Earth and Life Science REVIEWER

Carbonation
Exogenic processes are external processes that occur at or - Carbon dioxide disolves in water to form carbonic acid and
near the surface of the earth. They are part of the rock cycle. reacts with carbonate rocks (CaCO.) to form a soluble
Also, they are responsible for transforming rocks into product (calcium bicarbonate).
sediments. These include degradation processes
(weathering, mass wasting, erosion, and transportation) and Biological Action
aggradation processes (deposition). - Some plants and animals may create chemical weathering
by releasing chelating and audifying compounds that react
Weathering with some minerals in rocks. Decaying remains of dead
- The physical breakdown and/or chemical alteration of plants in soil may form organic acids and when dissolved in
rocks at or near the Earths surface is refered to as water, may cause chemical weathering.
weathering. It is a degradation process that does not involve
the movement of materials. There a two types of weathering: Mass Wasting
mechanical and chemical weathering. - The mass movement of rocks, soil, and regolich is often
referred to as mass wasting. It is the step that follows
Mechanical Weathering weathering and is also a degradation process. The driving
- Mechanical weathering or disintegration is the breaking up force of mass wasting is gravity. There are different types of
of large rocks into smaller fragment without changing the mass wasting processes. Each rock and debris fall process is
rock's mineral composition. There are physical processes defined by the type of materials involved and the velocity
that oceur in nature that break rocks into smaller pieces. and nature of the movement.
These include frost wedging or frost weathering, insolation
weathering or thermal stress weathering, unloading or TYPES OF MASS WASTING:
pressure release, and biological activity. 1. Rock or Debris Falls
- Rock falls occur when a piece of rock or mass of rocks
TYPES OF MECHANICAL WEATHERING: become dislodged and make a free fall along a steep
Frost Wedging falus cliff. Debris fall is similar to rock fall, except it involves a
- Frost wedging or frost weathering occurs in regions where mixture of soil, regolith, vegetation, and rocks. At the base
temperature Auctuates above and below freezing point, of the cliff is an accumulation of fallen materials called talus.
resulting in a freeze-thaw cycle. The water that enters
through the cracks and empty spaces of rocks expands when 2. Landslides
it freezes due to the enormous outward force exerted by ice. - Landslides are another type of mass wasting. They are
sudden fast movement of cohesive mass of soil, rock, or
Insolation regolith.
- Insolation weathering or thermal stress weathering results - They occur in two types: translational and rotational slides.
from the expansion and contraction of rocks caused by * Translational slides involve the movement of a mass of
temperature changes. Furthermore, the outer surface of the materials along a well-defined surface, such as bedding
rock is often warmer or colder than the inner portions, which plane, foliation surface, or joint surface.
may cause the peeling away of outer layers. The process of * Rotational slides or slumps occur when the descending
"peeling off " is called exfoliation. materials move en masse along a concave, upward curved
surface.
Unloading
- Unloading or pressure release occurs when the overlying 3. Flows
rock is eroded away, causing the outer rock layer to expand - Flows may be slurry flows or granular flows. Flows are
more than the layers underneath. This expansion may classified according to their composition. Slurry flows are
separate the outer rock from the rock body. Continuous composed of a mixture of rocks and/or regolith wich 20% to
weathering causes sheets of rocks to break away. This 40% water. They are considered as water-saturated flows.
exfoliation is due to the pressure released, often referred to Granular flows contain 0 to 20% water. They are not
as sheeting. saturated with water.
* Slurry flows
Chemical Weathering - Solifluction (velocity is 1cm/year)
- Chemical weathering decomposes rocks through chemical - Debris flows (velocity ranges form 1 m/year to 100m/hr)
change. - Mud flows (velocity ranges from 1km/hr to 400km/hr)
* Granular flows
TYPES OF CHEMICAL WEATHERING: - Creep (velocity is 1cm/year)
Oxidation - Earth flow (velocity ranges from less than 1cm/year to 100
- Oxygen dissolved in water will oxidize some materials. m/hr)
Reddish-brown rust will appear on the surface of iron-rich - Grain flow (velocity ranges from less than 100 m/hr to less
minerals which easily crumbles and weakens the rock that 100km/hr)
- Debris Avalanche (velocity ranges from 100km/hr to
Hydrolysis 400km/hr or higher)
- Water is perhaps the most important agent of chemical
weathering. It affects silicate.
Erosion
- Erosion is the process of transporting weathered sediment Shortcut table:
by agents of erosion to different places. WEATHERING - Picking and removing of rocks

AGENTS OF EROSION: MECHANICAL - Physical disintegration

1. Splash erosion - Raindrops cause tiny particles of soil to CHEMICAL - Chemical reaction to rocks
be detached and to move out. * OXIDATION - Oxygen (O)
2. Sheet erosion - Raindrops break apart the soil structure * HYDROLYSIS - Water (H2O)
which moves down the slope as water flows overland as * CARBONATION - Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
sheet. * BIOLOGICAL ACTION - Organisms
3. Gully erosion - After heavy rain, water flows in narrow
channels, eroding gullies into great depth. MASS WASTING - Large-scale Movement
4. Valley erosion - Continuous water flow alongside land and * DEBRIS FALLS - Rock falls
move downward, which deepens a valley. * LANDSLIDES
5. Bank crosion - Continuous Row of water wears out stones * FLOWS
along the bank of streams and rivers
6. Coastline crosion - Waves from the ocean and seas crash EROSION - Transporting of soil
against the shore, pounding the rocks into pebbles and * GLACIERS
reducing the pebbles to sand. Sand is also removed from the * WIND
beaches, which changes the coastline.
7. Seaside cliff erosion - The striking of ocean waves erodes TRANSPORTATION
seaside cliffs, forming hales that create caves. Continuous * SOLUTIONS - H2O
pounding of waves may create an arch that may fall, leaving * SUSPENSION - Suspended
nothing but rock columns called sea stocks. * TRACTION - Rolling/Sliding
* SALTATION - Repeated Cycles
Glacier
- A glacier is a thick large mass of ice formed hundreds or
thousands of years mostly in remote areas like in the poles
or in high mountains. It moves very slowly.
- They can erode land through plucking and abrasion.
* Plucking is the process in which fractured bedrocks are
incorporated into the ice.
* The abrasional effect happens when the ice and its load of
rock fragments slide over a bedrock. Abrasion smoothens
and polishes the surface below.

Wind
- Wind is formed by differences in pressure due to
differential heating of the atmosphere by the sun.
- Wind carries dust, sand, and volcanic ash from one place to
another.
- Wind can also erode materials until nothing is left.
Example, In the desert, wind blows sand to form sand dunes.

Transportation
- Materials are transported in four distinct ways:
1. Solution
- Dissolved in water and carried along by water
2. Suspension
- Suspended particles are carried by a medium
(air, water, or ice).
3. Traction
- Particles move by rolling, sliding and shuffling along eroded
surface.
4. Saltation
- Particles move from the surface to the medium in quick
repeated cycles.