GEOLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

Geology and Civil Engineering Relationship

Civil engineering works are carried out either on site or within the site.
For this reason, erosional and geological process which cause the stability of the
rocks and ground and their changes are important for civil engineering.
Where is a geologically safe and economical engineering structure built?
• How to choose the communication and transport infrastructure route where
geological conditions are convenient?
• How are the building bases constructed safely and economically in terms of
geological and geotechnical aspects?
• How to create a slope both safely and economically?
• How is a safe tunnel and underground facility excavation done?
• How are location geological materials required for construction of dams and road
construction determined?
• What are the measurements and application methods for improvements of
ground conditions and controlling instability, infiltration etc.?
• What are required geological and geotechnical conditions store urban, toxic and
radioactive waste?
• How are to identify, prevent or reduce geological hazards identified, prevented
and reduced?
Importance of Geology for Civil Engineering
1. The role of geology in civil engineering may be briefly outlined as follows: 1.
Geology provides a systematic knowledge of construction materials, their
structure and properties.
2. The knowledge of Erosion, Transportation and Deposition (ETD) by surface water
helps in soil conservation, river control, coastal and harbor works.
3. The knowledge about the nature of the rocks is very necessary in tunneling,
constructing roads and in determining the stability of cuts and slopes. Thus,
geology helps in civil engineering.
4. The foundation problems of dams, bridges and buildings are directly related with
geology of the area where they are to be built.
5. The knowledge of ground water is necessary in connection with excavation works,
water supply, irrigation and many other purposes.
6. Geological maps and sections help considerably in planning many engineering
projects.
7. If the geological features like faults, joints, beds, folds, solution channels are found,
they have to be suitably treated. Hence, the stability of the structure is greatly
increased.
8. Pre-geological survey of the area concerned reduces the cost of engineering
work.
Branches of Geology
 1. Physical Geology. As a branch of geology, it deals with the “various processes of
physical agents such as wind, water, glaciers and sea waves”, run on these agents
go on modifying the surface of the earth continuously.
-Physical geology includes the study of Erosion, Transportation and
Deposition (ETD).
-The study of physical geology plays a vital role in civil engineering thus:
a. It reveals constructive and destructive processes of physical agents at a particular
site.
b. It helps in selecting a suitable site for different types of project to be under taken
after studying the effects of physical agents which go on modifying the surface of the
earth physically, chemically and mechanically.
2. Crystallography. As a branch of geology, it deals with ‘the study of crystals. A
crystal is a regular polyhedral form bounded by smooth surfaces. The study of
crystallography is not much important to civil engineering, but to recognize the minerals
the study of crystallography is necessary.
3. Mineralogy. As a branch of geology, it deals with the study of minerals. A mineral
may be defined as a naturally occurring, homogeneous solid, inorganically formed,
having a definite chemical composition and ordered atomic arrangement.
-The study of mineralogy is most important:
a. For a civil engineering student to identify the rocks.
b. In industries such as cement, iron and steel, fertilizers, glass industry and so on.
c. In the production of atomic energy.
4. Petrology. As a branch of geology, it deals with the study of rocks. A rock is defined
as “the aggregation of minerals found in the earth’s crust”. The study of petrology is most
important for a civil engineer, in the selection of suitable rocks for building stones, road
metals, etc.
5. Structural Geology. As a branch of geology, it deals with the study of structures
found in rocks. It is also known as tectonic geology or simply tectonics.
-Structural geology is an arrangement of rocks and plays an important role
in civil engineering in the selection of suitable sites for all types of projects such as
dams, tunnels, multistoried buildings, etc.
6. Stratigraphy. As a branch of geology, it deals with ‘the study of stratified rocks and
their correlation’.
7. Paleontology. As a branch of geology, it deals with ‘the study of fossils’ and the
ancient remains of plants and animals are referred to as fossils. Fossils are useful in the
study of evolution and migration of animals and plants through ages, ancient geography
and climate of an area.
8. Historical Geology. As a branch of geology, it includes “the study of both
stratigraphy and paleontology”. Its use in civil engineering is to know about the land and
seas, the climate and the life of early times upon the earth
9. Economic Geology. As a branch of Geology, it deals with “the study of minerals,
rocks and materials of economic importance like coal and petroleum”.
10. Mining Geology. As a branch of geology, it deals with “the study of application of
geology to mining engineering in such a way that the selection of suitable sites for
quarrying and mines can be determined”.
11. Civil Engineering Geology. As a branch of geology, it deals with “all the geological
problems that arise in the field of civil engineering along with suitable treatments”. Thus,
it includes the construction of dams, tunnels, mountain roads, building stones and road
metals.
12. Hydrology. As a branch of geology, it deals with “the studies of both quality and
quantity of water that are present in the rocks in different states” (Conditions).
- Moreover, it includes:
a. Atmospheric water,
b. Surface water, and
c. Underground water.
13. Indian Geology. As a branch of geology, it deals with “the study of our motherland
in connection with the coal/petroleum, physiography, stratigraphy and economic
mineral of India”.
14. Resources Engineering. As a branch of geology deals with “the study of water,
land, solar energy, minerals, forests, etc. fulfil the human wants”.
15. Photo Geology. As a branch of geology deals with “the study of aerial
photographs”.
THE INTERIOR OF THE EARTH

Direct Observations

The observed temperature few centimeters away from the surface is about 20°C, however, as we move

further away from the surface, the temperature would increase by C° every 100 m. In which the

estimated temperature at a depth of about 2500 m the rocks would be hot enough to boil water –

almost 100°C.

THE STRUCTURE OF EARTH

The earth’s structure is metaphorically compared to a hard-boiled egg, it has a hard, crusty, and a but

brittle shell, but as it is divided in half, it will expose its different layers inside. In a more realistic

representation, we do not and certainly cannot cut the planet in half but through various natural

phenomenon, we are able to take a few glimpses of its insides, and most commonly through an active

volcano.

A volcanic eruption as we all know is the way the insides of the planet releases its excess pressure and

steam, and with that often times, expelled not only steam but as well as lava, giving us enough evidence

to conclude that there is a vast load of molten rocks underneath the earth’s livable surface.

Earth’s rocky crust is by no means stationary and we regularly see evidence of crust movement in the

form of earthquakes. Earthquakes in ocean regions produce destructive ocean waves called ‘tsunamis.

The universal acceptance of plate tectonic theory is recognized as a major milestone in the earth

sciences. It is comparable to the revolution caused by Darwin’s theory of evolution or Einstein’s theories

about motion and gravity. Plate tectonics provide a framework for interpreting the composition,

structure, and internal processes of Earth on a global scale. Earth is made of three concentric layers: the

core, mantle, and crust. Each layer has its own chemical composition and properties (see Figure 1).

FIGURE 1: INTERIOR STRUCTURE OF EARTH

COMPOSITIONAL LAYERING

CORE

The core has two layers: an inner core that is solid and an outer core that is liquid. The core is mostly

iron, with some nickel and takes up 16% of Earth’s total volume. The metallic core accounts for Earth’s
magnetic field. Earth behaves as though it has a simple straight bar magnet at its center, with the ‘south’

pole just below Canada and the ‘north’ pole opposite, not quite coincident with the geographical poles

(see Figure 2). A compass needle’s ‘north’ pole points northwards; because ‘unlike’ poles attract, Earth’s

magnetic pole in the Arctic must be the opposite type, ‘south’. It is thought that streams of liquid metal

within the outer core, combined with Earth’s rotation, cause the magnetism. The strength of the

magnetism may change from decade to decade and, over the period of 500 000 years, the magnetism

reverses completely. This means that over the next 500 000 years, compasses will point south! Evidence

of Earth’s change in magnetic polarity (direction of north–south line of magnetism) is found in the rocks.

Scientists have found that rocks within Earth’s crust formed at different times. Within some rocks there

are small particles of magnetite that are magnetic and, when the rocks were formed, these magnetite

particles aligned themselves with Earth’s magnetic field. As the rocks cooled, the direction of the

particles’ magnetic polarity was fixed. Therefore, by knowing the age of a rock and the magnetic polarity

of the magnetite particles within it, we can determine the magnetic polarity and Earth’s strength in

times past.

Outer Core

The outer core, about 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles) thick, is mostly composed of liquid iron and nickel.

The NiFe alloy of the outer core is very hot, between 4,500° and 5,500° Celsius (8,132° and 9,932°

Fahrenheit). The liquid metal of the outer core has very low viscosity, meaning it is easily deformed and

malleable. It is the site of violent convection. The churning metal of the outer core creates and sustains

Earth’s magnetic field.

Inner Core

The inner core is a hot, dense ball of (mostly) iron. It has a radius of about 1,220 kilometers (758 miles).

Temperature in the inner core is about 5,200° Celsius (9,392° Fahrenheit). The pressure is nearly 3.6

million atmosphere (atm). The temperature of the inner core is far above the melting point of iron. The

pressure and density are simply too great for the iron atoms to move into a liquid state

FIGURE 2: EARTH AS A MAGNET

MANTLE
The mantle is the thickest of Earth’s layers and takes up 83% of Earth’s volume. It extends down to

about 2900 km from the crust to Earth’s core and is largely composed of a dark, dense, igneous rock

called ‘peridotite’, containing iron and magnesium. The mantle has three distinct layers: a lower, solid

layer; the asthenosphere, which behaves plastically and flows slowly; and a solid upper layer. Partial

melting within the asthenosphere generates magma (molten material), some of which rises to the

surface because it is less dense than the surrounding material. The upper mantle and the crust make up

the lithosphere, which is broken up into pieces called ‘plates’, which move over the asthenosphere. The

interaction of these plates is responsible for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the formation of

mountain ranges and ocean basins. The section on plate tectonic theory later in this topic explains the

occurrence of these events further.

LAYERS OF MANTLE

Upper Mantle

The upper mantle extends from the crust to a depth of about 410 kilometers (255 miles). The upper

mantle is mostly solid, but its more malleable regions contribute to tectonic activity.

Lithosphere

The lithosphere is the solid, outer part of the Earth, extending to a depth of about 100

kilometers (62 miles). The lithosphere includes both the crust and the brittle upper

portion of the mantle. The lithosphere is both the coolest and the most rigid of Earth’s

layers.

Asthenosphere

The asthenosphere is the denser, weaker layer beneath the lithospheric mantle. It lies

between about 100 kilometers (62 miles) and 410 kilometers (255 miles) beneath

Earth’s surface. The temperature and pressure of the asthenosphere are so high that

rocks soften and partly melt, becoming semi-molten

Transition Zone

From about 410 kilometers (255 miles) to 660 kilometers (410 miles) beneath Earth’s surface, rocks

undergo radical transformations. This is the mantle’s transition zone. In the transition zone, rocks do not
melt or disintegrate. Instead, their crystalline structure changes in important ways. Rocks become much,

much denser.

Lower Mantle

The lower mantle extends from about 660 kilometers (410 miles) to about 2,700 kilometers (1,678

miles) beneath Earth’s surface. The lower mantle is hotter and denser than the upper mantle and

transition zone. The lower mantle is much less ductile than the upper mantle and transition zone.

Although heat usually corresponds to softening rocks, intense pressure keeps the lower mantle solid.

CRUST

The Earth’s crust is the outermost layer, consisting mainly of the chemical element’s silicon and

aluminium. The crust has two types: a continental crust that varies in thickness between 20 km and 90

km, and an oceanic crust that varies in thickness between 5 km and 10 km. The oceanic crust is denser

than the continental crust.

Interior Structure of Earth

The Earth has a radius of about 6371 km, although it is about 22 km larger at equator than at poles. z

Density, (mass/volume), Temperature, and Pressure increase with depth in the Earth. z The Earth has a

layered structure. This layering can be viewed in two different ways

(1) Layers of different chemical composition and

(2) Layers of differing physical properties.

Compositional Layering

Crust - variable thickness and composition

Continental - 10 - 70 km thick

Oceanic 8 - 10 km thick

Mantle - 3488 km thick, made up of a rock called peridotite.

Core - 2883 km radius, made up of Iron (Fe) with some Nickel (Ni)

Layers of Differing Physical Properties

Lithosphere - about 100 km thick (up to 200 km thick beneath continents), very brittle, easily fractures

at low temperature.

Asthenosphere - about 250 km thick - solid rock, but soft and flows easily (ductile).

Mesosphere - about 2500 km thick, solid rock, but still capable of flowing.

Outer Core - 2250 km thick, Fe and Ni, liquid

Inner core - 1230 km radius, Fe and Ni, solid

CONTINENTAL DRIFT

Today, most people know that landmasses on Earth move around, but people have not always believed

this. It was not until the early 20th century that German scientist ALFRED WEGENER put forth the idea

that the Earth’s continents were drifting. He called this movement Continental Drift. He was not the first

or only person to think this, but he was the first to talk about the idea publicly.

Wegener came up with this idea because he noticed that the coasts of western Africa and eastern South

America looked like puzzle pieces, which might have once fit together and then drifted apart. Looking at

all the continents he theorized that they had once been joined together as a SUPERCONTINENT (which

was later called Pangaea) around 225 million years ago (see Figure). The name Pangaea comes from the

Ancient Greek words “pan,” meaning entire, and “Gaia,” meaning Earth. Pangaea is not the only

supercontinent believed to have existed. Older supercontinents are also believed to have come before

Pangaea.

The idea of moving landmasses seems obvious now, but

Wegener’s THEORY OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT (as he called it)

was not accepted for many years. Why? Well, for one thing,

Wegener did not have a convincing explanation for the cause

of the drifting (he suggested that the continents were moving

around due to the Earth’s rotation, which later turned out to

be wrong). Secondly, he was a meteorologist (someone who

studies weather), not a geologist, so geologists didn’t think

he knew what he was talking about.

FOSSIL EVIDENCE

One type of evidence that strongly supported the Theory of Continental Drift is the fossil record. Fossils

of similar types of plants and animals in rocks

of a similar age have been found on the shores

of different continents, suggesting that the

continents were once joined. For example,

fossils of Mesosaurus, a freshwater reptile,

have been found both in Brazil and western

Africa. Also, fossils of the land

reptile Lystrosaurus have been found in rocks

of the same age in Africa, India and Antarctica.

PLATE TECTONICS

The Theory of Plate Tectonics builds on Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift. In the Theory of Plate

Tectonics, it is tectonic plates, rather than continents, which are moving.

Tectonic plates are pieces of the lithosphere and crust, which float on the asthenosphere. There are

currently seven plates that make up most of the continents and the Pacific Ocean. They are:

1. African Plate

2. Antarctic Plate

3. Eurasian Plate

4. Indo-Australian Plate

5. North American Plate

6. Pacific Plate

7. South American Plate

There are eight other smaller secondary plates as well as many other microplates which do not make up

significant amounts of landmass. Tectonic plates not only move land masses (continental crust), but also

oceans (ocean crust). Since the plates are floating on liquid rock, they are constantly moving and
bumping

against each other. This means that the sizes and positions of these plates change over time.

Tectonic plates are able to move because the lithosphere, which makes up the plates, has a higher

strength and lower density than the underlying asthenosphere. The solid plates above move along on
the

liquid rock below. You may imagine that these plates are zipping along, but in fact, they are moving
VERY
SLOWLY! The speed of the plates ranges from a typical 10–40 mm/year (about as fast as fingernails
grow)

to as fast as 160 mm/year (about as fast as hair grows). Geologists came to accept the Theory of Plate

Tectonics in the late 1950s and early 1960s after coming to understand the concept of seafloor
spreading.

Seafloor spreading occurs on the seafloor where oceanic plates are moving away from each other

(diverging). When this happens, cracks occur in the lithosphere, which allows magma (hot liquid rock) to

rise and cool, forming a new seafloor. The opposite of divergence is convergence. This occurs when
plates

are moving towards each other. Material may push upwards (obduction) forming mountains or

downwards (subduction) into the mantle. The material lost through subduction is roughly balanced by

the formation of new (oceanic) crust by seafloor spreading.

Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes can occur, and mountains and ocean trenches can be formed

when tectonic plates meet. Let’s look at some of these processes in more detail.

MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOES

What do mountains and volcanoes have in common? They are both large, steep landforms made of rock

that are formed when tectonic plates are pushed and pulled. Whether you

get mountains or volcanoes depends on the type of tectonic plates and where they are colliding.

To understand whether you will get mountains or volcanoes, you need to remember two things.

1. There are two major types of tectonic plates: oceanic and continental.

2. Oceanic plates are denser than continental plates.

Let’s look at how tectonic plates form mountains and volcanoes.

1. When two oceanic plates diverge (pull

apart), undersea volcanoes are formed.

Volcanoes are caused by cracks in the Earth’s

crust. An example of this is the Mid-Atlantic

Ridge, which extends from the Arctic Ocean to

beyond the southern tip of Africa. There are so

many volcanoes in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and

they are so large, that it is considered the longest

mountain range in the world. Iceland is located on

this ridge. The red triangles on the picture show

where there are active volcanoes.

2. When two continental plates converge on land (collide into each other), mountains are formed.

This is because both of the plates, which are similarly dense, will push up against each other,

causing the rock to get all folded and bunched up. The crust in the region of a mountain is thicker

than the surrounding crust. The Himalayan Mountains are the result of this type of process.

3. When an oceanic plate

(1) converges with a continental plate (2),

the oceanic plate will move under the

continental plate (subduction) because it

is denser (3). The oceanic plate may go

deep enough under the continental plate

and into the mantle that it melts and

forms magma (4). Increased pressure

from beneath the Earth can build up and

cause the magma to seep up through weak spots in the crust (5). Magma under high pressure

sometimes comes through volcanic vents in the form of flowing lava, forming a volcanic cone (6).
What is “Prospecting”?

• It is the search for mineral deposits in a place, especially by means of

experimental drilling and excavation.
• Dictionary

• Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis of a territory. It is the

search for minerals, fossils, precious metals, or mineral specimens.
• Geology

Additional: Geological exploration follows a sequence of multidisciplinary

activities: reconnaissance, discovery, prospecting, and economic mining. The
exploration concept looks for a package of unique stratigraphic age, promising
favorable rocks, and type structure to host certain groups of minerals.

Groundwater
• Groundwater is water that exists in the pore spaces and fractures in rocks
and sediments beneath the Earth’s surface.
• It originates as rainfall or snow, and then moves through the soil and rock
into the groundwater system, where it eventually makes its way back to the
surface streams, lakes, or oceans.
• Groundwater occurs everywhere beneath the Earth’s surface, but is usually
restricted to depth less than about 750 meters.

Technical note:
Groundwater scientists typically restrict the use of the term “groundwater”
to underground water that can flow freely into a well, tunnel, spring, etc. This
definition excludes underground water in the unsaturated zone. The unsaturated
zone is the area between the land surface and the top of the groundwater system.
The unsaturated zone is made up of earth materials and open spaces that contain
some moisture but, for the most part, this zone is not saturated with water.
Groundwater is found beneath the unsaturated zone where all the open spaces
between sedimentary materials or in fractured rocks is filled with water and the
water has a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure.

Additional: The water table is an underground boundary between the soil surface
and the area where groundwater saturates spaces between sediments and cracks
in rock. Water pressure and atmospheric pressure are equal at this boundary. ...
Underneath the water table is the saturated zone, where water fills all spaces
between sediments.

Sources of Ground Water

Meteoric Water
• It is the water derived from precipitation (rain and snow) although bulk of
the rain water or melt water from snow and ice reaches the sea through the
surface flows or runoffs a considerable part of precipitation gradually
infiltrates into ground water. This infiltrated water continuous its downward
journey till it reaches the zone of saturation to become the ground water in
the aquifer.
• Almost entire water obtained from ground water supplies belongs to this
category.

Connate Water
• Groundwater encountered at great depths in sedimentary rocks as a result
of water having been trapped in marine sediments at the time of their
deposition. These waters are normally saline. It is accepted that connate
water is derived mainly or entirely from entrapped sea water as original sea
water has moved from its original place. Some trapped water may be
brackish.
Additional: Saline solution is a mixture of salt and water. Saline has many uses in
medicine. It's used to clean wounds, clear sinuses, and treat dehydration.

Juvenile Water
• It is also called magmatic water and is of only theoretical importance as far
as water supply scheme is concerned. It is the water found in the cracks or
crevices or porous of rocks due to condensation of steam emanating from
hot molten masses or magmas existing below the surface of the earth. Some
hot springs and geysers are clearly derived from juvenile water.

To understand the ways in which groundwater occurs, it is needed to think about

the ground and the water properties.
• Porosity,
 • Saturated and unsaturated zones.
• Permeability
• Aquifer
• Storage coefficient

Porosity
• the property of a rock possessing pores or voids.
• is the quality of being porous, or full of tiny holes. Liquids go right through
things that have porosity
∅= VVVTx 100%
∅ = Porosity
V = Void Volume
V

V = Total Volume
T

• The first equation uses the total volume and the volume of the void.
Porosity = (Volume of Voids / Total Volume) x 100%.
• The second equation uses the total volume and the volume of the solid.
Porosity = ( ( Total Volume - Volume of the Solid ) / Total Volume ) x 100%.

Saturated and Unsaturated Zones

• Groundwater is found in two zones. The unsaturated zone, immediately
below the land surface, contains water and air in the open spaces, or pores.
The saturated zone, a zone in which all the pores and rock fractures are filled
with water, underlies the unsaturated zone

Permeability
• which is the ease with which water can flow through the rock.
• Permeability defines how easily a fluid flows through a porous material.
Materials with a high permeability allow easy flow, while materials with a
low permeability resist flow.

Aquifer
• which is a geologic formation sufficiently porous to store water and
permeable enough to allow water to flow through them in economic
quantities.
 • An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock
fractures or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater can
be extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the
characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology
How Aquifer works?
• When a water-bearing rock readily transmits water to wells and springs, it is
called an aquifer. Wells can be drilled into the aquifers and water can be
pumped out. Precipitation eventually adds water (recharge) into the porous
rock of the aquifer.

Role of Confining Bed

Sometimes the porous rock layers become tilted in the earth. There might
be a confining layer of less porous rock both above and below the porous layer.
This is an example of a confined aquifer. In this case, the rocks surrounding
the aquifer confines the pressure in the porous rock and its water.

Three Types of Aquifers

• Unconfined Aquifer
• Confined Aquifer
• Leaky Aquifer

• Unconfined aquifers are those into which water seeps from the ground
surface directly above the aquifer.

• Confined aquifers are those in which an impermeable dirt/rock layer exists

that prevent water from seeping into the aquifer from the ground surface
located directly above.

• A leaky aquifer, also known as a semi-confined aquifer, is an aquifer whose

upper and lower boundaries are aquitards, or one boundary is an aquitard
and the other is an aquiclude.

Aquitard
An aquitard is a partly permeable geologic formation. It transmits water at such a
slow rate that the yield is insufficient. Pumping by wells is not possible. For
example, sand lenses in a clay formation will form an aquitard.

Aquiclude

An aquiclude is composed of rock or sediment that acts as a barrier to groundwater

flow. Aquicludes are made up of low porosity and low permeability rock/sediment
such as shale or clay. Aquicludes have normally good storage capacity but low
transmitting capacity.

Aquifuge

An aquifuge is a geologic formation which doesn’t have interconnected pores. It is

neither porous nor permeable. Thus, it can neither store water nor transmit it.
Examples of aquifuge are rocks like basalt, granite, etc. without fissures.

Additional: An aquitard is a zone within the Earth that restricts the flow
of groundwater from one aquifer to another. A completely
impermeable aquitard is called an aquiclude or aquifuge. Aquitards comprise
layers of either clay or non-porous rock with low hydraulic conductivity.

Storage coefficient or Storativity

• which is the volume of water that an aquifer releases from or takes into
storage per unit surface area of aquifer per unit change in the component of
area normal to surface.
• capacity of an aquifer to release groundwater

Importance of Groundwater
• Groundwater, which is in aquifers below the surface of the Earth, is one of
the Nation's most important natural resources. Groundwater is the source of
about 33 percent of the water that county and city water departments
supply to households and businesses (public supply)
• Groundwater prospecting and extraction can both be part of general water
resource management strategies to increase supply, or respond to climate
change induced water scarcity or variability.
 • Groundwater, the great salvation of parched cities and agricultural
development, is the world's largest freshwater resource. The volume of fresh
water in all the world's lakes, rivers and swamps adds up to less than 1%
of that of fresh groundwater

How it affects Civil Engineering?

• The presence of ground water beneath a foundation can reduce the
allowable bearing pressure of the soil. The geotechnical report will take that
into consideration when they provide you with allowable bearing pressures.
It can also create problems with the subgrade during construction- trucks or
equipment can cause it to “pump”.
Additional: The allowable bearing pressure is the maximum load that the
footing can support without failure with appropriate factors of safety; AND. the
maximum load that the footing can support without intolerable settlements
(serviceability)
• During construction, if groundwater seeps into the excavation, it will need to
be removed. This can be done by placing a pump in a sump at the low end of
the excavation to remove water as it accumulates, or by placing pumps in
wells around the excavation to draw down the water table.

How do Civil Engineers Deal with Groundwater?

The first thing that needs to be done to ensure that groundwater can be effectively
dealt with is to gather information to understand the problem. This involves a site
investigation, which might involve drilling and testing of boreholes, measurement
of groundwater levels and tests to measure the permeability of the ground.
Permeability is a measure of how easily water flows through soils or rocks. High
permeability soils and rocks tend to be water-bearing and are typical of the
conditions where groundwater can cause problems for construction projects.
The techniques used to control groundwater include:

• Groundwater pumping (known as 'dewatering') – this approach involves pumping

groundwater from an array of wells or sumps around the excavation. The objective
is to lower groundwater levels to below working level in the excavation. Examples
of this group of techniques include sump pumping, well points, deep wells and
ejector wells.
• Low permeability cut-off walls – in this approach low permeability barriers (known
as 'cut-off walls') are installed into the ground around the perimeter of the
excavation. These walls act as barriers to groundwater flow, and effectively exclude
groundwater from the excavation. The requirement to pump groundwater is
limited to pumping out of the water trapped within the area enclosed by the cut-
off walls. Examples of the techniques used to form cut-off walls include steel sheet-
piling, concrete diaphragm walls, concrete bored piles and bentonite slurry walls.

• Grout barriers – this involves the injection into the ground of fluid grouts that set
or solidify in the soil pores and rock fissures. The grout blocks the pathways for
groundwater flow and can produce a continuous zone of treated soil or rock around
the excavation that is of lower permeability than the native material. This reduces
groundwater inflow in a similar way to cut-off walls. The most commonly used
grouts are based on suspensions of cement in water.

• Artificial ground freezing – in this technique a very low temperature refrigerant

(either calcium chloride brine or liquid nitrogen) is circulated through a series of
closely-spaced boreholes drilled into the ground. The ground around the boreholes
is chilled and ultimately frozen. Frozen soil or rock has a very low permeability, and
will significantly reduce groundwater inflow into any excavation.

Each of these approaches to groundwater control has different advantages and

disadvantages, and is applicable only to certain soil or rock types. Selection of
suitable groundwater control measures is one of the key aspects of the design of
underground works.
THE WORK OF RIVERS, WIND AND SEA AND THEIR ENGINEERING IMPORTANCE

THE WORK OF RIVERS

RIVER

A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, from a high land towards an ocean,

sea, lake or another river. The route of a river is called a course of a river.

Anatomy of a River

HEADWATERS/SOURCE OF A RIVER

Place where a river begins its course/journey

Glacial headwaters (the source of water is snow mountains)

Rain-fed Rivers (Starts from a particular area)

Springs (a place where water in the Earth, called groundwater, flows to the

surface naturally; forms when an aquifer, or natural underground reservoir, fills

with groundwater and overflows)

Tributary or Affluent (a stream feeding a larger stream or a lake)

TRIBUTARY

A tributary is a river that feeds into another river, rather than ending in a lake, pond, or

ocean.

CHANNEL

The shape of a river channel depends on how much water has been flowing in it for how

long, over what kinds of soil or rock, and through what vegetation. The bends in a river

called “meanders” are caused by the water taking away soil on the outside of a river

bend and laying it down the inside of a river bend over time.

RIVERBANK

The land next to the river is called the riverbank, and the streamside trees and other

vegetation is sometimes called the “riparian zone.” This is an important, nutrient-rich

area for wildlife, replenished by the river when it floods.

MOUTH/DELTA

The end of a river is its mouth, or delta. At a river‟s delta, the land flattens out and the

water loses speed, spreading into a fan shape. Usually this happens when the river meets

an ocean, lake, or wetland. As the river slows and spreads out, it can no longer transport

all of the sand and sediment it has picked up along its journey from the headwaters.

Because these materials and nutrients help build fertile farmland, deltas have been called

“cradles” of human civilization. Deltas are “cradles” for other animals as well, providing

breeding and nesting grounds for hundreds of species of fish and birds.

UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT

Downstream always points to the end of a river, or its “mouth.” “Upstream” always

points to the river‟s source, or “headwaters.” As you look downstream, your right hand

corresponds to “River Right.” Your left hand corresponds to “River Left.”

Three Functions of Rivers

A. EROSION

Erosional work of rivers carves and shapes the landscape through which they flow.

The energy in a river causes erosion. The bed and banks can be eroded making it wider,

deeper and longer.

Headward erosion makes a river longer. This erosion happens near its source. Surface

run-off and through flow causes erosion at the point where the water enters the valley

head.

Vertical erosion makes a river channel deeper. This happens more in the upper stages

of a river (the V of vertical erosion should help you remember the v-shaped valleys

that are created in the upper stages).

Lateral erosion makes a river wider. This occurs mostly in the middle and lower

stages of a river.

RIVER MAY ERODE IN 4 WAYS

1. ABBRASION/CORRASION

The process of sediments wearing down the bedrock and the banks.
2. ATTRITION

The collision between sediment particles that break into smaller and more rounded

pebbles

3. HYDRAULIC ACTION

The force of water against the banks compressing air pockets into cracks, which expand

and fracture the rock over time

4. SOLUTION/CORROSION

The process of acidic water dissolving soluble sediment

B. TRANSPORTATION

Transportation of material in a river begins when friction is overcome. Material that has

been loosened by erosion may be then transported along the river.

RIVER TRANSPORTATION IN 4 WAYS

1. TRACTION - Large boulders and rocks are rolled along the river bed

2. SALTATION - Small pebbles and stones are bounced along the river bed

3. SUSPENSION - Fine light material is carried along in the water

4. SOLUTION - Minerals are dissolved in the water and carried along in solution

C. DEPOSITION

The process of eroded material being dropped.

When a river loses energy, it will drop or deposit some of the material it is carrying.

Deposition may take place when a river enters an area of shallow water or when the

volume of water decreases - for example, after a flood or during times of drought.

Deposition is common towards the end of a river's journey, at the mouth.

Deposition at the mouth of a river can form deltas.

RIVER‟S DROPPING OF LOADS

1. WHEN VOLUME DECREASES

DRY SEASON

DRY REGION WITH HIGH EVAPORATION

 PRESENSE OF PERMEABLE ROCKS

RECEDING FLOOD WATERS

2. WHEN SPEED DECREASES

IT ENTERS A LAKE

IT ENTERS A CALM SEA

IT ENTERS A GENTLY SLOPING PLAIN

THE WORKS OF RIVERS

POTHOLES

These are various shaped depressions of different dimensions that are developed in the

river bed by excessive localized erosion by the streams. The pot holes are generally cylindrical or

bowl shaped in outline these are commonly formed in the softer rocks occurring at critical

location in the bedrock of a stream. The formation process for a pothole may be initiated by a

simple plucking out of a protruding or outstanding rock projection at the river bed by hydraulic

action.

