MODULE 02 : Earth’s Processes

Topic 01 : Exogenic Processes and Deformation

DIFFERENTIATING WEATHERING AND EROSION

Central to the rock cycle is the formation of sediments and fragments, as it is the raw material for
sedimentary rocks and, subsequently, metamorphic rocks. In forming these raw
materials, WEATHERING and EROSION takes place. In our understanding of these processes, we
oftentimes interchange them, but there is a key difference that distinguishes both processes, and that is
being discussed in the video below: (https://youtu.be/qGw1yB10lX0)

Essentially, weathering is simply the breaking down of rocks into sediments and fragments without
transport ever occurring; in other words, it's an on-site breakdown of rocks. On the other hand, erosion
involves the transport of sediments and fragments into a new place after having been broken down.

STRESS AND ITS INFLUENCE ON WEATHERING AND EROSION

Weathering and erosion would not be possible without an external force acting on a rock to break it
down, and that force is STRESS. Depending on the direction of the force applied, stress may be classified
as:

In the diagram, COMPRESSION causes rock bodies to be compressed, TENSION causes rocks to stretch
to breaking point, and SHEARING causes rocks to break and slip. These forces also influence the
endogenic processes which would be discussed in the next topic.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF WEATHERING AND EROSION

Depending on what might cause a rock to breakdown, weathering can be classified into the following:

A. Physical Weathering - When rocks get disrupted directly by any physical process, such as a
stream flowing over rocks

B. Chemical Weathering - When rocks weaken due to a change in composition, such as a stalactite
and stalagmite forming in caves

c. Biological Weathering - When rocks get weaken due to direct action by an organism or by a bodily
process of an organism, as in a mushroom growing out of a rock
In a similar manner, erosion can be classified according to what causes a rock to erode:

A. Mass Wasting - Erosion due to water and aided by gravity that occurs on slopes with weakened
support; often referred to as a landslide

B. Fluvial Erosion - Erosion due to running water that weakens rock due to its intrusion into its
supporting layers, like when a river transforms over time

C. Wind erosion - Erosion due to friction created by wind shear against a rock body, like sand dunes in
the desert

D. Glacial Erosion - Erosion caused by frozen water that has intruded into a rock and has melted, like
when a glacier breaks off

Mangroves and Disappearing Coasts : (https://youtu.be/cNE56Wua7bA)

 TOPIC 02 : Endogenic Processes and Deformation of the Crust

EARTH'S HEAT BUDGET

In the previous topic, we have discussed the transformations on the surface of the planet brought by
weathering and erosion. This time, we will go deep into the interior of the planet and understand what
happens beneath the crust, and this is best demonstrated by the endogenic processes. ENDOGENIC
PROCESSES are those processes that move the continents and maintain the isostatic condition of the
crust. These processes are driven primarily by HEAT. On our planet, heat comes from 2 sources, which
are the following:

A. Primordial Heat - Heat that is contained within the planet since the day it was born, amounting to 15-
41 terawatts

B. Radiogenic Heat - Heat that comes from radioactive decay of radioactive elements, amounting to 12-
30 terawatts

As described in the diagram below, heat is generated by the planet's core, and by convection currents, it
radiated onto the mantle where it loses 20% of the total heat budget. From the mantle, it exits the crust,
and as it does so, a further 60% is lost. Henceforth, only 20% of the total heat of the planet reaches the
surface:

MAGMATISM, VOLCANISM, AND PLUTONISM

Heat reaching the crust is carried by magma, and it may either exit the crust or gets deposited in
between rock layers. This intrusion, whether it exits the crust or not, is what we refer to
as MAGMATISM. When the intrusion exits the crust, we refer to the magmatic process
as VOLCANISM, while intrusions not exiting the crust is the process we refer to as PLUTONISM. Plutonic
intrusions, depending on form, can be classified into the following:

Dike - Solidified magma in a rock fracture

Sill - Solidified magma in between rock layers

Batholith - Solidified magma reservoir

Laccolith - A sill that gets inflated with magma,

distorting rock layers on top

Stock - A smaller magma reservoir

When magma intrudes, what forms is a volcano. What is a volcano, and what does it have to do with
magmatism? Watch the video below: (https://youtu.be/VNGUdObDoLk) – Volcanoes 101

When a volcano erupts, two kinds of matter exit, and these are the following:

LAVA
- Liquid ejecta from a volcano
- Types:
- Pahoehoe - fluid and less viscous lava
- A'a - semisolid and more viscous lava
- Pillow - Lava exiting an undersea volcano

