- 4044 - EARTH - geology is physical history? - Geology is the physical history because there is a lot of knowledge in rocks if you know how to read them.
-------------------- 4044 - EARTH - geology is physical history?
- The
planet “Earth” was formed 4,600 million years ago ( MYA) along with the nine
other planets and a whole lot of other debris. ( Request the next review to
learn the astronomical geological history of the “Solar System”.)
-
- The oldest rocks found
to date are the debris from the formation of the Solar System that have arrived
as meteorites. These oldest rocks are
called “ Chondrites” and they have been dated at 4,568 MYA.
-
- Chondrites are stony
meteors containing Chondrules, and Chondrules
are small spheres of olivine or pyroxene. Olivine being a mineral found in igneous
rocks containing the elements consisting of magnesium iron silicates. Pryoxene is a very similar group of minerals
that are silicates of magnesium, iron, calcium and other elements.
-
- Minerals are molecules
and compounds of the elements which were formed in supernovae explosions. We know our Solar System accretion disks was
composed of debris from 2nd or 3rd or 4th
generation stars that died as supernovae. The larger the star the shorter its
lifetime and the sooner supernova occurs.
We know that because our Solar System is rich in the heavier elements it
came from the generational stars.
-
- In the beginning it was just the elements
hydrogen and helium. The supernovae
created the heavier elements. Then these
elements began growing into molecules and compounds called minerals. A small number of elements in the beginning
have grown to over 4,500 minerals found today.
And, the list grows at the rate of about 12 new minerals per year being
discovered.
-
- 4,550 MYA: There were
about 150 minerals on the planet.
Minerals are inorganic substances having definite chemical composition
and often a definite crystalline structure.
-
- 4,500 MYA: The Moon was
formed. It was believed to be created by
the Earth’s crust being splashed into orbit after being hit by a meteor or a
sub-planet, about the size of Mars. (footnote
2).
-
- 4,400 MYA: The second oldest rocks to be found were
zircons. Zircons are zirconium silicate
minerals, ZrSiO4, having a tetragonal shaped crystalline structure. Zircon crystals are hard enough to resist
erosion. They have a high melting point
and can withstand most chemical attacks.
-
- 4,200 MYA: Most of Earth’s atmospheric oxygen was in the
form of water vapor.
-
- 4,000 MYA: The list of minerals had grown to about 350
different minerals. The Earth’s crust
was forming new compounds and molecules out of the elements churned in the
caldron of volcanoes and tectonic lava flows.
-
- 3,900 MYA: Earth and the Moon experienced very heavy
meteor bombardments. (footnote 1).
-
- 3,800 MYA: Earth’s surface solidifies, liquid water
first appears, and the oceans formed.
-
- 3,700 MYA: Coarse-grained igneous rocks formed called
Granites. These Granites were composed
of feldspars, and quartz with some mica, hornblende, and augite. feldspars are a group of minerals composed of
aluminosilicates of potassium, sodium, and calcium. Quartz is silicon dioxide, SiO2. It is the chief constituent of sand. By now 550 minerals existed on the Earth.
-
- 3,600 MYA: The planet’s first super continent formed.
-
- 3,500 MYA: The planet’s first life arrived in the form
of single-celled cyanobacteria . Cyanobacteria
began the first photosynthesis. ( Spring Lake has had an algae bloom during
summer. Green algae has filled the
lake. Mats of algae formed on the
surface and blue-green moss-like colors formed on the mats. This was cyanobacteria that is toxic if
ingested. I had to be careful to keep my
dog out of the water. We walk around the
lake every day. Dogs lick their fur that
gets wet and can get poisoned.) (See
footnote 1)
-
- 2,500 MYA: The Earth has now created 1,500 different
minerals.
-
- 2,400 MYA: The algae and photosynthesis in the oceans
have created oxygen in the atmosphere. ( See footnote 1).
-
- 1,500 MYA: Oxygen has reached the concentration of 10%
of the gas in the atmosphere.
-
- 1,000 MYA: The super continent “ Rodina” has formed.
-
- 310 MYA: The oxygen content in the atmosphere reaches
30%.
-
- 250 MYA: The oxygen content has dropped to 12%.
-
- 200 MYA: The Pacific Ocean forms.
-
- 180 MYA: North America separates from Africa.
-
- 110 MYA: The Atlantic Ocean forms.
-
- 60 MYA: The Rocky Mountains form.
-
- 0 MYA: Today, there are over 4,500 minerals in the
Earth’s crust and the atmosphere has 21 % oxygen.
-
-
- Footnote: (1): 2.400 MYA: was the greatest climate change
Earth has ever experienced. the
primordial methane-rich atmosphere changed to an oxygen content level that we
can still breath today. This change
occurred because primitive , single-celled cyanobacteria began the process of
photosynthesis to be alive.
-
- The bacteria took in
carbon dioxide and warm sunlight to grow while exhaling oxygen into the
atmosphere. The rocks in the Earth took
on the oxygen and “ rust” until there were no more unoxidized metals left.
After that there was a runaway build up of oxygen in the atmosphere.
-
- Footnore (2): The six Apollo missions to the Moon
brought back 842 pounds of lunar
rocks. All the rocks were dated to 4,000
MYA to 3,850 MYA. This is hundreds of
millions of years after the Moon was formed.
The conclusion: The Earth and the
Moon were bombarded with these rocks for a period of 100 million years. The bombardment almost completely remade the
surface of the Moon by 3,850 MYA.
-
- Footnote (3):
What caused this immense meteor bombardment?
-
- There are several
theories still under study. A likely
scenario has the outer planets orbiting nearer to each other and nearer to the
Sun when the Solar System first formed. Originally the giant planets were 5 to
17 astronomical units from the Sun. ( The Earth is 1 AU). The asteroid belt was 35 AU distant.
-
- After a few hundred
million years Jupiter and Saturn passed through orbits that had 2:1
resonance. Jupiter made 2 revolutions
around the Sun for every 1 revolution Saturn made. The combined gravitational effects of these
resonances caused Uranus and Neptune to pass through the asteroid belt
scattering the small bodies everywhere.
These meteors entered the inner Solar System and created the
bombardments on the Earth, Moon , and inner planets.
-
-
June 8, 2023 EARTH
- geology is physical
history? 1506
4044
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