Weathering, Erosion, and Mass-Wasting Processes

Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 36

Weathering, Erosion, Stalactite and stalagmite joining together in

Onondaga Cave State Park, Missouri.

and Mass-Wasting
Photo courtesy of SCGS
Photo courtesy of SCGS

Processes
SLIDESMANIA.C
Definitions
Weathering, erosion, mass-wasting, and depositional processes occur at or near the
Earth’s surface and produce changes to the landscape that influence surface and
subsurface topography and landform development.

Weathering is the physical disintegration or chemical alteration of rocks at or


near the Earth’s surface.
Erosion is the physical removal and transportation of weathered material by
water, wind, ice, or gravity.
Mass wasting is the transfer or movement of rock or soil down slope primarily
by gravity.
Deposition is the process by which weathered and eroded materials are laid
down or placed in a location that is different from their source.
SLIDESMANIA.C

These processes are all very important to the rock cycle because over geologic
time weathering, erosion, and mass wasting transform solid rock into
sediments and soil that result in the redeposition of material forming new
Group Activity

Form a group consisting of four members. Look around


your environment. List down objects which you think have
disintegrated (physical breakdown) or decomposed (chemical
alteration). infer the agents or factors that might have caused
the disintegration or decomposition of the object. Share your
findings to the class.
SLIDESMANIA.C
Types of Weathering
I. Mechanical (physical) weathering is the physical disintegration and reduction in the
size of the rocks without changing their chemical composition.
 Examples: exfoliation, frost wedging, salt wedging, temperature changes, and
abrasion

II. Chemical weathering decomposes, dissolves, alters, or weakens the rock through
chemical processes to form residual materials.
 Examples: carbonation, hydrolosis, oxidation, and solution

III. Biological weathering is the disintegration or decay of rocks and minerals caused
by chemical or physical agents of organisms.
SLIDESMANIA.C

 Examples: organic activity from lichen and algae, rock disintegration by plant or
root growth, burrowing and tunneling organisms, and acid secretion
I. Mechanical Weathering
Mechanical weathering is the physical disintegration and reduction in
the size of the rocks without changing their chemical composition.
Mechanical weathering processes disintegrate
 Exfoliation metamorphic rocks in South Carolina’s
Piedmont Region.
 Frost Wedging
 Salt Wedging
 Temperature Changes
 Abrasion
SLIDESMANIA.C

Photo courtesy of SCGS


Mechanical Weathering: Exfoliation
• Exfoliation is a mechanical weathering process whereby pressure in a rock is released along parallel
alignments near the surface of the bedrock and layers or slabs of the rock along these alignments
break off from the bedrock and move downhill by gravity.
• Exfoliation primarily occurs on intrusive igneous or metamorphosed rocks that are exposed at the
Earth’s surface.
• Exfoliation can occur both very slowly or very rapidly as a form of mass wasting.
• Large rocks characterized by exfoliation are commonly referred to as exfoliation domes.
• Table Rock mountain in South Carolina, and Enchanted Rock in Texas are both examples of exfoliation
domes with large slabs of rock exfoliating from the bedrock.

Enchanted Rock in the Texas Hill Country is


an example of an exfoliation dome. As
pressure is released from the surface layer,
slabs of rock exfoliate from the dome and
move down slope. As they are transported
SLIDESMANIA.C

down slope, weathering and erosion


processes break the rocks into progressively
smaller fragments. Overtime, each new layer
that is exposed will eventually exfoliate, from
the bedrock.
Mechanical Weathering: Frost Wedging
Frost wedging is a mechanical weathering process caused by the freeze-thaw action of
water that is trapped between cracks in the rock.
When water freezes, it expands and applies pressure to the surrounding rock forcing the
rock to accommodate the expansion of the ice.
This process gradually weakens, cracks, and breaks the rock through repetitive freeze-
thaw weathering cycles.
Frost wedging generally produces angular blocks and talus material. Talus is a term
used to describe weathered rock fragments deposited at the base of a hill slope or
mountain.
This example of frost wedging is
from Pikes Peak in Colorado. The
weathered fragments of rock
break apart from the exposed rock
SLIDESMANIA.C

from freeze-thaw action and


collect as angular blocks of talus
material.
Temperature Changes
Daily (diurnal) and seasonal temperature changes affect certain minerals and facilitates the
mechanical weathering of bedrock.
Warmer temperatures may cause some minerals to expand, and cooler temperatures cause them to
contract.
This gradual expansion and contraction of mineral grains weakens the rock causing it to break apart
into smaller fragments or to fracture.
This process is more common in desert climates because they experience extreme fluctuations in daily
temperature changes.
Temperature changes are often not the dominant form of weathering, but instead temperature
changes tend to accelerate other forms of weathering already occurring.

