An essay’s introduction paragraph should introduce its topic or question and make readers want to continue reading further. A great way of hooking readers is through its captivating language – writing sentences that resonate with them will get their attention and draw them in further.
Erosion refers to the loosening and transport of weathered solid material from one location to another by agents such as wind, rivers or ocean waves and glaciers – commonly referred to as erosion agents – often called denudation.
Water
Water erosion refers to the process of soil particles being washed away by water sources such as waves, currents in oceans and rivers, rain, etc. It includes splash erosion where raindrops hit surfaces and carry away small bits of dirt; sheet erosion where layers of soil are washed away; and gully erosion where channels form between adjacent fields – typically water erosion is the most widespread form of erosion.
Erosion can also be caused by gravity when rocks or materials fall downhill from hills or cliffs, or temperature changes when rocks expand from heat exposure and fracture as a result.
Human activities also play a part in increasing erosion. Cutting down forests or plowing up grasslands exposes soil to erosion, leading to reduced crop yields from agriculture due to topsoil loss due to erosion. Furthermore, pollutants carried into rivers and streams by erosion contribute to dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico resulting in further pollution of rivers and streams and therefore further dead zones being created by this phenomenon.
Wind
Wind erosion occurs when weathered material, such as soil, sediment, mud, regolith and rock fragments are dislodged from one location and carried to another by wind currents. It’s most prevalent in dry environments where vegetation cannot hold back the erosion process – although it can occur anywhere.
Wind erosion depends on several factors: strength of winds, particle size and surface area distribution and soil erodibility (clay and silt-sized particles are less prone to erosion than sand-sized ones); also dependent on how tightly packed particles are together and type of surface they’re moving across.
Wind erosion occurs through surface creep, saltation, attrition and suspension; erosion of soil particles occurs through tillage, implement traffic and animal traffic as well as by breaking up large particles into smaller ones (abrasion). Eroded material is carried downhill via wind or water currents before being dumped at new locations – river deltas consist almost entirely of this sediment that has been carried downstream and dumped elsewhere.
Ice
Glaciers move rapidly across landscapes, rapidly eroding them. Erosion can also occur underwater by water currents carrying away sand and silt; this process is known as sediment transport.
Glacial erosion creates striking landforms. This includes rock flour, striations lines and grooves etched into bedrock by ice moving over its surface; also creating amphitheater-shaped valleys or even horns and aretes.
Glaciers can cause significant erosion due to their large volumes. Rocks moving downwards against each other cause frictional wear that leads to abrasion, plucking, freeze-thaw weathering and freeze-thaw erosion processes that erode away at rocks; creating features known as moraines, talus slopes and outwash plains as they go.
Human Activity
Geologically speaking, much of our Earth’s soil comes about due to erosion. Rocks wear away by wind, water or ice are broken down into power or small grains which, combined with organic material from living things such as trees or roots, become soil.
Water erosion is the most frequent form of erosion. Ocean waves battering against coastal cliffs erode them away to form caves and rock columns known as sea stacks, while melting glaciers also contribute to this form of destruction.
Erosion can also be caused by living organisms, like worms that break apart rocks, and chemical reactions, like rusting and carbonation. Erosion is often separated into two separate processes: weathering and transport. Weathering involves the breaking down and loosening of rocks into smaller particles which expose new rocks to erosion while transport involves moving these particles around in different locations and depositing them somewhere else.
Erosion may be a natural process, but humans can hasten its pace through agriculture, mining and urban sprawl activities. Deforestation also contributes to erosion by eliminating trees which provide valuable topsoil that holds it together and keeps erosion at bay.