11/16/2016

11/16/2016

Geological processes such as those which operate at

the present day have, during the very large span of geological
time, left their record in the rocks.
The rocks therefore record events in the long history of the
Earth, as illustrated by the remains or marks of living
organisms, animals or plants, when preserved; all rocks
make their contribution to the record.

In one sense geology

is Earth-history..

The term rock is used for those materials of many kinds

which form the greater part of the relatively thin outer
shell, or crust, of the Earth; some are comparatively soft
and easily deformed and others are hard and rigid. They
are accessible for observation at the surface and in mines
and borings.

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Three broad rock groups are distinguished, on the basis

of their origins rather than their composition or strength:

(i) Igneous rocks, derived from hot material

that originated below the Earth's surface and
solidified at or near the surface (e.g. basalt,
granite, and their derivatives).

Three broad rock groups are distinguished, on the basis

of their origins rather than their composition or strength:
(ii) Sedimentary rocks, mainly formed
from the breakdown products of older
rocks, the fragments having been sorted
by water or wind and built up into
deposits of sediment (e.g. sandstone,
shale); some rocks in this group have
been formed by chemical deposition
(e.g. some limestones). The remains of
organisms such as marine shells or
parts of plants that once lived in the
waters and on the land where sediment
accumulated, can be found as fossils.

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Three broad rock groups are distinguished, on the basis

of their origins rather than their composition or strength:

(ii) Metamorphic rocks,

derived
from
earlier
igneous or sedimentary
rocks, but transformed
from their original state
by heat or pressure, so as
to acquire conspicuous
new characteristics (e.g.
slate, schist, gneiss).

the Earth is not quite a

perfect sphere.
The radius of the Earth at the equator is
6370 km
The polar radius is shorter by about 22 km

The planet has a surface area of 510 x 106 km2, of

which some 29 per cent is land.
If to this is added the shallow sea areas of the shelf
which surrounds the continents, the total land area is
nearly 35 per cent of the whole surface.

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Surface relief is very varied; mountains rise to several

kilometers above sea level, with a maximum of 8.9 km at
Everest.
The average height of land above sea level is 0.86 km.
The mean depth of the ocean floor is about 3.8 km.
The oceans, seas, lakes and rivers are collectively
referred to as the hydrosphere; and
The whole is surrounded by a gaseous envelope, the
atmosphere.

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Continental Margin

The continental shelf is a submerged continuation of the land, with a gentle slope of 1 in 1000 or
less, and is of varying width.
It continues to a depth of about 100 fathoms (183 m), where there is a marked change in slope
known as the shelf break, the gradient becoming 1 in 40 or more.
The shelf break marks the beginning of the continental slope, which continues until the gradient
begins to flatten out and merges into the continental rise.
At depths greater than about 2700 fathoms (or 5 km) the deep abyssal plain is reached. This is the
ocean floor and from it rise submarine volcanic islands, some of which may be fringed with coral
reefs.Volcanoes that no longer break the ocean surface are called drowned peaks or sea mounts.

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Temperature gradient and density

The temperature increases downwards at an average

rate of 30C per km.
Assuming for the moment that the temperature
gradient continues at the average rate, calculation
shows that at a depth of some 30 km the temperature
would be such that most known rocks would begin to
melt.
The mean mass density of the Earth, which is found
from its size and motion around the Sun, is 5.52 g cm-3.
These have shown that our planet has a core of heavy
material with a density of about 8. Two metals, iron
and nickel, have densities a little below and above 8
respectively, and the core is believed to be a mixture
of these composed mainly of iron.
Surrounding this heavy core is the region known as
the mantle; and overlying that is the crust, which is
itself composite. In continental areas the average
thickness of the crust is about 30 km: in the oceans it is
10 km.