Weathering, a geomorphological phenomenon, can be attributed to physical, biological and chemical processes. Explain, in detail, the three weathering processes and subsequent landforms resulting from these processes.
Weathering refers to the processes that break up and corrode solid rock, which than later transforms to sediments (Stephen Marshak, 2008). Weathering involves the interative set of physical, chemical and biological processes that result in the breakdown of rock material at or near the earth’s surface (Hefferan and O’Brien, 2010). According to Hefferan and O’Brien (2010) weathering may occur in the original source area where bedrock was exposed or in rock material that had been eroded, transported and deposited away from their original source area.
Physical weathering which can also be referred to as mechanical weathering is breaking of intact rock into unconnected grains called debris/detritus; this type of weathering does not result to any changes in the rock composition (Stephen Marshak, 2008). According Hefferan and O’Brien (2010) mechanical weathering is dominant in arid climates. Physical weathering results in several common disintegration processes/formations, namely; joint formation, Frost wedging, root wedging and thermal expansion.
According to Hefferan and O’Brien
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According to Gour et al (2014) chemical weathering is controlled by several factors such as climatic conditions, rock type, surface topography and time. Chemical weathering is dominant in tropics due to warmer and wetter climates (Hefferan and O’Brien, 2010). The common chemical reactions involved in chemical weathering include dissolution, hydrolysis, oxidation, and
1. 225 MY : Weathering and erosion of very old folded rocks on an area
Antarctic’s ice melt and accelerating sea level rise, the growing number of large wildfires, intense heat wave shocks, severe drought and blizzards, disrupted and decreased food supply, and extreme storm events are increasing to happen in many areas world wide and these are just some of the consequences of global warming. The fossil fuel we burn for energy coal, natural gas, and oil plus the loss of forests due to disforestation, in the southern hemisphere are all contributors for climate change. In the past three decades, every single year was warmer then the previous year and the warmest 12 years were recorded since 1998. We are overloading our atmosphere with carbon dioxide and trapping the heat and recently, the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere reached 400 pmm. Not just environmental issues are rising due to carbon dioxide increase but more and miscellaneous issues are appearing as climate change becomes more severe. For example, regional models and local analyses agree that Mongolia has become noticeably warmer and the climate change effect is damaging their millennial of historic nomadic lifestyle and even came to the peek of extinction. The Mongolian nomadic pastoralists became highly vulnerable to many an unusual climate impacts and extreme temperature fluctuation that have led to inadequate pasture land and loss of enormous number of livestock, often faces hostile environmental conditions that led o entrenched pastoral poverty. This essay focuses on how the climate change impacts the qualitative and quantitative value of indigenous culture and nomadic life style, and how the economy struggles in the magnitudes of massive migration of nomads to urban area while it fails to value t...
Scientists have determined that weather systems are changeable. Over a large amount of time, the earths tilt changes, causing the axis’s to tilt more one way then it used to, and thus changing the weather. Greenhouse gasses may also change the weather, making our climate either much hotter or much cooler. Ice caps and deserts have one thing in common, one small change in the weather can change them- and they will change the world.
INTRODUCTION The winter season can be a major hassle for some people while others just have to deal with a slight cool down in temperatures. Over the northern portions of the country, people are faced to deal with the harsh conditions that Mother Nature has in store. Some winter seasons are less brutal than others. Besides the typical storm systems that come through the area and drop different types of precipitation whether it is snow, sleet, or freezing rain, there’s another weather event that affects not everyone in the country, but primarily around the Great Lakes.
Climate change is a long term change in the earth’s climate. Climate change is attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. There are 328,000,000 cubic miles of seawater on the planet, covering approximately 71 percent of the earth's surface. Ninety-seven percent of all water is in the oceans. The other three percent is divided amongst the two percent ice and one percent fresh water. Making earth’s waters composed mostly of salt water. Salt water covers most of our planet indicating climate change to have a giant impact on our oceans. Taking a closer look at the ocean and our water in general can reveal several clues to the greater effects of climate change and what other ways climate change can affect our planet. (2)
The earth is changing in many ways. Some of the change can be explained by natural occurrences, but others are related to humans. In this paper I will be showing evidence that relates climate change to humans. First of all what is climate change? Next what is the impact of carbon dioxide have to do with the warming the earth and how do we impact the carbon dioxide levels? Finally, how can we positively impact the fight against climate change?
This usually happens when a material has undergone a process in which the material becomes more brittle and is less able to plastically deform. These processes include cold working or precipitation hardening.
effects must be global, and the effects must occur in a geologically short period of time.1
Chemical Weathering is when water weakens the structure of the rock and Mechanical Weathering is where water seeps into the rock face causing fragments of rock to break off.
Climate and Weather are both conditions of our atmosphere. Weather is a condition over short period of time, the degrees, if it’s raining, snowing, windy, etc. and climate is over long period of time, if you live in a more tropical place it would be more wet, humid, and hot. Climate is basically what the weather usually is the normal conditions in a place, a longer term of the average weather. Depending on where you live will determine what the climate is there and what kind of weather you will usually have and now sense there’s global warming and the colder places are getting warmer, warmer places are getting a blast of cold and polar ice caps are melting. So now It’s probably different climate and weather for many, many places than it was just four or five years ago. For examples If you live down south near the equator where it’s hot, like in Tampa, Florida your climate is humid and hot most the year and temperatures in the high 80’s and high 90’s. But if you live somewhere more up north closer to the north pole, like in Manchester, England it’s usually cold and raining most the year with temperatures of high 40’s and mid 60’s.
Climate Change is any substantial change in climate that lasts for an extended period of time. One contributor to current climate change is global warming, which is an increase in Earth’s average temperature. Plants and animal species throughout the world are being affected by rising temperatures. Many plants are flowering earlier now than they once did; animals, such as the yellowbellied marmot, are emerging from hibernation earlier; and many bird and butterfly species are migrating north and breeding earlier in the spring than they did a few decades ago, all because of slight changes in temperature cues. (Shuster)
Climate change is evidenced through shifts in the weather patterns such as winds, humidity and temperatures over certain durations. Natural climate changes occur less frequently and they are triggered by factors related geographical aspects as well as solar radiation. The earth’s movement on the orbit triggers changes in climate causing some areas to have higher temperatures than usual while others are significantly cold depending on the position of the earth on the orbit. The heat form the sun causes changes on the stratospheric ozone and it increases the amount of greenhouse gases. Heat from the oceanic crust also contributes to warming as a result of episodic hydrothermal venting (Liao & Sandeberg, 2012). Volcanic activity also causes a release of certain elements that may block the sun and also contribute to increase greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
all the time. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps the earth at temperatures that
Left behind are tailings, which are large piles of crushed rock left over when minerals have been extracted from rocks that once contained them. These tailings are then left prone to wind dispersion and water erosion. This wind dispersion occurs since the sand-like tailings are easily swept up by the atmosphere by wind and spread throughout the environment as dust particles. Figure 1 shows the wind erosion of a mine tailings pile being blow up into the air, creating dust. These tailings contain metal contaminants like arsenic, lead, and cadmium, which creates a problem for the environment and they can persist for decades due to the low pH levels and can cause problems in soil stabilization (arizona.edu, 2008).
According to the Canada’s Action on Climate Change, Climate change is a long-term shift in weather conditions identified by changes in temperature, precipitation, winds, and other indicators. Climate change can involve both changes in average conditions and changes in variability, including, for example, extreme events. Climate change is one of the biggest crisis in the earth. It will cause a huge damage to the eco-system and human. We are the victims of the climate change. However, we are the one who cause the climate change.