GEOLOGY 1: OUR DYNAMIC EARTH avoid building important structures
where they might be damaged.
MODULE 1: WHAT LIES
BENEATH? Earth’s Origins
and Internal Processes
A. GETTING TO KNOW THE
EARTH
READING 1.0 : WHAT IS GEOLOGY?
WHAT DOES A GEOLOGIST DO?
I. DEFINITION OF GEOLOGY
• GEOLOGY
: Geology is the study of the Earth, the
materials of which it is made, the structure
of those materials, and the processes acting
upon them.
: It includes the study of organisms that
have inhabited our planet.
: An important part of geology is the study of
how Earth's materials, structures, processes
and organisms have changed over time.
II. WHAT DOES A GEOLOGIST DO?
• GEOLOGIST
: someone who works to understand the
history of our planet
: The better they can understand Earth’s
history, the better they can foresee how
events and processes of the past might
influence the future
o STUDY EARTH PROCESSES
: Many processes such as
landslides, earthquakes, floods, and
volcanic eruptions can be hazardous
to people.
: Geologists work to understand
these processes well enough to
: If geologists can prepare maps of
areas that have flooded in the past,
they can prepare maps of areas that
might be flooded in the future.
: These maps can be used to guide
the development of communities and
determine where flood protection or
flood insurance is needed
▪ VOLCANIC HAZARDS MAP
: Geologists prepared this
volcanic hazards map to
communicate the location of
hazardous areas to citizens,
government agencies, and
businesses.
: To prepare a map like this
requires an understanding of
volcanoes, an ability to
recognize volcanic deposits
in the field, an ability to
prepare a map, and an ability
to communicate.
: All geological tasks require
a diversity of skills.
: This is why students who
are interested in geology are
encouraged to do well in all
of their courses and to seek
advanced training in Earth
science, chemistry, physics,
math, computers, and
communication skills
 : This historical geology news
information is valuable to understand
how our current climate is changing
and what the results might be.
III. GEOLOGY AS A CAREER
: Geology can be a very interesting and
rewarding career.
: The minimum training required is a four-year
college degree in geology.
: Pre-college students who are interested in
becoming geologists should take a full
curriculum of college preparatory courses,
especially those in math, science, and writing.
: Courses related to computers, geography and
o STUDY EARTH MATERIALS
communication are also valuable.
: People use Earth materials every
• GEOLOGISTS WORK IN A VARIETY OF
day.
: They use oil that is produced from SETTINGS
- natural resource companies
wells, metals that are produced from
- environmental consulting companies
mines, and water that has been
- government agencies
drawn from streams or from
- non-profit organizations
underground.
: Geologists conduct studies that - universities

locate rocks that contain important
metals, plan the mines that produce
them and the methods used to
remove the metals from the rocks.
: They do similar work to locate and
produce oil, natural gas, and
groundwater.
o STUDY EARTH HISTORY
: Today we are concerned about
climate change.
: Many geologists are working to
learn about the past climates of
Earth and how they have changed
across time.
: Many geologists do field work at least part of
the time. Others spend their time in
laboratories, classrooms or offices.
: All geologists prepare reports, do calculations
and use computers.
: Although a bachelor's degree is required for
entry-level employment, many geologists earn
master's and/or doctorate degrees.
: The advanced degrees provide a higher level
of training, often in a geology specialty area
such as paleontology, mineralogy, hydrology,
or volcanology. Advanced degrees will often
qualify the geologist for supervisory positions,
research assignments, or teaching positions at
the university level. These are some of the
 most sought after jobs in the field of geology.
: Employment opportunities for geologists are
very good. Most geology graduates with a
strong academic background and good grades
have no trouble finding employment if they are
willing to move to a location where work is
available. If you are a pre-college student, you
can prepare to become a geologist by doing
well in all of your courses. Science courses are
especially important, but math, writing, and
other disciplines are used by every geologist
during every working day.
IV. GUIDE QUESTIONS
1. What is Geology?
2. What does a Geologist do?
READING 1.1 : EARTH’S PLACE IN
THE UNIVERSE
I. WHERE IS THE EARTH IN THE MILKY WAY?
: For thousands of years, astronomers and
astrologers believed that the Earth was at the
center of our Universe. This perception was due
in part to the fact that Earth-based observations
were complicated by the fact that the Earth is
embedded in the Solar System.
: It was only after many centuries of continued
observation and calculations that we discovered
that the Earth (and all other bodies in the Solar
System) actually orbits the Sun.
: Much the same is true about our Solar
System’s position within the Milky Way.
: In truth, we’ve only been aware of the fact that
we are part of a much larger disk of stars that
orbits a common center for about a century.
: And given that we are embedded within it, it
has been historically difficult to ascertain our
exact position. But thanks to ongoing efforts,
astronomers now know where our Sun resides
in the galaxy.
II. SIZE OF THE MILKY WAY
: For starters, the Milky Way is really, really big!
: Not only does it measure some 100,000–
120,000 light-years in diameter and about 1,000
light-years thick, but up to 400 billion stars are
located within it (though some estimates think
there are even more).
: Since one light year is about 9.5 x 1012 km
(9.5 trillion km) long, the diameter of the Milky
Way galaxy is about 9.5 x 1017 to 11.4 x 1017
km, or 9,500 to 11,400 quadrillion km.
: It became its current size and shape by eating
up other galaxies, and is still doing so today.
: And yet, our galaxy is only a middle-weight
when compared to other galaxies in the local
Universe.
o CANIS MAJOR DWARF GALAXY
: In fact, the Canis Major Dwarf
Galaxy is the closest galaxy to the
Milky Way because its stars are
currently being added to the Milky
Way’s disk.
: And our galaxy has consumed
others in its long history, such as the
Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy.
o ANDROMEDA
: the closest major galaxy to our
own, is about twice as large as our
own.
: It measures 220,000 light years in
diameter, and has an estimated 400-
800 billion stars within it.
III. STRUCTURE OF THE MILKY WAY
: If you could travel outside the galaxy and look
down on it from above, you’d see that the
 Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy.
: The Milky Way’s basic structure is believed to
involve two main spiral arms emanating from
opposite ends of an elongated central bar.
• SPIRAL ARMS
: For the longest time, the Milky Way was
thought to have 4 spiral arms, but newer
surveys have determined that it actually
seems to just have two spiral arms, called
o SCUTUM-CENTAURUS
o CARINA-SAGITTARIUS /
PERSEUS
: The spiral arms are formed from density
waves that orbit around the Milky Way – i.e.
stars and clouds of gas clustered together.
: As these density waves move through an
area, they compress the gas and dust,
leading to a period of active star formation
for the region.
: However, the existence of these arms has
been determined from observing parts of the
Milky Way – as well as other galaxies in our
universe
: In truth, all the pictures that depict our galaxy are
either artist’s renditions or pictures of other spiral
galaxies, and not the result of direct observation of
the whole. Until recently, it was very difficult for
scientists to gauge what the Milky Way really looks
like, mainly because we’re inside it.
: It has only been through decades of observation,
reconstruction and comparison to other galaxies
that they have been to get a clear picture of what
the Milky Way looks like from the outside.
: From ongoing surveys of the night sky with
ground-based telescopes, and more recent
missions involving space telescopes, astronomers
now estimate that there are between 100 and 400
billion stars in the Milky Way.
: They also think that each star has at least one Commented [t1]: Ask maam if they are the same thing
planet, which means there are likely to be hundreds
of billions of planets in the Milky Way – billions of
which are believed to be the size and mass of the
Earth.
: As noted, much of the Milky Way’s arms is made
up of dust and gas.
: This matter makes up a whopping 10-15% of all
the “luminous matter” (i.e. that which is visible) in
our galaxy, with the remainder being the stars.
: Our galaxy is roughly 100,000 light years across,
and we can only see about 6,000 light years into
the disk in the visible spectrum.
: Still, when light pollution is not significant, the
dusty ring of the Milky Way can be discerned in the
night sky.
: What’s more, infrared astronomy and viewing the
Universe in other, non-visible wavelengths has
allowed astronomers to be able to see more of it.
: The Milky Way, like all galaxies, is also
surrounded by a vast halo of dark matter, which
accounts for some 90% of its mass.
: Nobody knows precisely what dark matter is, but
its mass has been inferred by observations of how
fast the galaxy rotates and other general behaviors.
: More importantly, it is believed that this mass
helps keep the galaxy from tearing itself apart as it
rotates.
IV. THE SOLAR SYSTEM
: The Solar System (and Earth) is located about
25,000 light-years to the galactic center and
25,000 light-years away from the rim.
: So basically, if you were to think of the Milky
Way as a big record, we would be the spot
that’s roughly halfway between the center and
the edge.
: Astronomers have agreed that the Milky Way
probably has two major spiral arms – Perseus
arm and the Scutum-Centaurus arm – with
several smaller arms and spurs.
• ORION-CYGNUS ARM
: The Solar System is located in a region in
between the two arms called the Orion-
Cygnus arm.
: This arm measures 3,500 light-years
across and is 10,000 light-years in length,
where it breaks off from the Sagittarius Arm.
V. GUIDE QUESTIONS
: The fact that the Milky Way divides the night
sky into two roughly equal hemispheres
indicates that the Solar System lies near the
galactic plane.
: The Milky Way has a relatively low surface
brightness due to the gases and dust that fills
the galactic disk.
: That prevents us from seeing the bright
galactic center or from observing clearly what
is on the other side of it.
• GALACTIC YEAR / COSMIC YEAR
: You might be surprised to learn that it
takes the Sun 250 million years to complete
one rotation around the Milky Way – this is
what is known as a “Galactic Year” or
“Cosmic Year”.
: The last time the Solar System was in this
position in the Milky Way, there were still
dinosaurs on Earth.
: The next time, who knows? Humanity
might be extinct, or it might have evolved
into something else entirely.
: As you can see, the Milky Way alone is a very
big place. And discerning our location within it
has been no simple task. And as our knowledge
of the Universe has expanded, we’ve come to
learn two things. Not only is the Universe much
larger than we could have ever imagined, but
our place within it continues to shrink! Our Solar
System, it seems, is both insignificant in the
grand scheme of things, but also extremely
precious!
1. What is a Galaxy?
2. To which Galaxy does our Solar
System belong to?
 3. Describe the structure and sphere, it was still possible for the earth to
composition of our Galaxy. be flat.
4. Where is the solar system situated • EARTH AS A FLAT SLAB
with respect to this Galaxy? : Anaximander thought it was a flat slab that
stretched across the sphere of the sky at its
READING 2.0 : SHAPE, SIZE, MASS, center.
AND DENSITY OF THE EARTH
(HOW DID WE FIND OUT THE EARTH
IS ROUND BY ISAAC ASIMOV)
I. IS THE EARTH FLAT?
• ANAXIMANDER
: first thought about the problem of the flat
earth theory
: Greek
: He wasn’t satisfied with the tales of sun-
gods and flaming chariots and flying horses.
Instead, he looked at the night sky and
asked himself what he really saw.
: The most important thing about the night
sky to Anaximander was that the stars
traveled in patterns.
: Anaximander decided that the sky was a II. THE DISAPPEARING STARS
huge hollow ball, or “sphere.” : With all this in mind, Anaximander could see
: The sphere of the sky turned around on an that there were three objects in the sky that had
invisible line or “axis.” a particular shape. There was the sun, the
: One end of the axis stuck through the sky moon, and the whole sky itself. All three were
where the North Star was situated. The spheres
other end was at the opposite side of the : The fact of the matter was that the stars were
sphere where he couldn’t see it. not seen from all parts of the earth, so the earth
: Everyday the sphere of the sky turned could not be flat.
around, or “rotated.” • EARTH AS A CYLINDER
: The stars were all stuck to the sky and : This is exactly how Anaximander thought
turned with it. That’s why they kept the the earth might be shaped.
same pattern. The sun and moon were : He thought it was a cylinder lying in the
stuck to the sky, too, and that’s why they center of the sphere of the sky. When you
rose and set. Even though the sky was a went north, you traveled along the curve of
the cylinder. When you looked back, the
 curve hid some of the stars to the south. If shadow falls on the moon and darkens it.
you went south, you also traveled along : Every once in a while, at the time of the full
curve of the cylinder. When you looked moon, the earth is exactly in between the moon
back, the curve hid some of the stars to the and the sun, and at those times there is an
north. eclipse
: This meant that the earth had a shape that cast
a circular shadow in every possible direction.
There is only one Shape that does that, and that
shape is a sphere.
• PHILOLAUS
: About 450 B.C., a Greek Scholar named
Philolaus (fil-oh-LAY-us), who lived in
southern Italy, was finally convinced.
: He put all the evidence together. The
change in the stars, the way in which ships
disappeared as they moved away, and the
III. THE DISAPPEARING SHIPS
shadow of the earth during an eclipse of the
: To begin with, someone watching a ship sail
moon led him to one conclusion: The earth
away can see the whole ship. He or she sees
was a Sphere located in the center of the
the wooden hull of the ship below and the sails
much larger sphere of the sky.
above. After a while, however, the hull
: So far as we know, Philolaus was the first
disappears. The water seems to reach above it
man ever to say that the earth was a
and all that is left are the sails. Then only the top
sphere.
of the sails, Then the whole ship disappears
• EARTH AS A SPHERE
: But the only shape that curves by the
same amount in every direction is a sphere.
: If you make a point on a large ball and
draw a line away from that point in any
direction, you will see that all the lines will
curve in the same way.
: It is a large sphere in the center of the
much larger sphere of the sky.
• ARISTOTLE
: If the earth is a large sphere, then the tiny
: Aristotle’s view that everything was
bit we can see at any one time looks flat.
attracted toward the center of the earth
IV. THE EARTH’S SHADOW
meant that the earth had to be a sphere.
: Another way of saying this is that the earth
: This explains why the ocean and air stay
casts a shadow. During an eclipse, the earth’s
on the spherical earth, and don’t slide or
 drop off. Wherever they are, they are pulled Alexandria.
“down” toward the center. : Working with that information, he
calculated that the sphere of the earth was
25,000 miles around and 8,000 miles thick.
: Magellan’ s expedition was the first to go
all around the world. His records
represented the final proof of just how large
the sphere of the globe was. It turned out
that Eratosthenes had been correct when
he made his calculations from shadows
1800 years before.
: The earth is 25,000 miles around. Ptolemy
and everyone else who thought the earth
V. THE SIZE OF THE EARTH
was much smaller were wrong
• ERATOSTHENES
: But the sphere of the earth curves, so that
sunlight hitting the ground at a place
hundreds of miles from you has to come
down at a slant. The farther a place is from
you, the greater the slant at which sunlight
must hit. You can measure the slant by the
shadow it casts.
: Suppose you have a wooden rod stuck
into the ground, straight up and down. If the
sunlight is coming from directly above,
straight down, the rod casts no shadow. If
the sunlight is coming at a slight slant, the
rod casts a short shadow. The greater the
slant, the longer the shadow.
: Eratosthenes was told that, at noon on
June 21, the longest day in the year, a
wooden rod stuck into the earth at Syene (a
city in southern Egypt) cast no shadow.
Eratosthenes worked in Alexandria, a city in
northern Egypt. He knew that on that day a
wooden rod stuck into the ground would
cast a shadow of a certain length. He also
knew that it was 500 miles from Syene to
• PTOLEMY READING 2.0 : SIZE, MASS, AND
: But suppose that the earth was only DENSITY OF THE EARTH
18,000 miles around, as Ptolemy said, and I. ESTIMATING THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE
12,000 miles from Western Europe to the EARTH
Indies by land. Then it would be only a : Anaximander found out two things
6,000-mile sail across the ocean. 1. THE EARTH IS SPHERICAL
: There were supposed to be islands east of 2. THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE
Asia and islands west of Europe. If they EARTH = 40,000 KM
were taken into account, it might be only : 41,120 km to be more accurate
3,000 miles from Europe to the Indies by
boat.
: Still if it hadn’t been for the mistaken idea
that the earth was smaller than it was,
Columbus might not have thought it was
practical to sail west. America might not
have been discovered for a long time. Even
mistakes can be useful.
• MOON-LANDING
: Beginning in 1961, men were sent into
orbit around the earth. They began to travel
II. WHAT IS THE RADIUS OF THE EARTH?
longer and longer distances through space
- The average radius of the Earth is 6.38
and to go farther and farther from earth.
x 106 meters
: By 1969, men had reached the moon.
- (modern day) 6,378 km
: From outer space men could look back on
- (Eratosthenes) 6,366.2 km
earth and see it as an object in the sky.
III. WHAT IS THE VOLUME OF THE EARTH?
: They could see that it was round. So could
- (modern day) around 1 trillion cubic km
everyone else on earth since pictures were
taken from outer space. - (Eratosthenes)

