How fast weathering occurs depends on the what of an area

Different minerals weather at different rates. Mafic silicates like olivine and pyroxene tend to weather much faster than felsic minerals like quartz and feldspar.

Different minerals show different degrees of solubility in water in that some minerals dissolve much more readily than others. Water dissolves calcite more readily than it does feldspar, so calcite is considered to be more soluble than feldspar. Massive rocks like granite generally to not contain planes of weakness whereas layered sedimentary rocks have bedding planes that can be easily pulled apart and infiltrated by water.

Weathering therefore occurs more slowly in granite than in layered sedimentary rocks. Rainfall and temperature can affect the rate in which rocks weather. High temperatures and greater rainfall increase the rate of chemical weathering. Rocks in tropical regions exposed to abundant rainfall and hot temperatures weather much faster than similar rocks residing in cold, dry regions. Soils affect the rate in which a rock weathers.

Soils retain rainwater so that rocks covered by soil are subjected to chemical reactions with water much longer than rocks not covered by soil. Soils are also host to a variety of vegetation, bacteria and organisms that produce an acidic environment which also promotes chemical weathering.

Minerals in a rock buried in soil will therefore break down more rapidly than minerals in a rock that is exposed to air. The longer a rock is exposed to the agents of weathering, the greater the degree of alteration, dissolution and physical breakup. Lava flows that are quickly buried by subsequent lava flows are less likely to be weathered than a flow which remains exposed to the elements for long periods of time.

Chemical weathering is a process where minerals in a rock may be converted into clays, oxidized or simply dissolved. Silicates comprise almost all minerals in igneous rocks and are also important components in metamorphic rocks.

Not all silicates, however, survive weathering processes to become incorporated into sedimentary rocks. Figure 6. For example, interlocking silicate grains in fresh granite gradually decay along crystal boundaries due to conversion to clays. Eventually cracks open around the boundaries, the rock weakens and easily disintegrates. Water dissolves some of the solid, leaving behind an altered material and producing a solution containing substances drawn from the original solid coffee grounds.

The acid rainwater than reacts with minerals on the exposed rock face. Reaction of silicates with carbonic acid and water produces clays and also releases Si and certain cations into water as dissolved constituents:. What are the controlling factors of weathering? Which factor does not affect weathering? Which factor does not affect the rate of weathering? Which area is experiencing the greatest amount of weathering? What factors affect the rate of erosion? What are the 4 factors that influence wind erosion?

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