Transcript File - Vagabond Geology

Senior University Winter 2011
Vagabonds tramping geology
in Iberia, France, UK, & Germany
Don Beaumont, Sandi Phillips, & Rocky Romero
Geology
in the
Session
3 News
First:
Alaskan
Arctic Ocean
Iberian
Peninsula
Portugal and Spain
The past is never dead. It’s not even past
William Faulkner
Geology in the News
Royal Dutch Shell cancels 2011
Arctic Ocean drilling due to slow
government approval of permits
Canada
Shell drilling
delayed
Next: Quebec and Asbestos Mining
Siberia
Geology in the News
Canadian asbestos company hopes
to resume mining in Quebec to supply
demand in third world countries.
Geology of Serpentine
Next: Southern Sudan, a new nation
South Sudan (non Islamic) votes to become an
independent: what happens to their oil reserves?
Friday Feb. 11
Next: More early humans to Polynesia
Early human migration to Polynesia now thought
to be 6,000 years earlier than 4,000 years ago: i.e.
during low sea level due to last continental glacier
The latest on 3 million year old Lucy
New data on the earthquake in Chile
Gold mining beginning again in old,
Friday Feb. 11
long abandoned USA mining areas
Chilean earthquake produced by sudden
25 feet of plate movement; normal annual
movement = 3 inches.
Modeling suggests another major quake
since earth stress not completely released
Old Mines Reopen in a Revival of California’s
Gold Rush; NYT online 2-10-11
By JESSE McKINLEY
Published: February 10, 2011
Gold price, $1300/oz. supports reopening old gold mines in many
abandoned gold mining areas including California and Nevada.
Gold is a mineral that is deposited when hot hydrothermal solutions cool
as they move upward through the continental crust. These deposits are:
1. gold “flecks to nuggets” often in quartz veins or
2. gold “flecks” disseminated in a host rock, often limestone
When gold impregnated rocks weather and erode the heavy gold often
accumulates in stream beds (placers) and even in ocean beaches & bars,
Finally, back to Iberia and France
The creation of today’s landscape
in Iberia: beginning 5 to 3 mmybp
Consequently, gold is mined in:
1. underground tunnels and shafts (gold veins)
2. open pit mines (disseminated gold flecks)
3. stream panning and dredging
North Africa collides with
Europe 5 to 3 million years ago
Mediterranean Sea divided into
two large “salt lakes”
Iberia crushed between France
and Morocco
How did the crushing affect Iberia?
The creation of today’s landscape
in Iberia: beginning 5 to 3 mmybp
The Crushing (folding) of Iberia
The corrugation of Iberia
And a little more of what we’ve covered
North Africa
Rivers
erosional
debrisin
The
Bigconcentrate
Rivers create
Geosynclines
inthe
theoceans
oceansat
attheir
theirdeltas
deltas
A little of what we’ve covered
Let’s look at the Mississippi River Geosyncline
What is the thickness of a Geosyncline?
Example of a Geosyncline:
Gulf of Mexico
1. Integration of the debris of several rivers
2. Accumulation of thick layers of debris
Gulf of Mexico Geosyncline (debris)
Debris Loading of the Continental Margin
12 miles
thick!
Now let’s apply that to the Iberian
Gulf of Valencia
Mass Transfer by the Rivers of Iberia
Moving debris from
the center of Iberia
the Med & Atlantic
Ebroto
River
Douro River
drainage area
drainage area
Debris split to the
open Atlantic Tagus River
drainage area
Central
continent
Mass Transfer
beingRiver
moved
Guadiana
drainage area
Gulf of Cadiz
geosyncline
Gulf of Valencia
geosyncline
to the sea
Guadalquivir River
drainage area
Results: center rises,
west and east margins
sink! Warping Iberia.
Gulf of Valencia Geosyncline
Spain
Mediterranean
Sea
The burial of the yellow rock
Time 1: Gulf of Valencia now
The
Yellow
Rockhappen
in Time 3 has
been
What
will
next?
squeezed, heated, & partially melted
The burial of the yellow rock
Time 2: Future time
The Appalachian Model
The burial of the yellow rock
Time 3: Future-future time
The Appalachian Geosynclinal Model
The Fate
of Thick
Debris
in the
Sea
Rocks
at the
surface
today
along Continental Margins
The Appalachian geosyncline has been
welded back into the North American
continent
Debris of the Appalachia geosyncline
turned into the Appalachian Mountains
Here’s how mountain building works
Mountain Building
Appalachian Example
Mountains
welded onto
continent
Appalachian Geosyncline 250 million years ago
Illinois
Limestones
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Virginia
Virginia
Sandstones
Sandstones
and
Shales
Crushed Melted
Shales
Rocks = Mountains
Back to the Gulf of Valencia Geosyncline
Today’s Gulf of Valencia Geosyncline
Ebro River
Delta
Onshore Spain
Gulf of Valencia
Geosyncline
Spanish Continental Shelf
Bay of Valencia: Google Earth
How
Noware
let’s
geosynclines
look at the geology
made into
of
some of themountains?
provinces of Iberia
We’ll talk about those geological
processes in another session
Cantabrian Trough
Cantabrian Trough
60 million year old ,mountains
made in 150 million year geosyncline
Contains the largest Iron and Coal deposits
of Iberia
How does this relate to the
Natural Resources of Iberia?
Natural Resources Map: Iberia
Minerals for the Bronze Age
Iron for the early Iron Age
Coal for the later Iron Age
Cantabrian Trough
Mineral Resources
Iberia
Cantabrian Trough
Two periods of mountain building affecting two geosynclines:
one geosyncline with mountains about 200 million years old
second geosynclinal mountains about 50 million years old
Next: the Iberian Massif
Iberian Massif
Youngest rocks
Foundation core being deposited
now
of Iberia
Iberian Massif
Mountains of
Appalachian age
200 million years old
forming the core
of Iberia
Younger rocks
deposited on the
Iberian Massif
Now: Map of Appalachian age mountain building
Appalachian Age Mountain Building
Shaded areas are “mountain” rocks exposed at the surface
Iberian Massif
Metallic ores associated with
the Iberian Massif mountains
Minerals for the Bronze Age
Iron for the early Iron Age
Coal for the later Iron Age
Iberian Massif
Iberian Massive has
the Copper & Tin for
the Bronze Age
A quick look at pre-written history of Iberia
Mineral Resources
Iberia
Pre-written history Time Line, Iberia
Next, the Advent of Humans Chart
Homo sapiens
Homo
neanderthalensis
Pleistocene
Ice Ages
h Erectus
arrives in Iberia
Homo
rhodesiensis
Neanderthals & sapiens
arrives in Iberia
Homo
Antecessor/
mauritanicus
Homo
erectus
Next, focus on the
last 80,000
years
The CurrentHomoGeological
Record
ergaster
Advent of Humans: last 2 million years
Time of Written
World History
Homo sapiens
in Spain
Uniquely human characteristics?
1. Reason
2. Conscience (right & wrong)
3. Adapt to any climate
Last ice age
Now, a look at the human migration route
Iberia in 5,000 years of World History
The Stone Age:
10,000 to 3,000 BC
Nile River
Rift Valleys
Location of earliest
human fossils
Migration of Hominids & Humans out of Africa