‫ملخص بسيط لمادة الجيولوجي‬

‫‪) 102‬الميجر اﻷول(‬

‫)‪Geology Notes 102 (First Major‬‬

‫"بسم ﷲ الرحمن الرحيم والصﻼة والسﻼم على أشرف اﻷنبياء‬

‫والمرسلين نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى‬
‫يوم الدين‪ ،‬هذا ملخص بسيط لمادة الجيولوجي ‪ 102‬قام به بعض‬
‫الطﻼب ونود أن ننوه أن هذا الملف أو الملخص ﻻ يغني عن‬
‫ملخصاتكم الخاصة بكم والبوربوينت الخاص بالدكتور جون‬
‫والمصادر اﻷخرى‪ ،‬واسأل ﷲ لي ولكم التوفيق والنجاح"‪.‬‬
 8/28/20

Geologic Time

13
13

Sedimentary
rocks

Igneous and
metaphoric
rocks

Some fun facts: 450 km long, up to 30 km wide, up to 1860 m deep, ~6 million years old
14
14

1
 8/28/20

‫كل شي مهم هنا‬

Simplified Geologic Time Scale

16

16

3
 8/28/20

“Not-So-Simplified” Geologic Time Scale

17
17

18
18

4
 Geology Notes
6 September ,2020

Wadi Nakhur is in Oman (example).

The three stages of the geologic history of an

area:

1. Time that the rocks formed. (Formation)

2. Time that the rocks were deformed.
(Deformation)
3. Time that the landscape was formed.
(Erosion)

In Oman,
1- Over 100 million years ago (layers over layers).
2- About 50 million years ago (uplifted).
3- About 5 million years ago. (cut down by the rivers).
‫هذه إجابات لألسئلة حقت مراحل التاريخ الجيولوجي الثالثة لو اخذنا وادي نخر بعمان كمثال‬

Clarification from Dr. Humphrey: - I hope this helps.

I’m basically referring to how the rocks (anywhere) got to be the way
they are as we see them.

How did a mountain get there? 1) the rocks formed, 2) they got uplifted,
and 3) they were eroded to make the landscape that we see today. Each of
those processes could have taken millions of years, and each can be
separated by millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions, or billions
of years. That’s why we separate them into different stages.
#Simplified Geologic Time Scale:

Mesozoic: Middle life

Cenozoic: New life
The dinosaur’s extinction (The boundary between Cretaceous and
Paleocene: 65 Ma
The dinosaur’s extinction is the second large extinction.

The largest mass extinction (The boundary between Permian and

Triassic): 245 Ma
The Calendar age: 245 Ma
The time past: 245 Ma ago.
The time last: 245 – 65 = 180 Ma.
Over 90% species were extinct at that time.

There is a difference between the duration and calendar age

Every continent has some Archean areas.
Geologists know and recognize the age of rocks.
#A deep Geologic Calendar: (there is a video in Blackboard)

The beginning of the earth and solar system at 12:00 AM on January 1st.
Present day would be when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st.
.‫ترا قال ما بسألك عنها ولكن احتياطا اقرأ الصورة واقرا المعلومات‬
Note that only 12% of geologic time contains the record of fossilized hard
parts (shells) that demonstrate the great diversity of life over the past 543
million years.
Modern man arrived 100,000 years ago at 11:49 PM on the night of
December 31st.
The prophet Muhammed was born on December 31st at 11:59:50:07 PM
(571 CE).
#The Earth System:

The fundamental components of the earth system are:

Lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere, and the movement
of matter and energy between and among them.
About 79% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, under 1% Argon (Argon is a noble
gas), 415 parts of million carbon dioxide, water vapor various and
depends on the time in the day.
The Radioactive decay of K40:
(There is a video about Argon in Blackboard).

11% of K40 decays to Ar.

89% of K40 decays to Ca.
Atmospheric Ar is 99.6% Ar40
Nearly all solar Ar is Ar36 and a little Ar38
*The calcium that was made in the beginning of the solar system is much
bigger than the amount of calcium that is made through the decay of K40.
‫‪Regolith is (soil).‬‬
‫بس إخواننا الجيولوجيين يحبون يتفلسفون ويغيرون األسماء‬
#The Solar System:

Poll: Which of these objects is the oldest?:

1- Earth, 2-Mars, 3-Jupiter, 4-The sun, 5-Same age.

Everything in the solar system is about 4.6 billion years.

The moon is younger than the Earth.
The sun is 99.8% of the mass in solar system.
The word terrestrial is from the Earth.
The word Jovian is from Jupiter.
Pluto is not a planet.

