Module 2 EARTH SCIENCE For Midterm

Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN NEGROS STATE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Old Sagay, Sagay City, Negros Occidental
(034)722-4120, www.nonescost.edu.ph
EARTH SCIENCE
Prepared by:
JAYSON A. DELA FUENTE, LPT, MAED
Course Instructor

This document is a property of NONESCOST Module 1 | Page 1
Unauthorized copying and / or editing is prohibited. (For Classroom Use Only) Prepared by: Jayson A. Dela Fuente, LPT, MAED
COURSE
BS Education major TITLE : EARTH SCIENCE
in Sciences
Chapter 3: The Earth’s Changing Surface
Lesson 1: Crustal Movement/Diastrophism

Lesson 2: Continental Drift Theory
MODULE 1 (12 hours)
Lesson 3: Plate Tectonics Theory
3.1 Evidences of Plate Tectonics Model
3.2 Driving Mechanism
Lesson 4: Seafloor of Spreading Theory
COURSE
FACILITATOR
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Phone No. 09381629959
LESSON 1: CRUSTAL MOVEMENT/DIASTROPHISM
I. INTRODUCTION:
In this chapter, we will find out several processes that also affects the movements of the land below
its interior. We also called this processes as internal processes. The positions of the different
landmasses as well as the existence of different landforms such as volcanoes and mountains are
due to the movement of the plates. There are several theories that explained the phenomenon of
tectonics or movements of plates. The continental drift, seafloor spreading, and plate tectonic
theories can help us to understand these occurrences.
II. LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Discuss diastrophism.
2. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of crust movement/diastrophism.
3. Describe the functions of different driving mechanisms as evident to the statement of the
plate tectonics.
III. TEACHING POINTS:
Diastrophism is the process of deformation of the Earth's crust which involves folding and faulting.
Diastrophism can be considered part of geotectonics. The word is derived from
the Greek διαστροϕή diastrophḗ 'distortion, dislocation'.
All processes that move, elevate or build up portions of the earth's crust come under diastrophism. They
include: (i) orogenic processes involving mountain building through severe folding and affecting long and narrow
belts of the earth's crust; (ii) epeirogenic processes involving uplift or warping of large parts of the earth's crust;
(iii) earthquakes involving local relatively minor movements; (iv) plate tectonics involving horizontal movements
of crustal plates.
Diastrophism covers movement of solid (plastic) crust material, as opposed to movement of molten
material which is covered by volcanism. Movement causes rock to be bent or broken. The most obvious
evidence of diastrophic movement can be seen where sedimentary rocks have been bent, broken or tilted. Such
non-horizontal strata provide visual proof of movement. Diastrophic movement can be classified as two types,
folding and faulting, tilted beds usually are part of a larger syncline or anticline. Diastrophic movement is often
called orogenic as it is associated with mountain building.
There are various theories of the cause of diastrophic movement such as being the result of pressures
exerted by convection currents in the mantle or the rise of magma through the crust. Other deformations are
caused by meteorite impact and combinations of gravity and erosion such as landslides and slumping.
The study of diastrophism encompasses the varying responses of the crust to tectonic stresses. These
responses include linear or torsional horizontal movements (such as continental drift) and vertical subsidence
and uplift of the lithosphere (strain) in response to natural stresses on Earth's surface such as the weight of
mountains, lakes, and glaciers. Subsurface conditions also cause subsidence or uplift, known as epeirogeny,
over large areas of Earth's surface without deforming rock strata. Such changes include the thickening of the
lithosphere by overthrusting, changes in rock density of the lithosphere caused by metamorphism or thermal
expansion and contraction, increases in the volume of the asthenosphere (part of the upper mantle supporting
the lithosphere) caused by hydration of olivine, and orogenic, or mountain-building, movements.
Historical Development of the Concept
By the end of the 19th Century it was generally accepted that the cause of folding and faults was lateral
compression that resulted from a shrinking Earth caused by its gradual cooling. In the late 19th Century, Eduard
Suess proposed his eustatic theory that provided the underpinnings for Chamberlin's explanation of
diastrophism.
In volume two of Das Antlitz der Erde Suess set out his belief that across geologic time, the rise and fall
of sea levels were mappable across the earth, that is, that the periods of ocean
transgression and regression were correlatable from one continent to another. Suess postulated that as
sediments filled the ocean basins the sea levels gradually rose, and periodically there were events of rapid
ocean bottom subsidence that increased the ocean's capacity and caused the regressions. Chamberlin
proposed that instead of a thermal contraction, diastrophic movement was caused by gravitational contraction. In
the United States, it was not until the late 1960s that thermal convection replaced the shrinking Earth theories.
The Forces that Change the Face of Earth
Despite our tendency to consider Earth as static, it is actually a dynamic and ever-changing planet.
Wind, water, and ice erode and shape the land. Volcanic activity and earthquakes alter the landscape in a
dramatic and often violent manner. And on a much longer timescale, the movement of earth’s plates slowly
reconfigures oceans and continents.
Each one of these processes plays a role in the Arctic and Antarctica. We’ll discuss each in general and
specifically in the polar regions.
EROSION
Wind, water, and ice are the three agents of erosion, or the carrying away of rock, sediment, and soil.
Erosion is distinguished from weathering — the physical or chemical breakdown of the minerals in rock.
However, weathering and erosion can happen simultaneously. Erosion is a natural process, though it is often
increased by humans’ use of the land. Deforestation, overgrazing, construction, and road building often expose
soil and sediments and lead to increased erosion. Excessive erosion leads to loss of soil, ecosystem damage,
and a buildup of sediments in water sources. Building terraces and planting trees can help reduce erosion.
GLACIERS
Above-freezing temperatures created a meltwater stream on the
Scott Glacier, Antarctica. Photo courtesy of BlueCanoe.
In the Arctic and sub-Arctic, glacial erosion has shaped much of

the landscape. Glaciers primarily erode through plucking and abrasion.
Plucking occurs as a glacier flows over bedrock, softening and lifting
blocks of rock that are brought into the ice. The intense pressure at the
base of the glacier causes some of the ice to melt, forming a thin layer of
subglacial water. This water flows into cracks in the bedrock. As the
water refreezes, the ice acts as a lever loosening the rock by lifting it.
The fractured rock is thus incorporated into the glacier’s load and is
carried along as the glacier slowly moves.
Abrasion happens when the glacier’s ice and rock fragments act as
sandpaper, crushing the rock into finely grained rock flour and
smoothing the rock below. Meltwater streams of many glaciers are
grayish in color due to high amounts of rock flour.
Glacial erosion is evident through the U-shaped valleys and fjords that
are located throughout the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Glacial moraines are formed as a glacier recedes,
leaving behind large piles of rock, gravel, and even boulders. Moraines may form at the foot (terminal moraine)
or sides (lateral moraine) of the glacier or in the middle of two merging glaciers (medial moraine).
Coastal erosion has become a major issue in recent

years in the Arctic, with Alaska’s North Slope losing as much
as 30 meters (100 feet) per year! Climate change is thought
to be the underlying cause. As the climate warms and sea
ice melts, more of the sun’s energy is absorbed by ocean
water. As this heat is transferred to the land, the permafrost
(frozen soil) thaws, making the coast vulnerable to erosion
from wave action and storms (which are more frequent due
to warmer temperatures and open water). This video from
the University of Colorado Boulder and the U.S. Geological
Survey shows time-lapse images during one month of
crumbling.
WIND

In Antarctica, katabatic winds play a large role in
erosion. This type of wind occurs when high-density cold air
builds up at high elevations (on the ice sheets, for example)
and moves downhill under the force of gravity.
Image courtesy of Hannes Grobe, Alfred Wegner

Institute for Polar and Marine Research.
Katabatic winds in Antarctica and Greenland are intensely

cold and fast, often reaching hurricane speed. You can hear
these fierce winds in this YouTube video
The winds in Antarctica carry small grains of sand that

scour and erode the exposed rocks, resulting in unusual shapes and formations. These oddly shaped, eroded
rocks are called ventrifacts.
Ventrifacts are wind-eroded rocks found in the McMurdo

Dry Valleys. They range from finger-sized to larger than
houses. Photo courtesy of Kristan Hutchison, National
Science Foundation.
PLATE TECTONICS
The theory of plate tectonics describes the motions
of earth’s lithosphere, or outermost layer of hard, solid rock,
over geologic time. Plate tectonics provides scientists with a
great deal of information about the polar region’s past.
Earth’s lithosphere is broken into seven major and many

minor tectonic plates. These plates move in relation to each
other, slowly changing the location of earth’s continents and
oceans.
Geological evidence from Antarctica supports the theory

that North America and Antarctica were connected
approximately one billion years ago in the global
supercontinent Rodinia. The continents eventually broke
apart, merging again approximately 200 million years ago in
the supercontinent Pangaea. Fossil evidence from this time period confirms that Antarctica was connected to
Australia and South America and much warmer than it is today.
The movement of the tectonic plates also means that they are associated with much of the world’s volcanic and
seismic activity.
VOLCANOES
A volcano is simply an area where magma, or molten rock, from the earth’s mantle reaches the earth’s surface,
becoming lava. Most volcanoes occur at plate boundaries, where two plates are moving away (diverging) or
together (converging). A few volcanoes like the Hawaiian Islands form from a hot spot, or a weak spot in earth’s
crust, where magma forces its way to the surface.
Volcanic eruptions may be explosive (violent)

or effusive (passive), depending on the lava chemistry (amounts
of silica and dissolved gases). Silica is a mineral found in nature
as sand or quartz. High levels of silica mean very viscous (thick)
lava, and low levels mean more fluid lava. Dissolved gases build
up inside the volcano, much like a can of soda or other
carbonated beverage. The higher the level of gas, the more
pressure that builds – and the more violent an explosion. The
combination of silica and dissolved gas levels determines the type
of eruption and shape of the volcano.
Largely unexplored, the Gakkel Ridge runs underneath the Arctic

Ocean. Scientists have discovered volcanic craters and evidence
of surprisingly violent eruptions in the recent past.

Map courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Antarctica, too, is home to volcanic activity. Ross Island, located in the Ross Sea, is composed of three extinct
volcanoes (Mt. Bird, Mt. Terror, and Hut Point) and Mt. Erebus, Antarctica’s most active volcano.
The summit of Mt. Erebus from the front seat of a

helicopter. Photo courtesy of Mt. Erebus Volcano
Observatory.
Mt. Erebus is home to a permanent lava lake, or a large

amount of molten lava contained in a crater. Only three
volcanoes in the world have permanent lava lakes, making
Mt. Erebus an important research site for scientists looking
to better understand the internal plumbing system of
volcanoes. However, its location permits only a six-week
field season and its high altitude (3794 meters) is physically
challenging.
Mt. Erebus lava lake in 1983. Photo courtesy of Mt. Erebus

Volcano Observatory.
Mt. Erebus is also notable for its persistent low-level

eruptive activity (with almost daily eruptions). While the
volcano has had some history of violent activity, most
eruptions are passive lava flows similar to the volcanoes of
Hawaii.
EARTHQUAKES
Seismic activity (earthquakes) is most often associated with tectonic plate boundaries. As plates slowly
move, their jagged edges stick and suddenly slip, causing an earthquake.
The Gakkel Ridge underneath the Arctic Ocean experiences small earthquakes that accompany the volcanic
activity found in the area. Antarctica, which lies in the center of a tectonic plate, does not experience many
earthquakes. However, seismic activity is associated with eruptions of Mt. Erebus.
 The surface of the earth changes. Some changes are due to slow processes, such as erosion and
weathering, and some changes are due to rapid processes, such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and
earthquakes.
 The solid earth is layered with a lithosphere; hot, convecting mantle; and dense, metallic core.
 Lithospheric plates on the scales of continents and oceans constantly move at rates of centimeters per year
in response to movements in the mantle. Major geological events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
and mountain building, result from these plate motions.
 Land forms are the result of a combination of constructive and destructive forces. Constructive forces
include crustal deformation, volcanic eruption, and deposition of sediment, while destructive forces include
weathering and erosion.
 The earth processes we see today, including erosion, movement of lithospheric plates, and changes in
atmospheric composition, are similar to those that occurred in the past.
 Fossils provide important evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed.
 Changes in environments can be natural or influenced by humans. Some changes are good, some are bad,
and some are neither good nor bad.
 Some environmental changes occur slowly, and others occur rapidly.

 Internal and external processes of the earth system cause natural hazards, events that change or destroy
human and wildlife habitats, damage property, and harm or kill humans.
The Earth’s surface is constantly changing. These changes mostly occur in very minute ways which over time
accumulates to create the earth’s physical features we observe around us today. Some of these changes take
thousands of years. When you look around and you might see a mountain, river, plateau, valleys, or rock
boulders. These all didn’t just appear suddenly rather most of them had a building process like building a house.
There are basically 2 types of changes that occur to the earth’s surface (i) Slow change and (ii) fast change.
Fast changes occur through the actions of earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, etc. while slow change takes
time and has a process.
IV. ASSESSMENT:
Direction: Read the questions carefully and discuss your answer comprehensively. Each item is
equivalent to 10 points.
1. Why diastrophism can be considered as geotectonics?

2. Using a concept web differentiate folds and faults.
3. How important the study of diastrophism is? Cite examples to deliberately present your
points.
4. Discuss in your own understanding at least 5 forces how it cause changes on the faces of
the earth.
5. Among the identified driving mechanism what is the most contributing forces that has a
great impact in the changes of the earth’ face?

LESSON 2: CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY
I. LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Discuss continental drift theory.

2. Trace the history of continental drift theory.
3. Describe various evidences of the continental drift theory.
The continental drift of the past 250 million years

Continental Drift is the hypothesis that the
Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to
each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean
bed.[2] The speculation that continents might have 'drifted'
was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596. The
concept was independently and more fully developed
by Alfred Wegener in 1912, but his hypothesis was rejected
by many for lack of any motive mechanism. Arthur
Holmes later proposed mantle convection for that
mechanism. The idea of continental drift has since been
subsumed by the theory of plate tectonics, which explains
that the continents move by riding on plates of the
Earth's lithosphere.
Antonio Snider-Pellegrini's Illustration of the closed and

opened Atlantic Ocean (1858).
Early History
Abraham Ortelius by Peter Paul Rubens, 1633

Abraham Ortelius (Ortelius 1596), Theodor Christoph Lilienthal
(1756), Alexander von Humboldt (1801 and 1845), Antonio Snider-
Pellegrini (Snider-Pellegrini 1858), and others had noted earlier that the shapes
of continents on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean (most notably, Africa and
South America) seem to fit together. W. J. Kious described Ortelius' thoughts in
this way:
Abraham Ortelius in his work Thesaurus Geographicus ... suggested that the
Americas were "torn away from Europe and Africa ... by earthquakes and
floods" and went on to say: "The vestiges of the rupture reveal themselves if
someone brings forward a map of the world and considers carefully the coasts
of the three [continents]."
In 1889, Alfred Russel Wallace remarked, "It was formerly a very general belief,
even amongst geologists, that the great features of the earth's surface, no less
than the smaller ones, were subject to continual mutations, and that during the course of known geological time
the continents and great oceans had, again and again, changed places with each other." He quotes Charles
Lyell as saying, "Continents, therefore, although permanent for whole geological epochs, shift their positions
entirely in the course of ages." and claims that the first to throw doubt on this was James Dwight Dana in 1849.

In his Manual of Geology (1863), Dana wrote, "The continents and oceans had their general outline or form
defined in earliest time. This has been proved with regard to North America from the position and distribution of
the first beds of the Lower Silurian, – those of the Potsdam epoch. The facts indicate that the continent of North
America had its surface near tide-level, part above and part below it; and this will probably be proved to be the
condition in Primordial time of the other continents also. And, if the outlines of the continents were marked out, it
follows that the outlines of the oceans were no less so". Dana was enormously influential in America –
his Manual of Mineralogy is still in print in revised form – and the theory became known as Permanence theory.
This appeared to be confirmed by the exploration of the deep sea beds conducted by the Challenger expedition,
1872–1876, which showed that contrary to expectation, land debris brought down by rivers to the ocean is
deposited comparatively close to the shore on what is now known as the continental shelf. This suggested that
the oceans were a permanent feature of the Earth's surface, and did not change places with the continents.
Eduard Suess had proposed a supercontinent Gondwana in 1885 and the Tethys Ocean in 1893, assuming
a land-bridge between the present continents submerged in the form of a geosyncline, and John Perry had
written an 1895 paper proposing that the earth's interior was fluid, and disagreeing with Lord Kelvin on the age of
the earth.
Wegener and his Predecessors
Alfred Wegener
Apart from the earlier speculations mentioned above, the idea that the
American continents had once formed a single landmass with Eurasia and Africa
was postulated by several scientists before Alfred Wegener's 1912 paper.
Although Wegener's theory was formed independently and was more complete
than those of his predecessors, Wegener later credited a number of past authors
with similar ideas: Franklin Coxworthy (between 1848 and 1890), Roberto
Mantovani (between 1889 and 1909), William Henry Pickering (1907) and Frank
Bursley Taylor (1908).
The similarity of southern continent geological formations had led Roberto
Mantovani to conjecture in 1889 and 1909 that all the continents had once been
joined into a supercontinent; Wegener noted the similarity of Mantovani's and his
own maps of the former positions of the southern continents. In Mantovani's
conjecture, this continent broke due to volcanic activity caused by thermal
expansion, and the new continents drifted away from each other because of
further expansion of the rip-zones, where the oceans now lie. This led Mantovani to propose a now-
discredited Expanding Earth theory.
Continental drift without expansion was proposed by Frank Bursley Taylor, who suggested in 1908 (published in
1910) that the continents were moved into their present positions by a process of "continental creep", later
proposing a mechanism of increased tidal forces during the Cretaceous dragging the crust towards the equator.
He was the first to realize that one of the effects of continental motion would be the formation of mountains,
attributing the formation of the Himalayas to the collision between the Indian subcontinent with Asia. Wegener
said that of all those theories, Taylor's had the most similarities to his own. For a time in the mid-20th century,
the theory of continental drift was referred to as the "Taylor-Wegener hypothesis".
Alfred Wegener first presented his hypothesis to the German Geological Society on 6 January 1912. His
hypothesis was that the continents had once formed a single landmass, called Pangaea, before breaking apart
and drifting to their present locations.
Wegener was the first to use the phrase "continental drift" (1912, 1915) (in German "die Verschiebung der
Kontinente" – translated into English in 1922) and formally publish the hypothesis that the continents had
somehow "drifted" apart. Although he presented much evidence for continental drift, he was unable to provide a
convincing explanation for the physical processes which might have caused this drift. He suggested that the
continents had been pulled apart by the centrifugal pseudoforce (Polflucht) of the Earth's rotation or by a small
component of astronomical precession, but calculations showed that the force was not
sufficient. The Polflucht hypothesis was also studied by Paul Sophus Epstein in 1920 and found to be
implausible.
Rejection of Wegener's Theory, 1910s–1950s
Although now accepted, the theory of continental drift was rejected for many years, with evidence in its favor
considered insufficient. One problem was that a plausible driving force was missing. A second problem was that
Wegener's estimate of the speed of continental motion, 250 cm/year, was implausibly high. (The currently
accepted rate for the separation of the Americas from Europe and Africa is about 2.5 cm/year). It also did not
help that Wegener was not a geologist. Even today, the details of the forces propelling the plates are poorly
understood.
The British geologist Arthur Holmes championed the theory of continental drift at a time when it was deeply
unfashionable. He proposed in 1931 that the Earth's mantle contained convection cells which dissipated heat
produced by radioactive decay and moved the crust at the surface. His Principles of Physical Geology, ending
with a chapter on continental drift, was published in 1944.
Geological maps of the time showed huge land bridges spanning the Atlantic and Indian oceans to account for
the similarities of fauna and flora and the divisions of the Asian continent in the Permian period but failing to
account for glaciation in India, Australia and South Africa.
The Fixists
Hans Stille and Leopold Kober opposed the idea of continental drift and worked on a "fixist"
geosyncline model with Earth contraction playing a key role in the formation of orogens. Other geologists who
opposed continental drift were Bailey Willis, Charles Schuchert, Rollin Chamberlin and Walther Bucher. In 1939
an international geological conference was held in Frankfurt. This conference came to be dominated by the
fixists, especially as those geologists specializing in tectonics were all fixists except Willem van der Gracht.
Criticism of continental drift and mobilism was abundant at the conference not only from tectonicists but also
from sedimentological (Nölke), paleontological (Nölke), mechanical (Lehmann) and oceanographic (Troll, Wüst)
perspectives. Hans Cloos, the organizer of the conference, was also a fixist who together with Troll held the view
that excepting the Pacific Ocean continents were not radically different from oceans in their behaviour. The
mobilist theory of Émile Argand for the Alpine orogeny was criticized by Kurt Leuchs. The few drifters and
mobilists at the conference appealed to biogeography (Kirsch, Wittmann), paleoclimatology (Wegener,
K), paleontology (Gerth) and geodetic measurements (Wegener, K). F. Bernauer correctly equated Reykjanes in
south-west Iceland with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, arguing with this that the floor of the Atlantic Ocean was
undergoing extension just like Reykjanes. Bernauer thought this extension had drifted the continents only 100–
200 km apart, the approximate width of the volcanic zone in Iceland.
David Attenborough, who attended university in the second half of the 1940s, recounted an incident illustrating
its lack of acceptance then: "I once asked one of my lecturers why he was not talking to us about continental drift
and I was told, sneeringly, that if I could prove there was a force that could move continents, then he might think
about it. The idea was moonshine, I was informed."
As late as 1953 – just five years before Carey introduced the theory of plate tectonics – the theory of continental
drift was rejected by the physicist Scheidegger on the following grounds.
 First, it had been shown that floating masses on a rotating geoid would collect at the equator, and stay
there. This would explain one, but only one, mountain building episode between any pair of continents; it
failed to account for earlier orogenic episodes.
 Second, masses floating freely in a fluid substratum, like icebergs in the ocean, should be
in isostatic equilibrium (in which the forces of gravity and buoyancy are in balance). But gravitational
measurements showed that many areas are not in isostatic equilibrium.
 Third, there was the problem of why some parts of the Earth's surface (crust) should have solidified while
other parts were still fluid. Various attempts to explain this foundered on other difficulties.
Road to Acceptance
From the 1930s to the late 1950s, works by Vening-Meinesz, Holmes, Umbgrove, and numerous others
outlined concepts that were close or nearly identical to modern plate tectonics theory. In particular, the English
geologist Arthur Holmes proposed in 1920 that plate junctions might lie beneath the sea, and in 1928 that
convection currents within the mantle might be the driving force. Holmes' views were particularly influential: in his
bestselling textbook, Principles of Physical Geology, he included a chapter on continental drift, proposing that
Earth's mantle contained convection cells which dissipated radioactive heat and moved the crust at the surface.
Holmes' proposal resolved the phase disequilibrium objection (the underlying fluid was kept from solidifying by
radioactive heating from the core). However, scientific communication in the '30 and '40s was inhibited by the
war, and the theory still required work to avoid foundering on the orogeny and isostasy objections. Worse, the
most viable forms of the theory predicted the existence of convection cell boundaries reaching deep into the
earth that had yet to be observed.
In 1947, a team of scientists led by Maurice Ewing confirmed the existence of a rise in the central Atlantic
Ocean, and found that the floor of the seabed beneath the sediments was chemically and physically different
from continental crust. As oceanographers continued to bathymeter the ocean basins, a system of mid-oceanic
ridges was detected. An important conclusion was that along this system, new ocean floor was being created,
which led to the concept of the "Great Global Rift".
Meanwhile, scientists began recognizing odd magnetic variations across the ocean floor using devices
developed during World War II to detect submarines. Over the next decade, it became increasingly clear that the
magnetization patterns were not anomalies, as had been originally supposed. In a series of papers in 1959–
1963, Heezen, Dietz, Hess, Mason, Vine, Matthews, and Morley collectively realized that the magnetization of
the ocean floor formed extensive, zebra-like patterns: one stripe would exhibit normal polarity and the adjoining
stripes reversed polarity.
The best explanation was the "conveyor belt" or Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis. New magma from deep
within the Earth rises easily through these weak zones and eventually erupts along the crest of the ridges to
create new oceanic crust. The new crust is magnetized by the earth's magnetic field, which
undergoes occasional reversals. Formation of new crust then displaces the magnetized crust apart, akin to a
conveyor belt – hence the name.
Without workable alternatives to explain the stripes, geophysicists were forced to conclude that Holmes had
been right: ocean rifts were sites of perpetual orogeny at the boundaries of convection cells. By 1967, barely two
decades after discovery of the mid-oceanic rifts, and a decade after discovery of the striping, plate tectonics had
become axiomatic to modern geophysics.
In addition, Marie Tharp, in collaboration with Bruce Heezen, who initially ridiculed Tharp's observations that her
maps confirmed continental drift theory, provided essential corroboration, using her skills in cartography and
seismographic data, to confirm the theory.
Modern Evidence
Fossil patterns across continents (Gondwanaland).

Geophysicist Jack Oliver is credited with providing seismologic
evidence supporting plate tectonics which encompassed and superseded
continental drift with the article "Seismology and the New Global
Tectonics", published in 1968, using data collected from seismologic
stations, including those he set up in the South Pacific. The modern
theory of plate tectonics, refining Wegener, explains that there are two
kinds of crust of different composition: continental crust and oceanic
crust, both floating above a much deeper "plastic" mantle. Continental
crust is inherently lighter. Oceanic crust is created at spreading centers,
and this, along with subduction, drives the system of plates in a chaotic manner, resulting in
continuous orogeny and areas of isostatic imbalance.
Evidence for the movement of continents on tectonic plates is now extensive. Similar plant and animal fossils are
found around the shores of different continents, suggesting that they were once joined. The fossils
of Mesosaurus, a freshwater reptile rather like a small crocodile, found both in Brazil and South Africa, are one
example; another is the discovery of fossils of the land reptile Lystrosaurus in rocks of the same age at locations
in Africa, India, and Antarctica.[67] There is also living evidence, with the same animals being found on two
continents. Some earthworm families (such as Ocnerodrilidae, Acanthodrilidae, Octochaetidae) are found in
South America and Africa.
Mesosaurus skeleton, MacGregor, 1908.

The complementary arrangement of the facing sides of South America
and Africa is obvious but a temporary coincidence. In millions of
years, slab pull, ridge-push, and other forces of tectonophysics will
further separate and rotate those two continents. It was that temporary
feature that inspired Wegener to study what he defined as continental
drift although he did not live to see his hypothesis generally accepted.
The widespread distribution of Permo-Carboniferous glacial sediments
in South America, Africa, Madagascar, Arabia, India, Antarctica and Australia was one of the major pieces of
evidence for the theory of continental drift. The continuity of glaciers, inferred from oriented glacial striations and
deposits called tillites, suggested the existence of the supercontinent of Gondwana, which became a central
element of the concept of continental drift. Striations indicated glacial flow away from the equator and toward the
poles, based on continents' current positions and orientations, and supported the idea that the southern
continents had previously been in dramatically different locations that were contiguous with one another.
IV. ASSESSMENT:
1. How does continental drift theory started?

2. Cite and describe some evidences that supports continental drift theory?
3. Why Alfred Wegener’s theory was rejected?
4. In your own perspective, do you agree with the continental drift theory? Why or Why
not?
5. Among the evidences in the existence of continental drift theory what do you think has
bigger value of its claims?

LESSON 3: PLATE TECTONICS

3.1 Evidence of Plate Tectonics Model
3.2 Driving Mechanism
1. Discuss various evidences of the strong concepts of plate tectonic theory.

2. Describe the different plate motions associated with plate boundaries.
3. Relate the plate tectonics theory to the presence of a volcanic chain in the region and
the mountainous topography of the country.
4. Describe the functions of different driving mechanisms as evident to the statement of
the plate tectonics.
II. TEACHING POINTS:
Plate Tectonics
The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the

second half of the 20th century.
Plate tectonics (from the Late Latin: tectonicus,
from the Ancient Greek: τεκτονικός, lit. 'pertaining to
building') is a scientific theory describing the large-scale
motion of seven large plates and the movements of a larger
number of smaller plates of Earth's lithosphere, since
tectonic processes began on Earth between 3.3 and 3.5
billion years ago. The model builds on the concept
of continental drift, an idea developed during the first
decades of the 20th century. The geoscientific community accepted plate-tectonic theory after seafloor
spreading was validated in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Diagram of the internal layering of Earth showing the

lithosphere above the asthenosphere (not to scale).
The lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell
of a planet (the crust and upper mantle), is broken
into tectonic plates. The Earth's lithosphere is composed of
seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are
defined) and many minor plates. Where the plates meet,
their relative motion determines the type of
boundary: convergent, divergent,
or transform. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-
building, and oceanic trench formation occur along these
plate boundaries (or faults). The relative movement of the
plates typically ranges from zero to 100 mm annually.
Tectonic plates are composed of oceanic lithosphere and thicker continental lithosphere, each topped by its own
kind of crust. Along convergent boundaries, subduction, or one plate moving under another, carries the lower
one down into the mantle; the material lost is roughly balanced by the formation of new (oceanic) crust along
divergent margins by seafloor spreading. In this way, the total surface of the lithosphere remains the same. This
prediction of plate tectonics is also referred to as the conveyor belt principle. Earlier theories, since disproven,
proposed gradual shrinking (contraction) or gradual expansion of the globe.
Tectonic plates are able to move because the Earth's lithosphere has greater mechanical strength than the
underlying asthenosphere. Lateral density variations in the mantle result in convection; that is, the slow creeping
motion of Earth's solid mantle. Plate movement is thought to be driven by a combination of the motion of the
seafloor away from spreading ridges due to variations in topography (the ridge is a topographic high)
and density changes in the crust (density increases as newly formed crust cools and moves away from the
ridge). At subduction zones the relatively cold, dense oceanic crust is "pulled" or sinks down into the mantle over
the downward convecting limb of a mantle cell.[5] Another explanation lies in the different forces generated by
tidal forces of the Sun and Moon. The relative importance of each of these factors and their relationship to each
other is unclear, and still the subject of much debate.
Key Principles
The outer layers of the Earth are divided into the lithosphere and asthenosphere. The division is based
on differences in mechanical properties and in the method for the transfer of heat. The lithosphere is cooler and
more rigid, while the asthenosphere is hotter and flows more easily. In terms of heat transfer, the lithosphere
loses heat by conduction, whereas the asthenosphere also transfers heat by convection and has a
nearly adiabatic temperature gradient. This division should not be confused with the chemical subdivision of
these same layers into the mantle (comprising both the asthenosphere and the mantle portion of the lithosphere)
and the crust: a given piece of mantle may be part of the lithosphere or the asthenosphere at different times
depending on its temperature and pressure.
The key principle of plate tectonics is that the lithosphere exists as separate and distinct tectonic plates, which
ride on the fluid-like (visco-elastic solid) asthenosphere. Plate motions range up to a typical 10–40 mm/year
(Mid-Atlantic Ridge; about as fast as fingernails grow), to about 160 mm/year (Nazca Plate; about as fast
as hair grows). The driving mechanism behind this movement is described below.
Tectonic lithosphere plates consist of lithospheric mantle overlain by one or two types of crustal
material: oceanic crust (in older texts called sima from silicon and magnesium) and continental crust (sial from
silicon and aluminium). Average oceanic lithosphere is typically 100 km (60 mi) thick; its thickness is a function
of its age: as time passes, it conductively cools and subjacent cooling mantle is added to its base. Because it is
formed at mid-ocean ridges and spreads outwards, its thickness is therefore a function of its distance from the
mid-ocean ridge where it was formed. For a typical distance that oceanic lithosphere must travel before being
subducted, the thickness varies from about 6 km (4 mi) thick at mid-ocean ridges to greater than 100 km (62 mi)
at subduction zones; for shorter or longer distances, the subduction zone (and therefore also the mean)
thickness becomes smaller or larger, respectively. Continental lithosphere is typically about 200 km thick, though
this varies considerably between basins, mountain ranges, and stable cratonic interiors of continents. The
location where two plates meet is called a plate boundary. Plate boundaries are commonly associated with
geological events such as earthquakes and the creation of topographic features such
as mountains, volcanoes, mid-ocean ridges, and oceanic trenches. The majority of the world's active volcanoes
occur along plate boundaries, with the Pacific Plate's Ring of Fire being the most active and widely known today.
These boundaries are discussed in further detail below. Some volcanoes occur in the interiors of plates, and
these have been variously attributed to internal plate deformation and to mantle plumes.
As explained above, tectonic plates may include continental crust or oceanic crust, and most plates contain both.
For example, the African Plate includes the continent and parts of the floor of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
The distinction between oceanic crust and continental crust is based on their modes of formation. Oceanic crust
is formed at sea-floor spreading centers, and continental crust is formed through arc
volcanism and accretion of terranes through tectonic processes, though some of these terranes may
contain ophiolite sequences, which are pieces of oceanic crust considered to be part of the continent when they
exit the standard cycle of formation and spreading centers and subduction beneath continents. Oceanic crust is
also denser than continental crust owing to their different compositions. Oceanic crust is denser because it has
less silicon and more heavier elements ("mafic") than continental crust ("felsic"). As a result of this density
stratification, oceanic crust generally lies below sea level (for example most of the Pacific Plate), while
continental crust buoyantly projects above sea level (see the page isostasy for explanation of this principle).
Types of Plate Boundaries
Three types of plate boundaries exist, with a fourth, mixed type, characterized by the way the plates move
relative to each other. They are associated with different types of surface phenomena. The different types of
plate boundaries are:
Divergent boundary
Convergent boundary

Transform boundary
1. Divergent boundaries (Constructive) occur where two plates slide apart from each other. At zones of
ocean-to-ocean rifting, divergent boundaries form by seafloor spreading, allowing for the formation of
new ocean basin. As the ocean plate splits, the ridge forms at the spreading center, the ocean basin
expands, and finally, the plate area increases causing many small volcanoes and/or shallow
earthquakes. At zones of continent-to-continent rifting, divergent boundaries may cause new ocean
basin to form as the continent splits, spreads, the central rift collapses, and ocean fills the basin. Active
zones of mid-ocean ridges (e.g., the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and East Pacific Rise), and continent-to-
continent rifting (such as Africa's East African Rift and Valley and the Red Sea), are examples of
divergent boundaries.
2. Convergent boundaries (Destructive) (or active margins) occur where two plates slide toward each other
to form either a subduction zone (one plate moving underneath the other) or a continental collision. At
zones of ocean-to-continent subduction (e.g. the Andes mountain range in South America, and
the Cascade Mountains in Western United States), the dense oceanic lithosphere plunges beneath the
less dense continent. Earthquakes trace the path of the downward-moving plate as it descends into
asthenosphere, a trench forms, and as the subducted plate is heated it releases volatiles, mostly water
from hydrous minerals, into the surrounding mantle. The addition of water lowers the melting point of
the mantle material above the subducting slab, causing it to melt. The magma that results typically
leads to volcanism.[14] At zones of ocean-to-ocean subduction (e.g. Aleutian islands, Mariana Islands,
and the Japanese island arc), older, cooler, denser crust slips beneath less dense crust. This motion
causes earthquakes and a deep trench to form in an arc shape. The upper mantle of the subducted
plate then heats and magma rises to form curving chains of volcanic islands. Deep marine trenches are
typically associated with subduction zones, and the basins that develop along the active boundary are
often called "foreland basins". Closure of ocean basins can occur at continent-to-continent boundaries
(e.g., Himalayas and Alps): collision between masses of granitic continental lithosphere; neither mass is
subducted; plate edges are compressed, folded, uplifted.
3. Transform boundaries (Conservative) occur where two lithospheric plates slide, or perhaps more
accurately, grind past each other along transform faults, where plates are neither created nor destroyed.
The relative motion of the two plates is either sinistral (left side toward the observer) or dextral (right
side toward the observer). Transform faults occur across a spreading center. Strong earthquakes can
occur along a fault. The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a transform boundary
exhibiting dextral motion.
4. Plate boundary zones occur where the effects of the interactions are unclear, and the boundaries,
usually occurring along a broad belt, are not well defined and may show various types of movements in
different episodes.
Driving Forces of Plate Motion
Plate motion based on Global Positioning System

(GPS) satellite data from NASA JPL. Each red dot is a
measuring point and vectors show direction and
magnitude of motion.
It has generally been accepted that tectonic
plates are able to move because of the relative density of
oceanic lithosphere and the relative weakness of the
asthenosphere. Dissipation of heat from the mantle is
acknowledged to be the original source of the energy
required to drive plate tectonics through convection or
large scale upwelling and doming. The current view,
though still a matter of some debate, asserts that as a
consequence, a powerful source of plate motion is
generated due to the excess density of the oceanic
lithosphere sinking in subduction zones. When the new crust forms at mid-ocean ridges, this oceanic lithosphere
is initially less dense than the underlying asthenosphere, but it becomes denser with age as it conductively cools
and thickens. The greater density of old lithosphere relative to the underlying asthenosphere allows it to sink into
the deep mantle at subduction zones, providing most of the driving force for plate movement. The weakness of
the asthenosphere allows the tectonic plates to move easily towards a subduction zone. Although subduction is
thought to be the strongest force driving plate motions, it cannot be the only force since there are plates such as
the North American
Plate which are moving, yet are nowhere being subducted. The same is true for the enormous Eurasian
Plate. The sources of plate motion are a matter of intensive research and discussion among scientists.
One of the main points is that the kinematic pattern of the movement itself should be separated clearly
from the possible geodynamic mechanism that is invoked as the driving force of the observed movement, as
some patterns may be explained by more than one mechanism. In short, the driving forces advocated at the
moment can be divided into three categories based on the relationship to the movement: mantle dynamics
related, gravity related (main driving force accepted nowadays), and earth rotation related.
Driving Forces Related to Mantle Dynamics
For much of the last quarter century, the leading theory of the driving force behind tectonic plate motions
envisaged large scale convection currents in the upper mantle, which can be transmitted through the
asthenosphere. This theory was launched by Arthur Holmes and some forerunners in the 1930s and was
immediately recognized as the solution for the acceptance of the theory as originally discussed in the papers
of Alfred Wegener in the early years of the century. However, despite its acceptance, it was long debated in the
scientific community because the leading theory still envisaged a static Earth without moving continents up until
the major breakthroughs of the early sixties.
Two- and three-dimensional imaging of Earth's interior (seismic tomography) shows a varying lateral density
distribution throughout the mantle. Such density variations can be material (from rock chemistry), mineral (from
variations in mineral structures), or thermal (through thermal expansion and contraction from heat energy). The
manifestation of this varying lateral density is mantle convection from buoyancy forces.
How mantle convection directly and indirectly relates to plate motion is a matter of ongoing study and discussion
in geodynamics. Somehow, this energy must be transferred to the lithosphere for tectonic plates to move. There
are essentially two main types of forces that are thought to influence plate motion: friction and gravity.
 Basal drag (friction): Plate motion driven by friction between the convection currents in the asthenosphere
and the more rigid overlying lithosphere.
 Slab suction (gravity): Plate motion driven by local convection currents that exert a downward pull on plates
in subduction zones at ocean trenches. Slab suction may occur in a geodynamic setting where basal
tractions continue to act on the plate as it dives into the mantle (although perhaps to a greater extent acting
on both the under and upper side of the slab).
Lately, the convection theory has been much debated, as modern techniques based on 3D seismic tomography
still fail to recognize these predicted large scale convection cells. Alternative views have been proposed.
Plume Tectonics
In the theory of plume tectonics followed by numerous researchers during the 1990s, a modified concept
of mantle convection currents is used. It asserts that super plumes rise from the deeper mantle and are the
drivers or substitutes of the major convection cells. These ideas find their roots in the early 1930s in the works
of Beloussov and van Bemmelen, which were initially opposed to plate tectonics and placed the mechanism in a
fixistic frame of verticalistic movements. Van Bemmelen later on modulated on the concept in his "Undulation
Models" and used it as the driving force for horizontal movements, invoking gravitational forces away from the
regional crustal doming. The theories find resonance in the modern theories which envisage hot spots or mantle
plumes which remain fixed and are overridden by oceanic and continental lithosphere plates over time and leave
their traces in the geological record (though these phenomena are not invoked as real driving mechanisms, but
rather as modulators). The mechanism is still advocated to explain the break-up of supercontinents during
specific geological epochs. It has followers amongst the scientists involved in the theory of Earth expansion.
Surge Tectonics
Another theory is that the mantle flows neither in cells nor large plumes but rather as a series of
channels just below the Earth's crust, which then provide basal friction to the lithosphere. This theory, called
"surge tectonics", was popularized during the 1980s and 1990s. Recent research, based on three-dimensional
computer modeling, suggests that plate geometry is governed by a feedback between mantle convection
patterns and the strength of the lithosphere.
Driving Forces Related to Gravity
Forces related to gravity are invoked as secondary phenomena within the framework of a more general
driving mechanism such as the various forms of mantle dynamics described above. In moderns views, gravity is
invoked as the major driving force, through slab pull along subduction zones.
Gravitational sliding away from a spreading ridge: According to many authors, plate motion is driven by the
higher elevation of plates at ocean ridges. As oceanic lithosphere is formed at spreading ridges from hot mantle
material, it gradually cools and thickens with age (and thus adds distance from the ridge). Cool oceanic
lithosphere is significantly denser than the hot mantle material from which it is derived and so with increasing
thickness it gradually subsides into the mantle to compensate the greater load. The result is a slight lateral
incline with increased distance from the ridge axis.
This force is regarded as a secondary force and is often referred to as "ridge push". This is a misnomer as
nothing is "pushing" horizontally and tensional features are dominant along ridges. It is more accurate to refer to
this mechanism as gravitational sliding as variable topography across the totality of the plate can vary
considerably and the topography of spreading ridges is only the most prominent feature. Other mechanisms
generating this gravitational secondary force include flexural bulging of the lithosphere before it dives
underneath an adjacent plate which produces a clear topographical feature that can offset, or at least affect, the
influence of topographical ocean ridges, and mantle plumes and hot spots, which are postulated to impinge on
the underside of tectonic plates.

Slab-pull: Current scientific opinion is that the asthenosphere is insufficiently competent or rigid to directly cause
motion by friction along the base of the lithosphere. Slab pull is therefore most widely thought to be the greatest
force acting on the plates. In this current understanding, plate motion is mostly driven by the weight of cold,
dense plates sinking into the mantle at trenches.[28] Recent models indicate that trench suction plays an
important role as well. However, the fact that the North American Plate is nowhere being subducted, although it
is in motion, presents a problem. The same holds for the African, Eurasian, and Antarctic plates.
Gravitational sliding away from mantle doming: According to older theories, one of the driving mechanisms of the
plates is the existence of large scale asthenosphere/mantle domes which cause the gravitational sliding of
lithosphere plates away from them (see the paragraph on Mantle Mechanisms). This gravitational sliding
represents a secondary phenomenon of this basically vertically oriented mechanism. It finds its roots in the
Undation Model of van Bemmelen. This can act on various scales, from the small scale of one island arc up to
the larger scale of an entire ocean basin.
Driving Forces Related to Earth Rotation
Alfred Wegener, being a meteorologist, had proposed tidal forces and centrifugal forces as the main
driving mechanisms behind continental drift; however, these forces were considered far too small to cause
continental motion as the concept was of continents plowing through oceanic crust. Therefore, Wegener later
changed his position and asserted that convection currents are the main driving force of plate tectonics in the
last edition of his book in 1929.
However, in the plate tectonics context (accepted since the seafloor spreading proposals of Heezen, Hess,
Dietz, Morley, Vine, and Matthews (see below) during the early 1960s), the oceanic crust is suggested to be in
motion with the continents which caused the proposals related to Earth rotation to be reconsidered. In more
recent literature, these driving forces are:
1. Tidal drag due to the gravitational force the Moon (and the Sun) exerts on the crust of the Earth
2. Global deformation of the geoid due to small displacements of the rotational pole with respect to the
Earth's crust
3. Other smaller deformation effects of the crust due to wobbles and spin movements of the Earth rotation
on a smaller time scale
Forces that are small and generally negligible are:
1. The Coriolis force.

2. The centrifugal force, which is treated as a slight modification of gravity.
For these mechanisms to be overall valid, systematic relationships should exist all over the globe between the
orientation and kinematics of deformation and the geographical latitudinal and longitudinal grid of the Earth itself.
Ironically, these systematic relations studies in the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the
twentieth century underline exactly the opposite: that the plates had not moved in time, that the deformation grid
was fixed with respect to the Earth equator and axis, and that gravitational driving forces were generally acting
vertically and caused only local horizontal movements (the so-called pre-plate tectonic, "fixist theories"). Later
studies (discussed below on this page), therefore, invoked many of the relationships recognized during this pre-
plate tectonics period to support their theories (see the anticipations and reviews in the work of van Dijk and
collaborators).
Of the many forces discussed in this paragraph, tidal force is still highly debated and defended as a possible
principal driving force of plate tectonics. The other forces are only used in global geodynamic models not using
plate tectonics concepts (therefore beyond the discussions treated in this section) or proposed as minor
modulations within the overall plate tectonics model.
In 1973, George W. Moore of the USGS and R. C. Bostrom presented evidence for a general westward drift of
the Earth's lithosphere with respect to the mantle. He concluded that tidal forces (the tidal lag or "friction")
caused by the Earth's rotation and the forces acting upon it by the Moon are a driving force for plate tectonics.
As the Earth spins eastward beneath the moon, the moon's gravity ever so slightly pulls the Earth's surface layer
back westward, just as proposed by Alfred Wegener (see above). In a more recent 2006 study, scientists
reviewed and advocated these earlier proposed ideas. It has also been suggested recently in Lovett (2006) that
this observation may also explain why Venus and Mars have no plate tectonics, as Venus has no moon and
Mars' moons are too small to have significant tidal effects on the planet. In a recent paper, [38] it was suggested
that, on the other hand, it can easily be observed that many plates are moving north and eastward, and that the
dominantly westward motion of the Pacific Ocean basins derives simply from the eastward bias of the Pacific
spreading center (which is not a predicted manifestation of such lunar forces). In the same paper the authors
admit, however, that relative to the lower mantle, there is a slight westward component in the motions of all the
plates. They demonstrated though that the westward drift, seen only for the past 30 Ma, is attributed to the
increased dominance of the steadily growing and accelerating Pacific plate. The debate is still open.
Relative Significance of each Driving Force Mechanism
The vector of a plate's motion is a function of all the forces acting on the plate; however, therein lies the problem
regarding the degree to which each process contributes to the overall motion of each tectonic plate. The
diversity of geodynamic settings and the properties of each plate result from the impact of the various processes
actively driving each individual plate. One method of dealing with this problem is to consider the relative rate at
which each plate is moving as well as the evidence related to the significance of each process to the overall
driving force on the plate.

