Solar System

The solar system consists of the Sun;

Eight official planets, at least three "dwarf planets", more than 130 satellites of the
planets,
A large number of small bodies (the comets and asteroids), and the interplanetary
medium.
The inner solar system contains the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars:
The main asteroid belt lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
The planets of the outer solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune;
(Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet).

Dwarf planets orbit sun.

Most are located in the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy objects beyond the orbit of
Neptune.
Pluto, one of the largest and most famous dwarf planets, is about 5.9 billion km
away from the sun.
Dwarf planets are solid rocky and/or icy bodies, The amount of rock vs. ice depends
on their location in the solar system.

A dwarf planet is a planetary-mass object that is neither a planet nor a natural

satellite.
It is in direct orbit of the Sun, and is massive enough for its gravity to crush it into a
hydrostatic equilibrium shape (usually a spheroid).
The term dwarf planet was adopted in 2006 as part of a three-way categorization of
bodies orbiting the Sun.
Origin of the Earth-Moon System

The earth and other bodies in the solar system formed by condensation and
accretion from a solar nebula.
The composition of the sun roughly reflects the composition of this nebula.
Meteorite compositions and shock-wave experimental data provide the most
definitive information regarding the overall composition of the Earth.

Shock-wave data indicate that it is composed chiefly of iron, silicon, magnesium and
oxygen.
The origin of the Earth-Moon System is part of the general problem of the origin of
the solar system.
This can be considered in terms of three subproblems:
1. How the sun acquired the gaseous material from which the planets formed;
2. The history of condensation of the gaseous material;
3. The processes and history of planetary accretion

Regarding the first question, one viewpoint is that the sun, already in existence,
attracted material into a gaseous nebula about itself.
The collapse of the nebula results in a cold cloud (<0oC) except in the region near the
protosun within the orbit of Mercury.
Condensation (i.e., the formation of solid particles from gas) of the nebula begins
during collapse and continues thereafter.

Accretion is the process by which solid particles collide to form planetary bodies in
the disc around the sun.
Accretion models fall into two general categories.
1. Homogeneous accretion models call upon formation of the planets in a generally
cold (<0oC), well-mixed cloud,
2. Inhomogeneous accretion modes, involve progressive condensation and accretion
of compounds from an initially hot cloud as it cools.
The Planet Earth

Earth is the third planet from the sun at a distance of about 150 million km.
One day on Earth takes 24 hours (spin once). Earth makes a complete orbit around
the sun (a year in Earth time) in about 365 days.
Earth is a rocky planet, also known as a terrestrial planet, with a solid and dynamic
surface of mountains, valleys, canyons, plains and so much more.
What makes Earth different from the other terrestrial planets is that it is also an
ocean planet: 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in oceans.

The Earth's atmosphere is made up of 78 percent nitrogen (N2), 21 percent oxygen

(O2) and 1 percent other ingredients -- the perfect balance for us to breathe and live.
Many planets have atmospheres, but only Earth's is breathable.
Earth is the perfect place for life.
Earth's atmosphere protects us from incoming meteoroids, most of which break up
in our atmosphere before they can strike the surface as meteorites.
Earth formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago.
Life appeared on its surface within its first billion years.
The ozone layer together with Earths magnetic field blocked harmful solar radiation.
This permitted formerly ocean-confined life to move safely to land.
Earth's lithosphere is divided into several rigid plates, tectonic plates.
These plates migrate across the surface over periods of many million years.
Over 70% percent of Earth's surface is covered with water with the remainder
consisting of continents and islands which together have many lakes and other
sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere.
Earth's poles are mostly covered with ice that is the solid ice of the Antarctic ice
sheet.
The sea ice is the polar ice packs.
The planets interior remains active, with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core
that generates the magnetic field, and a thick layer of relatively solid mantle.

Composition of the earth

Earth is a terrestrial planet, meaning that it is a rocky body, rather than a gas giant
like Jupiter.
It is the largest of the four terrestrial planets in size and mass.
Of these four planets, Earth also has the highest density, the highest surface gravity,
the strongest magnetic field, and fastest rotation.
It is probably the only one planet with active plate tectonics.

The shape of the Earth approximates an oblate spheriod.

The earth is flattened along the axis from pole to pole.
The flattening ratio is 1/297 which is calculate by the equation {(equatorial radius
polar radius) (equatorial radius).
It is bulged around the equator.
the diameter at the equator is 43 km larger than the pole-to-pole diameter.

The general shape of the earth is spheroidal but when the internal mass is excess the
spheroidal surface goes above the mean sea level, known as Geoid.
Geoid is an imaginary surface.
The mass of the Earth is approximately 5.981024 kg.
It is composed mostly of iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium
(13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium (1.5%), and aluminium (1.4%).
The remaining 1.2% consists of trace elements.

Internal Structure of the Earth

The interior of the Earth is divided into layers by their chemical or physical
(rheological) properties.
Unlike the other terrestrial planets, it has a distinct outer and inner core.
The outer layer of the Earth is a chemically distinct silicate solid crust, which is
underlain by a highly viscous solid mantle.
A silicate is a compound containing an anionic silicon compound. The great majority
of the silicates are oxides.
A silicate is a compound containing an anionic silicon compound. The great majority
of the silicates are oxides.
On Earth, a wide variety of silicate minerals occur as a result of the processes that
form and re-work the crust.
These processes include partial melting, crystallization, fractionation, metamorphism,
weathering and diagenesis.
Mineralogically, silicate minerals are divided according to structure of their silicate
anion:
olivine, epidot, tourmaline, pyroxene, amphibole, micas and clays, quartz, feldspars,
zeolites.
The crust is separated from the mantle by the Mohorovicic discontinuity.
The thickness of the crust varies: averaging 6 km under the oceans and 30-50 km on
the continents.
The crust and the cold, rigid, top of the upper mantle are collectively known as the
lithosphere.
It is of the lithosphere that the tectonic plates are comprised.
Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, a relatively low-viscosity layer on
which the lithosphere rides.
Important changes in crystal structure within the mantle occur at 410 and 660 km
below the surface, spanning a transition zone that separates the upper and lower
mantle.
Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a solid
inner core.

Internal Structure of the Earth based on various physical parameters. Preliminary Reference Earth
Model (PREM)
Atoms and Minerals

Atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by
a cloud of negatively charged electrons.
The atomic nucleus contains positively charged protons and electrically neutral
neutrons.
The electrons of an atom are bound to the nucleus by the electromagnetic force.
An atom containing an equal number of protons and electrons is electrically neutral.
Otherwise it is positively or negatively charged and is known as an ion.
An atom is classified according to the number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus.
Number of protons determines the chemical element.
Chemical element and the number of neutrons determines the isotope o of the
element.

Properties

Nuclear properties:
By definition, any two atoms with an identical number of protons in their nuclei
belong to the same chemical element.
Atoms with equal numbers of protons but a different number of neutrons are
different isotopes of the same element.

Mass:
The large majority of an atom's mass comes from the protons and neutrons that
make it up.
The total number of these particles (called "nucleons") in a given atom is called the
mass number.

Shape and Size:

Atoms lack a well-defined outer boundary, so their dimensions are usually described
in terms of an atomic radius.
This is a measure of the distance out to which the electron cloud extends from the
nucleus.

Radioactive decay:
Every element has one or more isotopes that have unstable nuclei that are subject to
radioactive decay, causing the nucleus to emit particles or electromagnetic radiation.
Radioactivity can occur when the radius of a nucleus is large compared with the
radius of the strong nuclear force.

Magnetic moment:
Elementary particles possess an intrinsic quantum mechanical property known as
spin.
This is analogous to the angular momentum of an object that is spinning around its
center of mass.
The magnetic field produced by an atomits magnetic momentis determined by
these various forms of angular momentum.
States:
Quantities of atoms are found in different states of matter that depend on the
physical conditions, such as temperature and pressure.
By varying the conditions, materials can transition between solids, liquids, gases and
plasmas.

