Sediment,broadly defined, consists of loose fragments of rocks or
minerals broken off bedrock,mineral crystals that precipitate directly out of water,and shells or shellfragments. The materials in sediments ultimately came from the weathering(physical And chemical break- down)of pre-existing rock.Sediments form a veneer, or cover, over bed- rock.This cover’s thickness ranges from 0 km,in places where bedrock crops out at the Earth’s surface, to 20 km, in rapidlysinking basins. Some sediments transform into soil, which may serve as a substrate for plants.Sediment-An accumulation of loose mineral grains, such as boulders,pebbles,sand,silt, or mud, that are not cemented together. Weatherin:Forming Sediments-Rock exposed at the Earth’s surface sooner or later disintegrates and crumbles away, due to weathering. Weathering refers to the combination of phenomena that corrode and break up solid rock, eventually transforming it into loose debris. The process also produces ions that dissolve in surface water and groundw- ater.Weathered rock may look discolored, or rough,compared with un- weathered or fresh rock.1Physical weathering,also called mechanical weathering, breaks intact rock into unconnected grains or chunks known as clasts,which come in a range of sizes.Geologists may refer to an accumulation of clasts as debris or detritus.Many phenomena contr- ibute to physical weathering.1.1Jointing-A joint is a natural crack in rock—the formation of a joint separates one pieceof rock into two separ- te pieces.Almost all rock outcrops contain joints.For example,sedimen- tary rock layers tend to break into rectangular blocks bounded by joints on the sides and layer boundaries above and below, and large granite plutons typically split into onion-like sheets along exfoliation joints that lie parallel to the mountain face. Jointing effectively breaks bedrock into many separate blocks, which, when exposed on a slope, eventually tumble downslope,fragmenting into smaller pieces asthey fall.The res- ulting chunks may collect in an apron of talus, the rock rubble at the base of a slope, or may be carried away by rivers or glaciers at the base of a cliff.1.2FrostWedging-When water trapped in a joint free- zes,it forces the joint open and may cause the joint to grow.Such frost wedging helps break blocks free from intact bedrock.1.3SaltWedging- In arid climates, dissolved salt in groundwater precipitates in open pore spaces in rocks, forming crystals that push apart the surround- ing grains.This process weakens rock so that when exposed to wind and rain,the rock disintegrates into separate grains.The same phen- omenon happens along the seacoast,where salt spray percolates into rock and then dries.1.4RootWedging-As roots grow,they apply pre- ssure to their surroundings and can push joints open in a process known as root wedging.1.5ThermalExpansion-When the heat of an intense forest fire bakes a rock,the outer layer of the rock expands. On cooling,the layer contracts,generating a force that is sufficient to break off the outer part of the rock.Recent research suggests that the heat of the Sun’s rays sweeping across dark rocks in a desert may, over time,cause cobbles on the ground surface to frac- ture into thin slices.1.6AnimalAttack-Animal life also contribu- tes to physical weathering,for burrowing creatures, from earthw- orms to gophers, can move rock fragments. In the past century, humans have become the most energetic agent of physical weath- ering on theplanet.When we excavate quarries,foundations,mines, or roadbeds by digging and blasting,we shatter and displace large volumes of rock that might otherwise have remained intact for millions of years.2Chemical Weathering-refers to the many chem- ical reactions that alter or destroy minerals when rock comes in contact with water solutions or air.2.1Dissolution-Water serves as a solvent,so when it flows over or through rock, it slowly dissolves minerals. This process of dissolution affects primarily salts and carbonate minerals, but even silicate minerals can dissolve slightly. 2.2Hydrolysis-During hydrolysis,water reacts chemically with min- erals and breaks them down to form other minerals (lysis means loosen in Greek).example,hydrolysis reactions transform feldspar and many other silicate minerals into clay.2.3Oxidation-Oxidation reactions in rocks transform iron-bearing minerals,such as biotite and pyrite,into a rusty-brown mixture of various iron-oxide and iron hydroxide minerals.In effect, oxidation causes iron-bearing rocks to “rust.2.4Hydration-Hydration,the absorption of water into the cry- stal structure of minerals,causes some minerals,such as certain types of clay, to swell. Such expansion weakens rock.when a granite under- goes chemical weathering, most of its mineralstransform into clay due to hydrolysis.But the quartz it contains does not change, so we can say that quartz is resistant to chemical weathering. Physical weathering speeds up chemical weathering. To understand why,keep in mind that chemical-weathering reactions take place at a material’s surface.As a result,the overall rate at which chemical weathering occurs depends on the ratio of surface area to volume—the greater the surface area,the faster the volume of the whole material can chemically weather.When jointing (physical weathering) breaks a large block of rock into smaller pieces, the surface area increases, so chemical weathering happens faster.Similarly,chemical weathering speeds up physical weathering by dissolving away grains or cements that hold a rock together, by transforming hard minerals (such as feldspar) into soft minerals (such as clay), and by causing minerals to absorb water and expand.Weathering happensfaster at edges,and even faster at the corners of broken blocks.This is because weathering atta- cks a flat face from only one direction,an edgefrom two directions,and a corner from three directions. As a result, over time, edges of blocks become blunt and corners become rounded.When rocks in an outcrop undergo weathering at different rates,we say that the outcrop has un- dergone differential weathering. 3Soil:Soil consists of rock or sediment that has been modified by phy- sical and chemical interaction with organic material, rainwater,and organisms at or just below the Earth’s surface over time. Three processes play a role in soil formation.First,chemical and phy- sical weathering produce loose debris and ions in solution.The result- ing detritus consists of mineral grains(such as quartz sand or silt)as well as new weathering products(such as clay).Second,downward-per- colating water,mostly from rain that has seeped into the ground,red- istributes ions and fine clay flakes.Close to the ground surface,in the zone of leaching,the water extracts ions,picks up clay,and carries this materialfarther downward.Deeper down,in the zone of accumulation, new mineral crystals precipitate out of the percolating water,and because the rate of water movement slows,the water leaves behind its load of fine clay.Third,at and just below the ground surface,detritus interacts with organisms.Organic material such as dead leaves,roots, and animals,along with waste materials from animals, mixes into the inorganic minerals of the detritus.Microbes,fungi,and insects decom- pose this organic material,breaking large and complex organic chem- icals down into simpler ones.Some of these organisms also absorb nutrients from inorganic minerals or release acids that dissolve min- erals.Finally,plant roots or burrowing animals (insects, worms, and gophers)churn and break up the debris that may have clumped together.Because different soil-forming processes operate at different depths,soils typically develop distinct zones,known as soil horizons,arr- anged in a vertical sequence called a soil profile.The highest horizon is the O horizon(the prefix stands for organic),so called because it consists almost entirely of humus(plant debris)with barely any mine- ral matter.A-horizon,in which humus has decayed further and has mixed with clay, silt, and sand. Water percolating down through the A-horizon causes further chemical weathering reactions to occur, yielding ions in solution and new clay minerals. Downward-moving water eventually carries soluble chemicals and fine clay deeper into the subsurface.TheO-andA-horizons constitute dark-gray to blackish -brown topsoil,the fertile portion of soil that farmers till for planting crops.(In some places, the A-horizon grades downward into the E-horizon, a soil level that has undergone substantial leaching but has not yet mixed with organic material.)TheO-,A-,and E horizons make up the zone of leaching,whereas the B-horizon makes up the zone of accumulation.Ions and clayaccumulate in the next level,theB-horizon, or subsoil.Finally, at the base of a soil profile we find the C-horizon, which consists of material derived from the substrate that has been chemically weathered and broken apart, but has not yet undergone leaching or accumulation. The C-horizon grades downward into unwe- athered bedrock or into unweathered sediment. The character of a soil—its texture, nutrient content, and thickness— depends on several soil-forming factors.-Climate:Climate is the most important factor in determining the nature of soil development. The aspects of climate that have significant impact on weathering are the amount and distribution of rainfall and temperature.Large amounts of rainfall and warm temperatures accelerate chemical weathering and cause most soluble elements to be leached.Small amounts of rain- fall and cool temperatures result in slower rates of weathering and leaching, so soils take a long time to develop and can retain unweath- ered minerals and soluble components.-Substrate composition: Some soils form on basalt, some on granite, some on volcanic ash, and some on recently deposited quartz silt.These different substrates consist of different materials,so the soils formed on each have differ- ent chemical compositions.Also,substrates have different resistances to erosion—thicker soils develop on less resistant material. -Slope steepness:: A thick soil can accumulate under land that lies flat.But on a steep slope,weathered rock may wash away or tumble downslope before it can evolve into soil.All other factors being equal, soil thickness increases as slope angle decreases.-Wetness:Depending on the details of local topography and on the depth below the surface at which groundwater occurs, some soil becomes wetter than other soil in the same region. Wet soils tend to contain more organic material than do dry soils.-Time:Because soil formation takes time, a younger soil tends to be thinner and less developed(with lessdistinct horizons)than an older soil.The rate of soil formation varies greatly with environment.-Local Ecoystem:The type and quantity of organ- isms living in a region influence the character of the organic content of soil.For example,where plants grow,plant debris can mix into soil, and roots may bind soil and prevent it from washing away.Where microbes and maggots thrive, decomposition happens more rapidly to provide organic compounds in soil.If decomposition does not take place,dead organic matter simply dries out, turns to dust, and blows away.
