What is the definition of the word weathering

Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs in situ (on site, with little or no movement), and so is distinct from erosion, which involves the transport of rocks and minerals by agents such as water, ice, snow, wind, waves and gravity.

Weathering processes are divided into physical and chemical weathering. Physical weathering involves the breakdown of rocks and soils through the mechanical effects of heat, water, ice, or other agents. Chemical weathering involves the chemical reaction of water, atmospheric gases, and biologically produced chemicals with rocks and soils. Water is the principal agent behind both physical and chemical weathering,^[1] though atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide and the activities of biological organisms are also important.^[2] Chemical weathering by biological action is also known as biological weathering.^[3]

The materials left over after the rock breaks down combine with organic material to create soil. Many of Earth’s landforms and landscapes are the result of weathering processes combined with erosion and re-deposition. Weathering is a crucial part of the rock cycle, and sedimentary rock, formed from the weathering products of older rock, covers 66% of the Earth’s continents and much of its ocean floor.^[4]

Physical weathering[edit]

Physical weathering, also called mechanical weathering or disaggregation, is the class of processes that causes the disintegration of rocks without chemical change.Physical weathering involves the breakdown of rocks into smaller fragments through processes such as expansion and contraction, mainly due to temperature changes. Two types of physical breakdown are freeze-thaw weathering and thermal fracturing. Pressure release can also cause weathering without temperature change. It is usually much less important than chemical weathering, but can be significant in subarctic or alpine environments.^[5] Furthermore, chemical and physical weathering often go hand in hand. For example, cracks extended by physical weathering will increase the surface area exposed to chemical action, thus amplifying the rate of disintegration.^[6]

Frost weathering is the most important form of physical weathering. Next in importance is wedging by plant roots, which sometimes enter cracks in rocks and pry them apart. The burrowing of worms or other animals may also help disintegrate rock, as can «plucking» by lichens.^[7]

Frost weathering[edit]

Frost weathering is the collective name for those forms of physical weathering that are caused by the formation of ice within rock outcrops. It was long believed that the most important of these is frost wedging, which results from the expansion of pore water when it freezes. However, a growing body of theoretical and experimental work suggests that ice segregation, in which supercooled water migrates to lenses of ice forming within the rock, is the more important mechanism.^[8][9]

When water freezes, its volume increases by 9.2%. This expansion can theoretically generate pressures greater that 200 megapascals (29,000 psi), though a more realistic upper limit is 14 megapascals (2,000 psi). This is still much greater than the tensile strength of granite, which is about 4 megapascals (580 psi). This makes frost wedging, in which pore water freezes and its volumetric expansion fractures the enclosing rock, appear to be a plausible mechanism for frost weathering. However, ice will simply expand out of a straight, open fracture before it can generate significant pressure. Thus frost wedging can only take place in small, tortuous fractures.^[5] The rock must also be almost completely saturated with water, or the ice will simply expand into the air spaces in the unsaturated rock without generating much pressure. These conditions are unusual enough that frost wedging is unlikely to be the dominant process of frost weathering.^[10] Frost wedging is most effective where there are daily cycles of melting and freezing of water-saturated rock, so it is unlikely to be significant in the tropics, in polar regions or in arid climates.^[5]

Ice segregation is a less well characterized mechanism of physical weathering.^[8] It takes place because ice grains always have a surface layer, often just a few molecules thick, that resembles liquid water more than solid ice, even at temperatures well below the freezing point. This premelted liquid layer has unusual properties, including a strong tendency to draw in water by capillary action from warmer parts of the rock. This results in growth of the ice grain that puts considerable pressure on the surrounding rock,^[11] up to ten times greater than is likely with frost wedging. This mechanism is most effective in rock whose temperature averages just below the freezing point, −4 to −15 °C (25 to 5 °F). Ice segregation results in growth of ice needles and ice lenses within fractures in the rock and parallel to the rock surface, that gradually pry the rock apart.^[9]

Thermal stress[edit]

Thermal stress weathering results from the expansion and contraction of rock due to temperature changes. Thermal stress weathering is most effective when the heated portion of the rock is buttressed by surrounding rock, so that it is free to expand in only one direction.^[12]

Thermal stress weathering comprises two main types, thermal shock and thermal fatigue. Thermal shock takes place when the stresses are so great that the rock cracks immediately, but this is uncommon. More typical is thermal fatigue, in which the stresses are not great enough to cause immediate rock failure, but repeated cycles of stress and release gradually weaken the rock.^[12]

Thermal stress weathering is an important mechanism in deserts, where there is a large diurnal temperature range, hot in the day and cold at night.^[13] As a result, thermal stress weathering is sometimes called insolation weathering, but this is misleading. Thermal stress weathering can be caused by any large change of temperature, and not just intense solar heating. It is likely as important in cold climates as in hot, arid climates.^[12] Wildfires can also be a significant cause of rapid thermal stress weathering.^[14]

