Weathering

- process of breakdown of rocks at the Earth’s surface, by the action of water, ice,
acids, salts, plants, animals, gravity and changing temperatures.
- breaking down of rocks either mechanically or chemically
- involves specific processes acting on rock materials at or near the surface of the
Earth.
- There are three types of weathering:
● physical weathering
● chemical weathering
● biological weathering

Rocks

- naturally occurring mass of different kinds of minerals.

- It can be classified into different kinds such as igneous, metamorphic and
sedimentary rocks. These rocks are classified based on their composition and the
process of its formation

Physical Weathering

- Rocks break into pieces

- Rocks change in size and shape but not their composition

Types of Physical Weathering:

1. Abrasion
- breaking away of rocks by constant collision of loose particles; when the
rocks surface is frequently exposed to water, wind and gravity.
- Rocks are broken down into smaller fragments and are carried away with
wind and water.

● Wind abrasion - occurs in arid environments

● Water abrasion - moist and humid climates
● Glacial Abrasion - sediments are trapped within the ice and scrape against the
bedrock.
 Water produces rounded fragments as the sediments are rolled and bounced along
the stream bottom.

2. Frost Wedging (Freeze-thaw)

- weathering due to repeated freezing and thawing (or melting) of water/ice in
the crack of a rock; when water continually seeps into cracks, freezes and
expands, eventually breaking the rock apart.
- The freezing and thawing causes alternate expansion and contraction of
rocks eventually breaking them apart.

● Dominant in mountain or polar regions.

● More likely to occur in winter
 3. Exfoliation
- happen as cracks develop parallel to the land surface as a consequence of
the reduction in pressure during uplift and erosion.
- occurs typically in upland areas where there are exposures of uniform
coarsely crystalline igneous rocks.
4. Salt Crystal Growth
- due to the force exerted by salt crystals which are left after evaporation in the
pores of the rocks.
- force exerted by salt crystals that formed as water evaporates from pore
spaces or cracks in rocks can cause the rock to fall apart.
5. Plant growth
- increase in volume and cause cracks in the rock to expand.

Chemical Weathering

- When agents of weathering chemically change the composition of a rock.

- first stage in the production of soils.

Types of Chemical Weathering:

1. Carbonation
- Carbon dioxide in the air dissolves in rainwater and becomes weakly acidic.
- This weak “carbonic acid” can dissolve limestone as it seeps into cracks and
cavities. Over many years, solutions of the rock can form spectacular cave
systems.
- disintegration when a mineral easily dissolves in water (or could be acid rain)

-
2. Hydrolysis
- the breakdown of rock by acidic water to produce clay and soluble salts.

- disintegration when a mineral is converted into another (weaker) mineral as it

reacts with water.
- chemical breakdown of a substance when combined with water
- takes place when acid rain reacts with rock-forming minerals such as feldspar
to produce clay and salts that are removed in solution.
- This is the result when rocks sit in water over a period of time.
 The only common rock-forming mineral that is not affected is quartz, which is a
chemically resistant mineral. Therefore, quartz and clay are the two of the most common
minerals in sedimentary rocks.

3. Hydration
- water reacts chemically with the rocks, modifying its chemical structure.
- H2O (water) is added to CaSO4 (calcium sulfate) to create CaSO4 + 2H2O
(calcium sulfate dihydrate). It changes from anhydrite to gypsum.

4. Oxidation
- breakdown of rock by oxygen and water, often giving iron-rich rocks a rusty-
colored weathered surface.
- disintegration due to reaction between minerals and oxygen; also known as
rusting
- Iron + oxygen = rust
- Oxidation weakens the bedrock making it softer.
- The iron in olivine (Fe2SiO4) is reduced and the iron in limonite (Fe2O3.H2O)
is oxidized.

Biological Weathering

- occurs when rocks are weakened by different biological agents like plants and
animals. When plant roots grow through rocks, it creates fractures and cracks that
result eventually to rock breakage.

Classification:

1. Biological Weathering by Physical Means

- Burrowing animals like shrews, moles and earthworms create holes on the
ground by excavation and move the rock fragments to the surface.
- Humans also indirectly contribute to biological weathering by different
activities that cause rocks to break.

2. Biological Weathering by Chemical Compounds

 - Some plants and animals also produced acidic substances that react with the
rock and cause its slow disintegration.

Factors that Cause Weathering:

1. Climate Differences
● Arid Climate - very dry and the rate of weathering is slow.
● Humid Climate - moist and the rate of weathering is fairly fast.
● Presence of heat weathering - increase weathering rate.
● Hot & humid climates - increase weathering rate
● In the mountains and at the poles physical weathering like frost action and
abrasion are more likely.

Cleopatra's Obelisk/ Cleopatra’s Needle - It was carved in Egypt around 1450B.C. In 1800,
the monument was moved to New York City.

