***The Rock Cycle :

Rocks are aggregates of one or more minerals, naturally occurring crystalline substances with
defined properties. We will discuss the properties of rocks and minerals in Section 2.2, focusing
here on the processes of the rock cycle, the largest of the geologic subcycles. The rock cycle is
linked to all the other subcycles; it depends on the tectonic cycle for heat and energy, the
biogeochemical cycle for materials, and the hydrologic cycle for water, which is used in the
processes of weathering, erosion, transportation, deposition, and lithification of sediments.
Although rocks vary greatly in their composition and properties, they can be classified into three
general types, or families, according to how they were formed in the rock cycle.
***The Rock Cycle and the Tectonic Cycle :
The tectonic cycle provides several environments for rock formation, with specific rock-forming
processes occurring at each type of plate boundary (Figure 2.10). When we consider the rock
cycle alone, we are concerned mainly with the recycling of rock and mineral materials. However,
the tectonic processes that drive and maintain the rock cycle are essential in determining the
properties of the resulting rocks. Therefore, our interest in the teetonic cycle is more than
academic, because it is open these cart materials that we build our homes, factories, roads, and
other structures.
***The Rock Cycle and Mineral Resources :
The rock cycle is responsible for concentrating as well as dispersing materials, a fact that is
extremely important to the mining of minerals. If it were not for igneous, sedimentary, and
metamorphic processes that concentrate minerals, it would be difficult to extract these resources.
***The Hydrologic Cycle :
The hydrologic cycle is the movement of water from the oceans to the atmosphere and back
again. Driven by solar energy, the cycle operates by way of evaporation, precipitation, surface
runoff, and subsurface flow. Only a very small amount of the total water in the cycle is active
neat the earth’s surface at any one time. For example, all water in the atmosphere, rivers, and
shallow subsurface environment on earth is only about 10.3 percent of the total (more than 97
percent is in the oceans). Nevertheless, this small amount of nonmarine water at or near the
surface of the Earth is tremendously important in facilitating the movement and sorting of
chemical elements in solution, sculpturing the landscape, weathering rocks, transporting and
depositing sediments, and providing our water resources.
***Biogeochemical Cycles :
A biogeochemical cycle is the transfer or cycling of an element or elements through the
atmosphere (the layer of gases surrounding the earth), lithosphere (earth’s rocky outer Liver),
hydrosphere oceans, lakes, rivers, and groundwater), and biosphere (the part of the earth where
life exists). It follows from this definition that biogeochemical cycles are intimately related to the
tectonic, rock, and hydrologic cycles. The tectonic cycle provides water from volcanic processes,
as well as the heat and energy required to form and change the earth materials transferred in
biogeochemical cycles. The rock and hydrologic cycles are involved in many transfer and
storage processes of chemical elements in water, soil, and rock.
***Minerals :
A mineral is defined as an element or chemical com. Pound that is normally crystalline and has
formed as a result of geologic processes. By crystalline, we mean that the atoms in the mineral
are arranged in a regularly repeating geometric pattern. Water is not a mineral, but its solid
crystalline form, ice, is. Although there are more than 2000 minerals, we need to know only a
few of them to identify most rocks.
***Rocks are classified into three main types based on how they are formed:
***Igneous Rocks: These form from the cooling and solidification of molten rock, either beneath
the Earth’s surface (intrusive) or on its surface (extrusive). Examples include granite, basalt, and
obsidian.
***Sedimentary Rocks: These are formed by the accumulation and compression of sediments
(such as sand, mud, and organic material) over time. Sedimentary rocks can be further
categorized into clastic (formed from fragments of other rocks), chemical (precipitated from
dissolved minerals), and organic (formed from the accumulation of organic material). Examples
include limestone, sandstone, and shale.
***Metamorphic Rocks: These originate from pre-existing rocks that undergo changes in
temperature, pressure, or chemical environment, usually deep within the Earth’s crust. This
process, called metamorphism, results in the formation of new minerals and textures. Examples
include marble (from limestone), slate (from shale), and gneiss (from granite or shale).