Weathering is the breakdown of rock while it remains in place, working through three distinct mechanisms: physical weathering (such as water freezing and expanding in cracks), chemical weathering (mildly acidic rainwater reacting with minerals) and biological weathering (plant roots and burrowing animals widening fractures). It supplies the loosened material that erosion then carries away, making it the first stage feeding both erosion and, over longer spans, the rock cycle.
Facts
Process Type TimescaleIndividual freeze-thaw or chemical reaction events are near-instant, but the visible weathering of a rock surface or landscape, such as the limestone of the Yorkshire Pennines, accumulates over centuries. 1 Connections
Causes
Dissolution (also called simple or congruent dissolution) is classed as a chemical-weathering process; karst forms where that weathering process acts on soluble carbonate rock.
Source Karst (Wikipedia)
Source Pedogenesis (Wikipedia)
Demonstrated By
Uluru's weathered outer surface, shaped by physical and chemical breakdown in place, is a well-documented example of weathering acting on a single exposed monolith.
Source British Geological Survey
Sources
1. British Geological Survey
British Geological SurveyWeathering, Discovering Geology
Weathering is the wearing down or breaking of rocks while they are in place. Weathering can be biological, chemical or physical.
- Demonstrated By: Uluru
View the Source Pedogenesis (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationCauses: Pedogenesis, Overview sectionQuote, Causes: Pedogenesis, Overview section
The starting point is weathering of freshly accumulated parent material.
Karst (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationCauses: Karstification, Lead sectionQuote, Causes: Karstification, Lead section
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite.
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