Zusammenfassung der Ressource
weathering 1
- weathering and soil
- weathering
- weathering is the break down of rocks by the action of the weather, plants and animals.
- chemical weathering takes place when weak acid rain water dissolves rocks:
- limestone is made from a mineral called calcium carbonate.
- this reacts with carbonic acid in rain water to form soluble minerals
- these are washed away and the limestone is weathered
- Freeze that weathering happens in cold, usually mountainous locations:
- water gets into cracks in rocks
- the water freezes an expands
- this puts pressure on the rock causing it to split and break up.
- onion skin weathering occurs in places where there is a significant difference between day and night temperatures, such as in deserts
- during the day the sun heats the rocks causing them to expand
- during the night the rocks call down and contract.
- the surface the rocks heat up and cools down faster than the core of the rocks which creates stress and tension in the rock
- eventually the surface layers of the rock crack and begin to peel away like the outer layers of an onion
- biological weathering occurs when rocks are broken down by plants and animals.
- plants roots are able to force their way through weaknesses in rocks
- as the plants grow the roots widen and the rocks are cracked and split apart
- burrowing animals may also break up rocks as they dig through the ground