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    Weathering

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    Thev Ruban
    This document summarizes the process of weathering which breaks down and alters rocks at the Earth's surface through both mechanical and chemical means. It discusses various mechanical weathering agents like freezing water, root systems, and glaciers that break rocks into smaller pieces. It also explains chemical weathering processes like acid rain dissolving minerals and hydrolysis of silicate minerals. The weathered material is eroded and transported by water, eventually forming soil, sediment, and dissolved ions in a continuous cycle.

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    Weathering

    Uploaded by

    Thev Ruban
    111 views22 pages
    This document summarizes the process of weathering which breaks down and alters rocks at the Earth's surface through both mechanical and chemical means. It discusses various mechanical weathering agents like freezing water, root systems, and glaciers that break rocks into smaller pieces. It also explains chemical weathering processes like acid rain dissolving minerals and hydrolysis of silicate minerals. The weathered material is eroded and transported by water, eventually forming soil, sediment, and dissolved ions in a continuous cycle.

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    Weathering

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    This document summarizes the process of weathering which breaks down and alters rocks at the Earth's surface through both mechanical and chemical means. It discusses various mechanical weathering agents like freezing water, root systems, and glaciers that break rocks into smaller pieces. It also explains chemical weathering processes like acid rain dissolving minerals and hydrolysis of silicate minerals. The weathered material is eroded and transported by water, eventually forming soil, sediment, and dissolved ions in a continuous cycle.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    111 views22 pages

    Weathering

    Uploaded by

    Thev Ruban
    This document summarizes the process of weathering which breaks down and alters rocks at the Earth's surface through both mechanical and chemical means. It discusses various mechanical weathering agents like freezing water, root systems, and glaciers that break rocks into smaller pieces. It also explains chemical weathering processes like acid rain dissolving minerals and hydrolysis of silicate minerals. The weathered material is eroded and transported by water, eventually forming soil, sediment, and dissolved ions in a continuous cycle.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    of 22

    WEATHERING

    Rocks crop out at the lands surface are expose


    to reaction that break and alter the minerals
    The agents can be mechanical and chemical in
    nature
    The weathered rocks are normally softer and
    disintegrate into small pieces
    Erosion takes place rapidly on weathered rocks

    Weathering begins the process by attacking the solid rock exposed at the
    surface. Next gravity moves the weathered debris down slope. This step
    termed mass wasting, may range fron a slow and gradual creep to a
    thundering landslide. Eventually, the material that was once high up the slope
    reaches the stream at the bottom. The moving water then transports the
    debris away.

    Weathering
    Disintegration process of rocks
    through physical and chemical
    processes resulted in:
    Soil
    Sediment and
    Dissolved ions

    MECHANICAL WEATHERING

    Breaking down of rocks by freezing of water


    Pressure release from the body of rock
    Root system
    Crystallization
    Running water, wind and glaciers
    Unloading joints
    Thermal expansion

    Talus slope

    Frost wedging. As water freezes it expands to 109 percent of


    its original volume, exerting a face great enough to break rock.
    When frost wedging occurs in a setting such as this, the
    broken rock fragments fall to the base of the cliff and create a
    cone-shaped accumulation known as talus.

    Summit of Half Dome, an


    exfoliation dome in Yosemite
    National Park

    Root wedging widens fractures in


    rock and aids the process of
    mechanical weathering.

    CHEMICAL WEATHERING
    Rainwater become acidic with CO2
    Leaching of minerals in rocks
    Sulphates and carbonate are easily dissolved/
    become Solution
    Hydrolysis of silicate minerals (micas &feldspar)
    are hydrolyzed
    Na, K & some silica dissolve in water
    Oxidation of minerals containing Fe such as
    biotite and amphibole.

    Chemical weathering can occur only to those portions of a


    rock that are exposed to the elements. Mechanical
    weathering breaks rock into smaller and smaller piece,
    thereby increasing the surface area available for chemical
    attack.

    Spheroidal weathering is evident in this exposure of granite of


    the granite in California's Joshua Tree National Monument.
    Because the rocks are attacked more vigorously on the corners
    and edges, they take on a spherical shape. The lines visible in
    the rock are called joints. Joints are important rock structure that
    allow water to penetrate and start the weathering process long
    before the rock is exposed.

    Products of weathering

    Weathering Grade

    VI
    V
    IV
    III
    II
    I

    Soil
    Completely weathered
    Highly weathered
    Moderately weathered
    Slightly weathered
    Fresh rock

    Compressive strength of granite


    (Mpa)

    I
    II
    III
    IV
    V

    250
    150
    5 - 100
    2 15
    <2

    A soil profile is a vertical cross-section from the surface


    down b the parent material. Well-developed soils show
    distinct layers called horizons.

    Idealized soil profile from


    a humid climate in the
    middle latitudes

    Summary of soil types.

    Composition (by volume) of a soil in good condition for


    plant growth. Although the percentages vary, each soil is
    composed of mineral and organic matter, water, and air.

    Texture of any
    soil can be
    represented by a
    point on this soil
    texture diagram.
    Soil texture is
    one of the most
    significant
    factor's used to
    estimate
    agricultural
    potential and
    engineering
    characteristics.

    The parent material for residual soils is the underlying bedrock, whereas
    transported soils form on unconsolidated deposits. Also note that as
    slopes became steeper, soil becomes thinner.

    Clearing the Amazon rain forest in Surinam. The thick lateritic soil
    is highly leached.

    Gully erosion in poorly protected soil.

    The four processes illustrated here are all considered to be relatively rapid forms of mass
    wasting. Because material in slumps A. and rockslides B. move along well-defined
    surfaces, they are said to move by sliding. By contrast, when material moves downslope
    as a viscous fluid, the movement described as a flow. Mudflow C. and earthflow D.
    advance downslide in this manner.

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