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Exogenic Process Handouts

Exogenic processes are geological phenomena that occur externally on Earth's surface, including weathering and mass movements. Weathering involves mechanical and chemical breakdown of rocks through elements like temperature changes, frost wedging, solution, carbonation, and oxidation. Mass movements transfer rock debris downslope due to gravity, including slow movements like creep and solifluction, and rapid movements such as landslides, debris flows, and avalanches. Erosion transports rock debris using agents like water, wind, waves, and glaciers, while deposition occurs when erosional agents lose energy on gentle slopes and materials settle.

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MG Gadon
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205 views

Exogenic Process Handouts

Exogenic processes are geological phenomena that occur externally on Earth's surface, including weathering and mass movements. Weathering involves mechanical and chemical breakdown of rocks through elements like temperature changes, frost wedging, solution, carbonation, and oxidation. Mass movements transfer rock debris downslope due to gravity, including slow movements like creep and solifluction, and rapid movements such as landslides, debris flows, and avalanches. Erosion transports rock debris using agents like water, wind, waves, and glaciers, while deposition occurs when erosional agents lose energy on gentle slopes and materials settle.

Uploaded by

MG Gadon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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EARTH MINERALS AND PROCESSES:

EXOGENIC PROCESSES
Exogenic Process- or denudation- to strip off/ uncover, include
geological phenomena and processes that originally happen externally on
the earth’s surface. Their rate and activity often depends on local conditions
and can be sped up by human activities.

Geomorphic agents- elements of nature capable of doing these


processes

DIFFERENT TYPES:
WEATHERING- mechanical disintegration and chemical decomposition of
rocks through the actions of various elements of weather and climate.

 Physical /Mechanical – depend on some applied forces . Most of the physical


weathering are caused by thermal expansion and pressure.

i. Unloading and Expansion-

 Removal of overlying rock load because of continued erosion


causes vertical pressure release.
 Thus, the upper layers of the remaining rock expand to produce
disintegration of rock masses.
 Fractures will develop roughly parallel to the ground surface.
 In areas of curved ground surfaces, arched fractures tend to
produce massive sheets or exfoliated slabs.
ii. Temperature Changes and Expansion-
 With rising in temperature, every mineral expands and pushes
against its neighbor and as the temperature falls, a corresponding
contraction takes place.
 Due to differential heating and the resulting expansion and
contraction of surface layers and their subsequent exfoliation
from the surface results in smooth rounded surfaces in rocks.
 In rock like granites, smooth surfaced and rounded small to big
boulders called tors form due to such exfoliation.

iii. Freezing, Thawing and Frost Wedging-

 Cycles of freezing and thawing (the weather becomes warmer and


causes snow and ice to melt) causes frost weathering.
 It is most effective at high elevations in mid-latitude where
freezing and melting is often repeated.
 Rapid freezing of water causes its sudden expansion and high
pressure. The resulting expansion affects joints, cracks, and small
intergranular fractures to become wider and wider till the rock
breaks apart.

iv. Salt Weathering-

 Salts in rocks expand due to thermal action, hydration and


crystallization.
 Many salts like calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium and
barium have a tendency to expand.
 Salt crystallization is the most effective of all salt weathering
processes. It is favoured in areas of alternative wetting and drying
conditions.

 Chemical- due to solution, carbonation, hydration or oxidation/reduction.


i. Solution-

 This process involves removal of solids in solution and depends


upon the solubility of a mineral in water or weak acids.
 When coming contact with water, many solids disintegrate and mix
up as a suspension in water.
 Soluble rock forming minerals like nitrates, sulphates, potassium
etc are affected by this process.
 Common salt is also a rock forming mineral and is susceptible to
this process of solution.

ii. Carbonation-
 Carbonation is the reaction of carbonate and bicarbonate with
minerals and is common process helping to break down of
feldspar and carbonate minerals.
 Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and soil air is absorbed by
water to form carbonic acid that acts as a weak acid.
 Calcium carbonates and magnesium carbonates are dissolved in
carbonic acid and are removed in a solution without leaving any
residue resulting in cave formation.

iii. Hydration

 Hydration is the chemical addition of water.


 Minerals take up water and expand; this expansion causes an
increase in the volume of the material itself or rock.
 The process is reversible and long, continued repetition of this
process causes fatigue in the rocks and may lead to their
disintegration.

iv. Oxidation and Reduction

 In weathering, oxidation means a combination of a mineral with


oxygen to form oxides or hydroxides.
 The red colour of the iron upon oxidation turns to brown and
yellow.
 In this process of oxidation, rock breakdown occurs due to the
disturbance caused by the addition of oxygen.
 When oxidized minerals are placed in an environment where
oxygen is absent, reduction takes place.

 Biological- is caused by several biological activities like growth or movements


of organisms. They also bring conditions for physical or chemical weathering.
Grazing of animals, ploughing by human beings etc are examples of
biological weathering.

MASS MOVEMENTS- These movements transfer the mass of rock debris


down the slope under the direct influence of gravity.

 Slow Movements:
i. Creep-
 It occurs on moderate steep, soil-covered slopes (doesn’t need
to be lubricated with water as in solifluction).
 The movement is extremely slow and imperceptible except
through extended observation.

ii. Solifluction-
 It is the process of slow downslope flowing of soil mass or fine-
grained rock debris saturated or lubricated with water.
 It mainly occurs in permafrost regions as the layers of ground
water are occupied in between permanently frozen soil and
rocks.

 Rapid Movements:

i. Earthflow-Movement of water:saturated clayey or silty earth materials


down low angle terraces or hillsides is called earthflow
ii. Mudflow-In the absence of vegetation and cover and with heavy
rainfall, thick layers of weathered materials get saturated with
water and either slow or rapidly flow down along definite
channels is called as mudflow.
iii. Debris Avalanche- It is more in humid regions with or without
vegetation. It occurs in narrow tracks on sleep slopes and is
similar to snow avalanche.
iv. Landslides-the materials involved are relatively dry irrespective of the
above said rapid mass movements.

 Slump: It is a type of landslide in which slipping of several units


of rock debris occurs with a backward rotation with respect to
the slope over which the movement takes place.
 Debris slide: In this type of landslide, there is no backward
rotation. The fall is almost vertical.
 Rock slide: It is nothing but the slide of individual rock masses.

EROSION- the acquisition and transportation of rock debris by geomorphic


agents like running water, ground water, the wind, waves, currents and glaciers.

DEPOSITION- is a consequence of erosion. The erosional agents loose their


velocity and energy on gentle slopes and materials carried by them start to settle
themselves.

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