Weathering and

Erosion
 Earths External Processes

Weathering disintegration of rock at

or near the earths surface
Erosion transportation of material
by a mobile agent such as water,
wind, or ice
 Two Types OF Weathering:
Physical weathering Chemical weathering
is breaking rock by is where the rock
force. material is changed
ex: hitting, into another
scratching, cracking substance by
reacting with a
chemical.
 Physical/Mechanical
Weathering

Breakdown of bigger pieces into

smaller pieces
Only size changes occur in this
process
No chemical composition change
occurs in mechanical weathering
 What things can affect Physical
weathering?

1.-Temperature 2. Pressure
-Most of the temperature influence
comes from the freezing of water
-Ice expands by 9% over the volume
of water
-Freezing water cracks rocks
 Chemical Weathering

Change in composition takes place

(e.g. Rusting of iron)
Agents of Chemical weathering
1. Carbon dioxide
2. Oxygen
3. Sulphur and Nitrogen oxides
4. Various acids
5. Water
Erosion
Transportation : Removal of loose material by wind, water or ice

1. Bed load
2. Solution
3. suspension

Larger particles often creep or are carried as bed load in case of a

river, while smaller particles will jump or become suspended (as dust
clouds in case of wind transportation).
 Deposition: the dropping of transported
materials (sediments), or the process by
which transported materials are left in
new locations.
Also known as Sedimentation
There is no deposition without erosion.
 Factors affecting deposition

Particle size: the

larger the particle,
the faster it will
settle (all other
things being
equal).
The smallest sized
particles may
remain suspended
for days.
 Particle
shape: the
more spherical
a particle the
faster it will
settle. (All other
things being
equal).
 Density:
materials with a
higher density
will settle faster.
(All other things
being equal).
 Deposition of mixed sediments
When mixed sediments are released into a
column the roundest most dense materials
will settle first and an upward fining
sequence will be formed.
This is referred to as sorting.
 When several events of deposition in quiet
water occur, each involving a mixture of
sediments, vertical sorting will take place, and
graded beds of sediment will be formed.
 In every erosional-depositional system
erosion occurs when ever the medium
(erosional agent) is gaining speed, and
deposition occurs whenever it is losing
speed.
 Deposition at the mouth of a
River
When a river enters the sea or any other
large body of water its velocity suddenly
drops.
This causes deposition to begin.
Because the current doesnt stop
completely at the mouth of a stream
horizontal sorting occurs.
 Wind Deposition
Sand dunes- large deposits of sand
dropped from wind
Sand dunes can move as the wind picks up
sand from the back of the dune and blows it to
the front
Sand Dunes
Basic Sediment Shape
based on type of Erosion
and Deposition
 Alluvial fans are fan-
shaped deposits of
water-transported
material (alluvium).
They typically form at
the base of
topographic features
where there is a
marked break in slope.
Consequently, alluvial
fans tend to be coarse-
grained, especially at
their mouths. At their
edges, however, they
can be relatively fine-
grained.
Oxbow
lakes
Young stream Vegetation
on levee
 THE EARTH MATERIALS

Three types of rocks exist in the Earths crust

and at its surface :
1. Igneous rocks
2. Metamorphic rocks
3. Sedimentary rocks

Rocks are naturally occurring combinations of

one or more minerals, with each mineral
retaining its own discrete characteristics within
the rock.
 Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rock consists of sediment that has

been lithified into solid rock.
Sediment from the Latin sedimentum, meaning
settling. Sediment consists of fragments of solid
material derived from pre-existing rock, the
remains of organisms, or the direct precipitation
of dissolved minerals from solution in water.
Although sedimentary rocks account for about
7.9% by volume of the Earths crust, however,
75% of all rocks exposed are sedimentary.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

Sedimentology encompasses the study of

sedimentary processes and sedimentary rocks
[included modern sediments such as sand, mud
(silt), and clay].
Sedimentary Process:
1. Weathering Erosion and Transportation
All rocks including igneous, metamorphic and
sedimentary that are exposed to the elements of
wind, rain, heat and cold eventually give way to
wear and tear and are weathered and eroded.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

Some are simply broken up into small pieces by

running water and frost while others are dissolved
slowly as weak acids in ground water react with
the minerals contained within the rocks.
In either case, the debris or sediment, is gradually
carried downhill by the forces of gravity and
running water.
As the sediment is washed further and further
"downstream", it is broken into smaller and
smaller pieces.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

Eventually, these rock fragments are deposited

in sediment traps such as ponds or lakes.
A large depressed area in which a lot of
sediment has been or is being deposited is
called a sedimentary basin.
During transport, the sedimentary particles
become sorted by size and density. This means
that the larger and heavier fragments will settle
faster than the lighter ones.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

The very smallest particles (fine sand and mud

particles) can be carried hundreds of kilometres
out to sea before settling to the bottom in the
quiet deeper waters.
The larger pieces (sand, gravel and boulders)
will be deposited closer to the shore such as
along beaches.
Sedimentary rocks that are formed primarily from
fragments of other rocks are called clastics.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

The flowing waters also contain dissolved

minerals such as calcium and salt. These
minerals will eventually come out of solution and
form precipitates (solids) when the conditions are
right.

2. Deposition/ Sedimentation
As sediment is continuously dumped into the
ocean, it gradually sinks to the bottom and starts
to form layers.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

Coarser, heavier material (gravel) is deposited

close to the shore and finer grained sediment
(fine sand and clay particles) is deposited further
out, in the deeper water.
Varying the water depth and environmental
conditions of an area results in different types of
sedimentary layers being deposited in the area
at different times.
The result is that in any given area there can be
many different layers, containing different kinds
of sedimentary rock.
 Sedimentary Rocks

Turning sediment into sedimentary rock:

A great deal of change can occur to sediment
from the time it is deposited until it becomes a
sedimentary rock.
Diagenesis refers to all of the physical, chemical,
and biological changes that occur after
sediments are deposited and during and after
lithification.
Diagenesis includes lithification, the processes
by which unconsolidated sediments are
transformed into solid sedimentary rock.
 Sedimentary Rocks
Most sedimentary rocks are lithified by means of
compaction and/or cementation.
Compaction occurs when the weight of
overlying materials compresses the deeper
sediment.
 Cementation
Cementation, the most important process by which
sediments are converted to sedimentary rock,
occurs when soluble cementing materials, such as
calcite, silica, and iron oxide, are precipitated onto
sediment grains, fill open spaces, and join the
particles.
 Sedimentary Rocks
Sediment Texture:
The vast majority of sediments are detrital. They
are composed of transported solids fragments,
or detritus, produced by mechanical weathering
or released by erosion from preexisting rocks.
Detrital particles are deposited when the
transporting medium loses its capacity to carry
the sediment farther.
Sediment texture depends on the source rocks
of the sediment particles, the energy of the
medium that transported them, and their
environment of deposition.
 Sedimentary Rocks
During transport, sediment grains undergo
sorting, a process by which they are carried or
deposited selectively, based on the energy of
their transport medium and the grains size,
density, and shape.
A well-sorted deposit consists of particles of one
size; a poorly sorted deposit contains particles of
widely varying sizes.
 Sedimentary Rocks
Rounding Relative sphericity.
Sediment grains start out as angular grains.
With transport, sediments become more
spherical.
Well-rounded long transport distances
Angular negligible transport
Maturity Unstable minerals (feldsfars, micas)
are removed with transport and by chemical
weathering.
 Sedimentary Rocks
Classification of Sedimentary Rocks
Can be divided into two major groups:
detrital/ clastic and chemical.
Detrital (clastic) sedimentary rocks:
All detrital rocks have a clastic texture, which
consists of discrete fragments and particles
that are cemented or compacted together.
Classification depends on their particle sizes
rather than the composition of their particles.
Common detrital rocks include
conglomerate/ breccia, sandstone, and
shale.
 Sedimentary Rocks
Classification of Sedimentary Rocks
 Sediment composition

Classification of clastic rocks according to texture

 Detrital/Clastic sedimentary rocks
Grain Size Composition Shape/Description ROCK NAME

Gravel size >2mm Fragments or any

rock type - quartz, Rounded Conglomerate
quartzite, and chert
Angular Breccia
dominant
Sand size 2mm - Mostly quartz Relatively uniform Quartz
0.0625 mm grain size Sandstone
Mostly feldspar Pink K-Feldspar Arkosic
present Sandstone
Silt size 00039 to Quartz grains,
0.0625 mm feldspar grains, clay Siltstone
minerals
Clay size <0.0039 mm Clay minerals Fissile Shale
Clay minerals Non-fissile Claystone
 Sedimentary Rocks

