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Geomorphology Lecture: 1 Notes
INTRODUCTION

• Geomorphology is the study of landforms, their processes, form and sediments at the surface of the
Earth.
• Much geomorphologic research has been devoted to the origin of landforms. Such studies focus on
the forces that mold and alter the primary relief elements of the terrestrial surface.
• These forces include tectonic activity and surficial earth movements (e.g., landslides and rockfalls).
• They also involve weathering and the erosion and deposition of the resulting rock debris by wind,
glacial ice, and streams.
• The earth’s surface is being continuously reshaped by both the internal (Endogenic forces) and
external forces (Exogenic forces). The changes that the endogenic and exogenic forces bring about in
the appearance of the surface of the earth are collectively known as geomorphic PROCESSES.
• The process by which the earth’s surface is reshaped through rock movements and displacement is
termed as diastrophism. Diastrophism includes both oroganic (MOUNTAIN BUILDING) and
epeirogenic processes (EARTH’S CRUST).

Mineral and Rocks

Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic substances, often with a crystalline structure. They are
composed largely of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, silicon and oxygen, coupled with
metals or the metallic elements of Aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

Rocks
• The rocks are the solid mineral materials forming a part of the surface of the earth and other similar
planets.

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• The earth’s crust (Lithosphere) is composed of rocks. A rock is an aggregate of one or more
minerals.
• Rock is an important natural resource and is found in solid state. It may be hard or soft in nature.
• An estimation reveals that there are 2,000 different types of minerals found on the earth surface
out of which only 12 are the basic minerals commonly found all over the earth.

Types of rocks

Important Minerals which makes major type of rocks on the surface of the earth.

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Igneous Rocks

• The igneous rocks are formed by the solidification of molten magma.

• These rocks are also called as the ‘Primary Rocks’ or ‘Parent Rocks’ as all other rocks are formed
from these rocks.

Characteristics of Igneous Rocks

• These rocks are hard in nature
• These are impermeable.
• They do not contain fossils
• They are associated with the volcanic activities
• These rocks are useful for construction works

Types of Igneous Rocks

• Extrusive Igneous Rocks
• Intrusive Igneous Rocks

Extrusive Igneous Rocks

• Lava is actually a fiery red molten magma comes out from the interior of the earth on its surface.
• After reaching the earth surface the molten materials get solidified and form rocks.
• These rocks are fine grained and glassy in nature due to rapid solidification and have finer grains.
• Basalt found in the northwestern part of peninsular India is the example for this type of rock.

Intrusive Igneous rocks

• The molten magma sometimes cools down deep inside the earth’s crust and becomes solid.
• The rocks formed this way is called ‘Intrusive Igneous Rocks’.
• Since they cool down slowly, they form large and corser grains. Intrusive Igneous rocks are of two
types.
• The deep seated rocks are called ‘Plutonic rocks’ and the ones formed at shallow depths are called
‘Hypabysal rocks’.
• Granite, Diorite and Gabbro are the examples of plutonic rocks and Dolerite is an example of
hypabysal rocks.
• Since the intrusive Igneous rocks consist of large crystals, they are also called as Crystalline rocks.

Sedimentary Rocks
• The word ‘Sedimentary’ has been derived from Latin word ‘Sedimentum’ means settling down.
• The sedimentary rocks are formed by the sediments derived and deposited by various agents.
• Due to high temperature and pressure, the undisturbed sediments of long period cemented to form
sedimentary rocks.
• Sedimentary rocks consist of many layers which were formed by the sediments deposited at
different periods.
• As it consists of many strata, it is also known as ‘Stratified rocks’.

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Characteristics of Sedimentary rocks

• They have many layers.
• They are non-crystalline rocks.
• They contain fossils.
• They are soft and get eroded easily

Types of Sedimentary Rocks

Mechanical or Clastic Sedimentary Rocks

• These rocks are formed from the disintegration of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
• The natural agents erode and transport these rocks and deposit them at some places.
• After a long period of time, they cemented to form rocks. Sandstone, Shale and Clay are the
examples of rocks of this type.

Organic Sedimentary Rocks

• These rocks are formed as a result of the decomposition of dead plants and animals. It contains
fossils.
• Coal, Crude Oil. Natural Gas etc are example of Organic sedimentary rocks.

Chemical Sedimentary rocks

• These are formed by precipitating of minerals from water. It is formed usually through evaporation
of chemical rich solutions.
• Limestone, Dolomite is example of chemically precipitated rocks.
• These rocks are also called as evaporates. Rock Salt is an example of this kind.

