GEOL 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Tidal Power, Nebular Hypothesis, Hot Pot

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering
• Course: GEOL 106
• Professor: John Hanes

Document Summary

Lecture 18 (cut-off for midterm including this lecture) Introduction to the rock cycle and the plate tectonic cycle. Release of earth"s internal heat (plate tectonic cycle) Energy acts on it: energy from outside the earth (external energy, energy from inside the earth (internal energy) These two energy sources interact at earth"s surface: external energy. Wears down the earth"s surface: sun: 37,000 x 1017 calories/day, gravity (mainly the moon): 0. 6 x 1017 calories/day. Aside: what is the importance of the moon and its tides: we can trap tidal energy for human use, it stabilizes earth"s rotation about its axis (prevents wild climate swings, it has slowed the earth"s rotation rate. 450 million years ago, corals had daily growth rings, that can now be counted today from fossilized records. 450 million years ago, there were ~400 days in a year (check tom"s notes: it has provided tidal flats/pools, meteorites: small amount (on average!, internal energy.