One of the most significant correlations discovered to date is that lithospheric plates attached to downgoing
(subducting) plates move much faster than plates not attached to subducting plates. The Pacific plate, for
instance, is essentially surrounded by zones of subduction (the so-called Ring of Fire) and moves much faster
than the plates of the Atlantic basin, which are attached (perhaps one could say 'welded') to adjacent continents
instead of subducting plates. It is thus thought that forces associated with the downgoing plate (slab pull and
slab suction) are the driving forces which determine the motion of plates, except for those plates which are not
being subducted.[28] This view however has been contradicted by a recent study which found that the actual
motions of the Pacific Plate and other plates associated with the East Pacific Rise do not correlate mainly with
either slab pull or slab push, but rather with a mantle convection upwelling whose horizontal spreading along the
bases of the various plates drives them along via viscosity-related traction forces. [39] The driving forces of plate
motion continue to be active subjects of on-going research within geophysics and tectonophysics.
Development of the Theory
Summary
Detailed map showing the tectonic plates with their

movement vectors.
Around the start of the twentieth century, various
theorists unsuccessfully attempted to explain the many
geographical, geological, and biological continuities
between continents. In 1912 the meteorologist Alfred
Wegener described what he called continental drift, an
idea that culminated fifty years later in the modern theory
of plate tectonics.
Wegener expanded his theory in his 1915 book The
Origin of Continents and Oceans. Starting from the idea
(also expressed by his forerunners) that the present continents once formed a single land mass (later
called Pangea), Wegener suggested that these separated and drifted apart, likening them to "icebergs" of low
density granite floating on a sea of denser basalt. Supporting evidence for the idea came from the dove-tailing
outlines of South America's east coast and Africa's west coast, and from the matching of the rock formations
along these edges. Confirmation of their previous contiguous nature also came from the fossil
plants Glossopteris and Gangamopteris, and the therapsid or mammal-like reptile Lystrosaurus, all widely
distributed over South America, Africa, Antarctica, India, and Australia. The evidence for such an erstwhile
joining of these continents was patent to field geologists working in the southern hemisphere. The South
African Alex du Toit put together a mass of such information in his 1937 publication Our Wandering Continents,
and went further than Wegener in recognising the strong links between the Gondwana fragments.
Wegener's work was initially not widely accepted, in part due to a lack of detailed evidence. The Earth might
have a solid crust and mantle and a liquid core, but there seemed to be no way that portions of the crust could
move around. Distinguished scientists, such as Harold Jeffreys and Charles Schuchert, were outspoken critics of
continental drift.
Despite much opposition, the view of continental drift gained support and a lively debate started between
"drifters" or "mobilists" (proponents of the theory) and "fixists" (opponents). During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s,
the former reached important milestones proposing that convection currents might have driven the plate
movements, and that spreading may have occurred below the sea within the oceanic crust. Concepts close to
the elements now incorporated in plate tectonics were proposed by geophysicists and geologists (both fixists
and mobilists) like Vening-Meinesz, Holmes, and Umbgrove.
One of the first pieces of geophysical evidence that was used to support the movement of lithospheric plates
came from paleomagnetism. This is based on the fact that rocks of different ages show a variable magnetic
field direction, evidenced by studies since the mid–nineteenth century. The magnetic north and south poles
reverse through time, and, especially important in paleotectonic studies, the relative position of the magnetic
north pole varies through time. Initially, during the first half of the twentieth century, the latter phenomenon was
explained by introducing what was called "polar wander" (see apparent polar wander) (i.e., it was assumed that
the north pole location had been shifting through time). An alternative explanation, though, was that the
continents had moved (shifted and rotated) relative to the north pole, and each continent, in fact, shows its own
"polar wander path". During the late 1950s it was successfully shown on two occasions that these data could
show the validity of continental drift: by Keith Runcorn in a paper in 1956, and by Warren Carey in a symposium
held in March 1956.
The second piece of evidence in support of continental drift came during the late 1950s and early 60s from data
on the bathymetry of the deep ocean floors and the nature of the oceanic crust such as magnetic properties and,
more generally, with the development of marine geology which gave evidence for the association of seafloor
spreading along the mid-oceanic ridges and magnetic field reversals, published between 1959 and 1963 by
Heezen, Dietz, Hess, Mason, Vine & Matthews, and Morley.
Simultaneous advances in early seismic imaging techniques in and around Wadati–Benioff zones along the
trenches bounding many continental margins, together with many other geophysical (e.g. gravimetric) and
geological observations, showed how the oceanic crust could disappear into the mantle, providing the
mechanism to balance the extension of the ocean basins with shortening along its margins.

All this evidence, both from the ocean floor and from the continental margins, made it clear around 1965 that
continental drift was feasible and the theory of plate tectonics, which was defined in a series of papers between
1965 and 1967, was born, with all its extraordinary explanatory and predictive power.
The theory revolutionized the Earth sciences, explaining a diverse range of geological phenomena and their
implications in other studies such as paleogeography and paleobiology.
Continental Drift
Alfred Wegener in Greenland in the winter of 1912–13.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, geologists assumed that the
Earth's major features were fixed, and that most geologic features such
as basin development and mountain ranges could be explained by
vertical crustal movement, described in what is called the geosynclinal
theory. Generally, this was placed in the context of a contracting planet
Earth due to heat loss in the course of a relatively short geological time.
It was observed as early as 1596 that the opposite coasts of the Atlantic
Ocean—or, more precisely, the edges of the continental shelves—have
similar shapes and seem to have once fitted together.
Since that time many theories were proposed to explain this apparent complementarity, but the assumption of a
solid Earth made these various proposals difficult to accept.
The discovery of radioactivity and its associated heating properties in 1895 prompted a re-examination of the
apparent age of the Earth. This had previously been estimated by its cooling rate under the assumption that the
Earth's surface radiated like a black body. Those calculations had implied that, even if it started at red heat, the
Earth would have dropped to its present temperature in a few tens of millions of years. Armed with the
knowledge of a new heat source, scientists realized that the Earth would be much older, and that its core was
still sufficiently hot to be liquid.
By 1915, after having published a first article in 1912, Alfred Wegener was making serious arguments for the
idea of continental drift in the first edition of The Origin of Continents and Oceans.[41] In that book (re-issued in
four successive editions up to the final one in 1936), he noted how the east coast of South America and the west
coast of Africa looked as if they were once attached. Wegener was not the first to note this (Abraham
Ortelius, Antonio Snider-Pellegrini, Eduard Suess, Roberto Mantovani and Frank Bursley Taylor preceded him
just to mention a few), but he was the first to marshal significant fossil and paleo-topographical and
climatological evidence to support this simple observation (and was supported in this by researchers such
as Alex du Toit). Furthermore, when the rock strata of the margins of separate continents are very similar it
suggests that these rocks were formed in the same way, implying that they were joined initially. For instance,
parts of Scotland and Ireland contain rocks very similar to those found in Newfoundland and New Brunswick.
Furthermore, the Caledonian Mountains of Europe and parts of the Appalachian Mountains of North America are
very similar in structure and lithology.
However, his ideas were not taken seriously by many geologists, who pointed out that there was no apparent
mechanism for continental drift. Specifically, they did not see how continental rock could plow through the much
denser rock that makes up oceanic crust. Wegener could not explain the force that drove continental drift, and
his vindication did not come until after his death in 1930.
Floating continents, paleomagnetism, and seismicity zones
Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998. Most

earthquakes occur in narrow belts that correspond to
the locations of lithospheric plate boundaries.
Map of earthquakes in 2016

As it was observed early that although granite existed on
continents, seafloor seemed to be composed of
denser basalt, the prevailing concept during the first half
of the twentieth century was that there were two types of
crust, named "sial" (continental type crust) and "sima"
(oceanic type crust). Furthermore, it was supposed that a
static shell of strata was present under the continents. It
therefore looked apparent that a layer of basalt (sial)
underlies the continental rocks.

However, based on abnormalities in plumb line deflection by the Andes in Peru, Pierre Bouguer had deduced
that less-dense mountains must have a downward projection into the denser layer underneath. The concept that
mountains had "roots" was confirmed by George B. Airy a hundred years later, during study
of Himalayan gravitation, and seismic studies detected corresponding density variations. Therefore, by the mid-
1950s, the question remained unresolved as to whether mountain roots were clenched in surrounding basalt or
were floating on it like an iceberg.
During the 20th century, improvements in and greater use of seismic instruments such as seismographs enabled
scientists to learn that earthquakes tend to be concentrated in specific areas, most notably along the oceanic
trenches and spreading ridges. By the late 1920s, seismologists were beginning to identify several prominent
earthquake zones parallel to the trenches that typically were inclined 40–60° from the horizontal and extended
several hundred kilometers into the Earth. These zones later became known as Wadati–Benioff zones, or simply
Benioff zones, in honor of the seismologists who first recognized them, Kiyoo Wadati of Japan and Hugo
Benioff of the United States. The study of global seismicity greatly advanced in the 1960s with the establishment
of the Worldwide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN) to monitor the compliance of the 1963 treaty
banning above-ground testing of nuclear weapons. The much improved data from the WWSSN instruments
allowed seismologists to map precisely the zones of earthquake concentration worldwide.
Meanwhile, debates developed around the phenomenon of polar wander. Since the early debates of continental
drift, scientists had discussed and used evidence that polar drift had occurred because continents seemed to
have moved through different climatic zones during the past. Furthermore, paleomagnetic data had shown that
the magnetic pole had also shifted during time. Reasoning in an opposite way, the continents might have shifted
and rotated, while the pole remained relatively fixed. The first time the evidence of magnetic polar wander was
used to support the movements of continents was in a paper by Keith Runcorn in 1956, and successive papers
by him and his students Ted Irving (who was actually the first to be convinced of the fact that paleomagnetism
supported continental drift) and Ken Creer.
This was immediately followed by a symposium in Tasmania in March 1956. In this symposium, the evidence
was used in the theory of an expansion of the global crust. In this hypothesis, the shifting of the continents can
be simply explained by a large increase in the size of the Earth since its formation. However, this was
unsatisfactory because its supporters could offer no convincing mechanism to produce a significant expansion of
the Earth. Certainly there is no evidence that the moon has expanded in the past 3 billion years; other work
would soon show that the evidence was equally in support of continental drift on a globe with a stable radius.
During the thirties up to the late fifties, works by Vening-Meinesz, Holmes, Umbgrove, and numerous others
outlined concepts that were close or nearly identical to modern plate tectonics theory. In particular, the English
geologist Arthur Holmes proposed in 1920 that plate junctions might lie beneath the sea, and in 1928 that
convection currents within the mantle might be the driving force. Often, these contributions are forgotten
because:
 At the time, continental drift was not accepted.

 Some of these ideas were discussed in the context of abandoned fixistic ideas of a deforming globe without
continental drift or an expanding Earth.
 They were published during an episode of extreme political and economic instability that hampered scientific
communication.
 Many were published by European scientists and at first not mentioned or given little credit in the papers on
sea floor spreading published by the American researchers in the 1960s.
Mid-Oceanic Ridge Spreading and Convection
In 1947, a team of scientists led by Maurice Ewing utilizing the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's
research vessel Atlantis and an array of instruments, confirmed the existence of a rise in the central Atlantic
Ocean, and found that the floor of the seabed beneath the layer of sediments consisted of basalt, not the granite
which is the main constituent of continents. They also found that the oceanic crust was much thinner than
continental crust. All these new findings raised important and intriguing questions.
The new data that had been collected on the ocean basins also showed particular characteristics regarding the
bathymetry. One of the major outcomes of these datasets was that all along the globe, a system of mid-oceanic
ridges was detected. An important conclusion was that along this system, new ocean floor was being created,
which led to the concept of the "Great Global Rift". This was described in the crucial paper of Bruce
Heezen (1960), which would trigger a real revolution in thinking. A profound consequence of seafloor spreading
is that new crust was, and still is, being continually created along the oceanic ridges. Therefore, Heezen
advocated the so-called "expanding Earth" hypothesis of S. Warren Carey. So, still the question remained: how
can new crust be continuously added along the oceanic ridges without increasing the size of the Earth? In
reality, this question had been solved already by numerous scientists during the forties and the fifties, like Arthur
Holmes, Vening-Meinesz, Coates and many others: The crust in excess disappeared along what were called the
oceanic trenches, where so-called "subduction" occurred. Therefore, when various scientists during the early
1960s started to reason on the data at their disposal regarding the ocean floor, the pieces of the theory quickly
fell into place.
The question particularly intrigued Harry Hammond Hess, a Princeton University geologist and a Naval Reserve
Rear Admiral, and Robert S. Dietz, a scientist with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey who first coined the
term seafloor spreading. Dietz and Hess (the former published the same idea one year earlier in Nature, but
priority belongs to Hess who had already distributed an unpublished manuscript of his 1962 article by
1960) were among the small handful who really understood the broad implications of sea floor spreading and

how it would eventually agree with the, at that time, unconventional and unaccepted ideas of continental drift and
the elegant and mobilistic models proposed by previous workers like Holmes.
In the same year, Robert R. Coats of the U.S. Geological Survey described the main features of island
arc subduction in the Aleutian Islands. His paper, though little noted (and even ridiculed) at the time, has since
been called "seminal" and "prescient". In reality, it actually shows that the work by the European scientists on
island arcs and mountain belts performed and published during the 1930s up until the 1950s was applied and
appreciated also in the United States.
If the Earth's crust was expanding along the oceanic ridges, Hess and Dietz reasoned like Holmes and others
before them, it must be shrinking elsewhere. Hess followed Heezen, suggesting that new oceanic crust
continuously spreads away from the ridges in a conveyor belt–like motion. And, using the mobilistic concepts
developed before, he correctly concluded that many millions of years later, the oceanic crust eventually
descends along the continental margins where oceanic trenches—very deep, narrow canyons—are formed, e.g.
along the rim of the Pacific Ocean basin. The important step Hess made was that convection currents would be
the driving force in this process, arriving at the same conclusions as Holmes had decades before with the only
difference that the thinning of the ocean crust was performed using Heezen's mechanism of spreading along the
ridges. Hess therefore concluded that the Atlantic Ocean was expanding while the Pacific Ocean was shrinking.
As old oceanic crust is "consumed" in the trenches (like Holmes and others, he thought this was done by
thickening of the continental lithosphere, not, as now understood, by underthrusting at a larger scale of the
oceanic crust itself into the mantle), new magma rises and erupts along the spreading ridges to form new crust.
In effect, the ocean basins are perpetually being "recycled," with the creation of new crust and the destruction of
old oceanic lithosphere occurring simultaneously. Thus, the new mobilistic concepts neatly explained why the
Earth does not get bigger with sea floor spreading, why there is so little sediment accumulation on the ocean
floor, and why oceanic rocks are much younger than continental rocks.
Magnetic Striping
Seafloor Magnetic Striping
A demonstration of magnetic striping. (The darker the color is, the

closer it is to normal polarity)
Beginning in the 1950s, scientists like Victor Vacquier, using magnetic
instruments (magnetometers) adapted from airborne devices developed
during World War II to detect submarines, began recognizing odd magnetic
variations across the ocean floor. This finding, though unexpected, was not
entirely surprising because it was known that basalt—the iron-rich, volcanic
rock making up the ocean floor—contains a strongly magnetic mineral
(magnetite) and can locally distort compass readings. This distortion was recognized by Icelandic mariners as
early as the late 18th century. More important, because the presence of magnetite gives the basalt measurable
magnetic properties, these newly discovered magnetic variations provided another means to study the deep
ocean floor. When newly formed rock cools, such magnetic materials recorded the Earth's magnetic field at the
time.
As more and more of the seafloor was mapped during the 1950s, the magnetic variations turned out not to be
random or isolated occurrences, but instead revealed recognizable patterns. When these magnetic patterns
were mapped over a wide region, the ocean floor showed a zebra-like pattern: one stripe with normal polarity
and the adjoining stripe with reversed polarity. The overall pattern, defined by these alternating bands of
normally and reversely polarized rock, became known as magnetic striping, and was published by Ron G.
Mason and co-workers in 1961, who did not find, though, an explanation for these data in terms of sea floor
spreading, like Vine, Matthews and Morley a few years later.
The discovery of magnetic striping called for an explanation. In the early 1960s scientists such as Heezen, Hess
and Dietz had begun to theorise that mid-ocean ridges mark structurally weak zones where the ocean floor was
being ripped in two lengthwise along the ridge crest (see the previous paragraph). New magma from deep within
the Earth rises easily through these weak zones and eventually erupts along the crest of the ridges to create
new oceanic crust. This process, at first denominated the "conveyer belt hypothesis" and later called seafloor
spreading, operating over many millions of years continues to form new ocean floor all across the 50,000 km-
long system of mid-ocean ridges.
Only four years after the maps with the "zebra pattern" of magnetic stripes were published, the link between sea
floor spreading and these patterns was correctly placed, independently by Lawrence Morley, and by Fred
Vine and Drummond Matthews, in 1963, now called the Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis. This hypothesis
linked these patterns to geomagnetic reversals and was supported by several lines of evidence:

1. the stripes are symmetrical around the crests of the mid-ocean ridges; at or near the crest of the ridge,
the rocks are very young, and they become progressively older away from the ridge crest;
2. the youngest rocks at the ridge crest always have present-day (normal) polarity;
3. stripes of rock parallel to the ridge crest alternate in magnetic polarity (normal-reversed-normal, etc.),
suggesting that they were formed during different epochs documenting the (already known from
independent studies) normal and reversal episodes of the Earth's magnetic field.
By explaining both the zebra-like magnetic striping and the construction of the mid-ocean ridge system, the
seafloor spreading hypothesis (SFS) quickly gained converts and represented another major advance in the
development of the plate-tectonics theory. Furthermore, the oceanic crust now came to be appreciated as a
natural "tape recording" of the history of the geomagnetic field reversals (GMFR) of the Earth's magnetic field.
Today, extensive studies are dedicated to the calibration of the normal-reversal patterns in the oceanic crust on
one hand and known timescales derived from the dating of basalt layers in sedimentary sequences
(magnetostratigraphy) on the other, to arrive at estimates of past spreading rates and plate reconstructions.
Definition and Refining of the Theory
After all these considerations, Plate Tectonics (or, as it was initially called "New Global Tectonics") became
quickly accepted in the scientific world, and numerous papers followed that defined the concepts:
 In 1965, Tuzo Wilson who had been a promoter of the sea floor spreading hypothesis and continental drift
from the very beginning added the concept of transform faults to the model, completing the classes of fault
types necessary to make the mobility of the plates on the globe work out.
 A symposium on continental drift was held at the Royal Society of London in 1965 which must be regarded
as the official start of the acceptance of plate tectonics by the scientific community, and which abstracts are
issued as Blackett, Bullard & Runcorn (1965). In this symposium, Edward Bullard and co-workers showed
with a computer calculation how the continents along both sides of the Atlantic would best fit to close the
ocean, which became known as the famous "Bullard's Fit".
 In 1966 Wilson published the paper that referred to previous plate tectonic reconstructions, introducing the
concept of what is now known as the "Wilson Cycle".
 In 1967, at the American Geophysical Union's meeting, W. Jason Morgan proposed that the Earth's surface
consists of 12 rigid plates that move relative to each other.
 Two months later, Xavier Le Pichon published a complete model based on six major plates with their
relative motions, which marked the final acceptance by the scientific community of plate tectonics.
 In the same year, McKenzie and Parker independently presented a model similar to Morgan's using
translations and rotations on a sphere to define the plate motions.
Plate Tectonics Revolution

The Plate Tectonics Revolution was the scientific and cultural change which developed from the
acceptance of the plate tectonics theory. The event was a paradigm shift and scientific revolution.
Implications for Biogeography
Continental drift theory helps biogeographers to explain the disjunct biogeographic distribution of
present-day life found on different continents but having similar ancestors. In particular, it explains the
Gondwanan distribution of ratites and the Antarctic flora.
Plate Reconstruction
Reconstruction is used to establish past (and future) plate configurations, helping determine the shape
and make-up of ancient supercontinents and providing a basis for paleogeography.
Defining Plate Boundaries
Current plate boundaries are defined by their seismicity. Past plate boundaries within existing plates are
identified from a variety of evidence, such as the presence of ophiolites that are indicative of vanished oceans.
Past Plate Motions
Tectonic motion is believed to have begun around 3 to 3.5 billion years ago. Various types of
quantitative and semi-quantitative information are available to constrain past plate motions. The geometric fit
between continents, such as between west Africa and South America is still an important part of plate
reconstruction. Magnetic stripe patterns provide a reliable guide to relative plate motions going back into
the Jurassic period. The tracks of hotspots give absolute reconstructions, but these are only available back to
the Cretaceous. Older reconstructions rely mainly on paleomagnetic pole data, although these only constrain the
latitude and rotation, but not the longitude. Combining poles of different ages in a particular plate to produce
apparent polar wander paths provides a method for comparing the motions of different plates through time.
Additional evidence comes from the distribution of certain sedimentary rock types, faunal provinces shown by
particular fossil groups, and the position of orogenic belts.
Formation and Break-up of Continents

The movement of plates has caused the formation and break-up of continents over time, including occasional
formation of a supercontinent that contains most or all of the continents. The supercontinent Columbia or Nuna
formed during a period of 2,000 to 1,800 million years ago and broke up about 1,500 to 1,300 million years ago.
The supercontinent Rodinia is thought to have formed about 1 billion years ago and to have embodied most or
all of Earth's continents, and broken up into eight continents around 600 million years ago. The eight continents
later re-assembled into another supercontinent called Pangaea; Pangaea broke up into Laurasia (which became
North America and Eurasia) and Gondwana (which became the remaining continents).
The Himalayas, the world's tallest mountain range, are assumed to have been formed by the collision of two
major plates. Before uplift, they were covered by the Tethys Ocean.
Current Plates
Depending on how they are defined, there are usually

seven or eight "major" plates: African, Antarctic, Eurasian, North
American, South American, Pacific, and Indo-Australian. The latter
is sometimes subdivided into the Indian and Australian plates.
There are dozens of smaller plates, the seven largest of which are
the Arabian, Caribbean, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Nazca, Philippine
Sea, and Scotia. The current motion of the tectonic plates is today
determined by remote sensing satellite data sets, calibrated with
ground station measurements.
Other Celestial Bodies (Planets, Moons)
The appearance of plate tectonics on terrestrial planets is related to planetary mass, with more massive
planets than Earth expected to exhibit plate tectonics. Earth may be a borderline case, owing its tectonic activity
to abundant water (silica and water form a deep eutectic).
Venus
Venus shows no evidence of active plate tectonics. There is debatable evidence of active tectonics in
the planet's distant past; however, events taking place since then (such as the plausible and generally accepted
hypothesis that the Venusian lithosphere has thickened greatly over the course of several hundred million years)
has made constraining the course of its geologic record difficult. However, the numerous well-preserved impact
craters have been utilized as a dating method to approximately date the Venusian surface (since there are thus
far no known samples of Venusian rock to be dated by more reliable methods). Dates derived are dominantly in
the range 500 to 750 million years ago, although ages of up to 1,200 million years ago have been calculated.
This research has led to the fairly well accepted hypothesis that Venus has undergone an essentially complete
volcanic resurfacing at least once in its distant past, with the last event taking place approximately within the
range of estimated surface ages. While the mechanism of such an impressive thermal event remains a debated
issue in Venusian geosciences, some scientists are advocates of processes involving plate motion to some
extent. One explanation for Venus's lack of plate tectonics is that on Venus temperatures are too high for
significant water to be present. The Earth's crust is soaked with water, and water plays an important role in the
development of shear zones. Plate tectonics requires weak surfaces in the crust along which crustal slices can
move, and it may well be that such weakening never took place on Venus because of the absence of water.
However, some researchers remain convinced that plate tectonics is or was once active on this planet.
Mars
Mars is considerably smaller than Earth and Venus, and there is evidence for ice on its surface and in its
crust. In the 1990s, it was proposed that Martian Crustal Dichotomy was created by plate tectonic processes.
Scientists today disagree, and think that it was created either by upwelling within the Martian mantle that
thickened the crust of the Southern Highlands and formed Tharsis or by a giant impact that excavated
the Northern Lowlands. Valles Marineris may be a tectonic boundary. Observations made of the magnetic field
of Mars by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft in 1999 showed patterns of magnetic striping discovered on this
planet. Some scientists interpreted these as requiring plate tectonic processes, such as seafloor
spreading. However, their data fail a "magnetic reversal test", which is used to see if they were formed by
flipping polarities of a global magnetic field.
Icy satellites
Some of the satellites of Jupiter have features that may be related to plate-tectonic style deformation,
although the materials and specific mechanisms may be different from plate-tectonic activity on Earth. On 8
September 2014, NASA reported finding evidence of plate tectonics on Europa, a satellite of Jupiter—the first
sign of subduction activity on another world other than Earth. Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, was reported to
show tectonic activity in images taken by the Huygens probe, which landed on Titan on January 14, 2005.
Exoplanets
On Earth-sized planets, plate tectonics is more likely if there are oceans of water. However, in 2007, two
independent teams of researchers came to opposing conclusions about the likelihood of plate tectonics on
larger super-Earths with one team saying that plate tectonics would be episodic or stagnant and the other team
saying that plate tectonics is very likely on super-earths even if the planet is dry. Consideration of plate tectonics
is a part of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and extraterrestrial life.
III. ASSESSMENT:

1. Discuss the plate tectonics theory and identify the types of plate boundaries.
2. Enumerate and explain the factors used to test the plate tectonics model.
3. What is the convection current hypothesis and why it was considered as one of the
driving mechanisms of plate tectonics?
4. Identify the other factors considered as driving mechanism of plate tectonics and how
it supports the theory?
5. Why hypothesis of mantle plumes not yet universally accepted?

LESSON 4: SEAFLOOR SPREADING
II. LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Discuss seafloor spreading.

