Weathering and Erosion By: John Mico C.

Gaco
What is weathering?
- Weathering describes the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on the surface of
the Earth.

4 types of weathering
- Mechanical Weathering
- Physical Weathering
- Chemical Weathering
- Biological Weathering
What is Mechanical Weathering?
- Mechanical weathering is also known as physical weathering. In this type of weathering, a large
rock is disintegrated into smaller pieces of rocks. When rocks disintegrate or break up without
experiencing any change in their chemical composition, it is known as mechanical weathering.

Types of Mechanical Weathering

- Freeze-thaw weathering or Frost Wedging
- Exfoliation weathering or Unloading
- Thermal Expansion
- Abrasion and Impact
- Salt weathering or Haloclasty
What is Physical Weathering?
- Physical Weathering, also called mechanical weathering, is a process that causes the
disintegration of rocks, mineral, and soils without chemical change. It is caused by the effects of
changing temperature on rocks, causing the rock to break apart.

2 main types of Physical Weathering

- Freeze-thaw
- Exfoliation
What is Chemical Weathering?
- Chemical weathering is caused by rain water reacting with the mineral grains in rocks to form
new minerals (clays) and soluble salts. These reactions occur particularly when the water is
slightly acidic.

2 types of Chemical Weathering

 - Hydrolysis - In hydrolysis, the chemical bonds of a mineral are broken down by water, creating
a decomposition reaction. Hydrolysis can be easily remembered because "hydro" means water
and "lysis" means decomposition.
- Oxidation - Oxidation occurs when oxygen reacts with metal elements in rock or on other
surfaces creating oxides. This process weakens the structure of the materials, often producing a
reddish-brown color.

What is Biological Weathering?

- Biological weathering is caused by the movements of plants and animals. For example, a rabbit
can burrow into a crack in a rock making it bigger and eventually splitting the rock, or a plant
may grow in a crack in a rock and, as its roots grow, cause the crack to widen.

Types of Biological Weathering

- Biological Weathering By Physical Means - This type of weathering occurs when a force or
pressure is applied to break rocks apart or degrade the minerals in them.
- Biological Weathering By Chemicals/Organic Compounds - In this type of weathering, living
organisms contribute through their organic compounds that contain molecules that acidify and
corrode rock minerals.

Advantages of Biological Weathering

1. Formation of Nutrient-Rich Soil

The very process of weathering creates the soil, allowing life to flourish on Earth. It is important to note
that minerals cannot be accumulated in the soil; hence, no nutrients will be available for plant and
animal consumption.

2. Creation of Sediments

When broken, some rock pieces and particles eventually turn into sediments that are formed into
different types of sedimentary rocks like sandstones and limestones. Usually, the broken rock pieces
become deposited by rivers and are compacted by great pressure, enough to create a sedimentary rock.

3. Contribution To Land Formation

Like the formation of sediment rocks, biological weathering can also contribute to the formation of
landmasses and landscapes. The process tends to be very slow as it needs a lot of time to accumulate
soil and rock particles, along with intense pressure to carry it out.

Disadvantages of Biological Weathering

1. Erosion of Soil

Ironic how the very same process that creates soil for vegetation and makes life possible on Earth is also
the process that contributes to its erosion. When soil particles are broken down into smaller particles, it
becomes easier to carry them away by environmental factors like water and wind. Concerning this,
when the topsoil gets eroded, its fertility declines, causing a simultaneous reduction in the productivity
of the land.

2. Mass Wasting

Mass wasting is a phenomenon wherein rocks are broken down into smaller particles up to a point they
make possible an erosion further enhanced by gravity. For instance, a mudslide is a type of mass wasting
wherein soil, and rock particles are mixed, forming a pool of mud that can bury almost anything.
Another type of mass wasting is rock slides. As its name suggests, rock slides are huge masses of rocks
fallen off by an avalanche.

3. Gradual Break Down

The saying “Life will always find a way” proves true for this example. As explained earlier, plant roots can
grow in gaps beneath concrete, creating a strong force to break it. Sometimes, the effect can be
damaging as it can make them more prone to breakage even with slight disturbances like an earthquake.

What is Erosion?

Erosion is the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural
forces such as wind or water.

4 main types of Erosion

- Splash Erosion - Splash erosion or rain drop impact represents the first stage in the erosion
process. Splash erosion results from the bombardment of the soil surface by rain drops.
- Sheet Erosion - Sheet erosion occurs when a thin layer of topsoil is removed over a whole
hillside paddock and may not be readily noticed.
- Rill Erosion - Rill erosion is a type of erosion that results in small, yet well-defined streams. It
happens when water from rainfall does not soak into the soil, but runs across it instead.
- Gully Erosion - Gully erosion occurs where concentrated surface water scour out the regolith
and underlying rock with the debris being either deposited downslope or transported into river
systems creating major downstream problems.

6 main Erosion processes, which are often interconnected

1. Gravity - Gravitational erosion is the movement of rocks and sediments due to the force of gravity.
Material that has been loosened by weathering is transported from higher ground to lower ground
where it may be picked up other erosion processes such as glaciers or rivers. Landslides are an example
of gravitational erosion.

2. Wind - When carrying dust and sand, the wind is a tremendous sculptor of the Earth. Not only does
wind erode rock, it also carries away the sand and dust it creates in the process. Anything in the way of
wind that is carrying sand and dust will be slowly weathered and eroded away. The sand slowly breaks
up whatever surface it encounters, just like sandpaper, and then the wind blows the freed material to
another location.
3. Rain - Rain works to erode the land on which it falls through rain-splash erosion, which is rain
splashing down on the land and dislodging weathered material such as pebbles or soil. Heavy rainfall or
large amounts of melting snow or ice can also carry away the sediment into streams and rivers. The
rivers continue the process, carving watersheds where the land is steep and enriching floodplains where
the land is flat.

4. Oceans - When the wind blows across the ocean, it creates waves that erode the loose sand on
beaches. The repeated motion, often many times a minute, washes the beach sand back into the ocean.
The rising and falling tides allow the waves to work on higher and lower elevations of the shore,
removing material from different levels. Oceans also erode the land with currents. As an ocean current
moves past the shore, it picks up sand washed off the beach by the waves and sweeps it away,
depositing it wherever the current slows down. The area with its beach washed away is left more
vulnerable to wave action.

5. Rivers - Rivers and streams weather and erode the Earth but they also build it up by depositing the
material they erode downstream. The way in which it is deposited creates the typical shape of a
meandering river. A river slowly winding its way through flat land flows a little bit faster on the outside
riverbank than on the inside riverbank. This gives the water on the outside curve more power to
weather the ground on that riverbank, extending and deepening the river in that direction. The slower
water on the inside curve tends to deposit material carried by the river from the previous curves, adding
material to the inside riverbank. In this way, a meander is expanded sideways, producing a deeper curve
in the river.

6. Glaciers - Glaciers are rivers of ice that flow very slowly. With their enormous size and weight,
continental glaciers weather and erode significant portions of continents, while alpine (mountain)
glaciers can weather and erode entire valleys. The enormous weight of the glacial ice and the embedded
debris causes a glacier to weather the rocks beneath it as it flows, picking up still more debris along the
way. As many glaciers in the world illustrate, the rock, sand and clay debris is then deposited at the tip
of the glacier as the glacier breaks off or retreats.

Both weathering and erosion can occur very quick, like during mudslides. Weathering and erosion can
also be very slow, like in the formation of stream beds as water trickles through. We see examples of
weathering and erosion every day from cracks in the sidewalks, to sand at the beach, to rocks sliding
down mountains.