The importance of thermal stress weathering has long been discounted by geologists,^[5][9] based on experiments in the early 20th century that seemed to show that its effects were unimportant. These experiments have since been criticized as unrealistic, since the rock samples were small, were polished (which reduces nucleation of fractures), and were not buttressed. These small samples were thus able to expand freely in all directions when heated in experimental ovens, which failed to produce the kinds of stress likely in natural settings. The experiments were also more sensitive to thermal shock than thermal fatigue, but thermal fatigue is likely the more important mechanism in nature. Geomorphologists have begun to reemphasize the importance of thermal stress weathering, particularly in cold climates.^[12]

Pressure release[edit]

Pressure release or unloading is a form of physical weathering seen when deeply buried rock is exhumed. Intrusive igneous rocks, such as granite, are formed deep beneath the Earth’s surface. They are under tremendous pressure because of the overlying rock material. When erosion removes the overlying rock material, these intrusive rocks are exposed and the pressure on them is released. The outer parts of the rocks then tend to expand. The expansion sets up stresses which cause fractures parallel to the rock surface to form. Over time, sheets of rock break away from the exposed rocks along the fractures, a process known as exfoliation. Exfoliation due to pressure release is also known as sheeting.^[15]

As with thermal weathering, pressure release is most effective in buttressed rock. Here the differential stress directed towards the unbuttressed surface can be as high as 35 megapascals (5,100 psi), easily enough to shatter rock. This mechanism is also responsible for spalling in mines and quarries, and for the formation of joints in rock outcrops.^[16]

Retreat of an overlying glacier can also lead to exfoliation due to pressure release. This can be enhanced by other physical wearing mechanisms.^[17]

Salt-crystal growth [edit]

Salt crystallization (also known as salt weathering, salt wedging or haloclasty) causes disintegration of rocks when saline solutions seep into cracks and joints in the rocks and evaporate, leaving salt crystals behind. As with ice segregation, the surfaces of the salt grains draw in additional dissolved salts through capillary action, causing the growth of salt lenses that exert high pressure on the surrounding rock. Sodium and magnesium salts are the most effective at producing salt weathering. Salt weathering can also take place when pyrite in sedimentary rock is chemically weathered to iron(II) sulfate and gypsum, which then crystallize as salt lenses.^[9]

Salt crystallization can take place wherever salts are concentrated by evaporation. It is thus most common in arid climates where strong heating causes strong evaporation and along coasts.^[9] Salt weathering is likely important in the formation of tafoni, a class of cavernous rock weathering structures.^[18]

Biological effects on mechanical weathering[edit]

Living organisms may contribute to mechanical weathering, as well as chemical weathering (see § Biological weathering below). Lichens and mosses grow on essentially bare rock surfaces and create a more humid chemical microenvironment. The attachment of these organisms to the rock surface enhances physical as well as chemical breakdown of the surface microlayer of the rock. Lichens have been observed to pry mineral grains loose from bare shale with their hyphae (rootlike attachment structures), a process described as plucking, ^[15] and to pull the fragments into their body, where the fragments then undergo a process of chemical weathering not unlike digestion.^[19] On a larger scale, seedlings sprouting in a crevice and plant roots exert physical pressure as well as providing a pathway for water and chemical infiltration.^[7]

Chemical weathering[edit]

Most rock forms at elevated temperature and pressure, and the minerals making up the rock are often chemically unstable in the relatively cool, wet, and oxidizing conditions typical of the Earth’s surface. Chemical weathering takes place when water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other chemical substances react with rock to change its composition. These reactions convert some of the original primary minerals in the rock to secondary minerals, remove other substances as solutes, and leave the most stable minerals as a chemically unchanged resistate. In effect, chemical weathering changes the original set of minerals in the rock into a new set of minerals that is in closer equilibrium with surface conditions. However, true equilibrium is rarely reached, because weathering is a slow process, and leaching carries away solutes produced by weathering reactions before they can accumulate to equilibrium levels. This is particularly true in tropical environments.^[20]

Water is the principal agent of chemical weathering, converting many primary minerals to clay minerals or hydrated oxides via reactions collectively described as hydrolysis. Oxygen is also important, acting to oxidize many minerals, as is carbon dioxide, whose weathering reactions are described as carbonation.^[21]

The process of mountain block uplift is important in exposing new rock strata to the atmosphere and moisture, enabling important chemical weathering to occur; significant release occurs of Ca²⁺ and other ions into surface waters.^[22]

Dissolution[edit]

Dissolution (also called simple solution or congruent dissolution) is the process in which a mineral dissolves completely without producing any new solid substance.^[23] Rainwater easily dissolves soluble minerals, such as halite or gypsum, but can also dissolve highly resistant minerals such as quartz, given sufficient time.^[24] Water breaks the bonds between atoms in the crystal:^[25]

The overall reaction for dissolution of quartz is

SiO₂ + 2H₂O → H₄SiO₄

The dissolved quartz takes the form of silicic acid.

