Chapter 9
Weathering
An important step in the formation of soil from
rock involves weathering of the rock into smaller
and/or chemically altered parts (Yatsu 1988).
Weathering is the physical and chemical alter-
ation of rocks and minerals at or near the Earth’s
surface, produced by biological, chemical and
physical agents or their combination, as they ad-
just toward an equilibrium state in the surface
environment (Pope et al. 2002). Few soils form di-
rectly from bedrock. Usually there is an interme-
diate step in which weathering processes form
residuum from the rock, or geomorphic processes
comminute and erode it, forming various types of
regolith. Both are then acted upon by pedogenic
processes to form soil (see Chapter 12). In the end,
rocks become discolored, structurally altered, ac-
quire precipitates of weathering by-products and
experience surface recession as a result of weath-
ering. In this section we briefly examine the main
components and processes of weathering; it logi-
cally follows on our treatise of soil parent mate-
rials in Chapter 8.
Rocks are variously physically and chemically
unstable at the Earth’s surface, and hence they
weather, because this environment is far different
from the one in which they formed. For most
rocks, the surface (soil) environment is colder,
with less pressure and increased amounts of oxy-
gen, water and biota, than their formative envi-
ronment, be it below the sea floor or deep within
the crust. As noted in Chapter 4, minerals formed
in such environments are often primary miner-
als. Many of these are unstable within soils and
weather to secondary minerals, commonly clay
minerals (see Chapter 4).
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Geomorphically and pedogenically, several
processes are associated with weathering, such as
erosion (the wearing away of rocks or sediments/
soils) and transport (the movement of those
same materials), which collectively are termed de-
nudation. Weathering, erosion, mass wasting and
transportation are all included within denuda-
tional processes. During transport, sediment may
also be corraded (eroded by friction) from the un-
derlying rock or sediment.
Rocks (Table 9.1) and minerals (Fig. 9.1) vary
in their resistance to weathering. Minerals that
weather slowly or difficultly are termed ‘‘resis-
tant” minerals, whereas those that weather more
quickly are variously referred to as ‘‘weatherable”
or ‘‘weak” minerals. The susceptibility of vari-
ous minerals to weathering is largely captured
by Bowen’s series, which illustrates that miner-
als that crystallize first from a molten state are
most susceptible to weathering (White and Brant-
ley 1995) (Chapter 4). The structure of minerals
also dramatically affects not only the susceptbil-
ity of a mineral to weathering, but the manner
in which it weathers (Fig. 9.2).
Rocks with many weathering-susceptible min-
erals are vulnerable to weathering. However,
rocks with many individual minerals that are
only loosely held together will also be highly
weatherable, regardless of their mineralogy.
Weathering susceptibility of rocks is also a
function of the size of the individual minerals as
well as the degree to which they are cemented
together. In general, coarse-textured rocks, with
larger mineral crystals, such as granite, weather
more rapidly than do finer-textured intrusive

Table 9.1 A classification of the physical strength of some rock types
Description Examples
Very weak rocks Chalk, rock salt, lignite
Weak rocks Coal, siltstone, schist
Moderately strong rocks Slate, shale, sandstone, ignimbrite
Strong rocks Marble, limestone, dolomite,
andesite, granite, gneiss
Very strong rocks Quartzite, dolerite, gabbro
Source: Selby (1980).
rocks. It is easier for physical weathering pro-
cesses to separate the mineral particles in the
intrusive igneous and acidic metamorphic rocks
(e.g., gneiss) than in a finer-textured rock like
basalt. For many clastic sedimentary rocks, e.g.,
sandstone, the degree of cementation of the
grains is a primary factor determining their
resistance to weathering.
Physical weathering
In physical weathering, also known as mechan-
ical weathering or disintegration, physical stresses
combine to break rock into smaller pieces. Com-
monly, these breaks or fractures occur along
joints or bedding planes, or between mineral
grains as in a sandstone or granite. Little or no
chemical alteration is implied. The sizes of frag-
ments created by physical weathering depends
on the degree of fracturing and the spacing of
fractures and grain-to-grain contacts within the
rock. A granite with large phenocrysts will nec-
essarily weather into larger mineral fragments
than will a schist composed of small mineral
grains.
