ES 1010, Earth Science 1 Course Learning Outcomes for.docx

ES 1010, Earth Science 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
7. Compare the geography, composition, circulation, and
temporal cycles of the oceans.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 9:
Oceans: The Last Frontier
Chapter 10:
The Restless Ocean
Watch the following video:
Williams, C. [IDT-CSU]. (2015, August 7). Coastal processes
[Video file]. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/ZO07SgCFKWs
Click here to access a transcript of the video.
NASA Goddard. (2008, October 24). In the zone. Retrieved

from https://youtu.be/lB1FADETAyg
Unit Lesson
It is easy to see why Earth is referred to as the “Blue
Planet”—71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by
oceans and seas. However, less than 5% of our
oceans have been explored (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] 2014). So
essentially, most of our Earth is still unexplored and
largely unknown. We do know that oceans contain the
highest mountains, the deepest trenches, and the
longest mountain ranges. On average, the ocean
depth is about four times the average elevation of
continents. In fact, Lutgens & Tarbuck (2014) state that
if the Earth’s continents were perfectly flat, they would
be completely submerged under more than 2,000
meters of seawater!
Oceanography is the branch of science that studies
the world’s oceans. It includes geology, chemistry,
physics, and biology (Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2014).
Oceanographers started mapping the oceans floors as
early as 1872 by dropping weighted lines down to the
ocean bottom at random points. The use of sound navigation and
ranging (sonar) began during World War I
to detect enemy submarines, and was later improved during
World War II. Sonar uses the echo of sound
waves to plot the profile of the ocean floor. Satellite radar
technology has also contributed to mapping the
ocean floor. Today, we have a fairly good picture of the ocean
floor topography.

As we study the ocean floor, we notice three major features:
continental margins, basin floors, and mid-
oceanic ridge. The continental margins can be classified as
active or passive. Active margins are where the
UNIT V STUDY GUIDE
Oceans
An iceberg captured on camera during a 30-day mission in
2012 to map areas of the Arctic aboard the NOAA Ship
Fairweather (NOAA, 2013).
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/CSU_Content/courses/Gene
ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitV_CoastalProcesses.pdf
ES 1010, Earth Science
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
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ocean lithosphere is subducted beneath the continental crust
(recall what you learned in Units III and IV).
These are mainly found around the Pacific Ocean. Passive
margins are those that are not experiencing plate
tectonic activity and have more stable topography. Basin floors
make up about 30% of the Earth’s surface
(Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2014). These areas are between the
margins and the mid-ocean ridges and include
deep trenches, underwater volcanoes, and large flat areas known

as abyssal plains. The mid-ocean ridges
are where new oceanic lithosphere is being continuously
formed. The new lithosphere is hot and is not as
dense as the rest of the ocean floor. This makes it elevated
above the basin floor. It takes approximately 80
million years of cooling for it to become part of the basin floor
(Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2014)! The mid-ocean
ridge is the largest topographic feature on Earth—both in height
and in length (over 70,000 km long).
The major difference between oceans and freshwater is salinity.
Seawater salinity is approximately 3.5%
salts—mainly sodium chloride (NaCl), but also other dissolved
salts (see Fig 9.3, p. 298). Where do these
salts come from? The two main sources of salts are from
chemical weathering of rock, and volcanic out-
gassing. With constant weathering we would expect oceans to
get saltier with time. However, seawater
salinity remains relatively constant. Why? Ocean organisms use
many of these salts and chemicals while
others drop out as sediment. Ocean salinity does, however, vary
in different regions of the world. As ocean
water evaporates it leaves a higher concentration of salts. Also,
sea ice forms from pure water, leaving the
salts in solution; therefore, in polar regions salinity will
increase in the winter months and decrease in summer
months. How would you expect salinity to vary between hot, dry
regions and cool, rainy regions?
Other variations in seawater, such as temperature and density,
vary with depth. In tropical regions (low
latitudes) water temperature is warmer near the surface and
decreases with depth. This is largely due to
thermal radiation (sunlight) and the mixing of water by waves
on the surface. Where sunlight can no longer
penetrate, temperatures decrease rapidly. This change in water

temperature is called the thermocline and can
limit where sea life lives. In polar regions (high latitudes) the
water stays fairly cool at the surface, so there
generally will not be a thermocline. Where water is warmest,
density will be lowest (warmer water expands)
so you will see a similar change in water density with depth in
tropical areas. Water density is also affected by
salinity. In inland seas, where salinity is extremely high,
density will be high, allowing you to easily float on the
surface. However in the open ocean, temperature has a greater
influence on density than salinity does. Water
is most dense in cold, deep waters.
We have learned much about the history of the Earth through
the study of the oceans. In Unit III, recall that
we learned it was not until scientists started to study the ocean
floor that the theory of plate tectonics was
developed. The oceans have also given us insight into the rates
of erosion that takes place on continents.
Also, recall In Unit I, we learned that a main component of the
rock cycle is erosion and transport of
sediments. A major depository of those sediments is the ocean.
These sediments, eroded from land, are
known as terrigenous sediments.
The oceans also act as a repository for remains of sea life over
the millennia. As microscopic algae and sea
life die, their skeletons accumulate on the sea floor. Since the
sea floor is relatively free from disturbance,
these biogenous sediments will create layers of sediment.
Scientists can extract cores of seafloor sediment
that go back for millions of years and determine which species
once lived in the surface waters of the ocean.
These organisms have different climate requirements, so these
cores can give clues as to the past climates of
different regions of the ocean. A third type of sediment are

