Chemical

Weathering

TYPES AND ITS APPLICATION

 chemical weathering is a way in which rocks get broken down. But, it is
important to emphasize that because there is an actual chemical change taking place,
rocks are not just crumbled into smaller rocks; they are actually being chemically altered.
In other words, after chemical weathering, we end up with a different substance than the
one we started with.

 Chemical weathering results from chemical changes to minerals that become unstable when
they are exposed to surface conditions
 Some minerals, like quartz, are virtually unaffected by chemical weathering, while others,
like feldspar, are easily altered.
 The degree of chemical weathering is greatest in warm and wet climates, and least in cold
and dry climates.
 The important characteristics of surface conditions that lead to chemical weathering are the
presence of water , oxygen, and carbon dioxide, which produces weak carbonic acid.
Types of Chemical Weathering
The major reactions involved in chemical weathering are oxidation, hydrolysis, and
carbonation. The rate depends on temperature, surface area, and available water.
 Solution is the simplest process whereby minerals can be decomposed and
involved water acting as a solvent.
 Oxidation is the reaction of oxygen with minerals in a rock. oxygen reacts with
iron to form iron oxide -- rust -- which is soft and vulnerable to physical
weathering.
 Hydrolysis - A rock with a higher water content is softer, and thus easier for
physical weathering, or even just gravity, to decay.
 Carbonation is caused by carbonic acid in water reacting with and degrading rock
. Underground carbonation may form limestone caverns
SOLUTION
Chemical weathering occurs when water
dissolves minerals in a rock, producing new
compounds. This reaction is called hydrolysis.
Hydrolysis occurs, for example, when water
comes in contact with granite. Feldspar
crystals inside the granite react chemically,
forming clay minerals. The clay weakens the
rock, making it more likely to break
Water also interacts with calcites in caves,
causing them to dissolve. Calcite in dripping
water builds up over many years to create
stalagmites and stalactites.
Unweathered (left) and weathered (right) surfaces of the same piece of granitic rock.
Unweathered surfaces the feldspars glassy texture. On the weathered surface the feldspar has been
altered to the chalky-looking clay mineral kaolinite
OXIDATION

Oxygen is a reactive element. It

reacts with rocks through a
process called oxidation. One
example of this type of
weathering is rust formation .

CaAl2Si2O8  + H2CO3  + ½O2 —-> Al2Si2O5(OH)4  +   Ca

2
+   CO32-
plagioclase + carbonic acid —-> kaolinite + dissolved calcium + carbonate ions
HYDROLYSIS

 In addition to acting as a solvent, water may react directly

with minerals through hydrolysis
 involves the replacement of metal cations (most commonly K+,
Na+, Ca2+ andMg2+) in a mineral lattice by H+ ions
CARBONATION
 Carbon dioxide is fixed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis and enters the weathering
system

 Carbonation plays a particularly important role in the weathering of calcareous rocks.

 Limestones contain a high proportion of calcium carbonate

 The bicarbonate ion formed from the dissolution and dissociation of carbon dioxide in
water
Stability of mineral during chemical
weathering
 Samuel
In 1938,
Goldich published a
study of the weathering of
various igneous rocks in
which he concluded that
igneous silicate minerals
weather in an order much
like that of Bowens
Reactions Series, with
mafic silicates the most
susceptible to weathering
and quartz the least
susceptible.
Product of Chemical weathering –
Formation of secondary minerals.

 The mineralogical composition of

the weathering mantle includes a
range of secondary minerals
 The most important of which are
clay minerals.
 Formed through the recombination
of silica, alumina and
 Metal cations released during
weathering into layered
phyllosilicate-type structures
Factors influencing chemical
weathering

 The factors controlling chemical

weathering are
1) Climate,
2) Parent material,
3) Topography,
4) Organic activity and
5) Time.
 Temperature is an important factor
in rates of chemical weathering,
both through the direct effect it bas
on the rate of chemical reactions
Weathering proxies
Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA)

CIA = Al2O3/(Al2O3 + CaO* + Na2O + K2O) × 100

 Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW)

CIW = Al2O3/(Al2O3 + CaO* + Na2O) × 100

• Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA)
PIA = (Al2O3‐K2O)/(A12O3 + CaO* + Na2O‐K2O) × 100
• Modified Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW′)
CIW′ = Al2O3/(A12O3 + Na2O) × 100
Na/K, and Rb/Sr have been widely used in marine, loess, and fluvial‐lacustrine sediments to
reconstruct paleoclimate and paleoweathering conditions

CaO* associated with silicates only

THANK YOU

MOHD MUNAZIR CHAUHAN

PhD SCHOLAR
BSIP, LUCKNOW