Physical & Chemical

Weathering
ENGINEERING GEOLOGY
GROUP #4
What is Weathering?
Weathering
- Weathering describes the breaking down or dissolving
of rocks and minerals on the surface of the Earth.
Water, ice, acids, salts, plants, animals, and changes in
temperature are all agents of weathering.
Types of Weathering
• Mechanical Weathering/ Physical Weathering
• Chemical Weathering
• Biological Weathering
Mechanical Weathering/
Physical Weathering
When rocks disintegrate or break up without
experiencing any change in their chemical
composition, it is known as mechanical weathering.
Types of Mechanical/
Physical Weathering
• Thermal Expansion
• Frost Wedging
• Sheeting/ Exfoliation
• Abrasion
• Salt Crystal Growth
Sheeting/
Exfoliation
Sheeting, also known as
exfoliation, happens in regions
with large masses of igneous
rocks. It is caused by the pressure
release as overburden rock is
eroded away.
Thermal expansion
When minerals are subjected to
different temperature ranges they
expand and contract.

Rapid temperature fluctuations such

as day night cycles can cause
individual grains in rocks to expand
and contract at different rates.
Individual grains can be squeezed from
the rock surface or fractures can form
to relieve stress.

Climates that experience rapid

temperature changes such as deserts
display this weathering.
Abrasion
Abrasion is the process by which clasts
are broken through direct collisions
with other clasts.

Gravity causes abrasion as rocks

tumble down a mountainside or cliff.

Abrasion also commonly occurs in river

beds where clasts tumble along the
bottom with the current or on sand
dunes where wind causes grains of
sand and silt to collide with exposed
rock.
Frost Wedging
Frost wedging occurs in places
that have the right temperatures
to freeze water and then melt
water.

This commonly happens in polar

regions and mid latitude
mountains where sunlight can
melt water during the day and
refreeze overnight when
temperatures drop.
Salt Crystal Growth
Another expansive force that can break rocks is
created by the growth of salt crystals.

This process frequently happens near

shorelines and in arid regions ie: beaches and
deserts.

The process begins when water that has

dissolved salt in it penetrates cracks in rocks. As
the water evaporates, salt crystal begin to form.

These crystals expand pushing against existing

grains in the rock, this eventually breaks it.
Chemical Weathering
Chemical Weathering is an erosional process in
which rocks and other materials are broken down
by chemical reactions (predominantly by water and
chemicals dissolved within it).
Types of Chemical
Weathering
• Dissolution
• Acid Reactions
• Oxidation
• Organic Activity
• Hydration
• Hydrolysis
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
Dissolution
The results of dissolution are ions in
water that are transported
downstream. Ions are not deposited
until the water evaporates, they react
with other minerals, or organisms use
them to make shells. Often, only part
of a rock dissolves, leaving altered
grains that can be transported by
wind, water, etc.
Acid Reactions
When rocks and minerals are altered by
hydrolysis, acids may be produced. Acids may
also be produced when water reacts with the
atmosphere, so acidic water can react with
rocks. The effect of acids on minerals is an
example of solution weathering.
Oxidation
Oxidation occurs when oxygen
reacts with other elements and
electrons are transferred
between the two elements, an
example of oxidation is
when oxygen reacts with iron
to form iron oxide.
Organic Activity
Living organisms perform chemical reactions to
obtain minerals from soil and rocks. Many
chemical changes are possible.
Lichens can have a profound effect on rock.
Lichens, a combination of algae and fungi,
produce a weak acid that can dissolve rock.
Hydration Hydrolysis
Hydration is a type of chemical weathering Hydrolysis (also called incongruent dissolution)
where water reacts chemically with the rock, is a form of chemical weathering in which only
modifying its chemical structure. part of a mineral is taken into solution.

The addition of the water to the anhydrite chemically The rest of the mineral is transformed into a
reacts to create a totally new compound in gypsum. new solid material, such as a clay mineral.
Hydration has led, in part, to the gypsum sand dunes
at White Sands National Monument.
Biological
Weathering
Tree roots, because of their size, cause
a significant amount of biological
weathering. But even much smaller
plant-related actions can weather
rocks. For example:

Weeds pushing through road surfaces

or cracks in boulders can expand gaps
in the rock. These gaps fill with water.
When the water freezes, the roads or
boulders crack.
Thank you for listening