Types of Weathering

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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 the stress on the rock will increase which will make the cracks on the rock even more wider until the rock can’t hold the cracked rock anymore longer which means the rock will break and a rock fragment will missing from the rock like the diagram shows. Freeze thaw weathering is mostly going to happen in places where it rains a lot and there is a large variation in the temperature so places like the desert can’t have freeze thaw weathering as there is no water there.  

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This is an example of freeze thaw weathering. The constant process of freezing and thawing had lead to the rock to crack as it shows on the diagram on the left.

Onion Skin weathering (exfoliation)

Onion skin weathering is a physical weathering which is also known as a mechanical weathering which makes the outer layer of the rock peel away. Onion skin weathering is when the rock is heated but only the outer layer of the rock is affected as rock is a poor conductor of heat. The heat causes the rock to expand but ...

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