ELS  Found between the tundra to the north and

BIOMES – WEEK 9 the deciduous forest to the south, lies the

OCT 14, 2020 large area of coniferous forests.
 The Northern Boreal Forest is found in
between 50-60 degrees north latitude.
Another type, the Temperate Coniferous
Forest grows in the lower latitudes of North
America, Europe and Asia in the high
elevations of mountains.
 Conical-shaped evergreen trees with needle-
like leaves.
 Mostly consist of conifers, trees that grows
needles instead of leaves and cones instead
of flowers. Tend to be evergreen, which
means they bear needles all year long.
 Temperature: -40˚C to 20˚C; average
BIOLOGICAL HEIRARCHY summer temperature is 10˚C
 Precipitation: 300 to 900 mm of rain per
The biological levels of organization range from a year.
single organelle all the way up to the biosphere.  Vegetation: Coniferous evergreen trees
(some needles remain on the trees all year
BIOMES long)
 Masses of life  Location: Canada, Europe, Asia, U.S.
 Distinctions related to the life-form of their  These adaptations help conifers survive in
plants and animal’s type of habitat in certain areas that are very cold or dry.
places.  Common conifers: Spruces, Pines, Firs
 Determined by the climate and vegetation of  The amount of precipitation a coniferous
the places. forest receives depends on the location.
 Northern Boreal Forest, the winters are long,
MAJOR BIOMES OF THE WORLD cold & dry. In the short summers are
moderately warm and moist.
 Precipitation is more evenly distributed more
throughout the year in the lower latitudes.

2. Desert

 The driest and hottest of all the biomes.

 It receives the least amount of rainfall.
 Most deserts receive less than 300mm
Tropical Forest Polar & high-mountain ice
Chaparral
(about 250mm per year) of rain a year
Savanna
Dessert Temperate grassland compared to rainforests which receive over
2000mm (only 10% of the rain that a
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES rainforest gets).
 Temperature: can change drastically day and
1. Coniferous Forest night because the air is so dry that heat in
the air escapes rapidly at night. Average of
 Taiga, Boreal forests. 38˚C (day), average of -3.9˚C (night).
 The largest terrestrial biome. Temperature of the desert greatly varies
depending on the location of the desert.

