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Weathering
As the processes of plate tectonics build-up land features on Earth, the processes of weathering break-down land features.
Weathering is the process of breaking down rocks and minerals.
The rate of weathering (how fast weathering occurs) depends on 3 factors.
The type of rock/mineral (some rocks are more resistant than others)
The climate/weather (warmer, wet climates will cause more weathering)
Surface area (the more surface area that is exposed, the faster the rock will weather)
Two Types of Weathering
Physical Weathering
- Also called mechanical weathering.
Water can knock rocks against each other or wear away rocks through abrasion
Wave action can wear away land features
Ice/Frost wedging increases the size of cracks in rocks as water freezes and expands
Biological weathering occurs from root wedging of plants and burrowing animals
Wind causes abrasion as sand blows up against rocks
Chemical Weathering
- When chemical reactions occurs and change the compounds within rocks
Oxygen within the atmosphere causes oxidation of rocks and minerals (rusting of rocks/minerals with iron)
Acid precipitation speeds up chemical weathering
Biological weathering occurs as acids are produced by many plant and fungal species (especially lichens). Carbon dioxide produced by microscopic organisms can also react with rocks and cause chemical weathering
Erosion
The moving of sediment from where it was weathered to a different location by wind, water, ice, organisms, or gravity
Streams, rivers, and oceans move vast amounts of sediment. Glaciers can slowly move sediment. Wind can blow sediment.
Urban development can speed up erosion as flooding increases when water is blocked from absorbing into the ground over large areas by roads, buildings, and parking lots.
Urbanization
Urbanization involves expansion of urban related areas and conversion of natural physical landscape to more economic land uses.
The term "urbanization" refers to the overall increase in population and the extent to which a community has been industrialized. It entails an increase in the number and size of cities. It also represents the migration of people from rural to urban places.
Urbanization is caused by an increase in the size and density of urban areas. Environmental degradation has been occurring at a rapid pace, as a result, numerous difficulties such as land insecurity, pollution of water resources, excessive air pollution, noise, and waste disposal issues happen.
How Physical Weathering due to Urbanization and Industrialization speeds Erosion
The way humans have used land and exploited its resources over time is a serious problem as it has altered land cover and impacted the functioning of the ecosystem. Its impacts can be seen in forms of uncontrolled development, deteriorating environmental quality, the loss of prime agricultural areas, the degradation of wetlands, and the loss of fish and wildlife habitats everywhere on the earth. Urbanization is among the most evident manifestations of human impact on the Earth's system. The process of urbanization produces radical changes in the nature of the surface and atmospheric properties of a region, because the natural vegetation is removed and replaced by non-evaporating and non-transpiring surfaces such as metal, asphalt and concrete. Also water holding capacity of the soil decreases and runoff rate increases which in turn leads to soil erosion.
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