U3 GEOL Notes - geol 1010 coulson

Physical Geology (Clemson University)

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 Lecture 10: Geologic Time

Stratigraphy

Why do we care? Time is a key concept in geology

Dating Methods
Relative: list in sequence, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Oldest – newest, Cheaper and easier
Absolute: quantitative, Exact #s, How
many years old, how many years ago
○ Ex. dinosaurs went extinct 35 million years ago
○ Can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars

Fossils: Any evidence of past life

● Usually pre-human existence
● Can be actual bones or just ancient footprints

Stratigraphy: branch of geology, detailed study of strata, Best at locations with lots of layers of rock
Unconformities: time period when nothing formed, gaps in time in stratigraphic layer, May not have a layer of
rock representing a certain time period
Why is there a gap?
1: Run out of sediment, nothing to deposit
2: Run out of accommodation space
3: Start eroding sediment, moving material faster than it can deposit
Types
1: Disconformity: different types of sedimentary rock above and below unconformity
2: Nonconformity: does not have sedimentary rock above and below unconformity, Can have
sedimentary on one side, still nonconformity
3: Angular unconformity: layers underneath unconformity are angular, not straight down
Deposited as horizontal layers, tectonic force acted on area, layers got weathered, eroded, and deposited
Problems
1: Identification: can be very hard to identify
2: can represent a long gap in stratigraphic layer, Ex: Extremely few rocks in SC from dinosaur time period

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Stratigraphic Principles
1. Principle of Original Horizontality
a. Originally, strata are horizontal
i. Anytime layers are not horizontal, it tells you that something acted on them
2. Principle of Superposition
a. When looking at layer stacked on top of each other, bottom one is, top one is youngest
3. Principle of Cross-Cutting
a. Any feature that cuts through something is younger than what it cuts through
i. Ex: Fault is younger than layers of rock that it cuts through
ii. Class example: Youngest feature on first pic: K
Youngest feature on second pic: E
4. Principle of Faunal Succession
a. Order that you see fossils in layers
b. Faunal (types of animals)
c. Correlation: linking sites you're trying to connect based on age (use faunal succession
to correlate)

Correlation
● Not all fossils are great for correlation
○ Ex. Seashells better than big dinosaur fossil
● Want to ID short spans of time

Index Fossils (guide fossil)

● Good for correlation
● Criteria
○ 1. Were numerous
■ Species had to have a huge population
○ 2. Widespread
■ Species spread out as far and wide as it can, global distribution
■ More places they live, more places fossils can be formed, more places you can
correlate together
○ 3. Went extinct quickly
■ Trying to find a short span of time
■ Longer species exists, longer span of time, less precise
○ 4. Are easy to identify
■ Makes sure no mistakes are made

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Other correlation tools
● Lithostratigraphy
○ Correlate based on rock type
● Sequence stratigraphy
○ Sequence pattern of unconformities of each location
○ Unconformities are very useful, works best with many unconformities
● Chemostratigraphy
○ Analyze aspects of rock’s chemistry to correlate
○ Very broad
○ Ex. iridium anomaly at the cretaceous - tertiary boundary
● Magnetostratigraphy
○ Using magnetic aspects of rock to correlate

Geological Time Scale

● Originally built via stratigraphy

● Fossils were key for defining boundaries
● Similar to a calendar, long spans of time divided into short spans
● Eon, Era, Period, Epoch

Eon
● Headean
○ 4.5 Ga - 4 Ga (disputed)
○ Very few specimens this age
○ Key events (know for exam)
■ Thea Impact
■ When earth developed first atmosphere
■ When earth developed first oceans
● Archean
○ 4 Ga - 2.5 Ga
○ Oldest known fossils
○ Oldest continents
● Proterozoic
○ 2.5 Ga - 550 Ma
○ Oxygen started to get added to Earth’s atmosphere
○ More complex life forms
● Phanerozoic
○ Divided into 3 Eras
○ Paleozoic
■ 550 Ma - 200 Ma
■ Cambrian Explosion - sudden increase in fossils, troglodytes

