Chapter-4

4. Weathering and its implications

• The process by which rocks on or near Earth’s surface break
down and change is called weathering
• Weathering breaks things down into smaller pieces.
• The movement of pieces of rock or soil to new locations is
called erosion.
• Weathering and erosion can cause changes to the shape,
size, and texture of different landforms (such as
mountains, riverbeds, beaches, etc).
• Weathering and erosion can also play a role in landslides
and the formation of new landforms.
 weathering, erosion, and transportation
• rocks on Earth’s surface are constantly changed by
"water, air, temperature changes and other factors.
 weathering is the group of destructive processes that change the
physical and chemical character of rocks at or near Earth’s
surface.
 Erosion is physical collection of rock particles by water, ice, or
wind.
 transportation is the movement of eroded particles by water, ice,
or wind
 Mass wasting is the transfer or movement of rock or soil down
slope primarily by gravity.
 Deposition is the process by which weathered and eroded
materials are laid down or placed in a location that is different
from their source.
weathering results in both positive and negative
effects:
• positive: generates soils
• negative: causes deterioration of buildings etc.
weathering is divided into three classes: Those go on
continuously and usually together.
1. Physical weathering
2. Chemical weathering
3. Biological weathering
 4.1 Physical (mechanical) weathering
The process by which rocks and minerals break down into
smaller pieces is mechanical weathering- also called
physical weathering
 It does not involve any change in a rock’s composition,
only changes in the size and sometimes the shape of the
rock.
• breaks rock into smaller pieces
• does not change chemical makeup
• causes physical disintegration only
Examples: exfoliation, frost wedging, salt wedging, and
abrasion
4.1.1 Factors for mechanical weathering

1. Temperature plays a great role in mechanical

weathering.
2. Repeated thawing and freezing of water in the
cracks of rocks is called frost wedging.
3. Frost wedging is responsible for potholes.
4. Temperature is another factor. Over time, layers
of rock are stripped away is called exfoliation.
5. pressure
 [Link] of variation

 Non-uniform heating and cooling of rocks. Which causes

expansion and contraction of rock volume results in
Exfoliations.
 Thermal weathering depends on:-
(i) Amount of mineral constituents- poly-mineralic rocks
highly affected by weathering than monomineralic
ones
(ii) Texture- coarse grained rocks disintegrate faster than
fine grained.
(iii) Age- younger rocks are more resistant to weathering
than older rocks.
(iv) Color- dark colored rocks disintegrate faster than light
colored rocks
 Exfoliation
Exfoliation is a term that describes peeling of layers in
weathering exfoliation describes sheets of rock peeling
off a bare rock face.
 Exfoliation happens in places where there is a very big
difference in temperature between the night and day.
This is most common in deserts.
During the day in deserts the temperature may rise to
over 40°C. At night the temperature may drop to below
5°C.
During the day the heat causes the outer layers of the
rocks to expand.
At night the cold temperature causes the outer layers of
the rocks to get smaller and they contract. This makes it
weaker until it breaks up.
Exfoliations due to thermal weathering
 2. Freezing and thawing (forest wedging)
Caused by the action of water in fractures
If the water freezes into ice in side the fracture its
volume increases or expands by 10% and pushes
the wall of the fissures, resulting in the
disintegration of rocks.
 3. Crystal growth
As water percolates through fracture and pore
spaces it may contain ion that precipitate to
form crystals.
As the crystals grow they may exert an
outward force that can expand or weaken
rocks.
4. Unloading
When over lying rocks are removed by
erosion fractures and joints can be formed as a
result of expansion.
 4.2 chemical weathering
• Chemical weathering is when rocks and minerals
undergo changes in their composition as the result of
chemical reactions.
• chemical composition of minerals/rocks are changed
when they exposed to atmospheric gases.
• This alters rocks that are unstable at Earth’s surface
to become more stable substances (new chemical
compounds -- minerals -- form)
• decomposes, dissolves, alters, or weakens the rock
through chemical processes to form residual
materials.
• Examples: carbonation, hydration, hydrolysis,
oxidation, and solution
4.2.1 Types of Chemical Weathering
Agents for chemical weathering are: water, oxygen,
carbon dioxide, and acids are agents.

