Chapter 6: Glaciers, Deserts, and Wind

6.1 Glaciers and The Earth System

Glaciers – A thick ice mass that forms over hundreds or thousands of years. It originates on land
from the accumulation, compaction, and recrystallization of snow.
Valley Glacier – Unlike the rivers that previously flowed in valleys, the glaciers advance slowly,
perhaps only a few centimeters each day. These ice masses are called valley or alpine glaciers.
Ice Sheet – These enormous masses flow out in all directions from one or more snow-
accumulation centers and completely obscures all but the highest areas of underlying terrain.
Sea Ice – The ice that covers the Arctic Ocean which is frozen seawater.
Ice Shelf – Large, relatively flat masses of floating ice that extend seaward from the coast but
remain attached to the land along one or more sides.
Ice Cap – Ice caps completely bury the underlying landscape, but they are much smaller than
the continental-scale features (Ice Sheets).
Piedmont Glacier – Occupies broad lowlands at the bases of steep mountains and form when
one or more valley glaciers emerge from the confining walls of mountain valleys.
Outlet Glacier – Tongues of ice that flow down valleys, extending outward from the margins of
these larger ice masses.

6.2 How Glaciers Move

Zone of Fracture – The Uppermost 50 meters of a glacier.
Crevasse – Cracks resulted from the zone of fracture being subjected to tension when a glacier
moves.
Zone of Accumulation – Where snow accumulation and ice formations occur.
Zone of Wastage – A net loss to the glacier as all the snow from the previous winter melts.
Calving – A process when glaciers break off large pieces of ice from its front.
Iceberg – Created by calving where the glacier has reached the sea or lake.
Glacial Budget – The balance or lack of balance between accumulation at the upper end of the
glacier and loss at the lower end.

6.3 Glacial Erosion

Plucking – Occurs when meltwater penetrates the cracks and joints along the rock floor of the
glacier and freezes.
Abrasion – As the ice and its load of rock fragments slide over bedrock, they function like
sandpaper to smooth and polish the surface below.
Rock Flour – The pulverized rock produced by the glacial gristmill.
Glacial Striations – When the ice at the bottom of a glacier contains large rock fragments, long
scratches and grooves (glacial striations).
Glacial Trough – During glaciation, narrow valleys undergo a transformation as the glacier
widens and deepens creating a U-shaped Glacial Trough
Hanging Valley – Valleys of tributary glaciers that are left standing above the main glacial
trough after the ice has receded.
Cirque – Bowl-shaped depressions that have precipitous walls on three sides but are open on
the downvalley side.
Arete – Sinuous, sharp edges.
Horn – Sharp, pyramid-like peaks.
Fiord – Deep, often spectacular, steep-sided inlets of the sea that exist in many high-latitude
areas of the world where mountains are adjacent to the ocean.

6.4 Glacial Deposits

Glacial Drift – An all-embracing term for sediments of glacial origin, no matter how, where, or
in what form they were deposited.
Till – Materials deposited by the glacier as glacial ice melts and drops its load of rock debris.
Stratified Drift – Sediments laid down by glacial meltwater that is sorted according to size and
weight.
Glacial Erratic – Boulders found in the till or lying free on the surface.
Lateral Moraine – Materials that are left as ridges when the glacier wastes away.
Medial Moraine – Formed when 2 valley glaciers coalesce to form a single ice stream.
End Moraine – A ridge of till that forms at the terminus of a glacier and is characteristic of ice
sheets and valley glaciers.
Ground Moraine - Gently rolling layer of till deposited as the ice front recedes.
Outwash Plain – A broad, ramp like accumulation of stratified drift is built adjacent to the
downstream edge of most end moraines formed in association with an ice sheet.
Valley Train - An outwash plain confined to a mountain valley.
Kettle – Depressions where end moraines, outwash plains, and valleys are pockmarked.
Drumlin – Streamlined asymmetrical hills composed of till.
Esker – Sinuous ridges composed largely of sand and gravel in areas composed by glaciers.
Kame – Steep-sided hills that, like eskers, are composed of sand and gravel.

