EARTH MATERIALS AND PROCESSES: 2.

Wind and Waves

o Tiny grains of sand are picked up and carried off by the
EXOGENIC PROCESSES wind, which are then blasted on the surface of rocks,
smoothening them.
o On the seashore, the action of waves chips away and cracks
Weathering the rock.
3. Freeze and Thaw
• The mechanical and chemical hammer that breaks down and
o When water collects in the rock pores and slits, it expands
sculpts rock.
when it freezes. This happens particularly in cold climates.
• There are two kinds of weathering: The freezing creates cracks
1. Physical Weathering o When the ice thaws, the water seeps into new cracks and
o Also known as mechanical weathering, refers to the causes more cracks as it freezes. Soon the rocks break apart.
breakdown of rocks without a change in its 4. Organic Activity
composition. o Animals and plants also take a heavy toll on rocks and cause
o Breakdown would mean that the rock is fractured, them to wear away
cracked or fragmented into smaller pieces
2. Chemical weathering
o Decomposition of rocks due to chemical reactions
Processes That Bring About Chemical Weathering
occurring between the minerals in rocks and the
environment. 1. Hydration/Hydrolysis
o Transforms rocks and minerals exposed to water and o Molecules of some substance in rocks chemically combine
gases in the atmosphere into new chemical compounds with water molecules. (hydration)
thus, forming different rocks and minerals. o When water decomposes into H+ and OH – ions, the
o A key factor in the creation of caves or caverns. It can elements can react with ions of the minerals in rocks and
also hollow out caves and damage cliffs. destroy their atomic composition, usually forming new
minerals
o The product of hydration yields a less dense cohesive rock
Processes That Can Cause Physical Weathering that disintegrates fast.
2. Carbonation
1. Thermal and Pressure Change o A process which carbon dioxide may bond with other
o Rocks crumble and break into fragments because they are substances
subjected to alternating hot and cold temperature many o The abundance of acid rain would have long term effect
times. and produces noticeable damage not only in rocks but also
o The outer part of the rock expands and contracts much in vegetation and marine life.
more than the inner part because it is directly exposed to o It also results in sinkholes which cause the formation of
the heat of the Sun. stalactites and stalagmites. (column the connection)
o The unequal change in volume between the inner and outer
part of the rock causes rock to crack which starts with the
peeling off of the outside surface of the rock.
 3. Oxidation the rock is there and the next it is gone. It also happens slowly
o Occurs when oxygen, considered as an active gas, over time.
combines with another substance like minerals in rocks, • The types of mass movements include the following:
yielding compounds called oxides. 1. The abrupt movement and freefall of loosened solid block
o Once a mineral is oxidized, it becomes pudgy and shows of rocks known as rock falls
discoloration. This weakens rock and makes it crumble. 2. The almost imperceptible downslope movement of soil
particles and rock debris called creep
3. The multiplicity of downslope movements of bedrock and
Erosion other debris caused by the separation of a slope along a
plane of least resistance or slip surface called landslide
• Involves movement of the weathered rock (now soil, sand or 4. The separation of mass moving down a curved slip and
pebbles) from their site of weathering by the agents of erosion collecting at the slope’s foot called slump
such as wind, moving water, ice and gravity. 5. The saturation and weathered materials by rainfall in the
• Transport by Water upper section of a slope or valley causing a slow downslope
o Rainwater is the most important force or agent of erosion. movement known as earthflow
o When there is heavy rain, rock pieces are carried 6. A rapidly moving earthflow containing a higher water
downstream to a suited depositional environment with the content better known as mudslides
action of gravity 7. A fast-moving earthflow in a mountainous region called
o Gravity is the driving force and it gives water the energy to avalanche
erode and carry away rock materials. • Sinking mass movement that occurs in a relatively rapid
o The greater the volume of water and the steeper the slope, fashion known as subsidence.
the bigger and more rocks can be transported. • Sinking mass movement that occurs in a gradual movement
• Transport by Wind known as settlement.
o It continuously blows away loose particles of rocks and soil • Subsidence involves the roof collapse or breakdown of a
from place to place. subsurface cavity forming a cave.
o The wind can create sandstorms that contain dust particles
• There is also subsidence in the form of sinkholes caused by
and deposit them in wide areas.
underground drainage.

