The concept of weathering processes

Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and
artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological
organisms. Weathering occurs in situ (on site, with little or no movement), and
should not be confused with erosion, which involves the transport of rocks and
minerals by agents such as water, ice, snow, wind, waves and gravity. Weathering
processes are divided into physical and chemical weathering. Physical weathering
involves the breakdown of rocks and soils through the mechanical effects of heat,
water, ice, or other agents. Chemical weathering involves the chemical reaction of
water, atmospheric gases, and biologically produced chemicals with rocks and
soils. Water is the principal agent behind both physical and chemical weathering,
[1]
though atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide and the activities of biological
organisms are also important.[2] Chemical weathering by biological action is also
known as biological weathering.[3] Once a rock has been broken down, a process
called erosion transports the bits of rock and mineral away. No rock on Earth is
hard enough to resist the forces of weathering and erosion. Together, these
processes carved landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, in the U.S. state of
Arizona. This massive canyon is 446 kilometers (277 miles) long, as much as 29
kilometers (18 miles) wide, and 1,600 meters (1 mile) deep. Weathering and
erosion constantly change the rocky landscape of Earth. Weathering wears away
exposed surfaces over time. The length of exposure often contributes to
how vulnerable a rock is to weathering. Rocks, such as lavas, that are quickly
buried beneath other rocks are less vulnerable to weathering and erosion than rocks
that are exposed to agents such as wind and water. As it smoothes rough, sharp
rock surfaces, weathering is often the first step in the production of soils. Tiny bits
of weathered minerals mix with plants, animal remains, fungi, bacteria, and other

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organisms. A single type of weathered rock often produces infertile soil, while
weathered materials from a collection of rocks is richer in mineral diversity and
contributes to more fertile soil. Soils types associated with a mixture of weathered
rock include glacial till, loess, and alluvial sediments.

Socio economic importance of weathering

 Weathering is the initial stage in the formation of soil.

 It produces other natural resources, for instance, clay which is used for
making bricks.
 Another significance is weathering weakens rocks making them easier for
people to exploit, for example, by mining and quarrying
 This process is accountable for the fragmentation of the rocks into smaller
fragments and making the way for the creation of not only soils and regolith,
but also mass movements and erosion.
 Biodiversity, and Biomes are basically a result of vegetation, and forests rely
upon the depth of weathering mantles.
 Erosion cannot be significant if the rocks are not weathered.
 It means weathering aids erosion, mass wasting and reduction of relief and
modifications in landforms are a result of erosion.
 Weathering of rocks and deposits helps in the augmentation and
concentrations of some valuable ores of manganese, aluminium, iron, and
copper, etc. which have a great significance in the economy of the country.

Chemical Weathering involves the interaction of rock with mineral solutions

(chemicals) to change the composition of rocks. In this process, water interacts
with minerals to create various chemical reactions and transform the
rocks. Chemical weathering is a gradual and ongoing process as the mineralogy of

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the rock adjusts to the near-surface environment. Secondary minerals develop from
the original primary minerals of the rock. In this the processes oxidation and
hydrolysis are the most frequent chemical processes that take place. Chemical
weathering is enhanced by such geological agents as the presence of water and
oxygen, as well as biological agents as the acids produced by microbial and plant
root metabolism. Chemical weathering changes rock composition, often
transforming them into different chemical reactions when water interacts with
minerals. Chemical weathering is a gradual and ongoing process as the rock
mineralogy adjusts to the environment near the surface. The rock’s original
minerals develop new or secondary minerals. The oxidation and hydrolysis
processes are most important in this. Chemical weathering is enhanced by
geological agents such as water and oxygen, as well as biological agents such as
microbial and plant-root metabolism acids.

Mechanical Weathering: Physical weathering, also known as mechanical

weathering or disaggregation, is the process class that causes rocks to disintegrate
without chemical change. Abrasion (the process by which clasts and other particles
are reduced in size) is the primary process in physical weathering. Due to
temperature, pressure, frost etc., physical weather may occur. For instance, cracks
exploited by physical weathering will increase the surface area that is exposed to
chemical action, thereby increasing the rate of disintegration.

