Ministry of higher Education

And Scientific Research

University of Missan
College of Petroleum Engineering
first The
stage

Muamel Ali Mohsen

Dr. Raed Saaie Jasim

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Weathering - processes at or nearEarth’s surface that cause
rocksand
minerals to break down
OR typically begins when the earth's crust is uplifted by
tectonic forces
OR is the physical disintegration or chemical alteration of
rocks at or
near the Earth’s surface

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 Types of weathering:

1- Mechanical Weathering - processes that break a rock or

mineral into smaller pieces without altering its composition

2- Chemical Weathering - processes that change the

chemical composition of rocks and minerals

3-Biological weathering- is the disintegration or decay of rocks

and

minerals caused by chemical or physical agents of organisms.

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 Processes and Agents of Mechanical Weathering

These are actions or things that break down Earth materials

• Frost wedging
• Thermal expansion and contraction
• Mechanical exfoliation
• Abrasion by wind, water or gravity Plant growth

Frost Wedging – cracking of rock mass by the expansion of

water as it freezes in crevices and cracks

Thermal expansion and contraction – repeated heating and

cooling of materials cause rigid substances to crack and
separate

Exfoliation – As underlying rock layers are exposed,

there is less pressure on them and they expand. This
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 causes the rigid layers to crackand sections to slide off
(similar to peeling of outer skin layers after a sunburn).
The expanding layers often form a dome

• Abrasion – Moving sediments or rock sections can break

off pieces from a rock surface they strike. The
sediments can be moved by wind or water and the large
rock sections by gravity.

temperature changes

. Daily (diurnal) and seasonal temperature changes affect

certain minerals and facilitates
the mechanical weathering of bedrock.
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 ◼️ Warmer temperatures may cause some minerals to
expand, and cooler temperatures
cause them to contract.
◼️ This gradual expansion and contraction of mineral
grains weakens the rock causing it
to break apart into smaller fragments or to fracture.
◼️ process is more common in
desert climates

• Types of Chemical Weathering ;

Is changing the chemical structure of minerals Chemical
weathering decomposes, dissolves, alters, or
weakens the rock through chemical processes to form
residual materials.
◼️ Carbonation
◼️ Hydrolysis
◼️ Hydration
◼️ Oxidation
◼️ Solution

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 Dissolving (dissolution )
Water, often containing acid from dissolved carbon dioxide,
will dissolve minerals from a rock body leaving cavities in the
rock. These cavities may generate sinkholes or cave features
such as stalactites and stalagmites.

Oxidation:
Minerals may combine with oxygen to form new minerals that
are not as hard. For example, the iron-containing mineral pyrite
forms a rusty-colored mineral called limonite

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 Hydrolysis;
Is the chemical reaction between the hydrogen ions and
hydroxyl ions of water and mineral’s ions to form new
minerals

Carbonation;

◼️ Carbonation is a process by which carbon dioxide and

rainwater or moisture in the surrounding environment
chemically react to produce carbonic acid, a weak acid,
that reacts with carbonate minerals in the rock.

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◼️ Carbonation primarily occurs in wet, moist climates
and effects rocks both on and beneath the surface.
Factors in Chemical Weathering:
✓ Climate – wet and warm maximizes chemical
reactions
✓ Plants and animals – living organisms secrete substances
that react with rock
✓ Time – longer contact means greater change
✓ Mineral composition – some minerals are more susceptible
to change than others

Biological weathering
is the disintegration or decay of rocks and minerals caused
by chemical or physical agents of organisms.

✓ Plant Growth – As plants such as trees send out root

systems, the fine roots find their way into cracks in the
rocks. As the roots increase in size, they force the rock
sections apart, increasing the separation and
weathering

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 Organism Activity

◼️ Burrowing, tunneling, and acid-secreting organisms are

another form of biological

weathering that chemically or mechanically contribute to

weathering.

Fig Organism Activity

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 Differential Weathering

Weathering rates will not only vary depending on the

type of weathering process,whether it is
mechanical,chemical, or biological, but they will also
vary depending on the rock material that is being
weathered.

erosion is the physical removal and transportation of

weathered material by

water, wind, ice, or gravity

Water(fluviai)
erodes rocks and the landscapes by transporting
weathered materials from their source to another
location where they are deposited

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 Wind (aeolian)
erodes materials by picking them up and temporarily
transporting them from their source to another
location where they are deposited, and either stored
or re-mobilized and transported to another location.

Ice(Periglacial and Glacial)

erosion occurs when particles are plucked up or
incorporated by moving ice, such as a glaciers, and are
transported downhill, or when
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friction between the ice and bedrock erodes materials
and then transports them downhill.

Gravity
facilitates the down slope transportation of loosened,
weathered
materials and enables them to move without the aid of
water, wind, or ice.
Gravity related erosion is a major component of mass-
wasting events

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=

REFERENCES

1- https://www.slideserve.com/joanne/chapter-7-
weathering-and-

erosion

2- https://www.slideshare.net/zeeshanahmad36/weathering-
and-

erossion

3- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrow#/media/File:C0136-
bird-

burrrows.jpg

4- https://www.slideshare.net/tudorgeog/l-5-corries-aretes-
pyramid-

peaks

5- https://desertlandforms.weebly.com/desert-processes

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