Weathering and Activities

Weathering
Weathering describes the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on the
surface of the Earth. Water, ice, acids, salts, plants, animals, and changes
in temperature are all agents of weathering.

Once a rock has been broken down, a process called erosion transports the bits of rock
and mineral away. No rock on Earth is hard enough to resist the forces of weathering
and erosion. Together, these processes carved landmarks such as the Grand Canyon,
in the U.S. state of Arizona. This massive canyon is 446 kilometers (277 miles) long, as
much as 29 kilometers (18 miles) wide, and 1,600 meters (1 mile) deep.

Weathering and erosion constantly change the rocky landscape of Earth. Weathering

wears away exposed surfaces over time. The length of exposure often contributes to
how vulnerable a rock is to weathering. Rocks, such as lavas, that are quickly buried
beneath other rocks are less vulnerable to weathering and erosion than rocks that are
exposed to agents such as wind and water. 

As it smoothes rough, sharp rock surfaces, weathering is often the first step in the
production of soils. Tiny bits of weathered minerals mix with plants, animal remains,
fungi, bacteria, and other organisms. A single type of weathered rock often produces
infertile soil, while weathered materials from a collection of rocks is richer in mineral
diversity and contributes to more fertile soil. Soils types associated with a mixture of
weathered rock include glacial till, loess, and alluvial sediments.

Weathering is often divided into the processes of mechanical weathering and chemical
weathering. Biological weathering, in which living or once-living organisms contribute to
weathering, can be a part of both processes.

Mechanical Weathering 

 Mechanical weathering, also called physical weathering and disaggregation, causes

rocks to crumble. 

Water, in either liquid or solid form, is often a key agent of mechanical weathering. For
instance, liquid water can seep into cracks and crevices in rock. If temperatures drop
low enough, the water will freeze. When water freezes, it expands. The ice then works
as a wedge. It slowly widens the cracks and splits the rock. When ice melts, liquid water
performs the act of erosion by carrying away the tiny rock fragments lost in the split.
This specific process (the freeze-thaw cycle) is called frost weathering or cryofracturing.
Temperature changes can also contribute to mechanical weathering in a process
called thermal stress. Changes in temperature cause rock to expand (with heat)
and contract (with cold). As this happens over and over again, the structure of the rock
weakens. Over time, it crumbles. Rocky desert landscapes are particularly vulnerable to
thermal stress. The outer layer of desert rocks undergo repeated stress as the
temperature changes from day to night. Eventually, outer layers flake off in thin sheets,
a process called exfoliation.

Exfoliation contributes to the formation of bornhardts, one of the most dramatic features
in landscapes formed by weathering and erosion. Bornhardts are tall, domed, isolated
rocks often found in tropical areas. Sugarloaf Mountain, an iconic landmark in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, is a bornhardt.

Changes in pressure can also contribute to exfoliation due to weathering. In a process

called unloading, overlying materials are removed. The underlying rocks, released from
overlying pressure, can then expand. As the rock surface expands, it becomes
vulnerable to fracturing in a process called sheeting. 

 Another type of mechanical weathering occurs when clay or other materials near rock
absorb water. Clay, more porous than rock, can swell with water, weathering the
surrounding, harder rock. 

 Salt also works to weather rock in a process called haloclasty. Saltwater sometimes

gets into the cracks and pores of rock. If the saltwater evaporates, salt crystals are left
behind. As the crystals grow, they put pressure on the rock, slowly breaking it apart. 

 Honeycomb weathering is associated with haloclasty. As its name implies, honeycomb

weathering describes rock formations with hundreds or even thousands of pits formed
by the growth of salt crystals. Honeycomb weathering is common in coastal areas,
where sea sprays constantly force rocks to interact with salts.

 Haloclasty is not limited to coastal landscapes. Salt upwelling, the geologic process in

which underground salt domes expand, can contribute to weathering of the overlying
rock. Structures in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan, were made unstable and often
collapsed due to salt upwelling from the ground below.

