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    Unit 8 - External Geodynamics

    Uploaded by

    Amir Khan
    The document summarizes the key geological processes that shape the Earth's surface over time. It discusses internal geological processes like earthquakes and volcanoes that build land relief, as well as external processes like weathering, erosion, transport, and deposition driven by energy from the sun and gravity. These external processes are carried out by geological agents like wind, water, glaciers, groundwater, plants and animals, which break down and move surface materials. The document also provides an overview of the three main rock types - sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic - and how they are formed through the rock cycle of weathering, erosion, deposition and transformation by heat and pressure.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Unit 8 - External Geodynamics

    Uploaded by

    Amir Khan
    53 views6 pages
    The document summarizes the key geological processes that shape the Earth's surface over time. It discusses internal geological processes like earthquakes and volcanoes that build land relief, as well as external processes like weathering, erosion, transport, and deposition driven by energy from the sun and gravity. These external processes are carried out by geological agents like wind, water, glaciers, groundwater, plants and animals, which break down and move surface materials. The document also provides an overview of the three main rock types - sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic - and how they are formed through the rock cycle of weathering, erosion, deposition and transformation by heat and pressure.

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    unit_8_-_external_geodynamics

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    The document summarizes the key geological processes that shape the Earth's surface over time. It discusses internal geological processes like earthquakes and volcanoes that build land relief, as well as external processes like weathering, erosion, transport, and deposition driven by energy from the sun and gravity. These external processes are carried out by geological agents like wind, water, glaciers, groundwater, plants and animals, which break down and move surface materials. The document also provides an overview of the three main rock types - sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic - and how they are formed through the rock cycle of weathering, erosion, deposition and transformation by heat and pressure.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    53 views6 pages

    Unit 8 - External Geodynamics

    Uploaded by

    Amir Khan
    The document summarizes the key geological processes that shape the Earth's surface over time. It discusses internal geological processes like earthquakes and volcanoes that build land relief, as well as external processes like weathering, erosion, transport, and deposition driven by energy from the sun and gravity. These external processes are carried out by geological agents like wind, water, glaciers, groundwater, plants and animals, which break down and move surface materials. The document also provides an overview of the three main rock types - sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic - and how they are formed through the rock cycle of weathering, erosion, deposition and transformation by heat and pressure.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 6

    THE CHANGING SURFACE OF THE EARTH

    Key words

    Drain geological agent weathering erosion

    Sediment deposition transport

    The landscape is a consequence of the action of two types of geological processes; internal
    and external geological processes.

     Internal geological processes are driven by the internal energy of our Earth. They
    build the land relief (e.g. they are the ones responsible for the appearance of
    mountain ranges etc). The internal geological processes are earthquakes and
    volcanic activity.

     External geological processes are driven by the external energy that comes from
    the Sun and gravity. The changes the land relief undergoes is because of these
    processes, which are weathering, erosion, transport and deposition.

    Geological Agents
    There are a series of natural systems that carry out the different geological processes,
    known as the geological agents. These geological agents carry out the modelling of the
    land relief. The external geological agents are the wind, the water, living beings and
    gravity.

    The wind and the water are dynamic agents, which are driven by the energy that comes
    from the Sun. Living beings; animals, plants and microorganisms, are also dynamic agents
    that change the earth’s surface. Gravity is a static agent which is always present in all the
    processes carried on by the dynamic agents.

     The wind acts mainly in areas where there is no vegetation, such as the beach or a
    desert. The wind can easily pick up the smallest, fine grains of material and
    transport them somewhere else. On the other hand, water is the most important
    external geological agent, acting in all of its forms, rain, glaciers, rives, the sea etc.
     Glaciers have a great erosive and transportation capacity. Glaciers can only be
    found in permanent frost areas.
     Rivers are natural, usually permanent watercourses flowing toward an ocean, a sea,
    a lake or another river. Their erosive and transportation capacity will be determined
    by the speed of their flow as well as their steepness, which at the same time will
    depend upon the climate of the area, and location of the river (high mountain or a
    valley).
     Groundwater flows principally downward under the influence of gravity, through
    soils, sediments, and rocks. They will dissolve soluble underground rocks, in
    particular limestone and gypsum. As a result we will have the formation of caves,
    stalactites, etc.
     The sea will act mainly along the shoreline, and we can see the result of this erosive
    agent on the cliffs.

