EMILIO AGUINALDO COLLEGE

1113-1117 San Marcelino St., Paco, Manila 1007, Philippines

ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED

QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

COLLABORATIVE MODULE IN
EARTH SCIENCE

Ms. Sofia Karen C. Traje

[email protected]
 EMILIO AGUINALDO COLLEGE
1113-1117 San Marcelino St., Paco, Manila 1007, Philippines
Tel. Nos. (02) 521-2710 www.eac.edu.ph
`

TOPIC EXOGENIC PROCESS

SUB-TOPICS
• Weathering
• Mass Wasting

Learning Objectives:

• Differentiate Exogenic processes from Endogenic processes

• Explain the processes involved in weathering by applying it to the Rock Cycle;
and;
• Describe the mass wasting, erosion, and deposition

INTRODUCTION
Geological processes are dynamic processes at work in the Earth’s land from and surfaces

Geological Processes

Two types of Geological Processes

• EXOGENIC PROCESSES- are interconnected with the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere
and it includes the processes of weathering, erosion transportation and deposition. This
means that anything that happens outside the Earth’s core such as force of gravity, energy
from the sun, heating of things, and more.
• ENDOGENIC PROCESSES - are the processes of internal origin. It takes place inside the globe
and are started by the forces of the Earth. Earthquakes and volcanic activities are examples
of Endogenic processes.

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EXOGENIC PROCESSES
Weathering - is the action of elements of weather and climate over earth material.
• It can be defined as mechanical disintegration and chemical decomposition of rocks through the
actions of various elements of weather and climate.
• When rocks undergo weathering, some minerals are removed through chemical/ physical leaching
by ground water and thereby the concentration of remaining (valuable) minerals increase.
• Weathering can be classified as – physical, chemical, and biological:

A. PHYSICAL / MECHANICAL WEATHERING

• Physical or mechanical weathering processes depend on some applied forces.
• The applied forces could be:
(I) gravitational forces such as
overburden pressure, load,
and shearing
stress.
(II) expansion force due to
temperature changes, crystal
growth or animal activity.
(III) water pressure controlled by
wetting and drying cycles.

• Causes: Most of the physical

weathering is caused by thermal
expansion and pressure.
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/weathering

TYPES OF PHYSICAL WEATHERING:

1. 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.
• Exfoliation is a result but not a process. Flaking off of more or less curved sheets of shells from
over rocks or bedrocks results in smooth and rounded surfaces.
• So, unloading and expansion create large, smooth rounded domes called exfoliation domes.

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 2. 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.

3. 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.

4. SALT WEATHERING:

• Salts in rocks expand due to thermal action,

hydration, and crystallization.
• Many salts like calcium, sodium, magnesium,
potassium, and barium tend to expand.
• The expansion depends on temperature and
their thermal properties. High temperature
ranges between 30-50 0C of surface
temperatures in desert favors such salt
expansions.
• Salt crystallization is the most effective of all
salt weathering processes. It is favored in areas
of alternative wetting and drying condition

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B. CHEMICAL WEATHERING
Chemical weathering can be due to solution, carbonation, hydration, or oxidation/reduction.

1. SOLUTION:
• When something is dissolved in water or
acids, the water or acid with dissolved
content is called as a 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

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 4. OXIDATION AND REDUCTION:
• In weathering, oxidation means a combination of
a mineral with oxygen to form oxides or hydroxides.
• Minerals most involved in this are iron,
manganese, sulfur etc.
• The red color 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.

C. BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING
• This kind of weathering 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
e.g. roots grow on joints of rocks then expands, pushing the rocks
apart and letting chemical processes to occur; fungi and lichen
secrete organic acids and take in nutrients, which dissolve the
minerals in rocks

WEATHERING IN ROCK CYCLE

Rocks are hard and strong, but they do not stay

that way forever. Forces like wind and water
break down rocks through the processes of
weathering and erosion. Weathering is the
process that breaks down rocks. Many things
cause weathering, including climate changes.
Erosion breaks rocks down further and then
moves them. Forces like wind and water move
the rock pieces. They mix with matter like sand to
become sediment. Weathering and erosion help
shape Earth’s surface. They are part of a Rocks
are hard and strong, but they do not stay that way forever. Forces like wind and water break down
rocks through the processes of weathering and erosion. Weathering is the process that breaks down
rocks. Many things cause weathering, including climate changes. Erosion breaks rocks down further
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and then moves them. Forces like wind and water move the rock pieces. They mix with matter like
sand to become sediment. Weathering and erosion help shape Earth’s surface. They are part of a
process called the rock cycle.

