Weathering and Erosion ©2004 LikeScience.com

Weathering The breaking of rocks, into smaller pieces, either mechanically or chemically.

Mechanical Weathering The breaking of rocks without changing their chemical composition. For Example: Plant roots and ice.

Ice Wedging The breaking of rocks when water in cracks freezes and expands.

Chemical Weathering The breakdown of rocks due to a change in their chemical composition. Oxidation Carbonic Acid

Oxidation Chemical weathering that occurs when a substance is exposed to oxygen and water. AKA Rust

Wall corroded by carbonic acid A weak acid that forms when water mixes with carbon dioxide from air. Wall corroded by carbonic acid

Soil A mixture of weathered rock, decaying organic matter, mineral fragments, water and air.

Soil Horizons A layer of soil. A, B, C, A-Topsoil B-Humus-Dark colored matter found in soil, made of decayed plants and animals. C-Rock Above is a soil profile

Climate The pattern of weather in a particular area over a period of many years; affects the rate and type of weathering.

Desertification The formation of a desert.

A vertical section of soil layers. profile

Mechanical Weathering The breaking apart of rocks without changing their chemical composition; for example, by plant roots and ice. Mechanical Weathering

The breaking of rocks when water in cracks freezes and expands; a type of mechanical weathering. Ice Wedging

Dark-colored organic matter found in soil; made of decayed plants and animals. Humus

Sediment particle less than 0.004 mm in size. Clay

The pattern of weather in a particular area over a period of many years; affects the rate and type of weathering. Climate

A mixture of weathered rock, decaying organic matter, mineral fragments, water, and air. Soil

Occurs when soil materials dissolved in water are carried down through soil layers. Leaching

The formation of a desert. Desertification

Chemical weathering that occurs when a substance is exposed to oxygen and water. oxidation

The breaking of rocks into smaller pieces, either mechanically or chemically. Weathering

A weak acid that forms when water mixes with carbon dioxide from air. Carbonic

The top layer of soil; usually contains humus and is dark in color. topsoil

A soil layer. Horizon

The breakup of rocks due to a change in their chemical composition. Chemical weathering

What are the three types of soil horizons? A,B,C

Oklahoma has this soil type: Prairie

This is the only state that has a glacial soil type: Maine

Which is the oldest layer of the soil horizon?

What is the technical name for rusting? oxidation

Deposition The dropping of sediments

Mass Movement When gravity alone causes materials to move down slope.

Slump A mass movement that happens when lose materials or rock layers lip down a slope.

Creep When sediments slowly inch their way down a hill.

Glaciers The moving of ice and snow.

plucking The type of glacial erosion in which rock fragments are loosened, broken off, and carried away by the freezing of water in cracks.

Till An unsorted mixture of boulders, sand, silt, and clay deposited by a glacier.

Moraine A ridge of unsorted rock and soil bulldozed ahead and to the sides of a glacier: left behind when the glacier melts.

Deflation Wind erosion that removes loose, fine-grained sediments such as clay or silt, and leaves behind coarser material.

Abrasion A type of erosion caused by wearing or scraping away by sand grains or other particles.

Loess A thick, deposit of fine, wind-eroded sediments.

Runoff Water that does not soak into the ground or evaporate flows across Earth’s surface.

Rill Erosion When small streams form during heavy rain.

Gully Erosion A rill channel become broader and deeper.

Sheet erosion Rainwater flows into lower elevation, carrying sediments with it.

Drainage Basin The land area from which a stream gets its water.

Meander A curve that forms when faster moving water erodes the sides of a stream.

Floodplain The broad flat valley floor carved by a meandering stream.

Alluvial Fan When water begins flowing on a level surface and slows downs and drops its sediments.

Delta Sediments that are dropped when the water empties into an ocean, gulf or lake.

Groundwater Water that soaks into the ground and collects in pores.

Permeable When water can pass through rocks and soil.

Impermeable When water can not pass through rocks and soil.

Aquifer A layer of permeable rock that transmits water freely.

Zone of Saturation The area where are of the pores of the rock are filled with water.

Water Table The upper surface of the zone of saturation.

Artesian well Well where water under pressure rise to the surface.

Spring When the water table meets the surface and water flows out of it.

Hot Spring Spring where the surrounding rocks have become heated from molten materials under the Earth’s surface.

Geyser A hot spring that erupts periodically.

Cave When groundwater erodes away the limestone and a underground opening forms.

Sinkhole A depression that forms when the roof of a cave collapses.

Longshore Current Water that runs parallel to the shore.

Beaches Deposits of sediment that run parallel to the shore.

Barrier Islands Sand deposits that parallel the shore but are separated from the mainland.