01 Planetary land features

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Astronomy

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Oct 30, 2023

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4/2018 Looking at PLANETARY LAND FEATURES in Google Earth Common Land features and phenomena on the Moon, Mars, and the Earth - a primer The objectives of this activity are: ● To become familiar (to a first order) with what major geologic features look like when viewed from above (which is how we view EVERYTHING on other planets most of the time!) ● To get comfortable using Google Earth Pro. In this activity, we’re going to investigate what major (planet-scale) geologic features look like on two terrestrial planets: Mars and the Earth. There are five kinds of features that we're likely to see: 1) Impact Craters: made when rocks hits planets at solar system (really high) speeds 2) Volcanoes: basically, the eruptive release of internal heat - both the volcanic mountains, and lava and ash features 3) Fluvial/marine: i.e., made by water 4) Aeolian: i.e., made by wind 5) Tectonic : i.e., made via internal dynamic processes that affect a planet's surface Requirements: ● A current version of Google Earth Pro ( https://www.google.com/earth/desktop/ ). Google Earth Pro is a freely available “virtual globe” imaging package, which lets you access Earth, Moon, and Mars planetary imagery! Google Earth Pro is available for download for PC, Mac, or Linux. Please download and install the appropriate version. Caution: Google Earth for Chrome or for IOS DO NOT offer the functionality of Google Earth Pro! (you have to download Google Earth Pro!) Looking for Impact Craters. Impact craters are the most common surface feature we see on planets in the Solar System. They’re not common on Earth, however! A) An "Easy" One: Zoom in Google Earth on the state of Arizona. Search for Meteor Crater in Tip: You may need to zoom-in or zoom-out to see the entire crater.

Introduction to Earth Science 01 Planetary Land Features Arizona with the Search function in Google Earth. B) Now, A harder One: We're going to look for the Manicouagin Crater , which can be found in southern Quebec, in eastern Canada. This crater is over 90 million years old but is still visible because this part of the Earth - called the Canadian Shield - has been unburied since it formed as land several billion years ago. Part 2 – Looking at Volcanoes, Rivers, and Folded Mountains, from the Air. Complete the following activities at home, and we’ll talk about them and to share our pictures! A) Using Google Earth, search for the "Big Island" of Hawaii, and seek out Mauna Loa Volcano , an example of a Shield Volcano . Zoom and scale the image so that you can not only see Mauna Loa, but the other major mountains on the island of Hawaii. All these mountains - Mauna Kea, Hualalai, and Kohala - are volcanoes older than Mauna Loa. Only Mauna Loa and Kilauea (it's just to the South East of Mauna Loa – probably with smoke coming out of it!) are still active today. Look at Mauna Loa in tilt view from the Kilauea side, and from the air. Zoom in to look at the summit area where there is a giant volcanic crater called a Caldera ; it is named Mokuawe’owe’o. Look along the ridgelines, which are called its Rift Zones because they are actually split open to some degree and fountain lava skyward when the volcano erupts. Questions: 1) Aside from the Caldera, do you see other volcanic craters along the summit lines of Mauna Loa? How are these shaped, and how many can you see? Take a picture of a couple of them in tilt view. 2 Tip: Remember, you can use the search function in Google Earth. Tip: If you don’t know how to enter tilt view, Google “Google Earth tilt view” for instructions (or use a different search engine). Tip: You can use print screen, or take a screen shot, or take a picture with your phone.

Introduction to Earth Science 01 Planetary Land Features I was able to capture about 7 craters in the photo. From what I can see, the craters tend to normally be circular in shape. On occasion they seem to be merged with another crater, which then makes somewhat of a peanut shape.I didn’t quite see any craters on the volcano near the summit, though I did see divots in the volcano created by lava flow. 2) Can you identify young Lava flows on the flanks of Mauna Loa? What do these look like? The younger lava flow is darker in color than the older lava flow remnants. The older lava flow seems to have faded with time, and so it's lost its color. The shape of the flow is reminiscent of splattered paint. Though, it looks more so like someone slammed their fist down on the paint tube rather than dropping it. 3) How is Mauna Loa built? The shape of a shield volcano is often described as a “warrior’s shield laid on the ground.” Is this an accurate description of Mauna Loa’s shape? Is it an accurate description of the shapes of the other volcanoes on the island? I can see the island being described as that. It particularly reminds me of a wooden shield that a hero may get early on in their journey. However, as a way to describe the volcanoes, I can only see this being applied to Mauna Loa’s shape. I have a hard time seeing it for volcanoes like Pu‘U ‘Ō‘Ō and Kīlauea. I can see a fish scale shape being able to describe them instead. 4) What is the overall slope gradient of Mauna Loa? You can determine the slope gradient by dividing the elevation of the summit (in feet) by the distance to the sea (in feet) and then multiplying by 100%. 3

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Introduction to Earth Science 01 Planetary Land Features 100( 13564 ft 181241 ft ¿ ≈ 7.4 B) Now, look at the volcanoes on the North Island of New Zealand . Questions: 1) Taranaki, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu are Stratovolcanoes . How do Stratovolcanoes differ from Shield Volcanoes? Stratovolcanoes are a lot steeper than shield volcanoes, resembling stereotypical volcanoes a lot more. Their lava flow patterns aren’t as obvious, however erosion is still very apparent 2) What is the slope gradient of Ngauruhoe? Approximately 35 degrees. 3) Have you ever seen Ngauruhoe 4 To find the elevation, use the hand cursor in Google Earth and move it over the top of the summit. In the lower right-hand corner of the Google Earth display, you will find the elevation in feet (following elev). Notice that as you move the hand cursor, the values will change. Record the elevation of the summit in feet. To find the distance to the sea, you will need to use the Ruler Tool. In the menu bar, select Tool Ruler (check it). If you have problems, please Google “Google Earth Ruler Tool” to find help or use the Help feature inside Google Earth. Make sure the units selected in the Ruler Tool is feet and use the Line tab. Move the cursor to the top of the summit and click to set the first point. Then, trace a line to the sea in any direction where Mauna Loa lavas flow directly to the sea. Record the distance in feet. Now, you can complete the calculation of slope gradient. Tip: Either search for a couple of their names: Tarawera, Ngauruhoe, Taranaki, Ruapehu or go find the North Island yourself and look around! Hint: Think about movies. You can also use Google (or another search engine) to help.

Introduction to Earth Science 01 Planetary Land Features before? I’ve never seen the mountain in person before, though it has been featured in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. C) Look at some Rivers . First, find the Mississippi River around Memphis, TN. Questions: 1) How does the river flow here – in a straight line, or how? I wouldn’t call it a straight line, it has curves and smaller branching paths that rejoin it. 2) Do you see any features that might have been part of the river once – but aren’t now? Grab an image of one of them. The first thing that comes to mind are the little areas of land that are surrounded by the water in the river. Though it’s less of a feature that was part of the river and more so a result of the river. D) Examine Tectonic Features. First, go to western Virginia and southwestern West Virginia to look at the Valley and Ridge region of the Eastern United States . This area is folded and faulted due to the collision of plates that 5 Tip: It is helpful to turn on the Borders layer. Layers can be turned on and off in Google Earth on the left-hand side of the display.

Introduction to Earth Science 01 Planetary Land Features made the Appalachian Mountains . Questions: 1) Look at the Ridges in profile and from overhead, and describe what you see. From an overhead view, the Appalachian Mountains have the appearance of crumpled paper. It’s hard to gauge the height and the depths of them from an overhead view. If zoomed out, the discoloration of this area becomes more apparent compared to the places around it. The mountain sports a brown color while the areas around it tend to sport green. 2) How can you identify the Valleys from overhead? (specifically, what features do you see in the Valleys that tell you they're valleys?) The valleys are colored darker compared to the peaks of the mountains, giving the allusion of shadows being in place to help with showing off the depths. Now go to central Nevada , which is part of the Basin and Range province . Here, the land has been stretched, which resulted in the formation of a series of Basins (valleys) separated by Ranges (mountain ridges and mesas). 3) How can you distinguish the Ranges from the Basins from overhead? (i.e., what features do you see that help you tell them apart?) The main thing that sets the two features apart is the usage of shadows and colors, along with the texture of the ground around it. Depending on the settings that you have for viewing, you can see how the ground slopes up/down into the features which makes it easier to see where it does and doesn’t start. 6

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