Rocks and the Rock Cycle

Rocks - A solid, inorganic, crystalline, mixture of minerals

Minerals - The basic building blocks of rocks
Ore - The raw form of a metal, often present in rocks/
minerals
Weathering - The breaking down of rock, by the action of
things in its environment
There are three major types of rocks: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic.

Unlike the water cycle, the rock cycle moves much slower, across a longer period of time. Nonetheless, we still
rely on the processes of the rock cycle, for the following reasons:

1. Formation & access to materials - The compressions of minerals under heat and pressure lead to various
materials forming that are useful to us. Building materials, metal ores, gemstones & diamonds are just some of
the many substances that form through the rock cycle. Crucially, the rock cycle also causes these materials to
be upended & brought to the surface, where we can get to and make use of them.
2. Soil from weathering - The erosion of rocks into sediment and soil is a critical process. The presence of soil is
what makes most plant life, and agriculture, possible.

Weathering

Weathering is the process by which rocks are broken down into stones, sand, or soil, caused by weather
conditions. Example - Erosion. There are two types of weathering, physical and chemical weathering.

Physical Weathering can happen in the following ways:

1. Wind
2. Freezing and Melting (thaw) of water
3. Living things growing
4. Heating and cooling
5. Change in pressure from other rocks
In physical weathering, the rock is broken down, but the makeup of minerals within it remains the same.
Chemical weathering happens because rainwater is slightly acidic (and human actions sometimes make it more
acidic), and this acidic nature changes the makeup of the minerals in the rock.

Layers of the Earth

1. Crust - The outermost layer. It is between 12 and 50km thick. This is less than 1% of the thickness of the Earth
2. Mantle - The largest layer of the Earth. It is about 3000km thick, and it takes up a gooey form (neither solid
nor liquid). The crust floats on the mantle.
3. Outer Core - It’s made up mostly of metal that is in liquid form because it is so hot.
4. Inner Core - The inner core is actually a solid. This is because the pressure from the other layers is so high, it
compresses the metal back into solid form.

Geologic Timeline

Important terms

Eon: An extremely long period of time marked by significant change on the planet
Hades: The Greek God of death and the underworld. The word Hadean comes from him
(Endo+Exo)skeleton: Skeleton inside (endo) the body, like in mammals and birds, or outside (exo), like in crabs
and beetles.
Mass extinction: An event over a shorter period in time in which most of the living things went extinct. The red
circles represent mass extinctions.
Plate Tectonics

The land that makes up the crust is made of tectonic plates. Tectonic plates are giant blocks of land that move
(very slowly) across the Earth. This is because the mantle that they rest on is soft like goo, and it allows the plates
to float slowly across.

Tectonic plates have been in motion as long as there has been life on Earth. Their movement has caused the
continents and landmasses of the Earth to join and split in many different ways across time.

500 Million years ago, there were just 2 continents: Laurentia & Gondwana
During the Mesozoic Era (age of dinosaurs, 300-100M years ago), these landmasses merged into one giant
continent called Pangea.
About 100 Million years ago, they started to drift apart and split into the continents that we recognise today.
These continents are still moving! The world will look very different 50 Million years from now.
Plate Movements

There are three major ways in which tectonic plates can interact with each other. These interactions produce a
variety of geological features and events. The three ways are by moving apart, colliding with each other, and by
sliding across.

1. Drifting Apart - Tectonic plates can move further apart from each other. When they do, they form:
a) Rift valleys or canyons - Large areas of low lying land
b) Oceans and seas - They get bigger as the plates of land more further away
c) Volcanoes - When plates drift apart, it allows the magma to push upward and rise to the surface. This can
create both above ground and underwater volcanoes, usually underwater.
2. Collision - When 2 plates collide, they either push each other upward, or one slides below the other. This
creates:
a) Mountains - Plates pushing against each other can squeeze the rock upwards, forming mountain ranges
b) Earthquakes - When the plates colliding are of very different masses, the heavier one slides below the
lighter one. It grinds against the rock below, forming earthquakes.
c) Volcanoes - The heavier plate in the collision slides below and melts, turning into magma. The pressure
caused by the plates colliding allows the magma to rise up, forming a volcano.
3. Sliding Across - When plates slide across each other, they experience friction. This
friction causes vibrations in the plates, which lead to earthquakes. The plates can
also get stuck while sliding across. When the stuck plates finally move, they do so
in a more violent jerk and produce more intense earthquakes [or tsunamis]. But
there is no downard/vertical movement of plates, so no volcanoes.

Natural Disasters

Volcanoes:
Volcanoes are formed by cracks or gaps in the Earth’s crust, through which lava/magma rises up to the top and
erupts. Volcanic eruptions usually release lava, but they can also release smoke and volcanic ash. All these three
types of eruption together can be called pyroclastic flow.

Volcanoes can be active, which means there is always a chance of eruption. They can also be dormant, which
means that they are extremely unlikely to erupt (sleeping). Volcanoes can also be extinct, which means there are
definitely going to be no more eruptions.

People who study volcanoes are called volcanologists. Volcanoes can still be unexpected however, so it is
important to study and understand them. One of the useful things that can be gained from their study is the
ability to harness geothermal energy from them. (Geothermal - heat energy from under the Earth)

Volcanoes emit lava that cools into igneous rocks. Ex - Pumice, Basalt, Granite, Obsidian

Volcanoes can look really impressive and as a result, they can have religious and spiritual significance for a lot of
people. People may therefore decide to settle near active volcanoes, despite the danger. Volcanic soil is also
really fertile.
Earthquakes:
An earthquake is a natural disaster in which the ground itself shakes. Earthquakes are caused by tectonic plates
sliding across or colliding.

When the plates collide or slide across, they experience a friction which leads to vibration in the Earth’s crust. This
vibration occurs in waves that are called seismic waves.

The vibrations start under the surface of the Earth, somewhere in the crust. The point where these vibrations start
is called the focus of the earthquake. The land on the surface above the focus, where the earthquake starts is
called the epicentre.

The magnitude (intensity) of an earthquake can be measured with a tool called a seismometer. This magnitude
can then put on a graph so that we can judge the reading. This graph however is NOT linear.

Earthquakes are often measured on a scale called the Richter scale. On the Richter scale, an increase of 1
represents 30 times the intensity.

Tsunamis:
A tsunami is a giant wave that crashes on the land. It’s formed by underwater earthquakes.
1. Earthquake happens under the ocean, since plate boundaries are often under water.
2. This produces vibrations, which transfer to the water as large and fast moving waves.
3. As these waves approach land, they become slower. But, the waves behind them then would catch up, making
the waves much larger
4. When they crash on the shore, the waves can be as high as 30m.

Living near disaster zones

The movements of plates and volcanic eruptions can kill us! Yet, millions of people continue to live in disaster
zones, and people even move to such places. There are several reasons why
1. Historical and cultural - People have already settled in these places without fully knowing the consequences.
They have formed cultural/spiritual/religious bonds to these places and it would be very difficult for them to
move now.
2. Fertile soil - Volcanic eruption adds minerals to the soil through ash and lava, that make it very fertile and ideal
for crops to grow.
3. Socio-economic factors - Places in disaster zones might sometimes have very developed economies, making it
possible to get better jobs there. Developed countries also usually have better protections against disasters.
The kind of job one does might also involve the risk of being in these zones specifically (Eg - Fisherman,
Volcanologist).
4. Tourism - Volcanoes and hot springs, as well as coasts, are pretty picturesque places to live near. Many tourists
come to visit these places every year, making them a useful place to set up tourist based settlements.
5. Metals and minerals - Magma often contains useful minerals that appear when volcanoes erupt. Earthquakes
can dislodge and shift the land in ways that make mining for precious metals easier.
6. Geothermal/Tidal energy - It is possible to harness the energy from the heat of the earth from volcanoes, and
energy from tides in tsunami prone coasts. This is particularly useful because these are both renewable
energies.
Natural Resources

Natural resources are things that can be found on Earth, that we make use of and helps meet some need of ours.
Eg - Freshwater, Petroleum, Coal, Wood, Minerals, Metals, The Sun, Plant matter, Soil, Gases, Wind, Tides

Resources can be categorised as renewable and non-renewable resources.

• Renewable resources are those that will not run out, or are infinite, or that keep getting replaced or replenished.
If there is a chance of them running out, it would only happen in such a long time scale that it’s not relevant to
humans. Eg - The Sun, wind, rain
• Non-renewable resources are those that can run out (finite) or get depleted. They take a long time to form, or
there is just a fixed amount. Eg - Coal, Oil, Lithium/Cobalt

Fresh Water: Renewable or not?

Based on the fact that there is a water cycle, water appears to be a renewable resource. It keeps getting
replenished. BUT, many regions of the world face some kind of water scarcity, and this is expected to increase
over time. This means that we are running out of freshwater.

