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Weathering
-is the process of breakdown of rocks at the Earth’s surface
Types of Weathering

1. Physical
 caused by the effects of changing temperatures on rocks, causing the rock to break apart.
a) Frost action- Due to the expansion of freezing water
b) Exfoliation- due to unloading (reduced pressure at earth’s surface) or fluctuations in temperature. Rocks
expand and crack
c) Abrasion- Caused by rocks colliding against each other
- Agents that move rock includes, Wind, Liquid water (streams, rivers), Solid water (glaciers),
Gravity alone (along a cliff face)
3. Biological
 occurs when rocks are weakened by different biological agents like plants and animals.
1. 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. These fragments become more
exposed to other environmental factors that can further enhance their weathering.
Furthermore, humans also indirectly contribute to biological weathering by different activities
that cause rocks to break.
2. By Chemical Compounds
- Some plants and animals also produced acidic substances that react with the rock and cause
its slow disintegration.
3. Chemical
 caused by rainwater reacting with the mineral grains in rocks to form new minerals (clays) and soluble salts
a) 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, solution
of the rock can form spectacular cave systems.
b) Hydrolysis - the breakdown of rock by acidic water to produce clay and soluble salts. Hydrolysis
takes place when acid rain reacts with rock-forming minerals such as feldspar to produce clay and
salts that are removed in solution.
c) Hydration - a type of chemical weathering where water reacts chemically with the rocks, modifying
its chemical structure. Example: H2O (water) is added to CaSO4 (calcium sulfate) to create CaSO4 +
2H2O (calcium sulfate dihydrate). It changes from anhydrite to gypsum.
d) Oxidation - the breakdown of rock by oxygen and water, often giving iron- rich rocks a rusty-colored
weathered surface.

Earth’s Internal Heat Source

Earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago and continue to serve as habitat to diverse organisms. Its biotic
components remain alive due to proper regulation of internal heat. It has massive amount of heat that varies from its
layer. The heat increases from the crust down to the inner core due to several reasons. This internal heat comes from
the following sources.

1. Primordial heat of the planet remains from its early stage.

The Earth was formed from the process of accretion wherein gasses and dust of cloud was attracted by
gravitational energy. When these masses compacted it formed planetisimals. In the process, due to the collision
of these masses, heat was generated. This process formed the earliest stage of planet Earth which is molten in
state and heat is trapped in the core of the planet. Eventually, the accrued heat did not vanish. It took a long
time for heat to move from the internal part of the planet going to its surface. There had been the convective
transport of heat within the core to the mantle of the earth. While conductive transport of heat occurs through
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different plate boundary layers. This resulted in the preservation of some amount the primordial heat in the
interior earth
2. Heat from the decay of radioactive elements.
Earth is considered as thermal engine since its main source of internal heat come from the produced
decay of some naturally occurring isotopes from its interior. This process is known as radioactive decay by which
the spontaneous breakdown of an atomic nucleus causes the release of energy and matter from the nucleus.
Some of the isotopes are potassium – 40, Uranium - 235, Uranium - 238 and Thorium - 232. There are other
radioactive isotopes that are also present in the Earth however they play a minor role in the production of heat
due to its small abundance and low heat capacity. This process of radioactive decay which emits heat energy as
one of the products prevents the Earth from completely cooling off.
3. Gravitational pressure
The more a person descend into Earth’s interior, the amount of pressure increases due to the force
pressing on an area caused by the weight of an overlying rocks. The pressure near the center is considered to be
3 to 4 million times the pressure of atmosphere at sea level. Again, because rocks are good insulators, the
escape of heat from Earth’s surface is less than the heat generated from internal gravitational attraction or
squeezing of rock, so heat builds up within. At high temperature, the material beneath will melt towards the
central part of the earth. This molten material under tremendous pressure conditions acquires the property of a
solid and is probably in a plastic state.
4. Dense core material in the center of the planet.
Due to increase in pressure and presence of heavier materials towards the earth’s center, the density of
earth’s layers also increases. Obviously, the materials of the innermost part of the earth are very dense. The
inner core as the inner most layer is composed primarily of iron and nickel which contributes to the density in
the core that ranges between 12,600-13,000 kg/m3. This suggests that there must be other heavy elements
such as gold, platinum, palladium, silver and tungsten that are present in the core. Like in the descent of the
dense iron-rich material that makes up the core of the planet to the center that produce heating in about 2,000
kelvins. The inner core’s intense pressure prevents the iron and other minimal amount of some elements from
melting. The pressure and density are simply too great for the iron atoms to move into a liquid state. Thus, this
contributes to the intense heat in the interior of the planet.
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THE AGE OF A STRATIFIED ROCK
Stratified rocks are layered rocks formed due to the deposition of items such as sand and silt near the riverbeds,
forming layers on top of each other.
Relative dating is the technique used to determine the age by comparing the historical remains to the nearby
layers.
Stratigraphy This technique assumes that the lowest layer is the oldest while the topmost layer is th youngest
layer. It is one of the oldest methods of relative dating.
Biostratigraphy The faunal deposits such as fossils of dead animals are used to establish a strategy for dating. It
is an extended version of the stratigraphy.
Cross Dating The fossils of one layer are compared with another layer with
known dating.
The principle of cross-cutting relationships states that a fault or
intrusion is younger than the rocks that it cuts through.
The atoms of some chemical elements have different forms, called isotopes.
Thermoluminescence It determines the period during which certain object was last subjected to heat. It is
based on the concept that heated objects absorb light and emit electrons. The emissions are measured to compute
the age.
Dendrochronology The number of annual growth rings of a dicot is
used in this technique to determine the age of the tree.
Amino acid dating The change in the protein content of a biological sample can be used to determine the
age. A particular form of living being may have a defined protein content in their bodies that deteriorates with time.

