Earth Science 102: Take-Away Points

Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

How the Earth Works

What the Earth is Made of: Minerals
What the Earth is Made of: Rocks
Water on the Earth
Glaciers and Ice Ages
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Resources
Mountain Building
A Short History of Earth 

Ocean Currents and Tides

  1. The ocean is salty because erosion brings dissolved elements to the sea
  2. The Coriolis Effect causes ocean currents to travel curving paths
  3. Surface currents in the ocean are driven by the winds
  4. Vertical movements in the ocean are due to density differences

Tides

  1. Tides in the ocean are caused by both the Sun and Moon
  2. Tides occur because the Sun and Moon pull stronger on one side of the earth than the other
  3. There are two tidal bulges on opposite sides of the Earth
  4. Solar and Lunar tidal effects can reinforce or weaken each other
  5. Actual tide motions in the oceans are very complex
  6. Tides are gradually slowing the earth�€™s rotation

Ocean Floors and Shorelines

The Deep Oceans

  1. The earth has two kinds of crust
  2. Continents have thick, light, granitic crust, Oceans have thin, dense, basaltic crust
  3. How we probe the sea floor
  4. Features on the sea floor and edges of continents are products of plate tectonics
  5. Submarine landslides are important on continental margins
  6. Deep ocean sediment comes from the continents and marine organisms

Waves

  1. Waves are created by the wind
  2. Water in waves oscillates but does not move with the wave
  3. What happens when waves hit the shore
  4. Storm surges can be catastrophic

How the Sea Modifies Shorelines

  1. Wave Action erodes or deposits material along coastlines
  2. Types of coastline
  3. Deltas are governed by deposition, waves, and tides
  4. Reefs are a special type of coastline in tropical regions
  5. Global sea level is affected by ice ages and plate tectonics

Basic Properties of the Atmosphere

  1. Heat, Temperature and Temperature Scales
  2. The Electromagnetic Spectrum
  3. Composition of the Atmosphere
  4. Layers in the atmosphere are defined by temperature profiles
  5. How pressure varies in the atmosphere
  6. Principal weather instruments
  7. Earth�€™s radiation budget

Clouds and Moisture

  1. Water is part of the atmosphere
  2. Partial pressure, vapor pressure and humidity
  3. Condensation and Clouds
  4. Why it Rains
  5. Hail, Snow and other forms of water

Stuff in the Sky

  1. Scattering is responsible for blue sky, cloud colors and sunset colors
  2. Refraction causes optical distortions in the atmosphere
  3. Dispersion explains rainbows, glories and haloes
  4. Clouds are either stratiform (sheet-like) or cumulus (vertical)
  5. Low clouds are water droplets, high clouds are ice

Weather and Climate

  1. Weather is driven by unequal solar heating and cooling
  2. Air motions are affected by the Coriolis Effect and �€œcentrifugal�€ï¿½ force
  3. High and Low Pressure Systems
  4. Air flows parallel to pressure contours (Geostrophic winds)
  5. Air masses meet along sharp boundaries or fronts
  6. Weather is inherently chaotic and that limits our ability to forecast it

Climate Change

  1. Climate and weather prediction are completely different
  2. Detecting climate change is very complex
  3. The main greenhouse gas on Earth is water vapor
  4. A little greenhouse effect is a good thing
  5. Many things have affected earth�€™s past climate
  6. Gradual brightening of the sun will eventually make the earth too hot for life

The Solar System
Stars and Galaxies

  1. Distance in the Universe and how we know it
  2. The color of a star is directly related to its temperature


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Created 16 June 2009, Last Update