Talk:Weathering

posssible copyvio

I reverted the edit by anon 81.86.119.147 as the text appears to be a cut n paste job from some source. If I'm mistaken, please discuss here. Vsmith 14:08, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

Defn of Weathering & Erosion

The definition here does not seem to make the important difference between erosion & weathering clear.

If my A-level knowledge is correct, doesn't Weathering occur 'in situ' (without movement) and Erosion occur with some form of movement involved? --Albert 19:37, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Yup. Reread the first line, which says essentially the same thing. If it's still not clear, correct the line. Pollinator 05:25, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

I'll try and clarify it a bit then. --Albert 09:54, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

I've made quite a few changes. Everyone happy with them?--Albert 11:09, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Looks good. Pollinator 12:46, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

I have added Tree Weathering. Do you like it?

What is actually 'frost wedging and 'frost induced weathering'. What is the difference? For me is looks quite similar.

( i can't find the how water can cause rocks to crack and break

Merge from Mineral weathering

I am in two minds about this one. Should I just delete everything as it looks like a copyvio (nothing from google) and redirect here or try and incorporate some of the information? The page has no significant links (this page now I put the merge tag on and a big stubs list.--NHSavage 12:58, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Just made it a redirect here. It appears to have been copied from somewhere - textbook or some class notes? As no source is given its status is questionable. Added by an anon a year ago. The info is still there in page history if someone wants to incorporate some of it here - again, needs sourcing. Vsmith 14:02, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Merge from building weathering

This article has at present very little specific to buildings, it mostly just replicates what is already here. I propose that it should be merged to here. If at a future date a lot of specific information on building weathering gets added to this article we can split it back out. At present this is just duplication.--NHSavage 13:39, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't think they should as they are kind of different topics and Geographers doing research may not find the article easy, maybe a link would be hand. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.67.84.184 (talk • contribs)

after careful thought I have decide that the merge is appropriate. The building weathering article was not any less detailed about the weathering mechanisms merely less detailed. Effectively it split the weathering info across 2 articles.--NHSavage 20:32, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

Recent articles on frost action

There have been several fascinating recent article in the most recent issues of Reviews of Modern Physics and Nature that rather redefine the frost induced weathering process. Recommended reading for anyone interested in the processes! Skål - Williamborg (Bill) 18:46, 2 December 2006 (UTC) gayness very important aspect of modern phsics.10:30 13 February 2007

Rock Mass strength

i happen to be studying geography for IB... we're asked about weathering and rock mass strength. the main impact of weathreing is a reduction in rock mass strength, or so i'm told. a) Is this true, and b) shouldn't this be added to the article, along with a section on the parts rock mass strength?--Lenary (talk) 09:04, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

i think so,reduction is not only in rock mass strength,also in their deformation,hydraulic features. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.102.253.232 (talk) 03:46, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

Silicate weathering

I have changed the section heading "Hydrolysis" to "Hydrolysis and Silicate Weathering". The impetus for doing so lies in the Ice Age page which makes clear the importance of silicate weathering, yet the Wikipedia has no entry for it. At least now "Silicate Weathering" appears somewhere. (Note that the links are to "silicates" and to "weathering", both of which flood the reader with text, but do not feature the topic of "silicate weathering" per se.) Hope this helps.

It would be nice if those who know would go a step further and show how the CO2 is sequestered in rock. Readers not in the field like me imagine the carbonic acid bubbling back the CO2. A few words on where we go from here -- ocean pH drop? rock sequestration? -- would fit in well.

To recap, the ice age page drives readers here by pointing out that silicate weathering is a global sink for CO2. During global ice ages across geological time, silicate weathering is reduced when ice sheets reduce the amount of continental crust exposed to weathering. The resulting rise in atmospheric C02 is thought to be one factor for bringing the earth out of an ice age (and, of course, setting us up for the next cycle). Thanks, all. Jerry-va (talk) 16:42, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

best example?

Presently the section reads, in part:

Hydrolysis is a chemical weathering process affecting silicate and carbonate minerals. In such reactions, pure water ionizes slightly and reacts with silicate minerals. An example reaction:

Mg2SiO4 + 4H+ + 4OH- ⇌ 2Mg2+ + 4OH- + H4SiO4

olivine (forsterite) + four ionized water molecules ⇌ ions in solution + silicic acid in solution

This reaction results in complete dissolution of the original mineral, assuming enough water is available to drive the reaction.

I just reverted a change to this paragraph and noticed that the example reaction does not really support the ensuing sentence. silicic acid and free OH would not both accumulate without further reaction. Before I attempt to fix this by adding "and dilute or wash away the reaction products" at the end of the sentence I will ask whether this is the example we want here? Dankarl (talk) 13:44, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Potholes are not frost weathering

The The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory originally published "Pothole Primer: A Public Administrator's Guide to Understanding and Managing the Pothole Problem" (Special Report 81-21) in September 1981 explains that pothles are simply the result of water-saturated soil, plus traffic. A review article explains, "One result is potholes, especially in the spring when water saturates the roadway's ground support and weakens its ability to stand up to heavy traffic." So, frost effects are a contributing, not primary cause of potholes. I plan to delete the reference from this article. --User:HopsonRoad 14:11, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

why it important to know this

weathering is the first thing you should understand in grades 4-6 and you need to know it to become a scientist you need to know lots of things to become a scientist —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.189.135.48 (talk) 23:25, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Natural arch

Natural arches are usually described as being produces by erosion rather than weathering. If the contention is that this particular arch shows evidence of both types of process, please provide interpretive detail. ThanksDankarl (talk) 01:26, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Natural arch article states the following: "Natural arches commonly form where cliffs are subject to erosion from the sea, rivers or weathering (subaerial processes)". Since the site is located in desert, far from the sea, and the specific arch is elevated, I presume it is subject to a continuous weathering process - am I wrong? Etan J. Tal 07:48, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Erosion removes the material - presumably the removed rock under the arch was more weathered and more subject to erosion and the arch itself was more resistant due either to differential weathering or perhaps silicification along a fracture or some other structural control. Don't know the details of the specific arch illustrated. Edited the caption a bit. Vsmith (talk) 13:02, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your attention, Dankarl, and for your help, Vsmith. I hope someone who knows the specific site better will be able to formulate the final caption, and determine the best relevant article it belongs to (Weathering, Erosion, or both?) Etan J. Tal

It's a fascinating picture, and there is obviously a lot that has gone on with that formation. I hope someone can provide the details.Dankarl (talk) 14:25, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Natural arches are often wrongly attributed to erosion rather than (correctly) weathering. A combination of existing fractures, wicking of groundwater, salt weathering, and dissolution contribute to the formation. Insolation weathering and frost weathering may be valid, depending on the region. As with all weathering, weathered material is winnowed away by water (primarily), gravity, or (minorly) wind. Weathering does the primary work, however. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.196.117.226 (talk) 06:28, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Chemical Weathering

I read in the journal Science about ten years ago that of the (major) minerals making up the Earth's surface (rock) only two are chemically/thermodynamically stable. If I recall, hydrolysis, dehydration, oxidation and carbonation were the major reactions. Unfortunately, I have not run across this information again. If one of you geochemist types could confirm that the land surface of the Earth is intrinsically *not* chemically stable, then I think that would be an important fact to mention here. (Quartz was one of the two, btw. Would love to remember what the other one was...gneiss?? IDK). (and by 'stable' the article meant in the conditions to whcih they are exposed).71.31.147.72 (talk) 17:33, 5 February 2012 (UTC)