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 ○ Mesozoic
■ 200 Ma - 65 Ma
● Time of dinosaurs
● Mammals showed up, rodent size
○ Cenozoic
■ 65 Ma - Now
● Mammals become dominant group of animals
● Mammals get much bigger
● Most recent ice age (earth has had 5) Lecture 11:

Absolute Time

Non Radiometric: not using radioactive materials

● Varves: thin layers of sediment deposited in place that can freeze over
○ Alternate in color
○ Light: summer
○ Dark: winter
○ One light + one dark = one year
○ Restriction: nothing can disturb sediment
● Dendroecology: counting rings in tree log
○ Dark: winter
■ Can be counted
○ Restriction: not ever tree will make growth rings
■ Some will make multiple rings in a year

Radiometric: using radioactive materials

● Isotopes
○ Unstable (radioactive) are used for dating
○ Radioactive decay: radioactive atom trying to achieve stability
○ Radiation: energy & particles
■ Happens during radioactive decay
○ Parent: unstable, radioactive
○ Daughter: after decay
■ Can be stable OR unstable
■ If unstable, will produce another daughter (creates decay series)
○ Monitor decar of ENTIRE population
○ Half-life: unit of radiometric decay, amount of time it takes for half parent to decay
■ Exponential (½ to ¼ to ⅛ …)
■ Number of atoms does not change
■ Each radioactive isotope has its own half life
■ Half-life never changes (does NOT vary with environment)

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Requirements
● Must always think about specimen
○ Radioactive isotopes must be present
○ Need measurable amounts of parent and daughter
■ Parent on top, daughter on bottom
■ No parent = clock has stopped running
■ No daughter = clock hasn't started
○ Can only go back so far in time
■ Parent eventually runs out
■ Typical limit: 5 half lives
○ Closed system: specimen is cut off from its surroundings, no exchange
between specimen and environment
■ Problems w open system
● Adding parent or losing daughter can look like less time
has passed
● Losing parent ot adding daughter can look like more time
has passed
Carbon-14
● Carbon has 3 isotopes
○ 14 on stable one
○ Turns into stable nitrogen 14
● Half life = 5730
● Can track through 10 half lives
● Why haven't we run out??
○ Constantly produced
○ In atmosphere from sun, N 14 turned into C 14
● Global distribution
○ Steady state - amount that breaks down is amount produced
● Radiometric dating WORKS
○ Has been tested on things we already know age of, such as egyptian mummies
● What can we date with C 14?
○ Rocks and Minerals DO NOT work
○ Food chain will work
■ CO2 can contain C 14 so will be incorporated in food chain
○ Age = [1n(Nf/No) / -.693]
Assumptions
● System remains closed after death
○ Always check if its open
● Amount of C 14 in living tissues doesn’t vary in time
○ C 14 varies in time but variations are small and on short timescale
○ Fossil fuel burning has changed relative amount of the carbon isotopes in
the atmosphere but the method can be corrected
Limit of C 14 Dating
● Some organisms don't get carbon from atmosphere and food chain

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 ● Zombies

Lecture 12: Climate: Why do

we care?
● Important to surface of earth
Climate
● Avg surface conditions on earth over long time scales
○ Decade = minimum time period
○ Complicated: varies place to place
Weather
● Avg surface conditions on short time scales
○ Hour, weekly, seasonal, etc
System Interactions
● Many systems
● Interactions among all these components are complicated to untangle
○ Ex. ocean, living lithosphere, etc
○ Processed by teams of experts in individual fields
● Feedbacks (“feedback cycle”): one chance triggers additional change
○ As one change occurs, it triggers several other changes
Feedbacks
● Positive: every time cycle is completed, it repeats
○ When A increases, B changes, which causes A to increase again
● Negative Feedback:
○ When A increases, B decreases
○ When B decreases, A decreases Then…
○ When A decreases, B increases
○ When B increases, A increases (back to step 1)

● What controls climate?