those that precipitate from the ocean water itself or
hydrogenous sediments. These could be salts or chemicals
produced at hydrothermal vents.
Since the Earth is mainly water, the oceans play a major role in
the Earth’s climates and moderating
temperatures. The oceans are in constant motion, both along the
surface and through deep-ocean currents.
These currents transfer both heat and nutrients around the
world. The movement of water is not random, but
forms predictable patterns, or currents. These currents are
created both by winds and the rotation of the Earth
(the Coriolis Effect). Major ocean currents form in a roughly
circular motion called gyres. In the Northern
Hemisphere, gyres move in a clockwise direction. In the
Southern Hemisphere gyres move counterclockwise.
This holds true for all water—try flushing the toilet in both
hemispheres and notice that the water follows this
same pattern. You can see these major gyres in Fig 10.2 (p. 323)
of your textbook. Notice how warm water
from the equatorial region flow northward, bringing warmer
temperatures north. Colder water flows southward.
This flow of water spreads solar energy to colder regions and
moderates the warmer temperatures near the
equator.
Oceans also experience up-welling, or the vertical movement of
water, when cold water surfaces from the
deep ocean. Near the coast, this occurs when winds drive warm
water away from the coast and deeper

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
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waters come to the surface to take their place. These waters are
nutrient-rich and create areas of high
productivity (Fig 10.5, p. 326). This also explains why the
waters of the Pacific coast are so much cooler than
waters along the Atlantic coast. A similar up-welling occurs
during the winter months in polar regions, but for a
very different reason. As explained above, when sea-ice forms
in the winter months the remaining salts make
the water much saltier. This added salinity creates very dense
water. Because the water is more dense that
the water below, it sinks and is replaced by surfacing water.
Oceans make our planet habitable, not only by moderating
climates, but also through the production of
oxygen. Much of the Earth’s oxygen is produced by microscopic
organisms called phytoplankton. Like plants,
these organisms produce oxygen through photosynthesis. They
also provide the food base for many ocean
species. These phytoplankton depend on ocean nutrients for
growth and reproduction. This NASA video
(NASA Goddard, 2008) shows how, in recent decades, humans
have impacted populations of
phytoplankton. Through increased runoff from agriculture and
human waste, rivers contribute a huge nutrient
load to the oceans. During summer months, these added
nutrients will create what is referred to as algal
blooms. As these blooms die off, the wastes collect along the
ocean floor and decompose, using all available
oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. This creates what is
known as a dead zone in many large bay areas

where organisms cannot survive the low oxygen levels. This is
just one way in which human activities have
impacted our oceans. Can you think of other ways?
Most of what we understand about the oceans comes from our
own observations near the coastline.
Coastlines are the interface of the oceans and land, which makes
them very diverse areas. It is at the
coastline where waves created by wind energy that can travel
for hundreds of miles finally release their
energy as they crash into land. The energy from these waves can
carve away cliffs or other features.
Coastlines are also where rivers, carrying the erosional
sediments collected from huge areas, finally deposit
their load. This deposition of sediments creates beaches, which
are constantly being modified by wave
energy. Sediments are carried away where wave energy is high
and redeposited where energy is low. The
overall process of shoreline erosion and deposition will lead to
a straighter shoreline over time. We can see
these changes as we visit the same areas year and year.
We can also see changes in shoreline from hour to hour as a
result of tides. Tides, the changes in elevation
of the ocean, are caused by the gravitational pull on water by
both the moon and the sun as the Earth rotates.
This gravitation pull causes tidal bulges in the water, which
create a high tide. The absence of these bulges
results in low tide. The gravitational pull by the moon is
stronger than that of the sun because we are closer to
the moon. Most days, the pull of the sun will be perpendicular
to that of the moon. However, during times
when the moon lines up with the sun (full moon or new moon),
these tides will be extra high (Lutgens &
Tarbuck, 2014).

Coastlines have always attracted settlement. Oceans offer both
food and a mode of transportation for the
trading of goods. In fact, about half of the world’s population
lives within 100 kilometers of a coast (Lutgens &
Tarbuck, 2014). However, the transient nature of the coast
makes permanent developments difficult. As we
have seen, it only takes one large storm to completely wipe out
roads, buildings, and ports. In the long run,
the constant forces of wave erosion and deposition will always
dominate the shoreline.
References
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2013). An
iceberg captured on camera [Photograph].
Retrieved from
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/international-
council-agrees-
cooperate-marine-oil-pollution-issues-arctic.html
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2014). How
much of the ocean have we explored?
Retrieved from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/
exploration.html
Lutgens, F. K., & Tarbuck, E. J. (2014). Foundations of Earth
Science (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson.
NASA Goddard. (2008, October 24). In the zone. Retrieved

from https://youtu.be/lB1FADETAyg
https://youtu.be/lB1FADETAyg
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
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Suggested Reading
The links below will direct you to both a PowerPoint and PDF
view of the Chapter 9 and 10 Presentations.
This will summarize and reinforce the information from these
chapters in your textbook.
Click here to access the Chapter 9 PowerPoint Presentation.
(Click here to access a PDF version of the
presentation.)
presentation.)
These web resources will further your understanding of the
oceans and help you learn about exciting
discoveries from ocean exploration—underwater rivers and
waterfalls, new species, erupting volcanoes, etc.