2. Particle Size and Shape

● particle size decreases the weathering rate increases
● Angular Sediments - faster rate
● Round sediments - rate decreases

3. Mineral Composition
● Soft Rock - Weak chemical composition
● Hard Rock - Strong Chemical Compositions
Products of Weather:

1. Sediment:
a. Solids - are clastic sediments such as pebbles, sand, silt, or clay
b. Colloids - Are suspended clay size particles
c. Ionic Solutions - Are dissolved compounds in water

2. Soil
a. Residual - Soils formed from the weathering of the local bedrock and have the
same mineral composition.
b. Transported - Soil that has been moved & the sediments are not of the same
composition as the local rock.

Agents of Weathering:

1. Water
2. Salts
3. Temperature
4. Plants
5. Animal
Erosion

- the process by which rocks, soil and other sediments are transported from one
location to another.
- Erosion is the opposite of deposition, the geological process in which earthen
materials are deposited, or built up, on a landform.
- Most erosion is performed by liquid water, wind, or ice (usually in the form of a
glacier).

If the wind is dusty, or water or glacial ice is muddy, erosion is taking place. The
brown color indicates that bits of rock and soil are suspended in the fluid (air or water) and
being transported from one place to another. This transported material is called sediment.

Deposition

- happens when the eroded materials accumulate (or are deposited) in a particular
place. Deposition is a direct result of erosion.
Types of Erosion
1. Physical Erosion
- process of rocks changing their physical
properties without changing their basic
chemical composition.
- often causes rocks to get smaller or
smoother. Rocks eroded through
physical erosion often form clastic
sediments.
- Landslides and other forms of mass
wasting are associated with physical
weathering. These processes cause
rocks to dislodge from hillsides and
crumble as they tumble down a slope.
● Clastic sediments - composed of fragments of older rocks that have been transported
from their place of origin.
● Plant growth can also contribute to physical erosion in a process called bioerosion.
2. Erosion by Water
- Liquid water is the major agent of erosion on Earth.
- Rain, rivers, floods, lakes, and the ocean carry away bits of soil and sand and
slowly wash away the sediment.
 - Rainfall produces four types of soil erosion: splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill
erosion, and gully erosion.

● Splash Erosion - describes the impact of a falling raindrop, which can scatter tiny soil
particles as far as 0.6 meters (two feet).
● Sheet Erosion - describes erosion caused by runoff.
● Rill Erosion - erosion that takes place as runoff develops into discrete streams (rills).
● Gully Erosion - soil particles are transported through large channels. Gullies carry
water for brief periods of time during rainfall or snowmelt but appear as small valleys
or crevasses during dry seasons
● Valley or Stream Erosion - process in which rushing streams and rivers wear away
their banks, creating larger and larger valleys.
● Ocean Erosion - the wearing away of rocks, earth, or sand on the beach—can
change the shape of entire coastlines.

Structures Created by Water Erosion

3. Erosion by Waves

4. Erosion by Wind
- Wind is a powerful agent of erosion. Aeolian (wind-driven) processes
constantly transport dust, sand, and ash from one place to another.
- Wind can sometimes blow sand into towering dunes.
- In dry areas, windblown sand can blast against a rock with tremendous force,
slowly wearing away the soft rock. It polishes rocks and cliffs until they are
smooth—giving the stone a so-called “desert varnish.

5. Erosion by Ice
- Ice, usually in the form of glaciers, can erode the earth and create dramatic
landforms.
- In frigid areas and on some mountaintops, glaciers move slowly downhill and
across the land. As they move, they transport everything in their path, from
tiny grains of sand to huge boulders.
- Rocks carried by glaciers scrape against the ground below, eroding both the
ground and the rocks. In this way, glaciers grind up rocks and scrape away
the soil. Moving glaciers gouge out basins and form steep-sided mountain
valleys.
 ● Eroded sediment called moraine is often visible on and around glaciers.

Internal Heat

Endogenic Processes

- Endo (prefix: meaning internal), Endogenic Processes refer to a geological process

that occurs beneath the surface of the Earth.
- It includes tectonic movements of the crust, magmatism, metamorphism and seismic
activity.
Layers of the Earth

● Compositional Layers ● Mechanical Layers

1. Crust 1. Crust
2. Upper Mantle 2. Lithosphere
3. Lower Mantle 3. Asthenosphere
4. Outer Core 4. Lower Mantle /
5. Inner Core Mesospheric Mantle
5. Outer Core
6. Inner Core
The Lithosphere

- the outermost layer of Earth, composed of the crust and the brittle part of the upper
mantle.
- Derived from the Greek words “lithos” (stone) and sphaira (globe or ball).
- It is broken into large lithospheric plates
- Depth: 5 to 20 miles (8 to 32 km)
- Temperature: range from 32 to 932 degrees F (0 to 500 degrees C)
- Divided into oceanic crust (dark basalt rocks rich in silicon and magnesium) and
continental crust (light-colored granite rocks containing oxygen and silicon)
- The boundary between the brittle part of the upper mantle and the crust (both
oceanic and continental) is known as the Mohorovičić Discontinuity (Moho). Its depth
varies from about 5 miles (8 km) below the oceanic crust to 20 miles (32km) below
continental crust.

