1 Gradational processes Weathering = breakdown of material in place Gradation = leveling of land degradation (erosion) = removal of highs transportation = movement of material aggradation (deposition) = filling in lows Tectonic processes build up of roughen up the earth Gradational forces level off highs and fill in lows. Ultimate gradation --> level smooth plain at "base level" base level ≈ sea level, cannot erode farther downward Principal agents of gradation gravity water wind ice Landforms are usually result of more than one of these Before material can be moved by any gradational agent, it must be freed from its parent material or bedrock. Mountains do not move “en masse” to the sea Breakdown of rock material in place = WEATHERING Weathering does not, by itself, move material. 500 year old gargoyle on the old well at the National Museum of the Middle Ages, Paris Three types of weathering Physical Chemical Biological Processes not mutually exclusive one or the other may dominate due to climate or rock type
10
Embed
Gradational processes Weathering = breakdown of material in ...
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
1
Gradational processes
Weathering = breakdown of material in place
Gradation = leveling of land
degradation (erosion) = removal of highs
transportation = movement of material
aggradation (deposition) = filling in lows
Tectonic processes build up of roughen up the earthGradational forces level off highs and fill in lows.
Landforms are usually result of more than one of these
Before material can be moved by any gradational agent,it must be freed from its parent material or bedrock.
Mountains do not move “en masse” to the sea
Breakdown of rock material in place = WEATHERINGWeathering does not, by itself, move material.
500 year old gargoyle on the old well at the National Museum of the Middle Ages, Paris
Three types of weatheringPhysicalChemicalBiological
Processes not mutually exclusiveone or the other may dominate due to climate
or rock type
2
Bedding planes, joints, fractures, make rock moresusceptible to weathering
Massive (non-jointed) rocks are slower to weather
Physical: makes smaller pieces from bigger piecesdoes not change chemical composition of rockdisintegration
Important because1. smaller pieces easier to move2. increases surface area for chemical attack
Examples of Physical Weathering1. Freezing water...expansion in cracks
most effective where daily freeze-thaw eventshigh elevations in mid-high latitudesnot very important in tropics or polar regions
Examples of Physical Weathering2. Salt weathering...salt crystal expansion
capillary water evaporates leaving salt behindsandstone especially susceptible
action similar to frost wedgingarid and semi arid regions
Examples of Physical Weathering3. Differential expansion
minerals expand and contract differently withheat and cold
granite especially susceptiblefire promotes thisdiurnal temperature changes may also be factor
Causes peeling of thin concentric shells
Examples of Physical Weathering4. Unloading...removing pressure of overlying rock
exfoliation...peeling of thick concentric layerscommon in granite(unloading causes rock bursts in mines)
Half-dome in Yosemite
3
Exfoliation Evidence of physical weatheringDomesAngular debris and jagged formsTalus slopes (piles of broken rock)
Above tree line in the Sierra Nevada.
Physical weathering dominates
Chemical weathering: decays rock by chemical reactionsdecomposition
Operates in three ways by creating1. new materials less resistant to erosion2. new materials with greater volume expansion3. soluble materials which are easily dissolved
and transported in water
Most chemical weathering requires waterheat speeds up reaction
Chemical weathering is fastest in warm wet climates
Cold
Hot
Wet
Dry
Soil profile showing depth of chemical weathering ‘front”
Examples of Chemical Weathering
1. Oxidationchemical union with oxygen
usually creates softer andfiner material
increase in volume (expansion)
4
Examples of Chemical Weathering2. Hydration...water attached without chemical change
expansion, solution
Examples of Chemical Weathering
3. Hydrolysis...water unites chemically new compounds expansion, soluble compounds
4. Carbonation...formation of soluble carbonates
Examples of Chemical Weathering5. Solution...dissolves minerals
water soluble...NaCl, CaSO4 (gypsum)
acid soluble carbonic acid, acid rain
can dissolve limestone and marble (CaCO3)
Evidence of chemical weatheringEdges and corners along joints and bedding planes areweathered more rapidly than flat surfaces rounded edges
Spheroidal weathering...in placeElephant Rocks State Park, Missouri,
5
Chemical weathering niche where water seeps out
Chemically weathered niche, New Mexico
Biological weatheringliving organisms break down rockphysically and/or chemically
Physical examplesplant rootsburrowing animals
Chemical exampleslichen acid litter
Chemical weathering dominates in warm & wet climates rounded shapes
Physical weathering dominates in drier cooler climates angular, jagged shapes
Differential weathering
one material breaks down faster than another
therefore, one is slower to erode than the other
Examples of differential weathering in different climates
In warm wet climatesgranite...subject to chemical weathering
saprolite (rotten rock)
In cool dry climates, granite is resistantmountains
6
In warm wet climates limestone dissolvesto yield topographic lows
Appalachian Ridge and Valley...limestone valleysand sandstone ridges
In cool or arid climates, limestone is resistant often forms topographic highs
At mineral level...silica (quartz) highly resistant to weatheringReleased from rock by decomposition of surrounding material, carried by streams to oceans beaches
Gulf Shores sand comes mainly from Appalachians via the Apalachicola River, deposited in offshore sand sheet. GRAVITY AS AN AGENT OF GRADATION
Gravity causes mass movement (mass wasting)
Mass as in "matter" NOT as in large volume
Mass movement = movement of material downslope under the influence of gravity
Factors influencing mass movement
1. Wateracts as a lubricantadds weightmay cause “fluid” flow
2. Shaking as in earthquakes, explosions, trains
3. Undercutting by streams or human activity
4. Freeze/thaw or wet/dry cycles
Kind of material
Rock(dry)
Regolith& water
Water &sediment
Kind of motion
Falling,rolling, sliding
Flowage within mass
Fluidflow
Slow|
|
|
|
Speed|
|
|
|
Fast
Taluscreep
Soil creep
Low Water HighContent
7
Slow
1. Creep...
Slow
1. Creep... Related to freeze/thaw or wet/dry cycles
Creep: gradual displacement downhill, greatest at surface,most material moves by creep
Evidence of creep
Kind of material
Rock(dry)
Regolith& water
Water &sediment
Kind of motion
Falling,rolling, sliding
Flowage within mass
Fluidflow
Low Water HighContent
Slow|
|
|
|
Speed|
|
|
|
Fast
Taluscreep
Soil creep
Solifluction
2. Solifluction... water saturated soil, high latitudes or elevations, permafrost beneath surface
Kind of material
Rock(dry)
Regolith& water
Water &sediment
Kind of motion
Falling,rolling, sliding
Flowage within mass
Fluidflow
Low Water HighContent
Slow|
|
|
|
Speed|
|
|
|
Fast
Taluscreep
Soil creep
Solifluction
Land-slides
Earthflowsslumps
8
Landslide...mass of material moves as a unitmoves regolith (all material above bedrock) sudden, moderately high speed
Earthflow...usually water soaked massclay rich soil on a slope
linear = earthflowrotational = slump
All of above related to over-steepened slopesstream (or construction) undercuttingearthquakesloss of vegetationwater that adds weight / lubricates