Science Reviewer Q2 Oxidation takes place when components

Types of Weathering of the minerals combine with free oxygen

in the atmosphere causing the formation
Abrasion is the breakdown of rocks is of oxides. It is the response of oxygen
caused by impact and friction. This with minerals. If the iron oxidizes, the
primarily occurs during collision of rocks, mineral in rocks decomposes. The
sand, and silt due to current or waves oxidation of iron is responsible for many
along a stream or seashore causing sharp rocks having a rusty red color Rusting is
edges and corners to wear off and an example of this chemical reaction.
become rounded.
 Example: magnetite + oxygen
Carbonation occurs when carbon hematite
dioxide dissolves in water forming
carbonic acid that can cause rocks to Unloading (release of pressure):
dissolve. It is a geologic process where overlying
rocks at the surface are removed. After
 Example: Calcite + carbonic the granite ascends and cools, the
acid --- calcium carbonate overlying rocks and sediments may
erode. At the point when the pressure
Dissolution is a process where a solid diminishes, the rock expands, cools, and
dissolve into a solvent such as water became brittle and fractured. The sheets
forming a solution. It occurs in specific of rocks, such as these on Half Dome
minerals which are dissolved in water. (Yosemite NP), that result from unloading
Examples of these minerals are Halite are sometime referred to as “exfoliation
(NaCl) and Calcite (CaCO3). The sheets.”
formation of stalactites and stalagmites in
caves are brought about by this chemical Salt Weathering:
reaction. Salts in rocks expand due to thermal
action, hydration and crystallization.
Frost Wedging are generally, rocks have Many salts like calcium, sodium,
fracture in its surface and when water magnesium, potassium and barium have
accumulates in the crack and at that point a tendency to expand. It is favoured in
freezes, the ice expands and breaks the areas of alternative wetting and drying
rock apart. It is caused by repeated cycles conditions.
of freezing and thawing. Frost wedging is
most prevalent in mountainous regions Thermal Expansion:
where there is a daily freeze-thaw cycle. Rocks expand and are fractured when
It is frost wedging that causes potholes in expose to high temperature. However, if
roads during the winter. the temperature drops to 0°C (freezing
point of water), it also expands and
Hydrolysis occurs when water becomes causes fracture. As a weathering process
integrated into the minerals causing the occurs where daily thermal expansion
mineral crystals to change in structure, and contraction of individual minerals
soften and easily crumble. As an example, can exert destructive forces on the
feldspars chemically alter (hydrolysis) to cohesion of a rock. This mechanism is
form clay minerals such as kaolinite. probably the least effective of all the
Rock-forming minerals like amphibole, weathering
pyroxene, and feldspar react with water processes.
and form different kinds of clay minerals.
Example: bauxite + water ------ hydrated  plant, animal and even
aluminum oxide microbial influences.
 Science Reviewer Q2 COMPONENTS OF MAGMA AND LAVA
Magma Formation
 The melt is made of ions from
minerals that have liquefied
3 types of Plate Boundaries: .
 The solids are made of
 Divergent crystallized minerals floating in
 Convergent the liquid melt. These may be
 Transform minerals that have already
cooled

 Volatiles are gaseous--------------

components such as water v
apor, carbon dioxide, sulfu, and
chloring dissolved in the magma

FACTORS AFFECTING MAGMA

FORMATION

The composition of magma

depends on the rock it was formed from
(by melting), and the conditions of that
melting. Magma derived from the mantle
have higher levels of iron, magnesium,
and calcium, but they are still likely to be
dominated by oxygen and silicon. Mineral
components of rock being melted.

1. Temperature: - temperature
increases with depth - it is called
geothermal gradient
2. Pressure - pressure increases
with depth due to overlying rock. As
pressure increases so with the
melting point.
3. Water Content/ Volatiles - as
water content increases the melting
point of rock decreases
4. Mineral Composition - Melting
The leading edge of the subducted plate point difference
will eventually reach the mantle causing
it to melt and turn into magma. The In general, oceanic crust is rich in
molten material will rise to the surface iron and magnesium and therefore melts
creating a volcanic island arc parallel at higher temperatures than continental
to the trench. crust, which contains higher levels of
silicon and aluminum. For rocks to melt,
the right combination of temperature,
pressure, and composition must be
present.
HOW MAGMA IS FORMED at its old location, shifts past its melting
point and partial melting starts.
1. Decompression melting caused by As this magma continues to rise, it cools
lowering the pressure, and crystallizes to form new lithospheric
crust.
2. Flux melting caused by adding Or adiabatic melting - a rapid decrease in
volatiles pressure can cause the mantle to melt,
even without an increase in temperature.
3. Heat-induced melting caused by
increasing the temperature. 2. ADDING VOLATILES – DECREASES
MELTING POINT
DEFINING EACH
 FLUX MELTING
1. Geothermal gradient – temperature
increases with depth  Happens in CONVERGENT
2. Solidus - specifies the temperature boundary SUBDUCTION ZONE
below which a material is completely formation of volcanic arc
solid, and the minimum temperature at
which a melt can co-exist with crystals in Flux Melting or Fluid-Induced Melting:
thermodynamic equilibrium. occurs in island arcs and subduction
3. Partial melting - some minerals are zones when volatile gases are added to
melted, and some remain solid. It mantle material Flux-melted magma
represents real-world magmas, which produces many of the volcanoes in the
typically contain solid, liquid, and volatile circum-Pacific subduction zones, also
components. known as the Ring of Fire.

The subducting slab contains oceanic

1. LOWERING THE PRESSURE lithosphere and hydrated minerals. As
covered in , these hydrated forms are
 Decompression Melting created when water ions bond with the
crystal structure of silicate minerals.
 Happens in divergent boundary
in mid oceanic ridge formation As the slab descends into the hot mantle,
the increased temperature causes the
Magma is created at mid-ocean ridges hydrated minerals to emit water vapor
via decompression melting. and other volatile gases, which are
Strong convection currents cause the expelled from the slab-like water being
solid asthenosphere to slowly flow squeezed out of a sponge. The volatiles
beneath the lithosphere. dissolve into the overlying
The upper part of the lithosphere (crust) asthenospheric mantle and decrease its
is a poor heat conductor, so the melting point. In this situation the applied
temperature remains about the same pressure and temperature have not
throughout the underlying mantle changed, the mantle’s melting point has
material. been lowered by the addition of volatile
Where the convection currents cause substances.
mantle material to rise, the pressure
decreases, which causes the melting point This is analogous to adding salt to an icy
to drop. roadway. The salt lowers the freezing
In this situation, the rock at the temperature of the solid ice so it turns
temperature of the geothermal gradient into liquid water.
is rising toward the surface, thus hotter
rock is now shallower, at a lower
pressure, and the rock, still at the
temperature of the geothermal gradient
3. INCREASING THE TEMPERATURE

 HEAT - INDUCED MELTING

 Occurs at mantle plumes or hot
spots
 Formation of VOLCANO

Heat-Induced Melting transforms solid

mantle into liquid magma by simply
applying heat, is the least common
process for generating magma Heat-
induced melting occurs at the mantle
plumes or hotspots.

Plume: an upward flow of hot material

from the Earth's mantle into the crust.”

The rock surrounding the plume is

exposed to higher temperatures, the
geothermal gradient crosses to the right
of the green solidus line, and the rock
begins to melt.

The mantle plume includes rising mantle

material, meaning some decompression
melting is occurring as well.

A small amount of magma is also

generated by intense regional
metamorphism This magma becomes a
hybrid metamorphic-igneous rock called
migmatite.

