CE 405 – HYDROLOGY BS Civil Engineering

Reviewer (Second Semester - Midterms) BSU - ALANGILAN

THE UNIVERSE, THE SOLAR SYSTEM, AND THE PLANET • Predominantly gaseous, no solid surface
EARTH • Low density
• Faster rotation, strong magnetic fields
Age of the Earth – 4.54 billion years ago (4.6 ga) • Many moons, many rings
Age of the Sun – 4.54 billion years ago
Age of the formation of the Philippines – 50 million years 1. Jupiter
Asteroid – causes the extinction of life. 2. Saturn
Age of the Universe – 13.77 billion years ago 3. Uranus
4. Neptune
UNIVERSE
• Mostly composed of hydrogen Sun - one star in the solar system; yellow dwarf star
• Heavier elements were fused (nuclear fusion) within the Metrocella star – oldest star (±800 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 star)
bowels of stars. Sirius – also known as the Alpha Canis Majoris or the Dog star; the
brightest star.
BIG BANG THEORY Galaxy – huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their
• Proposed by Georges Lemaitre (1920’s) solar systems. Milky Way is our galaxy.
• Today’s best model
• Hypothesis of the primeval atom International Astronomical Union – a union or non-governmental
• Prevailing cosmological model that explains the early organization that studies astronomy; founded in 1919.
development of the Universe: The Universe was once in an
extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly.
• Edwin Hubble justified Lemaitre’s theory through THE PLANET EARTH
observations that the Universe is continuously expanding Vital Statistics of the Earth
(galaxies are moving away from each other). He also • Equatorial Radius: 6378 km
proposed the red shift doppler effect; Doppler Effect – red • Polar Radius: 6357 km
shift (the object is moving away) and blue shift (the object • Equatorial Circumference: 40 076 km
is moving closer). • Polar Circumference: 40 008 km
• Volume: 260 000 000 000 cubic miles
NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS • Density: 5.52 g/cm^3
• Rotating gas-dust cloud began to contract due to gravity.
Most of the mass became concentrated at the center Earth’s circumference was first calculated by Eratosthenes.
forming the Sun.
• Proposed by Immanuel Kant and Pierre Simon de Laplace Shape: Oblate spheroid
in the 18th century, together with Emmanuel Swedenborg. Composition: iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%),
• Remaining matter condensed to form the planets: terrestrial magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium (1.5%), and
and jovian planets. aluminum (1.4%); trace (1.2%).

TERRESTRIAL PLANETS GEOLOGICAL TIME SCALE OF THE EARTH

• Nearest to the Sun • Earliest life: 6 hours (3.4 bybp)
• Closely spread orbits, slower rotation • Complex life: 20 ¼ hours (600 mybp)
• Small masses, small radii • Last dinosaurs: 23 hours 37 mins (65 mybp)
• Rocky composition: largely silicate rocks and metals • First humans: 23 hours 59 mins 22 secs (2 mybp)
(silicon, iron, oxygen) • Written history: last 0.1 secs (600 ybp)
• High density, weak magnetic fields, few moons, and no
rings Radiometric Dating – a technique used to date materials such as
rocks, usually based on a comparison between the observed
1. Mercury abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay
• First and swiftest planet products, using known decay rates.
• Smallest and nearest to the Sun
• No rings, no moon Oldest materials to date
• Oldest minerals analyzed – small crystals of zircon from
2. Venus the Jack Hills of Western Australia (at least 4.404 billion
• Sister planet of the Earth years ago.
• Hottest planet • Oldest known soldi constituents – Ca-Al-rich inclusions
• No rings, no moons within meteorites that are formed within the solar systems
• Active tectonics and volcanoes in its composition (4.567 billion years ago)

3. Earth Earth’s surface: Factoids

• The blue planet, covered with 71% of water. • Largest and deepest ocean: Pacific Ocean: area of
• Densest planet with 5.52 g/cm^3 166,241 sq. km; deepest is 10,911 m.
• Has 23.4 degrees tilt • Highest mountain: Mount Everest (China and Nepal):
• Has one moon 8,848 m
• Started as “dust ball” from the nebular gas and • Surface locations farthest from the center of the Earth:
dust brought together by gravity (accretion), Mount Chimborazo (Ecuador), Mount Huascarán (Peru)
which was heated (heating) and eventually • Longest river: Nile (Africa): 6,695 km
segregated into layers (differentiation) as it • Largest lake: Caspian Sea (Europe and Asia): 371,000
cooled. sq. km.
4. Mars • Largest island: Greenland (N. America): area of 2,175,590
• Fourth planet in the solar system sq. km
• The red planet
• Has two moons: Deimos and Phobos MOON
• Smaller than Earth with the diameter of 4217 • also known as a satellite (anything that orbits around a
miles. planet or object).
• Fifth largest satellite in the solar system, largest natural
JOVIAN PLANETS satellite of a planet in the solar system relative to the size
• Far from the Sun of its primary.
• Widely spaced orbits • Second densest satellite after Io, a satellite of Jupiter
• Large masses, large radii • Age: 4.527 ± 0.010 billion years ago
CE 405 – HYDROLOGY BS Civil Engineering
Reviewer (Second Semester - Midterms) BSU - ALANGILAN

• Composition: silica, alumina, lime, iron oxide, magnesia, and biological law that operate today also operated in the past” which
titanium oxide, sodium oxide forces and processes shaping our planet today have been at work for
a very long time. To understand ancient rocks, we must first
Theory about the Moon understand present-day processes and their result – “the present is
1. Fission theory – the Earth was spinning extremely fast, the key to the past”. He also argued that forces that appear small
and part of the planet was ripped apart to form moon. could, over long span of time, produce effects just as great as those
2. Capture theory – the moon has formed somewhere in the resulting from sudden catastrophic events. For example, he argued
solar system but was captured by the Earth’s gravitational that mountains are sculpted and ultimately destroyed by weathering
force when it flew close to the planet. and the work of running water, and that their wasted are carried to the
3. Condensation theory – the Earth and Moon condensed at ocean by processes that can be observed.
the same time from the nebula.
4. Giant Impact theory – sometimes called the Colliding or GEOLOGIC TIME
Ejected Ring Theory wherein the Earth was hit by 1896 – Radioactivity was discovered.
something huge (Theia) and a piece of Earth was ejected 1905 – First attempt to use radioactivity for dating.
to the space, started orbiting then formed the Moon. (Dinosaurs died out about 65million years ago, and age of Earth is
about 4.6 billion year)
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO GEOLOGY
THE MAGNITUDE OF GEOLOGIC TIME
Geology • 90 years old someone is very old.
• Greek word “Geos” means Earth and “logos” means • 1000 years old artifact is ancient.
“Discourse”. • In geology,
• Science of solid Earth o When a geologic event occurred 100 million
• the science that pursues an understanding of planet Earth. years ago – Recent and a rock sample that has
been dated at 10 million years may be called –
TWO MAIN DIVISIONS Young.
• Physical Geology – Examines the materials composing
Earth and seeks to understand the many processes that RELATIVE DATING AND THE GEOLOGIC TIMESCALE
operate beneath and upon its surface. • 19th Century – Geologic times scale was developed using
• Historical Geology – Is to understand the origin of Earth principles of relative dating.
and its development through time and thus, strives to • Relative Dating – means that events are placed in their
establish a chronological arrangement of the multitude proper sequence or order without knowing their age in
physical and biological changes that have occurred in the years.
geologic past. • Law of Superposition – rule applies to materials that were
originally deposited at Earth’s surface, such as layers of
DIFFERENT AREAS OF GEOLOGIC STUDY sedimentary rock and volcanic lava flows. States that “The
• Archaeological Geology youngest layer is on top, and the oldest layer is on the
• Biogeosciences bottom” if nothing has turned the layers upside down.
• Engineering Geology
• Forensic Geology PRINCIPLE OF FOSSIL SUCCESSION OR FAUNAL
• Geochemistry SUCCESSION
• Geomorphology Fossil organisms succeed one another in a definite and
• Geophysics determinable order and therefore any time can be recognized by its
fossil content.
• Historical Geology
• Fossil are the remains or traces of prehistoric life.
• Hydrogeology
• Medical Geology
• Mineralogy
• Ocean Sciences
• Paleoclimatology
• Paleontology
• Petrology
• Planetary Geology
• Sedimentary Geology
• Seismology
• Structural Geology
• Tectonics
• Volcanology

HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT GEOLOGY

Aristotle’s explanation about the natural world – He
believed that rocks were created under the “influence” of the stars and
that earthquakes occurred when air in the ground was heated by
central fires and escaped explosively.