Earth:
Most of the atoms that make up the Earth and its inhabitants were present in their
current form in the nebula that collapsed out of a molecular cloud to form the Solar
System.
The rest are the result of radioactive decay, and their relative proportion can be used
to determine the age of the Earth through radiometric dating.
The Earth contains approximately 1.331050 atoms.

Minerals

Mineral is a naturally occurring substance that is solid and stable at room

temperature.
Mineral is representable by chemical formula.
It is abiogenic.
It has an ordered atomic structure.
It is different from a rock, which can be an aggregate of minerals or non-minerals
and does not have a specific chemical composition.

Formation of minerals

Mineral can form from:

1. crystallization of magma, 2. crystal growth in the solid state, 3. precipitation from
solution.

Bowens reaction series

Physical properties of minerals

Minerals can be described by various physical properties which relate to their

chemical structure and composition.

Common distinguishing characteristics include:

crystal structure crystal structure results from the orderly geometric spatial
arrangement of atoms in the internal structure of a mineral.
habit crystal habit is the characteristic external shape of an individual crystal or
groups of crystals.
hardness - hardness of a mineral defines how much it can resist scratching. This
physical property is controlled by the chemical composition and crystalline structure
of a mineral.
Mohs Hardness scale
1. talc, 2. gypsum, 3. calcite, 4. fluorite, 5. apatite, 6. orthclase, 7. quartz, 8. topaz, 9.
corundum, 10. diamond
Lustre and Diaphaneity
Lustre indicates how light reflects from the mineral's surface, with regards to its
quality and intensity.
The diaphaneity of a mineral describes the ability of light to pass through it.
Colour and Streak:
Colour is the most obvious property of a mineral, but it is often non-diagnostic.
It is caused by electromagnetic radiation interacting with electrons.
The streak of a mineral refers to the colour of a mineral in powdered form, which
may or may not be identical to its body colour.
Cleavage and Fracture:
Cleavage is the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite
crystallo-graphic structural planes.
Fracture is the shape and texture of the surface formed when a mineral is fractured.
More specific tests for minerals include reaction to acid, magnetism, taste or smell,
and radioactivity.

Rocks

Rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals.

Rocks are classified in major three types.
1. Igneous rock
2. Metamorphic rock
3. Sedimentary rock

Igneous Rocks
Igneous rocks are crystalline solids which form directly from the cooling of magma.
Igneous rocks are given names based upon two things: composition (what they are
made of) and texture (how big the crystals are).
Composition relates to the mafic and felsic terms.

Ultramafic magmas
Olivine - Mg2SiO4 to Fe2SiO4
Pyroxene - Ca(Mg,Fe,Al)(Al,Si)2O6
Rocks include:
Intrusive: Dunite, Peridotites and pyroxenites.
Extrusive: Komatiite and Picritic basalt.

Mafic (basaltic) magma

Olivine - Mg2SiO4 to Fe2SiO4
Pyroxene - Ca(Mg,Fe,Al)(Al,Si)2O6
Plagioclase - CaAlSi3O8 to NaAlSi3O8
Mafic rocks include:
Gabbro, Basalt, Dolerite or Diabase

Intermediate magmas
Plagioclase - CaAlSi3O8 to NaAlSi3O8
Amphibole - NaCa2(Mg,Fe,Al)5(Si,Al)8O22(OH)2
Muscovite/Biotite - KAl2(Si3Al)O10(OH)2
Quartz - SiO2
Intermediate igneous rocks include:
Andesite, Dacite, Diorite and Granodiorite

Felsic (granitic) magmas

Potash Feldspar - KAlSi3O8
Quartz - SiO2
Muscovite/Biotite - KAl2(Si3Al)O10(OH)2
Amphibole - NaCa2(Mg,Fe,Al)5(Si,Al)8O22(OH)2
Felsic igneous rocks include:
Granite, Rhyolite and Obsidian
Sedimentary Rocks
Clastic and Non-clastic.
Clastic sedimentary rocks: Conglomerates, Sandstones and Mudstones.
Non-clastic rocks:
Limestone = composed of the mineral calcite, may contain marine fossils; formed by
precipitation from water
Rock salt = composed of the mineral halite (salt); formed by evaporation
Rock gypsum = composed of the mineral gypsum; formed by evaporation
Chert = composed of microscopic mineral grains of quartz; very hard with sharp
edges

Metamorphic rocks

The five basic metamorphic rock types are:

Slate, Phyllite, Schist, Gneiss, Marble and Quarzite.