PT 2- Astronomical Controls
Insolation- energy we receive from the sun- Incoming Solar Radiation
Several things affect how much insolation Earth receives

Variations in Insolation
• Aphelion-
– 152 million km
• Perihelion-
– 147 million km

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 Several things affect how much insolation the Earth receives
● Elliptical Orbit: distance from sun varies
○ Aphelion: farthest point from sun
■ 152 million km
○ Perihelion: closest point to sun
■ 147 million km
○ Not necessarily related to summer/winter
● Milankovitch cycles: how earth moves in space
○ Eccentricity: shape of earth’s orbital path
■ E max: flattened oval
■ E min: rounded oval; more circular Path alters
slightly every year
Cycle: 100,000 years
■ 50,000 moving towards max + 50,000 moving towards min = 1 cycle of 100,000
years
○ Obliquity (tilt): how earth is tilted on its axis
■ Cycle: 41,000 years
■ Current angle = 23.5 degrees (3 degree range)
■ Earth scale makes 3 degrees a big difference
■ Why we have opposite seasons in N & S hemispheres
■ Seasonal contrast: difference between summer and winter temperatures
● High obliquity angle: high seasonal contrast
● Low obliquity angle: low seasonal contrast
○ Draw diagram
● Precession: earth’s daily rotation: wobble, 3D, circular motion
○ Diagram
■ Little circle = daily rotation
■ Big circle = wobble
○ Cycle: 23,000 years
○ Affects what time of year you experience each season
○ Diagram
■ Top = now
■ Bottom = 11,000 years ago
○ All operate at different speeds; long term climate patterns > no impact on
weather/short term patterns

PT 3- Atmospheric Controls
Albedo- measure of reflectivity—clouds are really high on this

Atmo- Composition:
– Nitrogen- 78%
– Oxygen- 21%
– Greenhouse gases (GGs)
Greenhouse Effect-works like greenhouse is supposed to work, Works b/c wavelength is changed

• GGs are present in such small amounts--- but still really strong effect
Insolation Changes w/ Latitude
Why are the poles colder than the tropics? Lots of energy per unit area= temperature higher… energy spread out
over large area= lower temp

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Must redistribute the energy
Other cells continue moving heat poleward
3 cells working together to transport heat from equator to poles
• Hadley cells-

During upwelling, cold water in the ocean is stirred up and brought to the surace.

Steps:
1-Hot air rises thru atomosphere, creates low air pressure—as air rises up water vapor cools- that’s why rain at
equator
2-some air starts to flow north, some south, air mass cooling down
3-cold air, high density, high pressure system, sinks down- some flows ferrel cell and other…->
4-warms up and heads to equator

PT 4- El Nino Events
• Affect global weather patterns
• Caused by changes in wind strength in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

Normal Conditions
• West Pacific Warm Pool- rt below equator, abnormal conditions
• 1- Trade winds push warm water W
• 2- The ‘void’ left is filled by cool water upwelling in the E
• 3- WPWP creates low atmospheric pressure
• 4- Low pressure systems creates lots of rain (just like the Hadley cell near the equator)
• So in the western Pacific during NORMAL conditions it’s warm & wet
• In the eastern Pacific it’s cool & dry
El Nino Conditions
1- Weakening/reversal of trade winds
• Quasi-periodicity of 4-7 years
• Why do the trade winds weaken?
2- Allows WPWP to migrate eastward
3- Eastern waters warm, so upwelling stops
4- Southern Oscillation-
5- Rain follows the low pressure area
western Pacific: cooler, drier, warm water moves away, higher air pressure (low air pressure goes east w warmer
water & precipitation) lower precipitation
eastern Pacific it’s warmer & wetter, the usually strong east to west wind is suppressed, sea
surace temperatures over the central and eastern Pacifc become warmer
than normal.
During El Niño, upwelling weakens or stops altogether

