density); likely

candidate that resembles Earth’s core
Stony Irons: mix of stony silicate material and iron
544
Most meteorites appear to be fragments of larger bodies:
parent bodies (small planets, larger asteroids, etc)
• The Asteroid Belt:

- between Mars and Jupiter, a swarm of 100,000 objects
called asteroids- small rocky bodies with irregular
shapes and cratered surface
- 4000 have been officially classified and named
- likely produces Near Earth Objects, 150 NEOs with 1-8
km diameters;
1700 NEO are
potentially hazardous
545
Most meteorites appear to be fragments of larger bodies:
parent bodies (small planets, larger asteroids, etc)
• Comets:
a body that orbits around the Sun with eccentric orbit; ice + rock
solar radiation generates gases from evaporation of comet’s
surface, giving the comet it’s tail
ionized
gases
dust
546
Comets
• ~10-20% of comets are in Earth-crossing orbits
• 700 long-period comets (T>200 yrs)
• 25 short-period comets (T≤200 yrs); 95% have lost
their tails = “stealth comets”
• Our first warning is likely to be their initial entry into
Earth’s atmosphere
Impactors (meteors, bolides, fireballs)

• <10 m diameter - burnup in atmosphere
• Larger ones..?
547
1908 Tunguska, Russia
- 2000 km2 of fallen trees, blast witnessed from 300 km
away, and heard from 1000 km away
- Meteor was 60-190 m in size
- Largest impact in historical record
Tunguska
548
Impacts
• Atmospheric frictional heat may
raise surface temperature to
3,000°C, creating tail to fireball
• At 115 km above ground,
atmosphere is dense enough to
heat meteoroids until glowing
• Meteoroids typically visible 100 km
above ground, vaporized before
reaching 60 km above ground
• Violently compresses air → mini-
sonic boom
549
• 1994: Impacted Jupiter’s atmosphere, at up to 60 km/s
– Initial flash at collision
– Superheated gas fireball, thousands of kilometers
above clouds
– Radiation as plume crashed back down at high speed
– Largest (1 km) fragment G → impact scar larger than
Earth
550
551
552
Frequency of Large Impacts
• Determined by examination of Moon’s

maria: one major impact every 110 million
years
• Extrapolated to Earth’s (80x) larger surface
area: 2,400 impacts leaving craters bigger
than 25 km diameter; 720 of them on land
Maria
• More than 160 craters discovered so far,
most smaller than 25 km diameter;
remainder probably buried or destroyed
Highlands
• Extremely small odds that Earth will be hit
by large asteroid during human lifetime
553
• Meteoroids greater than 350 tons in
weight not slowed down by atmosphere
– Hit ground at nearly original speed,
explode and excavate craters
• Craters are erased by erosion, destroyed
by plate tectonics and buried under
sediments
• 164 known impact craters, including 57 in
US and Canada
554
Wanapitei crater, ON, 37 Ma
Manicouagan crater, QC, 214 Ma
Charlevoix crater, QC, 342 Ma
555
nickel, copper, platinum, palladium, gold
556
Chicxulub crater
557
Meteorite flux
• 107 to 109 kg/year
• 1 mm diameter objects
hit the Earth once every 30
seconds
• Meteoroids 1 gram or more pass
through atmosphere to Earth’s
surface
• Speeds of 11 – 30 km/sec →
atmosphere behaves like solid
• Frictional resistance of
atmosphere melts away exterior,
protecting interior → glazed,
blackened crust
558
Summary of effects of Impacts
• Massive earthquakes
• Dust and ash released into atmosphere, blocking solar
radiation (cool)
• Widespread wild fires (more dust and ash) (cool)
• If impact into ocean, large amount of water vapor /
steam would be released; H2O + CO2 scatters solar
radiation and has long residence in atmosphere (warm)
• Shock would produce nitrogen oxides; combined with
water = nitric acid (acid rain)
• If impact into ocean = tsunami
559
560
landslide disasters
Frank, NWT (Alberta), 1903

A rock avalanche (30 M m3) slid
off the eastern face of Turtle
Mountain, covering 3 km in about
100 s. The avalanche buried the
outskirts of the mining town of
Frank. Some 75 people died.
Monitored since 1933.
561
Fraser Canyon, BC, 2008
Rockfall near Furry Creek covered 75
m of the Sea to Sky Highway in rubble
10 m deep and also took out the
railway line below the highway. The
highway was closed for 3 days. The
slope was stabilized
by blasting.
562
Hope Slide, SW BC, 1965
Canada’s largest rock avalanche in the historic period, 46 M m3 of rock debris
avalanched down a the side of a mountain forming a fan up to 80 m thick and
3 km wide. Four people driving on the Hope-Princeton Highway were killed. There
is no known triggering event for this slide.
563
Canada: Canada:
landslide fatalities by province fatalities by source
(1840 - present) (1840 - present)
Frank slide
564
Mass Movements at the Surface
• processes that transport Earth material (rock,

soil, sediment) down slope by pull of gravity
(gravity induced disasters)
• occurs when factors that drive material
downslope overcome factors that resist
downslope movement
• failures may be catastrophic and sudden or
slow and gradual
• geologic time: all slopes are inherently unstable
• can measure pull of gravity, using trigonometry
to measure downhill force
• catastrophic mass movements usually triggered
by some other event
565
Mass Movements at the Surface
Triggers of mass movements

• most failures have complex causes
• slopes lose strength over time through numerous events and near-failures
• underlying causes push slope to brink of failure
• finally immediate cause triggers collapse
– earthquakes, volcanoes, heavy rains, thawing of frozen ground, and
anthropogenic activity (humans: mismanagement of water, land, and
vegetation resources; mining; urban sprawl)
566
Factors of Slope Failures
1) slope angle / slope support

-increase by downcutting of landscape by rivers or waves
2) slope composition
-weathered, fractured rock, high clay concentration, or
unconsolidated material = unstable
3) vegetation
-presence of vegetation anchors unconsolidated material
(think: forest fires)
4) weight
-water, overlying sediment
5) water
-in little amounts: holds unconsolidated material together
-in large amounts: reduces friction between grains and acts
by buoying up the weight of slope material
567
3) vegetation
-presence of vegetation anchors unconsolidated material
(think: forest fires)
4) weight
5) water
-in large amounts: reduces friction between grains and acts
by buoying up the weight of slope material
568
Internal Causes of Slope Failures
Adverse geologic structures (~composition)
• ancient slip surfaces: sliding creates a smooth, slick layer of ground-up
materials that can easily slide over and over again, especially when wet
• exposed bedding (orientation of layering in hillside)
– layers at flatter angle than hillside → "daylighted" or exposed bedding
allows slippage
– layers at steeper angle than hillside → difficult to slip
• structures within rocks
– not cemented together
– clay layers
– soft rock layer on strong layer
– split apart by fractures
– ancient fault → slide surface
569
Exfoliation: decrease in cohesion (~composition)

• rocks that are buried compress into smaller volumes
• rocks that are later uplifted to the surface expand in volume, fracture
and increase porosity → reduces strength of rock, increases
openings for water to further weaken rock
570
Inherently weak materials (composition)

• Clays (one of most abundant sedimentary minerals) form during chemical
weathering of rocks
• clay crystals are very small, shaped like books
• chemical composition of clays can change → altering strength, size and
water content → altering strength of rock
571
Inherently weak materials