6.5 Other Effects of Ice Age Glaciers

Proglacial Lake – A Lake formed either by the damming action of a moraine during the retreat
of a melting glacier, a glacial ice dam, or by meltwater.
Pluvial Lake – A Lake that has had considerable, and generally periodic, fluctuation in lake level
in the past, primarily in response to climatic changes.

6.8 Deserts
Dry Climate – A climate in which yearly precipitation is less than the potential loss of water by
evaporation.
Desert – Arid water-deficient region.
Steppe – A marginal and more humid variant of the desert.
Ephemeral Stream – Carries water only in response to specific episodes of rainfall.

6.9 Basin and Range: The Evolution of a Mountainous Desert Landscape

Interior Drainage – A discontinuous pattern of ephemeral streams that do not flow out of the
desert to the ocean.
Alluvial Fan – A cone of debris at the mouth of a canyon.
Bajada – An apron of sediment along the mountain front.
Playa Lake – A basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body,
which disappears when evaporation processes exceed recharge.

6.10 Wind Erosion

Deflation – The lifting and removal of loose material.
Blowout – Shallow depressions resulted by deflation.
Desert Pavement – Stony veneer formed as deflation lowers the surface by removing sand and
silt from poorly sorted materials.

Chapter 7: Plate Tectonics

7.1 From Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics
- 50 years ago, most geologists thought that the ocean basins were very old and that continents
were fixed in place. Those ideas were discarded with a scientific revolution that revitalized
geology: the theory of plate tectonics. Supported by multiple kinds of evidence, plate tectonics
is the foundation of modern Earth Science.

7.2 Continental Drift: An Idea Before its Time

Continental Drift – Alfred Wegener’s hypothesis that dared to challenge the long-held
assumption that the continents and ocean basins had fixed geographic positions.
Supercontinent – A single continent consisting of all of Earth’s landmasses that drifted to their
current positions 200 million years ago during the Mesozoic era.
Pangaea – The name of Alfred Wegener’s supercontinent.
Alfred Wegener – A German geologist and geophysicist that wrote The Origin of Continents
and Oceans
Wegener’s Evidences – (1) the shape of the continents, (2) continental fossil organisms that
matched across oceans, (3) matching rock types and mountain belts, (4) sedimentary rocks that
recorded ancient climates, including glaciers on the southern portion of Pangaea.

7.4 The Theory of Plate Tectonics

Ocean Ridge System – A global system that winds through all the major oceans in a manner
similar to the seams on a baseball.
Theory of Plate Tectonics – A far more encompassing theory than Continental Drift that was
developed in 1968.
Lithosphere – The coolest part of the mantle and the Earths strong outer layer.
Asthenosphere – A hotter, weaker region in the mantle that lies below the lithosphere.
Lithospheric Plate – 2 dozen segments of the lithosphere that are in constant motion.

7.5 Divergent Plate Boundaries and Seafloor Spreading

Divergent Plate Boundary – located along the crests of oceanic ridges and can be thought of as
constructive plate margins because this is where new ocean floor is generated.
Rift Valley – A deep canyon-like structure along the crest of some ridge segments.
Seafloor Spreading – The mechanism that operates along the oceanic ridge system to create
new seafloor.
Continental Rift – An elongated depression caused when broken crustal fragments sink due to
tectonic forces pulling apart the crust.