GEORGES AND CANYONS

Georges are very deep and narrow valley with very steep and high walls on either side. A

canyon is a specific type of George where the layers cut down by a river are essentially stratified

and horizontal in attitude.

RIVER MEANDERING

When a stream flows along a curved, zigzag path acquiring a loop-shaped course, it is

said to mender. Menders are developed mostly in the middle and lower reaches of major stream

where lateral erosion and depositions along opposite banks become almost concurrent geological

activities of the stream, when a stream is flowing through such a channel it cannot be assumed to

have absolutely uniform velocities all across its width. Thus the same river is eroding its channel

on the concave side and making its progress further inland whereas on the convex side it is

depositing. A loop shaped outline for the channel is a natural outcome where a stream seen from a

distance.
 OXBOW LAKES

In the advanced stages of a meandering stream only relatively narrow strips of land

separate the individual loops from each other. During high-water times, as during small floods,

when the stream acquires good volume of water, it has a tendency to flow straight, some of the

intervening strips of land between the loops get eroded. The stream starts flowing straight in those

limited stretches, thereby leaving the loops or loops on the sides either completely detached or

only slightly connected. This isolated curved or looped shaped area of the river, which often

contains some water are called oxbow lakes.

THE WORK OF WIND

WIND

Air in motion is called Wind. Wind is one of the three major agents of change on the surface of

the earth, other two being river and glaciers. Wind act as agent of erosion, as a carrier for transporting

particles and grains so eroded from one place and also for depositing huge quantities of such wind-
blown

material at different places.

Three Functions of Wind

A. WIND EROSION

THREE DIFFERENT METHODS OF WIND EROSION

1. DEFLATION

Wind possess not much erosive power over rocks the ground covered with

vegetation. But when moving with sufficient velocity over dry and loose sand it can

remove or swept away huge quantity of the loose material from the surface. This

process of removal of particle of dust and sand by strong wind is called deflation.

2. ABRASION

Wind becomes a powerful agent for rubbing and abrading the rock surface when

naturally loaded with sand and dust particles. This type of erosion involving rubbing,

grinding, polishing the rock surface by any natural agent is termed as abrasion.
3. ATTRITION

The sand particles and other particles lifted by the wind from different places are

carried away to considerable distances. The wear and tear of load particles suffered

by them due to mutual impacts during the transportation process is termed as

attrition.

B. SEDIMENTATION TRANSPORT OF WIND

Sources of sediments: Wind is an active agent of sediment transport in nature.

Materials of fine particle size such as Clay, silt and sand occurring on surface of the earth are

transported in huge volumes from one place to another in different regions of the world.

METHOD OF TRANSPORT:

1. SURFACE CREEP

In a wind erosion event, large particles ranging from 0.5 mm to 2 mm in diameter

are rolled across the soil surface. This causes them to collide with, and dislodge,

other particles. Surface creep wind erosion results in these larger particles moving

only a few meters.

2. SUSPENSION

The light density clay and silt particles may be lifted by the wind from the

ground and are carried high up to the upper layer of the wind where they move along

with the wind. This is called transport in suspension.

3. SILTATION

The heavier and coarse sediments such as sand grains, pebbles and gravels are

lifted up periodically during high velocity wind only for short distance. They may be

dropped and picked up again and again during the transport process saltation is

therefore, a process of sediment transport in a series of jumps.

The transport power of wind: The transporting power of wind depends on its velocity as

also on the size, shape and density of the particles. The amount of load already present in the

wind at a given point of time also determines its capacity to take up further load.
C. DEPOSITION BY WIND AEOLIAN DEPOSITS

Sediments and particles once picked up by the wind from any source on the surface are

carried forward for varying distances depending on the carrying capacity of the wind.

Wherever and whenever the velocity of wind suffers a check from one reason or another a

part or whole of the wind load is deposited at that place. These wind made deposits may

ultimately take the shape of landform that are commonly referred as aeoline deposits.

TWO MAIN TYPES OF DEPOSIT

1. DUNES

These are variously shaped deposits of sand-grade particles accumulated by

wind. A typical sand dune is defined as broad conical heap. A dune is normally

developed when a sand laden wind comes across some obstruction. The obstruction

causes some check in the velocity of the wind , which is compelled to drop some load

over, against or along the obstruction when the process is continued for a long time,

the accumulated sand takes the shape of mound or a ridge. A typical dune is

characterized with a gentle windward side and a steep leeward slope.

2. LOESS

Used for wind-blown deposits of silt and clay grade particles. Typically Loess is

unconsolidated, unratified and porous accumulation of particles. Strong winds

blowing over very extensive area of deserts, outwash plains and soil loosened by

plough pick up vast amount of fine grade particles for transportation in suspension,

when such dust laden winds passing over steppes and other flat surfaces are

intercepted by precipitation they drop their entire loads on the surface below. This

process is repeated for years. Accumulations of such sediments over years have

resulted in the present loess deposits.

THE WORKS OF WIND

1. NEEDLES
Complete to erosion of soft rocks by high speed winds allows steep gradient rocks stand uneroded

and still. They look like needles and therefore known as rocky Needles.

2. MUSHROOM OR PEDESTAL ROCKS

Wind erosion takes place at the average height of 1 meter from the Earth‟s surface. While above

height of average 2 meters, erosional process is again very low. Resultantly middle portion of

vertical rocks is eroded by high speed winds and after erosion rocks look like mushrooms.

3. ZEUGEN

„Zeugen‟ is a word from German language which means „Like Table‟. When soft rocks covered

by hard rocks are eroded by winds, hard rocks left behind looks like table and known as

„Zeugen‟. Their length may vary from 1 meter to 30 meters. Along with winds, rainfall and

weathering also help in formation of „Zeugen‟.

4. WINDOW AND BRIDGE

Continuous erosion by high velocity winds forms holes in the rocks. Such holes are called Wind

Windows. Further, the combined action of deflation and abrasion makes the wind windows larger

and wider which assumes an arch like shape with solid roof over them. Such land forms are called

Wind Bridges.

THE WORK OF SEA

The work of sea water is performed by several marine agents like sea waves, oceanic currents,

tidal waves and tsunamis but the sea waves are most powerful and effective erosive agent of coastal
areas.

All the geological work performed by marine water is due to regular and irregular disturbances

taking places in the body of water. Mostly in the surface layer and distinguished as waves and currents.

Works of Ocean/Sea

A. MARINE EROSION

Marine water erodes the rocks at the shore and elsewhere with which it comes in contact in a

manner broadly similar to that of stream water.

THREE WAYS OF MARINE EROSION

1. HYDRAULIC ACTION
This is the process of erosion by water involving breaking, loosening and

plucking out of loose, disjointed blocks of rocks from their original places by the

strong forces created by the impact of sea waves and currents.

2. MARINE ABRASION

This involves the rubbing and grinding action of seawater on the rocks of the

shore with the help of sand particles and other small fragments that are hurdled up

again these rocks.

3. CORROSION

It is the solvent action of seawater which is particularly strong in environment

where the shore is of vulnerable chemical composition.

B. MARINE DEPOSITION

Seas are regarded as most important and extensive sedimentation basins, this becomes

evident from the fact that marine deposits of practically of all the geological ages.

CLASSIFICATION OF DEPOSITS

1. SHALLOW WATER DEPOSITS (NERITIC DEPOSITS)

These include marine deposits laid down in neritic zone of the sea, which extends

from the lowest tide limit to the place of the continent shelf where the slope becomes

steeper.

EX. BEACHES, SPLITS AND BARS; TAMBOLO

2. DEEP WATER DEPOSITS

These deposits consists mostly of Mud and oozes and are called as pelagic

deposits. The oozes that form bulk of some such deposits consist of small organisms

known collectively as planktons. Death and decay of these organisms and plants

followed by their accumulation in regular and irregular shapes These deposits are

commonly called as reefs.

EX. CORAL REEFS

THE WORKS OF OCEAN/SEA

1. SEA CLIFFS

A Sea cliff is seaward facing steep front of a moderately high shoreline and indicates the

first stage of the work of waves on the shore rocks. There may be a number of sea cliffs seen on a

shore line. They are outstanding rock projection having smoothened seaward sloping surface.

2. WAVE-CUT TERRACES

A wave-Cut Terrace is a shallow shelf type structure, carved out from the shore rocks by

the advancing sea waves. The waves first of all cut a notch where they strike against the cliff rock

again and again. The notch is gradually extended backward to such a depth below the overlying

rock that the latter becomes unsupported from below. The cliff eventually falls down along the

notch. A platform or bench is thus created over which the seawater may rush temporarily and

periodically. The resulting structure is called a wave curt terrace.

3. SPITS AND BARS

These are ridge shaped deposits of sand and shingle that often extends across the

embayment.

4. TOMBOLA

It is the form of marine deposit that connects a headland and an island or one island with

another island.
Terms:

Focus (Hypocenter): Focus is the point on the fault where rupture occurs and the location from which seismic
waves are released.

Epicenter: Epicenter is the point on the earth’s surface that is directly above the focus, the point where an
earthquake or underground explosion originates.

Fault Line: A Fault line is the surface trace of a fault, the line of intersection between the earth’s surface.

Fault plane: Fault plane are the cracks or sudden slips of the land.

Fault Scrap: A Fault scrap is the topographic expression of faulting attributed to the displacement of the land
surface by movement along faults.

What is Earthquake/s?

-a sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements
within the earth's crust or volcanic action.

Causes and Types of Earthquakes:

Plate Boundaries - scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of the plates making up the Earth's
lithosphere.

Lithosphere - rigid, rocky outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and the solid outermost layer of the upper
mantle.

There are three main types of plate boundaries:

Convergent boundaries - where two plates are colliding.

Divergent boundaries – where two plates are moving apart.

Transform boundaries – where plates slide passed each other.

Tectonic Earthquakes - Earthquakes caused by plate tectonics are called tectonic quakes. They account for most
earthquakes worldwide and usually occur at the boundaries of tectonic plates.

Induced Earthquakes - are caused by human activity, like tunnel construction, filling reservoirs and implementing
geothermal or fracking projects.

Fracking- process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to
release the gas inside.

Mining – the process or industry of obtaining coal or other minerals from a mine.

Water reservoir impoundment - reservoir with outlets controlled by gates that release stored surface water as
needed in a dry season; may also store water for domestic or industrial use or for flood control.

Large new reservoirs can trigger earthquakes. This is due to either: change in stress because of the weight of
water, or more commonly by increased groundwater pore pressure decreasing the effective strength of the rock
under the reservoir.

Volcanic quakes are associated with active volcanism. They are generally not as powerful as tectonic quakes and
often occur relatively near the surface. Consequently, they are usually only felt in the vicinity of the hypocenter.
Collapse quakes can be triggered by such phenomena as cave-ins, mostly in karst areas or close to mining facilities,
as a result of subsidence.

Waves Produced due to earthquakes.

Seismic wave, vibration generated by an earthquake, explosion, or similar energetic source and propagated within
the Earth or along its surface.

2 types:

Body waves-seismic wave that moves through the interior of the earth.

P-waves, also known as primary waves or pressure waves, travel at the greatest velocity through the Earth.

S-waves, also known as secondary waves, shear waves or shaking waves, are transverse waves that travel slower
than P-waves.

2. Surface waves - waves that travel near the earth's surface.

Rayleigh waves, also called ground roll, travel as ripples similar to those on the surface of water.

Love waves cause horizontal shearing of the ground. They usually travel slightly faster than Rayleigh waves

Strength of Earthquakes: The intensity is a number (written as a Roman numeral) describing the severity of an
earthquake in terms of its effects on the earth's surface and on humans and their structures.

Mercalli Scale is based on observable earthquake damage.

Invented by Giuseppe Mercalli in 1902, this scale uses the observations of the people who experienced the
earthquake to estimate its intensity. The Mercalli scale isn't considered as scientific as the Richter scale, though.

Magnitude is the most common measure of an earthquake's size. It is a measure of the size of the earthquake
source and is the same number no matter where you are or what the shaking feels like.

The Richter scale – also called the Richter magnitude scale or Richter's magnitude scale – is a measure of the
strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles F. Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 paper, where he
called it the "magnitude scale".

Seismologists are Earth scientists, specialized in geophysics, who study the genesis and the propagation of seismic
waves in geological materials.

Seismograph or seismometer, is an instrument used to detect and record earthquakes.

Major Fault Lines in the Philippines:

There are five active fault lines in the country namely the Western Philippine Fault, the Eastern Philippine Fault,
the South of Mindanao Fault, Central Philippine Fault and the Marikina/Valley Fault System.

“The Big One “- a worst-case scenario of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake from the West Valley Fault, a 100-kilometer
fault that runs through six cities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Earthquakes Prediction:

Earthquake prediction is usually defined as the specification of the time, location, and magnitude of a future
earthquake within stated limits. But some evidence of upcoming Earthquake are following:
- Unusual animal behavior

-Water level in wells

-Large scale of fluctuation of oil flow from oil wells

-Foreshocks or minor shocks before major earthquake

-Temperature change

-Uplifting of earth surface

-Change in seismic wave velocity

Effect of Earthquakes:

-Loss of life and property

-Damage to transport system e.g. roads, railways, highways, airports, marine

-Damage to infrastructure.

-Chances of Floods

– Develop cracks in Dams

-Chances of fire short-circuit.

-Communications such as telephone wires are damaged.

-Water pipes, sewers are disrupted

-Economic activities like agriculture, industry, trade and transport are severely affected.

Landslides- defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope

Shaking and ground rapture -disruptive up and down and sideways motion experienced during an earthquake.

Fires- be started by broken gas lines and power lines, or tipped over wood or coal stoves.

Soil liquefaction-occurs when a saturated or partially saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in
response to an applied stress such as shaking during an earthquake

Tsunami -series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an
ocean or a large lake.

Floods- a rising and overflowing of a body of water especially onto normally dry land; also : a condition of
overflowing.

Earthquake Safety Rules:

What Should I Do Before, During, And After An Earthquake?

What to Do Before an Earthquake

-Make sure you have a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, a battery-powered radio, a flashlight, and extra batteries at
home.
-Learn first aid.

-Learn how to turn off the gas, water, and electricity.

-Make up a plan of where to meet your family after an earthquake.

-Don't leave heavy objects on shelves (they'll fall during a quake).

-Anchor heavy furniture, cupboards, and appliances to the walls or floor.

-Learn the earthquake plan at your school or workplace.

What to Do During an Earthquake

-Stay calm! If you're indoors, stay inside. If you're outside, stay outside.

-If you're indoors, stand against a wall near the center of the building, stand in a doorway, or crawl under heavy
furniture (a desk or table). Stay away from windows and outside doors.

-If you're outdoors, stay in the open away from power lines or anything that might fall. Stay away from buildings
(stuff might fall off the building or the building could fall on you).

-Don't use matches, candles, or any flame. Broken gas lines and fire don't mix.

-If you're in a car, stop the car and stay inside the car until the earthquake stops.

-Don't use elevators (they'll probably get stuck anyway).

-What to Do After an Earthquake

-Check yourself and others for injuries. Provide first aid for anyone who needs it.

-Check water, gas, and electric lines for damage. If any are damaged, shut off the valves. Check for the smell of gas.
If you smell it, open all the windows and doors, leave immediately, and report it to the authorities (use someone
else's phone).

-Turn on the radio. Don't use the phone unless it's an emergency.

-Stay out of damaged buildings.

-Be careful around broken glass and debris. Wear boots or sturdy shoes to keep from cutting your feet.

-Be careful of chimneys (they may fall on you).

-Stay away from beaches. Tsunamis and seiches sometimes hit after the ground has stopped shaking.

-Stay away from damaged areas.

-If you're at school or work, follow the emergency plan or the instructions of the person in charge.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) is a service institute of the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST) that is principally mandated to mitigate disasters that may arise from volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami and other related geotectonic phenomena.

Why do scientist study Earthquakes?

-Scientists study earthquakes because they want to know more about their causes and predict where they are
likely to happen.

-They also need to know how the ground moves during earthquakes. This information helps scientists and
engineers build safer buildings – especially important buildings in an emergency, like hospitals and government
buildings.

