Origin of the Geosphere - SCI 10 GEOL MERGED PDF

**Origin of the Geosphere** **History of the Earth** **What is the Geosphere?** **The geosphere** is the **Earth** itself. Early Earth was very hot Segregation by density (**Differentiation)** - Allowed heavy metals to sink while lighter materials "floated" Early earth started as a dust bal...

**Origin of the Geosphere** **History of the Earth** **What is the Geosphere?** **The geosphere** is the **Earth** itself. Early Earth was very hot Segregation by density (**Differentiation)** - Allowed heavy metals to sink while lighter materials "floated" Early earth started as a dust ball from nebular gas and dust brought together by **accretion.** **Accretion** the process in which dust clump together by static electricity to form larger and larger objects with the aide of gravity. **Velocity** -- too fast, collide with another body **Distance from the sun** -- Closer to the sun means less materials available **Mass** -- Mass increases, stronger gravitational pull **The Planets** **Inner Planets --** Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars **Outer Planets** -- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune - Methane and Ammonia are the most common compounds **Vital Stats of the Earth** Earth is dominantly composed of 4 major elements: **Oxygen, Silicone, Aluminum, Iron** Earth is the only planet with water on its surface Earth is 4.54 billion years old **Shape**: Oblate spheroid (not perfectly spherical, not flat); has bumps, makes of spheroid **Axial Tilt:** currently at 23.5 degrees (changes between 22 to 24.5 degrees) - Areas near the equator receive more of the sun's energy. **Differentiation** The organization of the Earth's layers Less dense material rose and heavier material sank - Core: Iron - Crust: Basaltic or Granitic - Atmosphere **Earth's Layers** **Crust** - Outermost and thinnest layer - Continental (Granitic) - Oceanic (Basaltic) **Mantle --** Mainly composed of Peridotite **Outer Core --** The only liquid layer **Inner Core** -- Solid sphere - **Magnetosphere** The pressure experienced by the inner core is greater than the pressure experienced by the outer core, hence it maintains as a solid sphere. A diagram of the earth with Crust in the background Description automatically generated **Continental Drift Theory** At one point in time, all of the continents were joined together as one large mass of land, then the land spread apart and drifted into their current positions. Alfred L. Wegener Suggests that all continents were joined into a single land mass **Pangaea** (all land) and **Panthalassa**  **Evidences of C.D.T.** **Jigsaw Fit of Continents:** Coastlines of some continents fit together like a puzzle **Spread of Index Fossils:** Some fossils observed in continents separated by vast oceans. **Similar Lithologies across continents** - "Lithologies": physical characteristics of rock, including color, composition, and texture - Rocks and geologic structures in one continent match rocks found in the matching continent **Paleoclimate** - Materials observed in today's glaciers - Tropical fossils were observed in frozen regions. **Seafloor Spreading** A geologic process in which tectonic plates -- large slabs of earth's lithosphere -- split apart from each other Idea that oceanic crust is formed along mid-ocean ridges By Harry Hammond Hess. Hass envisaged that oceans grew from their centres, with molten material (basalt) oozing up from the Earth's mantle along the mid ocean ridges. This created new seafloor which then spread away in both directions.  **Red to orange:** Rock is between 0 to 40 million years old. **Green to purple:** Rock is between 100 to 200 million years old. **Paleomagnetism** Refers to the study of the ancient magnetism of rocks, specifically their location relative to the ancient North Pole and other rocks, through analysis of the permanent magnetism of ferromagnetic materials - Remanent Magnetism: permanent magnetism in rocks, resulting from the orientation of the Earth's magnetic field at the time of rock formation in a past geological age. - Geodynamo: the mechanism responsible for the generation of the Earth's magnetic field caused by the convection and conduction currents in the fluid core. - Rocks with magnetic minerals such as magnetite (Fe3O4) At temperatures above Curie temperature, they are randomly oriented. At temperatures below Curie temperature, they align themselves to the current magnetic field. *Curie temperature:  the **Curie temperature** (T~C~), or **Curie point**, is the temperature above which certain materials lose their permanent magnetic properties, which can (in most cases) be replaced by induced magnetism.