7.6 Convergent Plate Boundaries and Subduction

Convergent Plate Boundary – When 2 plates move toward each other and the leading edge of
one is bent downward as it slides beneath the other.
Subduction Zone – Other term for convergent boundaries because they are sites where the
lithosphere is descending into the mantle.
Deep-ocean Trench – The surface manifestations produced as the oceanic lithosphere
descends into the mantle.
Partial Melting – At a depth of roughly 100 kilometers, the wedge of mantle rock is sufficiently
hot that the introduction of water from the slab below leads to some melting.
Continental Volcanic Arc – Mountain systems which are produced in part by volcanic activity
associated with the subduction of oceanic lithosphere.
Volcanic Island Arc – When subduction is sustained, it will eventually build a chain of volcanic
structures large enough to emerge as islands.

7.7 Transform Plate Boundaries

Transform Plate Boundary – Plates slide horizontally past one another without destroying
lithosphere
Fracture Zone – Long, narrow scar-like features in the seafloor that are perpendicular to offset
ridge segments.

7.11 What Drives Plate Motions?

Convection – A type of heat transfer that involves the actual movement of a substance.
Slab Pull – Occurs because cold slabs of oceanic lithosphere are denser than the underlying
warm asthenosphere and “sink like a rock”.
Ridge Push – Results from the elevated position of the oceanic ridge, which causes slabs of
lithosphere to “slide down” the flanks of the ridge.

Chapter 8: Earthquakes and Earth’s Interior

General Features:
- Vibration of Earth produced by the rapid release of energy.
- Associated with movements along faults as explained by the Plate Tectonic Theory.
- Mechanism of Earthquakes was first explained by H. Reid.
 - Elastic Rebound is a phenomenon when rocks “spring back”.
- Earthquakes occur as rocks elastically return to its original shape.
- Earthquakes are often preceded by foreshocks and followed by aftershocks.

Earthquake Waves:
- The study of earthquake waves is called seismology.
- The instrument for recording earthquakes is called the seismograph which records
movement of Earth.
- The record of earthquake waves is called seismogram.
- Surface waves have the slowest velocity of all wave types but have a complex motion.
- Body waves (primary waves) have the greatest velocity of all wave types, travels
through solids, liquids and gases, but have a compressional motion.
- Body waves (secondary waves) have a slower velocity than P waves, travels only
through solids, and has a “shaking” motion.

Locating an Earthquake:
- The place within the Earth where the earthquake waves originate is called the focus.
- The point on the surface that’s exactly above the focus is called the epicenter. Which is
located using the difference in the arrival times between the P and S wave recordings.
- Three station recordings are needed to locate the epicenter. A circle equal to the
epicenter distance is drawn around each station, where the point where all circles
intersect is the epicenter.
- Earthquake zones are closely correlated with plate boundaries such as the Circum-
Pacific belt, and Oceanic Ridge System.

Earthquake Intensity and Magnitude:

- Intensity is the measure of the degree of earthquake shaking at a given locale based on
the amount of damage.
- Intensity is often measured using the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale.
- Magnitude is a concept by Charles Richter in 1935, which is based on the amplitude of
the largest seismic wave. Each unit of Richter magnitude equates to roughly a 32-fold
energy increase.
- The Magnitude is often measured using the Richter Scale. However, it does not
adequately estimate the size of very large earthquakes.
- The Moment Magnitude Scale is used to measure very large earthquakes. It is derived
from the amount of displacement that occurs along a fault zone.

Earthquake Destruction:
 - Factors that determine structural damage are: (1) Intensity of the earthquake, (2)
Duration of the vibrations, (3) Nature of the material upon which the structure rests,
(4) The design of the structure.
- Destruction results from: (1) ground shaking, (2) Liquefication of the ground, (3)
Tsunamis, (4) Landslides, and (5) Fires.

Earthquake Prediction:
- There are no reliable methods for making short-ranged predictions.
- For long-ranged forecasts, we need (1) the premise that earthquakes are repetitive,
and (2) that the region is given a probability of an earthquake.

Earth’s Layered Structure:

- Most of our knowledge of Earth’s interior comes from the study of P and S earthquake
waves, where the travel times of these waves depends on the properties of the
materials it’s traveling through, and that S waves only travel through solids.

