phy103milestone1 (1)

docx

School

Southern New Hampshire University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

103

Subject

Geology

Date

Jan 9, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by CorporalNeutronRhinoceros44

Milestone One PHY103 Geologic Analysis In my findings at the potential site, I analyzed the rocks and minerals. These findings have shown me that there are mostly sedimentary rocks, which are rocks that were once formed and then broken down by weathering to form new rocks. There were also traces of metamorphic and volcanic rocks. There is a faultline making the layers different from one side to another. There are also streams and rivers in this area that could be harmful when building something stable. Let’s go over the types of materials and how water can cause erosion and changes the environment. Part of the top layer is a mix of limestone and sandstone, which are sedimentary rocks. Limestone’s primary component is calcite. Limestone breaks away easily and is soluble. Sandstone is a silicate material and is broken down into sand-size grains. These are typically found on the earth’s surface (Lutgens et al., 2021). These materials occupy layers A, B, C, and G. As we go deeper into the ground we see very thin, layers D and F consisting of coal. Coal is an organic sedimentary rock, also known as a biochemical rock because of the way it is formed. The reason why coal is existent in this area could be from a large number of plants that were once in the area and have decomposed forming coal. Further down we see a larger layer of siltstone at E. Siltstone is a bit different than sandstone because it is made of silt or clay, also known as mud (Lutgens et al., 2021). The grains are much finer and compacted. From the findings of coal and siltstone, I believe this area was a marshland at one point. A quiet current allowed siltstone to build and finer materials to lay on top, while the heavier materials stayed on

the bottom. And also allowed for plants to survive at a point in time making the coal. Schist occupies layer H. Schist is a metamorphic rock that can come from siltstone (Lutgens et al., 2021). And lastly, at the bottom layer, which also travels all the way up to the sandstone layer, there are volcanic rocks, granite and andesite. These rocks came from cooling magma, but andesite is a fine-grained rock, while granite is more coarse-grained. From my findings, I would assume that the volcanic rocks are the oldest, and then from those come the sedimentary rocks of limestone and sandstone. Once weathering occurs and turns these rocks into fine sediment, the siltstone and coal come after. As the years go on the more settled these rocks become. Now we will go over the different soil profiles found at the site. There are 4 different soil types that are found. Type O is organic material usually on the very top, type A is the topsoil and has a mix of organic materials and minerals from the parent material, type B, the subsoil, is an even greater mix of parent material, bedrock, and organic materials, type C is the parent materials, and at the bottom of all this soil is bedrock (MooMooMath, 2020). In the first soil profile, there is a thin layer of organic material on top, then we see proportionate layers of type A, B, and C soils with a very thin layer of bedrock on the bottom. In the second soil profile, there is an even thinner layer of organic materials on top, a thin layer of type A soil, type B soil which is about three times the depth as the type A, and a large layer of type C, which is also about three times the depth as type B. Under all of these soils is a small layer of bedrock. In the third soil profile, there is an extremely thin layer of organic material on top, a thin layer of type B soil, a thicker layer of type C soil, and a very large layer of bedrock. In this third soil profile, there is no type A soil. Some areas in the site are a better fit than others. Where the faultline is might cause some

instability. Also, some of the volcanic rock is closer to the surface which suggests it can be newer, so we should also take into consideration how magma can potentially ruin our site in the future. Where there is most bedrock, these areas haven't experienced as much weathering. But bedrock is what makes soil (Bozemanscience1, 2015). And where there is much more topsoil, there is a bigger potential for erosion. Resources Lutgens, F. K., Tarbuck, E. J., & Tasa, D. G. (2021). Foundations of Earth Science (9th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9780135851616 [MooMooMath]. (2020, April 29). Soil Profile and Soil Horizons [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEShY_S_KGc [Bozemanscience1]. (2015, September 10). Soil and soil dynamics [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg7XSjcnZQM Haqq-Misra, J. Final Project Stratigraphy and Cross Section W ord Document [Class handout] http://snhu- media.snhu.edu/files/course_repository/undergraduate/phy/phy103/phy103_final_project _stratigraphy_and_cross_section.docx Haqq-Misra, J. Final Project Soil Profiles PDF [Class handout] http://snhu- media.snhu.edu/files/course_repository/undergraduate/phy/phy103/phy103_final_project _soil_profiles.pdf Haqq-Misra, J. Final Project Site Topographic Map [Class handout] http://snhu- media.snhu.edu/files/course_repository/undergraduate/phy/phy103/phy103_final_project _site_topographic_map.jpg

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

phy103milestone1 (1)

Related Documents