Weathering, Erosion, Glaciers Flashcards
The natural process by which atmospheric and environmental agents, such as wind, rain, and temperature changes, break down rocks.
Weathering
Pits formed in a rock surface are a result of sulfur and water vapor combining to form…
Acid Rain
Evidence for the BEST indication that Massachusetts’ climate has changed over time is found in…
Beach Erosion
The two factors that have the biggest impact on the rate of weathering are…
Climate & type of rock
These rocks were broken apart from the continuous freeze/thaw of water in the cracks of the rocks. This is an example of:
Ice wedging
When rocks are exposed to water, air, and living organisms; chemicals from these can change the minerals in a rock to new minerals or other materials (like rust)
Chemical weathering
This produces weak acids to dissolve rock.
Plant roots
This type of rock is easily weathered.
permeable
Which principle states that Earth’s geological processes tend to happen in the same way today as they did in the past?
Uniformitarianism
What is weathering?
The breaking down of earths crust into smaller and smaller pieces.
Terrain created by glaciers
U-shaped valley
How do plants help reduce soil erosion caused by rain?
Plant roots hold soil partials together.
When ice forms, it causes weathering by-
Breaking rocks
Flood waters moving soil from one location to another
Erosion
What gases dissolve in rain to make acid rain?
Sulfur dioxide & nitrogen oxides
Landslides are an example of
Mechanical weathering
These landforms are created as flowing water interacts with mountains, hills, or the steep walls of canyons.
Alluvial fan
Plant roots can have an effect on rocks with TWO different types of weathering, which are…
Roots pry open rocks and crack it.
The process in which rock is physically broken into smaller pieces by some force
Mechanical weathering
what is a glacier
Large, thick masses of ice that form on land when fallen snow gets compressed into ice.
An underground cave formed by carbon and water combining, seeping through the ground to dissolve this stone.
Limestone
What is the main cause of acid rain?
Gasses formed by the burning of fossil fuels
After a glacier has receded, an enormous amount of weight has been removed from its surface. A rock surface that breaks of in large, thin layers is experiencing…
Release of pressure
These two things are responsible for creating MOST of the valleys on Earth.
Glaciers & rivers
what can glaciers cause
Shape landscapes through erosion
What is an ice sheet
a glacier that cover lots of land.
Chemical weathering in a dry and hot climate will occur…
Minimally or not at all
What is a continental glacier
Ice sheets that cover entire continents
When sediment is moved from one area to another and a sandy beach is formed, this is known as…
deposition
What is erosion?
The process, by with water, ice, wind, or gravity, moves fragments of rocks and soil.
Avalanches are an example of
mechanical weathering
A kettle is formed when
a chunk of ice is left behind from a glacier till and it melts later.
Rocks tumbling down a riverbed experience
abrasion
A chemical change in which a substance combines with oxygen, as when iron oxidizes, forming rust
Oxidation
what is the definition for glacier till
Unsorted glacial sediments
abrasion
The grinding away of rock by other rock particles carried in water ice or wind.
deposition
The laying down of sediment carried by wind, flowing water, the sea or ice.
Chemical weathering
The process that breaks down rocks through chemical changes.
Salt wedging
When saltwater seeps into rocks and evaporates.
Mechanical weathering
The type of weathering in which rock is broken into smaller pieces.
Contract
To reduce in size
Glacial erratic
The bedrock from which glaciers were removed.
Glacial striations
Long straight parallel lines scratched onto a bedrock surface
Glacial till
The sediment deposited by a glacier.
