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The planet we live on: The beginnings of the Earth Sciences

The planet we live on: The beginnings of the Earth Sciences

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“Slushball <strong>Earth</strong>” <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>the</strong>ory that <strong>the</strong> <strong>Earth</strong> was <strong>on</strong>ce nearly covered by ice, but <strong>the</strong>rewas probably some areas <strong>of</strong> n<strong>on</strong>-frozen ocean near <strong>the</strong> EquatorSmelting <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> process <strong>of</strong> separating metal from <strong>the</strong> impurities in metal ore by heating“Snowball <strong>Earth</strong>” <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>the</strong>ory that <strong>the</strong> <strong>Earth</strong> was <strong>on</strong>ce completely covered by iceS<strong>of</strong>t bodies Organisms with no hard parts such as shells or b<strong>on</strong>es, which <strong>the</strong>refore areunlikely to become fossilisedSoluti<strong>on</strong> (transport by) Dissolved material carried by water currentsSorting <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> sorting out <strong>of</strong> sediment grains into different sizes during transportati<strong>on</strong>;<str<strong>on</strong>g>we</str<strong>on</strong>g>ll-sorted sediments have grains <strong>of</strong> just <strong>on</strong>e size, e.g. <str<strong>on</strong>g>we</str<strong>on</strong>g>ll-sorted sandSource rock (hydrocarb<strong>on</strong>) <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> rock from which oil or natural gas originally came;<strong>the</strong> decay <strong>of</strong> plankt<strong>on</strong> in mudst<strong>on</strong>es/shales produced oil and some gas whilst mostgas comes from coalSpring Natural flow <strong>of</strong> groundwater out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> groundStipe A single arm <strong>of</strong> a saw-blade-like graptolite col<strong>on</strong>yStrata Sedimentary or volcanic layers, deposited at <strong>the</strong> <strong>Earth</strong>’s surfaceStratigraphic principles <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> principles used to understand how layers (strata) <str<strong>on</strong>g>we</str<strong>on</strong>g>redeposited in <strong>the</strong> past and <strong>the</strong> sequence <strong>of</strong> events involved in <strong>the</strong>ir depositi<strong>on</strong> andlater historyStreak (mineral) Colour left as a scratch <strong>on</strong> a white tile (or by filing <strong>on</strong>to white paper)Strike <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> two directi<strong>on</strong>s at right angles to <strong>the</strong> dip directi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> sloping rock layers; forexample, rocks that dip east have a north-south strikeStrike-slip fault <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> results <strong>of</strong> shear stresses; when seen from above, <strong>on</strong>e side has movedrelative to <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r al<strong>on</strong>g a fault plane that is usually verticalStromatolites Mats <strong>of</strong> simple organisms (cells with no nuclei) that can form pillars <strong>of</strong>matsStructure (sedimentary) <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> sedimentary features <strong>of</strong> a sediment or sedimentary rockthat are larger than grain size, including features like bedding and cross beddingSubducti<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> sinking <strong>of</strong> an oceanic plate into <strong>the</strong> mantle at a destructive/c<strong>on</strong>vergentplate marginSuperc<strong>on</strong>tinent A large c<strong>on</strong>tinent formed when plate tect<strong>on</strong>ics brought several c<strong>on</strong>tinentalmasses toge<strong>the</strong>r in <strong>the</strong> pastSuperpositi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> strata (principle <strong>of</strong>) <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> stratigraphic principle that strata deposited<strong>on</strong> top <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r strata are younger167

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