Some R oc o c ks k s are made up of just one mineral - like the sedimentary rock salt made up of the mineral halite that is mined near Detroit... The resulting dissolved compounds could
Trang 1Th h e R oc o c k C yc y c le l e
Prepared by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Geological Survey
Trang 2What is t
What is th h e
R oc o c k C yc y c le ? l e ?
Trang 3The R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e explains
are relatedweathering
me lting
pres
sure, heat
Sedimentary Metamorphic
Igneous
Trang 4is a sequence of events involving the formation, alteration, destruction, and reformation of rocks as a result of
Trang 5We will use the graphic seen in
the background to help
represent the R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e.
There are many ways to show the various relationships between the rocks and
the related natural processes
Trang 6let’s review some basic information …
Before we look at the
R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e
in detail,
Trang 7The R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e involves the recognition of three main
classes of rocks
The three rock types are …
Trang 9The eminent 18th century lawyer, doctor, gentleman farmer and founder of
modern geoscience,
James Hutton,
developed the concept of the R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e to show how rocks and natural,
physical processes are
interrelated
Trang 10The understanding of the world in the 18th century
was different from today …
Trang 11Hutton knew about solar energy
and gravity at the surface
He did not know about
from inside the earth
As a result, the R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e
will be self-sustaining for
thousands of millions of years
Solar energy, gravity and
radioactive heating are the major forces driving the R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e
radioactive heating
Trang 12How does an antique concept like the R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e hold up in
light of contemporary data and scientific thinking?
Trang 13Of special interest is Plate Tectonics.
Trang 14The mantle, crust and surface of the earth
can be thought of as a giant recycling machine;rocks are neither created nor destroyed,
but redistributed and transformed from
one rock type to another
I M
S
Trang 15If you were to ask a geologist
what the earth is … What do you think the response would be?
Trang 16Diagram of the Interior of
Trang 17lets move to some of the smallest components of Geology … Now that we better understand the largest components of Geology …
Trang 18Rocks make up the Earth
There is a hierarchy to the
elements of Geology
Atoms make up elements
Trang 19Elements can be arranged, based on their identifiable properties, into the Periodic Table
Atomic Theory proposes that all matter is
composed of the atoms of about 100 different
chemical elements It further proposes that
chemical compounds are formed by the combination
of the atoms of different chemical elements
Trang 20Only eight elements make up over 98%
of the earth’s crust!
Mg
Na
K
O Si
Al Fe
Ca
Trang 21Rocks make up the Earth
There is a hierarchy to the
elements of Geology
Atoms make up elements
How can we tell what they are?
Trang 22The identifiable characteristics
of Minerals are
naturally occurring inorganic elements or compounds
having an orderly internal structure
and a characteristic chemical composition
and a characteristic chemical composition,
crystal form and
physical properties of a solid
Trang 23Minerals combine to form Rocks
Trang 24Some R oc o c ks k s are made up of just one mineral - like the sedimentary rock salt (made up of
the mineral halite) that is mined near Detroit.
Others R oc o c ks k s are made up of many minerals - like the igneous rock granite
and the metamorphic rock gneiss,
found near Marquette.
Trang 25Now that some of the basics
have been covered, lets
consider some of the
details about the
R oc o c k C yc y c le l e
Trang 26transported, deposited,and lithified
to form
sedimentary rocks
Trang 27The igneous rock granite can
be physically weathered to
produce clay and sand
Becoming a SEDIMENTARY ROCK …
Sand can become sandstone
Clay can become shale
These sediments can be transported deposited and lithified to form
sedimentary rocks
Trang 28The metamorphic rock gneiss
can be physically weathered
to produce clay and sand
Becoming a SEDIMENTARY ROCK …
Sand can become sandstone
Clay can become shale
These sediments can be transported deposited and lithified to form
sedimentary rocks
Trang 29Sedimentary rocks can be physically
weathered to produce sediments that can become other sedimentary rocks
Becoming a SEDIMENTARY ROCK …
Trang 30Chemical weathering dissolves the minerals in rocks
The resulting dissolved compounds could form evaporites like rock salt or rock gypsum or chemical precipitates like some kinds of limestones What forms depends upon
composition and depositional environment factors
Trang 32As the ice advances
it can scour the bedrock
and move a lot of material.
When the ice retreats, sediments are deposited and new set of landforms exist.
Trang 33Glacial deposits
they are resting
are much younger than the
Trang 34T h e R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e
me lting
Sedimentary Metamorphic
Igneous
Igneous Rocks
form from
molten rock or
magma in thesubsurface orfrom lava
extruded at the surface
Trang 35Becoming an IGNEOUS ROCK …
When magma cools to a solid it becomes an igneous rock
Molten rock is called magma
Any existing rock – igneous, metamorphic or
sedimentary - can be subjected to enough heat and or
pressure causing it to melt
The kind of igneous rock formed depends on what was melted and how it cooled
Igneous rocks are classified based on their mineral composition and texture
Trang 36basaltgranite
Trang 37sure, heat
Sedimentary Metamorphic
Igneous
T h e R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e
Pressure, heat
and fluids
cause preexistingrocks or sediments to become
metamorphic rocks
Trang 38Becoming a METAMORPHIC ROCK …
When the prefix meta
is applied to a rock name that means that the original rock has been metamorphosed
If the igneous rock basalt is exposed to sufficient heat and or pressure it can be transformed into the
metamorphic rock call metabasalt
Trang 39Becoming a METAMORPHIC ROCK …
If the sedimentary rock sandstone
is metamorphosed it can become the metamorphic rock quartzite
If the sedimentary rock limestone or
dolomite is metamorphosed it can
become the metamorphic rock marble
If the sedimentary rock shale is metamorphosed it can become the metamorphic rock slate
Trang 40Becoming a METAMORPHIC ROCK …
If the metamorphic rock phyllite is metamorphosed it can become the metamorphic rock schist
If the metamorphic rock slate is
metamorphosed it can become the
metamorphic rock phyllite
If the metamorphic rock schist is metamorphosed it can become the metamorphic rock gneiss
Trang 41me lting
pres
sure, heat
direction
Any given rock can go through any part of the cycle any number
of times
DEQ GSD - The Rock Cycle in Michigan - February 2001
Trang 42me lting
pres
sure, heat
Sedimentary Metamorphic
Igneous
T h e R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l e
I hope you better
understand the
R oc o c k C k C yc y c le l eand what it means
DEQ GSD - The Rock Cycle in Michigan - February 2001