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Lecture 6: Weathering, Soil and Erosion

Processes of Weathering
- Chemical and mechanical weathering sometimes act together
- Breaks down rocks
- Denudation: any process that wears away or rearranges landforms
Mechanical weathering
- No chemical change in the composition of rocks
- Pressure-release fracturing
o Occurs when granite rocks or intrusive rocks are formed deeper in
the Earth and exposed after years of erosion
o Once erosion takes place, the pressure is released and the rock
breaks down to smaller pieces
o Ex. Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park in the St. Francois Mountains,
USA
- Frost wedging
o Occurs when ice crystals accumulate in cavities or fissures of rocks
at night and expands
o During the day, the ice melts and the rocks contract
o Repeated process of freezing at night and thawing during the day
o Splitting of rock through pressure exerted when water freezes
o Expands by 9.2%
o Coastal areas prone to frost wedging where temperature oscillates
around the freezing point
o It is wrong to climb a mountain with ice during the daytime because
the frost is not intact and it will drag you downslope
o Common along the Atlantic coast of Canada because it is close to
the Atlantic ocean
- Abrasion
o Process of collision between loose sediment that are transported by
wind and stable rocks on the surface of the land
o When rocks collide with airborne objects, they tend to smoothen the
rock’s edges and the angular sides so its gets polished overtime
o Sediment that are carried by wind or act as projectiles will chip off
particles from the main block of rock and creates ventifact (a stone
shaped by the erosive action of windblown sand)
o The mass of moving ice often curves and smoothens surfaces
o When ice moves along the land, it forms a gentle slope on one side
and a steep slope on the other side (Roche Mountonnee  rock
formation created by the passing of a glacier)
- Salt crystal growth (salt weathering)
o Turns into salt, which expands when it rains
o Salt melts and breaks down into smaller pieces
 We know this because when water evaporates, there is a
white outline remaining on the surface

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o Over time, the crystals accumulate and grow to exert force to

separate the grains making up the rock and breaking the rock into
pieces
- Thermal expansion and contraction
o Very common in many tropical and subtropical regions of the world
o Rocks on the Earth’s surface are exposed to daily and yearly cycles
of heating and cooling
o This causes expansion when they are heated and contraction when
they cool down
o Will result in the disintegration of rocks
o Many engineering systems like railways require a 1inch or 1cm gap
so the rails don’t become crooked when expanding
Biological weathering
- Dissolved minerals in running water cause rocks to break down
- Rainfall erodes the limestone into pits and channels by dissolving it
- Stalactite: hang from the top of the cave
- Stalagmite: from the floor of the cave
Chemical weathering
- Dissolution
o Occurs when rocks that are rich in different minerals dissolve in
acidic or pure water
o Calcite (calcium carbonate rock) rarely dissolves in pure water
o Water that is rich in acids have high amount of hydrogen ions
o Water that is rich in bases have a high amount of hydroxide ions
- Hydrolysis
o Chemical decomposition of rock by water
o Chemical reaction of water with a mineral
o Breaks down the silicate minerals
- Oxidation
o When certain metallic elements combine with oxygen to form
oxides
o Ex. rusting of iron

Karst Topography and Cavern Features

- Karst Croatian word
- Krs Plateau in Slovenia, where karst processes were first studied
- Easily soluble in rain or acidic water
- Funnel shaped depression have channels that form with ground water
- Once you drain the water, the gravity causes collapsing
- Sinkholes
- Karst valleys
- Tropical karst
- What conditions are necessary for Karst formation?
o In a region where rocks are easily soluble
o In a region were rainwater is acidic

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o Should have subterranean bases which are characterized by

caverns (caves)

Soil Horizons
- Pockets of air and microscopic organisms are in soil
O horizon
- Organic rich upper layer (top layer)
- Made up of litter
- It is not decomposed
- Made of twigs, dead leaves and dead trees on top of soil
A horizon
- Zone of eluviation
o Leeching or washing away of minerals from that zone to lower
levels
- Most well formed soil that is rich is organic matter and minerals
- Most productive part of soil
- Described as top soil
- Supports agricultural crops
- Colloid
B horizon
- Zone of illuviation
o Deposition of sediment minerals
- Transition zone in which the minerals are washed and deposited in this
layer
- Minerals from A zone layer up in this zone
- Biogeochemical processes: pathway in which a chemical substance
moves through both biotic (biosphere) and abiotic (lithosphere,
atmosphere, and hydrosphere) compartments of Earth
C horizon
- Transition to subsoil
- Made up of partially weathered minerals (rocks that are not formed
properly)

Mass Movement
- Also known as mass wasting
- Process by which rain water or human induced activity influence the
movement of soil from higher ground to a lower level
- Influenced by gravitational pull (forces things down)

Factors Affecting Movement

- Steepness of slope (angle or repose) will determine the degree of effect
from gravity
o The more gentle the slope, the lower the propensity of movement
- Type of material or soil formed on the slope will determine the flow or
resistance of the movement

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o Pebbles are not angled so if they are on a slope steeper than 35

degrees, they will slide on top of one another
- Vegetation on slope
o A slope with a large amount of vegetation is relatively stable
because the roots of plants hold loose or unconsolidated particles
together
- Amount of moisture in soil
o After intense rainfall, slopes may face a landslide
o Rain lubricates the surface of particles, causing materials to move
down the slope
- Earthquakes and volcanoes
o May cause landslides by causing slopes to shake violently and
become unstable
o Gravity will often influence the soil to detach from the bedrock
- Human activities
o Road construction and mining can destabilize the materials
- When humans are constructing roads along mountainous regions, the
roads will go around the mountain and tread slowly along the slope

Types of Mass Movement

Creep
- The slowest down slope movement of regolith
o Regolith: soil formed from the decomposition of rocks as they
accumulate
- Movement is imperceptible to the eye
- Evidence it is taking place
o Telegraphic post will be tilted along the slope
o Bent fences
o Trees grow vertically so if there is movement at the base, the tree
will grow in a J shape
- Best way to stop a creep is a sand Crete
o Designed like a block with hollows
o Placed on the slope so any falling sediment will go into the hollows
- Another way to create a terrace (or stairs), each of the stairs will be
enforced with gabions
- Lamina often occurs when a slope is subjected to the influence of gravity
and the lower particles move, causing the upper layers to also move
Flow
- Mudflow: rapid down slope movement of water-saturated soil
- Happens after intense rain flow
- As rain water concentrates in channels, it goes into trenches, grooves or
gutters
- Concentration of sediments will continue until it is too much for the rain
water to carry
Slide

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- Landslide: sheet of material that slips over a failure plane ending

anywhere from a meter to a kilometre down slope
- When there is enough moisture or water in soil to trigger a slide but not
too much water to cause a flow
- Can’t predict a landslide
- Slump: a landslide in which the regolith moves over a ruptured, curved
lane
o Ruptured lane can be concave slope
o Also occurs when blocks of materials slide over a concave slope
and intend to rotate, causing trees to be tilted backward
Fall
- Rockfall: occurs when quantities of rock fall freely from a cliff face
- Frost wedging: freeze and thaw
- Rock pedestals: mushroom shaped rocks

Preventative Measures for Rockfalls and Topples

- Heavy wire nets or fences
- Barricades along roadsides
- Shot Crete: cement mixture applied to restrict water access
- Rock bolts: drill a hole from the detached rock to the bedrock beneath and
bolt the detached rock in place

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