1 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a Temperate
11HU M Sforest
deciduous S12
Coniferous Forest
Tundra (arctic & alpine)
 Vegetation: Since desert conditions are so
severe, the plants need to have adaptations
to compensate for the lack of water. Cacti
store water in their stems and use it slowly.
Other plants conserve water by growing only
a few leaves or by growing large root systems
to gather water. Some desert plant species
have a short lifespan of a few weeks that
only lasts during the time of rain. (Ex: Cacti,
small bushes, short grasses.)
 Location: Between 15˚ and 35˚ latitude
(north and south of the equator); ex: Mojave,
Sonoran, Chihuahua, Great Basin (North
America); Sahara (Africa), Negev (Middle
East), Gobi.
3. Grassland
 Generally open, continuous, flat areas of
grass. Often located near temperate forests
at high latitudes and deserts at subtropical
latitudes.
 Grasses vary from 2.1m (7ft) with roots
extending down to the soil 1.8m (6ft) to the
short grasses growing only 20-25cm (8-10in)
tall. Short grasses can have roots that can
extend to about 1m (3ft) deep. The height of
grass correlates with the amount of rainfall
it receives.
 Precipitation: 500 to 900mm of rain per year.
 Temperature: dependent on latitude; yearly
range can be between -20˚C to 30˚C.
Tropical grasslands have dry and wet seasons
that remain dry all the time. Temperate
grasslands have cold winters and warm
summers with some rain.
 The grasses die back to the roots annually
and the soil and the sods protects the roots
and the buds, or the new buds from the cold
winter or dry conditions. A few trees maybe
found along the streams, but not many are
found in this biome due to the lack of
rainfall.
 Vegetation: Grasses (prairie clover, salvia,
oats, wheat, barley, coneflowers)
 Location: The prairies of the Great Plains of
North America, the pampas of South
America, the veldt of South Africa, the
steppes of Central Eurasia, and surrounding
the deserts in Australia.
 Grasslands are found on every continent
except Antarctica
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4. Rainforest
 Two Types: Tropical & Temperate
Tropical rainforests are found closer to the
equator where it is warm.
Temperate rainforests are found near the
cooler coastal areas farther North or South
of the Equator.
 The tropical rainforest is a hot, moist biome,
where it rains all year long. It is known for
its dense vegetation which forms 3 layers.
Top Layer – canopy (giant trees 250ft),
prevents most of the sunlight from reaching
the ground. Have thick woody vines that
climb trees to reach the sunlight.
Middle Layer – understory. Made up of vines,
smaller trees, and palms. Large numbers of
plants in this layer is commonly used as house
plants. Due to the amount of sunlight and
rainfall these plants receive, they adapt
easily to home environments.
Bottom Layer – floor. Cover with wet leaves
and leaf litter. These materials decompose
rapidly in wet conditions, decomposing and
sending nutrients back to the soil. Few plants
are found in the floor due to lack of sunlight.
The dead materials found on the floor helps
bacteria and microorganism thrive.
 Dominated by evergreen trees.
 Contains the greatest variety of animals.
 Highest amount of rainfall.
 Temperature: 20˚C to 25˚C; must remain
warm and frost-free
 Precipitation: 2,000 to 10,000mm of rain per
year.
 Vegetation: Vines, palm trees, orchids, ferns
 Location: between the Tropic of Cancer and
the Tropic of Capricorn.
5. Shrubland
 Includes chaparrals and savannahs
 Location: Western Coastal regions between
30˚ and 40˚ latitude (North and south of the
equator)
 S. California, Chile, Mexico, areas surrounding
the Mediterranean Sea, southern parts of
 Africa, Australia. They are usually found
surrounding deserts and grasslands.
 Precipitation: They get more rain than desert
and grasslands but less than rainforest. 200
to 1,000mm of rain per year. Rain is
unpredictable, varying from month to month.
Has a noticeable dry & wet season
 Vegetation: Are made up of shrubs or short
trees, many shrubs strive on steep rocky
slopes. There is usually not enough rain to
support tall trees. Ex: aromatic herbs (sage,
rosemary, thyme, oregano), shrubs, acacia,
chamise, grasses)
 Are fairly open so that other grasses and
short plants grow between the shrubs.
 In the areas of little rainfall, plants have
adapted in drought-like conditions, they have
medium sized leaves to help conserve water.
Have waxy leaves to bounce back sunlight to
prevent evaporation. Several plants have also
developed fire resistance adaptations.
Immune to forest fires.
6. Deciduous Forest
 Temperate deciduous forests are located in
the mid latitude areas, they are found
between the polar regions and the tropics.
Are exposed to warm and cold air masses
which causes this area to have four seasons.
 Temperature: -30˚C to 30˚C, yearly average
is 10 ˚C; hot summers, cold winters.
 Precipitation:750 to 1,500mm of rain per
year
 Vegetation: Broadleaf trees (oaks, maple,
beeches, hickory, chestnut). Shrubs,
perennial herbs and mosses. There also
several different kinds of plants like
mountain laurel, azaleas and mosses that live
on the shady floor where only a few sun light
can get through.
 Location: Eastern United States, Canada,
Europe, China, and Japan.
 Other: Temperate deciduous forests are
most notable because they go through four
seasons. Leaves change color in autumn, fall
off in the winter, and grow back in the
spring; this adaptation allows the plants to
survive. Trees changes colors and loses their
leaves (in preparation for winter.) Trees
adapted to winter by going dormant during
season and has thick bark for the cold.
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7. Tundra
 Coldest of all biomes.
 Precipitation: receives no rain at all. 150 to
250mm of rain per year (including melted
snow). Still usually a wet place because of the
low temperatures causing the evaporation of
water to be slowed.
 Temperature: -40˚C to 18˚C. Can be
extremely cold, but can be warm in the
summer.
 Location: Regions south of the ice caps of the
Arctic and extending across North America,
Europe, and Siberia (high mountaintops).
Much of Alaska and about half of Canada are
found in the Tundra biome. Found in the top
if very high mountains. Can be extremely
cold, but can be warm in the summer.
 Tundra winters are long, dark and cold with
mean temperatures below 0˚C for 6-10
months.
 There is a permanent layer of frozen ground
(permafrost). It is a defining characteristic
of the tundra biome.
 In the tundra summers, the top layers of the
soil thaws only a few layers down, providing a
growing surface for the roots of vegetation.
 Much of the arctic has rain and fog in the
summer and water gathers in bogs and ponds.
 Vegetation: Almost no trees due to the short
growing season and permafrost; lichens,
mosses, grasses, sedges, shrubs.
AQUATIC BIOMES
1. Wetlands
 A land area saturated by water either
permanently or seasonally. Freshwater
wetlands are ecosystems affected by the
permanent or temporary rising of the body of
water and its overflowing onto dry land. It
plays an important role in the regulation of
water flow, water quality to all attachments.
 An important factor for the habitation of
fauna and provides refuge for fauna during
droughts.
 Types: Swamps, Marshes, Bogs, Prairie
Potholes (freshwater wetlands).
 Most common plants in wetlands are cattails
and hedges that grow up the soil through the
water.
 Frogs, salamanders and other amphibians are
found in wetlands
2. Freshwater Biome
 A naturally occurring water beneath earth’s
surface.
 Includes ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, ice
bergs, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers, streams and
groundwater (fresh water, lacks salt).
 Largest fresh-water lake is lake Baikal (20-
30% of world’s fresh water, the rest stored
in glaciers)
 Plants and algae important in fresh-water
biomes.
 Only 1% of fresh water is readily available.
3. Estuary
 Mixture of fresh and saltwater
 Where river is connected to the ocean.
 Bordered by wetlands.
 Types of estuary: Coastal Plain Estuary,
Tectonic Plate Estuary, Bar Built Estuary,
Fjord Estuary
 Home to unique flora and fauna that have
adapted to brackish water (mixture of salt
and fresh water). Ex: Salmon, sea trout,
migratory bird populations.
 Very important/ideal for fish to lay their
eggs.
 One of the most diverse ecosystems, because
very ideal.
4. Coral Reef Biome
 Corals are marine colonial polyp
characterized by a calcareous skeleton. Coral
reefs are formed due to the accumulation
and compaction of skeletons of these lime
secreting organisms.
 Usually found in clear tropical oceans,
entirely between latitudes between 30˚
North and 25˚ South
 3 types of coral reefs: fringing reefs, barrier
reefs, atolls.
 Most diverse biome, considered as the
medicine cabinet of the 21st century (a lot of
medicine came from here e.g. cancer,
heart/kidney diseases etc.). Hence, we must
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protect the corals from coral bleaching
caused by environmental degradation.
5. Marine Biome
 Five main oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian,
Arctic, Southern
 It is one of the biomes which helps in the life
process by influencing the terrestrial
climate, weather of the place, providing rain
for crops through evaporation and circulation
of air through waves and currents.
ELS
Earth Subsystems: Atmosphere–Week 9
OCT 21, 2020
The Good Earth
 Not too CLOSE or FAR from Sun (preventing
life from freezing or frying)
 Large enough to hold atmosphere
 Abundance of WATER
 Temperature range allows water to exist as
SOLID as well as LIQUID and GAS form
 Interactions of four SPHERES
The earth is made up of several subsystems that
interact to form a complex and continuously
changing whole. They are interdependent and
function as a whole.
WHICH SYSTEM DESCRIBES EARTH
SYSTEMS?
• Earth is a closed system, but its four
subsystems are open systems
• Matter and energy freely transfer between
them
Open System – can exchange mass & energy,
usually in the form of heat with its surroundings.
Closed System – allows the transfer of energy
(heat) but not mass.
Isolated System – which does not allow the
transfer of either mass or energy.
The Four Subsystems
1. ATMOSPHERE - gaseous envelope that
surrounds the Earth and constitutes the
transition between it and the vacuum of
space
2. GEOSPHERE - comprises the solid Earth and
includes both Earth’s surface and the various
layers of the Earth's interior
3. HYDROSPHERE - includes all water on Earth
(including surface water and groundwater)
4. BIOSPHERE - the life zone of the Earth and
includes all living organisms, and all organic
matter that has not yet decomposed
1. ATMOSPHERE
- Greek term “ATMOS” means AIR
A GREAT BIG BLANKET
 Protects Earth like a blanket of insulation
 It absorbs the heat from the Sun and keeps
the heat inside the atmosphere helping the
Earth to stay warm (greenhouse effect).
 It also keeps the overall temperature of the
Earth fairly steady, especially between night
and day.
III.
Composition
• The atmosphere is primarily composed of
nitrogen (about 78%) and oxygen (about
21%). Other components exist in small
quantities (Argon 0.9%; Other Gases 0.1%).
• Nitrogen is more abundant in the earth’s
atmosphere in order to regulate and balance
off the amount of oxygen, because if there is
more oxygen, then we will burn up.
IMPORTANT ROLES OF ATMOSPHERE
1. Contains the gases that living organisms need
for survival (oxygen for respiration, carbon
dioxide for aerobic respiration).
2. Heat transfer.
3. Protects Earth’s surface from being struck
by meteors.
4. Ozone in stratosphere protects biosphere
form UV radiation.
5. Plays a part in weathering and erosion.
Because the earth is round, sunlight near the
poles is spread over a large area creating cold air
temperatures.
As you move farther from the equator, sunlight
becomes more spread out and weaker creating
slightly cooler air temperatures.
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Locations near the Earth’s equator receive direct
high angle sunlight creating warm air
temperatures.
As you move farther from the equator, sunlight
becomes more spread out and weaker creating
slightly cooler air temperatures.
Because the earth is round, sunlight near the
poles is spread out over a large area creating cold
air temperatures.
As a result, the earth is heated unevenly warm
temperatures along the equator, and cold
temperatures near the poles.
HOW OUR ATMOSPHERE EVOLVED?
I. The early atmosphere did not support life. It
contained deadly gasses such as methane and
ammonia. There was very little oxygen.
II. Over time, gasses were added to the
atmosphere by volcanic eruptions and as a
result of chemical reactions due to sunlight.
The Ozone Layer formed as a result of the
chemical reactions. Ozone is made up of
three oxygen atoms bonded together. It
blocks out ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
IV. The formation of the ozone layer allowed
micro-organisms such as blue-green algae to
appear on earth. They take in carbon dioxide
and release oxygen so the amount of oxygen
in the atmosphere steadily increased.
TODAY’S ATMOSPHERE
”the blanket of air surrounding the earth”
Consists of five unique layers
1. Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. Mesosphere
4. Thermosphere
5. Exosphere
Layers are based on TEMPERATURE CHANGE
within the layer.
 As you move up through the troposphere,
temperature decreases.
 As you move up through stratosphere,
temperature increases.
 As you move up through the mesosphere,
temperature decreases.
 As you move up through the thermosphere,
temperature increases
1. Troposphere
 Contains Convection Currents created by the
sun’s heat which cause most of our weather
 75% of the atmosphere’s mass
 tropopause : outer boundary of the
troposphere
 Typhoons
 Where most clouds can be found and
developed and “air donuts”, Low-and high-
pressure systems, La Nino & La Nina
 Commercial planes/jets fly in the
troposphere
 This is where harmful ozone is found. (smog)
Harmful ozone is found here…IT CREATES
SMOG!
What is smog?
- Pollution formed by the interaction of
pollutants and sunlight (photochemical smog)
usually restricting visibility and occasionally
hazardous to health.
Greenhouse Effect
- Water vapor and carbon dioxide (like the
glass in the greenhouse)
- Atmosphere is quite transparent to shorter
wavelength solar radiation and more readily
absorbs longer wavelength terrestrial
radiation.
- The atmosphere is heated from the ground
up rather than vice versa.
- The higher the attitude the lower the
temperature.
- Some sunlight that hits the earth is
reflected. Some becomes heat.
- CO2 and other gases in the atmosphere trap
heat, keeping the earth warm.
Why the earth is hot?
 Short-wave solar radiation passes through
the atmosphere and is absorbed by Earth’s
surface.
 Earth’s surface emits longwave radiation
which is absorbed by greenhouse gases.
 Greenhouse gases reradiate some energy
Earthward, thus trapping heat in the lower
atmosphere.
Kyoto Protocol
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- An international treaty that sets binding
obligations on industrialized to reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases.
- Adopted in 1997 in Kyoto, became
international in 2005.
OZONE DEPLETION
 two distinct but related phenomena observed
since the late 1970s:
1. a steady decline of about four percent in
the total amount of ozone in Earth's
stratosphere (the ozone layer),
2. and a much larger springtime decrease in
stratospheric ozone around Earth's
polar regions.
2. Stratosphere
 temperature increases with height
 artificial satellites
 contains the ozonosphere (ozone layer)
 temperatures increase in the stratosphere
because it is in this layer that the
atmosphere’s ozone is concentrated
 ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the
Sun (stratosphere is heated)
 stratopause : outer boundary of the
stratosphere
Rivers of air, called Jet Streams, can be found at
the base of this layer.
Ozone Formation
Oxygen molecule + Ultraviolet Rays Atomic
Oxygen
Atomic Oxygen + Oxygen Molecule  Ozone
How do CFC’s cause ozone depletion?
1. CFCs released into environment by industries,
rises up to stratosphere
2. Sunlight breaks CFCs up, releasing Chlorine.
3. Chlorine reacts with Ozone O3, and destroys
Ozone.
4. More reactions cause more depletion.
Montreal Protocol (1997)
- An international agreement developed under
the sponsorship of the United Nations to
eliminate the production and use of CFCs
3. Mesosphere
 from the stratopause: 50-85 km
 temperature decreases with height
 coldest layer: -85ºC to -100ºC (coldest place
on Earth)
 least explored regions of the atmosphere
 it cannot be reached by the highest research
balloons nor is it accessible to the lowest
orbiting satellites
 mesopause : outer boundary of the
mesosphere
Meteors burn up when they hit this layer.
Ionosphere
- extends from the top half of the mesosphere
all the way to the exosphere. This
atmospheric layer conducts electricity.
- A layer of free electrons and ions-reflects
radio waves.
- Also reflects particles from solar wind, the
stream of highly charged particles ejected
by the sun. These electrical displays create
auroras (light displays) called the Northern
and Southern Lights.
- Satellites and radio waves travel in this layer.
- Shooting stars can be found here
- Very limited data and what is known in the
mesosphere
4. Thermosphere
 warmest layer (1,000ºC – 1,500ºC)
 absorption of very short-wave, high-energy
solar radiation by oxygen and nitrogen
 Blocks cosmic radiation
 but gases are so sparse (insignificant
quantity of heat)
 exobase: top of thermosphere, base of
exosphere
5. Exosphere
Satellites travel here because there is very little
friction with air.
 represents the boundary between the Earth‘s
atmosphere and outer space
 outermost layer
 from the exobase: 600 km
 atoms and molecules are so far apart that
this layer no longer behaves like gas
 Hydrogen most dominant here
 Geocorona – boundary of the exosphere
Theodore von Karman
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- first to calculate that around this altitude
the atmosphere becomes too thin to support
aeronautical flight.
What makes a red sunset?
- As the sun gets lower in the sky its light is
passing through more of the atmosphere to
reach you. Even more of the blue light is
scattered allowing the reds and yellows to
pass straight through to your eyes.
ELS
Hydrosphere – Week 9
OCT 28, 2020
How old is the water we drink every day?
- A new study suggests that some of the water
molecules we drink and bathe in are way old,
as in more than 4.6 billion years old.
- The water on our planet is very old. The
water we have now is the same water that
existed hundreds of millions of years ago.
Hydrosphere
- It is the total amount of water on a planet.
The hydrosphere includes water on the
surface of the planet, underground, and in
the air. A planet’s hydrosphere can be liquid,
vapor or ice.
- On Earth, liquid water exists in the form of
oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.
- Hydrogen and oxygen atoms (H2o) only
substance that exists in the atmosphere as a
solid (ice), liquid (liquid water) and gas (water
vapor). They differ only in the arrangement
of the water molecules. The higher the
temperature, the more vigorous the
movement resulting to its distinct features.
The vast majority of earth’s water is salt water
found in oceans. Only a tiny fraction is readily
available or accessible fresh water which is what
humans need.
Water found in the earth’s surface can cycle
rapidly, but much of the earth’s water lies in ice,
oceans, and underground reservoirs. This water
cycles slowly.
Melting
- Solid  Liquid
- Upon application of heat or pressure,
molecules in the solid break down to a less
ordered state (solid melting to liquid.)
Freezing
- Liquid  Solid
- Upon loss of heat, the molecules of liquid
tend to move less, becoming more ordered
and fixed in shape.
Evaporation
- Liquid  Gas (Vapor)
- Energy absorbed by water molecules during
evaporation used to give them the motion
needed to escape the surface of the liquid
and become a gas.
Condensation
- Gas (vapor)  Liquid
- Water vapor molecules release energy in an
amount equivalent to what was absorbed
during evaporation
- Fog and clouds
The Water Cycle is complex and involves state
changes in water as well as the physical movement
of water through and between ecosystems.
Ground water is found underground between soil
particles and cracks of rocks. Aquifers are ground
reservoirs often packed by wells.
The water cycle is driven by the sun's energy.
The sun warms the ocean surface and other
surface water, causing liquid water to evaporate
and ice to sublime, turning directly from a solid to
a gas.
These sun driven processes move water into the
atmosphere in the form of water vapor. Over
time, water vapor in the atmosphere condenses
into clouds and eventually falls as precipitation,
rain, or snow.
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When precipitation reaches Earth's surface, it
has few options. It may evaporate again, flow over
the surface, or percolate, sink down into the
ground.
In land-based, or terrestrial ecosystem, in their
natural state, rain usually hits the leaves and
other surfaces of plants before it reaches the
soil. Some water evaporates quickly from the
surfaces of the plants, the water that is left,
reaches the soil and in most cases, begin to move
down into it. In general, water moves along the
surface and run off only when the soil is saturated
with water when the rain is falling hard, very hard
or when the surface can absorb much water.
Nonabsorbent surface could be a rock in a natural
ecosystem, or asphalt or cement in an urban or
suburban ecosystem. Water in the upper levels of
the soil can be taken up by plant roots, plants use
some of the water for their own metabolism and
the water that is in plant tissues can find its way
into animal bodies when the plants get eaten.
However, most of the water that enters a plant's
body will be lost back to the atmosphere in a
process called transpiration. In transpiration,
water enters through the travels upwards,
through vascular tubes made out of dead cells and
evaporates through pores, called stomata, found in
the leaves.
If water is not taken up by plant roots, it may
percolate down or infiltrate into the sub soil and
bedrock forming groundwater.
Groundwater is found in the pores between the
particles in sand and gravel or in cracks in rocks
and it is important reservoir of freshwater.
Shallow groundwater flows, slowly through forests
in fissures, and may eventually find its way to a
stream or lake where it can be part of the surface
water again. Some groundwater lies deep in the
bedrock and can stand or stay there for millennia.
Groundwater reservoirs, or aquifers are usually
the source of drinking or irrigation water joined
up through wells. Today, many aquifers are being
used faster than they are in use by water that
moves down from above.
Do Plants Sweat?
Transpiration – process by which plants lose
water out of their leaves.
Transpiration gives evaporation a bit of a hand in
getting water vapor back up in the sky.
Why do water droplets form on the outside of
a glass of ice water?
- The temperature of the glass is cold enough
to cool down the water vapor in the
surrounding air, so it turns from gas to liquid.
Precipitation – occurs when so much water has
condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore.
Sublimation
- SOLID  Gas
- Gradual shrinking of unused ice cubes in the
freezer.
- Rapid conversion of dry ice (frozen carbon
dioxide) to wispy clouds that quickly
disappear.
Deposition
- Gas(vapor)  Solid
- Water vapor is deposited as ice on solid
objects such as grass or windows
- “white frost”
Where is all the water on Earth?
Water found on the surface of the planet includes
the oceans, as well as the water from the lakes,
rivers, streams, and creeks.
Water found under the surface of our planet
includes water trapped in the soil and
groundwater. Water found in the atmosphere
includes water vapor. Frozen water on our planet
includes ice caps and glaciers.
Only about 3% of the water on earth is fresh
water and about 70% of fresh water is frozen in
the form of glacial ice.
Freshwater Systems (Streams, Lakes, etc.)
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The nation's surface water resources rivers,
streams, creeks, lakes and reservoirs, are vitally
important to our everyday life. The main uses of
the surface water include drinking water and
other public uses, irrigation uses, and for use by
the thermal electric power industry, to cool
electricity generating equipment.
Groundwater
Groundwater is an important part of the water
cycle. Groundwater is the part of precipitation
that seeps down through the soil until it reaches
rock material that is saturated with water. Water
in the ground is stored in the spaces between rock
particles. Groundwater slowly moves underground
generally at a downward angle because of gravity
in may eventually seep into streams, lakes and
oceans.
Free water that is beneath Earth’s surface.
Surface or near-surface can be dry, but deeper
parts can be wet.
Saltwater Intrusion
The boundary between fresh groundwater and
saltwater is referred to as the freshwater
saltwater interface. Fresh ground water
discharging to the coast prevents the landward
encroachment of saltwater.
If too much fresh water is pumped from the
aquifer system, then the saltwater can migrate
landward by a process referred to as saltwater
intrusion. If a pumping well is close to the land
ward, migrating freshwater saltwater interface
saltwater could enter the well and contaminate
the water supply. Under natural conditions, the
seaward movement of freshwater prevent
saltwater from encroaching a freshwater coastal
aquifers. This interface between freshwater and
saltwater is maintained near the coast, or far
below the land surface. The interface actually is a
diffuse zone where freshwater and saltwater mix.
This zone is referred to as the zone of
dispersion, or the zone of transition.
Groundwater pumping can reduce freshwater flow
toward coastal areas and cause saltwater to be
drawn towards the freshwater zone of the
aquifer. So, saltwater intrusion decreases
freshwater storage in the aquifers and in extreme
cases, can result in the abandonment of wells.
Saltwater intrusion occurs by many ways, including
lateral encroachment from coastal waters and
vertical movement of saltwater near discharging
wells, the intrusion of salt water caused by
withdrawals of fresh water from the groundwater
system can make the resource unsuitable for use.
Thus, groundwater management plans should take
into account potential changes in water quality
that may occur or might occur because the
saltwater intrusion.
Ocean vs. Sea
Seas are smaller than oceans and are usually
located where the land and ocean meet. Typically,
seas are partially enclosed by land.
Water: Deadly Facts
 Water can be chemically synthesized by
burning rocket fuel.
 Over consumption can cause excessive
sweating, urination and even death
 100% of serial killers, rapist ad drug dealers
have admitted to drinking water
 Water is one of the main ingredients in
herbicides and pesticides
 Water is the leading cause of drowning
 100% of people exposed to water will die.
ELS
Hydrometeorological Hazards – Week 10
NOV 4, 2020
Hydrometeorological Phenomena, Hazards, and
other Weather Mix-ups
Monsoon
- is a seasonal change in the direction of the
prevailing or strongest winds over regions.
Monsoons cause wet and dry seasons
throughout much of the tropics. Monsoons
are most often associated with the Indian
Ocean. Monsoons always blow from cold to
warm regions.
10 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
- The summer monsoon and winter monsoon
determine the climate for most of India in
Southeast Asia.
Summer Monsoon
- The summer monsoon is associated with
heavy rainfall. It usually happens between
May and October. As winter ends, warm
moist air from the southwest Indian Ocean,
blows towards countries like India, Sri Lanka
Bangladesh and Myanmar.
- The summer monsoon brings a humid climate
and torrential rainfall to these areas. India
and Southeast Asia depend on the summer
monsoon. Agriculture, for example, relies on
the yearly rain. Many areas in these countries
do not have large irrigation systems
surrounding lakes, rivers, or snowmelt areas.
- Aquifers or supplies of underground water or
shine.
- The summer monsoon fills wells and aquifers
for the rest of the year. Rice and tea are
some crops rely on the summer monsoon.
Dairy farms which make India the largest
milk producer in the world, also depend on
the monsoon rains to keep cows healthy and
well fed.
- Prevailing wind patterns affecting a large
area.
Southwest Monsoon (Habagat)
 Extensive cloud development and rainfall at
the western sections of the country.
 Wind from Australia that flows in a
Southwest direction
 May-October
Winter Monsoon
- The Indian Ocean's Winter Monsoon, which
lasts from November to April is less well
known than its rainy summer equivalent. The
dry winter monsoon blows from the
northeast.
- The wind starts in the air above Mongolia
and in northwestern China.
- Winter monsoons are less powerful than
summer monsoons in Southeast Asia because
the Himalayan Mountains prevent much of
the wind and moisture of the monsoons from
reaching the coast. The Himalayas prevent
much of the cool air from reaching the places
like southern India and Sri Lanka, keeping
them warm all year.
 - Winter monsoons are sometimes associated
with droughts, not all winter monsoons are
dry, however. Unlike the western part of the
Southeast Asia, the eastern part Pacific
coast of Southeast Asia experiences its rainy
season in the winter. The winter monsoon
brings moist air from the South China Sea, to
areas like Indonesia and Malaysia.
Public Storm Warning System
Signal Wind & Lead Time
1 30-60km/h; w/in 36hrs
2 60-120km/h; w/in 24hrs
3 120-170km/h; w/in 18hrs
4 170-220km/h; w/in 12hrs
5 Faster than 220km/h; w/in 12hrs

