Disadvantages Of Weathering And Erosion Chemical weathering also results to a process called oxidation which is responsible for rusting. Weathering and erosion may cause natural disasters through mass wasting like rockslides and mudslides that kill hundreds of people annually.

Chemical Weathering From Water Chemical weathering occurs when water dissolves minerals in a rock, producing new compounds. This reaction is called hydrolysis. Hydrolysis occurs, for example, when water comes in contact with granite. Feldspar crystals inside the granite react chemically, forming clay minerals.

The principal reactions of chemical weathering are hydrolysis (1), oxidation (3), and the dissolution of ionic compounds. Chemical weathering processes in saline or alkaline environment exist but are very minor at the natural environment’s surface conditions.

Frost wedging happens when water gets in crack, freezes, and expands. This process breaks rocks apart. When this process is repeated, cracks in rocks get bigger and bigger (see diagram below) and may fracture, or break, the rock. When water gets in the crack at the bottom and freezes, frost wedging occurs.

Weathering occurs fastest in hot, wet climates. It occurs very slowly in hot and dry climates. Without temperature changes, ice wedging cannot occur. In very cold, dry areas, there is little weathering.

Frost wedging is a form of physical weathering that involves the physical breaking of a rock. It typically occurs in areas with extremely cold conditions with sufficient rainfall. The repeated freezing and thawing of water found in the cracks of rocks (called joints) pushes the rock to the breaking point.

Frost wedging is the process by which water seeps into cracks in a rock, expands on freezing, and thus enlarges the cracks (Figure 5.5). The effectiveness of frost wedging is related to the frequency of freezing and thawing.

Frost wedging is most effective in a climate like Canada’s. In warm areas where freezing is infrequent, in very cold areas where thawing is infrequent, or in very dry areas, where there is little water to seep into cracks, the role of frost wedging is limited.

Frost wedging is a special property of water, because water is one of the few materials that expands as it changes from liquid to solid(ice) state. Water volume will expand 9% as it freezes.

Frost weathering is a collective term for several mechanical weathering processes induced by stresses created by the freezing of water into ice. The term serves as an umbrella term for a variety of processes such as frost shattering, frost wedging and cryofracturing.

Frost wedging (or ice wedging) happens when water seeps into cracks, then expands upon freezing. The expansion enlarges the cracks (Figure 8.4). Even in warm coastal areas of southern British Columbia, freezing and thawing transitions are common at higher elevations.

Biological Activity/Root Wedging: Plant roots in search of nutrients in water grow into fractures. As the roots grow they wedge the rock apart similar to the frost wedging process. During root growth, organic acids can form contributing to chemical weathering.

Explain the similarities and differences between root wedging and frost wedging. Both processes are types of mechanical weathering and they result in the splitting of rocks. In root wedging, the rocks are split apart by roots and in frost wedging the rocks are split by the freezing and thawing of water. 9.