Scribd
Upload
17 views2 pages

Exogenic Process

The document discusses exogenic processes, focusing on weathering, erosion, and mass wasting. Weathering is categorized into physical and chemical processes that disintegrate and decompose rocks, influenced by factors such as climate, rock type, and topography. Erosion involves the transportation of weathered materials by agents like water, wind, and gravity, while mass wasting refers to the downhill movement of materials under gravity's influence.

Uploaded by

marcomoralespalacio820
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
17 views2 pages

Exogenic Process

The document discusses exogenic processes, focusing on weathering, erosion, and mass wasting. Weathering is categorized into physical and chemical processes that disintegrate and decompose rocks, influenced by factors such as climate, rock type, and topography. Erosion involves the transportation of weathered materials by agents like water, wind, and gravity, while mass wasting refers to the downhill movement of materials under gravity's influence.

Uploaded by

marcomoralespalacio820
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Exogenic Process

Weathering is the disintegration and decomposition of rocks at or near the Earth’s surface.
Weathering occurs as a response to the low pressure, low temperature, and water and
oxygen-rich nature of the Earth’s surface.

1. Physical weathering – (mechanical weathering) disintegrates rocks, breaking them into


smaller pieces.
2. Chemical weathering – decomposes rocks through chemical reactions that change the
rock-forming minerals.
Note: Physical and chemical weather almost always occur together in nature and reinforce
each other.

Processes that lead to the disintegration of rocks:


a. Frost wedging – when the water gets inside the joints, alternate freezing, and thawing
episodes pry the rock apart.
b. Salt crystal growth – force exerted by salt crystal that formed as water evaporates from
pore spaces or cracks in rocks can cause the rock to fall apart.
c. Abrasion – wearing away of rocks by constant collision of loose particles.
d. Biological activity – plants and animals as agents of mechanical weathering.

Major processes of chemical weathering:


a. Dissolution – dissociation of molecules into ions.
b. Oxidation – reaction between minerals and oxygen dissolved in water.
c. Hydrolysis - change in the composition of minerals when they react with water.

Factors that aJect the type, extent, and rate at which weathering takes place:
a. Climate – areas that are cold and dry tend to have slow rates of chemical weathering
and weathering is mostly physical; chemical weathering is most active in areas with high
temperature.
b. Rock type – the minerals that constitute the rock have diJerent susceptibilities to
weathering. Those that are most stable to surface conditions will be the most resistance to
weathering.
c. Rock structure- rate of weathering is aJected by the presence of joints, folds, faults,
bedding planes through which agents of weathering enter a rock mass. Highly jointed /
fractured rocks disintegrate faster than a solid mass of rock of the same dimension.
d. Topography – weathering occurs more quickly on a steep slope than on a gentle one.
e. Time – length of exposure to agents of weather determines the degree of weathering of
rock.
Erosion – the incorporation and transportation of material by a mobile agent such as water,
wind, or ice.

Note: Weathering occurs in situ, particles stay put and no movement is involved. As soon
as the weathering products starts moving (due to the fluid flow), we call the process
erosion.

Agents of erosion:
1. running water (overland flow and streamflow)
2. ocean or sea waves (wind-generated waves, tsunami, tides, etc)
3. glaciers (downslope or outward movement from an area of accumulation)
4. wind (deflation, or removal of loose particles in the surface, and abrasion, sandblasting)
5. groundwater (dissolution)
6. gravity (mass wasting)

Mass wasting – downslope movement of rocks, regolith and soil under the direct influence
of gravity. It moves material from higher to lower elevations where streams or glacier can
pickup the loose material and eventually move them to site of deposition.

Mass wasting processes:


a. slope failures – sudden failure of the slope resulting in transport of debris downhill by
rolling, sliding, and slumping.
b. sediment flow – materials flow downhill mixed with water or air.
c. granular flow – contains low amounts of water, 0-20% water, fluid-like behavior is
possible by mixing with air.

Events that trigger mass wasting processes:


1. shocks and vibrations – earthquakes and minor shocks such as those produced by
humans.
2. slope modification – creating artificially steep slope.
3. undercutting – due to streams eroding banks or surf action undercutting a slope.
4. changes in hydrologic characteristics- heavy rains lead to water saturation increasing
its weight.
5. changes in slope strength – weathering weakens the rock and leads to slope failure.
6. volcanic eruptions – produces shocks.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy