3/12/2019

GEOLOGY
NOTES
WEATHERING AND EROSION

by | Touqeer Ahmed
Reg no: 258717
Batch: 18-A
Weathering:
Weathering involves a modification in the chemical, mineralogical, and
physical properties of the rock, in response to the environmental conditions
in which the rock is located. Weathering generally includes the processes
of disintegration of the rocks "in situ" (without movement) but also
continue during and after transportation. Weathering is extremely boring
from a spectator point of view But the product of weathering and erosion
are spectacular. It is a part of rock cycle.

Environmental factors affecting rates of weathering:

The following factors can affect the rate and the amount of weathering:

1) Rock type (what is present to be weathered): Different types of

materials weather in different ways, thus the rate at which rocks and
minerals weather depends on their composition. A rock with high
amounts of stable minerals like quartz-rich sandstone will be more
resistant to weathering than a rock with high amounts of olivine such
as basalt.

Figure 1: Simplified Goldich weathering series, showing the

weatherability of common rock-forming minerals.

2) Climate: The amount of rainfall and the temperature have a

significant effect on the amount and depth of weathering that takes
place. The amount of rainfall helps to determine the amount of water
present for weathering. The temperature governs the rate at which
the weathering takes place. Areas that are cold and dry, such as
Antarctica, have slow rates of chemical weathering (weathering here
 is mostly physical), whereas warm, moist tropical areas tend to favor
chemical weathering over physical weathering, leading to greater
depths of weathering.

3) Time: It takes a long time, relatively speaking, to develop regolith

(the layer of unconsolidated solid material covering the bedrock of a
planet); hence the more time that has passed the more weathering
that will have occurred. Glaciers that cover the landscape have
scraped the ground back to bare rock and when they melt,
development of the weathering profile will have to begin from scratch.
Throughout geological time glacial events have “reset” the weathering
clock in many parts of the world.

4) Geometry: Fine-grained rocks generally weather faster than more

coarse-grained rocks because they have a larger accessible surface
area. This is because the internal surfaces are also accessible to
water, oxygen and the other weathering agents. Likewise, rocks with
increased numbers of joints and fractures weather more quickly than
a solid mass of rock with the same dimensions. These gaps provide
pathways for weathering agents to enter a rock mass and speed up
the weathering process.
Factors Controlling Rates of Weathering

Rock type Slow Fast

Minerals present High SiO2 Low SiO2 and
carbonates
Rock structure Massive fractures
Climate Cold Warm
dry wet
Vegetation and limited extensive
animals
Soil None( Bare rock) soil cover
Weathering is also influenced by:

Some above terms:

 Tropical weathering (very hot and humid) occurs under high
temperature and rainfall throughout the year. The rate
of weathering under tropical conditions for most rocks is higher than
that found in other regions.
 Arid weathering (having little or no rain) in arid climates, however,
weathering processes move very slowly. Mechanical
weathering will be the dominant process in arid climates; however,
because of its reliance on chemical weathering, it will also be quite
 slow. Hydrolysis (also sometimes called hydration) causes most
silicate minerals to turn into clays.
 Periglacial weathering is those that are in a cold climate, typically
near glaciered regions.

Types of weathering: There are three types of weathering.

 Mechanical weathering/physical weathering
 Chemical weathering
 Biological weathering

Physical or Mechanical Weathering:

Physical weathering involves the disintegration of rocks and minerals by
mechanical processes. Such processes break down the materials into
smaller portions without altering their chemical make-up.
The primary process in physical weathering is abrasion (the process
by which clasts and other particles are reduced in size). However, chemical
and physical weathering often goes hand in hand. Abrasion by water, ice,
and wind processes loaded with sediment can have tremendous cutting
power, as is amply demonstrated by the gorges, ravines, and valleys
around the world.

1. Thermal weathering
Changes in temperature can cause rocks to expand and contract. In
areas like deserts, temperatures on dark rock surfaces can vary by
more than 40°C in the course of a day. This constant change in
temperature causes expansion and contraction of the rocks. This can
cause cracks to develop in the rock mass. These cracks provide
pathways for rainwater to enter, which speeds up the breakdown of
the rock.

Exfoliation: As rocks are not good conductors of heat, the outer

surfaces of rocks are heated while the middle remains relatively cool.
Repeated heating and cooling can cause the outer surface of the rock
 to flake away from the main rock. This is called exfoliation also known
as onion skin and is commonly seen on granite boulders (tors) and
this weathering is called isolation.