The Asthenosphere

- a layer situated between the mesospheric mantle and the lithosphere

- Thickness: approximately 110 miles (180 km)
- From Greek “asthenes” (weak)
- It is denser and more "fluid" than the lithosphere as pressure and heat are so high
that rocks in the asthenosphere flow extremely slowly with a highly viscous molten
fudge-like consistency.
- Temperature: around 2,732 degree F (1500 degrees C)
- Rocks are “on the verge” of melting, but due to the high pressure, they behave in a
more ductile manner

The Mantle

- the largest and thickest layer of Earth, making up 84% of the planet’s total volume
- Divided into upper mantle (asthenosphere and lower portion of lithosphere), and
lower mantle (mesospheric mantle)
- Thickness: approximately 1,800 miles (2900 km)
- Temperature: 6,692 degrees F to 1832 degrees F (3700 C to 1000 degrees C)
- State: Solid
- Composition: Magnesium, silicon, and oxygen
- The lower mantle (also known as the mesospheric mantle) refers to the layer
between the outer core and asthenosphere. The lower mantle comprises 55% of the
Earth by volume and experiences pressure from 237,000 atm to 1.3 million atm
towards the outer core.
- Heat and pressure in the lower mantle are much greater than in the upper mantle
- The immense pressure keeps this layer solid despite the high temperatures capable
of softening the rocks.
The Outer Core

- sandwiched between the inner core and the mantle.

- Thickness: approximately 1,367 miles (2,200 km) thick and composed of liquid iron
and nickel.
- Temperature: between 8,132 degrees F and 9,932 degrees F (4500 degrees C and
5,500 degrees C)
- Earth’s interior is gradually cooling over time. As it cools, the liquid outer core
crystallizes and becomes part of the solid inner core.
- Remarkably the inner core “grows” by about 0.039 inces (1 mm) every year, which
equates to the solidification of 8,820 tons of molten iron every second according to
an article published by TheConversation.
- The solidification of the outer core releases heat which drives convection currents in
the outer core that helps to generate Earth’s magnetic field.

The Inner Core

- At the center of Earth is a solid iron inner core

- Radius: 759 miles (1,221 km)
- Temperature: about 9,392 degrees F (5,200 degrees C)
- Pressure: nearly 3.6 million atmospheric pressure (atm)
- State: solid
- Composition: mostly iron and some nickel
- The primary contributors to the inner core’s heat are the decay of radioactive
elements such as uranium, thorium and potassium in Earth’s crust and mantle,
residual heat from planetary formation, and heat emitted by the solidification of the
outer core.
- Why is the Earth’s interior hot?
1. Primordial heat
- leftover heat from the formation of Earth
- The heat generated during the time a planet was formed and accreted
- Also called residual heat
- 2 main components: accretion and frictional heat
- The Nebular theory explained how the solar system was formed 4.5 billion
years ago.
 - The astronomical bodies in the solar system, including the Earth, were formed
through accretion of particles from a rotating cloud of gas and dust.
- Collapse of clouds of gas and dust occurred because accretion of more
materials leads to an increase in the gravitational attraction between the
materials.
- This resulted in the formation of planetesimals or small celestial bodies that
existed when the solar system was forming.
- Planetesimals collided with each other and formed into larger and larger
bodies, converting kinetic energy into heat energy called the accretional
heat. Therefore, when the Earth was born, it was in a molten state. When the
Earth grew in size, the materials inside are also compressed due to gravity,
generating more heat.
- Meanwhile, when the very hot Earth started to cool down, differentiation took
place. It is when dense melted materials, usually those with iron, sank into the
center of the planet and eventually formed the core. As they “fall” to the
center, frictional heat was released.
2. Radiogenic heat
- produced by the radioactive decay of isotopes.
- the heat given off when radioactive elements in the Earth’s interior undergoes
radioactive decay.
- It is the process of the disintegration of one element into another.
- This process produces heat as a byproduct.
- The radioactive isotopes uranium-235 (235U), uranium-238 (238U),
potassium-40 (40K), and thorium-232 (232Th) in Earth’s mantle are the
primary sources of radiogenic heat.
- This process produces subatomic particles that zip away, and later collide
with surrounding material inside the Earth. Their energy of motion is also
converted to heat.
-
Heat Transfer

- when heat moves from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower

temperature.
- can occur through conduction, convection, and radiation.
- The Earth’s surface is primarily heated by the energy from the Sun through radiation.
- From the inside of our planet, heat transfer is primarily through conduction and
convection.
- Conduction - the process by which heat energy is transmitted through collisions
between neighboring atoms or molecules.
- Convection - the circular motion that happens when warmer air or liquid — which
has faster moving molecules, making it less dense — rises, while the cooler air or
liquid drops down.
- Radiation - energy that moves from one place to another in a form that can be
described as waves or particles.
Magmatism, Volcanism, Plutonism

Magmatism

Magmatism is the production and migration of magma, a molten rock produced from partial
or complete melting of solid materials beneath the Earth’s surface.

What is magma?

- extremely hot liquid and semi-liquid rock located under Earth’s surface.
- Properties: 1.molten rocks, 2.temperature from 600-1300 Celsius
- Much of the planet’s mantle consists of magma
- This magma can push through holes or cracks in the crust, causing a volcanic
eruption. When magma flows or erupts onto Earth’s surface, it is called lava.
- forms into igneous rock when solidified
- forms in three particular geologic environments: subduction zones, spreading
centers, and mantle plumes.

How magma is formed?

- Magma forms from partial melting of mantle rocks.

● Rocks undergo partial melting because the minerals that compose them melt
at different temperatures.
● Partial melting takes place because rocks are not pure materials.
- As temperature rises, some minerals melt and others remain solid. If the same
conditions are maintained at any given temperature, the same mixture of solid and
melted rock is maintained.
- Pressure is also considered in understanding melting of rocks.
- Pressure increases with depth as a result of the increased weight of overlying rock.
- Geologists found out that as they melted rocks under various pressures, higher
pressure led to higher melting points
- the two main mechanisms through which rocks melt are: decompression melting and
flux melting
- Decompression melting
● takes place within Earth when a body of rock is held at approximately the
same temperature but the pressure is reduced. This happens because the
rock is being moved toward the surface, either at a mantle plume (a.k.a., hot
spot), or in the upwelling part of a mantle convection cell.
- Flux melting
● happens if a rock is close to its melting point and some water or carbon
dioxide is added to the rock, the melting temperature is reduced and partial
melting starts.
 ● As the magma moves toward the surface, and especially when it moves from
the mantle into the lower crust, it interacts with the surrounding rock. This
typically leads to partial melting of the surrounding rock because most such
magmas are hotter than the melting temperature of a crustal rock.

- Magma Production in a Subduction Zone

● At a subduction zone, two 100-kilometer plates of lithosphere collide. One of
the plates then dives beneath the other, sinking hundreds of kilometers into
the mantle.
● During subduction, three processes: (1) flux melting, (2) decompression
melting, and (3) frictional heating, melt portions of the asthenosphere to form
great amounts of magma.
● Therefore, volcanic and plutonic rocks are both common features of a
planetsubduction zone.

- Magma Production in a Spreading Center

● At a spreading center, pressure-relief melting occurs where the hot
asthenosphere rises to fill the gap left by separating lithospheric plates.
Magma Production at a Hotspot

● Pressure-relief melting occurs in a rising mantle plume, and magma rises to

form a volcanic hot spot.
● A mantle plume originates deep in the mantle, and its magma then rises
through the lithosphere to erupt and form a volcano.
● If a mantle plume rises beneath the sea, volcanic eruptions build submarine
volcanoes and volcanic islands.
● Because a lithospheric plate continues to move over the relatively stationary
asthenosphere, a mantle plume may generate magma continuously as a plate
migrates over the plume.
● This process forms a chain of volcanic islands that becomes progressively
younger toward one end, such as the Hawaiian Islands.
How and why magma rises?

- Density contrast - Magma rises faster when the difference in density between the
magma and the surrounding rock is greater.
- Depending on surrounding pressure and other factors, the magma can be ejected to
the Earth’s surface or rise at shallower levels underneath.
 - At shallower levels, magma may no longer rise because its density is almost the
same as that of the country rock. The magma starts to accumulate and slowly
solidifies.
- Viscosity - measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow
● Magma with low viscosity flow more easily than those with high viscosity.
● Temperature, silica content and volatile content control the viscosity of
magma.

What happens after magma is formed?

- Cuarto (2016) described that magma escaped in two forms: intrusion and extrusion
- Intrusion - magma that moves up into a volcano without erupting. Like a balloon, this
causes the volcano to grow on the inside. What is meant by the intrusion of magma
is the inclusion of the rock layers forming the earth's crust (magma does not get out).
- Plutonism - refers to all sorts of igneous geological activities taking place below the
Earth's surface. In cases where magma infiltrates the Earth's crust but fails to make it
to the surface, the process of magma differentiation gives birth to ideal conditions for
metallogenesis and that is a kind of Plutonism. In cases where magma infiltrates the
Earth's crust but fails to make it to the surface, the process of magma
differentiation gives birth to ideal conditions for metallogenesis and that is a
kind of Plutonism.
- Plutonites are igneous rock formations that are created when the process of
crystallization and solidification of magma takes places below the Earth's surface and
particularly in the crust.
- The solidification and crystallization of magma takes place mainly inside the Earth's
interior.
- Extrusion - an eruption of magmatic materials that causes land formation on the
surface of the Earth. It causes the formation of volcanoes when the gas pressure is
strong enough and there are cracks in the earth's crust.
- Magma that came out to the surface of the earth is called the eruption.
- Magma that comes to the surface of the earth is called lava.
 - Magma can move up because of a high pressure exerted by magma and gasses.

Volcanism

- used to describe all geological phenomena that occur on the natural terrestrial
surface, such as the creation of volcanoes and hot springs. (Grotzinger et.al ,2008)
- refers to all sorts of geological activities correlated with the flow and transportation of
igneous material from the planet's interior towards the natural terrestrial surface.
- takes place inside the cracks that are known among geologists as natural pipes that
infiltrate the upper mantle. In many cases, the mantle allows massive quantities of
liquids and gases to reach the upper layers of the planet and in various cases, even
the natural terrestrial surface.
- created and formed when the energy generated by inductive currents flowing from
the Earth's core towards the surface hits the upper layers in the form of pressure and
smashes the overlaying rock formations.
- The presence of dilated water vapor plays an important role in the creation of craters
by assisting the flow of magma towards the surface. This also explains why massive
amounts of water vapor concentration in magmatic gases with an average value of
80% are emitted into the atmosphere during volcanic eruptions.
- Volcanites - Molten material in the form of lava that undergoes the process of
crystallization. They are composed of gray, dull pink colored track basaltic lava with
large phenocrysts and pyroclastic.
-
- Two factors which determine the shape a volcano: the type of eruption and the
type of material erupted
- Volcanoes have varied shapes and sizes, but are divided into three main kinds
depending on the type of material that reaches the surface and the type of eruption
that ensues. The three types of volcanoes: shield volcanoes, cinder cones and
composite volcanoes.
- Volcanoes are created by internal forces within the Earth that cause heated, melted
rock (magma) to rise to the surface.
Vent - the central opening of a volcano.

Crater - cup-like depression that surrounds the vent.

Volcanic Eruptions

1. Quiet eruption - when liquid lava flows out of a volcano’s vent. Thin, watery basaltic
lava tends to flow quietly out of the vent.
2. Explosive eruption - when lava is violently blown out of the volcano. Thick, pasty
granitic lava containing much dissolved gas tends to erupt violently.
Metamorphism

- is the process by which

rocks and minerals change
because of changes in
temperature, pressure, or
other environmental
conditions.

- one of the geologic

processes in which rocks
change in form,
composition, and
structure due to intense
heat and pressure and
sometimes with the
introduction of
chemically active fluids.

- Metamorphism takes place

tens of kilometers below the surface where temperatures and pressures are high
enough to transform rock without melting it.

increase in temperature and pressure and change of the chemical environment can
change the mineral composition and crystalline textures of the rock while remaining solid.

❑ The metamorphic rocks under these change conditions depend on the original rock
chemistry, the exact pressures, and temperature to which rocks are subjected, and
the amount of water available for chemical reaction.
Metamorphic Rocks

Marble is a metamorphosed rock from a

fossiliferous limestone. Both the fossils and the
cement between them are made of small calcite
crystals. The resulting metamorphic rock, called
marble, is still made of calcite, but its texture is
now one of large interlocking grains. In the
example of limestone, metamorphism changed its
texture but not its minerals.

A typical shale (Picture C) contains

clay, quartz, and feldspar. When
heated, the clay minerals react to
form new minerals. The rock formed
is called hornfels (Picture D).

General Rule:
● When a parent rock (the original rock) contains only one mineral, metamorphism
forms a rock composed of the same mineral but with a coarser texture.
- Example is Limestone to Marble
● Metamorphism of a parent rock containing several minerals usually forms new and
different minerals.

- Shales commonly contain clay minerals as well as quartz and feldspar.

During metamorphism, both new minerals and new textures always form from
shale.
Causes of Metamorphism
1. Temperature

- Earth’s crust gets hotter by an average of

30°C for each kilometer of depth.

- Heat affects the rock’s chemical

composition, mineralogy, and texture.

- During burial metamorphism, at a depth

of about 8 to 15 kilometers from the surface
of the crust, metamorphic reactions begin.
The rocks adjust to the new temperature
causing their atoms and ions to
recrystallize and form new arrangements
thereby creating new mineral assemblages. During recrystallization, new
crystals grow larger than the crystals in the original rock

For example, in figure 1,when sedimentary rock (mudrock) – shale becomes buried
deeper and deeper, the clay minerals in the rock will begin to recrystallize and form new
minerals, such as micas in slate – a metamorphic rock from shale. With additional burial, at
greater depth, where the temperature is higher, mineral micas begin to transform into a new
mineral garnet in schist – another metamorphic rock with a higher grade.

● Heat-driven metamorphism begins at temperatures as cold as 200˚C, and can

continue to occur at temperatures as high as 700°C-1,100°C.

Geothermal Gradient - rate at which temperature increases with depth in the Earth’s crust

● Subduction Zones → low-temperature metamorphism

● Converging Crustal Plates → high-temperature metamorphism

Note: higher the temperature, the higher the metamorphism grade until such time when the
temperature is high enough to melt the rocks resulting in the formation of magma.
 2. Pressure
- changes the composition, mineralogy, and texture of rocks.
● Subduction Zones → high pressure metamorphism
● Continental Collision zones → moderate pressure
metamorphism

● Minerals are also sensitive to pressure. If atoms in a crystal are squeezed together
very tightly, the bonds between the atoms can break.
- atoms reorganize to form a new mineral that is stable under the higher
pressure.

Two Types of Pressure/ Stresses

a. vertical stress or confining pressure

-stress or pressure exerted on the rock by the weight of overlying material
such as in burial metamorphism.
- Pressure is the same in all directions and makes the rocks to fracture or
deform.
b. directed or differential pressure
- imposed by a force in a particular direction.
- dominant at convergent boundaries
- causes rocks to form folds in a particular direction as directed by the pressure
- results in a textural change such that the minerals are elongated in the
direction perpendicular to the directed stress and this contributes to the
formation of foliation.
Foliation
- set of flat or wavy parallel cleavage planes produced by deformation under directed
pressures.

3. Migrating Fluids
- Sediment commonly contains water in the pore space between the grains.
- Water is also present in most rocks of the Earth’s crust and in magma. This water
usually contains dissolved ions and flows slowly through rock. The water and ions
can react with the original minerals and replace them with new ones. In this way,
migrating fluids can also cause metamorphism.
Hypothermal Fluid
- play a role in metamorphism.
Metasomatism
- dissolved minerals in the fluids react with rocks causing changes in chemical and
mineral compositions and sometimes completely replacing one mineral with another
without changing the textures of the rocks.
- the alteration process is caused by fluids passing through the rock and catalyzing
chemical reactions.

● Metamorphism caused by hydrothermal fluids also

occurs in mid-ocean ridges where hot lava, coming out of
the fissures, reacts with mineral-rich ocean water. This
causes serpentines to form through oxidation and
hydration chemical reaction of peridotites- olivine-rich
rocks at the base of the oceanic crust. This is known as
serpentinization.

4. Deformation
- Tectonic plates move and smash together, creating tremendous forces. Rocks bend
and break in response.
- change in shape of rocks in response to tectonic forces. It occurs in tectonically
active regions – areas where rocks move.

Metamorphic Grade
- intensity of metamorphism that formed the rock.
● Low Grade Metamorphism
- Shallow depth, less than 10km below surface
- temp no higher than 300°C to 400°C.
● High Grade Metamorphism
- found deep within continental crust and in the upper mantle, 40 to 55
kilometers below the Earth’s surface.
- 600°C to 800°C
- Can develop at shallower depths, however, in areas adjacent to rising magma
or hot intrusive rocks.
Types of

Metamorphic Rocks - categorize on geologic origins

1. Contact Metamorphism (involves mostly heat)

-

2. Regional Metamorphism (involves mostly pressure)

 R
oc
k

Deformation

❖ Test
1. Mountains are the result of high impact stress caused when two plates collided.
What kind of stress caused it to form?

A. compressional stress

B. confining stress

C. shear stress
 D. tensional stress

2. Rock undergoes changes when it is stressed. How does the rock behave when a
tension stress acted on it?

A. It is pulled apart or lengthen.

B. It is compressed.

C. It formed fold or fracture.

D. It is deformed.

3. Ava played a clay bar. She pushed the two sides of the clay bar using equal force
from her hands on the same axis. What type of stress did she exert on the clay bar?

A. Compressional stress

B. Direct stress

C. Shear stress

D. Tensional stress

❖ Deformation
➢ Any process that affects the shape, size, or volume of an area of the Earth’s
crust
➢ Type depends on the type of stress and rocks present

❖ Stress
➢ Force applied to an object. It is the force per unit area that is placed on a rock
➢ Units: N/m^2 (Newtons per Meter squared) or lb/in^2 (Pounds per Inches
squared)
➢ The force that deforms rocks
➢ If: Stress > Rock’s Strength, Then: The rock will strain or deform (flowing,
folding, fracturing, or faulting)
❖ Confining Stress
➢ Also known as “Lithostatic Stress”
➢ Rocks beneath the earth experience equal or
uniform pressure exerted on it from all sides.

❖ Differential Stress
➢ Also known as “Deviatoric Stress”
➢ Rocks experience unequal stress

❖ Kinds of Differential Stress

❖ Tensional Stress (Extensional

Stress)
➢ Stretches rocks, or pulls
them apart
➢ Rocks either get longer or
break apart
➢ Divergent Plate Boundaries

❖ Compressional Stress
➢ Squeezes and shortens rocks
➢ Rocks fold or fracture
➢ Convergent Plate Boundaries

❖ Shear Stress
➢ Happens when forces are parallel and moving in opposite directions.
Slippage in two directions
➢ Tears a rock
➢ Transform Plate Boundary
❖ Strain
➢ Defined as the change in shape of any rock caused by stress
➢ Happens when rocks deform

❖ Types of Strain

❖ Elastic Deformation
➢ Returns to original size
➢ Ex: Rubber bands
Deformati

Elastic: Inelastic:
❖ Brittle Deformation Returns to Does not
➢ Rock fails or breaks original return to
shape original
➢ Ex: Broken glass
➢ Joints: Cracks in rocks from
being stretched/pulled apart Brittle: Ductile:
➢ Faults: Fractures in rocks from
movement/displacement Responds Responds
between rocks
by by
breaking bending

❖ Ductile Deformation
➢ Rocks bend and do not return to original shape
➢ Happens during high temperature and pressure
➢ Ex: Paper Clip

❖ Stages of Deformation
1) Elastic Deformation
➢ Reversible
2) Ductile Deformation
➢ Irreversible
3) Fracture
➢ Rock breaks
❖ Brittle Materials
➢ Small or large region of elastic behavior
➢ Small region of ductile behavior before fracture

❖ Ductile Materials
➢ Small region of elastic behavior
➢ Large region of ductile behavior before fracture
❖ Stress and Strain Comparison

❖ ❖ Factors Affecting The Behavior of Materials

1) Temperature
➢ High Temp: Ductile cuz the molecules move more
➢ Low Temp: Brittle