Chemical sedimentary rocks:

The primary basis in the chemical group is their
mineral composition.
There are two kinds of chemical sediments:
inorganic, and biogenic.
Inorganic chemical-sedimentary rocks
precipitate directly from water, usually when the
water evaporates or undergoes a significant
temperature change.
They include inorganic limestone, evaporites,
chert, and dolostone.
Inorganic (evaporite) sedimentary rocks
Grain Size Composition Shape/Description ROCK NAME

<2mm Mostly calcium Spherical grains like tiny Oolitic

carbonate beads with concentric Limestone
(CaCO3) laminations
Coarse Fizzes with cold Banded Travertine
crystalline dilute HCl

Cryptocrystalline Variety of Scratches glass Chert

Quartz (SiO2)
Fine to coarse Gypsum Can be scratched with Rock Gypsum
crystalline (CaSO42H2O) fingernail
Fine to coarse Halite (NaCl) Salty taste Rock Salt
crystalline
 Sedimentary Rocks

Biogenic chemical-sedimentary rocks form when

organisms extract dissolved compounds from
water, convert them into biological hard parts
(such as shells and skeletons), and
subsequently deposit them as sediment when
they die.
They include biogenic limestone, biogenic chert,
coquina and coal.
 Biogenic sedimentary rocks
Grain Size Composition Shape/Description ROCK NAME

Mostly calcium Muddy matrix with Fossiliferous Limestone

carbonate fossils (Wackstone)
(CaCO3) >2mm Shells or shell Coquina
Fizzes with cold fragments poorly
<0.0625 mm Chalk
dilute HCl cemented to form
porous, earthy rock)
<0.0039 mm Shells or shell Micrite
fragments well (Calcareous
cemented to form dense Mudstone)
rock
Dull brown and plant- Porous and easy to Peat
like break apart in plant
fragments
Woody appearance, Lignite
light weight
Highly altered plant Black, dense and brittle Bituminous
remains (Carbon) or porous and sooty Coal
 Sedimentary Rocks
Depositional Environments:
Sedimentary environments are
those places where sediment
accumulates (or deposited).
They are grouped into
continental, marine, and
transitional (coastal)
environments.
 Sedimentary Rocks
Continental environments
are those environments
which are present in
continents (alluvial fan,
fluvial, lacustrine, desserts
and swamps).
Transitional environments
are those environments at or
near the transition between
the land and the sea (deltas,
beaches and barrier islands,
lagoons tidal flats).
 Sedimentary Rocks
Marine environments are those environments in
the seas or oceans (reefs, continental shelf,
continental slop and continental rise).
Each is characterized by certain physical,
chemical, and biological conditions.
A sedimentary facies is the set of unique
properties that distinguish a rock in a given layer
from surrounding rocks formed in different
depositional settings at the same time.
Depositional Environments:
Sedimentary environments are those places where sediment accumulates (or
deposited).
They are grouped into continental, marine, and transitional (coastal) environments.
 Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Structures:
Sedimentary rocks form as layer upon layer of
sediment accumulates in various depositional
environments.
This layers, called strata, or beds, are the single
most characteristic feature of sedimentary rocks.
 Sedimentary Rocks
Separating the strata are bedding plane.
Changes in the grain size or in the
composition of the sediment can create
bedding plane.
The thickness of beds ranges from
microscopically thin to tens of meters
thick.

Cross-bedding refers to sediment

layers that are oriented at an angle to
the underlying sets of beds. It is most
characteristic of sand dunes, river delta,
and certain stream channel deposits.
 Sedimentary Rocks

Graded bedding when the particles

within a single sedimentary layer
gradually change from coarse at the
bottom to the fine at the top.
Graded beds are most characteristic
of rapid deposition from water
containing sediment of varying sizes.
The deposition of graded bed is most
often associated with a turbidity
current, a mass of sediment-choke
water that is denser than clear water
and that moves downslope.
 Sedimentary Rocks

Ripple marks are small waves of

sand that develop on the surface of
a sedimentary layer by the action of
moving water or air.

Mud cracks occurs at the top of a

sediment layer when muddy
sediment dries and contracts.