Composition of the continental crust: oxygen 46.6%, silicon 27.7%.

Silica tetrahedron is SiO44-, silicon in the middle with 4 oxygen atoms around it, makes pyramid. Ferromagnesian silicate minerals: -contain Fe (iron) and/or Mg
(magnesium) – dark color, more dense – ex. Biotite, olivine, pyroxene, amphibole. Non-ferromagnesian silicate minerals: -no Fe and Mg – light color, less dense - ex. Feldspar (orthoclase, plagioclase), quartz. Coarse grained texture: -
individual grains large enough to be seen with naked eye – forms during clow cooling. Fine grained texture: - individual mineral grains are present but are too small to be seen with naked eye – forms during rapid cooling.
Porphyritic texture: - large grains embedded in a matrix of smaller grains – slow cooling followed by more rapid cooling. Glassy texture - no mineral grains form because there is no internal arrangement of atoms - forms from
instantaneous cooling (quenching). Felsic rocks: - contain mostly feldspar and silica (SiO2 - quartz) ex. Non-ferromagnesian minerals - light colored with some black flecks - high silica content. Mafic rocks: - contain a lot of
minerals with magnesium and iron - ex. Ferromagnesian minerals - dark colored rocks - low silica content - also intermediate rocks. Rock name is a combination of mineralogy & size. Pyroclastic eruptions: - bubble expansion &
rise are resisted by viscosity of magma - high viscosity magmas: expansion resisted until expanding force overcomes strength of material - expands suddenly and violently - these explosive eruptions are referred to as pyroclastic
eruptions and products are pyroclastic materials “fire fragments”. Pyroclastic materials: - large fragments - blocks: solid when ejected, angular - bombs: molten when ejected, streamlined - medium: lapilli or cinders (pea - walnut
sized) - smallest: ash (<2mm) - pumice: glassy rock within abundant vesicles - pyroclastic eruption may result in a vertical column of hot gas, ash, & pumice - Plinian eruption. Pyroclastic flows: - hot gas and suspended particles
that move along the surface due to density - Nuee ardente (glowing avalanche) - travel at speeds up to 200 km/hr - deposits up to 100 km from source - most hazardous volcanic phenomenon. Lahars: - mudflows of wet volcanic
debris - lava or pyroclastic flow melts snow - walls of summit lake collapse - rainfall saturates volcanic deposit - second most deadly volcanic hazard. Types of volcanoes: (1) shield volcanoes - broad gentle slopes, commonly a few
degrees - succession of low viscosity basalt flows - long lava flows, lava fountains, non-explosive - Hawaii made of 5 shield volcanoes. (2) cinder cones - built from ejected lava fragments - slopes of 30-40 degrees (angle of repose)
- typically <~300m high - short life span. (3) stratovolcanoes or composite cones - built from alternating lava flows and pyroclastic flow deposits - intermediate in size - short lava flows & domes, pyroclastic flows, highly explosive
- common above subduction zones. Calderas: - large, steep walled depression formed from collapse of the volcanic structure after underlying magma chamber is empties during an eruption - may form on stratovolcanoes, shield
volcanoes, or without raised volcanic structure (as in Yellowstone). Yellowstone hot spot track along the Snake River Plain: - felsic explosive centers are younger to northeast - younger basaltic lavas have covered the Snake River
Plain. Three eruption ages: 2.1m, 1.3m, and 0.63m ago, each formed large calderas. Geysers: - result of water that is heated from contact with hot rock - water becomes superheated and pressurized from confinement - enough
pressure builds weight of overlying water and bursts out of ground - cyclic process. Hot spring: - rising hot water is not trapped/pressurized - rises to surface - temperatures are unusually high at shallow depth. Why Yellowstone
more explosive than Hawaii: Yellowstone continental crust, Hawaii oceanic crust, felsic crusts, injection of mafic melts felsic crust. Weathering - the physical breakdown and chemical alteration of rocks at the earth’s surface.
