How Do Geologic Events Change And Shape Earth Surface

What are some examples of geologic map changes within a relatively short amount of time?

Some examples of geologic features that can change in a few decades or years are as follows:Barrier Islands, like Padre Island, the Outer Banks of North Carolina. These are sand dune complexes off shore with a lagoon behind them separating them from the mainland. They can change form, have channels cut and have vast amounts of sand moved about in a few days by a hurricane, or over longer periods of time by longshore drift.A fluvial system like a river can change just about over night. A geological map may show the river in one form and in a few decades or less, the river might cut through a meander and result in a ox bow lake.Below are two maps of the Mississippi River. The first is from the 1860’s during the Civil War. Second is today. Notice the tight meander which was by the north part of the city no longer exists, but is just a stub, and a lot of marshy round.It looks as though the River actually finally cut through the Canal US Grant tried to dig to bypass the city, but abandoned. In any event, the meander was cut off and now the battlefield park and the feature that made the city a choke point on the river disappeared over night by the channel change.A landslide can totally change a geologic map in a few seconds.Some might argue that this example and the example above are mere changes in topography since the age of the sediments do not really change, and they would be right.A volcanic eruption is another thing. It can change a topo map as well as a geological map if a lava flow overlaps a mapped surface out crop of another age rock.Another change would be due to erosion of a surface rock outcrop, or a major flood.If sediment is stripped from underlying bedrock and that rock is newly exposed at the surface a geological map will need to be updated.A major seismic event can cause changes in a geological map. If the fault movement is large enough contact relationships at the surface may be altered.The map below shows the east end of Galveston Island. The one below it shows the same area today and the dramatic changes due to erosion, and infilling with dredge spoil.

How do movements of tectonic plates affect the surface of earth?

The Earth's rocky crust (both oceanic and continental) is comprised of a series of plates that float on the semi-solid or magma-like mantle. Convection currents cause the magma to rise and fall, therefore, moving the Earth's plates in different directions. This movement is responsible for mountain building, volcanoes, and earthquakes.Convergent Plates: When two continental plates converge or collide, the crust is squished together, folding and buckling and forming mountains. This is just one way mountains are formed.Subduction Plates: When one continental plate and one oceanic plate collide, the more dense oceanic plate is subducted or pushed under the continental plate. As it plunges deeper into the mantle, the rock of the oceanic crust melts, becoming part of the mantle. An ocean trench forms at the plate boundaries. Volcanoes and earthquakes may happen here. In the case of volcanoes, molten rock rises until it erupts at the surface.Divergent Plates: When plates spread apart or diverge, magma rises up from the mantle and fills the gap, creating new crust. As this continues, volcanic islands may form at the surface.Transform Plates: When plates grind against and past each other in opposite directions earthquakes may strike along these boundaries..Hopefully this will help you :)

Why have continents changed shapes over the course of millions of years?

Tectonic mechanics. The Earth’s crust is composed of massive separate plates called tectonic plates. These plates are constantly either being drawn in and destroyed, or pushed out and created at their borders. This cycle of destruction and generation happens very slowly. To where noticeable changes happen only over millions of years. The plates also shift on the mantle- the Earth’s molten layer below the crust. They float on this layer, and move around. Plates often push up against each other and bend. This is where earthquakes, mountains, valleys, and volcanos come from. The cycles of creation and destruction, and shifting, work to move continents around. For example, India is pushing up against the rest of Asia, causing the creation of the Himalaya mountains. South America is also thought to have separated from Africa.

What kind of geological, solar, or human caused event would be able to cause a snowball earth scenario?

Not limiting the answer to only these but trying to only hit the big ones under each category:Geological - 1) Massive volcanic eruptions in a small period of time (maximum material into the atmosphere in shortest time period) producing restriction in the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth’s surface AND for several years. Temperature reduction across the globe; crop failures; limited food resources resulting in mass starvation. 2) Also, the magnetic alignment of the Earth could “flip” though that would imply that it happens suddenly. More likely is that it will slowly happen and THAT will change the rotation, the angle of inclination of the planet and thus change the seasons affecting weather.Solar - Our sun capturing a passing planetary body of sufficient size and density to withstand entering the Earth’s atmosphere and it impacting the surface. The material forced into the Earth’s atmosphere would do nearly the exact same thing as massive volcanic eruptions in “Geological” above. This might be the best case though of such an impact because it could cause total destruction; not total but a new orbital path around the sun farther from the sun but still inside the Goldilocks Zone; or total orbital change beyond the Zone (worst case).Human - A global exchange of nuclear explosions moving masses of material into the atmosphere accomplishing what the other two failed to do before the humans did it. One thing to consider is that such an exchange would almost certainly reduce the demand for food among the surviving population, though that can hardly be considered a plus for doing this.The bottom line in all of these scenarios, in case you failed to see it, is that reduction in SUNLIGHT REACHING the Earth’s surface is the common denominator in two of them and moving the orbit AWAY from the sun is the other, though it accomplishes the same exact thing.

What are the geological processes or events that will occur because of the plate movement?

That's a long list. We should probably start by talking about plate boundaries. There are three types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform.With divergent boundaries, plates are moving apart. Some events associated with that type of movement include volcanoes, the spreading of ocean basins and the formation of oceanic crust, continental rifting, basin-and-range type orogenies (fault-block mountains), dip/slip faults, transgression/regression of oceans onto the edges of continents, and earthquakes from volcanic activity or from the movement of faults due to tension (stretching) in the crust.With convergent boundaries, plates are moving together. What happens depends on what sorts of plates are colliding: continental/continental, oceanic/oceanic, or oceanic/continental. In continental/continental plate collisions, the crust is too thick and buoyant for one to subduct under the other, so a giant crumple zone forms. Imagine a rug that you're pushing against a wall -- it creates folds. Folds also form in the crust, so events around this sort of zone include the formation of mountains and basins (the folds), thrust faults, regional metamorphism, and earthquakes.If it's an oceanic/oceanic plate collision or an oceanic/continental plate collision, the denser plate will subduct (be forced under the other plate by the pressure and descend) into the upper mantle. Events around that zone include volcanoes, earthquakes (some of them very deep, due to the subducting plate), thrust faults, regional and contact metamorphism, the formation of back-arc basins, and the formation of island arcs (in oceanic/oceanic plate collisions).The most famous transform boundary is the San Andreas boundary that cuts across California in the U.S. The two sides of that boundary are sliding past each other instead of moving together or apart. Events connected with that sort of movement include earthquakes and metamorphism of rocks inside the associated faults.Glaciers can form on high mountains, so you could argue that they are a geological process associated with plate movements. You could say the same thing about the process of weathering and erosion that creates sedimentary rocks, because the high profile of the mountains causes them to be eroded, and those sediments settle into basins.This list isn't comprehensive, but I hope it gives you some idea what to look for.

Why are geologists important contributors to climate change discussions?

Geologist are important climate discussions contributors in this way;First of all geologists are professionals that study the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes that shape it. They basically deal with the earth’s crust or what we call the Geo-sphere.Our climate on earth is a result of an interplay of all physical processes in all the spheres of the Earth. The Earth has four major spheres which are divided yet connected to one another. These therefore include; Biosphere (all life forms on earth ), the Geo-sphere (Earth’s surface and all underneath it) , Hydrosphere(Oceans , lakes, river and all to do with water on earth), The Atmosphere(layer/envelop of gases above the earth’s surface). We do also have the cryo sphere(Ice and glaciers).Climate prediction models account for changes in some/most of these though not all due to limited resources for data collection and the expenses in doing it, during the process of climate projections and predictions.So data about Earth’s fluid and thermodynamics is so vital in Climate predictions. And this is provided by Geologists.Therefore Geologists are perhaps not the only extra human resources needed by Meteorologists or climate scientist in climate change discussions, Biologists, Archaeologists, Astrologists and hydrologists are equally important.Hope that helps somewhat. Thanks!

Did geology really happen? Can rocks be moved, bent, formed, and melted? Or is "No Forests on Flat Earth" correct about geology being nonexistent?

Geology is the product of continuous processes occurring both within the earth and at it’s surface. To an extent, the surface topography (land surface) is an expression of geological processes- essentially what you see at the Earth’s surface is related to the events that have shaped it.Layering within the Earth show us the history of our planet in detail. This detail can be derived from the types of rocks that form the bedding, inside this bedding radioactive material can be dated to give an age for the bed to an absolute degree. However there is another way of looking it at. You could date the bedding relatively. Through observation you can tell that (in general) the lower down a bed in the sequence the older it is and vice versa- this forms the basis for the laws of deposition. The existence of bedding provides evidence for geological processes in itself.As for melting, rocks can be melted, under intense heat from surround radioactive material and as a result of the geothermal gradient melting can occur. Bending can be described as deformation and occurs to a rock body in its liquid state. There are examples of how rocks can deform due to stress under greater pressures in a solid however this results in the formation of tension joints at the axis of the ‘bend’ (fold).Movement can occur due to uplift within the earth due to changes in density through fractional crystallisation processes as well as through volcanism and uplift. Rock formation varies from each type of rock to another. Igneous rocks resulting from the crystallisation of a lava whilst metamorphic rocks result from the crystallisation of a magma under temperature and pressure within the earth.