MASS WASTING
- is defined as the down slope movement of rock and regolith near the Earth's surface mainly due to
the force of gravity.
- These movements transfer the mass of rock debris down the slope under the direct influence of
gravity.
- Mass movements are very active over weathered slopes rather than over unweathered slopes.
- Mass movements are classified into slow movements and rapid movements.

TYPES OF MASS-WASTING PROCESSES

The down-slope movement
of material, whether it be
bedrock, regolith, or a
mixture of these, is
commonly referred to as a
landslide. All these
processes generally grade
into one another, so
classification of such
processes is somewhat
difficult. We will use the
classification in your
textbook, dividing mass-
wasting processes into two
broad categories.
1. Slope Failures - a sudden failure of the slope resulting in transport of debris downhill by sliding,
rolling, falling, or slumping.
2. Sediment Flows - debris flows downhill mixed

SLOPE FAILURES
Slumps - types of slides wherein downward rotation of
rock or regolith occurs along a concave-upward curved
surface. The upper surface of each slump block
remains relatively undisturbed, as do the individual
blocks. Slumps leave arcuate scars or depressions on
the hill slope. Slumps can be isolated or may occur in
large complexes covering thousands of square meters
process called the rock cycle.

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SEDIMENT FLOWS - occur when sufficient force is applied to rocks and regolith that they begin to flow
down slope. A sediment flow is a mixture of rock, and/or regolith with some water or air. They can be
broken into two types depending on the amount of water present.

Slurry Flows- are sediment flows that contain between about 20 and 40% water. As the water content
increases above about 40% slurry flow grade into streams. Slurry flows are considered water-
saturated flows.

Granular Flows- are sediment flows that contain between 0 and 20% water. Note that granular flows
are possible with little or no water. Fluid-like behavior is given these flows by mixing with air. Granular
flows are not saturated with water.

EROSION AND DEPOSITION

Erosion is a process of geological denudation, which involves the breakdown and transport of rock
materials. Agents of erosion are water, wind, ice, and gravity.

1. Erosion by Water – erosion by water

changes the shape of coastline. Waves
constantly crash against
shores. They pound rocks into pebbles and
reduce pebbles into sand.

2. Erosion by Wind- erosion by wind carries

dust, sand, and volcanic ash from one place to
another.
Wind can sometimes blow sand into towering
dunes.

3. Erosion by Ice – erosion by ice can erode the land. In frigid areas and mountaintops, glaciers move
slowly downhill and across the land. As they move, they pick up everything in their path from tiny
grains of sands to huge boulders.

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4. Erosion by Gravity- gravity pulls any bits down the side of a hill or mountain.

Deposition - Deposition is a consequence of erosion. The erosional agents lose their velocity and
energy on gentle slopes and materials carried by them start to settle themselves.
- Deposition is not the work of any agents. It is just the result of erosion.

1. Water Deposition- where a river meets the ocean is called the mouth of the river. Soil carried by a
river is deposited at the mouth and new land is formed. This new soil rich land is known as a delta.
2. Wind Deposition- Sand dunes are large deposits of sand dropped when the wind stops blowing.
The location of the sand dunes shifts frequently.
3. Ice Deposition – When glaciers melt, they drop or deposit the rocks they were carrying. Glaciers
pick up rocks and dirt that travel along with the glacier until it eventually melts and is left behind as
till.

SUMMARY
• EXOGENIC PROCESSES- are interconnected with the atmosphere, hydrosphere and
biosphere and it includes the processes of weathering, erosion transportation and
deposition. This means that anything that happens outside the Earth’s core such as
force of gravity, energy from the sun, heating of things, and more.
• ENDOGENIC PROCESSES - are the processes of internal origin. It takes place inside the
globe and are started by the forces of the Earth. Earthquakes and volcanic activities
are examples of Endogenic processes.

REFERENCES

• Exploring Life Through Science Series: Earth Science

• https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/weathering

• https://www.brainkart.com/article/Mass-Wasting-and-Types-of-Mass-
Wasting_33781/