Northeast Monsoon (Amihan) PSWS 1 Kindergarten suspended

 Cool & dry air that originates in a vast
PSWS 2 Elementary & High School Suspended
anticyclone
PSWS 3 Classes in all levels suspended
 Siberia, Mongolia and Northern China
 November to April
How do Hurricanes, Typhoons & Cyclones
Differ?
Low Pressure=Stormy Weather
- They are basically the same thing but are
- A low-pressure area usually begins to form as
given different names depending on where
air from two regions collides and is forced
they appear.
upward.
- Hurricanes are tropical storms that form
- The rising air creates a giant vacuum effect.
over the North Atlantic Ocean and
Hence a soul of low pressure is produced
Northeast pacific.
when the lowest pressure near the center of
- Cyclones are formed over the South Pacific
the storm. As a storm approaches a
and Indian Ocean.
particular area, the barometric pressure will
- Typhoons are formed over the Northwest
lower.
Pacific Ocean.

Weather Radar
What’s with the name?
 Have a transmitter that sends out short
 Bagyo – after a 1911 storm in Baguio that had
pulses of radio waves/
a record rainfall of 46 inches within a 24-HR
 The reflected signal (echo) is received and
period (Ondoy – 18in; Yolanda 16in)
displayed on a TV monitor
 20th Century – storms are named after
 The echo is “brighter” when the precipitation
people, female
is more intense.
 1963 – Pagasa Filipino Names (A to Z)
 World Meteoroloical Organizations –
Typhoon Committee
 Pagasa Name and international name.

Tropical Cyclones and Wind Speeds

Type Sustained Wind Near the
Clockwise or Counterclockwise?
Center
- The development of weather patterns such
Tropical Depression 30-60km/h
as cyclones and trade winds are examples of
Tropical Storm 61-88km/h the impact of the Coriolis Effect.
Severe Tropical Storm 89-117km/h - Cyclones are low pressure systems that suck
Typhoon 118-219km/h air into their center or eye.
Super Typhoon Faster than 220km/h

11 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
- In the Northern Hemisphere, fluids from
high pressure systems pass low pressure
systems to the right, as air masses are pulled
into the cyclones from all directions, they are
deflected. In the storm system, a hurricane
seems to rotate counterclockwise.
- In the southern hemisphere, currents are
deflected to the left. As a result, storm
systems seem to rotate clockwise. Outside
storm systems, the impact of the Coriolis
Effect helps define the regular wind - Tornados form when warm, humid air collides
patterns around the globe. with cold, dry air. The denser cold air is
- As warm air rises, near the equator for pushed over the warm air usually producing
instance, it flows toward the poles. In the thunderstorms. The warm air rises, through
northern hemisphere, these warm air the colder air causing an updraft. The
currents are deflected to the right, East as updraft will begin to rotate if winds, very
they move northward. The current, descend sharply in speed or direction.
back toward the ground, about 30 degrees
north latitude. How is Lightning Formed?

