Ch 10 – WeatheringObjectives
1.Contrast chemical and mechanical weathering.
2.List and describe the types of mechanical weathering.
3.List and describe the types of chemical weathering.
4.List the products resulting from the chemical weathering of Igneous rocks.
5.List and discuss the factors that influence the type and rate of rock weathering.
Read each slide then fill in each blank (underlined red
words) some slides may be information
only!
WeatheringThe breakdown of the materials on Earth’s
crust into smaller pieces.
Water causes weathering
What evidence of weathering do you see
in this picture?
Wind causes weathering
What evidence of weathering do you see
in this picture?
Why wasn’t this mass of land weathered
away?
Ice causes weathering
Describe how ice causes weathering?
Weathering • Breakdown of rock
due to surface processes
• 3 types of weathering– Physical (Mechanical)– Chemical– Biological
http://www.geography.ndo.co.uk/animationsweathering.htm#
Physical Weathering (Mechanical)1. Abrasion – Means that the surface of the
rock is weathered due to the action of wind, water & gravity
2. Frost wedging – Freezing–Thawing water expands when it freezes
3. Exfoliation or unloading – – rock breaks off into leaves or sheets along
joints which parallel the ground surface;– caused by expansion of rock due to uplift
and erosion; removal of pressure of deep burial
Physical Weathering (Mechanical)
4. Thermal expansion - – repeated daily heating and cooling of rock; – heat causes expansion; cooling
causes contraction. – different minerals expand and contract at
different rates causing stresses along mineral boundaries.
5. Plant Roots – break rocks apart as they grow
6. Animals – animals burrowing through the soil-examples ants, molds, coyotes, worms, mice
What type of physical weathering?
What type of physical weathering?
What type of physical weathering?
What type of physical weathering?
What type of physical weathering?
What t ype of physical weathering?
What type of physical weathering?
What type of physical weathering?
Chemical WeatheringRock reacts with water, gases and solutions
(may be acidic); will add or remove elements from minerals.
1. Dissolution (or solution)
- also includes leaching
2. Oxidation
3. Hydrolysis
4. Biological Action/Acid in living thing
Dissolution• Dissolution occurs when rocks and/or
minerals are dissolved by water. The dissolved material is transported away leaving a space in the rock. One consequence of this process is the formation of caves in limestone areas.
• Several common minerals dissolve in water – halite – calcite
• Limestone and marble contain calcite and are soluble in acidic water
• Marble tombstones and carvings are particularly susceptible to chemical weathering by dissolution.
Oxidation• Oxygen, the second most
common element in the air we breathe, reacts with iron in minerals to form iron oxide minerals, e.g. hematite (rust). As many minerals contain iron, it is not unusual to see red-colored rocks
• Oxygen combines with iron-bearing silicate minerals causing "rusting"
• Iron oxides are red, orange, or brown in color
Acid Precipitation
• 3. Acid Precipitation-Rain, sleet, or snow, that contains a
high concentration of acids is called acid precipitation. Precipitation is naturally acidic. However, acid precipitation contains more acid than normal precipitation.
Acid Rain
3. Acid Precipitation-Rain, sleet, or snow, that contains a high concentration of acids is called acid precipitation. Precipitation is naturally acidic. However, acid precipitation contains more acid than normal precipitation.
Acid in groundwater
Caves and caverns typically form in limestone
• speleothems - cave formations; made of calcite
• form a rock called travertine – stalactites - from ceiling – stalagmites - on ground
Karst topography forms on limestone terrain and is characterized by:
• caves/caverns,
• sinkholes,
• disappearing streams,
• springs
More Dissolution
Acid Leaching
Hydrolysis – affected by H20• Hydrolysis occurs when minerals react
with water to form other products. Feldspar, the most common mineral in rocks on the earth's surface, reacts with water to form a secondary mineral such as kaolinite (a type of clay) and additional ions that are dissolved in water. The weaker clay is readily worn away by physical weathering.
• Feldspar alters to clay – Feldspars = stable at high
temperatures and pressures – Clays are stable under conditions at
the Earth's surface • Quartz turns to sand
Biological Action
• Biological weathering is the actual molecular breakdown of minerals. There are things called
lichens (combinations of fungi and algae) which live on rocks. Lichens slowly eat away
at the surface of rocks.
• Lichens, fungi, and other micro-organisms
• Chemically and physically change rock
Mineral Content
Least stableOlivine Ca plagioclase feldsparPyroxeneAmphiboleBiotiteNa plagioclase feldsparPotassium feldsparMuscoviteQuartz
Most stable
Factors Affecting Weathering*Surface AreaTextureTemperatureHumidityTopographyTime
Factors Affecting WeatheringSurface Area – Most
important
• Smaller particles,
more surface area
faster• Examples
– Crushed ice cools faster
– Granulated sugar dissolves faster
– More exposed rocks weather more
Temperature and Water
• The rate of chemical weathering is
faster in warm, humid climates
Weathering and Elevation
• Rocks at higher elevations, as on a
mountain, are exposed to more wind, rain, and ice than the rocks at lower elevations are. This increase in wind, rain, and ice at higher elevations causes the peaks of mountains to weather faster.
Gravity
• Gravity affects weathering, too. The
steepness of mountain slopes increases the effects of mechanical and chemical weathering. Steep slopes cause
rainwater to quickly run off the sides of mountains.
Summary Types of Weathering •Mechanical or Physical - the breakdown of rock material into smaller and smaller pieces with no change in the chemical composition of the weathered material.•Chemical - the breakdown of rocks by chemical agents. Obviously the chief chemical agent is water which carries dissociated carbonic acid.•Mechanical Weathering Expansion and Contraction - the thermal heating and cooling of rocks causing expansion and contraction.•Frost Action - Water freezes at night and expands because the solid occupies greater volume. Action wedges the rocks apart. Requires adequate supply of moisture; moisture must be able to enter rock or soil; and temperature must move back and forth over freezing point.•Exfoliation - process in which curved plates of rock are stripped from a larger rock mass. Example Half Dome. Exact mechanism uncertain but probably due to unloading.•Other types - Cracking of rocks by plant roots and burrowing animals.•Chemical Weathering Factors which effect the rate of chemical weathering are: Particle size - Smaller the particle size the greater the surface area and hence the more rapid the weathering•Climate