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Objectives 1. Difference between weathering and erosion. 2. Difference between chemical and mechanical weathering. 3. Types of mechanical weathering. 4. Types of chemical weathering. 5. Products resulting from the chemical weathering of Igneous rocks. 6. Factors that influence the type and rate of rock weathering. 7.How Mass Wasting occurs.
PET518
Siliciclastics: Composition
In sedimentary rocks the constituents are organized into framework grains, matrix and cement. Framework grains and matrix are allogenic (transported to the site of deposition), whereas cements are authigenic (precipitated at the site of deposition).
The three most common framework grain types are: Quartz: both monocrystalline (single grains) and polycrystalline (e.g., chert) Feldspar Lithic Fragments (any pre-existing rock fragment)
Further complications within the rock cycle include (1) weathering of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks (in addition to igneous rocks),
(2) metamorphism of igneous rocks & repeated metamorphism of metamorphic rocks.
PET518 Definition of weathering: Before we discuss the other types of rocks (Sedimentary and Metamorphic) we need to have an understanding of the processes that cause the breakdown of rocks, either to form new minerals that are stable on the surface of the Earth, or to break the rocks down into smaller particles . This process is called weathering, and is also the first step in a process that we call erosion
Weathering Process
The weathering process occurs when rocks are exposed to the hydrosphere (water) and atmosphere (air). These weathering agents can change the physical and chemical characteristics of rocks. As rocks are broken down (weathered) they can be classified as different types of sediments, which are: boulders, cobbles, pebbles, sand, silt, clay, and colloids.
The chart explains the sizes of each of these sediments
PET518
Plant and Animal Activities -
Biological
Weathering
Plant roots can extend into fractures and grow, causing expansion of the fracture. Growth of plants can break rock - look at the sidewalks of New Orleans for example. Animals burrowing or moving through cracks can break rock.
PET518 A. Physical or mechanical weathering Frost Wedging Upon freezing, there is an increase in the volume of the water. As the water freezes it expands and exerts a force on its surroundings. Frost wedging is more prevalent at high altitudes where there may be many freeze-thaw cycles. Frost wedging - water expands when it freezes
PET518 A. Physical or mechanical weathering Exfoliation or unloading rock breaks off into leaves or sheets along joints which parallel the ground surface; caused by expansion of rock due to uplift and erosion; removal of pressure of deep burial;
In this photo from Yosemite National Park, the exfoliation sheets are sub parallel to the valley walls
Abrasion
Physical grinding of rock
fragments. Here, the photo shows some pits that have been eroded into the rock by sandblasting. Along with the physical weathering (the sandblasting), chemical weathering has taken place as the rock shows some signs of solution weathering as well.
Effect of Wind
This photograph shows the powerful effect of wind generated abrasion is the Double Arch from Arches National Park. The edges of the arches have weathered along joints, preexisting tectonically controlled vertical surfaces in the rock. Then mechanical abrasion took over and carved out the arches.
Chemical Weathering
Chemical weathering occurs when a rock is broken down by chemical action resulting in a change in the composition of a rock. The main agents of chemical weathering are oxygen, rainwater, carbon dioxide, and acids produced by decaying plants and animals that leads to the formation of soil. There are a few types of chemical weathering such as:
Types of Weathering
Hydration
Driving force of all weathering hydrates solutes attraction of water molecules for charged ions Hydrolysis is breaking a bond with the splitting of water KAlSi3O8 + H2O = H AlSi3O8 + K+ + OHFeldspar unstable feldspar
Carbonation
Carbonation Reaction with carbonic acid (or CO2) CO2 + H2O = H2CO3 = H+ + HCO3 carbonic acid = weak acid, but inexhaustible supply (roots)
2HCO3-
Acidification
Reaction with a stronger acid organic acids from plant decomposition, bacteria, etc.
feldspar KAlSi3O8
Strong acids - acid rain; sulfuric and nitric acids: (not enough to affect most soils)
Hydration
Occurs when water interacts chemically with minerals. For example, when hornblende and feldspar unite with water they eventually form into clay. H2O + CO2 + CaCO3 --> Ca+2 + 2HCO3water + carbon dioxide + calcite dissolve into calcium ion and bicarbonate ion. Dissolution is very common in areas that have a great deal of limestone. Acidic waters (from pollution or natural) dissolve limestone allowing for additional water to gain entrance. Can cause sinkholes and karst features as well as dissolution of statutes and grave stones.
Oxidation
occurs when oxygen interacts chemically with minerals. For example, when a nail rusts oxygen combines with the iron in the nail to form iron oxide
Oxidation (rust) 4Fe + 2 + 3O2 --------> 2Fe2O3 ferrous iron + oxygen combine to form ferric iron oxide (hematite) Will happen to all iron-bearing silicates to varying degrees. Common reaction minerals are hematite, limonite, and goethite.
Hydrolysis
2KAlSi3O8 + 3H20 --> Al2Si2O5(OH)4 + 4SiO2 + 2K(OH)
potassium feldspar in acidic water hydrolyses to kaolinite + quartz + potassium hydroxide Silicate minerals (unstable at the earth's surface) weather to form clay minerals such as kaolinite (stable at the earth's surface). Feldspars typically weather to produce clay minerals.
Carbonation
Carbonation occurs when carbon dioxide interacts chemically with minerals. When carbon dioxide is dissolved in water, it forms weak carbonic acid. Carbonic acid when it comes in contact with the surface of the earth dissolves large masses of limestone, creating caves and caverns. Other common terms associated with carbonation are sink holes, karst topography, stalactites and stalagmites
Water Cycle
Water Cycle
Erosion
Once a rock material has been weathered, it is ready to be transported, or eroded. Erosion refers to the transportation of rock, soil, and mineral particles from one location to another. Erosion is different from weathering since erosion has the moving element. The main driving force behind all agents of erosion is gravity. Without gravity the other major natural agents of erosion such as: wind, running water, glaciers, waves, and rain would not occur.
Streams
Streams carry materials in 4 distinct ways: Floatation, solution (dissolved particles), Suspension (within the water profile), and bed load (bouncing and dragging along the stream bed
Meandering
If river water runs into resistant sediments, the movement of the meander can slow downstream. As other meanders continue to migrate through softer sediments upstream, they eventually intersect the slower-moving meander and cut off the channel between the two, forming an independent loop that will become a lake (see below).
Deposition
Deposition is the final step in the erosionaldepositional system. Rock particles that are picked up and transported by one of the eroding agents will ultimately be deposited somewhere else, and agents of erosion become agents of deposition. Final deposition of particles (sediments) usually occurs at the mouth of a stream. This is due to the faster flowing stream emptying into a slower larger body of water. When deposition occurs at the mouth of a stream or river a process called horizontal sorting takes place.
The sediments that were once carried down the stream are arranged from largest to smallest.
Shape
A round sediment compared to a flat (skipping stone) sediment of equal size will settle faster in a body of water. This is due to the resistance the flat particle will undergo as it settles through the water. The round particle will meet little resistance and settle at a must faster rate. The graphic below shows the relationship.
Density: The density of particles also influences the rates at which sediments settle out of running water and wind. If particles are the same size but have different densities the higher density particle will settle faster. Velocity: The velocity of the transporting stream determines when sediments will be deposited. If the stream slows down during a drought period the carrying power will decrease and the particle sizes carried and deposited will also decrease. If a stream is flowing faster due to flood conditions then the carrying power of the stream will increase and the sizes of particles deposited will increase as well.
ROUNDNESS
Roundness is a measure of the sharpness or roundness of the corners of a sedimentary particle. Roundness is determined by comparing the sand grains with a visual comparison chart. As sediment is transported, it undergoes abrasion by coming into contact with the stream bottom, sea-floor, or other grains of sediment. The abrasion tends to "round-off" the sharp edges or corners. Rounding is also related to the size of the grains. Boulders tend to round much more quickly than sand grains because they strike each other with much greater force.
Grain shape comprises attributes which refer to the external morphology of particles. These include surface texture, roundness and form. Grain shape (Bustin, 1995) is determined by: internal structure, (mineral cleavage); characteristics of source rock such as jointing and bedding; lithology; hardness fracture transport
Roundness
Roundness is defined as the average radius of curvature of corners (ri in figure) to that of the largest inscribing circle (R in figure). As you can see, that type of measurement is very tricky.
Gravel forms through physical weathering of rock. A piece of gravel is usually a "rock fragment" composed of more than one mineral. Sometimes a piece of gravel is a single mineral, most commonly quartz. This is because quartz is sometimes present as veins, which may be several inches wide (or more), thus producing gravel-sized clasts. Sand forms through the breakdown and disintegration of rocks which have sand-sized (1/16 - 2mm) grains, such as granite and gneiss. In humid climates, quartz sand grains are released from granite after the feldspar grains alter to clay by chemical weathering (hydrolysis). In more arid areas, granite breaks down by physical weathering (such as frost wedging), releasing both feldspar and quartz grains.
Silt originates from the chipping of coarser grains during sediment transport, or from the disintegration of fine-grained crystalline rocks (such as slates, phyllites, and schists). Clay originates primarily through chemical weathering of feldspars and other alumino-silicate minerals (those which contain aluminum and silicon). The term "clay" refers to a particular size of sediment particle, which could be a quartz grain or a clay mineral flake, or some other very small mineral fragment. The term "clay" is also used to refer to a group of minerals. There are a number of clay minerals, including kaolinite (the white clay mined in central Georgia and used for shiny coatings on paper, and additives to rubber), illite (which contains potassium), and montmorillonite or smectite (a group of clays which can take in large amounts of water, and as a result these clays are commonly referred to as "swelling clays").
SORTING
Sorting refers to the range in grain sizes in a sediment or sedimentary rock. Sediment (or rock) which is well sorted will have most of the grains roughly the same size. A poorly sorted sediment or rock has a wide range of grain sizes. Sorting can be estimated using a visual comparison chart.
SPHERICITY
Grains of sediment are three dimensional. Sphericity refers to "equal dimensions". Is the sediment particle elongated (one dimension longer than the other two), flattened or sheet-like (one dimension much smaller than the other two dimensions), or is it spherical (its three dimensions roughly the same length)? Sphericity can be described as high or low. According to this definition, a ball would have highly sphericity, but so would a cube (high sphericity, but low roundness). In contrast, a submarine sandwich would have low sphericity, but high roundness. A shoebox would have both low sphericity and low roundness. Sand grains may have high or low sphericity. Some minerals may produce elongated or flattened grains, depending primarily on original crystal shape and cleavage. Be careful not to confuse rounding with sphericity. A well-rounded grain may or may not resemble a sphere. And a spherical grain may or may not be well rounded.
TEXTURAL MATURITY
Textural maturity is a concept which proposes that as sediments experience the input of mechanical energy (the abrasive and sorting action of waves and currents), they pass through a series of four stages.
Stage 1- Immature - Sediment contains mud (clay and/or silt) Stage 2 - Submature - Poorly sorted sediment with no mud Stage 3- Mature - Well sorted sediment with no mud Stage 4 - Supermature - Well sorted and rounded sediment with no mud