Radiometric dating It determines the age of the sample by measuring the amount of a particular radioactive
isotope present in the sample. The age can be determined by the rate of decay of that isotope. The type of
radioactive isotope used depends on the type of sample. One of the most popular and widely used types of a
radioactive isotope in this type of technique is carbon14.
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Endogenic Processes: Plutonism and Volcanism

partial melting of
mantle rocks

Flux melting Extrusion

Melting that takes A magma that

place within Earth moves up into a
when a body of volcano without
rock is held at erupting
approximately the
same temperature,
but the pressure is
reduced. Volcanism

refers to all sorts of

igneous geological
activities taking
place below the
Earth's surface.

Plutonites (Intrusive Volcanites (Extrusive

Igneous Rocks) Igneous Rocks)

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.
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Metamorphism
The process in forming metamorphic rocks
Factors Involved in Metamorphism
1. Temperature. It plays a crucial role in metamorphism. The heat affects the rock’s chemical composition,
mineralogy, and texture. For instance, 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.
2. Pressure. Like temperature, it changes the composition, mineralogy, and texture of rocks. Pressure is different in
various tectonic settings, like temperature. For instance, metamorphism in the subduction zone is characterized
by high-pressure metamorphism. In contrast, the collision zone between two continental crusts is marked by
moderate-pressure metamorphism.
There are two types of pressures known also as stresses that exert force on rocks causing changes.
a) The vertical stress or confining pressure is the stress or pressure exerted on the rock by the weight of
overlying material such as in burial metamorphism. This type of pressure is the same in all directions and
makes the rocks to fracture or deform.
b) The directed or differential pressure is imposed by a force in a particular direction. Differential pressure
is dominant at convergent boundaries where plates move towards each other and collide thus exerting
force and cause rocks to deform. Pressure causes rocks to form folds in a particular direction as directed
by the pressure, thus directed pressure guides the shape and orientation of the new crystals formed as
minerals recrystallize under the influence of both heat and pressure. This 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 is a set of flat or wavy parallel cleavage planes produced by deformation under directed
pressures. In the figure below, the effect of compression due to pressure aligns the minerals as they
recrystallize during metamorphism
 Hydrothermal fluids also play a role in metamorphism. The 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. This type of metamorphism is known
as metasomatism in which 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.
Types of Metamorphism. Metamorphic rocks are categorized based on geologic origins
a) Regional Metamorphism forms foliated metamorphic rocks such as Gneiss and Schist due to high temperature
and pressure imposed on large parts of the crust. Most regional metamorphism occurs within the continental
crust. Although rocks can be metamorphosed at depth in most areas, deep below the mountains produced by
the collision of two continental crusts is the area of greatest regional metamorphism. In general, the confining
and directing pressures exerted by some tectonic forces onto rock formations cause new alignment of minerals
(foliation) during recrystallization.
b) Contact metamorphism is a type of metamorphism which is prominent in areas where surrounding rocks are
exposed to heat coming from magma intrusion within the layers of the rocks. Marble, quartzite, and other
granoblastic rocks with large visible crystals of minerals may be formed through contact metamorphism.
c) Shock metamorphism is a typ which takes place when the heat and shock waves from meteor or asteroid
impact transform rocks immediately around the impact site.
d) Burial Metamorphism occurs at lower temperature and pressure which transforms sedimentary rocks that had
undergone diagenesis into low-grade metamorphic rocks through relatively low temperature and pressure.
Partial alteration of the mineralogy and texture may occur while other sedimentary structures are usually
preserved.
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Rocks Behavior Under Stress

