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Topic outline

 

  • Time: 14 hours
    Level: Introductory

 
 

Introduction

  • Introduction Resource
  • This unit introduces you to the types of activities undertaken by students of the earth sciences and ecology. You will learn how data is collected and analysed.
 

1 Earth Sciences: reading the rocks

  • 1.1 About this unit Resource
  • Science is all about knowledge, what we know about the material world and the Universe in which our world is just a microscopic speck. The aim of scientists is to extend the frontiers of this knowledge...
  • 1.2 The Earth's crust Resource
  • 1.3 Minerals and rocks Resource
  • To begin with, it is necessary to explain the meanings of the two terms ‘minerals’ and ‘rocks’.
  • 1.4 The formation of igneous rocks Resource
  • Igneous rocks are defined as having solidified from a molten state, either inside the Earth or on the surface at volcanoes.
  • 1.5 The formation of sedimentary rocks Resource
  • The laying down, or deposition, of layers of rock fragments, mineral grains, or biological material, such as the shells or other hard parts of dead organisms, can produce sedimentary rocks. Once deposited,...
  • 1.6 The formation of metamorphic rocks Resource
  • Any type of rock can become a metamorphic rock if it is heated to temperatures of several hundred degrees Celsius, and/or if subjected to high pressure (because of the weight of overlying rocks). During...
  • 1.7 Interlude Resource
  • Now that we have covered the features found in igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, and seen how these features can be explained by the processes that formed the rocks, here is a useful point at...
  • 1.8 Geological fieldwork Resource
  • Although much can be learned from samples of rocks in the laboratory or at home, the ‘natural habitat’ of rocks is outdoors. Here the distribution and layout of different rocks is visible wherever rocks...
  • 1.9 The rock cycle Resource
  • As you are reading this, rocks are being formed and destroyed on the Earth. Rocks are being heated and squeezed to form new metamorphic rocks; other rocks are melting to form magmas, which eventually cool...
  • 1.10 Changing sea-level Resource
  • Sedimentary rocks reveal how environmental conditions in Britain's geological past were extremely different from those of the present day (in fact ‘Britain’, like the rest of the Earth's geography...
  • 1.11 Summary Resource
  • Rocks are classified into three types according to how they were formed. Igneous rocks are formed by crystallisation from the molten state; sedimentary rocks are deposited at the Earth's surface from water,...
 

2 What is ecology?

  • 2.1 Introduction Resource
  • 2.2 Why study ecology? Resource
  • These days, bird watching is a popular leisure activity and in the past so were collecting insects, wild flowers and birds’ eggs (although such activities are not now recommended – indeed, they are often...
  • 2.3 Two factors affecting the distribution of organisms Resource
  • We will illustrate some of the complexities of interpreting ecological field data by looking at two sets of environmental factors, soil pH and salinity, desiccation and biotic interactions on sea-shores....
  • 2.4 Starting a field study Resource
  • When you go to somewhere that is new to you, and of which you know very little, you should have a plan of action to help you to put together a scientific description of the site. Fairly obviously, one...
  • 2.5 Collecting quantitative data Resource
  • How can you collect quantitative data that summarise the nature of a habitat when it is three-dimensional? How, in fact, do you collect quantitative data?
  • 2.6 Summary Resource
  • Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment (including other organisms). An understanding of ecology is important to inform environmental decision-making.
 

References and Acknowledgements

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