The surface of the Earth is always changing. These changes can occur quickly, like
what happens during an earthquake, volcano, or an extreme weather event such as
flooding or a tornado. We know changes to the Earth's surface can take place in
just minutes. However, the surface of the Earth is changing even now as we look at
it. The changes are small and they may take hundreds to thousands to millions of
years to become visible. Eventually, though, the tallest mountains and cliffs on

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Earth will crumble, the deepest valleys will be carved, and the biggest boulders
will become sand and sediment.

This process of change begins when the rocky surface on Earth begins to
weather. Weathering is a natural process by which rocks are broken down into
smaller and smaller parts by external factors in the environment. These factors are
usually directly related to the actions of water and the effect of temperature. Over
time even the hardest rock will be weathered away.

Biological weathering Biological weathering is the weakening and subsequent

breakdown by plants, animals and microbes of rock.
Growing roots of plants can put stress or pressure on rock. Even though the process
is physical, a biological process (i.e. growing roots) exerts the pressure. Biological
processes can also produce chemical weathering, such as when organic acids are
produced by plant roots or microorganisms that help dissolve minerals.

Microbial activity breaks down rock minerals by altering the chemical composition
of the rock, making it more weather sensitive. One example of microbial activity is
lichen ; lichen is a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae. Fungi release
chemical substances that break down rock minerals; the algae consume the
minerals thus released from rock. Holes and gaps continue to develop on the rock
as this process continues, exposing the rock to physical and chemical weathering.
Burrowing animals can move fragments of rock to the surface, exposing the rock
to more intense chemical, physical, and biological processes, thereby indirectly
enhancing the weathering process.

Mass wasting: If a rock slides off of a mountain and no one is around to hear it,
does it make a sound? Well, I don't know about the noise this activity would create,
but I do know that mountains erode and that rocks and debris can slide and fall

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down mountain slopes in massive amounts. In this lesson, you will learn about a
process called mass wasting and the factors that cause this movement of material.
Mass wasting, which is sometimes called mass movement or slope movement, is
defined as the large movement of rock, soil and debris downward due to the force
of gravity. In other words, the earth's outer crust is being 'wasted' away on a
'massive' scale and falling to lower elevations.

Mass wasting is a type of erosion, and it is capable of making big changes to the
side of a mountain. These changes can happen suddenly, as in one minute the rock
is there and the next it is gone, or it can happen more slowly over time. You might
think of this process as a landslide, and this term is sometimes used
interchangeably with mass wasting. However, the term landslide is a bit limiting
and does not allow for a description of the many different triggers and types of
erosion that can happen on this large of a scale.

Causes of Mass Wasting

Now, we mentioned that mass wasting is mainly due to gravity. So, we see that
mountains have an ongoing tug-of-war with gravity. Gravity is constantly trying to
pull rock and debris down the slope of a mountain. At the same time, the resistive
forces of the mountain, including the cohesive strength and internal friction
between the materials, referred to as the mountain's shear strength, constantly pulls
back against gravity.

The shear strength works to maintain the slope's stability and keep the materials in
place. This is a lot like a mountain climber gripping onto the side of a mountain
and resisting gravity. The climber uses his grip strength to resist gravity, like the
mountain uses its shear strength.

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With this understanding, we see that the causes of mass wasting occur when
gravitational force overcomes the resistive forces of the mountain. And, since
gravitational pull is always constant, then we see that mass wasting occurs when
something changes the mountain's ability to resist gravity. For instance, an
increased slope steepness increases mass wasting simply because the gravitational
force acting on a steep slope is greater than the force acting on a gentle slope.
Increasing the steepness of a slope is one way man can increase mass wasting. For
example, if a road crew cuts away a slope to make room for a new road but makes
the angle of the slope too steep, the slope will be prone to mass wasting, and you
will want to cross your fingers when you drive past this steep slope so no rocks or
debris fall on your car. Increased water is another factor that plays an important
role in mass wasting. Water can wash away small particles that help keep the
mountainside intact. This is similar to what happens when a wave comes ashore
and washes away a sandcastle. The abundant water breaks apart the small sand
particles and destroys the structural stability of the castle you spent the afternoon
building. If an area has decreased vegetation, it will be more prone to mass
wasting. Vegetation stabilizes soil particles on the surface and anchors soil under
the surface through its root system. This is much like comparing two sand dunes on
a beach. If one sand dune has grasses growing on it, it will resist the erosion of
water and wind better than a sand dune without vegetation.

Another factor that plays a role in mass wasting is earthquakes. The violent
shaking that occurs in a region where an earthquake takes place has the ability to
break off sections of mountains or hills, causing them to slide down the slope.

Weathering in arid regions: Mechanical weathering will be the dominant process

in arid climates; however, because of its reliance on chemical weathering, it will
also be quite slow. Hydrolysis (also sometimes called hydration)causes most

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silicate minerals to turn into clays. In the desert, as in temperate climates, physical
weathering happens primarily when joints (natural fractures) split rock into pieces.
Joint-bounded blocks eventually break free of bedrock and tumble down slopes,
fragmenting into smaller pieces as they fall. In temperate climates, thick soil
develops and covers bedrock. In deserts, however, bedrock commonly remains
exposed, forming rugged, rocky escarpments.

Chemical weathering happens more slowly in deserts than in temperate or tropical

climates, because less water is available to react with rock. Still, rain or dew
provides enough moisture for some weathering to occur. This water seeps into rock
and leaches (dissolves and carries away) calcite, quartz, and various salts.
Leaching effectively rots the rock by transforming it into a poorly cemented
aggregate. Over time, the rock will crumble and form a pile of unconsolidated
sediment, susceptible to transport by water or wind. Although enough rain falls in
deserts to leach chemicals out of sediment and rock, there is not enough rain to
carry the chemicals away entirely. So they precipitate to form calcite and other
minerals in regolith beneath the surface. The new minerals may bind clasts
together to form a rock-like material called calcrete. Shiny desert varnish, a dark,
rusty brown coating of iron oxide, manganese oxide, and clay, may cover the
surface of rocks in deserts (figure above a). Desert varnish was once thought to
form when water from rain or dew seeped into a rock, dissolved iron and
magnesium ions, and carried the ions back to the surface of the rock by capillary
action. More recent studies, however, suggest that desert varnish is not necessarily
derived from the rock it coats. Instead, the iron and manganese in the varnish may
come from dust that settles on the surface of the rock, for in the presence of
moisture, micro-organisms (bacteria and archaea) can extract iron and manganese

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from the dust and transform it into oxide minerals. Such varnish won’t form in
humid climates, because rain washes away the dust.

Weathering in ruling regions:

The alteration of the rocks in arid zones is above all the result of the wide
daily and seasonal variations of temperature and relative humidity. Moreover, in
desert the rocky outcrops are more common than in other climatic zones. The
lithologic and structural characteristics of these outcrops influence the action of the
processes and the resultant morphological. In these desert environments, physical
weathering has a more specific importance than the biological and chemical
weathering processes. Already it has important process and the fundamental
characteristics of it have been analyzed in the section on periglacial processes. The
scarcity of water and high temperature gives rise to weak development in animal
life and vegetation and therefore, biological weathering is much reduced. Equally,
the moisture deficit affects the activity and intensity of chemical weathering
because water is necessary in attacking the crystalline structures and for the
mobilization of the ions in dissolution. The results of the activity of weathering
processes results in granular disintegration, flaking, and splitting. The fluvial and
acolianersive processes mobilize the freed particles; leave an imprint on the diverse
rock morphologies, as consequences of the unequal activity of the alteration
processes. These forms are customarily of small size and are characterized by the
presence of shallow hollows in the rock surface.

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