Geologic Processes on Earth’s Surface

The Earth is constantly changing through the years. According to the Continental Drift Theory
proposed by Alfred Wegener, the Earth was once a giant landmass called Pangaea. This giant
landmass was broken down into several continents because of the movement beneath the Earth’s
surface.

If continents came from a giant landmass, can you imagine how the mountains, volcanoes,
and soil are formed?

Shaping the Earth’s surface involves a geological process called weathering. Weathering is the
process of breaking down rocks into smaller pieces called sediments.

Different Types of Weathering

All rocks undergo weathering, and it takes a long period. There are three different types of rock
weathering: mechanical weathering, chemical weathering, and biological weathering.

• Mechanical weathering is a process wherein rocks are broken down into smaller pieces
without changing its chemical composition due to different temperatures and water. Rocks in
the highway develop cracks and small fractures because of too much exposure to heat. This
activity is an example of mechanical weathering.
• Chemical weathering is a process wherein rock materials are changed into other
substances that have different physical and chemical compositions. Some agents of chemical
weathering include water, strong acids, and oxygen. Water hydrates and breaks the minerals
in the rocks through the process of hydrolysis. Oxygen combines with metals to produce
oxides while acids from vents and volcanoes increase the speed of weathering process. One
example of chemical weathering in rocks is when rainwater hydrolyzed the feldspar minerals
to form clay minerals.
• Biological weathering is a process when living things, such as insects and roots of the trees,
contribute to the disintegration of rock materials. For example, mosses and fungi that grow
on rocks produce weak acids that can destroy or dissolve the rocks.

Erosion

Erosion is the transportation of weathered rocks. Agents like running water or rivers, wind, gravity,
groundwater, wave currents, and glaciers contribute to erosion.

Types of Erosion

• Water erosion is a type of erosion where the water carries the sediments to different parts
of the bodies of water such as rivers.
• Wind erosion happens when light materials, such as small rocks and pebbles, are carried
by wind to different places.
• Glacial erosion happens when the ice moves downhill and plucks out chunks of rocks and
causes scraping between the ice and the rock. Plucking and scraping can lead to the
development of other landforms if, for example, the glaciers hit a mountain and erode it.
• Soil erosion happens when the top soil is removed and leaves the soil infertile. This is
caused by wind or flood in an area.

Deposition

Deposition is the laying down of sediments to its depositional environment or final destination. The
depositional environment can be continental, coastal, or marine.

• Continental includes streams, swamps, caves, and deserts.

Key Points

• Weathering is the process of breaking down rocks into smaller pieces called sediments.
• Erosion is the removal of weathered rocks downslope from the original place of weathering.
• Deposition is the laying down of sediments to its depositional environment or final
destination.