Geologic Time Scale

Geologists have divided Earth's history into a series of time intervals.

These time intervals are not equal in length like the hours in a day. Instead the time
intervals are variable in length. This is because geologic time is divided using
significant events in the history of the Earth.
Rocks and Properties of Rocks

Rocks
Rock or stone is a natural substance, a solid aggregate of one or more minerals. The
Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock.
Rock has been used by mankind throughout history. The minerals and metals found
in rocks have been essential to human civilization.
The scientific study of rocks is called petrology, which is an essential component of
geology.

Classification of rocks
Rocks on earth are classified according to the way they were formed.
Igneous rocks come from magma or lava.
Sedimentary rocks are made from sediments.
Metamorphic rocks are the result of great heat and pressure that have changed
existing rocks into new rocks.

Igneous rocks
Igneous rocks form when molten materials (magma) originating from deep within
the Earth solidifies.
The chemical composition of the magma and its cooling rate determine the final
igneous rock type.
Two types of igneous rocks form in nature:
1. Intrusive (plutonic)
2. Extrusive (volcanic)

Intrusive igneous rocks are formed from magma that cools and solidifies deep
beneath the Earths surface.
The insulating effect of the surrounding rock allows the magma to solidify very
slowly.
Slow cooling means the individual mineral grains have a long time to grow, so they
grow to a relatively large size.
Intrusive rocks have a characteristically coarse grain size.

Extrusive igneous rocks are formed from magma that cools and solidifies at or near
the Earths surface.
Exposure to the relatively cool temperature of the atmosphere or water makes the
erupted magma solidify very quickly.
Rapid cooling means the individual mineral grains have only a short time to grow, so
their final size is very tiny, or fine-grained.
Sometimes the magma is quenched so rapidly that individual minerals have no time
to grow. This is how volcanic glass forms.

Sedimentary rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed from pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living
organisms.
They form from deposits that accumulate on the Earth's surface.
Three major types of sedimentary rocks occur in nature.
1. Clastic; 2. Chemical; 3. Biological

Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces (clasts) of pre-existing rocks.

Pieces of rock are loosened by weathering, then transported to some basin or
depression where sediment is trapped.
If the sediment is buried deeply, it becomes compacted and cemented, forming
sedimentary rock.
Clastic sedimentary rocks may have particles ranging in size from microscopic clay to
huge boulders.
Their names are based on their grain size.

Chemical sedimentary rocks are formed by chemical precipitation.

This process begins when water traveling through rock dissolves some of the
minerals, carrying them away from their source.
Eventually these minerals are redeposited when the water evaporates away or when
the water becomes over- saturated.

Biologic sedimentary rocks form from once-living organisms.

They may form from accumulated carbon-rich plant material or from deposits of
animal shells.

Metamorphic rocks
Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have been substantially changed from their
original igneous, sedimentary, or earlier metamorphic form.
Metamorphic rocks form when rocks are subjected to high heat, high pressure, hot,
mineral-rich fluids or, more commonly, some combination of these factors.
Two types i.e., foliated and non-foliated metamorphic rocks occur.

Foliation forms when pressure squeezes the flat or elongate minerals within a rock
so they become aligned.
These rocks develop a platy or sheet-like structure that reflects the direction that
pressure was applied.

Non-foliated metamorphic rocks do not have a platy or sheet-like structure.

Some rocks, such as limestone are made of minerals that are not flat or elongate.
No matter how much pressure is applied, the grains will not align!