A particularly important form of dissolution is carbonate dissolution, in which atmospheric carbon dioxide enhances solution weathering. Carbonate dissolution affects rocks containing calcium carbonate, such as limestone and chalk. It takes place when rainwater combines with carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid, a weak acid, which dissolves calcium carbonate (limestone) and forms soluble calcium bicarbonate. Despite a slower reaction kinetics, this process is thermodynamically favored at low temperature, because colder water holds more dissolved carbon dioxide gas (due to the retrograde solubility of gases). Carbonate dissolution is therefore an important feature of glacial weathering.^[26]

Carbonate dissolution involves the following steps:

CO₂ + H₂O → H₂CO₃

carbon dioxide + water → carbonic acid

H₂CO₃ + CaCO₃ → Ca(HCO₃)₂

carbonic acid + calcium carbonate → calcium bicarbonate

Carbonate dissolution on the surface of well-jointed limestone produces a dissected limestone pavement. This process is most effective along the joints, widening and deepening them.^[27]

In unpolluted environments, the pH of rainwater due to dissolved carbon dioxide is around 5.6. Acid rain occurs when gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are present in the atmosphere. These oxides react in the rain water to produce stronger acids and can lower the pH to 4.5 or even 3.0. Sulfur dioxide, SO₂, comes from volcanic eruptions or from fossil fuels, can become sulfuric acid within rainwater, which can cause solution weathering to the rocks on which it falls.^[28]

Hydrolysis and carbonation[edit]

Hydrolysis (also called incongruent dissolution) is a form of chemical weathering in which only part of a mineral is taken into solution. The rest of the mineral is transformed into a new solid material, such as a clay mineral.^[29] For example, forsterite (magnesium olivine) is hydrolyzed into solid brucite and dissolved silicic acid:

Mg₂SiO₄ + 4 H₂O ⇌ 2 Mg(OH)₂ + H₄SiO₄

forsterite + water ⇌ brucite + silicic acid

Most hydrolysis during weathering of minerals is acid hydrolysis, in which protons (hydrogen ions), which are present in acidic water, attack chemical bonds in mineral crystals.^[30] The bonds between different cations and oxygen ions in minerals differ in strength, and the weakest will be attacked first. The result is that minerals in igneous rock weather in roughly the same order in which they were originally formed (Bowen’s Reaction Series).^[31] Relative bond strength is shown in the following table:^[25]

Bond	Relative strength
Si–O	2.4
Ti–O	1.8
Al–O	1.65
Fe+3–O	1.4
Mg–O	0.9
Fe+2–O	0.85
Mn–O	0.8
Ca–O	0.7
Na–O	0.35
K–O	0.25

This table is only a rough guide to order of weathering. Some minerals, such as illite, are unusually stable, while silica is unusually unstable given the strength of the silicon-oxygen bond.^[32]

Carbon dioxide that dissolves in water to form carbonic acid is the most important source of protons, but organic acids are also important natural sources of acidity.^[33] Acid hydrolysis from dissolved carbon dioxide is sometimes described as carbonation, and can result in weathering of the primary minerals to secondary carbonate minerals.^[34] For example, weathering of forsterite can produce magnesite instead of brucite via the reaction:

Mg₂SiO₄ + 2 CO₂ + 2 H₂O ⇌ 2 MgCO₃ + H₄SiO₄

forsterite + carbon dioxide + water ⇌ magnesite + silicic acid in solution

Carbonic acid is consumed by silicate weathering, resulting in more alkaline solutions because of the bicarbonate. This is an important reaction in controlling the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere and can affect climate.^[35]

Aluminosilicates containing highly soluble cations, such as sodium or potassium ions, will release the cations as dissolved bicarbonates during acid hydrolysis:

2 KAlSi₃O₈ + 2 H₂CO₃ + 9 H₂O ⇌ Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄ + 4 H₄SiO₄ + 2 K⁺ + 2 HCO₃⁻

orthoclase (aluminosilicate feldspar) + carbonic acid + water ⇌ kaolinite (a clay mineral) + silicic acid in solution + potassium and bicarbonate ions in solution

Oxidation[edit]

Within the weathering environment, chemical oxidation of a variety of metals occurs. The most commonly observed is the oxidation of Fe²⁺ (iron) by oxygen and water to form Fe³⁺ oxides and hydroxides such as goethite, limonite, and hematite. This gives the affected rocks a reddish-brown coloration on the surface which crumbles easily and weakens the rock. Many other metallic ores and minerals oxidize and hydrate to produce colored deposits, as does sulfur during the weathering of sulfide minerals such as chalcopyrites or CuFeS₂ oxidizing to copper hydroxide and iron oxides.^[36]

Hydration[edit]

Mineral hydration is a form of chemical weathering that involves the rigid attachment of water molecules or H+ and OH- ions to the atoms and molecules of a mineral. No significant dissolution takes place. For example, iron oxides are converted to iron hydroxides and the hydration of anhydrite forms gypsum.^[37]

