Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Metamorphic rocks are formed by subjecting any rock type—sedimentary rock, igneous rock or another older metamorphic rock—to different temperature and pressure conditions than those in which the original rock was formed. This process is called metamorphism, meaning to "change in form". The result is a profound change in physical properties ...
Metamorphic rocks once existed as igneous or sedimentary rocks, but have been subjected to varying degrees of pressure and heat within the Earth's crust. The processes involved will change the composition and fabric of the rock and their original nature is often hard to distinguish. Metamorphic rocks are typically found in areas of mountain ...
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.
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]
Diagenesis (/ ˌ d aɪ. ə ˈ dʒ ɛ n ə s ɪ s /) is the process that describes physical and chemical changes in sediments first caused by water-rock interactions, microbial activity, and compaction after their deposition. Increased pressure and temperature only start to play a role as sediments become buried much deeper in the Earth's crust. [1]
A clast is a fragment of geological detritus, [1] chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks by physical weathering. [2] Geologists use the term clastic to refer to sedimentary rocks and particles in sediment transport , whether in suspension or as bed load , and in sediment deposits.
Uluru (Ayers Rock) is a large sandstone formation in Northern Territory, Australia.. Sedimentary rocks can be subdivided into four groups based on the processes responsible for their formation: clastic sedimentary rocks, biochemical (biogenic) sedimentary rocks, chemical sedimentary rocks, and a fourth category for "other" sedimentary rocks formed by impacts, volcanism, and other minor processes.
Sedimentology is closely linked to stratigraphy, the study of the physical and temporal relationships between rock layers or strata. The premise that the processes affecting the earth today are the same as in the past is the basis for determining how sedimentary features in the rock record were formed.