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Geol 2000 Earth System History > Lecture part 2 > Flashcards

Lecture part 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

Great unifying theory of biology

A

Evolution by natural selection

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2
Q

Great unifying theory of geology

A

Plate tectonics

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3
Q

Difference between mass extinction and background extinction

A

Mass extinction: rapid, widespread loss of many species. Background extinction: normal, ongoing rate of species disappearance.

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4
Q

Basis for deciding boundaries in the geologic time scale

A

Significant changes in the fossil record, often linked to major geological/environmental events, correlated with radiometric dating.

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5
Q

What is more likely preserved as a fossil?

A

Organisms with hard parts (bones, shells, teeth) and rapid burial.

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6
Q

Did the Ediacaran biota have hard parts? What era is the Ediacaran period?

A

Primarily soft-bodied. Neoproterozoic Era.

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7
Q

Cause of the Permian mass extinction event?

A

Massive volcanic eruptions (Siberian Traps) leading to climate change, ocean acidification, and anoxia.

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8
Q

Cause of the Cretaceous mass extinction event?

A

Primarily an asteroid impact at Chicxulub, possibly with contributing Deccan Traps volcanism.

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9
Q

Chronostratigraphic equivalent to the geologic time unit of a period

A

System

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10
Q

Largest unit of geologic time (excluding ‘Terra’)

A

Eon

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11
Q

Meaning of ‘missing time’ in a rock layer

A

An unconformity, a break in the rock record due to erosion or non-deposition; rock layers from that time are absent.

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12
Q

Who developed the first principles of stratigraphy?

A

Nicolaus Steno

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13
Q

Who is James Hutton?

A

‘Father of modern geology,’ proposed uniformitarianism.

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14
Q

Who is Charles Lyell?

A

Popularized uniformitarianism, emphasized vast geologic time.

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15
Q

Who is George Cuvier?

A

Pioneer of paleontology, established faunal succession, advocated catastrophism.

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16
Q

Who is Charles Darwin?

A

Developed the theory of evolution by natural selection.

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17
Q

By early Proterozoic, did Earth have mobile plates? Oceanic crust? Mostly water?

A

Likely yes to all three.

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18
Q

Mechanism for Basin and Range development? Fault type?

A

Crustal extension; normal faults.

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19
Q

When did Pangea form (era)? Break apart?

A

Formed late Paleozoic (Permian), broke apart Mesozoic (Triassic).

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20
Q

Where is the North American craton found?

A

Ancient, stable core of North America, exposed in Canadian Shield and underlying much of the interior.

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21
Q

Extraterrestrial rocks used to age Earth?

A

Meteorites, especially chondrites.

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22
Q

What is a Greenstone belt? Where do they form?

A

Metamorphosed volcanic/sedimentary rocks in Archaean/Proterozoic cratons; formed in ancient oceanic basins, island arcs, or back-arc basins.

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23
Q

Has Earth’s atmosphere changed over time?

A

Yes, significantly (e.g., from reducing to oxygen-rich).

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24
Q

Eon of Earth’s first glacial event?

A

Archean Eon (Pongola glaciation).