Lecture 13: More Climate Controls & Measuring Climate

Hydrosphere
● Water has a relatively high heat capacity

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 ○ Ability for something to absorb heat energy
● The ocean is a way to move heat around the planet
● Ex. Gulf Stream
○ Makes western europe warmer than it should be for how north it is
● Thermohaline Circulation Current
○ Global circulation system - giant conveyor belt for heat energy
■ Moves hot salty water around planet
○ Red Path = ocean surface
○ Blue Path = ocean floor
○ Why does water sink in the North Atlantic?
■ Water gets colder and denser
■ Water gets saltier, not a lot of rainfall, lose water from evaporation
● Saltier = denser
○ Slowing in recent decades
■ North atlantic: water is not sinking as fast as it did because region
has warmed up, less dense
● Glaciers melting (fresh water) being deposited into ocean (less
salty)
■ Slows down the whole converter belt
■ Water is not being transported as fast as it was
○ Negative feedback loop
■ See saw
■ For a while, belt runs fast and gets warmer, then slows down, then cools,
then goes faster, repeat
Biosphere
● Plants
○ Take CO2 out of atmosphere for photosynthesis
○ Effects albedo
■ Measure of reflectivity
■ If an area is covered in plants it has different reflectivity than rocks
● Animals
○ Release CO2 and methane
● Biological pump
○ Interaction of biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere
○ Uses phytoplankton, photosynthesize, don't live very long
■ When they die their CO2 sinks into ocean and build up ocean floor
■ This created biogenic sediment
○ Taking gas out of atmosphere, stores in biosphere
○ Keeps carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere
■ Temperature regulation (more Co2 = too hot)

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Cryosphere
● Frozen material on earth
○ Ice covers 9% of land surface
○ Glaciers, tundra, permafrost
● Most land surfaces albedo = 15-20%
● Snow / ice albedo = 40-90%
○ Reflects a lot, absorbs little
○ Hard to warm up these regions
Lithosphere
● Tectonics affect climate in several ways
● Continental position
○ Where continent is located
○ Close to equator = warm
○ Close to poles = cold
○ 650 Ma = ice age, lots of continents near south pole
● Continental size
○ A lot of collision zones, will impact climate
○ Supercontinents
■ Pangea
● Interior part becomes very dry, more desert conditions
● Not necessarily hotter but dry
● Not much water vapor
■ Smaller continents = more water vapor
Lithosphere and Climate
● Collision zone uplift
○ Uplift (mountains, hills) affect climate
○ Air goes up, water goes down (rainy)
● Rain shadows
○ Part of mountain that does not see rain (opposite from water)
● Landbridges
○ Thin strip of land that connects 2 big lands
○ Control ocean circulation patterns
○ Antarctica was connected to south america but got pulled apart
■ That's when glaciers started to cover continent

Measuring Climate

● Instrument and historical records only go back so far

● Old photographs only help a little
● On a geological scale there are no records

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Recording Climate
● Air trapped in glacial ice (air bubbles)
○ Each bubble is a direct way to study ancient atmosphere
○ Not great for measuring air temp
○ Tells how much of different gasses was in the atmosphere
● Ice Cores
○ Drill through glaciers to extract cores of ice
○ How scientists can tell there is more CO2 in atmosphere now
○ Store so modern air cannot creep in
● Proxies
○ Substitute
○ Takes place of original thing that is absent
○ Different proxies record different aspects of climate
■ Some great for temp, some great for ocean salinity, etc
○ Air Bubble vent in NOT proxy, proxy is substitute
Climate Proxies
● 1. Tree ring width
○ We want to know what it can tell us about climate
○ If climate was good, tree would grow a lot
○ Need to know what kind of tree it is
■ Different trees grow better under certain conditions
● 2. Biogeography
○ Mapping distribution of plant and animal fossils
○ Polar bear fossils = area must have been cold

Stable Isotopes
● Diff atomic weights = diff amounts of ea isotope get incorporated into molecules
● No radioactive decay w stablele isotopes
● So measure as a ratio ex. 18O / 16O
○ Heavy on top, lighter on bottom
● Ratio of some materials will change as climate changes
● 3. Oxygen Isotopes
○ Can provide quantitative paleotemperature data
○ Ex. many invertebrate & plankton shells
● 4. Mg/Ca
○ Trace metals in shells
○ Why do we want multiple temp proxies?
■ Come type of specimens may not work well with certain proxies
■ Allows you to check work
● 5. Stable Carbon Isotopes

