296-202 Physical Geology

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296-202 Physical Geology
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Instructor

• Prof. Steven Dutch
• Office LS 116
• Phone [phone]
• Email dutchs_at_uwgb.edu
• Home Page www.uwgb.edu/dutchs

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What is Physical Geology?
Erosion
Wind
Soils
Oceans
Glaciers
Water
Weathering
Surface
Underground
Sedimentary
Fossils
Earth History
Rocks
Volcanoes
Igneous
Metamorphic
Earths Interior
Intrusions
Plate Tectonics
Earthquakes
Mineral Resources
Mountains
Other Planets
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Syllabus

• Introduction to the course
• Minerals
• Igneous Rocks and Volcanoes
• Weathering and Erosion
• Evolution of Landscapes
• Sedimentary Rocks
• Evolution, Fossils, Geologic Time
• Glaciers
• Wind and Wave Erosion

• Metamorphism and Deformation
• Earthquakes and Earth's Interior
• Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
• Resources from the Earth
• Geology of other Worlds

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Exams and Grading

• Midterm I 50 points
• Midterm II 50 points
• Lab 100 points
• Final 80 points
• Field Trip 20 points
• Total 300 points

• A 270
• AB 255-269
• B 240-254
• BC 225-239
• C 210-224
• D 180-209

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Field Trip

• Dates
• Mandatory Absence Excuse Required
• 800 LS Parking Lot, Return 415
• Casual Clothing No strenuous hiking
• Bring a lunch and fluids
• Rest stops provided
• Put on your calendar! No excuses!

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Lab

• Instructor Tim Scherer
• Enroll in one section
• 100 points total

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Geology and Other Sciences

• Chemistry
• Mineralogy
• Petrology
• Geochemistry

• Physics
• Geophysics
• Seismology

• Biology
• Paleontology
• Paleo????ology

• Geology

• Astronomy
• Planetary Geology
• Helioseismology

• Historical Geology
• Geomorphology
• Oceanography
• Structural Geology
• Volcanology

• Economic Geology
• Hydrology
• Engineering Geology

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Who Geoscientists Are

• About 30,000 in the U.S.
• Globally, in rich and poor countries, about one
  per 50 million GNP.
• Mostly male but changing rapidly (now about 25
  female in U.S.)
• Still less than 10 minority in U.S. (moving up
  slowly)

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Where Geologists Work

• 40 Private Sector
• 30 Academic
• 30 Government

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What Geologists Do

• Locate Geologic Resources
• Geologic Hazard Mitigation
• Geological and Mining Engineering
• Site Study
• Land-Use Planning
• Environmental Protection
• Environmental Impact
• Ground Water and Waste Management
• Basic Research (Furnishes fundamental knowledge
  for the applications)

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Some Unique Aspects of Geology

• Importance of Relationships
• Sequential
• Spatial
• Importance of Time
• Distinctive Problems of Evidence
• Slow Rates
• Rare Events
• Destruction of Evidence
• Inaccessibility

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Some Geologic Rates

• Cutting of Grand Canyon
• 2 km/3 m.y. 1 cm/15 yr
• Uplift of Alps
• 5 km/10 m.y. 1 cm/20 yr.
• Opening of Atlantic
• 5000 km/180 m.y. 2.8 cm/yr.
• Uplift of White Mtns. (N.H.) Granites
• 8 km/150 m.y. 1 cm/190 yr.

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Some Geologic Rates

• Movement of San Andreas Fault
• 5 cm/yr 7 m/140 yr.
• Growth of Mt. St. Helens
• 3 km/30,000 yr 10 cm/yr.
• Deposition of Niagara Dolomite
• 100 m/ 1 m.y.? 1 cm/100 yr.

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1 Second 1 Year

• 35 minutes to birth of Christ
• 1 hour to pyramids
• 3 hours to retreat of glaciers from Wisconsin
• 12 days 1 million years
• 2 years to extinction of dinosaurs
• 14 years to age of Niagara Escarpment
• 31 years 1 billion years

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Some Unique Aspects of Geology (Continued)

• Reliance on Inference and Deduction
• Intrinsically "Unsolvable" Problems
• Ancient Landscapes
• Mass Extinctions
• Ancient Ocean Basins

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Scientific Principles in Geology

• Parsimony (K.I.S.S.)
• Superposition
• Uniformitarianism
• Using these, plus observation, we establish facts
  about Earth Processes

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Parsimony

• The simplest explanation that fits all the data
  is preferred
• Doesnt guarantee that things must be simple!
• Theories with lots of ad hoc or unsupported ideas
  are probably wrong.

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Parsimony What is the best interpretation of
this well data?
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Parsimony

• This?
• Or This?

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Parsimony

• Rock layers throughout NE Wisconsin are nearly
  flat and little disturbed
• Glacial deposits are always on top of bedrock

• Therefore this is the most likely interpretation

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One Implication of Parsimony

• How do we know the laws of nature are the same
  everywhere?
• Out to the farthest stars, everything seems to
  obey the same laws of nature
• We find nothing in the rocks to suggest the laws
  of nature were different in the past
• Either
• The laws of nature change but just happen to
  produce effects that look like the
  presently-known laws of nature or
• The laws of nature really are the same everywhere

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Another Implication of Parsimony

• We live in a universe of patterns
• If someone claims there is an exception to a
  known pattern, the simplest explanation is that
  he/she is wrong
• Therefore the burden of proof in science is on
  the challenger

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Superposition

• Whodunit?
• Last night, one of Green Bays premier beer can
  collections was stolen
• The only clue is footprints in the snow
• The thief was the last person to leave the
  premises

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The Suspects

• The Nephew Has a seeing-eye dog
• The Maid Drives a car
• The Cook Rides a motorcycle
• The Handyman Rides a bike
• The Butler Walks to work

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The Crime Scene

• The Nephew has a seeing-eye dog
• The Maid Drives a car
• The Cook Rides a motorcycle
• The Handyman Rides a bike
• The Butler Walks to work

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Contacts
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A ContactMindoro Cut, Wisconsin
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Uniformitarianism

• Continuity of Cause and Effect
• Apply Cause and Effect to Future - Prediction
• Apply Cause and Effect to Present - Technology
• Apply Cause and Effect to Past -
  Uniformitarianism

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Uniformitarianism does not mean

• Catastrophes never occur
• Physical Conditions on Earth never Change
• Earth has always been the same
• Physical processes always occur at the same rate
  or intensity
• Laws of Physics have always been the same

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Uniformitarianism does mean

• Using our knowledge of physical laws, we can
  test
• Whether catastrophes have occurred
• Whether physical conditions on earth have
  changed, and if so, how (ice ages, warm periods,
  high or low sea level, etc.)
• Whether physical laws themselves have changed in
  time, or elsewhere in the universe.