Term
|
Definition
A weak acid (H2CO3) that forms from the reaction of water and carbon dioxide. Most rain water is a very weak carbonic acid solution formed by the reaction of rain with small amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. |
|
|
Term
chemical weathering [image] |
|
Definition
| The breaking down of surface rock material by solution or chemical alteration. Common alteration processes are oxidation and hydrolysis. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The slowest form of mass movement, measured in millimeters or centimeters per year and occurring on virtually all slopes. cross bed A bed made up of particles dropped from a moving current, as of wind or water, and marked by a downward slope that indicates the direction of the current that deposited them. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The process by which particles of rock and soil are loosened, as by weathering, and then transported elsewhere, as by wind, water, ice, or gravity. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A physical weathering process in which concentric layers of rock are removed from an outcrop. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A chemical reaction involving water that results in the breakdown of mineral material. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When water infiltrates fractures in rock and freezes, the force of expansion is great enough to break the rock into smaller pieces. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A downslope movement of rock and soil over a failure surface and under the influence of gravity. Slumps, earthflows, debris flows and debris slides are examples. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Mass movement or mass wasting is movements of masses of bodies of soil, bed rock , rock debris, soil, or mud which usually occur along steep-sided hills |
|
|
Term
mechanical weathering [image] |
|
Definition
| The process by which a rock or mineral is broken down into smaller fragments without altering its chemical makeup; weathering that affects only physical characteristics. See also chemical weathering |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A type of mass movement composed mainly of clay-size materials with a high enough water content that it flows readily. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A chemical reaction in which substances combine with oxygen. For example, the combination of iron with oxygen to form an iron oxide. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The source from which a given soil is chiefly derived, generally consisting of bedrock or sediment. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the soil that is remaining after the soluble elements have been dissolved |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| All loose, unconsolidated earth and organic materials above bedrock that support plant growth. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The detachment and movement of topsoil by the action of wind and flowing water.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A vertical section of the soil from the surface through all of its horizons |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the stratum of weathered material that underlies the surface soil |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| is the upper, outermost layer of soil, usually the top 2 to 8 inches. It has the highest concentration of organic matter |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| If the soil forms from material that was transported to the location by erosion |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Weathering is the decomposition of earth rocks, soils and their minerals through direct contact with the planet's atmosphere |
|
|