: The earth is round and the old Greek IV. DETERMINING THE MASS AND DENSITY

scholars who reasoned it out nearly twenty- OF THE EARTH

five hundred years ago by studying stars, : The goal of this study is to learn how the

and ships, and eclipses were absolutely famous physicist, Sir Isaac Newton, computed

right. the mass of the Earth, and then use this to

compute its density.
: In the year 1680, Sir Isaac Newton discovered
the famous equation known as the Law of
Gravitational Attraction on two objects.
: You will use this result, together with another
 result also due to Newton, to compute the mass
of the Earth.
• BASIC CONCEPTS
o Any object in the Universe attracts
any other object.
o The force that moves objects toward
each other is called gravity.
o The mass of an object is a
fundamental property of the object
with measured in kilograms (kg).
o Even though we often use weight
and mass interchangeably in
everyday language, the weight of an
object depends on the force of
gravity. If you went to the moon,
your mass would not change but
your weight would be much less.
▪ WEIGHT
: The weight of an object is
the force of gravity on the
object
: this can be described by the
equation
o w = mg
: where m is the mass
of the object and g is
the acceleration due
to gravity
o The density of an object is the mass
per unit volume.
V. WHAT IS THE MASS OF THE EARTH?
- (Newton’s method)
VI. WHAT IS THE VOLUME OF THE EARTH?
- (Newton’s method)
VII. WHAT IS THE DENSITY OF THE EARTH?
- (Newton’s method)
READING 2.1 : ERATOSTHENES –
MEASURING THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF
THE EARTH IN 240 BC
I. WHO IS ERATOSTHENES?
: Eratosthenes was a Greek scientific writer,
astronomer, and poet, who is credited with
making the first approximation of the size of the
Earth for which any details are know.
: He was born in Cyrene, Libya c. 276 BC. After
studying in Alexandria and Athens, he settled in
Alexandria around 255 BC and became director
of the Great Library there.
II. HIS COMPUTATION
: In the town of Syene (now Aswan) in Egypt, it
was well known that at noon on the day of the
Summer solstice, light from the sun would shine
directly down a local well.
: One could look down the well and see his or
her own shadow at the bottom, but no shadow
from the sides of the well.
: Eratosthenes found it curious that this never
happened at any day in Alexandria.
: And so he was acutely aware that there was
something to be learned from this phenomenon.
: He began to observe the distance of a shadow
caused by a very tall tower in Alexandra. He
noted that in Alexandria at the same time, during
the same day, sunlight fell at an angle of about
7.2 degrees from the vertical.
: Eratosthenes records this angle to be "a fiftieth
of a circle", as measuring angles in degrees had
not yet been adopted from the Babylonians at
this point. He correctly assumed the sun's
distance from the Earth to be very great, and have realized that he had discovered a new
therefore rays of light falling towards the Earth to continent in 1492, instead of believing he had
be parallel. arrived in India. Eratosthenes also measured tilt
: If he could determine the distance from Syene of the Earth's axis, and wrote at length of the
to Alexandria, all he would have to do to eight year lunar-solar cycle. He is remembered
determine the circumference of the Earth was by history as a great contributor to the field of
multiply this distance by 50. astronomy. He would die in Alexandria in c. 194
: And so he enlisted the talents of a professional BC at the age of 82.
pacer to determine the exact distance from the
well in Syene to the tower in Alexandria. He
READING 2.2 : BATHYMETRY FEATURES
determined that Alexandria is about 5,000 stadia
AND HYPSOGRAPHY
(489 miles) North of Syene.
I. INTRODUCTION
: However, we now know that ocean bathymetry
encompasses a varied seascape including
- vast mountain ranges
- deep trenches
- fracture zones extending for thousands
of miles
- the flattest plains on Earth
- a plethora of lesser meso- and
microscale features ranging from
: Given these estimations, Eratosthenes was individual seamounts to individual
able to calculate the circumference of the Earth ripples and tidal channels.
to be 250,000 stadia. The length of one stadia is
: Comprehension of this landscape is a key
not exactly known, but it is thought to be
component of the theory of plate tectonics, an
between 515 and 686 feet. This corresponds to
intrinsic part of marine ecology, and a significant
a circumference of between 24,384 and 32,481
component of ocean circulation on global scales
miles, but it is likely that he calculated a value of
to individual estuaries.
about 25,000 miles. Compared to today's
: Indeed bathymetry and ocean science are
accepted measurement of the Earth's
intricately intertwined and one cannot be
circumference of 24,901 miles, Eratosthenes'
understood without the other
calculation is off by less than 1%.
: Calculating the circumference of the Earth to • HYPSOGRAPHY
within 100 miles is remarkably accurate given : the study of the distribution of bathymetric
that it was done around 240 BC. Had features across the Earth’s surface and
Christopher Columbus used these provides the percentage of the seafloor
measurements for the Earth's size, he might
 covered by large-scale features, such as : of the world ocean that can extend for
continental shelves and abyssal plains. thousands of miles either along the margins
: Assessing the geomorphology or shape of of ocean basins as in the case of trenches
underwater landforms is now an important or across ocean basins as in the case of
component in developing marine reserves fracture zones.
to protect sensitive marine ecosystems. o TRENCHES
: Bathymetry of coastal estuaries and bays o FRACTURE ZONES
must also be evaluated in terms of tidal • CONTINENTAL MARGINS
currents driven by the gravitational influence : are made up of continental shelves,
of the moon that can change bathymetry on continental slopes, and continental rises
hourly time scales. o CONTINENTAL SHELVES
: In a little over a century, the vast : border the continents and vary in
underwater landscapes from large- to small- size and shape across the world
scale features have been revealed, and this ocean.
knowledge has contributed to the : Comprised of continental crust,
fundamental understanding of the Earth’s they are relatively flat containing
processes. thick layers of terrigenous sediments
II. BATHYMETRIC FEATURES AND from riverine input.
HYPSOGRAPHY : The widest continental shelves
• LARGE-SCALE FEATURES tend to occur along passive margins
: Covering 3.6 × 108 km2 or 71% of the where considerable sediment can
Earth’s surface, the oceanic basins are build up over time
dominated by three major physiographic : In active continental margins with
features converging plates, there can be little
1. DEEP BASINS COVERED to no shelf at all
WITH ABYSSAL PLAINS AND o SHELF BREAK
HILLS : indicates the point
: covering ~53% of the seafloor where the continental
2. THE WORLD-GIRDLING shelf abruptly ends
OCEANIC RIDGE SYSTEM and the slope
: covering ~31% of the seafloor steepens dramatically
3. CONTINENTAL MARGINS AND in what is referred to
SHALLOW SEAS COMPRISED as the continental
OF CONTINENTAL SHELF, slope.
SLOPE AND RISE o CONTINENTAL SLOPE
: covering over 16% of the seafloor o CONTINENTAL RISE
• OTHER LARGE FEATURES : At the base of the slope, the
: of significant lineal extent continental rise is characterized by a
 gentle slope of accumulated
sediment that merges into the
abyssal plain on passive continental
margins
• SECONDARY FEATURES
o MEDIAN VALLEY
: associated with the mid-ocean
ridge system, mountain ranges, and
ridges not associated with the mid-
ocean ridge system.
o SEAMOUNTS
: The abyssal hills and plains are
interrupted by a spectrum of larger
hills, knolls, and cones with varying
III. KJSHD
elevations culminating with the
IV. ASDA
higher underwater mountains having
relief >1000 m called seamounts V. D
: are typically formed from volcanic
activity in association with diverging
plates, hot spots, or converging
plates.
▪ TABLEMOUNTS / GUYOTS
: are flat-topped seamounts
formed by wave erosion
which has been transported
to deeper water and
submerged on a moving
EARTH SYSTEMS
plate. 3.0 EARTH SYSTEMS

I. EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE

: In the phrase "Earth system science (ESS),"
the key term is "system.
: This relatively new field of studying the
interactions between and among events and the
earth's spheres is called Earth system science
(ESS)
• SYSTEM
 : A system is a collection of interdependent
parts enclosed within a defined boundary.
: Within the boundary of the earth is a
collection of four interdependent parts
called "spheres."
• FOUR SPHERES
: These spheres are closely connected
: In fact, the spheres are so closely
connected that a change in one sphere
often results in a change in one or more of
the other spheres.
o LITHOSPHERE
: which contains all of the cold, hard,
solid rock of the planet's crust
(surface), the hot semi-solid rock
that lies underneath the crust, the
hot liquid rock near the center of the
planet, and the solid iron core
(center) of the planet
o HYDROSPHERE
: which contains all of the planet's
solid, liquid, and gaseous water
o BIOSPHERE
: which contains all of the planet's
living organisms
o ATMOSPHERE
: which contains all of the planet's
air.
• EVENTS
: changes that take place within an
ecosystem
: Events can occur naturally, such as an
earthquake or a hurricane, or they can be
caused by humans, such as an oil spill or air
pollution
: An event can cause changes to occur in
one or more of the spheres, and/or an event
can be the effect of changes in one or more
of Earth's four spheres.
o INTERACTION
: This two-way cause and effect
relationship between an event and a
sphere
: Interactions also occur among the
spheres; for example, a change in
the atmosphere can cause a change
in the hydrosphere, and vice versa.
: can impact local regions (e.g.
floods, forest fires) or observed
worldwide (e.g. El Nino, ozone
depletion)
▪ PREDICT OUTCOMES OF
EVENTS
: Understanding the
interactions among the
earth's spheres and the
events that occur within the
ecosystem allows people to
predict the outcomes of
events.
: Being able to predict
outcomes is useful when, for
example, developers wish to
know the environmental
effects of a project such as
building an airport before
they begin construction.
▪ PREPARE FOR EFFECTS
OF NATURAL DISASTERS
: such as volcanic eruptions;
this understanding allows
people to predict things like
how far and in what direction
the lava will flow.
• EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE (ESS) 10. biosphere ↔
: This relatively new field of studying the atmosphere
interactions between and among events and EARTH SYSTEM DIAGRAM
the earth's spheres is called Earth system
science (ESS)
o 10 POSSIBLE INTERACTIONS
: The double-headed arrows (↔)
indicate that the cause and effect
relationships of these interactions go
in both directions
▪ (4) EVENT↔ EARTH
SPHERE
1. E ↔ lithosphere : The ten types of interactions
2. E ↔ hydrosphere that can occur within the earth
3. E↔biosphere system often occur as a series of
4. E ↔ atmosphere chain reactions.
EARTH SYSTEM DIAGRAM E.g.
• a forest fire may destroy all
the plants in an area (event
↔ biosphere)
• The absence of plants could
lead to an increase in
erosion--washing away of
soil (biosphere ↔
lithosphere).
• Increased amounts of soil
entering streams can lead to
▪ (6) SPHERE ↔ SPHERE
increased turbidity, or
5. Lithosphere ↔
muddiness, of the water
hydrosphere
(lithosphere ↔ hydrosphere).
6. lithosphere ↔
• Increased turbidity of stream
biosphere
water can have negative
7. lithosphere ↔
impacts on the plants and
atmosphere
animals that live in it
8. hydrosphere ↔
(hydrosphere ↔ biosphere).
biosphere
II. HOW IS THE EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
9. hydrosphere ↔
CONDUCTED?
atmosphere
• ESS ANALYSIS
: Earth system science is conducted by
examining each event ↔ sphere and sphere
↔ sphere interaction
: This approach of answering the questions
above is performed during every ESS
analysis; simply replace the term "event"
with the event you wish to investigate.
: it is important that you be able to explain
why or how the interactions occur (e.g. the
above lithosphere ↔ biosphere interaction
does not merely state "a decrease in
vegetation may have resulted in increased
erodibility of soil." It gives the reason
"because there were fewer roots to hold it in
place.")
: The examination of the interactions is
accomplished by asking oneself the
following questions
1. How may each of the earth's
four spheres (hydrosphere,
atmosphere, lithosphere, and
biosphere) have caused the
event to occur? (The answers
to this question are the sphere
←→ event impacts.)
2. What are the effects of the
event on each of the earth's
four spheres (hydrosphere,
atmosphere, lithosphere, and
biosphere)? (The answers to
this question are the event ↔
sphere impacts.)
3. What are the effects of
changes in one of earth's four
spheres (hydrosphere,
atmosphere, lithosphere, or
biosphere) on each of the other
spheres (hydrosphere,
atmosphere, lithosphere, or
biosphere)? (The answers to this
question are the sphere ↔
sphere interactions.)
III. SYSTEMS ANALYSIS IN ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE
• SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
: developed in order to investigate
complexity in the real world
: emphasises the importance of
understanding the structure of, and the
relationships between and within, different
parts of the environment.
: Indeed, the environment in its entirety may
be regarded as a single system consisting
of smaller, interconnected sub-systems
: it draws attention to the ways in which
different parts of a system adjust to each
other and to external factors.
: allows scientists to focus on the parts of
the environment in which such adjustments
occur.
: Indeed, as a result of the adoption of
systems analysis by environmental
scientists, the study of the environment has
become a dynamic subject that is sharply
focused on the knowledge and
understanding of environmental
adjustments and transformations
(processes).
: At the same time, by focusing also on
entire systems, rather than simply on their
component parts, systems analysis is a
holistic - rather than a reductionist -
approach to the study of the environment.
• SYSTEM
: A system may be defined as 'a set of
interconnected parts which function together
as a complex whole'
: In other words, a system is a group of
components that work together to perform a
function.
: Materials and energy move through
systems via a series of flows, cycles and
transformations
E.g. a single river may be regarded as an
environmental system with components
(such as tributaries, a main channel and a
delta) that work together to perform a
function (the transport of water, sediments
and nutrients); ; in the case of a river
system, water, sediments, nutrients, living
organisms, dissolved gases, pollutants and
energy all pass through the system
o STORES
: the components of a system may
be regarded as stores, in which
materials and energy come to rest
for a certain period of time, and in
which materials and energy may be
modified or transformed
o PROCESS
: used to describe any
transformation - physical, chemical
or biological - that occurs in the
environment; and the study of
environmental systems often
focuses on those processes, since it
is often the case that changes in
environmental systems are the most
interesting and relevant aspects
when it comes to understanding the
environment.
o PROCESS-RESPONSE SYSTEMS
: it may be more accurate to say that
environmental science often focuses
on process-response systems, in
which case both the relevant
processes and their environmental
consequences are studied together
in an integrated manner.
IV. SYSTEMS BOUNDARIES AND SCALE
• SYSTEM BOUNDARIES
: define the limits within which the
components interact and thereby define the
scale of the system and the ways in which
different systems are interrelated
• ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
: Environmental systems are physical
systems with physical boundaries, and
environmental conditions may change
markedly across those boundaries.
: some are easy to define (e.g. interface
between the ocean and the atmosphere, or
the watershed surrounding a river
catchment), some are not (e.g. as the upper
limit of the atmosphere, or the limits of
vegetation communities)
: As well as defining the scale of a particular
system, its boundaries also determine what
type of system it is
o CLOSED SYSTEMS
: in which materials do not pass
across the system boundary
E.g. global water cycle - because a
finite amount of water is maintained
within the environment and is
transported internally but does not
cross the system boundary (with the
exception of any water that may
 have been delivered to the earth as individual river catchments within it are
a result of comet impacts) obviously open systems.
o OPEN SYSTEMS o A NESTED HIERARCHY
: in which the relatively free : Systems may exist entirely
exchange of materials occurs across within other systems (in a nested
the boundary. hierarchy),
: Open systems therefore have e.g. the case of an individual tree,
inputs and outputs which is part of a forest, which is
: Most environmental systems are part of the biosphere
open systems, and are • SUB-DIVISIONS OF A SYSTEM
interconnected, with the result that : For any environmental system, state one
changes in one component of one or more of its sub-systems and system
system may ultimately affect all of components.
the other systems in some way. o SYSTEM
▪ INPUT : which refers to the entire
▪ OUTPUT environmental system
▪ CASCADING SYSTEMS E.g. such as a river drainage basin
: the output of one system may o SUB-SYSTEM
form the input to another system : which refers to major sub-divisions
• SYSTEM SCALE within the system
: Systems exist at all spatial scales, E.g. such as a floodplain
including the microscopic scale (such as a o SYSTEM COMPONENT / SYSTEM
single bacterium) and the planetary scale. ELEMENT
: In some cases, the distinction between : which refers to a part of the system
open and closed systems is purely a matter or sub-system which has specific
of scale properties
: A further consideration is the fact that, e.g. such as the sediment load
because systems may be defined at carried by a river
different spatial scales, they may overlap.
E.g. all of the living material on earth LECTURE VIDEO : 1.0 EARTH’S
comprises a single system (the biosphere), GROSS FEATURES
but ecological systems may also be defined ATMOSPHERE
at successively smaller scales (such as
I. THE ATMOSPHERE
individual forests) - even at the level of
: the layer that contains the gaseous material at
single organisms (such as an individual
the surface of our planet
tree).
: human beings and other living organisms live
E.g. the global water cycle is typically
in the bottom-most layer of the atmosphere
regarded as a closed system, whilst the
 • MASS : after the ozone later,
: 5.1 * 10 kg < 0.01% Me (Earth’s total
19 ↑ altitude/elevation ↑ temperature
mass) • MESOSPHERE
: infinitesimally smaller than the mass of the : where most of the meteors burn up
Earth : air is too thin to breathe
: composition ins different from initial : air pressure at around 50km is 1% of the
composition one at sea-level
o NITROGEN : drop in pressure = drop in temperature
: 78.4% : coldest part of the atmosphere is at the
o OXYGEN upmost boundary of the mesosphere (-90
: 20.9% C)
o TRACE GASES • THERMOSPHERE
: 0.93% : absorbs high-energy X-rays and UV
e.g. argon, carbon dioxide, methane, radiation form the sun and convert it into
hydrogen, krypton heat
II. LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE : temperature is very high
: distinguished based on the temperature, : air layer is too thin, it will feel freezing to us
pressure and different light waves they can humans
absorb : most satellites and the aurora borealis are
• TROPOSPHERE found here
: area where all the weather conditions • EXOSPHERE
occur : “Last Frontier of our Atmosphere”
: 99% of water vapor accumulates here : a leaking of air into the atmosphere
: ↑ altitude/elevation ↓ air pressure : boundary is not well-defined
↓ temperature : some satellites are found here
: surface absorbs heat and is therefore the o INFRARED COOLING
hottest portion of the atmosphere : not all solar energy will be
e.g. storms, weather disturbances, clouds absorbed by our atmosphere
• STRATOSPHERE : some of which will be bounced
: contains the ozone layer back out of the atmosphere to be
: commercial jets fly through this layer converted into infrared cooling
because it lacks turbulence
o OZONE LAYER
: absorbs UV light rays and converts
it into heat
: there arf4e different types of UV
rays
: the ozone filters out the Middle UV
 o HADLEY CELL
: warm air rises and cools, dropping
rain → cooled air is pushed
poleward → dense, dry air
descends, warms, and absorbs
moisture
o WARM AND SOUTH BORDER
: cloud-free where air descends
• HIGHER LATITUDE
: cyclonic systems where warm air interacts
with cold air
: since it’s closer to the poles, the air is
colder
: weather becomes more chaotic

III. ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION

: movement of wind from one place to another
: rotation of the earth affects the direction of the
wind
• LOW LATITUDE
: insolation is highest
: close to the equator
: warm humid air as clouds in equatorial
region
o INSOLATION
: INcoming SOLar radiation
: incoming solar energy distributed in
a particular area
▪ VERTICAL RAYS
: smaller area receives a
greater concentration of
insulation per m
▪ OBLIQUE RAYS *windy.com to monitor the wind motion
: Larger area receives a
lesser concentration of
insolation per m
 HYROSPHERE
IV. THE HYDROSPHERE
: total mass of water on the Earth’s surface
• OCEANS
: 98%
• STREAMS, LAKES, GROUND WATER,
GLACIERS
: 2%

: covers 71% of the Earth’s surface

: layer that contains the liquid portion (mostly GEOSPHERE
salty because of Sodium + Chloride) VI. THE GEOSPHERE
: contains a lot of calcium + bicarbonate = : large-scale features
calcium carbonate which composes coral reefs : contains volcanoes, deserts, mountain ranges,
and shells other land features
: composition is different from the past’s (more • CONTINENTS
iron in the past, but was removed because of : large land masses
reaction with oxygen which formed banded iron e.g. Eurasia, Africa, North and South
formation) America, Australia, Antarctica
• MOUNTAIN CHAINS
e.g. Andes, Alps, Himalayas, North
American Cordillera
• ISLAND ARCS
: arc – bow-shaped
: curved
e.g. Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Marianas
VII. PRIMARY FEATURES OF THE EARTH
• MOUNTAIN BELTS
V. HYDROSPHERE CIRCULATION e.g. Himalayan belt
: nature does not like disequilibrium • DESERTS
: heat and salinities must be redistributed : commonly found in the Tropic of Cancer
: strong influence on weather and climate and Capricorn because of the Hadley Cells
• COLD VS WARM OCEAN CURRENTS (circulation of the atmosphere)
• MAJOR SOURCE OF WATER FOR • VOLCANIC ARCS
HYDROLOGIC CYCLE : products of subduction
: volcanoes forming an arc in a continent
• RIVER BASINS
: not only localized, but are also
 interconnected with many other rivers
making it large-scale
VIII. GEOSPHERE: LARGE-SCALE
FEATURES
• SUBMARINE CANYON
: like rivers or gorge that are submerged
underwater
: underwater river or gorge
• CONTINENTAL SHELF
: relatively flat region after the continent
• INTRAPLATE VOLCANOES/GUYOTS
o SEAMOUNT
• OCEANIC ISLANDS
• ABYSSAL PLAINS
• OCEANIC RIDGE
: very important
: protruding volcanic features found in the
ocean
: relatively high elevation compared to BIOSPHERE
surrounding areas, connected by transform IX. THE BIOSPHERE
faults : Part of the Earth where life exists
: usually connected together to form a line : Set of all life forms
: Iceland is located in an oceanic ridge - Number and variety: nobody knows!
• TRENCH - Estimates: 3 to 30 million; 1.5M
: deepest portions of the ocean formed by recorded
subduction zones - Insects: more than half of all known
: depressions caused by one plate species
overlapping another - 4,000 mammal species: 0.025% only
: related to the shape of the island arc • NARROW ZONE
: trenches cause volcanism : traditionally thought that life could only be
• TRANSFORM FAULT found in a narrow zone and that life was
: linear features that connect oceanic ridges only dependent on sunlight (photosynthetic
and one feature to another (e.g. oceanic organisms)
ridge + trench, trench + trench) : life is not limited to these zones n(e.g.
: stitch-like patterns black smokers in isolated communities at
ocean ridge and are chemosynthetic)
: to depth which sunlight penetrates ocean
(estimated at 200 m below sea level)
 : to snowline in tropical and subtropical : Tilt and rotation axis with respect to
mountains (estimated 6,000 m above sea orbit usually small (Venus and Uranus
level) exceptions)
X. MAIN FACTORS FOR DISTIBUTION OF LIFE 6. Most moons revolve around their
• PRESSURE parent planets in the same direction
• TEMPERTATURE as the planets rotate on their axes
• CHEMISTRY 7. Planets differ in composition
XI. CONCLUSION : composition varies roughly with
: This is our home planet distance from Sun
: not too hot, not too cold, and liquid water • INNER PART
exists! : dense, metal-rich planets
• OUTER PART
: giant, hydrogen-rich planets
: lighter, lower temperature
MODULE 2: ORIGIN OF THE
8. Asteroid belt
UNIVERSE, THE SOLAR : concentration of very old bodies which
differ in chemical and geologic properties
SYSTEM, AND THE EARTH from planets and moons
: in between Jupiter and Mars
o ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE
: primitive, unevolved material
LECTURE 1 9. Kuiper Belt
I. THE OBSERVABLES : a collection of asteroid-sized icy bodies
: any model must explain what we observe: orbiting beyond Neptune
1. Each planet is relatively isolated (a) : Pluto and some moons may well be
: each planet is about twice as far from members and former members of this
Sun as its inner neighbor class of objects
2. Planetary orbits slightly elliptical – 10. Oort cloud of comets
nearly circular : icy fragments not contained in ecliptic
3. All the planets’ orbits lie roughly in plane
same plane (b)
: Sun’s rotational equator lies nearly in
this plane
: sideview
4. Planets orbit the Sun in the same
direction as the Sun rotates
: counter clockwise direction
5. Sun and most planets rotate in the
same direction
II. IDEAS ON THE FORMATION OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM
• BUFFON’S HYPOTHESIS
: Sun-comet
: 1749
• PLANETESIMAL HYPOTHESIS
: Sun-star
: Chamberlin, 1904
• NEBULAR THEORY / DUST CLOUD
HYPOTHESIS
: Emanuel Swedenborg (1734), Immanuel
Kant (1755), Pierre Simon De Laplace
(1796)
: 4.6 billion years ago… in one of the spiral
arms of Milky Way (Earth is in the Orion
Arm)
: dust and gas particles roaming around
: Early attempts to explain the origin of this
system
- A cloud of glass broke into rings →
condensed to form planets
- An evolutionary theory with a series of
gradual & natural steps
- Doubts about the stability of such rings
→ scientists then considered
catastrophic theories
: catastrophic theories such as Buffon
and Planetesimal
: gases in space that form planets
: depended only on gases to create the
rings
o IS THERE A WAY TO FIX THE
NEBULAR THEORY?
▪ CONDENSATION THEORY
: based on evolutionary processes
: the preferred scientific model for
the formation of the Solar System
: a part of the nebular theory
: collapse of mass/cloud of gas
(mainly H and He) and dust under
gravitational attraction into a disc
: as it collapses/contracts, its slight
rotation increases (conservation of
angular momentum)
o DUST
: key element
: small particles in space like
silica and became the seed for
planet formation
: speeds up cooling, allowing
collapse
: nuclei for condensation,
growing into planetesimals
o CENTRIFUGAL EFFECTS
: outer part of nebula flatten into
a disk (gravitational energy was
transformed into thermal energy)
[b]
: central part of nebula heats up
[c] and forms sun [d]
: planets will eventually form in
disk and the Sun is part of the
disk
o NEBULA COOLS
: outer parts cooling off more
than inner parts (that are close
to hot proto-sun)
: local temperature and density
depends on distance from proto-
sun
: outer parts cool faster
: metals condense (freeze/form)
= high temperature ; volatiles
condense = lower temperatures
: Jupiter temperature cool
 enough to freeze water; further ▪ ADD EFFECTS OF
out ammonia and methane INTERSTELLAR DUST TO THE
freezing out NEBULAR THEORY
: NOTE – planets will also : dust help cool nebula and acts as
differentiate later on ; condensation nuclei
Heavy metals = core : explains the observables
Lighter = near surface
o MASSIVE PLANETESIMALS
PULL IN NEARBY NEBULA
: some can form mini-solar nebulae
to form moons
: how planets were formed
: Jupiter and Saturn have a lot of
water ice mass (swept up a lot of H
& He)
: Uranus and Neptune, less so
o PROTO-SUN CORE GETS TO
ABOUT 10 MILLION DEGREES
KELVIN
: starts fusion – Sun turns on
: T-Tauri winds sweep out rest of
nebula that was not already
incorporated into the planets (cloudy
materials are blown out of the solar
system)
: created the inner region (heavy
elements) & outer region (lighter)
▪ PROTO-STAR
: has not yet started its
hydrogen-burning process /
nucleosynthesis
▪ ORION NEBULA
: protostar in the center of a
protoplanetary disk (may
eventually form planets)
III. THE SUN
: mostly made up of hydrogen, the principal
product of the Big Bang
: the sun’s center became compressed enough
to initiate nuclear reactions, consequently
emitting light and energy (nucleosynthesis /
hydrogen-burning)
: middle-aged star (half of fuel for hydrogen-
burning)
: diameter - 864,938 miles (1,391,980 km) - V. THE SOLAR SYSTEM
almost 10x larger than Jupiter and about 109 • COMETS
times as big as the Earth : relatively small, fragile, irregularly shaped
IV. PLANETS bodies and like asteroids
• THREE TYPES OF PLANETS : left over from the solar system formation
o JOVIAN process
: or gas giant planets : icy dirtballs that form in the outer solar
: consist mostly of H and He system
: largest of the 3 types : the icy surface is embedded with dust, grit
▪ JUPITER and particles from space
▪ SATURN
o ICE GIANT
: next largest
: contain water, ammonia, and
methane ice
▪ URANUS
▪ NEPTUNE • ASTEROIDS
o TERRESTRIAL : rocky fragments left over from the
: smallest formation of the solar system about 4.6
: have metal cores covered by rocky billion years ago
mantles : most asteroids orbit the sun in a belt
▪ MERCURY between Mars and Jupiter (Asteroid Belt)
▪ VENUS • METEOROIDS
▪ EARTH : smaller sized rocky materials from
: largest inner planet asteroids
▪ MARS : few meters in size
• METEOR
: enters the atmosphere of Earth and burn
 : burning tail forms 4. GIANT-IMPACT HYPOTHESIS/THEIA
: usually completely burn IMPACT
• METEORITE : most accepted theory
: surface of the planet : Moon formed out of the debris left over
: some cases, some meteors survive the from a collision between Earth and an
burning process + impact astronomical body the size of Mars,
sometimes called Theia
: 4.5billion years ago (Hadean eon)
: 20 to 100 million years after the solar
system formed

VII. EARTH
• ACCRETION
: formed by the accretion of many materials
in the inner solar system
: composed of high temp, heavy materials
• DIFFERENTIATION OF THE EARTH
: when an asteroid or a protoplanet accretes

VI. ORIGIN OF THE EARTH’S MOON enough material, it will start to become

: moon = satellite roughly spherical

1. FISSION THEORY : the heaviest material sinks into the core,

: the Earth was spinning so fast that parts of and the body becomes split up into the core,

the Earth was thrown out, forming the moon mantle and crust

2. CAPTURE THEORY : also true for other planets (desnser

: already formed, but was captured by materials at the center, lighter on the

Earth’s gravity as it passed by surface)

3. CO-ACCRETION THEORY
: while Earth was forming, debris of materials
started to form the moon
 o THE IRON CATASTROPHE 3. TRANSFORMATION OF GRAVITATIONAL
: event TO HEAT
: differentiation - process : As asteroids impacted and heated the

▪ TWO POSITIVE FEEDBACKS growing Earth, iron and other metals near its

▪ As gravitational energy surface melted, grew into large drops that

migrated toward the planet’s center, forming
was converted to heat,
its core
it warmed and softened
IX. DYNAMICS OF THE EARTH’S INTERIOR
the materials
• LAYERS OF THE EARTH
surrounding the falling
: how do we know the earth is layered?
drop. This released
o SEISMIC WAVES
more heat.
o DENSITY OF THE EARTH
▪ Falling drops stirred the
: 5.517 cm^3
mantle, displaced light : densities of the crusts are lower
materials that rose to than the planet’s
surface, melted, to also : layers that are relativel denser in
make the core the interior of the earth to get the
▪ MIGRATION OF 5.517
▪ DENSE MATERIALS = o MAGNETIC FIELD
CENTER X. KIND OF SEISMIC WAVES

: e.g. Fe, Ni 1. BODY WAVES

▪ LIGHT MATERIALS = : emanate from the focus and emanate in all

directions through the Earth’s interior
SURFACE
o PRIMARY (P) WAVE
: e.g. Si, Al, Mg, Ca
: travel in the interior
: weakest, can only be detected by

VIII. HEAT SOURCES seismometer

1. IMPACT : fastest and arrives first

: extraterrestrial materials : travels through solids and liquids

: Each gram releasing 9,000 calories o SECONDARY (S) WAVE

: At first, too small to generate much heat : travel in the in interior

: Original core was cold, homogeneous : Stronger than P-waves

: As mass and gravity grew, impact energy : Slower than P-waves, will arrive

and heat increased next

2. RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL : Can only travel through solid

: Early earth had much radioactive material, 3. SURFACE WAVES

generating heat while decaying : travel along paths nearly parallel to the
Earth’s surface but not through the interior
 o RAYLEIGH WAVE
o LOVE WAVE
XI. SEISMIC WAVE REFRACTION
: the seismic wave velocity in the rock above an
interface is less than the seismic wave velocity
in the rock below the interface, the waves will be
refracted or bent upward relative to their original
path
: greater velocity = refract upwards
: lower velocity = refract downward
: proves the earth is not homogeneous
: if the earth were homogeneous (isotropic) it is
possible to predict when a seismic signal will
travel any given distance → waves will travel a
straight path

XII. ELEMENTAL ABUNDANCES

: composition of the earth
• WHOLE EARTH VS. METEORITES
o BIG SIMILARITY IN METEORITES
: believed to be remnants of
materials from which the solar
system was derived
• WHOLE EARTH VS. CONTINENTAL
CRUST
o DISTINCT DIFFERENCE
: distinct difference between the
composition of the Earth’s
continental crust and the Whole
Earth (average composition of the
Earth)
: differentiation process
: iron and nickel sink into the interior
of the earth during the iron
catastrophe
XIII. EARTH’S LAYERS / DYNAMICS OF THE
EARTH’S INTERIOR
• CHEMICAL COMPOSITION (BY MASS)
: compared to the whole Earth, the crust is
relatively enriched with the lighter elements
oxygen (O) and silicon (Si) and depleted of
the heavier elements iron (Fe) and
magnesium (Mg)
: lighter elements float
o IRON
: 34.6% • COMPOSITIONAL LAYERS OF THE
o OXYGEN EARTH
: 29.5% 1. CRUST
o SILICON : Low density mainly silicate minerals
: 15.2% : the outermost “skin” of Earth with
o MAGNESIUM variable thickness
: 12.7% - THICKEST = under mountain
• LAYERING BASED ON DIFFERENT ranges (70km – 40 miles)
CRITERIA - THINNEST = under mid-ocean
1. DENSITY ridges (3km – 2 miles)
: crust, mantle, core A. OCEANIC
2. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION : basaltic composition (Si-Mg)
: consistent with density : generally younger (usually <180M
3. MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF years)
MATERIALS : 3-15 km thick
: lithosphere, asthenosphere, mantle, : density – 3.0g/cm3
core B. CONTINENTAL
• TWO PERSPECTIVES ON THE LAYERS : granitic composition (Si-Al)
1. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION : generally older (up to 4.0 By)
2. PHYSICAL COMPOSITION : 20-70km thick
: properties such as density and state of : density – 2.7g/cm3
matter 2. MANTLE
: Hot solid rock layer between the crust
and the core
: under extreme confining pressures, is
able to flow
: extends to a depth of estimated2900
km; 84% of Earth’s volume
: Mainly Fe and Mg-rich silicate minerals
:Three subdivisions:
 o UPPER : ductile
o TRANSITIONAL : 15 to 100 or 200 km depth
o LOWER • ASTHENOSPHERE
4. CORE : Weak plastic layer of the Upper mantle
: iron-rich sphere with small amounts of : flows as a soft ductile solid
Ni and other trace elements : contains a small percentage of melt (<2%)
: radius of 3, 471km o LOW VELOCITY ZONE
: high density : interpreted to indicate the presence
• DISCONTINUITIES of a significant degree of partial
: signatures of changes in the behavior of melting (only 1% melt needed to
seismic waves as it enters different layers of produce this)
the planet : small kink in the asthenosphere
o MOHOROVICIC DISCONTINUITY that signifies melting
o GUTENBERG • MESOSPHERE
o LEHMANN : solid, rocky layer
o LOWER MANTLE
: from 660km depth to the core-
mantle boundary
• OUTER CORE
: liquid
: iron-nickel0sulfur
: radius -2270 km
: density – 10-12 g/cm3
o GEODYNAMO
: flow in the outer core
: generates the magnetic field