* Diagram of a diagram showing the different types of field directions Description automatically generated with medium confidence  Rocks with increasing age, point to pole locations far from the magnetic pole. This suggests: a. Earth had more than 1 magnetic pole b. The different continents moved **Apparent Polar Wandering Path** A map of the earth with directions Description automatically generated **Plate Tectonics** **Theory** dealing with the **dynamics** of the Earth's outer shell -- the lithosphere -- that revolutionized Earth sciences by providing a uniform context for understanding mountain -- building processes, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Explains how major landforms are created as a result of Earth's subterranean processes. Dynamics of the Earth's outer shell. **Types of Plate Tectonics** **Divergent Boundary:** occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along these boundaries, earthquakes are common, and magma rises from the Earth's mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust. - Oceanic ridges: topographic expression of linear or curvilinear zones along which the Earth's oceanic crust is created or modified. They are found in every ocean basin and appear to girdle the Earth. - Rift Zones: areas where the volcano is rifting or splitting apart. - Materials erupted are always **basaltic** (rich in Si and Mg)  **Convergent Boundary** When two plates come together, it is known as a convergent boundary. The impact of the colliding plates can cause the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into mountain ranges or one of the plates may bend down into a deep seafloor trench. - Trenches, volcanos, mountains form - **Subduction --** where tectonic plates converge, the one with thin oceanic crust subducts beneath the one capped by thick continental crust. - when an oceanic plate meets a continental plate and slides beneath it. - **Subduction Zone:** consists of material scraped off the ocean floor near the coast (accretionary wedge) and a chain of volcanoes farther inland (volcanic arc) - **Oceanic/Continental:** Oceanic subducts beneath the continental plate. Volcanic Arc  - **Oceanic/Oceanic:** Older plated will subduct the younger plate. Island Arc. A volcanic arc is a chain of volcanoes, hundreds to thousands of miles long, that forms above a subduction zone. An island volcanic arc forms in an ocean basin via ocean-ocean subduction. The Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska and the Lesser Antilles south of Puerto Rico are examples. - **Continental/Continental:** Neither subducts the other. Mountains. **Transform Fault** - Two tectonic plates move past one another. - Changes the face of the landform.  **Philippine Geology** Philippines sits on a complex network of tectonic plate boundaries Philippine Mobile Belt (PMB) - Moved from somewhere in Indonesia to upwards. Palawan broke from Mainland Asia (China). That's why Palawan sits on different plate from the rest of the Philippines. **Atmosphere and Hydrosphere** **Atmosphere** **What is the atmosphere?** - Gaseous layer that surrounds the Earth - Mixture of gases that compose the atmosphere is known as **air.** **Origin of the Atmosphere** - Early atmosphere was formed by the release of gases. - Early atmosphere was composed of - Methane, ammonia, water vapor, and neon - 10x to 200x more carbon dioxide - Unicellular organisms helped provide oxygen in the atmosphere **Atmosphere's Composition** **Permanent Gases** - Nitrogen (N2) - Oxygen (O2) - Argon (Ar) Some gases' concentration changes - Water vapor (H2O) - Carbon dioxide (CO2) - Methane (CH4) - Ozone (O3) - Other trace gases In practice, air also contains water vapor - **Humidity** - Water vapor: This varies according to temperature and geographical characteristics of the area In practice, air also contains solid particles - **Aerosols** - Salt, Sand, smoke, ash Water vapor and aerosols are responsible for most atmospheric phenomena **Distribution of Air** - Majority of air is concentrated near the surface - As altitude increases, the air becomes less dense.  **Layers of the Atmosphere** A diagram of the earth\'s atmosphere Description automatically generated **Troposphere --** Lowest part of the atmosphere. Contains most of our weather -- clouds, rain, snow. Temperature gets colder as the distance above the earth increases by about 6.5 C/km. The troposphere contains about 75% of all of the air in the atmosphere and almost all of the water vapor, (which forms clouds and rains). The decrease in temperature wit height is a result of the decrease in pressure. - **Boundary Layer:** lowest part of the troposphere - **Tropopause:** top part of the troposphere **Stratosphere:** Extends upwards from the tropopause to about 50km. Contains much of the ozone in the atmosphere. Increase in temperature with height occurs because of absorption of UV radiation. **Mesosphere:** Region above the stratosphere. Temperature decreases with height reaching a minimum of about 90C at the mesopause. Extends to 85 km. ***Karman line:** boundary separating Earth's atmosphere and outer space. The line is neither sharp nor well defined but is often taken to encircle the Earth at an altitude between 80 to 100 km.* **Thermosphere and ionosphere:** Lies above the mesopause. Temperature increase is caused by the absorption of energetic UV and X-Ray radiation from the sun. **Exosphere:** Region above about 500 km. Contains mainly oxygen and hydrogen atoms. They follow ballistic trajectories under the influence of gravity and few of them rarely collide. Some escape right into space. **Role of the Atmosphere** **Main Functions:** - Generates necessary pressure for liquid water to exist - Absorbs significant amount of UV radiation. - Averages temperature differences between day and night. **The Greenhouse Effect** Seasons exist because - Variations in the length of daylight - Variations in the angle of the sun's rays - Variation of atmosphere's thickness being traversed by sun's rays. The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when gases in Earth\'s atmosphere trap the Sun\'s heat. This process makes Earth much warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is one of the things that makes Earth a comfortable place to live.  A diagram of a greenhouse effect Description automatically generated Solar radiation passes through the clear atmosphere. Most radiation is absorbed by the earth's surface and warms it. Some solar radiation is reflected by the earth and the atmosphere. Some of the infrared radiation passes through the atmosphere and some is absorbed and re-emitted in all molecules. The effect od this is to warm the earth's surface and the lower atmosphere. Infrared radiation is emitted from the earth's surface. **Interactions with the Atmosphere** **Biosphere:** Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide **Hydrosphere:** Weather & Climate, Energy **Geosphere:** Rock cycle **Climate of Baguio City** Dry season from **November** to **April,** wet season from **May** to **October** Baguio receives an annual precipitation load of about 4000m, which is among the highest loads in the country Located in a mountainous area with an elevation ranging from 900 to 1,600 meter. **Carbon Cycle** Nature's way of recycling carbon atoms Chemical backbone of life.  1. **Photosynthesis by Producers:** Plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and use sunlight to produce glucose and oxygen 2. **Plant and Animal Respiration**: Plants and animals release CO2 back into the atmosphere 3. **Carbon Fixation by Consumers:** Herbivores, like the cow, consume plants and transfer carbon through the food chain 4. **Decomposition:** Decomposers break down the organic matter of dead plants and animals, releasing carbon into the soil 5. **Fossil Formation and fossil fuels:** carbon from dead organisms form fossil fuels like coal and oil under heat and pressure 6. **Fossil Fuel Combustion**: Humans extract and burn fossil fuels, releasing CO2 back into the atmosphere 7. **CO2 in the atmosphere:** CO2 released into the atmosphere is absorbed by plants through photosynthesis **Hydrosphere** **Hydrosphere:** includes water that is on the surface of the planet, underground, and in the air. A diagram of water cycle Description automatically generated Water cycle 1. **Evaporation:** The sun heats water in the bodies of water, turning into water vapor, which rises into the atmosphere. 2. **Transpiration:** Plants absorb water through their roots, it is released into the atmosphere as water vapor through small openings in their leaves. 3. **Condensation:** Water vapor rises into the atmosphere, cools, and changes into tiny water droplets, forming clouds. 4. **Precipitation:** Water droplets in clouds combine, becoming heavy and falling back to Earth as precipitation in the form of rain, snow, hail or sleet. 5. **Snowmelt Runoff:** Precipitate that doesn't infiltrate the grounds flows across the land's surface into rivers, lakes, or oceans. **Origin of the Hydrosphere** - Formed around the same time as the atmosphere - Earth did not have water or water vapor at its surface - Water came from meteorites or comets during the late heavy bombardment period. - Chemical reactions in the Earth's interior - Volcanic activity on early Earth played a key role in releasing water - Early hydrosphere formed from volcanic activity - As the Earth cooled, water vapor in the atmosphere condensed and fell as in rain. - Minerals in the crust that held water. **Distribution of Water** - **71%** of Earth's surface is covered in water - Oceans hold about 96.5% of all Earth's water.  ***Where does Baguio City Get its Water?