Physical weathering - produces smaller versions of same rocks and rock-forming minerals - ex. Sheeting (exfoliation), biological activity. Chemical weathering - transformation of rocks into one or more new compounds - alters
internal structure of minerals by removing and/or adding elements. Erosion - physical removal of material by mobile agents such as water, wind, or ice. Two types of sedimentary rocks: (1) detrital or clastic - deposit of solid
particles derived from physical and chemical weathering - classified according to particle size - ex. Shale (grains too small to see, flakes apart, a lot of platy clay minerals), sandstone, conglomerate (rounded), breccia (angular);
range of sizes up to boulders. (2) chemical sedimentary rocks - form by chemical and/or biochemical processes - named according to formation process (ex. Halite, gypsum, salt flats) - evaporates, form in shallow arms of ocean
basins and salty lakes - cut off from replenishing source - seawater evaporates - water becomes saturated in certain components - precipitates minerals. Most chemical sedimentary rocks are limestone (CaCo3 calcium
carbonate) ~ 10% of all sedimentary rocks - several types. Chalk - made of microscopic marine organisms with calcite shells deposited in deep, open water. Coquina - rock composed almost entirely of shell fragments. Mudcracks
- form when fine-grained sediment dries and shrinks. Ripple marks - record movement of the water or air, youngest beds are at top, paleomagnetism, seafloor magnetic stripes to assess locations of the continents, determine
positions of plate boundaries from volcanic rocks, mountain belts, sedimentary basins, etc. can cause sedimentary rocks to determine the positions of shorelines at different times in the geologic past, use the positions of the
shorelines and where marine rocks were and were not being deposited to assess sea level at any given time, can document the ups and downs of sea level over time, can interpret the depositional setting of the rocks from: -
type of sedimentary rocks - types of fossils - sedimentary structures. Settings include marine vs. non-marine, shoreline, continental shelf, river systems, abyssal plain, coastal swamp, etc. Law of superposition: each layer of a
sedimentary rock must be younger than the layer below it - thus, the vertical sequence of sedimentary rocks records the changes in depositional setting through time. 3 types of particles: - protons (+charge) 1 amu - neutrons (no
charge) 1 amu - electrons (- charge) 0 amu. Protons & neutrons in nucleus, electrons in electron cloud around nucleus. Atomic mass of atom = # protons + # neutrons. Atomic # of an element = number of protons (defines the
element). Isotopes of the same element have same # of protons, but different # of neutrons. Radioactivity/radioactive decay: nuclei of some isotopes (unstable) spontaneously change and from an atom of a different element.
Parent isotope = original isotope. Daughter = new isotopes created by radioactive decay - during decay, one parent atom turns into a daughter atom. Half-life is the same time required for one-half of the atoms in the sample to
decay (measure the rate of decay) - probability that an atom will decay. Several different isotopes used for dating, which one you use depends on: (1) what is in the material that you want to date. (2) age of the material vs. half-
life of isotope. Principle of original horizontality - sediments are generally deposited in horizontal layers. Principle of fossil succession - fossil organisms succeed one another in a definite and determinable order; therefore, any
time period can be recognized by its fossil content. Principle of cross-cutting relationships - features that cut rocks (faults & intrusive igneous rocks) must be younger than the rocks which they cut. Some types of radioactive
decay: (1) proton captures electron, turns into neutron, atomic # decreased by 1, atomic mass not affected. (2) neutron ejects a negative charge, turns into a proton, atomic # increased by 1, atomic mass not affected. (3) alpha
emission/decay - nucleus emits an alpha particle with 2 protons & 2 neutrons. Coal: forms from large accumulations of undecayed plant material - needs to get buried in oxygen-poor environments - typically forms in swamps -
rapid burial of plants - with deeper burial, grade of coal increases: amount of recognizable plant material decreases, water, O, H decrease, relative amount of C increases (blacker), coal gets harder & brighter, coal burns hotter.
Kerogen - thick, waxy substance (@T<100C) made of long hydrocarbon chains - 100-160C converted into oil by breaking apart chains - higher T - natural gas is produced. Density: gas < oil < water. Need three components to form
oil accumulation: (1) source rock - abundant organic matter - heated to temperatures of ~ 60-120 C. (2) reservoir rock - where hydrocarbons are stored - rock must be porous - space between grains or fractures. (3) cap rock -
impermeable rock to prevent upward migration to the surface. Unconventional oil & gas resources: (1) oil shale - contain kerogen - a waxy hydrocarbon (which has been partly converted to petroleum) - when heated with water
kerogen converts to petroleum - US estimated resources 14x that of conventional oil - not profitable with current technology - ½ world’s supply in green river Fm ~ sedimentary rocks that accumulated in lake beds (CO, UT, WY)
between ~ 56 & 34 mil years ago. (2) tar/oil sands - mixture of sand, clay, and other sediments with bitumen (highly viscous “tar” like hydrocarbon) - too viscous to pump - strip mined - heated with pressurized steam then
hydrogen is added - at this point it is like a crude oil that can be refined - process requires input of energy of ~ 50% of the energy that the oil will yield

- largest deposits in Venezuela and Alberta, Canada - currently ~15-30% of Canada’s oil production is from tar sands - environmental impacts of tar sand production: - need large quantities of water - contaminated water ends up
in toxic disposal ponds - major land disturbance. (3) gas hydrate - compact mixture of water and natural gas (methane) - gas formed from bacterial decay of organic matter and gets trapped in cage-like network of water
molecules - forms in cold, deep (7500m) parts of ocean floor (need high P, low T) - estimates: more than twice as much carbon as in all known fossil fuel deposits - problem: rapidly evaporate and decompose at surface T and P.
