Rock Layers

James Hutton- concluded that there are forces that changes the landscape of the Earth in the past.
How are rock layers formed?
Stratified rocks, also known as derivatives rock, maybe fragmental or crystalline. These rocks are product of
sedimentary processes.
Stratigraphy - the branch of geology that deals with the description, correlation, and interpretation of
stratified sediments and stratified rocks on and within the Earth.
Stratification  It is also known as bedding, which is the layering that happens in sedimentary and igneous
rocks formed at the surface of the Earth that comes from lava flows or other volcanic activity
Nicholas Steno -studied the relative position of sedimentary rocks.
Stratigraphic Laws -basic principles that all geologists use in decoding or deciphering the spatial and temporal
relationships of rock layers.
These includes the following:
Original Horizontality - sediments are deposited in flat layers, if the rock maintains in horizontal layers, it
means it is not yet disturbed and still has its original horizontality
Superposition - largest and heaviest rock layer that settled first at the bottom is the oldest rock layer.
- the lightest and smallest that settled last is the youngest rock layer.
Cross Cutting - a fault or dike- a slab rock cuts through another rock
- when magma intrudes to the rock, that fault or magma is younger than the rock
Law of Inclusions - rock mass that contains pieces of rocks called inclusions are younger than the other rock masses.
Law of Faunal Succession - first recognized by William Smith
- different strata contain particular assemblage of fossils by which rocks may be
identified and correlated over long distances
Law of Unconformities  rock layers that are formed without interruptions are conformable.
 describes a layer of rock that have been deformed or eroded before another layer is
deposited, resulting in rock layer mismatching
Three Types of Unconformities:
Disconformity  It originates from horizontal sedimentary rock layers that is lifted and the top layers eroded.
 New sediments are deposited when they are submerged beneath a freshwater or saltwater.
Angular unconformity  It originates from horizontally parallel strata of sedimentary rock that are deposited
on tilted and eroded layers.  It produced an angular discordance with underlying horizontal layers.
Non -conformity  It originates between sedimentary rocks, metamorphic or igneous rock when sedimentary
rock lies above and was deposited on the pre-existing and eroded metamorphic or igneous rock

Relative and Absolute Dating

Relative Age
-Used to arrange geological events, and the rocks they leave behind in sequence

Prior to absolute age measurements, geologist used field observations to determine the relative ages. They
used simple principle in order to get the relative ages. The following are the principles used by the geologists:
Principle of original horizontality is based on the observation that sediment usually accumulates in horizontal
layers. Tectonic forces tilted or folded rocks into an angle after it was formed.
Principle of superposition states that sedimentary rocks become younger from bottom to top. This is because
younger layers of the sedimentary always accumulates at the top of the layers.
Principle of crosscutting relationships is based on the fact that rocks must exist before anything else
happened like intrusions or dikecutting across rocks.
Principle of faunal succession states that species succeeded one another through time in a definite and
recognizable order and that the relative ages of sedimentary rocks can be therefore recognized from their
fossils. The absence or the presence may be used to give a relative age of the sedimentary where they are
found.
Principle of lateral continuity explained that layers of sediment are continuous. Layers with same rocks but
separated by a valley or erosion are initially continuous.
Absolute Age Since change is the only thing that is permanent, the measurement of absolute age or exact date became
a challenging task to the scientists. But they found a natural process that occurs at constant rate and accumulates its
record of the radioactive decay of elements in rocks.

-Used absolute dating methods, sometimes called numerical dating,to give rocks an actual date,or date range, in number
of years.

Half-Life

- The half-life of a radioactive decay process is the time taken for half the original parent atoms to decay. The length of
half-life is a unique feature of each decay process. The half-life of the uranium is 713 million years. This means that if an
igneous rock contained 1000 atoms of U-235 when it solidified: After 713 million years, it would contain 500 atoms of U-
235 and 500 atoms of the daughter element for the decay process, Pb-207. The proportion of parent atoms/daughter
atoms present in an igneous rock gives the age of the rock — or the number of million years since the rock solidified

