EXOGENIC PROCESS

 The processes which occur

on earth’s surface due to the
influence of exogenic forces
are called as exogenic
processes or exogenic
EXOGENIC
geomorphic processes.
PROCESS OR
DENUDATION  All the exogenic processes
are covered under a general
term denudation, which
means strip off or uncover.
 o Weathering
4 MAIN o Mass wasting
EXOGENIC
PROCESS
o Erosion
o Deposition
  It is the action of elements of
weather and climate over earth
material.
 It can be defined mechanical
disintegration and chemical
decomposition of rocks through
the actions of various elements
WEATHERING 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.
 1. 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
CLASSIFICATIONS stress; (ii) expansion force due
OF WEATHERING to temperature changes, crystal growth
or animal activity; (iii) water
pressure controlled by wetting and
drying cycles.
• Causes: Most of the physical
weathering are caused by thermal
expansion and pressure.
 A) 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.
PHYSICAL/ • Fractures will develop roughly parallel to
the ground surface.
MECHANICAL • In areas of curved ground surfaces, arched
WEATHERING 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.
 B) TEMPERATURE CHANGES AND
EXPANSION:
• With rising in temperature, every
mineral expands and pushes against
its neighbor and as the temperature
falls, a corresponding contraction
PHYSICAL/ takes place.
MECHANICAL • Due to differential heating and the
WEATHERING 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.
 C) FREEZING, THAWING AND FROST
WEDGING:
• Cycles of freezing and thawing (the
weather becomes warmer and causes
snow and ice to melt) causes frost
PHYSICAL/ weathering.
• It is most effective at high elevations in
MECHANICAL mid-latitude where freezing and
WEATHERING 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.
 2. Chemical weathering
• Chemical weathering can be due to
solution, carbonation, hydration or
oxidation/reduction.
• Caused by rain water reacting with the
CLASSIFICATIONS mineral grains in rocks to form new
OF WEATHERING minerals (clays) and soluble salts.
These reactions occur particularly
when the water is slightly acidic.
 A.) 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
CHEMICAL solubility of a mineral in water or weak
acids.
WEATHERING • 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.
• This kind of weathering mainly occurs
in a rainy.
 B) CARBONATION:
• Carbonation is the reaction of
carbonate and bicarbonate with
minerals and is common process
helping to break down of feldspar and
carbonate minerals.
CHEMICAL • Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
WEATHERING 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.
 C) HYDRATION:
• Hydration is the chemical addition of
water.
• Minerals take up water and expand;
this expansion causes an increase in
CHEMICAL the volume of the material itself or
WEATHERING rock.
• The process is reversible and long,
continued repetition of this process
causes fatigue in the rocks and may
lead to their disintegration.
 3. Biological weathering
• Is the weakening and subsequent
disintegration of rock by plants,
animals and microbes.
• This kind of weathering is caused by
several biological activities like growth
CLASSIFICATIONS or movements of organisms.
OF WEATHERING • They also bring conditions for physical
or chemical weathering.
• Grazing of animals, ploughing by
human beings etc are examples of
biological weathering.
 • 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
MASS unweathered slopes.
• Usual geographic agents like running
movements water, glaciers, wind, waves etc do not
have much role to play in mass
movements, and it is the gravity,
which is the main driving force.
• Mass movements are classified into
slow movements and rapid
movements.
CLASSIFICATIONS 1. SLOW MASS MOVEMENTS
OF MASS
MOVEMENTS A) 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. We might notice that some
of the electric posts in our region which
are posted in sloppy areas deviated from
their horizontal linearity. This is an effect
of creep.
CLASSIFICATIONS 1. SLOW MASS MOVEMENTS
OF MASS B) SOLIFLUCTION:
MOVEMENTS It is the process of slow downslope
flowing of soil mass or fine-grained rock
debris saturated or lubricated with
water. It can be said as a type of creep
with lubricated water influences the
movement. It mainly occurs in
permafrost regions as the layers of
ground water are occupied in between
permanently frozen soil and rocks
 1. RAPID MASS MOVEMENTS

A) EARTHFLOW:
Movement of water-saturated clayey or
silty earth materials down low angle
terraces or hillsides is called earthflow
B) MUDFLOW:
In the absence of vegetation and cover
CLASSIFICATIONS and with heavy rainfall, thick layers of
OF MASS weathered materials get saturated with
MOVEMENTS water and either slow or rapidly flow
down along definite channels is called as
mudflow.
C) 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.
 D) LANDSLIDES:
In landslides, the materials involved are
relatively dry irrespective of the above
said rapid mass movements. Landslides
can be classified into slump, debris slide,
rock slide etc.
• Slump: It is a type of landslide in
CLASSIFICATIONS
which slipping of several units of rock
OF MASS debris occurs with a backward rotation
MOVEMENTS 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 is the acquisition and
transportation of rock debris by
geomorphic agents like running water,
the wind, waves etc.
• Though weathering aids erosion, it is
not a pre-condition for erosion to
EROSION takes place. (i.e., erosion can take
place in unweathered conditions also)
AND • Deposition is a consequence of
DEPOSITION erosion. The erosional agents loose
their velocity and energy on gentle
slopes and materials carried by them
start to settle themselves.
• Note: Deposition is not the work of
any agents. It is just the end result of
erosion.