WEATHERING

WHAT IS
WEATHERING?
WEATHERING IS THE
BREAKING DOWN OR
DISSOLVING OF
ROCKS AND
MINERALS ON THE
EARTH’S SURFACE. NO
ROCK IS HARD
ENOUGH TO RESIST
WEATHERING.
WEATHERING VS
EROSION
• WEATHERING IS DIFFERENT FROM EROSION. IN EROSION,
ROCKS ARE WORN AWAY AND MOVED TO SOMEWHERE
ELSE BY WIND, WATER OR ICE. IN WEATHERING, NO
MOVEMENT OF ROCK MATERIAL IS INVOLVED.
• ONCE THE ROCK HAS BEEN BROKEN DOWN, EROSION
TRANPORTS THE BITS OF ROCKS AND MINERALS AWAY.
 GRAND
CANYON
THIS CANYON WAS CARVED
DUE TO THE PROCESSES OF
WEATHERING AND EROSION.
THE GRAND CANYON CAN BE
FOUND IN ARIZONA, USA. IT IS
446 KILOMETERS LONG, 29
KILOMETERS WIDE, AND 1.6
KILOMETERS DEEP.
TYPES OF WEATHERING
I. MECHANICAL
• ALSO CALLED
PHYSICAL
WEATHERING
• DISINTEGRATION OF
ROCKS INTO SMALLER
FRAGMENTS
• SOME OF THE COMMON
MECHANICAL ACTIONS
ARE FROST WEDGING,
SALT WEDGING AND
THERMAL STRESS.
 FROST
WEDGING

FROST WEDGING HAPPENS WHEN WATER ENTERS THE PORES

AND CRACKS OF ROCKS, THEN FREEZES. THE PROCESS REPEATS
UNTIL THE ROCKS SPLIT AND BREAK DOWN.
SALT WEDGING
SALT WEDGING OCCURS WHEN SALTS CRYSTALIZE AND GROW IN ROCKS. THEY
WEAKEN THE ROCK SURROUNDING THEM BY APPLYING PRESSURE AS THEY
CONTINUE TO GROW AND EVENTUALLY CRACK AND BREAK DOWN THE ROCK.

THERMAL STRESS
THERMAL STRESS IS THE CONTRACTION AND EXPANSION EFFECT ON THE
ROCKS CAUSED BY CHANGES IN TEMPERTURE. DUE TO UNEVEN EXPANSION
AND CONTRACTION, THE ROCKS CRACK APART AND DISINTEGRATE INTO
SMALLER PIECES.
II. BIOLOGICAL
• DISINTEGRATION OF ROCKS AS
A RESULT OF THE ACTIONS OF
LIVING THINGS
• TREES AND PLANTS CAN WEAR
AWAY ROCKS AS THEIR ROOTS
PENETRATE INTO THE SOIL.
• MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS
CAN GROW AND EAT AWAY THE
SURFACE OF THE ROCKS.
• BURROWING ANIMALS CAN
SPEED UP THE DEVELOPMENT
OF FISSURES.
 III. CHEMICAL
• TRANSFORMS THE
ORIGINAL MATERIAL INTO
A SUBSTANCE WITH A
DIFFERENTCOMPOSITION
AND DIFFERENT PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
• THE NEW SUBSTANCE IS
MUCH SOFTER AND MORE
SUSCEPTIBLE TO AGENTS
OF EROSION
OXIDATION
• OCCURS WHEN OXYGEN CREATES CHEMICAL REACTION, WITH A
COMMON EXAMPLE BEING RUST, WHICH MAKES THE ROCK SOFTER OVER
TIME

HYDROLYSIS
• OCCURS WHEN WATER REACTS WITH COMPOUNDS IN THE ROCK TO
CREATE OTHER COMPOUNDS.
AGENTS OF WEATHERING
 AGENTS OF
WEATHERING
• WATER OR ICE
• SALTS OR CRYSTALS
• TEMPERATURE
• RAINWATER
• PLANTS AND TREES
• LIVING ORGANISMS
• OXYGEN
• WIND
FACTORS THAT CONTROL
THE RATES OF
WEATHERING
• PROPERTIES OF THE PARENT ROCK
 STRUCTURE OF THE ROCK
 DIFFERENT MINERALS WEATHER AT DIFFERENT RATES
• CLIMATE
 RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURE
• SOIL
• LENGTH OF EXPOSURE
IMPORTANCE OF
WEATHERING
• PRODUCES UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIAL FROM WHICH SOIL IS
FORMED
• PROVIDES PLANT NUTRIENT
• RESULTS IN THE FORMATION OF SECONDARY MINERALS
• HELPS SHAPE THE EARTH’S CRUST
DISADVANTAGES OF
WEATHERING
• DAMAGE TO MAN-MADE STRUCTURES
 ROOT WEDGING CAN BREAK THROUGH CONCRETES AND PAVEMENTS
• NATURAL DISASTERS
 MASS WASTING
• DAMAGE TO SHORES AND FARMS
 EROSION DECREASES THE FERTILITY OF SOILS
 LOSS OF BEACHES AND COASTAL PROPERTIES
QUIZ
WEATHERING
1. WHAT FAMOUS TOURIST ATTRACTION WAS CARVED DUE TO THE PROCESSES
OF WEATHERING AND EROSION?
2. WHAT ARE THE THREE TYPES OF WEATHERING? (3PTS.)
3. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEATHERING AND EROSION? (2PTS.)
4. GIVE AT LEAST ONE MECHANICAL ACTION THAT CAUSES WEATHERING.
5. GIVE AT LEAST ONE AGENT THAT CAUSES BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING.
6. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OXIDATION AND HYDROLYSIS? (2PTS.)
7. WHAT ARE THE FACTORS THAT CONTROL THE RATES OF WEATHERING? (4PTS.)
8. GIVE TWO IMPORTANCE OF WEATHERING. (2PTS.)
9. GIVE TWO DISADVANTAGES OF WEATHERING. (2PTS.)
10. WHAT IS WEATHERING? (2PTS.)
KEY TO CORRECTION
1. GRAND CANYON
2. MECHANICAL, BIOLOGICAL, AND CHEMICAL WEATHERING
3. WEATHERING IS THE BREAKING DOWN OF ROCKS WHILE EROSION TRANSPORTS
BITS OF ROCKS TO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
4. FROST WEDGING, SALT WEDGING, AND THERMAL STRESS
5. MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS, TREES AND PLANTS, BURROWING ANIMALS
6. OXIDATION INVOLVES OXYGEN WHILE HYDROLYSIS INVOLVES WATER.
7. PROPERTIES OF PARENT ROCK, CLIMATE, SOIL AND LENGTH OF EXPOSURE
8. PRODUCES UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIAL FROM WHICH SOIL IS FORMED,
PROVIDES PLANT NUTRIENT, RESULTS IN THE FORMATION OF SECONDARY
MINERALS, HELPS SHAPE THE EARTH’S CRUST
9. DAMAGE TO MAN-MADE STRUCTURES, NATURAL DISASTERS, DAMAGE TO SHORES
AND FARMS
10. WEATHERING IS THE BREAKING DOWN OR DISSOLVING OF ROCKS AND MINERALS
ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE.