Movement of sediment is important in providing habitat for fish and other organisms in rivers. Therefore, managers of highly regulated rivers, which are often sediment-starved due to dams, are often advised to stage short floods to refresh the bed material and rebuild bars.

Water can wash sediment, such as gravel or pebbles, down from a creek, into a river, and eventually to that river’s delta. Sediment is important because it often enriches the soil with nutrients. Areas rich in sediments are often also rich in biodiversity. Sedimentary soil is usually better for farming.

Sediment deposits in rivers can alter the flow of water and reduce water depth, which makes navigation and recreational use more difficult. soil particles that settle at the bottom of a body of water. Wind, water and ice help carry these particles to rivers, lakes and streams.

Ritseling Cave. Weathering is the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on Earths surface. Once a rock has been broken down, a process called erosion transports the bits of rock and minerals away. Water, acids, salt, plants, animals, and changes in temperature are all agents of weathering and erosion.

Surface area — if the rock is broken down into small pieces, it undergoes chemical weathering more readily than does one large piece. Smaller pieces have more surface area for water and gases to react with the rock. Mechanical weathering is effective at increasing surface area.

Erosion is defined as the movement of rock by water or wind and is different from weathering, which requires no movement to occur.

• Mechanical Weathering and Abrasion. The most significant form of weathering is abrasion.
• Chemical Weathering and Disintegration.
• Weathering from Ice.
• Biological Weathering.

So, the fastest rates of chemical weathering tend to occur in the hot, humid tropics. Third, the more mineral surface area exposed in the rock by joints, the faster the weathering. The increased number of cracks in the rock will allow the agents of water and oxygen to interact more intensely with the minerals.

Moisture speeds up chemical weathering. Weathering occurs fastest in hot, wet climates. It occurs very slowly in hot and dry climates. Without temperature changes, ice wedging cannot occur.

Which statement best explains why the soil is thicker above the limestone than it is above the quartzite? The limestone is less resistant to weathering than the quartzite.

The more water present, the faster the rate of weathering. You just studied 9 terms!