Tropical Cyclone Debbie

-Debbie in 2017 was the strongest tropical
cyclone in the Australian Region since Cyclone
Quang in 2015 and was branded the most
dangerous cyclone to impact Queensland since
Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

Hurricane Irma
- Irma developed on August 30, 2017 near the
Cape Verde Islands, from a tropical wave
that had moved off the West African coast
three days prior.

Coriolis Effect
- In simple terms, the Coriolis effect, make
things travelling long distances around the
Earth, appear to move at a curve, as opposed
to the straight line. It is a pretty weird
phenomenon, but the cause is simple,
different parts of the earth move at
different speeds.
- In physics, the Coriolis force is an inertial
force (also called a fictitious force) that acts
on objects that are in motion relative to a
rotating reference frame.
- Northern Hemisphere – Counter-Clockwise
Southern Hemisphere – Clockwise
Tornado Formation
- You need cold air and warm air, when they
meet, the warm air goes up and makes
thunderstorm clouds. The cold air has ice
crystals and the warm air has water droplets.
- During the storm, the droplets and the
crystals bump together and move apart into
the air. The rubbing makes static electrical
charges in the clouds.
- Just like a battery, this clouds have a plus
end, and a minus end. The plus or the positive
charges in the cloud are at the top. The
minus, or negative charges are at the bottom.
When the charge is at the bottom, it is
stronger, or gets strong enough, the cloud
lets out energy, the energy goes through the
air, it goes to a place that has opposite
charge.

12 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
- This lightning bolt of air that is led out is
called the leader stroke, it can go from the
cloud to the ground, or a leader stroke can go
from the cloud to another cloud. No one is
sure why lightning bolts, follow a zigzag path
as they move. The main bolt or stroke will go
back to the cloud. It will make a flash of
lightning, it will also heat the air, the air will
spread quickly and it will make the sound, we
hear as a thunder.
 Heavier, negatively charged particles sink to
the bottom of the cloud. When the positive
and negative charges grow large enough, a
giant spark (lightning) occurs between the
two charges within the cloud.
How about Thunder?
 Lightning heats the surrounding air as much
as 50,000F. When air is heated it expands
and this tremendous expansion is what causes
the sound of thunder. The expansion is
happening faster than the speed of sound,
which creates a sonic boom.
 In a fraction of a second, lightning heats the
air around it to incredible temperatures as
hot as 54,000 Fahrenheit or 30,000 degrees
Celsius. That's five times hotter than the
surface of the sun. The heated air expands
explosively creating a shockwave as the
surrounding air is rapidly compressed. The air
then contracts rapidly as it cools. This
creates an initial crack sound, followed by
rumbles as the column of air continues to
vibrate.
 If you are watching the sky, we see that the
lightning, before we hear the thunder. That
is because light travels faster than the
soundwaves, we can estimate the distance of
the lightning by counting how many seconds it
takes, until we hear the thunder. It takes
approximately five seconds for the sound to
travel one mile. If the thunder follows the
lightning almost instantly. You know that the
lightning is too close for comfort.
13 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
Waterspouts
- Waterspouts fall in two categories,
Fairweather waterspouts and tornadic
waterspouts.
- Waterspouts are tornados that form over
water or move from land to water. They
have the same characteristics as a land
tornado.
- They are associated with severe
thunderstorms and are often accompanied by
high winds and seas, large hails and frequent
dangerous lightning.
- Fairweather waterspouts usefully form a
long dark flat base of a line of developing
cumulus clouds. This type of waterspout is
generally not associated with thunderstorms.
- While tornadic waterspouts, develop
downward in a thunderstorm.
- A fair-weather waterspout develops on the
surface of the water, and works its way
upward. By the time the funnel is visible, a
fair-weather waterspout is near maturity.
- Fairweather waterspouts form in light wind
conditions, so they normally move very little.
Marine & Coastal Hazards
Coastal Erosions
- Wearing away of land & removal of sediments
near the coastline
Causes:
 Wave Action
 Wave Currents
 Tidal Currents
ELS
Geosphere – Week 11
NOV 11, 2020
DYK?
The earth has multiple layers.
- The geosphere includes the rocks and
minerals on earth. From the molten rock and
heavy metals and the deep interior of the
planet, to the sand and beaches, and peaks of
mountains.
- The geosphere also includes the abiotic
nonliving parts of the soil and the skeletons
of animals that may become fossilized over
geologic time.
 - Beyond these parts, the geosphere is about
processes, the processes of growth cycles
such as metamorphosis in melting
solidification weathering erosion deposition in
burial are responsible for a constant
recycling of rocks on Earth, between
sedimentary igneous and metamorphic states.
I. Geosphere, the skeleton of our planet
Geosphere – the solid earth that includes the
continental & ocean crust as well the various
layers of Earth’s interior.
 The geosphere is not static (unchanging), its
surface (crust) is in a constant state of
motion.
 Mineral resources are mined from the
geosphere.
II. Earth’s Layer
 The earth can be divided into one of two
ways. Mechanically or chemically.
 Mechanically, it can be divided into the
lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesospheric
mantle, outer core and the inner core.
Chemically, which is the more popular of the
two, it can be divided into the crust, mantle
and the core, which will also be subdivided
into outer core and inner core.
 Inner Core is solid and then the outer core
is liquid, the mantle is solid or plastid. This is
due to the relative melting points of the
different layers and the increase in
temperature and pressure as depth
increases.
 At the surface, the nickel-iron alloys and
silicates are cool enough to be solid. In the
upper mantle the silicates are generally
solid, but a localized region of melt exists,
14 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
leading to limited viscosity. In contrast, the
lower mantle is under tremendous pressure
and therefore has a lower viscosity than the
upper mantle.
 The metallic nickel iron outer core is liquid,
because of the high temperature. However,
the intense pressure which increases towards
the inner core dramatically changes the
melting point of the nickel iron, making it
solid.
 The differentiation between these layers is
due to the process that took place during the
early stages of Earth's formation. At this
time, melting would have caused denser
substances to sink toward the center, while
the less dense materials would have migrated
to the crust. The core is believed to largely
be composed of iron, along with nickel and
some lighter elements, whereas less dense
elements migrated to the surface, along with
silicate rock.
1. Continental Crust
- Thicker but less dense; made of granite.
2. Oceanic Crust
- Thinner but denser; made of basalt
3. Lehmann Discontinuity
- Separates the inner core from the outer core
4. Gutenberg Discontinuity
- Separates the mantle from the core.
5. Mohorivicic Discontinuity
- Separates the crust from the mantle
Earth’s Layers: Composition
A. Crust
- Primarily silica plus light metallic elements
- Is the outermost layer of the planet, the
cooled and hardened part of the earth that
ranges in depth from approximately 5-70km
(3-44 miles.).
- This layer makes up only 1% of the entire
volume of the Earth, though it makes up the
entire surface (the continents and the ocean
floor).

Oceanic Crust
- The thinner parts are the oceanic crust,
which underlies the ocean basins at a depth
of 5-10 km (~3-6 miles).
- The oceanic crust is composed of dense
material such as iron magnesium silicate
igneous rocks (like basalt).
Continental Crust
- The thicker crust is the continental crust.
- the continental crust is less dense and
composed of sodium potassium aluminum
silicate rocks, like granite.
B. Mantle
- Primarily silica plus iron and magnesium
- The mantle, which makes up about 84% of
Earth's volume, is predominantly solid, but
behaves as a very viscous fluid in geological
time.
Upper Mantle
- The upper mantle, which starts at the
"Mohorovicic Discontinuity" (aka. the "Moho"
– the base of the crust) extends from a
depth of 7 to 35 km (4.3 to 21.7 mi)
downwards to a depth of 410 km (250 mi).
The uppermost mantle and the overlying
crust form the lithosphere, which is
relatively rigid at the top but becomes
noticeably more plastic beneath.
Lower Mantle
- The lower mantle lies between 660-2,891 km
(410-1,796 miles) in depth. Temperatures in
this region of the planet can reach over
4,000 °C (7,230 °F) at the boundary with the
core, vastly exceeding the melting points of
mantle rocks. However, due to the enormous
pressure exerted on the mantle, viscosity and
melting are very limited compared to the
upper mantle. Very little is known about the
lower mantle apart from that it appears to be
relatively seismically homogeneous.
C. Outer Core
- Primarily iron and nickel.
- The outer core, which has been confirmed to
be liquid (based on seismic investigations), is
2300 km thick, extending to a radius of
15 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
~3,400 km. In this region, the density is
estimated to be much higher than the mantle
or crust, ranging between 9,900 and 12,200
kg/m3. The outer core is believed to be
composed of 80% iron, along with nickel and
some other lighter elements.
-
D. Inner Core
- Like the outer core, the inner core is
composed primarily of iron and nickel and has
a radius of ~1,220 km. Density in the core
ranges between 12,600-13,000 kg/m3, which
suggests that there must also be a great deal
of heavy elements there as well – such as
gold, platinum, palladium, silver and tungsten.
Earth’s Layers: Physical Characteristics
A. Lithosphere - brittle solid
B. Asthenosphere - solid (but nearly
liquid)
C. Mantle - Semi - Solid (Fe, Mg, Al, Si, O)
- The mantle is also chemically distinct from the
crust, in addition to being different in terms of
rock types and seismic characteristics. This is due
in large part to the fact that the crust is made up
of solidified products derived from the mantle,
where the mantle material is partially melted and
viscous. This causes incompatible elements to
separate from the mantle, with less dense
material floating upward and solidifying at the
surface.
D. Outer Core - Liquid (Fe, Ni, S); less dense
than the inner core
E. Inner core - Solid (Fe); hotter and denser
than outer core
- The temperature of the inner core is
estimated to be about 5,700 K (~5,400 °C;
9,800 °F).
- The only reason why iron and other heavy
metals can be solid at such high
temperatures is because their melting
temperatures dramatically increase at the
pressures present there, which ranges from
about 330 to 360 gigapascals.
III. Seismic Waves
- waves of energy that travel through Earth’s
layers and often as a result of earthquakes
and volcanism
- are the waves of energy caused by the S wave or Secondary wave
sudden breaking of rock within the earth or - the second wave you feel in an earthquake.
an explosion. They are the energy that - is slower than a P wave and can only move
travels through the earth and is recorded on through solid rock, not through any liquid
seismographs. medium. It is this property of S waves that
led seismologists to conclude that the
Seismology - study of earthquakes and seismic Earth's outer core is a liquid.
waves that move through and around the earth. - move rock particles up and down, or side-to-
Seismologist – is a scientist who studies side--perpendicular to the direction that the
earthquakes and seismic waves. wave is traveling in (the direction of wave
propagation).
BODY WAVES SURFACE WAVES  SURFACE WAVES
- Travels only through the crust.
Under the Earth’s On the Earth’s surface - are of a lower frequency than body waves,
surface and are easily distinguished on a seismogram
as a result. Though they arrive after body
Higher frequency Lower frequency waves, it is surface waves that are almost
entirely responsible for the damage and
Recorded last on destruction associated with earthquakes.
seismographs, This damage and the strength of the surface
Arrive before the responsible for waves are reduced in deeper earthquakes.
surface waves damage and
destruction  LOVE WAVES
- The first kind of surface wave. Named after
A.E.H. Love, a British mathematician who
Two types: Primary Rayleigh Wave (R) worked out the mathematical model for this
Wave (P) and kind of wave in 1911.
Secondary Wave (S) - It's the fastest surface wave and moves the
ground from side-to-side. Confined to the
P-wave: fastest wave; R-wave: vibration in surface of the crust, Love waves produce
can travel through horizontal and vertical entirely horizontal motion.
solid (fast) and liquid plane
(slow)  RAYLEIGH WAVES
S-wave: cannot travel - named for John William Strutt, Lord
through liquid Rayleigh, who mathematically predicted the
existence of this kind of wave in 1885.
 BODY WAVES - A Rayleigh wave rolls along the ground just
- Travels through the interior of the earth. like a wave rolls across a lake or an ocean.
- Arrive before the surface waves emitted by Because it rolls, it moves the ground up and
an earthquake. These waves are of a higher down, and side-to-side in the same direction
frequency than surface waves. that the wave is moving.
- Most of the shaking felt from an earthquake
P wave or Primary Wave is due to the Rayleigh wave, which can be
- The first kind of body wave much larger than the other waves.
- This is the fastest kind of seismic wave, and,
consequently, the first to 'arrive' at a
seismic station.
- Can move through solid rock and fluids, like
water or the liquid layers of the earth. It
pushes and pulls the rock it moves through
just like sound waves push and pull the air.

16 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
 1. Sedimentary rocks
- are formed from pieces of other existing
rock or organic material.
Three different types of sedimentary rocks:
clastic, organic (biological), and chemical.
IV. Understanding the Earth’s core through
SEISMIC WAVES Clastic sedimentary rocks, like sandstone, form
from clasts, or pieces of other rock.

Organic sedimentary rocks, like coal, form from

hard, biological materials like plants, shells, and
bones that are compressed into rock. 
- The formation of clastic and organic rocks
begins with the weathering, or breaking
down, of the exposed rock into small
fragments. Through the process of erosion,
these fragments are removed from their
source and transported by wind, water, ice,
or biological activity to a new location. Once
the sediment settles somewhere, and enough
of it collects, the lowest layers become
VI. The School of Rock compacted so tightly that they form solid
rock.

2. Metamorphic Rocks
- are rocks that have been changed from their
original form by immense heat or pressure.
- have two classes: foliated and nonfoliated.
When a rock with flat or elongated minerals
is put under immense pressure, the minerals
line up in layers, creating foliation.
- Foliation is the aligning of elongated or platy
minerals, like hornblende or mica,
There are three main types of rocks: sedimentary, perpendicular to the direction of pressure
igneous, and metamorphic. Each of these rocks are that is applied. An example of this
formed by physical changes—such transformation can be seen with granite,
as melting, cooling, eroding, compacting, or an igneous rock. Granite contains long and
deforming—that are part of the rock cycle. platy minerals that are not initially aligned,
but when enough pressure is added, those
Rock Cycle minerals shift to all point in the same
direction while getting squeezed into flat
sheets. When granite undergoes this process,
like at a tectonic plate boundary, it turns into
gneiss (pronounced “nice”).

17 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
 - Nonfoliated rocks are formed the same way,
but they do not contain the minerals that
tend to line up under pressure and thus do
not have the layered appearance of foliated
rocks. Sedimentary rocks like bituminous
coal, limestone, and sandstone, given enough
heat and pressure, can turn into nonfoliated
metamorphic rocks like anthracite coal,
marble, and quartzite.
- Nonfoliated rocks can also form by
metamorphism, which happens when magma
comes in contact with the surrounding rock.
3. Igneous Rocks
- (derived from the Latin word for fire) are
formed when molten hot material cools and
solidifies. Igneous rocks can also be made a
couple of different ways.
- When they are formed inside of the earth,
they are called intrusive, or plutonic, igneous
rocks. If they are formed outside or on top
of Earth’s crust, they are called extrusive, or
volcanic, igneous rocks.
- Granite and diorite are examples of common
intrusive rocks. They have a coarse texture
with large mineral grains, indicating that they
spent thousands or millions of years cooling
down inside the earth, a time course that
allowed large mineral crystals to grow.
- Alternatively, rocks like basalt and obsidian
have very small grains and a relatively fine
texture. This happens because when magma
erupts into lava, it cools more quickly than it
would if it stayed inside the earth, giving
crystals less time to form. Obsidian cools
into volcanic glass so quickly when ejected
that the grains are impossible to see with the
naked eye.
Extrusive igneous rocks
- can also have a vesicular, or “holey” texture.
This happens when the ejected magma still
has gases inside of it so when it cools, the
gas bubbles are trapped and end up giving the
rock a bubbly texture. An example of this
would be pumice.
VII. What is the difference between a rock
and a mineral?
Minerals
VIII.
18 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
- is a naturally occurring inorganic element or
compound having an orderly internal
structure and characteristic chemical
composition, crystal form, and physical
properties. Common minerals include quartz,
feldspar, mica, amphibole, olivine, and calcite.
- crystalline form and abiogenic in origin one
specific chemical composition
- The study of minerals is called mineralogy.
Rocks
- naturally occurring chemical compound
- can be an aggregate of different minerals or
mineraloids
- the study of rock is petrology
- an aggregate of one or more minerals, or a
body of undifferentiated mineral matter.
Common rocks include granite, basalt,
limestone, and sandstone.
Properties of Minerals
a. Color Small amounts of different elements
can give the same mineral different colors.
b. Streak is the color of a mineral in its
powdered form.
c. Luster is used to describe how light is
reflected from the surface of a mineral.
d. Crystal form is the visible expression
of a mineral’s internal arrangement of atoms.
e. Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to
cleave, or break, along flat, even surfaces.
f. Minerals that do not show cleavage when
broken are said to fracture.
g. Hardness is a measure of the resistance of a
mineral to being scratched.
h. Mohs scale consists of 10 minerals arranged
from 10 (hardest) to 1 (softest).
i. Fracture—the uneven breakage of a mineral
j. Density is a property of all matter that
is the ratio of an object’s mass to its volume.
k. Some minerals can be recognized by other
distinctive properties.
l. MAGNETISM
m. TASTE- Taste is definitive for halite (rock
salt), of course, but a few other evaporite
minerals also have distinctive tastes.
n. FEEL- touch e.g. talc is greasy
o. EFFERVESCENCE – reaction to acid i.e.
Calcite and carbonates will react with weak
acids.
Geomorphic Processes
- Physical processes which create and modify
landforms on the surface of the earth
Geomorphic Agents:
- gravity, flowing water (rivers), moving ice
(glaciers), waves and tides (oceans and lakes),
wind, plants, animals and humans
Exogenous process
➢ External process
➢ Transforms rocks to sediment
➢ Weathering, mass wasting, erosion,
deposition
Endogenous process
➢ Internal process
➢ Reshaping of the earth’s landforms
➢ Volcanism, folding, faulting, earthquake,
diastrophism
Exogenous Processes
- occur on or near the surface of Earth. They
are usually influenced or driven by gravity,
water, wind and organisms.
- These could be destructive occurrences that
leave significant changes on the landscape
and even in the ecosystem of an area.
▪ also known as gradational processes
▪ comprise degradation and aggradation (they
modify)
▪ a continuum of processes – Weathering ®
Mass Wasting ® Erosion ® Transportation ®
Deposition
1. Degradation Processes (Denudation) –
reduction in land elevation
a. Weathering b. Mass Wasting & c.
Erosion and Transportation
Degradation Processes:
A. Weathering is disintegration and
decomposition of rocks – no transportation
involved
Types of Weathering:
1) Physical or Mechanical Weathering
- is the breakdown of rocks by mechanical
forces concentrated along rocks fractures.
This can occur due to changes, whether
sudden or not, in temperature, pressure, etc.
19 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
- (frost action, insolation
weathering/temperature)
2) Chemical Weathering (oxidation,
carbonation, hydration, solution)
- is the process by which rocks break down by
chemical reactions. In this process, new or
secondary minerals develop and sometimes
replace the original properties of the
minerals in the original rock or soil.
- Oxidation and hydrolysis are chemical
processes that contribute to chemical
weathering. Another contributor to chemical
weathering is acid rain which may cause
metals or stones to corrode or deteriorate
and change their properties because of the
reaction to acids by some of the minerals in
soul and rocks that make them up.
3) Biological Weathering (plants, animals,
humans)
B. Mass Wasting
- process by which soil, sand, and rock move
downslope typically as a mass, largely under
the force of gravity, but frequently affected
by water
- This refers to the movement of large masses
of materials down a slope or steep-sided hill
or mountain due to the pull of gravity. Mass
wasting is very destructive in areas with
increased water flow, steep slopes, scare or
no vegetation, or vibrating or moving ground.
 Debris flow – Happens when a large amount
of sediments, usually rocks of various sizes,
falls down the slope. Unlike a landslide,
debris flow does not need water to flow
down.
 Mudflow – Happens when combined soil and
water flow down a slope. This usually happens
near rivers or streams where soil or sand is
always moist or has been soaked in water for
a long time. The weight of mudflow indicates
the severity of risk when it flows down a
community.
 Slump – A slow movement of soil along a
curved surface. In time, the area would look
curved because of the depression formed by
the sinking land.
C. Soil Erosion
- removal of material from one place to
another at a greater rate than its
replacement
- Agents of Erosion: 1) Wind 2) Water
3) Ice
- is the process by which Earth’s surface is
worn away by wind, water, or ice. The process
of erosion moves rock debris or soil from one
place to another.
- Erosion takes place when there is rainfall,
surface runoff, flowing rivers, seawater
intrusion, flooding, freezing and thawing,
hurricanes, wind, etc. These are forces of
nature, whether violent or passive, capable of
exfoliating and scraping Earth’s surface and
exposing the layers underlying it.
Denudation
- Relationship:
Weathering
Mass Wasting
Erosion
and
Transportation
2. Aggradation Processes – increase in land
elevation/ landscape development
a. Deposition
Aggradation Process:
Deposition/Sedimentation
process in which sediments, soil and rocks are
added to a landform or land mass
wind, ice, and water and gravity transport
previously eroded sediment, which, at the loss of
kinetic energy in the fluid, is deposited, building
up layers of sediment
Sedimentation – It is the accumulation of
materials such as soil, rock fragments, and soil
particles settling on the ground. This usually
occurs in streams, and sea erosion. Over time, the
sediment load becomes thick and forms a new
layer of ground. In some small inland waters, this
sediment layer will eventually dry up the water
and become part of the soil. In oceans, the
sediment layer can form the ocean basin.
20 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
3. Endogenous Processes
▪ large-scale landform building and
transforming processes (they create)
▪ take place within or in the interior of Earth.
The driving force is the thermal energy of
the mantle. Most of the thermal energy
originates from the decay and disintegration
of radioactive elements in Earth’s core.
Igneous Processes
a. Volcanism: Volcanic eruptions ® Volcanoes
eruption of molten rock (magma) through a vent or
series of vents
➢ Volcanism (Plutonism) – It is the process that
usually happens after magma is formed.
Magma tries to escape from the source
through openings such as volcanoes or
existing cracks on the ground. Magma comes
out with extreme heat and pressure and may
cause destructive explosions. As soon it
reaches the surface of Earth, it is now called
lava.
➢ Magmatism – Happens when magma is
generated and develops into igneous
(magmatic) rocks. The process can take place
either under the surface or on the surface of
Earth.
Tectonic Processes (also called Diastrophism)
1. Folding: anticlines, synclines, mountains
- two forces push towards each other from
opposite sides, the rock layers will bend into
folds a “bend in a rock”
- caused by continent-continent collisions or
convergent plate boundaries
 When Earth’s crust bends, folds occur
 Folding occurs under compression when
forces act towards each other, such as when
plates collide. 2. Reverse/thrust fault - a dip-slip fault in
which the upper block, above the fault plane,
A fold is a bend in the rock strata. moves up and over the lower block. This type
Folding: Is a type of earth movement resulting of faulting is common in areas of
from the horizontal compression of rock layers by compression, such as regions where one plate
internal forces of the earth along plate is being subducted under another as in
boundaries. Japan. When the dip angle is shallow, a
reverse fault is often described as a thrust
The downfolds are termed synclines fault.
A upfold are termed as anticlines
amount of folding depends on force used by
movement of the plates.
When folding is very complex, there is little
relationship between anticlines & mountains &
between synclines & valleys.