3. Describe various evidences of seafloor spreading.
Age of oceanic lithosphere; youngest (red) is

along spreading centers.
Seafloor spreading is a process that occurs
at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is
formed through volcanic activity and then gradually
moves away from the ridge.
History
Earlier theories by Alfred Wegener and Alexander
du Toit of continental drift postulated that continents in
motion "plowed" through the fixed and immovable
seafloor. The idea that the seafloor itself moves and
also carries the continents with it as it spreads from
a central rift axis was proposed by Harold Hammond Hess from Princeton University and Robert Dietz of
the U.S. Naval Electronics Laboratory in San Diego in the 1960s. The phenomenon is known today as plate
tectonics. In locations where two plates move apart, at mid-ocean ridges, new seafloor is continually formed
during seafloor spreading.
Significance
Seafloor spreading helps explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics. When oceanic
plates diverge, tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere. The motivating force for seafloor
spreading ridges is tectonic plate slab pull at subduction zones, rather than magma pressure, although there is
typically significant magma activity at spreading ridges. Plates that are not subducting are driven by gravity
sliding off the elevated mid-ocean ridges a process called ridge push. At a spreading center, basaltic
magma rises up the fractures and cools on the ocean floor to form new seabed. Hydrothermal vents are
common at spreading centers. Older rocks will be found farther away from the spreading zone while younger
rocks will be found nearer to the spreading zone.
Spreading rate is the rate at which an ocean basin widens due to seafloor spreading. (The rate at which new
oceanic lithosphere is added to each tectonic plate on either side of a mid-ocean ridge is the spreading half-
rate and is equal to half of the spreading rate). Spreading rates determine if the ridge is fast, intermediate, or
slow. As a general rule, fast ridges have spreading (opening) rates of more than 90 mm/year. Intermediate
ridges have a spreading rate of 40–90 mm/year while slow spreading ridges have a rate less than 40 mm/year.
The highest known rate is over 200 mm/yr in the Miocene on the East Pacific Rise.
In the 1960s, the past record of geomagnetic reversals of Earth's magnetic field was noticed by observing
magnetic stripe "anomalies" on the ocean floor. This results in broadly evident "stripes" from which the past
magnetic field polarity can be inferred from data gathered with a magnetometer towed on the sea surface or
from an aircraft. The stripes on one side of the mid-ocean ridge were the mirror image of those on the other side.
By identifying a reversal with a known age and measuring the distance of that reversal from the spreading
center, the spreading half-rate could be computed.

magnetic stripes formed during seafloor spreading
In some locations spreading rates have been found to be asymmetric; the half
rates differ on each side of the ridge crest by about five percent. This is
thought due to temperature gradients in the asthenosphere from mantle
plumes near the spreading center.
Spreading Center
Seafloor spreading occurs at spreading centers, distributed along the crests of mid-ocean ridges.
Spreading centers end in transform faults or in overlapping spreading center offsets. A spreading center includes
a seismically active plate boundary zone a few kilometers to tens of kilometers wide, a crustal accretion zone
within the boundary zone where the ocean crust is youngest, and an instantaneous plate boundary - a line within
the crustal accretion zone demarcating the two separating plates. Within the crustal accretion zone is a 1-2 km-
wide neovolcanic zone where active volcanism occurs.
Incipient Spreading
Plates in the crust of the earth, according to the plate

tectonics theory
In the general case, seafloor spreading starts as
a rift in a continental land mass, similar to the Red Sea-East
Africa Rift System today. The process starts by heating at the
base of the continental crust which causes it to become more
plastic and less dense. Because less dense objects rise in
relation to denser objects, the area being heated becomes a
broad dome (see isostasy). As the crust bows upward,
fractures occur that gradually grow into rifts. The typical rift
system consists of three rift arms at approximately 120-degree angles. These areas are named triple
junctions and can be found in several places across the world today. The separated margins of
the continents evolve to form passive margins. Hess' theory was that new seafloor is formed when magma is
forced upward toward the surface at a mid-ocean ridge.
If spreading continues past the incipient stage described above, two of the rift arms will open while the
third arm stops opening and becomes a 'failed rift' or aulacogen. As the two active rifts continue to open,
eventually the continental crust is attenuated as far as it will stretch. At this point basaltic oceanic crust and
upper mantle lithosphere begins to form between the separating continental fragments. When one of the rifts
opens into the existing ocean, the rift system is flooded with seawater and becomes a new sea. The Red Sea is
an example of a new arm of the sea. The East African rift was thought to be a failed arm that was opening more
slowly than the other two arms, but in 2005 the Ethiopian Afar Geophysical Lithospheric Experiment reported
that in the Afar region, September 2005, a 60 km fissure opened as wide as eight meters. During this period of
initial flooding the new sea is sensitive to changes in climate and eustasy. As a result, the new sea will
evaporate (partially or completely) several times before the elevation of the rift valley has been lowered to the
point that the sea becomes stable. During this period of evaporation large evaporite deposits will be made in the
rift valley. Later these deposits have the potential to become hydrocarbon seals and are of particular interest
to petroleum geologists.
Seafloor spreading can stop during the process, but if it continues to the point that the continent is completely
severed, then a new ocean basin is created. The Red Sea has not yet completely split Arabia from Africa, but a
similar feature can be found on the other side of Africa that has broken completely free. South America once fit
into the area of the Niger Delta. The Niger River has formed in the failed rift arm of the triple junction.
Continued Spreading and Subduction
Spreading at a mid-ocean ridge

As new seafloor forms and spreads apart from the
mid-ocean ridge it slowly cools over time. Older seafloor is,
therefore, colder than new seafloor, and older oceanic
basins deeper than new oceanic basins due to isostasy. If
the diameter of the earth remains relatively constant despite
the production of new crust, a mechanism must exist by
which crust is also destroyed. The destruction of oceanic
crust occurs at subduction zones where oceanic crust is
forced under either continental crust or oceanic crust.
Today, the Atlantic basin is actively spreading at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Only a small portion of the
oceanic crust produced in the Atlantic is subducted. However, the plates making up the Pacific Ocean are
experiencing subduction along many of their boundaries which causes the volcanic activity in what has been
termed the Ring of Fire of the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific is also home to one of the world's most active
spreading centers (the East Pacific Rise) with spreading rates of up to 145 +/- 4 mm/yr between
the Pacific and Nazca plates. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a slow-spreading center, while the East Pacific Rise is
an example of fast spreading. Spreading centers at slow and intermediate rates exhibit a rift valley while at fast
rates an axial high is found within the crustal accretion zone. The differences in spreading rates affect not only
the geometries of the ridges but also the geochemistry of the basalts that are produced.
Since the new oceanic basins are shallower than the old oceanic basins, the total capacity of the world's ocean
basins decreases during times of active sea floor spreading. During the opening of the Atlantic Ocean, sea level
was so high that a Western Interior Seaway formed across North America from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic
Ocean.
Debate and Search for Mechanism

At the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (and in other mid-ocean ridges), material from the upper mantle rises through
the faults between oceanic plates to form new crust as the plates move away from each other, a phenomenon
first observed as continental drift. When Alfred Wegener first presented a hypothesis of continental drift in 1912,
he suggested that continents plowed through the ocean crust. This was impossible: oceanic crust is both more
dense and more rigid than continental crust. Accordingly, Wegener's theory wasn't taken very seriously,
especially in the United States.
At first the driving force for spreading was argued to be convection currents in the mantle. Since then, it has
been shown that the motion of the continents is linked to seafloor spreading by the theory of plate tectonics,
which is driven by convection that includes the crust itself as well.
The driver for seafloor spreading in plates with active margins is the weight of the cool, dense, subducting slabs
that pull them along, or slab pull. The magmatism at the ridge is considered to be passive upwelling, which is
caused by the plates being pulled apart under the weight of their own slabs. This can be thought of as analogous
to a rug on a table with little friction: when part of the rug is off of the table, its weight pulls the rest of the rug
down with it. However, the Mid-Atlantic ridge itself is not bordered by plates that are being pulled into subduction
zones, except the minor subduction in the Lesser Antilles and Scotia Arc. In this case the plates are sliding apart
over the mantle upwelling in the process of ridge push.
Seafloor Global Topography: Cooling Models
The depth of the seafloor (or the height of a location on a mid-ocean ridge above a base-level) is closely
correlated with its age (age of the lithosphere where depth is measured). The age-depth relation can be modeled
by the cooling of a lithosphere plate or mantle half-space in areas without significant subduction.
Cooling Mantle Model
In the mantle half-space model, the seabed height is determined by the oceanic lithosphere and mantle
temperature, due to thermal expansion. The simple result is that the ridge height or ocean depth is proportional
to the square root of its age.[28] Oceanic lithosphere is continuously formed at a constant rate at the mid-ocean
ridges. The source of the lithosphere has a half-plane shape (x = 0, z < 0) and a constant temperature T1. Due to
its continuous creation, the lithosphere at x > 0 is moving away from the ridge at a constant velocity v, which is
assumed large compared to other typical scales in the problem. The temperature at the upper boundary of the
lithosphere (z = 0) is a constant T0 = 0. Thus at x = 0 the temperature is the Heaviside step function . The system
is assumed to be at a quasi-steady state, so that the temperature distribution is constant in time, i.e. By
calculating in the frame of reference of the moving lithosphere (velocity v), which has spatial coordinate and
the heat equation is: where is the thermal diffusivity of the mantle lithosphere. Since T depends on x' and t only
through the combination :
Cooling Plate Model
The depth predicted by the square root of seafloor age derived above is too deep for seafloor older than
80 million years. Depth is better explained by a cooling lithosphere plate model rather than the cooling mantle
half-space. The plate has a constant temperature at its base and spreading edge. Analysis of depth versus age
and depth versus square root of age data allowed Parsons and Sclater to estimate model parameters (for the
North Pacific): Thus older seafloor deepens more slowly than younger and in fact can be assumed almost
constant at ~6400 m depth. Parsons and Sclater concluded that some style of mantle convection must apply
heat to the base of the plate everywhere to prevent cooling down below 125 km and lithosphere contraction
(seafloor deepening) at older ages. Their plate model also allowed an expression for conductive heat
flow, q(t) from the ocean floor, which is approximately constant at beyond 120 million years:
IV. ASSESSMENT:
1. How does seafloor spreading begun?

2. Does seafloor spreading occurs at divergent plate boundaries? Support your claims.
3. Seafloor spreading is consistent at all mid-ocean ridges
4. Using a concept web distinguish cooling mantle model to cooling plate model.

5. Based on the given information do you agree that seafloor spreading really exist even
in the present time? Cite some strong evidences.

COURSE
in Sciences
Chapter 4: Weathering
MODULE 1 (3 hours)
COURSE
FACILITATOR
Phone No. 09381629959
CHAPTER 4: WEATHERING
1. Describe how rocks undergo weathering.

2. Explain how the products of weathering are carried away by erosion and deposited
elsewhere.
3. Explain how weathering and erosion shape the surface of the earth.
II. TEACHING POINTS:
Weathering
A natural arch produced by erosion of differentially

weathered rock in Jebel Kharaz (Jordan).
Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soils,
and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials
through contact with the Earth's atmosphere, water, and
biological organisms. Weathering occurs in situ (i.e., on
site, without displacement), that is, in the same place, with
little or no movement, and thus should not be confused
with erosion, which involves the transport of rocks and
minerals by agents such
as water, ice, snow, wind, waves and gravity and then
being transported and deposited in other locations.
Two important classifications of weathering processes exist
– physical and chemical weathering; each sometimes involves a biological component. Mechanical or physical
weathering involves the breakdown of rocks and soils through direct contact with atmospheric conditions, such
as heat, water, ice and pressure. The second classification, chemical weathering, involves the direct effect of
atmospheric chemicals or biologically produced chemicals also known as biological weathering in the breakdown
of rocks, soils and minerals. While physical weathering is accentuated in very cold or very dry environments,
chemical reactions are most intense where the climate is wet and hot. However, both types of weathering occur
together, and each tends to accelerate the other. For example, physical abrasion (rubbing together) decreases
the size of particles and therefore increases their surface area, making them more susceptible to chemical
reactions. The various agents act in concert to convert primary minerals (feldspars and micas) to secondary
minerals (clays and carbonates) and release plant nutrient elements in soluble forms.
The materials left over after the rock breaks down combined with organic material creates soil. The mineral
content of the soil is determined by the parent material; thus, a soil derived from a single rock type can often be
deficient in one or more minerals needed for good fertility, while a soil weathered from a mix of rock types (as
in glacial, aeolian or alluvial sediments) often makes more fertile soil. In addition, many of Earth's landforms and
landscapes are the result of weathering processes combined with erosion and re-deposition.
Physical Weathering, also called mechanical weathering or disaggregation, is the class of
processes that causes the disintegration of rocks without chemical change. The primary process in physical
weathering is abrasion (the process by which clasts and other particles are reduced in size). However, chemical
and physical weathering often go hand in hand. Physical weathering can occur due to temperature, pressure,
frost etc. For example, cracks exploited by physical weathering will increase the surface area exposed to
chemical action, thus amplifying the rate of disintegration.
Abrasion by water, ice, and wind processes loaded with sediment can have tremendous cutting power,
as is amply demonstrated by the gorges, ravines, and valleys around the world. In glacial areas, huge moving
ice masses embedded with soil and rock fragments grind down rocks in their path and carry away large volumes
of material. Plant roots sometimes enter cracks in rocks and pry them apart, resulting in some disintegration; the
burrowing of animals may help disintegrate rock. However, such biotic influences are usually of little importance
in producing parent material when compared to the drastic physical effects of water, ice, wind, and temperature
change.
Thermal Stress Weathering, sometimes called insolation weathering, results from the expansion and
contraction of rock, caused by temperature changes. For example, heating of rocks by sunlight or fires can
cause expansion of their constituent minerals. As some minerals expand more than others, temperature
changes set up differential stresses that eventually cause the rock to crack apart. Because the outer surface of a
rock is often warmer or colder than the more protected inner portions, some rocks may weather by exfoliation –
the peeling away of outer layers. This process may be sharply accelerated if ice forms in the surface cracks.
When water freezes, it can expand with a force of about 1465 metric ton/m 2, disintegrating huge rock masses
and dislodging mineral grains from smaller fragments.
Thermal stress weathering comprises two main types, thermal shock and thermal fatigue. Thermal stress
weathering is an important mechanism in deserts, where there is a large diurnal temperature range, hot in the
day and cold at night. The repeated heating and cooling exerts stress on the outer layers of rocks, which can
cause their outer layers to peel off in thin sheets. The process of peeling off is also called exfoliation. Although
temperature changes are the principal driver, moisture can enhance thermal expansion in rock. Forest fires and
range fires are also known to cause significant weathering of rocks and boulders exposed along the ground
surface. Intense localized heat can rapidly expand a boulder.
The thermal heat from wildfire can cause significant weathering of rocks and boulders, heat can rapidly expand a
boulder and thermal shock can occur. The differential expansion of a thermal gradient can be understood in
terms of stress or of strain, equivalently. At some point, this stress can exceed the strength of the material,
causing a crack to form. If nothing stops this crack from propagating through the material, it will result in the
object's structure to fail.
Frost Weathering
A rock in Abisko, Sweden fractured along existing joints possibly

by frost weathering or thermal stress.
Frost weathering, also called ice wedging or cryofracturing, is
the collective name for several processes where ice is present. These
processes include frost shattering, frost-wedging and freeze–thaw
weathering. Severe frost shattering produces huge piles of rock
fragments called scree which may be located at the foot of mountain
areas or along slopes. Frost weathering is common in mountain areas
where the temperature is around the freezing point of water. Certain
frost-susceptible soils expand or heave upon freezing as a result of water migrating via capillary action to
grow ice lenses near the freezing front. This same phenomenon occurs within pore spaces of rocks. The ice
accumulations grow larger as they attract liquid water from the surrounding pores. The ice crystal growth
weakens the rocks which, in time, break up. It is caused by the approximately 10% (9.87) expansion
of ice when water freezes, which can place considerable stress on anything containing the water as it freezes.
Freeze induced weathering action occurs mainly in environments where there is a lot of moisture, and
temperatures frequently fluctuate above and below freezing point, especially in alpine and periglacial areas. An
example of rocks susceptible to frost action is chalk, which has many pore spaces for the growth of ice crystals.
This process can be seen in Dartmoor where it results in the formation of tors. When water that has entered the
joints freezes, the ice formed strains the walls of the joints and causes the joints to deepen and widen. When the
ice thaws, water can flow further into the rock. Repeated freeze–thaw cycles weaken the rocks which, over time,
break up along the joints into angular pieces. The angular rock fragments gather at the foot of the slope to form
a talus slope (or scree slope). The splitting of rocks along the joints into blocks is called block disintegration. The
blocks of rocks that are detached are of various shapes depending on rock structure.

Ocean Waves
Wave action and water chemistry lead to structural failure in

exposed rocks.
Coastal geography is formed by the weathering of wave actions
over geological times or can happen more abruptly through the process
of salt weathering.
Pressure Release
Pressure release could have caused the exfoliated granite sheets

shown in the picture.
In pressure release, also known as unloading, overlying
materials (not necessarily rocks) are removed (by erosion, or other
processes), which causes underlying rocks to expand and fracture
parallel to the surface.
Intrusive igneous rocks (e.g. granite) are formed deep beneath the
Earth's surface. They are under tremendous pressure because of the overlying rock material. When erosion
removes the overlying rock material, these intrusive rocks are exposed and the pressure on them is released.
The outer parts of the rocks then tend to expand. The expansion sets up stresses which cause fractures parallel
to the rock surface to form. Over time, sheets of rock break away from the exposed rocks along the fractures, a
process known as exfoliation. Exfoliation due to pressure release is also known as "sheeting". Retreat of an
overlying glacier can also lead to exfoliation due to pressure release.
Salt-Crystal Growth
Tafoni at Salt Point State Park, Sonoma County, California.
Salt crystallization, the weathering by which is known
as haloclasty, causes disintegration of rocks when saline solutions seep
into cracks and joints in the rocks and evaporate, leaving
salt crystals behind. These salt crystals expand as they are heated up,
exerting pressure on the confining rock.
Salt crystallization may also take place when solutions decompose rocks
(for example, limestone and chalk) to form salt solutions of
sodium sulfate or sodium carbonate, of which the moisture evaporates to
form their respective salt crystals.
The salts which have proved most effective in disintegrating rocks are sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate,
and calcium chloride. Some of these salts can expand up to three times or even more.
Salt crystallization is normally associated with arid climates where strong heating causes strong evaporation and
therefore salt crystallization. It is also common along coasts. An example of salt weathering can be seen in
the honeycombed stones in sea wall. Honeycomb is a type of tafoni, a class of cavernous rock weathering
structures, which likely develop in large part by chemical and physical salt weathering processes.
Biological Effects on Mechanical Weathering
Living organisms may contribute to mechanical weathering, as well as chemical weathering (see §
Biological weathering below). Lichens and mosses grow on essentially bare rock surfaces and create a more
humid chemical microenvironment. The attachment of these organisms to the rock surface enhances physical as
well as chemical breakdown of the surface microlayer of the rock. On a larger scale, seedlings sprouting in a
crevice and plant roots exert physical pressure as well as providing a pathway for water and chemical infiltration.
Chemical Weathering
Comparison of unweathered (left) and weathered (right) limestone.

Chemical weathering changes the composition of rocks, often
transforming them when water interacts with minerals to create various
chemical reactions. Chemical weathering is a gradual and ongoing
process as the mineralogy of the rock adjusts to the near surface
environment. New or secondary minerals develop from the original
minerals of the rock. In this the processes of oxidation and hydrolysis are
most important. Chemical weathering is enhanced by such geological
agents as the presence of water and oxygen, as well as by such
biological agents as the acids produced by microbial and plant-root metabolism.
The process of mountain block uplift is important in exposing new rock strata to the atmosphere and moisture,
enabling important chemical weathering to occur; significant release occurs of Ca2+ and other ions into surface
waters.
Dissolution and Carbonation
A pyrite cube has dissolved away from host rock, leaving gold
behind.
Limestone core samples at different stages of chemical weathering

(due to tropical rain and underground water), from very high at
shallow depths (bottom) to very low at greater depths (top). Slightly
weathered limestone shows brownish stains, while highly
weathered limestone transformed into clay. Underground limestone
from the carbonate West Congolian deposit in Kimpese, Democratic
Republic of Congo.
Rainfall is acidic because atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in the rainwater producing
weak carbonic acid. In unpolluted environments, the rainfall pH is around 5.6. Acid rain occurs when gases such
as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are present in the atmosphere. These oxides react in the rain water to
produce stronger acids and can lower the pH to 4.5 or even 3.0. Sulfur dioxide, SO2, comes from volcanic
eruptions or from fossil fuels, can become sulfuric acid within rainwater, which can cause solution weathering to
the rocks on which it falls. Some minerals, due to their natural solubility (e.g. evaporites), oxidation potential
(iron-rich minerals, such as pyrite), or instability relative to surficial conditions (see Goldich dissolution series) will
weather through dissolution naturally, even without acidic water.
One of the well-known solution weathering processes is carbonate dissolution, the process in which
atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to solution weathering. Carbonate dissolution affects rocks containing calcium
carbonate, such as limestone and chalk. This takes place when rain combines with carbon dioxide to
form carbonic acid, a weak acid, which dissolves calcium carbonate (limestone) and forms soluble calcium
bicarbonate. Despite a slower reaction kinetics, this process is thermodynamically favored at low temperature,
because colder water holds more dissolved carbon dioxide gas (retrograde solubility of gases). Carbonate
dissolution is therefore an important feature of glacial weathering.

