Types of Weathering

The first 200 words of this essay...

Weathering

Weathering is when rocks start to break or decay which is caused by nature like acidic rain or the change of temperature.

Freeze Thaw Weathering

Freeze Thaw weathering is a physical (also know as mechanical weathering) weathering which cracks parts of the rocks. Physical weathering is when it breaks a rock without chemicals. Freeze Thaw weathering is also known as frost shattering because of it's actions as when water leaks into a crack in a rock, the water can freeze in night and thaw in the morning as you can see on the diagram on the right which explains this. The temperature has to constantly rise and decrease or this process will fail as the repetition of this process is what that breaks the rock. As the water freezes in the night the rock will expand which creates stress on the rock (also because of the minerals expanding in different rates) which will make the cracks wider and wider. Soon the temperature will rise and therefore the ice will thaw making the water go more into the rock as the cracks gets wider and the rock contracts. After the this repetitive process keeps going on