• Expansive and Hydrocompacting soils w/ clay
• some clays expand (increase volume) when water is added
572
• Quick clays: most mobile of all deposits – fine rock flour scoured by
glaciers, deposited in seas and later exposed above water
• weak solid – loosely packed, ‘house of cards’ structure held together by
salt
• when exposed, fresh water dissolves salt and ‘house of cards’ structure
can collapse so that ground turns to liquid and flows away
salt
clay
water
573
Canadian quick-clay slope failures

• common in eastern Canada
• recognize problem areas, take preventative actions (move town)
• Lemieux, Ontario (1993): 3.5 million m3 flowed into river; dammed river for 3 km
574
Flowslide Flowslide
St-Jean-Vianney, Québec (1971) Nicolet, Québec (1955)
(31 deaths, 40 houses destroyed)
575
Water in its internal roles

• weakens earth materials by
– weight: water is heavier than air that usually fills pore spaces of
sedimentary rocks in slopes
– absorption and adsorption: water is absorbed (internally) and
adsorbed (externally) by clay minerals, decreasing their strength,
because positive side of water molecule attaches easily to negatively
charged clay surfaces
576

– dissolving (natural) cement: water flowing through rocks can
dissolve minerals holding rock together (dissolved gypsum and clay
cement of St. Francis dam, California, 1928)
– piping: water flowing through rocks can physically erode away
(remove) loose material
200 dead, 300 missing

-one of the worst American civil
engineering disasters of the 20th
century
-second-greatest loss of life in
California's history, after the 1906
San Francisco earthquake
577

– dissolving (natural) cement: water flowing through rocks can
dissolve minerals holding rock together (dissolved gypsum and clay
cement of St. Francis dam, California, 1928)
– piping: water flowing through rocks can physically erode away
(remove) loose material
578

– pore-water pressure: pressure on water in pore spaces of
rocks increases with increasing weight of sediment piled on
top of rocks, and if pore space water becomes over-
pressurized, gives ‘lift’ to overlying sediments making them
unstable
• quicksand where sand grains are
supersaturated with pressurized water
• pore-water pressure equals weight of
sands → no shear strength
• water-pressurized sand on slope flows
downhill
• water-pressurized sand in depression is
quicksand, high-viscosity liquid
579

– water table: top of groundwater; gravity pulls water down to saturate
open spaces in subsurface rocks as groundwater
580
Vaiont, Italy, 1963
– fractured rock layers dip toward valley on both sides
– rock layers have old slip surfaces, clay layers, limestone layers with
caverns
– water filling reservoir saturated rocks in toes of slopes and elevated
pore-water pressures
581
Vaiont, Italy, 1963

• heavy rains triggered
landslide – 1.8 km x
1.6 km (240 million
m3) slid at up to 30
m/s into reservoir
• block filled part of
reservoir and
displaced water to
crash over dam and
into towns at both
ends of reservoir
582
Classification of Mass Movements
• Mass movements that behave like fluids – internal movements dominate,

slip surfaces absent or short-lived
• range of:
– all sizes of materials
– wet to dry
– barely moving to >200 km/hr
– gradation from movement on slip surface, to no slip surface
• many names: loess flow, earthflow, mudflow, debris flow, debris
avalanche, snow avalanche, slides, slumps….
583
584
Creep
• slowest, most widespread form
of slope failure
• almost imperceptible downhill
movement of soil and uppermost
bedrock layers
• swelling and shrinking of soil in
response to:
– freezing and expanding of
water in pores
– absorption of water,
expansion of clay minerals
– heating by Sun and increase
in volume
586
Creep
• soil expands perpendicular to ground surface, shrinks
straight downward in response to gravity
587
Solifluction
• permafrost regions of steep slopes, sun thaws top layer of soil and it
flows slowly over frozen subsoil
588
• downward – fall or subsidence

• downward and outward – slide
and flow
589
Earthflow: Portuguese Bend, California
– rock layers tilt seaward, contain bentonitic clay, and ocean waves
erode toe and keep ancient earthflow moving seaward
– unstable land used for farming until residential development built in
1950s
590
Portuguese Bend, California
591
• Slides: movement of block

above failure surface
• Rotational slides (slump):
– move downward and outward
above curved slip surface,
with movement rotational
about an axis parallel to
slope
– head moves downward and
rotates backward
– toe moves upward on top of
landscape
– move short distances
592
Ensenada, Baja
California, 1976
– slump preceded
by arcuate cracks
in hillside
– cracks widened,
area slid slowly,
residents
evacuated
– toe of slide lifted
sea floor above
sea level
593
Ensenada, Baja California, 2013
594
Turnagain Heights, Anchorage, Alaska, 1964
• M9.2 earthquake triggered many mass movements
• glacially ground, clay-rich

sedimentary rocks
• sliding began after 90 seconds
of shaking liquefied deep clays
(liquifaction)
• rotational slides trapped deep
clay layer so it deformed
internally, moving block above
595
• Translational slides (slides)
– move on planar slip surface such as fault, joint, clay-rich layer
– move as long as on downward-inclined surface, and driving mass
exists
– different behaviors:
• remain coherent as block
• deform and disintegrate to form debris slide
• underlying material fails so overlying material slides
596
Point Fermin, California, 1929

• sandstone block on clay layer slid
seaward, with no resisting mass
597
Slump/debris flows: La Conchita, California, 1995, 2005
• cliff behind La Conchita is ancient landslide
• 1995: two slow landslides destroyed 14 houses, no deaths
• 2005: 15% of 1995 slide mass remobilized into highly fluid debris flow, at
10 m/sec, went over retaining wall, destroyed 13 houses, damaged 23
others, killed 10 people
598
Blackhawk Event, California, 17,000 years ago

– huge rock fall in San Bernardino Mountains flowed out into Mojave
Desert – flowed 7.5 times farther than fell, speed estimated up to 120
km/hr
599
Turtle Mountain, NWT (Alberta), 1903

– 30M m3 of dipping limestone slid down daylighted bedding surface
1000 m into valley
– shattered, flowed 3 km across valley, 130 m up opposite side
– buried southern end of Frank, killing about 75 people
600
Nevados Huascaran Events, Peru

• 1962: no perceptible trigger
– mass of glacial ice and rock fell → 13M m3 debris
flow
– debris flowed up to 170 km/hr down river valleys,
killing 4,000 people
• 1970: M7.7 earthquake 135 km away
– portion of peak collapsed and fell vertically 400-900 m
(debris avalanche)
– mass landed on glacier and slid
– raced up side of glacial-sediment hill, launching debris
into air
– rain of rocks and boulders for 4 km downslope
– 18,000 people beneath more than 30 m of debris
601
Long-runout debris flows

• most spectacular, complex
movement – massive rock falls that
convert into highly fluid, rapid debris
flows that travel far (also called
Sturzstroms)
• rock falls and small-volume
avalanches flow horizontally less
than twice vertical distance of fall
• very large rock falls (more than 1
million m3) travel up to 25 times
vertical fall – have lower coefficient of
friction
602
Elm Event, Switzerland, 1881

