LESSON 5 – EXOGENIC PROCESSES

OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. Differentiate exogenic and endogenic process;
2. Compare and contrast the different exogenic processes;
3. Infer the exogenic process that took place in a given rock or land formation.

SUBJECT MATTER
In the previous lesson, we discussed the processes occurring in rocks. In this lesson and the
next, we are going to discuss about processes that affects larger scales such as rock and land
formations. We call these processes geological processes. Geological processes are classified
into exogenic and endogenic processes. Exogenic processes include weathering, erosion, mass
wasting, and deposition. Together, exogenic processes shape the Earth’s landscape.

Weathering
You may have encountered the concept of weathering as early as your elementary school
days. We are going to recall this concept and provide some examples of weathering in
everyday action. Weathering is simply defined as a process that leads to breaking down of
rocks into smaller and smaller pieces. One particular importance of this process is that it
produces soil for our plants to survive as well as release nutrients such as potassium and
phosphorus, which are found mainly from broken down rocks. Weathering is divided into
two types: physical and chemical weathering.

Physical Weathering
Physical weathering is where rock is broken down without altering its mineral composition.
Agents of physical weathering include ice, temperature, pressure release, and plants.

Frost Wedging
Ice can cause weathering because of freeze-thaw
cycle, a process that occurs when temperature
changes between below and above freezing point.
This phenomenon is common in high mountainous
regions where rocks and ice are both present.
During the day, for example, temperature is above
freezing point. Water can then seep into small
spaces inside rocks. During the night, temperature
may go below freezing point, turning water into ice.
One unique property of water is that it expands as
it freezes. The expansion will generate a force that
pushes the surrounding rock aside, creating cracks Figure 5.1. Expansion of water upon
and effectively breaking the rock. Because this type freezing generates a force enough to break
rocks slowly.
of weathering results in wedge-shaped rocks
caused by ice, this process is also called frost wedging (Figure 5.1).

Insolation Weathering
Temperature can also break a rock because of extreme
temperature changes. When a material is heated, it
expands. When it is cooled, it contracts. Rocks that are
exposed on the surface is subject to the changing
temperature of day and night. During the day, rocks
expand due to the fact that they are exposed to the sun.
during the night, the temperature drops, and the rocks
contract. The repeated expansion and contraction
creates stress that eventually breaks the rock. In other
terms, this type of weathering is called insolation Figure 5.2. Repeated expansion and
weathering since it is the sun’s radiation which heats the contraction due to extreme temperature
rock (Figure 5.2). can stress a rock and cause it to break.

Pressure Release
In some not-so-familiar cases, rocks can also be broken down by pressure release. This is
particularly evident in plutonic rocks such as granite domes. Recall from Lesson 4 that
plutonic rocks form beneath the Earth’s surface. Thus, they are subjected to pressure caused
by overlying rocks. If these
overlying rocks are carried away,
the pressure is released, expanding
the rock formation and creating
fractures in the process (sheeting).
This type of weathering is also
called unloading (Figure 5.3).

Biological Weathering
Our last example of physical
weathering might be the most
familiar to you—biological
weathering (Figure 5.4). Simply put,
this is a weathering mechanism
exhibited by plants (and sometimes Figure 5.3. Pressure release due to erosion of overlying rock
animals). When plant roots seep causes the plutonic rock to undergo expansion and sheeting.
through the soil or a rock, the roots
act like wedges to gradually break
the rocks.

Chemical Weathering
Unlike physical weathering which only involves breaking
down of rocks into smaller pieces, chemical weathering,
involves altering the rock’s mineral composition; in
other words, it involves chemical change. Practical
examples of chemical weathering are carbonation and
oxidation. Figure 5.4. Plant roots breaking the
pavement.

Carbonation
Carbonation is the dissolution of limestone in acidic water. In chemical terms, the calcium
carbonate (CaCO3) present in limestone reacts with the acidic water to form carbonic acid
(H2CO3). Carbonic acid is unstable, leaving behind water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
This type of weathering is particularly responsible for the formation of stalactites and
stalagmites in limestone caves (Figure 5.5).

Oxidation
Oxidation is evident in rocks rich in iron such as hematite.
As you have learned in your previous years, rust is
formed by reaction of iron with oxygen in the atmosphere
(or sometimes in water). Rocks rich in iron undergo
chemical weathering to form a characteristic color that
indicates rusting (Figure 5.6). In this case, the mineral
iron (Fe) turns into ferric oxide (Fe2O3).
Figure 5.5. Limestone caves are
formed by dissolution of limestone in
Erosion acidic water.
Weathering alone is not enough to shape the Earth’s
landscape. The weathered particles, or rock debris, are removed
from the point where they were broken down by weathering and
then transported elsewhere. The process of removing these rock
debris loose from their point of origin and transporting them to
another location is called erosion. Erosion can be classified in two
ways: (1) depending on the agent; and (2) depending on the type
of transportation. We will discuss both classifications.
Figure 5.6. Hematite
rusting as evidence of
oxidation of iron mineral.
Agents of Erosion
One very important agent of erosion is running water. Running water, which is mostly found
in streams, rivers, and coastlines, can shape soil, valleys, riverbanks, coastlines, and seaside
cliffs (Figure 5.7a).

Glacier is also an important agent, though glaciers are not readily observed in the Philippines.
Glaciers shape the slope of glacial mountainous regions by plucking the surface through frost
wedging. Glacial erosion causes the characteristic sharp rocks of glacial mountains (Figure
5.7b).

Wind, which is formed from the travelling of air from an area of high pressure to low
pressure, can erode soft rocks, dust, sand, and sometimes volcanic ash. An evident action of
wind erosion is the formation of sand dunes in Paoay, Ilocos Norte (Figure 5.7c).

Figure 5.7a. Natural arch Figure 5.7b. Characteristic sharp Figure 5.7c. Sand forming strips
formation due to coastal erosion and steep mountains due to glacial and dunes as a result of wind
erosion. erosion.

Types of Transportation
Aside from the agent of erosion, the manner of being transported from one place to another
is also classified. There are four ways of transporting eroded material. In Figure 5.8, all four
ways are exemplified in a typical river:

Figure 5.8. All four types of transportation are present in a typical

river.

 Solution – material is dissolved and carried along by water. This is the manner of
transport common in limestone cave formation.
 Suspension – material is carried along by water, air, or ice.
 Traction – materials move by rolling along the surface.
 Saltation – materials move from the surface to the medium in quick, repeated cycles, as
if they are jumping.

Mass Wasting
One type of erosion is the mass movement of rocks termed as mass wasting. You can call a
process mass wasting if it involves mass movement of rocks along a slope. Mass wasting is
classified into three categories depending on the materials involved and the nature of
movement (Figure 5.9):

 Fall – occurs when a mass of rock becomes dislodged and freely falls along a steep cliff.
 Flow – occurs when a mass of rock becomes either saturated with water or too granular
that they appear to flow instead of sliding.
 Translational slide – occurs when the mass slides along a well-defined surface.
 Rotational slide – also known as slump; involves sliding of mass along a concave,
upward curved surface.
 Figure 5.9. Four basic types of mass wasting.

Deposition
We are now down to the last type of exogenic process: deposition. The first three processes
involve breaking down and wearing away of rocks. This time, we will discuss what happens
when rocks are accumulated instead of broken apart.

Deposition can form delta (Figure 5.10a). Delta forms when the water from a river
approaches a slow-moving water such as a lake or a sea. When the water from the river slows
down, it loses its capacity to carry sediments. The sediments are then deposited in the
seabed.

Another formation is called alluvial fan (Figure 5.10b). Alluvial fans are formed when a
stream from a mountain approaches a gently sloping plain. Just like the case in delta, water
loses velocity as well as its capacity to carry sediments. The sediments are then deposited in
a fan-shaped manner.

Figure 5.10a. Delta forms as river deposits its Figure 5.10b. Alluvial fan forms as river deposits its
sediments in the seabed. sediments on a gently sloping plain.

Together, exogenic processes shape the Earth’s surface and landscape. In the next lesson, we
will discuss processes that shape the Earth’s continents and formations such as mountain
ranges, island arcs, volcanoes, and ocean basins.