--Earthquake engineers are working to make roads and buildings safer in the event of a major earthquakes. This
includes both improving the design of new buildings and bridges as well as strengthening older units to
incorporate the latest advances in seismic and structural engineering.

To properly test their buildings, engineers make sure that their shake tables accurately represent the shaking of
the Earth during an earthquake. As a result, it is very important that engineers understand the different seismic
waves produced during earthquakes and exactly how they cause the Earth to move.
WEATHERING

- The process that takes place as rocks and other parts of the geosphere, are broken down into smaller

pieces.

- A process of decay, disintegration and decomposition of rocks under the influence of certain physical

and chemical agencies.

*General term used when the surface of the earth is worn away by the chemical as well as

mechanical actions of physical agents and the lower layers are exposed.

*Involves two processes that often work together to decompose or break down rocks

*It is a unique phenomenon happening on the Earth’s surface.

TYPES OF WEATHERING

1. PHYSICAL/MECHANICAL WEATHERING

- Process of breaking big rocks into little ones.

*There is no change in the chemistry of the parent rock.

- Example: Breaking of a rock cliff into boulders and pebbles.

CAUSES OF PHYSICAL WEATHERING

A. Wind

- Sand and other rock particles that are carried by wind can wear away exposed rock

surfaces.

B. Frost Action

- Water freezes in a crack of the rock surface, expanding and splitting the rock.

*Water gets trapped in the rock

*Water freezes inside the cracks of the rocks

*Expands and makes the crack bigger.

C. Plants and Animals

- Plant roots force their way into cracks, animals uncover rock and expose it to the
elements.

• ROOT PENETRATION

*Powerful plant roots grow into cracks and cause fractures.

*As the roots grow, they push the rock farther apart.

• SOIL BURROWING CREATURES

*Abrade small particles; they loosen and break apart rocks in the soil.

D. Exfoliation

- Layers of rock peel off the main body of the rock

*Due to unloading or fluctuations in temperature, rocks expand and crack.

*Release of pressure; pressure of rock is reduced.

2. CHEMICAL WEATHERING

- Involves changes that some substances can cause in the surface of the rock that make it change

shape, or color.

*Takes place when at least some of the rock’s minerals are changed in to different

substances.

- Process of chemical reactions between gases of the atmosphere and surface of rocks.

CAUSES OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

A. Oxidation

- Occurs when oxygen from the air combines with iron-rich minerals of the rock.

- Oxidation = rust

B. Carbonation

- Occurs when water combines with carbon dioxide in the air to form carbonic acid.

*Carbonic acid easily dissolves rocks, limestone and marble.

*Can cause sink holes.

C. Hydrolysis

- Water combines with minerals such as mica and feldspar found in granite, to form clay.

The rock weakens, and crumbles apart.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE RATE OF WEATHERING

1. Exposure

*Rate and type of weathering are dependent on exposure to air, water and living things.

*The greater the amount of rock exposed, the greater the weathering; direct relationship

2. Particle Size

*Increase in surface area increases the rate of weathering

3. Mineral Composition

*Rocks made of harder minerals weather slower than rocks made of softer mineral.

4. Climate

*Physical and chemical weathering are affected by climate.

a. Cold and Moist Climates – Physical Weathering is dominant.

b. Hot and Moist Climates – Chemical Weathering is dominant.

c. Water – Major factor that causes weathering.

5. Time - *time goes on, more weathering occurs.

6. Humans - *excavation of land, mining, building, etc.

ENGINEERING IMPORTANCE OF ROCK WEATHERING

- As engineer is directly or indirectly interested in rock weathering specially when he has to select a

suitable quarry for the extraction of stones for structural and decorative purposes.

- The process of weathering always causes a loss in the strength of the rocks or soil. For the construction

engineer it is always necessary to see that:

- To what extent the area under consideration for a proposed project has been affected by

weathering and;

- What may be possible effects of weathering processes typical of the area on the construction

materials
Quartz

- Quartz is a chemical compound consisting of one part silicon and two

parts oxygen. It is silicon dioxide (SiO2).
- It is the most abundant mineral found at Earth's surface, and its unique
properties make it one of the most useful natural substances.
- It is abundant in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.

-It is highly resistant to both mechanical and chemical weathering.

-This durability makes it the dominant mineral of mountaintops and the
primary constituent of beach, river, and desert sand.

Physical Properties of Quartz

Chemical Silicate
Classification
Color Quartz occurs in virtually every color. Common colors
are clear, white, gray, purple, yellow, brown, black,
pink, green, red.
Streak Colorless (harder than the streak plate)
Luster Vitreous
Diaphaneity Transparent to translucent
Cleavage None - typically breaks with a conchoidal fracture
Mohs Hardness 7
Specific Gravity 2.6 to 2.7
Diagnostic Conchoidal fracture, glassy luster, hardness
Properties
Chemical SiO 2

Composition
Crystal System Hexagonal
Uses Glass making, abrasive, foundry sand, hydraulic
fracturing proppant, gemstones
Rock crystal quartz: Transparent "rock crystal" quartz. This specimen
shows the conchoidal fracture (fracture that produces curved surfaces) that
is characteristic of the mineral. Specimen is about four inches (ten
centimeters) across and is from Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Amethyst quartz: Purple crystalline quartz is known as "amethyst." When

transparent and of high quality, it is often cut as a gemstone. This
specimen is about four inches (ten centimeters) across and is from
Guanajuato, Mexico.
Flint: Flint is a variety of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz. It
occurs as nodules and concretionary masses and less frequently as a
layered deposit. It breaks consistently with a conchoidal fracture and was
one of the first materials used to make tools by early people.

Quartz glass sand: High-purity quartz sandstone suitable for the

manufacture of high-quality glass. "Glass sand" is a sandstone that is
composed almost entirely of quartz grains.
 Blue Aventurine Quartz: Aventurine is a
colorful variety of quartz that contains abundant shiny inclusions of
minerals such as mica or hematite.

Chert: Chert is a microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz. It occurs as

nodules and concretionary masses and less frequently as a layered
deposit.
Silicified wood: Silicified "petrified" wood is formed when buried plant debris
is infiltrated with mineral-bearing waters which precipitate quartz.

USES of Quartz

1 Glass Making
2 Abrasive
3 Foundry Sand
4. Petroleum Industry

Feldspar
-"Feldspar" is the name of a large group of rock-forming silicate minerals
that make up over 50% of Earth's crust.

-They are found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks in all

parts of the world.
-Feldspar minerals have very similar structures, chemical compositions,
and physical properties.
-Common feldspars include orthoclase (KAlSi3O8), albite (NaAlSi3O8), and
anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8).
-Feldspar minerals have many uses in industry.
- They are used to manufacture a wide variety of glass and ceramic
products.
-They are also widely used as fillers in paints, plastics and rubber.
-Several popular gemstones are feldspar minerals. These include
moonstone, sunstone, labradorite, amazonite and spectrolite.

Physical Properties of Feldspar

Chemical Silicate
Classification
Color Usually white, pink, gray or brown. Also colorless,
yellow, orange, red, black, blue, green.
Streak White
Luster Vitreous. Pearly on some cleavage faces.
Diaphaneity Usually translucent to opaque. Rarely transparent.
Cleavage Perfect in two directions. Cleavage planes usually
intersect at or close to a 90 degree angle.
Mohs 6 to 6.5
Hardness
Specific 2.5 to 2.8
Gravity
Diagnostic Perfect cleavage, with cleavage faces usually
Properties intersecting at or close to 90 degrees. Consistent
hardness, specific gravity and pearly luster on cleavage
faces.
Chemical A generalized chemical composition of X(Al,Si)4O8,
Composition where X is usually potassium, sodium, or calcium, but
rarely can be barium, rubidium, or strontium.
Crystal Triclinic, monoclinic
System
Uses Crushed and powdered feldspar are important raw
materials for the manufacture of plate glass, container
glass, ceramic products, paints, plastics and many other
products. Varieties of orthoclase, labradorite, oligoclase,
microcline and other feldspar minerals have been cut
and used as faceted and cabochon gems.
Feldspar from the Moon: The "Genesis Rock" is one of the most famous
rocks ever collected. Apollo 15 astronauts James Irwin and David Scott
collected it from the Moon in 1971. Analysis revealed that it is made up
almost entirely of anorthite, a plagioclase feldspar, and is approximately 4
billion years old.

Feldspar in a Martian meteorite NWA 7034 is made of cemented fragments

of basalt, a rock that forms from rapidly cooled lava. The fragments within
the meteorite are mostly feldspar and pyroxene.

USES OF FELDSPAR IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

Feldspars are used as fluxing agents to form a glassy phase at low

temperatures and as a source of alkalies and alumina in glazes. They
improve the strength, toughness, and durability of the ceramic body, and
cement the crystalline phase of other ingredients, softening, melting and
wetting other batch constituents.
The Mica Group
The micas are a group of monoclinic minerals whose property of splitting into very thin
flakes is characteristic and easily recognized. It is due to the perfect cleavage parallel to
the basal plane in mica crystals, which in turn results from the layered atomic structure
of the minerals.
The commonly occurring micas, muscovite (colorless or slightly tinted) and biotite (dark
brown to nearly black), are described below.
• Six-sided, with pseudo-hexagonal symmetry
• Cleavage flakes are flexible, elastic, and transparent

Muscovite, KAl (Si Al) O (OH)2

2 3 10

• Form and cleavage as stated above. White in colour, unless impurities are present to tint
the mineral; pearly lustre. H=2 to 2½ (easily cut with a knife). G=about 2.9 (variable).
• Muscovite occurs in granites and other acid rocks as silvery crystals, from which flakes
can be readily detached by the point of a penknife; also, in some gneisses and mica-
schists. It is a very stable mineral, and persists as minute flakes in sedimentary rocks
such as micaceous sandstones.
• The name sericite is given to secondary muscovite, which may be produced by the
alteration of orthoclase. The mica of commerce comes from large crystals found in
pegmatite veins (p. l 06).
• In thin section: vertical sections (i.e., across the cleavage) are often parallel-sided and
show the perfect cleavage (Fig. 4.17); basal sections appear as 6-sided or irregular
colourless plates. Alteration uncommon.
• Mean R.I. = 1.59
• Biref: Strong (max. =0.04), giving bright pinks and greens in vertical sections.
• Extinction: Straight, with reference to the cleavage.

Biotite, K(MgFeMSi3Al)O 10(OH)2

• Crystals are brown to nearly black in hand specimen; single flakes are pale brown and
have a sub-metallic or pearly lustre. Form and cleavage as stated above. H = 2½ to 3.
G=2.8 to 3.1.
• Biotite occurs in many igneous rocks, e.g., granites, syenites, diorites, and their lavas
and dyke rocks, as dark lustrous crystals, distinguished from muscovite by their colour.
Also, a common constituent of certain gneisses and schists.
• In thin section: Sections showing the cleavage often have two parallel sides and
ragged ends (Fig. 4.17). In some biotites, small crystals of zircon enclosed in the mica
have developed spheres of alteration around themselves by radioactivity. These spheres
in section appear as small dark areas or 'haloes' around the zircon and are pleochroic.
• Colour: Shades of brown and yellow in sections across the cleavage, which are strongly
pleochroic; the mineral is. darkest (i.e. light absorption is a maximum) when the
 cleavage is parallel to the vibration direction of the polarizer. Basal sections have a
deeper tint and are only feebly pleochroic.
• Mean R.I. = about 1.64.
• Biref: Strong, about 0.05 (max.). Basal sections are almost isotropic.
• Extinction: Parallel to the cleavage.
Alteration to green chlorite is common, when the mineral loses its strong birefringence
and polarizes in light greys (see under Chlorite, p. 80).

Optical Properties:

R.I = Refractive Index

Biref = Birefringence
TOPIC: SYMMETRY ELEMENTS OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC SYSTEM AND
PHYSICAL PROPOERTIES OF MINERALS
REPORTERS: CONDE, RAYMARIE J, AND DE DIOS JERICHO P.
SYMMETRY ELEMENTS OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHGIC SYSTEM
MINERALOGY VS CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
Mineralogy - is the science of minerals, which includes their crystallography,
chemical composition, physical properties, genesis, their identification and their
classification
Crystallography - is the study of crystals and the crystalline state. It is the
key in understanding the structures of crystalline materials

It is imperative to learn the key concepts of Crystallography in order to further

understand and answer the question ‘how’ and ‘why’ do Minerals form?

MINERALS VS CRYSTALS
Crystals - A Crystal is a solid body bounded by natural planar surfaces generally called
crystal faces that are the external expression of a regular internal arrangement of constituent
atoms or ions. Crystals are known as anisotropic substances. Meaning, the physical properties
exhibit variations along different directions.

Minerals - Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic elements or compounds having an

orderly internal structure and characteristic chemical composition, crystal form, and physical
properties. Although it is contestable that there are some organic substances that are
considered minerals, like seashells, but generally, what we are looking for are inorganic
substances.

All in all, minerals and crystals shares lots of similarities. One of these is its most
important property, the structured internal arrangement of atoms. The physical properties of
minerals mainly depends on its chemical composition as well as the organized pattern found
inside the crystals.

Key Differences between Crystals and Minerals

Crystals are artificially or naturally made whereas Minerals only form naturally. Crystals
can either be organic or inorganic while Minerals are mostly inorganic. Therefore, Minerals are
all Crystals but not all Crystals are minerals.

WHEN DO MINERALS FORM?

• Their constituent atoms and ions are free to come together in the correct
proportions.
• The existing conditions are such that growth will take place at a reasonably slow
and steady state.
• The external surface of the growing crystal is not constrained physically.

HOW DO NATURAL CRYSTALS FORM?

Crystallization – also known as solidification is the process of crystal formation via mechanisms
of crystal growth.

Minerals form in various conditions at different rates:

• High temperatures and pressures (Earth’s Core)

• Evaporation of Liquid Solutions

The formation of crystals is only possible if correct proportions of atoms required to make the
minerals or crystals are present. For an example, iron and sulfur is abundant in a certain area, it
is highly probable for Iron Sulfide (FeS ) or Pyrite to be produced when both elements are
2

subjected to high pressure and heat. We must also consider the fact that it needs a long period
of time in order to consolidate all the materials eventually turning into minerals. If there such
cases wherein the external surfaces of the crystals are physically constrained, the growth of
mineral will be hindered as well. However, if only one or two external faces of the crystals are
only subjected to resistance, the other faces will continue grow larger until it ceases to grow
anymore.

BASIC TERMS USED IN CRYSTALLOGRAPHY

Crystal Structure - is the orderly arrangement of atoms or group of atoms (within a

crystalline substance) that constitute a crystal.
Morphological Crystals - are finite crystallographic bodies with finite faces that are
parallel to lattice planes.
Lattice - is an imaginary three-dimensional framework that can be referenced to a
network of regularly spaced points, each of which represents the position of a motif.
Unit Cell - This is a pattern that yields the entire pattern when translated repeatedly
without rotation in space.
Motif - This is the smallest representative unit of a structure. It is an atom or group of
atoms that, when repeated by translation, give rise to an infinite number of identical
regularly organized units.

Crystal Structure, as the definition suggests, is the arrangement of atoms or group of

atoms composing the crystals. The shape created in accordance with the internal
arrangement of the atoms, and faces relative to lattice planes are under what we call
Crystal Morphology, thus the term Morphological Crystals.
It must be iterated that Crystal Structure is not the same as Lattice and Motif. It should
be given emphasis that the Crystal Structure is made up of Lattice and Motif. Lattice
being an imaginary three-dimensional framework represents the translational properties
of the crystal structure in which the motif are located thus, Lattice is also the
representation of the Motif. Motif in some other term is called the base and can be
consisted of atoms, molecules, or ions depending on the chemical composition of the
concerned mineral.
Within the lattice, the lattice points are shown. These lattice points are the exact location
of the motif. The distance between the lattice points are what we call the lattice
parameters or lattice constants, it is the difference in length and angular displacement
between two lattice points. With the given conjecture, it is safe to conclude that each
lattice point have identical surroundings. Furthermore, these lattice points define the
corner of the unit cell which is the building blocks of a crystal structure. The principle of
translation applies to every unit cell in every direction. By repeating the unit cells in
several direction, one must create the crystal structure.

BASIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURE

A combination of Lattice and Motif creates the Crystal structure:

A set of of 2d Crystal Structures parallel with each other create a 3d Crystal Lattice and
Structure in which each unit cells and the position of each particles are defined.
Quartz (SiO )
2

The figure shown is a typical shape of a Quartz. It has chemical properties of SiO - 4

tetrahedra. However, the quartz does not look like tetrahedron just like as shown above.
Remember that a unit cell is the building block of the crystal, when we create a bigger
piece of atomic arrangement, it still doesn’t look like the quartz in the picture above until
we see the whole structure consisting a stack of SiO -tetrahedra forming the quartz
4

we’ve seen in the picture.

CRYSTAL SHAPE
Key Features of Crystal Boundaries
a. the angles between them are determined only by the internal crystal structure.
b. the relative sizes of the crystal boundaries depend on the rate of growth of the
crystal boundaries.
Factors in Variation of Crystal Boundaries
a. absorption of impurity atoms that may hinder growth on some boundary faces
b. Atomic bonding that may change with temperature etc.

Law of Constancy of Angles by Steno, 1669

““The angles between corresponding faces on different crystals of a substance
are constant””
CLASSIFICATION OF CRYSTALS
Crystals are classified based on the fundamental property of patterns, which is
repetition. It was discussed that a collection of unit cells form a lattice, and together with
motif, it creates a crystal structure or crystal lattice that are then repeated together at a
certain direction through translation and other symmetry operation to form a distinct and
unique minerals.
3 Categories of Symmetry Operations

• translation (parallel periodic displacement)

 • point group symmetry (rotations, rotation inversion axes, reflection planes)

• space-group symmetry (screw axes, glide planes).

Symmetry Elements
Symmetry is the most important of all properties in the identification of crystalline
substances.
Plane of Symmetry - plane along which the crystal may be cut into exactly similar
halves each of which is a mirror image of the other.
In case of a Cube, there are 9 ways to cut a cube resulting to identical pairs.

Axis of Symmetry - is a line about which the crystal may be rotated so as to show the
same view of the crystal more than once per revolution
Center of Symmetry - is the point from which all similar faces are equidistant. It is a
point inside the crystal such that when a line passes through it, you’ll have similar parts
of the crystal on either side at same distances.

As shown in the figure, there is a center of symmetry in a cube while a tetrahedron does
not have one. It only means that not all crystal structures have the center of symmetry.

Crystallographic Axes
Crystallographic Axis- is an imaginary line that defines the coordinate system
within a crystal. It is a line perpendicular to the faces of the crystals.
Note: Directions may or may not be perpendicular to each other. Hexagonal Crystal
System has 4 axes while non-Hexagonal has 3 axes.
Bravais Lattices
Bravais Lattice - is as an infinite set of discrete points with an arrangement and
orientation that appears exactly the same from whichever of the points the array is
viewed
It was demonstrated by Auguste Bravais in 1850 that only these 14 types of unit cells
are compatible with the orderly arrangements of atoms found in crystals.
Crystal Systems
• 32 Combinations of Crystal Systems by Point-Symmetry
• 6 Classifications of Crystal by Crystallographic Axes and Point-Symmetry
• 14 Classifications of Crystal by Bravais Lattices
Unit Cell Particles
Unit Cell Structure

CLASSIFICATION OF CRYSTALS BASED ON CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC AXES

CUBIC
Cell Constants Angles

a=b=c α=γ=β=90°

Cell Constants Angles

a=b α=γ=β=90°

TETRAGONAL

ORTHOROMBIC
Cell Constants Angles

none α=γ=β=90°

HEXAGONAL

Cell Constants Angles

a=b α=B=90°; γ=120°

MONOCLINIC

Cell Constants Angles

None α=γ=90°

TRICILINIC

Edge Lengths Angles

None none
CLASSIFICATION OF CRYSTALS BASED ON BRAVAIS LATTICE

CUBIC

TETRAGONAL

ORTHOROMBIC
HEXAGONAL

MONOCLINIC
TRICLINIC

RHOMBOHEDRAL
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS
Isotropic minerals are minerals with properties in any directions. The travel of light
is the same in any direction as well as the velocity. Substances such as gases, liquids,
glasses, and minerals with crystallize is isotropic. The opposite of is anisotropic minerals
wherein the travel of light is different in every direction as well as its velocity.
Polymorphism minerals "many forms" chemical composition can exist with two or more
different crystal structures. Cohesion is the force between molecules of minerals it is the
same with elasticity but the difference is elasticity is responsible for molecules to go back
to its original position after expose to foreign force the result was cleavage the tendency
ng mineral to break along smooth or weak planes parallel to zones, parting ability ng
mineral crystals or crystalline to split, fracture or it has irregular surface. Hardness or
ability of mineral crystals or crystalline to split into pieces. Tendency resistance to break
or bend. Specific Gravity – also known as relative density, is a unitless number that
expresses the ratio between the weight. density of minerals is the ratio of mass to volume.
Diaphaneity ability of minerals to transmit ng light. Minerals have different colors
depending on its chemical composition and such, for color streak is the one defines its
true color. Luster classify was based if it is metallic or not. Magnetism is as simple as if it
reacts to magnetic field.
Delos Reyes, Via Elaine E.
BSCE-2A
Topic: Mineralogy-Augite & Hornblende

Augite
• A common rock-forming mineral of dark-colored igneous rocks.
• Note: Igneous rocks are formed from the solidification of
molten rock material.

• Augite is a rock-forming mineral that commonly occurs in mafic and intermediate igneous
rocks such as basalt, gabbro, andesite, and diorite.
• Note: A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich
in magnesium and iron.
Common Rock-forming Mineral
• A mineral must:
• A) be one of the most abundant minerals in Earth’s crust;
• B) be one of the original minerals present at the time of a crustal rock’s formation; and,
• C) be an important mineral in determining a rock’s classification.
• Note: Minerals that easily meet these criteria include: plagioclase
feldspars, alkali feldspars, quartz, pyroxenes, amphiboles, micas,
clays, olivine, calcite and dolomite

Augite
• It is found in these rocks throughout the world, wherever they occur.
• Augite is also found in ultramafic rocks and in some metamorphic rocks that form under
high temperatures.
• Note: ULTRAMAFIC ROCKS-An igneous rock with a very low silica
content and rich in minerals such as hypersthene, augite, and olivine.
These rocks are also known as ultrabasic rocks.
• Examples include: peridotite, kimberlite, lamprophyre, lamproite,
dunite, and komatiite.

• Augite has a chemical composition of (Ca,Na)(Mg,Fe,Al)(Si,Al)2O6 with many paths of

solid solution.
• Commonly associated minerals include orthoclase, plagioclase, olivine, and hornblende.
• Augite is the most common pyroxene mineral and a member of the clinopyroxene group.
 • Pyroxenes are a group of dark-colored rock-forming minerals found in igneous and
metamorphic rocks throughout the world. They form under conditions of high temperature
and/or high pressure.
• Note: Some people use the names "augite" and "pyroxene"
interchangeably, but this usage is strongly discouraged.
• There are a large number of pyroxene minerals, many of which are
distinctly different and easy to identify.
• Augite, diopside, jadeite, spodumene, and hypersthene are just a
few of the distinctly different pyroxene minerals.
• Clinopyroxene- a member of the pyroxene group of minerals having
a monoclinic crystal structure, such as augite, diopside, or jadeite
Physical Properties of Augite
Chemical A single chain inosilicate
Classification
Color Dark green, black, brown
Streak White to gray to very pale green. Augite is often brittle, breaking into
splintery fragments on the streak plate. These can be observed with a
hand lens. Rubbing the debris with a finger produces a gritty feel with a
fine white powder beneath.
Luster Vitreous on cleavage and crystal faces. Dull on other surfaces.
Diaphaneity Usually translucent to opaque. Rarely transparent.
Cleavage Prismatic in two directions that intersect at slightly less than 90 degrees
Mohs Scale 5.5 to 6
Specific Gravity 3.2 to 3.6
Diagnostic Two cleavage directions intersecting at slightly less than 90 degrees.
Properties Green to black color. Specific gravity.
Chemical A complex silicate.
Composition (Ca,Na)(Mg,Fe,Al)(Si,Al) O 2 6

Crystal System Monoclinic

Uses No significant commercial use.

Hornblende
• Hornblende is a field and classroom name used for a group of dark-colored amphibole
minerals found in many types of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
• These minerals vary in chemical composition but are all double-chain inosilicates with very
similar physical properties.
• A generalized composition for the hornblende group is shown below.
• (Ca,Na) (Mg,Fe,Al) (Si,Al) O (OH,F)
2-3 5 8 22 2
 • Note that calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, aluminum,
silicon, fluorine and hydroxyl can all vary in abundance. This
creates a huge number of compositional variants.
Chromium, titanium, nickel, manganese, and potassium can
also be part of the complex composition and further
indicates the generalization of the formula given above.

Hornblende Minerals
• A small list of the hornblende minerals is given below with their chemical compositions.
Mineral Chemical Composition
Edenite Ca NaMg (AlSi )O (OH)
2 5 7 22 2

Ferro-actinolite Ca (Fe,Mg )(Si O (OH)

2 5 8 22 2

Ferro-edenite Ca NaFe (AlSi )O (OH)

2 5 7 22 2

Ferro-pargasite Ca NaFe Al(Al Si )O (OH)

2 4 2 6 22 2

Ferro-tschermakite Ca Fe Al (Al Si )O (OH)

2 3 2 2 6 22 2

Glaucophane Na Mg Al Si O (OH)
2 3 2 8 22 2

Kaersutite Ca Na(Fe,Mg) Ti(Al Si O (OH)

2 4 2 6 22 2

Pargasite Ca NaMg Al(Al Si )O (OH)

2 4 2 6 22 2

Tremolite Ca (Mg,Fe )(Si O (OH)

2 5 8 22 2

Tschermakite Ca Mg Al (Al Si )O (OH)

2 3 2 2 6 22 2

• As noted above, hornblende is a name used for a number of dark-

colored amphibole minerals that are compositional variants with
similar physical properties. These minerals cannot be distinguished
from one another without laboratory analysis.

Hornblende as a Rock-Forming Mineral

• Hornblende is a rock-forming mineral that is an important constituent in acidic and
intermediate igneous rocks such as granite, diorite, syenite, andesite, and rhyolite.
Hornblende as a Rock-Forming Mineral
• It is also found in metamorphic rocks such as gneiss and schist.
• A few rocks consist almost entirely of hornblende.
• Amphibolite is the name given to metamorphic rocks that are mainly composed of
amphibole minerals. Lamprophyre is an igneous rock that is mainly composed of
amphibole and biotite with a feldspar ground mass.
Identification of Hornblende
• Hornblende minerals as a group are relatively easy to identify. The diagnostic properties
are their dark color (usually black) and two directions of excellent cleavage that intersect
at 124 and 56 degrees. The angle between the cleavage planes and hornblende's
elongate habit can be used to distinguish it from augite and other pyroxene minerals that
have a short blocky habit and cleavage angles intersecting at about 90 degrees. The
presence of cleavage can be used to distinguish it from black tourmaline that often occurs
in the same rocks
• Identifying the individual members of the hornblende group is difficult to impossible unless
a person has the skills and equipment to do optical mineralogy, x-ray diffraction, or
elemental analysis.
• The introductory student or the beginning mineral collector can be satisfied to assign the
name of "hornblende" to a specimen.

Uses of Hornblende
• The mineral hornblende has very few uses. Its primary use might be as a mineral
specimen. However, hornblende is the most abundant mineral in a rock known
as amphibolite which has a large number of uses.
• It is crushed and used for highway construction and as railroad ballast. It is cut for use as
dimension stone. The highest quality pieces are cut, polished, and sold under the name
"black granite" for use as building facing, floor tiles, countertops, and other architectural
uses.
• Amphibolite is a coarse-grained metamorphic rock that is
composed mainly of green, brown, or black
amphibole minerals and plagioclase feldspar.
• The amphiboles are usually members of the hornblende group.
• It can also contain minor amounts of other metamorphic minerals
such as biotite, epidote, garnet,
wollastonite, andalusite, staurolite, kyanite, and sillimanite.
• Quartz, magnetite, and calcite can also be present in small
amounts.

• Hornblende has been used to estimate the depth of crystallization of plutonic rocks. Those
with low aluminum content are associated with shallow depths of crystallization, while
those with higher aluminum content are associated with greater depths of crystallization.
This information is useful in understanding the crystallization of magma and also useful
for mineral exploration
• Intrusive rocks or Plutonic rocks
When magma never reaches the surface and cools to form
intrusions (dykes, sills etc) the resulting rocks are
called plutonic. Depending on their silica content, they are
called (in ascending order of silica content) gabbro, diorite,
granite and pegmatite. By quantity, these are the by far most
 common rock types. Most magmas actually never reach the
surface of the earth.
Physical Properties of Hornblende
Chemical Silicate
Classification
Color Usually black, dark green, dark brown

Streak White, colorless - (brittle, often leaves cleavage debris behind instead
of a streak)
Luster Vitreous

Diaphaneity Translucent to nearly opaque

Cleavage Two directions intersecting at 124 and 56 degrees

Mohs Hardness 5 to 6
Specific Gravity 2.9 to 3.5 (varies depending upon composition)

