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The rock cycle explains how the three rock types are related to each other, and how processes change from one type to another over time. This cyclical aspect makes rock change a geologic cycle and, on planets containing life, a biogeochemical cycle. Structures of Igneous Rock.
On million-year time scales, the carbonate-silicate cycle is a key factor in controlling Earth's climate because it regulates carbon dioxide levels and therefore global temperature. [3] The rate of weathering is sensitive to factors that change how much land is exposed. These factors include sea level, topography, lithology, and vegetation ...
Solidified lava flow in Hawaii Sedimentary layers in Badlands National Park, South Dakota Metamorphic rock, Nunavut, Canada. Geology (from Ancient Greek γῆ (gê) 'earth' and λoγία () 'study of, discourse') [1] [2] is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. [3]
This article discusses how rocks are formed. There are also articles on physical rock formations, rock layerings , and the formal naming of geologic formations. Terrestrial rocks are formed by three main mechanisms: Sedimentary rocks are formed through the gradual accumulation of sediments: for example, sand on a beach or mud on a river bed. As ...
The materials left after the rock breaks down combine with organic material to create soil. Many of Earth's landforms and landscapes are the result of weathering, erosion and redeposition. Weathering is a crucial part of the rock cycle; sedimentary rock, the product of weathered rock, covers 66% of the Earth's continents and much of the ocean ...
The proportion of silica in rocks and minerals is a major factor in determining their names and properties. [7] Rock outcrop along a mountain creek near Orosí, Costa Rica. Rocks are classified according to characteristics such as mineral and chemical composition, permeability, texture of the constituent particles, and particle size.
During the 17th century, Nicolas Steno was the first to observe and propose a number of basic principles of historical geology, including three key stratigraphic principles: the law of superposition, the principle of original horizontality, and the principle of lateral continuity.
A Peritidal sedimentary cycle (or peritidal parasequence) is the typical result of the progradation of tidal flats on the lagoon, and may have an autocyclic or allocyclic origin. Thick successions of peritidal carbonates are deposited in shallow-water environments within, below and just above the tidal range.