Unit 2 Physical Systems Introduction to Physical Systems System A set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole, in particular.

Spheres Atmosphere A layer of gases that surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body Lithosphere The rigid outmost shell of rocky planet Hydrosphere The combined mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of a planet Biosphere Any closed, self-regulating systems containing an ecosystem Earths Ecosystems Definition: A biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as a well as all the nonliving, physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water, and sunlight. Can be as large as a forest or a small as a tree Largest ecosystem is Earth Human intervention can affect ecosystems greatly Physical forces affect ecosystems El Nino A quasiperiodic climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years. It is characterized by varies in the temperature of the surface of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean (warming or cooling known as El Nino and La Nina respectively) and air surface pressure in the tropical western Pacific (the Southern Oscillation). Earths Physical Systems Equilibrium The condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced Nothing on Earth is permanent The Sun is the Earths main source of energy Greenhouse gases and global warming could cause more natural disasters especially when some natural disasters feed off heat Dynamic Systems Greatest benefits on Earth come from the Earth itself Natural disasters are natures way of going back to normal/healing itself

Geologic Time and Plate Tectonics Earths layers: Soil Iron inner core Liquid Iron outer core Lower mantle Rigid upper mantle Continental crust/lithosphere Plate Tectonics Continental Drift About 200-300 million years ago, the plates were in a certain way so that all continents came to together. This land mass is called Pangaea. Alfred Wegener developed the theory of how Pangaea broke up and the continents drifted in different directions. He called this theory Continental Drift. Wegener developed four supportive points to prove his theory: 1. He saw a jig saw fit between South America and Africa 2. He found fossil of the same plants and animals on different continents. He felt that they could only exist in both places if continents were once joined. 3. There are mountains similar in age and structure on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. 4. Ice sheets covered South Africa, India, Australia, and South America (warmer plates today). His reasoning was that these plates were closer to the South Pole. Scientists disagreed with Wegener because they could not believe that a mechanism powerful enough to move hug continents existed. The Plate Tectonics Theory was developed approx. 50 years later. This theory stated that the Earths outer shell is made up of about 20 plates consisting of continent and ocean. Plate Tectonics It is thought that the uneven distribution of heat in the Earth causes convection currents to move the plates. The Movement of Plates: Plates may collide, pull apart, or scrape past each other. There are three methods to plate tectonic movement: Divergent These are zones where two plates move away from each other, allowing magma from the mantle to rise up and solidify as a new crust. Convergent One plate is pulled beneath another (subduction zone) forming a deep trench. The long narrow zone where two plates meet is called a subduction zone. A plate will melt as it collides. Ocean Plates go under the continent plate and the plate melts. Ocean Plates going underneath the continent plate causes continents plates to rise and cause mountains, also it can push magma out of from other the surface causing eruptions. Transform (Stirke/Slip)

At transform plate boundaries plates grind past each other side by side. These are responsible for many of Californias earth quakes. Geologic Time Earth is 4.55 billion years old Earths history has been divided into four time periods called ERAS: Precambrian (Time: 4600 mya) Earliest Life Proterozoic Archean Hedean 1st living mulit-cellular organisms about 3.5 billion years ago (bacteria) Mountains of Canadians Shield were eroded The sediments produced were carried to rivers/seas to form sedimentary rock Palaeozoic (Time: 570-245 mya) Ancient Life The Appalachian Mountains formed Parts of North America covered by seas Complex organisms such as fish, insects, and amphibians evolved Amphibians were the first animals to live on land Mesozoic (Time: 245-66 mya) Middle Life Marks the beginning of the breakup of Pangaea Tremendous tectonic forces caused the Rocky Mountains to form Dinosaurs and other reptiles walked about First known flowering plants, birds, and mammals evolved By the end of the era, more than half the life became extinct Cenozoic (Time: 66 mya present) Recent Life Ice Age due to glaciers developed as a result of a slight cooling of the Earths climate Completion of the Rocky Mountains Shaping of continents Humans and mammals develop

Rocks and the Rock Cycle First Rocks Igneous Rocks Latin for Fire Rocks or born from fire Born from magma (inside the earths crust) or lava (outside earths crust) Formation of Igneous Rock Sometimes they form beneath the ground in magma chambers Igneous rocks can be intrusive (forms underground) or extrusive (forms above ground) Canadian Shield created by extrusive igneous rock Sometime they form above ground from volcanic eruptions Can be formed on the ocean floor, under water and are called pillow lava. Types of Igneous Rocks Basalt Cools by air, extrusive Obsidian Cools by water, extrusive Granite Pumice Floats on water, density less than water Rock Examples Some have air pockets Pumice Some cool very quickly without air pockets Obsidian Some cool slowly Basalt Some form slowly underground Granite Sedimentary Rocks Glimpse of the biological past Only rock that can hold fossils Any rock (igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic) exposed at the Earths surface can become a sedimentary rock The forces of wind, rain, snow, and ice combine to break down or dissolve (weather), and carry away (transport) rocks exposed at the surface. These particles eventually come to rest (deposited) and become hard rock (lithified). Guelph has a lot of limestone Formation of Sedimentary Rocks Sedimentary Rock They form in visible layers Example: Sandstone the most common sedimentary rock Other sedimentary rocks Conglomerate Limestone Shale Bones covered up by sedimentary rock eventually are compressed and become fossilised Metamorphic Rocks Q: What does it mean to metamorphose?

A: To change properties or to become something else, to transform Limestone can metamorphose into marble Formation of Metamorphic Rocks Heat and pressure increase with depth below Earths crust Eventually the rock undergoes metamorphosis Rock Cycle Landform Regions of Canada Three highland areas Western Cordillera Location is Canada Yukon, British (describe Columbia, Northwest provinces/territories Territories, Alberta and N,E,S,W) Topography (surface Stands along western appearance) edge of Canada like a great wall. Range after range of mountains separated by plateaus and valleys.

Rock Types(s)

Formation

Volcanic rock, igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary Collision of North America and Pacific plates. The heavier Pacific plate forced its way under the lighter North American plate causing volcanic activity.

Resources Population Description Lightly populated

Appalachians Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec Rolling hills though once was high peaks (higher than the Rockies) Long bays provide harbours for ocean freighters. Fertile river valleys along seacoast. Non-metallic minerals such as coal, iron, and zinc, sedimentary rock Erosion reduced Appalachians size from peaks to rolling hills. Glaciation played a big part, grinding down peaks and separating hills and mountains with wide valleys. Ice Age weight of ice pressed down Appalachians. Fishing, iron, zinc, and coal

Innuitians Nunavut

Stand like big watch towers in Canadas far North. Some measure over 2900 metres high.

Igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock Shaped in the middle of the Mesozoic era when the North American plate moved northward.

Canadian Shield and three Lowland Areas

Canadian Shield Location in Canada (describe provinces/territories and N,E,S,W) Topography (surface appearance) Rock Type(s) Formation Resources Population Desciption

Great Lakes St. Lawrence

Hudson Bay Arctic

Interior Plains