Erosion:

Erosion is the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural
forces such as wind or water. Most erosion is performed by liquid water, wind, or ice (usually in the form
of a glacier).

If the wind is dusty, or water or glacial ice is muddy, erosion is taking place. The brown color indicates
that bits of rock and soil are suspended in the fluid (air or water) and being transported from one place
to another. This transported material is called sediment.

Physical Erosion:

Physical Erosion describes the process of rocks changing their physical properties without changing their
basic chemical composition. Physical erosion often causes rocks to get smaller or smoother. Rocks
eroded through physical erosion often form Clastic Sediments.

Clastic sediments are composed of fragments of older rocks that have been transported from their place
of origin. Plant growth can also contribute to physical erosion in a process called Bioerosion. Plants
break up earthen materials as they take root, and can create cracks and crevices in rocks they
encounter.

Ice and liquid water can also contribute to physical erosion as their movement forces rocks to crash
together or crack apart. Some rocks shatter and crumble, while others are worn away. River rocks are
often much smoother than rocks found elsewhere, for instance, because they have been eroded by
constant contact with other river rocks.

Erosion by Water:

Liquid water is the major agent of erosion on Earth. Rain, rivers, floods, lakes, and the ocean carry away
bits of soil and sand and slowly wash away the sediment.

Rainfall produces four types of soil erosion: splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion, and gully erosion.

*Splash erosion - describes the impact of a falling raindrop, which can scatter tiny soil particles as far
as .6 meters (2 feet).

*Sheet erosion - describes erosion caused by runoff.

*Rill erosion - describes erosion that takes place as runoff develops into discrete streams (rills)

*Gully erosion - is the stage in which soil particles are transported through large channels. Gullies carry
water for brief periods of time during rainfall or snowmelt but appear as small valleys or crevasses
during dry seasons.

*Valley erosion - is the process in which rushing streams and rivers wear away their banks, creating
larger and larger valleys.
*Coastal erosion - the wearing away of rocks, earth, or sand on the beach—can change the shape of
entire coastlines. During the process of coastal erosion, waves pound rocks into pebbles and pebbles
into sand.

Waves and currents sometimes transport sand away from beaches, moving the coastline farther inland.
Coastal erosion can have a huge impact on human settlement as well as coastal ecosystems.

The ocean is a huge force of erosion. The battering force of ocean waves also erodes seaside cliffs. The
action of erosion can create an array of coastal landscape features.

For example, erosion can bore holes that form caves. When water breaks through the back of the cave,
it can create an arch. The continual pounding of waves can cause the top of the arch to fall, leaving
nothing but rock columns called Sea Stacks.

Erosion by Wind:

Wind is a powerful agent of erosion. Aeolian (wind-driven) processes constantly transport dust, sand,
and ash from one place to another. Wind can sometimes blow sand into towering dunes. It polishes
rocks and cliffs until they are smooth—giving the stone a so-called “desert varnish.” Wind can also erode
material until little remains at all. Ventifacts are rocks that have been sculpted by wind erosion. Made
brittle by years of drought and agricultural mismanagement, millions of tons of valuable topsoil were
eroded away by strong winds in what came to be known as “black blizzards.” These dust storms
devastated local economies, forcing thousands of people who depended on agriculture for their
livelihoods to migrate.

Erosion by Ice:

Ice, usually in the form of glaciers, can erode the earth and create dramatic landforms. In frigid areas
and on some mountaintops, glaciers move slowly downhill and across the land. As they move, they
transport everything in their path, from tiny grains of sand to huge boulders. Rocks carried by glaciers
scrape against the ground below, eroding both the ground and the rocks. In this way, glaciers grind up
rocks and scrape away the soil. Moving glaciers gouge out basins and form steep-sided mountain
valleys. Eroded sediment called moraine is often visible on and around glaciers. Several times in Earth’s
history, vast glaciers covered parts of the Northern Hemisphere. These glacial periods are known as ice
ages. Ice Age glaciers carved much of the modern northern North American and European landscape.
Today, in places such as Greenland and Antarctica, glaciers continue to erode the earth. Ice sheets there
can be more than a mile thick, making it difficult for scientists to measure the speed and patterns of
erosion. However, ice sheets do erode remarkably quickly—as much as half a centimeter (.2 inch) every
year.

Other Forces of Erosion:

Thermal Erosion describes the erosion of permafrost along a river or coastline. Warm temperatures can
cause ice-rich permafrost to break off coastlines in huge chunks, often carrying valuable topsoil and
vegetation with them. These eroded “floating islands” can disintegrate into the ocean, or even crash
into another piece of land—helping spread new life to different landscapes. Mass wasting describes the
downward movement of rocks, soil, and vegetation. Mass wasting incidents include landslides,
rockslides, and avalanches. Mass wasting can erode and transport millions of tons of earth, reshaping
hills and mountains and, often, devastating communities in its path.

Factors Impacting Erosion:

Some of the natural factors impacting erosion in a landscape include climate, topography, vegetation,
and tectonic activity.

*Climate - is perhaps the most influential force impacting the effect of erosion on a landscape. Climate
includes precipitation and wind. Climate also includes seasonal variability, which influences the
likelihood of weathered sediments being transported during a weather event such as a snowmelt,
breeze, or hurricane.

*Topography - the shape of surface features of an area, can contribute to how erosion impacts that
area. The earthen floodplains of river valleys are much more prone to erosion than rocky flood channels,
which may take centuries to erode. Soft rock like chalk will erode more quickly than hard rocks like
granite.

*Vegetation - can slow the impact of erosion. Plant roots adhere to soil and rock particles, preventing
their transport during rainfall or wind events. Trees, shrubs, and other plants can even limit the impact
of mass wasting events such as landslides and other natural hazards such as hurricanes. Deserts, which
generally lack thick vegetation, are often the most eroded landscapes on the planet.

*Tectonic Activity - shapes the landscape itself, and thus influences the way erosion impacts an area.
Tectonic uplift, for example, causes one part of the landscape to rise higher than others.