Another type of metamorphism, contact metamorphism, occurs when hot igneous

rock intrudes into some pre-existing rock.
The pre-existing rock is essentially baked by the heat, changing the mineral structure
of the rock without addition of pressure.
Physical properties of rocks

Rocks are made of one or more minerals. Minerals are pure, solid, inorganic
(nonliving) materials found in Earth's crust.
Mineral is used for many of different things like copper. Some minerals are mined for
their beautiful properties, such as diamonds and other gems.
Some are so valuable they are used for jewelry or decorations, like gold and
platinum.

Geologists use specific properties to identify rocks and minerals.

Geologists use the following tests to distinguish minerals and the rocks they make:
hardness, color, streak, luster, cleavage and chemical reaction.
However, physical properties of rocks differ greatly from minerals.

In general, rock and rock mass properties can be divided into five groups:
physical properties (durability, hardness, porosity, etc.),
mechanical properties (deformability, strength),
hydraulic properties (permeability, storativity),
thermal properties (thermal expansion, conductivity), and
in situ stresses.

Physical properties
physical properties such as weathering potential, slaking potential, swelling potential,
hardness, abrasiveness, and other properties such as porosity, density, water
content, etc.
Most of those properties are intact rock properties.
When exposed to atmospheric conditions, rocks slowly break down. This process is
called weathering.
Can be separated into mechanical (also called physical) weathering and chemical
weathering.

Mechanical weathering causes disintegration of rocks into smaller pieces by

exfoliation or decrepitation (slaking).

The chemical composition of the parent rock is not or is only slightly altered.
Mechanical weathering can result from the action of agents such as frost action, salt
crystallization, temperature changes (freezing and thawing), moisture changes
(cycles of wetting and drying), wind, glaciers, streams, unloading of rock masses
(sheet jointing), and biogenic processes (plants, animals, etc.).

Chemical Weathering
This type of weathering creates new minerals in place of the ones it destroys in the
parent rock.
As rocks are exposed to atmospheric conditions at or near the ground surface, they
react with components of the atmosphere to form new minerals.
The most important atmospheric reactants are oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water.
Solution is a reaction whereby a mineral completely dissolves during weathering.

Slaking
Since rocks change properties with time, a problem of interest is to assess their
weatherability or its inverse their durability.
Slake durability index is applied for for clay-bearing rocks (shales, claystones,
mudstones, etc.)

Swelling potential:
Chemical weathering reactions are usually accompanied with an increase in volume
such as in the transformation of anhydrite into gypsum.
For this reaction, increases in volumes ranging between 30 and 58% and swelling
pressures as high as 10,000 psi (70 MPa).
The term swelling rock (or soil) implies not only the tendency of a material to
increase in volume when water is available but also to decrease in volume and shrink
if water is removed.

Hardness and Abrasiveness

Knowledge of the hardness and abrasiveness of rock is very important when
predicting rock drillability, cuttability, borability and tunnel boring machine advance
rates.
These two physical properties depend to a great extent on the mineralogical
composition of the rock and the type and the degree of cementation of the mineral
grains.

Degree of fissuring
The degree of intact rock fissuring can be characterized through direct observation
using the microscope.
It can also be characterized through simple tests such as measurement of sonic
velocity or permeability.
The sonic velocity method (or pulse method) consists of propagating waves in intact
samples of rock.
Transmitters and receivers transducers and an oscilloscope are used to measure the
time that longitudinal and transverse elastic waves propagate through an intact rock
sample.

Phase relationships
Rocks like soils are three phase materials.
They consist of solid particles such as grains and crystals with void space in between.
The void space can be occupied by air or water or both.
Several parameters can be defined such as porosity, specific gravity, water
content,degree of saturation and density.

Porosity
The porosity is defined as the relative proportion of solid grains and voids in the
rock.
It is also a measure of the interconnected pore space.
The pore phase may not be completely continuous in a rock and fluid may not
permeate to all the pores.

The apparent porosity is the measure of the volume of interconnected pores and
cracks linked to the external surface of the rock.
The total porosity is a measure of the volume of all the cracks and pores and includes
those interconnected to the external surface and those having no connection to the
external surface of the rock.

