GEOLOGICAL
PROCESSES ON
EARTH
What are geological
processes?
• Dynamicactions or events that occur at
the Earth's surface due to application of
natural forces resulting from gravity,
temperature changes, freezing and
thawing, chemical reactions, seismic
shaking, and the agencies of wind and
moving water, ice and snow.
Two categories of geological
processes
1. Exogenous Processes (External)
2. Endogenic Processes (Internal)
EXOGENOUS PROCESS ON EARTH
• The exogenous processes
occur on or near the
surface of Earth. These are
natural occurrences that
leave significant changes
on the landscape and even
in the ecosystem of an
area.
The different types of exogenous
processes known to humans are
the following:
1. WEATHERING
2. EROSION
3. MASS WASTING
4. SEDIMENTATION
The different types of exogenous
processes known to humans are
the following:
1) WEATHERING
the process of breakdown of
rocks at the Earth’s surface, by
the action of water, ice, acids,
salts, plants, animals, gravity
and changing temperatures.
WEATHERING
Three Types of Weathering:
1. Physical Weathering
2. Chemical Weathering
3. Biological Weathering
1) PHYSICAL WEATHERING
happens when rock is physically broken
into smaller pieces.
Breakdown of rocks by mechanical
forces concentrated along rock fracture.
Types of • Abrasion
Physical • Freeze-Thaw
Weathering: • Exfoliation
Types of Physical Weathering:
• ABRASION
It occurs when rocks surface is
frequently exposed to water,
wind and gravity.
Types of Physical Weathering:
• FREEZE-THAW
It occurs when water
continually seeps into
cracks, freezes and
expands, eventually
breaking the rock apart.
Types of Physical Weathering:
• EXFOLIATION
is the removal of the outer
layer of something (like
your skin), but it can also
be the natural process in
which rocks shed their
outer layers as well.
2) CHEMICAL WEATHERING
the process by which rocks break down
through chemical reactions.
TYPES OF CHEMICAL
WEATHERING:
• Carbonation
• Hydrolysis
• Oxidation
types of chemical weathering:
• CARBONATION
is the mixing of water with
carbon dioxide to make
carbonic acid. Dissolved
carbon dioxide in rainwater or
in moist air forms carbonic
acid, and this acid reacts with
minerals in rocks.
Ex: Acid rain
types of chemical weathering:
• HYDROLYSIS
the breakdown of
rock by acidic
water to produce
clay and soluble
salts.
types of chemical weathering:
• OXIDATION
breakdown of rock
by oxygen and
water, often giving
iron- rich rocks a
rusty-colored
weathered surface.
3) BIOLOGICAL
WEATHERING
Biological weathering of
rocks occurs when rocks
are weakened by different
biological agents like
plants and animals. When
plant roots grow through
rocks, it creates fracture
and cracks that result
eventually to rock
breakage
1. Biological Weathering by Physical Means.
- Burrowing animals like shrews, moles and
earthworms create holes on the ground by
excavation and move the rock fragments to the
surface.
- Humans also indirectly contribute to biological
weathering by different activities that cause
rocks to break.
2. Biological Weathering by
Chemical Compounds.
- Some plants and animals also
produce acidic substances that
react with the rock and cause its
slow disintegration.
Ex: Lamb
2) EROSION
It is the process by
which Earth's surface is
worn away by wind,
water, or ice. The
process of erosion moves
rock debris or soil from
one place to another.
2) EROSION
3) MASS WASTING
• It is the movement of material on
a downslope terrain due to
gravity. Mass wasting usually
happens in slopes, is dangerous,
and may occur in areas that can
trigger mass movement.
Different forms of mass wasting:
Debris flow
Mud flow
Debris flow
happens when a large
amount of sediments,
usually rocks of
various sizes, fall
downslope. Unlike
landslides, debris flow
does not need water
to flow down.
Mud flow
happens when combined soil
and water flow downslope.
This usually happens near
rivers or streams where soils
or sands are always moist or
have been soaked in water for
a long time. Its weight
indicates the severity of the
risk when mud flows down on
a community.
4) SEDIMENTATION
• Accumulation of materials such as soil ,
rock, fragments, and soil particles
settling at the bottom.
•A natural process in which a material is
carried to the bottom of bodies of water
and forms solid.
ASSESSMENT:
A. Write C if the statement is correct and I if the
statement is incorrect. Write your answers in a
separate sheet of paper.
________ 1. Gravity is one of the agents of weathering.
________ 2. Exfoliation occurs when water continually
seeps into cracks, freezes and expands eventually
breaking the rock apart.
________ 3. Carbonation occurs when carbon dioxide
dissolved in water makes acid and reacts with rocks.
________ 4. Burrowing animals cannot contribute
on weathering of rocks.
________ 5. Hydrolysis takes place when acid rain
reacts with rock-forming minerals such as
feldspar to produce clay and salts that are
removed in solution. ________ 6. Animals produce
acidic compounds that can cause rock
disintegration.
________ 7. Debris flow happens when a large
amount of sediments, usually rocks of various
sizes, fall downslope. Unlike landslides, debris
flow does not need water to flow down.
________ 8. Humans indirectly contribute on
weathering.
________ 9. Water alters chemical components of
rocks that cause weathering.
________ 10. Earthworms are physical weathering
agent.
ASSESSMENT:
B. Identify the statements as to Physical, Chemical or
Biological Weathering by writing them down on the
table provided below.
________ 1. Balete tree grows at the wall of the building.
________ 2. Construction workers use power tools to
break the rocks.
________ 3. Insects secrete acidic substance on rocks.
________ 4. Glaciers carve its pathways.
________ 5. Rainwater combined with iron on rocks
produces rusts.
B. Identify the statements as to Physical, Chemical or Biological
Weathering by writing them down on the table provided below.
________ 6. Carbon dioxide mix with water produces
carbonic acid that reacts with rocks.
________ 7. Water freezes in a large crack of a rock.
________ 8. Strong winds blow small particles of the rocks.
________ 9. Rocks form bubbles after the heavy pour of
acid rain.
________ 10. Rocks fall down from the mountain and
break.
ENDOGENOUS
PROCESSES ON EARTH
ENDOGENOUS PROCESSES
are caused by forces from within the interior of
Earth.
The driving
force is the
thermal
energy of the
mantle and
the crust.
Plate Tectonic Theory
- It is a scientific theory that explains how
major landforms are created as a result
of Earth’s underground movements.
- Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist, is
widely recognized as the pioneer of plate
tectonic theory in the form of continental drift.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
- a slow movement of the
continents on a deep-seated zone
of the earth
TECTONIC FORCES AND
PROCESSES
Folding
Faulting
Folding
- when two forces push
towards each other from
opposite sides, the rock
layers will bend. into folds.
Faulting
- the displacement of rock
upward or downward from
their original position
along such a fracture
ENDOGENOUS PROCESSES
responsible for earthquakes, movement of plates
leading to development of continents, mountain
building, volcanic activities, and other movements
related to Earth's crust.
The following are some of the
endogenous processes that played
a role in the evolution of landforms
on Earth:
[Link]
[Link] Plutonism
[Link]
MAGMATISM
it is formed under certain circumstances in
special location deep in the crust or in the upper
mantle.
MAGMA FORMATION
Magma forms from melting of
mantle rocks.
Magma forms when rocks
reach temperatures between
800 °C and 1 200°C.
An INTRUSION An EXTRUSION
is a magma that is an eruption of
moves up into a magmatic
volcano without materials that
erupting causes land
formation on the
surface of the
Earth.
VOLCANISM or PLUTONISM
Isthe process that usually happens after
magma is formed.
Magma comes out with extreme heat and
pressure and may cause destructive explosions.
Magma that reaches the surface of Earth is
called lava.
METAMORPHISM
processof changing the materials that
make up a rock.
The chemical components and
geologic characteristics of rocks change
due to heat, fluids, and pressure that
are increasing or decreasing.