The Economic Aspect of Geology

Weathering of Sedimentary Rocks

After sedimentary rocks are formed, and in many cases covered by later sediments, they may be brought again by earth movements and erosion to the surface, where they in turn are weathered. The weathering of sedimentary rocks proceeds along lines already indicated for the igneous rocks. Residual mantles of impure clay and sand are commonly formed. The mineral composition of sedimentary rocks being different from that of igneous rocks to start with, the resulting products are in slightly different proportions; but the changes are the same in kind and tend merely to carry the general process of alteration farther in the same direction,--that is, toward the production of a few substances like clay, quartz, iron oxide, and calcite, which are transported and redeposited to form clay, sand, and limestone. Cycles of this kind may be repeated indefinitely.

By weathering of sedimentary rocks are produced some soils, certain commercial clays, iron ores, lead and zinc ores, and other valuable mineral products.

CONSOLIDATION, CEMENTATION, AND OTHER SUBSURFACE ALTERATIONS OF ROCKS.

=Cementation.= No sooner are residual weathered mantles formed or sedimentary rocks deposited, whether under air or water, than processes of consolidation begin. Settling, infiltration of cementing materials, and new growths, or recrystallization, of the original minerals of the rock all play a part in the process. The mud or clay becomes a shale, the sand becomes sandstone or quartzite, the marl becomes limestone or marble. All the minute openings between the grains, as well as larger openings such as fissures and joints, may thus be filled. At the same time the cementing materials may replace some of the original minerals of the rock, the new minerals either preserving or destroying the original textures. This process is sometimes called metasomatic replacement. Igneous rocks as a rule are compact, and hence are not so much subject to the processes of cementation as sedimentary rocks; but certain of the more porous phases of the surface lavas, as well as any joints in igneous rocks, may become cemented. All of these changes may be grouped under the general term cementation.

A special phase of consolidation and cementation is produced near intrusive igneous rocks through the action of the heat and pressure and the expelled substances of the igneous rock. This is called contact metamorphism or thermal metamorphism. The processes are even more effective when acting in connection with the more intense metamorphism described under the next heading.

By cementation some of the common rocks, especially the sediments, become sufficiently compact and strong to be useful as commercial products, such as building stones and road materials.

More important as mineral products are the cementing materials themselves. These are commonly quartz, calcite, or iron oxide, of no especial value, but locally they include commercially valuable minerals containing gold, copper, silver, lead, zinc, and many other mineral products.

It is a matter of simple and direct observation, about which there is no controversy, that many minerals are deposited as cements in the openings in rocks or replacing rocks. As to the source of the solutions bringing in these minerals, on the other hand, there has been much disagreement. In general, the common cementing materials such as quartz and calcite, as well as some of the commercial minerals, are clearly formed as by-products of weathering, and are transported and redeposited by the waters penetrating downward from the surface. The so-called secondary enrichment of many valuable veins is merely one of the special phases of cementation from a superficial source. In other cases it is believed that deep circulation of ordinary ground-waters may pick up dispersed mineral substances through a considerable zone, and redeposit them in concentrated form in veins and other trunk channels. For still other cementing materials, it is suspected that the ultimate source is in igneous intrusions; in fact, deposits of this general character show all gradations from those clearly formed by surface waters, independently of igneous activity, to those of a contact-metamorphic nature and others belonging under the head of "igneous after-effects."

Hypothesis and inference play a considerable part in arriving at any conclusion as to the source of cementing materials,--with the result that there is often wide latitude for difference of opinion and of emphasis on the relative importance of the different sources of ore minerals.

=Dynamic and contact metamorphism.= Beneath the surface rocks are not only cemented, but may be deformed or mashed by dynamic movements caused by great earth stresses; the rocks may undergo rock flowage. The result is often a remarkable transformation of the character of the rocks, making it difficult to recognize their original nature. Also, igneous intrusions may crowd and mash the adjacent rocks, at the same time changing them by heat and contributions of new materials. This process may be called contact metamorphism, but in so far as it results in mashing of the rocks it is closely allied to dynamic metamorphism. The former term is also applied to less profound changes in connection with igneous intrusions, which result merely in cementation without mashing.

Dynamic and contact metamorphism may in some cases produce rocks identical in appearance with those produced by ordinary processes of cementation and recrystallization without movement. For instance, it is difficult to tell how much movement there has been in the production of a marble, because both kinds of processes seem to produce much the same result. Commonly, however, the effect of dynamic metamorphism is to produce a parallel arrangement of mineral particles and to segregate the mineral particles of like kind into bands, giving a foliated or schistose or gneissic structure, and the rocks then become known as slates, schists, or gneisses. Commonly they possess a capacity to part along parallel surfaces, called cleavage. The development of the schistose or gneissic structure is accompanied by the recrystallization of the rock materials, producing new minerals of a platy or columnar type adapted to this parallel arrangement. Even the composition of the rock may be substantially changed, though this is perhaps not the most common case. Whereas by weathering the rock is loosened up and disintegrated, substances like carbon dioxide, oxygen, and water are abundantly added, and light minerals of simple composition tend to develop,--by dynamic metamorphism on the other hand, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and water are usually expelled, the minerals are combined to make heavier and more complex minerals, pore space is eliminated, and altogether the rock becomes much more dense and crystalline. While segregation of materials is characteristic of the surficial products of weathering, the opposite tendency, of mixing and aggregation, is the rule under dynamic metamorphism, notwithstanding the minor segregation above noted.

Dynamic metamorphism is for the most part unfavorable to the development of mineral products. Ore bodies brought into a zone where these processes are active may be profoundly modified, but not ordinarily enriched. One of the exceptions to this general rule is the development of the cleavage of a slate, which enables it to be readily split and thereby gives it value. Contact metamorphism, on the other hand, may develop valuable mineral deposits (see pp. 20, 45-46).

THE METAMORPHIC CYCLE AS AN AID IN STUDYING MINERAL DEPOSITS

All of the chemical, mineralogical, and textural changes in rocks above described may be collectively referred to as metamorphism. The phase of metamorphism dealing with surficial weathering, similar changes below the surface, and the formation of sediments, is called katamorphism or destructive change. The phase of metamorphism dealing with the constructive changes in rocks, due to cementation, dynamic movements, and igneous influences, is called anamorphism. Some geologists confine the term metamorphism to the changes involved in contact and dynamic metamorphism, and call the resulting products metamorphic rocks.

The zone in which katamorphism is most active, usually near the surface, is called the zone of katamorphism. The deeper zone in which anamorphism is preponderant is called the zone of anamorphism. There are no definite limits of depth to these zones. A given rock may be undergoing katamorphism while rocks on either side at the same depth are suffering anamorphism.