EXOGENIC PROCESSES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. Describe how rocks undergo weathering.

2. Explain how the products of weathering are carried by

erosion and deposited elsewhere.

3. Explain how roccks and soil move downslope due to the

direct action of gravity.

EXOGENIC PROCESSES

Are external processes that occur at or near the surface of the Earth. They
are responsible for transforming rocks into sediments.

It is interconnected with the different subsystems and includes the

process of weathering, erosion, transportation, and deposition. Its
primary source is the energy coming from the sun which drives the
weather.
WEATHERING

It is the on-site breakdown of rock and its eventual transformation

into sediments.

There are two types of weathering:

Mechanical Weathering
Chemical Weathering
MECHANICAL WEATHERING

Is the physical breakdown of a rock into

unconnected grains or chunks without changing its

composition.
EXFOLIATION

the process of peeling off

of the outer layer of rocks

FROST WEDGING

Causes the joints to expand and grow, causing pieces of rocks to detach.
 Joints expand when plants

growing on its surface pry it to

open in a process called

ROOT WEDGING
SALT WEDGING
When the salt crystallizes,

it pushes apart the

surrounding grains and

weakens the rock causing

it to disintigrate when

exposed to wind or rain

 THERMAL EXPANSION

occurs when a rock is exposed to

high temperature such as a forest

fire; its outer layer expands due

to baking

When it cools, the outer layer

contracts causing the surface to

break-off into sheets.

CHEMICAL WEATHERING

Occurs when there are chemical changes in at

least some of the composition of the rock. it is

not influenced by high temperature or pressure,

DISSOLUTION

Happens in certain

minerals which are

dissolved in water.
HYDROLYSIS

occurs when water reacts

with minerals and breaks

them down.
 OXIDATION

the reaction of oxygen

with minerals in the rock,

forms oxides.
 HYDRATION

occurs when water is

absorbed into the crystal

structure of the mineral

causing it to expand
BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING

occur in roots of plants,

when fungi and lichens

secrete organic acids that

dissolve minerals and the

nutrients are take in by

these organisms.
EROSION AND
TRANSPORTATION
Erosion is the separation and removal of weathered and
unweathered rocks and soil from its substrate due to gravity
or transporting agents like wind, ice, or water.

Transport is the process by which sediments are moved along

from the source where they are deposited.
WIND EROSION
Commonly occurs in flat,

bare areas or dry, sandy,

and loose soils. It

detaches soil particles

and transports them by

wind.
 GLACIER

Is a permanent body of

ice, which consists largely

of recrystallized snow and

shows evidence of

movement due to gravity.

 WATER
Is the most common agent

of erosion. Millions of

tons of sedimentss are

picked-up and

transported everyday

along rivers, coasts, and

in deep oceans around the

world.
SEDIMENTS MOVE ALONG IN FOUR WAYS:

Solution - movement of soluble minerals (salt)

Suspension - movement of fine particles like silt and clay

Traction - rolling or dragging of large grains aided by the push

of smaller grains

Saltation - bouncing of sand grains as they are picked -up,

carried along, and dropped repeatedly

SEDIMENTS MOVE ALONG IN FOUR WAYS:
MASS WASTING/
MASS MOVEMENT

The downslope movement of rock, soil, and ice due to

gravity. It is also a natural hazard that can cause damage
to life and property.
MASS WASTING/
MASS MOVEMENT
Can be classified in a number of ways such as type of
material, type of motion, and speed of movement.

Predominantly coarse soil materials are called debris

while predominantly fine materials are labeled as earth.
GENERAL TYPES OF MOTION:

Fall includes the free fall movement, bouncing, and

rolling of materials on a slope.

Topple is the forward motion out of the slope of a soil or

rock mass.

Slide is the downslope movement of coherent materials

along a well-defined surface of rupture called sliding

surface.
GENERAL TYPES OF MOTION:
Spread is the lateral extension and fracturing of a

coherent mass due to the plastic flow of its underlying

material

Flow happens when the materials are saturated and move

downslope as a viscous fluid

Complex or the combinations of several types of

movement
GENERAL TYPES OF MOTION:
DEPOSITION
It is the process in which sediments settle out of the
transporting medium.

The layer formed when the materials are laid down is called bed.
The distribution of grain size in a layer is called sorting.
In a mixture with various grain sizes, the larger sediments are
called clasts and the surrounding fine-grained sediments are
referred to as matrix.