Adam C.

Simon
Ph.D., University of Maryland,
2003

Research Associate
Department of Geology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
p: 301 405 0235
f: 301 314 9661
e-mail: asimon@geol.umd.edu

Weatheringand
Erosion

TheGreatFallsofthePotomacRiver
RocksexposedattheEarths
surfaceareconstantlybeingeliminated:
physicallyandchemicallydestroyedandtransportedelsewhere.
Thesearetheprocessesofweatheringanderosion.

Terminology

weathering--thechemicalandphysicalbreakdownofrock
exposedtoair,moisture,andorganicmatter
erosion--thelooseningandmovingdownhillofrockandsoil
regolith--thelooselayerofbrokenrockandmineral
fragmentsonthesurface

TheRockCycle
Revisited

Therock cycletracesthepotentialchangestorocks
resultingfromEarthsinternalandsurficialprocesses.

PhysicalWeathering
Physicalweatheringiswhenrocksbreakdownastheresultof
physicalphenomena.Thiscanbeduetoabrasionorprocesses
relatedtoexpansionandcontraction.
Simpleheatingandcoolingcausesenoughphysicalchangeto
promotephysicalweathering.
heat
spalling

Muchweatheringexploitspre-existing
fracturesinrock--joints: fractures
alongwhichnomovementhas

Exfoliation
Exfoliationisthe
naturalformationof
fracturesinrocks
(mainlyigneous
plutons)duetothe
releaseofpressure
uponreachingthe
surface.

PeelingAwayGranite

TheclassicSierraNevada(CA)granitemountainsphotographed
byAnselAdamsareexamplesofexfoliationdomes.

Weatheringin
Sheets
Exfoliationcanoperate
onverylargescales.
Itismostimportantin
areasofexposed
igneousrocks,even
thoughtheserocks
generallylacka
layeringorsimilar
planarfeatures.

Freeze-Thaw(FrostWedging)
Thevolumechangeasliquid
watertransformstoiceisan
importantphysicalweathering
forceintemperateclimates.

RootWedging

Theactionofgrowingplantsalsopromotesphysicalweathering.

Frost+Root
Wedging

Abirchtreeexploitedacrackinthis
boulderinMaineand,togetherwith
freeze-thaw,hassplititinhalf.

ChemicalWeathering
Chemicalweatheringisthedecompositionofrocksand
mineralsasaresultofchemicalandbiochemicalreactions.
Asinallreactions,unstablemineralsreacttoformasetof
productsmorestableatnear-surfaceconditions.
So,broadlyspeaking,
chemicalweathering
istheprocess
wherebyunstable
hightemperature/
pressuremineralsare
transformedintotheir
Earth-surface-stable
relatives.

TypesofChemicalWeathering
hydrolysis:chemicalreactioninwhichwaterisinvolved

Sialsolost(~20%)

H2O+CO2=H2CO3(carbonicacid)

Hydrolysisinvolvespurewater,
butmostnaturalwaters,from
reactionwithatmosphericCO2,
areacidic(rainpH~5.5).
Thesenaturallyacidicwaters
areevenmoreefficientatdoing
chemicalwork.
electronmicroscopeviewofa
weatheredfeldsparcrystal

Oxidation
Oxidationisthebreakdownofmineralsexposedtoa
oxygen-richenvironment.Thisismostobviouswithminerals
richinelementslikeiron.
Remember,ironinrocksismainlyFe2+.
Whenrocksweather,theironisoxidizedtoFe3+,producing
redstainingfrommineralslikehematite(Fe2O3).

Oxidationof
Iron-Rich
Silicate
Minerals

IroninHematite
Howcanyoutellwhattheoxidationstateofironisina
minerallikehematite,justfromtheformula?
Oxygeninnaturehasa-2charge.IfhematiteisFe2O3,then
itcarries(-2)x3=- 6chargefromoxygen.
Thismustbebalancedbytheiron,sobothFeatomsinthe
structureofhematitemustbe+3charged.
Atrickierproblem:whatistheoxidation
stateofironinthemineralmagnetite:

Fe3O4

Dissolution

Thedissolutionofcalcite(CaCO3)ischemicallyeasy,since
calciteismuchmoresolublethansilicateminerals.
Inlimestonecavesweseetheworkofcalcite
dissolution,aswellastheresultsofcalcite
precipitation(collectivelycalledspeleothems).

