Lesson 7 : Earth’s Processes

Learning outcomes :

1.Describe how rocks undergo weathering

2. Explain why the Earth’s interior is hot
3. Describe what happens after magma is formed

Discussion :

 Weathering is the process of breaking down of rocks into sediments.  After the rocks have been broken,
many other forces take and carry the rocks away.
The rocks undergo changes in appearance and composition
There are two different types of weathering. These are chemical weathering and mechanical
weathering.

 Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soil and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials
through contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, biota and waters. Weathering occurs in situ, roughly
translated to: “with no movement”, and thus should not be confused with erosion, which involves the
movement of rocks and minerals by agents such as water, ice, snow, wind, waves and gravity and then
being transported and deposited in other locations.”

 Weathering processes are of three main types: mechanical, organic and chemical weathering.

1. Mechanical weathering is also known as physical weathering. Mechanical weathering is the physical

breakdown of rocks into smaller and smaller pieces. One of the most common mechanical actions is frost
shattering

 Mechanical/physical weathering is also caused by thermal stress which is the contraction and expansion
effect on the rocks caused by changes in temperature. Due to uneven expansion and contraction, the rocks
crack apart and disintegrate into smaller pieces.

2. Organic or biological weathering refers to the same thing. It is the disintegration of rocks as a result of the
action by living organisms. Trees and other plants can wear away rocks since as they penetrate into the soil
and as their roots get bigger, they exert pressure on rocks and makes the cracks wider and deeper.
Eventually, the plants break the rocks apart. Some plants also grow within the fissures in the rocks which
lead to widening of the fissures and then eventual disintegration.

 Microscopic organisms like algae, moss, lichens and bacteria can grow on the surface of the rocks and
produce chemicals that have the potential of breaking down the outer layer of the rock. They eat away the
 surface of the rocks. These microscopic organisms also bring about moist chemical micro-environments
which encourage the chemical and physical breakdown of the rock surfaces. The amount of biological
activity depends upon how much life is in that area. Burrowing animals such as moles, squirrels and rabbits
can speed up the development of fissures.

3. Chemical weathering happens when rocks are worn away by chemical changes. The natural chemical
reactions within the rocks change the composition of the rocks over time. Because the chemical processes
are gradual and ongoing, the mineralogy of rocks changes over time thus making them wear away,
dissolve, and disintegrate.

 The chemical transformations occur when water and oxygen interacts with minerals within the rocks to
create different chemical reactions and compounds through processes such as hydrolysis and oxidation. As
a result, in the process of new material formations, pores and fissures are created in the rocks thus
enhancing the disintegration forces.

Picture of the Earth’s core

Why is the interior of the Earth hot?

The interior of Earth is very hot (the temperature of the core reaches more than 5,000 degrees Celsius) for two main
reasons:

 The heat from when the planet formed,

 The heat from the decay of radioactive elements.

The Earth was formed by the process of accretion. After the creation of our solar system,
meteorites gravitationally attracted each other and formed bigger objects, which attracted bigger masses, until our
planets reach their current size. This process accumulated a lot of heat; when two objects collide, heat is generated.

That is why your hands will get hot when you clap them for too long, or a nail gets very hot when you hammer it
for a long time. This heat has not dissipated totally and represents about 10% of the total heat inside the Earth.

The main source of heat is the decay of radioactive elements. Radioactive decay is a natural process; unstable
elements like 238U (Uranium) or 40K (Potassium) stabilise with time and produce what we call daughter products:
206P (Lead) for Uranium and 40Ar (Argon) for Potassium. This process produces heat, which represents about 90%
of the total heat inside the Earth.

Magma
Magma is a very hot liquid that is formed from the melting rocks in the earth's lithosphere. When it cools quickly, it
forms a one kind of igneous rock. It is called lava when a magma explodes out of a volcano and quickly cools in the
surface.

How Magma Forms

Earth is divided into three general layers. The core is the superheated center, the mantle is the thick, middle layer,
and the crust is the top layer on which we live.
Magma originates in the lower part of the Earth’s crust and in the upper portion of the mantle.
Most of the mantle and crust are solid, so the presence of magma is crucial to understanding the geology and
morphology of the mantle.
Differences in temperature, pressure, and structural formations in the mantle and crust cause magma to form in
different ways.
Decompression Melting
Decompression melting involves the upward movement of Earth's mostly-solid mantle. This hot material rises to an
area of lower pressure through the process of convection.
Areas of lower pressure always have a lower melting point than areas of high pressure. This reduction in overlying
pressure, or decompression, enables the mantle rock to melt and form magma.
Decompression melting often occurs at divergent boundaries, where tectonic plates separate. The rifting movement
causes the buoyant magma below to rise and fill the space of lower pressure. The rock then cools into new crust.
Decompression melting also occurs at mantle plumes, columns of hot rock that rise from Earth’s high-pressure core
to its lower-pressure crust.
When located beneath the ocean, these plumes, also known as hot spots, push magma onto the seafloor. These
volcanic mounds can grow into volcanic islands over millions of years of activity.
Transfer of Heat
Magma can also be created when hot, liquid rock intrudes into Earth’s cold crust. As the liquid rock solidifies, it
loses its heat to the surrounding crust. Much like hot fudge being poured over cold ice cream, this transfer of heat is
able to melt the surrounding rock (the “ice cream”) into magma.
Transfer of heat often happens at convergent boundaries, where tectonic plates are crashing together. As the denser
tectonic plate subducts, or sinks below, or the less-dense tectonic plate, hot rock from below can intrude into the
cooler plate above. This process transfers heat and creates magma. Over millions of years, the magma in this
subduction zone can create a series of active volcanoes known as a volcanic arc.
Flux Melting
Flux melting occurs when water or carbon dioxide are added to rock. These compounds cause the rock to melt at
lower temperatures. This creates magma in places where it originally maintained a solid structure.
Much like heat transfer, flux melting also occurs around subduction zones. In this case, water overlying the
subducting seafloor would lower the melting temperature of the mantle, generating magma that rises to the surface.
Magma Escape Routes
Magma leaves the confines of the upper mantle and crust in two major ways: as an intrusion or as an extrusion. An
intrusion can form features such as dikes and xenoliths. An extrusion could include lava and volcanic rock.
Magma can intrude into a low-density area of another geologic formation, such as a sedimentary rock structure.
When it cools to solid rock, this intrusion is often called a pluton.
A pluton is an intrusion of magma that wells up from below the surface.
Plutons can include dikes and xenoliths. A magmatic dike is simply a large slab of magmatic material that has
intruded into another rock body. A xenolith is a piece of rock trapped in another type of rock.
Many xenoliths are crystals torn from inside the Earth and embedded in magma while the magma was cooling.
The most familiar way for magma to escape, or extrude, to Earth’s surface is through lava. Lava eruptions can be
“fire fountains” of liquid rock or thick, slow-moving rivers of molten material.
Lava cools to form volcanic rock as well as volcanic glass.
Magma can also extrude into Earth’s atmosphere as part of a violent volcanic explosion. This magma solidifies in
the air to form volcanic rock called tephra.
In the atmosphere, tephra is more often called volcanic ash. As it falls to Earth, tephra includes rocks such as
pumice.