Physical Geology

Weathering:
Erosion and Denudation: Factors affecting weathering and product
of weathering.
Engineering consideration:
Superficial deposits and its geotechnical importance: Water fall
and Gorges, River meandering, Alluvium, Glacial deposits,
Laterite (engineering aspects), Desert Landform, Loess,
Solifluction deposits, mudflows, Coastal deposits.
 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.
 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.
Weathering cont.

➢ 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.
➢ 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.
Weathering cont.

➢ 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 smooths 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,
Weathering cont.

➢ 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:
➢ Primarily: Mechanical weathering and Chemical weathering.
➢ Secondary: Biological weathering, in which living or once-
living organisms contribute to weathering, can be a part of
both processes.
Weathering cont.

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.
Weathering cont.

Mechanical Weathering cont..

➢ 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.
Weathering cont.
Mechanical Weathering cont..

Bornhardts are tall,

domed, isolated rocks
often found in tropical
areas.
Sugarloaf Mountain, an
iconic landmark in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, is a
bornhardt.
Weathering cont.
Mechanical Weathering cont..

➢ 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.
Weathering cont.
Mechanical Weathering cont..

➢ 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.
Weathering cont.
Mechanical Weathering cont..

➢ 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.
Weathering cont.
Mechanical Weathering cont..

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.
Weathering cont.
Mechanical Weathering cont..

➢ 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.
Weathering cont.

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.
➢ 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.
Weathering cont.

Chemical Weathering

Caves & Karst

Weathering cont.
Chemical Weathering cont..

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.
• Both minerals, Gypsum and Anhydrite are Calcium Sulphate;
• gypsum has water molecule attached to it whereas there is no water
(H2O) with anhydrite. Both look same except few physical properties that
are distinguishable. One is that Gypsum is softer than Anhydrite.

Anhydrous calcium sulfate:CaSO4

Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate
dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4 + 2H2O
 Weathering cont.
Chemical Weathering cont..

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.
Weathering cont.
Chemical Weathering cont..
Weathering cont.
Chemical Weathering cont..

➢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. 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.
➢Similarly Taj Mehal in Agra (India) is also affected by pollution.
Weathering cont.
Biological weathering
➢Biological weathering is the weakening and subsequent disintegration of rock by plants, animals and
microbes.
➢Growing plant roots can exert stress or pressure on rock. Although the process is physical, the pressure is
exerted by a biological process (i.e., growing roots). Biological processes can also produce chemical
weathering, for example where plant roots or microorganisms produce organic acids which help to
dissolve minerals.
➢Microbial activity breaks down rock minerals by altering the rock’s chemical composition, thus making it
more susceptible to weathering. One example of microbial activity is lichen; lichen is fungi and algae, living
together in a symbiotic relationship. Fungi release chemicals that break down rock minerals; the minerals
thus released from rock are consumed by the algae. As this process continues, holes and gaps continue to
develop on the rock, exposing the rock further to physical and chemical weathering.
Erosion and Denudation
 Erosion and transport by water
Transportation

Erosion and transport by ice

Erosion and transport by
wind