Nuclear fusion - joining of two very light elements to make a heavier element. Nuclear fission - breakdown of large nuclei to form two smaller nuclei. Both processes create energy because a small amount of mass is converted
to energy when you create a nucleus. Nuclear fission in a reactor: - decay of radioactive isotopes may be sped up by bombardments of sample by neutrons in a nuclear reactor, neutron produced in reactor collides with 235U
atom, reaction and splitting of 235U produces: two atoms of other elements, 3 neutrons, energy (200 million electronic volts) - if enough U is present, then newly generated neutrons can collide and penetrate the nuclei of
Adjacent 235U atoms. This sets off a chain reaction - if allowed to proceed uncontrolled, explosive release of huge amounts of energy, ex. Atomic bomb - if fissioning of 235U is done under carefully controlled conditions, the
energy released can be extracted and used for electric power generation - mining of uranium need to concentrate into Yellowstone - enrichment, need to get about 4% 235U for nuclear reactors - difficult and expensive process
(30% of fuel costs) - enriched uranium packed into fuel rods - loaded into reactor and bombarded with neutrons to start fission chain reactions - over time (3-5 years) the fissionable content in rods reduced to levels where it
cannot sustain chain reactions - rods and water used in reactor need to be stores - long term storage and transport to storage facility continue to be major issue; site used to be Yucca Mtn, Nevada but not anymore. 5 criteria of
minerals: naturally occurring, homogeneous, solid, crystalline solid, definable chemical composition, inorganic. Vesicular rocks contain holes (vesicles) where gas bubbles were present in magma. Basalt: fine grained, extrusive,
mafic. Gabbro: coarse grained, intrusive, mafic. Rhyolite: fine grained, extrusive, felsic. Granite: coarse grained, intrusive, felsic. Continental crust: felsic granitic with 25-45% dark minerals, intermediate andesitic (andesite).
Oceanic crust: 45-80% dark minerals basaltic mafic. Mantle: 85-100% dark minerals mafic. To melt rock: decompression (decrease in pressure on rock), addition of violatiles (water & Co2), conduction (heating). Divergent
boundaries - decompression - causes plates to separate - rifting movement causes buoyant magma below to rise and fill in space. Convergent boundaries - addition of volatiles -hotspots - conduction - pressure on rocks in upper
mantle just below plate boundary drops - pressure drop lowers rock melting temp because the rock is already hot - they melt, forming magma. Hotspots - a region deep within the earth’s mantle from which heat rises through
the process of convection, this heat facilitates the melting of rock, the melted rock aka magma often pushes through cracks in the crust to form volcanoes. Main controls of volcanic eruptions: viscosity (silica content) and
amount of dissolved gas. The more viscosity, the more eruptive. Viscosity controls how dissolved gas acts which determines the explosion. Silica (SiO2) is the dominant control on the viscosity of magma. Felsic magma has high
silica and high viscosity. Mafic magma has lower silica and less viscosity. Hot flows are more fluid and cooler ones are more viscous. Mafic darker in color, felsic lighter in color. Volcanic ash created by violent eruptions that
produce tiny shards of glass. Cinders/lapilli are marble to golf ball sized pieces that can be formed from fragmented rock, from ash that clots together when mixed with water. Volcanic bombs are blocks that were still soft
during streamlined as they fell or flattened into a pie shape when they landed. Pumice is a light colored felsic glassy rock that contains an abundance of very tiny vesicles; it forms from the cooling of frothy magma. Material in
pyroclastic eruptions: gas, ash, pumice, hot lava blocks. Pyroclastic flows dangerous and destructive because very hot gas and suspended particles. Flood basalts are rock formed from large volumes of low viscosity mafic lava
that have erupted over a relatively short time and spread out in vast flows. Associated with basalt plateau. Eruptions can be predicted through earthquake activity, changes in heat flow, increases in gas and steam emission, and
changes in shape. The gases and dust particles thrown into atmosphere have influences on climate, cools planet by shading incoming solar radiation, can last for months to years. Compared to Mt. Helens, the Yellowstone