Diagnostic Cleavage, color, elongate habit

Properties
Chemical (Ca,Na) (Mg,Fe,Al) (Al,Si) O (OH,F)
2–3 5 8 22 2

Composition
Crystal System Monoclinic

Uses Very little industrial use

Calcite
• Calcite is a rock-forming mineral with a chemical formula of CaCO , a white insoluble powder-like
3

substance which occurs naturally in minerals, chalk, marble, limestones, calcite, shells, pearls,
etc.
• It is extremely common and found throughout the world in sedimentary, metamorphic,
and igneous rocks. Some geologists consider it to be a "ubiquitous mineral" - one that is found
everywhere.
• Calcite is the principal constituent of limestone and marble. These rocks are extremely common
and make up a significant portion of Earth's crust. They serve as one of the largest carbon
repositories on our planet. Limestone, a sedimentary rock forms from both the chemical
precipitation of calcium carbonate and the transformation of shell, coral, fecal and algal debris
into calcite during diagenesis. It also forms as a deposit in caves from the precipitation of calcium
carbonate Marble is a metamorphic rock formed after limestone is subjected to heat and
pressure.
• PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:
o Chemical classification: CARBONATE
o Color: USUALLY WHITE BUT ALSO COLORLESS, GRAY, RED, GREEN, BLUE, YELLOW,
BROWN, ORANGE
o Streak: WHITE
o Luster: VITREOUS
o Diaphaneity: TRANSPARENT TO TRANSLUCENT
o Cleavage: PERFECT, RHOMBOHEDRAL, THREE DIRECTIONS
o Mohs hardness: 3
o Specific gravity: 2.7
o Diagnostic properties: RHOMBOHEDRAL CLEAVAGE, POWDERED FORM EFFERVESCES
WEAKLY IN DILUTE HCL, CURVED CRYSTAL FACES AND FREQUENT TWINNING
o Chemical composition: CaCO 3

o Crystal system: HEXAGONAL

• USES:
o in Construction - primary consumer of calcite in the form of limestone and marble
in Construction - These rocks have been used as dimension stones and in mortar for
thousands of years. Limestone blocks were the primary construction material used in
many of the pyramids of Egypt and Latin America. Today, rough and polished limestone
and marble are still an important material used in prestige architecture. Modern
construction uses calcite in the form of limestone and marble to produce cement and
concrete. These materials are easily mixed, transported, and placed in the form of a slurry
that will harden into a durable construction material. Concrete is used to make buildings,
highways, bridges, walls, and many other structures.
• in Acid Neutralization - limestones and marbles have been crushed and spread on fields
as an acid-neutralizing soil treatment. They are also heated to produce lime that has a
much faster reaction rate in the soil.
in Acid Neutralization - Calcite is used as an acid neutralizer in the chemical industry. In
areas were streams are plagued with acid mine drainage, crushed limestone is dispensed
into the streams to neutralize their waters.
in Acid Neutralization - Calcium carbonate derived from high-purity limestones or
marbles is used in medicine. Mixed with sugar and flavoring, calcium carbonate is made
 into chewable tablets used in the neutralization of stomach acids. It is also an ingredient
in numerous medications used to treat digestive and other ailments
• Sorbents - Sorbents are substances that can "capture" another substance. Limestone is
often treated and used as sorbent material during the burning of fossil fuels. Calcium
carbonate reacts with sulfur dioxide and other gases in the combustion emissions,
absorbs them, and prevents them from escaping to the atmosphere
• Monuments and Statuary - Marble is an attractive and easily worked rock that has long
been used for monuments and sculptures. Its lack of significant porosity allows it to stand
up well to freeze-thaw action outdoors, and its low hardness makes it an easy stone to
work. It has been used in projects as large as the pyramids and as small as a figurine. It is
widely used as cemetery markers, statues, mantles, benches, stairways, and much more.
• Carbon Dioxide Repository - The process of limestone formation removes carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere and stores it away for long periods of time. This process has been
occurring for millions of years - producing enormous volumes of stored carbon dioxide.
When these rocks are weathered, used to neutralize acids, heated to make cement or
metamorphosed severely, some of their carbon dioxide is released and returned to the
atmosphere
• Other - Powdered calcite is often used as a white pigment or "whiting." Some of the
earliest paints were made with calcite. It is a primary ingredient in whitewash, and it is
used as an inert coloring ingredient of paint.
Other - Pulverized limestone and marble are often used as a dietary supplement in animal
feed.
Other - suitable as a low-hardness abrasive. It is softer than the stone, porcelain, and
plastic surfaces found in kitchens and bathrooms but more durable than dried food and
other debris that people want to remove. Its low hardness makes it an effective cleaning
agent that does not damage the surface being cleaned.
Other - used as a mine safety dust. This is a nonflammable dust that is sprayed onto the
walls and roofs of underground coal mines to reduce the amount of coal dust in the air
(which can be an explosion hazard). The mine safety dust adheres to the wall of the mine
and immobilizes the coal dust. Its white color aids in illumination of the mine. It is the
perfect material for this use.
Garnet
• Garnet is the name used for a large group of rock-forming minerals. These minerals share a
common crystal structure and a generalized chemical composition of X Y (SiO ) . In that
3 2 4 3

composition, "X" can be Ca, Mg, Fe or Mn , and "Y" can be Al, Fe , Mn , V or Cr .

2+ 2+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+

• These minerals are found throughout the world in metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks.
Most garnet found near Earth's surface forms when a sedimentary rock with a high aluminum
content, such as shale, is subjected to heat and pressure intense enough to
produce schist or gneiss. Garnet is also found in the rocks of contact metamorphism, subsurface
magma chambers, lava flows, deep-source volcanic eruptions, and the soils and sediments formed
when garnet-bearing rocks are weathered and eroded.
• Most people associate the word "garnet" with a red gemstone; however, they are often surprised
to learn that garnet occurs in many other colors and has many other uses.
• Garnet Physical and Chemical Properties - The most commonly encountered minerals in the
garnet group include almandine, pyrope, spessartine, andradite, grossular, and uvarovite. They
 all have a vitreous luster, a transparent-to-translucent diaphaneity, a brittle tenacity, and a lack
of cleavage. They can be found as individual crystals, stream-worn pebbles, granular aggregates,
and massive occurrences. Their chemical composition, specific gravity, hardness, and colors are
listed below.

Garnet Minerals

Mineral Composition Specific Gravity Hardness Colors

Almandine Fe Al (SiO )
3 2 4 3 4.20 7 - 7.5 red, brown

Pyrope Mg Al (SiO )
3 2 4 3 3.56 7 - 7.5 red to purple

Spessartine Mn Al (SiO )
3 2 4 3 4.18 6.5 - 7.5 orange to red to brown

Andradite Ca Fe (SiO )
3 2 4 3 3.90 6.5 - 7 green, yellow, black

Grossular Ca Al (SiO )
3 2 4 3 3.57 6.5 - 7.5 green, yellow, red, pink, clear

Uvarovite Ca Cr (SiO )
3 2 4 3 3.85 6.5 - 7 green

The compositions listed above are for end members of several solid solution series. There are a number
of other garnet minerals that are less frequently encountered and not as important in industrial use. They
include goldmanite, kimzeyite, morimotoite, schorlomite, hydrogrossular, hibschite, katoite, knorringite,
majorite, and calderite.

• Uses of Garnet
• Garnet as an Industrial Mineral

Garnet Abrasives
The first industrial use of garnet was as an abrasive. Garnet is a relatively hard mineral
with a hardness that ranges between 6.5 and 7.5 on the Mohs Scale. That allows it to be used
as an effective abrasive in many types of manufacturing. When crushed, it breaks into angular
pieces that provide sharp edges for cutting and sanding. Small granules of uniform size are
bonded to paper to produce a reddish color sandpaper that is widely used in woodworking
shops. Garnet is also crushed, screened to specific sizes, and sold as abrasive granules and
powders. In the United States, New York and Idaho have been important sources of industrial
garnet for abrasives.
Waterjet Cutting
The largest industrial use of garnet in the United States is in waterjet cutting. A
machine known as a waterjet cutter produces a high-pressure jet of water with entrained
abrasive granules. When these are directed at a piece of metal, ceramic, or stone, a cutting
action can occur that produces very little dust and cuts at a low temperature. Waterjet cutters
are used in manufacturing and mining.
Abrasive Blasting
Garnet granules are also used in abrasive blasting (commonly known as "sand
blasting"). In these processes, a tool propels a stream of abrasive granules (also known as
"media") against a surface using a highly pressurized fluid (usually air or water) as a
 propellant. Abrasive blasting is done in order to smooth, clean, or remove oxidation products
from metals, brick, stone, and other materials. It is usually much faster than sanding by hand
or with a sanding machine. It can clean small and intricate surfaces that other cleaning
methods would miss. Abrasives of various hardnesses can be used to clean a surface of
greater hardness, without damaging the surface.
Filtration
Garnet granules are often used as a filter media. Small garnet particles are used to fill
a container through which a liquid flows. The pore spaces of the garnet are small enough to
allow passage of the liquid but are too small to allow passage of some contaminant particles,
which are filtered from the flow. Garnet is suited for this use because it is relatively inert and
has a relatively high specific gravity. Garnet granules, crushed and graded to about 0.3
millimeters in size, can be used to filter out contaminant particles as small as a few microns
in diameter. Garnet's high specific gravity and high hardness reduce bed expansion and
particle abrasion during backflushing.
• Garnet as a Geological Indicator Mineral
Although most of the garnets found at Earth's surface have formed within the crust,
some garnets are brought up from the mantle during deep-source volcanic eruptions. These
eruptions entrain pieces of mantle rock known as "xenoliths" and deliver them to the surface
in a structure known as a "pipe." These xenoliths are the source of most diamonds found at
or near Earth's surface.
Although xenoliths contain diamonds, they often contain a tremendous number of
garnets for every diamond, and those garnets are generally larger in size. These deep-source
garnets are very different from the garnets that form in the crust at shallow depth. So, a good
way to prospect for diamonds is to look for these unique garnets. The garnets serve as
"indicator minerals" for geologists exploring for diamond deposits. As the xenoliths weather,
their garnets are liberated in large numbers. These unusual garnets then move downslope in
soils and streams.
• Garnets as Gemstones
Garnet has been used as a gemstone for over 5000 years. It has been found in the
jewelry of many Egyptian burials and was the most popular gemstone of Ancient Rome. It is
a beautiful gem that is usually sold without treatment of any kind. It is also durable and
common enough that it can be used in jewelry at a relatively low cost.
It serves as a birthstone for the month of January and is a traditional gem given on a
second anniversary. Gem-quality garnets occur in every color - with red being the most
common and blue garnets being especially rare.
 PROCESS OF FORMATION OF MINERALS COAL AND PETROLEUM

What are minerals?

As defined in Merriam-Webster minerals are: "any of various naturally occurring homogeneous
substances (such as stone, coal, salt, sulfur, sand, petroleum, water, or natural gas) obtained
usually from the ground"
Minerals can be classified in two base on where they came from. The two classifications are
metallic and non-metallic minerals.

4 Categories of Mineral Formation

IGNEOUS or MAGMATIC in which minerals crystallize from a melt or formed by the cooling and
solidification of molten earth material.
The word “igneous” is derived from the Latin word “ignis” that means fire. In other words,
igneous rocks are formed by the cooling of the magma that has different crystalline patterns
and can form different minerals.
They are formed by the cooling down and solidification of magma or lava. They can usually be
seen in the crust or mantle.
Examples:
• Fledspars
• Quartz
• Obsidian
• Basalt

SEDIMENTARY in which minerals are the result of sedimentation, a process whose raw
materials are particles from other rocks that have undergone weathering or erosion.
Sedimentary minerals are formed when disintegrated parts of other kinds of minerals joined
together. These kinds of minerals have two types; the clastic and chemical sediments.
Examples:
• Calcite
• Dolomite
• Flint
 • Pyrite

METAMORPHIC in which new minerals form at the expense of earlier ones owing to the effects
of changing—usually increasing—temperature or pressure or both on some existing rock type.
They are formed by the rearrangement of mineral components due to pressure or chemical
reaction when combining the fluids that they have absorbed. Unlike igneous, they are formed
by making the minerals more densed or compact. Metamorphic minerals have two types which
foliated and non-foliated.
Examples:
• Slate
• Marble
• Quartzite
• Granite

HYDROTHERMAL in which minerals are chemically precipitated from hot solutions within Earth.
They are formed from the hot waters circulating in the Earth’s crust through fractures. They are
being supersaturated when the minerals or rocks are exposed in the waters for a long time.
Examples:
• Malachite
• Geodes
• Petrified wood
• Crocoite

Coal and Petroleum

Coal is a combustible rock mainly composed of carbon along with variable quantities of other
elements, mostly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Petroleum is a fossil fuel that naturally occurs in the liquid form created by the decomposition
of organic matter beneath the surface of the earth millions of years ago. These fossil fuels are
then refined into usable substances such as petrol, kerosene, etc.

How are Coals formed?

Coal is under the sedimentary category. The conditions that would eventually create coal began
to develop about 300 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period. During this time, the
Earth was covered in wide, shallow seas and dense forests. The seas occasionally flooded the
forested areas, trapping plants and algae at the bottom of a swampy wetland.
Over time, the plants (mostly mosses) and algae were buried and compressed under the weight
of overlying mud and vegetation. As the plant debris sifted deeper under Earth’s surface, it
encountered increased temperatures and higher pressure. These areas of buried plant matter
are called peat bogs. Peat bogs store massive amounts of carbon many meters underground.
Under the right conditions, peat transforms into coal through a process called carbonization.

How is Petroleum formed?

The geological conditions that would eventually create petroleum formed millions of years ago,
when plants, algae, and plankton drifted in oceans and shallow seas. These organisms sank to
the seafloor at the end of their life cycle. Over time, they were buried and crushed under
millions of tons of sediment and even more layers of plant debris.
Deep under the basin floor, the organic material was compressed between Earth’s mantle, with
very high temperatures, and millions of tons of rock and sediment above. The organic matter
began to transform into a waxy substance called kerogen.
With more heat, time, and pressure, the kerogen underwent a process called catagenesis and
transformed into hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are simply chemicals made up of hydrogen and
carbon which result in coal, peat, and natural gas. these natural gases and crude oil are then
refined in oil refineries thus, obtaining petroleum.
GALOS, JAYSON U.
BSCE-2A
GEO REPORT
Petroleum
Petroleum, also called crude oil, is a fossil fuel. Like coal and natural gas, petroleum was
formed from the remains of ancient marine organisms, such as plants, algae, and bacteria.
Over millions of years of intense heat and pressure, these organic remains (fossils)
transformed into carbon-rich substances we rely on as raw materials for fuel and a wide
variety of products.
Crude oil is usually black or dark brown, but can also be yellowish, reddish, tan, or even
greenish. Variations in color indicate the distinct chemical compositions of different supplies
of crude oil. Petroleum that has few metals or sulfur, for instance, tends to be lighter
(sometimes nearly clear).

Chemistry and Classification of Crude Oil

Chemistry
Crude oil is composed of hydrocarbons, which are mainly hydrogen (about 13% by weight)
and carbon (about 85%). Other elements such as nitrogen (about 0.5%), sulfur (0.5%),
oxygen (1%), and metals such as iron, nickel, and copper (less than 0.1%) can also be
mixed in with the hydrocarbons in small amounts.

The way molecules are organized in the hydrocarbon is a result of the original composition
of the algae, plants, or plankton from millions of years ago. The amount of heat and
pressure the plants were exposed to also contributes to variations that are found in
hydrocarbons and crude oil.
Due to this variation, crude oil that is pumped from the ground can consist of hundreds of
different petroleum compounds. Light oils can contain up to 97% hydrocarbons, while
heavier oils and bitumens might contain only 50% hydrocarbons and larger quantities of
other elements. It is almost always necessary to refine crude oil in order to make useful
products.
Oil Reserves
Oil reserves are reservoirs of petroleum trapped by rock deep beneath the earth. Oil
reserves are found all over the world, and measured in barrels (bbl). A barrel of oil is about
100–200 liters (26–53 gallons).
Most of the nations with the largest oil reserves belong to the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC). According to OPEC, more than 80% of the world's proven oil
reserves are located in OPEC member countries, with the bulk of OPEC oil reserves in the
Middle East.
Classifying Petroleum
There are many ways to classify petroleum. One is geography. Three primary sources of
petroleum set reference points for ranking and pricing other oil supplies: Brent Crude
(found beneath the North Sea), West Texas Intermediate (drilled in Texas, such as here, in
Padre Island), and Dubai and Oman. Other ways of classifying petroleum are by API
gravity, which measures oil density to that of water, and by petroleum's sulfur content. It is
this classification that describes petroleum as "sweet" (low sulfur) or "sour" (high sulfur).

ALL ABOUT EXTRACTION

Oil Location
Engineers use sophisticated equipment, including satellites, to find potential oil reserves
beneath the earth or the ocean.

Wildcatters
"Wildcatting" is the risky practice of drilling for petroleum in an area where there are no
proven oil reserves. Some of the most famous wildcat operations took place around the
turn of the 20th century in rural California above, where enormous oil reserves were
discovered and working-class miners became multi-millionaires.
Developmental Drilling
Developmental drilling is the safer practice of drilling where oil reserves have already been
found. These wells near Long Beach, California, were established well after wildcatters
discovered petroleum in the area decades earlier.
Directional Drilling
Directional drilling is a relatively new technique of extracting petroleum. Directional drilling
involves drilling vertically to a known source of oil, then veering the drill bit at an angle to
access additional resources.
Thirsty Bird
Extracting petroleum involves large, complex machinery. On land, this machinery is called
an oil rig. Oil rigs have both drilling equipment and pumping equipment. One of the most
familiar pumps is the pumpjack, often nicknamed the nodding donkey or "thirsty bird." This
thirsty bird is painted to look like a bustard, native to Bahrain, where this pumpjack is
found.
Oil Refinery
Refining petroleum is the process of converting crude oil into more useful products, such as
fuel or asphalt. Refineries remove "impurities," such as sulfur and sand, from petroleum.
This refinery in the province of Alberta, Canada, processes oil from the region's "tar sands."
Prosthetic Limbs
Petroleum products are used in everything from gel capsules to bubble gum. The plastics
used in Lt. Col. Greg Gadson's sophisticated prosthetic legs are made possible by
petroleum.
These nations have the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
1. Saudi Arabia
2. Venezuela
3. Canada
4. Iran
5. Iraq

Leading Petroleum Producers

1. Saudi Arabia
2. Russia
3. United States
4. Iran
5. China

Leading Petroleum Consumers

1. United States
2. China
3. Japan
4. India
5. Saudi Arabia

OCCURRENCE IN INDIA
Importance of Petroleum
(a) Petroleum is the major energy source in India.
(b) Provides fuel for heat and lighting.
(c) Provides lubricant for machinery.
(d) Provides raw material for several manufacturing industries.
(e) Petroleum refineries act as nodal industry for
synthetic, textile, fertilizer and chemical industries.

