Chapter 6-Weathering Flashcards
What is denudation?
The wearing down of the surface of the earth.
What is weathering?
The breakdown of rock, usually by forces of weather.
What are the two types of weathering?
Mechanical, chemical.
What is erosion?
The wearing away of rock, the transportation of rock and its deposition. Can be carried out by rivers, the sea, glaciers and the wind.
When does mechanical weathering occur?
It occurs when rocks are broken apart by physical forces. Does not involve chemical change.
When does chemical weathering occur?
Occurs when chemical change in the rocks causes them to dissolve.
What are two types of mechanical weathering?
Freeze-thaw action, exfoliation.
What is freeze-thaw action?
Mechanical weathering that occurs in cold climates or high altitudes. Caused by precipitation on the rock freezing and re-thawing over time.
What is exfoliation?
Mechanical weathering in hot climates that occurs when layers of rock expand and contract in hot and cold temperatures over time.
What is one type of chemical weathering?
Carbonation.
What is carbonation?
When limestone is dissolved by carbon dioxide in rainwater when the weak acid in rainwater reacts to the cracks and joints in limestone.
What is the karst landscape?
During the Ice Age, the bare rock of the Burren was exposed by glaciers. It is now a karst landscape.
Name some surface features of the Burren landscape.
Clints, grikes, swallow holes.
Name some underground features of the Burren landscape.
Stalactites, stalagmites, pillars/columns.
What was the Mullagmore visitor centre conflict?
Controversy over building of a visitors centre, restaurant and carpark in the 1990s. It’s was eventually not built.