There is at least 100 billion stars (systems) in our galaxy.

In the universe, there is about 100 billion galaxies.
So, 1011 x 1011 = 1022 systems in the universe (approximately).
 8 SEPTEMBER LECTURE

◼ 99% of the mass of the solar system is in the sun and most of the sun mass is hydrogen.
◼ Asteroids belt: Planets that broke up between the terrestrial planets and Jupiter, and it
cannot hold together anymore.
◼ Types of planets:
1- The terrestrial planets: they are metallic and rocky, it contains (the Earth, Venus,
Mars, Mercury).
2- The Jovian Planets: they contain (Jupiter and Saturn) which are rocky and gaseous,
and (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) which are gaseous (methane, ammonia) and icy.
◼ Observation to be explained:
1- All the planets revolve around the Sun in the same direction as the Sun rotates on its
axis
2- All the planets (except Pluto…) revolve in nearly the same plane as the Sun’s
equatorial plane (and the Ecliptic):
- Planets are all close to the sun equatorial plane
- How to define orbital plane in the space? By taking 3 different positions in the
space (e.g. by taking 3 different position of the earth in different seasons).
- Plane of ecliptic is also defined as earth’s orbital plane (around sun).
3- Planetary moons revolve around their primaries in the same direction as their
rotational axes:
- The moon is gravitationally and rotationally locked on to the earth, that’s why
we only see one side of the moon.
- Pluto has a companion moon (Charon), Both are around the same size and they
are locked on to each other so they rotate around each other.
4- Planetary orbits have low eccentricity (i.e., nearly circular), except Pluto:
- Refers to how circular is the orbits
- Orbits are not 100% circular
5- Over 99.8% of the mass of the Solar System resides in the Sun
6- Over 99% of the angular momentum in the Solar System resides in the planets
7- The Sun is mostly H (94%) and He (5.8%)
8- The terrestrial planets are metallic, rocky, and are deficient in volatiles
9- The Jovian planets are rocky and gaseous
10- The outer planets are icy and gaseous
◼ Solar Nebula Hypothesis:
- Nebula = interstellar cloud of gas and dust
- SNH is widely accepted as an explanation for Solar System formation.
- Although details vary, its formulation can explain various observations about the
Solar System
◼ Nebula - Gas and Dust:
- Gas - principally H (hydrogen), the most common element of the Universe
- Cosmic Dust - particulate matter, typically from a few molecules to a tenth of a
micrometer Intergalactic, interstellar, interplanetary, circumplanetary Formed in
dying stars, including supernovae.
- Dust is formed in stars including supernova (exploding stars) and is then blown
off in a slow wind or a massive star explosion
 SEPTEMBER 13TH LECTURE
- Solar Nebula Hypothesis describes the formation of the solar system.
- The age of the solar system is the same, both the sun and the earth have the same age
which is 4.6 billion years.
- Most of the mass in the solar system, which is 99% of the mass located in the center
(the sun).
- Because of fundamental nuclear physics properties, stellar fusion can only produce
elements up to Fe56. (Nebula CAN NOT produce element HEAVIER THAN IRON- that’s
what she saidJ-)
- Heavier elements/isotopes are produced by nucleosynthesis from massive fluxes of
Neutrons. (Element that heavier than Iron (Fe56) came from outside the Nebula-
DURING A SUPERNOVA STAR EXPLOSION-)
- Massive fluxes of neutrons are produced during supernova explosions.
- How does heavier element is produced during supernova explosion? An existing nucleus
absorbs a neutron, which then decays to proton or an electron. The nucleus has
increased its # of protons by 1. Therefore, it’s a new heavier element.
- The age of the universe is 13.8 billion years
- The age of the solar system is 4.6 billion years
Q) What is Nebula? It’s areas of star formation.
Q) What is supernova? It’s a star that got explode at the end of its lifetime.
Q) Where does the dust in the Nebula come from? It comes from a dying star; supernova.
Q) What is the heaviest element that can be made by fusion (Nebula) inside of star? Iron.

An explanation of the gravitational collapse in the Solar Nebula Hypothesis:

The area of the interstellar nebula became gravitationally unstable, which means that it has a
gravitational potential energy. So, the particle gets attracted to each other. Therefore, the
gravitational potential energy is converted to a gravitational kinetic energy. Then, the gas and
dust start to collapse in and rotate. As the Nebula start collapsing and rotating, the radius will
decrease, which will lead to a faster angular velocity and increasing the rotation rate.

