§Mountain ranges are
constantly interacting with the
atmosphere, hydrosphere, and
biosphere. This interaction can
physically break the rocks
Geologic processes that occur on the apart and chemically change
surface of the Earth such as weathering,
erosion, mass wasting, and their composition through the
sedimentation process of weathering.
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WEATHERING – Physical (Mechanical) Weathering §Rocks usually have small
(Mechanical)
is the process of cracks in their surface where
disintegration water can enter and freeze
(physical) and or thaw depending on the
decomposition
(chemical) of rocks. weather.
Compared to Water has special characteristic that as it
erosion, it takes freezes, it expands. Thus, continuous freezing-
place in the same
place with little or thawing cycle of the water would gradually
no movement. increase the size of the cracks until rock
breaks apart.
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§Frost Action/ Wedging - when ice forms in §PRESENCE OF PRECIPITATE - instead of ice, it §FIRE can also lead to physical weathering
cracks, expands, and breaks up rock. is the that grow larger and break the since the intense heat causes rock to
rocks apart. expand, fracture, and break.
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Sudden release from pressure causes the ABRASION - wearing away of rocks by constant Biological Weathering
formation of fractures on rocks. As the collision of loose particles.
UNLOADING continues, the outer rocks WIND Plants (roots) and
generate onion-like layers called exfoliation ABRASION
animals(burrowing)
sheet, which would later fall off the main rock. WATER contribute to weathering.
ABRASION
Lichens (algae and fungi
living as single unit), remove
Rocks look like onion skin layers
minerals and weaken rock by
due to unloading.
releasing acids.
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Burrowing
Animals (moles, §PLANTS/ TREES
rabbits) need to – as trees grow,
break the rocks the roots spread
deeply into the soil
on their way for and breaks rocks
them to move along the process.
underground.
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Chemical Weathering §Chemical §REACTION WITH WATER and ACID- water is
not only an agent for physical weathering, but it
reactions is also the main agent for chemical weathering. §HYDRO meaning water
change the and LYSIS which
§Pure water is nonreactive, but the combination of
chemical dissolved materials and water produces weak translates to the word
composition acids. break or to unbind.
of the rocks, §Change in the
which can Carbonic Acid is
produced when composition of
lead to their rainwater is combined minerals when they Statue in Germ any, Left: 1908, Right: 1969
breakdown. with atmospheric
carbon dioxide. react with water
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- process called OXIDATION
The decaying remains
of plants and some
fungi form carbonic
acid, which can
weaken and dissolve
rock.
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AGENTS OF EROSION AGENTS OF EROSION
1. RUNNING WATER 2. Ocean Waves or Sea Waves
a. Velocity – dictates the ability of stream to erode and 3. Glaciers – a moving body of ice on land that moves downslope or outward
from an area of accumulation
transport; controlled by gradient, channel size and shape,
channel roughness, and the amount of water flowing in the Types of glaciers:
channel i. Valley (alpine) glaciers — bounded by valleys and tend to be long and
narrow
b. Discharge – volume of water passing through a cross-section
of a stream during a given time; as the discharge increases, the ii. Ice sheets (continental glaciers) — cover large areas of the land surface;
unconfined by topography. Modern ice sheets cover Antarctica and Greenland
width of the channel, the depth of flow, or flow velocity
increase individually or simultaneously iii. Ice shelves — sheets of ice floating on water and attached to the land. They
usually occupy coastal embayment.
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AGENTS OF EROSION
4. Wind – the processes associated with erosion and transportation by wind.
Wind erodes by:
deflation (removal of loose, fine particles from the surface), and
abrasion (grinding action and sandblasting)
5. GROUNDWATER – the processes associated with erosion and transportation
by wind.
6. GRAVITY -
Mass Wasting - the downslope movement of soil, rock, and regolith
under the direct influence of gravity
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MISCONCEPTION ALERT! §It can be
MASS WASTING classified
§The resulting movement where is more according to the
weathering that occurs on mountains commonly known type of
detaches large slabs of rocks and would as landslide. But movement and
then move down due to force of gravity. landslide is only the material
one of the several involved.
§It is often triggered by natural
types of mass §Types: fall,
phenomena: earthquakes, volcanic wasting. avalanche,
eruptions, and heavy rainfall.
slides, flows
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§Occur when §The movement of
§Slides move the materials materials when they
materials located
as one following a nearly become saturated
in a steep slope straight line down the
move downward with water thus
slope. moving like a liquid.
without contact
§SLUMPS are like slide but
with the ground they move along a curved
until they reach the surface.
foot of the slope.
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§Are the most rapid
moving type of
mass wasting where
loose materials
move incoherently
or in a chaotic
fashion.
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§After the sediments have
undergone these processes,
they then undergo lithification,
to become sedimentary rocks.
§LITHIFICATION – from the
Greek word “lithos” which
means “STONE”. Hence, it
means STONE MAKING
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