Ted-ed. (2012). Deep ocean mysteries and wonders—David
Gallo [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqly8ERIkHM.
Learn about the most recent seafloor expedition to the deepest
part of the ocean, the Mariana Trench.
National Geographic: Deep Sea Challenge
http://deepseachallenge.com/
See the ocean currents in perpetual motion: Perpetual ocean
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=3827
See time-lapse of coastal changes off the coast of Cape Cod
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/cape
_cod.php

ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitV__Chapt9Presentation.ppsx
ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitV__Chapt9Presentation.pdf
ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitV__Chapt10Presentation.ppsx
ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitV__Chapt10Presentation.pdf
http://deepseachallenge.com/
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=3827
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/cape
_cod.php
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VI
8. Relate how radiation and atmospheric processes control
weather and climate.
8.1 Discuss how the atmosphere affects weather and climate.
8.2 Explain the possible pathways of incoming solar radiation
and how this is affected by elevation,
latitude, and the angle of the Earth’s tilt.
8.3 Explain the role of temperature and water vapor as it relates
to weather.

Reading Assignment
Chapter 11:
Heating the Atmosphere
Chapter 12:
Moisture, Clouds, and Precipitation
Environmental Protection Agency. (2010). Ozone science: The
facts behind the phaseout. Retrieved from
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/sc_fact.html
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2015).
Global warming. Retrieved from
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/monitoring-references/faq/global-
warming.php
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2015).
Temperature puzzle [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/42/
Williams, C. [IDT-CSU]. (2015, August 7). Local winds final
[Video file]. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/MjkJfPjBZEA
In order to access the resource below, you must first log into
the MyCSU Student Portal and access the
General OneFile database within the CSU Online Library.

Peck, S. W., & Richie, J. (2009). Green roofs and the urban heat
island effect: Roofing materials can absorb
energy from the sun and convert it to sensible heat, contributing
to the urban heat island effect.
Buildings, 103(7), 1-5.
UNIT VI STUDY GUIDE
Earth’s Atmosphere
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Unit Lesson
Weather affects our day-to-day lives and activities.
Depending on the season and climate of our region,
we could expect sun, rain, snow, wind, or
thunderstorms on any given day. For most of us,
checking the local weather forecast is one of the first
things we do each day. It is important to distinguish
between weather and climate. Weather is constantly
changing; in some regions it may seem like the
weather changes on an hourly basis! The long-term

average weather of a region defines its climate. This
unit will focus on both weather and climate and how it
is regulated by the atmosphere and location.
First, is important to understand the make-up of our
atmosphere, which affects the amount of solar
radiation absorbed and reflected back to space. Our
atmosphere is mainly composed of nitrogen (N2) and
oxygen (O2), with other gases present in trace amounts. The
atmosphere is divided into several layers: the
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The
troposphere is the lower-most layer and the
layer that affects our weather the greatest. In this layer,
temperature and air pressure decrease with altitude.
Because of these factors, this layer produces clouds and
precipitation. The next layer, the stratosphere, is
where the ozone layer is found—causing temperatures to be
fairly constant and slightly warmer. The ozone
is the layer that absorbs harmful UV radiation and makes life on
Earth possible. The mesosphere is the
coldest layer, with decreasing temperatures as the altitude
increases. In the fourth layer, there is no upper
limit. It basically extends into space. Temperatures are very
high due to intense solar radiation (Lutgens &
Tarbuck, 2014).
It is also important to understand the relationship of the Sun
and the Earth. Weather is driven by solar
radiation. The amount of solar radiation from place to place is
dependent on the angle of the Sun’s rays.
When solar radiation is perpendicular to the surface of the
Earth, more energy is absorbed. At lower angles,
the Earth’s atmosphere will cause more reflection of this
energy, resulting in lower temperatures. Because the
Earth’s axis is tilted, the direction of the Sun’s rays varies at

