Submitted by:

CHRISTELLE D. DELFIN
Grade V – Roxas

Submitted to:

MRS. ANABELLE B. OBLIGAR

Teacher
 Soil Weathering

Weathering is the mechanical breakdown of rock and the

associated chemical alteration of minerals that occurs at the Earth’s
surface.

Weathering is part of a process of breakdown of rock and

transport of the resulting materials. This overall process is often
referred to as erosion. Technically, erosion is the removal of the
weathered material and is only part of the overall process.
 Mechanical Weathering

 Frost wedging – in the daily freeze-thaw cycle at high altitudes,

water seeps into cracks, freezes and expands extending the crack,
then melts and seeps deep into the newly lengthened crack as the
cycle repeats.
 Thermal expansion – even in climates that do not experience daily
freeze-thaw cycles, daily temperature cycles expand and contract
the rocks causing fracturing.
 Unloading – many rocks, for example plutonic igneous rocks, form
deep in the crust. When they are exposed as the surface by the
removal of overlying rocks by erosion, the pressure on the rock is
reduced causing it to expand and crack. Rocks like granite often
crack in concentric layers (like an onion) resulting in a process known
as exfoliation. This causes granite domes such as Half Dome in
Yosemite, Enchanted Rock in Texas, and Stone Mountain in
Georgia.
 Organic activity – plant roots, burrowing animals, etc.
 Abrasion – corners are fragile things on rocks like on furniture. As
rocks are transported, they abrade against one another, removing
corners first, then edges. Thus, as transport time and distance
increases, rock fragments become rounded (not necessarily
spherical) as corners and edges are removed.
Chemical Weathering Processes

 Solution (or dissolution) – This is the dissolving of soluble minerals in

water or weak acids. Soluble minerals are generally ionically bonded
minerals such as calcite and halite. Silicate minerals are not subject
to solutioning. Solutioning requires considerable amounts of water
to remove much material. It is thus most effective in wet climates.
Solutioning is very effective on carbonate rocks.
 Oxidation - This reaction effects iron bearing minerals, forming iron
oxides. Iron oxides are strong coloring agents and give many rocks
their reddish or tan coloration.
 Hydrolysis - this reaction is the most important weathering reaction
because it effects the silicate minerals. Silicates with ionically
bonded metal ions (everything except quartz) are weathered by this
reaction. In hydrolysis, the H+ ion from water or weak acid works its
way into the mineral structure due to its very small size (it is a
nucleus with no electrons). Because the H+ ion is so reactive, it
dislodges other metal ions and causes the chemical breakdown of
the crystal structure. The most important byproduct of hydrolysis
are clay minerals. Because silicates are the most abundant minerals
in the crust, clay minerals are the most abundant byproduct of
weathering.