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Metamorphic Rocks

• The word Metamorphic is derived from two Greek words “Meta” and “Morpha”, Meta means
change and Morpha means shape.
• When Igneous and sedimentary rocks subject to high temperature and pressure, the original rocks
get altered to form a new kind of rock called metamorphic rocks.
• Metamorphism is of two types. They are Thermal Metamorphism: If the change in the rocks is
mainly caused by high temperature, the process is called as thermal metamorphism.
• Dynamic Metamorphism: If the change in the rock is mainly caused by high pressure, the process is
called as Dynamic Metamorphism.

Formation of Metamorphic Rocks from Igneous rocks

• Granite into gneiss caused by dynamic metamorphism.
• Basalt into slate caused by thermal metamorphism.
Formation of Metamorphic Rocks from Sedimentary rocks
• Sandstone into quartz caused by thermal metamorphism.
• Shale into slate caused by thermal metamorphism.

Characteristics of Metamorphic Rocks

• Metamorphic rocks are mostly crystalline in nature.
• They consist of alternate bands of light and dark minerals.

Igneous/ Sedimentary rock Influence Metamorphosed rock

Granite Pressure Gneiss
Clay, Shale Pressure Schist
Sandstone Heat Quartzite
Clay, Shale Heat Slate or Phyllite
Coal Heat Anthracite or Graphite
Coal Heat and Pressure Diamond
Limestone Heat Marble

Most Abundant = Igneous Rocks > Metamorphic Rocks> Sedimentary Rocks.

Rock cycle
• Igneous rocks are the primary rocks formed first on the earth. These rocks are weathered, eroded,
transported and deposited at some places to form sedimentary rocks.
• The Igneous and Sedimentary rocks are changed into metamorphic rocks under the influence of
temperature and pressure.
• The metamorphic rocks are also get disintegrated and deposited to form sedimentary rocks.
• Formation of igneous rocks take place when there is an outflow of molten materials.
• Like this, the rocks of the earth crust keeps on changing from one form to another form under
various natural forces and agents. The endless process is referred as Rock Cycle.

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INTERIOR OF THE EARTH:

More than 90 percent of the Earth’s mass is composed of iron, oxygen, silicon, and magnesium, elements
that can form the crystalline minerals known as silicates.

Sources of Information about the interior of the earth

(a) Direct Sources:
• Rocks from mining area
• Volcanic eruptions
(b) Indirect Sources:
• By analyzing the rate of change of temperature and pressure from the surface towards the interior.
• Meteors, as they belong to the same type of materials earth is made of.
• Gravitation, which is greater near poles and less at the equator.
• Gravity anomaly, which is the change in gravity value according to the mass of material, gives us
information about the materials in the earth’s interior.
• Magnetic sources.

First we will study about seismic waves to understand the Interior of the Earth.

EARTHQUAKE
• The abrupt release of energy along a fault (sharp break in the crustal layer) causes earthquake waves.
• Rock layers along a fault tend to move in opposite directions due to the force excreted on them but
are held in place by counteracting frictional force exerted by the overlying rock strata.
• The pressure on the rock layers builds up over a period and overcomes the frictional force resulting in
a sudden movement generating shockwaves (seismic waves) that travel in all directions.
• The point where the energy is released is called the focus or the hypocentre of an earthquake.
• The point on the surface directly above the focus is called epicenter.
• An instrument called ‘seismograph’ records the waves reaching the surface.

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Seismic Waves:
• The seismic waves or earthquake waves are basically of two types — Body waves and Surface
waves.
• Body waves are generated due to the release of energy at the focus and move in all directions
travelling through the interior of the earth. Hence, the name body waves.
• There are two types of body waves:
• The P-waves or primary waves (longitudinal in nature ― wave propagation is similar to sound
waves)
• The S-waves or secondary waves (transverse in nature ― wave propagation is similar to ripples
on the surface of the water).

Primary Waves (P waves) Secondary Waves (S waves)

o Also called the longitudinal or compressional o Also called sstransverse or distortional

waves. waves.
o Analogous to sound waves. o Analogous to water ripples or light waves.
o Particles of the medium vibrate along the direction o S-waves arrive at the surface with some time
of propagation of the wave. lag.
o P-waves move faster and are the first to arrive at o A secondary wave cannot pass through
the surface. liquids or gases.
o These waves are of high frequency. o These waves are of high frequency waves.
o They can travel in all mediums. o Travel at varying velocities (proportional to
o Velocity of P waves in Solids > Liquids > Gases. shear strength) through the solid part of the
o They create density differences in the earth Earth’s crust, mantle.
material leading to stretching and squeezing.
o We usually say that the speed of sound waves
depends on density. But there are few exceptions.
For example: Mercury (liquid metal) has density
greater than Iron but speed of sound in mercury is
lesser compared to that in iron. This is because the
shear strength of mercury is very low (this is why
mercury is liquid) compared to that of iron.

