Weathering Flashcards
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Questions and Answers

What are external processes?

  • Processes occurring inside the Earth
  • Processes related to tectonics
  • Processes caused by erosion
  • Processes that take place outside the solid Earth (correct)
  • What describes internal processes?

  • Processes happening outside the solid Earth
  • Processes caused by weathering
  • Processes taking place within the solid Earth (correct)
  • Processes related to erosion
  • What is weathering?

    The wearing away or changing the appearance or texture of something by long exposure to the air.

    What is mass wasting?

    <p>The geomorphic process by which soil, sand, regolith, and rock move downslope typically under the force of gravity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Define erosion.

    <p>The process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is mechanical weathering?

    <p>Any of the various weathering processes that cause physical disintegration of exposed rock without changing the chemical composition.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is chemical weathering?

    <p>The erosion or disintegration of rocks caused by chemical reactions, chiefly with water.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What causes frost wedging?

    <p>Repeated freeze-thaw cycles due to water expanding as it freezes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are talus slopes?

    <p>Piles of rocks that accumulate at the base of a cliff, chute, or slope.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Define sheeting in geology.

    <p>The process by which thin sheets of rock are successively broken loose from the outer surface of a large rock mass.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are exfoliation domes?

    <p>Dome-shaped formations of granite created through the process of exfoliation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is spheroidal weathering?

    <p>A form of chemical weathering that results in the formation of concentric or spherical layers of decayed rock.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is differential weathering?

    <p>The difference in degree of discoloration and disintegration of rocks exposed to the same environment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is regolith?

    <p>The layer of unconsolidated rocky material covering bedrock.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Define soil.

    <p>The upper layer of Earth where plants grow, consisting of organic remains, clay, and rock particles.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is soil texture?

    <p>A classification tool to determine soil classes based on their physical texture.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is parent material in soil science?

    <p>The underlying geological material where soil horizons form.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are soil horizons?

    <p>Layers in soil that have distinct physical characteristics compared to layers above and below.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Define soil profile.

    <p>A vertical section of soil from the ground surface to the underlying rock.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is eluviation?

    <p>The transport of soil material from upper layers to lower levels by downward precipitation of water.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Define leaching.

    <p>The process by which soluble chemicals drain away from soil by action of percolating liquid.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is solum?

    <p>The surface and subsoil layers that have undergone the same soil forming conditions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is soil taxonomy?

    <p>A system developed by the USDA for classifying soil types based on various parameters.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is secondary enrichment?

    <p>The process of taking metals and using them for economic value.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the angle of repose?

    <p>The steepest angle at which a sloping surface formed of a particular loose material is stable.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Define fall in geological terms.

    <p>When material goes off the rock.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are slides in geology?

    <p>When something slides off an area.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is flow in geological processes?

    <p>When something flows off an area.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a slump?

    <p>A form of mass wasting where a coherent mass of materials moves a short distance down a slope.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are rockslides?

    <p>An avalanche of rock.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a debris flow?

    <p>A moving mass of loose mud, sand, soil, rock, water, and air that travels down a slope.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are lahars?

    <p>Destructive mudflows on the slopes of a volcano.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an earthflow?

    <p>A downslope viscous flow of fine-grained materials that have been saturated with water.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is creep in materials science?

    <p>The tendency of a solid material to move slowly or deform permanently under stress.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is solifluction?

    <p>A special type of creep that occurs in areas of permafrost.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is permafrost?

    <p>A thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    External and Internal Processes

    • External processes occur outside the solid Earth, involving interactions with the atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere.
    • Internal processes take place within the Earth, including tectonics, mantle convection, and the generation of the magnetic field through the outer core.

    Weathering and Mass Wasting

    • Weathering refers to the alteration of rocks and minerals through exposure to atmospheric conditions.
    • Mass wasting, also called slope movement, involves the downslope movement of soil and rock due to gravity, influenced by moisture in various forms.

    Erosion and Types of Weathering

    • Erosion is the process by which materials are removed from one location and transported to another by natural agents like wind and water.
    • Mechanical weathering leads to physical disintegration of rocks without changing their chemical composition, while chemical weathering alters the rock through chemical reactions.

    Frost Wedging and Talus Slopes

    • Frost wedging occurs due to the expansion of freezing water, causing cracks in rocks to widen and accelerate weathering.
    • Talus slopes are accumulations of rock debris at the base of cliffs formed by mass wasting processes.

    Soil and its Characteristics

    • Soil is a natural resource composed of organic matter, clay, and rock particles, necessary for plant growth.
    • Soil texture classifies soils based on physical characteristics and plays a significant role in agriculture.

    Soil Formation and Horizons

    • Parent material is the underlying geological layer from which soil forms.
    • A soil horizon is a distinct layer of soil with unique physical properties, often categorized into three or four layers.

    Soil Science Terms

    • Eluviation refers to the downward transport of soil materials, while leaching is the removal of soluble materials due to percolating liquids.
    • Solum represents the upper layers of soil influenced by soil formation processes.

    Soil Taxonomy and Classification

    • USDA Soil Taxonomy classifies soil types based on various parameters, including physical and chemical properties, into hierarchical categories.

    Mass Wasting Dynamics

    • The angle of repose defines the steepest stable slope of loose material.
    • Different types of mass wasting include falls, slides, flows, slumps, rockslides, debris flows, and lahars, each characterized by specific movement behaviors.

    Other Relevant Concepts

    • Creep is a slow movement of solid materials under stress, and solifluction is a type of creep that happens in permafrost areas.
    • Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer of soil found mainly in polar regions, crucial for understanding certain ecological and geological processes.

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    Explore key concepts of weathering and geological processes through these flashcards. Learn the difference between external and internal processes that affect the Earth's surface. Ideal for students studying earth science or geology.

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