Mass Movement
• Typically known as mass wasting, or slope movement
• Defined as a bulk movement of soil, sand, and rock debris
downslopes in response to the force of gravity or the rapid or
gradual sinking of the Earth’s ground surface in a vertical
direction
• A type of erosion that is capable of making big changes to a
mountain. These changes can happen suddenly, as in a minute
 EARTH MATERIALS AND PROCESSES: Gases in Magma
ENDOGENIC PROCESSES • Deep in the earth, nearly all magmas contain gas dissolved in
the liquid.
• As magma rises at the surface of the Earth, pressure is
Magma decreased.
• When magma emerges on the surface of the Earth, it is called
• A mixture of molten rock, minerals and gases.
lava.
• This mixture is usually made up of a hot liquid base called the
• Lava spilling over or erupting from craters is usually bubbly, a
melt, minerals crystallized by the melt, solid rocks incorporated
sign that gases are escaping.
into the melt from the surrounding confines, and dissolved
gases. • The escape of gases immensely lowers the temperature,
decreases the volume and changes the composition of lava as
• Originates in the lower part of the Earth’s crust and in the
compared to magma.
upper portion of the mantle known as asthenosphere.
• When gases cannot escape readily, eruption is more explosive.
• The composition of the gases in magma is mostly water vapor,
How Are Magmas Formed? some Carbon dioxide, minor amounts of sulfur, chlorine and
fluorine gases.
• At about 30-65 km below the Earth’s surface, the temperature
is high enough to melt rocks into magma.
• The temperature rises about 30% for every kilometer. Viscosity of Magmas
• The asthenosphere which is between 100 to 250 km deep is so
• Viscosity is the resistance to flow.
hot that most of the rock is melted.
• Depends primarily on the composition and temperature of the
• The melt flows very slowly because it is under intense pressure.
magma.
• Magma behaves like a solid (plasticity) because of the great
• Magma with higher silica content has higher viscosity.
pressure of layers above it.
• Viscosity increases with increasing silica concentration in the
• The formation of faults or breaks in rocks decreases the
magma
pressure, thus magma is changed into liquid form and flows
toward areas of low pressure. • Magma with low temperature has higher viscosity than those
with high temperature.
• Magma is capable of intrusion, extrusion and can be expelled
violently as tephra to form pyroclastic rock. • Viscosity decreases with increasing temperature of the magma.
• Environments of magma formation: • Viscosity is a significant property in determining the eruptive
o Subduction zones behavior of magmas.
o Continental rift zones
o Mid-ocean ridges
o Hot spots Magma Escape Routes
• Magma leaves the confines of the asthenosphere and crust in
two major ways:
 • Intrusion • There are extremely strong volcanic eruptions, causing the
o Magma can intrude into low-density area of another volume of magma to shrink so much that the entire magma
geologic form such as sedimentary rock. When it cools and chamber collapses and forms a caldera.
hardens, this intrusion develops into a pluton commonly
known as an igneous intrusive rock. Plutonism is a process
whereby a pluton which is an intrusion of magma rises Different Ways to Generate Magma
from beneath the surface.
• Extrusion • In order to generate a magma in the solid part of the earth
o Magma can extrude onto the earth’s surface as lava. Some either the geothermal gradient must be raised in some way or
magma is expelled in volcanic vents. Lava is a thick, slow- the melting temperature of the rocks must be lowered in some
moving river of molten materials. way.
o Magma can also extrude into the earth’s atmosphere as part • The geothermal gradient can be raised by upwelling of hot
of a violent volcanic eruption. This magma when solidifies material from below either by uprise solid material
in the air forms volcanic rock called “tephra”. (decompression melting) or by intrusion of magma (heat
transfer). Lowering the melting temperature can be achieved
by adding water or Carbon Dioxide (flux melting).
Magma Chamber
• Magma develops within the upper mantle and crust where the Decompression Melting
temperature and pressure conditions favor the molten state.
• Magma collects in area called magma chamber • Involves the upward movement of the Earth’s mostly solid
• The pool of magma in magma chamber is layered. The least mantle. This hot material rises to an area of lower pressure
dense magma rises to the top. The densest magma sinks at the through the process of convection.
bottom of the chamber. • Areas of lower pressure always have a lower melting point than
• If a magma chamber encounters an enormous amount of areas of high pressure.
pressure, however, it may break the rocks around it. The cracks • This reduction in the pressure or decompression, enables the
are called fissures or vents – signs of volcanoes. mantle rock to melt and form magma.
• As a magma chamber experiences greater pressure, often due • Often occurs at divergent boundaries, where tectonic plates
to more magma seeping into the chamber. Whenever more move away from each other.
magma is collected into a volcano’s magma chamber, there is • Also occurs at mantle plumes, columns of hot rocks that rise
always a possibility of an eruption and the volcano remains from the Earth’s high pressure core to a lower pressure crust.
active. • Beneath the ocean, these plumes, also known as hotspots.
• During an eruption, gases, ash and light-colored rocks are
emitted from the least dense top layer magma chamber. Dark,
dense volcanic rock from the lower part of the chamber may Transfer of Heat
be released later.
• As the liquid rock solidifies, it loses this heat and transfer it to
the surrounding crust. Repeated intrusions can transfer
 enough heat to increase the local geothermal gradient and 2. Intermediate Magma
cause melting of the surrounding rock and this creates a new o Have higher silica content than mafic magma.
magma. o Results in a higher gas content and higher viscosity which
• Often happens at convergent boundaries, where tectonic plates builds up pressure beneath the earth’s surface before it can
collide with each other. be released as lava.
• As the denser plate subducts, the less dense plate, hot rock from o Commonly converted into andesite due to the transfer of
below can intrude into the cooler plate above. heat at convergent plate boundaries.
3. Mafic Magma
• With time, the magma in the subduction zones can form a
o Has relatively low silica content but high in iron and
series of active volcanoes known as volcanic arcs.
magnesium.
o Has a low gas content and low viscosity
o Has high average temperature which contributes to its low
Flux Melting viscosity.
• Occurs when water or carbon dioxide is added to rocks. These o The most fluid of all magma types.
compounds cause the rock to melt at lower temperature. o E.g. island of Hawaii
4. Ultramafic Magma
• If the addition of water or carbon dioxide takes place deep in
o Today, our planet is too cool for ultramafic magma to form.
the Earth where the temperature is already high, the lowering
o Would be the hottest and fastest flowing magma
of the melting temperature could cause the rock to partially
melt and generate magma
Rock Deformation
Types of Magma • Stress- defined as the force that could create deformation on
rocks in their shape and volume.
• Silica(SiO2)- are the most abundant elements in magma.
• Different kinds of stress that rocks experience:
• Geologists identify magma types on the basis of their SiO2
content. • Lithostatic stress
• The different types of magma are: • Differential stress
1. Felsic Magma o tensional stress (stretching)
o Has the highest silica content of all. o compressional stress (squeezing)
o As a result it has the highest gas content and viscosity. o shear stress
o Has the lowest average temperature • Strain – a change in size, shape or volume of a material
o Can trap gas bubbles which can cause explosive and
destructive eruptions where lava is expelled violently.
When cooled, it forms granite rock.
o Commonly found at convergent plate boundaries where
transfer of heat and flux melting could create large
volcanoes.
Different Kinds of Stress that Rocks Experience o The breaking of rock is due to low pressure and
temperature that are experienced near the earth’s
1. Lithostatic stress surface. Such irregular cracks can produce fractures
• Rock beneath the Earth’s surface experiences equal such as joints and faults.
pressure on it from all directions because the weight of
the overlying rock
• It is like the hydrostatic stress(water pressure)that a Joints
person feels pressing all over his body when diving • Are fractures in rocks that show little or no movement at all.
down deep in the water.
2. Differential stress • The orientation of the joints can be described as strike and dip.
• Tensional stress (stretching) – when rock is stretched • They form as a result of tensional stress acting perpendicular
apart or pulled apart. to the orientation of the produced joint on a brittle rock.
• Compressional stress (squeezing) – when rock pressed, • Provide pathways for water and thus promote the chemical
squeezed or pushed together. weathering on rocks.
• Shear stress – results in slippage and translation. Being
pulled in different directions.
What is a Fault?
• Many earthquakes occur along faults in the Earth’s crust. A
How are Rocks Deformed? fault is a place where pieces of the plates move.
• Rock depends to stress differently on the pressure and • A normal fault is where tension weakens the crust until the
temperature and mineralogical composition of the rock. rock fractures, and one rock moves downward from another.
This occurs when two plates are pulling apart, as in a divergent
• The ability of a rock material to handle stress depends on the boundary.
elasticity of the rock.
• A strike-slip fault is where two blocks of rock are moving past
• If the area is able to return to its original shape after the strain, each other horizontally, as in a transform boundary. The
it is said to have experienced elastic deformation. If the area famous San Andreas Fault is a strike-slip fault.
does not recover from the change in shape, it has
experienced plastic deformation. • A reverse fault is where a fault block is forced upward, usually
during a collision with another block, as in a convergent
• The different types of deformation are as follows: boundary.
A. Brittle
o If a differential stress is applied that is greater than the • When enough stress builds up in rock, the rock breaks. This
rock’s yield strength, the rock fractures. creates a fault.
o Fracture is an irreversible strain wherein the rock • A fault is where slabs of crust slide past each other.
breaks.
o It should be noted that part of the rock that did not
break springs back to its original shape. This is termed
elastic rebound.
o Elastic rebound is what causes earthquakes
The 3 Different Types of Faults B. Ductile
1. Strike-slip Fault or Transverse Fault o Rocks undergo ductile deformation when a differential
• Occurs when brittle rocks are sheared (the opposing stress applied is stronger than its yield strength.
tectonic forces are at right angles to compression and o An irreversible strain which means that the rock cannot
tension directions) and the movement of blocks of rock is go back to its original condition; instead it is changed
chiefly in the horizontal direction. into a new shape.
• If the far side of the fault moves to the left relative to an o When rocks deform in a ductile manner, instead of
observer it is called “sinistral strike-slip fault” (left lateral). fracturing to form faults or joints, they may bend or fold
and the resulting structures are called folds.
• If the far side of the fault moves to the right relative to an
o Folds are promoted by high temperature and pressure
observer it is called “dextral strike-slip fault” (right-
at great depth.
lateral).
o Fold Terms
• Example: San Andres Fault (A fault in which two blocks of - axial plane: the plane of mirror symmetry dividing
crust slide past each other on the same plane. The motion the fold into two limbs
experienced is right or left lateral instead of up and down.) - axis: line formed by the intersection of the axial
2. Normal Fault plane and a bedding plane
• The force is called tension. A fault in which the hanging - horizontal fold: where the fold axis is horizontal
wall moves down relative to the footwall as a result of - plunging fold: where the fold axis is not horizontal
extension. o There are several kinds of folds:
3. Reverse Fault 1. Monoclines
• The force pushing is compression. Also called thrust fault. - Are the simplest types of folds
A fault in which the hanging wall moves up relative to the - Occur when the horizontal layers are bent
footwall. upward so that the two limbs of the fold are still
horizontal
Plate Motion Major Fault Type 2. Synclines
Transform Strike-Slip Fault - Are fold structures when the original rock layers
have been folded downward and the two limbs
Divergent Normal Fault of the fold dip inward toward the hinge of the
fold.
Convergent Reverse Fault 3. Anticlines
- Are fold structures formed when the originally
Faults in the Philippines rock layers have been folded upward and the
two limbs of the fold dip away from the hinge of
1. Marikina Valley Fault System the fold.
• West Valley Fault o Synclines and anticlines usually occur together such
• East Valley Fault that the limb of a syncline is also the limb of an
anticline.
o The anticline may form mountains, hills or ridges
 o Syncline may form valleys. Rules
o Faults and folds are geological structures that result
from the response of rock to tectonic stresses induced Rule No. 1
by plate movement. • Sedimentary rocks form as sediments are deposited on the
bottom of a body of water.
Rule No. 2
• Weathering and erosion of rock layers occurs in the surface
(not under water).
RELATIVE AGE DATING
Rule No. 3

Absolute Dating • The layers of rock on the bottom are the oldest.
• The Law of Superposition
• Determines the actual age of the rock or fossil using radioactive
decay Rule No. 4
• Radioactive decay • Sedimentary layers are deposited horizontally. Deformation
includes folding, faulting, and tilting.
• The Law of Original Horizontality
Relative Dating
• Determining which rock, fossil, or event came first, second,
third, etc. Rule No. 5
• Geologic sequencing • Intrusions are younger than the rocks they metamorphose.
Rule No. 6
The Law of Uniformitarianism • Faults are younger than the rocks they cut through.
• All of the things we observe that are happening in the Earth Rule No. 7
today including weather, storms and wind, erosion and
deposition by the rivers and by the glaciers, geologic events and • Uplift, weathering and erosion, and subsidence forms
tectonic events like earthquake, volcanic eruption, and the unconformities.
motion of plates happen the same way in the past. • Unconformities represent a missing part of the rock record. A
geologic mystery.
Rule No. 8
• Inclusions must be older than the rock they are in.
• The Law of Inclusions
 ABSOLUTE AGE DATING o How many protons does a hydrogen atom have?
• However, an element’s atoms can have different numbers of
neutrons.
Vocabulary • Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of
neutrons are called isotopes.
• Absolute age – the numerical age, in years, of a rock or object o We name isotopes with the element name and the number
• Isotope – atoms of the same element that have different of particles (protons+neutrons) in its nucleus.
numbers of neutrons
• Radioactive decay – the process by which an unstable element Radioactive Decay
naturally changes into another element that is stable • Most isotopes are stable.
• Half-life – the time required for half of the parent isotopes to o Stable isotopes do not change under normal conditions
decay into daughter isotopes • Unstable isotopes are called radioactive isotopes.
o Radioactive isotopes decay, or change, over time.
o As they decay, they release energy and form new, stable
Absolute Age of Rocks atoms.
• Absolute age means the numerical age, in years, of a rock or • Radioactive decay is the process by which an unstable element
object. naturally changes into another element that is stable.
o What is your absolute age? • The unstable isotope that decays is called the parent isotope.
o How is absolute age different from relative age? • The new element that forms is called the daughter isotope.
• Scientists have been able to determine the absolute ages of • In the figure, the atoms of an unstable isotope of hydrogen
rocks and other objects only since the beginning of the (parent) decay into atoms of a stable isotope of helium
twentieth century. (daughter)
o Once radioactivity had been discovered.
o Radioactivity is the release of energy from unstable atoms
Half-Life

Atoms • The rate of decay from parent isotopes into daughter isotopes
is different for different radioactive elements.
• You are all familiar with atoms. o Rate of decay is constant for a given isotope
o What are the parts of an atom? o This rate is measure in time units called half-lives
o What determines the element of an atom? • An isotope’s half-life is the time required for half of the parent
o What is in the nucleus of an atom? isotopes to decay into daughter isotopes.
o What surrounds the nucleus? o Half-lives of radioactive isotopes range from a few
microseconds to billions of years.
• As time passes, more and more unstable parent isotopes decay
Review of Isotopes and form stable daughter isotopes.
• All atoms of a given element have the same number of protons
 • The means the ratio of parent and daughter isotopes is always • However, if an organism dies, it stops taking in C-14.
changing. o The C-14 present in the organism starts to decay to
• When half the parent isotopes have decayed into daughter nitrogen-14 (N-14).
isotopes, the isotope has reached one half-life. o As the dead organism’s C-14 decays, the ratio of C-14 to C-
• After one half-life, 50% of the isotopes are parents and 50% of 12 changes.
the isotopes are daughters • Scientists measure the ratio of C-14 to C-12 in the remains of
• After two half-lives, 50% of the remaining parent isotopes have the dead organism to determine how much time has passed
decayed so that only a quarter of the original parent isotopes since the organism died.
remain. • The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years.
• This process continues until nearly all parent isotopes have • That means radiocarbon dating is useful for measuring the
decayed into daughter isotopes. age of remains of organisms that died up to about 60,000
years ago.
• In remains older than this, there is not enough C-14 left to
Radiometric Ages measure accurately.

• Because radioactive isotopes decay at a constant rate, they can

be used like clocks to measure the age of the material that Review
contains them.
• In this process, called radiometric dating, scientists measure • What is measured in radiometric dating?
the amount of parent isotope and daughter isotope in a sample o The amount of the parent isotope and daughter isotope.
of material they want to date. • What two isotopes of carbon are present in our atmosphere?
o From this ratio, they can determine the material’s age. o C-12 and C-14
• Is the ratio of carbon isotopes in the atmosphere constant or
changing?
Radiocarbon Dating o The ratio of C-12 to C-14 is constant.
• C-14 decays into what isotope?
• One important radioactive isotope used for dating is an isotope o C-14 decays into N-14.
of carbon called radiocarbon.
• Should we expect more C-14 or N-14 in an organism that has
o Radiocarbon is also known as carbon-14 or C-14.
been dead for 40,000 years?
- How many protons and neutrons does C-14 have? 6
o It should have more N-14 because I has been dead for
protons and 8 neutrons
longer than C-14’s half-life (5,730 yrs).
• Radiocarbon forms in Earth’s upper atmosphere where it mixes
with a stable carbon isotope called carbon-12 or C-12. Dating Rocks
• The ratio of the amount of C-14 and C-12 in the atmosphere is
constant. • Radiocarbon dating is useful only for dating organic material –
material from once-living organisms.
• All living things use carbon as they build and repair tissues o This material includes bones, wood, parchment, and
• As long as an organism is alive, the ratio of C-14 to C-12 in its charcoal.
tissues is identical to the ratio in the atmosphere.
 • Most rocks do not contain organic material. More Radioactive Isotopes used in Radiometric Dating
• Even most fossils are no longer organic.
o Their living tissue has been replaced by rock-forming
minerals.
• So, for dating rocks, geologists use different kinds of radioactive
isotopes.

Dating Igneous Rock

• One of the most common isotopes used in radiometric dating is
uranium-235 or U-235.
• U-235 is often trapped in the minerals of igneous rocks that Different Types of Isotopes
crystallize from hot, molten magma.
• As soon as it is trapped in a mineral, U-235 decays into lead- • The half-life of U-235 is 704 million years.
207 or Pb-207. o This makes it useful for dating rocks that are very old.
o What ratio would scientists use to determine how much • Many different isotopes are also used.
time has passed since the mineral was formed? o However, would isotopes with short half-lives be useful in
o Which isotope should there be more of it the rock is older dating old rocks?
than one half-life? o Which isotope would be too small to measure, the parent
or the daughter?
• Geologists often use a combination of radioactive isotopes to
Dating Sedimentary Rock measure the age of a rock to make it more accurate.

• How does sedimentary rock form?

o From sediment and a lot of pressure over a long time. The Age of Earth
• In order to be dated by radiometric means, that sediment that
formed the rock must contain U-235. • The oldest known rock formation dated by geologists using
o The grains of sedimentary rocks come from a variety of radiometric means is in Canada.
weathered rocks form different locations. • It is estimated to be between 4.03 and 4.28 billion years old.
• However, by measuring U-235 would scientist be getting the • However, individual crystals of the mineral zircon in igneous
date that the sedimentary rock formed or the date that the grain rocks in Australia have been dated at 4.4 billion years.
of sediment formed? • Radiometric dating of rocks from the Moon and meteorites
• Radioactive isotopes within these grains generally record the indicate that Earth is 4.54 billion years old.
ages of the grains – not when the sediment was deposited. o Scientists accept this age because evidence suggests that
• For this reason, sedimentary rock is not as easy to date as Earth, the Moon, and meteorites all formed at about the
igneous rock same time.