Earth’s Internal Structure:

- The crust is the Earth’s thin, rocky outer layer. It varies in thickness from 7km in oceanic
regions, 35-40km in the continental crust, and even 70km in some mountainous
regions.
- The continental crust has an upper crust composed of granitic rocks and a lower crust
that is more akin to basalt. It is about 4 billion years old and has an average density of
about 2.7 g/cm^3.
- The oceanic crust has a basaltic composition. It is about 180 million years old and has a
density of 3.0g/cm^3.
- The mantle is below the crust by 2900km.
- The upper mantle is composed of igneous rock peridotite.
- The outer core is below the mantle. It is a sphere with a radius of 3,486km. It is
composed of an iron-nickel alloy and has an average density of nearly 11g/cm^3.
- The lithosphere makes up the crust and uppermost mantle (about 100km thick). It is
cool, rigid, and solid.
- The asthenosphere is beneath the lithosphere and makes up the upper mantle with a
depth of about 660km. It is a soft, weak layer that is easily deformed.
- The mesosphere or more commonly known as the lower mantle is about 660-2900km
thick. It’s a more rigid layer with rocks that are very hot and capable of gradual flow.
- The outer core is a liquid layer that is 2270km thick. It has a convective flow of metallic
iron within that generates Earth’s magnetic field.
- The inner core is a sphere with a radius of 1216km but behaves like a solid unlike the
outer core.
Discovering Earth’s Major Layers:
- Discovered using changes in seismic wave velocity.
- Mohorovicic discontinuity occurs when the velocity of the seismic waves increases
abruptly below 50km of depth. It separates the crust from the underlying mantle.
- The shadow zone is the absence of P waves from about 105-140 degrees around the
globe from an earthquake. It explained if Earth contained a core composed of materials
unlike the overlying mantle.
- The inner core was discovered in 1936 by noting a new region of seismic reflection
within the core. Its size was calculated in the 1960s using echoes from seismic waves
generated using underground nuclear tests.
- CHAPTER 9- Volcanoes
- Magma- the source material for volcanic eruptions. It usually contains some
crystals and varying amounts of dissolved gas
- Lava- erupted magma
- Factors that affect lava and magma:
- 1. Temperature
- 2. Composition
- 3. Amount of dissolved gases
- Viscosity- magma’s mobility determined by these factors
- The more viscous the material, the greater its resistance to flow
- Volatiles- Gaseous components in magma that affect its mobility
- Eruption Columns- created when viscous magmas expel particles of
fragmented lava and gases at nearly supersonic speeds
- Two types of lava flows-
- 1. Aa flow- have surfaces of rough, jagged blocks with dangerously sharp
edges and spiny projections
- 2. Pahoehoe flow- exhibits smooth surfaces that resemble twisted braids of
ropes
- Lava tube- cave like tunnels developed from pahoehoe flows
- Pillow lava- lava flow composed of numerous tube-like structures,
- Pyroclastic material- pulverized rock, lava, and glass, fragments from the
vent, ejected when volcanoes erupt energetically
- Scoria- name applied to vesicular ejecta that is a product of basaltic magma
- Pumice- vesicular rock that is emitted when magmas with intermediate or
felsic compositions erupt
- Conduit- a pipelike opening through which magma moves toward Earth’s
surface.
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- Vent- surface opening that a conduit terminates in
- Volcanic cone- cone shaped structure often created by successive eruptions
of lava
- Crater- funnel shaped depression located at the summit of most volcanic
cones
- Parasitic cones- produced when there is continued activity from a flank
eruption
- Fumaroles- vents that only emit gases
- Shield Volcanoes- produced by the accumulation of fluid basaltic lavas and
exhibit the shape of a broad, slightly domed structure that resembles a
warriors shield
- Mauna Loa- Largest shield volcano
- Cinder Cone- built from ejected lava fragments that begin to harden in
flight to produce the vesicular rock scoria
- Composite Volcanoes- also known as stratovolcanoes, they are located in a
relatively narrow zone that rims the Pacific Ocean called the Ring of Fire.
- Volcanic Hazards
- Pyroclastic flow- consists of hot gases infused with incandescent ash and
large lava fragments
- Nuee ardentes- also pyroclastic flow, these fiery flows are capable of racing
down steep volcanic slopes at speeds that can exceed 100km/h
- Lahar- a type of fluid mudflow that large composite cones may generate.
- Other volcanic hazards- Volcano-related tsunami, volcanic ash and
aviation, volcanic gases and respiratory health, and its effects on weather
and climate.
- Calderas- large steep-sided depressions with diameters that exceed 1
kilometer and have a somewhat circular form.
- Fissures- greatest volume of volcanic material extruded from factures in the
Earth’s crust
- Fissure eruptions- usually emit fluid basaltic lavas that blanket wide areas
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- Basalt plateaus- voluminous accumulations that are extruded along fissures
in a relatively short amount of time
- Pipe- a rare type of conduit that carries magma that originated in the mantle
at depths that may exceed 150km
- Intrusions- the structures that result from the emplacement of magma into
preexisting rocks
- Intrusive igneous bodies are classified according to their shape as:
- Tabular (like a tablet), discordant (cut across existing structures) and
concordant (they inject parallel to features such as sedimentary strata)
- Dikes- discordant bodies that cut cross bedding surfaces or other structures
in the country rock
- Sills- are nearly horizontal concodant bodies that form when magma exploits
weaknesses between sedimentary beds and other structures.
- Columnar jointing- occurs when igneous rocks cool and develop shrinkage
fractures that produce elongated, pillar-like columns that most often have
six sides
- Batholiths- the largest intrusive igneous bodies
- Laccoliths- igneous intrusion that can lift the sedimentary strata they
penetrate
- Partial melting- incomplete melting of rocks which is a process that
produces most magma
- Geothermal gradient- increase in temperature with depth
- Decompression melting- triggers when confining pressure drops
sufficiently
- Magma can be generated in 3 ways: a decrease in pressure (decompression
melting), the introduction of water, and crustal rocks can be heated above
their melting temperature.
- Basic connection between plate tectonics and volcanism is that: plate
motions provide the mechanisms by which mantle rocks undergo partial
melting to generate magma.
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- Volcanic arc- a slightly curved chain of volcanoes
- Archipelagos- those that develop within the ocean and grow large enough
for their tops to rise above the surface
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- Continental volcanic arc- volcanism associated with convergent plate
boundaries may also develop where slabs of oceanic lithosphere are
subducted under continental lithosphere
- Mantle plume- a mass of hotter than normal mantle material where most
intraplate volcanism occurs
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- ANATOMY OF VOLCANO
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Chapter 10: Crustal deformation and mountain building