Briefe explanation: Gravitational collapse= gravitational potential energy-> gravitational kinetic

energy-> gravitational heat energy-> Higher pressure and temperature-> hydrogen fusion.
 September 15th Lecture
 Silicate minerals in the oceanic crust is higher that the silicate minerals in the continental crust.
 (𝜌 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦) 𝜌 >𝜌 >𝜌 . Thus, the oceanic crust sit lower in
the mantle whereas the continental crust is higher. In other words, ocean is full of water because
the crust which made of the ocean is more dense, so it sits down deeper in the mantle.
 The deepest ocean drilling is 3km below seafloor (in Pacific Ocean)
 The deepest continental drilling is 12km(40,000 feet) below surface (in Russia)
 Drillers never drill throw the whole oceanic crust since it is 5 - 10km and they only reach 3km.
 Moho:
o Moho is not a layer.
o Discontinuity: just a break in condition( boundary).
o Mohorovičić discovers Moh
o There are 2 Mohos: Continental Moho and Oceanic Moho.
 How did we know that the inner/ outer core state of matter?
o We found that using seismic wave share wave do not travel throw liquid or fluid, liquid
can transmit compressional waves.
 How did we know the composition of the core?
o It wasn’t clear but it has something to do with (irony meteoroids and Stoney/Rocky
meteoroids).

Global Winds and Climate Change:

 If there is a vertical movement of air, you cannot feel it.
 Cold air is less dense
 Hot air is more dense
 2020/09/20

Global wind and climate change

Winds: is the horizontal movement of the air.

 Air moves from areas of high pressure to areas with law pressure.
 Hot air rises, less dense. Whereas, cold air sinking, high dense.

Force = F= 𝜌 ∗ 𝑔 ∗ ℎ ; 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝜌 = 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 , 𝑔 = 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑖𝑟.

∆
Pressure gradient 𝐹 = ∆
; 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 ∆ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ∆𝑥 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒.

 Steeper slope faster air movement.

 Blue colours represent the air.

Isobars: means line connects equal points of air pressure.

 Closely isobars steeper slope(pressure gradient), the faster movements of airs.

2020/09/20

 The wind is not moving in straight line because of the rotating of the earth.
 In northern hemisphere all object changed their paths to the right.
 In southern hemisphere all object changed their paths to the left.
 (look at the picture above and you will be able to understand these ideas.)

 Airs moves from subtropics to mid-latitude cells and then get reflected to its right paths,
northern hemisphere.
2020/09/20

The picture above illustrates the whole movement of the wind in the earth.

Climate change

Weather: the day to day state of the atmosphere at a particular location.

 Temperature, humidity, air pressure, cloudiness, wind speed, and direction.

 Note: that the change in weather is obvious.

Climate: average weather state at a particular location.

 Generally based on mean temperature to mean of the precipitation, amount of rain.

 Climate change occurs on variety of scales.
1. weather is the daily state of the atmosphere
2. climate is the average weather for more than 30 years
3. Last Glacial Maximum was (18 000) and Last Interglacial was (125 000) years ago

4. scientists believe that humankind is the reason why climate change rapidly over the past 120
years, however, climate is always changing
5. (‫ )صحراء الربع الخالي وصحارا‬were made of forests and lakes 10000 years ago
6. ice from the ice age came from water vapor that turned into snow and condense because of the
pressure
7. the sea level was -120 meter what it is today in the last glacier episode which means that in
(‫ )مضيق هرمز‬the water level was 90 meters
8. 1500 gaga tunes of ice were lost in Greenland from 2003 till 2009
9. the main reason for the change in water level is break up of super continents
10. the change of sea level was 20 cm in the past 8000 years which is low (consider to be almost
constant)
11. when sea level is low that means that the climate is cold, and the opposite is true
12. sea level rise is constant globally. However, the local change of sea level is different from one
place to the another.
13. last glacial max was 20000 years ago
14. forcing of sea level change comes from glacial to interglacial climate change
15. Milankovitch cycle happens because of the gravity of all the Space object
16. see those videos to understand the Milankovitch cycle (khan academy-Converting fractions to
decimals (ex2))
Milankovitch

he said that climate change happens based on earth orbital variation.

he said there are different radiation coming from the solar because the instability of the
earth system which may cause ice ages.
Climate agents matched for orbital forcing.
Earth orbit around the sun went from circle to ellipse and back to circle before 1000000
years and 413000 years. And earth tilts from 21.5 to 24.5 degrees Currently(23.5)

Since the last 24000 sea level has been rising by 140 cm.

