Weathering and Erosion

formation of landforms
weathering and erosion

• The process of weathering and erosion are the

main forces behind landscape types.
• However, they are not the only reason for a
plain, plateau, or a mountain region to form.
▫ Other factors such as glaciations and tectonic
activity lead to landscape building.
weathering
• Weathering is the chemical and physical processes that
change the characteristics of rocks on the Earth’s surface.

• It is also known as the preparation for erosion. In order for

weathering to occur, the environment of a rock sample must
change and the rock needs to be exposed to some form of
water and/or the air.

• Human processes such as pollution, which can be a large

factor in acid rain, along with the acts of other living
organisms, can cause chemical weathering to occur at faster
rates. 
weathering process
• The weathering process occurs when rocks are exposed
to the hydrosphere (water) and atmosphere (air).

• These weathering agents can change the physical and

chemical characteristics of rocks.

• As rocks are broken down (weathered) they can be

classified as different types of sediments, which are:
boulders, cobbles, pebbles, sand, silt, clay, and colloids.
physical weathering

• Types of Physical weathering

▫ Frost heaving and Frost wedging
▫ Plant roots
▫ Friction and impact
▫ Burrowing of animals
▫ Temperature changes
physical weathering
Frost heaving
• Frost heave is the result of pressure created
from a combination of freezing
temperatures and soil defrosting. The
fluctuating freezing and thawing conditions
heave, or lift, the soil, which is often
characterized by deep cracking of the soil.
Plants may be uprooted from the ground as
well.
Frost wedging
• Frost wedging is caused by the repeated freeze-thaw
cycle of water in extreme climates.
• Most rocks have small cracks in them, called joints.
When it rains, rainwater seeps into these joints. As
the day cools and temperatures at night drop below
freezing, the water inside the joints freezes.
• As water freezes into ice, it expands.
• The expanding ice places pressure on the joints in
the rock. Finally, when the pressure is too much,
the joint expands. In some cases, the rock will split,
though this usually happens after repeated freeze
and thaws. As new water is added during the
warmer days, more ice is created at night, wedging
the joints apart further.
physical weathering
Plant roots
• The roots of large plants can
penetrate the rocky soil and
break it apart.
Friction and impact
• Constant exposure to friction
and impact can change the
formation of the rocks and
cause them to break off.
physical weathering
Animals
• Animals that burrow into
rocks can cause weathering.
Temperature changes
• The changing temperatures
can alter landscapes by
causing the soil to freeze or
burn.
weathering cycle
erosion
• Erosion is the removal of solids (sediment, soil, rock and other
particles) in the natural environment. It usually occurs due to
transport by:
▫ wind, water, or ice
▫ down-slope creep of soil and other material under the force of gravity
▫ living organisms, such as burrowing animals
• Erosion is a noticeable intrinsic natural process but in many places
it is increased by human land use.
• Poor land use practices include:
▫ deforestation
▫ overgrazing
▫ unmanaged construction activity
▫ road-building.
erosion

• Land that is used for the production of agricultural crops generally

experiences a significant greater rate of erosion than that of land under
natural vegetation.

• However, improved land use practices can limit erosion, using techniques
such as terrace-building, conservation tillage practices, and tree planting.

• A certain amount of erosion is natural and, in fact, healthy for the

ecosystem. For example, gravels continuously move downstream in
watercourses.

• Excessive erosion, however, does cause problems, such as receiving water

sedimentation, ecosystem damage and outright loss of soil.
erosion landforms
These are some examples of landforms that have formed as a result of the erosion process:

Arete:
• a steep-sided, sharp-edged bedrock ridge
formed by two glaciers eroding away on
opposite sides of the ridge.
Cirque:
• a semicircular or amphitheater-shaped
bedrock feature created as glaciers scour
back into the mountain. This is where the
snow and ice forming the glacier first
accumulates; it is the "headwaters" of a
glacier.
erosion landforms
Col Groove
• a low spot or pass along a cirque. • an elongate depression carved out of
bedrock as numerous rock particles
embedded in the base of a glacier scour
away at the underlying bedrock as the ice
flows across the landscape.
erosion landforms
Horn Paternoster Lakes
• a pyramid-shaped mountain peak created • a chain of lakes in a glacial valley.
by several glaciers eroding away at different
sides of the same mountain.
erosion landforms
Striations U-shaped Valley
• lines etched in bedrock underlying glaciers • a glacially eroded valley; also called a glacial
as individual particles embedded in the trough.
glacier scratch the underlying bedrock.
These lines indicate the orientation of
glacial flow.
conclusion
• In conclusion, the effects of weathering and erosion
occur naturally but are sometimes sped up by human
processes.

• Weathering and erosion are the cause of many of the

land forms that you see around you every day.

• Understanding these phenomenon can help us better

understand the world around us and how it was made,
and how it will continue to be shaped by these processes.