any given point as the Earth rotates around it.
When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, we
experience summer. When it is tilted away from
the Sun, we experience winter. This also affects the day length
at any given point on Earth. During summer,
the pole that is tilted towards the sun will have much longer
days (more hours of sunlight). In fact, on the
summer solstice, the pole tilted towards the Sun will have 24
hours of daylight and the pole tilting away from
the Sun will have 24 hours of darkness. These differences are
diagramed in Figure 11.16 (p. 365). Notice that
the day length at the equator never changes (12 hours of light).
Because of this, areas around the equator do
not experience changing seasons.
So, what happens when the Sun’s radiation strikes the Earth?
The Sun’s radiation (short-wave radiation) can
either be absorbed by land, sea, and clouds, or reflected back to
space. Figure 11.20 (p. 370) shows these
different pathways. The amount of radiation reflected largely
depends on something called albedo. Albedo is
the reflectivity of a surface. Light-colored surfaces have will
have a high albedo and reflect much of the sun’s
energy back to space. Dark-colored surfaces will have a lower
albedo, absorbing more heat energy. Much of
the radiation absorbed by the earth and sea will be re-radiated
back towards the atmosphere (long-wave
radiation). The gases in the atmosphere can trap a lot of this
long-wave radiation, which is essential to keep
the Earth’s temperature warm enough for life. We refer to this
phenomenon as the greenhouse effect. The
main greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and water vapor, allow
short-wave radiation to pass through, but
block long-wave radiation from leaving the atmosphere.
In recent decades, it has been noted that the Earth’s average

temperature has been steadily increasing. This
correlates to the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere. This video from NASA (2011)
summarizes this phenomenon and the potential effects of global
warming. As you can see, there are so many
interacting forces that affect the Earth’s climate, it is hard to
predict exactly how global warming might affect
us.
Cumulonimbus cloud seen from 38,000 feet (NOAA, 2015).
http://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/42/
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
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What are some of the factors that affect regional temperature
variations? Latitude, which determines the
amount of solar radiation at a given place, is the main cause for
temperature differences from place to place
(see Table 11.3, p. 356). The distance from the coast will also
affect regional temperatures. Because water
has a higher specific heat (it requires more energy to change the
temperature of water), it will maintain its
temperature much longer than adjacent land. This has a
moderating effect on coastal climates. If you
compare a coastal city to an inland city at the same latitude, you
will find that the temperature fluctuates much

less near the coast (see Figure 11.32). As we learned in Unit V,
the ocean currents can have a significant
impact on coastal climates, bringing in warm or cool waters
(depending on the coast). This video from NASA
(2012) summarizes how the oceans affect weather and climate.
Altitude, as discussed above, will also cause
temperature to change. The higher the elevation, the cooler the
temperature will be. Local weather conditions
may also be impacted by cloud cover and albedo.
Temperature is the main driver of weather and climate. The
second is water vapor. The amount of water
vapor in the air is referred to as humidity. As temperatures
increase, air is able to hold more water vapor. We
measure the actual amount of water vapor in the air and
compare that to the potential amount of water vapor
that the air could hold at saturation (varies with temperature).
This is referred to as relative humidity.
Therefore, on a hot summer day it may be much more humid
than on a colder day, yet the relative humidity
will be lower. As temperatures decrease, the air will become
saturated and the water vapor condenses to
form a liquid. This will form either fog or clouds. When moist
air cools near the ground level, fog will form.
For clouds and precipitation to form, moist air must be lifted to
what is referred to as the condensation point.
This is the point where the temperature decreases enough that
the air becomes saturated and the water
vapor becomes a liquid. Why does air cool as it rises? As
described earlier, air pressure decreases with
altitude. As air pressure decreases, the air molecules spread
further apart and there is less heat energy as
molecules collide less often. This phenomenon is known as
adiabatic temperature change: as air rises, it
expands and cools; as it descends, it condenses and warms.

However, it is important to note that air will
generally not rise on its own. There has to be some mechanisms
that forces air upwards in order for clouds to
form. These mechanisms include convective lift (air warms
from the land below and rises as it becomes less
dense), frontal wedging (the collision of warm and cool air
fronts), convergence (the interaction of as air
masses as they come together), and orographic lift (Lutgens &
Tarbuck, 2014).
Orographic lift is actually a geographic phenomenon that is
responsible for a lot of the deserts in the world.
This occurs as warm, moist air (usually from the ocean) is
forced over a mountain range. As the air ascends,
it cools and drops its moisture in the form of precipitation. As it
crosses over the mountain range, it then
descends and warms. Therefore, the windward side of the
mountains is often green and lush, while the
leeward side is arid and quite barren. The Great Basin of the
U.S. (Nevada, Utah, and Idaho) is a good
example of the leeward side of the Sierra Nevada Range.
It is the interaction of temperature and water vapor that will
determine what kind of weather an area receives.
This is often seasonal and depends on many atmospheric
factors. Consider your local region. What type of
climate do you experience? What do you think the driving
factors are that determine the weather of your
region? In Unit VII, we will go into more depth on the factors
that drive local weather conditions.
References

Pearson.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2011). Global
warming. Retrieved from
http://climate.nasa.gov/warmingworld/
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2012).The
ocean—a driving force for weather and climate.
Retrieved from http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-
bin/details.cgi?aid=11056
Cumulonimbus cloud seen from 38,000 feet
[Image]. Retrieved from
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/clouds/images/cloud1.jpg
https://youtu.be/6vgvTeuoDWY
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title