CATASTROPHISM
James Ussher, Anglican Archbishop, Ireland. In the mid-
1600’s published a major work and suggested that Earth was only a
few thousand years old created in 4004 BC. During 17 th and 18th
centuries Catastrophism influenced people’s thinking and believed
that “Earth’s landscapes had been shaped primarily by great
catastrophes. Features such as mountains and canyons, which today
we know take great periods of time to form, were explained as having
been produced by sudden and often worldwide disasters produced by
unknown causes that no longer operate”. THE NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
• Hypothesis – a tentative (or untested) explanation
THE BIRTH OF MODERN GEOLOGY • Theory – a well-tested and widely accepted views that
James Hutton (Scottish physician and farmer) – Published scientific community agrees best explains certain
“Theory of the Earth” in 1795. Put forth for the fundamental principle observable facts.
a pillar of geology today: Uniformitarianism – “Physical, chemical,
CE 405 – HYDROLOGY BS Civil Engineering
Reviewer (Second Semester - Midterms) BSU - ALANGILAN

• Scientific Method – scientist gather facts through

observations and formulate scientific hypothesis and ENERGY FOR THE SOLAR SYSTEM
theories. • Earth system is powered by energy from two sources.
• (Eratosthenes – calculated Eart’s circumference and 1. The Sun drives external processes that occur in the
obtained the value close to the modern measurement atmosphere, hydrosphere, and at the Earth’s surface.
40,075km. Greeks realized that Earth was “Spherical” 2. Earth’s interior is the second source of Energy, where
because it always cast a curve shadow on the Moon during heat remaining from when our planet formed and heat
a Lunar eclipse.) from radioactive decay.

EARTH SPHERES THE ROCK CYCLE: ONE OF THE EARTH’S SUBSYSTEMS

The Earth is thought of consisting of four major spheres: • Rock is the most common and abundant material on Earth.
Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, Geosphere and Biosphere. • Minerals are chemical compounds (or sometimes single
**The Shoreline is an obvious meeting place for rock, water, and air. elements), each with its own composition and physical
properties.
HYDROSPHERE • Rock Texture – the size, shape, and/or arrangement of its
• Earth is sometimes called the “Blue Planet”. constituent minerals affects its appearance.
• Hydrosphere is a dynamic mass of water that is continually
on the move, evaporating, precipitating, and running. The Basic Cycle
Blanketing nearly 71% of the Earh’s surface to an average 1. Magma – is a molten material that forms inside the Earth
depth of 3800 meters (12,500ft) and eventually cools and solidifies with the process called
Crystallization. The resulting rocks are called Igneous
Rocks (Ignis = fire).
2. Sediments are particles and dissolved substances
because of erosional agents, such as running water,
glaciers, wind, or waves and eventually.
3. Lithification – a term meaning “conversion into rock”
where in sediments are compacted and cemented by the
weight of overlying layers, or as percolating groundwater
fills the pores with mineral matter. Today, New Magma is
created forming under the island of Hawaii.

• Processes driven by heat from Earth’s interior are

responsible for forming igneous and metamorphic rocks.
• Weathering and the movement of weathered material
are external processes powered by energy from the sun –
external processes produce sedimentary rocks.

EARLY EVOLUTION OF EARTH

ATMOSPHERE ORIGIN OF PLANET EARTH

• Earth is surrounded by a life-giving gaseous envelope • About 13.7 billion years ago with the Big Bang, an
called the Atmosphere. incomprehensibly large explosion that sent a matter of the
universe flying outward at incredible speeds.
BIOSPHERE • Debris from the explosion was almost entirely Hydrogen
• Biosphere includes all life of Earth. and Helium.
• Began to cool and condense into the first stars and
GEOSPHERE galaxies.
• Beneath the atmosphere and the ocean is the solid Earth or • Earth is one of the eight planets that along with several
the Geosphere. dozens of moons and smaller bodies, revolve around the
• Extends from the surface to the center of the planet, a Sun.
depth of 6400km – the largest of the Earth’s four spheres. • Earth and the other planets formed at essentially the same
• Soil – thin veneer of material at Earth’s surface that time and from the same primordial material as the Sun.
supports the growth of plants and may be thought as part • Nebular Theory – States that the bodies of our solar
of all four spheres. (Primitive life first appeared in the system evolved from an enormous rotating cloud called the
oceans about 4 billion years ago) Solar Nebula.
• Nuclear Fusion in stars converts hydrogen and helium into
EARTH AS A SYSTEM other elements found in the universe.
• Earth System is a complex and continuously interacting. • Nearly 5 billion years ago the huge cloud of gases and
• Earth System Science aims to study Earth as a system minute grains of heavier elements began to slowly contract
composed of numerous interacting parts, or subsystems. due to gravitational interaction among particles, which
• System – can be any size of group of interacting parts that some external influence such as Supernova – a shock
forms a complex whole. wave traveling from a catastrophic explosion, may have
o Closed Systems – self-contained about matter triggered the collapse.
where energy moves freely in and out of a closed • As it contracted, it rotated faster and faster and eventually
system, while no matter enters or leaves the with inward pull of gravity came into balance with the outer
system. force caused the rotational motion formed the cast cloud of
o Open System – Both energy and matter flow into flat disk shape with a larger concentration of material at its
and out of the system. center called the Protosun (pre-Sun).
• Outermost reaches of the solar system in a region called
THE EARTH SYSTEM the Oort Cloud.
• The disked shaped cloud contains appreciable amounts of
CYCLES IN THE EARTH SYSTEM lighter gases of hydrogen and helium.
1. Hydrologic Cycle – represents the unending circulation of • Formation of the Sun marked the end of the period of
Earth’s water among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, contraction and gravitational heating.
biosphere, and geosphere.
2. Rock Cycle – loop that involves the processes by which
one rock changes to another.
3. Interface – is a common boundary where different parts of
a system come in contact and interact.
CE 405 – HYDROLOGY BS Civil Engineering
Reviewer (Second Semester - Midterms) BSU - ALANGILAN

