Angelyn A. Hapsan
BSPE-2B
ACTIVITY 1: WD40 that Brain!
In a qualitative sense, the Rock Cycle was perhaps the first of Earth's cycles or
systems to be observed and investigated. Almost every fundamental geology textbook
portrays it as a broad, all-encompassing framework for studying the intricacies of rocks
and minerals — geology's traditional bread and butter. Although the processes involved
in this cycle are well-known and widely explained in textbooks, little study has been
done on the system's overall rates and behavior. The goal of this project is to develop
and test a rock cycle model.
The boxes in this picture represent distinct types of rocks, while the arrows
represent processes that change the form of the rocks as well as move materials from
one reservoir to another. When a kilogram of granite, a plutonic igneous rock, is exposed,
it is broken down by a variety of chemical and physical weathering processes, resulting
in sedimentary particles that are commonly transported away from the weathering site
to a final resting place, where they are deposited and eventually form a kilogram of
sedimentary rock.
In reality, a portion of the original kilogram is carried away in solution and
eventually ends up in the ocean, where it is deposited, maybe with the help of a creature,
to form a new type of sedimentary rock. So, while our initial kilogram of granite may
be dispersed over the globe, it will all eventually combine to produce a sedimentary
rock - conservation of mass applies to these global transformation processes. Keep in
mind that reservoirs do not represent something with clearly defined boundaries, such
as a tub of water; rather, each reservoir represents a certain state or condition of
rock-forming components. The rock cycle graphic above is a little confusing.