Specific Gravity
The specific gravity of the solid phase of a rock, Gs, is defined as follows
Gs = s /w
where s and w are the density of the solid particles and water (at 20C),
respectively.

Water Content and Saturation

Water content or moisture content is the quantity of water contained in a material,
such as rock.
Degree of saturation, a ratio of liquid to the total volume of voids in a porous
material.
Permeability of rocks
Permeability is the property of rocks that is an indication of the ability for fluids (gas
or liquid) to flow through rocks. High permeability will allow fluids to move rapidly
through rocks. Permeability is affected by the pressure in a rock.

Seismic velocity
The speed with which an elastic wave propagates through a medium.

Electrical resistivity (also known as resistivity, specific electrical resistance, or volume

resistivity) is an intrinsic property that quantifies how strongly a given material
opposes the flow of electric current.

The degree to which a specified material conducts electricity, calculated as the ratio
of the current density in the material to the electric field that causes the flow of
current. It is the reciprocal of the resistivity.
Rock texture

Texture (or rock microstructure) in geology refers to the relationship between the
materials of which a rock is composed.
The broadest textural classes are:
# crystalline (in which the components are intergrown and interlocking crystals),
# fragmental (in which there is an accumulation of fragments by some physical
process),
# aphanitic (in which crystals are not visible to the unaided eye), and,
# glassy (in which the particles are too small to be seen and amorphously arranged).

Textures can be quantified in many ways.

The most common parameter is the crystal size distribution.
This creates the physical appearance or character of a rock, such as grain size, shape,
arrangement, and other properties, at both the visible and microscopic scale.

Crystalline textures include phaneritic, foliated, and porphyritic.

Phaneritic textures are where interlocking crystals of igneous rock are visible to the
unaided eye.
Foliated texture is where metamorphic rock is made of layers of materials.
Porhyritic texture is one in which larger pieces (phenocrysts) are embedded in a
background mass made of much finer grains.

Fragmental textures include clastic, bioclastic, and pyroclastic.

Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock.
Bioclasts are skeletal fossil fragments of once living marine or land organisms that are
found in sedimentary rocks laid down in a marine environmentespecially limestone
varieties.
Some of which take on distinct textures and coloration from their predominate
bioclaststhat geologists, archaeologists and paleontologists use to date a rock strata
to a particular geological era.

In geology bioclasts are used for such things relative dating purposes can be whole
fossils or broken fragments of organisms.
They can be used to study the age of the formation, environment of the rocks.
One of the major contributions of bioclasts is that they form in regions where
organisms lived and eventually died, over time.

This is important because with the right conditions (pressure and temperature) there is
a high possibility for hydrocarbon potential.
This is due to the fact that hydrocarbons will eventually form due to the rich organic
matter that has died and enriches the sediments.

Pyroclastic rocks or pyroclastics are clastic rocks composed solely or primarily of

volcanic materials.
Where the volcanic material has been transported and reworked through mechanical
action, such as by wind or water, these rocks are termed volcaniclastic.
Pyroclastic deposits are commonly formed from airborne ash, lapilli and bombs or
blocks ejected from the volcano itself, mixed in with shattered country rock.
Crystalline rocks:grain shape
Rock Structure

Rock structures are related to rock's formational environment: whether it's igneous,
sedimentary or metamorphic.
There are hundreds of distinct rock structures.
Geologists find it convenient to divide them into 'primary' and 'secondary' structures.

Primary Structures: structures formed before or at the same as material is in the

process of becoming rock. For example, formed as magma crystallizes or as sediment
accumulates.

Sedimentary rock

Metamorphic rock

Igneous Rock
Secondary rock structures are imposed on rocks by events (such as compression or
stretching) experienced by rocks after their original formational.
The structures are most easily observed if the rocks have obvious primary structures,
such as layering formed by successive episodes of deposition.

Primary depositional layering is almost always horizontal: it parallels the general

configuration of surface on which deposition takes place, such as a floodplain or the
floor of a lake or ocean.
In consequence, when layers are found that are not horizontal, the geologist assumes
that some force has been exerted upon them that has destroyed their original
horizontality.

Anticline

Syncline
Classification of structures
1. Folds, 2. Faults, 3. Unconformities

Types of folds
Folds are formed due to deformation of ductile rock materials.
Faults are formed due to deformation of brittle rock materials
Unconformities are non-deformational geologic features occur in the surface of
erosion or non-deposition.

Anticline

Syncline

Monocline
 Chevron fold

Recumbent fold

Isoclinal fold
 Plunging fold

Dome and basin

Types of Faults

A fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there

has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movement.

Reverse and Thrust fault

Unconformity

Unconformity is the surface of erosion and non-deposition.

There are three basic types of contacts:
(1) depositional contacts, where a sediment layer is deposited over preexisting rock.
(2) fault contacts, where two units are juxtaposed by a fracture on which sliding has
occurred.
(3) intrusive contacts, where one rock body cuts across another rock body.

Disconformity: A disconformity is an unconformity between parallel layers of

sedimentary rocks which represents a period of erosion or non-deposition.

Nonconformity: A nonconformity exists between sedimentary rocks and metamorphic

or igneous rocks when the sedimentary rock lies above and was deposited on the
pre-existing and eroded metamorphic or igneous rock.
Angular unconformity: An angular unconformity is an unconformity where
horizontally parallel strata of sedimentary rock are deposited on tilted and eroded
layers, producing an angular discordance with the overlying horizontal layers.

Paraconformity: A paraconformity is a type of unconformity in which strata are

parallel; there is no apparent erosion and the unconformity surface resembles a simple
bedding plane.
Petroleum Geology is the study of the genesis of petroleum and its occurrence under
the suitable and conducive geological environment.
The term petroleum geology has come into use to describe the area of common
interest between petroleum producers and geologists.
Petroleum is a geologically occurring natural resource that serves as one of the main
component of energy development.

Natural resources like petroleum, coal and many metallic minerals are the backbone
of nations industrial growth and economic emancipation.
To understand properly the genesis of petroleum it is customary to know better the
geological state of art.
A successful exploration and exploitation strategy largely depends on proper
understanding of geological conditions of a region.
Hence, the region must not be defined as a politically demarcated area rather
geologically demarcated one.

Geologically newly developed marginal sea basin and ocean basin where sediments
have been deposited under a conducive geological environment for organic matter
enrichment, cooking, maturation, migration and entrapment.
From the earliest days of scientific investigation the formation of petroleum had been
attributed to two origins: inorganic and organic.
Most petroleum geologists believe that petroleum forms from the diagenesis of buried
organic matter which is indigenous to sedimentary rocks rather than igneous and
metamorphic ones.

Inorganic theory states that hydrogen and carbon came together under great
temperature and pressure from below the earths surface and formed oil and gas
where chemical reactions have occurred.
Oil and gas then seeped through porous rock to deposit in various natural
underground traps.
Metal carbide theory of inorganic origin is developed by a Russian chemist and states
that the deposition of petroleum is controlled by tectonic activities occurred during the
life of sedimentary rock.
Metal carbides deep in Earth reacted with water at high pressure and temperature to
form acetylene which condenses to heavier hydrocarbons.
Reaction equation is: Cac2+H2O= C2H2+Ca(OH)2

Organic origin is the most widely accepted.

The oil and gas are formed from remains of prehistoric plants and animals.
Remains of plants have been transformed to coal and animals to oil and gas.
These remains were settled into seas and accumulated at the ocean floor and buried
under several kilometers of sediments.

Over a few milion years, the layers of the organic material were compressed under the
weight of the sediments above them. The increase in pressure and temperature with
the absence of oxygen changed the mud, sand, slit or sediments into rock and organic
matter into Kerogen. After further burial and heating, the kerogen transformed via
cracking into petroleum and natural gas.

Evidences for organic origin of petroleum

Presence of brine (sea water) with petroleum.
Petroleum is found only in association with sedimentary rocks.
There is no petroleum associated with igneous or metamorphic rocks.
Polarized light passing through all petroleum resources undergoes a rotation that is
similar to all organic oils.