2. Faulting: rift valleys, graben, escarpments

- fracturing and displacement of more brittle 3. strike-slip fault - a fault on which the two
rock strata along a fault plane either caused blocks slide past one another. The San
by tension or compression Andreas Fault is an example of a right lateral
- line of fault which appears on land surface is fault.
known as fault line. (allow molten rock to rise
up onto the earth surface when there is
active volcanic activity nearby)
Three types: Normal fault, Reverse fault,
Transform fault Earthquakes ® evidence of present-day tectonic
activity
A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between
two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks to Faulting  Earthquake
move relative to each other. This movement may
occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake - or
may occur slowly, in the form of creep. Faults may
range in length from a few millimeters to
thousands of kilometers. Most faults produce
repeated displacements over geologic time. During
an earthquake, the rock on one side of the fault
suddenly slips with respect to the other. The fault
surface can be horizontal or vertical or some
arbitrary angle in between.

Types of Faulting
1. normal fault - a dip-slip fault in which the IX. Tectonic Plate Movements
block above the fault has moved downward Tectonics
relative to the block below. This type of ➢ process that deform the earth’s crust
faulting occurs in response to extension and
is often observed in the Western United Tectonic Plate
States Basin and Range Province and along ➢ plates that move around on top of
oceanic ridge systems. asthenosphere
➢ large scale movements of earth’s lithosphere
➢ proposed by Alfred Wegener

21 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2

In much the same way that geographic borders
have separated, collided, and been redrawn
throughout human history, tectonic plate
boundaries have diverged, converged, and
reshaped the Earth throughout its geologic
history. Today, science has shown that the
surface of the Earth is in a constant state of
change. We are able to observe and measure
mountains rising and eroding, oceans expanding
and shrinking, volcanoes erupting and earthquakes
striking.
The theory of plate tectonics states that the
Earth’s solid outer crust, the lithosphere, is
separated into plates that move over the
asthenosphere, the molten upper portion of the
mantle. Oceanic and continental plates come
together, spread apart, and interact at boundaries
all over the planet.
▪ The Earth’s lithosphere (outermost layer) is
broken into the following 7 large plates:
• Eurasian Plate
• Indo-Australian Plate
• Pacific Plate
• North American Plate
• South American Plate
• African Plate
• Antarctic Plate
Each type of plate boundary generates distinct
geologic processes and landforms. At divergent
boundaries, plates separate, forming a narrow rift
valley. Here, geysers spurt super-heated water,
and magma, or molten rock, rises from the mantle
and solidifies into basalt, forming new crust. Thus,
at divergent boundaries, oceanic crust is created.
The mid-ocean ridge, the Earth’s longest mountain
range, is a 65,000 kilometers (40,390 miles) long
and 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) wide divergent
boundary. In Iceland, one of the most geologically
active locations on Earth, the divergence of the
North American and Eurasian plates along the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge can be observed as the ridge
rises above sea level.
Convergent Boundaries
- plates collide with one another. The collision
buckles the edge of one or both plates,
creating a mountain range or subducting one
of the plates under the other, creating a
deep seafloor trench.
22 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
- At convergent boundaries, continental crust
is created and oceanic crust is destroyed as
it subducts, melts, and becomes magma.
- Convergent plate movement also creates
earthquakes and often forms chains of
volcanoes. The highest mountain range above
sea level, the Himalayas, was formed 55
million years ago when the Eurasian and Indo-
Australian continental plates converged. The
Mediterranean island of Cyprus formed at a
convergent boundary between the African
and Eurasian plates. Hardened mounds of
lava, called pillow lavas, were once on the
bottom of the ocean where this convergence
occurred, but have been pushed up and are
now visible at the surface.
Transform Plate Boundaries
- plates slip horizontally past one another;
lithosphere is neither created nor destroyed.
Instead, blocks of crust are torn apart in a
broad zone of shearing between the two
plates. Such boundaries are called transform
plate boundaries because they connect other
plate boundaries in various combinations,
transforming the site of plate motion.
- The grinding action between the plates at a
transform plate boundary results in shallow
earthquakes, large lateral displacement of
rock, and a broad zone of crustal
deformation.
X. Geosphere Interactions
Atmosphere: volcanism spews significant amounts
of gases into the atmosphere. For example,
volcanoes inject large amounts of sulfur dioxide to
the upper atmosphere, resulting in global cooling.
Hydrosphere: The formation of many minerals
involves incorporation or release of water. Also,
water speeds up chemical reactions that produce
or destroy minerals, and aids in the melting of
rock.
 Biosphere: Nutrients released from rocks during weathering, erosion, volcanism, and
their breakdown are dissolved in water (to be earthquakes, also went on in the past.
used by aquatic plants). - This concept is known as the principle of
uniformitarianism.
Earthquakes (geosphere) can damage buildings
which may kill people (biosphere), as well as cause I. Uniformitarianism
fires which release gases into the air Major assumption in geology
(atmosphere). Earthquakes in the ocean may ✴ Events in the past occurred the same way
cause a tsunami (hydrosphere) which can that they are occurring today.
eventually hit land and kill both animals and people Examples Include:
(biosphere). ‣ Deposition
‣ Weathering/erosion
XI. Important Roles of Geosphere ‣ Volcanism
1. Contributor of particulate matter (e.g. ‣ Plate tectonics
volcanic ash) to atmosphere.
2. Ultimate contributor of salts to the ocean II. GEOLOGIC EVENTS
(ions released from weathered rock and
minerals).
3. Ultimate source of nutrients for all living
things.
4. Important contributor of atmospheric gases
(volcanoes).
5. Movement of plates that serves as barriers
in the isolation of population of organisms
(influences evolution).

XII. GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS and III. Earth’s History

MITIGATION  Earth is approximately 4.6B years old
- Due to the movement of plates and local  Rocks of the crust provide clues to Earth’s
concentrations of geologic heating past.
- Understanding these hazards to decrease
damages and casualties By analyzing these clues, we can infer events from
the past approximately 4.6B years old.
▪ Earthquakes IV. Geologic Time Scale
▪ Landslide - The geologic time scale is the “calendar” for
▪ Volcanic eruptions events in Earth history. It subdivides
▪ Tsunamis all time into named units of
abstract time called—in descending order of
duration—eons, eras, periods, epochs, and
ELS ages.
The History of Life on Earth – Week 12
NOV 18, 2020 Geologists have divided Earth’s history into time
units based on the fossil record.
“The present is the key to the past.” 
  -Charles Lyell

Principle of Uniformitarianism 

- This statement summarizes one of the basic

principles of geologic history – that the
geologic processes going on today, such as

23 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
 1. Law of Superposition: When sedimentary
rock layers are deposited, younger layers are
on top of older deposits.

2. Law of Original Horizontality : Sedimentary

rock layers are deposited horizontally. If
they are tilted, folded, or broken, it
happened later.

3. Principle of Lateral Continuity: allows us to

assume that similar layers of rock or
sediment that are separated by a valley or
other erosional feature were once continuous.

4. Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships: If an

igneous intrusion or a fault cuts through
existing rocks, the intrusion/fault is
YOUNGER than the rock it cuts through

V. Geologic Dating 5. Principle of Inclusions: relatively dates

Absolute (Know Dates) objects based on their placement within
• Determines how many years old (radiometric) other earth materials. 
• is based on calculations of the age of rock
strata based on half-lives of minerals in order to get a pebble inside an igneous
• WW1 July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918 rock it must be incorporated when the
• WW2 September 1, 1939 – September igneous rock is still molten-- such as when
2, 1945 lava flows over the surface. Therefore, the
piece, or inclusion, must be younger than the
Relative (Know Order of Events But Not Dates) material it is included in.
• Used to determine if one thing is younger or
older than another (superposition, index
fossils, correlation of rock layers)
• is based on the assumed age of fossils found
in the strata.
• ww1 happened before ww2

Relative Dating
- comparing of rock units to decipher their age
relative to one another

 Principle of Original Horizontality

 Principle of Superposition
 Principle of Crosscutting Relationships
 Principle of Inclusion
 Principle of Lateral Continuity

In Determining how old something is compared to

something else, use words like “older” or “younger”
instead of exact numbers.
VI. Radiometric Dating
• Also known as Radiocarbon dating
• Used to date organic substances

24 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
 • Scientists measure the radiocarbon in the Preserved remains become fossils if they reach an
fossil to determine its age age of about 10,000 years. Fossils can come from
• Can only date specimens up to about 60,000 the Archaeaean Eon (which began almost 4 billion
years old years ago) all the way up to the Holocene Epoch
• Scientists determine the age of the rock (which continues today). The fossilized teeth of
surrounding the fossil to determine the wooly mammoths are some of our most "recent"
fossil’s age. fossils. Some of the oldest fossils are those of
• Used only for inorganic substances (rocks and ancient algae that lived in the ocean more than 3
minerals) billion years ago. 
• Scientists measure the amount of argon in
the rock to determine its age • Remains of Ancient Plants And Animals,
• Dates rock 60,000 years old and older Evidence of Life
• Commonly Preserved (Hard Parts of
The half lives of radioisotopes vary depending Organisms)
upon the isotope • Bones
Examples: • Shells
C14  = 5,700 years • Hard Parts of Insects
U238  = 4,500,000,000 years • Woody Material
Rb87  = 47,000,000,000 years • Rarely Preserved (Easily Decayed Parts of
Organisms)
Carbon 14 is used to date biological remains • Internal Organs
•Carbon is incorporated into the cells of living • Skin
organisms and begins to decay when the organism • Hair
dies • Feathers

Uranium 238 is used to date rocks - a preserved remnant, remains, or impression

•Larger half life of a prehistoric organism.
- Classified based on their formation.

