Exogenic
Processes
Learning Objectives:
• 1. describe how rocks undergo
weathering;
• 2. identify the agents of erosion; and
• 3. explain how the products of weathering
are carried away by erosion and deposited
elsewhere
Pre-
Test
Choose the letter of the best answer.
Write the chosen letter on a separate
sheet of
paper.
1. What is the process in which a plant grows into the
base of a stone monument and creating a crack on it?
A. chemical weathering
B. freezing
C. mechanical weathering
D. thawing
2. What is the type of chemical weathering that
rapidly dissolves crystals of halite or rock salt to form
a solution?
A. Abrasion C. hydrolysis
B. dissolution D. oxidation
3. What type of weathering occurs when stalactites
and stalagmites on caves are formed?
A. chemical weathering C. mechanical
weathering
B. freezing and thawing D. thermal and
pressure
change
4. What chemical reaction is exhibited when water
reacts with one mineral to form a new mineral like
feldspar?
A. abrasion C. hydrolysis
B. dissolution D. oxidation
5. What chemical reaction causes rust to
form?
A. abrasion B. dissolution
C. hydrolysis D. oxidation
6. What factor causes the breakdown of
rocks by friction and impact?
A. abrasion B. burrowing
C. frost wedging D. pressure
7. Which of the following human
activities may NOT result to the
movement of
sediments from one place to another?
A. building a highway
B. washing the dishes
C. developing new athletic field
D. cultivating soil and gardening
8. Which of the following is NOT an agent of
erosion?
A. Glacier C. rocks
B. gravity D. wind
9. Which of the following does NOT describe the
advantage of wind barrier such as
row of trees along the edge of field?
A. conserve moisture
B. trap the blowing wind
C. increases the effects of wind erosion
D. protect crops from the effects of wind
10. Which process exhibits the breaking down of
rocks on the earth’s surface or
cause changes in its composition?
A. deposition C. mass wasting
B. erosion D. weathering
11. Which of the following processes does NOT cause
physical weathering?
A. burrowing of animals
B. freezing and thawing
C. oxidation
D. temperature and pressure
12. Which of the following processes
does NOT cause chemical weathering?
A. dissolution C. oxidation
B. hydrolysis D. temperature
13. Which of the following processes of
chemical weathering occur in the
formation
of stalactites and stalagmites?
A. dissolution C. hydrolysis
B. hydration D. oxidation
14. What statement is NOT correct about dissolution?
A. It happens when elements react with
atmospheric oxygen.
B. Rocks and minerals dissolve rapidly when water
is either acidic or basic.
C. Limestone composed of calcite is weathered
and develops caves through
time.
D. The crystal of halite dissolves rapidly and
completely in water to form a solution.
15. What is the composition of the soil?
A. clay, dust, and sand
B. grains, organic matter, H2O, and gas
C. rock, dust, sand, water, and gas
D. silt, dust, sand, and water
• C 1.
• B 2.
• A 3.
• C 4.
• D 5.
• A 6.
• B 7.
• C 8.
• C 9.
• D 10.
• C 11.
• D 12.
• A 13.
• A 14.
• B 15.
Exogenic Processes:
include geological phenomena and
processes that originate externally to the
Earth's surface.
They are genetically related to the
atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere, and
therefore to processes of weathering, erosion,
transportation, deposition, denudation etc.
Exogenic Processes:
Physical processes which create and modify landforms
on the surface of the earth
Endogenic vs Exogenic Processes
Rock Cycle
A. Endogenic Processes
Endogenic Processes are large-scale landform
building and transforming processes
– they create relief.
