Weathering and erosion definitions Flashcards
Agent of denudation
The process if weathering and erosion
Agent of erosion
Something that carries out erosion
Biological weathering
Rocks are broken down by the action of animals, plants and people
Carbonation
A type of chemical weathering where rain water dissolves rock. Rain absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and becomes weak carbonic acid. This carbonic acid reacts with calcium carbonate in limestone rock dissolving the rock away
Chemical weathering
A chemical reaction that occurs in a rock causing it to dissolve or rot away
Crystallisation of salt
A type of mechanical weathering caused by the growth of salts in a rock. The salt growth puts pressure on the rock causing it to break apart.
Denudation
The wearing down of the earth’s surface
Diurnal range
The difference between the highest and lowest temperature recorded over a day and night 24-hour period
Erosion
The process by which the earths surface is broken down, transported from one place to another and deposited
Freeze-thaw action
The breakdown of rocks by the action of frost
Hydration
A type of chemical weathering where a rock mineral chemically combines with water to form a new substance
Mechanical weathering
The breakdown of rock into smaller pieces by the action of frost
Onion weathering/Exfoliation
The action of daily changes in temperature that causes rock surfaces to break down and to pell away in layers
Hydrolysis
A type of chemical weathering where water dissolved rock minerals eg.feldspar. Hydrolysis plays a major role in the formation of soil
Oxidation
A type of chemical weathering where oxygen combines with rock minerals eg. rusting of iron
Process
A process is anything that causes a change in something eg. weathering and erosion
Scree/talus
Angular blocks of rock that collect on hillsides, formed by freeze-thaw action
Weathering
The breakdown of rock into smaller pieces