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25
When was the Grenville orogeny?
Proterozoic Eon (1.3-1.0 billion years ago).
26
Continent clustering during Snowball Earth?
Low to mid-latitudes.
27
Period of early multicellular animal diversification?
Ediacaran Period.
28
Dominant organisms at the dawn of the Proterozoic Eon?
Prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), especially cyanobacteria (stromatolites).
29
Continents of Gondwana? When did it form?
South America, Africa, Antarctica, India, Australia. Late Neoproterozoic/early Paleozoic.
30
What do cratonic sequences (Sauk, Tippecanoe, etc.) document?
Large-scale transgressive-regressive cycles on the North American craton.
31
What is the Cambrian Explosion?
Rapid diversification of multicellular life in the early Cambrian.
32
What is the Precambrian supereon composed of?
Hadean, Archean, and Proterozoic Eons.
33
What is happening during the Cryogenian period?
Global glaciation ('Snowball Earth').
34
When was the Sonoma orogeny? Antler? Cordilleran or eastern Laurentia?
Sonoma: Late Permian-early Triassic, Cordilleran. Antler: Late Devonian-early Mississippian, Cordilleran.
35
What collided with North America to form the Sonoma orogeny?
The Sonoma arc (volcanic island arc).
36
When did the Andes form? How?
Began Mesozoic, ongoing. Subduction of Nazca Plate beneath South American Plate.
37
When and where was the Laramide orogeny?
Late Cretaceous to early Cenozoic, western interior of North America.
38
Typical Mississippian rock on North American craton?
Limestone (carbonate platforms).
39
Typical Pennsylvanian rock on North American craton?
Cyclic deposits (shale, sandstone, coal, limestone - cyclothems).
40
What is the Catskill clastic wedge?
Eastward deposit of sandstone, shale, conglomerate from the Acadian Mountains (Devonian).
41
What caused the cyclothems of the Pennsylvanian?
Glacial-eustatic sea-level changes due to Gondwanan ice sheets.
42
Dominant rock type of the Columbia Plateau?
Basalt (flood basalt eruptions).
43
Pangea fragment with greatest travel since Mesozoic?
India.
44
Where is the Isthmus of Panama? Ocean current formed?
Connects North and South America. Gulf Stream.
45
Two large Gondwana continents together at end of Mesozoic, split in Cenozoic?
Australia and Antarctica.
46
When did the San Andreas fault form? What was subducted?
Oligocene (Cenozoic). East Pacific Rise.
47
What is the Farallon plate? Any remnant?
Ancient oceanic plate subducted under western North America. Remnants: Juan de Fuca, Gorda, Cocos plates.
48
Plate of Baja California? What is it doing?
Pacific Plate. Moving northwestward relative to North America.
49
When did the East African Rift zone form (era)? What is it?
Cenozoic (Oligocene). Divergent plate boundary splitting Africa.
50
Plate boundary on eastern North America during much of Cenozoic?
Passive continental margin.
51
When did the Atlantic Ocean form?
Mesozoic Era (Triassic Period) with Pangea's rifting.
52
Continent clustering during Neoproterozoic glaciation?
Low to mid-latitudes.
53
Environment where stromatolites thrived?
Shallow aquatic environments (freshwater and marine).
54
Precursor difference: petroleum vs. coal?
Petroleum: microscopic marine organisms. Coal: terrestrial plant matter.
55
Was all of North America covered with ice during the Pleistocene?
No, only much of Canada and the northern US.
56
What is the Karoo basin? Known for?
South Africa. Rich fossil record of early reptiles/mammal-like reptiles, coal/uranium.
57
Organism of Late Cretaceous chalk?
Coccolithophores (microscopic marine algae).
58
Location of Interior Plains? Colorado Plateau? Columbia Plateau?
Interior Plains: central North America. Colorado Plateau: southwestern US. Columbia Plateau: northwestern US.
59
Theory
Well-substantiated explanation based on evidence, repeatedly confirmed, allows predictions.
60
Law
Descriptive statement of a fundamental principle, states what happens.
61
Hypothesis
Testable explanation for a specific phenomenon.
62
Uniformitarianism
The present is the key to the past; same processes operate today as in the past.
63
Cope’s Law
Body size of animal lineages tends to increase over evolutionary time.
64
Stratigraphy
Study of the arrangement and layering of rocks (strata).
65
Superposition
In undisturbed layers, oldest are at the bottom, youngest at the top.
66
Cross-cutting relationships
A feature cutting another is younger than what it cuts.
67
Lateral continuity
Sedimentary layers extend continuously until thinning or encountering a barrier.
68
Biotic succession
Fossil organisms succeed each other in a definite order; time periods recognized by fossils.
69
Index fossil
Widespread, short-lived, easily recognizable fossil used for correlation.
70
Formation
Distinct, mappable body of rock layers.
71
Transgression
Advance of the sea over land.
72
Regression
Retreat of the sea from land.
73
Eustatic
Worldwide changes in sea level.
74
Molasse
Thick, non-marine sediments in front of rising mountains (late orogeny).
75
Flysch
Thinly bedded sandstones and shales in deep basins near rising mountains (early orogeny).
76
Epicontinental sea
Shallow sea covering part of a continent.
77
Banded Iron Formation (BIF)
Precambrian sedimentary rocks with alternating iron oxides and silica.
78
Red beds
Red sedimentary rocks (sandstone, shale) due to iron oxides, often terrestrial, oxidizing.
79
Morrison Formation
Upper Jurassic sedimentary rocks in western US, famous for dinosaurs.
80
Bishop Tuff
Large volcanic ignimbrite from Long Valley Caldera eruption.
81
Rodinia
Neoproterozoic supercontinent (1.1 billion - 750 million years ago).
82
Pannotia
Short-lived Neoproterozoic supercontinent (600 - 540 million years ago).
83
Laurentia
Ancient continental core of present-day North America.
84
Avalonia
Microcontinent accreted to eastern North America in early Paleozoic.
85
Sundance Sea
Large epicontinental sea in western North America during the Jurassic.
86
Tethys Sea
Large ocean between Gondwana and Laurasia during much of the Mesozoic.
87
Iapetus Sea
Major ocean in early Paleozoic, separating Laurentia, Baltica, Avalonia.
88
Craton
Large, stable, ancient part of continental lithosphere.
89
Shield
Exposed Precambrian crystalline rocks within a craton.
90
Accretion
Growth of continental crust by adding smaller fragments (terranes).
91
Exotic terrane
Crustal fragment with different geological history, accreted to a continent.
92
Paleontology
Scientific study of fossils to understand the history of life.
93
Taphonomy
Study of processes affecting an organism after death, including fossilization.
94
Taxonomy
Science of classifying and naming living organisms (and fossils).

Geol 2000 Earth System History (3 decks)

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