Transcript Weathering and Erosion PowerPoint

Erosion and Weathering
What is erosion?
•
(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or
grinding something down (as by particles washing
over it)
•
The wearing away of the earth’s surface by
natural processes
•
corrosion: erosion by chemical action
Types of Erosion
•
•
•
•
•
Water
Wind
Glacier
Soil
Sea
Water
•
Occurs from chemicals in the water and the
force and flow of water
•
Chemicals break down certain rocks like
limestone or chalk
•
Force of water creates cracks and
crevasses
•
These get bigger and bigger as it gets
eroded, particles of the rock get carried in
the water and further aid erosion
Wind
•
The wind picks up smaller particles of rock
(pebbles and sand)
•
These hit landforms and take pieces off
them
•
This friction causes the break up of
landforms
Glacier Erosion
•
What is a GLACIER?:
A huge mass of ice slowly flowing over a land mass,
formed from compacted snow in an area where snow
accumulation exceeds melting
•
•
•
These large bodies of ice that pick up rocks
and earth and erode the earth’s surface
Powerful eroding machine, picking up pieces
of rock the size of houses in some places
Glaciers are so powerful they can carve
valleys and create landforms
Sea Erosion
•
Salts and other chemicals in the water erode
coastal rocks
•
These are dragged out to sea and deposited
in other areas (Long shore Drift)
•
Wave power creates erosion. Also particles
of rock and sediment aid to the erosion
process
Soil Erosion
•
Biggest problem for farmers
•
Wind and rain remove topsoil and nutrients
•
Makes the soil infertile and it breaks up
leaving dongas
TASK
Compare and Contrast weathering and erosion in a Venn Diagram.
Write at least 5 sentences of today’s learning.