2) Confining Pressure
➢ High Confining Press: Less likely to fracture
➢ Low Confining Press: Brittle and fracture sooner
 3) Strain Rate
➢ High Strain Rate: Tends to Fracture. Brittle
➢ Low Strain Rate: Ductile

4) Composition
➢ Crystalline Rocks (Quartz & Olivine): Brittle
➢ Sedimentary Clastic Rocks (Clay minerals like calcite): Ductile

5) Absence or Presence of Water

➢ Wet: Ductile
➢ Dry: Brittle
❖ Deformation in Progress
1) Abrupt Deformation
➢ Along faults. Associated with earthquakes. Quick
2) Gradual Deformation
➢ Along faults or areas of uplift. Slow. Months to years

❖ Evidence of Deformation
➢ Evident in crustal rocks
➢ Sedimentary strata and lava flows usually follow the law of original horizontality
➢ Rocks on earth's surface break quickly
➢ Deeper on the earth’s surface has high temp and pressure, which makes rocks
deform plastically
Geological Time Scale

History of the Earth

● The Earth’s history is recorded in the rocks of the crust. Scientists used an
assumption called uniformitarianism in order to relate what we know about present-
day processes to past events – the present-day is the key to the past.
● Uniformitarianism (by James Hutton) states that the natural laws we know today
have been constant over the geologic past.

~Earth’s Early Evolution~

● The high velocity impact of interplanetary debris and the decay of radioactive
elements caused the temperature of our planet to steadily increase.
● Earth became hot enough that iron and nickel began to melt, which produced the
earth’s iron-rich core
● The early period of heating also resulted in a magma ocean. Within the magma
ocean buoyant masses of molten rock rose toward the surface and eventually
solidified to produce a thin, primitive crust
● Thus, the three major divisions of the Earth’s interior – a) the iron – rich core, b) the
thin primitive crust, and c) its thickest layer, the mantle.
● The light materials – including water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gasses
escaped to form primitive atmosphere and shortly thereafter the oceans.

The Geological Time Scale

● Developed mostly in Europe during the 19th century.

● Is a system of chronological dating that relates geological strata to time.
 ● Used to describe the timing and relationships of events that have occurred
during Earth’s history
● Divides the history of Earth into eons, eras, periods and epochs.

Eons

● It has the largest intervals of geologic time.

● A single eon covers a period of several hundred million years.
● Four eons: Hadean, Archaean, Proterozoic and Phanerozoic.

Precambrian Time

● The time of hidden life

● Point of time in which our planet started to form
● This is subdivided into Hadean, Archean, and Proterozoic Eon. These 3 are
collectively known as the Precambrian Supereon

~Hadean Eon (4.56 - 3.8 Ga/Billion Years)~

● Name comes from “Hades”, the Greek god of the underworld. Also the Greek
translation for the Hebrew word for hell, relating to the chaotic conditions.
● Characterized by Earth’s Initial Formation: Accretion (growing in size) and
collisions with other planetesimals.
● Moon also formed
● Surface is still molten but some rocks started to form
● Atmosphere mostly methane and ammonia

~Archaean Eon (3.8 - 2,5 Ga)~

● Period where life (archaea & bacteria) first formed

● Earth cooled down, allowing for continents and oceans
● “Archean” is Ancient Greek for “Beginning” or “Origin”
● Intense volcanism released water vapor and carbon dioxide
● No glaciers (duh)
● Heavy rains filling first oceans
● First form of life emerged. Those being single celled dudes with no nucleus called
prokaryotes becoming abundant in the ocean floor.
● Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) emerged and released oxygen through
photosynthesis (gen bio reference pog), which was poisonous to the organisms at
the time
● Oxygen combined with iron from volcanoes to form rust which sank to the ocean
floor, now evident in banded-iron formation in rocks

~Proterozoic Eon (2.5 Ga - 540 Ma/Million Years)~

● Period just before complex life

● Extensive shallow epicontinental seas
● Rocks are less metamorphosed than in Archean age
● Name came from the Greek words “protero” (former) and “zoic” (life)
● Longest Eon
● Supercontinents formed then broke and glaciers formed then shrank causing
decrease in temperature
● Oxygen was booming (increased)
● Ozone layer formed
● Eukaryotes (single and multi celled organisms with nucleus) emerged and
flourished
● Soft-bodied animals called Ediacara fauna emerged. They were the first animals to
need oxygen and the precursor of organisms with skeletons. Their presence
marked the end of the Proterozoic eon
 ~Phanerozoic Eon (540 Ma - Present)~

● Name comes from greek words “phaneros” (visible) and “zoic” (life)
● Rapid expansion and evolution of organisms
● Sedimentary rocks cover the most recent 542 Ma and contain abundant fossils
● Four changes occurred at the beginning of Phanerozoic time that greatly improved
the fossil record
1) The number of species with shells and skeletons dramatically increased.
2) The total number of individual organisms preserved as fossils increased
greatly.
3) The total number of species preserved as fossils increased greatly.
4) The average sizes of individual organisms increased.
Era

● It is the subdivision of eons

● Three eras – Paleozoic (time of ancient life), the Mesozoic (time of middle life) and
the Cenozoic (time of recent life).