Bulk hydration of minerals is secondary in importance to dissolution, hydrolysis, and oxidation,^[36] but hydration of the crystal surface is the crucial first step in hydrolysis. A fresh surface of a mineral crystal exposes ions whose electrical charge attracts water molecules. Some of these molecules break into H+ that bonds to exposed anions (usually oxygen) and OH- that bonds to exposed cations. This further disrupts the surface, making it susceptible to various hydrolysis reactions. Additional protons replace cations exposed in the surface, freeing the cations as solutes. As cations are removed, silicon-oxygen and silicon-aluminium bonds become more susceptible to hydrolysis, freeing silicic acid and aluminium hydroxides to be leached away or to form clay minerals.^[32][38] Laboratory experiments show that weathering of feldspar crystals begins at dislocations or other defects on the surface of the crystal, and that the weathering layer is only a few atoms thick. Diffusion within the mineral grain does not appear to be significant.^[39]

Biological weathering[edit]

Mineral weathering can also be initiated or accelerated by soil microorganisms. Soil organisms make up about 10 mg/cm³ of typical soils, and laboratory experiments have demonstrated that albite and muscovite weather twice as fast in live versus sterile soil. Lichens on rocks are among the most effective biological agents of chemical weathering.^[33] For example, an experimental study on hornblende granite in New Jersey, USA, demonstrated a 3x – 4x increase in weathering rate under lichen covered surfaces compared to recently exposed bare rock surfaces.^[40]

The most common forms of biological weathering result from the release of chelating compounds (such as certain organic acids and siderophores) and of carbon dioxide and organic acids by plants. Roots can build up the carbon dioxide level to 30% of all soil gases, aided by adsorption of CO₂ on clay minerals and the very slow diffusion rate of CO₂ out of the soil.^[41] The CO₂ and organic acids help break down aluminium- and iron-containing compounds in the soils beneath them. Roots have a negative electrical charge balanced by protons in the soil next to the roots, and these can be exchanged for essential nutrient cations such as potassium.^[42] Decaying remains of dead plants in soil may form organic acids which, when dissolved in water, cause chemical weathering.^[43] Chelating compounds, mostly low molecular weight organic acids, are capable of removing metal ions from bare rock surfaces, with aluminium and silicon being particularly susceptible.^[44] The ability to break down bare rock allows lichens to be among the first colonizers of dry land.^[45] The accumulation of chelating compounds can easily affect surrounding rocks and soils, and may lead to podsolisation of soils.^[46][47]

The symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi associated with tree root systems can release inorganic nutrients from minerals such as apatite or biotite and transfer these nutrients to the trees, thus contributing to tree nutrition.^[48] It was also recently evidenced that bacterial communities can impact mineral stability leading to the release of inorganic nutrients.^[49] A large range of bacterial strains or communities from diverse genera have been reported to be able to colonize mineral surfaces or to weather minerals, and for some of them a plant growth promoting effect has been demonstrated.^[50] The demonstrated or hypothesised mechanisms used by bacteria to weather minerals include several oxidoreduction and dissolution reactions as well as the production of weathering agents, such as protons, organic acids and chelating molecules.

Weathering on the ocean floor[edit]

Weathering of basaltic oceanic crust differs in important respects from weathering in the atmosphere. Weathering is relatively slow, with basalt becoming less dense, at a rate of about 15% per 100 million years. The basalt becomes hydrated, and is enriched in total and ferric iron, magnesium, and sodium at the expense of silica, titanium, aluminum, ferrous iron, and calcium.^[51]

Building weathering[edit]

Buildings made of any stone, brick or concrete are susceptible to the same weathering agents as any exposed rock surface. Also statues, monuments and ornamental stonework can be badly damaged by natural weathering processes. This is accelerated in areas severely affected by acid rain.^[52]

Accelerated building weathering may be a threat to the environment and occupant safety. Design strategies can moderate the impact of environmental effects, such as using of pressure-moderated rain screening, ensuring that the HVAC system is able to effectively control humidity accumulation and selecting concrete mixes with reduced water content to minimize the impact of freeze-thaw cycles. ^[53]

Properties of well-weathered soils[edit]

Granitic rock, which is the most abundant crystalline rock exposed at the Earth’s surface, begins weathering with destruction of hornblende. Biotite then weathers to vermiculite, and finally oligoclase and microcline are destroyed. All are converted into a mixture of clay minerals and iron oxides.^[31] The resulting soil is depleted in calcium, sodium, and ferrous iron compared with the bedrock, and magnesium is reduced 40% and silicon by 15%. At the same time, the soil is enriched in aluminium and potassium, by at least 50%; by titanium, whose abundance triples; and by ferric iron, whose abundance increases by an order of magnitude compared with the bedrock.^[54]

Basaltic rock is more easily weathered than granitic rock, due to its formation at higher temperatures and drier conditions. The fine grain size and presence of volcanic glass also hasten weathering. In tropical settings, it rapidly weathers to clay minerals, aluminium hydroxides, and titanium-enriched iron oxides. Because most basalt is relatively poor in potassium, the basalt weathers directly to potassium-poor montmorillonite, then to kaolinite. Where leaching is continuous and intense, as in rain forests, the final weathering product is bauxite, the principal ore of aluminium. Where rainfall is intense but seasonal, as in monsoon climates, the final weathering product is iron- and titanium-rich laterite. ^[55] Conversion of kaolinite to bauxite occurs only with intense leaching, as ordinary river water is in equilibrium with kaolinite.^[56]