 Plants and animals can be agents of mechanical weathering. The seed of a tree may
sprout in soil that has collected in a cracked rock. As the roots grow, they widen the
cracks, eventually breaking the rock into pieces. Over time, trees can break apart even
large rocks. Even small plants, such as mosses, can enlarge tiny cracks as they grow.

 Animals that tunnel underground, such as moles and prairie dogs, also work to break
apart rock and soil. Other animals dig and trample rock aboveground, causing rock to
slowly crumble. 

 
Chemical Weathering 

Chemical weathering changes the molecular structure of rocks and soil. 

 For instance, carbon dioxide from the air or soil sometimes combines with water in a
process called carbonation. This produces a weak acid, called carbonic acid, that
can dissolve rock. Carbonic acid is especially effective at dissolving limestone. When
carbonic acid seeps through limestone underground, it can open up huge cracks or
hollow out vast networks of caves. 

 Carlsbad Caverns National Park, in the U.S. state of New Mexico, includes more than
119 limestone caves created by weathering and erosion. The largest is called the Big
Room. With an area of about 33,210 square meters (357,469 square feet), the Big
Room is the size of six football fields.

 Sometimes, chemical weathering dissolves large portions of limestone or other rock on

the surface of the Earth to form a landscape called karst. In these areas, the surface
rock is pockmarked with holes, sinkholes, and caves. One of the world’s most
spectacular examples of karst is Shilin, or the Stone Forest, near Kunming, China.
Hundreds of slender, sharp towers of weathered limestone rise from the landscape. 

 Another type of chemical weathering works on rocks that contain iron. These rocks turn
to rust in a process called oxidation. Rust is a compound created by the interaction of
oxygen and iron in the presence of water. As rust expands, it weakens rock and helps
break it apart.

 Hydration is a form of chemical weathering in which the chemical bonds of the mineral

are changed as it interacts with water. One instance of hydration occurs as the
mineral anhydrite reacts with groundwater. The water transforms anhydrite into gypsum,
one of the most common minerals on Earth.

 Another familiar form of chemical weathering is hydrolysis. In the process of hydrolysis,

a new solution (a mixture of two or more substances) is formed as chemicals in rock
interact with water. In many rocks, for example, sodium minerals interact with water to
form a saltwater solution.

 Hydration and hydrolysis contribute to flared slopes, another dramatic example of a

landscape formed by weathering and erosion. Flared slopes are concave rock
formations sometimes nicknamed “wave rocks.” Their c-shape is largely a result
of subsurface weathering, in which hydration and hydrolysis wear away rocks beneath
the landscape’s surface.

 Living or once-living organisms can also be agents of chemical weathering.

The decaying remains of plants and some fungi form carbonic acid, which can weaken
and dissolve rock. Some bacteria can weather rock in order to access nutrients such as
magnesium or potassium.
 Clay minerals, including quartz, are among the most common byproducts of chemical
weathering. Clays make up about 40% of the chemicals in all sedimentary rocks on
Earth.

 Weathering and People

 Weathering is a natural process, but human activities can speed it up. 

 For example, certain kinds of air pollution increase the rate of weathering.

Burning coal, natural gas, and petroleum releases chemicals such as nitrogen oxide
and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. When these chemicals combine with sunlight
and moisture, they change into acids. They then fall back to Earth as acid rain. 

 Acid rain rapidly weathers limestone, marble, and other kinds of stone. The effects of
acid rain can often be seen on gravestones, making names and other inscriptions
impossible to read. 

 Acid rain has also damaged many historic buildings and monuments. For example, at
71 meters (233 feet) tall, the Leshan Giant Buddha at Mount Emei, China is the world’s
largest statue of the Buddha. It was carved 1,300 years ago and sat unharmed for
centuries. An innovative drainage system mitigates the natural process of erosion. But
in recent years, acid rain has turned the statue’s nose black and made some of its hair
crumble and fall.

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