The rock fragments in the


lower right side of this
image have weathered as a
SLIDESMANIA.C

result of extreme
fluctuations in day and night
temperature changes.
Mechanical Weathering: Salt Wedging
Salt wedging occurs when salts crystallize out of solution as water evaporates. As the
salt crystals grow, they apply pressure to the surrounding rock weakening it, until it
eventually cracks and breaks down, enabling the salt crystal to continue growing.
Salt wedging is most common in drier climates, such as deserts.

These salt crystals were found


growing between rock fractures in
California’s Death Valley.
SLIDESMANIA.C

Copyright © Michael Collier


Mechanical Weathering: Abrasion Abrasion processes in creek beds
produce rounded boulders and cobbles.
• Abrasion occurs when rocks collide against each
Over time, abrasion processes will
other while they are transported by water, glacial ice, eventually break these rocks into
wind, or gravitational force. progressively smaller particle sizes, such
• The constant collision or gravitational falling of the as gravel, sand, silt, and clay.
rocks causes them to slowly break apart into
progressively smaller particles.
• Flowing water is the primary medium of abrasion and
it produces the ‘rounded’ shape of fluvial sediments.
• During abrasion, rocks may also weather the bedrock
surface they are coming into contact with as well as
breaking into smaller particles and eventually
individual grains.
• In addition to the transported rocks being weathered
by abrasion, the bedrock surface is also experiencing
SLIDESMANIA.C

the effects of collision and mechanical weathering.


This smoothes the surface of the bedrock and can
also cause it to break apart.
Photo Source: SCGS
Types of Chemical Weathering

Chemical weathering decomposes, dissolves, alters, or weakens the rock


through chemical processes to form residual materials.
Stalactite and stalagmite joining together in
Onondaga Cave State Park, Missouri.
 Carbonation
 Hydrolysis
 Oxidation
 Solution
SLIDESMANIA.C

Copyright © Oklahoma University


Chemical Weathering: Carbonation

Carbonation is a process by which carbon


dioxide and rainwater or moisture in the
surrounding environment chemically react to
produce carbonic acid, a weak acid, that
reacts with carbonate minerals in the rock.
This process simultaneously weakens the
rock and removes the chemically weathered
materials.
Carbonation primarily occurs in wet, moist
climates and effects rocks both on and
SLIDESMANIA.C

beneath the surface.


Limestone weathered by
carbonation processes
Chemical Weathering: Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction between H+ and OH- ions in water and the minerals in the rock. The H+
ions in the water react with the minerals to produce weak acids.
The reaction creates new compounds which tend to be softer and weaker than the original parent rock
material.
Hydrolysis can also cause certain minerals to expand, which also facilitates mechanical weathering
processes.
Hydrolysis commonly affects igneous rocks because they are composed of silicate minerals, such as quartz
and feldspar, which readily combine with water.
Hydrolysis may also be accompanied by hydration and oxidation weathering processes.
The hydrolysis of feldspars produces kaolinite, which is a clay.
The weathering rinds shown on this sample of
amphibolite illustrate the effects of hydrolysis
weathering on deposited rock fragments.
Geologists measure the ‘thickness’ of the
SLIDESMANIA.C

weathering rinds on in-situ rock fragments to


estimate the relative age of depositional
landforms such as river terraces or alluvial
fans. The thicker the weathering rinds, the
older the landform.
Chemical Weathering: Oxidation

• Oxidation occurs when oxygen


and water react with iron-rich
minerals and weaken the structure
of the mineral.
• During oxidation the minerals in the
rock will change colors, taking on a
‘rusty’, reddish-orange
appearance.
• Similar to other chemical
weathering processes, oxidation
SLIDESMANIA.C

The reddish-orange color of accelerates rock decay, rendering


this sandstone is a result of
it more vulnerable to other forms of
oxidation processes
weathering the rock. weathering.
Chemical Weathering: Solution
Solution occurs when minerals in rock dissolve directly into water.
Solution most commonly occurs on rocks containing carbonates such as limestone, but
may also affect rocks with large amount of halite, or rock salt.
Solution of large areas of bedrock may cause sinkholes to form, where large areas of the
ground subside or collapse forming a depression.
Subsurface dissolution of halite has This is an example of a limestone solution karst feature
caused overlying rocks to collapse found in Florida's Everglades National Park.
and form crater-like features.
SLIDESMANIA.C

Copyright © Larry Fellows, Arizona Geological Survey Copyright © Bruce Molina, USGS
Biological Weathering

Biological weathering is the disintegration


or decay of rocks and minerals caused by
chemical or physical agents of organisms.