A mantle plume is a proposed

mechanism of convection within
the Earth's mantle, hypothesized to
explain anomalous volcanism. Because
the plume head partially melts on
reaching shallow depths, a plume is often
invoked as the cause of volcanic hotspots,
such as Hawaii or Iceland, and large
igneous provinces such as
the Deccan and Siberian Traps. Some
such volcanic regions lie far from tectonic
plate boundaries, while others represent
unusually large-volume volcanism near
plate boundaries.
 Science Reviewer Q2 What happens during metamorphism?
Metamorphism
1. The protolith goes through changes in
METAMORPHISM texture of the rock and the mineral
composition of the rock. These changes
The changes in mineral components and take place typically in the solid state and
texture of rocks due to changes in are produced by changes in physical or
pressure and temperature. chemical conditions, which in turn can be
initiated by such things as burial, tectonic
SIMA stress, heating by magma or interactions
with fluids
 Oceanic Crust
 Continuous layer formed of FACTORS THAT CONTROL
basaltic rocks METAMORPHISM
 Silicate and magnesium
 Heavier - density 3.0gm/cu.cm  Temperature
 35km thickness  increases as it goes deeper in the
Earth along the Geothermal
SIAL Gradient.
 Thus, higher temperature can
 Continental Crust occur by burial of rock.
 Discontinuous layer formed on  It can also increase due to
granitic rocks igneous intrusion.
 Silicate and aluminium  Pressure
 Lighter - 2.7gm/cu.cm - increases with depth of burial,
 25km thickness thus, both pressure and
temperature will vary with depth
METAMORPHISM in the Earth.

comes from the Greek: meta = after,  Pressure is defined as a force

morph =form, so metamorphism literally acting equally from all
translates to “the after form”. It is a word directions.
that is most associated to change and  It is a type of stress, called
transformation. hydrostatic stress, or uniform
In geology, it refers to the alterations in stress.
mineral assemblage and texture as an  If the stress is not equal from all
outcome from subjecting a rock to directions, then the stress is
pressures and temperatures different called a differential stress.
from those under which the rock
originally formed. It occurs at extreme 3 TYPES OF STRESS
temperatures and pressures higher than
200˚C and 300 Mpa (megapascals).  Compression - is stress that
decreases the volume of a
PROTOLITH material
 Tension” Stress that pulls a
The novel rock that has experienced material apart
metamorphism can be any type of rock  Shear: Stress that causes a
and sometimes the changes in texture material to twist.
and mineralogy are so intense that is
difficult to differentiate what the
protolith was originally.
  . New minerals may grow, but
FLUID PHASE the rock might not appear to be
physically metamorphosed.
Any present open space among  The main minerals produced are
mineral grains in a rock can possibly the Zeolites.
contain a fluid. This fluid is mostly water  Burial metamorphism overlaps,
but it may also contain dissolved ions. to some extent, with diagenesis,
The fluid phase is significant because and grades into regional
chemical reactions that involve altering a metamorphism as temperature
solid mineral into a new solid mineral can and pressure increase.
be prominently speeded up by having Dynamic Metamorphism
dissolved ions carried by the fluid.
If chemical alteration of the rock takes  Due to mechanical distortion, as
place due to these fluids, the process is to when two bodies of rock slide
called metasomatism. past one another along a fault
zone. Heat is produced by the
TIME friction of sliding along the zone,
and the rocks will be likely to be
Time matters because the nature crushed and pulverized.
of metamorphism is a long, slow process .  It is not very common and is
During metamorphism, several processes limited to a narrow zone where
are at work. Recrystallization causes the sliding occurs.
alterations in minerals size and shape.  The rock that is produced is
Chemical reactions occur between the called a mylonite.
minerals to develop new sets of minerals Regional Metamorphism
that are more stable at the pressure and
temperature of the environment, and new  takes place over huge areas that
minerals form as due to polymorphic were exposed to high degrees of
phase transformations. Polymorphs are distortion under differential
compounds with the same chemical stress. Thus, it usually produces
formula, but different crystal structures. metamorphic rocks that are
strongly foliated, such as slates,
TYPES OF METAMORPHISM schists, and gneisses.
 The differential stress is
Contact Metamorphism/Thermal produced by tectonic forces that
metamorphism) generate compression of the
 occurs nearby igneous rocks.
intrusions and comes from high  It happens as such as when two
temperatures related with the continental masses strike with
igneous intrusion. one another.
 Since only a small area  Regionally metamorphosed
neighboring the intrusion is rocks are produced in the cores
heated by the of mountain ranges or in eroded
magma,metamorphism is mountain ranges.
limited to a zone surrounding METAPMORPHIC ROCK TYPES
the intrusion, called a
metamorphic aureole.  A. Foliated – Examples are slate,
Burial Metamorphism phyllite, schist, gneiss, granulite,
and migmatites.
 happens when rocks are buried  These have a planar foliation
to several hundred meters deep caused by the preferred
where the temperatures are orientation or alignment of
greater than 300oC minerals and formed under
differential stress.
 They have a significant amount
of sheet silicate platy minerals
and are classified by
composition, grain size, and
foliation type.