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 ○ Do not provide quantitative temperatures
■ Instead, they can recreate a snapshot of the past environment (and thus the planet)
■ Shows vegetation types
■ 13C/12C
● Both isotopes take in both types of CO 2 for photosynthesis
● The 13C/12C ratio in each plant depends on plant’s
photosynthetic engine
● C3 plants vs C4 plants
○ Some plants prefer one or other
○ Different ways of doing photosynthesis - end result is same
○ C3 plants vs C4 plants, different types of pickup trucks (do same thing,
different engines)
○ Test hint: the names c3 and c4 are plant types, not isotopes
○ C3: woodsy, forestry
■ Cooler, wetter environment
■ 13C/12C = X
○ C4: Savannah, grasslands
■ Open, hotter, drier climate
■ 13C/12C = Y
● The 13C/12C ratio in animals’ skeletons thus reflects the type of plants in the
ecosystem
● Measure the ratio in fossils to reconstruct past climate conditions

Lecture 14- Global Warming

• 2 separate questions to disentangle:
– 1- is the Earth warming up?
– 2- if so, why?

Is the Earth Warming Up?

Temp calculations can get confusing. What data should be used daily? weekly? By cities? By miles?
Use proxy (substitute)…
Size of Glacier- (glaciers around the world) on map: red=shrank, blue=grown
Conclusion= lots of places getting warmer
Why is the Earth Warming Up?
More then 1 reason. Earth is naturally in warming phase. Coming out of most recent ice age.
Natural Processes= (ex: changes in albedo) account for aprox 50% of warming over past few centuries
Unusual Warming Process= warming is occurring faster & @ greater magnitude then other warming trends we
have data for in recent history

Greenhouse Gases & Global Warming:

GGs trap insolation
is the amt of GG in the atmosphere increasing? Rapid increase begins around 1800
Is the amount of escaping insolation decreasing? Evidence shows yes

GG buildup-Three examples:

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 • Conclusion: ~ 50% of the temp increase of the last 250 yrs is due to greenhouse gas buildup
• To argue against this, you have to have a better hypothesis that is consistent with the facts

Humans and GGs

• Fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution has added GGs to the atmosphere
• But is the GG buildup anthropogenic (human made)? – seems to be bc as human population increases,
so does green house gas buildup

CO2 Buildup (400k yr record):

• No increase similar to the current one
• Does not prove where the CO2 has come from

Finding the Carbon Source:

• Investigate which carbon isotopes are building up
• Suess Effect- 14C/12C- this ratio keeps dropping lower
• Shows something is happening to specific isotopes

Suess Effect:
• It’s all about this ratio: 14C/12C
How do you decrease this ratio
• Option 1: Decrease atmospheric 14C --i.e., make the numerator smaller. X
• Option 2: Increase atmospheric 12C --i.e., make the denominator larger. CORRECT
Which happened? Amount of 14C in atmosphere= constant (so not option 1)
Analogy: rum & coke: each has 1 shot rum but diff coke amnts- keep adding
coke making drink less strong

Finding the 12C Source

• So now we know that a very specific isotope of carbon has been added to the atmosphere
• Several things add carbon to the atmosphere
• But what can add lots of carbon-12 without adding carbon-14?
Option 1- Volcanic Eruptions usually emit 13C
^X bc wrong isotope
Option 2- Deforestation/Forest Fires plants containing 14C & 12C
^X bc wouldn’t change ratio
Option 3- Burning fossil fuels, almost pure 12C
^ correct

Conclusion: The Suess Effect strongly supports the anthropogenic hypothesis

• Again, to refute this, a better hypothesis that is consistent with the facts must be developed
Summary:
• Fact: human activity is increasing atmospheric CO2
• Fact: CO2 helps increase temperature
Conclusion: Humans are responsible for some of the current warming

Consequences of Global Warming:

1-Shrinking cryosphere: continually affects albedo temp

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2-Expanding Desserts: not hospitable
3- Rising Sea Levels: Ex: 2019 study found some roads in the Florida Keys will be flooded by 2025- Cost to
raise the roads: $25 million / mile
4- More powerful hurricanes: E from Ocean surface (warm surface=more E)

