EVSC 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Weathering, Soil Texture, Regolith

• School: University of Virginia
• Department: Environmental Sciences
• Course: EVSC 1010
• Professor: Thomas Smith

Document Summary

Weathering: decomposition & disintegrating of rocks & minerals @ earth"s surface (2 types: mechanical/physical: reduces solid rock 2 smaller pieces, but doesn"t alter chemical composition of rocks/minerals. Frost wedging: water enters cracks in rock & as it freezes it expands, dislodging rocks from cliffs creating talus slopes (accumulation of rock material resulting from frost wedging) Abrasion: rounds edges of rocks by banging rocks together (ex. wind, waves, growing trees/plants) Wind abrasion: selectively weathers & erodes rocks b/c of blown wind: chemical: when air & water chemically react w/ rock to alter chemical composition and mineral content. Dissolution- process of going into solution (dissolve, break of bond in water) Carbonation- process of rock minerals reacting w/ carbonic acid (water + carbon dioxide); carbonic acid dissolves/breaks own minerals in rock. Oxidation- rock minerals + oxygen (results in iron-rich rocks/minerals) Hydrolysis- water reacts w/ minerals to form new minerals; water becomes chemically incorporated in crystal structure.