What are minerals?

What are Minerals?


Minerals are natural, inorganic substances, composed of the atoms of either one single chemical element or a number of different elements. There are over 4,000 different minerals, and each one is distinguished by its chemical composition (the particular ratio of its chemical elements) and its crystal structure. Nearly all minerals are crystalline: the atoms are arranged in a regular pattern; when allowed to grow freely, they form symmetric crystals with flat faces.

Rock-forming and Ore Minerals


Minerals are in all the rocks of the Earth. They can be found wherever rocks have been exposed, either naturally or by man. Some minerals are rich in those metals we use in our everyday lives, and we exploit these as ores.

ROCK-FORMING MINERALS

Most minerals that make up the bulk of rocks and veins are neither metallic nor noticeably heavy, and many are not particularly colourful. There are important exceptions, however, and some of the most richly coloured are gem minerals that are beautiful, durable, and rare.

ORE MINERALS

Ores and their secondary minerals frequently occur in mineral veins, which are sheet-like structures that result when minerals fill fractures within existing rocks. Many ore minerals look metallic, and some are noticeably heavy. Secondary minerals may be formed when primary ore minerals are altered by rain and groundwater. They are often brightly coloured, and some may themselves be of economic value

What Are Tectonic Plates

In geology, the Earth's outermost layer is called the lithosphere, which contains the crust and solid, rigid rock. Below the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, which flows more like liquid. The Earth's lithosphere is broken up into tectonic plates — massive, irregular slabs of solid rock that are assumed to average about 70 miles thick. The Earth consists of seven major tectonic plates (underneath the continents as well as the oceans) and many more, smaller ones. These plates float, or "ride," on the asthenosphere.
Tectonic plates sometimes collide. The world's great mountain ranges were formed when plates collided and the rock had nowhere to go but up. Tectonic plates are moving slowly, rubbing against each other or even in opposite directions, which is what causes the majority of the earth's seismic and volcanic activity. If you study where the tectonic plates are located, you'll notice that the vast majority of mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes occur along the edges of these plates, while the centers of the plates remain relatively stable, in geologic terms.

Source: cliffnotes.com

Doodle Bugging Crew

Doodle Bugging Crew consists of followings:-

1. Party chief:-
                        Seismic crew operates under the supervision of party chief.

2. Party Manager:-
                             Day to day field activities are directed by the party Manager.

3. Permit Person:-
                             It deals with local people to Obtain land and resources.

4. Transit surveyor:-
                              Marks the place where survey has to be done.

5. Shot Hole Driller:-
                                Makes holes for dynamite.
Ground crew 

> Foreman:-
                     Ground crew is usually headed by foreman. which consists of jug hustlers and cable handlers.

> Jug Hustlers:-
                         Jug hustler usually places Geophones.

>Cable Handlers:- 
                              Cable Handler deals with all the cable Work. 

The Core Of Earth

The core is composed mostly of iron with lesser amounts of nickle and other elements

At the extreme pressure found in the core, this iron rich    
material has an average density of about 11 gm / cm3 and have 14 times the density of water at Earth’s centre

The inner core and outer core are very similar

Their division is based on differences in mechanical strength

The outer core is a liquid capable of flow

The inner core, despite its high temperature is stronger than the outer core and behaves like a solid.

Continue Reading For Diagrams

The Mantle Of Earth

Over eighty two percent of the earth’s volume is
contained in the mantle.

The mantle is a highly viscous layer between the crust and the outer core. 

It is a rocky shell which is 2900 kilometers thick

The boundary between the crust and mantle reflects a change in composition   
The mantle behaves like a solid while transmitting
earthquake waves

Mantle rocks are able to flow at an incredible slow rates

The mantle is divided into the Lower Mantle or   Mesosphere which extends from the core – mantle
boundary to a depth of 660 kilometers

The Upper Mantle continues to the base of the crust.

Continue Reading For Diagrams

The Earth's Exterior

Various external forces affect the earth's surface, such as different climates and the amount of rainfall. Freezing, thawing, and running water all contribute to weathering and erosion, processes that break rock down into tiny particles. These particles are then transported by water, ice, or wind as sediment. The processes of erosion reduce mountains to hills, create canyons, valleys, and soils, and deposit huge amounts of sediments that either become eroded again or are preserved and lithified into sedimentary rock.

Geologic Time

Geoscientists have estimated the earth to be about 4.5 billion years old. As the crust cooled, early geologic processes were largely volcanic, building up continental crust and a primitive atmosphere. Bacterial forms of life have been found in rocks that are billions of years old. Complex oceanic organisms such as trilobites began to appear only about 600 million years ago. From about 66 million to 245 million years ago, dinosaurs and other reptiles flourished all over the world. In contrast, human beings have existed in only about the last 3 million years, less than a thousandth of the age of Earth.

The Earth's Origin

According to the widely accepted nebular hypothesis, the planets and moons in the solar system, including Earth, formed from a huge cloud of mostly hydrogen and helium. Contraction, rotation, and dropping temperatures resulted in the formation of small particles, the first being nickel and iron. These began to stick together, and after tens of millions of years of condensation and accretion, the earth was formed about 5 billion years ago. Although the earth has been cooling ever since and has formed a hard outer crust, part of the interior is still hot and molten.

History Of Physical Gelogy

Physical geology is the study of the earth's rocks, minerals, and soils and how they have formed through time. Complex internal processes such as plate tectonics and mountain-building have formed these rocks and brought them to the earth's surface. Earthquakes are the result of the sudden movement of crustal plates, releasing internal energy that becomes destructive at the surface. Internal heat and energy are released also through volcanic eruptions. External processes such as glaciation, running water, weathering, and erosion have formed the landscapes we see today.

About 2300 years ago, the Greeks, led by the philosopher Aristotle, were among the first to try to understand the earth. During the 1600s and 1700s, scientists believed the earth had been produced by gigantic, sudden, catastrophic events that built mountains, canyons, and oceans.

In the late 1700s, James Hutton, a Scottish doctor, proposed that the physical processes that shape the world today also operated in the geologic past—a principle known as uniformitarianism. Another early concept was the law of superposition—in an undeformed sequence of sedimentary rocks, each layer is younger than the ones below it and older than those above it. The law of faunal succession states that fossils in these rocks occur in the same kind of order, and changes in fossil content represent changes in time. Thus, rocks from different parts of the world containing the same type of fossil formed about the same time. English geologist Charles Lyell enlarged on these ideas and modernized geology with his series of books in the mid to late 1800s.

Geological Survey Steps

Geological Survey Steps:-

1. In geological survey we check out the out craft structure , (fault and fold) and lithologies.

2. Meteorological Survey:-
                                         Surveyor must be aware of the meteorological condition that is weather condition.

3. Base Camp:-
                          The surveyor needs to establish a base camp.

4. Geological Camp:-
                                  The surveyor must know the symbols and routes.

5. Previous Literature:-
                                    The surveyor must know the history and the previous literature of that particular area.

6. Economic View Point:-
                                        Before doing a survey it is concluded that, survey of this area would be economical or not. He must know the latitude and longitude of area.

7. Equipment:-
                      The surveyor must have the proper equipment.

8. Lease agreement:-
                                 One who wants the survey must have a least agreement from the government.
                                          

Ferrel Law Simple Definition

Ferrel Law:-
                     Every freely moving body will reflect right hand side in northern hemisphere and reflect will reflect left hand side from it moving position in southern hemisphere.

Lakes And Oceans Depth Scale

A very interesting Picture Of Lakes And Oceans Depth with animals , ships , boats length.

Difference Between Geology and geophyscis

Q) What is geology and geophysics? and what is difference between them?

Geology :-
                It is the study of the earth. The materials it is made from, the structure of those materials and the process that happened to them overtime.

Geophysics :-
                    Geophysics involves using physical theories and measurements to determine the earth properties.

Difference :-
                    The geologist usually studies the earth through direct observation in the field and analysis of soil rock sample whereas geophysists emphasis using physical principles to study the earth material and structures usually in quantitative way and mathematical modeling.