• Organic activity from lichen and


algae
• Rock disintegration by plant
growth
• Burrowing and tunneling
organisms
SLIDESMANIA.C

• Secretion of acids
Lichen, Algae, and Decaying Plants
Organisms such as lichen and algae often live on bare rock and extract minerals from the rock by ion-
exchange mechanisms.
This bio-chemical weathering process leaches minerals from the rock causing it to weaken and
breakdown.
The decaying of plant materials can also produce acidic compounds which dissolve the exposed rock.
The presence of organisms growing, expanding, or moving across the surface of the rock also exerts a
small amount of abrasion and pressure that gradually cause the mechanical weathering of the rock as
the organisms extract various minerals. This is an example of biological
weathering that is caused by mosses
and lichen growing on
the face of a rock.
SLIDESMANIA.C

Photo: SCGS
Plant Roots
The most common form of biological weathering is when plant roots penetrate into cracks and
crevices of rocks and cause the rock to split or break into smaller particles through mechanical
weathering.
Although, this process is gradual, it can be fairly effective at breaking apart rocks that may already have
a pre-existing weaknesses such as fractures, faults, or joints.

This is an example of a tree that is


growing between a crevasse in a rock.
The tree is splitting the rock along
parallel planes of alignment that are
already weakened by foliation
processes, a form of mechanical
SLIDESMANIA.C

weathering.

Copyright © Bruce Molnia, Terra Photographics


Organism Activity
• Burrowing, tunneling, and acid-secreting organisms are another form of biological
weathering that chemically or mechanically contribute to weathering.
• Some animals may burrow or tunnel into rocks or cracks in rocks and cause the rock to
break down and disintegrate. Small animals, worms, termites, and other insects, often
contribute to this form of biological weathering.
• Some organisms, such as snails, barnacles, or limpets, attach themselves to rocks and
secrete acid acids that chemically dissolve the rock surface.

The periwinkle snails on this rock


are secreting acids that dissolve
the rock. This picture is taken
from a volcanic shoreline in
SLIDESMANIA.C

Hawaii.
Differential Weathering
 Weathering rates will not only vary depending on the type
of weathering process, whether it is mechanical,
chemical, or biological, but they will also vary depending
on the rock material that is being weathered.
 Some rocks are harder than other rocks, and will weather
slower than softer rocks.
 The differences in rates of weathering due to different
types of rocks, textures, or other characteristics is
referred to as differential weathering.
 Differential weathering processes contribute to the unique
formation of many landforms, including pedestals,
waterfalls, and monadnocks.
 Climate can also produce differential weathering
SLIDESMANIA.C

responses for the same rock type. For example,


limestone weathers more quickly in wet climates than dry
climates.
Erosion
 Water erodes rocks and the landscapes by transporting weathered materials from
their source to another location where they are deposited.
 Wind erodes materials by picking them up and temporarily transporting them from
their source to another location where they are deposited, and either stored or re-
mobilized and transported to another location.
 Ice erosion occurs when particles are plucked up or incorporated by moving ice,
such as a glaciers, and are transported downhill, or when friction between the ice
and bedrock erodes materials and then transports them downhill.
 Gravity facilitates the down slope transportation of loosened, weathered materials
and enables them to move without the aid of water, wind, or ice. Gravity related
SLIDESMANIA.C

erosion is a major component of mass-wasting events.


What factors affrct
weathering?
1. Climate
2. Hardeness
3. Surface Area
SLIDESMANIA.C
Erosion: Water (Fluvial)
 Water erodes rocks and shapes the landscapes by removing and transporting weathered
materials from their source to another location where they are deposited and either stored or
transported to another location.
 Fluvial erosion is often broken into 3 distinct categories: rain-splash erosion, sheet erosion,
and rill/gully erosion.
 Rain splash erosion occurs when the impact of a rain drop loosens and mobilizes

particles.
 Sheet erosion is a process where particles loosened buy rain-splash erosion are

transported by runoff water down the slope of a surface.