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Surface Waves
• When the body waves interact with surface rocks, a new set of waves is generated called as
surface waves.
• Surface waves are also transverse waves in which particle movement is perpendicular to the wave
propagation.
• Hence, they create crests and troughs in the material through which they pass.
• Surface waves are considered to be the most damaging waves.
Love Waves (L waves) Rayleigh waves
o Also called as long period waves. o These waves follow an elliptical motion.
o They are low frequency, long o A Rayleigh wave rolls along the ground just like a
wavelength, and transverse vibration. wave rolls across a lake or an ocean.
o Generally, affect the surface of the o Because it rolls, it moves the ground up and down and
Earth only and die out at smaller side-to-side in the same direction that the wave is
depth. moving.
o Develop in the immediate o Most of the shaking felt from an earthquake is due to
neighborhood of the epicenter. the Rayleigh wave, which can be much larger than the
o They cause displacement of rocks, other waves.
and hence, the collapse of structures
occurs.
o These waves are the most destructive.
o Recoded last on the seismograph.

Shadow Zone:
• Seismic waves get recorded in seismographs located at far off locations.
• Differences in arrival times, waves taking different paths than expected (due to refraction) and
absence of the seismic waves in certain regions called as shadow zones, allow mapping of the
Earth's interior.
• S-waves do not travel through liquids (they are attenuated).
• The entire zone beyond 103° does not receive S-waves, and hence this zone is identified as the
shadow zone of S-waves. This observation led to the discovery of the liquid outer core.
• The shadow zone of P-waves appears as a band around the earth between 103° and 142° away from
the epicenter because of Refraction.

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• However, the seismographs located beyond 142° from the epicenter, record the arrival of P-waves,
but not that of S-waves. This gives clues about the solid inner core.

Interior of the Earth:

Physical composition of the different zones is-

The Crust
• Crust is the outer thin layer with a total thickness normally between 30-50 km.
• The thickness of the crust varies under the oceanic and continental areas.
• Oceanic crust is thinner (5-30 km thick) as compared to the continental crust (50-70 km thick).
• The continental crust is thicker in the areas of major mountain systems. It is as much as 70 -100 km
thick in the Himalayan region.
• It forms 0.5-1.0 per cent of the earth’s volume.
• Mohorovicic (Moho) discontinuity forms the boundary between crust and mantle.
• The outer covering of the crust is of sedimentary material and below that lie crystalline, igneous and
metamorphic rocks which are acidic in nature.
• The lower layer of the crust consists of basaltic and ultra-basic rocks.
• The continents are composed of lighter silicates—silica + aluminium (also called ‘SIAL’) while the
oceans have the heavier silicates—silica + magnesium (also called ‘SIMA’).

Lithosphere:

• The lithosphere is the rigid outer part of the earth with thickness varying between 10-200 km.
• It includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle.
• The lithosphere is broken into tectonic plates (lithospheric plates), and the movement of these tectonic
plates cause large-scale changes in the earth’s geological structure.

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• The source of heat that drives plate tectonics is the primordial heat left over from the planet’s
formation as well as the radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium in Earth’s crust and
mantle.

Mantle
• The mantle extends from Moho’s discontinuity to a depth of 2,900 km (Gutenberg-Discontinuity)
• The crust and the uppermost part of the mantle are called lithosphere. Its thickness ranges from 10-
200 km.
• Lower mantle, beyond Aesthenosphere, is in solid state.
• It is composed of solid rock and magma.
• It forms 83 per cent of the earth's volume.
• The outer layer of the mantle is partly simatic while inner layer is composed of wholly Simatic ultra-
basic rocks.

Asthenosphere
• The portion of the mantle just below lithosphere which is in semi-molten or plastic state is called
asthenosphere.
• It is extending up to 400 km.
• It is the main source of magma that finds its way to the surface during volcanic eruptions. It has a
density higher than the crust.

Core
Outer Core:
• The outer core, surrounding the inner core, lies between 2900 km and 5100 km below the earth's
surface.
• The outer core is composed of iron mixed with nickel (nife) and trace amounts of lighter elements.
• The density of the outer core ranges from 9.9 g/cm3 to 12.2 g/cm3.
• The temperature of the outer core ranges from 4400 °C in the outer regions to 6000 °C near the inner
core.
• Dynamo theory suggests that convection in the outer core, combined with the Coriolis effect, gives
rise to Earth's magnetic field.

Inner Core:

• The inner core extends from the centre of the earth to 5100 km below the earth's surface.
• The inner core is generally believed to be composed primarily of iron (80%) and some nickel (nife).
• The density of the Inner core ranges from 12.6 g/cm3 to 13 g/cm3.
• The core (inner core and the outer core) accounts for just about 16 per cent of the earth's volume but
33% of earth’s mass.
• At 6000°C, this iron core is as hot as the Sun’s surface, but the crushing pressure caused by gravity
prevents it from becoming liquid.

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