GY4027
Topic 1: Weathering and Erosion
Landscapes are largely made of rocks, sediments, and soils. Natural forces shape the landscape by modifying existing rocks, sediment, and soils. This topic’s lecture will take a closer look at the processes of weathering, some of the geographic factors that control these processes, and some of the landforms they produce.
By the end of this topic you should be able to:
- Explain common mechanical, chemical, and biological weathering processes
- Describe the products of weathering
- Explain some of the geographic controls on weathering
Lecture
Lecture slides: L1 Weathering and Erosion
Reading
Suggested Textbook
I suggest reading Chapter One and Chapter Seven of Huggett, R. (2017) Fundamentals of Geomorphology, 4th Edition. Routledge, London.
Chapter One is not covered in the lecture - it is intended as a broader introduction to geomorphology. Chapter Seven is the chapter on erosion.
Available online.
Academic papers
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Shtober-Zisu, N. and Wittenberg, L. 2021 Long-term effects of wildfire on rock weathering and soil stoniness in the Mediterranean landscapes. Science of The Total Environment 762, 143125. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143125
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Castro, J.M., Keller, F., Feisel, Y., Lanari, P., Helo, C., Mueller, S.P., Schipper, C.I., and Thomas, C. 2020 Lightning-induced weathering of Cascadian volcanic peaks. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 552, 116595. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116595
This is a really nice recent paper which considers the impact of wildfires on rock weathering - not something I discussed in the lecture, and I’m hoping it just makes you think a little more about some of the factors which control weathering.
Optional additional reading
One of the formative papers in this topic is
- Goldich, S.S. 1938 A Study in Rock-Weathering. The Journal of Geology 46, 17–58. doi: 10.1086/624619
You certainly don’t need to read the entire paper in detail - I don’t think it’s particularly a good use of your time to learn everything you’d need to fully understand the entire paper. But an ovverview read could absolutely be useful to get an idea of the broad fundamental concepts of how and why different minerals weather differently - as well as an insight into how much/little we knew in the past, especially if you then compare it to something like
- Bufe, A., Rugenstein, J.K.C. and Hovius, N. 2024 CO~2~ drawdown from weathering is maximized at moderate erosion rates. Science 383, 1075-1080. doi: 10.1126/science.adk0957
which used global datasets to explore how different erosion rates can affect the global climate. Papers in Science are high impact research written for a more general audience, this one is definitely worth a look.