PT 3- Global Warming Myths

1-“The Coasts are About to Flood!” Consider the timescale of changes, exaggerating time scale, it is a slow and
gradual process, need to be realistic and hesitate to make snap decisions, TIME

2-“The Planet is Burning Up” Consider how data is presented, color matters, projection matters (square map
stretches poles) Map projections also differ, PRESENTATION

3- “Record Low Temps Disprove GW”, sounds authoritative, conclusion not really connected to facts, climate is
long term; global warming takes into account global data- needs correct CONTEXT. “1,100 record low
temperatures were recorded in the US during summer ‘14… so much for Global Warming!” Just 1 place
Just 1 season, Data distribution info lacking, Data on record highs and norms lacking, The statement is
describing weather, NOT climate!

4- “It’s Only 3 Degrees- Who Cares!?” Check your UNITS, 3o C = ~ 5.4o F, Careful using averages!, That’s a
global average, During the last Ice Age: global avg temp was 4.3o C lower than today, Many organisms can’t
tolerate temp shifts of even a few degrees

5- “Scientists Can’t Decide Between Global Warming & Cooling!” Goes back to 1975, NAS Report (end
result=. Inconclusive, very little data), Newsweek-took NAS report quote out of context "The evidence in
support [of global cooling] has now begun to accumulate so massively that meteorologists are hard-pressed to
keep up with it.” Consider the SOURCE

6- Scientists Profit from Global Warming, targeting scientists not data

7- Professionals- “I’m not a scientist.... but I don’t trust what climate scientists tell me because they are paid to
study climate for a living”.

Quick summary o an article that relates to glaciers melting, which we've talked about in
class lately.
From ScienceDirect:
"The iceelds that stretch or hundreds o miles atop the Andes mountain range in Chile
and Argentina are melting at some o the astest rates on the planet. The ground that
was beneath this ice is also shiting and rising as these glaciers disappear"
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220228091145.htm

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Summary rom ScienceDirect re: a study rom U. Colorado, Boulder (link below).
Re: what to know, ocus on the details I highlighted.

"A new study shows that an increase in hot, dry nights in recent decades has resulted in
nighttime wildres becoming more intense and more requent. Researchers ound there
are 11 more fammable nights every year in the U.S. West compared to 1979 -- a 45%
increase over the past our decades. Nighttime warming is only expected to increase
with climate change, intensiying wildres' size and speed, causing more reghters to
work around the clock. "
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220216112204.htm

The quote below is rom a ScienceDirect summary (link included).

Re: what to know, ocus on the details I highlighted.

"The researchers tracked the ormation o these supermountains [extremely long and tall
mountain chains] throughout Earth's history using traces o zircon with low lutetium
content -- a combination o mineral and rare earth element only ound in the roots o
high mountains where they orm under intense pressure.
The study ound the most giant o these supermountains only ormed twice in Earth's
history -- the rst between 2,000 and 1,800 million years ago and the second between
650 and 500 million years ago. Both mountain ranges rose during periods o
supercontinent ormation.
Lead author, ANU PhD candidate Ziyi Zhu, said there are links between these two
instances o supermountains and the two most important periods o evolution in Earth's
history."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220203103029.htm

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 Practice Questions for Exam 3

Below are 6 questions that are very representative of questions you'll see on Exam 3. The answers are at the end
of this document and they include an explanation of each question.

1- Which Milankovitch cycle involves changing the Earth's tilt on its axis?
A- eccentricity
B- obliquity
C- precession
D- aphelion
E- none of the above

2- During an El Nino event, New Zealand experiences lower ____ and higher _____
A- precipitation; air pressure
B- air pressure; precipitation
C- water temperatures; precipitation
D- precipitation; water temperatures
E- None of the above

3- Which of the following items could potentially be dated via carbon-14?

A- a caveman’s stone club
B- a caveman’s quartz spear tip
C-a caveman’s wooden staff
D-all of these could potentially be dated by carbon-14
E none of these could be dated via carbon-14

4- List the events in order from oldest to youngest.

A- B,C,D,A
B- A,B,C,D
C- B,C,A,D
D- A,D,C,B
E- none of these are correct

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5- Which climate proxy(ies) can serve as quantitative paleothermometers?
A- Mn/Ca in shells
B- stable carbon isotopes in fish bones
C- lipids in phytoplankton
D- all of the above
E- none of the above

6- Which of the following problems will people have to deal with if temperatures continue to increase?
A- sea levels will fall
B- glaciers will advance
C- hurricanes will get weaker
D- all of the above
E- none of the above

ANSWERS
1- B
There are 3 Milankovitch cycles, and they are listed as options A, B, and C. Obliquity involves the tilt of the
Earth on its axis.
You can think of changes in tilt as a rocking motion, back and forth between about 21.5 degrees and 24.5
degrees. Another way to remember it is that obliques are muscles along the sides of your abdomen, and to
exercise them you can tilt from side to side. You should definitely know the basics about all 3 Milankovitch
cycles and be able to tell them apart since any questions about these cycles are likely to have all three listed as
choices.

2- A
New Zealand is in the western Pacific, near Australia. When El Nino starts, warm water moves away from this
area, so D is wrong (water temperature will not get higher). Low air pressure follows the warm water towards
the east, so B is also wrong (air pressure will get higher, not lower). Precipitation also moves east, which rules
out C. But A is fine: New Zealand should get less rain and experience higher air pressure.
Make sure you understand how all the variables (water temperature, air pressure, upwelling, etc) change in both
the eastern and western Pacific. Also, be very careful that you read the location correctly! For example, if the
question asks how something changes along the west coast of South America, that is in the EASTERN Pacific-
don't let the word 'west' in 'west coast' get you mixed up!

3- C
Questions like this may look hard at first but remember that they’re just examples meant to see if you learned
the basics about the topic. This question is determining whether you learned what things can and cannot be
dated with carbon-14. Carbon-14 works well at dating fossils (plant and animal remains) but is not good for
dating rocks and minerals. The items made of stone and quartz are thus incorrect, but the wooden staff could be
dated.
Note too that the phrase ‘could be potentially dated’ is not meant to confuse you; it actually makes the question
easier. If I do not include that phrase some students get confused because they don’t know how old the items are
and they’re afraid I’m trying to trick them (which I’m never trying to do). I’m never gonna say “Gotcha! You
forgot to ask whether the wooden staff was less than 57,300 years old”. All I’m trying to test here is whether
you know that carbon-14 can be used on some wooden items but not on items made of rock or mineral.

4- A

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We did some practice problems like this in class. This question tests your ability to use the stratigraphic
principles we learned. B is oldest because it’s on the bottom (Principle of Superposition). Each layer above it
gets younger (Principle of Superposition). D is the youngest because it cuts through all the other layers
(Principle of Cross-Cutting).
If you see a question like this always dbl-check what it is asking you to do. Sometimes the question wants
things ordered youngest to oldest BUT other times you may have to list them from youngest to oldest.
Sometimes students just glance at the question but don’t actually read it and they assume they have to put
things in order from oldest to youngest. ALWAYS READ THE ENTIRE QUESTION BEFORE YOU TRY TO
ANSWER THE QUESTION. Assuming that you know what the questions ask can cost you a bunch of points
on a test.

5- E.
If you don't read the answer options carefully, you might pick the wrong answer. But look closely; Mg/Ca is a
temperature proxy we talked about, not Mn/Ca. Stable OXYGEN isotopes are a temperature proxy, but stable
CARBON isotopes are not.
Make sure you read all the answer options; if you just glance at them, you could easily get this question wrong.
Again, just glancing at the text and assuming you know what it says can cost you a lot of points.

6- E
Answers A-C all look right except the key word is always the opposite of what it should be. Sea level will rise,
not fall. Glaciers will retreat, not advance. hurricanes may get stronger, not weaker.
Any time you notice that several answers say exactly the opposite of what they should say, that's a good hint
that the answer may be “none of the above”. After the first 2 exams you know I'm going to have “none of the
above” be the answer to at least a few questions, so don't be afraid to use it as an answer.

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