Rock Cycle

CVE 3205 Engineering Geology Wong Jee Khai

The Rock Cycle

The nature and appearance of a rock is strongly influenced by the minerals that compose it. A rocks texture size, shape, and or arrangement of its constituent minerals also has significant effect on its appearance.

The Rock Cycle

Rock is any naturally formed, nonliving, firm and coherent aggregate of mineral matter that constitutes part of a planet.

The Rock Cycle

The three rock families: 1. Igneous rock 2. Sedimentary rock 3. Metamorphic rock

Igneous rock
Created through the cooling and solidification of magma Ignis = fire

Sedimentary rock
Formed from deposits of sediment Lithification = conversion into rock

Metamorphic rock
Formed by the effects of pressure and heat on existing rocks

The Rock Cycle

The rock cycle describes all the processes by which rock is: Formed. Transported. Decomposed. Reformed. Active volcanoes produce igneous rocks. Mountain ranges rise as a result of plate tectonics. Weathering and erosion change the surface of the solid Earth.

The Rock Cycle

The sediment is buried and compacted, eventually becoming sedimentary rock. Deeper burial turns sedimentary rock into metamorphic rock. Even deeper burial may cause some of the metamorphic rock to melt, forming magma from which new igneous rock will form.

The Rock Cycle

Energy that drives earths rock cycle; Heat from earths interior (igneous and metamorphic rocks) Sun (sedimentary rocks)

The Tectonic Cycle

Tectonics is the study of the movement and deformation of the lithosphere. When magma rises from deep in the mantle, it forms new oceanic crust at midocean ridges.

The Tectonic Cycle

The lifetime of oceanic crust is shorter than the lifetime of continental crust. The most ancient oceanic crust of the ocean basins is only about 180 million years old, and the average age of all oceanic crust is about 70 million years old.

The Tectonic Cycle

When all oceanic crust sinks back into the mantle, it carries some water with it. The water is driven off during volcanic eruptions. Some constituents in the hot rock (calcium, magnesium) are the same as those of seawater.

Geologic Time Scale

During the nineteenth century, before the discovery of radioactivity, geologic time scale was developed using principles of relative dating which places the events in proper sequence or order without knowing their age in years.

Geologic Time Scale

This is done by applying the law of superposition which states that in layers of sedimentary rocks or lava flows, the youngest layer is on top and the oldest is on the bottom.

Geologic Time Scale

Fossils are the basis for the principle of fossil succession, which states that fossil organisms succeed one another in a definite and determinable order, and therefore any time period can be recognized by its fossil from countless rock layers around the world.