True Fossils
๏ Are fossils of the actual animal or animal
part.
๏ Formed when the tissues of animals didn’t
decay over the years.
๏ Commonly found in ice, tar (natural asphalt)
and amber (tree resin).
VII. Fossils
- are the preserved remains, or traces of
Fossilization
remains, of ancient organisms. Fossils are not
The word fossil comes from
the remains of the organism itself! They are
the Latin word fossus, meaning "having been dug
rocks. 
up." Fossils are often found in rock formations
- can preserve an entire organism or just part
deep in the earth. 
of one. Bones, shells, feathers, and leaves can
 
all become fossils. 
Fossilization is the process of remains becoming
- can be very large or very small. Microfossils
fossils. Fossilization is rare. Most
are only visible with a
organisms decompose fairly quickly after they
microscope. Bacteria and pollen are
die. 
microfossils. Macrofossils can be several
 
meters long and weigh several tons.
For an organism to be fossilized, the remains
Macrofossils can be petrified trees or
usually need to be covered by sediment soon after
dinosaur bones.
death. Sediment can include the sandy
seafloor, lava, and even sticky tar.

25 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2

Over time, minerals in the sediment seep into the
remains. The remains become fossilized.
Fossilization usually occur in organisms with hard,
bony body parts, such as skeletons, teeth, or
shells. Soft-bodied organisms, such as worms, are
rarely fossilized.  trace fossil. Burrows can also create
 
Sometimes, however, the sticky resin of a tree
can become fossilized. This is called fossilized
resin or amber. Amber can preserve the bodies of
many delicate, soft-bodied organisms, such as
ants, flies, and mosquitoes.
Mold Fossil
• Hollow impressions of living thing in a rock.
• Formed when an animal, plant, or other
organism dies and is covered by sediment, its
flesh decays and bones deteriorate due to
chemical reactions, and a cavity remains
below the ground surface.
- body fossils are the remains of the actual
organisms. Normally, only the hard skeleton is
preserved (shell or bone), and the soft tissue
(skin, muscle, organs, etc.) rots away after
death. Animals with weak skeletons (e.g., a
shrimp or an insect) are less likely to be
preserved and animals that lack a skeleton
entirely are very rarely fossilized.
- A mold is the imprint left by the shell on the
rock that surrounded it. An external mold is a
mold of the outside of the shell. Each time
we break a shell or bone out of the rock, an
external mold is left behind. Molds of the
underside of shell may be left on the surface
of rock that formed when sand or mud filled
the inside of the shell. These are called
internal molds.
Cast Fossil
- Created when minerals and sediments enter a
cavity or a mold (sometimes from a mold
fossil) and hardens, creating a cast.
- Casts are replicas of the shell or bone that
are formed from external or internal molds.
Casts can be produced naturally, but
paleontologists can also produce casts from
molds with latex rubber or even modeling
clay. These artificial casts can provide extra
information about the fossils under study.
26 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
Trace Fossils or Ichnofossils
- are rocks that have preserved evidence of
biological activity. They are not fossilized
remains, just the traces of organisms. The
imprint of an ancient leaf or footprint is a
impressions in soft rocks or mud, leaving a
trace fossil.
❖ Impressions of rocks that showed various
activities.
❖ Commonly, fossils of footprints, burrow, trail,
and or other trace of the animals (but not
the animal itself)
Where Fossils Occur
• Almost Exclusively in Sedimentary Rocks
• Heat of Melting or Metamorphism Would
Destroy Almost Every Type of Fossil
Rare Exceptions:
★ Some Fossils in Low-grade Metamorphic
Rocks
★ Trees Buried by Lava Flow
To Be Preserved, Organisms Have to Be:
✴ Buried Rapidly After Death
✴ Preserved From Decay
VIII. Geologic Time Scale (subdivided divided
into units based on fossil evidence)
The 4 major divisions:
Precambrian – 88% of Earth’s history (mostly
devoid of fossils).
Paleozoic Era – 8.5% of Earth’s history
(invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, vertebrates
and land plants first appear).
Mesozoic Era – 3.5% of Earth’s history
(dinosaurs, earliest birds, and mammals).
Cenozoic Era – 1.4% of Earth’s history
(humanoids show up late ~0.04% of history)
A. Precambrian (4.1 billion years)
- "before the Cambrian period”
- Cryptozoic or "obscure life" Eon (from the
words "crypt" = "hidden," and "zoon" = “life")
- 90% of the entire history of Earth
- Hadean, Archean and Proterozoic
geologists have found that there are some hard-
to-discern fossils in some Precambrian rocks, so
this period also is now known as the Cryptozoic or
"obscure life" Eon (from the words "crypt" =
"hidden," and "zoon" = “life")
B. Hadean (“Hades-like")
- oceans of liquid rock, boiling sulfur, and
impact craters everywhere
Earth’s original atmosphere was made up of gases
similar to those released in volcanic eruptions
today—water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and
several trace gases, but no oxygen.
- Hadean (chaotic eon)
- Lasted for 800 million years
- Earth’s surface was continually bombarded by
meteorites and the very hot mantle caused
severe volcanism
- Ocean and atmosphere were formed, and the
core, as well as the crust were stabilized
C. Archaean (“Ancient" or "Primitive")
- Archean eon
- Lasted for 1.3 billion years
- Earth was warm and the atmosphere
contained mostly methane and little to no
oxygen
- Most of Earth was covered with ocean
- Continent formation began
❖ Most water vapor in the air has cooled and
condensed to form a global ocean
❖ evidence of blue-green algae
D. Proterozoic ("Early Life")
- Proterozoic eon
- Lasted for 1.9 billion years (longest period
that lasted almost half the age of Earth)
- Atmosphere became oxygenated
- Eukaryotic life began and diversified
(multicellularity)
- Motion of continental drift
- true multi-celled life
- Free oxygen released by the algae floating in
the oceans is beginning to collect in the air.
- Stromatolites are distinctively layered
mounds or columns of calcium carbonate.
These multi-celled creatures will have no hard
parts like shells or teeth in their bodies, so their
fossils will be hard to find
27 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
Paradoxically, this oxygen, which we must have to
live, is poisonous to most of the life forms living
on Earth during the Proterozoic,
They are not the remains of actual organisms but
are the material deposited by algae.
E. Phanerozoic (542 million years ago)
- 10% of Earth's history
- "evident life”
- rocks from the Phanerozoic contain fossils
The Phanerozoic is the current geologic eon in the
geologic time scale, and the one during which
abundant animal life has existed. It covers roughly
542 million years (541.0 ± 1.0) and goes back to
the time when diverse hard-shelled animals first
appeared.
F. Paleozoic Era “Ancient Life”
- Age of Invertebrates
- Succession of marine organisms (clams and
fishes)
- Appearance of amphibians (the first animal
to succeed in adapting itself to breathe air)
- Appearance of land plants and giant ferns
- Succession of reptiles
The composition of the atmosphere has continued
to slowly change, mostly due to the increase of
oxygen produced by photosynthetic algae floating
on the ocean.
At the beginning of the Paleozoic, life existed only
in or near the ocean. Trilobites, shellfish, corals,
and sponges appeared, followed by the first fish.
Cooksonia plant Silurian
Huge forests and swamplands formed during the
warm climate of the Mississippian and
Pennsylvanian periods that later fossilized into
the giant coal beds of the eastern United States.
Animal life also moved onto the land, first the
arthropods (spiders and insects to you), then the
amphibians, and later the reptiles. The most
abundant animals on land and sea during the
Paleozoic were those like shellfish and insects
that lacked backbones, so the Paleozoic is often
called "The Age of Invertebrates.”
These mass dyings were probably caused by diversified in kind, and grew in size. Soon the
climate changes and periods of giant volcanic plains and forests of Earth were occupied by giant
eruptions. rhinos and elephants, lions and saber-tooth cats,
horses and deer.
We can follow the development of life in detail
during the Paleozoic, because at the beginning of Humans have become the dominant terrestrial life
that Era, life forms developed hard parts like form: more numerous than any other large animal,
shells, teeth, bones, and woody parts that were and more fearsome than the most terrible of
easily preserved as fossils. Earlier life forms were dinosaurs.
single-celled and soft-bodied, so older rocks
contain few fossils. Quaternary Latin, 1822
“fourth”
Tertiary Latin, “third” 1760
G. Mesozoic Era “Middle Life” Cretaceous Latin creta, 1822
- Formation of several continents
“chalk”
- Age of Reptiles/dinosaurs
Jurassic Jura 1795
- Existence of reptiles (first true terrestrial
Mountains,
vertebrates) flourished
Switzerland
- (believed to be descendants of the primitive Triassic Latin, “three- 1834
reptiles; current theory suggests that they fold”
were ancestors of birds) Permian Perm, Russia 1841
- The dominant animals on both land and sea Carboniferou Carbon- 1822
are reptiles, the most famous of which are s bearing
the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs began in the Devonian Devonshire, 1840
Triassic, spread during the Jurassic, and England
dominated Earth in the Cretaceous. Silurian Silures, a 1835
- birds and mammals also appear during the pre-Roman
Mesozoic, as well as deciduous trees and
tribe
flowering plants.
Ordovician Ordovices, a 1879
- A mass extinction like those in the Paleozoic
pre-Roman
ended the idyllic Mesozoic Era
tribe
- The climate during the Mesozoic is warm; so
warm that there are no ice caps at all, even Cambrian Latin 1835
at the poles! Cambria,
“Wales”
H. Cenozoic Era “Recent Life”
- Mountains were uplifted and volcanic activity WHAT KILLED THE DINOSAURS?
was widespread Its not the asteroid, nor the comet, or even the
- Succession of warm-blooded animals meteor…
(kangaroo) and primitive mammals It’s the impact winter.
- Development of the modern horse, modern
birds, and deciduous trees Asteroid Impact>Atmospheric Dust>Blocks
- Era that marks the existence of man Sunlight>Colder Climate