10.1 Crustal deformation
Deformation- refers to the changes in the shape or position of a rock body in
response to differential stress. Plate motions and interactions along plate margins
generate the tectonic forces that causes rocks to deform
Rock structures- the basic geologic features that form as a result of the forces
generated by the interactions of tectonic plates. They include folds, faults, and
joints.
WHAT CAUSES ROCKS TO DEFORM? (stress and strain)
Stress- the forces that deform rocks. Whenever the stresses acting on a rock
exceed its strength, the rock will deform through either folding, flowing,
fracturing, and faulting.
Confining pressure- when stress is applied uniformly in all directions
Differential stress- when stress is applied in different directions,
TYPES OF DIFFERENTIAL STRESS
1. Compressional stress- differential stress that squeezes a rock mass as if
placed in a vise. (Associated with convergent plate boundaries)
2. Tensional- differential stress that pulls or elongates rock bodies. (Associated
with divergent plate boundaries
3. Shear stress- involves the movement of one part of a rock body past
another.
Strain- a change in shape caused by stress. Strained bodies lose their original
configuration during deformation
TYPES OF DEFORMATION
1. Elastic deformation- when stress is applied gradually. Changes in this
deformation are recoverable like a rubber band.
2. Brittle deformation- when the elastic limit of a rock is surpassed, it bends
or breaks. Those that break into pieces exhibit brittle deformation.
3. Ductile deformation- a type of solid-state flow that produces a change in
the shape of an object without fracturing. Example is clay/gum.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT ROCK STRENGTH

