Uniformitarianism - Environmental Geology - Lecture Slides, Slides of Earth Sciences

Download Uniformitarianism - Environmental Geology - Lecture Slides and more Slides Earth Sciences in PDF only on Docsity! 1.4 Uniformitarianism   Current perspectives – Not taken literally Early conditions likely differed (temperature, chemistry) Conditions affect rates of processes  Early Earth processes likely occurred at different rates  than today, although the same physical principles limited them – Is Uniformitarianism predictive? Sort of  …  We know for instance that mountains will wear down and oceans will open and close in the future.  It is less likely that we can predict where and when an earthquake will occur. Docsity.com Uniformitarianism principle of uniformitarianism states that examined cases of process and result guide our interpretation where such processes were not witnessed. Earth features that were created by processes occurring in the past can be interpreted by examining active processes. ® 1.5 What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics? Divergent boundary – New crust – Crust becoming wider  – Shallow earthquakes  – Extrusive volcanism – Mid­ocean ridge system Fig 1.11a Docsity.com 1.5 What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics? Convergent boundary – Subducting zone – Plate is consumed – Deep earthquakes  – Volcanic chain above – Ocean trenches Fig 1.11b Docsity.com 1.5 What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics? Transform boundary – Shearing zone – Lots of earthquakes  – Little/no volcanism – E.g., California (San Andreas system) Fig 1.11c Docsity.com