Suggested Reading
view of the Chapter 11 and 12 Presentations.
This will summarize and reinforce the information from these
chapters in your textbook.
presentation.)
presentation.)
ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitVI__Chapt11Presentation.ppsx
ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitVI__Chapt11Presentation.pdf
ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitVI__Chapt12Presentation.ppsx
ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitVI__Chapt12Presentation.pdf

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
8. Relate how radiation and atmospheric processes control
weather and climate.
8.1 Explain the role of global circulation in producing different
climates.
8.2 Describe air pressure, air masses and fronts, and their
effects upon weather patterns.
8.3 Discuss how atmospheric conditions produce thunderstorms,
tornadoes, and hurricanes.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 13:
The Atmosphere in Motion
Chapter 14:
Weather Patterns and Severe Weather
National Severe Storms Laboratory. (n.d.-a). Severe weather
101: Thunderstorm basics. Retrieved from
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/thunderstorms/
National Severe Storms Laboratory. (n.d.-b). Severe weather
101: Tornado basics. Retrieved from
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/tornadoes/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010a).
Global weather. Retrieved from:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/global_intro.htm
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010b).
JetStream—online school for weather. Retrieved
from:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/synoptic_intro.h
tm
Unit Lesson
Have you ever wondered why deserts form in some regions
and tropical forests in others? What creates climate? Why
are some areas more prone to precipitation? In this section,
we will explore the major factors that affect climates and
weather patterns around the world.
When discussing weather patterns, it is essential to first
understand air pressure, which is the pressure exerted by
the weight of air above. There are two over-riding factors
that affect air pressure and control weather and climate on
Earth. These are solar radiation, which we discussed in
Unit VI, and the spinning of the Earth (the Coriolis effect).
These two factors will create areas of high pressure and
areas of low pressure. In general, air will always move from
an area of high pressure towards areas of low pressure.
This creates air movement, or wind. Click here for more
information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) web site which further details the
Origins of wind (NOAA, 2010a).
UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE

The Atmosphere in Motion
and Weather Patterns
NOAA satellite image of Hurricane Arthur, July 3,
2014. (NOAA, 2014)
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/wind.htm
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Local winds refer to winds that are generated by small-scale
differences in air pressure. For example, along
the coast, land heats up more quickly than water (due to water’s
higher heat capacity). Therefore, the air
above land will heat by convection and rise, creating a low
pressure area. Over water, the air will cool,
condense, and sink, creating an area of high pressure. Wind is
generated as air moves from high pressure to
low pressure. Click here for an animation that shows how these
winds change direction (NOAA, n.d.). A
similar phenomenon occurs in mountain valleys. The air over
the mountain slope will heat more quickly than
air at the same elevation over the valley, creating an area of low
pressure. Along mountain ranges, local
winds known as Chinooks or Santa Ana, will form as a result of
the rain shadow (Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2014).
As we learned in Unit VI, air on the windward side of a

mountain range has more moisture than the air
descending on the leeward side. This drier air will warm as it
descends and form an area of high pressure.
Therefore, the warm, dry air will flow towards the moister air
on the windward side.
Larger wind patterns form high in the atmosphere, due to
differences in net radiation. This creates large areas
of high and low pressure that are fairly stable and predictable.
These pressure differences create strong
winds high in atmosphere that circulate around the Earth. These
winds are referred to as the Jet Stream, and
largely influence patterns of weather. Click here for NOAA's
(2010b) Online School for Weather for more
information and a graphical representation of the Jet Stream.
How do these jet streams form and how do they impact the
world’s climates and weather patterns? Well,
remember that everything boils down to the flow of energy.
Energy will always move from a state of high
energy (high solar radiation) to a state of low energy (low solar
radiation). Since equatorial regions have high
net radiation, this energy will move towards to the poles (where
net radiation is negative). How does this
happen? This transfer of energy (heat) happens both in the
ocean and in the atmosphere. In Unit V, we
studied how the ocean gyres transferred warm water from the
equator toward the polar regions (and how cold
water travelled back towards the equator). We learned how this
helps to moderate temperatures around the
world. A similar pattern happens in the atmosphere. As air is
warmed, it expands and becomes less dense.
Because it is less dense, it rises. When it reaches a certain
point, it will cease to rise. As more air rises
beneath it, it forces that air to travel horizontally (towards
either the North or South Poles). Eventually, this air

cools to the point that it will once again sink towards the
Earth’s surface. This air is then pushed by the air
behind it to return to the starting point, forming a cycle of air
movement.
Of course, this is a very simplified explanation of the Earth’s
air circulation. If the Earth were not rotating, we
would see warm air rise at the equator, travel to the poles, then
cool, and sink to return to the equator near
the Earth’s surface. However, the Earth is constantly spinning,
creating what is called the Coriolis Effect. We
briefly discussed this in Unit V, as this effect will cause water
to move in a clockwise direction in the Northern
Hemisphere and a counter-clockwise direction in the Southern
Hemisphere.
In the atmosphere, the Coriolis Effect creates smaller cells of
air circulation (see Figure 13.17) Click here for
more information about global circulation (NOAA, 2010c). How
do these cells create world climatic
conditions? First, let’s discuss the area near the equator. Keep
in mind that this area receives the most net
radiation. As the air warms and rises, it creates an area of low
pressure. This is referred to as the intertropical
convergence zone (ITCZ) (NOAA, 2010d). As this warm, moist
air rises and cools, clouds and precipitation
form, which makes the tropical region very wet. This air begins
to sink again around 20-30 degrees latitude
(North and South), creating a high pressure system called the
Subtropical High. This air is very dry (having
spent all of its moisture in the ITCZ), which explains why so
many of the World’s deserts are found in these
regions. This sinking air will then be pushed either North or
South, where it either returns to the ITCZ or
reaches about 60 degrees latitude. In both cases, it gains heat
and moisture as it passes over land and sea,

