Denudation
Weathering
Geography Form 5
Denudation
Includes all the processes of weathering, mass movement,
transportation and the natural agents of erosion through which the
earth’s surface is reduced.
• It is also termed as Degradation
Weathering
Weathering
• Weathering is the process where rocks which are exposed to the
surface are broken down- this may be in the form of physical
disintegration, chemical alteration, decomposition or decay.
• Regolith is a term given to weathered material, which is another
name for soil.
• It causes changes to the landscape that influence surface and
subsurface topography and landform development.
• Weathering simply put is the in-situ breakdown of rock.
• Erosion is the physical removal and transportation of weathered
material by water, wind, ice, or gravity.
Types of Weathering
Weathering
Physical Chemical Biological
Types of Weathering
• Mechanical (physical) weathering: Is the physical disintegration and
reduction in the size of the rocks without changing their chemical
composition. Examples: Pressure release - exfoliation, freeze thaw, salt
wedging, temperature changes, and abrasion.
• Chemical weathering : Decays/Decomposes, dissolves, alters/changes, or
weakens the rock through chemical processes to form residual materials.
Examples: carbonation, hydration, hydrolysis, oxidation, and solution.
• Biological weathering: The disintegration or decay of rocks and minerals
caused by chemical or physical agents of organisms. Examples: organic
activity from lichen and algae, rock disintegration by plant or root growth,
burrowing and tunneling organisms, and acid secretion.
Mechanical or Physical Weathering
• Mechanical weathering is the
physical disintegration and
reduction in the size of the rocks
without changing their chemical
composition.
- Pressure release -Exfoliation
- Freeze thaw
- Temperature Changes
- Salt Crystallization
Mechanical Weathering: Exfoliation - Pressure
Release
• When underlaying rocks become Exfoliation Dome
exposed due to the removal of
surface layers, the pressure is
reduced and the rock fractures
along joints.
• 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.
Mechanical weathering - Freeze Thaw
• Process caused by the freezing and thawing 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.
• Freeze Thaw also assists in block disintegration, in which rocks are
broken up into blocks
Mechanical Weathering – 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 diurnal 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.
Mechanical Weathering – Temperature
Changes
Also known as insolation weathering due to the expansion and
contraction of rocks due to the temperature fluctuations, can result in:-
- Granular disintegration
- Exfoliation
- Block disintegration
Mechanical Weathering - Salt Crystallization
• Occurs when salts crystal remain
after saline water evaporates.
• As the salt crystals grow, they
apply pressure to the
surrounding rock weakening it,
until it eventually cracks and
breaks down.
• Leads to granular disintegration
• Salt wedging is most common in
drier climates, such as deserts.
Chemical Weathering
Types of Chemical Weathering
Chemical weathering decomposes, dissolves, alters, or weakens the
rock through chemical processes to form residual materials.
Types of Chemical Weathering:-
Carbonation
Hydrolysis
Hydration
Oxidation
Solution
Chemical Weathering: Carbonation
• Carbonation is a process by Carbonation
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.
Chemical Weathering: Hydrolysis
• Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction
between H+ and OH- ions
(hydrogen and hydroxide) 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.
Chemical Weathering: Hydration
Chemical Weathering: Hydration
• Process where the mineral structure in the rock forms a weak bond
with water (H20) which causes the mineral grains to expand, creating
stress which causes the disintegration of the rock.
• Hydration often produces a new mineral compound that is larger than
the original compound. The increased size expands the rock and can
lead to decay.
• Hydration can also lead to color changes in the weathered rock
surface.
• An example of hydrolysis: Anhydrite (CaSO4) can absorb two water
molecules to become gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O)
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.
Chemical weathering - Solution
• Solution occurs when minerals in
rocks 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
• What is halite ?
Biological Weathering
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
Secretion of acids
Biological Weathering - Organism Activity
• Some animals may burrow or
tunnel into rocks or cracks in
rocks and cause the rock to
break down and disintegrate.
Small animals, worms, 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.
Biological Weathering – Rock Disintegration
• 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
Biological Weathering - Lichen, Algae, and
Decaying Plants
• 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.
Effects of Rock Type on Weathering
• Weathering rates 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.
• Some rocks can consist of varying minerals which weather at different
rates and lead to granular disintegration
• Rocks with joints and planes are weathered easier than rocks without as
water can easily enter
• The differences in rates of weathering due to different types of rocks,
textures, or other characteristics is referred to as differential weathering.
Weathering and climate
• Freeze thaw action occurs in cold climates when the temperatures
fluctuates below and above zero °C
• Chemical weathering is slow or limited in cold climates
• Warm climates promote chemical weathering, the warm
temperatures and availability of moisture promotes this types of
weathering in the Caribbean
• Climate can also produce differential weathering responses for the
same rock type. For example, limestone weathers more quickly in
wet climates than dry climates.