*** **85%** Groundwater and the rest from watersheds **Properties of the Hydrosphere** **Rainwater** - Rainwater is not pure - Dissolved gasses and salts, particulate matter, bacteria - From oceans, soils, fertilizers, air pollutants - atmosphere-precipitation-evaporation-atmosphere turnover is 9.6 days **Groundwater** - Water that exists underground - Not from underground rivers - Fills pores and fractures present in the sand, gravel, and other rocks - Aquifer: the rock where groundwater flows or is pumped out of. - Move slowly (7-60 cm per day) A diagram of land surface Description automatically generated **Rivers and Ocean water** - **Salinity --** dissolved salt content of a body of water - Sea water contains about 3.5% dissolved salts - River water contains only 0.012% dissolved salts - 6 abundant ions in seawater - Chloride: 55% - Sodium: 31% - Sulfate: 8% - Magnesium: 4% - Calcium: 1.2% - Potassium: 1.1% **Ocean Water** - Ocean surface-water temperature vary from -2 C to 36 C - Temperature decreases, salinity, and pressure  **Thermocline:** layer where temperature decreases rapidly with depth **Halocline:** layer where salinity changes rapidly with depth **Pycnocline:** Layer where water density increases rapidly with depth **Water-Rock Interactions** **River water & Lakes** - Water weathers rocks - In general, the composition of river water and lakes depends on the surrounding rocks 1. Change in the ions present in water 2. Mobility of different elements 3. Groundwater may be affected **Mining Industry** **Mine Tailings** - Physical and chemical separation of metal from the ore - Mining waste materials **Gold mine tailings have an effect on health, agriculture, and environment** - Cancer in children and adults **Building Dams** **Kaliwa Dam** - Illegal and immoral - Building a dam requires flooding the area **Dams can:** Affect migration, alter habitat, and affect water quality **Origin of the Biosphere** **Biosphere** **What is the biosphere?** - The region, on, above, and below the Earth's surface where life exists. - Includes all living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) organisms **Theories of Abiogenesis** - Suggests that life initially developed from nonliving materials - Roots in Greek Philosophers - Theory of Spontaneous Generation - Some animals were spontaneously created from non-living substances - Primordial Soup - Alexander Oparin (1900s) - Simple elements complex elements - If energy is added to the gases that made up Earth's early atmosphere, the building blocks of life would be created - Amino acids **Lamarck and Darwin** **Jean Baptiste Lamarck** **The Theory of Use and Disuse** - If the environment changes, behavior changes - A more frequent and continuous use of any organ gradually strengthens, develops and enlarges that organ, and gives it a power proportional to the length of time it has been so used, while the permanent disuse of any organ imperceptibly weakens and deteriorates it, and progressively diminishes it functional capacity until it finally disappears. - Elongated limbless body of the snake, vestigial organs of living animals **Theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics** - Changes in anatomy are inheritable - If an organism changes during life in order to adapt to its environment, those changes are passed on its offspring **Charles Darwin** Geographical location was determining factor for characteristics of species Survival of the fittest - Coined by the Herbert Spencer - All descendants of a progenitor are modified **Fossil Record** - Provides clues on how creatures evolved, how the environment changed, and how creatures are related to one another - Radiometric dating - It is imperfect - The number of species known about through fossils less than 1% of all species that have ever lived - Gaps **Romer's Gap** - an apparent gap in the Paleozoic tetrapod fossil record used in the study of evolutionary biology, which represent periods from which excavators have not yet found relevant fossils. - The biological reality of reality of Romer's gap in both terrestrial vertebrates and arthropods, and has correlated it with a period of unusually low atmospheric oxygen concentration. **Miller-Urey Experiment** - Simulation in 1953 that attempted to replicate the conditions of Earth's early atmosphere and hydrosphere - Test if organic molecules can be created abiogenically - Documented the production of amino acids demonstrating that chemical evolution is possible **Design** - Matter can change phases between liquid and gas - 2 large flasks - 1 filled with water and boiled - 1 equipped with an electrode - Condenser with liquid could fall into a collection trap where samples are taken - Researched would introduce ammonia, hydrogen, and methane gas to cycle in the experiment After a week, the water in the flask simulating the ocean turned brown - Amino acids Proving organic molecules could form under the conditions laid out in the **Oparin-Haldane hypothesis:** - The Oparin-Haldane hypothesis suggests that life arose gradually from inorganic molecules, with "building blocks" like amino acids forming first and then combining to make complex polymers. Scientists now think that the early atmosphere composed mainly of CO2 and N2. Recreating the experiment with this knowledge only produced a few amino acids **Hydrothermal Vents** Hydrothermal vents are the result of sweater percolating down fissures in the ocean crust in the vicinity of spreading centers or subduction zones (places on Earth where two tectonic plates move away or towards one another) - Similar to geysers or hot springs - Occur along mid-ocean ridges - Seawater becomes super-heated by magma - As pressure builds, it dissolved minerals and rinse towards the surface - Hot mineral-rich water exit and mix with the seawater - Minerals cool and solififyy into vent structures **Black Smokers** - Emit the hottest, darkest plumes - High in sulfur **White Smoker** - Emit cooler plumes - Rich in Barium, Calcium, Silicon **Seeps** - Vents with even cooler and weaker flow - "Shimmery" due to temperature or bubble do to gases such as CO2 **Panspermia?