• farmers quarried slate from base of mountain until cracks opened up in
hillside above
• fall, jump, surge:
– mass of mountain began to disintegrate as it fell
– hit floor of quarry and disintegrated completely
– shot out from mountainside ledge, flowed 2230 m into valley
603
Sturzstroms: movement of highly fluidized

rock flows hypotheses for fast and far
movement:
• water provides lubrication and fluidlike flow
– some observed flows were dry
• steam liquefies and fluidizes moving mass
• frictional melting fluidizes moving mass
– some deposits contain blocks of ice,
lichen → no significant heat or friction
• falling mass traps air beneath and rides
trapped air
– Elm sturzstrom was in contact with
ground
– identical flow features on ocean floor,
Moon, Mars (no atmosphere)
604
• Snow avalanches
• behave like earth mass movements – creep, fall, slide, flow
• small to large, barely moving to 370 km/hr, few meters to several
kilometers
• small avalanches typically fail at one steep point, in loose,
powdery snow, which triggers more and more snow moving
downhill
• usually begin when snow reaches 0.5 to 1.5 m deep
• snow depth can reach 2 to 5 m before big avalanches occur, if
snow particles become rounded and packed
605
Delicate little snow flake?
606
• Loose-powder avalanches
– low cohesion with up to 95% volume as pore space
• Slab avalanches
– slabs of snow that break free from base like translational slides, turning into flows on
way down
– snow mass composed of layers with different ice, snow characteristics → different
strength
– numerous potential failure surfaces
• dry snow forms faster avalanches than wet snow
• avalanches may flow for many miles, up and over ridges
607
• Falls: elevated rock mass separates along joint, bedding or weakness

and falls downward through air in free fall until hitting the ground,
bouncing and rolling
Yosemite National Park, California, 1996
• 162,000 ton granite mass slid and launched into air, fell 500 m before
hitting valley floor, pulverized into cloud of dust
• blast knocked down 1,000 trees

• M3+ earthquake
• 50 acres covered with 3 cm thick
layer of dust
• vertical column of dust 1 km high
• 1 person killed by tree
609
• Subsidence: ground surface gently sags or
catastrophically drops as voids in rocks close
611
Quick lesson on ground water..

1. Subsidence caused by rock dissolution
CaCO3 + H2CO3  Ca+2 + 2HCO3-2

• caves usually occur in limestone (limestone forms from
CaCO3 shells of marine organisms)
• equilibrium equation to create or dissolve limestone:
– Right to left – limestone is precipitated
– Left to right – limestone is dissolved
– controlled by amount of carbonic acid, which is
controlled by amount of carbon dioxide
– cave formation process can take anywhere
between 10,000 years and 1 million years
stalagtite, stalagmite, columns, flowstone
karst landscape

catastrophic subsidence: when groundwater levels
drop, caverns are empty and support of buoyant
water holding up cavern roofs is removed →
roofs collapse, forming sinkholes
2. Subsidence caused by mine collapse

- coal, salt, metallic ore..
Centralia, Pennsylvania
3. Subsidence caused by fluid withdrawal

When water is removed, loose sand will attain a tighter packing
due to the weight of the overburden.
cubic packing rhombohedron packing (tightest possible packing)
When the sediment is

dewatered, the buoyancy
force is removed (sediment
Grain-to-grain interaction is grains are heavier)
reduced in water because the loss of void space
grains are “effectively” lighter
due to the buoyancy force

groundwater withdrawal, Mexico City
• Aztecs built aqueducts to bring water from mountains
• extraction of groundwater through wells began in 1846
• withdrew water faster than it is replenished, causing land subsidence of 10 m
• groundwater withdrawal is now banned, but subsidence can not be reversed

groundwater withdrawal, San Joaquin Valley

oil withdrawal, Houston-Galveston Region, Texas
• pumping of water, gas, oil began in 1917
• area has sunk up to 2.7 m, renewing movement on old
faults that act as landslide surfaces
4. Subsidence caused by sediment compaction

Mississippi River delta, Louisiana
• delta: loose pile of water-saturated sand and mud at end of rivers → compacts and sinks
• Mississippi River delta underlain by

6 km thick sediments deposited in
last 20 Myr
• river position has shifted frequently
but now held in place by human
action
more settlement
clays have more initial void space – more settlement
less settlement
sands are more conductive so settlement happens fast

- When a river floods, it deposits a layer of sediment
- The Mississippi River is channelized with a levee
system and is not allowed to flood naturally

Mississippi River, Louisiana
• New Orleans and region sinking by sediment
compaction, dewatering, isostatic adjustment –
about 45% of city below sea level, prone to high-
water surges in hurricanes
The weight of the structure

increases the water pressure high water pressure
in a bulbous region in the
saturated clay
high water
low water low water
pressure
pressure pressure

Venice, Italy
• Venice is built on soft sediments that compact under weight of city
itself, as global sea level rises
• Venetians have been building up islands with imported sand for
centuries
• 20th century pumping of groundwater → rate of sea level rise in
Venice doubled
• sea level projected to rise 50 cm in 21st century

Venice, Italy
• movable floodgates across entrances to
lagoon
– would disrupt shipping, prevent
outward flow of contaminants
• more sediment to raise ground level
• pump seawater or carbon dioxide into
sand below city to ‘pump up’ region
Venice, Italy
• movable floodgates across entrances to
lagoon
I have a sinking feeling…
City Maximum Subsidence (m) Area (km2) Cause
LongBeach/Los Angeles 9.00 50 petroleum withdrawl
San Joaquin Valley, CA 8.80 13,500 groundwater withdrawal
Mexico City 8.50 225 groundwater withdrawal
Tokyo, Japan 4.50 3,000 coastal sediments
San Jose, CA 3.90 800 bay sediments
Osaka, Japan 3.00 500 coastal sediments
Houston, TX 2.70 12,100 coastal sediments
Shanghai, China 2.63 121 coastal sediments
Niigata, Japan 2.50 8,300 coastal sediments
Nagoya, Japan 2.37 1,300 coastal sediments
New Orleans, LA 2.00 175 river sediments
Taipei, China 1.90 130 coastal sediments
Bankok, Thailand 1.00 800 river sediments
Venice, Italy 0.22 150 coastal sediments
London, England 0.30 295 river sediments
Factors of Slope Failures

3) vegetation
-presence of vegetation anchors unconsolidated material (think:
forest fires)
4) weight
5) water
-in large amounts: reduces friction between grains and acts by
buoying up the weight of slope material
634
Monitoring of Mass Movements
Mitigation of Mass Movements…

• controlling rotational and translational landslides
– unloading head, reinforcing body and supporting toe
– holding rocks in place with
wire mesh nets
– using fence to catch fallen
rocks
• controlling flows of earth or snow
– steering flow by building walls (gabions) and digging channels
– removing rock and decreasing slope angle
• controlling rock falls
– avalanche tunnels
• controlling (rock) falls
– avalanche fences
• controlling avalanches
– boom
Global Flood Statistics, 1980-2008
Persons Affected Economic Damage (USD in B$)
Persons Killed Number of Reported Events
644
Global Flood Summary
1980-2008
645
1900 Galveston Hurricane
deadliest US natural disaster

city lies on coast; wealthiest TX town at
the time; population: 38K
flooding caused by hurricane surge

waves 1 foot higher than highest elevation
6000 people perished
646
1927 Great Mississippi Flood
most destructive river flood in US history