If curves of precession obliquity and eccentricity are mixed it will form the solar forcing
curve which is 5 n summer

The distance between the earth and the sun does not give seasons but the tilting does
Every 100000 year happens decrease in sea level
Ice core records show CO2 variability over the last years
Current levels are above anything during that year

The picture below is very important

Important vocab
Proxy(instade of or substitute
Insolation : radiation from the sun
 September 29th

 Current levels of CO2 are higher than before in the past 400 thousand years.
 We can get direct measurements of CO2 from ice from the past.
 Ice cores: in places with persistent ice sheets or the whole continent covered in
ice(Greenland or Antarctica) international research stations measure weather and
ice cores. For example, Vostok station drill wells using a hollow core barrel to extract
an ice core.


 The ice core is an outcome of ice accumulation over time because every snow
remains from a southern hemisphere accumulate in layers.
 As you go down the core you will see older layers.
 The oldest layer recorded is about 800 thousand years old.
 Researchers take X-ray photos of the ice core to see bright and dark layers.
 Dark layer = summertime (no snow falling and the atmosphere is warmer and dust
settles out--> dust found in ice)
 Bright layer = winter time( snow accumulate faster than dust)
 Bright and dark layers form a couplet ( two layers a year) {annual band}
 September 29th


 Scientists take pieces of ice and put them in a vacuum and crush each layer alone to
sample the gas inside it and so we get a measurement of ancient air
 September 29th


 It can be seen from the graph that during the past 400 thousand years, the
maximum level of CO2 was 300ppm and the average was around 240ppm. HOWEVER,
from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene it was never this high like today(414.4ppm)
 [numbers don’t matter, the fact that today’s levels of CO2 is almost double the average of
the past 400 thousand years]
 September 29th


 Temperature measurement comes from measuring Oxygen isotopes of the water that makes
the ice and it is independent of measuring CO2. HOWEVER, temperature and CO2 readings
are very much closely.
 The reason is that more CO2 will capture more infra-red radiation-> temperature rise->
ocean evaporates releasing more CO2


 Geology
➢
The simplified geologic time scale.

➢
Components of earth
#1 Atmosphere: Nitrogen, oxygen, argon,
carbon dioxide, water vapor, and trace gases.
#2 Hydrosphere: Oceans, lakes, rivers,
groundwater, snow & ice (cryosphere).
#3 Biosphere: All of Earth’s organisms, along with undecomposed
organic matter.
#4 Lithosphere/Geosphere: Comprises rock and regolith (soil).

➢
Solar System observations

• All the planets revolve around the Sun in the same direction as the Sun
rotates on its axis.
• All the planets (except Pluto…) revolve in nearly the same plane as the
Sun’s equatorial plane (and the Ecliptic).
• Planetary moons revolve around their primaries in the same direction as
their rotational axes.
• Planetary orbits have low eccentricity (i.e., nearly circular), except Pluto.
• Over 99.8% of the mass of the Solar System resides in the Sun.
• Over 99% of the angular momentum in the Solar System resides in the
planets.
• The Sun is mostly H (94%) and He (5.8%).
• The terrestrial planets are metallic, rocky, and are deficient in volatiles.
• The Jovian planets are rocky and gaseous.
• The outer planets are icy and gaseous.
➢
The Solar Nebula Hypothesis

• Nebula = interstellar cloud of gas and dust.

• Solar Nebula Hypothesis is an an explanation for Solar System formation.
• The gas in Nebula is H (hydrogen) which is the most common element of
the Universe.
• The dust in Nebula is Cosmic Dust - particulate matter, typically from a
few molecules to a tenth of a micrometer.
• Nebula is the Areas of star formation.

➢
The Solar Nebula Hypothesis steps

• Rotating interstellar nebula (99% H and He, 1% dust) became

gravitationally unstable and began to collapse in on itself (likely
triggered by nearby supernova explosion.
• As the radius decreased, the nebula began to spin faster (skater analogy),
conserving angular momentum.
• Increased rotation rate changed the shape to a flattened disk with most of
the mass at the center.
• Pressure and temperature increased greatly.
• Pressures and temperatures became high enough (from gravitational
collapse) in the center of the protosun to initiate hydrogen fusion
(the protosun becomes the Sun!).
• Requires temperatures of at least 8 x 106 K.
• Protoplanets condensed by gravitational accretion.
• The heat generated by early planetary accretion impact events resulted in
planets that became molten, and that subsequently became differentiated.
• Planetary differentiation is the process of density segregation from
molten material, whereby the denser materials sank to the cores of the
planets, while less dense material migrates to the exterior.
• The result is layered planets.
  The evidence of having a supernova before the solar system is the
presence of elements heavier than Fe (massive neutron fluxes) which is
produced during supernova explosions.

 Accretionary phase of planetary formation is the process in which solids
agglomerate to form larger and larger objects, and eventually planets
are produced which is called protoplanets.