** - Suggests that life came from outside Earth - Carried to Earth via meteoroids or other space bodies - Heavily debated - No signs of life elsewhere - Bacteria should be coming from nearby space bodies - Space is hostile to life  **\ ** **Contemporary Issues** **Current Issues** **Waste Disposal** **How do we dispose hazardous waste? Radioactive waste?** Ex. radioactive waste (medicines, industries , and research) A poster of a nuclear waste management Description automatically generated Though nuclear power is criticized for having a large waste output, one of the Philippines' many uninhabited islands can host a technological solution -- deep boreholes -- where nuclear waste can be deposited to ensure it doesn't impair the country's development or its citizens. 1. Fenced Disposal Site: It serves as the entry point for the nuclear waste that will be transported to deep boreholes for permanent storage. 2. Transport, conditioning, and disposal vehicle: Specialized vehicles that safely transport, prepare, and place waste into the borehole. 3. Waste Package: Durable, sealed containers designed to safely contain nuclear waste for long term isolation 4. Borehole: A deep, narrow hole (over 2km) drilled into stable rock formations, sealed with bentonite to prevent contamination 5. Stratigraphic Units: Layers of rock chosen for geological stability to ensure waste remains isolated underground How do we communicate to future generations this process? **Urban Sprawl** **Urban Expansion:** Rapid expansion of the cities and towns. Usually due to low density housing (i.e. small residential homes) How does this put a strain on space? What habits are reinforced? **War over water** Water is very valuable and scarce resource.  **Notable Conflicts:** **Euphrates -- Tigris River** - Countries involved: Turkey, Syria, Iraq. - Issues: Water flow and access to the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, both critical for agriculture and water supply in the region. Turkey's dam projects reduce downstream flow, resulting to disputes with Syria and Iraq, which rely heavily on these rivers for irrigation and drinking water. **Jordan River** - Countries involved: Israel, Lebanon, Jordan - Issue: Water scarcity and competing claims usage of the Jordan River. The river is a vital water source in a water-scarce region. Political tensions, combined with population growth, exacerbate conflicts between Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon over how much water each country should receive. **Indus River** - Countries involved: India, Pakistan - Issue: Allocation and control of water resources along the Indus River System. The Indus Water Treaty in 1960 allocated river waters between India and Pakistan, but ongoing tensions and disputes arise due to dam construction and water sharing. **Syr Darya River** - Countries involved: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan - Issue: Water usage and energy production. Kyrgyzstan & Tajikistan (upstream countries) use the river for hydroelectric power, which limits downstream water availability for Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, who rely on it for agriculture. **Nile River** - Countries Involved: Egypt, Sudan, Ehiopia - Issue: Water rights and dam construction. Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has caused tension with downstream nations Egypt and Sudan who fear reduced water flow and its impact on agriculture and livelihoods. **Senegal River** - Countries Involved: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali - Issue: The Senegal River is vital for irrigation, hydropower, and fishing, Disputes arise over equitable sharing and management of water resources among the countries. **Mekong River:** - Countries Involved: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam - Issue: Construction of dams in upstream Laos and China affects water flow, fisheries, and agriculture in downstream countries like Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. **Sustainable Development Goals** A group of colorful squares with icons Description automatically generated 1. **No Poverty** 2. **Zero Hunger** 3. **Good Health and Well-being** 4. **Quality Education** 5. **Gender Equality** 6. **Clean Water and Sanitation** 7. **Affordable and Clean Energy** 8. **Decent Work and Economic Growth** 9. **Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure** 10. **Reduced Inequalities** 11. **Sustainable Cities and Communities** 12. **Responsible Consumption and Production** 13. **Climate Action** 14. **Life Below Water** 15. **Life on Land** 16. **Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions** 17. **Partnerships for the Goals**