Denudation Flashcards
Biological weathering
When plants and animals widen spaces between rocks making them crack,
Causes:
Tree roots
Animals digging holes
Freeze thaw action
In the day, water seeps between the cracks in the rocks.
At night the water freezes and expands, cracking the rocking and forcing it to crumble away
Denudation: definition
Breaking down and removal of solid and loose rocky materials on the earths crust
Chemical weathering
When rocks are dissolved because of chemical change,
Causes:
Rain
Exfoliation
Mechanical weathering - onion peeling - temperature suddenly changes causing outer skin of rock to shatter
Scree
Eroded pieces of rock
Causes of erosion
Moving water - rivers
Moving ice - glaciers
Moving air - wind
Areas between Grikes:
Clints
Mechanical weathering:
Rocks are broken into smaller pieces,
Causes:
Frost
Sudden temperature changes
Carbonation: definition
When rain falls it takes in CO2 and becomes a weak carbonic acid, it reacts with the calcium carbonate in limestone causing it to dissolve
Exposed areas of limestone:
Limestone pavement
Cracks in rocks:
Grikes
Landslides
When a slope becomes unstable resulting in the rapid movement of regolith down a steep slope
Erosion: definition
The breaking down of rocks and transportation of the material
Swallow holes: definition
Overtime Grikes become so big they become swallow holes
Stalactites:
Hang from the roof of caves - calcium carbonate seeps underground and hangs from ceiling
Stalagmites
Come from the floor - calcium carbonate drops from stalagmites onto floor creating slagmites
Weathering: definition
The breaking down of rocks that are exposed on the earths surface
Karst landscape: definition
Landforms that develop on rock types which are easily dissolved by water
Mass movement
Loose, weathered material that moves down slope under the influence of gravity
Loose weathered material:
Regolith
Factors of mass movement:(4)
The gradient
The water content
Human activity
Plants and trees
Soil creep:
Slowest type of mass movement, soil moves in layers on surface
Bog bursts
Upland slopes where the layers of peat on the bog land become saturated with rain
Mudflow
When saturated regality flows rapidly down slopes