    The changes on the earth’s surface are the best evidence of the action of these agents which
    act with a greater or lower intensity depending on the climate and the chemical composition
    of rocks.

    External Geological Processes


    The external geological processes driven by the energy provided by the Sun and gravity
    are: weathering, erosion, transport and deposition (sedimentation).

    Weathering
    Rain, frost, and the heating effect of the Sun weaken and loosen the surface of the rock.

    We will consider three types of weathering: mechanical, chemical and biological.

     Mechanical weathering: When the main agent responsible for the breaking of a
    rock is the temperature. Mechanical or physical weathering is the breaking down of
    rock into smaller pieces without any chemical changes in the rock itself.

    This type of action can occur in a number of ways, one example being frost or ice wedging
    – water seeps into cracks and pores in a rock and freezes, expands, exerts pressure within
    the crack or pore and causes pieces of the rock to break off.

     Chemical weathering: In chemical weathering, chemical changes take place in the


    rock, forming new products that can be carried away more easily than the original
    rock. Areas where water is present or the air is humid are subject to chemical
    weathering. The main agents responsible for the alteration of rocks are the CO2,
    water vapour and oxygen, found in the atmosphere.

     Biological weathering: It is a mixture of mechanical and chemical weathering


    carried out by living beings. Some plants can easily break rocks. The roots grow
    through existing cracks in the rocks. The growth causes the root to expand, forcing
    the crack to expand, forcing the crack to widen. This force can eventually split the
    rock apart. Also, many plants, algae and fungi produce chemical substances that
    may alter some minerals. Animals that live in the soil (moles, insects, worms etc)
    cause a lot of weathering. By burrowing in the ground, these animals brake up soil
    and loosen rocks to be exposed to further weathering.

    Erosion, transport and deposition

    1. Erosion or fragmentation of rocks, can be carried out by water, the wind, ice, and
    the particles transported by these agents. Erosion is a dynamic process with
    transportation of the materials.2.
    2. Transport of the materials torn off by erosion which is usually carried out by water
    or wind.

    These materials will be transported more or less distance depending on the agent and on
    the size of the
    fragmented rocks.

    3.Deposition (or sedimentation) of the transported materials. It usually takes place in the
    lower parts of the crust, forming layers of sediments.

    Types of rocks
    Sedimentary rocks
    Rock fragments, formed as a result of weathering and erosion, are transported by rivers,
    and the fragments get worn down. Small rock fragments are called grains. When the water
    slows down, some of the grains are deposited at the bottom of rivers, lakes or seas, and
    form sediment.

    Layers of sediment collect on the sea bed, and the bottom layers get squashed. The grains
    of sediment are forced closer together (compacted) and the water is squeezed out from
    between the grains. Minerals in the sediment ‘glue’ the grains of rock together
    (cementation). Eventually, sedimentary rock is formed. The composition of sedimentary
    rocks varies and depends on the way they were formed. For example, there are different
    types of limestone – chalk is formed from the shells of microscopic animals, coquina is
    formed from larger shell fragments and oolite is formed from sediments deposited when sea
    water evaporated.
    If any animals or plants get trapped in the sediment, they may form fossils.
    Igneous rocks
    Molten rock is called magma. If the molten rock flows out of volcanoes it is
    called lava. Igneous rocks are formed when magma cools down.

    Lava cools down quite quickly, and forms igneous rocks with small crystals (like basalt).
    Magma underground cools down much more slowly and forms rocks, like granite, with
    bigger crystals.
    Metamorphic rocks
    Sedimentary or igneous rocks can be changed by heat or pressure into new kinds of rock,
    called metamorphic rocks. Metamorphic rocks have different properties from the
    sedimentary or igneous rocks they were made from.
    The rock cycle
    The Earth is continually changing. Rocks are weathered and eroded and new rocks are
    being formed. The processes which make rocks, weather them and change them are linked
    together in the rock cycle.

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