The global climate has turned somewhat colder,

and the last few million years have seen the ELS
return of giant glaciers and ice caps to North Universe – Week 12
America, Eurasia, and Antarctica. NOV 18, 2020

Mammals, which were small, mouse-like animals at I. Theory of Creation

the beginning of the Cenozoic, quickly spread out,

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 Biblical Creation
II. Welcome to Our Universe
Science and religion are not at odds. Science is
simply too young to understand.”
― Dan Brown, Angels & Demons
III. THE BIG BANG THEORY (1920)
Alexander Friedman and George Lamaitre
• Universe started with a huge expansion 13.7
Billion years ago.
• All the matter and energy in the universe are
crammed into a tiny compact called
SINGULARITY. Then suddenly, from this
singularity, expansion took place sending
space, time, matter, and energy in all
directions.
In 1927, an astronomer named Georges
Lemaître had a big idea. He said that a very long
time ago, the universe started as just a single
29 | F o c h B u e n a v e n t u r a 1 1 H U M S S 1 2
point. He said the
universe stretched and expanded to get as big as
it is now, and that it could keep on stretching.
When the universe began, it was just hot,
tiny particles mixed with light and energy. It was
nothing like what we see now. As everything
expanded and took up more space, it cooled down.
The tiny particles grouped together. They
formed atoms. Then those atoms grouped
together. Over lots of time, atoms came together
to form stars and galaxies. 
The first stars created bigger atoms and groups
of atoms called molecules. That led to more stars
being born. At the same time, galaxies were
crashing and grouping together. As new stars were
being born and dying, then things like asteroids,
comets, planets, and black holes formed!
A Super Long Time
How long did all of this take? Well, we now know
that the universe is 13,800,000,000 years old—
that’s 13.8 billion. That is a very long time.
“The Universe started with a cataclysm that
created space and time and all the matter and
energy that has ever existed in the universe”
 INFLATION EPOCH
 FORMATION of the UNIVERSE (gravity,
strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force,
electromagnetic force)
 FORMATION OF THE BASIC ELEMENTS
(protons, neutrons) nucleosynthesis
 RADIATION ERA (x rays, Cosmic microwave
background)
 MATTER DOMINATION (electrons joined
to make neutral atoms) hydrogen helium
 BIRTH OF STARS and GALAXIES (gas
clouds condensed and gained mass and ignite)
stars became galaxies.
Four Unified Forces
1. Strong force – force that binds nucleus
2. Electromagnetic force – can be attractive or
repulsive
3. Weak force – short ranged forced present in
radioactive decay
4. Gravitational force – attractive force that
binds the solar system
IV. Timeline of Big Bang Theory
Singularity Epoch (0 to approximately 10-32)
• Also known as the Planck Epoch
• Earliest known period of the Universe
• All matter was condensed on a single point of
infinite density and extreme heat
Inflationary Epoch (10-35 to 10-33 s)
• The universe expanded from the size of an
atomic nucleus to 1035 meters in width.
Formation of the Universe (10-6 s)
• The universe was made up of fundamental
particles and energy: quarks, electrons,
protons, and neutrons.
Formation of the basic elements (3 s)
• Protons and neutrons combined to form
hydrogen nuclei.
• Pairs of hydrogen nuclei form helium nuclei,
the process is called nucleosynthesis
Radiation Era (10 000 years)
• Energy was in the form of radiation
(wavelengths)
• Cosmic microwave background radiation
Matter domination (300 000 years)
• Matter began to dominate
• Electrons joined with hydrogen and helium
nuclei to make small neutral atoms
Birth of Stars and Galaxies (300 million years)
• Slightly irregular areas of gas cloud
gravitationally attracted nearby matter and
became denser
• Gained enough mass to ignite and produce
light
V. Elementary Particles
Fermions
- Fermions are the matter particles.
- All matter is made up fermions. Fermions are
divided into two types of particles: quarks
and leptons.
Quarks - are the basic building blocks for
protons and neutrons. There are six types of
quarks and they have pretty interesting
names including up, down, charm, strange, top,
and bottom. The different types of quarks
are called "flavors" by physicists.
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Leptons - One type of lepton that you have
probably heard of is the electron. Electrons
are important building blocks for atoms.
Other types of leptons include the muon and
the tau.
Bosons
- are force-carrying particles. This means that
they are made up of tiny bundles of energy.
Photon - Light is made up of a type of boson
called a photon. You can learn more about
photons and light here.
Gluons - Another type of boson is the gluon.
Gluons act as the force-carrier between
quarks in creating one of the fundamental
forces of nature, the strong force.
VI. Fundamental Forces
VII. Fundamental Interactions
1. Strong nuclear force- force that binds
nucleus
2. Electromagnetic force- can be attractive or
repulsive
3. Weak nuclear force- short ranged forced
present in radioactive decay
4. Gravitational force- attractive force that
binds the solar system
VIII. The Expanding Universe
➢ Galaxies moving away (Edwin Hubble, 1924):
The distance between galaxies is increasing
with time. (Red Shift)
➢ Presence of cosmic microwave background
CMB
 (Arno Penzias & Robert Wilson, 1960): CMB is redshifted giving strong evidence for an
speculated to be the remnant energy left expanding universe.
over from the formation of the universe.

➢ Abundance of light elements:

Massive amounts of He and H, with trace
amounts of Li and Be.

Just two years later, an astronomer named Edwin

Hubble noticed that other galaxies were moving
away from us. And that’s not all.
The farthest galaxies were moving faster than
the ones close to us.
IX. COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND
RADIATION (CMB)
- The cosmic microwave background (CMB)  is
an almost-uniform background of radio waves
that fill the universe.  The CMB is, in effect,
the leftover heat of the Big Bang itself - it
was released when the universe became cool
enough to become transparent to light and
other electromagnetic radiation, 100,000
years after its birth.  At this time, the
universe was filled with a hot, ionized gas.  -
This gas was almost completely uniform, but
did have slight deviations - spots that were
slightly (1 part in 100,000) more or less
dense.  The slight changes in the intensity of
the CMB across the sky (deviations of only
than 1 part in 100,000) give us a map of the
early universe.
Analogy for an expanding universe: as the dough
rises, raisins (galaxies) originally farthest apart
travel greater distances than those located closer
together. Thus, in an expanding universe (as with
the raisins) more space is created between two
objects that are farther apart than between two
objects that are closer together.
Edwin Hubble at Mt. Wilson
- Hubble’s observations at the 100 inch during
the 1920’s led him to the conclusion that the
universe is expanding, and that an object’s
recession velocity is proportional to its
distance from the observer.
Hubble guiding the Hooker 100-inch
telescope in 1923.
- The Hooker 100-inch telescope atop Mt.
Wilson near Pasadena, CA. It was the largest
telescope in the world from 1917-1947.
Deep Hubble Space Telescope Image

X. HUBBLE’S LAW (Edwin Hubble)

“The universe is expanding.”

- Hubble’s law is a law that states that the

galaxies are retreating from the Milky Way
at a speed that is proportional to their
distance.
- This relationship means that the further a
galaxy is from Earth, the faster it is moving. 
- The real significance of Hubble's Law is that
the Universe is expanding in all directions not A deep image of an “empty”
just from Earth.  portion of the sky with the
- This means all matter in the Universe started Hubble Space Telescope
at one point in space at the time of 'the Big reveals that the universe is
Bang'. A small number of galaxies exhibit filled with galaxies- many just
blueshift as they are moving towards Earth like our own. The light
but the vast majority of galaxies are we see from the most distant

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 galaxies have traveled approximately 10 billion however, the soufflé cools and begins to
years to reach us. collapse.

XI. RED SHIFT a.k.a DOPPLER SHIFT

 Red shift, or a Doppler shift toward the red

end of the spectrum, occurs because the
light waves are “stretched,” which shows that
Earth and the source are moving away from
each other.
 Redshift, displacement of the spectrum of an
astronomical object toward longer (red)
wavelengths. It is generally attributed to Scenario 2: Steady State Theory
the Doppler effect, a change in wavelength - the universe will continue to expand
that results when a given source of waves - “The steady state theory asserts that
(e.g., light or radio waves) and an observer although the universe is expanding, it
are in rapid motion with respect to each nevertheless does not change its appearance
other. over time (the perfect cosmological principle)

Bondi, Gold & Hoyle (1948)

- Steady state theory believes  that the
universe doesn’t change in its appearance and
is homogeneous. When an old star dies, new
star replaces it. So everything remains the
same. The universe has neither any beginning
nor any end. Universe was and will always the
same through the whole time.
XII. The Fate of the Universe: Which One?

Scenario 1: The Big Crunch Theory

- the outward flight of the galaxies will slow
and eventually stop
- According to this theory, the universe will
one day stop expanding. Then, as gravity pulls
on the matter, the universe will begin to
contract, falling inward until it has collapsed
back into a super-hot, super-dense
singularity. If the theory holds true, the
universe is like a giant soufflé. It starts out
small, then expands as it heats up. Eventually,

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 - The steady-state theory is a view that the
universe is always expanding but maintaining a
constant average density, matter being
continuously created to form new stars and
galaxies at the same rate that old ones
become unobservable as a consequence of
their increasing distance and velocity of
recession. A steady-state universe has no
beginning or end in time; and from any point
within it the view on the grand scale--i.e., the
average density and arrangement of
galaxies--is the same. Galaxies of all possible
ages are intermingled.
- it is now rejected by the vast majority of
cosmologists, astrophysicists and
astronomers, as the observational evidence
points to a hot Big Bang cosmology with a
finite age of the universe, which the Steady
State model does not predic

XIII. INFLATION THEORY (Extension of the

big bang theory)

➢ Inflation Theory (Guth, Linde, Steinhardt &

Albrecht): Theory regarded as an extension
of Big Bang that proposes a period of
exponential expansion of the universe prior
to the more gradual big bang expansion.
➢ Evidence: existence of gravitational waves

➢ The Inflation Theory proposes a period of

extremely rapid (exponential) expansion of
the universe during its first few moments. It
was developed around 1980 to explain several
puzzles with the standard Big Bang theory, in
which the universe expands relatively
gradually throughout its history.
➢ The Inflation Theory, developed by Alan
Guth, Andrei Linde, Paul Steinhardt, and
Andy Albrecht, offers solutions to these
problems and several other open questions in
cosmology. It proposes a period of extremely
rapid (exponential) expansion of the universe
prior to the more gradual Big Bang expansion,
during which time the energy density of the
universe was dominated by a cosmological
constant-type of vacuum energy that later
decayed to produce the matter and radiation
that fill the universe today.

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