Physical Geology 101

1. Introduction to Geology

(p.1-6)

The textbook for this course is: Earth, An Introduction to Physical Geology (9th Ed.) by Tarbuck & Lutgens. This course will follow the textbook closely so it will be a good resource to have. The TurningPoint student response system (clicker) is also required for this course.

What is Geology?
Geology is a science: Greek "geo" = Earth, "logos" = discourse. So geology is the science of the Earth.

Age of the Earth

Geology is the study of the Earth and all its natural component parts that impact on each other. Although we have no reason to believe that the processes we see happening around us today were any different to the processes that have been occurring throughout Earth history, we know these processes are very slow, which raises the issue about exactly how old the Earth is. The earliest estimates of the age of the Earth were not based in science at all, but were determined from biblical interpretations. James Ussher, an Irish Anglican archbishop, suggested in the early 17th century that the Earth formed a mere 6010 years ago, in 4004 B.C. Clearly, this estimate makes no sense scientifically as the geologic processes that constantly modify the Earth are far too slow for anything of any consequence to happen in so short a time. Usshers supporters, however, simply inferred that early geologic events (such as the creation of mountains) must have been extremely rapid and catastrophic; an idea known as catastrophism. However, there is no geologic evidence to support such an idea. With the advent of better scientific studies and hypotheses, it became clear that the Earth is extremely ancient. This idea was first promoted in the late 18th century by a Scottish physician named James Hutton, often referred to as the father of modern geology. He coined the famous phrase regarding the age of the Earth: no vestige of a beginning no prospect of an end. Hutton introduced the Principle of Uniformitarianism, which implies that we can study modern geologic processes to understand the history of the Earth because of the great body of evidence that these modern processes have occurred throughout Earth history. Simply stated, this principle advocates the present is the key to the past. In order to better understand the long complex history of our planet, we must develop a strong understanding of its geologic complexity. This includes the evidence for how the Earth initially formed, its internal structure, the material it is made out of, the nature of the Earth's surface and the natural processes that operate at the surface, its dynamic characteristics such as earthquakes and volcanoes, its resources, and its physical, chemical, and biological history.

Q: So what is Physical Geology?

Physical geology is concerned with the materials that make up the Earth as well as the processes that operate on those materials, either at or beneath the surface of the Earth. What materials?: elements, minerals, rocks, water

Physical Geology 101

What processes?:

plate tectonics, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, mountain building, the action of rivers, glaciers, oceans, and wind, and weathering and erosion.

To understand these processes and the great amounts of time needed to see their lasting impacts, we have to think about time in a whole new way in comparison to human perceptions of time. In geology, we have to think in terms of deep time, in which processes may occur over millions of years. Thats why geologists developed the geologic time scale to divide the long duration of Earth history into numerous time divisions, dating all the way back to about 4600 million years ago!

Course Information
The expectations and schedule are shown in the course syllabus and lecture plan. Course website: http://www.uidaho.edu/~simkat/geol101.html

What will we look at in this course? the origin of the Earth and how it has changed through time the composition of the Earth and its interior structure movements of tectonic plates and the causes of earthquakes and volcanoes the natural processes that shape the surface of the Earth the natural processes that modify the interior of the Earth Earth's resources that are utilized by mankind mankind's impact on the Earth and the environment the geology of other planets the development of life on Earth and implications for life on other planets

Why should we study geology?

We are fundamentally dependent on Earth's resources to function as a society. We need to know where to find these resources so that society can continue to function. But, we must also recognize that many of Earth's resources are finite and could eventually run out. So we must also know how to manage our resources and recognize how our use of the resources may ultimately be impacting on the planet. We also need to know about geology for practical reasons, like choosing a safe place to construct buildings where they will be safe from river flooding, landslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other potential natural disasters. We also need to be able to pick safe sites for building dams and bridges, nuclear power stations, and for disposing of society's waste products so as not to create environmental disasters.