 B. Non-foliated rocks - lack a

planar fabric.
 Examples are amphibolites,
hornfels, quartzites, and marble.
 Absence of foliation possible for
several reasons:
1. Rock not subjected to differential
stress
2. Dominance of equant minerals
(like quartz, feldspar, and garnet)
3. And absence of platy minerals
(sheet silicates).
 Science Reviewer Q2 process. The rocks formed are now
Relative Dating sedimentary rocks.

ROCKS As the layers increases, this part of the

Earth will sink due to the added weight
 May be classified based on their over time. Pressure then causes these
physical characteristics layers to heat up resulting to the bending
 Physical Classification of the sediments and eventually would
Stratified - rocks that show lead them to crack.
distinct layers that can be easily split
Unstratified - rocks thatdo not METHODS TO ETERMINE THE AGE OF
show any sign of layering. STRATIFIED ROCKS

STRATIFICATION 1. Relative Dating - a method of

 A process wherein layers of arranging geological events based on the
sediments are deposited rock sequence. cannot provide actual
horizontally, and stacked vertically numerical dates of rocks. It only tells that
through tiume one rock is older than the other but does
 Starts with the erosion not tell how old each of the rock is.
 Factors aiding in stratification are:
water, air LITHOSTRATIGRAPHY

1. Sedimentation  Classification and description of

2. Compaction layered rocks
3. Addition of Layers
4. Cementation  based on the type of rock
 e.g., limestone, sandstone, shale,
FORMATION OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS conglomerate

 Erosion - particles carried away by Law of superposition

wind or water
The law of superposition states that, in
 Deposition - losely packed sediments any sequence of layered sedimentary
rocks, the top layer is younger than the
 Compaction - closely packed bottom layer. It is important in the
sediments interpretation of the Earth's history
because it indicates the relative age of the
 Cementation - tightly packed rock layers and fossils.
sediments
Law of Original Horizontality
First is the sedimentation stage,
sediments from the land are eroded into states that most sediments were
the originally laid down horizontally.
water and over time they settle at the However, many layered rocks are no
bottom horizontally As these sediment longer horizontal. Based on the law of
accumulates, the layers are then pressed original horizontality, the rocks that were
down and compacted due to pressure, tilted may be due to later events such as
thus the second stage is called tilting episodes of mountain building.
compaction.

This process then continues until salt

crystals from the ocean glue the layers
together, a stage called cementation
Law of Lateral Continuity

states that rock layers extend in all

direction horizontally or out to the sides
unless a river erodes them or an
earthquake moves them.
Erosion may have worn away some parts
of the rock, but the layers on either side
of the eroded areas still match.

Law of Cross-Cutting Relationship

states that fault lines and igneous rocks

are younger features that cut through
older features of rocks.

Law of Inclusions

If one rock body contains fragments of

another rock body, it must be younger
than the fragments of rock it contains. Or,
the inclusions are older than the rocks
which contain them.