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EAS > Lecture 10: Weathering > Flashcards

Lecture 10: Weathering Flashcards

1
Q

What is Mechanical Weathering?

A

The physical break up of rocks composition

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2
Q

What are the 3 ways Mechanical weathering occurs?

A
  • Intrusive rocks cool and form joints which
  • Exfoliation where large sheets of rock are detached from outcrop
  • Frost wedging when ice expands and wedges rocks
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3
Q

What is the Principal effect of Mechanical weathering?

A

Breaking up large chunks of rock into smaller ones and increasing surface are

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4
Q

What is Glaciation?

A

A way that bedrock is eroded and broken down into much finer particles

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5
Q

What are the particles produced by glaciation known as?

A
  • Till - Large particles

* Glacial flour - Fine particles

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6
Q

What is Chemical weathering?

A

The breakdown of minerals by chemical reaction with water or gases

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7
Q

What does Chemical weathering depend on?

A
  • Parent material

* Climate

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8
Q

Which Parent materials are the least stable in chemical weathering?

A

High temperature formed minerals are least stable

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9
Q

What are the least stable minerals in terms of chemical weathering?

A

Halite
Calcite
Olivine
Calcium rich plagioclase

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10
Q

Why are Halite and Calcite the least stable?

A

Because they form under evaporative conditions and salt dissolves quickly

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11
Q

Why are Olivine and Calcium-rich plagioclase less stable?

A

Because they crystalize out of magma at high temperatures

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12
Q

What are the most stable minerals in terms of chemical weathering?

A

Iron oxides
Aluminum
Quartz

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13
Q

Why are clay minerals stable?

A

Because they form out of the melt at the lowest temperatures

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14
Q

Why are Quartz and Muscovite mica stable?

A

Because they form out of the melt at the lowest temperature

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15
Q

Why are iron oxides and aluminium hydroxides the most stable?

A

Because they form during soil formation

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16
Q

How does CO2 get removed from the atmosphere?

A

Water react with carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid

The carbonic acid ionized to form bicarbonate ions which react with rocks weathering it

17
Q

What occurs in redox reactions?

A

Minerals that reduced elements in them react with oxygen

18
Q

What is the Regolith?

A

The loose soil that sits on top of the bedrock

19
Q

How does Climate affect the rate of chemical weathering?

A

The warmer and wetter the climate the more chemical weathering can occur
The colder and dryer the climate the less chemical weathering can occur

20
Q

What are the two types of Biological weathering?

A

Mechanical and Chemical

21
Q

What occurs in Biological chemical weathering?

A

Actions of the tree roots split the rocks apart

22
Q

What occurs in Biological chemical weathering?

A

Organic acids are produced through decaying vegetation

23
Q

What does Aerobic respiration of dead organic matter lead to?

A

The formation of carbon dioxide and water

24
Q

What occurs when carbon dioxide and water mix?

A

They farm carbonic acid which dissociates to form bicarbonate and protons

25
Q

What do high amounts of bicarbonate ions lead to?

A

High amounts of chemical weathering

26
Q

What is Erosion?

A

The action of surface processes that remove soil, rock or dissolved materials from one location on the earth’s surface and transports it to another location

27
Q

What are the 4 methods of transport in Erosion?

A
  • Gravity
  • Water
  • Ice
  • Wind
28
Q

What is Colluvium?

A

The material that accumulates at the bottoms of landslides due to gravity

29
Q

What are the deposits transported by a river known as?

A

Alluvium

30
Q

Describe flood plains?

A

Fertile land because of yearly deposits from streams and lakes and rivers that add to the fertility of the soil

31
Q

How do Glaciers deposit stuff?

A

As they move forward they scrape the rock on the sides and bottom and incorporate the material into the moving ice. When the glacier stops moving forward and begins to retreat it dumps drift or till

32
Q

What is Glacier debris known as?

A

Drift or Till

33
Q

What are deposits by wind known as?

A

Eclian - wind blown dust

Loses - silt and clay or glacial material

34
Q

What are the layers of the Idealized soil profile?

A
  • O/A Horizon
  • E horizon
  • B horizon
  • C Horizon
35
Q

Describe the Organic horizon

A
  • Rich in organic matter
  • Very fertile
  • Acid from Aerobic respiration leaks down
36
Q

Describe the E horizon (Zone of Leaching)

A
  • Most active zone because it has the most chemical weathering
  • Acid from O/A horizon moving downwards w ground water
  • Acid from above layer dissolves things
37
Q

Describe the B horizon (Zone of Accumulation)

A

Because there is a higher pH minerals precipitate out in thes layer

38
Q

Describe the C horizon

A

Coarsely broken up bedrock

EAS (33 decks)

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