Periods and Epochs

● Each era is further divided into periods and further into epochs.
 ~Paleozoic Era (540 - 245 Ma)~

● Sea levels rose and fell, allowing seas to cover continents and marine life to
flourish
● Divided into six (6) major periods: Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian,
Carboniferous, and Permian.
● Name means “ancient life”
● Organisms became diverse; “Cambrian explosion” happened, which was when the
largest number of creatures evolved in a single period.
● Pangea formed during the late Paleozoic
● Trees evolved
● Periods in Paleozoic Era:
a) Cambrian Period
○ Almost all marine organisms came into existence as evidenced by
abundant fossils. A most important event is the development of
organisms having the ability to secrete calcium carbonate and
calcium phosphate for the formation of shells.
b) Ordovician Period
○ All major groups of animals that could be preserved as fossils
had appeared. This period marks the earliest appearance of
vertebrates – the jawless fish known as agnatha.
c) Silurian Period
○ The Silurian brought about the emergence of terrestrial life, the
earliest being the terrestrial plants with well-developed circulatory
systems (vascular plants). As plants move ashore, so do other
terrestrial organisms. Air-breathing scorpions and millipedes were
common during the period.
d) Devonian Period
○ This period is known as the “age of fishes”. Lowland forests of seed
ferns, scale trees and true ferns flourished. Sharks, insects, and bony
fishes developed. Today the lungfish and coelacanth, a “living fossil”
have such internal nostrils and breathe in a similar way. The first
amphibians made their appearance, although able to live on land,
they needed to return to water to lay their eggs.
e) Carboniferous period
○ Warm, moist climate conditions contributed to lash vegetation
and dense swampy forests. Insects under rapid evolution led to
such diverse forms of giant cockroaches and dragonflies. The
evolution of the first reptiles took place with the development of the
amniotic egg, a porous shell containing a membrane that provided
an environment for an embryo. Ice covers large areas of the earth;
swamps cover lowlands; first mosses; great coal-forming forests
form; seed ferns grow; winged insects appear
f) Permian Period
○ The reptiles were well-suited to their environment that they ruled
the Earth for 200 million years. The two major groups of reptiles –
diapsids and synapsids dominated this period. Diapsids gave rise to
the dinosaurs. Synapsis gave rise to mammals.
 ~Mesozoic Era (245 - 65 Ma)~

● Name means “Middle Life”. Also known as the “Age of reptiles”

● Three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.
● Rise of dinosaurs (rawr)
● A famous Jurassic deposit is the Morrison Formation, within which the world’s
richest storehouse of dinosaurs was preserved
● True pines and redwoods appeared and rapidly spread
● Flowering plants arose and their emergence accelerated the evolution of
insects.
● A major event of this era was the breakup of Pangea.
● At the end of this era, the dinosaurs and reptiles were completely wiped out (no
rawr. sad)

● ● Periods in Mesozoic Era:

a) Triassic Period
○ “Age of Reptiles” begins; first mammals; corals, insects, and fishes
resemble modern types.
b) Jurassic Period
○ The Rocky Mountains rise; first birds; palms and cone bearing trees
dominate; large dinosaurs thrive; primitive mammals developed.
c) Cretaceous Period
○ First flowering plant; placental mammals developed; dinosaurs die
out, as do many marine animals at the end of the period.

~Cenozoic Era (65 Ma - Present)~

● Name means “New life”

● Climate alternated between warming and cooling periods
● Two periods: Tertiary and Quaternary
 ● From oldest to youngest the periods are broken up into the Paleocene, Eocene,
Oligocene, Miocene and Pliocene for the Tertiary period and the Pleistocene and
Holocene for the Quaternary period
● Climates cooled. Henced widespread glaciation
● Humans
● Lower sea levels = Land bridges. Which allowed humans to go all over the earth

● ● Periods in Cenozoic Era:

a) Paleogene Period
○ Paleocene Epoch → beginning of “age of mammals”; flowering
plants and small mammals abundant; many different climates existed.
○ Eocene Epoch → fossils of “dawn horse”; grasslands and
forest present; many small mammals; larger mammals such
as whales, rhinoceros, and monkeys begin to develop.
○ Oligocene Epoch → fossils of primitive apes; elephants,
camels, and horses developed; climate generally mild.
b) Neogene Period
○ Miocene Epoch → many grazing animals; flowering plants and
trees resemble modern types.
○ Pliocene Epoch → fossils of ancient humans near the end of
epoch; many birds, mammals and sea life similar to modern
types; climate cools.
c) Quaternary Period
○ Pleistocene Epoch → “The Ice Age”; modern humans present;
mammoths and other animals become extinct.
○ Holocene Epoch → Humans are the dominant forms of life and
civilization begins and spreads.

Adaptations and Evolution

● The characteristics of an organism that help it survive in each environment are

called adaptations
● Adaptations develop when certain variations in a population help some members
survive better than others. Variation comes from a mutation in an organism’s genes.
The ones that survive pass favorable traits on to their offspring.
● Changes and adaptations in a species accumulate over time.
● Changes in a species over time are called evolution.