The primary importance of physical weather-
ing centers on the formation of additional sur-
face area and pore space. As rocks get fractured,
their surface area increases geometrically
(Fig. 9.3). Chemical weathering (see below) reac-
tions operate on surfaces, and thus as a rock gets
increasingly fractured, the surface area upon
which chemical reactions can occur increases.
Likewise, fractured rocks with more pores allow
more oxygen and water to come into direct
contact, again facilitating chemical weathering.
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PHYSICAL WEATHERING 227
Water and oxygen are important to many
chemical weathering reactions. Highly fractured
rock tends to have increased amounts of poros-
ity and permeability, which when combined with
abundant water facilitate the transport of byprod-
ucts of chemical weathering reactions. If those
by-products are not flushed from the system, the
weathering reactions slow and eventually stop.
Pore spaces also facilitate the growth of roots,
which in turn can cause further physical break-
up. Roots also facilitate chemical break-up by
their exudates and various fungal hyphae asso-
ciated with them. They also release CO2 , which
combines with water to form carbonic acid, fur-
ther enhancing weathering.
Forms of physical weathering
Physical weathering occurs as stress is added to a
rock (usually from within an existing plane or
point of weakness) or as pressure is released from
the rock, allowing it to expand and crack. The
latter process is called unloading or dilatation. Un-
loading occurs when weight is gradually or sud-
denly removed from dense rock masses, causing
the rock to expand and sometimes resulting in
sheets (sheeting) or flakes (flaking) that appear to
peel from the rock. Dilatation can be up to 1%
in some granites. Rock corners and edges are the
most susceptible to sheeting and flaking, since
a three-face corner has even more surface area
to attack, and therefore potential for rounding.
Thus, one major impact of these processes is to
round the edges of rocks.
Rocks undergoing unloading typically expand
along planes that are at right angles to the di-
rection of pressure release. When this occurs on
a large scale and the sheets are thick and/or
 228 WEATHERING

Fig. 9.1 Various rankings of common rock-forming minerals
with respect to their resistance to weathering in general.
Exact correspondence among the sequences is not implied.
(a) After Pettijohn (1941), based on their frequency in
sedimentary rocks of increasing age, which is interpreted
as degree of stability or resistance to weathering.
(b) After Goldich (1938), which is roughly the inverse
sequence described for minerals as they crystallize from a
melt. This sequence is often referred to as Bowen’s series.
(c) After Jackson et al. (1948). (d) Resistance and
weatherability at various pH levels. After Weyl (1950) and
Nickel (1973).

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Fig. 9.2 Examples of how mineral structure and cleavage
affect the way minerals weather. After Hunt (1972).
curved, the term exfoliation is used (Bradley 1963).
Exfoliation is often restricted to massive, oth-
erwise unjointed rocks; slaking or sheeting is
used for smaller scale versions of the same. Con-
tinued sheeting and exfoliation wear away the
sharp edges of the rock, rendering it round or
spheroidal in shape, hence the name spheroidal
weathering (Fig. 9.4).
Most forms of physical weathering occur
when internal stresses overcome the strength of
the rock, causing it to disintegrate. These stresses
can be caused by a number of processes: (1) salt
crystal growth as salty water within cracks in
the rock evaporates, (2) ice crystal growth as wa-
ter within cracks freezes, (3) root growth within
cracks and (4) expansion of the rock as it is wetted
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PHYSICAL WEATHERING 229
or heated. All of these stresses are more effective
if they occur in numerous cycles. Salt crystals, ice
and roots are all agents that are added from out-
side the weathering ‘‘boundary layer,” expanding
into the volume.
