Geologic processes are natural events and mechanisms that shape Earth's structure, landscapes, and surface features over various timescales. These processes can be broadly categorized into those occurring at or near the surface (exogenous) and those originating within the Earth (endogenous).
Major Geologic Processes
- Tectonic Processes: Movement of Earth's lithospheric plates causes earthquakes, mountain building, and continental drift. Plate collisions can form mountains, while subduction zones lead to volcanic activity and earthquakes
- Volcanic Activity: Magma from the mantle reaches the surface, erupting as lava that cools to form igneous rock and new landforms
- Erosion and Weathering: Breakdown and removal of rocks by water, wind, ice, and gravity. Weathering chemically or physically breaks down rocks, while erosion transports the particles, reshaping landscapes over time
- Sedimentation and Sediment Transport: Deposition of eroded material forms sedimentary rocks. Processes like flooding deposit sediments that can lithify into rock layers
- Metamorphism: Transformation of existing rocks due to heat and pressure, altering their mineralogy and structure without melting
- Glaciation: Movement of glaciers erodes and sculpts the land, carving valleys and transporting large amounts of sediment
- Isostasy and Land Subsidence: Vertical movements of Earth's crust due to loading or unloading, such as from ice or sediment accumulation, causing uplift or sinking
- Mass Wasting: Gravity-driven movement of soil and rock downslope, including landslides and soil creep
- Diagenesis: Chemical, physical, and biological changes in sediments after deposition, leading to rock formation
- Hydrothermal Processes: Circulation of heated water alters rock chemistry and forms mineral deposits
- Earthquakes and Earth Tides: Sudden release of energy along faults causes ground shaking; Earth tides are small deformations due to gravitational forces
These processes operate over timescales from seconds (earthquakes) to millions of years (mountain building, continental drift) and collectively shape Earth's surface and interior structure
. In summary, geologic processes include tectonics, volcanism, erosion, sedimentation, metamorphism, glaciation, and others that create, modify, and destroy Earth's landforms and geological structures continuously