 Rill erosion occurs when water concentrates during sheet erosion and erodes small rills

or gullys into the surface that channel flow down slope.

This drawing on the left


SLIDESMANIA.C

illustrates rain-splash impact on


the soil and the erosion of
individual grains of sediment.
The image on the right shows
the landscape scale effects of
fluvial erosion.
www.montcalm.org Copyright ©Marli Miller
 Fluvial erosion can occur during rainfall
events, from melt-water runoff, or ground
water percolation. Materials being eroded and
transported are either suspended in the water,
bounced by saltation, or rolled along the
ground by traction depending on a variety of This drawing on the left
conditions. illustrates rain-splash impact on
the soil and the erosion of
 The accumulation of fluvial erosion and individual grains of sediment.
The image on the right shows
associated processes over a large area forms the landscape scale effects of
fluvial erosion.
pathways for surface and groundwater flow
and carves v-shaped river valleys that
continue to erode, transport, and deposit
SLIDESMANIA.C

weathered sediments across the landscape.


Erosion: Wind (Aeolian)
 Wind erodes weathered rocks by picking them up and temporarily transporting them
from their source to another location where they are deposited, and either stored or
re-mobilized and transported to another location
 Erosion by wind is divided into two different categories: Deflation and Abrasion
 Deflation is the movement or transport of particles through the air or along the

ground
 Abrasion is the process that occurs when wind-transported particles sculpt

features in the landscape through a “sand-blasting” like process

This satellite image captured a regional dust


SLIDESMANIA.C

storm transporting aeolian sediments from


Sudan and Africa over the Red Sea. In arid,
desert climates wind erosion is very common
and can transport sediments 100’s of miles
before they are deposited.
Erosion: Ice (Periglacial and Glacial)

 Ice erosion occurs in combination with periglacial


and glacial processes
 Glacial erosion occurs when particles are
incorporated into the glacial ice through a process
referred to as plucking, and they are transported
downslope within the glacier.
 The friction and abrasion of the ice and rock moving
across the bedrock, erodes the surface of the
bedrock and often leaves scrapes, grooves, striae,
or polished rock surfaces.
 The cumulative effects of glacial erosion on a
SLIDESMANIA.C

Glacial erosion of this landscape has


carved several distinct landforms, such
mountainous landscape can produce distinct u- as the glacial u-shaped valleys and the
shaped valleys which are a common glacial arêtes, which form the ridges between
the u-shape valleys.
landform.
Erosion: Gravity

 Gravity facilitates the down slope


transportation of loosened, weathered
materials and enables them to move
without the aid of water, wind, or ice.
However, these agents can act as catalysts
for gravity related erosion.
 Movements by gravity may be very slow or The rock fragments and sediments
accumulated below this cliff were eroded
very abrupt. by the force of gravity and were
deposited as talus scree at the base of
SLIDESMANIA.C

the cliff. When the slope at the base of


the cliff becomes too steep, and exceeds
the angle of repose, the unconsoldated
particles will again be eroded and
transported down slope by gravity.
Mass Wasting
Mass wasting is a rapid form of erosion that works primarily under the
influence of gravity in combination with other erosional agents. Mass wasting
occurs very quickly and can result in either small or large scale changes to the
landscape depending on the type of event.

Rock Fall Landslide


 Rock Falls
 Landslides
 Debris / Mud Flows
 Slumps
 Creep
SLIDESMANIA.C
Rock Falls
 Rock falls occur when rocks become
dislodged, because their change in
potential energy becomes to great to
maintain, and the potential energy
becomes kinetic energy which causes
the rock fragment to fall, restoring
equilibrium. As a result the rocks fall,
roll, or bounce downhill.
 The rocks may be loosened by a recent Photo courtesy of SCGS

rainfall or snow melt-water event that Fragments are breaking off from this rock
facilitates the movement of the rock exposure and collecting down-slope from
SLIDESMANIA.C

their source. The fragments of fallen rock


before they fall from the force of are angular and include a variety of
different sizes. The tree growing above this
gravity. boulder may also be contributing through
biological weathering where the roots are
penetrating into the cracks in the rock.
Landslides This landslide event occurred in Jones
Gap State Park in the Mountain Bridge
Wilderness Area of South Carolina.
Boulders, trees, soil, and other weathered
 Landslides are mass-wasting events where material tumbled down this hill-slope after
8’’ of heavy rain fell over 2-days.
large amounts of weathered rock material
slide down a hillslope or mountain side
primarily by gravity related erosion.
 Landslides occur very quickly and move
with incredible speed and destruction, often
removing or covering everything in their
path.
 Nearly all landslides are triggered by an
earthquake, or lubricant agent such as
SLIDESMANIA.C

rainfall, or a snow or ice melt-water event.