Soil formation requires between 100 and 1,000 years, a very brief interval in geologic time. As a result, some formations show numerous paleosol (fossil soil) beds. For example, the Willwood Formation of Wyoming contains over 1,000 paleosol layers in a 770 meters (2,530 ft) section representing 3.5 million years of geologic time. Paleosols have been identified in formations as old as Archean (over 2.5 billion years in age). However, paleosols are difficult to recognize in the geologic record.^[57] Indications that a sedimentary bed is a paleosol include a gradational lower boundary and sharp upper boundary, the presence of much clay, poor sorting with few sedimentary structures, rip-up clasts in overlying beds, and desiccation cracks containing material from higher beds.^[58]

The degree of weathering of a soil can be expressed as the chemical index of alteration, defined as 100 Al₂O₃/(Al₂O₃ + CaO + Na₂O + K₂O). This varies from 47 for unweathered upper crust rock to 100 for fully weathered material.^[59]

Weathering of non-geological materials[edit]

Wood can be physically and chemically weathered by hydrolysis and other processes relevant to minerals, but in addition, wood is highly susceptible to weathering induced by ultraviolet radiation from sunlight. This induces photochemical reactions that degrade the wood surface.^[60] Photochemical reactions are also significant in the weathering of paint^[61] and plastics.^[62]

Gallery[edit]

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  Salt weathering of building stone on the island of Gozo, Malta

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  Weathering on a sandstone pillar in Bayreuth

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  Weathering effect on a sandstone statue in Dresden, Germany

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  Physical weathering of the pavements of Azad University Science and Research Branch, which is located in the heights of Tehran, the capital of Iran

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Other links[edit]

Last Update: Jan 03, 2023

This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested!

Asked by: Justyn Murazik

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Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms.

What is the best definition of weathering?

Weathering describes the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on the surface of the Earth. Water, ice, acids, salts, plants, animals, and changes in temperature are all agents of weathering.

What are the 3 types of weathering?

Weathering is the breakdown of rocks at the Earth’s surface, by the action of rainwater, extremes of temperature, and biological activity. It does not involve the removal of rock material. There are three types of weathering, physical, chemical and biological.

What are the 4 types of weathering?

There are four main types of weathering. These are freeze-thaw, onion skin (exfoliation), chemical and biological weathering. Most rocks are very hard. However, a very small amount of water can cause them to break.

What do you mean by weathering Class 7?

Weathering, either chemical or physical, causes large rocks to break into smaller pieces, particularly near the surface. The smaller rocks weather into a fine layer of particles at the surface.

45 related questions found

The Definition of Weathering

Types of Weathering and Their Results

Updated on October 01, 2018

Weathering is the gradual destruction of rock under surface conditions, dissolving it, wearing it away or breaking it down into progressively smaller pieces. Think of the Grand Canyon or the red rock formations scattered across the American Southwest. It may involve physical processes, called mechanical weathering, or chemical activity, called chemical weathering. Some geologists also include the actions of living things, or organic weathering. These organic weathering forces can be classified as mechanical or chemical or a combination of both.

Mechanical Weathering 

Mechanical weathering involves five major processes that physically break rocks down into sediment or particles: abrasion, crystallization of ice, thermal fracture, hydration shattering, and exfoliation. Abrasion occurs from grinding against other rock particles. Crystallization of ice can result in force sufficient enough to fracture rock. Thermal fracture may occur due to significant temperature changes. Hydration — the effect of water — predominantly affects clay minerals. Exfoliation occurs when rock is unearthed after its formation. 

Mechanical weathering does not just affect the earth. It can also affect some brick and stone buildings over time. 

Chemical Weathering

Chemical weathering involves the decomposition or decay of rock. This type of weathering doesn’t break rocks down but rather alters its chemical composition through carbonation, hydration, oxidation or hydrolysis. Chemical weathering changes the composition of the rock toward surface minerals and mostly affects minerals that were unstable in the first place. For example, water can eventually dissolve limestone. Chemical weathering can occur in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and it is an element of chemical erosion. 

Organic Weathering 

Organic weathering is sometimes called bioweathering or biological weathering. It involves factors such as contact with animals—when they dig in the dirt—and plants when their growing roots contact rock. Plant acids can also contribute to the dissolution of rock. 

Organic weathering isn’t a process that stands alone. It’s a combination of mechanical weathering factors and chemical weathering factors. 

The Result of Weathering 

Weathering can range from a change in color all the way to a complete breakdown of minerals into clay and other surface minerals. It creates deposits of altered and loosened material called residue that is ready to undergo transportation, moving across the earth’s surface when propelled by water, wind, ice or gravity and thus becoming eroded. Erosion means weathering plus transportation at the same time. Weathering is necessary for erosion, but a rock may weather without undergoing erosion. 

Last Updated:
9 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

1	0   0 Physical, chemical or biological breakdown of rocks and minerals into smaller sized particles.

2	0   0 Weathering The physical, chemical and biological processes that decompose rock at and below the surface of the Earth through low pressures and temperatures and the presence of air and water. Weathering includes [..]

3	0   0 Weathering Altération des roches

4	0   0 Weathering The process by which Earth materials change when exposed to conditions at or near the Earth’s surface and different from the ones under which they formed. compare decomposition , disintegration .

5	0   0 Weathering The process a rock or mineral may go through when exposed to air, water, pressure, or wind. Exposure to these elements may chemically affected rocks or minerals in one way or another.

6	0   0 Weathering the breaking down or dissolving of the Earth’s surface rocks and minerals. Read more in the NG Education Encyclopedia

7	0   0 Weathering The mechanical, chemical, or biological action of the atmosphere, hydrometeors, and suspended impurities on the form, color, or constitution of exposed material; to be distinguished from erosion. Mech [..]

8	0   0 Weathering n. The physical, chemical, and biological processes by which rock is broken down into smaller pieces.

9	0   0 Weathering When rocks are eroded or broken down by wind and rain

10	0   0 Weathering Weathering is the process which changes a material in time. Or, in architecture, the slope on a buttress to shed rainwater.

11	0   0 Weathering breakdown of rock in situ by physical and chemical processes due to the presence of water, plants and animals. Rates vary according to additional controls of temperature, rock type and time. (see phys [..]

12	0   0 Weathering the surface deterioration of a hose cover during outdoor exposure as shown by checking, cracking, crazing and chalking

13	0   0 Weathering "Making little ones out of big ones." Waethering includes the processes which mechanically and chemically break down the mountains into little pieces, so they can be eroded and trans [..]

14	0   0 Weathering Weathering is when rocks are worn down by natural elements, such as water, wind, or ice.

15	0   0 Weathering the process by which rocks are broken down and decomposed by the action of factors such as wind, rain, ice, sunshine and also by plants and bacteria. Weathering can alter a rock’s form, texture a [..]

16	0   0 Weathering Natural alteration by either chemical or mechanical processes due to the action of the atmosphere, surface waters, soil and other ground waters, or to temperature changes. Changes by weathering are no [..]

17	0   0 Weathering Changes on the surface of glass caused by chemical reaction with the environment. Weathering usually involves the leaching of alkali from the glass by water, leaving behind siliceous weathering products that are often laminar.

18	0   0 Weathering (n) — the process by which a rock is broken into smaller pieces

19	0   0 Weathering (also Stain) Attack of a glass surface by atmospheric elements.

20	0   0 Weathering A chemical or physical process in which rocks exposed to the weather are worn down by water, wind, or ice.

21	0   0 Weathering The physical disintegration and chemical decomposition of rock. [ return to top

22	0   0 Weathering Changes on the surface of glass caused by chemical reaction with the environment. Weathering usually involves the leaching of alkali from the glass by water, leaving behind siliceous weathering products that are often laminar.

23	0   0 Weathering The tendency of some o-ring seals to surface crack upon exposure to atmospheres containing ozone and other pollutants. Width: An o-ring cut at a 90 degree angle to the mold parting line. The cross sectional diameter of an o-ring. Back

24	0   0 Weathering The mechanical or chemical disintegration and discoloration of the surface of wood caused by exposure to light.  The action of dust and sand carried by winds and alternate shrinking and swelling of t [..]

25	0   0 Weathering the breakdown and decay of rock by its natural processes, without the involvement of any moving forces

26	0   0 Weathering Weathering is the wearing away of rocks. It can be weathering, biological or physical weathering.

27	0   0 Weathering the process by which water, wind, and ice break down rocks and other exposed surfaces into smaller pieces (sediments)

28	0   0 Weathering the chemical or physical break-down of rocks on the Earth’s surface

29	0   0 Weathering Sloping surface (to buttresses, hood-moulds, etc.) to throw off rain.    (Wood, Margaret. The English Medieval House, 416)

30	0   0 Weathering The breakdown and changes in rocks and sediments at or near the Earth’s surface produced by biological, chemical, and physical agents or combinations of them.

31	0   0 Weathering The processes that cause exposed rock to break down (Lesson 27)

32	0   0 Weathering The physical, chemical, and biological processes by which rock is changed and broken down. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z   — X —

33	0   0 Weathering Weathering includes two surface or near-surface processes that work in concert to decompose rocks. Both processes occur in place. No movement is involved in weathering. Chemical weathering

34	0   0 Weathering Weathering is the decomposition of rocks and soils at or near the Earth’s surface. See sections 2.3.2, 4.3.1, 4.3.2 and 5.3.2.

35	0   0 Weathering The surface deterioration of a hose cover during outdoor exposure, as shown by checking, cracking, crazing, and chalking.

