Earth SC-202 Physical Geology

Instructor
• Prof. Steven Dutch
• Office: RH 352
• Phone: 465-2246
• Email: dutchs@uwgb.edu
• Home Page: www.uwgb.edu/dutchs
 What is Physical Geology?
Erosion Wind
Soils
Water Oceans Glaciers
Weathering
Underground Surface
Fossils Sedimentary

Earth History
Rocks
Volcanoes
Metamorphic Igneous
Earth’s Interior Intrusions
Earthquakes
Plate Tectonics
Mountains Mineral Resources
Other Planets
 Syllabus
• Introduction to the course • Metamorphism and
• Minerals Deformation
• Igneous Rocks and • Earthquakes and Earth's
Volcanoes
Interior
• Weathering and Erosion
• Continental Drift and
• Evolution of Landscapes
Plate Tectonics
• Sedimentary Rocks
• Evolution, Fossils, Geologic • Resources from the Earth
Time • Geology of other Worlds
• Glaciers
• Wind and Wave Erosion
 Exams and Grading
Midterm I 50 points A 270+
Midterm II 50 points AB 255-269
Lab 100 points B 240-254
Final 80 points BC 225-239
Field Trip 20 points C 210-224
D 200-209
Total 300 points
 Field Trip
• Dates
• Mandatory – Absence Excuse Required
• 8:00 LS Parking Lot, Return 4:15
• Casual Clothing – No strenuous hiking
• Bring a lunch and fluids
• Rest stops provided
• Put on your calendar! No excuses!
 Lab
• Instructor: Dawn
Walczyk
• Enroll in one
section
• 100 points total
 Geology and Other Sciences
Chemistry
Physics Biology
•Mineralogy
•Geophysics •Paleontology
•Petrology
•Seismology •Paleo????ology
•Geochemistry

Astronomy Geology •Historical Geology

•Planetary Geology •Economic Geology •Geomorphology

•Helioseismology •Hydrology •Oceanography

•Engineering •Structural Geology
Geology
•Volcanology
 Who Geoscientists Are:
• About 30,000 in the U.S.
• Globally, in rich and poor countries, about
one per $50 million GNP.
• Mostly male but changing rapidly (now
about 25% female in U.S.)
• Still less than 10% minority in U.S.
(moving up slowly)
 Where Geologists Work
• 40 % Private Sector
• 30 % Academic
• 30 % Government
 What Geologists Do:
• Locate Geologic Resources
• Geologic Hazard Mitigation
– Geological and Mining Engineering
– Site Study
– Land-Use Planning
• Environmental Protection
– Environmental Impact
– Ground Water and Waste Management
• Basic Research (Furnishes fundamental
knowledge for the applications)
 Some Unique Aspects of
Geology
Importance of Relationships
• Sequential
• Spatial
Importance of Time
Distinctive Problems of Evidence
• Slow Rates
• Rare Events
• Destruction of Evidence
• Inaccessibility
 Some Geologic Rates
Cutting of Grand Canyon
• 2 km/3 m.y. = 1 cm/15 yr
Uplift of Alps
• 5 km/10 m.y. = 1 cm/20 yr.
Opening of Atlantic
• 5000 km/180 m.y. = 2.8 cm/yr.
Uplift of White Mtns. (N.H.) Granites
• 8 km/150 m.y. = 1 cm/190 yr.
 Some Geologic Rates
Movement of San Andreas Fault
• 5 cm/yr = 7 m/140 yr.
Growth of Mt. St. Helens
• 3 km/30,000 yr = 10 cm/yr.
Deposition of Niagara Dolomite
• 100 m/ 1 m.y.? = 1 cm/100 yr.
 1 Second = 1 Year
• 35 minutes to birth of Christ
• 1 hour+ to pyramids
• 3 hours to retreat of glaciers from Wisconsin
• 12 days = 1 million years
• 2 years to extinction of dinosaurs
• 14 years to age of Niagara Escarpment
• 31 years = 1 billion years
 Some Unique Aspects of
Geology (Continued)
Reliance on Inference and Deduction
Intrinsically "Unsolvable" Problems
• Ancient Landscapes
• Mass Extinctions
• Ancient Ocean Basins
Scientific Principles in Geology
• Parsimony (K.I.S.S.)
• Superposition
• Uniformitarianism

Using these, plus observation, we establish

facts about Earth Processes
 Parsimony
• The simplest explanation that fits all the
data is preferred
• Doesn’t guarantee that things must be
simple!
• Theories with lots of ad hoc or unsupported
ideas are probably wrong.
 Parsimony: What is the best
interpretation of this well data?
Parsimony

• This?

• Or This?
 Parsimony
• Rock layers
throughout NE
Wisconsin are
nearly flat and
little disturbed
• Glacial deposits • Therefore this is the
are always on top most likely
of bedrock interpretation
 One Implication of Parsimony
How do we know the laws of nature are the same
everywhere?
• Out to the farthest stars, everything seems to obey
the same laws of nature
• We find nothing in the rocks to suggest the laws
of nature were different in the past
Either:
• The laws of nature change but just happen to
produce effects that look like the presently-known
laws of nature – or –
• The laws of nature really are the same everywhere
 Another Implication of
Parsimony

• We live in a universe of patterns

• If someone claims there is an exception
to a known pattern, the simplest
explanation is that he/she is wrong
• Therefore the burden of proof in
science is on the challenger
 Superposition
Whodunit?
• Last night, one of Green Bay’s premier beer
can collections was stolen
• The only clue is footprints in the snow
• The thief was the last person to leave the
premises
 The Suspects
• The Nephew Has a seeing-eye dog
• The Maid Drives a car
• The Cook Rides a motorcycle
• The Handyman Rides a bike
• The Butler Walks to work
 The Crime Scene
• The
Nephew has
a seeing-eye
dog
• The Maid
Drives a car
• The Cook
Rides a
motorcycle
• The
Handyman
Rides a bike
• The Butler
Walks to
work
Contacts
 A Contact:
Mindoro Cut,
Wisconsin
 Uniformitarianism
Continuity of Cause and Effect
• Apply Cause and Effect to Future -
Prediction
• Apply Cause and Effect to Present -
Technology
• Apply Cause and Effect to Past -
Uniformitarianism
 Uniformitarianism does not
mean:
• Catastrophes never occur
• Physical Conditions on Earth never Change
• Earth has always been the same
• Physical processes always occur at the same
rate or intensity
• Laws of Physics have always been the same
 Uniformitarianism does mean:
Using our knowledge of physical laws, we can
test:
• Whether catastrophes have occurred
• Whether physical conditions on earth have
changed, and if so, how (ice ages, warm periods,
high or low sea level, etc.)
• Whether physical laws themselves have changed
in time, or elsewhere in the universe.