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Saprolite (from Greek σαπρος (sapros) = putrid + λιθος (lithos) = rock) is a chemically weathered rock (literally, it means "rotten rock"). More intense weathering results in a continuous transition from saprolite to laterite. Saprolites form in the lower zones of soil horizons [1] and represent deep weathering of the bedrock surface ...
Physical weathering, also called mechanical weathering or disaggregation, is the class of processes that causes the disintegration of rocks without chemical change. Physical weathering involves the breakdown of rocks into smaller fragments through processes such as expansion and contraction, mainly due to temperature changes.
[6] [9] For example, if CO 2 builds up in the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect will serve to increase the surface temperature, which will in turn increase the rate of rainfall and silicate weathering, which will remove carbon from the atmosphere. In this way, over long timescales, the carbonate-silicate cycle has a stabilizing effect on the ...
The process of formation is called laterization. [2] Tropical weathering is a prolonged process of chemical weathering which produces a wide variety in the thickness, grade, chemistry and ore mineralogy of the resulting soils. The majority of the land area containing laterites is between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Abrasion is a process of weathering that occurs when material being transported wears away at a surface over time, commonly occurring with ice and glaciers. The primary process of abrasion is physical weathering. Its the process of friction caused by scuffing, scratching, wearing down, marring, and rubbing away of materials.
Talus cones produced by mass moving, north shore of Isfjord, Svalbard, Norway Mass wasting at Palo Duro Canyon, West Texas (2002) A rockfall in Grand Canyon National Park. Mass wasting, also known as mass movement, [1] is a general term for the movement of rock or soil down slopes under the force of gravity.
A fairly rare form of clastic rock may form during meteorite impact. This is composed primarily of ejecta; clasts of country rock, melted rock fragments, tektites (glass ejected from the impact crater) and exotic fragments, including fragments derived from the impactor itself.
In a felsenmeer or blockfield, freeze-thaw weathering has broken up the top layer of the rock, covering the underlying rock formation with jagged, angular boulders. Freeze-thaw or frost weathering occurs when water that is trapped along microcracks in rock expands and contracts due to fluctuations in temperature above and below the freezing point.