Carbonate dissolution reaction involves the following steps:
CO2 + H2O → H2CO3
carbon dioxide + water → carbonic acid
H2CO3 + CaCO3 → Ca(HCO3)2
carbonic acid + calcium carbonate → calcium bicarbonate
Carbonate dissolution on the surface of well-jointed limestone produces a dissected limestone
pavement. This process is most effective along the joints, widening and deepening them.
Hydration
Olivine weathering to iddingsite within a

mantle xenolith.
Mineral hydration is a form of chemical
weathering that involves the rigid attachment of
H+ and OH- ions to the atoms and molecules of
a mineral.
When rock minerals take up water, the
increased volume creates physical stresses within
the rock. For example, iron oxides are converted
to iron hydroxides and the hydration
of anhydrite forms gypsum.
A freshly broken rock shows differential chemical weathering

(probably mostly oxidation) progressing inward. This piece
of sandstone was found in glacial drift near Angelica, New
York.
Hydrolysis of Silicates and Carbonates

Hydrolysis is a chemical weathering process that may affect silicate and carbonate minerals.
An example of such a reaction in which water reacts with a silicate mineral is the following:
Mg2SiO4 + 4 H2O ⇌ 2 Mg(OH)2 + H4SiO4
olivine (forsterite) + water ⇌ brucite + silicic acid
This reaction can result in the complete dissolution of the original mineral, if enough
water is available in the system and if the reaction is thermodynamically favorable. At
ambient temperature, water is weakly dissociated in H+ and OH– but carbon
dioxide readily dissolves in water forming carbonic acid which is an important
weathering agent.
Mg2SiO4 + 4 CO2 + 4 H2O ⇌ 2 Mg2+ + 4 HCO3− + H4SiO4
olivine (forsterite) + carbon dioxide + water ⇌ magnesium and bicarbonate ions in solution + silicic acid
in solution
This hydrolysis reaction is much more common. Carbonic acid is consumed
by silicate weathering, resulting in more alkaline solutions because of
the bicarbonate. This is an important reaction in controlling the amount of
CO2 in the atmosphere and can affect climate.
Aluminosilicates when subjected to the hydrolysis reaction produce a
secondary mineral rather than simply releasing cations.
2 KAlSi3O8 + 2 H2CO3 + 9 H2O ⇌ Al2Si2O5(OH)4 + 4 H4SiO4 + 2 K+ + 2 HCO3−

orthoclase (aluminosilicate feldspar) + carbonic acid + water ⇌ kaolinite (a clay mineral) + silicic acid in
solution + potassium and bicarbonate ions in solution
Oxidation
Oxidized pyrite cubes.
Within the weathering environment chemical oxidation of a
variety of metals occurs. The most commonly observed is the
oxidation of Fe2+ (iron) and combination with oxygen and water to
form Fe3+ hydroxides and oxides such as goethite, limonite,
and hematite. This gives the affected rocks a reddish-brown
coloration on the surface which crumbles easily and weakens the
rock. This process is better known as 'rusting', though it is distinct
from the rusting of metallic iron. Many other metallic ores and
minerals oxidize and hydrate to produce colored deposits, such
as chalcopyrites or CuFeS2 oxidizing to copper hydroxide and iron
oxides.
Biological Weathering
Biological weathering of basalt by lichen, La Palma.
A number of plants and animals may create chemical weathering through
release of acidic compounds, i.e. the effect of moss growing on roofs is
classed as weathering. Mineral weathering can also be initiated or
accelerated by soil microorganisms. Lichens on rocks are thought to
increase chemical weathering rates. For example, an experimental study
on hornblende granite in New Jersey, USA, demonstrated a 3x – 4x
increase in weathering rate under lichen covered surfaces compared to
recently exposed bare rock surfaces.
The most common forms of biological weathering are the release
of chelating compounds (i.e. organic acids, siderophores) and of acidifying molecules (i.e. protons, organic
acids) by plants so as to break down aluminium and iron containing compounds in the soils beneath
them. Decaying remains of dead plants in soil may form organic acids which, when dissolved in water, cause
chemical weathering.The accumulation of chelating compounds, mostly low molecular weight organic acids, can
easily affect surrounding rocks and soils, and may lead to podsolisation osoils.
The symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi associated with tree root systems can release inorganic nutrients from minerals
such as apatite or biotite and transfer these nutrients to the trees, thus contributing to tree nutrition. [11] It was also
recently evidenced that bacterial communities can impact mineral stability leading to the release of inorganic
nutrients. To date a large range of bacterial strains or communities from diverse genera have been reported to
be able to colonize mineral surfaces or to weather minerals, and for some of them a plant growth promoting
effect was demonstrated.[13] The demonstrated or hypothesised mechanisms used by bacteria to weather
minerals include several oxidoreduction and dissolution reactions as well as the production of weathering
agents, such as protons, organic acids and chelating molecules.
Building Weathering
Buildings made of any stone, brick or concrete are susceptible to the same weathering agents as any
exposed rock surface. Also statues, monuments and ornamental stonework can be badly damaged by natural
weathering processes. This is accelerated in areas severely affected by acid rain.
Properties of Well-Weathered Soils
Three groups of minerals often remain in well-weathered soils: silicate clays, very resistant end products
including iron and aluminium oxide clays, and very resistant primary minerals such as quartz. In highly
weathered soils of humid tropical and subtropical regions, the oxides of iron and aluminium, and certain silicate
clays with low Si/Al ratios, predominate because most other constituents have been broken down and removed.
V. ASSESSMENT:
1. Discuss the difference between physical, biological, and chemical weathering using a
concept web.
2. Identify and describe factors that contribute to weathering.
3. Cite at least 5 examples of the effect of weathering and describe how they affect
certain phenomena.
4. What do you think is the long term effect of weathering? Propose some mitigation.
5. Among the three (Physical, Biological, Chemical) weathering which do you think has
a great impact to the planet earth?

COURSE
in Sciences
MODULE 1 (3 hours) Chapter 5: The Soil
COURSE
FACILITATOR
Phone No. 09381629959
CHAPTER 5: THE SOIL
III. INTRODUCTION:
This chapter discusses the kinds and properties of rocks. The rock cycle is described in order to have
deeper understanding on the concepts of rocks and its process undergone as time goes by.
IV. LEARNING OUTCOMES:

5. Discuss the factors that affect the rate of rock breakdown and the controls of soil
formation.
6. Make a report on how rocks and soil move downslope due to the direct action of
gravity.
7. Explain how weathering and erosion shape the surface of the earth.
8. Cite ways how soil erosion will be prevented.
Soil is a mixture of organic

matter, minerals, gases, liquids,
and organisms that together
support life. Earth's body of soil,
called the pedosphere, has four
important functions:
 as a medium for plant

growth
 as a means of water
storage, supply and purification

 as a modifier of Earth's atmosphere
 as a habitat for organisms
All of these functions, in their turn, modify the soil and its properties.
Soil is also commonly referred to as earth or dirt; some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from soil by
restricting the former term specifically to displaced soil.
The pedosphere interfaces with the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere.[1] The
term pedolith, used commonly to refer to the soil, translates to ground stone in the sense "fundamental
stone." Soil consists of a solid phase of minerals and organic matter (the soil matrix), as well as a porous phase
that holds gases (the soil atmosphere) and water (the soil solution). Accordingly, soil scientists can envisage
soils as a three-state system of solids, liquids, and gases.
Soil is a product of several factors: the influence of climate, relief (elevation, orientation, and slope of terrain),
organisms, and the soil's parent materials (original minerals) interacting over time. It continually undergoes
development by way of numerous physical, chemical and biological processes, which include weathering with
associated erosion. Given its complexity and strong internal connectedness, soil ecologists regard soil as
an ecosystem.
Most soils have a dry bulk density (density of soil taking into account voids when dry) between 1.1 and
1.6 g/cm3, while the soil particle density is much higher, in the range of 2.6 to 2.7 g/cm3. Little of the soil of planet
Earth is older than the Pleistocene and none is older than the Cenozoic, although fossilized soils are preserved
from as far back as the Archean.
Soil science has two basic branches of study: edaphology and pedology. Edaphology studies the influence of
soils on living things. Pedology focuses on the formation, description (morphology), and classification of soils in
their natural environment. In engineering terms, soil is included in the broader concept of regolith, which also
includes other loose material that lies above the bedrock, as can be found on the Moon and on other celestial
objects as well.
Functions
Soil functions as a major component of the Earth's ecosystem. The world's ecosystems are impacted in
far-reaching ways by the processes carried out in the soil, with effects ranging from ozone depletion and global
warming to rainforest destruction and water pollution. With respect to Earth's carbon cycle, soil acts as an
important carbon reservoir, and it is potentially one of the most reactive to human disturbance and climate
change. As the planet warms, it has been predicted that soils will add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere due to
increased biological activity at higher temperatures, a positive feedback (amplification). This prediction has,
however, been questioned on consideration of more recent knowledge on soil carbon turnover.
Soil acts as an engineering medium, a habitat for soil organisms, a recycling system for nutrients and organic
wastes, a regulator of water quality, a modifier of atmospheric composition, and a medium for plant growth,
making it a critically important provider of ecosystem services. Since soil has a tremendous range of available
niches and habitats, it contains most of the Earth's genetic diversity. A gram of soil can contain billions of
organisms, belonging to thousands of species, mostly microbial and largely still unexplored. Soil has
a mean prokaryotic density of roughly 108 organisms per gram, whereas the ocean has no more than
107 prokaryotic organisms per milliliter (gram) of seawater. Organic carbon held in soil is eventually returned to
the atmosphere through the process of respiration carried out by heterotrophic organisms, but a substantial part
is retained in the soil in the form of soil organic matter; tillage usually increases the rate of soil respiration,
leading to the depletion of soil organic matter. Since plant roots need oxygen, ventilation is an important
characteristic of soil. This ventilation can be accomplished via networks of interconnected soil pores, which also
absorb and hold rainwater making it readily available for uptake by plants. Since plants require a nearly
continuous supply of water, but most regions receive sporadic rainfall, the water-holding capacity of soils is vital
for plant survival.
Soils can effectively remove impurities, kill disease agents, and degrade contaminants, this latter property being
called natural attenuation. Typically, soils maintain a net absorption of oxygen and methane and undergo a net
release of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. Soils offer plants physical support, air, water, temperature
moderation, nutrients, and protection from toxins. Soils provide readily available nutrients to plants and animals
by converting dead organic matter into various nutrient forms.
Composition
Soil profile: Darkened topsoil and reddish subsoil layers are typical in
of humid subtropical climate regions
Components of a loam soil by percent volume

Water (25%)
Gases (25%)
Sand (18%)
Silt (18%)

Clay (9%)
Organic matter (5%)
A typical soil is about 50% solids (45% mineral and 5% organic matter), and 50% voids (or pores) of
which half is occupied by water and half by gas. The percent soil mineral and organic content can be treated as
a constant (in the short term), while the percent soil water and gas content is considered highly variable whereby
a rise in one is simultaneously balanced by a reduction in the other. The pore space allows for the infiltration and
movement of air and water, both of which are critical for life existing in soil. Compaction, a common problem with
soils, reduces this space, preventing air and water from reaching plant roots and soil organisms.
Given sufficient time, an undifferentiated soil will evolve a soil profile which consists of two or more layers,
referred to as soil horizons. These differ in one or more properties such as in their texture, structure, density,
porosity, consistency, temperature, color, and reactivity.[10] The horizons differ greatly in thickness and generally
lack sharp boundaries; their development is dependent on the type of parent material, the processes that modify
those parent materials, and the soil-forming factors that influence those processes. The biological influences on
soil properties are strongest near the surface, while the geochemical influences on soil properties increase with
depth. Mature soil profiles typically include three basic master horizons: A, B, and C. The solum normally
includes the A and B horizons. The living component of the soil is largely confined to the solum, and is generally
more prominent in the A horizon.
The soil texture is determined by the relative proportions of the individual particles of sand, silt, and clay that
make up the soil. The interaction of the individual mineral particles with organic matter, water, gases
via biotic and abiotic processes causes those particles to flocculate (stick together) to form aggregates or peds.
Where these aggregates can be identified, a soil can be said to be developed, and can be described further in
terms of color, porosity, consistency, reaction (acidity), etc.
Water is a critical agent in soil development due to its involvement in the dissolution, precipitation, erosion,
transport, and deposition of the materials of which a soil is composed. The mixture of water and dissolved or
suspended materials that occupy the soil pore space is called the soil solution. Since soil water is never pure
water, but contains hundreds of dissolved organic and mineral substances, it may be more accurately called the
soil solution. Water is central to the dissolution, precipitation and leaching of minerals from the soil profile.
Finally, water affects the type of vegetation that grows in a soil, which in turn affects the development of the soil,
a complex feedback which is exemplified in the dynamics of banded vegetation patterns in semi-arid regions.
Soils supply plants with nutrients, most of which are held in place by particles of clay and organic
matter (colloids) The nutrients may be adsorbed on clay mineral surfaces, bound within clay minerals
(absorbed), or bound within organic compounds as part of the living organisms or dead soil organic matter.
These bound nutrients interact with soil water to buffer the soil solution composition (attenuate changes in the
soil solution) as soils wet up or dry out, as plants take up nutrients, as salts are leached, or as acids or alkalis
are added.
Plant nutrient availability is affected by soil pH, which is a measure of the hydrogen ion activity in the soil
solution. Soil pH is a function of many soil forming factors, and is generally lower (more acid) where weathering
is more advanced. Most plant nutrients, with the exception of nitrogen, originate from the minerals that make up
the soil parent material. Some nitrogen originates from rain as dilute nitric acid and ammonia, but most of the
nitrogen is available in soils as a result of nitrogen fixation by bacteria. Once in the soil-plant system, most
nutrients are recycled through living organisms, plant and microbial residues (soil organic matter), mineral-bound
forms, and the soil solution. Both living microorganisms and soil organic matter are of critical importance to this
recycling, and thereby to soil formation and soil fertility. Microbial activity in soils may release nutrients from
minerals or organic matter for use by plants and other microorganisms, sequester (incorporate) them into living
cells, or cause their loss from the soil by volatilisation (loss to the atmosphere as gases) or leaching.
Formation
Soil formation, or pedogenesis, is the combined effect of physical, chemical, biological and
anthropogenic processes working on soil parent material. Soil is said to be formed when organic matter has
accumulated and colloids are washed downward, leaving deposits of clay, humus, iron oxide, carbonate, and
gypsum, producing a distinct layer called the B horizon. This is a somewhat arbitrary definition as mixtures of
sand, silt, clay and humus will support biological and agricultural activity before that time. These constituents are
moved from one level to another by water and animal activity. As a result, layers (horizons) form in the soil
profile. The alteration and movement of materials within a soil causes the formation of distinctive soil horizons.
However, more recent definitions of soil embrace soils without any organic matter, such as those regoliths that
formed on Mars and analogous conditions in planet Earth deserts.
An example of the development of a soil would begin with the weathering of lava flow bedrock, which would
produce the purely mineral-based parent material from which the soil texture forms. Soil development would
proceed most rapidly from bare rock of recent flows in a warm climate, under heavy and frequent rainfall. Under
such conditions, plants (in a first stage nitrogen-fixing lichens and cyanobacteria then epilithic higher plants)
become established very quickly on basaltic lava, even though there is very little organic material. The plants are
supported by the porous rock as it is filled with nutrient-bearing water that carries minerals dissolved from the
rocks. Crevasses and pockets, local topography of the rocks, would hold fine materials and harbour plant roots.

The developing plant roots are associated with mineral-weathering mycorrhizal fungi that assist in breaking up
the porous lava, and by these means organic matter and a finer mineral soil accumulate with time. Such initial
stages of soil development have been described on volcanoes, inselbergs, and glacial moraines.
How soil formation proceeds is influenced by at least five classic factors that are intertwined in the evolution of a
soil. They are: parent material, climate, topography (relief), organisms, and time. When reordered to climate,
relief, organisms, parent material, and time, they form the acronym CROPT.
Physical Properties
The physical properties of soils, in order of decreasing importance for ecosystem services such as crop
production, are texture, structure, bulk density, porosity, consistency, temperature, colour and resistivity. Soil
texture is determined by the relative proportion of the three kinds of soil mineral particles, called soil
separates: sand, silt, and clay. At the next larger scale, soil structures called peds or more commonly soil
aggregates are created from the soil separates when iron oxides, carbonates, clay, silica and humus, coat
particles and cause them to adhere into larger, relatively stable secondary structures. Soil bulk density, when
determined at standardized moisture conditions, is an estimate of soil compaction. Soil porosity consists of the
void part of the soil volume and is occupied by gases or water. Soil consistency is the ability of soil materials to
stick together. Soil temperature and colour are self-defining. Resistivity refers to the resistance to conduction of
electric currents and affects the rate of corrosion of metal and concrete structures which are buried in soil. These
properties vary through the depth of a soil profile, i.e. through soil horizons. Most of these properties determine
the aeration of the soil and the ability of water to infiltrate and to be held within the soil.
Soil moisture refers to the water content of the soil. It can be expressed in terms of volumes or
weights. Soil moisture measurement can be based on in situ probes or remote sensing methods.
Water that enters a field is removed from a field by runoff, drainage, evaporation or transpiration. Runoff is the
water that flows on the surface to the edge of the field; drainage is the water that flows through the soil
downward or toward the edge of the field underground; evaporative water loss from a field is that part of the
water that evaporates into the atmosphere directly from the field's surface; transpiration is the loss of water from
the field by its evaporation from the plant itself.
Water affects soil formation, structure, stability and erosion but is of primary concern with respect to plant
growth. Water is essential to plants for four reasons:
1. It constitutes 80%-95% of the plant's protoplasm.

2. It is essential for photosynthesis.
3. It is the solvent in which nutrients are carried to, into and throughout the plant.
4. It provides the turgidity by which the plant keeps itself in proper position.
In addition, water alters the soil profile by dissolving and re-depositing minerals, often at lower levels. In a loam
soil, solids constitute half the volume, gas one-quarter of the volume, and water one-quarter of the volumeof
which only half will be available to most plants, with a strong variation according to matric potential.
A flooded field will drain the gravitational water under the influence of gravity until water's adhesive and cohesive
forces resist further drainage at which point it is said to have reached field capacity. At that point, plants must
apply suction to draw water from a soil. The water that plants may draw from the soil is called the available
water. Once the available water is used up the remaining moisture is called unavailable water as the plant
cannot produce sufficient suction to draw that water in. At 15 bar suction, wilting point, seeds will not
germinate, plants begin to wilt and then die. Water moves in soil under the influence
of gravity, osmosis and capillarity. When water enters the soil, it displaces air from
interconnected macropores by buoyancy, and breaks aggregates into which air is entrapped, a process
called slaking.
The rate at which a soil can absorb water depends on the soil and its other conditions. As a plant grows, its roots
remove water from the largest pores (macropores) first. Soon the larger pores hold only air, and the remaining
water is found only in the intermediate- and smallest-sized pores (micropores). The water in the smallest pores
is so strongly held to particle surfaces that plant roots cannot pull it away. Consequently, not all soil water is
available to plants, with a strong dependence on texture.[71] When saturated, the soil may lose nutrients as the
water drains. Water moves in a draining field under the influence of pressure where the soil is locally saturated
and by capillarity pull to drier parts of the soil. Most plant water needs are supplied from the suction caused by
evaporation from plant leaves (transpiration) and a lower fraction is supplied by suction created by osmotic
pressure differences between the plant interior and the soil solution. Plant roots must seek out water and grow
preferentially in moister soil microsites, but some parts of the root system are also able to remoisten dry parts of
the soil. Insufficient water will damage the yield of a crop. Most of the available water is used in transpiration to
pull nutrients into the plant.
Soil water is also important for climate modeling and numerical weather prediction. Global Climate Observing
System specified soil water as one of the 50 Essential Climate Variables (ECVs). Soil water can be measured in
situ with soil moisture sensor or can be estimated from satellite data and hydrological models. Each method
exhibits pros and cons, and hence, the integration of different techniques may decrease the drawbacks of a
single given method.

Water Retention
Water is retained in a soil when the adhesive force of attraction that water's hydrogen atoms have for
the oxygen of soil particles is stronger than the cohesive forces that water's hydrogen feels for other water
oxygen atoms. When a field is flooded, the soil pore space is completely filled by water. The field will drain under
the force of gravity until it reaches what is called field capacity, at which point the smallest pores are filled with
water and the largest with water and gases. The total amount of water held when field capacity is reached is a
function of the specific surface area of the soil particles. As a result, high clay and high organic soils have higher
field capacities. The potential energy of water per unit volume relative to pure water in reference conditions is
called water potential. Total water potential is a sum of matric potential which results from capillary action,
osmotic potential for saline soil, and gravitational potential when dealing with vertical direction of water
movement. Water potential in soil usually has negative values, and therefore it is also expressed in suction,
which is defined as the minus of water potential. Suction has a positive value and can be regarded as the total
force required to pull or push water out of soil. Water potential or suction is expressed in units of kPa
(103 pascal), bar (100 kPa), or cm H2O (approximately 0.098 kPa). Common logarithm of suction in cm H2O is
called pF. Therefore, pF 3 = 1000 cm = 98 kPa = 0.98 bar.
The forces with which water is held in soils determine its availability to plants. Forces of adhesion hold water
strongly to mineral and humus surfaces and less strongly to itself by cohesive forces. A plant's root may
penetrate a very small volume of water that is adhering to soil and be initially able to draw in water that is only
lightly held by the cohesive forces. But as the droplet is drawn down, the forces of adhesion of the water for the
soil particles produce increasingly higher suction, finally up to 1500 kPa (pF = 4.2). At 1500 kPa suction, the soil
water amount is called wilting point. At that suction the plant cannot sustain its water needs as water is still being
lost from the plant by transpiration, the plant's turgidity is lost, and it wilts, although stomatal closure may
decrease transpiration and thus may retard wilting below the wilting point, in particular
under adaptation or acclimatization to drought. The next level, called air-dry, occurs at 100,000 kPa suction (pF
= 6). Finally the oven dry condition is reached at 1,000,000 kPa suction (pF = 7). All water below wilting point is
called unavailable water.
When the soil moisture content is optimal for plant growth, the water in the large and intermediate size pores can
move about in the soil and be easily used by plants. [71] The amount of water remaining in a soil drained to field
capacity and the amount that is available are functions of the soil type. Sandy soil will retain very little water,
while clay will hold the maximum amount. The available water for the silt loam might be 20% whereas for the
sand it might be only 6% by volume, as shown in this table.
Wilting point, field capacity, and available water of various soil textures (unit: % by volume)[90]
Soil Texture Wilting Point Field Capacity Available water
Sand 3.3 9.1 5.8
Sandy loam 9.5 20.7 11.2
Loam 11.7 27.0 15.3
Silt loam 13.3 33.0 19.7
Clay loam 19.7 31.8 12.1
Clay 27.2 39.6 12.4
The above are average values for the soil textures.

Water flow
Water moves through soil due to the force of gravity, osmosis and capillarity. At zero to 33
kPa suction (field capacity), water is pushed through soil from the point of its application under the force of
gravity and the pressure gradient created by the pressure of the water; this is called saturated flow. At higher
suction, water movement is pulled by capillarity from wetter toward drier soil. This is caused by
water's adhesion to soil solids, and is called unsaturated flow.
Water infiltration and movement in soil is controlled by six factors:
1. Soil texture
2. Soil structure. Fine-textured soils with granular structure are most favourable to infiltration of water.
3. The amount of organic matter. Coarse matter is best and if on the surface helps prevent the destruction
of soil structure and the creation of crusts.
4. Depth of soil to impervious layers such as hardpans or bedrock
5. The amount of water already in the soil
6. Soil temperature. Warm soils take in water faster while frozen soils may not be able to absorb
depending on the type of freezing.
Water infiltration rates range from 0.25 cm per hour for high clay soils to 2.5 cm per hour for sand and well
stabilized and aggregated soil structures. Water flows through the ground unevenly, in the form of so-called
"gravity fingers", because of the surface tension between water particles.
Tree roots, whether living or dead, create preferential channels for rainwater flow through soil, magnifying
infiltration rates of water up to 27 times.
Flooding temporarily increases soil permeability in river beds, helping to recharge aquifers.

Water applied to a soil is pushed by pressure gradients from the point of its application where it
is saturated locally, to less saturated areas, such as the vadose zone. Once soil is completely wetted, any more
water will move downward, or percolate out of the range of plant roots, carrying with it clay, humus, nutrients,
primarily cations, and various contaminants, including pesticides, pollutants, viruses and bacteria, potentially
causing groundwater contamination. In order of decreasing solubility, the leached nutrients are:
 Calcium
 Magnesium, Sulfur, Potassium; depending upon soil composition
 Nitrogen; usually little, unless nitrate fertiliser was applied recently
 Phosphorus; very little as its forms in soil are of low solubility.
In the United States percolation water due to rainfall ranges from almost zero centimeters just east of the Rocky
Mountains to fifty or more centimeters per day in the Appalachian Mountains and the north coast of the Gulf of
Mexico.
Water is pulled by capillary action due to the adhesion force of water to the soil solids, producing
a suction gradient from wet towards drier soil and from macropores to micropores. The so-called Richards
equation allows calculation of the time rate of change of moisture content in soils due to the movement of water
in unsaturated soils. Interestingly, this equation attributed to Richards was originally published by Richardson in
1922. The Soil Moisture Velocity Equation, which can be solved using the finite water-content vadose zone flow
method,[110][111] describes the velocity of flowing water through an unsaturated soil in the vertical direction. The
numerical solution of the Richardson/Richards equation allows calculation of unsaturated water flow and solute
transport using software such as Hydrus, by giving soil hydraulic parameters of hydraulic functions (water
retention function and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function) and initial and boundary conditions.
Preferential flow occurs along interconnected macropores, crevices, root and worm channels, which drain water
under gravity.
Many models based on soil physics now allow for some representation of preferential flow as a dual continuum,
dual porosity or dual permeability options, but these have generally been "bolted on" to the Richards solution
without any rigorous physical underpinning.
Water Uptake by Plants
Of equal importance to the storage and movement of water in soil is the means by which plants acquire
it and their nutrients. Most soil water is taken up by plants as passive absorption caused by the pulling force of
water evaporating (transpiring) from the long column of water (xylem sap flow) that leads from the plant's roots to
its leaves, according to the cohesion-tension theory. The upward movement of water and solutes (hydraulic lift)
is regulated in the roots by the endodermis and in the plant foliage by stomatal conductance, and can be
interrupted in root and shoot xylem vessels by cavitation, also called xylem embolism. In addition, the high
concentration of salts within plant roots creates an osmotic pressure gradient that pushes soil water into the
roots. Osmotic absorption becomes more important during times of low water transpiration caused by lower
temperatures (for example at night) or high humidity, and the reverse occurs under high temperature or low
humidity. It is these process that cause guttation and wilting, respectively.
Root extension is vital for plant survival. A study of a single winter rye plant grown for four months in one cubic
foot (0.0283 cubic meters) of loam soil showed that the plant developed 13,800,000 roots, a total of 620 km in
length with 237 square meters in surface area; and 14 billion hair roots of 10,620 km total length and 400 square
meters total area; for a total surface area of 638 square meters. The total surface area of the loam soil was
estimated to be 52,000 square meters.[123] In other words, the roots were in contact with only 1.2% of the soil.
However, root extension should be viewed as a dynamic process, allowing new roots to explore a new volume of
soil each day, increasing dramatically the total volume of soil explored over a given growth period, and thus the
volume of water taken up by the root system over this period. Root architecture, i.e. the spatial configuration of
the root system, plays a prominent role in the adaptation of plants to soil water and nutrient availabiity, and thus
in plant productivity.
Roots must seek out water as the unsaturated flow of water in soil can move only at a rate of up to 2.5 cm per
day; as a result they are constantly dying and growing as they seek out high concentrations of soil
moisture. Insufficient soil moisture, to the point of causing wilting, will cause permanent damage and crop
yields will suffer. When grain sorghum was exposed to soil suction as low as 1300 kPa during the seed head
emergence through bloom and seed set stages of growth, its production was reduced by 34%.
Consumptive Use and Water use Efficiency
Only a small fraction (0.1% to 1%) of the water used by a plant is held within the plant. The majority is
ultimately lost via transpiration, while evaporation from the soil surface is also substantial, the
transpiration:evaporation ratio varying according to vegetation type and climate, peaking in tropical
rainforests and dipping in steppes and deserts. Transpiration plus evaporative soil moisture loss is
called evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration plus water held in the plant totals to consumptive use, which is
nearly identical to evapotranspiration.
The total water used in an agricultural field includes surface runoff, drainage and consumptive use. The use of
loose mulches will reduce evaporative losses for a period after a field is irrigated, but in the end the total
evaporative loss (plant plus soil) will approach that of an uncovered soil, while more water is immediately
available for plant growth. Water use efficiency is measured by the transpiration ratio, which is the ratio of the
total water transpired by a plant to the dry weight of the harvested plant. Transpiration ratios for crops range

from 300 to 700. For example, alfalfa may have a transpiration ratio of 500 and as a result 500 kilograms of
water will produce one kilogram of dry alfalfa.
Soil Gas
The atmosphere of soil, or soil gas, is very different from the atmosphere above. The consumption
of oxygen by microbes and plant roots, and their release of carbon dioxide, decrease oxygen and increase
carbon dioxide concentration. Atmospheric CO2 concentration is 0.04%, but in the soil pore space it may range
from 10 to 100 times that level, thus potentially contributing to the inhibition of root respiration.[132] Calcareous
soils regulate CO2 concentration by carbonate buffering, contrary to acid soils in which all CO 2 respired
accumulates in the soil pore system. At extreme levels CO2 is toxic. This suggests a possible negative
feedback control of soil CO2 concentration through its inhibitory effects on root and microbial respiration (also
called 'soil respiration').[135] In addition, the soil voids are saturated with water vapour, at least until the point of
maximal hygroscopicity, beyond which a vapour-pressure deficit occurs in the soil pore space. Adequate
porosity is necessary, not just to allow the penetration of water, but also to allow gases to diffuse in and out.
Movement of gases is by diffusion from high concentrations to lower, the diffusion coefficient decreasing with soil
compaction. Oxygen from above atmosphere diffuses in the soil where it is consumed and levels of carbon
dioxide in excess of above atmosphere diffuse out with other gases (including greenhouse gases) as well as
water. Soil texture and structure strongly affect soil porosity and gas diffusion. It is the total pore space (porosity)
of soil, not the pore size, and the degree of pore interconnection (or conversely pore sealing), together with
water content, air turbulence and temperature, that determine the rate of diffusion of gases into and out of
soil. Platy soil structure and soil compaction (low porosity) impede gas flow, and a deficiency of oxygen may
encourage anaerobic bacteria to reduce (strip oxygen) from nitrate NO3 to the gases N2, N2O, and NO, which are
then lost to the atmosphere, thereby depleting the soil of nitrogen. Aerated soil is also a net sink of methane CH4
but a net producer of methane (a strong heat-absorbing greenhouse gas) when soils are depleted of oxygen and
subject to elevated temperatures.
Soil atmosphere is also the seat of emissions of volatiles other than carbon and nitrogen oxides from various soil
organisms, e.g. roots, bacteria, fungi, animals. These volatiles are used as chemical cues, making soil
atmosphere the seat of interaction networks playing a decisive role in the stability, dynamics and evolution of soil
ecosystems. Biogenic soil volatile organic compounds are exchanged with the aboveground atmosphere, in
which they are just 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than those from aboveground vegetation.
We humans can get some idea of the soil atmosphere through the well-known 'after-the-rain' scent, when
infiltering rainwater flushes out the whole soil atmosphere after a drought period, or when soil is excavated, a
bulk property attributed in a reductionist manner to particular biochemical compounds such
as petrichor or geosmin.
Soil Phase
Soil particles can be classified by their chemical composition (mineralogy) as well as their size. The
particle size distribution of a soil, its texture, determines many of the properties of that soil, in particular hydraulic
conductivity and water potential, but the mineralogy of those particles can strongly modify those properties. The
mineralogy of the finest soil particles, clay, is especially important.
Soil Chemistry
The chemistry of a soil determines its ability to supply available plant nutrients and affects its physical
properties and the health of its living population. In addition, a soil's chemistry also determines its corrosivity,
stability, and ability to absorb pollutants and to filter water. It is the surface chemistry of mineral and
organic colloids that determines soil's chemical properties. A colloid is a small, insoluble particle ranging in size
from 1 nanometer to 1 micrometer, thus small enough to remain suspended by Brownian motion in a fluid
medium without settling. Most soils contain organic colloidal particles called humus as well as the inorganic
colloidal particles of clays. The very high specific surface area of colloids and their net electrical charges give
soil its ability to hold and release ions. Negatively charged sites on colloids attract and release cations in what is
referred to as cation exchange. Cation-exchange capacity (CEC) is the amount of exchangeable cations per unit
weight of dry soil and is expressed in terms of milliequivalents of positively charged ions per 100 grams of soil
(or centimoles of positive charge per kilogram of soil; cmolc/kg). Similarly, positively charged sites on colloids can
attract and release anions in the soil giving the soil anion exchange capacity (AEC).
Cation and Anion Exchange
The cation exchange, that takes place between colloids and soil water, buffers (moderates) soil pH,
alters soil structure, and purifies percolating water by adsorbing cations of all types, both useful and harmful.
The negative or positive charges on colloid particles make them able to hold cations or anions, respectively, to
their surfaces. The charges result from four sources.
1. Isomorphous substitution occurs in clay during its formation, when lower-valence cations substitute for
higher-valence cations in the crystal structure. Substitutions in the outermost layers are more effective
than for the innermost layers, as the electric charge strength drops off as the square of the distance.
The net result is oxygen atoms with net negative charge and the ability to attract cations.
2. Edge-of-clay oxygen atoms are not in balance ionically as the tetrahedral and octahedral structures are
incomplete.

3. Hydroxyls may substitute for oxygens of the silica layers, a process called hydroxylation. When the
hydrogens of the clay hydroxyls are ionised into solution, they leave the oxygen with a negative charge
(anionic clays).
4. Hydrogens of humus hydroxyl groups may also be ionised into solution, leaving, similarly to clay, an
oxygen with a negative charge.
Cations held to the negatively charged colloids resist being washed downward by water and out of reach of
plants' roots, thereby preserving the fertility of soils in areas of moderate rainfall and low temperatures.
There is a hierarchy in the process of cation exchange on colloids, as they differ in the strength of adsorption by
the colloid and hence their ability to replace one another (ion exchange). If present in equal amounts in the soil
water solution:
Al3+ replaces H+ replaces Ca2+ replaces Mg2+ replaces K+ same as NH4+ replaces Na+
If one cation is added in large amounts, it may replace the others by the sheer force of its numbers. This is
called law of mass action. This is largely what occurs with the addition of cationic fertilisers (potash, lime).
As the soil solution becomes more acidic (low pH, meaning an abundance of H+, the other cations more weakly
bound to colloids are pushed into solution as hydrogen ions occupy exchange sites (protonation). A low pH may
cause hydrogen of hydroxyl groups to be pulled into solution, leaving charged sites on the colloid available to be
occupied by other cations. This ionisation of hydroxyl groups on the surface of soil colloids creates what is
described as pH-dependent surface charges. Unlike permanent charges developed by isomorphous substitution,
pH-dependent charges are variable and increase with increasing pH. Freed cations can be made available to
plants but are also prone to be leached from the soil, possibly making the soil less fertile. Plants are able to
excrete H+ into the soil through the synthesis of organic acids and by that means, change the pH of the soil near
the root and push cations off the colloids, thus making those available to the plant.
Cation exchange capacity (CEC)

Cation exchange capacity should be thought of as the soil's ability to remove cations from the soil water
solution and sequester those to be exchanged later as the plant roots release hydrogen ions to the solution.
CEC is the amount of exchangeable hydrogen cation (H+) that will combine with 100 grams dry weight of soil and
whose measure is one milliequivalents per 100 grams of soil (1 meq/100 g). Hydrogen ions have a single charge
and one-thousandth of a gram of hydrogen ions per 100 grams dry soil gives a measure of one milliequivalent of
hydrogen ion. Calcium, with an atomic weight 40 times that of hydrogen and with a valence of two, converts to
(40/2) x 1 milliequivalent = 20 milliequivalents of hydrogen ion per 100 grams of dry soil or 20 meq/100 g. The
modern measure of CEC is expressed as centimoles of positive charge per kilogram (cmol/kg) of oven-dry soil.
Most of the soil's CEC occurs on clay and humus colloids, and the lack of those in hot, humid, wet climates, due
to leaching and decomposition, respectively, explains the apparent sterility of tropical soils. Live plant roots also
have some CEC, linked to their specific surface area.
Cation exchange capacity for soils; soil textures; soil colloid
CEC meq/100
Soil State
g
Charlotte fine sand Florida 1.0
Ruston fine sandy loam Texas 1.9
Glouchester loam New Jersey 11.9
Grundy silt loam Illinois 26.3
Gleason clay loam California 31.6
Susquehanna clay loam Alabama 34.3
Davie mucky fine sand Florida 100.8
Sands ------ 1–5
Fine sandy loams ------ 5–10
Loams and silt loams ----- 5–15
Clay loams ----- 15–30
Clays ----- over 30
Sesquioxides ----- 0–3
Kaolinite ----- 3–15
Illite ----- 25–40
Montmorillonite ----- 60–100
Vermiculite (similar to illite) ----- 80–150
Humus ----- 100–300
Anion exchange capacity (AEC)

Anion exchange capacity should be thought of as the soil's ability to remove anions
(e.g. nitrate, phosphate) from the soil water solution and sequester those for later exchange as the plant roots
release carbonate anions to the soil water solution. Those colloids which have low CEC tend to have some AEC.
Amorphous and sesquioxide clays have the highest AEC, followed by the iron oxides. Levels of AEC are much
lower than for CEC, because of the generally higher rate of positively (versus negatively) charged surfaces on
soil colloids, to the exception of variable-charge soils. Phosphates tend to be held at anion exchange sites.
Iron and aluminum hydroxide clays are able to exchange their hydroxide anions (OH−) for other anions. The
order reflecting the strength of anion adhesion is as follows:
H2PO4− replaces SO42− replaces NO3− replaces Cl−
The amount of exchangeable anions is of a magnitude of tenths to a few milliequivalents per 100 g dry soil.
As pH rises, there are relatively more hydroxyls, which will displace anions from the colloids and force them
into solution and out of storage; hence AEC decreases with increasing pH (alkalinity).
Reactivity (pH)
Soil reactivity is expressed in terms of pH and is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. More
precisely, it is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration in an aqueous solution and ranges in values from 0
to 14 (acidic to basic) but practically speaking for soils, pH ranges from 3.5 to 9.5, as pH values beyond
those extremes are toxic to life forms.
At 25 °C an aqueous solution that has a pH of 3.5 has 10−3.5 moles H+ (hydrogen ions) per litre of solution
(and also 10−10.5 mole/litre OH−). A pH of 7, defined as neutral, has 10−7 moles of hydrogen ions per litre of
solution and also 10−7 moles of OH− per litre; since the two concentrations are equal, they are said to
neutralise each other. A pH of 9.5 has 10 −9.5 moles hydrogen ions per litre of solution (and also 10 −2.5 mole
per litre OH−).
A pH of 3.5 has one million times more hydrogen ions per litre than a solution with pH of 9.5 (9.5–3.5 = 6 or
106) and is more acidic. The effect of pH on a soil is to remove from the soil or to make available certain
ions. Soils with high acidity tend to have toxic amounts of aluminium and manganese. As a result of a trade-
off between toxicity and requirement most nutrients are better available to plants at moderate pH, although
most minerals are more soluble in acid soils. Soil organisms are hindered by high acidity, and most
agricultural crops do best with mineral soils of pH 6.5 and organic soils of pH 5.5. Given that at low pH toxic
metals (e.g. cadmium, zinc, lead) are positively charged as cations and organic pollutants are in non-ionic
form, thus both made more available to organisms, it has been suggested that plants, animals and microbes
commonly living in acid soils are pre-adapted to every kind of pollution, whether of natural or human origin.
In high rainfall areas, soils tend to acidify as the basic cations are forced off the soil colloids by the mass
action of hydrogen ions from the rain against those attached to the colloids. High rainfall rates can then
wash the nutrients out, leaving the soil inhabited only by those organisms which are particularly efficient to
uptake nutrients in very acid conditions, like in tropical rainforests. Once the colloids are saturated with H+,
the addition of any more hydrogen ions or aluminum hydroxyl cations drives the pH even lower (more acidic)
as the soil has been left with no buffering capacity. In areas of extreme rainfall and high temperatures, the
clay and humus may be washed out, further reducing the buffering capacity of the soil. In low rainfall areas,
unleached calcium pushes pH to 8.5 and with the addition of exchangeable sodium, soils may reach pH 10.
[187]
Beyond a pH of 9, plant growth is reduced. High pH results in low micro-nutrient mobility, but water-
soluble chelates of those nutrients can correct the deficit. Sodium can be reduced by the addition
of gypsum (calcium sulphate) as calcium adheres to clay more tightly than does sodium causing sodium to
be pushed into the soil water solution where it can be washed out by an abundance of water.
Base Saturation Percentage
There are acid-forming cations (e.g. hydrogen, aluminium, iron) and there are base-forming cations (e.g.
calcium, magnesium, sodium). The fraction of the negatively-charged soil colloid exchange sites (CEC) that
are occupied by base-forming cations is called base saturation. If a soil has a CEC of 20 meq and 5 meq are
aluminium and hydrogen cations (acid-forming), the remainder of positions on the colloids (20-5 = 15 meq)
are assumed occupied by base-forming cations, so that the base saturation is 15/20 x 100% = 75% (the
compliment 25% is assumed acid-forming cations or protons). Base saturation is almost in direct proportion
to pH (it increases with increasing pH). It is of use in calculating the amount of lime needed to neutralise an
acid soil (lime requirement). The amount of lime needed to neutralize a soil must take account of the amount
of acid forming ions on the colloids (exchangeable acidity), not just those in the soil water solution (free
acidity). The addition of enough lime to neutralize the soil water solution will be insufficient to change the pH,
as the acid forming cations stored on the soil colloids will tend to restore the original pH condition as they
are pushed off those colloids by the calcium of the added lime.
Buffering
The resistance of soil to change in pH, as a result of the addition of acid or basic material, is a measure
of the buffering capacity of a soil and (for a particular soil type) increases as the CEC increases. Hence,
pure sand has almost no buffering ability, while soils high in colloids (whether mineral or organic) have
high buffering capacity. Buffering occurs by cation exchange and neutralisation. However, colloids are not
the only regulators of soil pH. The role of carbonates should be underlined, too. More generally, according
to pH levels, several buffer systems take precedence over each other, from calcium carbonate buffer
range to iron buffer range.
The addition of a small amount of highly basic aqueous ammonia to a soil will cause the ammonium to
displace hydrogen ions from the colloids, and the end product is water and colloidally fixed ammonium, but
little permanent change overall in soil pH. The addition of a small amount of lime, Ca(OH)2, will displace
hydrogen ions from the soil colloids, causing the fixation of calcium to colloids and the evolution of CO 2 and
water, with little permanent change in soil pH.
The above are examples of the buffering of soil pH. The general principal is that an increase in a particular
cation in the soil water solution will cause that cation to be fixed to colloids (buffered) and a decrease in
solution of that cation will cause it to be withdrawn from the colloid and moved into solution (buffered). The
degree of buffering is often related to the CEC of the soil; the greater the CEC, the greater the buffering
capacity of the soil.
Nutrients
Plant nutrients, their chemical symbols, and the ionic forms common in soils and available for
plant uptake.
Element Symbol Ion or molecule
Carbon C CO2 (mostly through leaves)
Hydrogen H H+, HOH (water)
Oxygen O O2−, OH −, CO32−, SO42−, CO2
Phosphorus P H2PO4 −, HPO42− (phosphates)
Potassium K K+
Nitrogen N NH4+, NO3 − (ammonium, nitrate)
Sulfur S SO42−
Calcium Ca Ca2+
Iron Fe Fe2+, Fe3+ (ferrous, ferric)
Magnesium Mg Mg2+
Boron B H3BO3, H2BO3 −, B(OH)4 −
Manganese Mn Mn2+
Copper Cu Cu2+
Zinc Zn Zn2+
Molybdenum Mo MoO42− (molybdate)
Chlorine Cl Cl − (chloride)
Main articles: Plant nutrients in soil, Plant nutrition, and Soil pH § Effect of soil pH on plant growth

Seventeen elements or nutrients are essential for plant growth and reproduction. They
are carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S), calcium (
Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), boron (B), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo), nic
kel (Ni) and chlorine (Cl). Nutrients required for plants to complete their life cycle are considered essential
nutrients. Nutrients that enhance the growth of plants but are not necessary to complete the plant's life cycle
are considered non-essential. With the exception of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which are supplied by
carbon dioxide and water, and nitrogen, provided through nitrogen fixation, the nutrients derive originally
from the mineral component of the soil. The Law of the Minimum expresses that when the available form of
a nutrient is not in enough proportion in the soil solution, then other nutrients cannot be taken up at an
optimum rate by a plant. A particular nutrient ratio of the soil solution is thus mandatory for optimizing plant
growth, a value which might differ from nutrient ratios calculated from plant composition.
Plant uptake of nutrients can only proceed when they are present in a plant-available form. In most
situations, nutrients are absorbed in an ionic form from (or together with) soil water. Although minerals are
the origin of most nutrients, and the bulk of most nutrient elements in the soil is held in crystalline form within
primary and secondary minerals, they weather too slowly to support rapid plant growth. For example, the
application of finely ground minerals, feldspar and apatite, to soil seldom provides the necessary amounts of
potassium and phosphorus at a rate sufficient for good plant growth, as most of the nutrients remain bound
in the crystals of those minerals.
The nutrients adsorbed onto the surfaces of clay colloids and soil organic matter provide a more accessible
reservoir of many plant nutrients (e.g. K, Ca, Mg, P, Zn). As plants absorb the nutrients from the soil water,
the soluble pool is replenished from the surface-bound pool. The decomposition of soil organic matter by
microorganisms is another mechanism whereby the soluble pool of nutrients is replenished – this is
important for the supply of plant-available N, S, P, and B from soil.
Gram for gram, the capacity of humus to hold nutrients and water is far greater than that of clay minerals,
most of the soil cation exchange capacity arising from charged carboxylic groups on organic matter.
However, despite the great capacity of humus to retain water once water-soaked, its
high hydrophobicity decreases its wettability. All in all, small amounts of humus may remarkably increase
the soil's capacity to promote plant growth.
Soil organic matter is made up of organic compounds and includes plant, animal and microbial material,
both living and dead. A typical soil has a biomass composition of 70% microorganisms, 22% macrofauna,
and 8% roots. The living component of an acre of soil may include 900 lb of earthworms, 2400 lb of fungi,
1500 lb of bacteria, 133 lb of protozoa and 890 lb of arthropods and algae. A few percent of the soil organic
matter, with small residence time, consists of the microbial biomass and metabolites of bacteria, molds, and
actinomycetes that work to break down the dead organic matter. Were it not for the action of these micro-
organisms, the entire carbon dioxide part of the atmosphere would be sequestered as organic matter in the
soil. However, in the same time soil microbes contribute to carbon sequestration in the topsoil through the
formation of stable humus. In the aim to sequester more carbon in the soil for alleviating the greenhouse
effect it would be more efficient in the long-term to stimulate humification than to decrease
litter decomposition.
The main part of soil organic matter is a complex assemblage of small organic molecules, collectively
called humus or humic substances. The use of these terms, which do not rely on a clear chemical
classification, has been considered as obsolete. Other studies showed that the classical notion of molecule
is not convenient for humus, which escaped most attempts done over two centuries to resolve it in unit
components, but still is chemically distinct from polysaccharides, lignins and proteins.
Most living things in soils, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi, are dependent on organic matter for
nutrients and/or energy. Soils have organic compounds in varying degrees of decomposition which rate is
dependent on the temperature, soil moisture, and aeration. Bacteria and fungi feed on the raw organic
matter, which are fed upon by protozoa, which in turn are fed upon by nematodes, annelids and arthropods,
themselves able to consume and transform raw or humified organic matter. This has been called the soil
food web, through which all organic matter is processed as in a digestive system. Organic matter holds soils
open, allowing the infiltration of air and water, and may hold as much as twice its weight in water. Many
soils, including desert and rocky-gravel soils, have little or no organic matter. Soils that are all organic
matter, such as peat (histosols), are infertile. In its earliest stage of decomposition, the original organic
material is often called raw organic matter. The final stage of decomposition is called humus.
In grassland, much of the organic matter added to the soil is from the deep, fibrous, grass root systems. By
contrast, tree leaves falling on the forest floor are the principal source of soil organic matter in the forest.
Another difference is the frequent occurrence in the grasslands of fires that destroy large amounts of
aboveground material but stimulate even greater contributions from roots. Also, the much greater acidity
under any forests inhibits the action of certain soil organisms that otherwise would mix much of the surface
litter into the mineral soil. As a result, the soils under grasslands generally develop a thicker A horizon with a
deeper distribution of organic matter than in comparable soils under forests, which characteristically store
most of their organic matter in the forest floor (O horizon) and thin A horizon.
Humus
Humus refers to organic matter that has been decomposed by soil microflora and fauna to the point
where it is resistant to further breakdown. Humus usually constitutes only five percent of the soil or less by

volume, but it is an essential source of nutrients and adds important textural qualities crucial to soil
health and plant growth. Humus also feeds arthropods, termites and earthworms which further improve the
soil. The end product, humus, is suspended in colloidal form in the soil solution and forms a weak acid that
can attack silicate minerals. Humus has a high cation and anion exchange capacity that on a dry weight
basis is many times greater than that of clay colloids. It also acts as a buffer, like clay, against changes in
pH and soil moisture.
Humic acids and fulvic acids, which begin as raw organic matter, are important constituents of humus. After
the death of plants, animals, and microbes, microbes begin to feed on the residues through their production
of extra-cellular enzymes, resulting finally in the formation of humus. As the residues break down, only
molecules made of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, assembled and stabilized by oxygen and hydrogen
bonds, remain in the form of complex molecular assemblages collectively called humus. Humus is never
pure in the soil, because it reacts with metals and clays to form complexes which further contribute to its
stability and to soil structure. While the structure of humus has in itself few nutrients, to the exception of
constitutive metals such as calcium, iron and aluminum, it is able to attract and link by weak bonds cation
and anion nutrients that can further be released into the soil solution in response to selective root uptake
and changes in soil pH, a process of paramount importance for the maintenance of fertility in tropical soils.
Lignin is resistant to breakdown and accumulates within the soil. It also reacts with proteins, which further
increases its resistance to decomposition, including enzymatic decomposition by microbes.
Fats and waxes from plant matter have still more resistance to decomposition and persist in soils for
thousand years, hence their use as tracers of past vegetation in buried soil layers. Clay soils often have
higher organic contents that persist longer than soils without clay as the organic molecules adhere to and
are stabilised by the clay. Proteins normally decompose readily, to the exception of scleroproteins, but when
bound to clay particles they become more resistant to decomposition. As for other proteins clay particles
absorb the enzymes exuded by microbes, decreasing enzyme activity while protecting extracellular
enzymes from degradation. The addition of organic matter to clay soils can render that organic matter and
any added nutrients inaccessible to plants and microbes for many years, while a study showed increased
soil fertility following the addition of mature compost to a clay soil. High soil tannin content can cause
nitrogen to be sequestered as resistant tannin-protein complexes.
Humus formation is a process dependent on the amount of plant material added each year and the type of
base soil. Both are affected by climate and the type of organisms present.
Soils with humus can vary in nitrogen content but typically have 3 to 6 percent nitrogen. Raw organic
matter, as a reserve of nitrogen and phosphorus, is a vital component affecting soil fertility. Humus also
absorbs water, and expands and shrinks between dry and wet states to a higher extent than clay, increasing
soil porosity. Humus is less stable than the soil's mineral constituents, as it is reduced by microbial
decomposition, and over time its concentration diminishes without the addition of new organic matter.
However, humus in its most stable forms may persist over centuries if not millennia. Charcoal is a source of
highly stable humus, called black carbon, which had been used traditionally to improve the fertility of
nutrient-poor tropical soils. This very ancient practice, as ascertained in the genesis of Amazonian dark
earths, has been renewed and became popular under the name of biochar. It has been suggested that
biochar could be used to sequester more carbon in the fight against the greenhouse effect.
Climatological Influence
The production, accumulation and degradation of organic matter are greatly dependent on climate.
Temperature, soil moisture and topography are the major factors affecting the accumulation of organic
matter in soils. Organic matter tends to accumulate under wet or cold conditions where decomposer activity
is impeded by low temperature or excess moisture which results in anaerobic conditions. Conversely,
excessive rain and high temperatures of tropical climates enables rapid decomposition of organic matter and
leaching of plant nutrients. Forest ecosystems on these soils rely on efficient recycling of nutrients and plant
matter by the living plant and microbial biomass to maintain their productivity, a process which is disturbed
by human activities. Excessive slope, in particular in the presence of cultivation for the sake of agriculture,
may encourage the erosion of the top layer of soil which holds most of the raw organic material that would
otherwise eventually become humus.
Plant Residue
Typical types and percentages of plant residue components
Cellulose (45%)
Lignin (20%)
Hemicellulose (18%)
Protein (8%)
Sugars and starches (5%)
Fats and waxes (2%)
Cellulose and hemicellulose undergo fast decomposition by fungi and bacteria, with a half-life of 12–18 days
in a temperate climate. Brown rot fungi can decompose the cellulose and hemicellulose, leaving
the lignin and phenolic compounds behind. Starch, which is an energy storage system for plants, undergoes
fast decomposition by bacteria and fungi. Lignin consists of polymers composed of 500 to 600 units with a
highly branched, amorphous structure, linked to cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin in plant cell walls. Lignin
undergoes very slow decomposition, mainly by white rot fungi and actinomycetes; its half-life under
temperate conditions is about six months.
Soil horizon
A horizontal layer of the soil, whose physical features, composition and age are distinct from those
above and beneath, is referred to as a soil horizon. The naming of a horizon is based on the type of material
of which it is composed. Those materials reflect the duration of specific processes of soil formation. They
are labelled using a shorthand notation of letters and numbers which describe the horizon in terms of its
colour, size, texture, structure, consistency, root quantity, pH, voids, boundary characteristics and presence
of nodules or concretions. No soil profile has all the major horizons. Some, called entisols, may have only
one horizon or are currently considered as having no horizon, in particular incipient soils from
unreclaimed mining waste deposits, moraines, volcanic cones sand dunes or alluvial terraces. Upper soil
horizons may be lacking in truncated soils following wind or water ablation, with concomitant downslope
burying of soil horizons, a natural process aggravated by agricultural practices such as tillage. The growth of
trees is another source of disturbance, creating a micro-scale heterogeneity which is still visible in soil
horizons once trees have died. By passing from a horizon to another, from the top to the bottom of the soil
profile, one goes back in time, with past events registered in soil horizons like in sediment layers.
Sampling pollen, testate amoebae and plant remains in soil horizons may help to reveal environmental
changes (e.g. climate change, land use change) which occurred in the course of soil formation. Soil
horizons can be dated by several methods such as radiocarbon, using pieces of charcoal provided they are
of enough size to escape pedoturbation by earthworm activity and other mechanical disturbances. Fossil
soil horizons from paleosols can be found within sedimentary rock sequences, allowing the study of past
environments.
The exposure of parent material to favourable conditions produces mineral soils that are marginally suitable
for plant growth, as is the case in eroded soils. The growth of vegetation results in the production of organic
residues which fall on the ground as litter for plant aerial parts (leaf litter) or are directly produced
belowground for subterranean plant organs (root litter), and then release dissolved organic matter. The
remaining surficial organic layer, called the O horizon, produces a more active soil due to the effect of the
organisms that live within it. Organisms colonise and break down organic materials, making available
nutrients upon which other plants and animals can live. After sufficient time, humus moves downward and is
deposited in a distinctive organic-mineral surface layer called the A horizon, in which organic matter is
mixed with mineral matter through the activity of burrowing animals, a process called pedoturbation.
This natural process does not go to completion in the presence of conditions detrimental to soil life such as
strong acidity, cold climate or pollution, stemming in the accumulation of undecomposed organic matter
within a single organic horizon overlying the mineral soil and in the juxtaposition of humified organic matter
and mineral particles, without intimate mixing, in the underlying mineral horizons.
Soil classification
Soil is classified into categories in order to understand relationships between different soils and to
determine the suitability of a soil in a particular region. One of the first classification systems was developed
by the Russian scientist Vasily Dokuchaev around 1880. It was modified a number of times by American and
European researchers, and developed into the system commonly used until the 1960s. It was based on the
idea that soils have a particular morphology based on the materials and factors that form them. In the
1960s, a different classification system began to emerge which focused on soil morphology instead of
parental materials and soil-forming factors. Since then it has undergone further modifications. The World
Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) aims to establish an international reference base for soil
classification.
Uses
Soil is used in agriculture, where it serves as the anchor and primary nutrient base for plants. The types
of soil and available moisture determine the species of plants that can be cultivated. Agricultural soil
science was the primeval domain of soil knowledge, long time before the advent of pedology in the 19th
century. However, as demonstrated by aeroponics, aquaponics and hydroponics, soil material is not an
absolute essential for agriculture, and soilless cropping systems have been claimed as the future of
agriculture for an endless growing mankind.
Soil material is also a critical component in the mining, construction and landscape development industries.
Soil serves as a foundation for most construction projects. The movement of massive volumes of soil can be
involved in surface mining, road building and dam construction. Earth sheltering is the architectural practice
of using soil for external thermal mass against building walls. Many building materials are soil based. Loss
of soil through urbanization is growing at a high rate in many areas and can be critical for the maintenance
of subsistence agriculture. Soil resources are critical to the environment, as well as to food and fibre
production, producing 98.8% of food consumed by humans. Soil provides minerals and water to plants
according to several processes involved in plant nutrition. Soil absorbs rainwater and releases it later, thus
preventing floods and drought, flood regulation being one of the major ecosystem services provided by soil.
Soil cleans water as it percolates through it.
Soil is the habitat for many organisms: the major part of known and unknown biodiversity is in the soil, in the
formof invertebrates (earthworms, woodlice, millipedes, centipedes, snails, slugs, mites, springtails, enchytr
aeids, nematodes, protists), bacteria, archaea, fungi and algae; and most organisms living above ground
have part of them (plants) or spend part of their life cycle (insects) below-ground. Above-ground and below-

ground biodiversities are tightly interconnected, making soil protection of paramount importance for
any restoration or conservation plan.
The biological component of soil is an extremely important carbon sink since about 57% of the biotic content
is carbon. Even in deserts, cyanobacteria, lichens and mosses form biological soil crusts which capture and
sequester a significant amount of carbon by photosynthesis. Poor farming and grazing methods have
degraded soils and released much of this sequestered carbon to the atmosphere. Restoring the world's soils
could offset the effect of increases in greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming, while improving
crop yields and reducing water needs.
Waste management often has a soil component. Septic drain fields treat septic tank effluent
using aerobic soil processes. Land application of waste water relies on soil biology to aerobically treat BOD.
Alternatively, Landfills use soil for daily cover, isolating waste deposits from the atmosphere and preventing
unpleasant smells. Composting is now widely used to treat aerobically solid domestic waste and dried
effluents of settling basins. Although compost is not soil, biological processes taking place during
composting are similar to those occurring during decomposition and humification of soil organic matter.
Organic soils, especially peat, serve as a significant fuel and horticultural resource. Peat soils are also
commonly used for the sake of agriculture in nordic countries, because peatland sites, when drained,
provide fertile soils for food production. However, wide areas of peat production, such as rain-
fed sphagnum bogs, also called blanket bogs or raised bogs, are now protected because of their patrimonial
interest. As an example, Flow Country, covering 4,000 square kilometres of rolling expanse of blanket bogs
in Scotland, is now candidate for being included in the World Heritage List. Under present-day global
warming peat soils are thought to be involved in a self-reinforcing (positive feedback) process of increased
emission of greenhouse gases (methane and carbon dioxide) and increased temperature, a contention
which is still under debate when replaced at field scale and including stimulated plant growth.
Geophagy is the practice of eating soil-like substances. Both animals and humans occasionally consume
soil for medicinal, recreational, or religious purposes. It has been shown that some monkeys consume soil,
together with their preferred food (tree foliage and fruits), in order to alleviate tannin toxicity.
Soils filter and purify water and affect its chemistry. Rain water and pooled water from ponds, lakes and
rivers percolate through the soil horizons and the upper rock strata, thus
becoming groundwater. Pests (viruses) and pollutants, such as persistent organic pollutants
(chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls), oils (hydrocarbons), heavy metals (lead, zinc, cadmium),
and excess nutrients (nitrates, sulfates, phosphates) are filtered out by the soil. Soil
organisms metabolise them or immobilise them in their biomass and necromass, thereby incorporating them
into stable humus. The physical integrity of soil is also a prerequisite for avoiding landslides in rugged
landscapes.
Degradation
Land degradation refers to a human-induced or natural process which impairs the capacity of land to
function. Soil degradation involves acidification, contamination, desertification, erosion or salination. Soil
acidification is beneficial in the case of alkaline soils, but it degrades land when it lowers crop productivity,
soil biological activity and increases soil vulnerability to contamination and erosion.
Soils are initially acid and remain such when their parent materials are low
in basic cations (calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium). On parent materials richer in weatherable
minerals acidification occurs when basic cations are leached from the soil profile by rainfall or exported by
the harvesting of forest or agricultural crops. Soil acidification is accelerated by the use of acid-
forming nitrogenous fertilizers and by the effects of acid precipitation. Deforestation is another cause of soil
acidification, mediated by increased leaching of soil nutrients in the absence of tree canopies.
Soil contamination at low levels is often within a soil's capacity to treat and assimilate waste material. Soil
biota can treat waste by transforming it, mainly through microbial enzymatic activity. Soil organic matter and
soil minerals can adsorb the waste material and decrease its toxicity, although when in colloidal form they
may transport the adsorbed contaminants to subsurface environments. Many waste treatment processes
rely on this natural bioremediation capacity. Exceeding treatment capacity can damage soil biota and limit
soil function. Derelict soils occur where industrial contamination or other development activity damages the
soil to such a degree that the land cannot be used safely or productively.
Remediation of derelict soil uses principles of geology, physics, chemistry and biology to degrade,
attenuate, isolate or remove soil contaminants to restore soil functions and values. Techniques
include leaching, air sparging, soil conditioners, phytoremediation, bioremediation and Monitored Natural
Attenuation (MNA). An example of diffuse pollution with contaminants is copper accumulation
in vineyards and orchards to which fungicides are repeatedly applied, even in organic farming.
Desertification is an environmental process of ecosystem
degradation in arid and semi-arid regions, often caused by badly
adapted human activities such as overgrazing or excess
harvesting of firewood. It is a common misconception
that drought causes desertification. Droughts are common in arid
and semiarid lands. Well-managed lands can recover from
drought when the rains return. Soil management tools include
maintaining soil nutrient and organic matter levels, reduced
tillage and increased cover. These practices help to control
erosion and maintain productivity during periods when moisture

is available. Continued land abuse during droughts, however, increases land degradation. Increased
population and livestock pressure on marginal lands accelerates desertification. It is now questioned
whether present-day climate warming will favour or disfavour desertification, with contradictory reports about
forwarded rainfall trends associated with increased temperature, and strong discrepancies among regions,
even in the same country.
Erosion of soil is caused by water, wind, ice, and movement in
response to gravity. More than one kind of erosion can occur
simultaneously. Erosion is distinguished from weathering, since erosion
also transports eroded soil away from its place of origin (soil in transit
may be described as sediment). Erosion is an intrinsic natural process,
but in many places it is greatly increased by human activity, especially
poor land use practices.
These include agricultural activities which leave the soil bare during
times of heavy rain or strong winds, overgrazing, deforestation, and
improper construction activity. Improved management can limit
erosion. Soil conservation techniques which are employed include
changes of land use (such as replacing erosion-prone crops with grass or
other soil-binding plants), changes to the timing or type of agricultural
operations, terrace building, use of erosion-suppressing cover materials
(including cover crops and other plants), limiting disturbance during
construction, and avoiding construction during erosion-prone periods.
A serious and long-running water erosion problem occurs in China, on the middle reaches of the Yellow
River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. From the Yellow River, over 1.6 billion tons of sediment
flow each year into the ocean. The sediment originates primarily from water erosion (gully erosion) in
the Loess Plateau region of northwest China.
Soil piping is a particular form of soil erosion that occurs below the soil surface. It causes levee and dam
failure, as well as sink hole formation. Turbulent flow removes soil starting at the mouth of the seep flow and
the subsoil erosion advances up-gradient. The term sand boil is used to describe the appearance of the
discharging end of an active soil pipe.
Soil salination is the accumulation of free salts to such an extent that it leads to degradation of the
agricultural value of soils and vegetation. Consequences include corrosion damage, reduced plant growth,
erosion due to loss of plant cover and soil structure, and water quality problems due to sedimentation.
Salination occurs due to a combination of natural and human-caused processes. Arid conditions favour salt
accumulation. This is especially apparent when soil parent material is saline. Irrigation of arid lands is
especially problematic.
All irrigation water has some level of salinity. Irrigation, especially when it involves leakage from canals and
overirrigation in the field, often raises the underlying water table. Rapid salination occurs when the land
surface is within the capillary fringe of saline groundwater. Soil salinity control involves watertable
control and flushing with higher levels of applied water in combination with tile drainage or another form
of subsurface drainage.
Reclamation
Soils which contain high levels of particular clays, such as smectites, are often very fertile. For example,
the smectite-rich clays of Thailand's Central Plains are among the most productive in the world.
Many farmers in tropical areas, however, struggle to retain organic matter in the soils they work. In recent
years, for example, productivity has declined in the low-clay soils of northern Thailand. Farmers initially
responded by adding organic matter from termite mounds, but this was unsustainable in the long-term.
Scientists experimented with adding bentonite, one of the smectite family of clays, to the soil. In field trials,
conducted by scientists from the International Water Management Institute in cooperation with Khon Kaen
University and local farmers, this had the effect of helping retain water and nutrients. Supplementing the
farmer's usual practice with a single application of 200 kg bentonite per rai (6.26 rai = 1 hectare) resulted in
an average yield increase of 73%. More work showed that applying bentonite to degraded sandy soils
reduced the risk of crop failure during drought years.
In 2008, three years after the initial trials, IWMI scientists conducted a survey among 250 farmers in
northeast Thailand, half of whom had applied bentonite to their fields. The average improvement for those
using the clay addition was 18% higher than for non-clay users. Using the clay had enabled some farmers to
switch to growing vegetables, which need more fertile soil. This helped to increase their income. The
researchers estimated that 200 farmers in northeast Thailand and 400 in Cambodia had adopted the use of
clays, and that a further 20,000 farmers were introduced to the new technique.
If the soil is too high in clay, adding gypsum, washed river sand and organic matter will balance the
composition. Adding organic matter (like ramial chipped wood for instance) to soil which is depleted in
nutrients and too high in sand will boost its quality.
History of Studies and Research
The history of the study of soil is intimately tied to humans' urgent need to provide food for themselves
and forage for their animals. Throughout history, civilizations have prospered or declined as a function of the
availability and productivity of their soils.[301]
Studies of Soil Fertility
The Greek historian Xenophon (450–355 BCE) is credited with being the first to expound upon the
merits of green-manuring crops: "But then whatever weeds are upon the ground, being turned into earth,
enrich the soil as much as dung."
Columella's "Husbandry," circa 60 CE, advocated the use of lime and that clover and alfalfa (green manure)
should be turned under, and was used by 15 generations (450 years) under the Roman Empire until its
collapse. From the fall of Rome to the French Revolution, knowledge of soil and agriculture was passed on
from parent to child and as a result, crop yields were low. During the European Middle Ages, Yahya Ibn
al-'Awwam's handbook, with its emphasis on irrigation, guided the people of North Africa, Spain and the
Middle East; a translation of this work was finally carried to the southwest of the United States when under
Spanish influence. Olivier de Serres, considered as the father of French agronomy, was the first to suggest
the abandonment of fallowing and its replacement by hay meadows within crop rotations, and he highlighted
the importance of soil (the French terroir) in the management of vineyards. His famous book Le Théâtre
d'Agriculture et mesnage des champs contributed to the rise of modern, sustainable agriculture and to the
collapse of old agricultural practices such as soil improvement (amendment) for crops by the lifting of forest
litter and assarting, which ruined the soils of western Europe during Middle Ages and even later on
according to regions.
Experiments into what made plants grow first led to the idea that the ash left behind when plant matter was
burned was the essential element but overlooked the role of nitrogen, which is not left on the ground after
combustion, a belief which prevailed until the 19th century. In about 1635, the Flemish chemist Jan Baptist
van Helmont thought he had proved water to be the essential element from his famous five years'
experiment with a willow tree grown with only the addition of rainwater. His conclusion came from the fact
that the increase in the plant's weight had apparently been produced only by the addition of water, with no
reduction in the soil's weight. John Woodward xperimented with various types of water ranging from clean to
muddy and found muddy water the best, and so he concluded that earthy matter was the essential element.
Others concluded it was humus in the soil that passed some essence to the growing plant. Still others held
that the vital growth principal was something passed from dead plants or animals to the new plants. At the
start of the 18th century, Jethro Tull demonstrated that it was beneficial to cultivate (stir) the soil, but his
opinion that the stirring made the fine parts of soil available for plant absorption was erroneous.
As chemistry developed, it was applied to the investigation of soil fertility. The French chemist Antoine
Lavoisier showed in about 1778 that plants and animals must [combust] oxygen internally to live and was
able to deduce that most of the 165-pound weight of van Helmont's willow tree derived from air.[312] It was
the French agriculturalist Jean-Baptiste Boussingault who by means of experimentation obtained evidence
showing that the main sources of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen for plants were air and water, while nitrogen
was taken from soil.
Justus von Liebig in his book Organic chemistry in its applications to agriculture and physiology (published
1840), asserted that the chemicals in plants must have come from the soil and air and that to maintain soil
fertility, the used minerals must be replaced. Liebig nevertheless believed the nitrogen was supplied from
the air. The enrichment of soil with guano by the Incas was rediscovered in 1802, by Alexander von
Humboldt. This led to its mining and that of Chilean nitrate and to its application to soil in the United States
and Europe after 1840.
The work of Liebig was a revolution for agriculture, and so other investigators started experimentation based
on it. In England John Bennet Lawes and Joseph Henry Gilbert worked in the Rothamsted Experimental
Station, founded by the former, and (re)discovered that plants took nitrogen from the soil, and that salts
needed to be in an available state to be absorbed by plants. Their investigations also produced the
"superphosphate", consisting in the acid treatment of phosphate rock. This led to the invention and use of
salts of potassium (K) and nitrogen (N) as fertilizers. Ammonia generated by the production of coke was
recovered and used as fertiliser. Finally, the chemical basis of nutrients delivered to the soil in manure was
understood and in the mid-19th century chemical fertilisers were applied. However, the dynamic interaction
of soil and its life forms still awaited discovery.
In 1856 J. Thomas Way discovered that ammonia contained in fertilisers was transformed into nitrates, and
twenty years later Robert Warington proved that this transformation was done by living organisms. In
1890 Sergei Winogradsky announced he had found the bacteria responsible for this transformation.
It was known that certain legumes could take up nitrogen from the air and fix it to the soil but it took the
development of bacteriology towards the end of the 19th century to lead to an understanding of the role
played in nitrogen fixation by bacteria. The symbiosis of bacteria and leguminous roots, and the fixation of
nitrogen by the bacteria, were simultaneously discovered by the German agronomist Hermann
Hellriegel and the Dutch microbiologist Martinus Beijerinck.
Crop rotation, mechanisation, chemical and natural fertilisers led to a doubling of wheat yields in western
Europe between 1800 and 1900.
Studies of Soil Formation
The scientists who studied the soil in connection with agricultural practices had considered it mainly as a
static substrate. However, soil is the result of evolution from more ancient geological materials, under the
action of biotic and abiotic (not associated with life) processes. After studies of the improvement of the soil
commenced, other researchers began to study soil genesis and as a result also soil types and
classifications.
In 1860, in Mississippi, Eugene W. Hilgard (1833-1916) studied the relationship between rock material,
climate, vegetation, and the type of soils that were developed. He realised that the soils were dynamic, and
considered the classification of soil types. Unfortunately his work was not continued. At about the same
time, Friedrich Albert Fallou was describing soil profiles and relating soil characteristics to their formation as
part of his professional work evaluating forest and farm land for the principality of Saxony. His 1857
book, Anfangsgründe der Bodenkunde (First principles of soil science) established modern soil
science. Contemporary with Fallou's work, and driven by the same need to accurately assess land for
equitable taxation, Vasily Dokuchaev led a team of soil scientists in Russia who conducted an extensive
survey of soils, observing that similar basic rocks, climate and vegetation types lead to similar soil layering
and types, and established the concepts for soil classifications. Due to language barriers, the work of this
team was not communicated to western Europe until 1914 through a publication in German by Konstantin
Glinka, a member of the Russian team.
Curtis F. Marbut, influenced by the work of the Russian team, translated Glinka's publication into English,
and as he was placed in charge of the U.S. National Cooperative Soil Survey, applied it to a national soil
classification system.
Soil Erosion
An ismail eroding rill on an intensively-farmed field in eastern

Germany
Soil erosion is the displacement of the upper layer of soil; it is

a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the
dynamic activity of erosive agents, that
is, w ater, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, animals,
and humans. In accordance with these agents, erosion is
sometimes divided into water erosion, glacial erosion, snow
erosion, wind (aeolean) erosion, zoogenic erosion and
anthropogenic erosion.
Soil erosion may be a slow process that continues relatively
unnoticed, or it may occur at an alarming rate causing a serious
loss of topsoil. The loss of soil from farmland may be reflected in
reduced crop production potential, lower surface water
quality and damaged drainage networks.
Soil erosion could also cause sinkholes. Human activities have increased by 10–50 times the rate at which
erosion is occurring globally. Excessive (or accelerated) erosion causes both "on-site" and "off-site" problems.
On-site impacts include decreases in agricultural productivity and (on natural landscapes) ecological collapse,
both because of loss of the nutrient-rich upper soil layers. In some cases, the eventual end result
is desertification. Off-site effects include sedimentation of waterways and eutrophication of water bodies, as well
as sediment-related damage to roads and houses. Water and wind erosion are the two primary causes of land
degradation; combined, they are responsible for about 84% of the global extent of degraded land, making
excessive erosion one of the most significant environmental problems worldwide.
Intensive agriculture, deforestation, roads, anthropogenic climate change and urban sprawl are amongst the
most significant human activities in regard to their effect on stimulating erosion. However, there are
many prevention and remediation practices that can curtail or limit erosion of vulnerable soils.
Physical Processes
Rainfall and Surface Runoff
Rainfall, and the surface runoff which may result from rainfall,
produces four main types of soil erosion: splash erosion, sheet
erosion, rill erosion, and gully erosion. Splash erosion is generally seen
as the first and least severe stage in the soil erosion process, which is
followed by sheet erosion, then rill erosion and finally gully erosion (the
most severe of the four).
In splash erosion, the impact of a falling raindrop creates a small crater in
the soil, ejecting soil particles. The distance these soil particles travel can
be as much as 0.6 m (two feet) vertically and 1.5 m (five feet) horizontally
on level ground.
If the soil is saturated, or if the rainfall rate is greater than the rate at which water can infiltrate into the soil,
surface runoff occurs. If the runoff has sufficient flow energy, it will transport loosened soil particles (sediment)
down the slope. Sheet erosion is the transport of loosened soil particles by overland flow.

