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Exam 1
UMaine SMS100 with Townsend study guide for Exam 1
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Other
Undergraduate 1
09/20/2015

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Term
How long ago was the Big Bang?
Definition
13.7 billion years ago
Term
How long ago was the origin of Earth?
Definition
4.6 billion years ago
Term
What is the maximum age of the ocean floor, crust, and marine sediments?
Definition
200 million years
Term
What is the maximum age of continental rocks?
Definition
4 billion years
Term
What is earth's circumference?
Definition
25,000 miles
Term
How thick is the Lithospheric plate (crust)?
Definition
100km
Term
What is the average ocean depth?
Definition
4000m
Term
What is the maximum ocean depth?
Definition
11,000m at the Mariana Trench
Term
How much of Earth's surface is covered by water?
Definition
71%
Term
When was the HMS Challenger expedition?
Definition
1872-76
Term
When was the concept of plate tectonics accepted?
Definition
Late 1960s-early 1970s
Term
When was the U.S. Ex. Ex.?
Definition
1830s
Term
When was Fram?
Definition
1890s
Term
When was Harrison's chronometer developed?
Definition
1760s
Term
When was Captain Cook exploring?
Definition
Late 1700s
Term
Who is Edward Suess?
Definition
Late 1800s geologist, hypothesized Gondwana, Tethys sea, wrote the Face of the Earth
Term
Alfred Wegener
Definition
Late 1800s-early 1900s, known for his theory of continental drift.
Term
Matthew Fontaine Maury
Definition
1800s, made sense of ocean currents and their worldwide pattern. Published first "oceanography" book.
Term
Eratosthenes of Cyrene
Definition
Calculated the circumference of Earth.
Term
Thales of Miletos
Definition
"discovered" science, abandoned the supernatural approach.
Term
Fridtjof Nansen
Definition
Neurobiologist, Arctic explorer, crossed Greenland ice sheet by dogsled, failing to reach north pole. Discovered circulation of ice from Siberia to Norway.
Term
Harrison
Definition
Invented the chronometer
Term
Harry Hess
Definition
1900s, idea of constant sea floor creation.
Term
J. Tuzo Wilson
Definition
Transform faults
Term
Arthur Holmes
Definition
Theory of Seafloor Spreading
Term
Latitude
Definition
Position north-south, 1 minute of latitude is 1 nautical mile
Term
Longitude
Definition
Position east-west, Earth rotates 15 per hour, prime meridian is in Greenwich England, measured E or W from there.
Term
Big Bang
Definition
When time and all matter began, universe still expanding at an accelerating rate.
Term
Hydrogen fusion
Definition
Just after big bang, particles coalesced to form lighter elements, fueling stars.
Term
How many Stars/galaxies did the Hubble Space Telescope find in the 90s?
Definition
200 billion stars/galaxy and 200 billion galaxies
Term
What melted Earth?
Definition
Heat from the pressure of compaction+meteors+radioactive decay.
Term
Where did water come from?
Definition
Outgassing, 10% from space.
Term
Where else in the solar system has water been found?
Definition
Mars, The moon, Jupiter's Moon Europa
Term
What are the layers of the earth from outside to inside?
Definition
Lithosphere/crust (slightly different), Inner and outer mantle, iron core
Term
What is the oceanic crust composed of?
Definition
Basalt, rich in iron, dense
Term
What is the continental crust composed of?
Definition
Granite
Term
What are the differences between types of seismic waves?
Definition
S waves can't pass through liquid, p waves are faster.
Term
What is the Asthenosphere?
Definition
Plastic upper mantle
Term
How does lithospheric thickness vary?
Definition
Thicker continental crust, thinner oceanic crust.
Term
What were the navigation problems faced by early explorers?
Definition
Latitude and longitude - Long was discovered first, but it wasn't until Harrison's chronometer that they knew what their latitude was.
Term
What were the sampling problems faced by early explorers?
Definition
Accurately finding the depth, temperature at depth, etc.
Term
What important formation of the ocean floor did the HMS Challenger chart?
Definition
The midatlantic rise.
Term
What new technology did the Meteor use and what did it discover?
Definition
High resolution echo sounding, rift in the center of mid-atlandic rise.
Term
When did life begin?
Definition
about 3.5 billion years ago in deep sea hydrothermal vents.
Term
What are the two types of satelites?
Definition
Polar orbiting and geostationary orbiting.
Term
What can satellites measure?
Definition
ocean color (chlorophyll), Infrared (temperature), satellite altimetry.
Term
Who first described hypothesis testing?
Definition
Karl Popper
Term
What was Kuhn's contribution to science?
Definition
Scientific revolution, paradigm shift, gestalt
Term
How did Aristotle and Galileo differ in their opinions on gravity?
Definition
Aristotle said heavier objects fall faster, Galileo tested this hundreds of years later and found that all objects fall at the same speed.
Term
What role did Alfred Wegener and his 1915 book play in the scientific community's opinions on Continental drift?
Definition
He stated that Pangaea split into Gondwanaland and Laurasia ca. 250 million years ago, started scientific debate in earnest, argued that continents are still moving.
Term
What is the Pacific ring of fire? What is its significance?
Definition
Ring of earthquakes and volcanoes around the edges of the Pacific Ocean indicate a shifting tectonic plate.
Term
How do sediment ages and thicknesses vary in different areas of the ocean?
Definition
They are older and thicker further from the center.
Term
What is an important characteristic of mid-ocean ridges?
Definition
Rift valley in the middle.
Term
What was Harry Hess' theory on sea floor spreading?
Definition
Convection currents in the mantle give plates a ride
Term
Why is J. Tuzo Wilson's theory of transform faults important?
Definition
Because he said there are a dozen lithospheric plates, set their borders, and predicted where earthquake activity will typically occur.
Term
What confirmed J. Tuzo Wilson's theory of transform faults?
Definition
Paleomagnetic studies
Term
Are continental margins and plate margins the same thing?
Definition
No, plate margins extend beyond or sometimes divide continents.
Term
What is the difference between atlantic and pacific type margins?
Definition
Atlantic type margins are passive, while pacific type margins are active.
Term
Where is the ocean deepest?
Definition
Away from mid ocean ridges
Term
About how deep are continental shelves?
Definition
200m
Term
How deep are deep sea canyons and what causes them?
Definition
3000m, turbidity currents after earthquakes and landslides.
Term
What is sediment type based on?
Definition
Size and origin.
Term
What is the order of sediment sizes from smallest to largest?
Definition
Clay, silt, sand, pebbles, cobbles, boulders
Term
Why are sandy beaches formed?
Definition
large waves remove sand, small waves deposit sand
Term
What does the rock cycle show?
Definition
That most rocks are sedimentary
Term
Terrestrial sediment origin
Definition
Erosion by wind, rivers, or land
Term
Biogenic skeletal origin
Definition
Calcium carbonate or siliceous, acidity dissolves calcium carbonate at great depths
Term
Hydrogenic origin
Definition
Manganese nodules
Term
Cosmogenic
Definition
sediments from outer space
Term
Pelagic vs. Nertic sediments
Definition
Open ocean, clays and oozes, or terrestrial
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