36	0   0 Weathering Natural alteration by either chemical or mechanical processes due to the action of constituents of the atmosphere, soil, surface waters, and other ground waters, or by temperature changes.

37

0   0 Weathering The mechanical or chemical disintegration and discoloration of the surface of wood caused by exposure to light. The action of dust and sand carried by winds and alternate shrinking and swelling of the surface fibers with continual variation in moisture content due to changes in the weather. Also an inclined surface on a member such as a cornice or [..]

38	0   0 Weathering is the physical and chemical breakdown of rocks due to natural process.

39	0   0 Weathering The process during which a complex compound is reduced to its simpler component parts, transported via physical processes, or biodegraded over time.

40	0   0 Weathering Behavior of paint films when exposed to natural weather or accelerated weathering equipment, characterized by changes in color, texture, strength, chemical composition or other properties.

41	0   0 Weathering Passing to windward.

42	0   0 Weathering the natural processes by which the actions of atmospheric and other environmental agents, such as wind, rain, and temperture changes, result in the physical disintegration and chemical decomposition o [..]

43	0   0 Weathering A relative term used in sailing to define the action of one vessel which is eating to windward of another, thus, if a vessel is said to he weathering on another she is eating her out of the wind, or c [..]

44	0   0 Weathering The mechanical breakdown and chemical alteration of rocks and minerals at Earth’s surface during exposure to air, moisture, and organic matter.

45	0   0 Weathering The passive act of a mineral that was exposed from the earth and was chemically affected in one way or another, either by air, water, pressure, or wind.

46	0   0 Weathering The processes of chemical alteration and mechanical deterioration of rocks and minerals at or very near to the surface that is caused by exposure to air, water, acids, and mechanical stresses.

47	0   0 Weathering Physical disintegration and chemical decomposition of earthy and rocky materials on exposure to atmospheric agents, producing an in-place mantle of waste.

48	0   0 Weathering The destructive processes by which rocks are changed on exposure to atmospheric agents at or near the earth’s surface, with little or no transport of the loosened or altered material.

49	0   0 Weathering The destructive effects of air, wind, water or ice, by which rocks are changed in colour, texture, composition or form. Most weathering occurs at the surface, but it may take place deep under the surface as water and oxygen penetrates into rocks through joints.

50	0   0 Weathering The change in appearance of paint caused by exposure to nature. The physical disintegration and chemical decomposition of materials on exposure to atmospheric agents

51	0   0 Weathering the natural process by which atmospheric and environmental agents, such as wind, rain, and temperature changes, disintegrate and decompose rocks

52

0   0 Weathering The decay and breakup of rocks on the earth’s surface by natural chemical and mechanical processes. The mechanical action includes large changes of temperature, extreme temperatures, frost, or the impact of wind borne sand or water. Chemical action includes the chemical reactions between atmospheric constituents in a moist environments or in r [..]

53	0   0 Weathering The decay and breakup of rocks on the earth’s surface by natural chemical and mechanical processes. The mechanical action includes large changes of temperature, extreme temperatures, frost, or th [..]

54	0   0 Weathering The decay and breakup of rocks on the earth’s surface by natural chemical and mechanical processes. The mechanical action includes large changes of temperature

55

0   0 Weathering The decay and breakup of rocks on the earth’s surface by natural chemical and mechanical processes. The mechanical action includes large changes of temperature, extreme temperatures, frost, or the impact of wind borne sand or water. Chemical action includes the chemical reactions between atmospheric constituents in a moist environments or in rain [..]

56	0   0 Weathering The process during which a complex compound is reduced to its simpler component parts, transported via physical processes, or biodegraded over time.

57	0   0 Weathering (obsolete) Weather, especially favourable or fair weather. (geology) Mechanical or chemical breaking down of rocks in situ by weather or other causes. (architecture) A slight inclination given t [..]

58	0   0 Weathering The disintegration of rocks and minerals on the Earth’s surface in situ.

59	0   0 Weathering Physical and chemical processes by which rocks and minerals are broken down by such environmental agents as rain, wind, temperature changes, and biological influences.

60	0   0 Weathering Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soil, and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, water, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs i [..]

61	0   0 Weathering Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soil, and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, water, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs i [..]

62	0   0 Weathering Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soil, and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, water, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs i [..]

63	0   0 Weathering Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soil, and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, water, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs i [..]

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The best experience that we have on Earth is the fact that we have scientific stations, weathering over stations down in the Antarctic for almost the entire 20th century to learn how to exist in exceedingly hazardous conditions; and the Moon is far more hazardous than Antarctica. At least they have water there.

Edgar Mitchell

PRONUNCIATION OF WEATHERING

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF WEATHERING

Weathering is a noun.

WHAT DOES WEATHERING MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of weathering in the English dictionary

The definition of weathering in the dictionary is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of rocks by the action of rain, snow, cold, etc.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH WEATHERING

SYNONYMS OF «WEATHERING»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «weathering» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF WEATHERING

Find out the translation of weathering to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «WEATHERING»

The term «weathering» is quite widely used and occupies the 35.517 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of weathering

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «WEATHERING» OVER TIME

QUOTES WITH «WEATHERING»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word weathering.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «WEATHERING»

Discover the use of weathering in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to weathering and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «WEATHERING»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term weathering is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Weathering [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/weathering>. Apr 2023 ».