Stress- Force exerted per unit area
Types of Stress
1. Tensional stress causes rocks to be pulled apart that result to lengthening and break apart. This type of stress
can be found at divergent plate boundaries.
2. Compressional stress causes rocks to fold or fracture. It squeezes rocks together. Compression is the most
common type of stress in convergent plate boundaries
3. Shear stress happens when forces slide pass each other in opposite direction which results to slippage and
translation. This is the most common stress found in transform plate boundaries.
Geological Structures
a) Folds - are formed when rocks experienced compressive stress and deformed plastically. It causes bending
of rocks. There are three types of folds: monoclines, anticlines and synclines. A monocline is a simple bend in
the rock layers where the oldest rocks are at the bottom and the youngest are at the top. An anticline is a
fold that arches upward where the oldest rocks are found at the center of an anticline. The youngest rocks
are covered over them at the top of the structure. A syncline is a fold that bends downward which rocks are
curved down to a center
b) Faults - A rock under ample stress can crack, or fracture. The fracture is called a joint because there is a
block of rock left standing on either side of a fracture line. The footwall is the rock that place on top the
fault, while the hanging wall is below the fault
Classification of Faults
i. Normal faults–are the most common faults at divergent boundaries. In relation to the footwall,
it develops as the hanging wall drops down. East African Rift is one of the examples of this type
of fault.
ii. Reverse faults – This type of fault is most common at the convergent boundaries. It forms when
the hanging wall moves up. It creates the world’s highest mountain ranges such as Himalayas
Mountains and Rocky Mountains.
iii. Strike-slip faults – This type of faults formed when the walls move sideways. It can be either
right lateral or left lateral. It is mostly common on transform plate boundaries. The most popular
example of this type is San Andreas Fault
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Seafloor Spreading

Features of
the Seafloor

Where seafloor
Spreading Occurs

Proved that the

seafloor is spreading

Mechanism on how
the seafloor spreads

SEAFLOOR BATHYMETRY
 A. Sounding line – weighted rope lowered overboard until it touched the ocean bottom; this old method is
time-consuming and inaccurate
  B. Echo sounding– type of sonar which measures depth by emitting a burst of high frequency sound and
listening for the echo from the seafloor. Sound is emitted from a source on the ship and the returning
echo is detected by a receiver on the ship. Deeper water means longer time for the echo to return to the
receiver.
 C. Satellite altimetry – profiles the shape of the sea surface by measuring the travel time of a radar pulse
from the satellite to the ocean surface and back to the satellite receiver. The shape of the sea surface
approximates the shape of the sea floor. 

Features of the ocean floor

Continental Margin
 A. Continental margin – submerged outer edge of the continent where continental crust transitions into
oceanic crust

  Passive or Atlantic type – features a wide, gently sloping continental shelf (50-200m depth), a
steeper continental slope (3000-4000m depth), and a flatter continental rise. 

