WEATHERING
- a process that shapes the Earth's
landscapes.
-is the alteration and breakdown of rock
minerals and rock masses when they are
exposed to the atmosphere
-occurs in situ, that is, in the same place,
with no major movement of rock materials
involved
- changes rocks from a hard state, to
become much softer and weaker, making
them more easily eroded.
TYPES OF WEATHERING
Physical Weathering- the group of
processes, such as frost wedging and
volume changes of minerals, that result in
the mechanical disruption of rocks (e.g.
granular disintegration, exfoliation, joint
block separation, shattering by changes in
temperature or pressure).
Chemical Weathering-the decay of rock
forming minerals caused by water,
temperature, oxygen, hydrogen and mild
acids (e.g. solution, hydration, oxidation,
carbonation).
CO2 + H20 = Carbonic acid commonly
known as Acid rain.
- ground water is naturaly acidic and this
acid is what dissolves limestone to form
karst features such as caves and
sinkholes.
Biological Weathering- the group of
processes that are caused by, or assisted
by, the presence of vegetation, or to a
lesser extent animals, including root
wedging and the production of organic
acids.
Factors controlling WEATHERING
- Climate dictates the type of weathering
processes that operate, largely by
determining the amount of water available
and the temperature at which the processes
occur. Chemical reactions are faster at
higher temperatures, while frost wedging
occurs in colder climates.
- Rock Type determines the resistance of
the rock to the weathering processes that
operate in that particular environment.

Rock Structure-highly jointed or faulted
rocks present many planes of weakness
along which weathering agents (e.g. water)
can penetrate into the rock mass.
Topography-the slope angle determines
the energy of the weathering system by
controlling the rate at which water passes
through the rock mass.
Erosion- the dynamism and efficiency of
erosion determines how rapidly any
weathered material is removed, how
frequently fresh rock is exposed to
weathering, and if deeply weathered profiles
are preserved. ( weathering causes the
rocks to breakdown)
Time - the duration of the period that the
same type of weathering has been
operating, uninterrupted by climatic change,
earth movements, and other factors,
determines the degree and depth to which
the rocks have been weathered.
ADVANTAGES OF Weathering
1. Geologists can use weathering to
determine facts about a region's past.
2. Small pieces of rocks or sediments form
sedimentary rock like limestone and
sandstone.
3. People use sedimentary stone for
building and carving.
4. Weathering creates nutrient-rich soil that
allows plants and trees to grow, and
ultimately makes life on Earth possible.
5. Rock weathering makes the ocean
waters saline.
6. Sometimes weathering will expose
geologic features previously unseen, giving
scientists the opportunity to learn about the
Earth's history.
7. Some forms of chemical weathering help
to remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere.
8. If weathering never occurred, the Earth
would have a surface of bare rock, and no
plant or animal life could exist.
DISADVANTAGES OF WEATHERINg
1. Destroys the soil cover and its structure
2. Enhances soil erosion
3. High moisture loss
4. Disrupts the life cycle of beneficial soil
organisms.
Volcanism and Earthquake A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric
plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab
of solid rock, generally composed of both
Volcanism, any of various processes and continental and oceanic lithosphere.
phenomena associated with the surficial
discharge of molten rock, pyroclastic
fragments, or hot water and steam,
including volcanoes and geysers.

Findings that support Seafloor

Spreading Theory
-Rocks are younger at the mid – ocean
ridge
-Rocks far from the mid – ocean ridge are
older
-Sediments are thinner at the ridge
-Rocks at the ocean floor are younger than
those at the continents
-New rocks are added to the ocean floor at
the ridge
-Magnetic Reversal
Transform Fault Boundary
hotspot or hot spot is a portion of the
Earth's surface which experiences
volcanism. This may be caused by a rising
mantle plume or some other cause.
A mantle plume is an upwelling of
abnormally hot rock within the Earth's
mantle.
VOLCANOES
-a mountain or hill, typically conical, having
a crater or vent through which lava, rock
fragments, hot vapor, and gas are being or
have been erupted from the earth's crust.
Types of Eruption
QUITE VOLCANISM-the lava slowly flows
out and forms flat layers that eventually
make a shield volcano. The lava spreads
out over a large area creating a flat base
with gently sloping sides. Mauna Loa in the
Hawaiin Islands is the largest shield
volcano.
EXPLOSIVE VOLCANISM-If a magma has
a lot of gas which becomes trapped in the
magma, the pressure will build and build
until eventually the magma erupts
explosively out of the volcano.
Hawaiian Eruption-In a Hawaiian eruption,
fluid basaltic lava is thrown into the air in
jets from a vent or line of vents (a fissure) at
the summit or on the flank of a volcano. The
jets can last for hours or even days, a
phenomenon known as fire fountaining.
Vulcanian Eruption-distinct bursts of fluid
lava from the mouth of a magma-filled
summit conduit.
Lava Domes-Lava domes form when very
viscous, rubbly lava is squeezed out of a
vent without exploding. The lava piles up
into a dome, (something like toothpaste
coming out of a tube). Lava domes may be
rounded, pancake-shaped, or irregular piles
of rock, depending on the type of lava they
form from.
Surtseyan Eruption-where magma or lava
interacts explosively with water. In most
cases, Surtseyan eruptions occur when an
undersea volcano has finally grown large
enough to break the water's surface;
because water expands when it turns to
steam, water that comes into contact with
hot lava explodes and creates plumes of
ash, steam and scoria.
Earthquake- a sudden and violent shaking
of the ground, sometimes causing great
destruction, as a result of movements within
the earth's crust or volcanic action.
Epicenter-the point on the earth's surface
vertically above the focus of an earthquake.
Richter Magnitude Scale-The Richter
magnitude scale was developed in 1935 by
Charles F. Richter of the California Institute
of Technology as a mathematical device to
compare the size of earthquakes. The
magnitude of an earthquake is determined
from the logarithm of the amplitude of
waves recorded by seismographs.
Crust-The rocky outermost layer of
lithosphere.
Composed of two kinds:
Silicon
Magnesium – submerged layer of the
lithosphere.
Magnesium makes up the ocean floor. It is
also known as Oceanic Crust.
Mantle-The middle layer of the Earth.It is
composed of dense rocks largely made up
of the mineral olivine.
Core- The innermost portion of the Earth.It
is believed to be metallic.
Composed of iron and nickel (NIFE)
inner core – solid about 1,150 km. thick w/
an extremely high temperature (2,200°C).
outer core – made up of molten rock about
2,250 km. thick.
The Theory of Continental Drift
ALFRED WEGENER
-Found evidence for PANGAEA and
proposed the theory of continental drift.
Continental Drift - Theory that continents
were once part of a single landmass that
broke apart and have moved to their
present locations. can drift apart from one
another and have done so in the past.
Pangaea-Pangaea is the name given to the
single landmass that was present 200
million.
WEGENER’S EVIDENCE
-Continents“fit together” like puzzle pieces.
-Fossil Evidence fossils are remains of
living things that lived long ago. similar
fossils have been discovered in matching
coastlines on different continents.
-
Mountains
Some mountain ranges on different
continents seem to match.
Ex: ranges in Canada match Norway and
Sweden
Ex: Appalachian Mtn. match UK mtn
Climatic evidence such as glaciers in
areas that are now close to the Equator
DEFORMATION-the bending, tilting and
breaking od the earth’s crust.
Two types of deformation:
Plastic- bending or warping of crust.
Brittle- the breaking of crust.
STRESS VS. STRAIN
Stess- force that causes pressure pn rocks
that make up the earth’s crust.
Strain- deforming strata(layers of rocks)by
folding them or faulting( breaking them)
STRATA- all sedimentray rocks are
originally deporited in flat (horizontal) layers
called strata or beds.
TYPES OF STRESS
Compression- rocks are squeezed
together.
Tension- pulls rocks apart
Shearing- pushes rocks in opposite
horizontal directions.
Stress + plastic deformation = FOLDING
-permanently deforming rocks because of
plastic deformation causes the crust to fold.
FOLD - wavelike structures in rocks.
ANTICLINE- up folds in strata
SYNCLINE- down folds in strata
MONOCLINE- large step like fold
RECUMBANT FOLD- folds on top of itself
BASIN- radial down fold
DOME- radial up fold
A fault is a fracture or series of fractures in
Earth’s crust that occurs when stress is
applied too quickly or stress is too great.
-Many faults occur along plate boundaries.
-Faults can also occur anywhere in the crust
where rocks are bent (folded) until they
break.
-Faults occur as a result of various types of
stress.
Most Faults Have a Hanging Wall & Foot
Wall
The Hanging Wall is the one with the slope
on which you could hang.
The Foot Wall is the one with the slope on
which you could walk.
The type of fault is determined by the
motion of the Hanging Wall.
The fault line would also be called the fault
plane.
The area around it would be called the fault
zone.
3 Types of Faults Caused by
3 Different Types of Stress
Normal Fault(Caused by Tension)
-Occurs when tension pulls the fault apart
and the Hanging Wall drops.
Reverse Fault(Caused by Compression)
-Occurs when compression pushes the two
parts of the fault together and the Hanging
Wall moves up.
Strike-Slip Fault(Caused by Shear Stress)
-Shear causes the parts of the fault to slide
past one another.
Folds-Occur when stress is applied to both
ends of a section of rock or rock layers.
Some rocks would break, but a fold occurs
when rocks bend. An anticline looks like a
“rainbow”; a syncline looks like a “smile”.
Absolute Dating give rocks an actual date
or date range in numbers of years.
Radioactive isotopes have many useful
applications. In medicine, for example,
cobalt-60 is extensively employed as a
radiation source to arrest the development
of cancer.
In a nuclear decay reaction, also called
radioactive decay, an unstable nucleus
emits radiation and is transformed into the
nucleus of one or more other elements.