Random #1
What is the oldest Earth age and how many years ago was it
Hadean Earth - 4.5 to 4.0 Ga
What are the differences between basaltic, andesite, and felsic/rhyolitic (granitic) lavas?
Basaltic - hot, low silica, runny (low viscosity)
Felsic - thick
Andesite - inbetween
What is The rigid outer layer of the Earth made up of the crust and uppermost mantle.
Lithosphere
Define protoliths
the originial rock before metamorphism
What is the first step of the rock cycle
Molten magma become igneous rock
Name one event that occurred during the Hadean earth
The moon was created from a giant impact
What is the smallest type of volcano?
Cinder cones
This process describes the cooling and solidification of magma beneath or at the surface to form rocks.
Name 2 Foliated metamorphic rocks
Slate, Phyllite, Metaconglomerates, Migmatite, Schist, Gneiss
Name 3 factors that affect crystal size
Rate of cooling, High silica (SiO2), high volatiles
Explain the difference between P and S waves
P waves are faster and travel through every material, S waves are slower and cannot travel through liquid
What are the different eruption styles?
Effusive, explosive, strombolian, plinian
This geologic principle, meaning “the present is the key to the past,” states that current processes help explain Earth’s history.
What is uniformitarianism
How are normal and sheer stress different?
Sheer: operates parallel to surface
Normal: operates perpendicular to surface
When a glacier retreats and isolated blocks of buried ice melt, they leave behind these round depressions that often fill with water to form small lakes.
What are kettle lakes?
Whats a Fjord
U-shaped valley flooded by seawater after glacial retreat.
Define Ignimbrite
A type of tuff (lithified ash) that is deposited while hot (welds together)
In subduction zones, water released from the descending slab lowers the melting temperature of mantle rocks — this process is called ____.
What is flux melting?
Name the 3 types of deformation
Elastic (recoverable deformation)
Ductile deformation (permanent change without deformation)
Brittle fractures (breaks into pieces)
This fine-grained, wind-blown sediment forms thick deposits downwind of glaciated regions and gives rise to fertile soils like those found along the Mississippi and Yellow Rivers.
What is loess?
This geologic boundary, located roughly 2,900 km beneath Earth’s surface, is identified by an abrupt increase in seismic wave velocity and marks the transition between two layers with distinct compositions—the upper being rich in silicate peridotite and the lower composed primarily of molten iron and nickel.
the Core-Mantle Boundary (also known as the Gutenberg Discontinuity)
Describe how Pahoehoe is formed, and name its characteristics
Forms when basalt has a low gas content and has a lower viscosity. It has glassy, ropy texture
Formed when partially melted granitic crust mixes with basaltic magma, this type of rock commonly has alternating light and dark mineral bands and represents the boundary between igneous and metamorphic processes.
What is migmatite?
What is Regional (Dynamothermal) Metamorphis
Occurs during mountain building (orogenesis). Directed compression and deep burial create huge volumes of metamorphic rock
When a magma body intrudes and “bakes” surrounding rock, this localized metamorphism forms a zoned aureole around the intrusion.
What is contact metamorphism?