Chemical weathering decomposes, dissolves, alters, or

weakens the rock through chemical processes to form residual
materials.
Carbonation

Hydrolysis

Hydration

Oxidation

Solution
 4.2.2 Carbonation
 Carbonation is a process by 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.
 Carbonation primarily occurs in wet, moist climates
and effects rocks both on and beneath the surface.
 Carbonation occurs with limestone or dolomite
rocks and usually produces very fine, clayey
particles.
 4.2.3 Hydrolysis
 Hydrolysis- chemical reaction of minerals with
water; in this reaction H or OH ion replace an ion
in the mineral.
 The reaction of water with other substances is
known as hydrolysis

 Eg. Orthoclase change in to Kaolin.

KAlSiO3O8+2H2O 4K++ Al4SiO4O10 (OH)18 +8SiO2

Orthoclase Kaolin Quartz
Hydrolysis occurs in the decomposition of
silicate minerals.
 4.2.4 Hydration
 Hydration- is addition of water or OH ions in to
minerals
 Eg. An hydride ion can be changed into Gypsum
CaSO4 + 2H2O CaSO4 2H2O
FeO +H2O(Hematite) FeO. OH(Geothite)

This boulder is surrounded by

saprolitic soils formed by the
weathered rock. Hydration
processes cause the formation
of clays and contribute to the
reddish-tan color of the
saprolite.
Copyright ©Bruce Molnia, USGS
 4.2.5 Oxidation
 Oxidation- free oxygen (O2) which is common near the
earth’s surface react with minerals to change the oxidation
state of an ion.
 This is more common in Fe bearing minerals.
 During oxidation the minerals in the rock will change colors,
taking on a ‘rusty’, reddish-orange appearance.

The reddish-orange color of

this sandstone is a result of
oxidation processes
weathering the rock.

Photo: SCGS
 4.2.6 Solution
 Solution occurs when minerals in rock 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.
 Solution of large areas of bedrock may cause sinkholes to form, where
large areas of the ground subside or collapse forming a depression.
Subsurface dissolution of halite has This is an example of a limestone
caused overlying rocks to collapse solution karst feature found in Florida's
and form crater-like features. Everglades National Park.

Copyright © Larry Fellows, Arizona Geological Survey Copyright © Bruce Molina, USGS
Chemical
Weathering
 4.3 Biological weathering
Biological weathering is 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
 4.3.1 Organism Activity
• Organisms: Plants, bacteria, algae, burrowing
animals like rabbit and tiny organisms (insects) like
earthworms, ants, termites and snakes play an
important role in physical weathering because they
convert rock into soil.
• Burrowing, tunneling, and acid-secreting
organisms are another form of biological
weathering that chemically or mechanically
contribute to weathering.
 Some animals may burrow or tunnel into rocks or cracks in
rocks and cause the rock to break down and disintegrate.
 Small animals, worms, termites, 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.

The periwinkle snails on

this rock are secreting
acids that dissolve the
rock. This picture is taken
from a volcanic shoreline
in Hawaii.

Photo: D. Kroessig
 Similarly, man also breaks rocks by making roads,
constructing dams and reservoirs by drawing tunnels and
mines etc.
 Dead plants can cause chemical weathering. The plants
produce acids when they rot. These acids may cause a
chemical reaction in the rocks.
 4.3.2 Lichen, Algae, and Decaying Plants
 Organisms such as lichen and algae often live on bare rock and extract
minerals from the rock by ion-exchange mechanisms.
 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.
This is an example of biological
weathering that is caused by mosses
and lichen growing on
the face of a rock.

