Why Are Rocks Wrong

such as water, oil and acid just to name a few is used to fracture rocks to release gas. The water

Erosion is a process where natural forces like water, wind, ice, and gravity wear away rocks and soil. Erosion occurs at the Earth’s surface, and has no effect on the Earth’s mantle and core. Water erosion is the removal of soil particles by heavy rainfall or running water. “While the causes of erosion by water are generally natural, water erosion is usually caused by rainfall and runoff on a slope” (GEI Works Erosion Pollution). “The process of water erosion usually occurs on stream and river banks, sea shores and seaside cliffs” (Reference.com).

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.

Acidity of an ecosystem, measured in pH, is a crucial factor to the survival of a species in an ecosystem. Altering it can have result in dramatically negative effects, in spite of the fact that pH of an ecosystem has been dramatically changed over a relatively short period of time due to various human activities. For example, acid rain is a major environmental problem that is caused by human-made pollution. When fossil fuels are burnt to get energy, pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides get mixed into the rainwater and eventually are evaporated into the atmosphere. These gases enter the atmosphere, and mix with water in the water cycle to form an acidic mixture of water and gases. This water falls in the form of acid rain, which

Mechanical weathering is when physical procedures naturally breakdown rocks into reduced pieces. Chemical weathering changes the materials that are part of a rock into new resources. Examples of chemical weathering are water, acids, and oxidation. Water is important in chemical weathering because, most substances dissolve in water and acids are also essential since they increase the rate of chemical weathering even more. Lastly, oxidation which is when an addition of oxygen to a material is applied it creates an oxide. Which is a

What type of weathering is when a chemical change occurs and a new product is created from the material that has undergone weathering.

Atmospheric deposition is the process, long recognized by scientists, whereby precipitation (rain, snow, fog), particles, aerosols, and gases move from the atmosphere to the earth's surface. Materials reaching the earth in precipitation or as dry deposition originate from a variety of air pollution sources and can be harmful to the environment and public health. Acidic deposition is the most widely acknowledged form of atmospheric deposition, with well-known effects on lakes, streams, and forests. More recently, atmospheric contributions of nutrients have received increasing attention, particularly as a source of excessive nitrogen entering the Chesapeake Bay. In addition, atmospheric deposition may be a significant source of environmental

Soil Erosion - When the top layer of soil is worn down due to too much water, ice, or wind.

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.

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.

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.

There could also be chemical and mechanical processes. Mechanical weathering actually breaks the rock, when the cracks form the water can get into the rock and break it more. Chemical weathering will only decay the rock overtime and is not as fast. Erosion can help in a few ways, but generally, it is very negative. Moved soil can be great for planting crops. A negative is that eventually erosion will erode some of Earth’s greatest natural

other materials used to fracture the rocks. Sources for fracking assure there are multiple layers

     Acid rain also soaks into ground and dissolves nutrients from the soil. When the plants call upon these nutrients to grow, the absence kills the vegetation. Over a short period of time plants begin

     Metamorphic rocks are pre-existing rocks that are changed by heat and pressure. The pre-existing rock is called the parent rock, or protolith. Metamorphism occurs in these rocks when the minerals become instable. There are two types of metamorphism, contact and regional. Contact is high temperature, low pressure. It is basically a massive rock that is baked. Regional is high pressure and low temperature. Strong fabric, or layering, develops from