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Earth Questions Answers |
Basic Info on Earthscape |
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Basic Info on Earthscape
These questions deal with technical and basic information about Earthscape, its creation and design
(1) What is an earthscape?
An earthscape is a region or area. For example, we Earthscape editors are from the Red River Valley of North Dakota. Its features, resources, geologic history and appearance are all parts of our "earthscape." When we ask people to send us information about their earthscape, we basically want to know about the region they live in. We want to learn about the environmental and geologic aspects of their area, its features, resources, and history.
(2) What Web Editor or page maker do you use?
Our page is developed using the Hot Dog Pro web editor. I find it to be very user friendly. This was my first experience using HTML tags and this product was great in teaching me how. If you would like to get a copy of Hot Dog go to the Sausage Software's homepage. Also, many of our bullets, lines, bars, and images are courtesy of freeware from the Sausage Software company.
(3) How is information submitted? How are topics chosen?
Sending us information is vital to the maintenance and growth of this page. We encourage viewers to add information about topics and address new ones. By your mail, we are able to expand and address issues and subjects closer to you. To send us information: #1 Send smaller ideas or topics by email to our address #2 If you would like to summit a topic or earthscape, include description of landscape, resources, geologic history, and any other interesting information. Pictures would be great. If you want to know how to investigate your earthscape see Scoping your earthscape.
(4) What are the themes or topics that you are trying to address with Earthscape?
Earthscape addresses many issues and topics related to the environment. One of are central themes is that by understanding the environment you live in, you will be more able to enjoy and preserve it. This is just one of our central themes that we try to incorporate. For a descriptive listing checkout our themes page.See Themes
(5) How can I as a student or teacher contribute to the hands-on activities section of your learning modules?
We encourage visitors to contribute ideas and information that they feel can improve our site. The hands-on activities section is a prime example of how this can work. We encourage teachers to have their classes prepare activities to go on our site. This is fun and educational plus the class will receive recognition. This goes for any visitor who would like to be a part of our site. All we ask is that you contact us with your ideas so we can see if it is applicable. Almost all ideas will be accepted unless copyright laws are violated. We look forward to submissions and hope that this interaction can help our site and your education grow.
(6)How are people involved in Earthscape?
Many people have assisted in the creation of Earthscape. Dr. Frank Karner of the University of North Dakota and Tim Weiland are the creators along with research assistant Bob Dvorak who is the web editor. Many students and organizations have chose to contribute images,information, and other resources. Our goals is to have schools, industries, and other individuals contribute information on their knowledge of Earth. Anyone can submit information and become a part of this interactive learning.
(7)What is the mailing address for Earthscape?
Inquiries have been made, asking where to send information for Earthscape. Here is the mailing address:
Dr. Frank Karner
Department of Geology and Geological Engineering
P.O. Box 8358 University of North Dakota
Grand Forks ND 58202
Phone or Fax:
OFFICE: (701) 777-4570 FAX: (701) 777-4449
(8) What are your policies on image and clipart usage?
We have received images and clipart from a variety of sources. That is what makes Earthscape work, many people contributing to a common goal.
Everyone wants recognition for what they contributed. As far as images,
anything stated as U.S.G.S. material is in the public domain and is free
for nonprofit use. All other pics have been given under conditions by other
sources. To use any of these, please contact our Web Editor, Bob
Dvorak. He will accept a list of requested pictures and tell you what
is usable and what the stipulations are. This information is here for you,
just remember to respect those who offer it.
Let's choose another category...
Earth Questions Answers
These questions cover a wide range of Earth topics; the answers form an overview of Earth knowledge
(1) What is included in geological Earth studies?
We survey Earth's chemical, physical, and biological systems. We learn about Earth's interior; minerals and rocks; surface processes and features such as those related to streams, landslides, glaciers, ground water, beaches, shorelines and deserts; geologic history; and mountain building. Important relationships of geology and human development are shown by examinations of four challenges to global communities: (1) declining availability of Earth resources; (2) our vulnerability to geologic hazards; (3) human modification of the environment; and (4) our lack of long term planning.
(2) What is plate tectonics?
Plate tectonics is the accepted explanation of how large and small surface blocks of crust and upper mantle move slowly causing mountain building, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and many other geologic processes that shape Earth. Rising, hot masses of plastic, partly melted rock lift and break apart surface plates forming splits in continents and midocean ridges where new ocean floor is formed. Moving plates collide and slide under, against or past one another. These collisions form volcanic island arcs like the Aleutians Islands, mountain chains like the Andes mountains, great mountainous plateaus like the Himalayas, and a major fault zones like the San Andreas. The geology and geography of the world is dominated by plate tectonics.
(3) What are the 7 major types of geologic materials?
The seven major types are minerals, sediments, igneous rock, sedimentary
rock, metamorphic rock, fluids, and gases.
Type one, minerals, are naturally
occurring chemical compounds such as quartz, salt (halite), and emerald;
and native elements such as gold, diamond (carbon), and sulfur.
Type two, sediments, are loose materials
that are deposited at Earth's surface such as soil, sand, and mud.
Type three to five are the common
rock types:sedimentary formed by consolidation of sediment such as mud to
shale; igneous formed by the solidification of magma (molten rock) underground
as in the formation of granite, or at the surface in the solidification
of lava to form basalt; and metamorphic by alteration under heat and pressure
to transform already existing rock into a new rock such as slate formed
from shale.
Types six and seven are fluids; liquids
such as water and petroleum, and gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide
in air.
(4) How are minerals useful?
Minerals, because they have consistent compositions and properties, are used widely by humans and other life forms. Because of a tight and strong internal arrangement of carbon atoms, diamond is hard as well as brilliant an sparkling in light; it is used in cutting tools and as our most precious gemstone. In graphite, the same carbon atoms are loose and arranged in sheets, providing a soft material useful as a lubricant and writing material. Early in human history, we found uses for carbon and other materials with very different properties. Our search for uses of natural Earth materials continues and now is focused on developing imaginative new composites by combining several raw materials through heating, chemical, and other processes.
(5) What is magma and how does it form igneous rock?
Magma is a hot liquid mixture formed by partial melting of rock by Earth's natural heat sources. In addition to a silicate (rich in silicon and oxygen) liquid which contains molecules and other structures which will form silicate minerals upon cooling, magma contains ions of common elements, dissolved gases, separated gas bubbles, and some inherited or early crystallizing mineral grains. A common magma in oceanic regions forms volcanic lava flows of basalt, a dark, fine grained rock which has cooled rapidly by eruption on Earth's surface. A second type of common magma invades the crust below mountain regions and cools slowly to form coarse grained, light colored granite. Igneous eruptions and intrusions are evidence of internal heat production and in fact, cool Earth.
(6) What is weathering?
Weathering is the result of a series of physical and chemical processes that bring rocks and minerals into adjustment to the conditions of Earth's surface where temperature and pressure are low, oxygen and water are plentiful, and plant and animal life penetrate all materials. It produces a surface sediment that typically contains clay minerals often with common to abundant quartz, feldspar, iron oxides, carbonates, and organic material.
(7) What is soil?
Soil is a sediment which forms slowly by weathering processes at Earth's surface. Its uppermost layer or horizon is usually rich in organic material indicating the importance of life processes in its formation. The underlying horizon is typically leached of soluble salts and carbonates which in turn may accumulate in a still lower horizon. Old soils in humid regions are very thick while young soils in dry regions are thin. There is a complex interdependence between life and soil that can help us understand the broader relationships between life and Earth.
(8) How are sediment and sedimentary rock formed?
Sediment forms at Earth's surface by weathering in place forming residual soil but most often it is transported by a moving fluid such as stream water to eventually be deposited as layers in shallow marine environment. For example, large amounts of sand and gravel accumulate at shorelines while finer silt and clay are deposited in shallow water and limy mud and shells in reef environments. As sediments are buried by successively younger sediment layers, they are transformed to rock layers by pressure, drying, and cementation to form the sedimentary rocks, gravelly sandstone, shale, and limestone respectively. Sedimentary rocks contain features that reveal Earth history and fossils that preserve a record of over three billion years of life.
(9) What is metamorphism?
Metamorphism is a process whereby existing rocks are transformed or metamorphosed by heat and pressure to form new rocks, stable at those new temperature and pressure conditions. For example, limestone can be metamorphosed to marble, shale to slate, and sandstone to quartzite. With increased temperature, schists and gneisses may form from these and other original rocks. Metamorphic rocks preserve evidence of the original source rocks in preserved chemical and physical features and of the conditions of metamorphism in the minerals and new structures in the transformed rock. Metamorphism is a key process in mountain building and a major evidence of colliding tectonic plates.
(10) How do we reconstruct geologic history and what is the geologic time scale?
The structure of Earth's surface and underlying rock layers and other rock bodies has been built up through billions of years of geologic history. Exposures in the Grand Canyon and other major river canyons and in mountain ranges hint at the complex assemblages that show that accumulation of ancient sedimentary layers and in fact, mountain building has occurred at one time or another in all regions of the continents. We interpret geologic history using several common sense principles for determining relative age such as: sedimentary layers in their normal sequence have older layers below and younger layers above; when features such as faults or fractures cut other features, the cross cutting features are younger; older materials may be fragmented and incorporated in younger materials; and deformational features such as folding or evidences of plastic flow are younger than the material which has been deformed. Finally, radiometric dating allows absolute age determination of many different materials. Relative and absolute age determinations have allowed the development of a historic time scale or sequence of events highlighting over four billion years of Earth history.
(11) How do we visualize Earth in three dimensions using the concept of dip and strike?
(12) What are the different types of folds and faults and how do they form?