• Materials such as Iron and Nickel and the elements of which • Rocks of the lithosphere get progressively hotter and
the rock-forming minerals are composed – Silicon, Calcium, weaker (more easily deformed) with increasing depth.
Sodium, and so forth – • At the uppermost asthenosphere, the rocks are close
formed metallic and rocky enough to their melting temperature that they deformed
clumps that orbited the very easily.
Sun.
• Repeated Collisions 2. The Lower Mantle
caused these masses to ▪ Depth of 660 km (410mi) to the top of the core, at a depth of
coalesce into larger 2900 km (1800mi).
asteroid size bodies called
Planetesimal. EARTH’S CORE
• Inner Planets: Mercury, • Composition of the core is thought to be Iron-Nickel alloy
Venus, Earth, and Mars with minor amount of oxygen, silicon, and sulfur-
(Terrestrial Planets) elements that readily form compounds with iron.
• Lighter elements were • The Iron rich material has an average density of nearly 11
eventually whisked by the g/cm3 and approaches 14 times the density of water at
Solar Winds from the Earth’s center.
inner solar system to the • Divided into two regions that exhibits very different
outer solar system. mechanical strengths:
• Outer Planets: Jupiter, o Outer Core – the liquid layer 2270 km (1410mi)
Saturn, Uranus, and thick, this zone generates the Earth’s magnetic
Neptune (Gas Giants field.
Planets, Jovian Planets) o Inner core – a sphere having a radius of 1216
which contained high km (756 mi) termed as solid core due to its
percentage of ices-water, immense pressure that exist in the center of the
carbon dioxide, ammonia, planet.
and methane as well as
rocky and metallic debris. THE FACE OF EARTH
• Meteorites – when they • Continental elevation of about 0.8 km (0.5 mi)
survive an impact with • Ocean Floor is about 3.8 km (2.4 mi) below sea-level.
Earth. • The thicker and less dense continental crust is more
buoyant than the oceanic crust.
LIGHT-YEAR
• is a unit for measuring distances to stars. MAJOR FEATURES OF THE CONTINENTS
• One Light-year is the distance light travels in one year- Largest feature of the continents can be distinguished by two distinct
about 9.5 trillion km (5.8 trillion mi). categories:
1. Extensive, flat stable areas that have been eroded nearly to sea
FORMATION OF EARTH’S LAYERED STRUCTURE level.
Continental Crust formed gradually over the last 4 billion 2. Uplifted regions of deformed rocks that make up present-day
year. (Oldest rocks yet discovered are isolated fragments found in the mountain belts.
Northwest Territories of Canada with dates about 4 billion years.)
Mountain Belts – most prominent topographic features of the
EARTH’S INTERNAL STRUCTURE continents are linear mountain belts. When the youngest mountains
are considered (those less than 100 million years old – located
EARTH’S CRUST primarily in two major zones.
• The Crust – earth’s relatively thin, rocky outer skin, is of ▪ The circum-Pacific belt (the region surrounding the Pacific
two different types – Continental Crust and Oceanic Crust. Ocean).
o Oceanic Crust – roughly 7 kilometers (5 miles) ▪ Island Arcs are active mountainous regions composed largely of
thick and composed of dark igneous rock basalt. volcanic rocks and deformed sedimentary rocks.
o Continental Crust – averages about 35
kilometers (22 miles) thick but may exceed 70 MAJOR FEATURES OF THE OCEAN BASINS
kilometer (40mi) and average composition of They are defined by three major regions: continental margins, deep
granitic rock called granodiorite. ocean basins, and oceanic (mid-ocean) ridges.
• Continental Rocks have an average density of about 2.7
g/cm3 and ages about 4 billion years old. Continental Margins – is the portion of the seafloor adjacent to the
• Oceanic Crust are younger (180million years or less) and major landmasses.
denser about 3.0 g/cm3. It includes:
• Continental Shelf – gently sloping platform which extends
EARTH’S MANTLE seaward from the shore and considered a flooded
• 82% of Earth’s volume is contained in the Mantle. extension of the continents.
• Nearly 2900 kilometers (1800 mi) • Continental Slope – the boundary between the continents
• The Uppermost mantle is peridotite, richer in the metals and the deep-ocean basins, with relatively steep drop-off
of magnesium and iron. that extends from the outer edge of the continental shelf to
the floor of the deep ocean.
1. The Upper Mantle • Continental Rise – more gradual incline that consist of a
▪ Extends from the crust-mantle boundary down to a depth of thick accumulation of sediments that moved downslope
about 660 kilometers (410 miles) from the continental shelf to the deep-ocean floor.
▪ Divided into two different parts:
• The top portion of the upper mantle is part of the stiff Deep-Ocean Basins – between the continental margins and oceanic
Lithosphere, and beneath that is the weaker ridges.
Asthenosphere. Consists of:
• The Lithosphere (sphere of rock) consist of the entire • Abyssal Plains – consists of incredibly flat feature.
crust and uppermost mantle and forms Earth’s relatively • Deep-Ocean Trenches – are relatively narrow and
cool, rigid outer shell. Averages about 100 kilometers in represent only a small fraction of the ocean floor, some
thickness more than ~250 kilometer. trenches are adjacent to young mountains that flank the
• Asthenosphere (“weak sphere”) weak layer continents, while other trenches parallel linear island chains
• Top portion of the asthenosphere has temp and press called Volcanic Island Arcs.
regime resulting in small amount of melting.
CE 405 – HYDROLOGY BS Civil Engineering
Reviewer (Second Semester - Midterms) BSU - ALANGILAN

• Seamounts – are dotting ocean floor that are submerged ▪ San Andreas Fault of California and the Alpine Fault of New
volcanic structures form aa long narrow chains. Volcanic Zealand.
activity has also produced several large Lava Plateaus.
Changing Boundaries
Oceanic Ridges (Mid-Ocean Ridge) – the most prominent feature ▪ Pacific Plate would close completely in 300 million years.
on the ocean floor that are broadly elevated feature forms a
continuous belt that winds for more than 70,000km (43,000mi) around
the globe in a manner like the seam of a baseball and consisting of
highly deformed rocks.

DYNAMIC EARTH
• Brief Introduction to the Theory of Plate Tectonics
• In the Early part of the 20th Century with the radical proposal
of continental Drift- the idea that continents move about the
face of the planet. Which contradicted the long-established
view that continents and ocean basins are permanent and
stationary features on the face of Earth.
• 50 years passed the Theory of Plate Tectonics was
proposed that provided the first comprehensive model of
Earth’s internal workings.
• According to the plate tectonics model: Earth’s rigid outer
shell (lithosphere) is broken into numerous slabs called
lithospheric plates or Plates.

7 Major Lithospheric Plates recognized:

1. North American Plate
2. South American Plate
3. Pacific Plate
4. African Plate
5. Eurasian Plate
6. Australian Plate
7. Antarctic Plate

• The Lithospheric plates move relative to each other at very

slow but continuous rate averages about 5 cm (2 in) per
year.

PLATE BOUNDARIES
Bounded by three distinct types of boundaries which are
differentiated by the type of relative movement they exhibit.
1. Divergent Boundaries – where plates move a part,
resulting in upwelling of material from the mantle to create
new seafloor.
2. Convergent Boundaries – where plates move together,
resulting in the subduction of oceanic lithosphere into the
mantle or Convergence can also result in the collision of two
continental margins to create a major mountain system.
3. Transform Fault Boundaries – where plates grind past
each other without the production or destruction of
lithosphere.

DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES
• Occurs mainly along the oceanic ridge.
• Seafloor Spreading is the dominant process associated
with divergent boundaries; zones are sometimes referred
to as Spreading Centers.
• The thickness of the oceanic lithosphere is age dependent.
The older (colder) it is, the greater its thickness.

CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES
• The surface expression produced by the descending plate
is a deep-ocean trench.
• Plate Margins where oceanic crust is being consumed are
called subduction zones.
• Whenever slabs of continental lithosphere and oceanic
lithosphere converge, the continental plate being less
dense remains floating, while the denser oceanic
lithosphere sinks into the asthenosphere.
• Volcanic Island Arc – a chain of volcanic structures that
emerge from the sea, found in the Pacific Ocean. CHAPTER 2: MATTER AND MINERALS
• When an oceanic plate is subducted beneath continental
lithosphere, an Andean-type Mountain range develops MINERALS: BUILDING BLOCKS OF ROCKS
along the margin of the continent. • Mineralogy (Mineral = Mineral; Logy = Study)
• Continental lithosphere is buoyant, which prevents it from • The first minerals mined were flint and Chert, for fashioned
being subducted to any great depth. into weapons and cutting tools.
• 3,700BC, Egyptians began mining gold, silver, and copper.
TRANSFORM FAULT BOUNDARIES • 2,000BC Humans discovered how to combine copper with
▪ The faults form in the direction of the plate movement and were tin to make bronze, a strong, hard alloy.
first discovered in association with offsets in oceanic ridges.
CE 405 – HYDROLOGY BS Civil Engineering
Reviewer (Second Semester - Midterms) BSU - ALANGILAN

• Later, process to extract Iron from minerals such as

Hematite – marked the decline of the Bronze Age.
• 800BC, iron-working technology had advanced to the point
that weapons and many everyday objects were made of
iron rather than copper, bronze, or wood.

Mineral is defined as any naturally occurring, inorganic solid that

possesses an orderly crystalline structure and can be represented by
a chemical formula.
1. Naturally Occurring – minerals form by natural, geologic
processes. Synthetic materials – those that produced in a
laboratory or by human intervention.
2. Solid Substance – only solid crystalline substances are
considered minerals. Ice (frozen water) fits this criterion and
is considered a mineral. The exception is mercury which is
found in its liquid form in nature.
3. Orderly Crystalline Structure – minerals are crystalline
substances, which means their atoms are arranged in a n
orderly, repetitive manner. Orderly packing of atoms is
reflected in a regularly shaped objects called crystals.
4. Generally Inorganic – if organic materials such as calcite
are buried and become part of the rock record, they are
considered minerals by geologist.
5. Can be represented by a chemical Formula – minerals
are compounds having composition expressed by a
chemical formula.

Rock is any solid mass of material, or mineral-like, matter that occurs

naturally as part of our planet. 7. Cleavage (Kleiben – carve) – is the tendency of a mineral
Aggregate implies that the mineral is joined in such way that their to break along planes of weak bonding. Is also described
individual properties are retained. as three directions of cleavage that meet at 90 degrees.

Purity of Gold is expressed by the number of Karats. 24 karats

are pure gold. Gold with less than 24 karats is an alloy mixture of gold and
another metal, usually copper or silver.
Pure Platinum is an extremely rare and valuable metal.
Platinum’s wear and tarnish resistance make it well suited making fine
jewelry and considered as the densest naturally occurring metal.

ATOMS: BUILDING BLOCKS OF MINERALS

• Atoms – the smallest particles that cannot be chemically
split. Atoms contain even smaller particles – Protons and
neutrons located in a central Nucleus surrounded by
Electrons.

ELEMENTS: DEFINED BY THEIR NUMBER OF PROTONS

• The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is called
the Atomic Number.
• Element is a group of the same kind of atoms.
• There are 90 naturally occurring elements and 23
elements that have been synthesized.
• Periodic table is where elements are organized that with
similar properties line up in columns.
• Chemical compounds where most elements tend to join
with toms of other elements.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

1. Optical Properties of Minerals
• Luster
• Ability to Transmit light 8. Fracture – exhibits in minerals having bonds that are
• Color equally or nearly equally, strong in all directions. Uneven
surfaces are described exhibiting Irregular Fracture.
• Streak
2. Ability to Transmit Light
9. Density and Specific Gravity
• Opaque – when no light is transmitted.
• Density – is defined as mass per unit volume.
• Translucent – when light, but not an image is
• Specific gravity is to describe the density of minerals
transmitted through a mineral.
which is a number representing the ratio of a mineral’s
• Transparent – when both light and an image are
weight to the weight of an equal volume of water.
visible through the sample mineral.
3. Color – is most conspicuous characteristic of any mineral.
Other properties of Minerals
4. Streak – the color of the mineral in powdered form.
• Talc feels soapy, and graphite feels greasy.
• Metallic minerals generally have a dense dark streak.
• Sulfur bearing minerals emit odor.
• Nonmetallic minerals have light colored streak.
• Few minerals can be picked up with a magnet.
5. Crystal Shape or Habit – refers to the common or
characteristic of shape of a crystal or aggregate of crystals. • Some minerals effervesce when poured with acid.
6. Mineral Strength - includes Tenacity, hardness, cleavage
and fracture. MINERAL GROUP
• Tenacity – describes a mineral’s toughness or its • Over 4000 minerals have been named.
resistance to breaking or deforming. • Economic Minerals are those that are used extensively in
• Hardness – is a measurement of the resistance of the manufacture of products.
mineral to abrasion or scratching.
CE 405 – HYDROLOGY BS Civil Engineering
Reviewer (Second Semester - Midterms) BSU - ALANGILAN

• Only 8 elements make up most of the rock-forming • The Gaseous components, called Volatiles – are
minerals and represent more than 98% (weight) of the materials that will vaporize (form a gas) at surface pressure.
continental crust. The most common volatile are water vapor (H2O), carbon
• Silicon and Oxygen are by far the most common dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) that are confined in
elements in Earth’s crust. immense pressure exerted by the overlying rocks.
• Silicates - the most common mineral group forms because
the oxygen and silicon as the basic building block. FROM MAGMA TO CRYSTALLINE ROCK
• Common non-silicate minerals groups include carbonates, • Heating causes the ions to occupy more space which in turn
sulfates, and halides. causes the solid to expand.
• Crystallization – a process of reverses the event of
melting.
• When magma cools, it is generally the silicon and oxygen
atoms that link together to form silicon-oxygen tetrahedra,
the basic building block of silicate minerals.
• Igneous Rock – is a solid mass of interlocking silicate
minerals.
• Crystallization of magma ranges with temperature of 200*C
or more.

Magma differs from one another in terms of:

• Their chemical composition
• The amount of volatiles they contain
• The rate at which they cool.
Because these factors influence the crystallization process, the
appearance and mineral make-up of igneous rocks.