➢
Differentiation

• When the Earth was molten during planetary accretion phase, the
Earth’s elements separated by density.
• Most dense materials migrated to the center of the Earth (metals,
then rocks), with the least dense migrating to the outer part of the
planet (ocean & atmosphere).
• Result was a compositionally layered Earth.

➢
Internal layers of the Earth composition

 Crust - silicate minerals

o Oceanic - 5-10 km thick, more dense
o Continental - 30-70 km thick, less dense
Moho
o Seismic discontinuity marking crust-mantle boundary
Mantle - dense silicate minerals and
oxideso Denser than crust, less than core
Gutenberg Discontinuity
o Seismic discontinuity separating mantle and core
Outer Core
o Liquid - Fe + lesser Ni + other elements
Inner Core
o Solid - Fe + lesser Ni + other elements
➢
Internal layers of the Earth by Rock Strength

 Lithosphere
o Brittle, cool, rigid
o Crust and part of the Upper Mantle
Asthenosphere
o Ductile (plastic), hot, weak
o Upper Mantle to about 350 km
Mesosphere–Hot, but stronger due
o Hot, but stronger due to higher pressures
o Lower Mantle

➢
What is wind?

• A simple definition would be horizontal movement of air.

➢
why does the wind blow?

• Air moves from areas of high atmospheric pressure to areas of low

pressure.

➢
Pressure gradient force

• Given equal heights of two columns of air, the one with a greater
density will produce a greater force.
• Given air masses of equal density, a taller column of air will produce
a greater force.
• The steeper the pressure gradient, the faster the wind blows.
• Easily shown on a weather map with isobars.
➢
What are Isobars?

• lines on a map connecting points of equal barometric pressure.

• More closely spaced isobars mean a steeper pressure gradient (like tight
contours on a topographic map).
• At the centers of high- and low-pressure zones, winds are light and
variable (mostly vertical motion).
• Isobars are like topographic contours!

➢
Areas of persistent high and low pressure on Earth
➢
General global circulation and Global wind

• Warm, moist air ascends from the equatorial regions (low P), cooling and
forming clouds and raining (tropical rain forests).
• Descending dry air (high P) heats up in the arid subtropics (20-
30° latitude), creating deserts.
• This circulation is known as the Hadley Cell.
• There are also mid-latitude cells (Ferrel Cell) and high-latitude
cells (Polar Cell).

➢
Difference between weather and climate

 Weather - the day to day state of the atmosphere at a particular location:

• Temperature, humidity, air pressure, cloudiness, wind speed

and direction.
• Changes in the weather are obvious.
 Climate - average weather state of a particular location (30 years or so).

• Generally based on mean temperature and mean precipitation.

• Climate change occurs on a variety of scales.

➢
Sea-level fluctuations

• Much forcing of sea-level change comes from glacial (low sea level)
to interglacial (high sea level) climate changes.
• Although we measure depths and elevations relative to sea level, it has
varied throughout the geologic past.
• Variations occur across a wide array of frequencies and amplitudes.
• Many different “forcing factors” through time.
➢
Milankovitch Cycles

• Milankovitch was a mathematician who postulated climate change

based on Earth’s orbital variations.
• Variation in solar insolation results from perturbations of the
Earth’s orbit.
• This drives the ice ages.
• Climate proxies match the orbital forcing.

➢
Last Glacial Maximum (18 ka) and Last Interglacial (125 ka)

• Marine planktonic foram δ18 O is a direct proxy for sea level.

• 18 Ka to present sea-level amplitude is approx. 120 m.
➢
Ice core records and what data can be derived from them.

➢
Late Pleistocene and Holocene variations in CO2
➢
Coupling of CO2 and temperature

➢
Population and sea-level rise
 ‫النهاية‬
‫"تذكر عزيزي الطالب أن هذا الملخص ﻻ يغني عن المصادر‬
‫اﻷخرى"‬

‫)إن أحسنت فمن ﷲ‪ ،‬إن أخطأت فمن نفسي والشيطان(‬

‫والسﻼم عليكم ورحمة ﷲ وبركاته‬

‫عمل الطﻼب‪ :‬حمود السديري ‪ ،‬ماجد العيسى ‪ ،‬محمد الجندان ‪،‬‬

‫محمد الجوهر ‪ ،‬محمد المنصور ‪ ،‬ناصر السميح ‪ ،‬عبدالرحمن‬
‫الحميد ‪ ،‬عبدالرحمن الجعيد ‪ ،‬تركي الغامدي ‪ ،‬سلطان السلطان ‪،‬‬
‫تركي الحارثي ‪.‬‬