EARTH121 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Mass Wasting, Hard Water, Hydrolysis
29 Aug 2016
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Document Summary
Occur at or near earth"s surface and are powered by energy from the sun or earth"s gravity. Opposing external processes break rock apart and move debris. Weathering physical breakdown (disintegration) and chemical alteration (decompositition) of rock. Mass wasting transfer of rokc and soil downslope by gravity. Erosion physical removal of material by water, ice, or wind. Weathering, mass wasting, and erosion are hard to separate because they renove the rock debris as weathering breaks rocks apart. Mechanical weathering physical forces that break rock dow intosmaller pieces without changing the mineral composition. Chemical weathering chemical transformation of rock into one or more new compounds. Often work simaultaneously in nature and enhance eachothers" effectiveness. Smaller pieces that still retail characteristics of the original material. Many small pieces from a single large one. Erosional agents (wind, glacial ice, running water) considered separately. Repeated freezing and thawing due to liquid water expanding ~9% upon solidifying. Frost wedging breaks rocks into angular fragments.
