Weathering and Erosion

Question 1

How can Weathering occur?

Answer 1

weathering can occur by “chemical” means, such as acid rain, or by “physical” means such as wind, rain, and ice. (when there are alot of pollutants in the atmosphere, those get brought down with the rain droplets and they can start to dissolve or erode rocks. You can see the difference in headstones in Urban areas verus rustic areas. Wind, rain, and ice. Water can go into cracks of rocks and freeze, breaking of pieces over time.
-Water and wind can smooth them over time (Physical examples of change0

Question 2

What does weathering require?

Answer 2

Weathering generally requires at least some degree of surface exposure.

Question 3

When a landform is smooth (smooth contours), what does that mean?

Answer 3

Landforms with smoother contours have generally undergone more erosion and are typically older than angular landforms (like the Great Plains is much older than the swiss alps).

Question 4

What can help determine rock strata?

Answer 4

Fossil records can help us determine the depositional timeline of sedimentary strata (layers) of rock. Conversely, the timeline of a sedimentary bed can also help us determine the dating of fossils within that bed.

Question 5

What are other factors that can help us date rock strata?

Answer 5

Other factors, such as 1. weathering, 2. depth, 3. fault shifts, and 4. discontinuities can also help us date rock strata.
-if a layer has been weathered, it most likely happened when it was on the surface.
depth tells age, the lower the older.
-fault shifts- used to line up but now shifted. same types of rock are now in different places. that is the idea of discontinuity.