CIE 308 – Construction Materials

Chapter 1 – Geology

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 Outline

I. Introduction to Geology

II. Geological Cycle and Rock Formation

III. Minerals: Building Blocks of Rocks

IV. Rock Types and Properties

V. Summary of the Geology of Lebanon

References:
- Lutgens, F. K. & Tarbuck, E. J. Essentials of Geology 11th Ed (Prentice Hall, New York, 2012).

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 Introduction to Geology

The Science of Geology

Geology, from the Greek

geo, “Earth”, and logos, “discourse”

 deals with the physical structure and substance

of the earth, their history, and the processes
which act on them.

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 Introduction to Geology

 The Science of Geology is divided into two broad

areas:
 Physical Geology: examines the materials
composing Earth and seeks to understand the
many processes that operate beneath and upon
its surface

 Historical Geology: aims is to understand the

origin of Earth and its development through time

 Rocks contain information about the processes

that produce them.

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 Introduction to Geology

 Earth’s natural processes become hazards only when these processes overlap with
the community.

 Risk on human life and infrastructure is then assessed from these natural hazards.

 Many of the problems and issues addressed by geology are of practical value to
people

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 Introduction to Geology

 Some important geologic processes are not currently observable, but evidence that
they occurred/occur is well established

 Earth has experienced impacts from large meteorites even though we have no
human witnesses
 Such events altered Earth’s crust, modified its climate, and strongly influenced life
on the planet

Proto-planet collided with earth

resulting in a tilt (23.44°)

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 Introduction to Geology

 Exposed rocks represent hundreds of millions of years of Earth history

 Weathering and erosion created

the canyon

 Very slow process ⇒ Changes

not visible during an entire
human lifetime

 Youngest rocks are on top, and

oldest are at the bottom

Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in

northern Arizona
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 Introduction to Geology
Geologic Time

 In 1896, radioactivity was discovered

 Using radioactivity for dating was first attempted in 1905

 Geologists are now able to assign fairly accurate dates to events in Earth history

 Age of Earth is about 4.6 billion years

 Dinosaurs died out about 65 million years ago

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 Introduction to Geology
The Magnitude of Geologic Time
 People deal with increments of time: hours, days, weeks, and years

 90 years old is very old, and a 1000-year old artifact is ancient

 Geology deals with vast time periods: millions or billions of years

 A geologic event that occurred 100 million years ago is recent

 A rock sample that has been dated at 10 million years is young

 Relative to Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history
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 Introduction to Geology
Geologic Time Scale (GTS)
 Earth's history divided into unequal series
of time intervals

 Significant events in history

Time
Subdivision Examples
Spans
hundreds of Phanerozoic (recent)
Eon
millions of years Precambrian
Cenozoic, Mesozoic and Paleozoic (sub of
Era Sub of eon
Phanerozoic eon)
Permian, Pennsylvanian, Mississippian,
Period Sub of era Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician and
Cambrian (sub of Paleozoic era)
Epoch Sub of period
Age Sub of epoch
Chron Sub of age
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 Introduction to Geology
Earth’s Spheres

“Earthrise” was taken when the Apollo 8

astronauts orbited the Moon for the first
time in December 1968

Bill Anders, the Apollo 8 astronaut who took the

“Earthrise” photo, expressed it this way:
“We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most
important thing is that we discovered Earth.”

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 Introduction to Geology
Earth’s Spheres

 The most conspicuous features that were observed from this shot are not the
continents, but the swirling clouds that were suspended above the surface and
the vast global ocean.

 These features emphasized the importance of water to our planet.

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 Introduction to Geology
Earth’s Spheres

“The Blue Marble” taken in December 1972 by the crew of

Apollo 17 during the last lunar mission

 This closer view of Earth from space helped scientists appreciate why the physical
environment is traditionally divided into three major parts:

 the water portion of our planet, the hydrosphere;

 Earth’s gaseous envelope, the atmosphere;

 the solid Earth, or geosphere.

 The biosphere, which is the totality of all plant and animal life on our planet,
interacts with each of the three physical realms and is an equally integral part of
the planet. 14
 Introduction to Geology

Interaction among the Earth’s Spheres

Ocean waves (hydrosphere) created by the force of moving air (atmosphere)

break against a rocky shore (geosphere)

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 Introduction to Geology

Interaction among the Earth’s Spheres

Soil that supports the growth of plants presents another example of the interaction
among Earth’s four spheres

 Soil is a mixture of decomposed and disintegrated rock debris (geosphere) and

organic matter from decayed plant and animal life (biosphere)

 Decomposed and disintegrated rock debris are a product of weathering

processes that require air (atmosphere) and water (hydrosphere)

 Soil is multiphase:

air and water occupy the open spaces between the solid particles

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 Introduction to Geology

The Geosphere

 Beneath the atmosphere and the oceans is the solid Earth

 Geosphere extends from the surface to the center of the planet

 Earth’s center is at a depth of 6,400 kilometers

 It is by far the largest of Earth’s four spheres

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 Introduction to Geology
Earth’s Internal Structure

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 Introduction to Geology
Earth’s Core

 Composition: Iron-nickel alloy

 Minor amounts: Oxygen, silicon, and sulfur
 Extreme pressure
 Average density ≈ 11 g/cm3 and approaches 14 at Earth’s center
 Divided into two regions
 Outer core
 Liquid
 2,270 km thick

 Inner core
 Solid
 Sphere with radius of 1,216 km
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 Introduction to Geology
Earth’s Mantle

 More than 82% of Earth’s volume

 Solid, rocky shell

 Extends to a depth ≈ 2,900 km

 Upper mantle (down to a depth of about 660 km)

 Lithosphere (strong): 100 km thick (average)

 Asthenosphere (weak)

 Lower mantle

 from about 660 km to 2,900 km

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 Introduction to Geology
Earth’s Mantle

 Top portion of asthenosphere has a temperature/pressure regime that results in a

small amount of melting

 Within this weak zone

 Lithosphere is mechanically detached from the layer below

 Lithosphere is able to move independently of the asthenosphere

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 Introduction to Geology
Earth’s Crust

 Earth’s relatively thin, rocky outer skin

 Oceanic crust
 7 km thick

 Composed of the dark igneous rock basalt

 Average density ≈ 3.0 g/cm3

 Continental crust
 Average about 35 km thick

 Exceeds 70 km in some mountainous

regions such as the Rockies and
Himalayas
 Average density ≈ 2.7 g/cm3
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 Introduction to Geology

Dynamic Earth – Plate Tectonics

 Earth is dynamic

 Continents are moving

 Theory of plate tectonics

 Earth’s rigid outer shell (lithosphere) is

broken into numerous slabs called
lithospheric plates or simply plates

 Plates are in continuous motion

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 Introduction to Geology

Dynamic Earth – Plate Tectonics

 7 major lithospheric plates
1. North American
2. South American
3. Pacific
4. African
5. Eurasian
6. Australian
7. Antarctic
 Intermediate size plates
 Caribbean, Nazca, Philippine, Arabian, Cocos, and Scotia
 Over a dozen smaller plates have been identified
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 Introduction to Geology

Dynamic Earth – Plate Tectonics

 Lithospheric plates move relative to each other

 At a very slow but continuous rate

 Average about 5 cm per year

 Movement driven by unequal heat

distribution within Earth

 Convective system

 Deep hot material moves upward

 Cooler, denser slabs of lithosphere

descend back into the mantle

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 Introduction to Geology

Dynamic Earth – Plate Tectonics

 Grinding movements of Earth’s lithospheric plates

 Generate earthquakes

 Create volcanoes

 Deform large masses of rock into mountains

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 Introduction to Geology

Plate Boundaries

 All major interactions among individual plates (and therefore most deformation)
occur along their boundaries

 Plates are bounded by three distinct types of boundaries

1. Divergent boundaries

2. Convergent boundaries

3. Transform fault boundaries

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 Introduction to Geology

Plate Boundaries

Divergent boundaries: Plates move apart

Result: upwelling of material from the mantle to create new seafloor

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 Introduction to Geology

Plate Boundaries
Convergent boundaries: Plates move together

Result: subduction of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle or collision of two

continental margins to create a major mountain system

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 Introduction to Geology

Plate Boundaries
Transform fault boundaries: Plates grind past each other without the production or
destruction of lithosphere

 Majority are located along oceanic ridges, some slice through the continents

 Strain builds in the rocks on opposite sides of the fault

 Rocks adjust, and release energy in form of earthquake

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Geologic Cycle and Rock Formation

Alternative
paths exist

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 Geologic Cycle and Rock Formation

Rock is the most common and abundant material on Earth

 Consists of smaller crystals or grains called minerals

 Minerals are chemical compounds (or sometimes single elements)

 Appearance and texture are influenced by the size, shape, and/or

arrangement of its constituent minerals

Gneiss Sandstone
[metamorphic rock] Granite [sedimentary rock]
[igneous rock] 32
 Types of Rocks and Their Properties

Igneous Rocks

Magma: Molten material that forms inside Earth cools

and solidifies to form igneous rocks

(ignis in Latin means fire)

Crystallization: cooling and solidification of magma

Crystallization may occur:

 Beneath the surface

 At the surface (volcanic eruption)

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 Types of Rocks and Their Properties

Sedimentary Rocks

Igneous rocks exposed at the surface will undergo weathering

 Disintegrates and decomposes rock

 Material moved downslope by gravity and transported

by any of a number of erosional agents
 Running water

 Glaciers

 Wind
 Waves

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 Types of Rocks and Their Properties

Sedimentary Rocks
 Sediments are deposited and compacted

 Sediments undergo lithification (conversion into rock) to form sedimentary rock

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 Types of Rocks and Their Properties

Metamorphic Rocks
 If sedimentary rock is buried deep within Earth it will be subjected to great
pressures and/or intense heat

 Sedimentary rock will react to the changing environment and turn into
metamorphic rock

When metamorphic rock is

subjected to additional pressure
changes or to still higher
temperatures, it will melt,
creating magma, which will
eventually crystallize into
igneous rock, starting the cycle
all over again

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