Geologic Time Scale

 Geologic Timeline

Geologic Processes and Hazards

SIMPLIFIED CLASSIFICATION OF MAJOR GEOLOGIC HAZARDS

 Hazards caused by an earthquake:
A. Ground shaking is one of the hazards resulting from earthquake, volcanic eruption, and landslides
- is both a hazard created by earthquakes and the trigger for other hazards such as liquefaction and landslides. Ground
shaking describes the vibration of the ground during an earthquake.
B. Surface faulting is displacement that reaches the earth's surface during slip along a fault. It commonly occurs with
shallow earthquakes; those with an epicenter less than 20 km.
C. A landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. Landslides are a type of
"mass wasting," which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity. The
term "landslide" encompasses five modes of slope movement: falls, topples, slides, spreads, and flows.
D. Liquefaction describes the way in which soil liquefies during ground shaking. Liquefaction can undermine the
foundations and supports of buildings, bridges, pipelines, and roads, causing them to sink into the ground, collapse, or
dissolve.
E. Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. It can injure or kill many people
and cause significant damage to buildings and other structures. The speed of tsunami waves depends on ocean depth
rather than the distance from the source of the wave. Tsunami waves may travel as fast as jet planes over deep waters,
only slowing down when reaching shallow waters.
Volcanoes can be exciting and fascinating, but are also very dangerous. Any kind of volcano can create harmful or
deadly phenomena, whether during an eruption or a period of dormancy. Volcanoes are natural systems and always
have some element of unpredictability.
A volcanic eruption occurs when magma is released from a volcano. Major natural hazards on Earth.
A. Tephra consists of pyroclastic fragments of any size and origin. It is a synonym for "pyroclastic material." Tephra
ranges in size from ash (64 mm).
B. A pyroclastic flow is a dense, fast-moving flow of solidified lava pieces, volcanic ash, and hot gases. Pyroclastic flows
form in various ways.
C. Lahar is an Indonesian term that describes a hot or cold mixture of water and rock fragments that flows down the
slopes of a volcano and typically enters a river valley. Lahars are extremely dangerous especially to those living in valley
areas near a volcano. Lahars can bury and destroy manmade structures including roads and bridges.
D. Flood is an overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry.
E. Lava domes are formed by viscous magma being erupted effusively onto the surface and then piling up around the
vent.
F. Poisonous gases, the gases that are released during a volcanic eruption, come from deep within the Earth. The largest
portion of gases released into the atmosphere is water vapor.
Geologic Processes and Hazards
Geologic Process
- can be described as natural forces that shape the physical makeup of a planet. These forces cause movements of plates
in the Earth’s crust, the area where humankind lives
Hazard- is a phenomenon caused by natural or human forces which poses threat to humans, animals, properties and
environment
Hazards can be classified as to natural and anthropogenic.
Natural: Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides and tsunamis (climate and weather related hazards) Anthropogenic:
Deforestation, mining and climate change (man-made)
Hazard Map It is a map that illustrates the areas that are exposed or prone to a particular hazard. They are used for
natural hazards such as landslides, flooding, volcanic eruption and tsunami. It is also used to mitigate the potential
negative effects of these hazards
Hydrometeorological Phenomena and Hazards
Hydrometeorological hazards They are brought by extreme meteorological and climate phenomena that includes
tropical cyclones, thunderstorms, tornado (ipo-ipo) drought, and floods.
Tropical cyclones - are known in various names depending on the country where you live. In the Western North Pacific
around the Philippines, Japan, and China the storms are known as typhoons, while in the North Atlantic Ocean and the
Eastern North Pacific they are referred to as hurricane. Here are the top five destructive typhoons to ever hit the
country: Typhoon Haiphong (1881), Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) (2013), Tropical storm Thelma (Uring) (1991), Typhoon
Bopha (Pablo) (2012), and Typhoon Angela (1867).
Monsoons A monsoon is a seasonal wind and rains pattern, and the word “monsoon” believed to be originated from the
Arabic word mawsim (season), via Portuguese and the Dutch monsun. There are two known monsoons in the Philippines
that occur every year: Summer Southwest (Habagat) and Winter Northeast Monsoon (Amihan).
1. Amihan: brings cloudless skies and nippy mornings during the dry season (October to late March)
2. Habagat: brings heavy rains and some deadly typhoons (June to September)
Floods is as an abnormal progressive rise in the water level of a stream that may result in the over-flowing by the water
of the normal confines of the stream. A flood can vary in size, speed of water, and duration.
Tornado (Ipo-ipo) A tornado is a narrow, violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the
ground. The main cause of tornadoes are thunderstorms though tornadoes are not common in the Philippines, still it can
occur at any time of the year.