The Earths Evolving Crust

Rocks and the Rock Cycle

Stratigraphy
Concerned with
composition origin age relationships and geographic extent

Basic Rules of Stratigraphy

Principle of original horizontality
Beds of sediment deposited in water formed as horizontal or nearly hor izontal layers parallel to th e earths surface

Principle of stratigraphic superpositi on

Within a sequence of undisturbed sedimentary rock, the layers get younge r going from bottom to top

of layered or stratified rocks

Conformable Contacts
Beds within a geologic form ation may form a confor mable sequence
Accumulation through continuous deposition Negligible age differences

Conformable Contacts

Contacts between layer s: conform able contacts

The Relative Geologic Time Scale

Around 1835, British geologists used the principles of stratigraphic superposi tion and faunal succession to establish a composite geologic column : The relative geologic tim e scale was born!

The Relative Geologic Time Scale

The Relative Geologic Time Scale

Unconformities
Marked by gap in rock r ecor d Time is m issing
Non-deposition Erosion

Depositional contact of two rocks w ith measurably different ages

Unconformities

Types of Unconformities
Nonconform ities
Separate younger sedim ents or volcanics fr om older igneous or me tamorphic rocks Different rock types E.g ., the Great Unconformity between Precambrian and Cambrian rocks

Nonconformities

Nonconformities

Angular Unconformities
Separate layers above and below that are not parallel
Dipping strata: older Horizontal strata: younger

Angular Unconformities

Sometim es hard to recognize in the field (low angles)

Angular Unconformities

Angular Unconformities

Disconformities
Unconformity separating parall el strata Often hard to detect
Requires knowledge of stratigraphy Sometimes discovered in the lab

Disconformities

Disconformities

Unconformities

The Rock Cycle

James H utton - the firs t Earth System Scientist?
The Theory of the Earth, with Proofs and Il lustrations (1795) Earth is dynamic and ever- changing Cyclic view of earth change

James Hutton
Discovery of pebbles and sand in Scottish schists, regarded as primitive by his contemporaries. Those primitive rocks can not be of chemical origin, but must b e derived from older rocks through weathering. Weathering will wear dow n mountains. New mountains must form.

Siccar Point, Scotland

At Siccar Point
Discovered unconformities between steep ly dipp ing an d h orizontal strata. Sed iments were initially unconsolidat ed a nd deposited in horizonta l layers in the o cean . Consolidat ion, d eformatio n, u plif t, weath ering, an d erosion must h ave f ollo wed deposition. Horizontal strata were f ormed in a similar way (except for defo rmation ). Recogn ition of cyclic natu re of t hese p rocesses
-> de posi ti on -> c onso lidatio n -> de form ation -> u plift - > w eathe ring a nd er osion -> s ubside nce -> d e positi on -> co ns olidation - > u plift - > w eathe ring a n d e rosio n ->

At Siccar Point

The Rock Cycle

Hutton: no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end ( Theory of the Earth, 1795) The Rock Cy cle was born!

The Rock Cycle

Igneous Rocks

Intrusive - Extrusive

How Do Igneous Rocks Differ From One Another?

Classification based on
Texture Mineral and chemical co mposition

Extrusive Igneous Rocks

Lavas
Form from outflowing melte d rock Porphyry, Rhyolite

Extrusive Igneous Rocks

Pyrocl astic Rocks: Tuff

Result of violent eruptions Volcanic ash, pumice, obsidian

Porphyry

Chemical Com position

Mafic igneous rocks
Low in silica: 40-50 wt.% SiO2 More Ca, Fe, Mg than felsic magmas.

Felsic igneous rocks

High in silica: >65 wt.% SiO 2 Considerable amounts of Na, K, Al. Little Ca, Fe, and Mg.

How Do Magmas Form?

Temperature
In dividual minerals have different melting points: Leads to partial melting Minerals with low melting points will start to melt first (i.e., quartz)

Pressure
In creases with depth in the crust Leads to increasing melting temperatures

How Do Magmas Form?

Just add water
Presence of water lowers th e melting point of rocks

Where Does Magma Form?

Mid-ocean ri dges
Rising convection currents Formation of basalt

Subduction zones
Release of water from subd ucting plate promotes melting Formation of andesite, gra nite, diorite

Magm a chambers
Melting leads to the formati on of magma chambers Buoyancy-driven ascent thr ough crust

Where Does Magma Form?

Mantle plumes
Originate deep in the mantle At surface: hot spots Production of basalt Hawaii, Yellowstone, Iceland

Where Does Magma Form?

Igneous Rocks and Plate Tectonics

Divergent boundaries
Partial melting of the asthenosphere Formation of basalt and g abbro

Divergent Boundaries

Convergent boundaries
In termediate and silicic magmas Both intrusive and extrusive activity

Convergent Plate Boundaries

The Rock Cycle

Sediments
Originate from
Weathering and erosion of preexisting rocks Settling of transported material
San d, silt, clay, plan t material

Precipitation from a solution

Carbona te, rock salt, silica

Sediments
Classification based on par ticle size:
Boulders Cobbles Pebbles Sand Silt Clay > 256 mm 64 - 256 mm 2 - 64 mm 63 m - 2 mm 4 - 63 m < 4 m

Transportation
Transportation of sediment leads to sorting and rounding of the particl es

Clay sized particle clay min eral!

Clastic sedimentary rocks

Coarse- grained (com ponents > 2 mm ):
Conglomerate - rounded fragments Breccia - angular fragments

Medium -grained (63 m - 2 mm):

Sandstone Arkose - more than 25% feld spar Graywacke - more than 15% fine-grained matrix

Clastic sedimentary rocks

Fine-gr ained (components < 4 m ):
Siltstone - silt-sized fragmen ts Claystone - clay-sized parti cles Shale - silt- and clay-sized fr agments Mudstone - silt and clay, more massive

Chemical Sedim entary Rocks

Carbonate rocks
Biochemical - precipitated by organisms
Sha llow marine en vironments, reefs...

In organic - inorganic pr ecipitation

Less common Oolites, tu fa, travertine

Siliceous r ocks
Diatomites, cherts

The Rock Cycle

Metamorphism

and Metam orphic Rocks

Metamorphism
Changes to rocks that take place in the Earths interior. New mineral assemblages and/or new textures. Transform ations occur in the solid state (no melting).

Metamorphism
Parent r ock => Metamorphism => Metamor phic r ock Limestone => M etam orphism => M arble Minerals in par ent rock are unstable in their new envi ronment. Changes w ill take place to achieve equilibrium.

Controls on metamorphism
Temperature
Geothermal gradient

Controls on metamorphism
Stress
Differential stress - stronger or weaker fo rces in different directions . Leads to strain - deformation of the rock. Compressive stress, shearing Creates foliated textures.

Pressure (Depth)
Confining pressure Lithostatic pressure More densely packed minerals

Gneissic Texture

Quartzite

Types of Metamorphism
Regional metamorphism
Takes place at depth (>5 km) High temperatures (300 to 800C)

Often progressive
Shale (parent rock) => slate => phyllite => schist => gneiss => migmatite

Types of Metamorphism
Contact metamorphism (thermal metamor phism)
High temperatures Usually caused by the intru sion of magm a Narrow (1-100 m) zone o f contact: aureole
Sha le => hornfels Limestone => marble San dston e => quartzite

The Rock Cycle

nonfoliated!