Its occurrence:
(a) Most of the petroleum occurrences in India are associated with anticlines and fault
traps.
(b) In regions of folding, anticline or domes, it occurs where oil is trapped in the crest of the
upfold.
(c) Petroleum is also found in fault traps between porous and non-porous rocks.

Origin and Occurrence of Petroleum:

Petroleum has an organic origin and is found in sedimentary basins, shallow depressions
and in the seas (past and present). Most of the oil reserves in India are associated with
anticlines and fault traps in the sedimentary rock formations of tertiary times, about 3
million years ago. Some recent sediment, less than one million years also show evidence of
incipient oil.
Oil and natural gas originated from animal or vegetable matter contained in shallow marine
sediments, such as sands, silts and clays deposited during the periods when land and
aquatic life was abundant in various forms, especially the minor microscopic forms of flora
and fauna.
As already mentioned, oil as well as natural gas in India occur in sedimentary rocks. About
14.1 lakh sq km or about 42 per cent of the total area of the country is covered with
sedimentary rocks out of which about 10 lakh sq km form marine basins of Mesozoic and
Tertiary times.
Besides, the country has offshore areas having Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks of marine
origin covering an area of 2.5 lakh sq km up to a depth of 100 metre and another area of
0.7 lakh sq km upto a depth between 100 and 200 metre. Thus the total continental shelf
of probable oil bearing rocks amounts to 3.2 lakh sq km

Petroleum and Natural Gas basins in India

• The Upper Assam Basin

• The Western Bengal Basin
• The Western Himalayan Basin

• The Rajasthan Saurashtra-Kachchh Basin

• The Northern Gujarat Basin
• The Ganga Valley Basin
• The Coastal Tamil Nadu, Andhra & Kerala Basin
• The Andaman and Nicobar Coastal Basin
• Offshore of the Khambat, Bombay High & Bassein

Petroleum

Petroleum or mineral oil is the next major energy source in India after coal. It provides fuel
for heat and lighting, lubricants for machinery and raw materials for a number of
manufacturing industries. Petroleum refineries act as a “nodal industry” for synthetic textile,
fertiliser and numerous chemical industries. Most of the petroleum occurrences in India are
associated with anticlines and fault traps in the rock formations of the tertiary age. In
regions of folding, anticlines or domes, it occurs where oil is trapped in the crest of the
unfold. The oil bearing layer is a porous limestone or sandstone through which oil may flow.
The oil is prevented from rising or sinking by intervening non-porous layers.

Petroleum occurs in association with natural gas and water. It lies in the sedimentary rock
formations like sandstone, limestone or shale. It is believed that petroleum has been
derived from plant and animal life hurried millions of years ago.

Reserves:
Although India has vast areas covered by sedimentary rocks, structures containing oil are
not in proportion to the expanses of these rocks and are found in limited situations. The
Indian Mineral Year Book 1982 estimated a reserve of 468 million tonnes of which 328
million tonnes was available in Mumbai High. In 1984 the reserves were estimated at 500
million tonnes.
The Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Statistics put the total reserves of crude oil at
581.43 million tonnes in 1986-87. The prognosticated hydrocarbon resource base in Indian
sedimentary basins including deep water has been estimated at about 28 billion tonnes.
Of this only about one-fourth i.e., 7.2 billion tonnes of in place hydrocarbon reserves have
been established as on 1 April, 2002. About 70 per cent of the established hydrocarbon
reserves is oil and rest is gas. The recoverable hydrocarbon reserves are of the order of
2.6 billion tonnes.
Production:
India was a very insignificant producer of petroleum at the time of Independence and
remained so till Mumbai High started production on a large scale. In fact, off-shore
production did not start till the mid 1970s and the entire production was received from on-
shore oil fields.
In 1980-81 about half of the production of crude oil came from on-shore fields while the
remaining half was received from the off-shore resources. After that juncture, the off-shore
production increased at a much faster rate than the on-shore production. For more than
two decades from 1990-91 to 2003-04, about two-thirds of production of crude oil is
provided by the off-shore fields.
The production touched the all time peak of 34.09 million tonnes in 1989-90 but slumped to
30.44 million tonnes in 1991-92, 28.46 million tonnes in 1992-93 and further to 27.03
million tonnes in 1993-94. Sharp drop of production by over 7 million tonnes in a short span
of four years is ascribed to overworking of Mumbai High oil wells. This was a dangerous
trend and was to be reversed at all costs.
COAL
At various times in the geologic past, the Earth had dense forests in low-lying wetland
areas. Due to natural processes such as flooding, these forests were buried under the
soil. As more and more soil deposited over them, they were compressed. The
temperature also rose as they sank deeper and deeper.
Under high pressure and high temperature, dead vegetation was slowly converted to
coal. As coal contains mainly carbon, the conversion of dead vegetation into coal is
called carbonization.
CHARCOAL
Charcoal is mostly pure carbon, called char, made by cooking wood in a low oxygen
environment, a process that can take days and burns off volatile compounds such as
water, methane, hydrogen, and tar.
You make charcoal by heating wood to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen.
This can be done with ancient technology: build a fire in a pit, then bury it in mud. The
results is that the wood partially combusts, removing water and impurities and leaving
behind mostly pure carbon.
Origin and Occurrence of Coal in India
History of Coal in India(Pre Independence)
• Coal in India was first mined in 1774 with John Sumner and Suetonius Heatly of
the East India Company.
• The growth remained slow for nearly a century due to low demand but later on,
the demand increased due to introduction of Steam Locomotives in 1853.
• Coal production rose steadily by 1920 and boosted by demand due to World War
I.

A steam locomotive is a type of railway locomotive that produces its pulling power
through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible
material—usually coal.
History of Coal in India(Post Independence)
• In the regions of British India known as Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, the Indians
pioneered Indian involvement in coal mining from 1894.
• They broke monopolies held by British and other Europeans and established
many collieries.
Seth Khora Ramji was the first Indian to break the British Monopoly.
Collieries
A coal mine and the buildings and equipment associated with it.
History of Coal in India(Nationalization)
• The National Coal Development Corporation was established in 1956.
• Coal mining in phases was nationalized, coking coal mines in 1971 to 1972 and
non-coking coal mines in 1973.
• All coal mines were nationalized on May 1, 1973 and four decades later the
government permitted the private companies to mine coals for their own plants.
• In 1975, Eastern Coalfields Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, was
formed and took over all the earlier private collieries.

The National Coal Development

The National Coal Development Corporation (NCDC) was established in 1956 with the
aim of increasing coal production efficiently by systematic and scientific development of
the coal industry.

Coking is the heating of coal in the absence of oxygen to a temperature above 600 °C
to drive off the volatile components of the raw coal, leaving a hard, strong, porous
material of high carbon content called coke.

A coking coal is that coal which on heating in absence of air leaves a solid residue.
A non-coking coal also leaves a solid coherent residue which may not possess the
physical & chemical properties of the coke.

In March 2015, the government permitted private companies to mine coal for use in
their own cement, steel, power or aluminium plants.

History of Coal in India(Denationalization)

• On February 20, 2018, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs permitted
private firms to enter commercial coal mining industry in India.
• Coking Coal Mines(Nationalization) Act, 1972 and the Coal
Mines(Nationalization) Act, 1973 were repealed by the Repealing and
Amending(Second) Act,2017 on January 8, 2018.

Under the new policy, mines will be auctioned to the firm offering the highest per tonne
price. The move broke the monopoly over commercial mining that state-owned Coal
India has enjoyed since nationalization in 1973.
5 Highest Reserves of Coal in India
• 1. Jharkhand - 83.15 billion tonnes
 Located in north-east India, tops the list of India’s coal reserves at more than
26% and production.
• 2. Odisha – 79.30 billion tonnes
Located on the east coast of India. It has more than 24% of the country’s total
reserves and is responsible for about 15% of India total production.

• 3. Chhattisgarh – 57 billion tonnes

Central Indian state that holds about 17% of the country’s coal deposits and is
the third largest in terms of coal reserves.
• 4. West Bengal – 31.67 billion tonnes
Holds about 11% of India’s total coal reserves.
• 5. Madhya Pradesh – 27.99 billion tonnes
Holds 8% of country’s coal deposits/coal reserve.
4 Main Types of Coal in India
• 1. Anthracite
It is the highest quality hard coal. It is found in parts of Jammu
• 2. Bituminous
This coal has been buried deep and subjected to increased temperatures. It is
the most popular coal in commercial use. Metallurgical coal is high grade bituminous
coal which has a special value for smelting iron in blast furnaces and Kashmir.
• 3. Lignite
It is a low grade brown coal, which is soft with high moisture content. The lignite
reserves are in Neyveli in Tamil Nadu. It is used for the generation of electricity.
• 4. Peat
Decaying plants in swamps produce peat, which has low carbon content and
high moisture content resulting in low heating capacity.
JOHN DARLY J. MANANSALA
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Dolerite
The chemistry of this intrusive rock corresponds to gabbro but its texture is finer. Dolerite forms
dykes, sills, and other intrusions. The rock is dark grey in color, except where its content of feldspar
is greater than average. Dolerite is important as a road-stone for surfacing because of its toughness,
and its capacity for holding a coating of bitumen and giving a good 'bind'. In its un-weathered state
dolerite is one of the strongest of the building stones and used for vaults and strong-rooms, as in
the Bank of England.

Minerals
plagioclase, pyroxene, hornblende and quartz.

Texture
Medium to fine-grained; some dolerites have a coarser texture, when the lath-like shape of the
feldspar is less emphatic and the rock tends towards a gabbro. When the plagioclase 'laths' are
partly or completely enclosed in augite the texture is called ophitic; this interlocking of the chief
components gives a very strong, tough rock.

Varieties
Normal dolerite = labradorite + augite •+• iron oxides; if olivine is present the term olivine-dolerite
is used. Much altered dolerites, in which both the feldspars and mafic minerals show alteration
products are called diabase, though in America the term is often used synonymously with the
British usage of dolerite.

DOLERITE & BASALT

(PETROLOGY)
Basalt
Basalt is a dark, dense-looking rock, often with small porphyritic crystals, and weathering to a
brown colour on exposed surfaces. It is the commonest of all lavas, the basalt flows of the world
being estimated to have five times the volume of all other extrusive rocks together. Basalt also
forms small intrusions in form of dyke and/or thin sill.
Minerals
Essentially plagioclase (labradorite) and augite; but some basalts have a more calcic plagioclase.
Olivine occurs in many basalts and may show alteration to serpentine. Magnetite and ilmenite are
common accessories; if vesicles are present they may be filled with calcite, chlorite, chalcedony,
and other secondary minerals. Nepheline, leucite, and analcite are found in basalts with a low

content of silica.

Texture
Fine-grained or partly glassy; hand specimens appear even-textured on broken, unless the rock is
porphyritic or vesicular; small porphyritic crystals of olivine or augite may need some
magnification for identification. Under the microscope the texture is microcrystalline to
cryptocrystalline or partly glassy. At the chilled margins of small intrusions a selvedge of black
basalt glass, or tachylite, is formed by the rapid cooling.

Varieties
Basalt and olivine-basalt are abundant; varieties containing feldspathoids include nepheline-basalt
and leucite-basalt (e.g. the lavas from Vesuvius). Soda-rich basalts in which the plagioclase is
mainly albite
are called spilites, and often show 'pillow-structure' in the mass, resembling a pile of sacks; they
are erupted on the sea floor. Their rapid cooling in the sea prevents the minerals crystallized from
achieving chemical equilibrium; they are reactive and alter readily. Between the pillows are baked
marine sediments, often containing chert and jasper (SiO2). These features of pillow lavas make
them a most unsuitable form of basalt for concrete aggregate.
Some of the great flows of basalt in different parts of the world have been referred to earlier; their
virtually constant composition suggests a common source, the basaltic layer of the Earth’s crust.
 IGNEOUS ROCKS
GABBRO
Minerals
Essential minerals are a plagioclase (generally labradorite) and a monoclinic
pyroxene (augite or diallage). The plagioclase composition reflects the high CaO and low
Na2O content in gabbro (see analysis, p. 100). Other minerals which may be present in
different gabbros are hypersthene, olivine, hornblende, biotite, and sometimes nepheline.
Ilmenite, magnetite, and apatite are common accessories.
Texture
Coarsely crystalline, rarely porphyritic, sometimes with finer modifications. Hand
specimens appear mottled dark grey to greenish-black in colour because of the large mafic
content. Under the microscope the texture appears as interlocking crystals (Fig. 5.19).

Varieties
• Norite is a variety containing essentially hypersthene instead of augite, i.e. a
hypersthene-labradorite rock, and is of common occurrence.
• Troctolite has olivine and plagioclase (no augite)
• Quartz-gabbro contains a little interstitial quartz, derived from the last liquid to
crystallize from a magma with slightly higher silica content than normal
DIORITE
Diorite is related to granite, and by increase of silica content and the incoming of
orthoclase grades into the acid rocks,
thus: diorite -> quartz diorite -> granodiorite -> granite.
Minerals
Plagioclase (andesine) and hornblende; a small amount of biotite or pyroxene, and
a little quartz may be present, and occasional orthoclase. Accessories include Fe-oxides,
apatite and sphene. The dark minerals make up from 15% to 40% of the rock, and hand
specimens are less dark than gabbro.
Texture
Coarse to medium-grained, rarely porphyritic. In hand specimens’ minerals can
usually be distinguished with the aid of a lens. Under the microscope minerals show
interlocking outlines, the mafic minerals tending to be idiomorphic (=exhibit a regular
shape).
Varieties
• Quartz-diorite (the amount of quartz is much less than in granite) is
perhaps more common than diorite as defined above.
• Fine-grained varieties are called microdiorite.
PEGMATITES
Pegmatites are very coarse-grained vein rocks that represent the last part of a
granitic magma to solidify. The residual magmatic fluids are rich in volatile constituents,
which contain the rarer elements in the magma. Thus in addition to the common minerals
quartz, alkali feldspar and micas, large crystals of less common minerals such as beryl,
topaz, and tourmaline are found in pegmatities. Also residual fluids carrying other rare
elements, e.g. lithium, cerium, tungsten, give minerals in the pegmatites that can be
worked for their extraction, such as the lithium pyroxene spodumene, the cerium
phosphate monazite and wolfram. The mica used in industry - mainly muscovite and
phlogopite (q.v), is obtained from pegmatites; individual crystals may be many centimetres
across, yielding large mica plates. Canada, India, and the United States produce mica
from such sources. Pegmatites are found in the outer parts of intrusive granites and also
penetrating the country-rocks.

Introduction:
Metamorphic rocks have been modified by heat, pressure, and chemical processes, usually while

buried deep below Earth's surface. Exposure to these extreme conditions has altered the

mineralogy, texture, and chemical composition of the rocks. Metamorphic rocks arise from the

transformation of existing rock to new types of rock, in a process called metamorphism. The

original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than 150 to 200 °C (300 to 400 °F)

and, often, elevated pressure (100 megapascals (1,000 bar) or more), causing profound physical
or

chemical changes. During this process, the rock remains mostly in the solid state, but gradually

recrystallizes to a new texture or mineral composition. The protolith may be a sedimentary,

igneous, or existing metamorphic rock.

Metamorphic rocks make up a large part of the Earth's crust and form 12% of the Earth's land

surface. They are classified by their protolith, their chemical and mineral makeup, and their
texture.