Molecules in hydrocarbons are thought to be similar to that of the organic matter.

The organic carbon found in plants is depleted into C13 due to photosynthesis
process.
Organic matter is further depleted due to radioactive decaying.
The same depletion was found in petroleum and natural gas.

For a commercial oil accumulation to occur, five conditions must be fulfilled:

i)their must be an organic-rich source rock to generate the oil and/or gas,
ii)the source rock must have been heated sufficiently to yield its petroleum,
iii) there must be a reservoir to contain the expelled hydrocarbons and the reservoir
must have porosity and permeability to contain oil and/or gas, and to permit fluid flow
respectively,
iv) the reservoir must be sealed by an impermeable cap rock to prevent the upward
escape of petroleum to the earths surface,
v) source rock, reservoir rock, and seal must be arranged in such a way as to form a
suitable trap for petroleum.

Petroleum exploration now involves integrated teams of people possessing a wide

range of professional skills

Geological concepts are applied in the interpretation of the geophysical data once they
have been acquired and processed.
As soon as an oil well is drilled, the engineering aspects of the discovery need
appraisal.
Petroleum engineering is concerned with establishing the reserves of a field, the
distribution of petroleum within the reservoir, and the most effective way of
producing it.
Thus petroleum geology lies within a continuum of disciplines, beginning with
geophysics and ending with petroleum engineering. However, overlapping both in
time and subject matter exists

Lecture June 10

Basic Terminologies of Petroleum Geology

Commercially exploitable petroleum occurs underground in the subsurface.

The rock containing petroleum is a reservoir rock, or simply a reservoir.
The feature of the rock that restrains oil and gas from moving out of the reservoir is
called a trap.
Petroleum becomes commercially exploitable when it is naturally gathered into a pool,
which is a single, discrete accumulation of oil or gas in a single reservoir with a single
trap.
Several pools may lie in a vertical succession within a single area, or they may lie side
by side or overlap laterally so as to constitute an aerially continuous accumulation
called field.
Oil and gas fields generally occur in the sedimentary basins.
A three-dimensional geological entity containing a number of oil or gas fields in a
sedimentary basin is called petroliferous basin.
A geographical region containing petroleum fields having some geologic
characteristics in common is a petroleum province.
Small area within a basin or province which may contain oil or gas but has not yet
been proved is a prospect.
A larger area within which the drilling of prospects has established success and
pointed the way for further drilling provides a play.
Oil and gas occurring under these conditions are said to be conventional.
A hole which yields any fluid is a well.
A well drilled in search of a new accumulation of oil or gas is an exploratory or
wildcat well.
If the well is successful, it constitutes a discovery.
If a discovery well shows promise of being commercial it is completed as a producing
well.
If a well yields no recoverable oil or gas, it is a dry hole. A dry hole is abandoned.
The process of recording the data derivable from the drilling of a well is called
logging.
The search for new sources of petroleum constitutes exploration.
The sources discovered by successful exploration becomes reserves, which are those
portion of the total resource that have been shown to be accessible and recoverable
under current economic and technologic conditions.
Because no recovery technique can extract all oil or gas from a field, the reserves of
the field are only some fraction of the in-place oil or gas which the field actually
contains.
The process of recovering reserves by drilling a well within a field and operating them
successfully, is called development well.
Organizations and individuals seeking or producing oil or gas are called operators.

Anticlinal theory
Geological contribution in oil finding was based on the anticlinal theory.
Oil and gas accumulate as high in the reservoir. Because they are lighter than water,
this is their position of least potential energy. This elementary principle was put
forward at the very beginning of the petroleum era, in 1861, and it quickly became the
basis for exploration as the anticlinal theory.
An anticline is simply a geometric arrangement of strata such that they dip away from
a central area which is relatively high.
It is certain that a majority of known oil and gas fields are in anticlinal traps.
Closure is the height to the crest of the structure above the lowest structural contour
which closes.
It is the effective depth of the structure that can contain oil or/and gas above the spill
point (figure).