1. Igneous Processes
a. Volcanism: Volcanic eruptions Volcanoes
b. Plutonism: Igneous intrusions
2. Tectonic Processes (Also called Diastrophism)
a. Folding: anticlines, synclines, mountains
b. Faulting: rift valleys, graben, escarpments
c. Lateral Faulting: strike-slip faults
Earthquakes evidence of present-day tectonic activity
B. Exogenic Processes
Also called Gradational Processes, they comprise
degradation and aggradation – they modify relief
a continuum of processes – Weathering Mass
Wasting Erosion Transportation Deposition
these processes are carried through by Geomorphic
Agents: gravity, flowing water (rivers), moving ice
(glaciers), waves and tides (oceans and lakes), wind,
plants, organisms, animals and humans
1. Degradation Processes Also called Denudation
Processes
a. Weathering , b. Mass Wasting and c. Erosion
and Transportation
2. Aggradation Processes
a. Deposition – fluvial, eolian, glacial, coastal
Relationship:
Weathering
Mass Wasting
Erosion
and
Transportation
Together,
these processes are
responsible for
Denudation
of Earth’s surface
WEATHERING
Weathering is disintegration and decomposition of rocks in situ –
no transportation involved produces regolith
More precisely, it involves the mechanical or physical
disintegration and/or chemical decomposition that fragments
rock masses into smaller components that amass on-site, before
being moved by gravity or transported by other agents
The processes begin in microscopic spaces, cracks, joints,
faults, fractures, lava vesicles and other rock cavities
Types of Weathering: 1) Physical or Mechanical Weathering,
2) Chemical Weathering, and 3) Biological Weathering
Weathering is an important
process in the formation of
soil.
Soil is a mixture of grains,
organic matter, H2O, and gas.
Physical or Mechanical Weathering
Disintegration and decay of rocks via weather elements: high
temperatures, extreme cold and freeze-thaw cycles
No change in chemical composition of rocks
• Exfoliation – due to thermal expansion/contraction and/or release of
pressure when buried rocks are uplifted and exposed
e.g., Exfoliation Dome (Stone Mountain, GA) and Exfoliation Sheets (Sierra Nevada)
• Frost Wedging
ROCKS ARE
CRACKED BY
WATER
• Salt Wedging FREEZING
EXAMPLES: POT HOLES
AND FROST HEAVES
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Exfoliation
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PHYSICAL WEATHERING
EXFOLIATION – PEELING AWAY
OF ROCK
due to unloading
(reduced
pressure at
earth’s surface)
or fluctuations
in temperature.
Rocks expand
and crack
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PHYSICAL WEATHERING -
EXFOLIATION
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Physical (Mechanical) Weathering
•Abrasion
▫Caused by rocks colliding against
each other
•Agents that move rock include
▫Wind
▫Liquid water (streams, rivers)
▫Solid water (glaciers)
▫Gravity alone (along a cliff face)
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PHYSICAL WEATHERING -
ABRASION
SCRAPE, GRIND AND WEAR AWAY
ROCK DURING EROSION
WATER
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WIND
28
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Chemical Weathering
decomposes rocks through a chemical change in its minerals
Oxidation – important in iron-rich
rocks – reddish coloration like rust
Hydrolysis – igneous rocks have
much silica which readily combines
with water
Carbonation and Solution –
carbon dioxide dissolved in water
reacts with carbonate rocks to
create a soluble product (calcium
bicarbonate)
EXAMPLES OF CHEMICAL
WEATHERING
OXIDATION occurs when free oxygen
combines chemically with metallic
elements (usually iron)
A.K.A. RUST
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CHEMICAL WEATHERING
HYDRATION
• OCCURS WHEN Water combines with
minerals – most often in granite (mica
and feldspars) to form CLAY
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CARBONATION
Water containing carbonic acid dissolves
minerals (all rain water is slightly acidic)
Most strongly affected are calcite
minerals:
limestone and marble
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CARBONATION
Stalagmites and stalactites
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CAVES AND SINK
HOLES
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Biological Weathering
– plants and animals contribute to weathering.
Roots physically break or wedge rock
Lichens (algae and fungi living as single unit),
remove minerals and weaken rock by releasing acids
Burrowing animals can increase weathering.
Lichens
•Plants and animals are also
important agents of physical
weathering (Biological)
▫Expanding seeds and growing
roots push outward with
tremendous force
▫Soil burrowing creatures abrade
small rock particles
earthworms are especially
important
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Biological weathering
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PHYSICAL WEATHERING –
ROOT ACTION
PLANT ROOTS UPLIFT AND
FRACTURE ROCK
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Talus Cones
in the Canadian Rockies
Talus – pieces of rock at bottom of a rock fall
Landslides
Can cause much destruction
A msssive 300-ton boulder blocks
a road in Southern California
La Conchita Landslide, January 10, 2005
Monterey Park Debris Flow, 1980
PCH near Pacific Palisades, November 1956
EROSION and TRANSPORTATION
– Various Geomorphic Agents, associated Processes,
and resulting Erosional Features
• Flowing Water – Fluvial Morphology
Humid regions:
Perennial streams and entrenched
channels, rapids, waterfalls, plunge
pools, potholes, meandering streams,
bank erosion, oxbow lakes, etc.
• Wind – Eolian Landscapes
deflation hollows, ventifacts, yardang, etc
• Tides and Waves – Coastal Morphology
Sea cliffs, sea caves, sea arches, sea stacks,
wave-cut beaches, etc..
• Moving Ice – Glacial Morphology
glacial troughs (U-shaped valleys), hanging
valleys, glacial lakes,.
DEPOSITION
– Various geomorphic agents, associated processes and
resulting Depositional Features
• Fluvial – Humid regions: Braided streams, sand bars, floodplains
(alluvium deposits), natural
levees, distributaries, deltas
Arid regions: Alluvial fans, bajadas,
piedmont alluvial plains, playas,
playa lakes, Salinas (salt flats)
• Eolian – Sand dunes (Barchans, Parabolic, Transverse,
Longitudinal, Star), and sand sheets
• Coastal – Sea beaches and coral reefs
• Glacial – Alpine: Glacial drifts, tills, moraines (lateral, medial, end,
terminal, recessional, and ground)
Continental: Till plains, outwash plains, drumlins, eskers,
kames, erratic
WEATHERING SUMMARY
• WEATHERING IS THE
BREAKDOWN OF ROCK INTO
SEDIMENTS
• PHYSICAL WEATHERING –
INCREASES SURFACE AREA -
COLD/HUMID CLIMATE
• CHEMICAL WEATHERING –
WARM/HUMID CLIMATE
• IN BOTH CASES, WATER IS THE
PRIMARY INGREDIENT
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Mass wasting
•– This refers to the movement of large
masses of materials (rock, debris, soil,
mud) down a slope or a steep-sided hill
or mountain due to the pull of gravity. It
is very destructive in areas with
increased water flow (such as rainfall or
flash floods), Steep slopes, scarce or no
vegetation, or vibrating or moving
ground.
Different forms of mass
wasting:
• ✓ Debris flow – It happens when a large
amount of sediments, usually rocks of
various sizes, fall down the slope. Unlike a
landslide, debris flow does not need water to
• ✓ Mudflow – It happens when combined soil
flow down.
and water flow down a slope. This usually
happens near rivers or streams where soil or
sand is always moist or has been soaked in
water for a long time.
•✓ Slump – It is a slow
movement of soil along a
curved surface. In time, the
area would look curved
because of the depression
formed by the sinking land.
➢ Sedimentation
• – It is the accumulation of materials such
as soil, rock fragments,
• and soil particles settling on the ground.
This usually occurs in streams and sea
• erosion. In ocean, the sediment layer can
form the ocean basin. Because geologic
processes are constant, ocean basins
change in size and depth.
Simple Recall:
1. It is he Breakdown of Rock into Sediments.
[Link] is caused by rocks colliding against each other.
[Link] is an important process in the formation of soil.
[Link] is a mixture of grains, organic matter, H2O, and gas.
[Link] occurs when Water Combines With Minerals – Most
Often In Granite (Mica And Feldspars) To Form CLAY.
[Link] is a slow movement of soil along a curved surface.
[Link] chemical reaction causes rust to form?
8-10. Give at least 3 agents of weathering.
Activity No. 4 : Fill in the blanks
with the correct answer.
1. The process of breaking down rocks either
physically or chemically is called
__________________.
2. ___________________ is the breakdown of rocks
into pieces without any change in its
composition.
3. ___________________is the response of oxygen
with minerals.
4. ___________________ is a mixture of grains,
organic matter, H2O, and gas.
5. ____________________is the breakdown of rocks that is caused by
impact and friction.
6. The change in the composition of rocks is called
______________________.
7. The separation and removal of weathered rocks due to different
agents like water, wind, and glacier is called ____________________.
8. The movement of sediments downslope under the influence of
gravity is ____________________.
9. The process in which the weathered materials carried out by
erosion and gravity settle down in a particular location is called
________________. 10.____________________ is a chemical reaction
wherein rock forming minerals react with water and form different
kinds of clay minerals.
Activity 10
1. Weathering
2. Physical/Mechanical weathering
3. Oxidation
4. Soil
5. Abrasion
6. Chemical weathering
7. Erosion
8. Mass wasting
9. Deposition
10. hydrolysis/ hydration