CIVE 1002

Lecture 6 – Weathering
 Weathering
• Weathering is a natural process whereby rocks and minerals are
broken down into smaller fragments or decomposed to more stable
minerals, a main process in the rock cycle. It occurs in situ (no
significant movement from its place of origin) and typically takes
place prior to erosion.

• Erosion and mass wasting are the processes that loosen and
transport soil and rock particles downhill.
 Types of Weathering Processes
 Physical Weathering is the disintegration of rocks and
minerals by a physical or mechanical process.
– Abrasion (from water and wind movement)
– Freezing and thawing of moisture
– Salt crystal growth
– Heating and cooling
– Air pressure loading (wave action)
– Pressure unloading
– Biological (effects of plant roots)
 Types of Weathering Processes
• Chemical Weathering: when minerals in rocks and sediments
encounter conditions very different from those under which
they were originally formed, they react with their new chemical
environment to produce new minerals that are stable under the
new conditions. The main agents responsible for chemical
weathering reactions are water and weak acids formed in water.
 Physical Weathering Processes
• Development of joints. Joints are formed as a result of
thermal expansion and contraction due to temperature
changes or as a result of stress relief as overlying rocks
are removed by erosion. Joints form open spaces in
rocks by which other agents of chemical or physical
weathering can enter.
 Physical Weathering Processes
• Crystal growth. Water containing ions percolates through fractures
and pore spaces and the ions precipitate to form crystals (chemical
weathering). As these crystals grow (physical weathering) they may
weaken the rocks.
The decay progresses,
Granite is made up of and the rock weakens
several minerals that Cracks form along
crystal boundaries. and disintegrates.
decay at different rates.
 Physical Weathering Processes
• Plant roots can extend into fractures and grow, causing
expansion of the fractures.
 Physical Weathering Processes
• Frost wedging. As water in rock fractures freezes, it expands
and causes the fractures to enlarge. Frost wedging occurs when
there are many freeze-thaw cycles.
 Physical Weathering Processes
• Exfoliation: Concentrated shells of weathering may form on the outside of
a rock and may become separated from the rock. These thin shells of
weathered rock are separated by stresses that result from changes in volume
of the minerals that occur as a result of the formation of new minerals.
Spheroidal weathering - If joints and fractures in rock form a 3-dimensional
network, the rock will be broken into cube-like blocks separated by the
fractures. Water can penetrate along these fractures, and each of the blocks will
begin to weather inward. The rate of weathering will be greatest at the corners
of each block, followed by the edges, and finally the faces of the cubes. As a
result, the block will weather into a spherical shape, with unweathered rock in
the centre and weathered rock toward the outside.
Physical Weathering Processes
 Chemical Weathering Processes
• Hydrolysis – Silicates react with water to form clay
minerals.

• Leaching - Ions are removed by dissolution into water.

• Oxidation - Oxygen reacts with minerals to change the

oxidation state of an ion. This is more common in iron
bearing minerals, since Fe can have several oxidation
states, Fe+2, Fe+3 .
 Chemical Weathering Processes
• Dehydration - Removal of H2O or OH - ion from a
mineral.

• Solution – Minerals are completely dissolved by the water.

 Factors Influencing Chemical Weathering
• Rock type - Different
rocks are composed of
different minerals, and
each mineral has a
different susceptibility
to weathering.
Factors Influencing Chemical Weathering
• Intensity of bedding planes, joints, and fractures -
These discontinuities provide pathways for infiltration
of water. A rock with many discontinuities will have a
tendency to weather more rapidly than a massive rock
with little discontinuities.
Factors Influencing Chemical Weathering

• Differential weathering - If there are large contrasts in

the susceptibility to weathering within a large body of
rock, the more susceptible parts of the rock will
weather faster than the more resistant portions of the
rock.
Factors Influencing Chemical Weathering
• Topography - On steep slopes, weathering products
may be eroded quickly by rains. On gentle slopes, the
weathering products accumulate to form a protective
layer over the parent rock.

• Climate - Large amounts of water and high

temperatures generally cause chemical reactions to
proceed faster. Rates of weathering are higher in warm
humid climates.

• Time
Ground Profile
 Ground Profile
• O horizon is the top layer at the earth's surface. It consists of
surface litter, such as fallen leaves, sticks and other plant
material, animal waste and dead organisms. A distinct O
horizon may not exist in all soil environments.
• A horizon (topsoil) This layer contains organic humus,
which usually gives it a distinctive dark color.
• B horizon, or sub-soil, consists mostly of inorganic rock
materials such as sand, silt and clay.
 Ground Profile
• C horizon overlies bedrock and therefore is made up of
weathered rock fragments. The bedrock is the source of the
parent inorganic materials found in the soil. The C horizon
represents a transition zone between the bedrock and the soil.
It lacks organic material, but may be saturated with
groundwater that is unable to move deeper due to the solid
barrier of bedrock below.
Ground Profile
 CIVE 1002

Lecture 7 – Erosion &

Deposition
 Erosion
Erosion is the cumulative effect of a great variety of
processes through which soils and rock debris are
transferred from their places of formation to places of
deposition to form deposits of sediments. The main
agents of erosion are:
• Streams and rivers
• Water waves
• Wind
• Moving ice (glaciers)
• Gravity creep (mass movement).
Erosion: Streams and Rivers
Erosion: Streams and Rivers
Erosion: Streams and Rivers
Sedimentation
 Sedimentation: Sorting
Velocity and distance of transport affect:
• Size of particles (clasts)
• Sorting of particles
• Rounding of particles
Sedimentation: Sorting
 Erosion: Water Waves
Water waves are the dominant force driving littoral
processes (erosion and deposition) on open coasts. The
waves are generated either by wind or by the combined
action of wind and tides. Associated with the waves and
tides are currents which carry and distribute the sediments. A
significant amount of wave energy is dissipated on the
beaches. After a wave crashes on the beach and recedes, the
water surges back towards the sea taking with it sand and
rock particles.
 Erosion: Wind

Wind transport rock fragments and soil particles such as

sand and silt which are carried as suspended particles in the
air and are deposited only when the wind does not have
sufficient energy to keep them in suspension. At the ground
surface, the particles traveling at high speed may encounter
rock outcrops or boulders; these particles will break down
further into smaller fragments while the protruded mass will
be eroded by a process known as sand-blasting. Deposition
by wind forms dunes and loess. Wind-blown particles settle
to form eolian deposits.
Erosion and Sedimentation : Water and Wind
Erosion and Sedimentation : Water and Wind

Cross-bedding
 Erosion and Sedimentation : Glaciers

Glaciers slowly creep and slide downhill under their own

weights. They drag along the soil and rock fragments. As
the ice melts the rock and soil debris accumulate in
hummocky piles in front of the glacier. Since glaciers are
solid they can transport all sizes of sediment, from huge
house-sized boulders to fine-grained clay sized material.
The glacier can carry this material on its surface or
embedded within it. Thus, sediment transportation in a
glacier is very much different than that in a stream.
Sediments deposited directly from melting of a glacial can
range from very poorly sorted to better sorted,
depending on how much water transport takes place
after the ice melts. All sediment deposited as a result of
glacial erosion is called Glacial Drift.