Exogenic

Processes
Weathering, Mass wasting
Soil erosion
Weathering
• Is a general term
applied to the
combined action of all
physical and chemical
processes that
disintegrate and
decompose rocks
near Earth’s surface
through the elements
of weather.
Types of Weathering

Physical weathering

Chemical weathering

Biotic weathering
 Physical
Weathering
• Happens whenever rocks are broken up
without any change in their chemical
composition. Sometimes called
mechanical weathering, this type of
weathering takes place in different
ways, depending on the factor that acts
on the rock. This factors include
pressure, warm temperature, water and
ice. Examples of physical weathering
include block disintegration, exfoliation,
and frost action.
Types of •Block disintegration
physical •Exfoliation
weathering •Frost weathering
 Block
disintegration
• Is caused by successive heating and
cooling that causes the expansion
and contraction of rocks. In hot
desert region, the high diurnal
range of temperature of day and
night causes successive expansion
and contraction of rocks. This
repeated expansion and
contraction creates stress along
joint, eventually breaking doe the
rock, block by block.
Exfoliation
Is the stripping of the
outer layers of rocks due
to intense heating. Since
rocks are poor
conductors of heat, the
inner layers remain
almost unaffected by
heat. The successive
expansion and
contraction of the outer
layers of the rock peels
off from the main rock
in the form of concentric
shells.
• Frost weathering
Refers to the alternate freezing
and thawing of water inside the
joints of the rocks, causing them
to split into small particles of
fragments. This occurs because
the conversion of water into ice
increases the volume of water
by 10 percent. This is the most
important physical weathering
process in cold regions.
Chemical weathering
•Is the weakening
or disintegration of
rocks and the
formation of new
compounds or
new substances
caused by
chemical reactions.
Types of chemical
weathering
• Oxidation
• Carbonation
• Hydration
• Solution
• Oxidation
• Is the process in which
oxygen reacts with the
rock and changes its
mineral composition.
The greatest impact of
this process is observed
in ferrous minerals,
which contain iron. The
oxygen in humid air
reacts with iron in the
rocks to form oxides of
iron called rust.
Carbonation
•Weathering
carbonation occurs when
CO₂ from the atmosphere
slowly enters concrete over
time, reacting with some of
the reaction products of
cement hydration and water
in the pores (i.e., small
pockets in the structure of
hardened concrete).
Hydration
•Hydration is a form
of chemical
weathering in which
the chemical bonds
of the mineral are
changed as it
interacts with water.
 Solution
• Solution weathering
is the process by which
certain minerals are
dissolved by acidic
solutions. For example,
calcite in limestone is
dissolved easily by
carbonic acid.
Biotic weathering
 Mass wasting
• Refers to the downslope
movement of rock,
regolith and soil because
of gravity. Mass wasting
is a natural process that
occurs after weathering.
It is considered a natural
hazard.
Soil erosion
• The product of weathering
which is the disintegration
of rocks into particles of
soil. The removal of soil at
a greater rate than its
replacement by natural
agencies is known as soil
erosion