TEPHRA

- Solid ejecta from a volcano

- Maybe in the form of ash, dust, gravel, boulder, or spits of semi
cooled flying lava
Depending on the vent that forms, volcanoes can be classified as:

Composite or Stratovolcano

- Mayon Volcano
- Conical volcano made up of lava and tephra

Shield Volcano

- Mount Kanlaon
- Volcano made out of lava alone

Scoria Cone or Cinder Cone

- Smith Volcano
- Volcano made out of Tephra alone

Caldera

- Apolaki Caldera
- Volcano that has collapsed due to forceful eruptions which left a
wide opening

BOWEN'S REACTION SERIES

When magma cools down, the mineralization that takes place may either be a continuous or
discontinuous process. This distinct mineralization due to a temperature gradient that forms different
igneous rocks is a process we know as the BOWEN'S REACTION SERIES, and this process is discussed in
the video below: (https://youtu.be/AP5sGOho4Rk) - Igneous Petrology Series: Lesson 11 - Bowen's
Reaction Series

In the process, as shown in the video and diagram below, there are two branches that mineralize
magma: a continuous and discontinuous branch. In the continuous branch, mineralization directly
progresses as the temperature lowers, while in the discontinuous branch, the mineralization process is
progressive, stopping at different forms and types while waiting to continue the mineralization process
when an ideal temperature is reached. These two branches converge and depending on how cool the
magma is reached, the hardness of the rock that is formed is defined.

PLATE TECTONICS, FOLDING, AND FAULTING

The penultimate end goal of the endogenic processes is to transform the planet's surface in such a way
that it can preserve the isostasy of the crust. This transformation is best described in the most widely
accepted theory of crustal transformation which is the theory of PLATE TECTONICS. What this theory is
all about is discussed in the video below: (https://youtu.be/fzhPmemffII) – Introduction to Plate
Tectonics

In the video and in the diagram below, three processes transform our crust, which are the following:

Magma intrudes mainly in the oceanic ridges, and as it does so, it adds more land. As new land is
added, seafloor spreading occurs along the tectonic plate, and as new land spreads out, old land sinks
via subduction, which in turn maintains the crust's isostasy. These two processes are made possible by
the convection of the mantle whose motion is created from differences in density and temperature.
Depending on where tectonic plates move and what kind of plates are in convergence, tectonic plates
may be classified into:

DIVERGENT TECTONIC PLATES :

- Teactonic plates are moving away from each other

CONVERGENT TECTONIC PLATES

1. Continental-Continental Convergence
- Two continental tectonic plates are
moving toward each other

2. Continental-Oceanic Convergence
- A continental and an oceanic tectonic plate is
- moving towards each other

3. Oceanic-Oceanic Convergence
- Two oceanic tectonic plates are moving
- towards each other

Aside from volcanoes, geologic faults and folds are also a manifestation of the Endogenic
Processes. GEOLOGIC FOLDS occur when rock formations bend, as is described in the video below:

(https://youtu.be/svFSkMDrmTM) – What is Geologic Fold

As shown in the video and in the diagram below, anticlines are upward folds, synclines are downward
folds, and isoclines (not shown in the diagram) are folds with almost parallel sides. These folds can
either be asymmetrical (slightly leaning to one side), overfolded (fully leaning to one side,
or recumbent (almost horizontal) depending on the extent of the extremeness of the fold.

GEOLOGIC FAULTS occur when boundaries show cracks at the surface, as discussed in the video below:

(https://youtu.be/qhSzpCpI38U) – Types of Faults in Geology

Depending on how fault lines move they may be classified as:

1. Normal Dip Slip

- Both sides of the fault are pulled away,
one side to slip down

2. Reverse Dip Slip

- Both sides of the fault are pushed together,
causing one side to slip up

3. Transform
- Movement along the fault is horizontal,
causing both sides of the fault to slide against each other
 TOPIC 03 : HISTORY OF THE EARTH

GEOLOGIC TIMESCALE AND THE PRINCIPLES OF STRATIGRAPHY

Perhaps the best representation of our planet's history is through the geologic "clock" that breaks down
the duration of all the events that have occurred since 4.6 billion years ago when planet Earth was born,
and this clock is what we refer to as the GEOLOGIC TIMESCALE. This clock represents all the time
periods where different organisms rose and fell in an endless cycle of birth and extinction. This clock is
divided into two eons which are the following:

 Precambrian Super-eon - Eon before advanced life covering 7/8 of geologic time

 Phanerozoic Eon - Eon of advanced life covering the remaining 1/8 of geologic time

Each eon is divided into eras, each era is divided into periods, and each period is divided into epochs. As
it would be lengthy to discuss, the events of each part of geologic time would be discussed up to the
level of a period.

