Geology Personal Statement

Around the world our water supply is depleting. Our water is becoming contaminated making it harmful for both mammals and aquatic life. Today over one billion people go without adequate water supply and every fifteen seconds a child dies of waterborne illness. Sources of water that once supplied water to millions can no longer meet the supply and demand of the water need. Scientist predict that the amount of useful water will keep depleting greatly in the years to come. In the next couple of pages it will talk about both the geological and human reasons as to why are water supply is depleting.

This allows geologists to study what’s happening and how geological processes work and progress through time.

As the appointed state geologist, Dr. Eugene Allen Smith spent his career surveying and studying Alabama’s unique geology. Dr. Smith is credited with the creation of the Alabama geological map in 1927. As a professor at the university, Dr. Smith could only do his research in the summer. During the summer, Smith and his team would travel across the state surveying the land with the same tools modern geologists use today. This map became crucial to Alabama’s industrial development, as that it displayed the rocks and minerals available throughout the state. This map’s accuracy allowed for Alabamians to exploit the earth of it’s minerals like iron and marble. Dr. Smith understood the importance of Alabama’s natural history, and petitioned the

The water supply on earth plays a huge role in daily lives. You need to have clean water to drink, do laundry and water your garden. Since water is necessary, the future water supply is very important for future generations. They will need clean water to use daily. Society can not let the water become so polluted and unsanitary that future generations can not use it for their daily needs. Water supply is affected by humans and the area surrounding the water.

Minerals are what make-up Rocks and rocks are what make up the geology of an area. In this report, we will focus on the geology of Ontario through its rocks. We will look at ten difference rocks samples that have been collected from several different places here in Windsor Ontario including the beach, the river, gravel pits, along highways and roadways as well in parks and campsites. The rocks that were collected are all rocks that have formed right here in Ontario.

Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that attempts to explain the movements of the Earth's lithosphere that have formed the landscape features we see across the globe today” (Briney). Geology defines “plate” as a large slab of solid rock, and “tectonics” is part of the Greek root word for “to build.” Together the words define how the Earth’s surface is built up of moving plates. The theory of plate tectonics dictates that individual plates, broken down into large and small sections of rock, form Earth’s lithosphere. These fragmented bodies of rock move along each other atop the Earth’s liquid lower mantle to create the plate boundaries that have shaped Earth’s landscape. Plate tectonics originated from meteorologist Alfred Wegener’s theory, developed in the early 20th century. In 1912, he realized that the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa appeared to piece together like a jigsaw puzzle. He further examined the globe and deduced that all of Earth’s continents could somehow be assembled together and proposed the idea that the continents had once been linked in a single supercontinent called Pangaea. To explain today’s position of the continents, Wegener theorized that they began to drift apart approximately 300 million years ago. This theory

It has been known for well over a century now that the Earth’s core, mantle and the crust make up the basic structure of the Earth. However, there is some controversy over how and when the Earth produced its core, mantle and crust. In this essay, I will first discuss about the formation of the Early Earth and its Moon, then about the methods used to pinpoint the age of the Earth. Other than that, I will also expand on core and mantle formation, as well as the eventual production of the continental crust.

It is believed that Native Americans inhabited the lands of what is now Yellowstone National Park for more than 11,000 years, until approximately 200 years ago, when European settlers began to drive many of them from their homelands. In 1872 Yellowstone was declared the world’s first national park as a way to preserve and protect the land for the “benefit and enjoyment of future generations.” (National Park Service) Yellowstone National Park covers a vast area in the Northwestern United States. Its landscape is very complex and ever changing thanks to the many geological forces that are found there. In fact, the unique geological features such as the geysers, hot springs, steam vents, among many others, are what lead to

Authors, Fiske and Jackson collaborate to write a geological survey for the United States. Hawaii is made up of a collection of islands which contain many volcanoes, all at different stages ranging from Mid-tertiary volcanoes to Holocene volcanoes. Scientists have noticed a pattern in the Hawaiian volcanoes according to their geographical location. A significant portion of volcanic activity has taken along the volcanic rift, a linear zone along Hawaii. Fiske and Jackson provide insight about the volcanic rift, and how volcanic activity is not based on geography, but on stress fields within the volcanoes.

The global structure of Mars is well documented through viewings by scientists. However, without actually stepping foot on the planet, all we know of it is through observation. Due to this, the issue of plate tectonics on Mars is a contested issue. While scientists are sure that the core of Mars is not active, which means no plate tectonics; they cannot be sure that there was never a time when there were.

Plate Tectonics is a scientific theory which study how the Earth’s plates are driven and shaped by geological forces to keep them in constant movement. The theory explains the present-day tectonic behavior of the Earth, particularly the global distribution of mountain building, earthquake activity, and volcanism in a series of linear belt. (Pitman, W.C., 2007)

1. One of the paramount topics we have covered in this course is oceanography (no surprises there). Rather than thinking of oceanography as “just” the study of the ocean, I have always viewed oceanography as the study of marine biology, marine chemistry, marine geology and marine physics. Before diving into any sort of detail, one can see (from the above) that oceanography incorporates four fundamental sciences into one topic; therefore, when asked to list three ways in which marine geology and marine chemistry interrelate, the possibilities are endless. Because we are to list just three examples, I am going to focus my answer on the Earth’s composition/layers. The first way these two fields interrelate is though convection currents (mantle). Density and temperature are two topics central to chemistry. Because density and temperature, along with depth, play a critical role in plate movement (geology), the plate tectonic theory is one example. The second way is through radioactive decay. Specifically, we use radioactive dating (e.g., isotope dating and half-lives) to determine the exact age of a specific geological structures. The third way these two fields interrelate is in determining the composition of the Earth’s inner core. I saved this example for last because it shows how marine physics can also be interrelated in marine chemistry and marine geology. We [scientific community] have a sound understanding of the Earth’s composition because of mass, density and temperature

The numerous ice ages documented on this planet that have shaped its contours, offers us incredible

Most people know that Earth is the planet they live on, it’s basic knowledge. They also know that the earth has volcanoes, mountains, earthquakes, etcetera. Do they know though how these features were made? Do they know what is inside of the earth? Most likely, unless related to their job they do not. However, just because someone may not know about it, it doesn’t mean it’s not happening, and all of the earth’s layers working in harmony is definitely happening.

For millions of years, the Earth beneath our feet befuddled scientists. They understood that there was a fiery chasm constantly spewing molten lava. But what was underneath all of that magma, was there anything else? It would take thousands of years before a scientist could create a viable hypothesis for the core of the Earth. According to Edmund Mathez of the American Museum of Natural history, Inge Lehman, a Danish seismologist, published a paper in 1936 that suggested there was a solid inner core to the Earth, as well as a liquid outer core (Mathez, 2001). With the technology that we have now that Lehman did not have, we have furthered the understanding of our planet’s core, which has led to a greater understanding of the entire workings of our planet. BBC’s The Core is a documentary that helps deliver that understanding of the core to the public so that they may understand what is happening with the world below its people.