The Energy of Rocks

Homework 1_Life-hosting Rocks & Minerals

Julia Kahmann-Robinson PhD and Marjorie Chan PhD, University of Utah Department of Geology & Geophysics

Purpose

Recognize the energy of the environment by its sedimentary structures.

Corn Syrup and Water Experiments

Watch the following videos:

• Flume Experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRGuMddjRGg&list=PL17AFB4B8AB3DCCF7
• Corn-Syrup Experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3YZ5veN_Bg

Make an educated guess as to what environments on Earth would show similar structures. Where would you find these environments most commonly? [List at least one environment for the Corn Syrup and Water experiments and 1 region/area where they could be found.]

The Dynamics of Sedimentary Environments

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Cathedral Cove, CA, USA

Provenance: Image Credit: nps.gov
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

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White Sands National Park, NM, USA.

Provenance: Image Credit: nps.gov
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Compare the following environments of deposition (Cathedral Cove & White Sands) according to the following parameters: [Write your answers a-c to the right of the image]

• Processes at work
• Strength of weathering and/or erosion
• Preservation potential of life

Sedimentary Rocks & Structures on Mars

Similar to the previous images, annotate to the right of each image (Escher & Shaler) of Mars:

• What structures do you see?
• What is a likely environment of formation?
• Was the environment high or low energy in your opinion?

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“Escher” rock in Endurance Crater investigated by Opportunity rover

Provenance: Image Credit: NASA/JPL
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

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“Shaler” outcrop at Gale Crater investigated by MSL Curiosity rover

Provenance: Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.