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| the study of materials that make up the Earth’s crust (i.e. minerals, rocks), how they form, internal processes which build up the Earth’s crust, external processes which tear down the crust |
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| the study of the rock record and fossils in order to reconstruct the history of the earth |
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| all the conditions, circumstances, and influences surrounding and affecting an organism, individual, or community environmental geology – application of geologic information to environmental problems |
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| the long term environmental objective of providing for the future of humans and other living things who share the planet |
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| the ability of the earth to sustain its population at a basic, healthy, moderately comfortable standard of living |
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| is figured by subtracting a population’s death rate from its birthrate (per 1,00 people per l year) |
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| is the length of time required for a population to double in size |
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| land suitable for cultivation or farming |
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| What are the five limitations of farmland? |
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| Number of people, Amount of land available, Water availability, soil, all food is not equal |
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| Why is land use planning essential and what are the various types of land uses? |
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| A growing world population requires land use planning to insure agricultural, industrial, adequate living space, etc. needs are met and are sustainable. Factors to consider are the uneven distribution of people and resources, food production, manufacturing, energy production, and transportation. |
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| Briefly discuss resources and how it relates to distribution, waste production, standard of living, population distribution, and politics. |
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| The Earth’s resources are unevenly located worldwide. Where a resource is located, the type and quantity of the waste produced during extraction and manufacturing, the standard of living, the population distribution, and the politics (both where the resource is located and the politics of the resource – oil) are all factors effecting how resources get distributed to the world population. |
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| What are the deforestation problems? |
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| Soil degradation due to erosion after clear-cutting, loss of habitat, species extinctions, decreased biodiversity, and global warming (trees act as a carbon dioxide sink). |
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| What are the causes of deforestation. |
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Definition
| 1.CATTLE GRAZING, 2.FARMLAND, 3.LOGGING |
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| What is the Gaia hypothesis? |
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Definition
| James Lovelock and Dr. Lynn Margulis propose the Earth behaves as a single, self-regulating system comprised of physical, chemical, biological, and human components. |
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| What is a system and what are the two types? |
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| Any portion of the universe that can be isolated for the purpose of observing changes, each system is part of a larger system. Closed system exchanges energy with no exchange of matter. Open system has an exchange of both energy and matter. |
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| how much a system can hold |
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| average length of time a substance spends in the reservoir |
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| contains all the external and internal energy sources that drive all the other systems. Inputs – solar radiation, geothermal energy, tidal energy; Outputs – reflection and absorption at the surface |
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| describes the movement of water between the various reservoirs; driven by the sun’s energy; Pathways – evaporation, precipitation, transpiration, surface runoff, infiltration |
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| describes the movement of any chemical element or chemical compound among interrelated biologic and geologic systems; Driven by the sun’s energy |
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| carbon cycles from one reservoir to another (biosphere-cell building block; lithosphere-coal, limestone, oil; hydrosphere – carbon in solution in water; and atmosphere – carbon dioxide) |
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| essential to life because DNA and RNA are made primarily from amine groups containing NH2; exists in three forms (N2-element, NO3-oxidized, NH3-reduced) and needs to be oxidized or reduced to be available for use to the biota |
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| found in the biosphere as PO4, also an important part of DNA and RNA. Phosphate and nitrate are components of fertilizers and large amounts cause eutrophication (when the oxygen is depleted due to uncontrolled growth of plankton and algae feeding on fertilizer runoff). |
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| Naturally occurring, inorganic, chemical element or compound; with a characteristic internal structure; and chemical composition and physical properties fixed or varying within a definite range. |
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| What is the most abundant group of minerals? Why? |
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Definition
| Silicates are composed of silica and oxygen. These are the most abundant elements in the crust. |
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| Describe the basic building block composed of oxygen and silicon. |
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Definition
| Silicate tetrahedon composed of silica and oxygen |
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| Solid aggregate of one or more minerals |
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| how the mineral grains are put together; the igneous rock fabric looks like minerals melted together, the metamorphic rock fabric looks squeezed, and the sedimentary rock fabric |
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| How are the rocks classified? |
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First step – based on origin (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic)
Second step – based on texture and mineral composition |
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| how each rock class can, through these processes of formation, be changed into one of the other two rock classes. |
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| What is an igneous rock (include types, grain size and cooling relationship)? |
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Definition
| rocks crystallize or solidify from molten rock. The extrusive type forms at or near the surface as lava flows or volcanic eruptions. The much cooler surface temperatures cause the molten rock to harden rapidly. Minerals in the rock crystallize or solidify quickly and the crystals are small or fine- grained. The intrusive type forms beneath the surface (often miles deep). Minerals stay molten and crystallize slowly, the crystals are larger or have a coarse grain size. |
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| What is a metamorphic rock? |
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Definition
| This rock forms from pre-existing rock through the processes or agents of heat, pressure, and chemically-active fluids. Contact metamorphic rocks are usually sedimentary rocks that have been intruded by a magma chamber. The sed. rk. in ‘contact’ with the magma are metamorphosed by primarily heat transformations. Regional metamorphosed rocks occur where there is mountain building. All three agents of metamorphism are active, but pressure is dominant. |
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| What is a sedimentary rock? |
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Definition
| These rocks form at or near the surface through the processes of weathering or through chemical changes. |
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| What are the depositional environments? |
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| continental, marine, and transitional. Transitional is the beach environment where it alternates between continental and marine. |
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Definition
| lots of iron and magnesium, high density from the iron content, dark in color from the iron content, forms at high temperatures. |
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| Nonferromagnesium silicates |
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Definition
| little or no iron and magnesium, low density, light in color, forms at lower temperatures. |
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