Earth SC-202 Physical

Geology

Instructor

Prof. Steven Dutch

Office: LS 402
Phone: 465-2246
Email: dutchs@uwgb.edu
Home Page: www.uwgb.edu/dutchs
Office Hours MWF 10:30-11:30, TR
9:30-10:50

What is Physical Geology?

Soils
Weathering
Fossils
Earth History

Erosion

Wind

Water Oceans

Glaciers

Underground Surface
Sedimentary

Rocks

Volcanoes

Metamorphic
Igneous
Earths Interior
Intrusions
Plate Tectonics
Earthquakes
Mineral Resources
Mountains

Other Planets

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

Exams and Grading

Midterm I 50 points
Midterm II50 points
Lab 100 points
Final 80 points
Field Trip 20 points
Attendance
10
points
Total
300
points

A
AB
B
BC
C
CD
D

270+
255-269
240-254
225-239
210-224
205-210
200-204

Field Trip
Dates
Mandatory Absence Excuse
Required
8:00 LS Parking Lot, Return 4:15
Casual Clothing No strenuous hiking
Bring a lunch and fluids
Rest stops provided
Put on your calendar! No excuses!

Lab
Instructor:
Jennifer
Wessel
Enroll in one
section
100 points
total

Expectations
Commitment
Focus in class

Professional Conduct
No talking, texting
Stay whole period
Stay vertical and awake

Use Syllabus
Know your ID number or bring ID to
exams

Sample exam question

Which is the most desirable property
in a gemstone?
a.
b.
c.
d.

High hardness
Low hardness
Excellent cleavage
Density

Signs of Trouble
Not making connections
Lecture, lab, text, on-line, exams

Not knowing your grade

Not knowing what to study for
Not knowing whats on syllabus

Geology and Other Sciences

Physics

Chemistry

Biology

Geophysics

Mineralogy

Paleontology

Seismology

Petrology

Paleo????ology

Geochemistry
Astronomy

Geology

Planetary
Geology

Economic
Geology

Helioseismolog Hydrology
y
Engineering
Geology

Historical
Geology
Geomorpholog
y
Oceanography
Structural
Geology

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)

Where Geologists Work

40 % Private Sector
30 % Academic
30 % Government

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)

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

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.

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.

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

Some Unique Aspects of

Geology (Continued)
Reliance on Inference and Deduction
Intrinsically "Unsolvable" Problems
Ancient Landscapes
Mass Extinctions
Ancient Ocean Basins

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

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.

Parsimony: What is the best

interpretation of this well data?

Parsimony

This?

Or
This?

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

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

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

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

The Suspects

The
The
The
The
The

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

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

Contacts

A Contact:
Mindoro
Cut,
Wisconsin

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

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

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.