LSGI1D03

Living on a
Dynamic Earth
Class 1
Introduction

Class 1 Introduction 1
 Class 1 Introduction

•Dr.-Ing. Wei Yao

•(Class 1- 9)
Your •Ms Serein Han (Tutor)
teachers •Class (1-9)

2
 Contact Information

• Dr.-Ing. Wei Yao

 Room: ZS636
 E-mail: wei.hn.yao@polyu.edu.hk
• Ms Serein Han
 Room: ZS606
 E-mail: serein.han@polyu.edu.hk
If you write an e-mail make
sure you include your real
name and Student ID and
put LSGI1D03 at the start of
the Subject line.

Class 1 Introduction 3
 Geography
Geology
Geophysics
Geochemistry
Space Science
Earth Seismology
Sciences Hydrology
Oceanology
Meteorology
Climatology
…………

Class 1 Introduction 4
 Earth Sciences
• Geology is concerned  with the solid
Earth, the rocks of which it is
composed. describes the structure of
the Earth beneath its surface, and the
processes that have shaped that
structure.
• Geophysics is a subject of natural
science concerned with the physical
processes and physical properties of
the Earth and its surrounding space
environment, and the use of
quantitative methods for their analysis
• The term geophysics sometimes refers
only to the geological applications:
Earth's shape; its gravitational and
magnetic fields; its internal structure
and composition; its dynamics and
their surface expression
• Geochemistry it uses the tools and
principles of chemistry to explain the
mechanisms behind major geological
systems such as the Earth's crust and
its oceans.
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 Earth Sciences
• Space Science
• encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that involve 
space exploration and study natural phenomena and 
physical bodies occurring in outer space
• Hydrology
• Oceanology
• the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and
quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the
water cycle, water resources and environmental
watershed sustainability
• Meteorology
• Climatology
• branch of the atmospheric sciences which includes 
atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics, with a
major focus on weather forecasting
• is the scientific study of climate, scientifically defined as
weather conditions averaged over a period of time. This
modern field of study is regarded as a subfield of 
physical geography,

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 My Research Area

• Geodesy
 To study the geometric and
physical shapes of the earth
and their variations with time

 To define and maintain the

reference frame of the earth

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 Geodesy

• Gravity Changes
 Over land
 Over Ocean
• Earth Reference
Frame

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Photogrammetry

• 3D reconstruction of earth
surface
 over land
 over ocean
• DTM & DSM

Class 1 Introduction 9
 • Earth surface changes
 over land
Remote sensing  over ocean
• Radiometric images of object
reflectivity
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 Dynamic Earth

The subject

Contents
Assessment

Extra information

Class 1 Introduction 11
 Dynamic Earth

Class 1 Introduction 12
 Class 1 Introduction

• Change over time

 From Birth (4.6 billion years
ago)
• Solar winds and Jupiter's
gravitational pull combined debris
together into planets, researchers
find

Dynamic • Jupiter's huge gravity and the

solar wind acted as a 'one-two
punch'
Earth • The forced debris close to the sun
towards the developing planets
• This added mass to Mercury,
Venus and Earth and cleared
away the space debris
 To Death (The Sun => Red
Giant, 7 billion years later)
 The Earth burned
13
 © By Wikiscient
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=8595947

Why there
is Earth's
rotation?

Origin

Class 1 Introduction

14
Class 1 Introduction 15
 Global shallow earthquake.
1975-2005

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 Global active volcanos

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 • Affected by the Sun, the Moon, and
other planets
• Four major spheres
The Earth:
 Atmosphere
very  Hydrosphere
complicated  Biosphere

system  Geosphere
• Flow of material and energy among
them

Class 1 Introduction 18
The Cycles of the Earth System

• Energy Cycle
• Hydrologic Cycle
• Nitrogen Cycle
• Rock Cycle
• Carbon Cycle
• ……………….

Class 1 Introduction 19
 Class 1 Introduction

• Energy Input (174000x1012

watts)
 Solar radiation

Energy  Geothermal Energy

 Tidal Energy

Cycle • Energy Loss

 Reflection (40%)
 Degradation and Re-
radiation

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 Hydrologic cycle
http://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/oceanography/ocean-earth-system/ocean-water-cycle/

Class 1 Introduction 21
 Nitrogen Cycle –
A Biogeochemical cycle

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/9s.html
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 Carbon Cycle
http://cahsbiology.weebly.com/the-carbon-cycle.html
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 Rock cycle

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 Class 1 Introduction

• Observing the universe

• Look the history
 Isotopes
 Paleomagnetism
 Fossils

How to
 Trees
 Ice

study the  Sediment

• Observing on the surface
Earth?  Gravity, magnetic field,
movement, materials,
• Observing the inside
 Drills
 seismology

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 The subject

and Outline

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 • To enable students to
understand the dynamics
Objectives of their home planet and
its role in their daily lives

Class 1 Introduction 27
 • To contribute to the expansion of
students' intellectual capacity
and interdisciplinary learning
Objectives encompassing, astronomy,
geology, geophysics, geodesy,
geography, geomorphology, and
ocean and atmospheric sciences

Class 1 Introduction 28
 • To provide an opportunity to
develop an interest in scientific
Objectives reading and demonstrate
abilities in scientific writing

Class 1 Introduction 29
 Class 1 Introduction

• Upon completion of the subject,

students will be able to:
 Understand the dynamics of

Intended the Earth at the global scale

 Establish the scientific

Learning fundaments to realize the

impact of human activities on
Outcomes the environment for social
responsibility
 Appreciate the role and the
complexity of modern
science

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 Intended Learning Outcomes

• The subject content exposes students to a wide

variety of scientific problems, which took centuries
for the best scientific minds to discover, observe,
formulate, and solve

• Students’ exposure to a number of changes on a

dynamic earth empowers them to understand a
broad range of scales under which the nature
operates
Class 1 Introduction 31
 Topics
• Earth and Space
 Earth’s orbit, Earth’s shape and size, day and night
time zones, the seasons, latitude and longitude, the
solar system, structure of the Sun, the Sun’s energy,
the Moon, solar and lunar eclipses, structure of Earth,
Earth’s magnetic field, Earth’s magnetosphere,
meteors.

Class 1 Introduction 32
 Topics
• Earth's history
 Superposition, unconformities, complex rock
sequences, paleomagnetic dating, how fossils
form, fossil use in rock correlation, correlating
rocks, tree of life, evolutionary clocks, mass
extinctions, geologic times.

Class 1 Introduction 33
 Topics
• Earth's rocks
 Origins, elements, internal heat, periodic table, atoms,
compounds, isotopes and ions, crystals and minerals,
crystal systems, rock forming minerals, hardness,
igneous rocks, intrusive igneous rocks, magma
production, volcanoes, geysers and hot springs,
sedimentary rocks, metamorphism, continental drift
and plate tectonics, isostasy, ore, coal, oil, and gas.

Class 1 Introduction 34
 Topics
• Air and Oceans
 Atmosphere, radio waves, the nitrogen cycle, the
carbon and oxygen cycles, heat transfer processes,
sunshine, temperature belts, pressure belts, the
Coriolis effect, wind circulation, humidity, fog cloud
types rain, snow, and sleet rain types, thunderstorm,
cyclones, hurricanes, tornadoes, pressure systems air
masses, water oceans, ocean temperatures, the
ocean floor, seafloor profiling, tides ocean currents,
waves and beaches, coastlines, coral reefs, atolls and
guyots.

Class 1 Introduction 35
 Topics

• Shaping the surface

 Continents, lakes, islands, mountains.
 Glaciers
 Periglacial landscapes and permafrost
 Deserts
 Different Desert Landforms

Class 1 Introduction 36
 Class 1 Introduction 37

Textbook:

EARTH SCIENCE
An Illustrated Guide to
Science

By Simon Adams,
David Lambert
Contents of both relevant
chapters in the book and ppt
scripts will be tested in Multiple
Choice Question (MCQ) quizzes
 Reference book
Earth Science,
15th Edition
By Edward J. Tarbuck,
(Emeritus) Illinois Central
College
Frederick K. Lutgens,
(Emeritus) Illinois Central
College
Dennis G. Tasa, Illustrator
©2018 |Pearson
Class 1 Introduction

38
Assignment
Read a book

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 Assessment
• Assignment
 Content (LSGI) 40%
 Writing (ELC) 10%
• MCQ quizzes
 2 @ 25% 50%

• Must pass (D grade) each component

Class 1 Introduction 40
 Assignment
• Instructions
 Declaration
• The text
 START READING!
• ELC introduction on 14. Sep

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 Food for thought
• TED Ed (www)
 Questions no one knows the answers to
(YouTube)
• Carl Sagan (www)
 Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Arthur C. Clark
(YouTube)
 A way of thinking (YouTube)

Class 1 Introduction 42
 Food for thought
• A cartoon guide to effective studying
(www)
• Effective thinking (YouTube)
 Understand deeply
 Make mistakes
 Raise questions
 Follow the flow of ideas
 Change

Class 1 Introduction 43
 In the news
• LHC & the Bing Bang
• Australian asteroid site
• Why the earth has a magnetic field
 The Nature article
 Commentary on the Nature article
• 4.4 billion year old rocks
• Earthquake lights
• Kepler-452b: space.com, NASA, Gizmodo
• 51 Eridani b: space.com, SA
• SETI gets new funding
• GPlates
 Global seabed sediment map
Class 1 Introduction 44