We use water in the following ways:

1. Farming - Most of the water we use (70%) is used in farming. This can be to grow crops that we eat, but
mostly, it is used to grow feed for cattle and poultry.
2. Industry - Water is used in factories for a number of purposes (as a coolant, for dyeing clothes, for steam
power, washing things). It accounts for about 19% of all water used.
3. Domestic use - Bathing, washing food, flushing, cooking, drinking at home, are all examples of domestic use.
However, this is only 11% of total water use.

These ways of using water are all growing significantly. This is partly due to population increase, but more so
because of overall consumption, particularly in wealthy areas of the world. It has increased to such a level that the
amount of water available is dropping sharply, and even groundwater reserves are heavily depleted. Because of
this, the way that we are using water, is making it a non-renewable. We are using water at a faster rate than it is
replenished.

Soil: Renewable or not?

Soil is an incredibly useful resource, mostly because it helps plants grow. We can use it for other things as well (eg
- pottery, utensils) but its greatest use to us comes from how it helps sustain plant life.

But all soil is not created equal! And this means that soil itself has some characteristics that make it a useful
resource for us.
1. Minerals in the form of nutrients for plants
2. Water that gets absorbed from the roots
3. Oxygen and Carbon diOxide that plants use for respiration
4. Humus, or decaying/decomposing organic matter that also adds nutrients

All soils do not have these components in the same quantities. The type of rock, climate, and relief/elevation all
affect the kind of soil in a given area.

Soil is NOT a renewable. This is because of 2 reasons:

1. There’s only a limited amount of soil that is suitable for crops. Most of it is not, because it could be too steep
or too hot or too cold. This is a natural limit
2. Soil replenishes slowly. New soil is formed at a slower rate than we use it, and we destroy the soil at a faster
rate as well. This is a human limit.
We are destroying the soil by:
1. Adding fumes, dust and pollution from factories that make the soil quality unfit for plants.
2. Building settlements buries the soil underneath forever, making it unusable permanently.
3. Cutting down of trees on a large scale increases soil erosion greatly
4. Overgrazing can make the soil bare, leading to erosion
5. Over-farming strips the soil of its resources over time, and we poison it if we keep adding pesticides all year
round
6. When soil gets dry and bare, water slides off it rather than absorbing it. This makes the soil below as well
more dry and less fertile. [This compounds all the other effects]

When the soil’s quality drops, we call it soil degradation

When the soil erodes to such an extent that it becomes dry and degraded, we call it deserti cation.

Energy: Switching to Renewables

As with other types of resources, types of energy can also be categorised into renewables (ex - Hydroelectric,
Solar, Wind, Geothermal) and non-renewables (ex - Coal, Petroleum, Natural Gas). The use of renewables for our
energy is superior to non-renewables for two obvious reasons:
1. Non-renewable energies currently put a great amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This
contributes to climate change and air pollution in a major way.
2. Non-renewable sources are not unlimited, and will completely deplete in the next 100-200 years, despite the
fact that we have only used them for about 200 years so far.

However, most of the energy the world uses still comes from non-renewables. This problem is even more extreme
in richer countries that use more energy. There are several reasons why renewables haven’t taken over, despite
being necessary for the planet’s survival.
1. History and Inertia - The problems regarding the use of non-renewables were not known until the last 50
years, and the severity of the problems only in the last generation. It was not long ago that all energy came
from non-renewables, so the process of changing over the entire energy system is difficult.
2. Capitalism and Pro t - Some of the richest people in the world make money off non-renewable energy, or
depend on its use heavily. These people actively invest in stopping the change over to renewables to protect
their bottom line.
3. Renewables are not fully ready - While renewable sources of energy have incredible potential, their current
efficiency and output are not high enough to replace non-renewables entirely. They can also be location or
time specific. For example, geothermal energy needs a fissure in the Earth, and Solar needs consistent
sunlight.
4. Inequality across nations - Poorer countries use far less energy than rich countries, and are trying to develop.
But rich countries developed using non-renewables, and the poorer countries do not want to be forced into a
different path to do the same.

But all these problems can still be and must be addressed on a societal level! When it comes to switching to
renewables, we must consider that the way society currently works is not able to address these issues. Therefore
we have to consider changing society itself, towards one in which we invest in renewables with urgency, and there
isn’t such a big gap in power between the rich and poor.
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