In understanding geologic time, the science of stratigraphy is employed. STRATIGRAPHY is the science of
understanding the stratification of rocks in conjunction with time. this science employs different laws on
which geologic time is based upon, and these laws are as follows:

Stratigraphic Law What it Means

Superposition Younger rock layers are deposited on top of older
layers
Original Horizontality Rock layers can be bent, but the age of each layer
remains the same
 Lateral Continuity Rock layers are continuous; sediment layers extend
laterally in all directions, thus, eroded layers are
assumed as continuous
Cross-cutting Relationships A rock intrusion is younger than the rock layer it
intruded upon
Inclusion Fragments of a certain rock layer found in another
rock layer are of the same age as the layer where it
came from
Faunal Succession Remains of past organisms found in rock layers
follow a definite and predictable pattern of
succession

RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE DATING

How do we give an age to the remains of organisms found in rock layers? In giving an age, we use two
methods: RELATIVE DATING and ABSOLUTE DATING. How we do these dating methods is discussed in
the video below: (https://youtu.be/f06cc7CJfLU) – Relative VS Absolute Dating

Relative dating is simply the use of an identical remnant found in another rock layer to give an age to
your specimen; in other words, it's a method that gives you a rough age estimate of your
specimen. Absolute dating, on the other hand, is giving an exact age by using the most common method
of estimating the advancement of decay of radioisotopes (referred to as radioactive dating) found in
your specimen, and this usually uses Uranium-238 or Carbon-14 as the most common radioisotopes for
absolute dating.

FOSSILS

- (https://youtu.be/bRuSmxJo_iA) – Fossils 101

The remnants we find embedded in rock are what we call FOSSILS. Depending on how they were
formed, fossils can be classified into the following:

True from Fossils

- T-rex Skeleton
- Fossils that were once a part of an ancient animal or plant

Mold Fossils

- Archaeopteryx with Feather Impressions

- Impressions left by the bodies or body parts of a plant or
animal
 Cast Fossils

- Trilobite
- Filled up impression, or casts, left by an ancient animal or
plant

Ichnofossils

- Dinosaur Nest
- Fossils that are left by an animal or plant's daily activity (i.e.
egg, nest, footprints, droppings); also referred to as Trace
Fossils

Living Fossils

- Coelacanth Alive since 65 MYA

- Organisms that have survived unchanging through the
pressures of geologic time

EVENTS IN OUR PLANET'S HISTORY

What really happened way back 4.6 billion years ago, when the planet was born? Below is a brief
summary of all the events compressed into a 23-hour clock (https://youtu.be/hhzja0zBoNw) - See How
Earth Formed from Nothing in Under 5 Minutes

Our planet's history is as complex as our universe's origins, but essentially, it is divided mainly into two,
the Precambrian Super-eon and the Phanerozoic Eon.
A. Precambrian Super-eon

This Super-eon is a time when Earth was just born into the universe, and it covers 7/8 of geologic time. It
is divided into three eons: the Hadean, Archaean, and Proterozoic Eons.

Events in the Precambrian Super-eon 

B. The Phanerozoic Eon

This eon overs the “sudden” explosion and progressive evolution of life on Earth, and it is divided into
three eras: the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic Eras.

B1 - Paleozoic Era

This era is the longest era of the Phanerozoic, which is mainly characterized by the flourishing of life
beneath the ocean surface with the appearance of invertebrates before venturing onto land with the
appearance of early plants and then the vertebrates towards the middle until the end. It is divided into 6
periods: the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian Periods.
Events of the Paleozoic Era 

B2 - Mesozoic Era

This era is mainly characterized by the domination of the Dinosaurs before they were abruptly wiped
out with an asteroid impact 65 million years ago. It is divided into 3 periods: the Triassic, Jurassic,
and Cretaceous Periods

Events of the Mesozoic Era 

B3 - Cenozoic Era

This era is characterized by the domination of mammals and, at its peak, the coming of our own
species, Homo sapiens. It is divided into 3 periods: The Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary Periods.

Events in the Cenozoic Era 