IGNEOUS PROCESSES
Igneous rocks form in two basic settings:
1. When magma loses its mobility before reaching the surface it
eventually crystallizes to form Intrusive Igneous Rocks or also
QUARTZ known as Plutonic rocks. They are coarse-grained and consist
• Quartz is the only common silicate mineral consisting of visible crystals.
entirely of silicon and oxygen. 2. Igneous rocks that form when molten rock solidifies at the surface
• The term Silica is applied to quartz, SiO2. is classified as Extrusive Igneous Rocks or Volcanic Rocks,
• Quartz generally exhibits conchoidal fracture. they tend to be find-grained, or when volcanic debris falls to
Earth’s surface.
MUSCOVITE
• Muscovite is a common member of the mica family. IGNEOUS COMPOSITIONS
• Igneous rocks are composed mainly of silicate minerals.
CLAY MINERALS • The silicon and oxygen are by far the most abundant
• Clay is a term used to describe a category of complex constituents of igneous rocks. These elements plus ions of
minerals that have sheet structures and originates as aluminum, Calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and
products of the chemical weathering of other silicate iron make up roughly 98% by weight of most magmas.
minerals. One of the most common clay minerals is • Dark (Ferromagnesian) Silicate – are rich in iron and/or
kaolinite. magnesium and comparatively low in silica.
• Light (Non-Ferromagnesian) Silicate – greater amounts
Mineral Resources – are the endowment of useful minerals in potassium, sodium, and calcium rather than iron and
ultimately available commercially. magnesium.
• Reserves – are identified deposits from which minerals can • Feldspar makes up at least 40% of most igneous rocks.
be extracted profitably.
• Ore – is used to denote those useful metallic minerals that GRANITIC (FELSIC) VERSUS BASALTIC (MAFIC)
can be mined at a profit. COMPOSITION
• Bingham Canyon, Utah Copper mining – one of the biggest • Granitic composition which has dominant minerals of
open-pit mines on Earth. light-colored silicates – quartz and feldspar. Granitic rocks
are referred as being felsic (derived from feldspar and
CHAPTER 3: IGNEOUS ROCKS AND INTRUSIVE ACTIVITY silica). Most granitic rocks contain about 10% dark silicate
minerals and are rich in silica about 70% and is the major
MAGMA: THE PARENT MATERIAL OF IGNEOUS ROCK constituent of the continental crust.
• Igneous Rocks (Ignis=fire) form as molten material rock • Basaltic Composition rocks that contain substantial dark
cools and solidifies. silicate minerals and calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar (but
• Magma – is formed by melting that occurs at various level no quartz), contains high percentage of ferromagnesian
within Earth’s crust and upper mantle to depths of about 250 minerals which is referred as mafic (from magnesium and
km (150 mi). ferrum, the Latin name for iron) and are typically darker and
o A magma body buoyantly rises toward the denser than granitic rocks which makes up the ocean floor
surface because it is less dense than the as well as volcanic island.
surrounding rocks. • Intermediate or Andesitic Composition are rocks with
o Lava is when molten rock reaches the Earth’s composition between granitic and basaltic, containing at
surface. least 25% dark silicate minerals, mainly amphibole,
THE NATURE OF MAGMA pyroxene and biotite mica and other being plagioclase
Magma – is completely or partly molten rock, which on cooling feldspar, and they are typically associated with volcanic
solidifies to form igneous rock composed of silicate minerals. Most activity confined to the margins of the continents.
magmas consist of three distinct parts – a liquid component, a solid • Ultramafic is when the chemical composition is composed
component, a gaseous phase. entirely ferromagnesian minerals with peridotite. Peridotite
• The Liquid portion, called Melt – mainly of mobile ions of contains mostly olivine and pyroxene and is the main
the eight most common elements found in Earth’s crust – constituent of the upper mantle.
silicon and oxygen, with lesser amounts of aluminum,
potassium, calcium, sodium, iron and magnesium.
• The Solid component are the silicate minerals that
crystallized from the meld.
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• Vesicles – are spherical openings.

• Vesicular Texture – are rocks containing vesicles, usually
form in the upper zone of a lava flow, where cooling occurs
rapidly enough to preserve the openings produced by
expanding gas bubbles.

Phaneritic (Coarse-grained) Texture

• Exhibits when large masses of magma slowly crystallize at
great depth.
• Consist of a mass of intergrowth crystals that are roughly of
equal in size and large enough to be identified.

Porphyritic Texture
• Exhibit when a large mass of magma may require tens to
hundreds of thousands of years to solidify, large crystals
embedded in a matrix of smaller crystals.
• Phenocrysts – the large crystals
• Groundmass – matrix of smaller crystals
• Porphyry – a rock with porphyritic texture

SILICA CONTENT AS AN INDICATOR OF COMPOSITION Glassy Texture

• Rocks that are relatively low in silica contain large amount • Exhibit when a molten material is ejected into the
of iron, magnesium and calcium. atmosphere, where it is quenched quickly, rapid cooling
generates this texture.
• Rock high in silica contain very little iron, magnesium or
calcium but enriched with sodium and potassium. • They are a result of unordered ions frozen in place before
they able to unite into an orderly crystalline structure.
• Granitic Magma – high silica content, quite viscous (thick)
• Obsidian – a common type of natural glass, obsidian flows
and may erupt at temperatures as low as 700*C.
a few hundred feet thick and are evidence that rapid cooling
• Basaltic Magma – low silica and are generally more fluid
is not the only mechanism that produces a glassy texture.
and erupt at higher temperatures than granitic magmas at
temperatures between 1100 and 1250*C and are • Viscosity – the measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow.
completely solid when cooled to 1000*C.
Pyroclastic (Fragmental) Texture
Igneous rocks can be divided into broad groups according to the • Forms from the consolidation of individual rock fragments
portions of light and dark minerals they contain. that are ejected during a violent volcanic eruption, they
1. Granitic (felsic) rocks – are composed almost entirely of maybe ejected as very fine ash, molten blobs, or large
the light-colored minerals quartz and feldspar and are at angular blocks, igneous rocks composed of these rocks’
one end of the compositional spectrum. fragments are said to be pyroclastic texture.
2. Basaltic (Mafic) rocks – contain abundant dark silicate • Welded tuff – a common type of pyroclastic rock,
minerals in addition to plagioclase feldspar, make up the composed of fine fragments of glass that remained hot
other major igneous rock group of Earth’s crust. enough during their flight to fuse together upon impact.
3. Intermediate (Andesitic) composition – those contain in
between basaltic and granitic in composition. Pegmatitic Texture
4. Ultramafic rocks – which lack light-colored minerals, lie at • They are exceptionally course-grained igneous rocks,
the far end of the compositional spectrum from granitic composed of interlocking crystal all larger than a centimeter
rocks. in diameter.
• They occur as small masses or thin veins situated around
(Most abundant element in Earth’s Crust is Oxygen that makes the margins of large intrusive bodies.
up 47% of the Earth’s crust by weight and 94% by volume.) • They form late in the crystallization of a magma, when water
and other volatiles such as carbon dioxide, chlorine, and
IGNEOUS TEXTURES: WHAT CAN THEY TELL US? fluorine make up an unusually high percentage of the melt.
• Texture – is used to describe the overall appearance of a • Also, ion migration is enhanced in these fluid-rich
rock based on the size, shape, and arrangement of its environments that the crystals form abnormally large or
mineral grains and reveals a great deal about the enhances crystallization and not because of inordinately
environment in which the rock formed and make inference long cooling histories.
about the rock’s origin. • Composition of most pegmatite is like granite and contains
large crystals of quartz, feldspar, and muscovite.
FACTORS AFFECTING CRYSTAL SIZE
Three factors influence the textures of igneous rocks:
1. The rate at which molten rock cools
2. The amount of silica present
3. The amount of dissolved gases in the magma

Among these, the rate of cooling tends to be the dominant factor.

• Glass – rocks that consist of unordered ions that are frozen
randomly in place.

TYPES OF IGNEOUS TEXTURES

• Slow cooling promotes the growth of large crystals,
whereas rapid cooling tends to generate small crystals.

