Erosion is the process by which soil and rock particles are worn away and moved elsewhere by gravity, or by a moving transport agent – wind, water or ice.

Sediment moves from one place to another through the process of erosion. Erosion is the removal and transportation of rock or soil. Erosion can move sediment through water, ice, or wind. Sediment created and deposited by glaciers is called moraine.

The process of weathering typically begins when the earth’s crust is uplifted by tectonic forces. After the physical breakup and chemical decay of exposed rocks by weathering, the loosened rock fragments and alterations products are carried away through the process of erosion.

Deposition is the geological process in which sediments, soil and rocks are added to a landform or landmass. Wind, ice, water, and gravity transport previously weathered surface material, which, at the loss of enough kinetic energy in the fluid, is deposited, building up layers of sediment.

Examples of deposition include: 1. Water vapor to ice – Water vapor transforms directly into ice without becoming a liquid, a process that often occurs on windows during the winter months. Marine Dunes and Dune Belts. Examples include beaches, deltas, glacial moraines, sand dunes and salt domes.

The most typical example of deposition would be frost. Frost is the deposition of water vapour from humid air or air containing water vapour on to a solid surface. Solid frost is formed when a surface, for example a leaf, is at a temperature lower than the freezing point of water and the surrounding air is humid.

Remember, faster moving water causes erosion more quickly. Slower moving water erodes material more slowly. If water is moving slowly enough, the sediment being carried may settle out. This settling out, or dropping off, of sediment is deposition.

Deposition occurs when weathered rocks, soil, and sediments are carried by erosion to a new location and left there. Deposition happens when the forces carrying the sediments—wind, water, or glaciers—are no longer strong enough to move the sediments. Rivers and streams fill with melting snow in the springtime.

Erosion is the process by which natural forces move weathered rock and soil from one place to another. Gravity, running water, glaciers, waves, and wind all cause erosion. Deposition occurs when the agents (wind or water) of erosion lay down sediment. Deposition changes the shape of the land.

Some landforms created by erosion are platforms, arches, and sea stacks. Transported sand will eventually be deposited on beaches, spits, or barrier islands. People love the shore, so they develop these regions and then must build groins, breakwaters, and seawalls to protect them.

List Four Causes of Weathering

• Frost Weathering. Frost weathering occurs in the presence of water, particularly in areas where the temperature is near the freezing point of water.
• Thermal Stress. Thermal stress occurs when heat absorbed from the surrounding air causes a rock to expand.
• Salt Wedging.
• Biological Weathering.

Water, ice, acids, salts, plants, animals, and changes in temperature are all agents of weathering. Once a rock has been broken down, a process called erosion transports the bits of rock and mineral away. No rock on Earth is hard enough to resist the forces of weathering and erosion.

Many forces are involved in weathering and erosion, including both natural and man-made causes.

• Physical Weathering. Physical or mechanical weathering is the disintegration of rock into smaller pieces.
• Chemical Weathering.
• Water Erosion.
• Wind Erosion.
• Gravity.

Physical Weathering Processes

• Abrasion: Abrasion is the process by which clasts are broken through direct collisions with other clasts.
• Frost Wedging:
• Biological Activity/Root Wedging:
• Salt Crystal Growth:
• Sheeting:
• Thermal Expansion:
• Works Cited.

The correct answer is (a) the cracking of rock caused by the freezing and thawing of water.

1.1. Physical weathering can occur due to temperature, pressure, frost, root action, and burrowing animals. For example, cracks exploited by physical weathering will increase the surface area exposed to chemical action, thus amplifying the rate of disintegration.

Explanation: A plant that grows up through rock can split the rock as the roots grow and expand. Therefore, plant roots splitting rock is the best example of physical weathering. Weathering causes changes to the Earth’s surface.

Chemical weathering does not cause physical damage to rock but rather is a reaction between the chemical composition of the rock and outside chemicals. Chemical weathering can make a rock more vulnerable to physical weathering forces.