Salt and gypsum weathering is a common
form of rock disintegration in arid regions and
near sea coasts where salty water is abundant
(Reheis 1987b, Doornkamp and Ibrahim 1990). In
urban areas there is also sometimes an overabun-
dance of salts due to ice removal, fly ash dust,
general traffic dust, etc. Water with dissolved sub-
stances penetrates crevices in rocks and upon
drying, salt crystals grow and force apart the
rock (Holmer 1998). Water is later drawn to the
dry salt, continuing to enhance salt weathering
(Amit et al. 1993). In some salty soils, the lack
of rocks in the upper solum has been attributed
in part to physical shattering of clasts by salts
and other forms of mechanical weathering (Dan
 230 WEATHERING
Fig. 9.3 Change in surface area as a cube-shaped rock is
repeatedly fractured.
et al. 1982, Gerson and Amit 1987) (Fig. 12.62).
Amit et al. (1993) stressed, however, that salt con-
centration alone does not cause shattering of
clasts, for within petrosalic (Bzm) horizons in the
lower solum, shattering does not occur. Rather,
changes in moisture content and temperature in
the upper solum, coupled with the presence of
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salts and rocks with microcrystalline fractures,
lead to the rapid and complete rock shattering.
The process is as follows: salt crystal shatter-
ing relies upon the formation of a salt crust on
the rocks. These crusts plug the openings of the
cracks, confining saline solutions to the interi-
ors. Upon further drying and/or heating, the pres-
sures inside the rocks can result in shattering.
Salt weathering is not restricted to deserts
(Goudie and Viles 1997). Physical weathering,
initiated by additions of rain rich in sulfuric
acid (H2 SO4 ) attributed to the burning of sulfur-
rich coal, can weather rocks, especially carbonate
rocks, as follows:
H2 SO4 + CaCO3 + H2 O −→ CaSO4 · 2H2 O + CO2
Gypsum (CaSO4 · 2H2 O) crystals form just be-
low the rock surface, occupying 38% more vol-
ume than the original calcite crystals (Feddema
and Meierding 1987). The newly formed gypsum
crystals can flake the limestone away at rates as
high as 0.08 mm yr−1 .
The role of freeze–thaw activity and ice crys-
tals in weathering is undeniable and yet, ex-
actly how it functions is debatable. In theory,
as water in cracks in rocks freezes, it expands
by 9%, potentially forcing the rock apart and
Fig. 9.4 Spheroidal weathering of
granite caused by sheeting and
flaking, Joshua Tree National
Monument, California. Photo by RJS.

shattering it. This process, also called frost shatter-
ing or gelifraction, works best in rocks with deep,
narrow cracks where the pressure is contained
wholly within the rock and not released as the
developing ice mass pushes outside it. Obviously,
this process can only operate in climates that
at least occasionally have freezing temperatures,
and the more cyclicity there is, e.g., in the high
alpine or high midlatitudes, the better (Thorn
1979, Dredge 1992). Optimal conditions for frost
shattering involve rapid freezing of water-filled
cracks from the top downward, allowing the ice
to act as a seal. Recent work on this process has,
however, suggested that the main agent of disin-
tegration may not be expansion by ice but the
migration of thin films of water along microfrac-
tures. These films may be adsorbed so tightly that
they cannot freeze, but they can exert pressure
on the rock and cause it to fracture (White 1976,
Walder and Hallet 1985, Bland and Rolls 1998).
Thermal expansion of rocks is driven by in-
solation (solar heating) and by fire. In theory,
expansion occurs as the outer layers of a rock are
heated by the sun or a fire, only to contract as
they cool (Peel 1974). The expansion and contrac-
tion lead to compressive and tensile stresses, i.e.,
thermal fatigue (Halsey et al. 1998). Fatigue effects
reduce the cohesive strength of intergranular
bonds in the rock and initiate microfracture
development (Warke et al. 1996, Hall and Andre
2001). The degree to which minerals in the rock
expand with temperature is a function of their
coefficient of thermal expansion, and in sunlight,
their albedo. Minerals vary in these properties,
setting up a condition in which the parts of
the rock expand and contract at different rates,
contributing to stresses and breakdown. For
breakage to finally happen, however, the elastic
limit of the rock must be exceeded, and this also
varies among rock types (Bland and Rolls 1998).
Fire has long been known to be an agent of
rock weathering (Blackwelder 1926, Ollier and
Ash 1983, Allison and Bristow 1999). During fire,
rock temperatures can approach 500 ◦ C. ‘‘Fire
weathering” is particularly effective if the fire
is immediately followed by a cooling rain. Shat-
tered rocks on the surface of hot deserts and in
recently burned areas attest to the efficacy of
thermal expansion as a weathering process, in
addition to shattering by salt crystals.