Chemical
Weatheringin
Nature
solutionofcalciteby
mildlyacidicrainfall
(hydrolysis)
overthepastcentury

oxidationof
ironin
Hawaiiansoils:
Fe2+inrocks
convertedto
Fe3+in
sediment

ConsequencesofChemicalWeathering
Onethingtoconsiderduringthesechemicalreactionsisthe
fateoftheionsthatarereleased.
Inweatheringfeldspars,forinstance,alotofSi,K,andCa
areshed.Thesestartoutasionsinaqueous(water-rich)
solutions(likegroundwater),butwheredotheyendup?

WeatheringandBowensReactionSeries
TheorderinBowensreactionseriesofmineralstocrystallize
fromcoolingmagmaisthesamesequencewhenconsidering
mineralstabilityatEarthsurfaceconditions:
calcite, halite

olivine

Ca-richplagioclasefeldspar

leaststableatlow
temperatures/pressures

pyroxene
amphibole
Na-richplagioclasefeldspar
biotite(mica)
K-feldspar
muscovite(mica)
clay minerals, Fe-oxides

quartz

moststableatlow
temperatures/pressures

WeatheringandBowensReactionSeries
Rockschemicallyweather
accordingtothestability
oftheirminerals,the
severityoftheir
environmentandthetime
available.
Forexample,agranite
(quartz,feldsparsand
mica)typicallychemically
weatherstoamixtureof
quartzandclayminerals.

SpheroidalWeathering
Whenweatheringbeginsalonga
perpendicularnetworkof
fractures,itwillfrequently
weatheroutresistantrockin
sphericalshapes.

(seeFig7.10in
yourtext)

theDevilsMarblesincentralAustralia

SurfaceArea/Volume
Breakingrocksup(physicalweathering)increasesthe
ratio of surface area to volume.

PositiveFeedback:SurfaceArea/Volume
Ifthereismoreexposedsurface,thenmorechemical
weatheringcantakeplace,sinceitisonsurfacesthat
chemicalweatherconcentrates.
Wewillseemany
positive feedback
processeslikethisduring
thesemester.Theseare
mechanismsinwhichthe
productworkstoadvance
theprocess.

ClimateandWeathering

Climate(combinationoftemperatureandrainfall)strongly
influencesweatheringprocesses:
physical weatheringdominatesinlowrainfall,coldclimate;
chemical weatheringdominatesinhighrainfall,warmclimate.

OrganismsandWeathering
Organismsareimportantagentsof
weathering,physicalandchemical.
ImaginehowweatheringonEarthwould
bedifferentwithoutlife.

Soil

Thefine-grainedportionoftheregolithiscalledsoil.
Soilscharacterizeareasbytypeofbedrockand
climate,andtendtohavedistinctlayeredprofiles.

weathered,
disaggregated bedrock

intact bedrock

SoilinHumidRegions
Waterfrom
above
percolates
throughthesoil
columnand
leachesthe
uppersurfaceof
soluble
components.
These
components
tendto
precipitatelower
inthecolumn.

Fig7.11

SoilinHumidRegions
Insoluble
materialsremain
intheAhorizon:
Fe-oxides,
Al-richminerals,
andorganic
compounds.

Fig7.12

SoilsinDry
Regions

Inaridclimates,groundwaterflowmay
beprincipallyfromthebottomup,as
waterisdrawntothesurfaceand
evaporates.

Thisreversestheprofilewesee
inhumidclimates,suchthat
hard,calcite-cementedmaterial
dominatestheupperportionof
theprofile.

AridSoils

Thehardcalcitepavements
associatedwitharidsoils
arecalledcaliche orcalcrete.

SoilFormationandClimate
NorthPole
polar

temperate

low-latitude
desert

Equator
tropical

latitude

Whyisweatheringenhancedinthetemperateregions,
eventhoughtemperatureislowerthanthetropics?

FactorsControllingWeatheringRates

PositiveFeedback:SoilFormation
Whydoessoilcoveraidchemicalweathering?

Buryanailfor10yearsandcompareitto
anailina19thcenturyhouse.
Chancesare,theoneinthesoilisinfarworseshape.
Soilshavehighcontentsofmoisture,organicmaterials
andCO2,allofwhichenhancechemicalweathering.

Credits
Someimagesinthispresentationcomefrom:
HamblinandChristiansen,EarthsDynamicSystems,8/e
AJKaufman(Univ.Maryland)
GSSolar(SUNYCollegeBuffalo)
Brodo,SharnoffandSharnoff,LichensofNorthAmerica
Plummer,McGearyandCarlson,PhysicalGeology(8thed.)
CarlsbadCavernNationalPark
PressandSiever,UnderstandingEarth(3rded.)
Marshak,Earth:PortraitofaPlanet(1sted.)