Chapter 3
Surface and Internal processes
3.1. SURFACE PROCESSES
The possible surface processes are:
Weathering
Soil formation and
Erosion
Weathering
What is weathering?
•Weathering is the process of alteration and break down of
rocks at or near the earth’s surface by
Physical
Chemical And
Biological effects and leads to a number of changes in
rocks
Due to weathering Rocks become more porous, individual
mineral grains are lost
•Weathering changes the index properties of rock. The rock
material become weaker and more deformable
•The engineering properties of intact rock and rock masses
changed.
weathering of rocks
•Physical disintegration,
•Chemical decomposition and
•Biological activity.
These processes weakens the rock fabric and exaggerates any
structural weaknesses, all of which further aid the breakdown
processes.
•Weathering also is controlled by the presence of
discontinuities in that they provide access into a rock mass
for the agents of weathering.
•Depth Of Weathering depends on
The Time Scale,
Rock Type And
Climate
weathering of rocks
Physical weathering (disintegration)
•applied to a variety of weathering processes that result in -
the particle size reduction of rock materials with -no change
in composition.
The common physical weathering are:
•Unloading joints: stress relief fractures due to overburden
removal.
•Thermal expansion: fracturing due to daily temperature
changes. e.g. exfoliation
•Frost shatter: fracturing as fissure water or pore water freezes
and expands.
Wetting and drying: movement due to loss or gain of
water in clays.
Root action: tree root expansion in fissures, and root
growth in pores.
Crystallization: growth of salt crystals where
groundwater evaporates.
Engineering classification of
weathered rocks
Chemical weathering
Chemical weathering processes include,
-Oxidation :A chemical reaction in which substances combine with oxygen.
-Solution: A chemical weathering process in which a material is dissolved.
-hydrolysis: A chemical reaction involving water that results in the breakdown of
mineral material.
Chemical weathering also aids rock disintegration by weakening the rock
fabric and by emphasizing any structural weaknesses,
Agents of Chemical weathering
•water
•free oxygen
•carbon dioxide
•organic acids and
•nitrogen acids .
•Chemical weathering of limestone
Limestone is composed of calcium carbonate.
Aqueous dissolution of calcium carbonate introduces
the carbonate ion into water, that is, CO3 combines
with H to form the stable bicarbonate,
CaCO3+ H2CO3----------Ca (HCO3)2
Rainwater and soil water weather the limestone surface,
and also dissolve away the rock where they seep down
fractures and bedding planes thereby creating wide
fissures and caves.
This result in potential subsidence, irregular bed rock
surface and leakage problem
The rock forming and cementing carbonate minerals
calcite and dolomite dissolve completely in water that
contains dissolved carbon dioxide. Karst topography
characterizes areas underlain by limestone and to a
lesser degree dolomite.
Surface weathering of limestone
Weathering of the silicate minerals is primarily a
process of hydrolysis. Much of the silica that is
released by weathering forms silica acid.
•When minerals like feldspars or orthoclase subjected to
chemical weathering, decompose to form clay minerals,
2KAlSi3O6 + 6H2O + CO2 -------Al2Si2O5(OH)4 + 4H2SiO4 + K2CO3
(orthoclase) (kaolinite)
Biological weathering
# Reading Assignment
Soil Formation Tropical Soils
•In humid tropical regions, weathering of rock is more
intense and extends to greater depths than in other parts
of the world. Residual soils develop in place as a
consequence of weathering, primarily chemical
weathering. Face responsible for the development of the
soil profile are:
•Climate (temperature and rainfall)
•parent rock
•water movement (drainage and topography)
•age, and
•vegetation
•Ferruginous and aluminous clay soils are frequent
products of weathering in tropical areas.
•They are characterized by the presence of iron and
aluminium oxides and hydroxides.
•These compounds, especially those of iron, are
responsible for the red, brown and yellow colors of the
soils.
•Black clays typically are developed on poorly drained
plains in regions with well-defined wet and dry seasons,
where the annual rainfall is not less than 1250 mm.
•Black clay undergo appreciable volume changes on
wetting and drying due to the montmorillonite content.
Tropical soil
Arid Soils
•Most arid deposits consist of the products of
physical weathering of bedrock formations.
•Many of the deposits within alluvial plains and
covering hillsides are poorly consolidated.
•Minerals that are precipitated from groundwater in
arid deposits also have high solution rates, so that
flowing groundwater may lead to the development
of solution features.
•Problems such as increased permeability, reduced
density and settlement are liable to be associated
with engineering works
Erosion
•Erosion is the name given to the processes that remove
newly formed sediment from bedrock.
•This is followed generally by transportation and finally,
when energy is exhausted, by deposition.
Erosion can be caused by four agents:
Gravity
Wind
Running Water And
Glacial Action
Erosion of soil
To be Continued .…