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CHEMICAL AND BIOTIC WEATHERING 231
Biotic forms of physical weathering have long
centered on the role of plants. Roots penetrate
fissures in rock and can exert enough pressure
to break them apart; many of us have observed
boulders that have been moved or split by tree
roots. However, fauna also play a large role in dis-
integration processes, but usually function at the
smaller end of the scale where their impacts are
less noticed (Avakyan et al. 1981). Many burrowing
animals ingest sand and gravel and as this mate-
rial passes through their gut it gets physically
comminuted (Suzuki et al. 2003). Large mammals
like badgers and wombats are more than able to
break apart rock or cemented soil horizons as
they tunnel.
Lastly, wetting and drying cycles are also an
effective agent of physical weathering, especially
in rocks that are weak initially or are able to ab-
sorb large amounts of water (Hall and Hall 1996,
Gokceoglu et al. 2000, Paradise 2002).
Chemical and biotic weathering
Chemical weathering, also known as decompo-
sition, involves the biochemical breakdown of
rocks and minerals into different products and
compounds. Common end products of chemical
weathering are clay minerals, soluble acidic com-
pounds and various ionic species. The intensity
of chemical weathering is largely governed by cli-
matic conditions which govern temperature and
the movement (or lack thereof ) of water in the
soil and rock, water quality and the mineral and
chemical composition of the rocks themselves.
As noted above, rock permeability and porosity,
and surface area are also important, as they fa-
cilitate or retard flushing of reaction by-products.
Indeed, in areas where chemical weathering is ab-
normally active or inactive, based on what would
be climatically ‘‘expected,” one can usually look
to parts of the chemical weathering environment
not governed by climate, e.g., permeability, rock
chemistry, strength of weathering agents, etc. for
an explanation (Pope et al. 1995).
Chemical weathering can be subdivided into
congruent and incongruent dissolution. Congru-
ent dissolution occurs when a mineral goes com-
pletely into solution and nothing is immedi-
ately precipitated from it. Many highly soluble
 232 WEATHERING
Fig. 9.5 Diagrammatic representation of the three main
categories of chemical weathering, using a silicate mineral as
an example. After Bland and Rolls (1998).
minerals, e.g., halite or marble, weather congru-
ently, i.e., dissolve, leaving virtually nothing be-
hind and forming a type of ‘‘collapsed” landscape
(karst is the name given to this landscape type
when the rock is limestone). In incongruent disso-
lution, all or some of the ions released by weath-
ering precipitate at or near the site of weathering,
to form new minerals such as phyllosilicates or
oxyhydroxides.
Following on this two-fold generalization,
Bland and Rolls (1998) divided chemical weath-
ering into three categories (Fig. 9.5):
(1) Solution of ions and molecules.
(2) Production of new minerals, e.g., clay miner-
als, oxides and hydroxides.
(3) Residual accumulation of insoluble or other-
wise unweatherable materials.
Any or all of these categories results in a
chemical change in a preexisting mineral and
the formation of new minerals or parts (ions)
that could be used to ‘‘construct” them. Hence,
chemical weathering involves decomposition, but
an equally important part of the process is the
synthesis of new compounds that occurs after the
main reaction is done.
Some of the more important and commonly
mentioned subsets of chemical weathering are
discussed below.
Hydration
Many minerals hydrate, or take water into their
chemical structure, readily. In hydration, water
is added to the crystal lattice of a mineral but
the original material does not change chemical
composition. One example is:
CaSO4 + 2H2 O −→ CaSO4 · 2H2 O
annhydrite gypsum
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The hydration of annhydrite to gypsum results
in expansion and mechanical deformation. Like-
wise, hematite can be hydrated to goethite:
Fe2 O3 + H2 O −→ Fe2 O3 · H2 O
Secondary clay minerals, e.g., smectites, also hy-
drate readily (see Chapter 4).
