LC, 2008, q3 B B.

ROCK TYPE AND LANDSCAPE Examine, with reference to an example you have studied, the formation of one rock-type and how it produces a distinctive landscape. [30m] LC 2008, q3 B

Formation of Limestone
Rocks are continually formed and changed by forces within the Earth. There are three rock types: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic. The rock type I have chosen is: limestone, a sedimentary rock. Limestone can be found in Ireland in the Burren, Co. Clare. Limestone is an organic sedimentary rock composed almost entirely of calcium carbonate. Limestone is formed from the billions of skeleton remains of marine creatures such as fish, sea urchins and coral. Over time these creatures were compressed by their own weight and cemented to form solid rock. In Ireland s case, this took place 350 million years ago, when the country was approximately 30 South of the Equator in a tropical location. There are many types of limestone, including carboniferous, dolomite and chalk. It is a stratified rock, laid down in horizontal layers (strata) which are divided by bedding planes. Vertical cracks and joints also occur in limestone. Insert Diagram Here. Weathering is the process by which rocks on or very near the surface of the earth are broken down or decay. Limestone is a permeable rock, which means that water can seep through it due to its joints and bedding planes. Limestone is therefore vulnerable to the chemical weathering process of carbonation. This is where rainwater picks up CO2 as it passes through the atmosphere and as it passes through soil it picks up more CO2 from organic debris.

The water and CO2 combine to form a weak carbonic acid. This acid reacts with calcite, the cementing agent of limestone and either dissolves it into a solution called calcium bicarbonate which is removed from the rock in solution or turns it into minerals. The remaining rock is left unbound and crumbles. If limestone is subjected to intense heat, it changes to the igneous rock, marble. Limestone creates a karst landscape, as seen in the Burren, in Co. Clare, the largest karst region in western Europe. A karst landscape is an area of bare limestone, displaying surface and underground features of a limestone region. Karst landscapes normally develop on carboniferous limestone that has either been uplifted or exposed when overlying rocks were removed. In order for a karst landscape to develop, the limestone should be well jointed, the water table should be below the surface of the limestone and there needs to be abundant rainfall. This forms clints, grikes, swallow holes etc. Insert Diagram Here.

Limestone Pavement and Swallow Hole

A feature of a karst landscape is a limestone pavement. A limestone pavement is a large, flat area of limestone that had its soil cover removed and has been exposed for a long time, leaving it vulnerable to chemical and physical weathering. Because limestone is stratified and well jointed rainwater is able to percolate freely downwards through the joints and bedding planes. Carbonation is concentrated in these areas, the joints are widened and deepened to form grikes, while the rest of the limestone that is more resistant remain as flat topped blocks called clints. Carbonation also takes place on the surface of the clints, where acid rainwater may stand in pools, as a result small hollows called karren develop As rainwater runs off a clint, small furrows are cut into the edges, this is called fluting. Diagram. A swallowhole may form on the limestone pavement. It is an opening in the bed of a river through which the river disappears from the surface to flow underground.

As the river flowed over the limestone, some of the water percolated downwards through the joints. Over time the joints widened as a result of carbonation to form a downward passage called a swallow hole.

Limestone Cave and Cavern

Another landform is a limestone cave, cavern and dripstone deposits. An example of a limestone cave are the Ailwee Caves in Co. Clare The processes here are carbonation, solution and evaporation. Most caves are formed at or below the zone of saturation As the rock is dissolved by carbonation and solution, the cavities are enlarged to form a series of passages, called caves. As the enlargement continues, surface water finds its way into the cave through a swallow hole, this moving water further enlarges the cave by hydraulic action and abrasion. If the flow of the water is turbulent, sections of the roof of the cave collapse to form caverns. If the water table falls, caves begin to develop at a lower level and those at the upper level are left dry. These are the caves that we know as tourist attractions. Fast flowing underground water tends to open single channel caves such as the Ailwee Caves. If the water flows more slowly, it will attack every fissure in the rock to develop a maze of caves such as those in Cloyne, Co. Cork

Dripstone Deposits
When water seeps through the joints in the limestone to the roof of a cave, it hangs or drips from the ceiling. Evaporation occurs and tiny amounts of calcite are left behind. This forms dripstone features. Stalactites form when the calcite builds up on the ceiling of a cave and hangs down. Stalactites are long and narrow conical structures. This is a result of continual evaporation of water that contains the dissolved calcium carbonate.

When the drops of water hit the floor, more calcite builds upon the floor of the cave to form stalagmites. Stalagmites have wider bases and are not as sharp as stalactites. As time passes, stalactites and stalagmites continue to grow until the join up to form columns or pillars. A sheet of calcite may build up, called a curtain. Years ago when the first settlers came to Ireland, the Burren had the most fertile soil in the country. Since then, over-cropping and over-grazing have stripped the land of the soil, exposing the weak limestone beneath to all the elements: wind, rain, sleet, snow, etc. This is known as physical weathering. Processes such as freeze-thaw action are another way in which the limestone can be damaged. Water seeps into crack in the rock by day, and at night, this water freezes and expands, cracking the rock. Years of repetition of this has also done severe damage to the Burren. Rock that has been weakened or damaged physically is also more vulnerable to chemical weathering. and it has been the combination of these components which formed the distinct limestone pavement we know at the Burren today.