Aphanitic (Fine-grained) Texture

• Igneous rocks that form at the surface or as small intrusive
masses within the upper crust where cooling is relatively
rapid. Can only be distinguished with the aid of polarizing
microscope. NAMING IGNEOUS ROCKS
• Aphanitic (a=not, phaner=visible) • Igneous rocks are classified on the bases of their mineral
• Common features of many extrusive rocks are the voids left composition and texture, two rocks may have similar
by gas bubbles that escape as lava solidifies. mineral constituents but have different textures and hence
different names.
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• Geothermal Gradient is the increase in temperature with

Felsic (Granitic) Igneous Rocks depth. The average geothermal gradient is 25*C per km in
• Granite – the best known of all igneous rocks and primary upper crust.
composition of the continental crust. Granite is a coarse-
grained rock composed of about 25% quartz and roughly Decrease in Pressure: Decompression Melting
65% feldspar, mostly potassium and sodium-rich varieties. • Pressure also increases with depth.
Granite is termed to any coarse-grained intrusive rock • Melting, which is accompanied by an increase in volume
composed predominantly of light silicate minerals. occurs at higher temperature at depth. An increase in
• Rhyolite is the extrusive equivalent of granite and confining pressure causes an increase in the rock’s melting
composed essentially of light-colored silicates, usually buff temperature.
to pink or very light gray in color. Rhyolite is fine-grained • Reducing the confining pressure lowers a rock’s melting
and frequently contains glass fragments and voids, temperature causing Decompression Melting – which
indicating rapid cooling in a surface environment. occurs where hot, solid mantle rock ascends in zones of
• Obsidian is a dark-colored glassy rock usually forms when convective upwelling, thereby moving into regions of lower
silica-rich lava is quenched quickly. Obsidian’s dark color pressure.
results from small amounts of metallic ions in an otherwise • The divergent plate boundaries (oceanic ridges) where
relatively clear, glassy substance. plates are drifting apart.
• Pumice is a volcanic rock with a glassy texture that forms
when large amounts of gas escapes through silica-rich lava Addition of Volatiles
to generate, frothy mass. • Water content affects the melting temperature and other
(Lava soap – which contains powdered pumice are abrasive.) volatiles acts as salt does to melt ice.
• Volatiles cause rock to melt at lower temperatures.
Intermediate (Andesitic) Igneous Rocks • Deeply buried wet rocks has a much lower melting
• Andesite is a medium-gray, fine-grained rock of volcanic temperature than dry rock of the same composition.
origin, commonly associated in continental margins that • Volatiles play an important role in generating magma at
surrounds the Pacific Ocean, Andesite commonly exhibits convergent plate boundaries where cool slabs of oceanic
porphyritic texture. lithosphere descend into the mantle.
• Diorite is the plutonic equivalent of andesite, distinguished • The temperature at which peridotite begins to melt can be
from granite by the absence of visible quartz crystals and lowered by as much as 100*C by the addition of only 0.1%
contains higher percentage of dark silicate minerals such of water.
as sodium-rich plagioclase feldspar and amphibole while • Melting of peridotite generates basaltic magma having a
diorite has a salt and pepper appearance. temperature of 1200*C or higher.
Mafic (Basaltic) Igneous Rocks In summary, magma can be generated three ways:
• Basalt is a very dark green to black, aphanitic rock 1. When an increase in temperature causes a rock to exceed
composed primarily of pyroxene and calcium-rich its melting temperature.
plagioclase feldspar, is the most common extrusive igneous 2. In zones of upwelling a decrease in pressure (without the
rock, Hawaiian island and Iceland are composed mainly of addition of heat) can result in decompression melting.
basalt. 3. The introduction of volatiles (principally water) can lower the
• Gabbro is the extrusive equivalent of basalt, tends to be melting temperature of hot mantle rock sufficient to
dark green to black in color and composed primarily of generate magma.
pyroxene and calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar, makes up
significant percentage of the oceanic crust. HOW MAGMA EVOLVE
Bowen’s Reaction Series and the Composition of Igneous Rocks
Pyroclastic Rocks • Minerals tend to crystallize in a systematic fashion based
• Pyroclastic rocks are composed of fragments ejected on their melting points.
during a volcanic eruption. • The first mineral to crystallize is the ferromagnesian mineral
• Tuff the most common pyroclastic rock is composed of tiny, Olivine.
ash-size fragments that were later cemented together. • During the crystallization process, the composition
• Welded Tuff is where the ash particles remained hot remaining liquid portion of the magma also continually
enough to fuse and consist mostly of tiny glass shards. changes.
• Pyroclastic rocks composed mainly of particles larger than • The melt will be nearly depleted of iron, magnesium, and
ash are called volcanic breccia. calcium because these elements are the major constituents
• Terms tuff and volcanic breccia do not imply mineral of earliest-formed minerals. Thus, the removal of these
composition but rather as modifier. elements causes the melt to become enriched in sodium
and potassium.
Texture Composition • In nature the earliest formed minerals can be separated
Felsic Intermediate Mafic from the melt, thus halting any further chemical reaction.
Phaneritic Granite Diorite Gabbro
Aphanitic Rhyolite Andesite Basalt
Porphyritic Granite Andesite Basalt
Porphyry Porphyry Porphyry

ORIGIN OF MAGMA
• Most magma originates in the upper most mantle. The
greatest quantities are produced at divergent plate
boundaries associated with seafloor spreading. Lesser
amounts in subduction zones.

GENERATING MAGMA FROM SOLID ROCK

• Earth’s crust and mantle are composed primarily of solid,
not molten, rock.
MAGMATIC DIFFERENTIATION
Increased in Temperature • Magmatic differentiation is the formation of one or more
• Magma originates when essentially solid rock, located in secondary magmas from a single parent magma.
the crust and upper mantle, melts. • Crystal settling is the process that occurs when earlier
• Obvious way to generate magma from solid rock is to rise formed minerals are denser than the liquid portion and sink
the temperature above the rock’s melting point. toward the bottom of the magma chamber.
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rhyolite) contain more than 70% silica. Intermediate rock

INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ACTIVITY types – andesite and diorite contain about 60% silica.
Nature of Intrusive Bodies • A magma’s viscosity is directly related to its silica content,
• Intrusions or Plutons are emplacement of magma into pre- “the more silica in magma, the greater its viscosity.”
existing rocks. • The amount of volatiles (the gaseous components of
• Igneous bodies are generally classified according to their magma, mainly water) contained in magma also affects its
shape – Tabular (tabula=table) or Massive and by their mobility.
orientation with respect to the host rock
• Discordant (discordate=to disagree) – igneous bodies
that cut cross an existing structure
• Concordant (condordate=to agree) – igneous bodies that
formed parallel to features such as sedimentary strata.

Tabular Intrusive Bodies: Dikes and Sills

• Produced when magma is forcibly injected into a fracture or
zone of weakness such as bedding surfaces.
• Dikes – are discordant bodies that cut across bedding WHY DO VOLCANOES ERUPT?
surfaces or other structure in the host rock. • Most magma is generated by the partial melting of the rock
• Sills – are nearly horizontal, concordant bodies that form peridotite in the upper mantle to form magma with basaltic
when magma exploits weaknesses between sedimentary composition.
beds. MATERIALS EXTRUDED DURING AN ERUPTION
Lava Flows
• Dike Swarms – Dikes that tends to form roughly parallel
groups. • Most of the lava on Earth, more than 90% of the total
volume, is estimated to be in basaltic in composition.
• Columnar Joints – forms as igneous rocks cool and
develop shrinkage fractures that produce elongated, pillar- • Rhyolitic (felsic) flows make up as little as 1% of the total.
like columns.
AA and Pahoehoe Flows
Massive Intrusive Bodies: Batholiths, Stocks, and Laccoliths • Hawaiian names
• Batholiths are the largest intrusive bodies occurs as a • AA (Ah-Ah) Flows – have surfaces of rough jagged blocks
mammoth linear structure several hundreds of kilometers with dangerously sharp edges and spiny projections.
long and up to <100 kilometers wide. • Pahoehoe (Pah-hoy-hoy) Flows – exhibit smooth
• Stocks are plutonic body having exposure of less than 100 surfaces that often resemble the twisted braids of ropes and
km3. means one can walk.
• Laccoliths are igneous intrusions that can lift sedimentary • Aa and pahoehoe lavas can erupt from the same vent.
strata they penetrate, which is an igneous structure that • Pahoehoe lavas form at higher temperatures and more fluid
forcibly injected between sedimentary strata, to arch the than aa flows.
beds above it. • Pahoehoe lavas can change into aa lavas flow, although
the reverse (aa to pahoehoe) does not occur.
• One factor that facilitates the change from pahoehoe to aa
is cooling that occurs as the flow moves away from the vent.
• Cooling increases viscosity and promotes bubble formation,
escaping gas bubbles produce numerous voids and sharp
spines in the surface of the congealing lava.

