Freeze-Thaw Weathering

Freeze-thaw weathering, also called frost wedging or cryofracturing, is the mechanical breakdown of rock caused by water seeping into cracks and pore spaces and then freezing. Because water expands by about nine percent as it turns to ice, repeated freeze-thaw cycles exert enough pressure to widen existing fractures and eventually split blocks of rock apart, the dominant weathering mechanism in cold and high-altitude climates where temperatures cross the freezing point often, and the process that supplies the loose angular rock debris feeding talus slopes and periglacial patterned ground alike. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/