Weathering breaks rocks and minerals down into smaller fragments that can then be transported by erosion and dumped somewhere else.
Physical erosion is visible everywhere: in beaches or pavement cracks; but we also see water and ice erosion occur – whether slowly like with mudslides or swiftly like glaciers.
Weathering
Weathering occurs when rocks and minerals deteriorate into smaller pieces without migrating from their current locations. It happens due to things like temperature swings, frost or crystal wedging or chemicals present in water that break down bonds that hold rocks together, breaking apart their bonds that hold the original formation together.
Hard rocks don’t experience weathering; softer rock like that found at Scotts Bluff can weather over time; when walking across its bluffs you can witness this process in action as cracks widen with each step taken across it.
Plant roots find a way into cracks in rocks and the rock breaks apart over time. Water from rain or streams may also contribute to mechanical weathering when it freezes into an opening and expands later; this process is known as mechanical weathering. Furthermore, rivers erode millions of tons of rock each year into the ocean through river erosion.
Erosion
Erosion is the natural process by which particles of rock, sand, silt, and soil move from one location to another through natural forces such as flow of water, gravity, wind or glaciers. Erosion impacts all areas of our planet’s surface by moving material from steep slopes downhill towards lower spots where it may accumulate or may travel many miles to deposit new deposits at new locations.
Water erosion is the primary method by which rocks erode. Each day, streams carry tons of sediment into the sea via river deltas shaped by erosion; while mountain valley rocky river beds and plains ox bow lakes also experience this process of demise.
Chemical weathering combines with water erosion to form features like caves and cliffs. Plants play an integral part in slowing erosion by adhering to rocks and soil particles – which keeps them from being washed away during rainfall or by wind; but when these plants die off again, these particles become free to move once more.
Deposition
Weathering, erosion and deposition are processes that continually shape Earth’s rocky terrain over billions of years. Each process is controlled by gravity.
Changes in temperature play a crucial role in weathering rock and mineral surfaces, with rocks exposed to extremes in temperature shifting regularly expanding and contracting until cracks appear, eventually breaking apart the rocks completely. Prolonged exposure to water may also wear away at their surfaces over time.
Chemical weathering occurs when chemicals in rocks interact with raindrops to cause chemical weathering, for instance calcium carbonate rocks such as limestone are easily weathered when acidic raindrops fall onto them, allowing water to wash away any broken pieces left behind and deposit them further downstream as sediment or even miles away on beaches or ocean fronts, where their particles form new landforms.
Landforms
Weathering erosion deposition constantly alters Earth’s rocky landscape, and no rock or mineral can withstand these forces. Water, ice, acids, salts, plants and temperature fluctuations are the main contributors to weathering; water usually wears away rocks and minerals quickly like when the Colorado River cut the Grand Canyon over millions of years; wind can also carry tiny fragments of rock that wear away into new locations – sometimes nearby but sometimes many miles away like sand being carried by glaciers.
Have you noticed plants growing from cracks in rocks? This is an example of biological weathering caused by plants and animals. Plants may also contribute to mechanical weathering by growing larger and forcing open cracks that eventually cause splits to open in the rock face; water may do the same by freezing into cracks before expanding as it melts.