2. Mechanical Unloading
Unloading is the removal of great weights of rock or ice that lie on the
surface. This may happen through rising temperatures that melt ice
sheets; erosion by wind, water or ice; or tectonic uplift. The rock that
was once compressed by the weight of all the rocks above it now
expands with the decrease in pressure. This can cause joints and
fractures to form into which water can penetrate to allow physical and
chemical weathering processes to occur. This process occurs mostly
in igneous rocks but can also occur in sedimentary and metamorphic
rocks that were once deeply-buried.

3. Mechanical loading
Weathering occurs due to mechanical force or impact on rock. Such
as abrasion of rock by sand and silt size windborne particles in
deserts, impact on soil and weak rocks during intense rainfall.

4. Frost wedging
When water freezes it increases in volume by nine per cent, if water
that is trapped in small fractures or voids in the rock freezes it
expands, causing the rock to be forced apart and broke down into
pieces. This often occurs in regions where the temperatures hover
around freezing or below for specific period of time in a year.
5. Frost heaving
An upward movement of the subgrade resulting from the expansion
of accumulated soil moisture when it freezes.

6. Salt crystallization
This process is similar to that of frost wedging. When the
groundwater in pore spaces or cracks in rocks evaporates, ions
present in the water can precipitate out to form salts. As the salt
crystals grow, pressures they exert on the rock may be large enough
to cause the rock to disintegrate. The effects of salt crystallization can
be seen in coastal areas, in desert landscapes near salt lakes and in
areas that are prone to salinity problems. The salts halite (NaCl),
thenardite (Na2S04) and mirabilite (Na2SO4.10H2O) can exert a
pressure of crystallization of up to 120 megapascals (MPa); the
tensile strength (the force require to pull it apart) of a typical granite is
only 4 MPa.

7. Abrasive action of wind-blown sand

Have you ever been outside on a windy day and felt the sandblasting
effect of sand grains being transported in the wind? This is called
‘Aeolian abrasion’. In severe sand storms cars have even had their
paint removed! In desert areas abrasion of stones and rock surfaces
creates ‘ventifacts’. Ventifacts form when a pebble is flattened on the
exposed surface by the constant attack of windblown sand (Figure 3).
Ventifacts are common in desert areas but also occur in Antarctica
due to windblown ice crystals, which act the same as sand.

8. Dust wedging
This process is particularly important in arid areas like in Baluchistan.
The process of dust-wedging is similar to that of frost wedging. When
the rock expands due to the temperature, dust is able to settle in the
cracks. When the rock cools and contracts the dust wedged in the
cracks prevents them from closing. With subsequent heating and
cooling, more dust is able to get in the cracks, forcing the rock to split
further apart.
 9. Biological action
Fungi, bacteria, plant roots, worms, ants and other animals help rocks
to weather, both chemically and physically. As plant roots grow they
act like crowbars and physically wedge apart the bedrock (lithified
rock that lies under a loose softer material). Falling trees will often
bring fresh rocks up from the soil-bedrock interface within their root
balls.
Burrowing vertebrates like wombats and rabbits churn the upper
regolith, bringing fresher rock to the surface when it can be
weathered more quickly.

Chemical Weathering:
Chemical weathering involves the breakdown of rocks and minerals
through changes in the chemical composition of the material. These
changes are predominantly the result of interactions with air, water and
chemical compounds contained within them.
Chemical reactions do not
necessarily include all the minerals. Unlike the mechanical weathering,
chemical weathering involves their decomposition.

The processes included in this category are:

Dissolution and carbonation:

 Carbon dioxide present in atmosphere combine with rainwater to form
weak carbonic acid, it turns into acid rain when Sulphur dioxide and
nitrogen oxide react with this weak acid. Sulfur dioxide, SO2, comes
from volcanic eruptions or from fossil fuels, can become sulfuric acid
within rainwater, which can cause solution weathering to the rocks on
which it falls.
 Some minerals, due to their natural solubility, oxidation potential
(iron-rich minerals, such as pyrite), or instability relative to surficial
conditions will weather through dissolution naturally, even without
acidic water.
  One of the most well-known solution weathering processes is
carbonation, the process in which atmospheric carbon dioxide leads
to solution weathering. Carbonation occurs on rocks which contain
calcium carbonate, such as limestone and chalk. This takes place
when rain combines with carbon dioxide to form a weak carbonic acid
which reacts with calcium carbonate (the limestone) and forms
calcium bicarbonate. This process speeds up with a decrease in
temperature, not because low temperatures generally drive reactions
faster, but because colder water holds more dissolved carbon dioxide
gas. Carbonation is therefore a large feature of glacial weathering.

The reactions as follows:

CO2 + H2O → H2CO3

carbon dioxide + water → carbonic acid

H2CO3 + CaCO3 → Ca(HCO3)2

carbonic acid + calcium carbonate → calcium bicarbonate

Hydration

Hydration involves the addition of water to the rock or mineral. Mineral

hydration is a form of chemical weathering that involves the rigid
attachment of H+ and OH- ions to the atoms and molecules of a mineral.

When rock minerals take up water, the increased volume creates physical
stresses within the rock. For example, iron oxides are converted to iron
hydroxides and the hydration of anhydrite forms gypsum.

Oxidation:

Within the weathering environment chemical oxidation of a variety of metals

occurs. The most commonly observed is the oxidation of Fe2+ (iron) and
combination with oxygen and water to form Fe3+ hydroxides and oxides
such as goethite, limonite, and hematite. This gives the affected rocks a
reddish-brown coloration on the surface which crumbles easily and
weakens the rock.
Biological: A number of plants and animals may create chemical
weathering through release of acidic compounds. Mineral weathering can
also be initiated and accelerated by soil microorganism, for example,
Lichen is a combination of fungus and algae, living together in a symbiotic
relationship. Lichens can live on bare rock, and they break down rocks by
secreting acids and other chemicals. Lichens that chemically weather rock
is thought to increase chemical weathering rates. An experimental study on
hornblende granite in New Jersey, USA, demonstrated a 3x – 4x increase
in weathering rate under lichen covered surfaces compared to recently
expose bare rock surfaces.

The agents of chemical weathering

Water: Water weathers rock by dissolving it, it play an important role in

many chemical processes like carbonation, hydration, hydrolysis, oxygen
etc.

Oxygen: Iron combines with oxygen in the presence of water in a process

called oxidation. The product of oxidation is rust.

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.

Biological weathering: Biological weathering is the breakdown of rock

caused by the action of living organisms, including plants, burrowing
animals, and lichens.
Biological weathering involves processes that can be
either chemical or physical in nature. Biological weathering can be
considered special types of mechanical or chemical weathering.

Some biological weathering processes are:

  Animal burrowing
 Tree roots grow
 Bacteria (lichens and other organisms

Erosion:
The removal of weathered materials from where they were formed is called
erosion. The products of erosion can be transported by gravity, water, wind
or glaciers. Finally the material is then deposited in a new environment.
These processes are all part of the ‘rock cycle’ and may lead to the
formation of new sedimentary rocks.
Erosion is a natural process that has been
occurring throughout geological time to create landforms such as rivers,
valleys, caves and coastal platforms. The rates of erosion can, however, be
accelerated by human interference. Activities like inappropriate cropping,
grazing, and the building of roads and houses have sometimes resulted in
large-scale soil erosion, landslides and even desertification.
Erosion rate can be measure by using accurate instruments,
such as MEM’s (micro erosion meter); can be used to evaluate rates of
erosion directly using repeated observations of surface lowering. Erosion
rates can be assessed also using indirect techniques, such as the
comparison of reliefs or measures of mass or volume losses.

Erosion Agents
Water: Water in all its forms is erosional. Erosion can occur by the impact
of raindrops on the ground and by overland flow where the rainwater
travels across the ground after it falls. Erosion occurs far less if there is a
protective layer of vegetation above the soil. Tree canopies, shrubs,
grasses and mulch cushion the effect of the falling raindrops, and roots
hold the soil together.
Soil erosion occurs in different ways and is most obvious when the soil is
bare:

 Splash erosion: This occurs from the impact of raindrops on the soil
surface. The loose sediment may later be removed and transported
by overland flow.

 Sheet erosion: Water flowing over the surface of the land can strip
away thin, uniform sheets of soil and underlying regolith. Visually the
land surface has the same shape as it had before it was eroded, but it
will be slightly lower elevation.

 Rill erosion: As water running over a surface becomes more

turbulent, it tries to take the easiest route. This results in the
concentration of water into small channels or rills. Rills are normally
several centimeters in depth and often occur after cultivation.

The Work of Rivers

The material transported in rivers and streams is called its load. The solid
portion transported by streams is either bed load or suspended load

 The bed load consists of the heavier portion of the sediment and is
generally between 5 and 50 percent of the total load.
 Suspended load is the fine material transported by moving water in
the zone of turbulent flow.

The size of the bed and suspended load depends on the speed of the
river. The faster the river flows the bigger and heavier the rocks that are
transported. As the river slows down again the particles will be deposited.
River Deposits more likely at lower velocities and Erode at higher
velocities.
The Work of Sea
Wave erosion:
Most erosion on coasts is due to the action of Waves. The power of ocean
waves is very high; large storm waves can produce 2000 pounds of
pressure per square foot. The stronger the winds the more powerful the
waves and the more eroding they will do. When a wave breaks on the
shore it becomes more turbulent. This turbulent water is called the ‘surf’.

Costal erosion:
Waves in oceans and other large bodies of sea cause coastal erosion. The
pure energy of waves along with the chemical content of the water is what
erodes the rock of the coastline. Beach faces are generally eroded by the
surf in winter from high energy waves. In summer usually waves are not so
energetic and beach faces get built up from the deposition of sand and
sediment.
Work of WIND:
Erosion by wind is known as Aeolian erosion (named after Aeolus, the
Greek god of winds) and usually occurs in deserts.

Wind erodes the Earth's surface by deflation (the removal of loose, fine-
grained particles by the turbulent action of the wind) and by abrasion (the
wearing down of surfaces by the grinding action and sandblasting by
windborne particles).
Regions which experience intense and sustained erosion are called
deflation zones. Most Aeolian deflation zones are composed of desert
pavement. Almost half of Earth's desert surfaces are stony deflation zones.

Factors controls the rate of Erosion

 Wind strength
Likewise Wave the Aeolian erosion also depends upon energy of the
wind. The stronger the winds the more eroding it will do.
 Amount of available surface material
Rate of erosion also vary with physical features of earth, Wind will
erode more in dessert than mountains or plateaus because of more
availability of material.
 Size of particles
Wind with specific energy cannot transport the larger fragments, so, it
is necessary to have stronger wind to transport heavy particles.
Smaller particles erodes easily at higher rate than heavy particles
i.e., dust is much easier to transport than sand.

Deflation and Abrasion

Another way of considering wind erosion types is to consider deflation and
abrasion.
 Deflation is the process by which wind moves particles that are loose.
 Abrasion is when an area is eroded directly by airborne particles.
Abrasion is mechanical scraping of a rock surface by friction between
rocks and moving particles during their transport by wind.
Wind Transport:
Suspension, saltation, and surface creep are the three types of soil
movement which occur during wind erosion. While soil can be blown away
at virtually any height, the majority (over 93%) of soil movement takes
place at or below one meter.

 Suspension- occurs when very fine dirt and dust particles are lifted
into the wind. They can be thrown into the air through impact with
other particles or by the wind itself. Once in the atmosphere, these
particles can be carried very high and be transported over extremely
long distances. Soil moved by suspension is the most spectacular
and easiest to recognize of the three forms of movement. Only small
particles (<20 m) can remain in suspension for long-time periods.

 Saltation - The major fraction of soil moved by the wind is through

the process of saltation. In saltation, fine soil particles are lifted into
the air by the wind and drift horizontally across the surface increasing
in velocity as they go. Soil particles moved in this process of saltation
can cause severe damage to the soil surface and vegetation. When
they strike the surface again they either rebound back into the air or
knock other particles into the air. Saltation particle size is generally
70-500m.

 Creep - The large particles which are too heavy to be lifted into the
air are moved through a process called surface creep. In this
 process, the particles are rolled across the surface after coming into
contact with the soil particles in saltation. Particle size for creeping is
generally 70-500m but it depend upon power of wind, heavy wind
can creep larger particles.

The Work of Ice

A Glacier is thick ice mass formed on land that is made by

 Accumulation
 Compaction
 Recrystallization

Of snow. It is a part of hydrological cycle. The erosive power of moving ice

is actually a greater than the power of water. However since water is much
more common, it is responsible for a greater amount of erosion on the
earth's surface. Glaciers cause erosion two ways

 pluck and
 abrade

Plucking takes place by water entering cracks under the glacier, freezing,
and breaking off pieces of rock that are then moved by the glacier.
Abrasion cuts into the rock under the glacier, scooping rock up like a
bulldozer and smoothing and polishing the rock surface.

Glacial Deposits
 More than one third of world is glaciated

 Different from water borne sediments; show lack of sorting

 Out wash deposits spread in streams and rivers from snout, un

stratified till modified by water

 Boulders and rock fragments embedded in ground up debris of rock

flour clay

 Large blocks left enroute

  Extreme variability, difficulty of construction

 Glacial lakes, show layers of fine and course grained sediments

Land Forms
Hummocky Ridge