and once again rises to form an area of low pressure and
precipitation.
These cells of circulation represent the general movement of
air, and explain why you see areas of high and
low air pressure. Keep in mind that the tilt of the Earth causes
seasonal changes in solar radiation, which will
cause the ITCZ to move as much as 20 degrees, either North or
South. This accounts for the wet and dry
seasons that occur in the equatorial region. The differential
heating of land and water will also affect air
pressure over continents and oceans. Click here for a summary
of the world’s climates and where they are
found (NOAA, 2010e).
Around the globe, there will form areas of air that have fairly
uniform temperature and moisture conditions.
These are known as air masses (NOAA, 2010f). The movement
of these air masses can have a significant
impact on a region’s weather. Air masses have a source region
where they form. These source regions are
generally area where the climate is fairly stable—like tropical
regions or polar regions. As they move from
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/pd/oceans_weather_clim
ate/media/sea_and_land_breeze.swf
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/jet.htm
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/circ.htm
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tropics/itcz.htm
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/climate.htm
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/airmass.htm

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
their source area, air masses can bring a change in weather to
other regions. These air masses are largely
responsible for the wet humid conditions in the Southeastern
United States and the winter snows on the
Northern United States. The boundaries of these air masses are
known as fronts and mark the changes in
weather patterns. Where a tropical air mass moves into an area,
it is referred to as a warm front. A polar or
arctic air mass will bring a cold front. A warm front is generally
slower moving and is less dense than cold
front, which can move in quickly and force the warm front
upwards. The collision of fronts often brings clouds
and precipitation, as the warm moist air is forced upwards,
where the moisture will condense to form clouds.
When a warm front and cold front collide along the jet stream,
it can form an area of low pressure, which can
affect very large areas. These are known as cyclones. Refer to
this NOAA diagram to see how they form
(NOAA, 2010g). These cyclones are often responsible for the
formation of thunderstorms and, occasionally, a
tornado.
Severe weather is a term to describe thunderstorms, tornadoes,
and hurricanes. Thunderstorms are the most
common. Thunderstorms form when warm, humid air rises in an
unstable environment. Generally, in order for
a thunderstorm to form, there must be some sort of trigger to
force the air up. Most thunderstorms form in the
southeastern United States. This is largely due to the

subtropical climate of the area, providing plenty of heat,
moisture, and instability. However, you will also notice that a
small area just east of the Rocky Mountains also
has a high number of thunderstorms. Given that this is an arid
climate (on the leeward side of the Rocky
Mountains), why would this be an area of high thunderstorm
activity? During the summer, a maritime air mass
moves up to the mid-latitudes of the eastern half of the United
States. There is also a continental polar air
mass that moves down along the Rocky Mountains. Where these
two air masses collide is where you see this
unusually high rate of thunderstorms.
Tornadoes and hurricanes are some of the most destructive
weather events on Earth. Tornadoes are
vortexes of air that form around extremely low pressure centers.
Because of the difference in pressure
between the center and outside the cell, winds can be extremely
strong, up to 480 km per hour! Tornadoes
form from severe thunderstorms and usually occur in areas
where two air masses collide. This is why the
central United States is more prone to tornadoes—where the
maritime tropical air meets the continental polar
air mass. Tornadoes can form very quickly, travel fast, and are
very unpredictable. Hurricanes also form
where there are extremely low pressure centers—over warm
ocean waters. Unlike tornadoes, hurricanes take
time to form and travel quite slowly in a very predictable path.
Because hurricanes need warm water and lots
of moisture to form, one would predict that most hurricanes
form around the equator. While they do form in
this region, hurricanes cannot form right at the equator because
there is no Coriolis Effect. It is the cycling of
air that forms the hurricane, and this can only happen where the
spin of the Earth causes air to move either
clockwise or counter-clockwise (above 5 degrees latitude).

Hurricanes are fueled by warm ocean waters. This
NOAA video demonstrates how hurricanes form and are
sustained (NOAA, 2013).
The Earth’s weather is extremely dynamic. Even with complex
computer models, satellite imagery, and the
latest weather monitoring devises, meteorologists still face a
certain amount of uncertainty in forecasting
weather. In Units VI and VII, you get a brief overview of the
many interacting factors that are responsible for
the climates and weather patterns we see. How has this
information helped you understand your local
weather and climate?
References
Pearson.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). NST
interactive: Land and sea breezes combined.
Retrieved from
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/pd/oceans_
weather_climate/
media/sea_and_land_breeze.swf
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010a).
Origin of wind. Retrieved from
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/ jetstream/synoptic/wind.htm

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010b).
The jet stream. Retrieved from
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ jetstream/global/jet.htm
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/cyclone.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-_obMEF_2o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-_obMEF_2o
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010c).
Global circulations. Retrieved from
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ jetstream/global/circ.htm
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010d).
Intertropical convergence zone. Retrieved from
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010e).
Climate. Retrieved from http://www.srh.noaa.gov/
jetstream/global/climate.htm

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010f). Air
masses. Retrieved from
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ srh/jetstream/synoptic/airmass.htm
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010g).
Norwegian cyclone model. Retrieved from
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/cyclone.htm
NOAA ocean today: Fuel for the storm [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-
_obMEF_2o
Suggested Reading
view of the Chapter 13 Presentation. This will
summarize and reinforce the information from this chapter in
your textbook.
presentation.)
ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitVII__Chapt13Presentation.pps
x

ral_Studies/ES/ES1010/15N/UnitVII__Chapt13Presentation.pdf
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit IV
5. Demonstrate how earthquakes and volcanoes are driven by
various geological forces.
5.1 Relate the type of volcanic activity to the major processes
that generate magma from solid rock.
6. Explain the principles and techniques used by geologists to
construct the geologic time scale.
6.1 Discuss principles used to determine the relative age of rock
layers and how the layers relate to
each other.
6.2 Explain how radioactive isotopes can allow geologists to
determine numerical dates.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 7:
Volcanoes and Other Igneous Activity
Chapter 8:

Geologic Time
United States Geological Survey. (1997). Other volcanic
structures. Retrieved from
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/structures.html
United States Geological Survey. (1999). The nature of
volcanoes. Retrieved from
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/nature.html
United States Geological Survey. (2001). Relative time scale.
Retrieved from
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/relative.html
United States Geological Survey. (2001). Radiometric time
scale. Retrieved from
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/radiometric.html
United States Geological Survey. (2010). Types of volcano
hazards. Retrieved from
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hazards/index.php
United States Geological Survey. (2011). Principal types of
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/types.html

UNIT IV STUDY GUIDE
Igneous Activity and
Geologic Time
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Unit Lesson
On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted. This was
the largest historic eruption in North America. Part of
the peak was blown away in the violent eruption,

lowering the mountain by more than 1,300 ft.
Destruction from the blast demolished everything for
230 square miles. Ash traveled 22,000 miles and
affected hundreds of communities in the weeks that
followed. (United States Geological Survey [USGS],
2005).
Volcanoes are one way that we can directly observe
processes that occur far beneath the Earth’s surface.
Most of the earth is made up of solid rock. However,
this rock can undergo partial melting, which makes it
more buoyant, causing it to rise to the surface. This
partial melting may occur when there is a release in
pressure (like at divergent plate boundaries), or when
water is added (like at subduction zones), or with
increasing temperature (associated with continental
collisions). The “Ring of Fire” describes the pattern of
volcanoes found around the Pacific Basin. This activity is a
result of oceanic subduction.
Volcanoes refer to "the opening or vent through which the
molten rock and associated gases are expelled”
(USGS, 1999). Pressure can push magma to the surface. When
this pressure is released, magma erupts in
the form of lava, gas, and pyroclastic materials (ash and
hardened rock). If magma continues to erupt, the
lava can harden and build to create a mountain, known as a
volcano (USGS, 1999). There are three main
types of volcanoes: shield volcanoes (broad domed structures
created by basaltic lava), cinder cones (steep
and symmetrical structures built of pyroclastic material with
little lava flow), and composite cones (also known
as stratovolcanoes, which are large and build from layers of ash
and andesitic lava) (USGS, 2011).
Composite volcanoes are the most explosive and violent (Mt. St.

Helens).
Different types of volcanoes differ in their eruption patterns,
leading to the variety of volcanic forms. For
example, shield volcanoes usually originate on the ocean floor.
The broad domed structure forms due to the
very hot lava that is released. Because the lava is so hot and
viscous, it travels very quickly and far from the
vent. Because cinder cones have such deep craters, the
temperature of the lava has already cooled
significantly by the time it is ejected. As lava fragments are
ejected from the vent, they harden in flight to form
pyroclastic fragments. These fragments, or scoria, build up to
form a cone-like structure around the vent. A
composite volcano produces a silica-rich andesitic magma,
which is thick and viscous. Therefore, lava flows
slowly and does not reach more than a few kilometers from the
vent. This creates the steep summits of these
volcanoes. Composite volcanoes also produce huge amounts of
ash and pyroclastic materials (USGS, 2011).
During an eruption, volcanoes release lava, gases, and other
pyroclastic materials. Because so many people
live in the shadow of these volcanoes, it is important to
understand the different types of volcanic hazards.
The most deadly hazard associated with an erupting volcano is
pyroclastic flow, which is a hot cloud of
expanding gas containing ash and pyroclastic materials. The
speed and temperature make these flows
especially deadly to anything in its path. Lahars, which are
mudflows of ash, can be equally destructive. Ash
and gas can also create respiratory problems and damage to
homes and agriculture fields (USGS, 2010).
Landscapes often show evidence of past volcanic activity. A
caldera is a crater formed by the collapse of the

