The Agents of Erosion

1. Erosion & Deposition

2. Water
3. Wind
4. Ice

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California
Science Project
1. Erosion and Deposition
Erosion is the physical removal and
transport of material by mobile
agents such as water, wind or ice.
The three common agents of erosion
are:

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• water
• wind
• Ice
These agents are mobile at the

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Earth’s surface and are responsible
for the transport of sediment.

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Erosion and mass wasting appear
to be similar processes but have
distinctly different causes.
The movement of sediment by
erosion requires mobile agents
such a water, wind and ice. That is,

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the sediment is transported by the
movement of the agents.
Mass wasting (commonly referred to as
landslides) involves the transfer of rock
and soil downslope under the influence of
gravity. Gravity is the key factor in mass
wasting and the movement of material
does not require a mobile agent.

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Weathering results in two types of products:
1. solid particles (sand grains, clay minerals, etc.)
2. dissolved constituents in water
These different types of sediment result in two fundamentally
different types of sedimentary rocks:
1. detrital (clastic) sedimentary rocks - formed from transported
solid particles (detritus or clasts).
2. chemical sedimentary rocks - formed by the precipitation of
dissolved substances by either inorganic or biologic processes

river rocks salt flat

Particle Size Classification of Detrital Sedimentary Rocks
Size Range (mm) Particle Name Sediment Name Rock Name
>256 Boulder
64 - 256 Cobble Conglomerate
Gravel
4 - 64 Pebble or Breccia
2-4 Granule
1/16 - 2 Sand Sand Sandstone
1/256 - 1/16 Silt Shale or
Mud
<1/256 Clay Mudstone
Erosion (transport of sediment) usually ends with the deposition
of sediments (and soil). Deposition occurs when the forces
responsible for erosion are no longer sufficient to transport the
sediment.
There are a
wide variety of
environments
on the Earth’s
surface where
the deposition
of sediments
occur as the
result of fluvial
(rivers), aeolian
(wind) and
glacial (ice)
erosion. 6
Wikimedia: Minkenorton
The particle shape may indicate
information about origin and
transport (rounded v. angular).
Sizes of particles can provide
useful information about the
environment of deposition:
• Gravels are found in high
energy environments such as
mountain streams and some
beaches.
• Sands are found in
intermediate energy
environments such as beaches
and river deposits.
• Clays are found in quiet
environments such as lakes and
the deep ocean.
2. Erosion by Water
Water is the most efficient and
effective agent for erosion.
Erosion by water commonly occurs in
two different geologic settings:
1. Coastlines – erosion that occurs
on coastlines is due to the action USGS
of ocean currents, waves, and
tides.
2. Streams and Rivers – erosion
commonly occurs along the bank
of the stream. A stream is any size
channelized body of running
water (small creeks to giant
rivers).
Streams are able to transport sediment very long distances. There
are different types of material carried by a stream depending on
the size and chemical properties.
1) Dissolved load - transport of ions and chemicals in solution -
responsible for the saltiness of the sea.
2) Suspended Load - typically the largest load - clays, silt and fine
sand. This material settles out when the river slows (settling
velocity) usually in an ocean or lake.
3) Bed Load - the material that
is transported along the
river bed - rolling, sliding
and saltation - where the
particles bounce or skip
along the river bed.
The sediment found in a river bed is
evidence of the type of sediment that is
being transported.
The sediments found in a river bed are
indicative of the energy of the river.
The stream gradient is the grade or the
drop in elevation of a stream (as a
ratio) and is usually expressed as
feet/mile or m/km. The higher the
gradient, the greater the energy in the
stream.
Very high energy mountain streams can
transport large particles, boulders and
gravel whereas lower energy streams
can only transport more fine sediment
such as silt and clay. 10
 Streams will erode the surface by cutting
downward and tend to form V-shape
valleys. Rivers with steep gradients tend
to form steep walls. Rivers with shallower Geographer Online

gradients tend to form broader valleys.

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When a stream has a very shallow

gradient (nearly flat), most of the
erosion is lateral (side to side) and
sediment is deposited forming flood
plains. The stream valley can be
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very broad and gentle.
Streams form a wide
variety of landforms due to
erosion and the deposition
of sediments.
Alluvial fans and deltas are
landforms that result from
the deposition of
sediments. They are

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similar structures, and differ
mainly by being deposited
either above or below
water. They are formed
from the deposition of the
sediment carried by the
river it flows into a canyon
or flatter plain (fan) or an
ocean or a lake (delta).
NOAA
3. Erosion by Wind
Compared to running water and
glaciers, wind erosion is relatively
insignificant as an agent of erosion.
It is more effective in dry lands
compared to humid environments.
The photo to the right (NASA)
shows a small dust storm blowing NASA
from Sudan onto the Red Sea.
In the 1930's, large dust storms
occurred in the midwest of the
U.S. - "Dust Bowl." This occurred
because of poor soil practices
(elimination of vegetation) and a
severe drought.
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NOAA
The transport of sediment by wind differs from running water in
two important ways:
1. Wind's lower density
compared to water
makes it less capable of
picking up and depositing
coarse material
2. Wind is not confined to
channels - it can spread
over large areas.
The suspended load of
wind consists of silt and
clay particles - small and
platy grains may take NASA satellite image of dust storm blowing
days to settle down. off the Sahara Desert across the
Mediterranean Sea toward Italy.
In arid regions, wind erodes the
surface through a process called
deflation. Deflation lowers the surface
by removing the finer grain material
(sand, silt, clay) and leaving the

Mark A. Wilson
coarser material.

Desert pavement develops as a result of deflation leaving the

surface covered with pebbles and cobbles. Other processes
may also lead to the development of desert pavement.
Stephen A. Nelson (Tulane)
Wind erodes by abrasion which
can cause interesting shapes.
The figure to the right shows the
erosion (abrasion) of the lower
softer limestone forming these
shapes in the Libyan desert.

Thomas Wilken
Abrasion can be thought of as a
type of mechanical weathering.
Wind carrying sand particles can abrade surfaces, creating
strange shapes and giving them a smooth polished appearance.

The wind sculpted rock to the left

in the Dry Valleys, Antarctica.
NSF
Sand Dunes
Wind commonly
deposits sand in
mounds or ridges
called dunes.

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Dunes commonly form around

a clump of vegetation or a
rock - where the wind velocity
is decreased (wind shadow).
The wind drops its sediment
load making the obstacle even
larger - self-propagating
process.
Many dunes have an
asymmetrical profile:
•steep leeward (downwind)
slope
•gentle windward slope
John W. Johnston

Sands move up the gentle slope by the force of the wind. At the
crest, the wind velocity decreases and sand grains fall out and
accumulate on the leeward side.
The leeward slope is about 34° - the angle of repose for dry
sand.
This process of dune development results in the dunes migrating
in the direction of the wind.
As the sand is deposited on
the leeward side, the sand is
inclined in the direction that the
wind is blowing. These sloping
layers are called cross beds.
John W. Johnston

The photo depicts a

sandstone in Zion
National Park that
shows preserved
sand dunes. Note the
well-preserved cross
beds.

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4. Erosion by Ice
Glaciers cover nearly 10 % of the Earth (decreasing steadily), but
in the past, about 30% was covered.
They are responsible for the basic character of:
• European and Southern Alps (NZ).
• Cape Cod & Long Island.
• Yosemite Valley, Glacier National Park, Grand Tetons
• Hudson Bay, Great Lakes, Fiords of Norway & Alaska

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Frank Paul, University of Zurich NASA
A glacier is a thick ice mass that originates on land by the
accumulation, compaction and recrystallization of snow.
• Glaciers are capable of flow, and therefore move downhill
under the force of gravity.
• When ice accumulates to greater than 50 m thick, the ice
below 50m can flow. The ice above 50 m remains brittle,
below it is ductile.

50m

Brittle (fractures)

Bedrock
Ductile (flows)
Glacial Erosion
As sediment-laden ice moves over rocks, it abrades (polishes)
them and may leave grooves or glacial striations on the rock
surface.
Glacial abrasion can be
thought of as a type of
mechanical weathering.

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Tom Lowell NSIDC
Glacial Landforms
Ice as an agent
of erosion can
move large
quantities of rock
and sculpt the
surface with
landforms that
are distinctive to
glacial erosion.
Wikipedia: Surachit
Glaciated Valleys
Prior to glaciation,
mountain valleys are
typically V-shaped from
stream erosion.
During glaciation they are
deepened and widen -
creating a U-shaped

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valley.
After a glacier melts or
retreats, it may be further
modified by a stream and
form a V-shaped valley

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Glacial Deposits
The general term for all types of glacial materials is glacial drift.
Drift can be broken into 2 groups:
1) Glacial Till - material that is deposited directly by a glacier and
is not sorted by size , and;
2) Stratified Drift or Outwash - deposited by meltwater from the
glacier and the sediment is sorted according to size.

Glacial drift is
deposited in a wide
variety of landforms

© Hans Hillewaert / CC-BY-SA-3.0

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Moraines are a deposit of
sediment that forms from the
direct action of a glacier.
The figure on the right shows
the different types of
moraines that can be formed.
The image below shows
lateral moraines exposed

BBC
after the retreat of the glacier.

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Wikipedia: Audriusa