Related to hydration are the processes of
oxidation--reduction. These processes primarily af-
fect minerals rich in Fe, Mn or S (see Chapters 13
and 14).
Solution
All minerals are soluble; some are much more
soluble than others. Some of the more soluble
of the common minerals are halite, potash (KCl),
gypsum and, to a lesser extent, CaCO3 . The fac-
tors which affect solubility are myriad and be-
yond the scope of this discussion. However, the
concept of ionic potential is central. Defined as
ionic charge divided by ionic radius, ionic poten-
tial refers to the ease with which an ion can be
removed, in solution, from a compound such as
a mineral. Ions with low ionic potential typically
are the main components of weathering solu-
tions, implying that they are more easily leached,
and hence, more soluble (Bland and Rolls 1998)
(Fig. 9.6). Temperature affects solubility; most
minerals are more soluble at higher tempera-
tures. Most solubility reactions are also highly
pH dependent. Many minerals, such as silica and
aluminum oxides, are most soluble at high and
low pH values (Fig. 9.7).
Unlike many other chemical weathering re-
actions, solution processes are usually reversible.
When the saturation point of a solution is ex-
ceeded, it becomes supersaturated and some of
the dissolved ions precipitate. These precipitates
may, however, be different from those that were
involved in the initial dissolution reaction.
Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis, (Greek, hydro, water, lysis, split) is the
most important chemical weathering process
 CHEMICAL AND BIOTIC WEATHERING 233

S +
+
2+
I 2+
2+
2+
3+
3+
Al
4+
4+
4+
S

Fig. 9.6 The ionic potentials of various elements common pHs. Examples of this process abound, such as the
to soils and regolith. The ion of each element can be placed one reported by Ahnert (1996):
into one of three categories that roughly coincide with their
2KAlSi3 O8 + 2(H + OH) ←→ 2HAlSi3 O8
relative potential to be leached from soils. After Paton (1978).
potassium water aluminosilicic
feldspar acid
+ 2KOH
potassium
hydroxide
and then a series of reactions ensue, involving
the byproducts of the hydrolysis, both of which
are unstable:
2KOH + H2 CO3 −→ K2 CO3 + 2H2 O
potassium carbonic potassium
hydroxide acid carbonate
The KOH is soluble and is carried away in so-
lution, whereas the aluminosilicic acid reacts
further:
2HAlSi3 O8 + 9H2 O −→ Al2 Si2 O5 (OH)4 + 4H4 SiO4
aluminosilicic kaolinite silicic
acid acid
Because of the importance of hydrolysis in sil-
icate weathering, we provide another example
Fig. 9.7 The solubility of silica as a function of pH. reaction:
8NaAlSi3 O8 + 6H+ + 28H2 O
albite
for silicate minerals. In hydrolysis, the water
−→ 3Na0.66 Al2.66 Si3.33 O10(OH)2
molecule is split into H+ (a proton) and OH− (a
smectite
hydroxyl) ions, and is the main agent that drives
+ 14H4 SiO4 + 6Na+
mineral dissolution. The H+ proton reacts with
silicic acid
silicate minerals in a form of cation exchange.
The cation that is released from the mineral then Both these reactions are typical of hydrolysis in
reacts with the OH− anion to form a new sub- that: (1) a primary silicate mineral is weathered
stance. The H+ ions also derive from acid disso- using only water and commonly occurring acids,
ciation, which is why hydrolysis increases at low (2) a clay mineral forms as a result, (3) most of
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 234 WEATHERING
the reaction by-products are soluble and (4) in
the end, the pH of the soil solution is lowered
(an acid is produced). Because many of the by-
products are soluble, much of the original mass
is lost. In some environments, e.g., the humid
tropics, the silica remains soluble and leaves the
system via desilication (see Chapter 12), while in
others it may precipitate as quartz or some other
microcrystalline silicate mineral.
Carbonation
Carbonation is a general term for weathering pro-
cesses associated with CO2 in aqueous solution.
In soils and regolith, CO2 quickly combines with
water to form a weak acid – carbonic acid:
CO2 + H2 O ←→ H2 CO3 .
Water that is in equilibrium with the atmosphere
contains about 0.03% CO2 and has a pH of 5.6 be-
cause of dissolved carbonic acid. However, soil air
has much higher concentrations of CO2 due to
respiration by soil fauna and plant roots. Thus,
carbonic acid concentrations in soil water can,
naturally, be quite high. Carbonation impacts
rocks at the surface, but because soil water is
more aggressive than rainwater, it is particularly
effective within the profile.
Carbonic acid, through its bicarbonate anion,
is particularly effective at weathering calcareous
rocks like limestone and marble:
H2 CO3 −→ H+ + HCO− 3
bicarbonate
H+ + HCO−
3 + CaCO3 −→ Ca
2+
+ 2HCO−
3 (1) Monovalent cations in the mineral are replac-
limestone.
Both the Ca2+ and the bicarbonate are soluble
and able to be leached, which means that, in the-
ory, carbonation of calcareous rock is congruent.
Generally, when limestone or marble weather via
carbonation, all that remains are the insoluble
components of the rock that were trapped in it
as clastic impurities.
It should also be noted that carbonation is
also effective on other types of minerals, as illus-
trated below:
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2KAlSi3 O8 + 2H2 CO3 + 9H2 O
K-feldspar
carbonic
 acid

Al2 Si2 O5 (OH)4 + 2K+
kaolinite
+ 2HCO− 3 + 4H4 SiO4
bicarbonate silicic acid.
Weathering by carbonation creates a plethora
of weathered forms (Fig. 9.8). Landscapes dom-
inated by dissolution of carbonate rocks are
termed karst. In such landscapes, carbonation
has enlarged the natural fracture patterns in
the rocks, leading to high levels of porosity
and permeability. Thus, surface waters infiltrate
rapidly, and there exists few surface streams. Un-
derground rivers, collapsed caves, swallowholes
and sinkholes are common features of karst
landscapes (Fig. 9.8b).
Biological agents
Plants and their associated microbiota directly
impact weathering by generating chelating com-
pounds (see Chapter 12), by modifying pH
through production of CO2 and organic acids, by
altering the exposed surface areas of minerals,
via nitrification and by affecting the residence
time of water (Drever 1994). Of these, the produc-
tion of organic acids may be the most important
contribution to biochemical weathering in soils.
These acids can either be released directly from
the organism or derive as by-products of organic
decomposition. Bland and Rolls (1998) described
two ways in which organic acids contribute to
chemical weathering:
ed by protons (H+ cations) and then removed
in solution.
(2) Di- and trivalent cations are made soluble ei-
ther after redox reactions have occurred or by
chelation by organic acids (Schatz 1963).
In either event, they are made readily soluble
(Fig. 9.9).
Obviously, plants also play a critical role in
the fate of weathering by-products, for if they are
not biocycled, leaching or loss from the system in
other ways becomes more likely.
 CHEMICAL AND BIOTIC WEATHERING 235

Fig. 9.8 Some features associated

with dissolution of limestone rocks
and karst. Photos by RJS. (a) Small-
scale dissolution features,
sometimes called karren, on a
surface limestone boulder, Indiana.
(b) A swallowhole in a karst
landscape – a location where surface
water enters the subsurface
hydrologic system.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 9.9 Examples of chelation of metal cations by organic

acids. (a) Chemical structure of a typical phenolic compound
(in this case, protocatechuic acid) before and after it has
formed a chelate complex with a metal cation. After Vance
et al. (1986). (b) A generic example of chelation. After Bland
and Rolls (1998).

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 236 WEATHERING
Recently, research on rock weathering has in-
creasingly focussed on the role of fungi, which
often form symbiotic relationships with plant
roots. These ectomycorrhizal fungi mobilize es-
sential plant nutrients directly from minerals
through excretion of organic acids (Landeweert
et al. 2001). Direct weathering by fungi can, how-
ever, occur (Etienne and DuPont 2002, Hoffland
et al. 2002). Through their use of fungi in their
mounds, termites have even been shown to chem-
ically weather clay minerals ( Jouquet et al. 2002).
