Weathering, erosion, and deposition.docx - Running head:...

Running head: WEATHERING, EROSION, AND DEPOSITION 1
Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition
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WEATHERING, EROSION, AND DEPOSITION 2
Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition
Weathering
Weathering refers to the process of disintegration of rocks and minerals present on the
earth surface (LaVergne, 2017). There are several agents of weathering. Some of these agents are
change in temperature, animals, plants, salts, acids, ice, and water. There is no rock on the earth
surface that cannot undergo the process of weathering.
There are two major types of weathering. These are mechanical and chemical weathering.
Mechanical weathering is also referred to as physical weathering. This type of weathering
normally makes rocks to crumble. Some causes of mechanical weathering are thawing and
freezing (frost action), abrasion, exfoliation, heating and cooling, pressure unloading, and
organism (LaVergne, 2017). Below are figures showing mechanical weathering:
Figure 1: Mechanical weathering (Butz, 2018).

WEATHERING, EROSION, AND DEPOSITION 3
Figure 2: Mechanical weathering (Butz, 2018).
In chemical weathering, there occurs a change in the molecular structure of soil or rock.
A good case of chemical weathering is where carbon dioxide from the air reacts with water to
form carbonic acid during the process of carbonation. The carbonic acid formed dissolves the
rocks. Once the rocks are dissolved, huge cracks or networks of caves are formed (figure 3).

WEATHERING, EROSION, AND DEPOSITION 4
Figure 3: Chemical weathering (Butz, 2018).
The biggest impact of weathering, especially once accompanied by erosion, is that it