Download Earth Science Outline What is Earth Science? Branches Geology

Earth Science Outline
I. What is Earth Science?
a. Branches
i. Geology
ii. Meteorology
iii. Astronomy
iv. Oceanography
b. Spheres of Earth
i. Biosphere
ii. Lithosphere
iii. Atmosphere
iv. Hydrosphere
II. Maps
a. Basics
i. Symbols
ii. Scale
iii. Compass
iv. Hemispheres
v. Latitude (parallels) and Longitude (meridians)
1. Prime Meridian, International Date line
b. Topographic maps
i. Contour lines
ii. Contour interval
iii. Depression contours
III. Plate tectonics
a. Continental Drift
i. Alfred Wegener
1. Pangea
2. Evidence
a. Similar coastlines
b. Identical rocks
c. Identical fossils
d. Similar mountain ranges
e. Ancient climates
b. Final support
i. Paleomagnetism along mid-ocean ridges
ii. Seafloor spreading
c. The theory
i. Lithosphere is made of plates
ii. Plates move due to convection currents in mantle
iii. Plate boundaries
1. Convergent boundaries (push together)
a. Continental-Continental
b. Continental-Oceanic
c. Oceanic-Oceanic
2. Divergent boundary (pull apart)
a. Mid-ocean ridge
b. Rift valley
3. Transform boundary (slide past one another)
IV. Volcanoes
a. Types
i. Shield
ii. Composite
iii. Cinder cone
iv. Caldera
b. Magma vs. lava
c. Tephra – material ejected from a volcano
V. Earthquakes
a. Focus – where earthquake actually occurs along a fault boundary,
often below the surface
b. Epicenter – area on the surface directly above the focus
VI. Beaches and Barriers
a. Classifying coasts
i. Tectonic setting
1. Collision plate margin coast
2. Trailing margin coast
ii. Beach
1. Dynamic beach – A beach is a ever-changing landform
altered by wind, currents, sea level, deposition and
erosion (Figure 2)
a. Sediment supply
b. Waves and currents
c. Sea level
iii. Composing material – resistant minerals remaining after
erosion
1. Rocks and pebbles
2. Sand
b. Processes affecting beaches
i. Waves
ii. Currents
1. Longshore drift (Figure 4)
2. Gravity currents (Figure 5)
3. Rip currents (Figure 6)
iii. Tides (Figure 8)
1. Predictable rise and fall of sea level due to gravitational
forces between the earth, sun and moon
2. 3 tidal patterns
a. Semidiurnal – 2 equal high tides and 2 equal low
tides /day
b. Mixed – 2 unequal high tides and 2 unequal low
tides /day
c. Diurnal – One high tide and one low tide / day
3. Spring Tide
a. High tides are higher than normal and low tides
are lower than normal, occurs twice a month
4. Neap Tide
a. High tides are lower than normal and low tides
are higher than normal, occurs twice a month
c. Barrier Islands
i. Barrier island evolution
1. Sand spit theory
2. Drowned beach ridge theory
ii. Barrier island profile
1. Beach -> Dunes -> Salt marsh -> Lagoon
iii. Beach Profile (Figure 1)
iv. Summer and winter profiles (Figure 7)
1. Summer Profile
a. Wide dry beach with high berm
b. Steep sloping offshore
c. Also called reflective beach
2. Winter Profile
a. Narrow dry beach
b. Gentle sloping offshore
v. Barrier island processes
1. Over wash
2. Inlet functions
vi. Dunes, slacks and maritime forest
vii. Salt marsh and sound
viii. Human impacts on barriers
VII. Weather and Climate
a. Cloud types
i. Cirrus
ii. Cumulus
iii. Cumulonimbus
iv. Stratus
b. Precipitation
i. Rain, hail, sleet, snow
c. Storms
i. Thunderstorms
1. Lightning
ii. Tornadoes
iii. Hurricanes
d. Monsoon
e. El nino
f. Climate
i. Continental
ii. Maritime
VIII.
iii. Tropical
iv. Arctic
Rocks
a. Rock cycle
i. Parts
1. Magma, igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, sediment
ii. Processes
1. Cooling, weathering and erosion, heat and pressure,
cementation and compaction, melting
b. Rock types
i. Igneous
1. From magma
2. Resistant to weathering
3. Interlocking grains
4. Grain size
ii. Sedimentary
1. Made of sediments (small pieces)
2. Cemented or compacted together
3. Vulnerable to weathering
4. Texture
iii. Metamorphic
1. Rock that has undergone extreme heat and pressure
causing metamorphosis
2. Foliated or nonfoliated
IX. Astronomy
a. Earth and Moon
i. Solar and lunar eclipse
b. Planets
i. Terrestrial vs. nonterrestrial
c. Sun
i. Makeup
ii. Reaction
iii. Radiation and ejections