External Forces
That Shape
Our Planet
Presentation created by Robert L. Martinez
Primary Content Source: World Geography by McDougal Littell
Images as cited.
http://www.uvm.edu/~inquiryb/webquest/fa08/jlfisher/worksheets.html
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/AgAndEnvironment/background.htm
Weathering refers to physical and
chemical processes that change the
characteristics of rock on or near
the earth’s surface.
www.csulb.edu
Weathering occurs slowly over
many years and even centuries.
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Wind_erosion
Weathering processes create smaller
and smaller pieces of rock called
sediment. Sediment is mostly
identifiable as either mud, sand, or
silt, which is very fine particles of
rock.
http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/masc/photos-2003-04/photos-2003.htm
kohalacenter.org
Processes that break rock into
smaller pieces are referred to as
mechanical weathering.
skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/students/green-sand/project.htm
Mechanical weathering does not change
the composition of the rock, only its size
and shape. For example, when ice
crystals build up in the crack of a rock,
they can actually create enough pressure
to fracture the rock into smaller pieces.
http://kayty.glogster.com/glog-8007/
All sorts of agents can break
apart rocks. Frost and even plant
roots dig into crevices in the
rock, splitting it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42386373@N05/4173374526/
Human activities like road
construction or drilling and
blasting in mining, are also
mechanical weathering forces.
http://gpssystems.net/tag/chilean-mine-disaster/
Eventually, the smaller broken
material will be combined with
organic material to become soil.
http://greenspade.com/how-to-collect-a-soil-sample
Chemical weathering occurs when rock is
changed into a new substance as a result of
interaction between elements in the air or
water and the minerals in the rock.
http://www.shendapack.com/2011/04/27/chemical-weathering/
Decomposition, or breakup, can
happen in several ways. Some
minerals react to oxygen in the air and
begin to crumble. That is when iron
rusts, for example.
http://www.qub.ac.uk/geomaterials/weathering/causeway/geologicalsuccessiol
When sulfur and nitrogen oxides mix
with water, acid rain is formed. The
increase of acid rain in the 20th century
is believed to be speeding up some
decomposition.
http://www.cvgs.k12.va.us/research/final/sresch02/eevans/lit reviw.htm
The location and the climate in
which the rocks are located have
a great deal to do with how rocks
decompose.
http://www.aralam.com/html/geology.htm
Climates that are warm and moist
will produce more chemical
weathering than do cool dry areas.
http://www.qwickstep.com/search/chemical-weathering-examples.html
Rocks in cold dry and hot dry
areas generally experience more
mechanical weathering than
chemical weathering.
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/GeoImages/Johnson/Landforms/RocksWxing/ChemicalWxingGranitel
Erosion occurs when weathered
material is moved by the action
of wind, water, ice, or gravity.
http://www.grundfos.com/service-support/encyclopedia-search/erosion-corrosion
For erosion to occur, a transporting
agent, such as water, must be present.
Glaciers, waves, stream flow, or
blowing winds cause erosion by
grinding rock into smaller pieces.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40079018@N08/3810438780/
Material moved from one
location to another results in the
lowering of some locations and
increased elevation in others.
http://www.uvm.edu/~inquiryb/webquest/sp09/mbeattie/Erosion by wind.html
For example, water might carry
topsoil from a hill into a river and
gradually cause the river to
become more narrow.
http://savethesheyenne.org/erosion.htm
Erosion in its many forms
reshapes landforms and coastal
regions, as well as riverbeds and
riverbanks.
http://www.dinsdale.co.uk/regeneration_water_courses.cfm
One form of water erosion
occurs as water flows in a
stream or river.
http://www.sandhillstaskforce.org/Photo_Essay/Temp_sandhills_photos
The motion picks up loose material
and moves it downstream. The greater
the force of water, the greater the
ability of the water to transport tiny
rock particles, or sediment.
http://www.thefrancisgallery.com/photosn2.php
Another form of erosion is abrasion,
the grinding away of rock by
transported particles. The heavier the
load of sentiment, the greater the
abrasion on the banks and riverbed.
://geology.about.com/od/geoprocesses/ig/mechweathering/abrasion
A third eroding action of water
occurs when the water dissolves
chemical elements in the rock. The
composition of the rock changes
as a result.
http://pulse.pharmacy.arizona.edu/9th_grade/culture_cycles/earth_science/erosion.html
Most streams erode both vertically and
horizontally, that is, the valley cut by a
stream gets deeper and wider, forming
a V-shaped valley.
http://www.aegweb.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4083
As the water slows, it drops the
sediment it is carrying. When a river
enters the ocean, the sediment is
deposited in a fan-like landform
called a delta.
http://geographyfieldwork.com/CrowdedCoasts.htm
Wave action along coastlines
also changes the land. Waves
can reduce or increase beaches.
http://www4.ncsu.edu/eos/users/c/ceknowle/public/chapter12/part1.html
Sediment deposited by wave action
may build up sandbars or islands.
Wave action is so powerful that in
some locations, it erodes about
three feet of beach per year.
http://www.geograph.ie/photo/369272
For some unfortunate people, a
beach house with an ocean view
may end up in the ocean as a result
of wave action erosion.
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/cede_sealevel/366
In many ways, wind erosion is
similar to water erosion because the
wind transports and deposits
sediment in other locations.
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/environment-book/aeoliantransport
Wind speeds much reach 11 miles
per hour before fine sediment can be
moved. The greater the speed of the
wind, the larger the particles moved.
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/IPM/english/soil-diagnostics/erosion
Dust storms are capable of carrying
as much as 6,000 tons of sediment
per cubic mile of air. As the wind
slows, the sediment is dropped.
http://www.pssac.org/SoilTeachingUnit/daytwo.htm
Depending on the type of windborne
sediment, new landforms, such as
sand dunes miles from seashores and
rocks sculpted into fantastic forms,
may be produced.
http://www.phototravels.net/egypt/egypt-v/egypt-v-072.html
Deposits of loess, windblown silt and
clay sediment that produce very fertile
soil, are found across the world. In
northern China, for example, the
deposits are several hundred feet
deep.
http://www.pbase.com/dougsherman/image/93270863
Extensive areas of loess are found
in the Mississippi Valley in the
United States and in the grasslands
of Argentina.
http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/browse/loeshill/loeshill.htm
A glacier is a large, long-lasting
mass of ice that moves because
of gravity.
Glaciers form in mountainous areas
and in regions that are routinely
covered with heavy snowfall and ice.
In mountain regions, glaciers
move downslope as a result of
gravity.
Glaciers such as ice caps and
ice sheets move from the
highest point on land toward the
lowest point.
http://newglobalwarmingeffects.com/2009/11/16/disappearing-arctic-ice-caps/
Glaciation is the changing of
landforms by slowly moving
glaciers. As a glacier moves, several
types of erosion occur.
http://web.arc.losrios.edu/~borougt/GlaciationDiagrams.htm
Rocks caught underneath the glacier
are ground into finer and finer
particles. Some particles are so
small that they are called rock flour,
which is one component of soil.
http://ana20cristina.blogspot.com/2009/03/gif-letras-numeros-y-simbolos-en-rombos_4508.html
Massive glaciers also cut Ushaped valleys into the land.
http://ed101.bu.edu/StudentDoc/current/ED101sp09/sandra06/Valley.html
On top of or within the ice are
other rocks carried by the
glacier. When the glacier melts,
these rocks are left behind.
http://serc.carleton.edu/details/images/22149.html
Rocks left behind by a glacier may
form a ridge or a hill called a moraine.
Moraines can be found on the sides,
down the center, or at the leading edge
of a glacier.
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/iceage/iceage1.htm
Inside or under the glacier may be
tunnels formed by running water.
These tunnels fill up with sediment
dropped by the water.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2010/2010-07-08-01.html
When the ice melts, it leaves a long
snakelike ridge called an esker.
Sometimes blocks of ice are trapped in
the sediment. They melt slowly and
leave behind a dent or a depression in
the ground.
http://robinsonroom.blogspot.com/2010/06/glacial-features-photos.html
These depressions are called
kettles. The kettles may be filled
with water forming a small lake.
http://geology.about.com/od/glaciers_ice/ig/glacier-pictures/kettles
Weathering and erosion are a part of
the process of forming soil. Soil is
the loose mixture of weathered rock,
organic matter, air, and water that
supports plant growth.
http://www.mysciencebox.org/soilanalysis
Organic matter in the soil helps
to support the growth of plants
by providing needed plant food.
http://www.gardeninginfozone.com/organic-matter-for-the-garden
Water and air share tiny pore-like
spaces in the soil. When it rains, the
pores are filled with water. As the water
evaporates, drains away, or is used by
the plants, the pores are filled with air.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dirkvdw/3752985815/
The texture of the soil, the amount of
organic material called humus, and the
amount of air and water in the soil all
contribute to the soil’s fertility, its
ability to nurture plants.
http://www.earthfort.com/products/supplies/denali-gold-humus