Weathering erosion and deposition are processes which occur constantly on Earth’s surface. They help shape landscapes like the Grand Canyon while also leading to issues like potholes in roads or sidewalks due to water freezing and expanding in cracks.
Harder rocks tend to erode slowly while softer ones erode more rapidly. Water, ice, wind and gravity are the main forces that weather and erode rocks.
Water
Weathering, erosion and deposition have long shaped Earth’s landscape. While weathering involves gradually wearing away rocks and soil through weathering processes such as erosion, while erosion involves moving these materials and depositing them elsewhere – including wind, water, ice and gravity forces.
Rainwater falls to Earth’s surface and transports soil erosion, decayed plant material and microorganisms into rivers and streams for further disposal. Furthermore, rainfall may contain nitrogen oxide, oxygen or carbon dioxide gases as it flows across its path.
Water and ice can wreak havoc with erosion by freezing and expanding, or by acting as wedges between rocks. This same process causes potholes on roads or sidewalks when water seeps into cracks in rocks then freezes; once frozen, this ice breaks apart the rock into smaller pieces that are then carried by erosion away to new locations; these new locations are called deposition sites.
Ice
Weathering wears away rocks and soil over time. Once worn down, their pieces can be moved from one location to the next by water, ice, wind or gravity; we see this process work every day: cracks in roads or sidewalks caused by expanded ice; ocean waves wear away at rocks to form beaches containing sand; or erosion can happen slowly with mudslides, quickly with glaciers or at other speeds with mudslides.
Water is the primary force responsible for altering Earth’s surface, leading to weathering and erosion in lakes and rivers as well as other bodies of water. Living things also play an important role in weathering; plant roots may wedge their way between cracks in rocks as the plant grows, widening them slowly as its roots expand outward causing mechanical weathering; chemical weathering breaks apart rock through chemical reactions with oxygen such as iron combining with it and creating rust as another example of chemical weathering.
Gravity
Erosion occurs when gravity pulls water, ice and wind downhill in order to transport sediments – weathered rock particles – downhill and deposit them somewhere else; whether that means on nearby beaches such as sand dunes or farther afield such as river deltas.
Weathering and erosion are powerful forces of nature that shape landscapes over time. Over time they chisel away at rocks into ever-evolving works of art.
Erosion can also be harmful, however. When sediment washes into rivers it can carry chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides into our waters – polluting our waters while endangering plants and animals that depend on them for sustenance. Therefore it’s crucial that individuals understand how erosion alters Earth’s surface as well as when using control techniques against erosion are necessary.
Soil
Soil is an intricate mix of minerals, air, dead and living organisms (organic matter) and water that serves as the natural medium for plant growth on Earth. Without soil life would cease to exist on planet Earth.
Soils vary dramatically across the world and reflect effects from genetic factors, climate conditions, relief features and living organisms acting on parent material over long periods. Soil layers that identify its mineral and organic content are called horizons; soil is constantly being created and recycled through physical weathering (water, wind and ice) and chemical weathering (iron reacts with oxygen to form rust), plus new organic matter is constantly being created through animal waste removal, leaf drop off, fungus growth or animal bodies being decayed all contributing to new organic matter being added back in its place.
Few soils form directly from bedrock; instead they often consist of materials brought from outside sources – for instance windblown “loess” or glacial till can form thousands of years ago and is still present today.