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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.
Spheroidal weathering of a dolerite dyke, Pilbara, Western Australia. Spheroidal weathering is a form of chemical weathering that affects jointed bedrock and results in the formation of concentric or spherical layers of highly decayed rock within weathered bedrock that is known as saprolite.
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.
Global distribution of major outcrops of carbonate rocks (mainly limestone, except evaporites). The English word karst was borrowed from German Karst in the late 19th century, [6] which entered German usage much earlier, [7] to describe a number of geological, geomorphological, and hydrological features found within the range of the Dinaric Alps, stretching from the northeastern corner of ...
Weathering is the chemical and physical disruption of earth materials in place on exposure to atmospheric or near surface agents, and is typically studied by soil scientists and environmental chemists, but is an essential component of geomorphology because it is what provides the material that can be moved in the first place.
Weathering rinds have a long history of being used to determine the relative age of either Quaternary sediments or landforms. This is done by comparing the thickness of weathering rinds of gravel composed of similar rock types. Deposits containing gravel with thicker weathering rinds are interpreted to be older than deposits containing rocks ...
The formation of scree and talus deposits is the result of physical and chemical weathering acting on a rock face, and erosive processes transporting the material downslope. [citation needed] In high-altitude arctic and subarctic regions, scree slopes and talus deposits are typically adjacent to hills and river valleys.
Many explanations have been proposed for honeycomb and other cavernous weathering. These explanations include marine abrasion; wind corrosion; mechanical weathering resulting from short-term temperature variations; chemical weathering of the interior of the rock (core-softening) under a protective crust (case-hardening) followed by mechanical removal of the softened material; biogeochemical ...