What Does Weathering Mean?

Weathering is breaking down rocks, soil, and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials by contacting the atmosphere, water, and biological organisms of the Earth. Weathering takes place in situ, i.e. in the same place, with little or no movement. It should therefore not be confused with erosion involving the movement of rocks and minerals by agents such as water, ice, snow, wind, waves and gravity, and then transported and deposited elsewhere.

There are two important weathering process classifications–physical and chemical weathering; each involves a biological component at times. Mechanical or physical weathering involves rock and soil breakdown by direct contact with atmospheric conditions such as heat, water, ice and pressure.

The second classification, chemical weathering, involves the direct effect in the breakdown of rocks, soils and minerals of atmospheric chemicals or biologically produced chemicals also known as biological weathering. While physical weathering is emphasized in very cold or very dry environments, where the climate is wet and hot, chemical reactions are most intense. Both types of weathering, however, take place together, and each tends to speed up the other.

How Rocks Are Weathered?

Once a rock is broken down, the bits of rock and mineral are carried away by a process called erosion. No rock on Earth is hard enough to resist weathering and erosion forces.

Weathering is often divided into mechanical weathering and weathering processes. Biological weathering may be part of both processes, in which living or once – living organisms contribute to weathering.

Physical Weathering

Physical weathering, also known as mechanical weathering or disaggregation, is the process class that causes rocks to disintegrate without chemical change. Abrasion (the process by which clasts and other particles are reduced in size) is the primary process in physical weathering.

Due to temperature, pressure, frost etc., physical weather may occur. For instance, cracks exploited by physical weathering will increase the surface area that is exposed to chemical action, thereby increasing the rate of disintegration.

Where does Physical Weathering occur?

In places where there is little soil and few plants grow, such as mountain regions and hot deserts, physical weathering occurs especially.

How does Physical Weathering occur?

Either by repeated melting and freezing of water (mountains and tundra) or by expanding and shrinking the surface layer of rocks baked by the sun (hot deserts).

Chemical Weathering

Chemical weathering changes rock composition, often transforming them into different chemical reactions when water interacts with minerals. Chemical weathering is a gradual and ongoing process as the rock mineralogy adjusts to the environment near the surface.

The rock’s original minerals develop new or secondary minerals. The oxidation and hydrolysis processes are most important in this. Chemical weathering is enhanced by geological agents such as water and oxygen, as well as biological agents such as microbial and plant-root metabolism acids.

Where does Chemical Weathering occur?

These chemical processes require water and occur faster at higher temperatures, so it is best to have warm, humid climates. The first stage in soil production is chemical weathering (especially hydrolysis and oxidation).

How does Chemical Weathering occur?

There are various types of chemical weathering, the most important of which is:

Solution

Removal of rock by acidic rainwater in solution. In particular, dissolved CO2-containing rainwater (this process is sometimes referred to as carbonation) weathers calestone.

Hydrolysis

Acidic water breakdown of rock producing clay and soluble salts.

Oxidation

Rock breakdown by oxygen and water, often giving a rusty – colored weathered surface to iron – rich rocks.

Biological Weathering

Biological weathering is the weakening and subsequent breakdown by plants, animals and microbes of rock.

Growing roots of plants can put stress or pressure on rock. Even though the process is physical, a biological process (i.e. growing roots) exerts the pressure. Biological processes can also produce chemical weathering, such as when organic acids are produced by plant roots or microorganisms that help dissolve minerals.

Microbial activity breaks down rock minerals by altering the chemical composition of the rock, making it more weather sensitive. One example of microbial activity is lichen ; lichen is a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae. Fungi release chemical substances that break down rock minerals ; the algae consume the minerals thus released from rock. Holes and gaps continue to develop on the rock as this process continues, exposing the rock to physical and chemical weathering.

Burrowing animals can move fragments of rock to the surface, exposing the rock to more intense chemical, physical, and biological processes, thereby indirectly enhancing the weathering process.

How Weathering Is Different From Erosion?

The main difference between weathering and erosion is that there is weathering whereas erosion involves moving to a new location. Both are caused by wind, water, ice, temperature, and even biological action similar factors. They can also take place together.

weath·er·ing

 (wĕth′ər-ĭng)

n.

Any of the chemical or mechanical processes by which objects exposed to the weather are worn or broken down.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

weathering

(ˈwɛðərɪŋ)

n

(Physical Geography) the mechanical and chemical breakdown of rocks by the action of rain, snow, cold, etc

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

weath•er•ing

(ˈwɛð ər ɪŋ)

n.

the process by which various natural agents, as wind and water, act upon exposed rock, causing it to disintegrate to sand and soil.

[1655–65]

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

weathering

The decay and break up of rocks on the Earth’s surface by natural chemical and mechanical processes.

Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited