GG 103 Aloha and Welcome toGeology of the Hawaiian IslandsNasir Gazdar, Ph.D, MPH

1. Course Website://www2.hawaii.edu/~nasir2. Announcements, Lecture notes and Study Guide Files, Extra credit, Geology Events at//myuhportal.hawaii.edu at GG 103 Course Site3. Hawaii Atlas, Plate Tectonics,Geology Text, CDs, DVDs atThe Library Reserve GG 1034. Email for any help. Mahalo for excellence.

1st term exam 150 points

Midterm 150 points

3rd term 150 points

Final exam 400 points

Presentation 150 points

Total 1000 points

Extra credit – to be announced in the class – Research would be a PowerPoint slide presentation. 50 Bonus points for in class presentation, additional 50 points for being the first one(s) to present in the class.

All PPTs should be emailed for presentation in the class. Last date is April 25, 2009.

Grade

A 900+

B 800+

C 700+

D 600+

GG 103 Exams and Grading

• Geology is vital in human civilization

• Geology in Today’s World• Geology - The scientific study of the Earth

– Physical Geology is the study of Earth’s materials, changes of the surface and interior of the Earth, and the forces that cause those changes

• Practical Aspects of Geology– Natural resources – Geological hazards– Environmental protection– Sea level Rise, Climate Change, Global Warming

Geology and Other Sciences

Physics

•Geophysics

•Seismology

Chemistry

•Mineralogy

•Petrology

•Geochemistry

Biology

•Paleontology

•Paleoecology

Astronomy

•Planetary Geology

•Helioseismology

•Economic Geology

•Hydrology

•Engineering Geology

•Petroleum Geology

•Historical Geology

•Geomorphology

•Oceanography

•Structural Geology

•Volcanology

Mahukona

Pacific Ocean

Lanai

Peng

uin

Bank

Kaho‘olawe

Hawaiian Islands

Above Sea levelBelow Sea level

Where in the World is Kauai?

A view of Earth Planetary System• Earth is a planet that is rocky and self-contained

– Earth System and Spheres

• Earth’s spheres • Hydrosphere – water, oceans, lakes, rivers• Atmosphere - air• Biosphere – life and environment, ecosystem• Lithosphere - Solid Earth• Pedosphere – soil

– Cryosphere – ice sheets, Antarctica, Greenland– Anthrosphere – Human built environment

Origin and Evolution of Earth• Origin of planet Earth 4,600,000,000 years before

present, 4,600 million years, 4.6 billion years• Most researchers believe that Earth and the other

planets formed at essentially the same time from the same primordial material as the Sun, a medium sized star in the Milky Way Galaxy in the Universe.

• Nebular hypothesis – explains formation of Sun and Solar System, planets.

• Layered structure developed by chemical segregation early in the formation of Earth

• Formation of Continents – land, and Oceans -water

Nebular hypothesisExplains formation of Sun and Solar SystemPlanetary SystemPlanetsMercuryVenusEarthMarsJupiterSaturnUranusNeptuneDwarf PlanetPluto

• Earth formed as a planet in the the Sun’s Solar system from a nebula: 4,600,000,000 years ago

• Life on Earth began: 3,800,000,000 years• Geology: Science of processes related to:

– Composition, structure, history and life of Earth– Processes on the earth, landforms and islands

• Geology of Hawaiian Islands:• Studies of Hawaiian Islands physical environment,

Birth and Life of the Isles • It is geology applied to:

• Islands origin, volcanic formation and life stages• Awareness of unique geologic environment• Understand the geologic processes and hazards on the islands

Oceanic crust is forced below the fracture because oceanic crust is denser than the one composing the fracture. Magma is created at the subduction wedge

Subduction crack on the Pacific Oceanic crust

Earthquakes

Magma ChamberHotspot

Volcano

Geosphere

Our Planet’s “Five Spheres” or Subsystems• The Atmosphere:

– Nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapor

• The Hydrosphere:– Oceans, lakes, streams, underground water, snow, and ice

• The Biosphere: Ecosphere, Sphere of Life– All of Earth’s organisms, as well as any organic matter not

yet decomposed, Anthrosphere is Human Living Environment

• The Geosphere – Crust, Lithosphere, Mantle and Core– The solid Earth from core to surface crust-– Crust composed principally of rock, minerals, sediments,

ores and soils

– Soils are in Pedosphere

Layered Structureand Composition of Earth

Given the abundance of oxygen and silicon in the crust - lithosphere, it should not be surprising that the most abundant minerals in the earth's crust are the silicates. Although the Earth's material must have had the same composition as the Sun originally, the present composition of the Sun is quite different. The elemental composition of the human body and life in general is quite different.

Iron

Iron, Nickel, Sulfur

Iron, Magnesium

Common Elements Important in Universe, Earth, and Living Organisms

Element Symbol Atomic Number Percent in Universe Percent in Earth Percent in Human Body

Hydrogen H 1 91 0.14 9.5

Helium He 2 9 Trace Trace

Carbon C 6 0.02 0.03 18.5

Nitrogen N 7 0.04 Trace 3.3

Oxygen O 8 0.06 47 65

Sodium Na 11 Trace 2.8 0.2

Magnesium Mg 12 Trace 2.1 0.1

Phosphorus P 15 Trace 0.07 1

Sulfur S 16 Trace 0.03 0.3

Chlorine Cl 17 Trace 0.01 0.2

Potassium K 19 Trace 2.6 0.4

Calcium Ca 20 Trace 3.6 1.5

Iron Fe 26 Trace 5 Trace

Earth’s interior is hot (~7000 degrees C)‘Fossil’ heat from Earth formationRadioactive decay40K, 232Th, 235U, 238U (Plus possibly 244Pu and 26Al in early Earth)

Heat lost through convection in the core and mantle – Plate tectonics

The Face of Planet Earth• Continents – Land covers 29 percent of surface of Earth

• Most prominent features are linear mountain belts – composed of Igneous and metamorphic rocks

• Shields – Ancient metamorphic rocks• Ocean basins – covers 71 percent of surface of Earth

• Ocean ridge system – the most prominent topographic feature on Earth

• Deep-ocean trenches

Dynamic Earth

8 Major Tectonic Plates of the Lithosphere

Ring of Fire

Ring of Fire

Today, there are 600 active volcanoes worldwide. Is there anything we can do to predict how and when they will erupt?