Soft rocks are very important geomaterials since they are heavily used in construction for example, buildings, road and dams but they sometimes seem to cause some problems due to their sedimentary properties like fast weathering and low strength. Weathering is a process in which rock break down or dissolve with the help of natural agents. Weathering and erosion are constantly changing the earth’s surface, so that has a big impact on construction and usage of soft rocks over time. Weathering can be either mechanical or chemical. Some regions in the world mainly possess weak sedimentary rocks and very low in other stronger rock like igneous or metamorphic. Because of the these weak characteristics, it might be tough to use soft rocks especially since some methods and systems are made mainly for hard rocks. These issues that we are dealing with lead to the need of the understanding of soft rocks, how they work and how to prevent them from breaking up and crumbling in order to maximize their usage.
Weathering and Erosion
Weathering is the process where rocks and minerals break down or dissolve into smaller pieces and fragments. Erosion is then the transportation of weathering remains. This is done with the help of natural agents such as water, wind, animals..etc. It all depends on the composition of the rock, different agents such as temperature change and rainfall amount. Water for examples is the most common, like when it seeps in the pores of rocks, freezes overnight and
The main objective of this ‘Adopt-A-Rock” project is to analyze and categorize thin section #86 as well as educate the reader about kyanite quartzite and its role on Earth. To identify the #86 thin section: First, using individual mineral characteristics and descriptions under a petrologic microscope, followed by hand sample diagnostics. Metamorphic rocks are significant pieces in the Earth’s geochronology. As they develop from the transformation of existing rock types, in a process called metamorphism, which means, "change in form". Metamorphic rocks are important since they make up a large part of the Earth’s crust. Among these rocks is kyanite quartzite. A perfect example of a contact metamorphic
Broken pieces of rock would have drifted down a river, eventually the broken pieces of rock would have settled at the bottom of the water and become deposited, the deposited rocks form layers, the weight from the pieces of rock squashes the bottom layers of sediments and the water between the rocks are squeezed out, Crystals and different salts start to form which causes a type of glue- this is called cementation, eventually a sedimentary rock is formed, however this may take Millions of years.
Next, we can see that the rock displays a subtle porphyritic texture with plagioclase comprising the phenocrysts. The overall texture of the surrounding groundmass is granoblastic equigranular. Under thin section we also see a weakly defined foliation evidenced in the preferential alignment of actinolite grains and to a lesser extent chlorite grains. Undulose extinction is also observed in quartz indicating the rock was subject to deformation. The normalized quartz, alkali-feldspar, and plagioclase (QAP) values of this rock indicate that it is classified as a grano-diorite according to the IUGS QAPF classification system which is consistent with the hand sample interpretation.
This newly exposed rock already had small cracks - weathering and erosion took full advantage of these. Water would creep in and the freeze - thus expanding. This expansion would create more cracks. Wind and water eroded by carrying away particles from cracks like these, as well as from the surface of the rock and any other nooks. Not only did water wash particles away - it also softened the rock which made erosion easier.
The tiny pieces of rocks broken off by weathering are called sediment or alluvium. Erosion is the process of transportation of this sediment which on sea cliffs sediments becomes part of the seafloor and is washed away with the waves. The larger rocks that are broken off by sediment as shown in this picture are called scree or talus; scree builds up at the bottom of cliffs as the rocks tumble down, these piles are called scree slopes or talus piles.
Sandstone Federal Correctional Institution in Sandstone, Minnesota has housed many an inmate including the actor Tim Allen (Rodriguez) and it ranks 40 of 50 on arrestrecords.com’s 50 most comfortable prions in the world. A well-maintained lawns leads to well-kept cells, where nonviolent offenders are kept occupied with leather making and stained glass creation. Some inmates may consider this a little boring, but anything is better than being assaulted. (Records) This paper will discuss the history and current dynamic of Sandstone, inmate demographics, services available to them, staff demographics and their style of this staff.
Despite a family history of geophysicists and rock enthusiasts, I’ve never found the subject of rocks particularly fascinating. However, an exploration of Earth Science has lead me to the discovery that rocks are actually hidden gems (often literally), and that there’s more to the topic than one would think.
The processes of erosion are wind, water, mass movements, glacier ice, and ocean waves. Wind erosion occurs when gusts of wind carry smaller sizes of sediment to different places. Wind erosion typically takes place in “...mostly in flat,
Quarry Rock is an amazing hike that everyone should try and do if they visit Vancouver, B.C. When I started hiking it felt like a crisp fall morning. The dew was shimmering in the brisk forest as I started walking. The ground was soft as the rain from the night before was still drying up. I came to a slim wooden bridge over a rushing river . The water was scrambling as if it had to be somewhere quickly. When the trail began getting skinny I leaned against a prickly cliff wall for balance. When i finally hand my footing i took my hand away from the cliff wall and it was covered with most dirt that was collected on it for the wall. I brushed my hands together and kept walking. As I hiked higher, the air got warm and the earthy
First, wind is a very powerful thing that can carry sediments. Wind can even break down trees! According to the article Wind vs Dirt by Birdbrain Science it states “This is the wind blowing a little bit of sand. Sandstorms happen when the wind carries lots of sand into the air and whips it across the desert.” To explain, wind can create storms with sand and other sediments. Sandstorms are like tornadoes of sand it’s dangerous to be near them. In the article Wind vs Dirt by Birdbrain Science it states “ Dust storms happen when the earth gets very dry and wind carries a lot of dust into the air. The dirt can get in people's eyes and mouths, and it can kill crops. “This means that, wind can be very dangerous not only to the areas it affects but the people in that area. According to, BirdBrain Science, “Wind is usually the one thing that causes weathering. It starts to break apart rocks and chip.”Wind is strong enough to smash rocks up against other rocks.That is why wind is a very powerful resource
Solution rills are formed when acidic rain dissolves the calcium carbonate that holds sandstone together, forming depressions. Water flows along the grooves, deepening them until a flower-like pattern emerges. Concretions, or hard, dense masses of minerals within rock can be seen in the Cliff House Sandstone and Point Lookout Formation (“Geology of Mesa Verde, n.d.). They are often spherical in shade and elongate, and are typically harder than the rocks they are within. The concretions in Mesa Verde consist of either iron oxide or calcium carbonate (“Geology of Mesa Verde, n.d.). Unprotected Cliff House Sandstone atop mesa tops develop a feature known as turtle back weathering. As the exposed sandstone is eroded, an immense amount of pressure is released, and this release causes cracks in the rocks. Further weathering the cracks, water freezes, thaws, and dissolves the calcium carbonate holding the sandstone together. Eventually, the cracks erode the top of the rock into a rounded shape, giving it a likeness to that of turtle shells (“Geology of Mesa Verde, n.d.).
The Grand Canyon is a massive and is well know. It is kind of like a national and ecological monument. There are many different kinds of rocks that are found in the Grand Canyon. According to the article that I used for research, there are crystalline basement rocks inside the Grand Canyon that probably go back all the way to the creation. There are metamorphic rocks in there that used to be sedimentary rocks. The sedimentary rocks were transformed to metaphoric rocks by heat and pressure possibly during the time that land was formed during the creation. To determine the different ages of these rocks scientists and geologists used radioisotope dating. It can be difficult to determine the age of metamorphic rocks because radio isotopes
The rock cycle is a very important cycle of our lives, we can change our form from any three ways. There are three types of rocks we can change into, metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary. Changing our form isn’t the easiest thing in the world. We must change by either melting, erosion and compression, or heat and pressure.
As shown by the Griffith criterion, tensile strength of brittle materials is theoretical 1/8 of the compressive strength. Typically, tensile strength of rock materials is about 1/10 to 1/8 of the compressive strength. Hence, rock fails easily under tension. In design, rock should be subjected to minimum tensile stress. Several methods are commonly used to test the tensile strength of rocks:
Weathering is the breaking down of rock into smaller components by atmospheric and biotic agencies.