Photo: SCGS
 4.3.3 Plant Roots
 The roots of plants cause rocks to disintegrate. Plant roots grow
down through soil and rocks to find water and minerals.
 The roots can grow through cracks in rocks to find ground water.
 As the roots grow the cracks are made wider and eventually the
rock breaks up.
 Plants also grow in joints and cracks of the rocks and push
them further apart.
 Although, this process is gradual, it can be fairly effective at
breaking apart rocks that may already have a pre-existing
weaknesses such as fractures, faults, or joints.
This is an example of a tree
that is growing between a
crevasse in a rock. The tree is
splitting the rock along parallel
planes of alignment that are
already weakened by foliation
processes, a form of
mechanical weathering.
 4.4 Transporting agents
• Water erodes rocks and the landscapes by transporting weathered
materials from their source to another location where they are
deposited.
• Wind erodes materials by picking them up and temporarily
transporting them from their source to another location where they
are deposited, and either stored or re-mobilized and transported to
another location.
• Ice erosion occurs when particles are plucked up or incorporated
by moving ice, such as a glaciers, and are transported downhill, or
when friction between the ice and bedrock erodes materials and
then transports them downhill.
• Gravity facilitates the down slope transportation of loosened,
weathered materials and enables them to move without the aid of
water, wind, or ice.
Gravity related erosion is a major component of mass-wasting events.
 4.5 Mass Wasting
• Mass wasting is a rapid form of erosion that works
primarily under the influence of gravity in combination
with other erosional agents.
• Mass wasting occurs very quickly and can result in either
small or large scale changes to the landscape depending
on the type of event.
1. Rock Falls
2. Landslides
3. Debris / Mud Flows
4. Slumps
5. Creep
4.6 Factors affecting rates of weathering
 Minerals formed at high temperatures/pressures are
not stable at Earth’s surface
e.g. olivine, pyroxene
 Other factor is topography
 Steep slope promote mechanical weathering
 Gentle slope promote chemical weathering (because in
gentle slope can captured water and the water able to
facilitate chemical reaction and also there will be thick
soil and the soil retain organisms which promote chemical
weathering)
Least stable - High T minerals (e. g. olivine) - disequilibrium w/
surface conditions (small crystals)
• Most stable - Low T minerals (e.g. quartz) - larger crystals
Most stable ⇔ Least stable
Biotite-- Amphibole --Pyroxene---Olivine (mafic minerals)
Quartz---muscovite---K-feldspar---Na- Ca, Ca-Na, Ca plagioclase (felsic
minerals)
Weaker minerals weather first
Biotite
Mica -> clay Plagioclase

Quartze
Feldspar -> clay

time
Quartz is more robust

Less mature sediment-->

More mature sediment-->

more resistant sandstone cap rock

less resistant shale

 4.6 Factors that influence erosional rates
(speed) in running water and glacial ice:
1. Slope (gradient) of the land – as slope increases,
 the water velocity increases,
 the particle size that the water can carry also increases,
 therefore the amount of erosion increases.
2. Volume (size of the water or glacier) – as the volume of
the water or glacier increases,
 their velocities increase,
 the particle size that they can carry also increases,
 therefore the amount of erosion increases.
3. Position within the running water –
 Water is traveling faster around the outside of turns,
therefore that is where more erosion occurs.
 Water is traveling slower on the inside of turns,
therefore deposition occurs on the inside.
 Meandering (Curving) River/Stream
Deposition
Erosion
happens
happens
on the
on the
inside of
outside of
turns.
turns.

Sediments
are Straight Flowing River/Stream Running
traveling
the fastest Water
in the
center
directly
below the
surface. 35
There are 5 ways that man can cause erosion:
1. Forestry – all vegetation of removed,
and without roots, the soil will erode
away.
2. Strip Mining – removing rock cover to
get to the resources below, which causes
the loose sediments to erode away.
3. Construction – the clearing of land to
build buildings/houses also causes all
loose soil to erode away.
4. Improper Farming – not plowing the
land at right angles to slopes causes soil
to erode away.
5. Salting Highways – the salt is washed
off the road to the sides, where it
prevents vegetative growth along the
sides.
Mrs. Degl 36
 4.7 Weathering and Erosion‐Effects
Effects of weathering and erosion:
1. Cause changes in the slopes and texture of rock
structures, hills, and valleys
2. Can cause landslides
3. Cause buildings, statues, and roads to wear away
4. Can wash soil, pollutants, and harmful sediment from
the roads and farms into waterways
5. Cause metals to oxidize (rust)
6. Reduce the area of a beach or shoreline
4.8 engineering classification of weathered rocks

38