Lava Tubes – cave-like tunnels that are hardened basaltic flows and
are associated with volcanoes that emit fluid basaltic lava and are
found in most parts of the world.
Blocks Lavas – consist of upper surface that is largely of vesicles-
free, detached blocks, although similar to aa flows, this lava consists
of blocks with slightly curved, smooth surfaces, rather than the rough,
clinker surfaces.
Pillow Lavas – are the result of a lava flow composed of numerous
tube-like structures and indicate that the lava flow formed in an
underwater environment.

Gas
• Volcanoes are also natural sources of air pollution.
• The gaseous portion of most magmas makes up from 1 to
6% of the total weight, most in the form of water vapor.

Pyroclastic Materials
When volcanoes erupt energetically, they eject pulverized rock, lava,
CHAPTER 4: VOLCANOES AND VOLCANIC HAZARDS and glass fragments from the vent and particles produced are
referred to as pyroclastic materials (pyro=fire, clast=fragment).
THE NATURE OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS • Ash and dust particles are produced when gas-rich viscous
• Volcanic Activity is perceived as a process that produces magma erupts explosively.
a picturesque, cone-shaped structure that periodically • Welded tuff – when the hot ash falls, the glassy shards
erupts in a violent manner. often fuse to form a rock.
• The primary factors whether the eruption is violent or gently • Lapilli (little stones) – are larger pyroclasts that ranges in
are: size from small beads to walnuts and are commonly called
1. Magma Composition Cinders (2-64mm).
2. Temperature • Blocks and Bombs – particles larger than 64mm (2.5in) in
3. Amount of Dissolved Gasses diameter when they are made of hardened lava and when
they are ejected as incandescent lava, respectively.
**These factors affect the magma’s mobility, or viscosity. • Scoria – the name applied to vesicular ejecta that is a
product of basaltic magma. Black to reddish-brown in color
FACTORS AFFECTING VISCOSITY fragments that are found in the size range of lapilli and
• Basalt contains about 50% silica, whereas magmas that resembles cinders and clinkers produced by furnaces used
produced felsic rocks (granite and its extrusive equivalent, to smelt iron.
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• Pumice – when magmas with intermediate (andesitic) or of repose, coarse materials contribute to the steep slopes
felsic (rhyolitic) compositions erupt and has smit ash and of the summit area.
vesicular rock. • Others have a lake in their crater that may be hot and
• Pumice is lighter in color and less dense than scoria. muddy, such lakes are often highly acidic because of the
influx of sulfur and chlorine gases that react with water to
VOLCANIC STRUCTURES AND ERUPTIVE STYLES produce sulfuric H2SO4 and HCl.
• Three major volcanic types – Shield volcanoes, cinder
cones, and composite cones.

ANATOMY OF A VOLCANO
• Volcanic activity begins when a fissure (crack) develops
in the crust as magma moves forcefully toward the surface,
gas-rich magma moves up through a fissure, localized into
a circular Conduit, or pipe – that terminates at a surface
opening called a Vent.
• Crater – is the funnel-shaped depression.
• Calderas – are very large circular depressions and have
diameters greater than 1 km. VOLCANIC PIPES AND NECKS
• Pyroclastic Cone (Parasitus=one who eats at the table of • Pipes – when volcanoes are fed by magma through short
another) conduits that connect a magma chamber to a surface.
• Fumaroles – emits only gases. • Diatreme – are type of pipe that extends to depths that
exceeds 200km.

PLATE TECTONICS AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY

• The Circum-Pacific Belt is known as The Ring of Fire.
Zones of Igneous activity and their related to plate boundaries,
these activities are located:
1. Along convergent plate boundaries where plates move
toward each other, and one sinks beneath the other.
2. Along divergent plate boundaries, where plates move away
from each other, and new seafloor is created.
3. Areas within the plates proper that are not associated with
any plate boundary.

VOLCANISM AT CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES

• Once the sinking slab reaches a depth of about 100km,
these water-rich fluids reduce the melting point of hot
SHIELD VOLCANOES mantle rock sufficiently to trigger melting.
• Are produced by accumulation of fluid basaltic lavas and • Volcanism at a convergent plate margin result in the
exhibit the shape of a broad, slightly domed structure that development of slightly curved chain of volcanoes called a
resembles a warrior’s shield, examples are Canary Island, Volcanic Arc.
Hawaiian, Galapagos, and Easter Island. • Volcanic Arc or Chains are developed roughly parallel to the
• Mauna Loa is over 9km (6mi) high, exceeding the height of associated trench at distances of 200 to 300 km.
Mt Everest. Kilauea is the most active and intensely studied • Volcanic Arc can be constructed on oceanic, or continental
shield volcano in the world. lithosphere.
• Those the develop within the ocean and grow above large
CINDER CONES enough for their tops to rise above the surface are labeled
• Are built from ejected lava fragments that take on the as Island Archipelago.
appearance of cinders or clinkers as they begin to harden • Volcanic Arc or also called as Volcanic Island Arcs or
in flight. Island Arcs.
• Because cinder have a high angle of repose (the steepest • Volcanism associated with convergent plate boundaries
angle at which material will remain stable), cinder cones are may also develop where slabs of oceanic lithosphere are
steep-sided, having slopes between 30 and 40*. subducted under continental lithosphere to produce a
• Large, deep craters in relation to the overall size of the continental Volcanic Arc.
structure. • The major difference is that continental crust is much
• Most cinder cones are produced by a single, short-lived thicker and is composed of rock having a higher silica
eruptive event. content than oceanic crust.
COMPOSITE CONES VOLCANISM AT DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES
• Earth’s most picturesque yet potentially dangerous • The greatest volume of magma (60% of Earth’s total
volcanoes also called as Stratovolcanoes. yearly volume output) is produced along the oceanic ridge
• Most are in relatively narrow zones that rims the Pacific system in associated with seafloor spreading.
Ocean, in the Ring of Fire. • Decompression Melting – a decrease in confining
• The impressive volcanic structures are manifestations of pressure and undergoes melting without the addition of
processes that occur in the mantle in association with heat and is the common process by which mantle rock melt.
subduction zones.
• The classic composite cones are a large, nearly INTRAPLATE VOLCANISM
symmetrical structure consisting of alternating layers of • Hawaii’s Kilauea is considered the world’s most active
explosively erupted cinders and ash interbedded with lava volcano.
flows. • Intraplate Volcanism (meaning “within the plate”)
• Composite cones are the product of gas-rich magma includes Canary Island, Yellow Stone, and several volcanic
having an andesitic composition. centers.
• Many composite cones also emit various amounts of fluid • Most intraplate volcanism occurs where a mass of hotter
basaltic lava and occasionally pyroclastic material having than normal mantle material called a Mantle Plume
rhyolitic composition. ascends toward the surface – forms deep within Earth at
• Composite cones are noted for generating explosive core-mantle boundary.
eruptions that eject huge quantities of pyroclastic materials. • Decompression melting generate basaltic magma that may
• Coarse fragments ejected from the summit crater tend to eventually trigger volcanism at the surface.
accumulate near their source, because of their high angle
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• Hotspot – is a localized volcanic regions a few km across. ▪ Lahar, which can occur even when a volcano is quiet, are perhaps
Geologist determined that the mantle beneath hot spots the next most dangerous volcanic hazard.
must be 100 to 150*C hotter than normal mantle material.
• Mantle Plumes is responsible for the vast outpouring of Monitoring Volcanic Activity
basaltic lava created the large basalt plateaus including A large earthquake triggers a volcanic eruption, or at least disturbs the
Siberian Traps in Russia, Deccan Plateau in India, and volcano’s plumbing.
Ontong Java Plateau in western Pacific. The four most noticeable changes in a volcanic landscape caused by
Iceland – one of the largest volcanic islands in the world with 20 active the migration of magma are:
volcanoes and numerous geysers and hot springs. 1. Changes in the patters of volcanic earthquakes
2. Expansion of near-surface magma chamber, which leads to
inflation of the volcano.
3. Changes in the amount and/or composition of the gases that are
released from a volcano.
4. An increase in ground temperature caused by the emplacement
of new magma.