Lichens, which are composite organisms
whose body (thallus) consists of a fungus and
an alga growing symbiotically, are early coloniz-
ers on bare rock surfaces and are therefore in-
strumental in weathering. They weather the rock
both physically and chemically (Williams and
Rudolph 1974, Chen et al. 2000, Aghamiri and
Schwartzman 2002). Their nutrient-absorbing
and transmitting bodies, mycelia, are composed of
a complex web of fine thread-like hyphae. The hy-
phae can penetrate the rock surface along microc-
racks and generate enough stress to fracture parts
of it. Likewise, as water is absorbed into the hy-
phae they expand and create additional pressure.
The swelling action of the organic and inor-
ganic salts originating from lichens also adds
to physical break-up of rocks. On bare rock
surfaces, lichens enhance the water-holding ca-
pacity locally, which may increase chemical dis-
solution and, climate permitting, frost wedg-
ing (Bjelland and Thorseth 2002). Lichens also
emit organic acids, especially oxalic acid, which
are very effective chemical weathering agents
(Ascaso and Galvan 1976). The exact nature of
the chemical weathering process associated with
lichens remains unclear, but it is suspected
that the acids from lichens (1) donate pro-
tons (H+ ) that cause hydrolysis of the minerals
and (2) act as agents of chelation. Lastly, the CO2
emitted by the lichen plays a role in weathering
via its generation of carbonic acid.
Products of weathering
The fate of the ions released by chemical weath-
ering is highly variable. Some of these cations
and anions are biocycled, while others, especially
those that are not plant nutrients and those that
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are highly soluble, are leached and may end up in
the groundwater. Some cations may be temporar-
ily trapped within mineral and grain voids as sec-
ondary crystalline or amorphous deposits. In this
state, they are at least temporarily unavailable to
plants and not flushed into the groundwater.
Using this knowledge, a large literature has
emerged that is concerned with measuring the
rate and type of weathering, usually on a water-
shed scale. The technique applies data on the con-
centrations and types of cations in ground and
surface waters exiting the basin to determine the
types and rates of weathering occurring within
(Velbel 1985, Pecher 1994, Richards and Kump
1997, Furman et al. 1998). The assumption in these
studies is that the soluble cations released by
weathering reactions eventually leave the system
via flux from springs, streams and groundwater,
and if the geology is known, a mass balance ap-
proach can provide information of which min-
erals are weathering and at what rates (Duan
et al. 2002, West et al. 2002). Rates of landscape
denudation due to chemical weathering can even
be calculated using such data (Pope et al. 1995,
Yuretich et al. 1996).
Controls on physical and chemical
weathering
Many factors control and impact weathering rates
and govern the reactions, not the least of which
is macroclimate, because of its impact on mois-
ture availability and temperature (Büdel 1982).
Temperature impacts physical weathering in that
it can affect freeze–thaw processes and, in hot
deserts, salt weathering. It may be equally or
more important for chemical weathering because
temperature controls the rate of the reaction(s);
reaction rates increase at higher temperatures
(White et al. 1999). This concept is captured in
the general rule of thumb that, for every 10 ◦ C
increase in temperature, the reaction rate is dou-
bled. Obviously, this ‘‘rule” only holds within
certain temperature limits, usually taken to be
5–35 ◦ C. Nonetheless, the implications of this rule
are huge; in the tropics many chemical reactions
operate more rapidly than in midlatitudes, and
if water is adequate, deep weathering profiles of
highly weathered regolith can result (Fig. 9.10).
 CONTROLS ON PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL WEATHERING
Fig. 9.10 Depth of weathering (= regolith thickness) and
soils along a latitudinal transect from the equator to the pole,
showing the major climatic belts. Although generally correct,
this simplistic view of weathering across the globe creates
misconceptions that ignore denudation rate adjustment and
climate change. After Strakhov (1967).
We stress that temperature affects rates, not the
type of reactions or processes; there is no reason
to postulate a special type of ‘‘tropical weather-
ing” as has been done in the past.
Physical weathering and its products have tra-
ditionally been viewed as being dominant in cold
and/or dry climates. Peltier’s (1950) classic work,
though now dated, retains its value in pointing
out that physical weathering is best expressed in
cold, dry climates, especially those like alpine ar-
eas with their frequent freeze–thaw cycles (Fig.
9.11). Although not shown in Fig. 9.11, physical
weathering is also common in deserts and along
sea coasts, where salts and water commingle.
A major control on chemical weathering in-
volves the degree to which water can participate
in the reaction, including the ability to flush the
system of weathering by-products. In stagnant
but wet settings, chemical weathering quickly
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237
grinds to a halt, as by-products accumulate. Since
water availability is a function of not only local
factors but also macroclimate, it has long been
assumed that chemical weathering is dominant
in hot, wet (humid) climates where the reactions
involved are assisted by warm temperatures.
Conversely, physical weathering is assumed to be
dominant over chemical weathering in cold, dry
environments, where freeze–thaw processes are
active and where cold temperatures inhibit chem-
ical reactions (Fig. 9.11). Several versions of the
diagram shown in Fig. 9.10 have been published
for decades, illustrating and (to some) confirming
this point. This notion, although largely correct,
has recently been challenged (Pope et al. 1995).
Hall et al. (2002) pointed out that, contrary
to long-standing belief, weathering, including
chemical weathering, is not strictly temperature-
limited but is, instead, limited more by moisture
availability. Even in polar regions, rock tempera-
tures are more than adequate to support physical
and chemical weathering, providing that water
is present. Wherever water is available, chemical
weathering can be a major component of the
weathering regime (Thorn et al. 2001). Pope
et al. (1995) argued that the macroclimatically
 238 WEATHERING
Fig. 9.11 Diagram suggesting the relative importance of
the various types of physical and chemical weathering in
different environments on Earth. After Peltier (1950).
driven approach to weathering is flawed because
it is based on visual observations, and that
the real mechanisms of weathering, observable
only under a microscope, do not support the
broad-brush, macroclimate–zonal categoriza-
tion of Peltier (1950). The climatic models of
weathering fall apart because the process link
between tropospheric climate and boundary
layer weathering processes is often disjunct.
As regolith thickness increases, the rocks be-
low get exposed to fewer and fewer wet–dry
and freeze–thaw cycles, and the influence of
biota and macroclimate gets diminished. Thus,
regolith thickness tends to be inversely propor-
tional to the intensity of physical weathering
(at the top of the bedrock) (Fig. 9.12). This is an
example of a negative feedback mechanism that
operates between weathering and denudation
(Ahnert 1987). When regolith is thin enough,
weathering can operate, but as it thickens, the
impact of regolith is to force weathering reac-
tions to slow and possibly cease. Because of this
interaction, weathering and denudation rates
tend to adjust mutually in a type of dynamic equi-
librium, resulting in a more constant thickness
of regolith than would otherwise occur. This line
of reasoning can help explain the deep regoliths
that lie outside of climatic ‘‘expectations,” such
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Fig. 9.12 Rates of physical and chemical weathering, and
combinations thereof, as a function of regolith thickness.
After Ahnert (1987).
as in Australia, the Rocky Mountains, Spain, or
the Appalachian Mountains.
Assessing weathering intensity
For a number of reasons – applicable in soil geo-
morphology and genesis – it is often useful to
know the degree to which a soil or regolith is
weathered. Often, degree of weathering parallels
degree of soil development. In theory, the older
the sediment or landform (surface) is, the more
weathered it should be. Climate, however, has a
strong impact as well. Thus, weathering data tend
to focus (minimally) on relative degrees of weath-
ering at different sites, but if possible, more rig-
orous numerical treatments of weathering inten-
sity can be achieved. Actual rates of weathering
are normally left to geochemists, who commonly
derive such data based on mass balance equations
of fluxes of weathering by-products exiting a sec-
tion of landscape in surface or groundwater (see
above).
The methods used to determine degree of
weathering of rocks range from qualitative ones
involving color or hardness, to highly quantita-
tive measures involving mineralogy or chemistry.
Many of these rock weathering methods are dis-
cussed in Chapter 14, where their application is
fit into the context of using weathering to assess
the age of the sediment or a landform they re-
side within. Examples, particularly those associ-
ated with Robert Ruhe’s work in Iowa, are pro-
vided in Chapter 13.