1. Temperature- heat causes rocks to be malleable and soft, cold causes rocks
to be brittle and fragile.
2. Confining pressure- More pressure=rocks stronger and harder to break.
 3. Rock type- different mineral compositions and chemical composition of
rocks can alter their strength.
4. Time- as time passes, pressure from tectonic forces will slowly be applied to
rocks which will display ductile behavior and deform. Example: a taffy that
is bent slowly will just deform, but if done quickly, it may break into half.
10.2 Folds: Rock structures formed by Ductile Deformation
Folds- a series of wavelike undulations. Created when sedimentary strata,
intrusions, and volcanic rocks are bent.
TYPES OF FOLDS
1. Anticlines- usually arise by upfolding, or arching, of sedimentary layers and
are sometimes spectacularly displayed along highways that have been cut
through deformed strata.
2. Synclines- troughs, or downfolds, found in association with anticlines.
Dome- A circular or slightly elongated structure that is produced when strata is
deformed and large folds are generated
Basins- downwarped structures having gently sloping beds similar to a saucer or
bowl
Monoclines- large, step-like folds in otherwise horizontal sedimentary strata
10.3 Faults and Joints: Rock structures formed by brittle
deformation
Faults- form where brittle deformation leads to fracturing and displacement of
Earth’s crust.
Dip-slip faults- faults in which movement is primarily parallel to the inclination of
the fault surface.

Hanging wall block- rock surface immediately above the fault.

Footwall block- the rock surface below the fault.
Fault scarps- vertical displacements along the dip-slip faults tend to produce these
long, low cliffs
Normal faults- when the hanging wall block moves down relative to the footwall
block.
Movements along faults trending roughly north-south produce alternating uplifted
fault blocks called horsts and down dropped blocks called grabens.
Half-grabens- fault blocks that are tilted
Detachment fault- a nearly horizontal fault .
Reverse fault- dip slip faults in which the hanging wall block moves up relative to
the footwall block
Thrust fault- a type of reverse faults having dips less than 45 degrees
Strike-slip faults- a fault in which the dominant displacement is horizontal and
parallel to the trend or direction of the fault surface.
Transform faults- strike-slip faults that slice through Earth’s crust and
accommodate motion between 2 tectonic plates.
10.4: Mountain Building
Orogenesis- the processes that collectively produce a mountain belt.
Compressional mountains- contain large quantities of preexisting sedimentary
and crystalline rocks that have been faulted and contorted into a series of folds.

10.5: Subduction and Mountain building

Subduction leads to orogenesis. If a subducted plate is overidden by oceanic
lithosphere, island arc-type mountain building results, with a thick accumulation of
erupted volcanic rocks mixed with sediment scraped off the subducted plate.
Andean-type mountain building occurs where subduction takes place beneath
continental lithosphere.
10.6 Collisional mountain belts
Terrane- is used to describe a crustal fragment that consists of a distinct and
recognizable series of rock formations that has been transported by plate tectonic
processes
Research suggests that prior to their accretion to a continental block, some of these
fragments may have been microcontinents.
Suture- the zone where two continents collide and are welded together.
10.7 What causes Earth’s varied topography
Isostasy- the concept of a floating crust in gravitational balance.
Isostatic adjustment- this process of establishing a new level of gravitational
balance by loading or unloading
Gravitational collapse- involves ductile spreading at depth and normal faulting
and subsidience in the upper, brittle portion of Earth’s crust.