Photo source: SCGS


 During intensive rainfall, soil and weathered rock material become unstable and
loosened from the saturated conditions that separate the individual grains and
other material fragments. The increased fluid pressures coupled with the
loosened materials succumbs to gravity related erosion and the weathered
materials plunge downhill as a powerful landslide.

 Landslides are a natural hazard that can cause serious damage to people and
other obstacles in their path. Many earth scientists study landslides in order to
predict their occurrence and prevent negative impacts to humans and
infrastructure.
SLIDESMANIA.C
Debris and Mud Flows
 Debris and mudflows are mass-wasting
events that form when heavy rainfalls
produce large amounts of runoff that
transport eroded soils, sediments, and
plant debris down slope where the flows
eventually spreads out across valley
bottoms.
 Sometimes the debris and mudflows
follow existing drainage paths and other
times they carve out new paths as they
flow downhill This debris flow flooded and
destroyed several homes as it
SLIDESMANIA.C

carried, mud, trees, and


boulders through a valley in
Colorado’s Rocky Mountain
Range.
 Debris and mudflows can carry particles of a range of sizes from
clays (mud) to large debris and boulders; however, debris flows
consists primarily of coarse-grained materials and mudflows
consist primarily of fine-grained materials.
 The consistency of a debris or mudflow is representative of a
thick, muddy sludge carrying rocks, twigs, branches, trees, and
other available debris
 Debris flows are natural hazards that pose a threat to
communities in their path
SLIDESMANIA.C
Slump
 Slumps are a fairly common form of
mass wasting where the rock or soil
collapses, breaks off from the hill
slope, rotates slightly, and slumps
downhill.
 If the slump occurs as a large
consolidated mass of materials it is
considered coherent, if it occurs as a
mass of unconsolidated materials or
sediments it is referred to as
The asphalt from the
incoherent. road surface makes This slump failure in California poses a
threat to homes developed along the edge
SLIDESMANIA.C

it easy to see the


 Slumping can cause damage to soil displacement of the cliff.

houses, roads, and other from this slump.

infrastructure.
Creep
 Creep is the slowest mass-wasting process and involves a very gradual downhill movement of
soil, bedrock, and weathered rock fragments.
 Usually, the entire slope is slowly creeping downhill as a complete unit.
 Creep processes occur to some degree on nearly every hillslope because of gravity.
 Creep is evident by bent or extended tree trunks that are adjusting to the slow movement of the
soil, regolith, and weathered material they are rooted into.
 Freeze-thaw cycles and saturated conditions may accelerate creep processes but usually only for
a short time-period
 Solifluction is a certain form of creep where frozen tundra soils thaw out and gently ‘flow’ or sag
downslope

The bent, leaning trees in this image are an


indication of soil creep. The soil beneath
the tree roots is slowing creeping downhill,
SLIDESMANIA.C

as a result the tree trunks curve upslope in


order for the trees to remain upright.

Copyright © Marli Miller, University of Oregon


Deposition
 Deposition is a constructive process that lays down or places weathered and eroded materials in a
location that is different from their source.
 Deposition is not specific to a single weathering, erosion, or mass wasting event, but is applied to any
consolidated or unconsolidated materials that have accumulated as a result of some natural process or
agent. Deposits can result from mechanical, chemical, or biological weathering, and water, wind, ice, or
gravity-related erosional processes.
 The accumulation of deposited materials alters the landscapes and builds various landform features.
For example, floodplains are large depositional landforms built by the accumulation of fluvial deposits,
and sand dunes are depositional landforms built by wind-related processes.

Colluvium is the term used to


describe weathered and eroded
rocks, soil, and sediments
deposited at the base of a hill
slope or cliff by the force of gravity
SLIDESMANIA.C

and mass wasting. Alluvium is a


term used to refer materials
deposited by running water. The
talus slope on the left is colluvium
and the alluvial fan on the right is
alluvium.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy