Introduction to Geology

Chapters 1, 22

The science of Geology

Geology is the science that pursues an understanding of planet Earth
Physical geology - examines materials composing Earth to understand processes that operate beneath and on its surface

Geology, people, and the environment

Relations exist between people and natural environments Problems and issues addressed by geology
What aspects of Geology affect people?

Aspects of Geological Science that affect people Natural Hazards Floods Earthquakes Volcanic eruptions Landslides Natural Resources Oil and Gas Metals Coal, Uranium Gravel, Sand Water

floods

volcanoes

resources

earthquakes

What aspects of Geology affect us in Colorado?

Oil Production - all of CO. Water Use - Colorado River, Front Range Water grabs, etc Debris Flows - I-70 corridor Big earthquakes - San Luis Valley Little earthquakes - Denver, Trinidad Rock Quarries - Lyons, Eldorado Mtn Big Thompson Flood - Loveland Metals and Pollution - Climax mine, I-70 Tourism: Natl Parks, RMNP, CO Natl Mon.

Geologic time
The magnitude of geologic time
Involves vast time billions of years An appreciation for the magnitude of geologic time is important because many processes occur intermittently (not at 80 yr lifespan of humans) Recurrence of Geologic events greater than usual human lifespans

What geologic events have happened in your lifetime?

Earthquakes, Volcanic eruptions, Floods

Geologic Time Scale

First defined by organisms (fossils)

Later given actual numbers using radioactive age dating

Gives us a historical framework to place events into Memorize this later

Scientific Inquiry
Science assumes the natural world is consistent and predictable Goal of science is to discover patterns in nature and use the knowledge to make predictions Scientists collect facts through observation and measurements.

How would a Geologist make observations?

Geologic Mapping - walk around, look at rocks, make maps Satellite images, photos & other data Global Positioning Satellites Drillholes from oil exploration Seismic Reflection Data Topographic maps, radar and laser scanning

Radar mapping of ground movements & earthquakes with INSAR, Interferometric Side Aperature Radar

Satellite Images, photos & spectral data Athens Olympic venues

Need Boulder Ikonos

Laser scanning of topography Laser scanning of topography (Loveland CO) (Loveland CO)

What are objects on Image? A) Rocks B) Trees C) Houses D) Lakes E) All of above

Seismic Reflection Profiles Geological CAT scans

Earth as a system
The Earth system is powered by the Earths interior
Heat remaining from its formation and that generated by radioactive decay powers the internal processes that produce volcanoes, cause earthquakes, and make mountain belts. Earth convects like a boiling pot - exchanging heat from its interior to the surface.

Earth as a system
The size and composition of a planet affects how quickly it sheds its internal heat budget
Earth still shedding lots of heat (drives plate tectonics by convection of the mantle)
Smaller Mars already has lost much of its internal heat (probably never convected)

The rock cycle

Series of processes by which rocks changes into other types of rocks Illustrates various processes and paths as earth materials change both on the surface and inside the Earth What are the three main rock types?
Igneous Metamorphic Sedimentary

Early evolution of Earth

Origin of planet Earth
Earth and the other planets formed at essentially the same time from the same primordial material as the Sun Nebular hypothesis

Layered structure developed by chemical segregation early in formation of Earth Dense material moves to center of Earth, lighter material remains at shallower levels.

Nebular Hypothesis Gas cloud -> Disc -> Solar system

Sun mostly Hydrogen and Helium 99.9% of mass in solar system

Universe is ~13 Billion years old Solar system ~4.5 Billion years old Heavier elements from older stars Sun will eventually swell, fry inner planets and then shut off

Earths internal structure

Earths internal layers can be defined by
Chemical composition Physical properties

Layers defined by composition

Crust Mantle Core

Earths internal structure

Four main layers of Earth are based on physical properties and hence mechanical strength
Lithosphere (behaves like a brittle solid) Asthenosphere (behaves like a plastic solid) Lower Mantle Core

Note the lithosphere is comprised of the crust and uppermost mantle

How was the moon formed? Facts: Moon made up of same rocks as Earths mantle Moon is about the same age as Earth (timing of giant impacts in solar system)

Formation of the Moon - impact of a Mars sized planet with an early Earth

Frames from a simulation of this event

super-computer analysis of planet collision (Jay Melosh-UA)

0.0 minutes

6.7 minutes

13.4 minutes

20.1 minutes

26.7 minutes

33.4 minutes

Early Moon & early Earth were hammered by large impacts. Solar System eventually cleans itself up and gets organized into planets with stable orbits.

Impacts have higher momentum produced by high velocity of projectile Magnum bullet analogue

Clicker Question

What evidence for large impacts exists In our Solar System?

A) Craters B) High concentrations of Iridium C) Spin axis of some planets (Uranus sideways spin, Mercury spun completely around) D) Broken & melted rocks E) All of above

Craters on Moon

Craters on Mercury

Craters on Mars

Very recent example

Older crater with fluidized ejecta

Comparison of Earth and Mars Both are terrestrial planets Mars is smaller Mars lost heat early in history, mantle never convected (no plate tectonics, heat lost through one place, Tharsis Mars lost its magnetic field and atmosphere (less erosion on Mars, especially late in its history)

Clicker Question
Given the difference in size of Earth and Mars, and their cooling histories, what fundamental process occurs deep in the Earth that controls many geologic processes such as earthquakes and volcanism? A. Oceans on Earth keep it cooler making it less prone to volcanic eruptions B. Earths core is made of of different materials than on Mars C. Convection of Earths mantle (produces plate motions) D. A smaller core on Mars causes its magnetic field to shut on and off

Are geologic processes the same on Mars as Earth?

Olympus Mons: huge volcano on Mars (70 miles tall!)

Sand Dunes on Mars, dark spots are melting carbon dioxide ice

Channels suggest the existence of past water, especially in the past Channels eroded by flowing water in the past - Mars

Layered sediments deposited in basin, now being eroded by wind Outcrops of eroded sediments

Mars Exploration Rovers - a current geological investigation of the surface of another planet See: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/

What is a MER? How do the Rovers work? What do the Rovers do? What have the Rovers discovered (so far)?

Question: Why does NASA want to go to Mars?

A) B) C) D) E) Search for water Search for life (LGM?) Spend tax dollars Keep bored scientists busy Develop new technology

Where should we go? Someplace with possible record of past life

Mars factoids
Mars had a solid/liquid Ni/Fe core 4 Billion yrs ago Core solidified, shut off planetary magnetic field Solar wind blew atmosphere/water out into space Water still exists, but now mostly buried ice Polar icecaps are CO2 ice Atmosphere is very thin, 1% of Earths

How do we go to Mars? Once every two years due to Earth/Mars orbits With a Delta Rocket, takes about 6 months How do we land on Mars? With a supersonic parachute, backshell rockets, kevlar airbags (2 of 3 missions fails) Where can we land on Mars? At low elevations due to 1% atmosphere Someplace where the rover can maneuver Someplace that is geologically interesting
Show Mission Movie: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/animation.html

How are tools used by rover different from a geologist on Earth?

Rover Cost = 400M$ Moves 30 m/day Works in extreme environments Onboard chemical analyzers Limited to onboard tools Uses images from orbiting spacecraft Doesnt drink beer Geologist 80K per year Moves ~ 5-10 km/day Limited to terrestrial environments -> samples back to lab, same results -> samples for other analyses (rx age) Uses images from orbiting spacecraft Access to other databases, GPS, seismographs, etc

Landing Ellipse in Gusev Crater Wind causes variation in landing Spacecraft is not steerable

Spirit Landing Site On Meridiani Planum

Dust Devil

360 degree panorama 20X What do you see in this image?

Map of landing site on Meridiani

Rover Opportunity landed on Meridiani Planum

Descended directly into a small crater First discovery of rock outcrops (earlier missions examined rocks that had been carried into landing sites during floods)

Outcrops of sedimentary rocks in crater

Stone Mountain Context

Closeup

Stone Mountain - Meridiani

What features would a geologist observe and note in this image?

Spherules in soil
Spherules in rock Different composition of spherules relative to encasing rock Layering in rock Wind deposits

How did the different size particles end up as loose sediment? A) Wind? B) Impacts? C) Groundwater? D) Combination? Geologists use rocks to interpret the past history of a particular place, & to infer past environments

TES: Thermal Emission Spectrometer

How an obscure mineral provided a vital clue to Martian water

These images, taken by cameras on the Mars rover Opportunity, show a close-up of the rock outcrop dubbed "El Capitan," located in the rover's landing site, a crater at Meridiani Planum. Inset, a detail of the rock showing one of the tiny spherules, nicknamed "blueberries." NASA/JPL
By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

PASADENA, Calif. -- On the southeastern coast of Spain, the Sierra Almagrera range provides a bounty for geologists. One area, in particular, the Jaroso ravine, has yielded a huge catalog of unusual minerals. Among them is one that will be forever tied to Martian history. In 1852 a German mineralogist discovered an unusual amber-yellow-brown mineral made of potassium iron sulfate hydroxide in Jaroso. He named the mineral jarosite. Since then the world has had little use for jarosite. Until now. On Tuesday, March 2, Cornell's Steven Squyres, principal investigator on the twin-rover Mars mission, told a press briefing at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., that his team had found jarosite on Mars. Since the mineral only forms in dilute sulfuric acid in ground water, the discovery was a clear indication that water once abounded in the area around the rover Opportunity's landing site in a crater on a vast plain called Meridiani Planum.
This modern voyage of discovery started in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on Jan. 25, the day following the rover Opportunity's landing, when Jim Bell, Cornell associate professor of astronomy and the scientist in charge of the two rovers' panoramic cameras, received the rover's first color image of the crater in which it had landed. When the image appeared on television monitors in JPL's von Karman auditorium at 2 a.m., Squyres reacted by saying, "This is the first outcrop ever found on Mars."

Bedrock outcrops, he pointed out, usually provide strong clues to geologic history. Squyres was prophetic. Beneath the dusty veneer and the rocky crust, jarosite awaited. For the next few weeks, Opportunity cruised around the crater while JPL scientists tested the rover's platoon of geologic tools. By Feb. 20, or Martian day (sol) 27, the rover examined the outcrop, now dubbed El Capitan, with its panoramic cameras, miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) and microscopic imager. The following day Opportunity placed its Mssbauer spectrometer and its alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) on the rock surface to assess mineral presence. Opportunity performed its first rock abrasion tool (RAT) operation on Feb. 24 on a rock target known as McKittrick Middle Rat at El Capitan. The tool shaved the rock over a period of two hours, grinding into a total depth of about 4 millimeters (.16 inches). After the abrasion tool retracted, the scientists took microscopic images of the hole, and the APXS was later pointed inside the rock. "Finding evidence of water hasn't been an 'Aha!' moment," said Bell. "It's been a series of data sets building in our minds. The measurements trickle in and we wait for data. Then we interpret the data, throw ideas around, reach a consensus and we get a snapshot of the consensus." On sol 32 on Feb. 26, the Mossbauer continued to examine the hole for spectral signatures of ironbearing minerals. This led the science team to discover gray spheres, dubbed "blueberries," which had likely been solidified from a water source. When all the data was in, the APXS had detected large amounts of sulfur and the Mssbauer had detected jarosite, a finding that the late Roger Burns, a geologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had predicted several years ago. The last piece in this early stage Martian water puzzle fit, Squyres realized, when the last Mssbauer data returned Friday, Feb. 27. Immediately NASA officials began working with him to organize the March 2 press conference. "Most of the scientists went into this mission armed with hopes and prejudices," said Squyres. "It's been fun over the past few weeks to watch the puzzle come together right before my eyes."

Hematite in banded iron formation (bif) Archean of Wyoming

Lets assume you are a geo-astronaut at Meridiani landing site. What are the immediate implications of these early findings?

Lets assume you are a geo-astronaut at Meridiani landing site.

What are the immediate implications of these early findings?

1) Bedrock is exposed in shallow craters, suggesting that this part of Mars is covered by only a very thin layer of windblown deposits -and it may be relatively easy to observe and analyze underlying rocks.

Lets assume you are a geo-astronaut at Meridiani landing site.

What are the immediate implications of these early findings?

1) Bedrock is exposed in shallow craters, suggesting that this part of Mars is covered by only a very thin layer of windblown deposits -and it may be relatively easy to observe and analyze underlying rocks.
2) Rock outcrops or soil may contain insitu hematite - helping to explain its origin (related to standing water, or groundwater)

Lets assume you are a geo-astronaut at Meridiani landing site.

What are the immediate implications of these early findings?

1) Bedrock is exposed in shallow craters, suggesting that this part of Mars is covered by only a very thin layer of windblown deposits -and it may be relatively easy to observe and analyze underlying rocks.
2) Rock outcrops or soil may contain insitu hematite -helping to explain its origin 3) Evidence for hematite in volcanic or hot-spring deposits may be a great place to look for evidence of past life (e.g. fossils).

Clicker question

What evidence for water on Mars has been discovered in the past few years by NASA spacecraft?

A) B) C) D) E)

Large channels that were cut by water Deposits of sedimentary rocks in craters Minerals like Hematite that were precipitated from water Layered sediments that could only form in streams or lakes All of the above