GEOSC 010 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Pacaya, Hornblende, Continental Drift
Document Summary
Geology is the study of the planet earth. The earth is dynamic and is constantly changing and has a complex history. This change can be violent and occur quickly, like volcanic eruptions and tsunamis or slow like most mountain building and the spreading of the mid-ocean ridges and subduction below the continents. The fiery eruptions of the volcano pacaya in view of guatemala city are an example of violent change. Geologists study anything from submicroscopic to global earth phenomena (example studying the optical properties of minerals in thin section with a petrographic microscope compared to worldwide plate tectonics, for example) Physical geologists study the physical aspects of the earth including the processes that shape it like weathering and erosion and the characteristics of the materials formed by it like mapping and classifying the rock types. Historical geology is the study of the history of the earth and the life forms that have developed on it (fossils).
