Geology 11
Lecture 1: Introduction
Geology - the study of the Earth, the processes that shape it, and the resources that could be obtained from it. Main branches
Physical Geology - deals with the materials that comprise the Earth and the processes that affect it (e.g.,
Volcanology, Seismology, Environmental Geology, Engineering Geology, Mining Geology, Petroleum Geology,
Mineralogy, Petrology, Geomorphology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Planetary Geology)
Historical Geology - the study of the origin and evolution of the Earth through time (e.g., Paleontology,
Stratigraphy, Geochronology)
Basic Concepts
Catastrophism – proposed by Georges Cuvier; advocates the idea that sudden, worldwide catastrophes are the agents of change that alter the physical features of the Earth over time and that the latter remains unchanged in between these periods of upheavals; widely accepted by theologians in the early 1800s due to similarity with Biblical events such as Noah’s Flood (James Ussher, mid-1600s)
Uniformitarianism - proposed by James Hutton (late 1700s, “The Father of Modern Geology”), modernized by Charles Lyell (mid1800s); “The present is the key to the past”; advocates the idea that the Earth is continuously modified by geologic processes that have always operated throughout time (at different rates), and that by studying them we can understand how the Earth has evolved through time
Relevance to daily life
Everything we use comes from the Earth
Particularly in the form of natural resources provided through application of geologic knowledge.
Construction - cement, concrete and asphalt
Fuel, light and heat - oil, gas and coal
Water
Prediction and avoidance of hazards, earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, landslides, erosion.
Lecture 2: The Planet Earth
Cosmology: study of the universe and its origins and processes
Formation of the Universe: Big Bang Theory
Formation of the Solar System: Nebular Hypothesis
The Big Bang Theory: proposed by the Belgian priest
Geology - the study of the Earth, the processes that shape it, and the resources that could be obtained from it. Main branches
Physical Geology - deals with the materials that comprise the Earth and the processes that affect it (e.g.,
Volcanology, Seismology, Environmental Geology, Engineering Geology, Mining Geology, Petroleum Geology,
Mineralogy, Petrology, Geomorphology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Planetary Geology)
Historical Geology - the study of the origin and evolution of the Earth through time (e.g., Paleontology,
Stratigraphy, Geochronology)
Basic Concepts
Catastrophism – proposed by Georges Cuvier; advocates the idea that sudden, worldwide catastrophes are the agents of change that alter the physical features of the Earth over time and that the latter remains unchanged in between these periods of upheavals; widely accepted by theologians in the early 1800s due to similarity with Biblical events such as Noah’s Flood (James Ussher, mid-1600s)
Uniformitarianism - proposed by James Hutton (late 1700s, “The Father of Modern Geology”), modernized by Charles Lyell (mid1800s); “The present is the key to the past”; advocates the idea that the Earth is continuously modified by geologic processes that have always operated throughout time (at different rates), and that by studying them we can understand how the Earth has evolved through time
Relevance to daily life
Everything we use comes from the Earth
Particularly in the form of natural resources provided through application of geologic knowledge.
Construction - cement, concrete and asphalt
Fuel, light and heat - oil, gas and coal
Water
Prediction and avoidance of hazards, earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, landslides, erosion.
Lecture 2: The Planet Earth
Cosmology: study of the universe and its origins and processes
Formation of the Universe: Big Bang Theory
Formation of the Solar System: Nebular Hypothesis
The Big Bang Theory: proposed by the Belgian priest