XIV. PHYSICAL LAYERS OF THE EARTH

o MAGNETIC FIELD
• LITHOSPHERE
: like a bar magnet, Earth’s magnetic
: [Tectonic Plates]
field is a dipole (has both a N and S
: behaves as a non-flowing, rigid solid
pole)
material
: magnetic field protects us from
o UPPER CRUST
solar winds
: brittle
▪ SOLAR WIND
: 4-15km depth
: contains electromagnetic
o LOWER CRUST / UPPERMOST
particles (i.e. protons and
MANTLE
electrons) that are deflected
by earth's field
 : these particles distort the XV. CONSEQUENCES OF SEGREGATION
shape of earth’s magnetic AND DIFFERENTIATION
field in space • LAYERED INTERNAL STRUCTURE
: non-deflected solar winds • DIPOLE MAGNETIC FIELD
come as aurora : deflects solar wind
• INNER CORE • ATMOSPHERE AND HYDROSPHERE
: solid sphere XVI. THE EARLY ATMOSPHERE
: iron-nikcle-alloy : current atmosphere is mostly nitrogen +
: radius – 1216 km oxygen, but early is hydrogen + helium
: density – 13 g/cm3 • HELIUM AND HYDROGEN WERE
BLOWN AWAY
: blown away by solar winds because of the
absence of magnetic field
• HOW WAS IT REPLENISHED?
o VOLCANIC OUTGASSING
: produced when the magnetic field
was created
▪ WATER
▪ CARBON DIOXIDE
▪ NITROGEN
▪ METHANE
▪ AMMONIA
o ICE WATER
: from meteorites
: thought to come from comets
initially

XVII. GENERATION OF OXYGEN IN THE

ATMOSPHERE
 1. PHOTOCHEMICAL DISSOCIATION OF
WATER
; Breakup of water molecules by
ultraviolet light
: at these levels, O3 (Ozone) can form to
shield Earth surface from UV
: important only during the early Earth
(before 3.8 Ga before present)
2. PHOTOSYNTHESIS
: 6CO2 + 12H2O + Light Energy →
C6H12O6 [Glucose] + 6CO2 + 12H2O
b. ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR
: produced by early bacteria, and
eventually higher plants SYSTEM AND THE EARTH
: supplied the rest of O2 to atmosphere → c. INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF
lead to plant population growth
: important after estimated 3.8 Ga before THE EARTH
present
XVIII. THE EVOLUTION OF THE ATMOSPHERE
AND HYDROSPHERE MODULE 3: Continental Drift,
- Volcanism and comets contribute to the
generation of “secondary” atmosphere Seafloor Spreading and Plate
initially dominated by H2O, CO2, and a
Tectonics
bit of nitrogen, etc.
- H2O condensed to form the oceans. CO2
A. GETTING TO KNOW THE
was removed from the atmosphere by
water and stored in the oceans EARTH
(carbonates make limestones, the
LECTURE 1 VIDEO: CONTINENTAL DIRFT
ground, shells). Nitrogen accumulated
THEORY
and became the most abundant gas
- Initially generated by photodissociation I. THE EVOLUTION OF THE ATMOSPHERE
of water, oxygen accumulated to AND HYDROSPHERE
become a major constituent through II. DFSDF
photosynthesis. III. SD
- Photosynthetic life forms (e.g. IV. F
cyanobacteria) “contaminated” the
atmosphere with oxygen!
 B. SEAFLOOR SPREADING
LECTURE 2 VIDEO: SEAFLOOR
SPREADING AND PALEOMAGNETISM
I. SEAFLOOR SPREADING
• IN 1960, HARRY HESS PROPOSED
SEAFLOOR SPREADING
: seafloor moves away from the mid-oceanic
ridge due to mantle convection
o CONVECTION
: is circulation driven by rising hot
material and/or sinking cooler
material, particularly in the mantle
• HOT MANTLE ROCK RISES UNDER MID-
OCEANIC RIDGE
: ridge elevation, high heat flow, and
abundant basaltic volcanism are evidence
of this
o MID-OCEANIC RIDGE
: underwater mountain ranges or
volcanoes where new materials are
formed at the center and push older
materials away
: the younger rocks at the center,
oldest rocks farther away from the
center
• SEAFLOOR SPREADING
: Seafloor rocks, and mantle rocks beneath
them, cool and become more dense with
distance from mis-oceanic ridge
: When sufficiently cool and dense, these
rocks may sink back into the mantle at
subduction zones
o SUBDUCTION ZONES
: downward plunge of cold rocks
gives rise to oceanic trenches
: Overall young age for sea floor rocks
(everywhere<200million years) is explained
by this model
II. EVIDENCE
• EXTENSIVE MAPPING OF OCEAN
FLOOR → YOUNG AGE OF OCEAN
FLOOR (13 m.y.)
: D/V Glomar Challenger (1969-1983)
: Supported also by current Deep Sea
Drilling Project (DSDP)
• OLDEST ROCKS FROM CONTINENTS →
BILLIONS OF YEARS OLD
• DSDP DRILLED MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
: and found that oldest sediments (atop
igneous crust) become older with distance
: thicker rock = older
III. PALEOMAGNETISM
: earth’s magnetic field
: provides direction in the form of compasses
: provides us a record of the direction and
distance to the magnetic poles at the time a rock
was magnetizes
• GEOGRAPHIC POLES
: where the earth rotates
: difference of 11.5 degrees for geographic
and magnetic north
o NORTH
 o SOUTH
• MAGNETIC POLES
o NORTH
o SOUTH
▪ MAGNETIC MINERALS IN
ROCKS
: align themselves in the
direction of the existing
magnetic field at the time
they were formed
• GEOMAGNETIC REVERSALS
: Earth periodically reverses polarity
: Last reversal – 780,000 years ago (Ave.
~300,000 years)
: At least 183x in the last 83 m.y.
• SEAFLOOR SPREADING AND
GEOMAGNETIC REVEERSALS
: supports seafloor spreading
: Once materials are ejected out of the mid-
oceanic ridges, they record the current day
magnetic orientation of the magnetic field
IV. RATE OF MOTION OF DIFFERENT
PLATES
: Seafloor age increases with distance from mid-
oceanic ridge
: rate of plate motion equals distance from ridge
divided by age of rocks
: symmetric age pattern reflects plate motion
away from ridge
V. SUMMARY
- Seafloor spreads away from an oceanic
ridge
- Magma rises, cools, fills the gap, forms
new ocean floor
- New materials which cooled record the
magnetic field (normal and reversed)
- As more materials rise, the cooled
material is pushed away f rom the ridge
C. PLATE TECTONICS
LECTURE 1 VIDEO: CONTINENTAL DIRFT
THEORY
I. CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY
: very recent data (1950-1960s)
: Alfred Wegener, “The Origins of Continents
and Oceans,” 1915
: continents are moving relative to each other
: “drifted” to their current positions and “broke
off” through oceanic crust
• PANTHALASSA
: single large ocean
• PANGAEA
: single large landmass
o GODWANALAND
o LAURASIA
• OTHER SUPERCONTINENTS
: formed prior to PANGAEA
 o RODINIA : mountain ranges in different places have
: 1130-750 Ma similar rock types
o PANNOTIA : e.g. both sides of Atlantic (Appalachian in
: 633-573 Ma North America = Caledonian in Europe +
II. EVIDENCE Mauritanian in Africa)
1. JIGSAW PUZZLE FIT 4. PALEOCLIMATE
• EDWARD BULLARD : Glacial deposits in the tropics and coals at
: fit continents at 137m water depth high latitude
: Filled the gaps in Wegener’s puzzle map
but still “qualitative”
2. FOSSILS SPREAD OVER CERTAIN
AREAS
: Mesosaurs were not strong swimmers and
were incapable of crossing an ocean
: Their fossil remains found in these areas
are an indication that the continents were, at
one time, together
• GLASSOPTERIS
: plant fossil
: a seed fern of the Permian Period
: immobile
: suggest the same climatic conditions in the
disparate areas where the plants were
found—including ones that today are far too
cold to support lush plant growth
• EXPLAINING SEPARATION OF SIMILAR
SPECIES
o RAFTING
o ISTHMIAN LINKS
o ISLAND STEPPING STONES
o CONTINENTAL DRIFT
3. SIMILAR LITHOLOGY AND
STRUCTURES
• LITHOLOGY III. REJECTED
: types of rocks : Continents couldn’t possibly move through the
• STRUCTURES rocks fo the sea floor (like an icebreaker)
: such as fault lines, joints, cracks in rocks : No great alternative theory
: Alfred’s degree was in astronomy and his
 interests were in meteorology. His theory of o VOLCANIC ARCS
continental movement was not seriously : chains of volcanoes
considered by ore leading geologists, who : creates volcanic arcs/belts
regarded him as a mere meteorologist and an e.g. Juan de Fuca plate → North
outsider meddling in their field American Plate
: Wegener dies on an expedition in Greenland in
1930 before being proved correct
IV. SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS
- Understanding the Earth’s deformable,
non-rigid mantle (seismographs)
- Distribution of Earthquakes
- Mapping of the Mid-Atlantic ridge
• OCEANIC→ OCEANIC
- Young (~4% of Earth’s age) oceanic
: marked by ocean trench, Benioff zone, and
crust, while continents crust ~4 Byo
volcanic island arc
: both crusts are dense
: older crust = more dense, subduct under a
LECTURE 3 VIDEO: PLATE BOUNDARIES younger crust
o ISLAND ARC
I. RECALL: CONTINENTAL AND OCEANIC
: produces volcanic arcs from the
CRUST IN PLATES
bottom of the sea
• CONTINENTAL
: underwater volcanoes
: Granitic/Felsic (rich in Al, K)
e.g. Philippine Sea Plate →
: Less dense (2.7 g/cm3)
Eurasian Plate (Philippine Mobile
: Older
Belt)
• OCEANIC
o ANGLE OF SUBDUCTION
: Basaltic/Mafic (rich in Mg and Fe)
: gentle or steep zones
: Denser (3.0 g/cm3)
: or unusual ones
: Younger
II. PLATE BOUNDARIES
1. CONVERGENT BOUNDARY
: places where plates crash into each other
and where deep earthquakes occur
• OCEANIC→ CONTINENTAL
: marked by ocean trench, Benioff zone,
volcanic arc, and mountain belt o WADATI-BENIOFF ZONE
o SUBDUCTION ZONES : planar zone of seismicity
: subducts because of density corresponding with the down-going
slab in a subduction zone
 : they find out the angle through data
from earthquakes

2. DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES
• CONTINENTAL→ CONTINENTAL : places where plates are being pulled away
: mountain belts and thrust faults from each other
o MOUNTIAN BELTS : aka constructive plate boundaries that
: convergence induces mountain constructs new crust at the center of the ridge
building : creates some seas and some oceans
e.g. Indian plate → Eurasian Plate through rifting and ridge processes
Formation of the Himalayas e.g. East African Rift, Mid-Atlantic Ridge
▪ CONTINENTAL COLLISION

• TYPES OF SPREADING CENTERS
o OCEANIC RISE
: fast spreading
: gentle slopes
e.g. East Pacific Rise, 16cm per
year
o OCEANIC RIDGE
: Slow spreading
: Steep slopes
e.g. Mid-Atlantic ridge, 2.5cm per
year
o ULTRA-SLOW
: Deep rift valley
: Widely scattered volcanoes
e.g. Southwest Indian and Arctic
oceans
3. TRANSFORM BOUNDARY
: places where plates slide past each other
: shallow but strong earthquakes
: aka conservative plate boundaries, does not
create nor destroy
e.g. San Andreas Fault
• TRANSFORM FAULTS MAY CONNECT
o TWO OFFSET SEGMENTS OF
MID-OCEANIC RIDGE
o A MID-OCEANIC RIDGE AND A
TRENCH
o TWO TRENCHES
III. PLATE BOUNDARIES AND VOLCANISM
• PACIFIC RING OF FIRE
: surrounded by subduction zones, oceanic
ridges and transform boundaries
: continuous melting of magma in
subduction zones
IV. PLATE BOUNDARIES AND EARTHQUAKES
: also around the Pacific Ring of Fire
: breaking (deformation) only occurs in narrow
zones
: mostly in oceans – wide zones around Pacific
trenches
: Narrow zones at mid-ocean ridges
: more deep and strong earthquakes in
subduction zones than divergent and transform
boundaries
V. SUMMARY
- 3 types of plate boundaries
- DIVERGENT
: materials are created at the center,
pushing away other materials
- CONVERGENT
: where one plate subducts underneath
- TRANSFORM
: plates slide past each other
LECTURE 4 VIDEO: EVIDENCE FOR PLATE
TECTONICS
I. PLATE TECTONICS
: unifying theory of geology
: all geological features and processes are related
: concepts were drawn together in 1968
: motion of earth’s lithosphere
: lithosphere is made up of moderately rigid plates
(may consist of oceanic or continental lithosphere)
: 7 major plates + several smaller plates
: divergent seafloor pushes continents further
away from each other
 II. EVIDENCE FOR PLATE TECTONICS
• OCEAN DRILLING
: some of the most convincing evidence has
come from drilling directly into ocean floor
sediment
: age of deepest sediments
: the thickness of ocean-floor sediments
verifies seafloor spreading
Yellow: 1-10 (tectonic plates) : thicker sediments = older in age
White (tectonic feature):
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10 (subduction zones/
trenches)
- 5, 8, 9*mid-atlantic ridge, (mid-oceanic
ridge)
• HOTSPOTS / MANTLE PLUMES
Red (landform):
: relatively small, long-lasting, and
- 1 (hotspot) exceptionally hot regions which exist below
- 2 (volcanic / mountain ranges) the plates
- 3 (volcanic range/arc) : thermal plumes sustain volcanism
- 4 (rift valley) : traces the direction of plate motion
: produced when continents open up to : slow moving, almost stationary
form oceans and seas : mantle plumes may form “hotspots” of
- 5 (mountain ranges) active volcanism at Earth’s surface
: approx. 45 known hotspots
 : plates can rotate :0, thus the changing
direction of arrows

: orientation o f the volcanic chain shows

direction of plate motion over time
: age of volcanic rocks can be used to
determine rate of plate movement

LECTURE 5 VIDEO: PHILIPPINE SETTING

: The Philippine Mobile Belt and Palawan

Microcontinental Block

I. TWO MAJOR PLATE TECTONIC TRAITS

o COSGROVE HOTSPOT
: longest volcanic chain in Australia
• GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM
: allows us to monitor plate movement
: plate motion can be measured using
satellites, radar, lasers and global
positioning systems
: measurements accurate to within 1cm
: motion rates closely match those predicted
using seafloor magnetic anomalies
: longer arrows, faster movement of plate
• PHILIPPINE MOBILE BELT (PMB)
: PMB was formed due to the collision of
three plates:
o EURASIAN PLATE
o PHILIPIPNE SEA PLATE
o INDO-AUSTRALIAN PLATE
• PALAWAN CONTINENTAL BLOCK (PCB)
: PCB rifted away from mainland Asia
 : Related to Bicol-Leyte volcanic arc
: hosts Mayon volcano and the Philippine
Deep (deepest area)
• WEST
o MANILA TRENCH
: subduction of oceanic crust of
South China Sea under the Luzon
arc; Benioff Zone is steep to the
south, flattens to the north
II. PHILIPPINE ISLAND ARC SYSTEM e.g. Bataan volcanic arc
o NEGROS TRENCH
: oceanic crust of Sulu Basin is
consumed here
: volcanic arc
o SULU TRENCH
o COTABATO TRENCH
: young
: poorly developed Benioff Zone
: volcanic arc
III. SUBDUCTION ZONES
: seems to link the Trench to Negros
: PMB is surrounded by subduction zones with
Trench
opposing polarities
• EAST
o EAST LUZON TROUGH
: ancient subduction zone
: no associated volcanic arc
: usually, trench = subduction =
create magma = volcanic arcs
▪ TROUGH IV. PHILIPPINE FAULT
: similar to a trench, but a • AGE
more shallow depression : not more than 5 Ma
normally associated to • SLIP RATE
inactive subduction zone : 2-3 cm/yr
o PHILIPPINE TRENCH • MECHANISM
: shallow Benioff zone : PF functions in a shear partitioning
: 250km long and propagates to the environment whereby it accommodates a
south component of the oblique convergence
: young (5 Ma) between the PSP (Phil Sea Plate) and
 Philippine archipelago
: in some cases, if a subduction zone
cannot accommodate all of the stress in the
collision, a fault may be created to deal with
the stress
o OBLIQUE CONVERGENCE
: slanting manner of collision

VI. SEISMICITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

: Plot of seismicity in the Philippines from 1979-
2006
: Size of circle scaled to magnitude while the
scale bar represents depth
: Data from USGS dvanced National Seismic
Systen (ANSS) and plotted using Generic
Mapping Tools (GMT)
: moth earthquakes are generated in trenches or
major fault lines
VII. PHILIPPINE VOLCANOES
: volcanic arcs associated with active subduction
zones
: plate boundaries play an important role in
V. PHILIPPINE FAULT SEGMENTS earthquakes and formation of volcanoes
• NORTHERN SEGMENT • WEST LUZON VOLCANIC ARC
: transpressional regime where movement is : Manila Trench
both strike-slip & thrust faulting • EAST PHIL ARC (BICOL-LEYTE)
: North of Dingalan, it branches into several : Philippine Trench
N-S strike-slip faults • NEGROS-PANAY ARC
• CENTRAL SEGMENT : Negros Trench
: Bondoc Peninsula to Leyte, left-lateral • SULU-ZAMBOANGA ARC
: simple structure : Sulu Trench
• SOUTHERN SEGMENT • COTABATO ARC
: probably reactivated old normal faults : Cotabato Trench
related to formation of Agusan-Davao Basin
 GAIA HYPOTHESIS II. REGULATION OF THE SALINITY IN THE
OCEANS
I. GAIA HYPOTHESIS
: Ocean salinity has been constant at about
• GAIA THEORY/PRINCIPLE
3.4% for a very long time.
: proposes that all organisms and their
: important as most cells require a rather
inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely
constant salinity and do not generally tolerate
integrated to form a single and self-regulating
values above 5%
complex system, maintaining the conditions for
: salinity may also be strongly influenced by
life on the planet.
seawater circulation through hot basaltic rocks, and
: focuses on observing how the biosphere and
emerging as hot water vents on mid-ocean ridges
the evolution of life forms contribute to the
: It is hypothesised that these are created by
stability of
bacteria colonies that fix ions and heavy metals
- global temperature
during life processes
- ocean salinity
III. REGULATION OF OXYGEN IN THE
- oxygen in the atmosphere ATMOSPHERE
- and other factors of habitability in a : All the atmospheric gases other than noble gases
preferred homeostasis. present in the atmosphere are either made by

: formulated by the chemist James Lovelock and organisms or processed by them.

co-developed by the microbiologist Lynn : The Gaia theory states that the Earth's atmospheric

Margulis in the 1970s. composition is kept at a dynamically steady state by

the presence of life
I. OVERVIEW
: While air content and atmospheric pressure varies
: posits that the Earth is a self-regulating
at different layers, air suitable for the survival of
complex system involving the biosphere, the
terrestrial plants and terrestrial animals is currently
atmosphere, the hydrospheres and the
known only to be found in Earth's troposphere and
pedosphere, tightly coupled as an evolving
artificial atmospheres.
system
• NITROGEN
: evolves through a cybernetic feedback system
: 78.09%
operated unconsciously by the biota, leading to
• OXYGEN
broad stabilization of the conditions of habitability in
: 20.95%
a full homeostasis
: a crucial element for the life of organisms,
: These processes establish a global control system
who require it at stable concentrations.
that regulates Earth's surface temperature,
• ARGON
atmosphere composition and ocean salinity,
: 0.93%
powered by the global thermodynamic
• CARBON DIOXIDE
desequilibrium state of the Earth system.[
: 0.039%

