Supplements are given to complement lecture material. 
First handout includes Supplements, A and 1-5.

Additional Supplements will be posted either here or on the Blackboard Site.


A.        Bear-Salmon-Stream-Forest Interaction – System Example

1.         Big Bang-Isotopes

2.             Mineralogy-Petrology

3.         Mt. Hood – Self Assembly

4.            Volcanoes - paleomagnetic

5.            Himalaya: Rock-Weathering Interacton

6.            Geomorphology

7.            Snowball Earth

Supplement A.  Fish and the Forest, Aug. 2006, Scientific American
Example of  a newly discovered, or at least better understood, systems interaction. 

After reading the article you should be able to understand:

  1. Why dead fish are being dumped into northern forests.

  2. What the relationship of dumping is to bears.

  3. How this system has evolved over the last several decades.

Supplement 1.   Did a Supernova Trigger the Formation of the Solar System.

Many of the major questions in earth science are addressed using isotope information.  This paper has stood the test of time and has to my knowledge has never been successfully refuted.   It illustrates the use of stable isotope information.

After reading the article (and listening to the lecture and attending lab), you should understand.

a.      Why it is unusual to find a meteorite that has more O-16 than rocks on planet earth.

b.     The interpretation that the solar system was collapsed by a supernova is supported by isotope evidence.

c.      Supernova eruptions seed the universe with the heavy elements necessary for the formation of planets.

Supplement 2 Mineralogy-Petrology

Minerals are naturally occurring crystals.  Familiar examples are table salt, diamonds, quartz, etc.  They are the building blocks of rocks.  Most often, you need a microscope to see them, but they are there.  Cement is an example of a synthetic rock. 

 

Mineralogy is a science closely linked to material science.  In other words, by knowing how minerals are constructed one can sometimes deduce the temperature conditions under which they were produced, and whether they were caught up in a vigorous flow, or simply grew passiviely.

 

Petrology (petro=rock, logy=logic, or rock-logic) is the subject that deals with the processes leading to the production of a rock.  Igneous  petrology therefore deals with the origin of molten rock material.

 

Tectonics is the science of the motion and interaction of the giant earth plates.

After reading this material you should be able to answer the review questions at the end of the chapter.

Supplement 3.  Deep Survival excerpt by Laurence Gonzales

Field geologists (and oceanographers) encounter many circumstances that can trigger a wilderness disaster.  The book examines the traits that lead to survival.   Based on my personal experience I agree strongly with the author.  Anyone that engages in outdoor activities should read this book.  The part I selected deals with a group going out for a simple hike.  Mt. Hood is not one of those intimidating peaks.  However, this is one of those cases where things go horribly awry. 

How does this relate to earth science?  Firstly, it proposes that events like this are inevitable, in much the way that landslides occur.  He contrasts ordinary and everyday climbing with catastrophic events.  It therefore deals tangentially with earth processes. 

After reading, you should be able to answer the questions

a.      If you know all about the physics and chemistry of quartz, can you predict a the behavior of organizing sand grains in a pile?

b.     What is an example of self-organizing or self-assembly.

c.      Can accidents a characteristic of system behavior?


Supplement 4: Tectonics and Volcanoes

I downloaded these pages from the Web.  Many of the sites have important links and dynamic graphics.  I would rather you went to the web, but just in case I printed them out.

A.    Developing the theory (of continental drift) and Magnetic stripes and isotopic clocks.

Here you should learn.

a.      What is meant by normal magnetic polarity.

b.     The paleomagnetic argument for continental drift.

c.      How ocean crust is recycled.

B.    What Drives the plates?

a.      How to draw a schematic section through the earth showing lithosphere and asthenosphere.

b.     Place the location of the earth’s convection cells on a section drawing.

C.    Understanding plate motions.

a.      What is a divergent boundary, how to sketch one, and an example of one?

b.     What is a convergent boundaries, how to sketch one, and an example?

c.      What is an ocean trench?

D.    Magnetic stripes and isotopic clocks.

E.     How volcanoes work

This location is connected to numerous pages.  Please search around to find out,

a.      Something about landforms and eruption products.

b.     What are the dynamic aspects of volcano eruptions?

c.      How about volcanoes over time?

Supplement 5.  Climate and the evolution of Mountains, Sci. American, Aug. 2006

New correlations are being drawn between mountain evolution and climate.  This one deals with the unloading of the Himalayan mountains and recharging at the base.

After reading, your should better understand.

a.        What type of faults underlie the Himalayan mountains.

b.       Do scientist believe that the flow in the mantle is sensitive to weathering?

c.        Are there consistent weather patterns associated with the Himalayan muntains?  Explain.

d.        The relationship between weathering of the Himalayan mountains and mantle circulation.