University 

of Prince Mugrin
College of Engineering
Geo 144 Geology
Lecture No. 7

Weathering
Instructor: Hassan A. Abas, Ph.D., P.E.
Email: H.Abbas@upm.edu.sa
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List of contents

 Earth’s External Processes.

 Mechanical Weathering.

 Chemical Weathering.

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Earth’s External Processes

Weathering the process that breaks bedrock into smaller rock and mineral fragments,
and eventually into soils.
Weathering involves the physical breakdown and chemical alteration of rock at or near
Earth’s surface: Two types:
1. Mechanical weathering :
Physical forces breaking rocks into smaller pieces without changing the rock’s mineral
composition.
2. Chemical weathering:
Involves dissolving of minerals or chemical reactions that replace the original minerals
with new minerals that are stable at Earth’s surface.

Both work simultaneously and reinforce each other 3

Mechanical Weathering
Rocks in the upper half of the crust are brittle, and like any other brittle material, they
break when they are twisted, squeezed, or stretched by tectonic forces.

Mechanical weathering takes place in four main ways— through:

1- Freezing of water,
2- Formation of salt crystals,
3- Penetration by plant roots,
4- Abrasion

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Mechanical Weathering
1- Freezing of water ( Frost wedging):
Water in cracks repeatedly freezes and expands, forcing rocks apart, then thaws and flows
away.

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Mechanical Weathering
2- Salt crystals growth ( Salt wedging ):
Sea spray or salty groundwater infiltrates cracks and pore spaces in rocks. As the water
evaporates, salt crystals form and enlarge the cracks.

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Mechanical Weathering
3- Penetration by plant roots ( Root wedging):
A tree may become rooted in a crack in the bedrock,
eventually widening the crack and wedging apart the
bedrock.

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Mechanical Weathering
4- Abrasion :

This is the gradual wearing away of bedrock by the constant battering of loose particles
transported by water, wind, or ice.

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Chemical Weathering
 Chemical weathering occurs when minerals react with air and water.
 It refers to the many chemical reactions that alter or destroy minerals when rock comes
in contact with water solutions and/or air.
 Common reactions involved in chemical weathering include the following:

1- Dissolution

2- Oxidation

3- Hydration

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Chemical Weathering
1- Dissolution:
 Chemical weathering during which minerals dissolve into water is called dissolution.
 Dissolution primarily affects salts and carbonate minerals.

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Chemical Weathering
2- Oxidation:
Oxidation reactions in rocks transform iron bearing minerals into a rusty brown mixture
of various iron-oxide and iron-hydroxide minerals.

Granite Rock

weathered granite rock

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Chemical Weathering
3 - Hydrolysis :
During hydrolysis, water chemically reacts with minerals and breaks them down.

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