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Lesson 4 Geological Processes

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Lesson 4 Geological Processes

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LESSON 4: GEOLOGIC PROCESSES

Exogenic Process
- Are process that takes place at or near the Earth’s surface that makes the surface wear away.
- it’s very destructive, they are responsible for degradation and sculpting the Earth’s surface.
Types of Exogenic Processes
1. Weathering
2. Erosion
3. Mass wasting
4. Sedimentation
Weathering
- refers to the changes occurring at or near the surface of the earth which includes disintegration
and decomposition.
- Disintegration is a mechanical process that breaks large masses of Rocks into small fragments.
- Decomposition is a chemical process which result in the formation of new substance such as from
elements to rocks.
- Air, water, and substances dissolved in water react with elements in rocks. The hardest rock can be
broken by these processes.
Types of Weathering
Mechanical Weathering
- Also known Physical weathering cause rock to break into small pieces with each piece retaining the
characteristics of the original.
- The physical weathering happens when rocks is physically broken into smaller pieces.

Factors that affect Physical Weathering


1. Ice Wedging – Water seeps in rock, expands, crack rocks into smaller pieces.
2. Release of Pressure – Surface rock erodes, rock flakes like onion layers.
3. Growth of Plants – Roots grow into cracks and push rocks apart.
4. Animals – Burrow and push apart rock.
5. Abrasion – Sand and rock carried by wind, water, ice wears away surface rock when rock collide. Most
common in windy areas.
Chemical Weathering
- Occurs when the internal structure of a mineral is changed by the removal or addition of elements.
- Is a process of breaking down rock through chemical change
- Water is an important agent of chemical weathering.
Factors that affect Chemical Weathering
1. Water – Water dissolves rock chemically.
2. Oxygen – Rocks that has iron in it mixes with oxygen and rusts.
3. Carbon Dioxide – CO2 dissolves in rainwater and weathers marble and limestone.
4. Living Organisms – Acids from plants and roots chemically weather rock.
5. Acid Rain – Air pollution reacts with clouds and falls on rock as acid rain.

Physical Weathering vs. Chemical Weathering


Erosion
- Exposure of rocks and minerals by air and water result in both physical breakdown and chemical
change.
- Erosion then loosens the rock and mineral debris produced by weathering and transport it to a new
location, lowering the surface of the land mass from which the material was moved – a process
called Denudation.
- Those rock particles get carried away by wind, water, ice and gravity.
Agents of Erosion
1. Water
2. Wind
3. Ice
4. Gravity
Erosion by Water
- Changes the shape of coastlines. Waves constantly crash against shores. They pound rocks into
pebbles and reduce pebbles to sand.
- Water sometimes takes sand away from beaches. This moves the coastlines farther inland.
Erosion by Wind
- Carries dust, sand, and volcanic ash from one place to another.
- Wind can sometimes blow sand into towering dunes.
Erosion by Ice
- Can erode the land. In frigid areas and on some mountain’s tops, glaciers move slowly downhill and
across the land.
- As they move, they pick up everything in their path, from tiny grains of sand to huge boulders.
Erosion by Gravity
- Gravity pulls any loose bits down the side of a hill or mountain.
- Gravity erosion is better known as Mass Movement.

Causes of Erosion
- Soil erosion in our country is expected because we live in the typhoon belt and so we experience
heavy precipitation or rain. Floods occur and carry a lot of sediments into the rivers and finally into
the sea.
The following activities cause much Erosion.
1. Kaingin method – trees are cuts and burned. Soil loses its fertility.
2. Logging – Practice of illegal logging disturbs the soil.
3. Infrastructure Project – such as dams, roads, bridges, irrigations and drainage basins, resorts and
hydroelectric plant.
4. Mining – companies loosen and dig rocks exposing them to further erosion.
5. Burning grassland – which may lead to accidental fires can destroy plants and leaves the soil bare.
Mass wasting
- Is the movement of rocks, soil and regolith downward due to the action of gravity.
- The downslope movement of rocks and soil under the direct influence of gravity is called Mass
wasting.
It is triggered by the following factors:
1. Over-steepened Slope
- Rapid movement are commonly found in the steep slopes while slow movements are found on
gentle slopes.
2. Water
- Rainwater adds weight and acts as a lubricant to weathered materials.
3. Earthquake
- It is a vibrant and also a factor that triggers mass wasting.
4. Vegetation Removal
- The lack of vegetation cover to hold the loose particles.

Sedimentation
- It is a natural process in which a material is carried to the bottom of bodies of water and form to
solid.
- Erosion, transportation, deposition, and sedimentation follow a downhill path in response to
gravity.
Endogenic processes
- It is associated with the energy originating in the
interior of the solid earth.
- This energy is what we call the thermal energy the
ground we live on is moving all the time and the
forces within the earth that caused the ground to
move are called the endogenic forces.
Where does the earth's internal heat come from?
The driving force is the thermal energy of the mountain.
Most of the thermal energy originates from the decay and
disintegration of radioactive elements in earth's core.

These are the endogenic processes that played a role in the


evolution of landforms on earth.
Magmatism - magma is the original material that make up
igneous rocks.
- Magmatism happens when a magma is generated and
develops into igneous or what we call the magmatic
rocks.
- The process can take place either under the surface or
on the surface of the earth.
Volcanism or plutonism volcanism - is a process by which usually happens after the magmas form
- magma tries to escape from the source through openings such as volcanoes are existing crocs on
the ground.
- As soon as the magma reaches the surface of
the earth it is now called lava.

Metamorphism - is the process of changing the


materials that make up a rock.
- chemical components and geologic characteristics of rock change due to heat and pressure that are
increasing or decreasing.
- Note: for this one rocks changing due to weathering and sedimentation are not considered to have
underground metamorphism.

The geologic processes - that occur on earth cause stress on rocks.


Geological stress - is the force from pulling or pushing of plates that acts on the rocks thereby creating
different behavior or characteristics.
The Four different types of stress that influence rock behavior.
Compression stress - rock push or squeeze against one another the stress
produced is directed toward the center.
- compression stress usually what takes place in folding which
results in mountain building
Tensional stress - rocks are pulled apart rocks may separate in opposite
directions or move further away from one another.
- This type of stress is what separated all the continents in the
world.

Shearing stress - some of the portions of a plate at the edges may break
away in different directions eventually making the plate smaller in size.
- This friction caused by this stress can cause earthquakes.

Confining stress - the crust becomes compact making it look smaller.


- This is different from shearing as none of the crust edges break away.
- This stress can cause sinkholes where the inside portion of the ground has already
disintegrated without being apparent.

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