 Active or Pacific type – characterized by a narrow shelf and slope that descends into a trench or
trough

NS AND ABYS
 Abyssal plain is an extremely flat, sedimentcovered stretches of the ocean floor.
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 Abyssal hills are elongate hills, typically 50-300m high and common on the slopes of mid oceanic ridge.
These hills have their origins as faulted and tilted blocks of oceanic crust.
Mid-Ocean Ridges
LA submarine mountain chain that winds for more than 65,000 km around the globe

Deep-Ocean Trenches
 Narrow, elongated depressions on the seafloor many of which are adjacent to arcs of island with active
volcanoes; deepest features of the seafloor.
Seamounts and Volcanic Island
Submerged volcanoes are called seamounts while those that rise above the ocean surface are called
volcanic islands. These features may be isolated or found in clusters or chains.
Continental Shelf, slope, rise
 Continental shelf- Partly shallow extension of the continent underwater. 
 Continental slope- Transition zone of continental shelf and deep ocean floor. It starts from oceanic crust
to continental crust. 
 Continental rise- It is where the ocean begins. All basaltic and oceanic rocks are found here. It is the
place where the sediments from land are washed. The continental margin starts from continental shelf
up to continental rise.

PROCESSES IN THE FORMATION OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Most of the rocks exposed at the surface of earth
are sedimentary which is formed from particles of older
rocks that have been broken apart by water or wind. The
gravel, sand, and mud settle to the bottom in rivers,
lakes, and oceans. These sedimentary particles may bury
living and dead animals and plants on the lake or sea
bottom.
Sedimentary rocks are those rocks formed from
sediment- material consisting of sand, gravel, mud, ions
in solution derived from pre-existing rocks or organic
debris derived from living organisms. With the passage of
time and the accumulation of more particles, and often
with chemical changes, the sediments at the bottom of
the pile become rock. Gravel becomes a rock called
conglomerate, sand becomes sandstone, mud becomes
mudstone or shale, and the animal skeletons and plant
pieces can become fossils.
Stratification is the process leading to the
formation or deposition of layers, especially of the sedimentary rocks. The layers range from several millimeters to many
meters in thickness and vary greatly in shape. Strata may range from thin sheets that cover many square kilometers to
thick lens like bodies that extend only a few meters lateral.
Referring on the Figure , you may recognize this as sedimentary rock. It. is a rock that is formed by layers of sediment
being laid down over the course of time. These sediment layers create the banding pattern visible in stratified rock. The
sediments themselves also teach us about the environment in which the rock is formed.

How layers of rocks are formed?

The rock layers are formed by erosion and weathering of mountains and the particles are transported and
deposited in the sedimentary basin, then the sediment particles are cemented over hundreds of years to form layers.
These sediments are deposited horizontally by gravity.
Layered rocks may also result from successive lava flow or from the formation of extrusive igneous rocks. We
study Earth's history by studying the record of past events that is preserved in the rocks. Most of the rocks which are
exposed at the surface of the earth are called sedimentary rocks.
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Slight changes in particle size or composition result in the formation of layers, also called beds in the rock.
xLayering, or bedding, is the most obvious feature of sedimentary rocks.
Sedimentary rocks are formed particle by particle and bed by bed, and the layers are piled one on top of the
other. Thus, in any sequence of layered rocks,a given bed must be older than any bed on top of it.
Law of Superposition is a basic law of geochronology, stating that in any undisturbed sequence of rocks
deposited in layers, the youngest layer is on top and the oldest on bottom, each layer being younger than the one
beneath it and older than the one above it. Because at any one location, it indicates the relative ages of rock layers and
the fossils in them.
Law of Original Horizontality was first proposed by Danish geological pioneer Nicholas Steno in the 17th
century. The law states that layers of sediment were originally deposited horizontally under the action of gravity. It
suggests that all rock layers are originally laid down (deposited) horizontally and can later be deformed. This allows us to
infer that something must have happened to the rocks to make them tilted. This includes mountain building events,
earthquakes, and faulting.
The Law of Lateral Continuity states that the layers of rock are continuous until they encounter other solid
bodies that block their deposition or until they are acted upon by agents that appear after deposition takes place such as
erosion and fault movements.