How does erosion make more soil? How is wind erosion different from glacier erosion? How is wind erosion different from water erosion? Why can soil erosion lead to a malnourished population?

Terms in this set (13)

• How is weathering different from erosion?
• How is mechanical weathering different from chemical weathering?
• How does water mechanically weather rocks?
• How does abrasion change the shape of rocks?
• Why is water considered the “most important” cause of weathering?
• What causes acid rain?

Erosion is the process by which the surface of the Earth gets worn down. The key to erosion is something called “fluid flow.” Water, air, and even ice are fluids because they tend to flow from one place to another due to the force of gravity.

Gravity causes abrasion as a rock tumbles down a mountainside or cliff. Moving water causes abrasion as particles in the water collide and bump against one another.

Weathering is the mechanical and chemical hammer that breaks down and sculpts the rocks. Erosion transports the fragments away. Working together they create and reveal marvels of nature from tumbling boulders high in the mountains to sandstone arches in the parched desert to polished cliffs braced against violent seas.

* QUESTION: What is soil erosion? ANSWER: Erosion is the movement of soil by wind, water or ice (glaciers).

A weathering test is a system for determining weathering characteristics of materials and coatings. Weathering testing is used to improve product durability and is also a tool for decision making. Such tests can be used to predict durability or to monitor changes in mechanical properties during weathering of materials.

What is the difference between weathering and erosion? Weathering is the process of decomposing, breaking up, or changing the color of rocks. So, if a rock is changed or broken but stays where it is, it is called weathering. If the pieces of weathered rock are moved away, it is called erosion.

Deposition is the laying down of sediment carried by wind, flowing water, the sea or ice. Sediment can be transported as pebbles, sand and mud, or as salts dissolved in water. Salts may later be deposited by organic activity (e.g. as sea shells) or by evaporation.

Liquid water
Liquid water is the major agent of erosion on Earth. Rain, rivers, floods, lakes, and the ocean carry away bits of soil and sand and slowly wash away the sediment.

Weathering is called the preparation for erosion because weathering breaks larger rocks into pieces that are small enough to erode away.

Erosion relies on transporting agents such as wind, rivers, ice, snow and downward movement of materials to carry weathered products away from the source area. As weathered products are carried away, fresh rocks are exposed to further weathering. Over time, that mountain or hill is gradually worn down.

The main difference between Weathering and Erosion is that Weathering means a change in wind or temperature, whereas Erosion means movement rock, soil, etc. to a new location. Weathering occurs in a specific place.

Physical and chemical are the two types of weathering. How does deforestation speed up the process of erosion? Soil is held in place by trees and other plants. Deforestation removes the trees from an area, leaving the soil without that anchor. This causes the soil to be more susceptible to erosion.

But processes of weathering and erosion affect us in grander ways too because they are some of the basic forces that shape the face of our planet. They wear down mountains and fill in valleys; they are why the seas are salty and the land is clothed with life-giving soil.

Weathering and erosion are similar in that they both work together to change and shape the Earth’s surface. While weathering breaks rock and earth down, erosion is the displacement of the pieces and particles of rock and earth.