CHAPTER 5: WEATHERING AND SOILS

EARTH’S EXTERNAL PROCESSES

• External processes are weathering, mass wasting and
erosion occur at or near Earth’s surface and is powered by
the energy from the Sun.
• Basic part of the rock cycle responsible for transforming
solid rock into sediment.
• Some parts of Earth’s surface are gradually elevated by
mountain building and volcanic activity.
• Internal processes derived their energy from Earth’s
interior.

Weathering – the physical breakdown (disintegration) and chemical

alteration (decomposition) of rocks at or near Earth’s surface.
Mass Wasting – the transfer of rock and soil downslope under the
influence of gravity.
Erosion – the physical removal of material by mobile agents such as
water, wind, or ice.

WEATHERING
• Occurs when rock is mechanically fragmented
(disintegrated and/or chemically altered (decomposed).
1. Mechanical weathering is accomplished by physical
forces that breaks rock into smaller and smaller pieces
without changing the rock’s mineral composition.
2. Chemical weathering involves chemical
transformation of rock into one or more new
compounds.

MECHANICAL WEATHERING
• Four physical processes are important in breaking rocks
into smaller fragments – frost wedging, salt crystal growth,
expansion resulting from unloading, and biological activity.
• Work of erosional agents such as wind, glacial ice, rivers
and waves are usually considered separately from
mechanical weathering.

Frost Wedging – as water freezes, it expands exerting a force great

enough to break rock.
Salt Crystal Growth – another expansive force that can split rock is
created by the growth of salt crystals, as these crystals gradually grow
larger, they weaken the rock by pushing apart the surrounding grains
or enlarging tiny cracks.
Sheeting – onion like layers, where a large mass of igneous rock,
particularly granite is exposed by erosion caused by expansion of
crystalline rock as erosion removes the overlying material.
Unloading – is the process of great reduction in pressure when the
overlying rock is eroded away.
Biological Activity (root wedging) where it widens fractures in rocks
and aids process of mechanical weathering.

CHEMICAL WEATHERING
• Breaking rock into smaller pieces aids chemical weathering
by increasing the surface area available for chemical attack.
• Chemical weathering involves the complex processes that
break down rock components and internal structures of
minerals.
• Water is by far the most important agent of chemical
weathering.
LIVING WITH VOLCANOES • The most abundant products of chemical breakdown of
Volcanic Hazards feldspar are residual clay minerals.
▪ Perhaps the greatest threats to life are pyroclastic flows.
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• Clay minerals are the end products of weathering and very (humus) in which plant structures can no longer be
stable under surface condition. identified.
• The most abundant sedimentary rock, shale, contains a
high proportion of clay minerals. 2. A Horizon – is underlying of the organic-rich O horizon, that
is largely mineral matter, yet biological activity is high, and
(The only common mineral that is very resistant to both mechanical and humus is generally present at up to 30%.
chemical weathering is Quartz) • A and O Horizons makes up the Topsoil.
3. E Horizon – is a light-colored layer that contains little
Spheroidal Weathering – weathered rock with a more rounded or organic material. As water percolates downward through
spherical shape, chemical weathering does produce forces great this zone, finer particles are carried away, this washing out
enough to cause mechanical weathering. of fine soil components is termed as Eluviation.
a) Leaching is the term for depletion of soluble materials
SOIL from upper soil.
Soil is a combination of mineral and organic matter, water, and air – 4. B Horizon – also termed as sub soil, much of the material
that portion of the regolith that supports the growth of plants. removed from the E horizon by eluviation is deposited in the
• Regolith – the layer of rock and mineral fragments B horizon and is often referred to as the Zone of
produced by weathering. Accumulation.
• Humus – the decayed remain of animal and plant life. a) Hardpan – is the extreme cases of clay accumulation
• Paleosols – ancient soils that are preserved and buried that formed a very compact and impermeable layer.
and provides useful info about climates and nature of o O, A, E, and B Horizons constitute the
landscapes thousands or millions of years ago. Solum or the True Soil – it is here that the
CONTROLS OF SOIL FORMATION soil-forming processes are active and living
• Soil is the product of the complex interplay of several factor. roots and other plant and animal life are
• The most important of these are parent material, time, confined and bear little resemblance to the
climate, plants, and animals. parent material.
Parent Material – the source of weathered mineral matter from which 5. C Horizon – is a layer characterized by partially altered
soil develops and is a major factor influencing a newly forming soil. parent material and has not yet crossed the threshold that
Residual soil is when the parent material is the bedrock. separates regolith from soil.
Transported soil is when those developed on unconsolidated a) Immature Soil – are soils lack horizons altogether
sediments that was transported soils form in place on parent materials because soil building has been going on for only a
that have been carried from elsewhere and deposited by gravity, short time, they are also characteristic of steep slopes
water, wind, or ice. where erosion continually strips away the soil and
• The type of parent material affects the rate of weathering preventing full development.
and thus the rate of soil formation.
• The chemical make-up of the parent material affects the
soil’s fertility. HOW IS SOIL IS ERODED
• Sheet Erosion is the process by which soil is moved
TIME by thin sheets of water.
• is an important component n every geological process and • Rills – tiny channels developed by threads of current.
is strongly influenced by the length of time that process • Gullies – are deeper cuts in the soil and are created
have been operating. as rills enlarge.

It usually takes between 80 and 400 years for soil-forming

processes to create 1 cm (less than 0.5inch) of topsoil.

CLIMATE
• is the most influential control of soil formation where climatic
conditions are important in controlling the type of plant and
animal life present.

TOPOGRAPHY
▪ The optimum terrain for soil development is a flat-to-undulating
upland surface.
▪ Slope Orientation or the direction a slope is facing is important.

THE SOIL PROFILE

• Horizon divides the soil into zones or layers.
• Soil Profile is a vertical section through all the soil horizon
constitutes.

A soil profile is designated with

layers O, A, E, B and C.
1. O Horizon – consist
largely of organic
matter, this contrasts
with the layers beneath
it that consist mainly of
mineral matter.
a) The upper portion
of the O horizon is
primarily plant litter
such as loose
leaves and other
organic debris that
are still
recognizable.
b) The lower portion
of the O horizon is
made up of partly decomposed organic matter