magma chamber deep below the surface, after the magma has
been ejected. Crater Lake in Oregon formed
from a volcano crater (USGS, 2010). Basaltic lavas that seep
from fractures in the crust are known as
fissures. As the lava flows out of fissures to cover the crust,
they create basalt plateaus. Often these plateaus
Spirit Lake on the slopes of Mt. St. Helens in Washington
State, USA. This photo was taken two years after the
eruption and shows the ruined lake filled with debris from
the eruption. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1982)
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
will erode much slower than the surrounding landscape, leaving
large mesas. Shiprock, in New Mexico is the
remnant of the volcanic neck of a volcano. When magma
solidifies beneath the surface of the crust, it can
form plutons (leading to batholiths and laccoliths), sills, and
dikes. These will be exposed when the
surrounding area erodes away (USGS, 1997).
Approximately 640,000 years ago, a supervolcano erupted in
what is now known as Yellowstone National
Park. The eruption sent ash as far as Missouri. The Caldera
itself is approximately 40 miles across and likely
formed when a monstrous magma chamber erupted (National

Park Service [NPS], 2014). The geologic
activity in the park suggests that this magma chamber still
exists and might one day erupt again.
Geology and Geologic Time
Prior to modern dating methods, attempts to determine the age
of the Earth were limited to placing rocks in
their sequence of formation and counting backwards through
time. There are several principles that are still
used by geologists to try to build a timeline of Earth’s history.
First is the principle of superposition—that older
rock will be found at the bottom of a sequences and newer rocks
at the top (assuming no deformation has
taken place). A second principle is that of original
horizontality—sediment was originally placed in relatively
flat layers. If geologists observe folded or tilted layers, there
must have been a force that acted upon that rock
after the layers had formed. Similarly, the principle of cross-
cutting states that features, such as faults or
igneous intrusions, which cut through a sequence of layers much
have occurred after the layers of rock had
formed. The principle of inclusions simply states that any layer
containing rock fragments from another layer
must be younger than the one that provided the rock fragment.
Finally, uncomformities or interruptions in the
layers of rock show where there were interruptions in the
sediment accumulation of a period. Click here to see
a diagram how using these principles can help understand the
layers exposed in the Southwestern United
States. Fossils and the correlation of rock layers also help
geologists to find layers of rock of that formed in
the same time and provide a geologic history of an area relative
to other areas (USGS, 2001a).
Radioactivity was discovered around the turn of the century. In

essence, it was discovered that certain
elements are unstable and will start to decay, losing neutrons, or
electrons. This change in the number of
neutrons will change the atomic weight of the element, but the
atomic number will remain the same (called an
isotope). The rate at which an element decays is constant, so by
comparing the ratio of parent isotopes to
daughter (decayed) isotopes, it is possible to determine how old
something is. This is called radiometric
dating and can give very precise ages for rocks containing
certain isotopes (USGS, 2001b). With the
introduction of this technique, it then became possible to age
the rocks of the Earth to determine when some
of these features formed. Geologists can now date the oldest
known rocks to estimate that the Earth is
approximately 4.6 billion years old).
By using both dating methods (relative dating and radiometric
dating), geologists have been able to develop a
geologic time scale. Essentially, they are able to divide Earth’s
history into units of time. By comparing
common fossils, we can understand when certain plants and
animals flourished on the Earth, or perhaps
identify periods of extinction. This geologic timescale is a work
in progress, as we understand more and more
of our Earth’s history.
What do you see in your local topography? What types of rocks
are exposed? Are there evidences of
mountain building, volcanoes, or earthquakes? By
understanding the processes that form the layers of
exposed rock, we can get a better idea of the geologic history of
an area. Hopefully, you will start to see
evidence of the geologic past in the landscapes around you.

References
National Park Service. (2014). Yellowstone volcano. Retrieved
from
http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/volcano.htm
United States Army corps of Engineers. (1982). Spirit Lake two
years post-eruption [Photograph]. Retrieved
from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spirit_Lake_two_year
s_post-eruption.jpg
United States Geological Survey. (1997). Other volcanic
structures. Retrieved from
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/structures.html
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/section.html
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
United States Geological Survey. (1999). The nature of
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/nature.html

United States Geological Survey. (2001a). Relative time scale.
Retrieved from
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/relative.html
United States Geological Survey. (2001b). Radiometric time
scale. Retrieved from
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/radiometric.html
United States Geological Survey. (2005). Mount St. Helens –
from the 1980 eruption to 2000. Retrieved from
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2000/fs036-00/
United States Geological Survey. (2010). Types of volcano
hazards. Retrieved from
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hazards/index.php
United States Geological Survey. (2011). Principal types of
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/types.html

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