WEATHERING

■ breakdown of rocks at the earth’s surface

■ controlled by the presence of discontinuities in that they provide access into a rock
mass for the agents of weathering.
■ does not involve the removal of rock material.

Erosion - movement of sediments from rock

Agents of Erosion:
• Water
• Wind
• Ice
• Gravity
 THREE TYPES OF WEATHERING:
■ Physical
■ Chemical
■ Biological
 TWO PROCESSES THAT CONSTITUTE
WEATHERING OF ROCKS:
1. Mechanical Disintegration- In this process the rock is split into smaller pieces
or even soils, but the character of the product of this type of weathering of a
given rock is the same.
2. Chemical Weathering- In this process the rock (mineral assemblage)
decomposes to other products.
Civil Engineers are interested in weathering of rocks as they meet with the products
of weathering as well as the original rock itself in their construction.
MECHANICAL WEATHERING
■ also called as physical weathering
■ particularly effective in climatic regions that experience significant diurnal
changes of temperature.

Alternate freeze–thaw action causes cracks, fissures, joints and some pore spaces
to be widened.

The mechanical effects of weathering are well displayed in hot deserts, where wide
diurnal ranges of temperature cause rocks to expand and contract.

Exfoliation- flakes of rock break away from the parent material

 TYPES AND AGENTS OF MECHANICAL
WEATHERING
Types of Mechanical Weathering:
a. Block disintegration- massive rock is broken up to large blocks.
b. Granular disintegration- results from the loss of cohesion between individual
mineral grains.
The agents of mechanical weathering are:
1. Temperature changes
2. Living things like trees and those that bore holes
3. Mechanical abrasion of wind and water