The Milky Way sometimes referred to simply as "the Galaxy",

is a barred spiral galaxy that is part of the Local Group of galaxies. Although the Milky Way is one of billions of galaxies in the observable universe, its special significance to humanity is that it is the home galaxy of our Solar System. The plane of the Milky Way galaxy is visible from Earth as a band of light in the night sky, and it is the appearance of this band of light which has inspired the name for our galaxy.

Mars

Saturn

Jupiter

Uranus

Mercury
Neptune Pluto Earth Venus

The Solar System The Solar System is made up of the Sun orbited by eight planets and a dwarf planet called Pluto. We can see the planets because each planet reflects light from the Sun.

 Planetary facts ratio to earth

INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING GEOLOGY

the earths crust geologic cycle and geological time

What is geology ?

Geology is the fascinating study of the Earth, its rocks and minerals. Geologists are the 'field hands' of earth science who work to understand how the dynamic forces which shape our earth work, and use this knowledge to predict their affect on mankind. Earthquakes, volcanoes and soil erosion affect all of us: even if the geological event occurs halfway around the world, we are all touched to a greater or lesser extent. More than just naming rocks and digging up fossilized bones, geologists tell us the story of the earth. That story goes back billions of years, and leaves its impression in the very ground we walk on. In this section you will learn about the amazing Earth.

EARTH

a place to live
Lets learn more about the earth

Earth can be divided into several layers : 1. Crust 2. Mantle 3. Outer core 4. Inner core

THE CRUST
Lays above the mantle and is the earth's hard outer shell. In relation with the other layers the crust is much thinner. It floats upon the softer, denser mantle. The crust is made up of solid material but these material is not everywhere the same. Up to 100km Consists of lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere The part which all the creatures can live Major element in crust is oxygen (93.8%), silicon (0.9%) and others (% in volume)

The crust consists of two parts: the oceanic and the continental crust

Oceanic crust: As the name already suggests, this crust is below the oceans. There, the crust is 4-7 miles (6-11 km) thick. The rocks of the oceanic crust are very young compared with the rocks of the continental crust. The rocks of the oceanic crust are not older than 200 million years. The material of which the oceanic crust consists is for the greater part tholeiitic basalt (this is basalt without olivine). Basalt has a dark, fine and gritty volcanic structure. It is formed out of very liquid lava, which cools off quickly. The grains are so small that they are only visible under a microscope. The average density of the oceanic crust is 3g/cm.

Continental crust: When you look at the globe, you see that the surface of the earth consists of a lot of water (71%). The other 29% consists of land. You can divide this land into six big pieces, which are called continents. The earth's crust is the thickest below the continents, with an average of about 20 to 25 miles (30 to 40 km) and with a maximum of 45 miles (70 km). The continental crust is older than the oceanic crust, some rocks are 3.8 billion years old. The continental crust mainly consists of igneous rocks and is divided into two layers. The upper part mainly consists of granite rocks, while the lower part consists of basalt and diorite. Granite is lightly-colored, coarse-grain, magma. Diorite has the same composition, but it's scarcer than granite and is probably formed by impurities in the granite-magma. The average density of the continental crust is 2.7g/cm.

THE ATMOSPHERE
The earth is surrounded by all kind of gases. This layer is called the earth's Atmosphere. Without this atmosphere life on earth isn't possible. It gives us air, water, heat and protects us against harmful rays of the sun and against meteorites. This layer around the earth is a colorless, odorless, tasteless 'sea' of gases, water and fine dust. The atmosphere is made up of different layers with different qualities. It consists of 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0,93 percent argon, 0,03 percent carbon dioxide and 0,04 percent of other gases.

Source : http://mediatheek.thinkquest.nl/~ll125/en/atmos.htm

MANTLE
The layer above the core is the mantle. It begins about 6 miles(10 km) below the oceanic crust and about 19 miles (30 km) below the continental crust (see The Crust). The function of the mantle is to separate the inner mantle and the outer mantle. It is about 1,800 miles(2,900 km) thick and makes up nearly 80 percent of the Earth's total volume. Science deals with the structure of the mantle in two different ways. One way is based on its chemical construction (the material), the other on the way layers stream or move. Up to 3000km Consists of molten rock (which made the crust in floating condition) Divided into 2 : upper and lower mantle Major element in mantle is ferum silicate and magnesium silicate

 Inner Mantle: The inner mantle can be found between 190 miles (300 km) an 1,800 miles (2,890 km) below the earths surface. The average temperature is 5400 F (3000C), nevertheless the rock is solid because of the high pressures. The inner mantle for the biggest part probably consists of sulphides and oxides of silicon and magnesium. The density is between 4.3g/cm and 5.4g/cm. Outer Mantle: The outer mantle is a lot thinner than the inner mantle. It can be found between 7 miles (10 km) and 190 miles (300 km) below the surface of the earth. You can divide the outer mantle into two different layers. The bottom layer is tough liquid rock and probably consists of silicates of iron and magnesium. The temperature in this part is between 2520 F (1400C) and 5400 F (3000C) and the density is between 3.4g/cm and 4.3g/cm. The upper layer of the outer mantle consists of the same material but is stiffer because of its lower temperature.