A spoil tip covered in rills and gullies due to erosion processes
caused by rainfall: Rummu, Estonia
Rill erosion refers to the development of small, ephemeral concentrated
flow paths which function as both sediment source and sediment delivery
systems for erosion on hillslopes. Generally, where water erosion rates
on disturbed upland areas are greatest, rills are active. Flow depths in
rills are typically of the order of a few centimeters (about an inch) or less
and along-channel slopes may be quite steep. This means that rills
exhibit hydraulic physics very different from water flowing through the
deeper wider channels of streams and rivers.[10]
Gully erosion occurs when runoff water accumulates and rapidly flows in narrow channels during or immediately
after heavy rains or melting snow, removing soil to a considerable depth.[11][12][13]
Rivers and Streams
Dobbingstone Burn, Scotland—This photo illustrates two different
types of erosion affecting the same place. Valley erosion is
occurring due to the flow of the stream, and the boulders and
stones (and much of the soil) that are lying on the edges are glacial
till that was left behind as ice age glaciers flowed over the terrain.
Valley or stream erosion occurs with continued water flow along

a linear feature. The erosion is both downward, deepening the valley,
and headward, extending the valley into the hillside, creating head
cuts and steep banks. In the earliest stage of stream erosion, the erosive activity is dominantly vertical, the
valleys have a typical V cross-section and the stream gradient is relatively steep. When some base level is
reached, the erosive activity switches to lateral erosion, which widens the valley floor and creates a narrow
floodplain. The stream gradient becomes nearly flat, and lateral deposition of sediments becomes important as
the stream meanders across the valley floor. In all stages of stream erosion, by far the most erosion occurs
during times of flood, when more and faster-moving water is available to carry a larger sediment load. In such
processes, it is not the water alone that erodes: suspended abrasive particles, pebbles and boulders can also
act erosively as they traverse a surface, in a process known as traction.
Bank erosion is the wearing away of the banks of a stream or river. This is distinguished from changes on the
bed of the watercourse, which is referred to as scour. Erosion and changes in the form of river banks may be
measured by inserting metal rods into the bank and marking the position of the bank surface along the rods at
different times.
Thermal erosion is the result of melting and weakening permafrost due to moving water. It can occur both along
rivers and at the coast. Rapid river channel migration observed in the Lena River of Siberia is due to thermal
erosion, as these portions of the banks are composed of permafrost-cemented non-cohesive materials.
Much of this erosion occurs as the weakened banks fail in large slumps. Thermal erosion also affects
the Arctic coast, where wave action and near-shore temperatures combine to undercut permafrost bluffs along
the shoreline and cause them to fail. Annual erosion rates along a 100-kilometre (62-mile) segment of the
Beaufort Sea shoreline averaged 5.6 metres (18 feet) per year from 1955 to 2002.
Floods
At extremely high flows, kolks, or vortices are formed by large volumes of rapidly rushing water. Kolks
cause extreme local erosion, plucking bedrock and creating pothole-type geographical features called Rock-cut
basins. Examples can be seen in the flood regions result from glacial Lake Missoula, which created
the channeled scablands in the Columbia Basin region of eastern Washington.
Wind Erosion
Árbol de Piedra, a rock formation in the Altiplano, Bolivia sculpted
by wind erosion.
Wind erosion is a major geomorphological force, especially

in arid and semi-arid regions. It is also a major source of land
degradation, evaporation, desertification, harmful airborne dust, and crop
damage—especially after being increased far above natural rates by
human activities such as deforestation, urbanization, and agriculture.
Wind erosion is of two primary varieties: deflation, where the wind picks
up and carries away loose particles; and abrasion, where surfaces are
worn down as they are struck by airborne particles carried by wind. Deflation is divided into three categories:
(1) surface creep, where larger, heavier particles slide or roll along the ground; (2) saltation, where particles are
lifted a short height into the air, and bounce and saltate across the surface of the soil; and (3) suspension, where
very small and light particles are lifted into the air by the wind, and are often carried for long distances. Saltation
is responsible for the majority (50–70%) of wind erosion, followed by suspension (30–40%), and then surface
creep (5–25%). Silty soils tend to be the most affected by wind erosion; silt particles are relatively easily
detached and carried away.
Wind erosion is much more severe in arid areas and during times of drought. For example, in the Great Plains, it
is estimated that soil loss due to wind erosion can be as much as 6100 times greater in drought years than in
wet years.
Mass Movement
Wadi in Makhtesh Ramon, Israel, showing gravity collapse erosion
on its banks.
Mass movement is the downward and outward movement of rock and

sediments on a sloped surface, mainly due to the force of gravity.
Mass movement is an important part of the erosional process, and is
often the first stage in the breakdown and transport of weathered
materials in mountainous areas. It moves material from higher elevations
to lower elevations where other eroding agents such as streams
and glaciers can then pick up the material and move it to even lower
elevations. Mass-movement processes are always occurring continuously on all slopes; some mass-movement
processes act very slowly; others occur very suddenly, often with disastrous results. Any perceptible down-slope
movement of rock or sediment is often referred to in general terms as a landslide. However, landslides can be
classified in a much more detailed way that reflects the mechanisms responsible for the movement and the
velocity at which the movement occurs. One of the visible topographical manifestations of a very slow form of
such activity is a scree slope.
Slumping happens on steep hillsides, occurring along distinct fracture zones, often within materials
like clay that, once released, may move quite rapidly downhill. They will often show a spoon-shaped isostatic
depression, in which the material has begun to slide downhill. In some cases, the slump is caused by water
beneath the slope weakening it. In many cases it is simply the result of poor engineering along highways where
it is a regular occurrence.
Surface creep is the slow movement of soil and rock debris by gravity which is usually not perceptible except
through extended observation. However, the term can also describe the rolling of dislodged soil particles 0.5 to
1.0 mm (0.02 to 0.04 in) in diameter by wind along the soil surface.
Factors Affecting Soil Erosion
Climate
The amount and intensity of precipitation is the main climatic factor governing soil erosion by water. The
relationship is particularly strong if heavy rainfall occurs at times when, or in locations where, the soil's surface is
not well protected by vegetation. This might be during periods when agricultural activities leave the soil bare, or
in semi-arid regions where vegetation is naturally sparse. Wind erosion requires strong winds, particularly during
times of drought when vegetation is sparse and soil is dry (and so is more erodible). Other climatic factors such
as average temperature and temperature range may also affect erosion, via their effects on vegetation and soil
properties. In general, given similar vegetation and ecosystems, areas with more precipitation (especially high-
intensity rainfall), more wind, or more storms are expected to have more erosion.
In some areas of the world (e.g. the mid-western USA), rainfall intensity is the primary determinant of erosivity,
with higher intensity rainfall generally resulting in more soil erosion by water. The size and velocity of rain
drops is also an important factor. Larger and higher-velocity rain drops have greater kinetic energy, and thus
their impact will displace soil particles by larger distances than smaller, slower-moving rain drops.
In other regions of the world (e.g. western Europe), runoff and erosion result from relatively low intensities
of stratiform rainfall falling onto previously saturated soil. In such situations, rainfall amount rather than intensity
is the main factor determining the severity of soil erosion by water.
Soil Structure and Composition
Erosional gully in unconsolidated Dead Sea (Israel) sediments

along the southwestern shore. This gully was excavated by floods
from the Judean Mountains in less than a year.
The composition, moisture, and compaction of soil are all major
factors in determining the erosivity of rainfall. Sediments containing
more clay tend to be more resistant to erosion than those with sand or
silt, because the clay helps bind soil particles together. Soil containing
high levels of organic materials are often more resistant to erosion,
because the organic materials coagulate soil colloids and create a
stronger, more stable soil structure. The amount of water present in the soil before the precipitation also plays an
important role, because it sets limits on the amount of water that can be absorbed by the soil (and hence
prevented from flowing on the surface as erosive runoff). Wet, saturated soils will not be able to absorb as much
rain water, leading to higher levels of surface runoff and thus higher erosivity for a given volume of rainfall. Soil
compaction also affects the permeability of the soil to water, and hence the amount of water that flows away as
runoff. More compacted soils will have a larger amount of surface runoff than less compacted soils.
Vegetative Cover

Vegetation acts as an interface between the atmosphere and the soil. It increases the permeability of the
soil to rainwater, thus decreasing runoff. It shelters the soil from winds, which results in decreased wind erosion,
as well as advantageous changes in microclimate. The roots of the plants bind the soil together, and interweave
with other roots, forming a more solid mass that is less susceptible to both water and wind erosion. The removal
of vegetation increases the rate of surface erosion.
Topography
The topography of the land determines the velocity at which surface runoff will flow, which in turn
determines the erosivity of the runoff. Longer, steeper slopes (especially those without adequate vegetative
cover) are more susceptible to very high rates of erosion during heavy rains than shorter, less steep slopes.
Steeper terrain is also more prone to mudslides, landslides, and other forms of gravitational erosion processes.
Human Activities that Increase Soil Erosion
Agricultural Practices
Tilled farmland such as this is very susceptible to erosion from
rainfall, due to the destruction of vegetative cover and the
loosening of the soil during plowing.
Unsustainable agricultural practices increase rates of erosion by
one to two orders of magnitude over the natural rate and far exceed
replacement by soil production. The tillage of agricultural lands, which
breaks up soil into finer particles, is one of the primary factors. The
problem has been exacerbated in modern times, due to mechanized
agricultural equipment that allows for deep plowing, which severely
increases the amount of soil that is available for transport by water
erosion. Others include mono-cropping, farming on steep
slopes, pesticide and chemical fertilizer usage (which kill organisms that bind soil together), row-cropping, and
the use of surface irrigation.
A complex overall situation with respect to defining nutrient losses from soils, could arise as a result of
the size selective nature of soil erosion events. Loss of total phosphorus, for instance, in the finer eroded fraction
is greater relative to the whole soil. Extrapolating this evidence to predict subsequent behaviour within receiving
aquatic systems, the reason is that this more easily transported material may support a lower solution P
concentration compared to coarser sized fractions. Tillage also increases wind erosion rates, by dehydrating the
soil and breaking it up into smaller particles that can be picked up by the wind. Exacerbating this is the fact that
most of the trees are generally removed from agricultural fields, allowing winds to have long, open runs to travel
over at higher speeds. Heavy grazing reduces vegetative cover and causes severe soil compaction, both of
which increase erosion rates.
Deforestation
In an undisturbed forest, the mineral soil is protected by a layer of leaf litter and an humus that cover the
forest floor. These two layers form a protective mat over the soil that absorbs the impact of rain drops. They
are porous and highly permeable to rainfall, and allow rainwater to slow percolate into the soil below, instead of
flowing over the surface as runoff. The roots of the trees and plants hold together soil particles, preventing them
from being washed away. The vegetative cover acts to reduce the velocity of the raindrops that strike the foliage
and stems before hitting the ground, reducing their kinetic energy.[51] However it is the forest floor, more than the
canopy, that prevents surface erosion. The terminal velocity of rain drops is reached in about 8 metres (26 feet).
Because forest canopies are usually higher than this, rain drops can often regain terminal velocity even after
striking the canopy. However, the intact forest floor, with its layers of leaf litter and organic matter, is still able to
absorb the impact of the rainfall.
Deforestation causes increased erosion rates due to exposure of mineral soil by removing the humus and litter
layers from the soil surface, removing the vegetative cover that binds soil together, and causing heavy soil
compaction from logging equipment. Once trees have been removed by fire or logging, infiltration rates become
high and erosion low to the degree the forest floor remains intact. Severe fires can lead to significant further
erosion if followed by heavy rainfall.
Globally one of the largest contributors to erosive soil loss in the year 2006 is the slash and burn treatment
of tropical forests. In a number of regions of the earth, entire sectors of a country have been rendered
unproductive. For example, on the Madagascar high central plateau, comprising approximately ten percent of
that country's land area, virtually the entire landscape is sterile of vegetation, with gully erosive furrows typically
in excess of 50 metres (160 ft) deep and 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) wide. Shifting cultivation is a farming system
which sometimes incorporates the slash and burn method in some regions of the world. This degrades the soil
and causes the soil to become less and less fertile.
Roads and Urbanization[
Urbanization has major effects on erosion processes—first by denuding the land of vegetative cover,
altering drainage patterns, and compacting the soil during construction; and next by covering the land in an
impermeable layer of asphalt or concrete that increases the amount of surface runoff and increases surface wind
speeds. Much of the sediment carried in runoff from urban areas (especially roads) is highly contaminated with
fuel, oil, and other chemicals. This increased runoff, in addition to eroding and degrading the land that it flows
over, also causes major disruption to surrounding watersheds by altering the volume and rate of water that flows
through them, and filling them with chemically polluted sedimentation. The increased flow of water through local
waterways also causes a large increase in the rate of bank erosion.
Climate Change
The warmer atmospheric temperatures observed over the past decades are expected to lead to a more
vigorous hydrological cycle, including more extreme rainfall events. The rise in sea levels that has occurred as a
result of climate change has also greatly increased coastal erosion rates.
Studies on soil erosion suggest that increased rainfall amounts and intensities will lead to greater rates of soil
erosion. Thus, if rainfall amounts and intensities increase in many parts of the world as expected, erosion will
also increase, unless amelioration measures are taken. Soil erosion rates are expected to change in response to
changes in climate for a variety of reasons. The most direct is the change in the erosive power of rainfall. Other
reasons include: a) changes in plant canopy caused by shifts in plant biomass production associated with
moisture regime; b) changes in litter cover on the ground caused by changes in both plant residue
decomposition rates driven by temperature and moisture dependent soil microbial activity as well as plant
biomass production rates; c) changes in soil moisture due to shifting precipitation regimes and evapo-
transpiration rates, which changes infiltration and runoff ratios; d) soil erodibility changes due to decrease in soil
organic matter concentrations in soils that lead to a soil structure that is more susceptible to erosion and
increased runoff due to increased soil surface sealing and crusting; e) a shift of winter precipitation from non-
erosive snow to erosive rainfall due to increasing winter temperatures; f) melting of permafrost, which induces an
erodible soil state from a previously non-erodible one; and g) shifts in land use made necessary to
accommodate new climatic regimes.
Studies by Pruski and Nearing indicated that, other factors such as land use unconsidered, it is reasonable to
expect approximately a 1.7% change in soil erosion for each 1% change in total precipitation under climate
change. In recent studies, there are predicted increases of rainfall erosivity by 17% in the United States, by 18%
in Europe, and globally 30 to 66%.
Global Environmental Effects
Land degradation
Water and wind erosion are now the two primary causes of land degradation; combined, they are
responsible for 84% of degraded acreage. Each year, about 75 billion tons of soil is eroded from the land—a rate
that is about 13–40 times as fast as the natural rate of erosion. Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural
land is seriously degraded. According to the United Nations, an area of fertile soil the size of Ukraine is lost
every year because of drought, deforestation and climate change. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation
continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-
based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.
Recent modeling developments have quantified rainfall erosivity at global scale using high temporal resolution
(<30 min) and high fidelity rainfall recordings. The results is an extensive global data collection effort produced
the Global Rainfall Erosivity Database (GloREDa) which includes rainfall erosivity for 3,625 stations and covers
63 countries. This first ever Global Rainfall Erosivity Database was used to develop a global erosivity map at 30
arc-seconds(~1 km) based on sophisticated geostatistical process. According to a new study published in Nature
Communications, almost 36 billion tons of soil is lost every year due to water, and deforestation and other
changes in land use make the problem worse. The study investigates global soil erosion dynamics by means of
high-resolution spatially distributed modelling (ca. 250 × 250 m cell size). The geo-statistical approach allows, for
the first time, the thorough incorporation into a global soil erosion model of land use and changes in land use,
the extent, types, spatial distribution of global croplands and the effects of different regional cropping systems.
The loss of soil fertility due to erosion is further problematic because the response is often to apply chemical
fertilizers, which leads to further water and soil pollution, rather than to allow the land to regenerate.
Sedimentation of Aquatic Ecosystem
Soil erosion (especially from agricultural activity) is considered to be the leading global cause of
diffuse water pollution, due to the effects of the excess sediments flowing into the world's waterways. The
sediments themselves act as pollutants, as well as being carriers for other pollutants, such as attached pesticide
molecules or heavy metals.
The effect of increased sediments loads on aquatic ecosystems can be catastrophic. Silt can smother the
spawning beds of fish, by filling in the space between gravel on the stream bed. It also reduces their food supply,
and causes major respiratory issues for them as sediment enters their gills. The biodiversity of aquatic plant and
algal life is reduced, and invertebrates are also unable to survive and reproduce. While the sedimentation event
itself might be relatively short-lived, the ecological disruption caused by the mass die off often persists long into
the future.

One of the most serious and long-running water erosion problems worldwide is in the People's Republic of
China, on the middle reaches of the Yellow River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. From the Yellow
River, over 1.6 billion tons of sediment flows into the ocean each year. The sediment originates primarily from
water erosion in the Loess Plateau region of the northwest.
Airborne Dust Pollution
Soil particles picked up during wind erosion of soil are a major source of air pollution, in the form of airborne
particulates—"dust". These airborne soil particles are often contaminated with toxic chemicals such as
pesticides or petroleum fuels, posing ecological and public health hazards when they later land, or are
inhaled/ingested.
Dust from erosion acts to suppress rainfall and changes the sky color from blue to white, which leads to an
increase in red sunsets. Dust events have been linked to a decline in the health of coral reefs across the
Caribbean and Florida, primarily since the 1970s. Similar dust plumes originate in the Gobi desert, which
combined with pollutants, spread large distances downwind, or eastward, into North America.
Monitoring, Measuring and Modeling Soil Erosion
Monitoring and modeling of erosion processes can help people better understand the causes of soil
erosion, make predictions of erosion under a range of possible conditions, and plan the implementation
of preventative and restorative strategies for erosion. However, the complexity of erosion processes and the
number of scientific disciplines that must be considered to understand and model them (e.g. climatology,
hydrology, geology, soil science, agriculture, chemistry, physics, etc.) makes accurate modelling challenging.
Erosion models are also non-linear, which makes them difficult to work with numerically, and makes it difficult or
impossible to scale up to making predictions about large areas from data collected by sampling smaller plots.
Despite the USLE's plot-scale spatial basis, the model has often been used to estimate soil erosion on much
larger areas, such as watersheds, continents, and globally. One major problem is that the USLE cannot
simulate gully erosion, and so erosion from gullies is ignored in any USLE-based assessment of erosion.
Yet erosion from gullies can be a substantial proportion (10–80%) of total erosion on cultivated and grazed
land.
During the 50 years since the introduction of the USLE, many other soil erosion models have been
developed. But because of the complexity of soil erosion and its constituent processes, all erosion models
can only roughly approximate actual erosion rates when validated i.e. when model predictions are compared
with real-world measurements of erosion. Thus new soil erosion models continue to be developed. Some of
these remain USLE-based, e.g. the G2 model. Other soil erosion models have largely (e.g. the Water
Erosion Prediction Project model) or wholly (e.g. the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model abandoned
usage of USLE elements. Global studies continue to be based on the USLE.
Prevention and Remediation
A windbreak (the row of trees) planted next to an agricultural
field, acting as a shield against strong winds. This reduces
the effects of wind erosion, and provides many other
benefits.
The most effective known method for erosion
prevention is to increase vegetative cover on the land,
which helps prevent both wind and water erosion.
Terracing is an extremely effective means of erosion
control, which has been practiced for thousands of years
by people all over the world.
Windbreaks (also called shelterbelts) are rows of trees
and shrubs that are planted along the edges of agricultural
fields, to shield the fields against winds.[106] In addition to
significantly reducing wind erosion, windbreaks provide many other benefits such as
improved microclimates for crops (which are sheltered from the dehydrating and otherwise damaging effects
of wind), habitat for beneficial bird species, carbon sequestration, and aesthetic improvements to the
agricultural landscape. Traditional planting methods, such as mixed-cropping (instead of monocropping)
and crop rotation have also been shown to significantly reduce erosion rates.
Crop residues play a role in the mitigation of erosion, because they reduce the impact of raindrops
breaking up the soil particles. There is a higher potential for erosion when producing potatoes than when
growing cereals, or oilseed crops. Forages have a fibrous root system, which helps combat erosion by
anchoring the plants to the top layer of the soil, and covering the entirety of the field, as it is a non-row crop.
In tropical coastal systems, properties of mangroves have been examined as a potential means to reduce
soil erosion. Their complex root structures are known to help reduce wave damage from storms and flood
impacts while binding and building soils. These roots can slow down water flow, leading to the deposition of
sediments and reduced erosion rates. However, in order to maintain sediment balance, adequate mangrove
forest width needs to be present.
VI. ASSESSMENT:

1. Identify common causes of soil erosion in our country, its effects on the environment
and the control methods used to prevent it.
2. How will the on-going ice melting in the Polar Regions affect our coastal regions of
which many are inhabited by people?
3. Cite at least 5 global environmental problems brought about by soil erosion.
4. Why glaciers are considered as one of the most sensitive indicators of climate
change?
5. What are the most common activities that caused our forests to be badly denuded?


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Republic of the Philippines

NORTHERN NEGROS STATE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Republic of the Philippines

Chapter 3: The Earth’s Changing Surface

Lesson 1: Crustal Movement/Diastrophism

Facebook Jayson Dela Fuente

CONTACT DETAILS Email delafuentejayson89@gmail.com

Phone No. 09381629959

LESSON 1: CRUSTAL MOVEMENT/DIASTROPHISM

II. LEARNING OUTCOMES:

III. TEACHING POINTS:

In the Arctic and sub-Arctic, glacial erosion has shaped much of

Coastal erosion has become a major issue in recent

This document is a property of NONESCOST Module 1 | Page 3

Image courtesy of Hannes Grobe, Alfred Wegner

Katabatic winds in Antarctica and Greenland are intensely

The winds in Antarctica carry small grains of sand that

Ventrifacts are wind-eroded rocks found in the McMurdo

Earth’s lithosphere is broken into seven major and many

Geological evidence from Antarctica supports the theory

Volcanic eruptions may be explosive (violent)

Largely unexplored, the Gakkel Ridge runs underneath the Arctic

This document is a property of NONESCOST Module 1 | Page 4

The summit of Mt. Erebus from the front seat of a

Mt. Erebus is home to a permanent lava lake, or a large

Mt. Erebus lava lake in 1983. Photo courtesy of Mt. Erebus

Mt. Erebus is also notable for its persistent low-level

 Some environmental changes occur slowly, and others occur rapidly.

1. Why diastrophism can be considered as geotectonics?

Republic of the Philippines

LESSON 2: CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY

1. Discuss continental drift theory.

III. TEACHING POINTS:

The continental drift of the past 250 million years

Antonio Snider-Pellegrini's Illustration of the closed and

Abraham Ortelius by Peter Paul Rubens, 1633

This document is a property of NONESCOST Module 1 | Page 7

Fossil patterns across continents (Gondwanaland).

Mesosaurus skeleton, MacGregor, 1908.

1. How does continental drift theory started?

This document is a property of NONESCOST Module 1 | Page 10

LESSON 3: PLATE TECTONICS

1. Discuss various evidences of the strong concepts of plate tectonic theory.

II. TEACHING POINTS:

The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the

Diagram of the internal layering of Earth showing the

This document is a property of NONESCOST Module 1 | Page 12

Driving Forces of Plate Motion

Plate motion based on Global Positioning System

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1. The Coriolis force.

This document is a property of NONESCOST Module 1 | Page 15

Detailed map showing the tectonic plates with their

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Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998. Most

Map of earthquakes in 2016

This document is a property of NONESCOST Module 1 | Page 17

 At the time, continental drift was not accepted.

This document is a property of NONESCOST Module 1 | Page 18

Seafloor Magnetic Striping

A demonstration of magnetic striping. (The darker the color is, the

This document is a property of NONESCOST Module 1 | Page 19