27,000 mi2 inundated up to a depth of 30 feet
700,000 people homeless
500 fatalities
damages were $1T (2007 dollars)
many joined the Great Migration to the north and midwestern cities, lasted until 1970
federal gov’t built world’s longest system of levees and floodways
647
648
2005 Katrina
many joined the Great Migration to the north and midwestern cities
1/4 population lost; 1/3 of black people did not return
649
Costliest natural disasters in US Canadian natural disasters
2005 Hurricane Katrina $75B 1937, 1948, 1954*, 2005 Southern Ontario
2012 Superstorm Sandy >$68B (*hurricane)
1992 Hurricane Andrew $43B
2008 Hurricane Ike >$25B Late spring floods:
1994 Northridge Earthquake >$21B 1997 Red River Flood (“The Flood of the Century”)
2001 Hurricane Ike $21B 1950 Red River
2004 Hurricane Ivan $15B 2009 Red River
2005 Hurricane Wilma $15B 2011 Red, Assiniboine, Souris, Pembina and Qu’Appelle rivers
1993 Mississippi flood $12B 2013 Bow and Elbow rivers
650
2011 Thailand rain + cyclone
50 yr flood
1000 fatalities
8M people affected
Western Digital: 2nd largest

producer of hard drives
Factory flooded; $250M losses
shortage of HD worldwide;
prices doubled; 2 yr to recover
651
Hydrologic Cycle
Distribution of water in the global hydrologic cycle
Oceans : 97.2% Rivers and lakes : 0.01%
Ice caps and glaciers : 2.1% Soil water : 0.005%
Groundwater : 0.61% Atmosphere : 0.001%
652
Hydrologic Cycle
Hydrologic cycle - the movement of water between the ocean

(hydrosphere), air (atmosphere), and land (lithosphere)
PROCESSES:
Energy source: Sun
evaporation
precipitation
infiltration
evapotranspiration
350 mm/a
runoff streams
450 mm /a
Ottawa input: 800 mm/a (total rain & snow) 653

Hydrologic Cycle
Hydrologic cycle - the movement of water between the ocean

(hydrosphere), air (atmosphere), and land (lithosphere)
Energy source: Sun

Water Balance
• Inputs & Outputs per time

• Residence time = volume/flux per time
• Steady State: inputs = outputs
• Steady State: no increase in reservoir size
• Flood: input > output
• Drought: input < output (loss)
654
Residence time of water in Pink Lake, Gatineau Park
• Catchment area = 2 km2 = 2x106 m2

• Precipitation = 800 mm/a = 0.8 m/a
• Evaporation = 500 mm/a = 0.5 m/a
• Lake volume (V) = 1x107 m3
• Residence time = volume / input
• Input (I) = (precip - evap) • catchment area
• I = (0.8 m - 0.5 m) • 2x106 m2 = 0.6x106 m3
• Residence time = V/I = (10/0.6) = 16.6 a
655
Water residence times
• Pink Lake = 16.6 years

• Water in atmosphere?
• A few days Energy source: Sun
• Water in Lake Ontario?
• ~10 years
• Groundwater in a deep aquifer?
• 100s to 1000s of years
• Sea water in ocean?
• ~3200 years
656
Hydrologic Cycle
surface water is all of the water on the
surface (streams, rivers, lakes…)
water table is the zone between

saturated and unsaturated soil
aquifer is a geologic unit that can store

and transmit water
unconfined aquifer is an aquifer that

has the ground surface as an upper
groundwater
bound; interacts with surface water,

streams (i.e., groundwater-surface
water interactions)
confined aquifer is an aquifer that has

a confining unit (low conductivity) as an
upper bound and lower bound
657
Hydrologic Cycle
658
municipal 'water table'
659
Hydrologic Cycle
660
water storage in an aquifer (or anywhere) is controlled by the porosity
(measure of void space in a geologic material)

same sizes different sizes
loss of void space
porosity = 48% porosity = 26% high porosity low porosity
661
infiltration and runoff is controlled by soil type, thickness,
original water content, and precipitation characteristics
water
water
lag
662
once water is in the ground (aquifer) it can flow
and transport material
663
Stream systems
Stream (river, creek) is a body of water that carries rock particles and dissolved ions, flowing
down slope along a clearly defined path, called a channel
• ..carry most of the water that goes from the land to the sea, and thus are an important part
of the water cycle
• ..carry dissolved ions, the products of chemical weathering, into the oceans
• ..are a major part of the erosional process, working in conjunction with weathering and
mass wasting. Much of the surface landscape is controlled by stream erosion, evident to
anyone looking out of an airplane window
• ..carry billions of tons of sediment to lower elevations, and thus are one of the main agents
of erosion
• ..are a major source of water and transportation for the world's human population. Most
population centers are located next to "streams"
664
Headwaters
Stream system components

Mouth
The three basic parts of a stream:
1. valleys: sloping area around

the stream
2. channels: bottom of valley,

where water flows
3. floodplains: flat area in valley

level with top of channel. Portion
of the valley that can be flooded
665
• Running water begins as sheetwash,
a film of water a few mm thick (like
water on a road)
• Sheetwash erodes its substrate (the
solid base layer it rests upon)
• Rate of erosion depends on velocity,
strength of substrate, and amount of
vegetation
• Eventually the sheetwash forms a
channel in the weaker portions of the
substrate and a channel is eroded
deeper with time by downcutting,
eventually forming a stream
• As flow increases, headward erosion
(i.e. erosion in an upstream direction)
occurs because flow is faster at the
entry to the channel
• With passing time, other tributaries
may link together to a main trunk
stream
666
• Some streams flow all year,
and some do not
• Permanent Stream – A
stream that has a base that
is below the water table and
so it flows all year
• temperate climates
• Ephemeral Stream – A
stream that only flows after
rainfall events; the water
eventually flows into the
ground
• arid climates
• Wash – A dry ephemeral
stream bed
667
Geometry and Dynamics of Stream Channels
Channel shape and path adjusts as the amount of water passing through the channel changes.
Volume of water passing any point on a stream is called the discharge (volume/time: m3/sec).
Factors including:
• cross sectional shape of channel - varies with position in the stream and discharge. The
deepest parts of a channel occur where the stream velocity is the highest. Both width and
depth increase downstream because discharge increases downstream. As discharge
increases the cross sectional shape will change, with the stream becoming deeper and
wider
668
Factors including:
• long profile of channel - a plot of elevation versus distance. Usually shows a steep
gradient near the source of the stream and a gentle gradient as the stream approaches its
mouth.
669
Factors including:
• velocity of water - stream's velocity depends on position in the stream channel,
irregularities in the stream channel caused by resistant rock, and stream gradient. Friction
slows water along channel edges. Friction is greater in wider, shallower streams and less in
narrower, deeper streams. In straight channels, highest velocity is in the center.
670
Factors including:
• discharge of the stream - The discharge of a stream is the amount of water passing any
point in a given time (Q = A x V)
• As the amount of water increases, the
stream must adjust its velocity and cross
sectional area in order to be in balance.
Discharge increases as more water is
added through rainfall, tributary streams,
or from groundwater seeping into the
stream. As discharge increases,
generally width, depth, and velocity of
the stream also increase. Increasing
the depth and width of the stream may
cause the stream to overflow the
channel resulting in a flood.
671
Factors including:
• load of the stream - rock particles and dissolved ions carried by the stream
• suspended load - sediment (silt & clay) that is suspended (no settling) within the stream
• bed load - larger particles that bounce or roll along the stream floor
• dissolved load (HCO-3, Ca+2, SO4-2, Cl-, Na+, Mg+2, K+)
these ions are eventually carried to the oceans (salty)
672
width m
changes downstream – a summary:
• discharge increases because water is added to the stream from
tributary streams and groundwater
depth m
• as discharge increases, the width, depth, and average velocity of
the stream increases
• gradient of the stream, however, will decrease
• size of particles that make up the bed load of the stream tends to
velocity m/s
decrease
• even though the velocity of the stream increases downstream, the
bed load particle size decreases mainly because the larger
particles are left in the bed load at higher elevations and abrasion discharge m3/s
of particles tends to reduce their size
673
Base level and graded streams
Interplay between transport, erosion, and deposition → f(base level)
Base level: level below which a

stream cannot erode
e.g. sea level, lake level, dam
Graded stream: equilibrium state

where channel geometry and
hydraulic parameter enable the
stream to transport its load with
neither deposition nor erosion.
674
Base level and graded streams
Changes in base level result in an adjustment in the longitudinal profile
Longitudinal
profile
Altitude above
sea level (m)
1) Increase in base level
longitudinal profile adjusts by increasing deposition
2) Decrease in base level

longitudinal profile adjusts by increasing transport Distance from headwaters of river (km)
and increasing erosion Head Mouth
675
channel patterns
straight: it is .. straight
meandering: lower and more regular discharge, lower slopes,
cohesive banks, slower more regular channel migration, abundant
fine sediment
braided: rapid and irregular discharge, higher slopes, erodible bank,
rapid channel migration, abundant coarse sediment
676
Was there water on Mars?
677
channel patterns
• each stream drains a certain area,
called a drainage basin
• range in size from a few km2, for small
streams, to extremely large areas, such
as the Mississippi River (40% of US)
• a 'divide' separates each drainage
basin from other basins
678
679
680
drainage patterns
• dendritic
• radial
• rectangular
• trellis
681
changes downstream – a summary:

• discharge increases because water is added to the stream from tributary streams and
groundwater
• as discharge increases, the width, depth, and average velocity of the stream increases
• gradient of the stream, however, will decrease
• size of particles that make up the bed load of the stream tends to decrease
• even though the velocity of the stream increases downstream, the bed load particle size
decreases mainly because the larger particles are left in the bed load at higher elevations
and abrasion of particles tends to reduce their size
682
Stream Erosion
• The kinetic energy of moving water

can cause erosion in four ways
• Scouring – running water can
remove loose fragments
• Breaking and Lifting – running
water can lift blocks out of a
material
• Abrasion – pure (clean) water has
little erosive effect, but sand-laden
water acts like sandpaper and
grinds away the channel wall
• Dissolution – Running water can
dissolve soluble minerals
683
Stream Erosion
• Waterfalls form when a streams gradient becomes very steep, possibly due to a resistant
layer at its base (Niagara Falls)
• Waterfalls slowly change due to headward erosion. A good example of this is Niagara
Falls which has headward erosion of ~1 m/yr
684
Niagara Falls
685
Stream Deposits
• Sudden decreases in velocity can result in sediment deposition by streams

• floodplain
• levee
• terrace
686
Stream Deposits

• floodplain
• levee
• terrace
687
Stream Deposits

• floodplain
Fertile Crescent: Biblical Flood
688
Stream Deposits

• alluvial fan: steep mountain stream enters a flat valley
689
Stream Deposits

• delta: stream enters a standing body of water
690

Mississippi River delta, Louisiana
• delta: loose pile of water-saturated sand and mud at end of rivers → compacts and sinks
• Mississippi River delta underlain by

6 km thick sediments deposited in
last 20 Myr
• river position has shifted frequently
but now held in place by human
action
The stream can continually adjust its

channel shape and path as the amount of
water passing through the channel
changes. The volume of water passing
any point on a stream is called the
discharge (volume/time: m3/sec)
691
Great Flood of 1993
• Upper Mississippi River flooded for 160 days

• 1083 of 1756 levees breached
• 30,000 mi2 flooded to 20 feet above flood stage
1988 1993
692
Floods occur when the discharge of the stream becomes too high to be accommodated in the
normal stream channel. When the discharge becomes too high, the stream widens its channel
by overtopping its banks and flooding the low-lying areas surrounding the stream (floodplains).
693
Causes of flooding
Causes of flooding
• Precipitation
• Coastal Flooding
• Dam & Levee Failures
694
Flood stage
• stage refers to the height of a river (or any other body
of water) above a locally defined elevation
• Most rivers in N America have gaging stations where
measurements of the river's stage and discharge are
continually made
695
Flood stage
• When the discharge of a river increases, the channel
may become completely full. Any discharge above this
level will result in the river overflowing its banks and
causing a flood. The stage at which the river will overflow
its banks is called bankfull stage or flood stage
• Discharge is not linearly related to stage because
discharge depends on both the depth and width of the
stream channel, or more precisely, on the cross-sectional
shape of the channel
696
Factors affecting flooding
Runoff = Precipitation - Infiltration - Interception - Evaporation

• Rain distribution
• Snow melt
697

• extent of water saturation of the soil
• vegetation cover
• soil types
• frozen ground
• human construction
698
55°C
699
700

• involves anything that traps rainwater and prevents it from contributing to
runoff = water that is stored on leaves and braches of trees until it
evaporates and water that is gets stored in ponds or lakes.
• Thus, removal of vegetation decreases interception and results in more
runoff. Increasing vegetation or construction of retention ponds, increases
interception and results in less runoff.
701
702

• levee and dam failures
703

• 1889 Johnstown, Pennsylvania; 2000+ perished
Rylands v. Fletcher: a non-negligent defendant could be held

liable for damage caused by the unnatural use of land
704
• 15,000-12,000 year ago; repeated rupture of ice dam
• 13x Amazon discharge
• 130 km/hr
705
Flood Hazards
Primary effects
• High water velocity =
- transport larger rocks, autos, houses, bridges
- carry away humans and animals (livestock)
- more erosion, which undermines bridges, levees, buildings
- water damage and loss of crops
- concentrate garbage, debris, and pollutants
706
Flood Hazards
Secondary effects
• disruption of services
• water and sanitation
• gas and electrical
• public transportation
Tertiary effects
• location of rivers may change
• destruction of wildlife habitat
• erosion or deposition of sediment
affecting farmland
• disruption of services leading to job loss
• insurance rates increase
707
Flood Predicting
Statistics
• determine the probability and frequency of high
discharges of streams that cause flooding
Mapping and modeling of landscape
• determine extent of future floods
Monitor rainfall and snow melt
• short term predictions
708
Flood Predicting
Statistics
• monitor annual discharge of rivers
• rank discharge events (m); 1 is largest
• smallest discharge will receive a rank equal to the number of years
over which there is a record (n). Thus, the discharge with the smallest
value will have m = n
• calculate recurrence interval (R) with Weibull equation: R = (n+1)/m
709
Flood Predicting
Statistics
• annual exceedence probability (Pe) of a certain discharge can be
calculated using the inverse of the equation
• Pe = m/(n+1)
• a discharge equal to that of a 10-yr flood would have an annual
exceedence probability of 1/10 = 0.1 or 10% (or 100-yr flood = 1%)
710
Flood Predicting
Statistics
• probability of a certain-size flood occurring during any period can be
calculated Pt = 1 - (1 - Pe)n
• Pt is the probability of occurrence over the entire time period, n,
and Pe is the probability of occurrence in any year
• The probability of a 100-yr flood occurring in 100 years is NOT 100%!
• The probability of a 100-yr flood occurring in 30 years (the lifetime of
the average mortgage) is 26.0%!
711
Flood Predicting

• (from past floods)
712
Flood Predicting

• (from past floods)
713
714
Flood Prevention (and its problems)
Channelization
• increase cross-sectional area
• straighten channel
• line channel to reduce friction
• = increases velocity
715
- When a river floods, it deposits a layer of sediment
- The Mississippi River is channelized with a levee
system and is not allowed to flood naturally
716
Levees, dikes, floodwalls

Dams
Retention ponds
Floodways
717
Beach walls
• increase protection at coastal areas
718
Flood and urbanization
Urbanization
• storm sewers
• pavement (loss of green space)
• = reduces infiltration and increases
discharge
719
Flood and urbanization
Regulatory Approach
• zoning
• building codes
• flood buyout program
• mortgage limitations
720
Benefits of flooding (floodplains)
Benefits
• Flood storage and erosion control–offer a broad area for streams and rivers to spread
out and accommodate temporary storage of flood water, reducing flood peaks and
erosion potential
• Water quality maintenance – reducing sediment loads, filtering nutrients and
impurities, and moderating water temperature
• Groundwater recharge
• Biological productivity – providing fertile soils with high rate of plant growth and
diversity, richer agricultural harvests, and healthier forests
• Habitat for a variety of fish and wildlife, including rare and endangered species
• Recreational opportunities – providing areas for active and passive activities,
supporting the economic base
721
Hydrologic Cycle
722
Hydrologic Cycle
Groundwater: the water that lies

beneath the ground surface
Hydrosphere's fresh water:
1. Glaciers (~77%)
2. Groundwater (~22%)
~15% of total precipitation infiltrates

ground and ends up as groundwater
Groundwater is slow moving, but not static

• recharges (rain)
• discharges (feeds rivers)

Hydrologic Cycle
Misconception: groundwater is found in underground lakes and rivers
(true but quite rare)
Groundwater as a major economic resource
Percentage of population reliant on groundwater for domestic use
~25-40% in Canada
(~9-14 million people)
Hydrologic Cycle

aquifer
groundwater
726
Hydrologic Cycle

aquifer is a saturated, permeable,

geologic unit that can transmit a
significant amount of groundwater
under an ordinary gradient
groundwater
unconfined aquifer is uncapped by a

confining layer; groundwater is not
under pressure; top of aquifer (water
table) moves freely up and down
727
Hydrologic Cycle


groundwater
confined aquifer (syn: artesian

aquifer): aquifer sandwiched in
between two confining layers (usually
inclined to allow recharge);
groundwater is under pressure and
level of ‘projected’ water table
(pressure or potentiometric surface) is
above the top of the aquifer 728
Hydrologic Cycle

saturated and unsaturated soil recharge

geologic unit that can transmit a potentiometric surface
groundwater
potentiometric surface is a synonym

of "piezometric surface" which is an
imaginary surface that defines the level
to which water in a confined aquifer
would rise were it completely pierced
with wells
729
Hydrologic Cycle

non-flowing artesian well
groundwater
artesian
non-flowing artesian well: when the
water table (pressure surface) of a
confined aquifer rests BELOW the
ground level
730
Hydrologic Cycle

aquifer is a saturated, permeable, flowing artesian well

groundwater
artesian
flowing artesian well: when the water
table (pressure surface) of a confined
aquifer rests ABOVE the ground level
731
Hydrologic Cycle
732
piezometric surface
potential water level
733
Hydrologic Cycle


groundwater
perched aquifer is above the regional

water table, in the vadose zone. This
occurs when there is an impermeable
layer of rock or sediment (aquiclude) or
relatively impermeable layer (aquitard)
above the main water table/aquifer but
below the land surface
734
Hydrologic Cycle

aquiclude is a saturated but

impermeable geologic unit which does
not transmit a significant quantity of
groundwater under ordinary gradients
(… excludes water)
groundwater
aquitard: semi-permeable rock layer

(… retards water)
confining layers
(barriers to flow;
e.g.: shale)
735
infiltration and runoff is controlled by soil type, thickness,
original water content, and precipitation characteristics
water
water
lag
736
Distribution of groundwater
water
water
unsaturated
zone
water table
zone of
saturation
1. Unsaturated zone (aeration, vadose)
• voids filled by water and air; infiltration and percolation
• water is under suction (-pressure) due to capillary forces
• water cannot be pumped by wells
2. Water table: upper limit of zone of saturation;
3. Zone of saturation surface of the water level in the ground
• zone where all of the voids in soil, sediment and rock are
completely filled with water
• water is under +pressure and can be extracted by wells
water
water
unsaturated
zone
water table
zone of
saturation
PH2O vs. PATM

u’saturated zone PH2O < PATM; H2O under P-
water table PH2O = PATM
saturated zone PH2O > PATM; H2O under P+
Capillary Zone
tension
pressure
739
"WETLANDS are transitional systems between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at
or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water. For purposes of this classification wetlands must
have one or more of the following three attributes:
(1) at least periodically, the land supports predominantly hydrophytes;
(2) the substrate is predominantly undrained hydric soil; and
(3) the substrate is saturated with water or covered by shallow water at some time during the growing season of
the year.”
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Hydrologic conditions: Groundwater (water table or zone of saturation) is at the surface or within the soil root
zone during all or part of the growing season
Hydric soils: soils that are saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during the growing season to develop
oxygen-free conditions in the upper six inches
Hydrophytic vegetation: plants typically adapted to wetland and aquatic habitats; plants which grow in water or
on a substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen due to excessive water content
740
Mer Bleue
Bogs receive water primarily from precipitation; Fens receive water from the
surrounding watershed in inflowing streams and groundwater. Fens, therefore, reflect
the chemistry of the geological formations through which these waters flow.
741
Groundwater reservoirs
Controls on availability of groundwater
Porosity (Φ): percentage of void or pore space (vs. total volume)

Determines how much groundwater can be stored
• Φ = f(grain roundness, sorting, and cementation)
same sizes different sizes
loss of void space
porosity = 48% porosity = 26% high porosity low porosity

pores
fractures
Experiment to calculate porosity:

Volume of sand column = 1000 mL
Column contains sand + porosity
• in dry sand the porosity is filled with air
Replace all the air with water
Porosity = volume water / total volume
743
Controls on availability of groundwater
Permeability or Conductivity: capacity of a rock or sediment to transmit a fluid

• f(pore SIZES and INTERCONNECTIVITY)
Permeability controls
Permeability
low high
Shale Quartz sandstone

high What about a floating rock?
Porosity
Granite Fractured crystalline rock
low
Sediments
↑
↓
Rocks
total storage (% void space)

% that can drain by gravity
% that cannot
Groundwater movement
General pattern of movement
recharge → discharge
(high) (low)
Balance between:
1. potential energy
(high to low elevations)
2. pressure
(weight of water above)
Velocity = cm/day
Faster near surface
Henry Darcy (French engineer)

equation to calculate fluid velocity through a porous media (ca. 1850)
Darcy’s Law – states that if permeability remains uniform, the

velocity of groundwater will increase as the slope of the water table
(hydraulic gradient) increases
v = groundwater velocity
K K = hydraulic conductivity (related to permeability)
v=− i
  = porosity
i = hydraulic gradient = driving force
(negative sign is needed because fluid flows from high pressure to low pressure)
Sample calculation #1 Calculate groundwater flow

velocity (v) using Darcy’s Law:
(w.t. of confined aquifer) KK h

v=− i=−
  L
h = 10 K = 10−5 m / s for sand

h=8  = 0.30 for sand
h (10 − 8) 1
aquiclude
i= = =
L 50 25
aquifer L = 50
aquiclude v = 1.3x10-6 m / s = 42 m / y
Darcy’s Law – states that if permeability

remains uniform, the velocity of groundwater will
increase as the slope of the water table
(hydraulic gradient) increases
Q = KIA
Q = discharge / unit area
K = hydraulic conductivity
A = cross sectional area
I = hydraulic gradient
Calculate hydraulic conductivity

Hydraulic conductivity (K) is measured
with a permeameter (K) using Darcy’s Law:
Sand filled cylinder (saturated)

water pressure in the vessel Cylinder has an area = A
“pushes” water into the sand
water flows through the sand

and out the valve
751
Hydraulic conductivity (K) is measured with a permeameter
h L
The volume of water that flows out in
some length of time is the discharge = Q
The volume of water that flows out is

controlled by the hydraulic gradient and
the hydraulic conductivity of the
sediment
752
Experiment 1
the water height in the vessel remains constant
h L
Q
753
Experiment 2
increase water height h L
increase Q
754
Experiment 3
increase water height h L
increase Q
755
slope = K= hydraulic conductivity = permeability

Q/A = -K(Δh/ΔL)
Q/A experiment 3
experiment 2
experiment 1
Δh/ΔL
756
slope = K= hydraulic conductivity = permeability

Q/A = -K(Δh/ΔL)
coarse sand
Q/A
fine sand
Δh/ΔL
757
Exchange of water between groundwater and streams depends on the
positions of the water table (w.t.) with respect to the stream bed
Two basic types of interactions:

1. gaining streams:
(effluent) gain water from
the inflow of groundwater
through the streambed
w.t. HIGHER than stream bed
2. losing streams:
(influent) lose water to the
groundwater system by outflow
through the streambed
w.t. LOWER than stream bed

Sample calculation #2
Plan (map) view
Lake 3 km Lake
Getsitall Leakalot
Elevation = 108 m (above sea level)

Elevation = 133 m (above sea level)
Q: If contaminant spills in L. Leakalot,

how long will it take to get to L. Getsitall?
Sample calculation #2 (continued)

Cross-section
133 m
108 m
Bedrock
3 km
K K h
v=− i=− v = 2.7x10-7 m / s = 8.76 m / y
  L
L L
−5
K = 10 m / s for sand v=  t =
t v
 = 0.30 for sand
h (133 − 108) L 3000 m
i= = = 8.3x10−4 t = = = 342 y
L 3000 v 8.76 m / y
761
Lecture 14
groundwater withdrawal, San Joaquin Valley
1843: Acton v. Blundell .. “English Rule”
The landowner can pump groundwater at any rate even if an adjoining property owner were harmed.
1861: Frazier v. Brown

Groundwater is “…occult and concealed…” and legislation of its use is “…practically impossible.”
1903: Huber v. Merkel

A property owner can pump unlimited amounts of groundwater, even with malicious harm to a neighbor.
1974: Wisconsin v. Michels Pipeline Constructors Inc.

Landowners no longer have “an absolute right to use with impunity all water that can be pumped from the
subsoil underneath.”
1984: Cline v. American Aggregates

Justice Holmes: “Scientific knowledge in the field of hydrology has advanced in the past decade…” so it
“…can establish the cause and effect relationship of the tapping of underground water to the existing water
level.”
Today: Lingering effects of English Rule

It is very difficult to prove cause and effect to be defensible in court.
Whiskey is for drinking;
water is for fighting over
Mark Twain
Hydrologic Cycle
766
The photic zone where there is sufficient light
for photosynthesis is usually <200 m deep
767
Consequence of water’s temperature
• High heat capacity: ...
• High latent heat: ...
Range of Tocean << Tland:
On land temperature range = 146°C
- Highest = 58°C
- Lowest = –88°C
Sea-surface temperature range = only 38°C

- Highest = 36°C (Persian Gulf)
- Lowest = –2°C (Polar Sea)
768
Salinity - salts dissolved in water Consequence of water’s chemistry
(Na+ ~30%, Cl- ~55%)
Salinity - usually measured ppt
Average ocean salinity: 35 ppt*

River water salinity: 0.5 ppt often less
*35 grams of salt /1000 grams of seawater
What are the sources for these dissolved ions?

Why are Na and Cl most abundant?
769
Deep ocean currents
• Vertical currents and deep ocean currents are driven by
upwelling and downwelling near the coasts and differences in
density, temperature and salinity between the surface waters
and the deep ocean waters = thermohaline circulation
770
Deep-ocean currents: slow-moving (10-20 km/yr), density-driven currents
• Cold, salty waters of N. Atlantic sink and flow southward along bottom
• Warm up and rise to join surface currents
• Cool and sink
• … gigantic loop integrating deep-water and surface circulation termed:
GIANT CONVEYOR BELT CIRCULATION

771
Fluctuations in water level
• long term changes in sea level
• local effects such as uplift or subsidence along a coast line
• Eustatic sea level changes are the result of either changing the
volume of water in the oceans or changing the shape of the oceans
772
>50% of North America lives <80 kms from ocean, Great Lakes, St Lawrence
understanding of the interactions of the oceans and the land is essential in

understanding the hazards associated with coastal zones
773
774
775
Tides
• due to the gravitational attraction of Moon
• to a lesser extent, the Sun
• Because the Moon is closer to the Earth than the Sun, it has a
larger affect and causes the Earth to bulge toward the moon
• Sun is bigger but farther away--exerts only 40% of pull of Moon
• rhythmic rise and fall of ocean surface, which is not

noticeable to someone on a boat at sea
• usually there are two high tides and two low tides /day
• along most coasts the range is about 2 m, but in
narrow inlets tidal currents can be strong and fast and
cause variations in sea level up to 16 m
776
Tides
• due to the gravitational attraction of Moon
• to a lesser extent, the Sun
• Because the Moon is closer to the Earth than the Sun, it has a
larger affect and causes the Earth to bulge toward the moon
• highest high tides occur because the Sun also exerts a

gravitational attraction on the Earth
• monthly tidal cycles are controlled by when the Sun and
the Moon are on the same side of the Earth (New Moon) or
on opposite sides of the Earth (Full Moon)
• lowest high tides occur when the Sun and the Moon are
not opposed relative to the Earth (Quarter Moons)
777
highest high tides become important to coastal areas during hurricane season
778
flood tide: rising, elevates water, advances shore
landward
ebb tide: falling, lowers water surface, shore recedes
tidal bore: flood tide whose upstream motion is turbulent
• Bay of Fundy: tidal bore is 10-15 km/hr with a 16 m
tidal change
• amount of change in water level depends on coastline
shape and size of body of water
779
Surface ocean currents
• surface ocean currents that are mainly driven by the wind
• winds drag the surface of oceans creating a current of water that is
usually no more than about 50 m deep
780
Ocean currents
• Because of the Coriolis effect, circulation is clockwise in the
northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern
hemisphere https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2mec3vgeaI
781
Ocean currents
• In each hemisphere cooler waters from higher
latitudes circulate toward the equator where
they are warmed and circulate back toward the
poles
• As surface waters approach the coast, they
have to push the water down in order to make
room for more water to come in. This results in
downwelling currents. If surface waters move
away from the coast, water from below rises to
replace the water removed, resulting in
upwelling.
• In the middle latitudes ocean currents run
generally eastward, flowing clockwise in the
northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in
the southern hemisphere 782
783
Ocean waves
• wave height: vertical distance between crest and trough (avg: 0.3-5 m)
• crest: highest point on wave; trough: lowest point on wave
• wavelength: horizontal distance between two crests or troughs (avg: 40-400 m)
• wave period: time for one wavelength to pass (avg: 25-90 km/hr)
784
Ocean waves
• in a wave, water travels in loops
• since the surface is the area affected (by wind), the diameter of
the loops decreases with depth
• the diameters of loops at the surface is equal to wave height (h)
Wavelength (L) = distance to complete one cycle

Wave Period (P) = time required to complete on cycle
Wave Velocity (V) = wavelength/wave period (L/P)
or L = V • P
Motion of waves is only effective at moving water to

depth equal to one half of the wavelength (L/2). Water
deeper than L/2 does not move. Thus, waves cannot
erode the bottom or move sediment in water deeper
than L/2.
785
Ocean waves
• because of friction, the wave velocity (= L/P) decreases, but its
period (P) remains the same
• the wavelength (L) will decrease; circular loops of water motion
change to elliptical shapes
• as the wavelength (L) shortens, the wave height (h) increases
786
rip currents
787
Ocean waves
• waves generally do not approach shoreline parallel to shore;
instead some parts of waves feel the bottom before other parts,
resulting in wave refraction or bending
788
Transport of sediment by waves and currents
• sediment that is created by the abrasive action of the waves or
sediment brought to the shoreline by streams is then picked up
by the waves and transported
Wave energy can thus be concentrated on

headlands, to form cliffs. Headlands erode faster
than bays because the wave energy gets
concentrated at headlands
789
• most waves arrive at the shoreline at an angle, even after refraction
• such waves have a velocity oriented in the direction perpendicular
to the wave crests (Vw), but this velocity can be resolved into a
component perpendicular to the shore (Vp) and a component
parallel to the shore (VL)
The component parallel to the shore can move

sediment and is called the longshore current
(longshore drift)
790
• the swash of the incoming wave moves the sand up the beach
in a direction perpendicular to the incoming wave crests and the
backwash moves the sand down the beach perpendicular to the
shoreline = with successive waves, the sand will move along a
zigzag path along the beach
Beach drift is due to waves approaching

at angles to beach, but retreating
perpendicular to the shore line
791
792
• coastlines represent a balance between wave energy and
sediment supply
• if wave energy and sediment supply are constant, then a steady
state is reached; if any one of these factors change, then
shoreline will adjust
beach: depositional feature; sources of sand:
• deposition from rivers (>90%)
• erosion of local cliffs
• transport from regions seaward of surf zone
• longshore currents (longshore drift)
• bioclastic (shells of organisms)
793
spit: ridge of sand that extends from

land into open water
• longshore current meets deep, quiet
water of bay and drops sediment load
794
795
baymouth bar: ridges of sand,

transported by longshore currents, that
cut off bays from the open ocean
• starts as spit that grows across
opening
796
797
tombolo: bar of sediment connecting a

former island (typically composed of
bedrock) to the shore (deposition behind
sea stack as refracted waves slow
down)
798
799
barrier islands: ridges of sand that

parallel coast
• lagoons separate barrier islands from
mainland
• dynamic system, with rapid erosion/
deposition
• heavy population has led to property
loss from rapid, localized erosion
800
801
Reefs consist of colonies of organisms, like corals, which secrete calcium carbonate.
Since these organisms can only live in warm waters and need sunlight to survive, reefs
only form in shallow tropical seas. Fringing reefs form along coastlines close to the sea
shore, whereas barrier reefs form offshore, separated from the land by a lagoon
• fringing: built directly

against landmass
• barrier: built offshore and
Reefs and Atolls
separated by lagoon from
mainland
• atoll: built on volcanic
islands that have subsided
below sea level
802
803
Coastal river valleys flooded by sea water are called estuaries.
They are characterized by mixing of fresh and salt water. Most
modern estuaries are related to sea level rise since the last
glaciation. Gulf of St Lawrence is great example.
804
sea cliffs (headland): tall, steep rock face, formed by the

undercutting action of the sea
wave-cut notches: rock recess at the foot of a sea cliff

where the energy of waves is concentrated
sea caves: caves form in more erosive sediment when the

rock does not fully collapse in a deeply-notched
environment; leads to arches and stacks with collapse
805
Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick
806
straightening of coast through time:
erosion of headlands and deposition in bays
807
Canada has 240,000 km shoreline
Mackenzie Delta: Herschel Island to Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T

coastline is receding up to 22 m/yr
Prince Edward Island eroding at a rate of 28

cm/yr, and an estimated $150M in real
estate is in danger of disappearing over the
next 90 years 808
809
Mitigation of beach loss (or gain)
• “Soft” solutions
berms (artificial dunes, rip-rap)
re-nourishment of sand supply
revegetation
810
Deposition and erosion along shorelines
Beach nourishment (Miami, FL)
Added sand to widen a

24 km-long strip of beach
cost: $64M
duration: 10-12 years
811
• “Hard” solutions
seawalls
groynes, jetties
breakwaters
812
seawalls
groynes, jetties
breakwaters
813
seawalls
groynes, jetties
breakwaters
814
seawalls
groynes, jetties
breakwaters
815
Orrin Pilkey’s
“Truths of the Shoreline”
There is no shoreline erosion until someone builds something on the

beach.
Construction on the beach reduces flexibility and in itself causes erosion.
Once you start stabilization, you can’t stop.
The interests of beach property owners should not be confused with the
natural interest.
The cost of saving beach property is greater in the long run than the
value of the property itself.
In order to save the beach, you destroy it.
816

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Geology

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GEOLOGY 1111 Earth Systems

Instructor: Dr. David Schneider - 0011 Marion Hall

teaching assistants (TAs):

office hours: see syllabus; MRN 102

New Madrid zone

4.4 magnitude, May 2013 5.0 magnitude, June 2010

New Madrid zone

New Madrid zone

Trauma cited in mysterious Arkansas bird kill

the intellectual & practical activity encompassing the systematic

• Science assumes the natural world is

1) Deals with large spatial scales &

Nanga Parbat, Pakistan - 8.1 km Zircon crystal

• Science assumes the natural world is

2) Deals with time scales that are immense

evolution of Homo sapiens:

last glacial maximum:

duration of average earthquake: <10 seconds

• Science assumes the natural world is

• Scientists collect "facts" through observation &

• Goal of science is to discover patterns in nature &

• It's not what you know,

• How or why things happen are explained using:

• How or why things happen are explained using:

Deductive (Darwinian) method

• How or why things happen are explained using:

• Deductive scientific method

Biodiversity during the Phanerozoic

• Step One: Data collection or observations

Ma = mega-annum = millions of years = 106 years

• Step Two: Theory development

• Step Three: Observations & experiments

Deccan Traps (India)

Wanapitei crater, ON, 37 Ma

nickel, copper, platinum, palladium, gold

• Step Four: Accept, modify, reject?

• Plate Tectonics • composite of ideas that explain the

*rate = fingernail growth

• vibration of Earth produced by the rapid release of

• velocity is proportional to density & elasticity

(not only quakes, but also nuclear testing)

• allows us to "x-ray" image the Earth (flashlight)

Angle of wave refraction dictated by

Waves can also

Law of Reflection says

• abrupt changes in seismic-wave velocities that occur at particular

layers are defined by:

• Layers defined by physical properties

..why is there heat?

• Earth’s magnetic field

-magnetic field allows use of

-magnetic field occasionally 'flips’

-Normal polarity (now) &

Asthenosphere & mesosphere are rock enriched in elements:

Atoms – smallest particles of an element that retains all of the element's

Combination of elements to form minerals depends on a few characteristics of

1) relative abundance of available elements (w/in crust):

2) T & P at time of formation

3) size & charge of atoms and ions

• Second most abundant

Halite (NaCl) – ionic bonding

• Both ionic and covalent bonds typically occur in the same

3) Other types of bonding