What is
the Geologic Cycle?
The geologic cycle is
a collective term used to describe the complex interactions between the component
sub-cycles of tectonic, hydrologic, rock, and the biological cycling of elements
known as the biogeochemical cycle. These various subcycles influence each other
and may produce natural hazards and processes important to environmental geology
such as landslides, earthquakes, volcanic activity, flooding, groundwater flow,
and weather. The rock cycle is influenced by all the other geologic subcycles.
For example, tectonic processes provide the pressure and heat necessary to recrystalize
some or all of the minerals in a rock and transform it from one rock type to another.