Dynamic earth 8/29/11 Earth science vs.

lab science There is a larger time scale involved in earth science A larger magnitude of the reactions Earth science has a historic aspect.

10cm/ year is the rate of displacement a year that the earth changes. Over a scale of 400 million years will cause a total displacement of about 40,000 kilometers over that time. Internal structure of the earth Earth is not uniform and can be divided up on a number of different properties o Mineralogy=study of minerals Mineral= naturally-occurring crystalline chemical compounds with a welldefined chemical composition (that varies within well-defined limits) Ex. Quartz= Si Mantle subdivision. See diagram. 0 km Surface 5-40 km Crust 40 Km And Upper Olivine below mantle 410 km Transition zone olivine perovskite+periclase 660 km Lower Perovskite mantle Periclase MgO 2890 km Core Pressure increase causes the transition between minerals This happens on the surface as well E.g. Graphite Diamond Crust can be further subdivided on the basis of mineralogy Type Location Thickness Commonest minerals Ocean Beneath Ave 5 km thick Plagioclase oceans 0-10 km range feldspar. continental Beneath 40 km thick Alkali Feldspar continents (20-80 km ) Quartz o Physical properties 0 5-40 km 100 km 200 km

Surface Crust Lithosphere Asthenosphere

Rigid solid Rigid solid Ductile solid(silly Puddy) allows for plate

tectonics 2890 km Mantle(mesosphere) Rigid solid 5150 Outer core Liquid metal alloy 6370 Inner core Solid metal alloy Pressure at surface P=1 atm temperature at surface =25 Deg C P at core is about 4x10^6 atm temp at center about 5000 C but could be as high as 8000 C o Chemical composition Elements are not evenly divided See diagram. Crust: outside layer 5-40 km thick Most Abundant element is oxygen 46%, Si 28%, Al 8% alkali and alkali earth elements about 7%, Fe 6%, Mg 4%, all others<1% Mantle: 2890 km to core mantle boundary. Most abundant element is Oxygen about 44%, Mg 23%, Si 22%, Fe 6%, Ca 2%, Al 2% all over elements <1% Core: 6370 km to the center. Fe 85% Ni 5% 10% is unknown. This is known by studying the speed of earthquake travel. This element has to be lighter than iron and nickel. Best guess would be something along the lines of Si, S, C Plate Tectonics (since 1968) o Lithosphere is broken into about 12 large fragments called plates also numerous small plates called microplates o 2 plates more relative to each other. Motion of crust, mantle= tectonics o Plates slide over ductile asthenosphere Velocity is not uniform for all plates most at a speed of 5-10 cm/ year Range 0.2-15 cm/year Types of plate boundaries (map view) o See diagram. 8/31/11 o Where plates move away from each other are Divergent boundaries a.k.a. Spreading centers. Plates move away from each other approx perpendicular to the boundary At divergent boundaries, asthenosphere rises up to occupy the space between the divergent plates. Asthenosphere cools, solidifies, and forms new lithosphere. Rising asthenosphere has an effect on seafloor topography. Produces mountain-belts= mid-ocean ridge. Rise up to about 5000 m above adjacent seafloor. Transform faults then occur. plates slide past each other approx parallel to the boundary

Convergent boundary: 2 plates move toward each other. Approx perpendicular to the boundary. Teeth in the map view represent which plate is on top of the other. Where two plates collide one plate will slide under the other. Process is called Subduction, region known as a subduction zone. Descend to transition zone or core-mantle boundary. Where they are resorbed back into the mantle. Subducted plate pulls down seafloor at boundary= deep sea trenches. Conveyor belt process creation of lithosphere at divergent boundaries; destroyed in subduction zones. Continents embedded in plates and move along with them. Continents too buoyant to subduct Driving force for plate motion o Convection currents in the Asthenosphere Prior to 2000 this was believed to be the caused o Plate push at divergent boundaries. o Plate pull at convergent boundaries Current view. density of the bottom of the plate pulls the rest of the plate along. GEOLOGIC TIME 9/7/11 o Geometric relations among juxtaposed rock bodies Principles of layer formations Area>>thickness Form by a variety of processes o A deposit left by rivers, oceans, currents, wind, glaciers o Volcanic eruptions o Evaporation of seawater, lake water o Accumulations of hard parts of animals Layers always form horizontally or nearly so New layers form exactly at the surface Relative age of deformation and layer formation Deformation (tilting) see diagram Deformation younger than the youngest tilted layer in diagram layer C Deformation older than oldest untilted layer D Angular unconformity= surface separating tilted and untilted rocks. Represents a time interval of deformation occurring (no layer formation) Relative timing of intrusion of magma and layer formation See diagram o Fracture formsmagma intrudesmagma intrusion younger than youngest layer transected (C) Relative age of formation of rock layers

Decreasing age ABC Any layer younger than all rocks beneath Any layer older than all layers above See diagram below A _______ B ________ Surface_______ Surface________ A _________

C _____ Surface____ B _____ A ______

Fossils Remains of organisms preserved in rock Usually hard parts( shells, bones) Larger rocks( not igneous) Fossils common (recent rocks) Immerse diversity of life forms now 10^7, 10^9 over earth history Species lined over restricted time span now Still with us Dinosaurs extint Large mammals appear Dinosaurs disappear Extinction of appear trilobites Trilobites disappear Fossil hard parts appear appear Pre-fossil No fossils or fossil microorganisms

o o

Radiometric Dating o Geometric o Relative o Local relations o Fossils o Relative o Global o Radiometric o Absolute o global dating Century decadesyearsmonths (modern time scale) Eoneraperiodepoilage/stage (geologic time scale) now Eons now now 542My 2500My 3900My Phanerozoic Proterozoi c Archean hadean Fossil_hard_parts_appear______ First animals(no hard parts) are fossil microorganisms No fossils

 Era Cenozoic 65My Mesozic 251 My Phanerozoic Era Period Tercerary: Cretaceons Jurassic Triassic Permean Carbiniterous Devonian Silurian Ordovician Cambrian Period quaternary Tertary paleogene Cenozoic era Neogere Epochs Holocene Pleistocene Phocene miocene Oligocene Eocene Paleocene

Paleozoic 542 My

9/12/11 see notes for diagram of radioactive decay P=half-life: time for half amount of radioactive parent present to decay into daughter My=10^6 years = number of atoms present after some allotted half life T Radioactive decay Law: Pick rock that has well-defined time of formation o Igneous rocks: form by crystallization of molten material Pick a mineral that contains a parent dement but no daughter element o Zircon ZrSi contains U but not Pb whom it forms o Measure amount of parent= ) o Measure amount daughter= o o

Calibration of fossil time scale Igneous rocks do not contain fossils

Rocks with fossils cannot be usually dated Find areas with interlayered igneous rocks and fossil-bearing rocks T V(1) T T Triassic-Permian boundary mesozoic-paleozoic boundary P V(2) P T= rocks with Triassic fossils P=rocks with Permian fossils V=volcanic igneous rock o Date volcanic rock:V(1)t(1) V(2)t(2) o V(1)>age boundary>V(2) o Age boundary is bracketed but not directly dated Dating rocks and minerals that initially contain a parent and daughter 9/14/11 Decay law: =

not radioactive not radiogenic(not a daughter) )) t=

Mass Balance o )= o o o o }]

See notes for final equation and graph.9/14/11 Igneous rock body rock samples from same body can vary in RB/Sr Minerals in same sample vary in Rb/Sr All form at the same time

o See diagram Application o Collect samples, minerals from same igneous rock body o Analyze them for

o Plot on diagram Age of the earth(1956) U-Pb decay scheme ISochron diagram not radioactive or radiogenic B

Y = I + X Earth, sun, many meteorites formed at same time o Sun earth, chondritic meteorites have same chemical composition (less H, He) o same when earth, meteorites formed in troilite (FeS) in canyon Diablo Iron meteorites very old-4.5 million years old Analyze

meteorite (contains Pb but no U) Crust contains ~ 100x U, Pb as mantle Continental crust contains~ 10x Pb, U as ocean crust U, Pb isotope composition of continental crust~ Whole earth Continent eroded by rivers, sediment deposited in cean basins Average marine sediment~ average continental crust and whole earth in U, Pb Isotope Average U, Pb isotope compostion of marine sediment determined from 100s analysis o Age of earth t=4550+or- 70 My Early history of solar system Solar system condensed from solar nebula (hot gas cloud, T> 2000K) Nebula condensed and cooled first minerals formed( t~ 1600K) Ca-Al-Mg-O Corundum Al2O3 Hiborute CaAl12O19 Spirel MgAl2O4 Found in CAIs= Ca-Al inclusions 4567.2+or- .5 My=time 0 T=1 My Dust coalesced into asteroid-size bodies(up to 100 km diameter) Some differentiate into core+mantle T=3-4 My some asteroids melt = first igneous rocks

10-50 My Asteroids coalesce into planetoids (up to ~ few 1000s km diameter) Planetoids coalesce into planets Proto earth collides with Mars-sided planetoid collision vaporized impactor, melted proto earth Earth+ moon formed Gradual growth of earth by collision with comets, meteorites Age: Sm-Nd~ 30 My W-Hf~50-100 My Minerals Homogeneous: same all the way through Naturally occurring: made naturally either terrestrially or extra terrestrially Solid: not liquid or gas, but under certain conditions minerals can be deformed Crystalline: long range order in the arrangement of atoms Generally inorganic: Specific chemical compositon I-------I---------------------------------------------------------------------------I ^forsterite Olivine Fayalite^ This binary diagram represents the solid solutions between the two ends Rock Naturally occurring: made naturally either terrestrially or extra terrestrially Coherent aggregate of one or more mineral