They may be formed simply by being deeply buried beneath the Earth's surface, where they are

subject to high temperatures and the great pressure of the rock layers above. They can also form

from tectonic processes such as continental collisions, which cause horizontal pressure, friction,

and distortion. Metamorphic rock can be formed locally when rock is heated by the intrusion of

hot molten rock called magma from the Earth's interior. The study of metamorphic rocks (now

exposed at the Earth's surface following erosion and uplift) provides information about the

temperatures and pressures that occur at great depths within the Earth's crust.

Some examples of metamorphic rocks are gneiss, slate, marble, schist, and quartzite. Slate and

quartzite tiles are used in building construction. Marble is also prized for building construction
and

as a medium for sculpture. On the other hand, schist bedrock can pose a challenge for civil

engineering because of its pronounced planes of weakness.

Metamorphic Minerals
Because every mineral is stable only within certain limits, the presence of certain minerals in

metamorphic rocks indicates the approximate temperatures and pressures at which the rock

underwent metamorphosis. These minerals are known as index minerals. Examples include

sillimanite, kyanite, staurolite, andalusite, and some garnet.

Other minerals, such as olivines, pyroxenes, hornblende, micas, feldspars, and quartz, may be

found in metamorphic rocks, but are not necessarily the result of the process of metamorphism.

These minerals can also form during the crystallization of igneous rocks. They are stable at high

temperatures and pressures and may remain chemically unchanged during the metamorphic

process.

Texture

Metamorphic rocks are typically more coarsely crystalline than the protolith from which they

formed. Atoms in the interior of a crystal are surrounded by a stable arrangement of neighboring

atoms. This is partially missing at the surface of the crystal, producing a surface energy that
makes

the surface thermodynamically unstable. Recrystallization to coarser crystals reduces the surface

area and so minimizes the surface energy.

Although grain coarsening is a common result of metamorphism, rock that is intensely deformed

may eliminate strain energy by recrystallizing as a fine-grained rock called mylonite. Certain
kinds

of rock, such as those rich in quartz, carbonate minerals, or olivine, are particularly prone to form

mylonites, while feldspar and garnet are resistant to mylonitization.

Foliation

Many kinds of metamorphic rocks show a distinctive layering called foliation (derived from the

Latin word folia, meaning "leaves"). Foliation develops when a rock is being shortened along
one
axis during recrystallization. This causes crystals of platy minerals, such as mica and chlorite, to

become rotated such that their short axes are parallel to the direction of shortening. This results
in

a banded, or foliated, rock, with the bands showing the colors of the minerals that formed them.

Foliated rock often develops planes of cleavage. Slate is an example of a foliated metamorphic

rock, originating from shale, and it typically shows well-developed cleavage that allows slate to

be split into thin plates.

The type of foliation that develops depends on the metamorphic grade. For instance, starting with

a mudstone, the following sequence develops with increasing temperature: The mudstone is first

converted to slate, which is a very fine-grained, foliated metamorphic rock, characteristic of very

low-grade metamorphism. Slate in turn is converted to phyllite, which is fine-grained and found

in areas of low-grade metamorphism. Schist is medium to coarse-grained and found in areas of

medium grade metamorphism. High-grade metamorphism transforms the rock to gneiss, which is

coarse to very coarse-grained.

Rocks that were subjected to uniform pressure from all sides, or those that lack minerals with

distinctive growth habits, will not be foliated. Marble lacks platy minerals and is generally not

foliated, which allows its use as a material for sculpture and architecture.

Classification

Metamorphic rocks are one of the three great divisions of all rock types, and so there is a great

variety of metamorphic rock types. In general, if the protolith of a metamorphic rock can be

determined, the rock is described by adding the prefix meta- to the protolith rock name. For

example, if the protolith is known to be basalt, the rock will be described as a metabasaltic.

Likewise, a metamorphic rock whose protolith is known to be a conglomerate will be described

as

a metaconglomerate. For a metamorphic rock to be classified in this manner, the protolith should
be identifiable from the characteristics of the metamorphic rock itself, and not inferred from
other

information.

Under the British Geological Society classification system, if all that can be determined about
the

protolith is its general type, such as sedimentary or volcanic, the classification is based on the

mineral mode (the volume percentages of different minerals in the rock). Metasedimentary rocks

are divided into carbonate-rich rock (metacarbonates or calcsilicate-rocks) or carbonate-poor

rocks, and the latter are further classified by the relative abundance of mica in their composition.

This ranges from low-mica psammite through semipellite to high-mica pellite. Psammites

composed mostly of quartz are classified as quartzite. Metaigneous rocks are classified similarly

to igneous rocks, by silica content, from meta-ultramafic-rock (which is very low in silica) to

metafelsic-rock (with a high silica content).

Hazards

Schistose bedrock can pose a challenge for civil engineering because of its pronounced planes of

weakness. A hazard may exist even in undisturbed terrain. On August 17, 1959, a magnitude 7.2

earthquake destabilized a mountain slope near Hebgen Lake, Montana, composed of schist. This

caused a massive landslide that killed 26 people camping in the area.

Metamorphosed ultramafic rock contains serpentine group minerals, which includes varieties of

asbestos that pose a hazard to human health.

ROCKS
• It is aggregate of mineral. They form a major part of the earth’s crust

Rocks are divided into three major groups:

1. Igneous Rocks

2. Sedimentary Rocks

3. Metamorphic Rocks

IGNEOUS ROCKS

Igneous rocks are formed by cooling and solidification of magma.

Magma is hot, viscous, siliceous, melts, contains water vapor, and gases. It comes from great

depth below the earth’s surface.

It is mainly composed of O, Si, Al, Fe, Na, Mg, Ca, and K.

• General characteristics of magma:

• Parent material of igneous rocks

• Forms from partial melting of rocks

• Magma at surface is called lava

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

• Acid Magma – is rich in Si, Na, & K. Poor in Ca, Mg, & Fe.

• Basic Magma – is rich in Ca, Mg, & Fe. Poor in Si, Na, & K.

CLASSIFICATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

Over saturated

- contains high amount of Si & abundant quartz with alkali feldspars

Saturated

- contains sufficient amount of Si with no quartz.

Under saturated

- contains less Si & high in alkali with aluminum oxides.

IGNEOUS ROCKS TEXTURES

Texture refers to the size, shape and arrangement of minerals’ grains and is an important

characteristic of igneous rocks.

Grain size records cooling history. It all comes down to the rate at which the rock cools. Other

factors include the diffusion rate, which is how atoms and molecules move through the liquid.

The rate of crystal growth is another factor, and that's how quickly new constituents come to the

surface of the growing crystal. New crystal nucleation rates, which is how enough chemical

components can come together without dissolving, is another factor affecting the texture.

DIFFERENT TEXTURES OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

1. Aphanitic Texture

- An aphanitic texture consists of an aggregate of very small mineral grains, too small

to be seen clearly with the naked eye. Aphanitic textures record rapid cooling at or

very near Earth’s surface and are characteristic of extrusive (volcanic) igneous rock.

2. Phaneritic Texture

- A phaneritic texture consists of an aggregate of large mineral grains, easily visible

without magnification . Phaneritic textures record slow cooling within Earth and are

characteristic of intrusive (plutonic) igneous rocks.

3. Glassy Texture

- Very rapid cooling of lava produces a “glassy texture”. The lava cools so quickly

that atoms do not have time to arrange in an ordered three dimensional network

typical of minerals. The result is natural glass, or obsidian.

4. Vesicular Texture

- Gases trapped in cooling lava can result in numerous small cavities, vesicles, in the

solidified rock.
5. Pyroclastic Texture

- Igneous rocks formed of mineral and rock fragments ejected from volcanoes by

explosive eruptions have pyroclastic textures. The ejected ash and other debris

eventually settles to the surface where it is consolidated to form a Pyroclastic

igneous rock. Much of this material consists of angular pieces of volcanic glass

measuring up to 2mm.

6. Porphyritic Texture

- Igneous rocks comprised of minerals of two or more markedly different grain sizes

have a porphyritic texture. The coarser grains are called phenocrysts and the smaller

grains groundmass. Porphyritic textures result from changes in cooling rate and

include both aphanitic porphyrys and phaneritic porphyrys.

FORMS OF IGNEOUS BODIES

1. Extrusive Igneous Bodies

- Volcanic (extrusive) igneous rocks form by cooling and crystallization of lava or by

consolidation of pyroclastic material, such as volcanic ash, ejected from volcanoes.

2. Intrusive Igneous Bodies

- Plutonic (intrusive) igneous rocks form as magma cools and crystallizes within Earth.

It is not possible to study magma directly. However, studying lavas can tell us a lot.

• Magmas have a range of compositions

• Characterized by high temperatures

• Have the ability to flow

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Sedimentary rocks are the type of rocks that are formed by the deposition of material at earth's

surface and within the bodies of rocks.

- Contributes about 8% of total volume of crust.

- Sedimentary rocks are those which have formed out of sediments.

- The study of sedimentary rocks and rock strata provides information about the

subsurface that is useful for civil engineering.

- Sediments are rock fragments which are product of weathering.

- Weathering has already been defined as natural processes of disintegration and

decomposition of rocks.

- Sediments, which have formed out of disintegration, are loose materials of various

sizes like clay, sand, and pebbles.

FORMATION OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Sedimentary rocks are formed at, or near the Earth’s surface by accumulation and lithification of

fragments of pre-existing rocks or by precipitation from solution at normal surface temperatures.

On the basis of their mode of formation, sedimentary rocks are classified as:

1. Clastic sedimentary rocks

2. Bioclastic sedimentary rocks

3. Crystalline sedimentary rocks

1. Clastic Sedimentary Rocks

- Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces (clasts) of pre-existing rocks.

Pieces of rock are loosened by weathering, then transported to some basin or

depression where sediment is trapped. If the sediment is buried deeply, it becomes

compacted and cemented, forming sedimentary rock

2. Bioclastic Sedimentary Rocks

- Such as coal, and some limestones are formed from the accumulation of plant or

animal debris.

- Organic sedimentary rocks are those containing large quantities

of organic molecules. Organic molecules contain carbon, but in this context we are

referring specifically to molecules with carbon-hydrogen bonds, such as materials

from the soft tissues of plants

3. Crystalline Sedimentary Rocks

- are formed when dissolved materials precipitate from solutions.

DISTINCTION BETWEEN IGNEOUS & SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

IGNEOUS ROCKS:

- Igneous rocks form when molten rock (magma or lava) cools, crystallizes, and

solidifies.

- Metamorphic rocks form from heat and pressure.

- Igneous and metamorphic rocks make up 90–95% of the top 16 km of the Earth's

crust by volume.

- Igneous rocks form at temperatures and pressures that destroys fossil remnants.

- The structures of igneous rocks are large scale features, which are dependent on

several factors like:

o Composition of magma.

o Viscosity of magma.

o Temperature and pressure at which cooling and consolidation takes place.

o Presence of gases and other volatiles.

- Igneous rocks are classified according to mode of occurrence, texture, mineralogy,

chemical composition, and the geometry of the igneous body

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS:

- Sedimentary rocks originate when particles settle out of water or air, or by

precipitation of minerals from water. They accumulate in layers.

- Sedimentary rocks are formed from pressure, compaction and cementation.

- The sedimentary rock cover of the continents of the Earth's crust is extensive, but

the total contribution of sedimentary rocks is estimated to be only 8% of the total

volume of the crust.

- Fossils are most commonly found in sedimentary rock.

- Structures in sedimentary rocks can be divided into 'primary' structures (formed

during deposition) and 'secondary' structures (formed after deposition). Structures

are always large-scale features that can easily be studied in the field.

- Based on the processes responsible for their formation, sedimentary rocks can be

subdivided into three groups: clastic sedimentary rocks, bioclastic sedimentary rocks,

and crystalline sedimentary rocks

igneous rocks

An aggregate of mineral. They form major part of the Earth.

It’s three major groups are: Igneous rocks, Sedimentary rocks, and Metamorphic rocks.

Igneous rocks are any crystalline or glassy rocks that are formed from cooling and solidification
of magma.

The igneous rocks can be held to derived from two kinds of magma, one granitic (acid) and the
other basaltic (basic), which originate different level below the Earth’s surface.

It comes from great depth below the earth’s surface, it is mainly composed of O, Si, Al, Fe, Na,
Mg, Ca, and K.
Chemical composition

ACID MAGMA – rich in Si, Na, and K

- poor in Ca, Mg, and Fe

BASIC MAGMA – rich in Ca, Mg, and Fe

- poor in Si, Na, and K

BASIC MAGMA IS DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS

Ultra Basic Rock – this contains less than 45% of Si (ex: Periodite)

Basic Rock – this contain Si between 45% to 55%. (ex: Basalt)

Intermediate Rock – this contain Si between 55% to 65%. (ex: Diorite)

Acid Rock – this contains more than 65% of Si. (ex: Granite)

classification

1. Over saturated – contains high amount of Si and abundant quartz and Alkali Feldspars

2. Saturated – contains sufficient amount of Si and do not contain quartz

3. Under saturated – contains less Si and high in Alkali and aluminum oxide

TYPES OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

1. EXTRUSIVE ROCKS – any rock derived from magma that was poured out or ejected at
Earth’s surface

2. INTRUSIVE ROCKS – formed from magma that was forced into older rocks at depth
within Earth’s crust
Granite

Granites usually have a coarse texture (individual minerals are visible without magnification),
because the magma cools slowly underground, allowing larger crystal growth.

Granites are most easily characterized as light colored and coarse grained as a result of cooling
slowly below the surface.

Its three main minerals are feldspar, quartz, and mica, which occur as silvery muscovite or dark
biotite or both.

Chemical composition

A worldwide average of the chemical composition of granite, by weight percent,based on 2485

analyses:

SiO2 72.04% (silica)

Al2O3 14.42% (alumina)

K2O 4.12%

Na2O 3.69%

CaO 1.82%

FeO 1.68%

Fe2O3 1.22%

MgO 0.71%

TiO2 0.30%

P2O5 0.12%

MnO 0.05%

It always consists of the minerals quartz and feldspar, with or without a wide variety of other
minerals (accessory minerals). The quartz and feldspar generally give granite a light color,
Density + Melting Point

The average density of it is between 2.65 and 2.75 g/cm3, its compressive strength usually lies
above 200 MPa, and its viscosity near STP is 3–6 • 1019 Pa·s. Melting temperature is 1215–
1260 °C. It has poor primary permeability but strong secondary permeability.

SYENITE

Syenite is intrusive igneous rock that basically composed of an alkali feldspar and a
ferromagnesian mineral.

A unique group of alkali syenites is characterized by the presence of a feldspathoid mineral

inclusive of nepheline, leucite, cancrinite, or sodalite (see nepheline syenite).

Chemically, syenites comprise a slight amount of silica, incredibly big amounts of alkalies, and
alumina.

Group - plutonic.

Colour - variable but typically light coloured.

Texture - phaneritic (medium to coarse grained).

Mineral content - orthoclase, with lesser to minor plagioclase, minor mica, augite, hornblende,
magnetite etc.

Silica (SiO 2) content - 60%-65%.

Uses - dimension stone for building facings, foyers etc (often preferred to granite due to its better
fire-resistant qualities); can be used as aggregate in the building and roading industries.

New Zealand occurrences - Inland Kaikoura Range, Dunedin Volcano.

Chemical composition

Syenite predominant mineral is alkaline charecter. Plagioclase feldspar may be present small
amaount less than 10%. Such feldspars often are interleaved as perthitic components of the rock.
if ferromagnesian minerals are present in syenite most of all, they usually occur hornblende,
amphibole and clinopyroxene. Biotite is rare. Other common accessory minerals are apatite,
titanite, zircon and opaques.

Most syenites are either peralkaline with high proportions of alkali elements relative to
aluminum, or peraluminous with a higher concentration of aluminum relative to alkali and earth-
alkali elements (predominantly K, Na, Ca).