IV. REGULATION OF THE GLOBAL
SURFACE TEMPERATURE
: Since life started on Earth, the energy provided by
the Sun has increased by 25% to 30%
• METHANOGENS
: methanogens produced elevated levels of
methane in the early atmosphere, giving a view
similar to that found in petrochemical smog,
similar in some respects to the atmosphere on
Titan.
: tended to screen out ultraviolet until the
formation of the ozone screen, maintaining a
degree of homeostasis.
• THE SNOWBALL EARTH
: contradicts the gaia hypothesis
: "oxygen shocks" and reduced methane levels,
that led during the Huronian, Sturtian and
Marinoan/Varanger Ice Ages the world to very
nearly become a solid "snowball" contradicts
the Gaia hypothesis somewhat, although the
ending of these Cryogenian periods through
bio-geophysiological processes accords well
with Lovelock's theory
• THE CLAW HYPOTHESIS
: inspired by the Gaia theory, proposes a
feedback loop that operates between ocean
ecosystems and the Earth's climate.
: specifically proposes that particular
phytoplankton that produce dimethyl sulfide
are responsive to variations in climate forcing,
and that these responses lead to a negative
feedback loop that acts to stabilise the
temperature of the Earth's atmosphere
: Processing of the greenhouse gas CO2 ,
explained below, plays a critical role in the
maintenance of the Earth temperature within
the limits of habitability.
: Currently this Gaian homeostatic balance is
being pushed by the increase of human
population and the impact of their activities to
the environment.
: The multiplication of greenhouse gases may
cause a turn of Gaia's negative feedbacks into
homeostatic positive feedback.
: According to Lovelock, this could bring an
accelerated global warming and mass human
mortality
V. DAISYWORLD SIMULATIONS
: shows how temperature regulation can arise from
organisms interacting with their environment.
: The purpose of the model is to demonstrate that
feedback mechanisms can evolve from the actions or
activities of self-interested organisms, rather than
through classic group selection mechanisms.
: examines the energy budget of a planet populated by
two different types of plants, black daisies and white
daisies.
: The colour of the daisies influences the albedo of the
planet such that black daisies absorb light and warm
the planet, while white daisies reflect light and cool
the planet.
: Competition between the daisies (based on
temperature-effects on growth rates) leads to a
balance of populations that tends to favour a
planetary temperature close to the optimum for daisy
growth.
VI. BIODIVERSITY AND STABILITY OF
ECOSYSTEMS
• SPECIES REDUNDANCY HYPOTHESIS
: proposed by Australian ecologist Brian Walker,
: most species are seen as having little
 contribution overall in the stability, comparable
to the passengers in an aeroplane who play
little role in its successful flight
: only a few key species are necessary for a
healthy ecosystem
• RIVET-POPPER HYPOTHESIS
: put forth by Paul R. Ehrlich and his wife Anne
H. Ehrlich
: compares each species forming part of an
ecosystem as a rivet on the aeroplane
(represented by the ecosystem)
: progressive loss of species mirrors the
progressive loss of rivets from the plane,
weakening it till it is no longer sustainable and
crashes.
o LATER EXTENSIONS OF THE
DAISYWORLD SIMULATION
: the larger the number of species, the
greater the improving effects on the
entire planet (i.e., the temperature
regulation was improved).
: It also showed that the system was
robust and stable even when
perturbed.
: Daisyworld simulations where
environmental changes were stable
gradually became less diverse over
time;
: in contrast gentle perturbations led to
bursts of species richness. These
findings lent support to the idea that
biodiversity is valuable
: ↑environmental changes = ↑species
richness
o DIVERSITY STABILITY
HYPOTHESIS
: "primary productivity in more diverse
plant communities is more resistant to,
and recovers more fully from, a major
drought."
: They go on to add "Our results support
the diversity stability hypothesis but not
the alternative hypothesis that most
species are functionally redundant.
VII. PROCESSING OF CO2
• VOLCANIC ACITIVTY
: only significant natural source of atmospheric
carbon dioxide
• PRECIPITATION OF CARBONATE
ROCKS
: only significant removal
: Carbon precipitation, solution and fixation are
influenced by the bacteria and plant roots in
soils, where they improve gaseous circulation,
or in coral reefs, where calcium carbonate is
deposited as a solid on the sea floor.
o CALCIUM CARBONATE
: used by living organisms to
manufacture carbonaceous tests and
shells.
: Once dead, the living organisms' shells
fall to the bottom of the oceans where
they generate deposits of chalk and
limestone.
▪ EMILIANIA HUXLEYI
: one of the organisms
: an abundant coccolithophore
algae which also has a role in
the formation of clouds
 ▪ COCOLITHOPHORIDE
: CO2 excess is compensated by
an increase of
coccolithophoride life,
increasing the amount of CO2
locked in the ocean floor.
: Coccolithophorides increase
the cloud cover → control the
surface temperature →help
IX. CRITICISM
cool the whole planet → favor
: by naming his theory after a Greek goddess,
precipitations necessary for
championed by many non scientists,[28] the Gaia
terrestrial plants.
hypothesis was derided as some kind of neo-Pagan
: Lately the atmospheric CO2
New Age religion.
concentration has increased
: criticised the approach taken in his popular book
and there is some evidence that
"Gaia, a New look at Life on Earth" for being
concentrations of ocean algal
teleological; a belief that all things have a
blooms are also increasing
predetermined purpose.
VIII. FROM HYPOTHESIS TO THEORY
- "Nowhere in our writings do we express the
• GAIA THEORY
idea that planetary self-regulation is
: it is not life alone but the whole Earth system
purposeful, or involves foresight or planning
that does the regulating.
by the biota." – Lovelock
• DECLARATION OF AMSTERDAM
: a thousand scientists at the European : criticised Gaia as merely a metaphorical description of
Geophysical Union meeting signed the Earth processes.[29] He wanted to know the actual
Declaration of Amsterdam, starting with the mechanisms by which self-regulating homeostasis was
statement "The Earth System behaves as a regulated.
single, self-regulating system with physical,
- Lovelock argues that no one mechanism is
chemical, biological, and human components."
responsible, that the connections between
the various known mechanisms may never
be known, that this is accepted in other
fields of biology and ecology as a matter of
course, and that specific hostility is reserved
for his own theory for other reasons
- , Lovelock himself ascribes most of the
criticism to a lack of understanding of non-
 linear mathematics by his critics, and a
linearizing form of greedy reductionism in
which all events have to be immediately
ascribed to specific causes before the fact
- believed that some self-regulating
phenomena may not be explainable at all
mathematically
X. THE EARTH ALIVE
: "the quest for Gaia is an attempt to find the largest
living creature on Earth."
- James Lovelock sustains that agreeing on a
rational answer is not possible because
science has not yet formulated a full
definition of life.
: Dawkins stressed that, consequently, an argument
against the idea that Gaia as a living organism is the fact
that the planet is not the offspring of any parents and is
unable to reproduce.
- Lovelock, however, defines life as a self-
preserving, self-similar system of feedback
loops like Humberto Maturana's
autopoiesis; as a self-similar system, life
could be a cell as well as an organ
embedded into a larger organism as well as
an individual in a larger inter-dependent
social context. The biggest context of
interacting inter-dependent living entities is
the Earth
• DEFINITION OF A LIFE-FORM
o BIRTH OUT OF NATURAL
SELECTION
o ABILITY TO REPLICATE & PASS
ON GENETIC INFORMATION TO
SUCCEEDING GENERATION
XI. NATURAL SELECTION AND EVOLUTION
• DARWINIAN EVOLUTION
: Darwinian evolution for such biological
feedback mechanisms: creatures that improve
their environment for their survival do better
than those that damage their environment.
XII. RANGE OF VIEWS
• WEAK VIEWS
: suggest that Gaia is co-evolutive
: more acceptable from an orthodox science
perspective, as they assume non-homeostasis
: They state the evolution of life and its
environment may affect each other.
o CO-EVOLUTION
: Biota influence their abiotic
environment, and that environment in
turn influences the biota by Darwinian
process
: showing the evolution from the world
of the early thermo-acido-philic and
methanogenic bacteria towards the
oxygen enriched atmosphere today that
supports more complex life.
o INFLUENTIAL GAIA
: states that biota minimally influence
certain aspects of the abiotic world, e.g.
temperature and atmosphere.
• STRONG GAIA
o OPTIMIZING GAIA
: asserts that biota manipulate their
physical environment for the
purpose of creating biologically
favorable, or even optimal,
conditions for themselves.
 o OMEGA GAIA
: the Earth is evolving through
stages of cosmogenesis, affecting
the geosphere, biogenesis of the
biosphere, and noogenesis of the
noosphere, culminating in the
Omega Point.
o MURCHIE
: Another form of the strong Gaia
hypothesis is proposed by Guy
Murchie who extends the quality of a
holistic lifeform to galaxies.
• Geophysical Gaia
: that the Gaia theory generated interest in
geophysical cycles and therefore led to
interesting new research in terrestrial
geophysical dynamics.
• Optimising Gaia
: that Gaia shaped the planet in a way that
made it an optimal environment for life as a
whole. Kirchner claimed that this was not
testable and therefore was not scientific.
XIV. WQDWQ

: Murchie describes geologic

XV.
phenomena such as sand dunes,
glaciers, fires, etc. as living
organisms, as well as the life of
metals and crystals.
: "The question is not whether there
is life outside our planet, but whether
it is possible to have "nonlife".
o SELFISH BIOCOSM HYPOTHESIS
: the Earth is conscious or part of
some universe-wide evolution such
as expressed in the Selfish Biocosm
hypothesis strain of a larger
speculative Gaia philosophy

XIII. SECOND GAIA CONFERENCE

• CoEvolutionary Gaia
: that life and the environment had evolved
in a coupled way. Kirchner claimed that this
was already accepted scientifically and was
not new.
• Homeostatic Gaia
: that life maintained the stability of the
natural environment, and that this stability
enabled life to continue to exist.