eruptions are much bigger: 279x, 1000x, and 2500x larger. A rock formed by lithification of gravel yields a breccia if the clasts are angular, or conglomerate if the clasts are rounded. For loose sand into a rock, first it undergoes
burial, then overlying sediment squeezes out water or air that had been trapped in pores between clasts which is called compaction, and then minerals precipitate from groundwater in the pores and bind clasts together to
make solid rock. Fast moving water coarse material settles out and fine materials carried away. Slow moving water only fine material can settle out. When relative sea level rises, the shoreline migrates inland, a process called
transgression, and when relative sea level falls, the shoreline migrates seaward, a process called regression. Unconformity is a time period of nondeposition and possibly erosion. Angular unconformity: rocks below an angular
unconformity were tilted or folded before the unconformity developed. Nonconformity is a type of unconformity on which sedimentary rocks overlie a basement of older intrusive igneous rocks or metamorphic rocks.
Disconformity is the boundary between two sequences. The number of atoms of the parent isotope decreases and the number of atoms of the daughter isotope increases as time passes. The rate of change decreases with time.
The ratio changes with each successive half-life. Assumptions: no daughter atoms have escaped after they formed, there were no daughter atoms in the mineral when it forms. The problem with obtaining and age when a young
material is dated with an isotope with a long half-life and an old material is dated using an isotope with a very short half-life is that not enough time has passed for one half-life cycle. Approximate percentages of current usage:
coal - 22.6%, oil 38.4%, natural gas 23.9%. Highest energy density - uranium, oil coal. Lowest - wood. Oil and natural gas (found together): - hydrocarbons - compounds of mostly H & C - originate from partially decomposed
organisms - form in marine (ocean) setting with abundant biological activity - protected from decay by burial & lack of oxygen - burial heats rock and converts organic matter first into kerogen. Hydrocarbons (liquids & gasses)
are mobile, so they migrate upward through water saturated environment. Low density hydrocarbons will migrate to surface unless something stops their movement. Conventional oil supplies may last for only about another
century. Hydrofracking, aka fracking, produces new fractures in rock and opens up pre-existing fractures, thereby increasing the permeability of the rock. Drillers pump fracking fluid into a sealed off portion of the drillhole, then
increase the pressure in the fluid until the rock around the hole breaks. Allows access to more oil and gas resources. When they pump out the fluid, some sand remains and prevents cracks from closing tightly, so that oil or gas
can flow from the rock into the cracks and up the drillhole. Has led to concerns about contamination of freshwater supplies, leakage of methane into the atmosphere, and triggering small earthquakes. Percentage of nuclear
energy usage in the U.S. is 8%. Transporting and storing nuclear waste is dangerous because it is highly radioactive and can seep into water supplies. Not easy to find proper storage, most waste remains on the property of the
power plants. Mineral groups: silicates, oxides, carbonates, sulfides, sulfates. Silicates = K, Ca, Na, Fe, Mg, Al, Ti. Si(x)O(y). Most important rock forming minerals are silicates and are made of both ferromagnesian and
nonferromagnesian minerals. How do igneous rocks differ: (1) texture - size, shape & arrangement of crystals. (2) composition - chemistry or mineralogy of the rock. Composition: (1) bulk chemistry - how much of each
element; silica (SiO2) content most important. (2) minerals that make up the rock. Fissure eruptions: - lava flows out of crack - majority are basaltic - mid ocean ridges - flood basalts - huge volumes of lave poured onto surface -
many flood basalts represent the initial volcanism from hotspots (mantle plumes). Rates of weathering controlled by: (1) rock & mineral composition (& physical characteristics). (2) climate (moisture & temperature). What
controls size of sediment particles deposited is energy of transport medium and pace of water. Relative dating - sequence of events. Absolute dating - age numbers. Inorganic limestone forms naturally in seawater from
precipitation of calcite in shallow water, but where amount of sediment from eroding continent is small.