Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Geology

Florida's Aquifers

1. 150 to 70 million years ago (MYA), sediment formed on basement rock, becoming the bedrock (limestone and related rocks and shells).

2. 70-25 MYA: Various sea level fluctuations occurred during a major hot period, and sedimentation continued.

Biscayne Bay Aquifer

• Unconfined surficial aquifer
• Depth ranges from 0 feet in the west to 260 feet in the east

Floridian Aquifer

• Larger, deeper, and older than the Biscayne Bay Aquifer
• Confined in South Florida
• Unconfined in North Florida
• Saline water in South Florida

3. The Floridian Aquifer was formed between 150-25 MYA.

4. The Biscayne Bay Aquifer was formed between 2 MYA - 125,000 years ago (TYA).

• Pollution, seepage, and contamination
• Overuse (unnecessary wasting of water)

Coastal Water

1. Freshwater... Continue reading "Florida's Coastal Ecosystems: Aquifers, Marine Life, and Seagrass" »

Kinetic Theory and States of Matter Fundamentals

Kinetic Molecular Theory (KMT) of Gases

• The particles in a gas are considered to be small, hard spheres with an insignificant volume.
• The motion of the particles in a gas is rapid, constant, and random.
• All collisions between particles in a gas are perfectly elastic.

Gas Pressure and Atmospheric Conditions

• Gas pressure is the result of billions of rapidly moving particles simultaneously colliding with an object.
• Air exerts pressure on Earth because gravity holds the particles in air within Earth’s atmosphere.

Temperature, Energy, and Standard Conditions

• STP (Standard Temperature and Pressure) is defined as 0ºC and 101.3 kPa.
• Average kinetic energy is directly related to the substance’s temperature.

Bangladesh River Flooding: 1998 Case Study

Geographical Context and Vulnerability

Bangladesh is formed by deposition from three major rivers: the Brahmaputra, the Ganges, and the Meghna. Sediment from these and over 50 other rivers forms one of the largest deltas in the world. Up to 80% of the country is located on this delta. As a result, much of the country is just a few meters above sea level and is highly vulnerable to flooding and rising sea levels.

Bangladesh is a densely populated country (an LEDC) with a high population growth rate (nearly 2.7% per annum). Almost all of Bangladesh’s rivers have their source outside of the country. For example, the drainage basin of the Ganges and Brahmaputra covers 1.75 million km² and includes the... Continue reading "Bangladesh River Floods: Causes, Impacts, and Mitigation (1998 Case Study)" »

explicar el modelo geodinámico, hacer un dibujo, explicar cada capa y nombrar las discontinuidades?

There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
and swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
and frogs in the pools singing at night,
and wild plum-trees in tremulous white;
robins will wear their feathery fire
whistling their whims on a low fence-wire
and not one will know of the war, not one
will care at last when it is done
not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
if mankind perished utterly;
and spring herself, when she woke at dawn
would scarcely know that we were gone

Meeting at Night

the gray sea and the long black land; a
and the yellow half-moon large and low b
and the startled little waves that leap c
in fiery ringlets from their sleep c
as I gain the cove with pushing prow b
and quench its speed i' the slushy sand a

then a mile of warm... Continue reading "Poetic Reflections on Nature and Mortality" »

Environmental Pollution

The negative change of the characteristics of the environment is called Pollution /Clouds containing Sulphur oxides (SOx) produce acid rain/ The depletion that human activities are causing in some products is Exhaustion of raw materials/ The presence in soil of substances in concentrations sufficient to confer harmful, unhealthy or hazardous properties is the Land pollution/ The Sustainable development considers the improvement of living conditions along with the stable ecological balance at the local, regional and global maintenance/ The substance that is opaque to ultraviolet (UV) light, and it blocks about 96% of the UV light that comes from the sun isOzone/ A land-fill site is A big hole that we make in ground to

Sources of Petroleum

Petroleum originates from a small fraction of the organic matter deposited in sedimentary environments.

“Source Rock”

The typical “source rock” contains 99% mineral matter and 1% organic matter. The organic matter is composed of 90% kerogen and 10% bitumens.

This organic matter is usually a combination of marine- and terrestrially-derived organic matter (plant) and zooplankton (animal), which constitutes more than 95% of the life in the oceans.

Terrestrial organisms are mainly wind-blown spores and pollen, along with some woody debris from rivers and swamps.

All living matter is composed of four main constituents: lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lignins.

Kerogen Types

1. Type I Kerogen

This type of kerogen has a high... Continue reading "Petroleum Sources: Kerogen Types and Their Significance" »

Biodiversity

Biodiversity = Number, variety and variability of Earth’s organisms (of plants and animals)

Levels of Biodiversity

1. Genetic Diversity - The genetic variety within all populations of that species.

2. Species Richness - The number of species

3. Ecosystem Diversity - The variety of ecosystem found on earth. Ex, The forests, prairies, deserts, coral reefs, lakes

Endangerment and Extinction

Species of imminent danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

The death of the last individual of a species.

Leading Causes of Endangerment and Extinction

• -land use of biodiversity hotspots(biggest contributor to species loss)
• -The introduction of a foreign species into an ecosystem from  which it did not evolve.
• -Overexploitation: