GEOG 1F91 Lecture Notes - Geomorphology, Supercontinent Cycle, Volcanism
Document Summary
Rock transformation: rocks have different chemistries, these different chemistries tell us how they were formed, processes. Leads to establishment of relief (hills and valleys: the crust is mobile from within, geomorphic processes act to reduce this relief, constructive forces, destructive forces. Remember : relief is height, height is potential energy, processes spontaneously run down an energy gradient, moving from higher relief to lower relief. Isostatic adjustment: mountain, reduction in elevation due to weathering, etc. , causes uplift. Idea of continental drift: original idea dates back to 1600s when someone noticed that the continents fit together , geology fits together too (fig. 12. 26: but it wasn"t known how the continents could move, geo-forensics. Continental drift: the evidence, mid-oceanic ridges, magnetic reversals, increasing age of rocks away from the ridge lines, deep oceanic trenches, the wilson cycle (fig. Led to the theory of plate tectonics (fig. Plate tectonics: plate boundaries, divergent, convergent, transform, big convection cell!