EARTH SCIENCE REVIEWER Q-2

By Jhean Clarize Pablo Types of Weathering

1. Physical Weathering- the rocks are broken down into smaller pieces, but
WEATHERING AND EROSION the chemical composition of the rock remains the same.
1. Frost wedging- Happens when water gets inside the cracks of
A. Exogenous Processes
rock.
Also called Gradational Processes, they comprise degradation and
aggradation – they modify 2. Abrasion- takes place when rocks wear away because of constant
1. Degradation Processes → Also called Denudation . collision of loose particles.
Processes 3. Salt crystal growth is another factor of physical disintegration of
a. Weathering , b. Mass Wasting and c. Erosion and rocks. The force exerted by salt crystal, formed when water
Transportation evaporates from the rock’s pores or cracks, causes the rock to fall
2. Aggradation Processes apart.
a. Deposition – fluvial, glacial, coastal
a continuum of processes
Weathering → Mass Wasting → Erosion → Transportation → 2. Chemical weathering – occurs when rocks are break down by a chemical
Deposition change
- Gases
Endogenous Processes - High Temperature
- Biological agents
are large-scale landform building and transforming processes
Types:
– they create relief.
a. Hydrolysis is a chemical type of weathering which changes the
1. Igneous Processes
composition of minerals from rocks when they react with acidic
a. Volcanism: Volcanic eruptions → Volcanoes
water.
b. Plutonism: Igneous intrusions
b. Dissolution is the process in which rocks weather because of its
2. Tectonic Processes (Also called Diastrophism)
reaction to acids.
c. oxidation When iron in rocks get to be exposed to oxygen, it
a. Folding: anticlines, synclines, mountains
creates iron oxide. The iron oxide produces a rusty-colored
b. Faulting: rift valleys, graben, escarpments
weathered surface to the rocks.
c. Lateral Faulting: strike-slip faults
3. Biological weathering – takes place when rocks are worn away by living
Earthquakes → evidence of present-day tectonic activity
organisms
Biological weathering agents
Weathering 1. plants – grow within cracks of rocks
● exogenic process by which rocks are gradually worn away by the 2. animals - burrowing
action of the weather 3. people – cultivation of lands
● the breaking down of rocks, soil and minerals as well as artificial 4. tiny organisms – algae, moss, bacteria
materials
Factors Affecting Rate of Weathering
Agents of weathering: • mineral make up of the rock
● Wind • climatic factors
● Rain • temperature
● Waves • moisture
● Living Organism • surface exposed
• Age
● Chemicals
Products of Weathering 5. Wind Erosion- the damage of land as a result of wind removing soil from
• smaller fragments of rock an area.
• soil/lands two primary varieties:
• soluble salts
• insoluble minerals (quartz) - deflation, where the wind picks up and carries away loose particles
- abrasion, where surfaces are worn down as they are struck by
airborne particles carried by wind.
EROSION
6. Mass Movement- the movement of surface material caused by gravity
erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that
remove soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's
� Man can also be the cause erosion:
crust, then transport it away to another location.
1. Forestry – all vegetation of removed, and without roots, the soil will erode
Physical process of Erosion away.
2. Strip Mining – removing rock cover to get to the resources below, which
1. Rainfall or Surface Run Off causes the loose sediments to erode away.
- Rainfall produces four main types of soil erosion: 3. Construction – the clearing of land to build buildings/houses also causes
all loose soil to erode away.
a.) splash erosion- Soil and water being splashed by the impact of a single
4. Improper Farming – not plowing the land at right angles to slopes causes
raindrop
soil to erode away.
b.) sheet erosion- surface runoff occurs. transport loosened soil particles
5. Salting Highways – the salt is washed off the road to the sides, where it
down the slope.
prevents vegetative growth along the sides
c.) rill erosion- the development of small, ephemeral concentrated flow paths
which function as both sediment source and sediment delivery systems for FACTORS AFFECTING EROSION RATES.
erosion on hill slopes.
d.) gully erosion- Is a highly visible form of soil erosion 1. Climate- areas with more precipitation (especially high-intensity rainfall),
more wind, or more storms are expected to have more erosion
2. Rivers and Streams 2. Vegetative Cover- The removal of vegetation increases the rate of
VALLEY OR STREAM EROSION - This is the result of water following a surface erosion.
linear path and erodes downward (deepening a valley) and headward, 3. Topography- Longer, steeper slopes (especially those without adequate
lengthening the valley. vegetative cover) are more susceptible to very high rates of erosion during
heavy rains than shorter, less steep slopes.
3. Coastal Erosion - Shoreline erosion, which occurs on both exposed and 4. Tectonics process- Because erosion rates are almost always sensitive to
sheltered coasts, primarily occurs through the action of currents and waves local slope , this will change the rates of erosion in the uplifted area.
but sea level (tidal) change can also play a role

4. Glacial Erosion

● Freeze Thaw- occurs when water continually seeps into cracks,

freezes and expands, eventually breaking the rock apart.
● Plucking- also referred to as quarrying,
● Glacial abrasion- involves grinding and polishing of the bedrock
surface
 CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES
MAGMATISM
Magmatism is a process under the earth’s crust where formation and
movement of magma occurs.

3 TYPES OF MAGMA

1. Mafic Magma-
- has relatively low silica content, roughly 50%, and higher contents in iron
and magnesium.
- Low viscosity means that mafic magma is the most fluid of magma types. It
erupts non-explosively and moves very quickly when it reaches Earth’s
surface as lava. This lava cools into basalt, a rock that is heavy and dark in
color due to its higher iron and magnesium levels.
- Basalt is one of the most common rocks in Earth’s crust as well as the
volcanic islands created by hot spots.
Ex: Big Island of Hawai

2. Intermediate Magma-
- has higher silica content (roughly 60%) than mafic magma. This results in a
higher gas content and viscosity. Its mean temperature ranges from 800o to
1000o Celsius.
Ex: Andes Mountains in South America

3. Felsic Magma
- as the highest silica content of all magma types, between 65-70%. As a
result, felsic magma also has the highest gas content and viscosity, and
lowest mean temperatures, between 650o and 800o Celsius
 VOLCANISM HOT SPOTS AND PLATE MOVEMENT
Zones of Volcanism ● The rate and direction of plate motion can be calculated from the
Volcanism – describes all processes associated with the discharge of positions of hot spot volcanoes.
magma, hot fluids, and gases. ● The Hawaiian islands are at one end of the Hawaiian-Emperor
volcanic chain. The oldest seamount, Meiji, is at the other end of
Two Major Belts the chain and is about 80 million years old.
- The larger belt, the Circum-Pacific Belt, is also called the Pacific
Ring of Fire. The outline of the belt corresponds to the outline of the PARTS OF VOLCANO
Pacific Plate. ● Conduit – tube like structure that lava travels through
- The smaller belt is the Mediterranean Belt.Its general to reach the surface
outline corresponds to the boundaries between the ● Vent- opening that lava emerges through
Eurasian, African, and Arabian plates. - Over time, layers of solidified lava can accumulate to
form a mountain known as a volcano.
Convergent Volcanism ● Crater – bowl-shaped depression found at the top of
● Most volcanoes located on land result from oceanic-continental the volcano surrounding the vent
subduction. ● Caldera – large volcanic crater; often forms after the magma
● These volcanoes are characterized by explosive eruptions. chamber beneath a volcano empties after a major eruption

Divergent Volcanism
● Eruptions at divergent boundaries tend to be nonexplosive.
● Many occur along the Mid-Atlantic ridge.
● At the divergent boundary on the ocean floor, eruptions often form
huge piles of lava called pillow lava.
Hot Spot
● Some volcanoes form far from plate boundaries
over hot spots.
● A hot spot is an unusually hot area in Earth’s
mantle where high-temperature plumes of mantle
material rise toward the surface.

Hot Spots and Hawaii

● The Hawaiian islands are located over a plume of magma. Shield Volcano
● The hot spot formed by the magma plume remained stationary while ● Largest
the Pacific Plate slowly moved northwest. ● Long, gentle slopes
● The volcanoes on the oldest Hawaiian island, Kauai, are inactive ● Composed of layers of solidified basalt lava
because the island no longer sits above the stationary hot spot. ● Quiet explosions
● The world’s most active volcano, Kilauea, on the Big Island of - Ex: Mauna Loa in Hawaii
Hawaii, is currently located over the hot spot.
Cinder Cones Viscosity
Viscosity – physical property that describes a material’s resistance to flow
● Smallest, but steep
● Forms from small pieces of magma (tephra) that falls back to Earth
● Cooler magma = higher viscosity
and piles up around the vent
● High silica = higher viscosity
● Cone-shaped
● Higher viscosity tends to trap gasses
● Explosive eruptions ‘
and produces explosive eruption
- Ex: Cinder Cone at Lassen Park in California
Types of Magma
Composite Volcanoes ● The silica content of magma determines not only its explosivity and
● Composed of layers of hardened chunks of lava from violent viscosity, but also which type of volcanic rock it forms as it cools
eruptions alternating with layers of lava that oozed downslope ● Three types:
● Cone-shaped but larger than cinder cones - Basaltic
● Also called “stratovolcanoes” - Andesitic
● Tend to have explosive eruptions with cycles of quiet - Rhyolitic
- Ex: Mt. Rainer near Seattle
Basaltic Magma
Making Magma
● Usually forms from rock in the upper mantle
● The type of eruption depends on the composition of the magma. ● Less than 50% silica – low viscosity
● Remember the formation of magma is effected by: ● Gases escape easily
- Temperature ● Quiet eruptions
- Pressure
● Kilauea, Surtsey
- Water content
- Chemical composition - Ex: Basaltic lava flow from Kilauea in Hawaii

Composition of Magma Andesic Magma

● Explosivity – how a volcano erupts and how its magma flows
● 50-60% silica
● Factors -
- Interaction with overlying crust ● Found along oceanic-continental subduction zones
- Temperature ● Forms from oceanic crust or oceanic sediments
- Pressure ● Intermediate viscosity
- Dissolved gases ● Intermediate explosibility
- Silica content
- Ex: Colima, Tambora
Dissolved Gasses - Andesitic maga flow from Colima in Mexico
As the amount of gases increases, the magma’s explosivity Explosive eruption
increases ● When lava is too viscous to flow freely from the vent,
Important gases: pressure builds up in the lava until the volcano explodes
- Carbon dioxide
- Water vapor (most common) – There are two major effects from these types of eruptions – tephra
- Sulfur dioxide and pyroclastic flow
- Hydrogen sulfide
Tephra rocks together. Compression are the most common type of stress in
convergent plate boundaries.
● Tephra – erupted materials given off by the volcano; can be pieces
of solidified lava or pieces of crust c. Shear Stress- happens when forces slide pass each other in opposite
● Classified by size direction which results to slippage and translation.
● Smallest – ash
- Can rise very far in the air Geological Structures
- Threatens aircrafts - these are usually the result of the powerful tectonic forces that occur within
- Can affect weather the earth. These forces fold and break rocks, form deep faults, and build
mountains.
● Largest – blocks
- Can be as large as a car Folds- are formed when rocks experienced compressive stress and
deformed plastically. It causes bending of rocks.
Pyroclastic Flows
● Pyroclastic flow – rapidly moving clouds of tephra mixed with hot, 3 Types of Folds
suffocating gases 1. Anticline- Happens when the layers of rocks buckle upward to look like an
● Can reach temperatures of 1000°C inverted “U”
● Can move at more than 700 km/h 2. Sycline- is a fold that bends downward which rocks are curved down to a
center.
3. Monocline- is a simple bend in the rock layers where the oldest rocks are
at the bottom and the youngest are at the top.
Rock Behavior Under Stress
Faults
Plate Tectonics - Normal Faults- are the most common faults at Divergent Boundary
- Reverse Faults- This types of faults is most common at the Convergent
3 Types of Plate Tectonics: Boundary
1. Convergent Boundary- A boundary between tectonic plates in which the - Strike Slip Faults- This type of faults formed when the walls move
plates are moving toward each other. sideways
2. Divergent Boundary- A boundary between tectonic plates in which the
plates are moving away from each other.
3. Transform Boundary- A boundary between tectonic plates in which the
plates are sliding past each other.

Stress- is the force applied to an object. In geology, stress is the force per
unit area that is placed on a rock. There are three main types of stress,
namely;

Types of Stress:
a. Tensional Stress- causes rocks to be pulled apart that result to
lengthening and break apart. This type of stress can be found at divergent
plate boundaries.

b. Compressional Stress- causes rocks to fold or fracture. It squeezes

 SEA-FLOOR SPREADING OCEAN BASIN
- cover the largest area of the Earth’s
- Continental Drift by Alfred Wedgener - Was formed because of tectonic forces and processes, the supercontinent
- Harry Hess (geologist) examined maps of mid-ocean ridges and thought breaks apart.
- Mauna Kea- 10,203m - The planet’s surface is made up of about 70% of ocean basins, which are
- Everest- The world's highest mountain 8,850m the regions that are below sea level. These area hold the majority of the
- Everest Asia- 5200m from base planet’s water.
- Kilimanjaro Africa- 5600m from base
- Mauna Kea Pacific- 10200m from base MAJOR OCEAN IN THE WORLD
1. North and South Pacific
What is Sea-Floor Spreading? 2. North and South Atlantic
- The magma moves up from the mantle and and erupt as pillow lava 3. Indian Ocean
- This form new oceanic crust at the ridge 4. Arctic Ocean

Sonar- a device that bounces sound waves off under-water objects and ● Pacific Ocean Basin- is the largest, deepest, and oldest existing
then records the echoes of these sound waves. ocean basin.
● Atlantic Ocean Basin- The second largest basin.
Three evidences that support the idea that seafloor is continuously ● Indian Ocean Basin- third largest of the world’s oceanic division
spreading: ● Arctic Ocean Basin- The smallest of the Earth’s ocean basins and its
covered by ice.
1. Evidence from Molten Material- Rocks shaped like pillow (rock 1. Continental Shelf- is a portion of a continental that is submerged under an
pillow) show that molten material has erupted again and again from area of relatively shallow water.
cracks along the mid-ocean ridge and cooled quickly 2. Continental Slope- Transition zone of continental shelf and deep ocean
2. Evidence from Magnetic Stripes- Rocks that make up the ocean floor floor. It starts from oceanic crust to continental crust.
lie in a pattern of magnetized stripes which holds a record of the 3. Continental rise- It is where the ocean actually begins. All basaltic and
reversals in Earth's magnetic field oceanic rocks are found here.
3. Evidence from Drilling Samples- Core samples from the ocean floor 4. Abyssal plain- the flattest part of the ocean. 50% of the earth’s surface is
show that older rocks are found farther from the ridge: youngest being covered by this plain.
rocks are in the center of the ridge
5. Island- It’s not just a piece of land floating up in the middle of the sea, it is
the part of the basin that extends up from the ocean floor.
Subduction- Process by which the ocean floor sinks beneath a deep-ocean
6. Seamount- It is an undersea mountain. The erosion caused by waves
trench and back into the mantle; allows part of the ocean floor to sink back
destroyed the top of a seamount which caused it to be flattened.
into the mantle
7. Trench- it is deepest part of ocean. ( approximately 7,300 to more than
11,000 meters) ( 24,000 to 36,000 feet )
8. Mid- Oceanic Ridge- The seafloor mountain system which is situate in the
middle of the ocean basin. It is where upwelling of magma happens which
causes the seafloor to spread. Underwater mountain range, formed by plate
tectonics.
EVOLUTION OF THE OCEAN BASIN
STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION OF OCEAN BASIN
Wilson Cycle- explains the process of the opening (beginning) and the
closing (end) of an ocean which is driven by Plate Tectonics.

WILSON CYCLE:

1. Embryonic Stage- The earliest stage, called the embryonic stage

2. Juvenile Stage- involves the evolution of rift valleys into spreading centres
with thin strips of ocean crust between the rifted continental segments.
3. Mature Stage- Themure stage is exemplified by widening of the growing
basin and its continued shelves and with continental production
4. Declining- Eventually, this expanding system becomes unstable and, away
from the ridge, the oldest oceanic lithosphere sinks back into the
asthenosphere
5. Terminal Stage- once subduction overtakes the formation of new crust at
the constructive boundary, the ocean begins to contract.
6. Saturing- The end stage occurs once all the oceanic crust between the
continental masses has subducted

Wegener’s Evidence:
Topographic evidence
- Wegener noticed that the continents seemed to fit together.
- the “good fit’ suggested that just like neighboring pieces of a jigsaw puzzle
- He pisces together the map of Africa and South America.
Fossil Correlation
- Fossils are traces and remains of organism that lived in pre-historic times.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY - One of Wegener’s example is the remains of Mesosaurus.
- Abraham Ortelius, a Brabantian cartographer and geographer and known Rock Formation
as the creator of the first modern atlas (Theatrum Orbis terrarum or Theatre - US Appalachian Mountains are similar to Greenland and Europe
of the World) Paleoclimatic Evidence
- Ortelius was the first to underline the geometrical similarity between the - Wegener considered as evidence the glacial till deposits in the northern and
coasts of America and Europe-Africa and to propose continental drift as an southern latitudes.
explanation.
Continental Drift Theory
- Separation of Earth’s continents
- it refers to the movement of Earth’s continents relative to each other,
appearing to “drift” across the ocean bed.
- it was fully developed by Alfred Wegener (1880-1830), a german
meteorologist.
- according to Wegener, the continents were once joined together in a one
large landmass called “supercontinental” or “Pangea”