Earth Science

Topics:
- Exogenic Processes
- Endogenic Processes
- Deformation of the crust
- Plate Tectonics

Exogenic Processes ----------------------------------------------------------------

● Exogenic processes are external forces that shape the Earth’s surface by
breaking down, moving, and settling materials. They include weathering,
erosion, and deposition

Types of Exogenic processes:

Weathering
● breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces through natural factors like wind,
water, or temperature changes.
Erosion
● movement of these broken-down particles from one place to another,
carried by wind, water, or ice
Deposition
● settling of these particles in a new location, forming new landforms like
beaches or riverbanks
 Types of weathering
Mechanical
● Physical breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces without altering their
chemical composition. This process is influenced by environmental
conditions that exert pressure on rocks, leading to cracks, fractures, and
disintegration.
● Types:
- Freeze-Thaw: Water enters cracks in rocks, freezes, and expands,
causing the rock to break apart over time. Temperature fluctuations
between freezing and thawing cycles.
- Abrasion: Rocks are worn down by friction when they collide with
other rocks, often due to wind, water, or ice movement . Presence of
moving particles, such as in windy or flowing water environments

Chemical
● Chemical weathering is a process in which the minerals in rocks and soil
undergo chemical changes due to interactions with water, oxygen, carbon
dioxide, or other chemicals in the environment.
● Types:
- Oxidation: Oxidation occurs when oxygen in the air or water reacts
with minerals, especially those containing iron, to form oxides. This
process often leads to rust-colored streaks or coatings on rocks,
changing their appearance and weakening their structure over
time.
- Carbonation: In carbonation, carbon dioxide from the air or soil
reacts with water to form a weak acid, which then interacts with
minerals like calcite in rocks, especially limestone. This reaction
forms new substances, often resulting in a soft, claylike material.

● Impact of Chemical Weathering on Rocks Over Time:

- Chemical weathering gradually changes the composition and
structure of rocks, breaking them down more easily than
mechanical weathering.
- Can lead to the formation of karst landscapes with unique features
like caves and sinkholes due to the slow dissolving of rock material.’
 Mass Movement
● Mass movement refers to the downward movement of rock, soil, and other
materials on a slope due to gravity. It plays a significant role in reshaping
landscapes by moving large amounts of material from higher elevations
to lower areas.
● Role of gravity: Gravity is the primary driving force behind all mass
movements, whether fast or slow

Endogenic Processes---------------------------------------------------------------
● Endogenic processes are those that occur or are created under the Earth's
surface.
● Folding involves the bending of rock layers under compressional forces.
● faulting fractures and displaces rock along fault planes due to tension or
compression.
● Fault Types: Converge, diverge, transform
● Result of faulting: This movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an
earthquake - or may occur slowly, in the form of creep.
● Main difference: Faulting is the actual movement along fractures (caused
by plate interactions), and it can occur at all types of boundaries. While
Folding is the bending of rock layers due to compressional forces,
typically at convergent boundaries.
● Volcanism:
- Volcanic activity
- Intrusive volcanism is when magma is forced into the rocks that
make up the Earth's crust. When it cools and becomes solid while
still underground.
- Extrusive volcanism occurs when magma reaches the Earth's
surface and erupts as lava or tephra (solidified volcanic material
such as ash, pumice, and volcanic bombs)

● Metamorphism:
- is an endogenic process which occurs when there is pressure and
heat applied to geologic structures which leads to the formation of
methamorphic rocks.

● Earthquake:
- an earthquake or (seismic activity) is a sudden shaking or vibration
in the earth's crust

Plate tectonics
● Plate Tectonics is the idea that Earth's outer layer is made up of large
pieces called plates that move and interact with each other.

● These plates can be found at different boundaries where they either move
apart, collide, or slide past each other.

● Divergent Boundaries: Plates move away from each other, leading to the
creation of new crust, like mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys.

● Convergent Boundaries: Plates move toward each other, causing

mountain ranges, volcanic eruptions, or deep ocean trenches to form.

● Transform Boundaries: Plates slide past each other, which can cause
earthquakes along faults
 Continental drift theory
● Continental Drift is the idea that Earth’s continents were once joined
together in a single, massive landmass called Pangaea.
● Over millions of years, this supercontinent broke apart, and the pieces
gradually moved to their current positions. This process, called "drifting,"
explains why continents that are now far apart share similar fossils, rock
formations, and even evidence of ancient climates that wouldn’t match
their current locations.

● Evidence:
- Fossil Evidence – Similar fossils are found on continents now
separated by oceans, suggesting these continents were once
connected
- Rock Formations – Matching rock layers and mountain ranges
appear on different continents, as though they were once part of a
single structure
- Climatic Evidence – Marks left by glaciers in tropical regions and
signs of tropical plants in currently colder regions indicate that
continents were once positioned differently on Earth.
 Seafloor spreading
● This happens at mid-ocean ridges, where magma rises and solidifies to
create new crust.
● This process also provides evidence of Earth’s magnetic history through
magnetic striping, which shows symmetrical patterns on either side of the
ridge, recording the direction of Earth’s magnetic field over time

● New Crust Formation

- Magma rises and cools at mid-ocean ridges, creating new oceanic
crust.

● Plate Movement
- As new crust forms, it pushes older crust away, causing the oceanic
plates to move apart.
- The age of the oceanic crust increases with distance from the
mid-ocean ridges. The youngest crust is found at the ridge, and as
you move outward, the crust gets progressively older. This pattern
supports the idea that new crust is created at the ridge and
spreads outward over time.

● Magnetic Striping
- As the crust forms, it records Earth's magnetic field, creating
symmetrical patterns of magnetism on either side of the ridge.
Deformation of the crust----------------------------------------------------------
● The main difference of compression, tension, and shear to the different
plate boundaries is that the plate boundaries is the location itself while
compression, tension, and shear is the types of stress that happens in
those boundaries.

● Compression
- This refers to the type of stress experienced at convergent
boundaries due to the plates pushing together.
- Results in the crushing or squeezing of the Earth's crust.
- Compression can lead to the formation of folds, mountains, and
earthquakes as the crust is compressed.
- Example: The Himalayan mountain range is a classic example of
compression. Here, the Indian plate pushes against the Eurasian
plate, leading to the uplift of massive mountain ranges.

● Tension
- Tension is the type of stress that occurs at divergent boundaries,
but tension is a more general term for the force that stretches the
crust.
- Tension causes the formation of rift valleys or faults.
- Example: The East African Rift is an area where the African plate is
pulling apart, creating a large rift or crack in the Earth’s surface.
Over time, this region may become an ocean basin if the plates
continue to separate.

● Shear
- Shear refers to a type of stress that acts on the Earth's crust when
two blocks of rock move horizontally past each other. This stress
causes one part of the crust to slide past another in a lateral
motion.
- Shear stress leads to the formation of strike-slip faults where the
Earth's crust is offset horizontally
- Example: The San Andreas Fault in California is a well-known shear
zone. Here, the Pacific and North American plates slide past each
other, which can cause earthquakes when stress builds up and is
suddenly released.
 (These aren’t part of the pointers but just incase)

Natural Hazards--------------------------------------------------------------------
Earthquake
- The primary hazards include ground shaking, surface rupture, landslides,
tsunamis, and building collapses, which can cause injuries, loss of life, and
property damage.
- Earthquakes are most likely to occur along tectonic plate boundaries,
such as the Pacific Ring of Fire, where plates interact through collision,
subduction, or sliding past each other.
- Before an earthquake, secure heavy objects, create an emergency kit,
and identify safe spots in your home. During an earthquake, drop, cover,
and hold on. Afterward, check for injuries and structural damage.

Volcanic eruptions
- Volcanic eruptions can release lava flows, ashfall, pyroclastic flows, and
volcanic gases, leading to destruction of property, loss of agricultural
land, respiratory health issues, and evacuation of affected areas.
- Volcanic eruptions are more common in areas with active tectonic plate
boundaries, particularly subduction zones and hotspots, like the Pacific
Ring of Fire and the Hawaiian Islands.
- Communities can establish evacuation plans, monitor volcanic activity,
educate residents on safety protocols, and create exclusion zones around
active volcanoes

Landslides
- Landslides can occur suddenly and involve rapid movement of soil, rocks,
and debris. They are especially hazardous in areas with steep slopes,
heavy rainfall, or after earthquakes, leading to loss of life, infrastructure
damage, and disruption of transportation routes
- Regions with steep slopes, heavy rainfall, deforestation, or loose soil are
more vulnerable to landslides, such as mountainous areas or those
affected by earthquakes and human activity.
- Planting vegetation, constructing retaining walls, controlling water
drainage, avoiding construction on steep slopes, and regular monitoring
of high-risk areas can reduce the likelihood of landslides.
Community Involvement
- Understanding these hazards helps communities prepare, implement
mitigation strategies, reduce risks, and improve response and recovery
efforts to minimize loss and damage
- Identifying these areas helps in disaster preparedness, planning
infrastructure development, implementing safety measures, and
minimizing risks to people and property

Relative and absolute dating------------------------------------------------------

Relative dating
● Relative dating involves determining the age of an object, rock, or fossil in
relation to other objects, rocks, or fossils. This method does not provide an
exact age but instead allows scientists to establish a sequence of events.

● Key Techniques:
- Stratigraphy
The study of rock layers (strata). Older layers are typically found
deeper in the Earth's crust, while newer layers are deposited on top.

- Law of Superposition
In undisturbed layers of rock, the oldest layers are at the bottom
and the youngest at the top.

- Biostratigraphy
Using the presence of fossils within rock layers to establish a
relative age based on the known ages of the fossils.

- Cross-cutting relationships
If one geological feature cuts across another, the feature being cut
is older than the feature that cuts it.
Absolute Dating
● Absolute dating provides a more specific age for an object or event, often
in years. This method is based on physical or chemical processes that can
be measured to determine the age of a sample.

● Key techniques:
- Radiometric Dating
Measures the decay of radioactive isotopes (e.g., Carbon-14 for
organic material, Uranium-238 for rocks). The ratio of parent
isotopes to daughter isotopes helps determine the age of a sample.

- Dendrochronology
The study of tree rings to determine the exact age of a tree and, by
extension, events in the environment.

- Thermoluminescence
Measures the light emitted from minerals when they are heated,
which can indicate the last time the mineral was exposed to
sunlight or heat.