In every ecosystem there will be exist two kind of component that make an ecosystem becomes an ecosystem. Those components are biotic and abiotic components. The biotic components are basically the living beings such as animal and plants, and the abiotic components are the non living beings. In the ocean ecosystem you may find the wind, water, sand, rocks, and many more things as the abiotic components. And today we will learn more about one abiotic component in the ocean which is rock.
There are some types of rocks on ocean floor that is exist in the ocean to support the marine life. Basically, the existence of rocks on the ocean floor can help some of the marine animals to have a home. Aside from that, rocks also has a lot of both geology and economic uses for humans.
Rocks also can provide minerals that is needed by both human and marine living beings. And, Each types of the rocks that you can find in the ocean floor has its own uses both for our life or for the last of the marine life since it becomes an abiotic factor that supports the marine life.
See also: Characteristics of Ocean Ecosystems – Destruction of Ocean Floor
1. Igneous
The first types of rocks on ocean floor we have is igneous rocks. Igneous rocks is formed from the molten volcanoes that is already cold and also magma or lava that came from the mid ocean ridges. So every time when there is a volcanic eruption, at the same time after that there will be formed igneous rocks.
The igneous rock it self is divided into two main categories which is intrusive and extrusive rocks. The intrusive rocks is resulted when the magma cools, hardens, and crystallizes slowly inside the earth’s crust. Meanwhile, the extrusive rocks is formed or resulted after the magma or lava reaching the surface of the earth and formed crystal.
Then, about the igneous rock’s texture, its texture is glassy due to the rapid formation. The example of igneous rocks are basalt, andesite, and granite. There are some benefits that we can get from the igneous rocks. For example, basalt is used in the construction and buildings. Basalt also becomes one common types of igneous rock that you might usually found. The color of this rock is usually black or grey. The black color is caused by the iron content that is produced by pyroxene and magnetite.
Meanwhile, the grey color or pale grey is caused by the plagioclase. Unlike metamorphic rocks, the minerals inside most of the igneous rock is indistinguishable by their color or by our naked eyes. Granite, is used to make gravestones, countertops, and statues because it can last for long or durable. Andesite can be used for an aggregate or fill but due to the high concentration of silica it becomes not an ideal aggregate or fill. Up to now, there are about 700 different igneous rocks that is exist in the ocean floor which has different composition to one another that make them diverse.
See also:
- Volcanoes under the Ocean
- Geological Characteristics of Mid Ocean Ridges
- Characteristics of Oceanic Plates
2. Sedimentary
For the next types of rocks on ocean floor is sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks is formed from the igneous rocks that experience the weathering and also erosion that may cause the igneous rock becomes sediments. And when these sediments hardens, it forms the sedimentary rocks.
The formation of sedimentary rocks also can came from the compression of sand, dirt, and sediment. The deeper you are burying something beneath the ocean the higher pressure and temperature that will you get until it cemented or lithified together.
From the sedimentary rocks, mineral is formed from a solution (chemical homogeneous mixture), detritus or also known as organic materials is also formed and it becomes food for some marine living beings. Some examples of sedimentary rocks are sylvine, carnelian, phosphorite, conglomerate, and bauxite. Now let’s we try to get to know more about bauxite.
Bauxite is one type of rock that is rich on aluminium and basically people known bauxite as the principal ore of aluminium. And mostly, the color of bauxite is reddish due to the impurities caused by iron and hydroxides.
There are two types of bauxite. The first one is the one that is associated with lateritization process and the second one is the one that is associated with limestones or also known as karst bauxite. To find the largest deposit of bauxite in the world you can go to Guinea. There is exist a lot of uses from the sedimentary rocks. To reveal the history of the earth, researcher can use the sedimentary rocks to be learnt.
This is also because sedimentary rocks usually contains fossils. And because of that, sedimentary rocks can be abiogenic and or biogenically sources. Abiogenic it self means that the rock is not made from the living organism. Meanwhile the biogenically rocks is made from the living organism. Even there is also exist the economic importance of sedimentary rocks since a lot of resources formed from the sedimentary rocks such as oil, gas, gold, sand, gravel, and many more. In real life, you will also see a lot of application from the sedimentary rocks such as to make plaster, cement, glass, flavoring, building stone, and fertilizer.
See also:
3. Metamorphic
Metamorphic is the last types of rocks on ocean floor that I will explain to you. So, basically metamorphic rocks can be formed from both igneous and sedimentary rocks. The way it is formed is due to the condition where both igneous and sedimentary rocks are exposed with high heat and temperature.
Just like its name which is metamorphic, this type of rock is basically a new form of rock and the changes can be seen from the texture, minerals, and another chemical properties inside the rock. Based on its structure, metamorphic rocks is divided into two categories which is foliated and non foliated rocks. Foliated metamorphic rocks is the type of rocks that possessed the texture. Meanwhile the non foliated rocks are not. The example of metamorphic rocks are included marbles, gneiss, slate, and schist. Even the naming of these rocks is based on the minerals inside the rocks it self.
For the example is schist, schist it self contains one type of mineral that is composed from lamellar minerals named as micas. Shist also becomes the most widespread types of rock that you can find in the continental crust. Some types of schict contains a lot of minerals but some are not. And even sometimes their color can define what kind of minerals inside them.
Such as the green color in the schist rock can define that the rock contains chlorite. About its use it self, marbles usually is used for building materials and also artworks. And because metamorphic rocks is can be formed from both igneous and sedimentary rocks, when the metamorphic rocks experience sediments deposition, erosion, and also weathering it can be transformed back into sedimentary rocks.
Then, if the temperature is too high, the metamorphic rocks can be transformed back into magma and if it is cooled down it will be an igneous rocks.
See also: Types of Ocean Stones
If you want to know more about the rock transformation you can learn it in rock cycle. Rock cycle will help you to know more on how one type of rock can be transformed into another type of rocks. And seeing from the explanation of the types of rocks that I have explained to you, you will see a little bit of connection from one type of rock to another type of rocks.
So those are the types of rocks on ocean floor based on the way it is formed that maybe you don’t know before. Hopefully, by reading this article your knowledge about the ocean is expanding and your awareness toward our ecosystem is increasing. Thank you so much for being our loyal reader and follower. And, keep following our website deepoceanfacts.com for more interesting yet informative articles because there will be more to come.