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Earth Cycles. By Diana L. Duckworth Rustburg High School Campbell County, VA. Cycles observed by early man . Some were easy, such as. Day & night. cycles of the seasons. spring. summer. WINTER. FALL. Hydrologic Cycle. … and the rivers run to the sea, yet the sea is not full.
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Earth Cycles By Diana L. Duckworth Rustburg High School Campbell County, VA
Cycles observed by early man ... Some were easy, such as Day & night
cycles of the seasons spring summer
WINTER FALL
Hydrologic Cycle … and the rivers run to the sea, yet the sea is not full Condensation Precipitation evaporation runoff
hibernation Lives were ruled by cycles... migration Growth & harvest http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals
Cycles - old idea in 1789 • James Hutton - Scottish physician • familiar with cycles • cycling of blood in the body • cycling of air in and out of the lungs • liked to take long walks, hiking vacations • naturalist - keen observer of nature • good thinker - synthesizer
Hutton’s two contributions • Uniformitarianism • the present is the key to the past • Geologic Cycle • the neverending cycle of the wearing away of the continents and the rebuilding of the continents
Solid rock becoming soil... … called weathering
and carried away (transported)... By rivers on bottom And in suspension
And by ice in glaciers And wind...
And underground in caves... … everywhere a slow, steady march of loose material to be deposited...
loose material dropped, that is deposited ... In lake beds & flood plains Along shoreline And in ocean
…why are there mountains left? • Two possibilities • earth is very young and the mountains just haven’t been worn away • earth is old, and in some way, mountains are renewed • Saw processes of continents wearing down • by erosion, transport & deposition • Must be a return part of the cycle • wearing away must be followed by renewal
Evidence of oceans at higher levels Fossils - remains of life Ripples in rocks
Many rocks showed evidence of heat & pressure in rocks at high elevations Must have been buried deep and then uplifted
How could uplift have occurred? Volcanoes create new land
Rock layers have been broken and one side lifted up Many small shifts along faults during earthquakes...
Grand Tetons created over millions of years by many small movements on a fault at base of mountains.
weathering uplift erosion Geologic cycle transport burial deposition
Uniformitarian PrincipleUniformitarianism Processes today are the same as processes in the past because the fundamental laws of the universe do not change.
Two Examples of Uniformitarianism ancient Modern
Has this cycle of wearing away & building back up always been in effect? Angular unconformity – rocks at bottom are tilted from mountain building and were eroded before others were deposited on top.
Yes!!!! “I see no vestige of a beginning and no prospect of an end.”
Remember... • All processes occur all the time • somewhere on the earth • All processes are very slow • Many are catastrophic and discontinuous, producing small changes • volcanic eruptions • movement on a fault • floods • Many small changes add up to big changes
How old is the earth? • very very very old (4.6 billion years!) • processes are slow - millimeters per century • evidence of many cycles of • weathering, erosion, transport, deposition, burial and uplift • many small changes over a long period can wear away mountains & create new ones
Rock Cycle occurs when processes of geologic cycle act on earth materials IGNEOUS ROCKS cooling of molten rock material Melting & cooling Surface processes Metamorphic rocks changed by heat & pressure Sedimentary rocks deposition of weathered particles burial
