AST 2002 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Tharsis, Jarosite, Runaway Greenhouse Effect
Document Summary
7. 1: earth as a planet: entire continents move slowly about, completely rearranging the map of the earth about every few hundred million years. Interior heat is the primary driver of geological activity: temp increases with depth inside a planet. If not these particles would strip away atmospheric gas and cause genetic damage to living organisms. Impact cratering is the only one of the four processes with external causes: the other three are attributable to a planets interior heat and represent what we define as geological activity. Impact crater occurs when an asteroid or comet slams into a solid surface. Earth accreted from rocky and metallic planetesimals, while water and other ices were brought in by planetesimals from more distant reaches of the ss. Water and gases became trapped beneath the surface in much the same way the gas in a carbonated beverage is trapped in a pressurized bottle.
