VI.

EARTH’S STRUCTURE

Learning Outcomes: To identify the types of rocks and other Earth system processes and
phenomena that cause changes to, or are affected by, the rock cycle.
Before delving to what is the rock cycle all about, we must identify first the types of rocks.

TYPES OF ROCKS

There are three main types of rocks: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Each of these rocks
are formed by physical changes—such as melting, cooling, eroding, compacting, or deforming—
that are part of the rock cycle.

Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rocks are formed from pieces of other existing rock or organic material. There are
three different types of sedimentary rocks: clastic, organic (biological), and chemical. Clastic
sedimentary rocks, like sandstone, form from clasts, or pieces of other rock. Organic sedimentary
rocks, like coal, form from hard, biological materials like plants, shells, and bones that are
compressed into rock.
The formation of clastic and organic rocks begins with the weathering, or breaking down, of the
exposed rock into small fragments. Through the process of erosion, these fragments are removed
from their source and transported by wind, water, ice, or biological activity to a new location.
Once the sediment settles somewhere, and enough of it collects, the lowest layers become
compacted so tightly that they form solid rock.
Chemical sedimentary rocks, like limestone, halite, and flint, form from chemical precipitation.
A chemical precipitate is a chemical compound—for instance, calcium carbonate, salt, and silica
—that forms when the solution it is dissolved in, usually water, evaporates and leaves the
compound behind. This occurs as water travels through Earth’s crust, weathering the rock and
dissolving some of its minerals, transporting it elsewhere. These dissolved minerals are
precipitated when the water evaporates.
 Igneous Rocks

Igneous rocks (derived from the Latin word for fire) are formed when molten hot material cools
and solidifies. Igneous rocks can also be made a couple of different ways. When they are formed
inside of the earth, they are called intrusive, or plutonic, igneous rocks. If they are formed
outside or on top of Earth’s crust, they are called extrusive, or volcanic, igneous rocks.
Granite and diorite are examples of common intrusive rocks. They have a coarse texture with
large mineral grains, indicating that they spent thousands or millions of years cooling down
inside the earth, a time course that allowed large mineral crystals to grow.
Alternatively, rocks like basalt and obsidian have very small grains and a relatively fine texture.
This happens because when magma erupts into lava, it cools more quickly than it would if it
stayed inside the earth, giving crystals less time to form. Obsidian cools into volcanic glass so
quickly when ejected that the grains are impossible to see with the naked eye.
Extrusive igneous rocks can also have a vesicular, or “holey” texture. This happens when the
ejected magma still has gases inside of it so when it cools, the gas bubbles are trapped and end
up giving the rock a bubbly texture. An example of this would be pumice.

Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have been changed from their original form by immense heat
or pressure. Metamorphic rocks have two classes: foliated and nonfoliated. When a rock with flat
or elongated minerals is put under immense pressure, the minerals line up in layers, creating
foliation. Foliation is the aligning of elongated or platy minerals, like hornblende or mica,
perpendicular to the direction of pressure that is applied. An example of this transformation can
be seen with granite, an Igneous rock. Granite contains long and platy minerals that are not
initially aligned, but when enough pressure is added, those minerals shift to all point in the same
direction while getting squeezed into flat sheets. When granite undergoes this process, like at a
tectonic plate boundary, it turns into gneiss (pronounced “nice”).
Nonfoliated rocks are formed the same way, but they do not contain the minerals that tend to line
up under pressure and thus do not have the layered appearance of foliated rocks. Sedimentary
rocks like bituminous coal, limestone, and sandstone, given enough heat and pressure, can turn
into nonfoliated metamorphic rocks like anthracite coal, marble, and quartzite. Nonfoliated rocks
can also form by metamorphism, which happens when magma comes in contact with the
surrounding rock.

ROCK CYCLE
According to the National Geographic, rock cycle is a web of processes that outlines how each of
the three major rock types—igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary—form and break down
based on the different applications of heat and pressure over time. For example, sedimentary
rock shale becomes slate when heat and pressure are added. The more heat and pressure you add,
the further the rock metamorphoses until it becomes gneiss. If it is heated further, the rock will
melt completely and reform as an igneous rock.
The rock cycle describes the processes through which the three main rock types (igneous,
metamorphic, and sedimentary) transform from one type into another. The formation, movement
and transformation of rocks results from Earth’s internal heat, pressure from tectonic processes,
and the effects of water, wind, gravity, and biological (including human) activities. The texture,
structure, and composition of a rock indicate the conditions under which it formed and tell us
about the history of the Earth.
Rocks can be: (1) made of minerals, each of which has a specific crystal structure and chemical
composition; (2) made of pieces of other rocks; (3) glassy (like obsidian); or, (4) contain material
made by living organisms (for example coal, which contains carbon from plants). Different types
of rocks form in Earth’s different environments at or below the Earth’s surface. For example,
igneous rocks form when molten rock from the mantle or within the crust (see plate tectonics)
cools and either hardens slowly underground (e.g., granite), or hardens quickly if it erupts from a
volcano (e.g., basalt). Rocks that experience sufficient heat and pressure within the Earth,
without melting, transform into metamorphic rocks. Rock exposed by mountain building or even
modest uplift weathers and erodes and the resulting sediments can form sedimentary rocks.
The formation and transformation of the various rock types can take many paths through the rock
cycle depending on environmental conditions, as shown in the diagram below.

The rock cycle is affected by various human activities and environmental phenomena, including:
 The Earth’s internal heat and pressure, which can cause rock to melt completely or
transform it into a metamorphic rock.
  The uplift of land caused by tectonic processes, which exposes rock that was
underground to weathering and erosion.
 The rate of weathering, which is affected by climatic conditions such as precipitation and
temperature. The rate at which the chemical reactions of weathering break down minerals
often increases in the presence of water and under warmer temperatures. Plant growth,
especially roots can physically break up rocks and also change the environmental
chemistry (for example, increase acidity), increasing the rate of chemical weathering. In
turn, the kind of rock that is weathered determines soil quality, nutrient levels (especially
nitrogen and phosphorus levels), and local biodiversity.
 Rates of erosion caused by water, wind, ice, or gravity, which are driven by the water
cycle, atmospheric and ocean circulation patterns, and regional topography (the structure
of the landscape).
 The size and depth of the bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, or the ocean, where
sediment is deposited. Slower rates of water flow lead to the deposition of finer grained
sediments and to slower rates of deposition.
 The extraction of rocks and fossil fuels, which in turn can destabilize soils, increase
erosion, and decrease water quality by increasing sediment and pollutants in rivers and
streams.
 Urbanization, which involves paving land with concrete, which can increase water runoff,
increasing erosion and decreasing soil quality in the surrounding areas.
 Hydraulic fracking to remove oil and gas, which uses water, sand, and chemicals to create
new or expand existing cracks in rocks that allow oil and gas to flow into drill holes for
extraction.
 Human land and water use, including deforestation and agricultural activities. Removing
trees and other plants, plowing fields, and overgrazing by livestock destabilizes soils and
can increase rates of erosion by 10 to 100 times.
 Damming rivers and extracting water from freshwater ecosystems for human use changes
where and how much sedimentation occurs, which affects soil quality and causes changes
in habitats.
 Plants and other organisms, such as those that build coral reefs, can trap sediment that
otherwise might be deposited elsewhere.
 Extreme weather events, which can cause accelerated rates of erosion due to flooding or
wave action.

REFERENCES
Earle, S., & Earle, S. (2015, September 1). 3.1 The Rock Cycle. Pressbooks.
https://opentextbc.ca/geology/chapter/3-1-the-rock-cycle/
Rock cycle – Understanding Global Change. (2020, September 11). Understanding Global
Change. https://ugc.berkeley.edu/background-content/rock-cycle/
The Rock Cycle. (n.d.). https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/rock-cycle/