Weathering and Erosion

Weathering:
decomposition of
rocks
There is a distinction between
weathering and erosion:
– Weathering converts
exposed rock to soil in place
– Erosion transports dissolved
or fragmented material from
the source area where
weathering is occurring to a
depositional environment
 http://www.oneworldhull.co.uk
Coffee making as analogy for
physical and chemical
weathering

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http://www.peets.com/

http://www.peets.com/
http://www.gly.fsu.edu/%7Esalters/GLY1000/10Weathering_Erosion/Slide6.jpg
 Weathering
Weathering is the disintegration and
decomposition of rocks and minerals at or near
the earth's surface as a result of physical,
chemical, and biological processes.  No
transport or entrainment is considered
 Increase surface area

http://www.gly.fsu.edu/%7Esalters/GLY1000/10Weathering_Erosion/Slide10.jpg
• Weathering produces unique landforms
• Weathering produces regolith or a
weathering mantle, that may eventually
become soil

Erosion
The process by which water, ice, wind or
gravity moves fragments of rock and soil
 Two types of weathering (although
they do not work independently):

A. Physical (or mechanical) weathering

disaggregation with no change in chemistry

creates surface area
Resistance to weathering depends on:

•Internal resistance of material

•Magnitude of external forces
Types of physical weathering
• Frost heaving and Frost wedging
• Plant roots
• Friction and impact
• Burrowing of animals
• Temperature changes
 Frost Wedging (freeze-thaw)
Common in high latitudes & high altitudes
Frost Heaving
Friction and Repeated Impact
Burrowing of Animals
Plant Roots
Temperature Changes

Thermal expansion
different minerals have
different coefficients of thermal
expansion
e.g. quartz is about 3 times that
of feldspar
 Water
• Water weathers rock by dissolving it
a. Hydration: addition of
water to mineral structure
causes structure to
expand

chemical reaction with

physical results

Result:
expansive soils (vertisols)
small scale - spheroidal
weathering
large scale - exfoliation
Exfoliation fractures
Environmental control on weathering
 B. Chemical Weathering
• The process that breaks down rock through
chemical changes and mineralogic
changes:  weakens rocks
Progression from less stable minerals to more stable
minerals
primary minerals - secondary minerals - new
secondary minerals

Geochemical weathering: driven by inorganic

processes; produces "rotten" rocks or saprolites

Pedochemical weathering: controlled by biologic

processes; leads to formation of soil from saprolites
http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/GeologicalDiagrams2.html
The agents of chemical weathering
Water (water is critical)
Oxygen
Carbon dioxide
Living organisms
Acid rain
a. virtually all chemical weathering
involves some solution

b. most common minerals are soluble to

some degree in normal waters except:

silica when contained in quartz

aluminum oxides - virtually insoluble
under normal conditions
ferric iron - requires very acidic fluids
Primary controls on weathering:
Climate (temperature and
precipitation) and geology (rock
type and distribution)

Secondary controls:
topography (relief and aspect) and
vegetation (changes chemistry and
is vigorous physically)
 Oxygen
• Iron combines with
oxygen in the
presence of water in
a processes called
oxidation
• The product of
oxidation is rust
Oxidation & reduction

a. an element in a mineral structure loses

electrons to an oxygen ion; forms oxides and
hydroxides
•e.g. ferrous iron (Fe+2) oxidizes to ferric iron
(Fe+3)
4Fe+2 + 3O2 = 2Fe2O3
iron + oxygen = iron oxide
b. most elements at earth's surface exist
in an oxidized state

c. reduced form of elements are more

mobile than oxidized because they're
more soluble
 Hydrolysis

a. water dissociates into H+ and OH-

b. H+ displaces other cations in

mineral structure

c. important mechanism for breaking

apart silicate minerals
 Ion exchange

a. substitution of ions in minerals (usually

cations) by ions in solution without
rearrangement of mineral structure

b. most effective in clays

•cations held to clay surface by adsorption; not
held too tightly
•H+ and Ca+2 are most readily adsorbed; Na+2 is
most readily released

c. cation exchange capacity: propensity for

adsorbing cations
 Carbon Dioxide
• CO2 dissolves in rain water and creates
carbonic acid
• Carbonic acid easily weathers limestone
and marble
 Living Organisms
• Lichens that grow on rocks produce weak
acids that chemically weather rock
 Acid Rain
• Compounds from burning coal, oil and gas
react chemically with water forming acids.
• Acid rain causes very rapid chemical
weathering
 Karst Topography
• A type of landscape in rainy regions where
there is limestone near the surface,
characterized by caves, sinkholes, and
disappearing streams.
• Created by chemical weathering of
limestone
Features of Karst: Sinkholes
Features of Karst: Caves
Features of Karst: Disappearing
Streams
 Erosion
• The process by which water, ice, wind or
gravity moves fragments of rock and soil.
 Water Erosion
• Rivers, streams, and runoff
 Ice Erosion
• Glaciers
Wind Erosion
 Mass Movements
• Landslides, mudslides, slump and creep

landslide clip.mpeg
 Leaching
• Movement of water through weathering
zone
• 1) removes dissolved minerals
2) adds fresh H+ (keeping things in
solution)
3)  moves material within weathering zone
possibly allowing precipitation of new
minerals
Weathering produces:

Angular rubble

Talus (also called scree) is a

sloping mass of rocky fragments
and debris formed at the base of a
cliff) &

Felsenmeers (sea of rocks)

The Rock Show
Árbol de Piedra - Bolivia
Bárdenas Reales - Navarra
Balanced Rock (of Basalt), Jabalpur, M.P.
Balanced Rock, Garden of the Gods
Colorado, USA
Boulders - Nueva Zelanda
Brimham Rock - England, UK
Bryce Canyon National Park - Utah, USA
Cinglera del Capelló - Capellades, Catalunya
Delicate Arch - Utah, USA
 Desierto de los Pináculos
Parque Nacional Nambung - Australia
Devils Tower - Wyoming, USA
Geiser Black Rock Desert - Nevada, USA
Goreme Valley Fairy Chimneys - Turkey
James Bond Island - Thailand
Karlu Karlu or Devil's Marbles - Australia
Krishna's Butterball - India
Landscape Arch - Utah, USA
Los Roques - Tenerife
Maltese Cross Rock - South Africa
Montserrat - Catalunya
Mushroom Rock - Kansas, USA
Nanya Rock - Taiwán, China
Palo Duro Canyon - Texas, USA
Perce Rock - Canada
Piedra movediza del Tandil - Argentina
Port Campbell - Australia
Prekestolen (El púlpito) - Noruega
Rock City - Kansas, USA
Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly - Arizona, USA
The Cheesewring - UK
The Externsteine - Germany
The Giant's Causeway - Northern Ireland, UK
The Wave - Arizona, USA
Torcal de Antequera - Andalucía
Uluru, Ayers Rock - Australia
Wadi Rum - Jordania
Wave Rock - Australia