CORE
The inner part of the earth is the core. This part of the earth is about 1,800 miles (2,900 km) below the earth's surface. The core is a dense ball of the elements iron and nickel. Divided into 2 : outer and inner core Outer core : liquid form (2,200 km thick) Inner core : solid form (1,250 km thick) The outer core is so hot that the metal is always molten, but the inner core pressures are so great that it cannot melt, even though temperatures there reach 3700C. Major element in mantle is ferum and nikel

OTHER INFO
Average radius : 6330 km Mass : 5.976 x 1027 gm Average density : 5.51 gm/cm3 Diameter from pole : 12713 km Surface area : 510 066 000 km2

For more info kindly visit to http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html

THE DEFORMATION OF THE EARTH STRUCTURE

Continental mass

PROCESS

Gradation
Tectonism

CRUST

Volcanism

Continental shelf

Ocean basin

GRADATION
Gradation refers to the process by which the surface of the earth is leveled off, or the bed of a stream is brought to equilibrium. All planets have gravity that drags objects down to the lowest point on a surface. This means anything that sticks up, such as mountains or the sides of craters, will eventually fall down in landslides and make piles of rubble. Loose and crumbling material is dragged around or carried by winds or liquids, creating new landforms. These flattening actions are known collectively as gradation.

TECTONISM
The earths crust consists of a number of moving pieces or plates, that are always colliding or pulling apart. The Lithosphere consists of nine large plates and twelve smaller ones. The continents are imbedded in continental plates; the oceanic plates make up much of the sea floor. The study of Tectonic plates - called plate tectonics - helps to explain continental drift, the spreading of the sea floor, volcanic eruptions and how mountains are formed. The force that causes the movement of the tectonic plates may be the slow churning of the mantle beneath them. Mantle rock is constantly moved upwards to the surface by the high temperatures below and then sinks by cooling. This cycle takes millions of years. The crust movements due to the instability of the crust which floating on the mantle Continuous process and still happens Eg : plate tectonic (ocean-floor spreading, continent collision, intercontinental rifting) Will result to the formation of tectonic features eg : mountains, faults, folds etc

 Continental drift Earthquake

VOLCANISM
A Volcano is a gap in the earth where molten rock and other materials come to the earth's surface. Some volcanoes are just cracks in the earth's crusts. Others are weak places in the earth's crust, which occur on places where magma bubbles up through the crust and comes to the earth's surface. Magma is molten rock that occurs by partial melting of the crust and the mantle by high temperatures deep down in the ground. Once magma comes to the earth's surface it is called lava. Activities which involves the eruptions of the volcanoes Result : magma / lava flow

Types of Volcano A diagram of the structure of six types of volcano.

Other forms of volcanism are the Geysers and the Hot Springs. You often find them in the neighborhood of volcanoes, where the earth's crust is thinner and the heat of the magma further penetrates into the earth's crust. A Geyser is a hole in the earth's crust, spouting fountains of boiling water. Hot rock heats up water in an underground chamber and when the water boils, it sends out a fountain of boiling water, up to 1,640 ft. (500 m) into the air. A Hot Spring works in the same way, but the water is not so hot that it spouts with pressure.

GEOLOGICAL TIME
The geological time scale is used by geologists and other scientists to describe the timing and relationship between events that have occurred during the history of earth Past life is often referred to being a part of a certain era, or a certain point on the geological timescale. There are 6 eras on the geological timescale, consisting of the Hadean, Archaean, Protezoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic.

Hadian Era The Hadian era did not contain life as we know it, but rather the building blocks of life, such as amino acid, proteins and the like, mentioned previously. It lasted aproximatley from 3.8 to 4.5 billion years ago.

Archean Era This era took place from about 3.8 to 2.5 billion years ago and also saw the formation of the first cells, as described in the The First Cell section. Also, it is likely that approximately 70% of the world's landmasses where created during this era. This era saw the creation of simple bacteria and plant like algae, which could actually feed off pure energy in the form of sunlight. They became the building blocks for evolution of life, and the basis of early food chains.

Proterozoic Era This era took place approximately 2.5 billion to 544 million years ago. Many fossils have been found from this Era, mostly in the form of Bacterial life and Archaean life (Archaeans are physically similar to bacteria, but are biochemically different so much that they are considered a separate from bacteria. They are known for living in very extreme environments) About 1.8 billion years ago, eukaryotic cells began to appear (Eukaryotic cells are ones containing a nucleus, which stores genetic information. Eukaryotic cells are contained in many species today, such as plants, fungi, animals, insects and so forth.) Another important event in the Proterozoic era was the first evident of oxygen buildup in the atmosphere. This meant death for early bacteria, whom could not survive in oxygen environments, but allowed eukaryotic cells to thrive. The end of this era also saw the beginnings of multi-cellular life forms, such as certain algae and simple animals.

Paleozoic Era During the Paleozoic era, many life forms began to flourish. Many of these life forms we would not recognize today. These life forms slowly evolved in the ocean, and began to step out onto land, originally with amphibious life forms, and eventually with reptiles. Marking the end of this era, here was the mass Permian extinction, approximately 245 million years ago, in which many of the life forms that once flourished died off.

Mesozoic Era

The Mesozoic era has three time periods. The cretaceous (146-65 mya), the Jurassic ( 208-146 mya) and the Triassic (245-208)
Mesozoic carries the meaning of middle animals. The Mesozoic saw the creation of many different life forms, including the famous dinosaurs. There where also many new plants, including early coniferous plants. However, many of these life forms succumbed to extinction, or evolution, and are not around today in the form they originally where.

Cenozoic Era The Cenozoic is the most current era, taking place from the last mass extinction of all landbased dinosaurs (approximately 65 million years ago) to the present day. This era saw the rise of many mammals, such as whales, the great hunter cats, as well as Humans. But it also saw the rise of the birds, insects, and many new plants, including flowering plants. Much of life as we know it today evolved during this era.

Millions of Years

The largest defined unit of time is the supereon comprised of Eons. Eons are divided into Eras which are turn divided into Periods, Epochs and Stages
For more info kindly visit the website http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/geologictime.php