Planet Earth 3 - Chapter 7 Why did the Mediterranean dry...


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Chapter 7 Why did the Mediterranean dry up? -lies in a hoty dry region, leads to evaporation -colliding plates formed a natural dam, preventing water flow Sediment: an accumulation of loose mineral grains, such as boulders, pebbles, sand, or mud that are no cemented together Sedimentary Rock: rock that forms at or near the surface of the Earth by the precipitation of minerals in organisms or by the cementing together of loose grains derived from preexisting rock How does weathering lead to sediment formation? Weathering: the processes that break up and corrode solid rock, eventually transforming it into sediment -two kinds of weathering: physical & chemical -Physical Weathering: breaks intact rock into unconnected grains or chunks, collectively called debris -Joints: natural cracks that form in rocks due to removal of overburden or due to cooling -Talus: rock, rubble at the base of a slope -Frost wedging, root wedging, salt wedging, thermal expansion, animal attack Chemical Weathering: the chemical reactions that alter of destroy minerals when rock comes in contact with water solutions or air -dissolution: minerals dissolve into water -hydrolysis: water reacts with minerals & breaks them down -oxidation: loss of electrons by combining w/ oxygen -hydration: the absorption of water, causing expansion -Rate of chemical weathering depends on crystal structure & chemical composition -Physical & chemical weather together -physical speeds up chemical -jointing breaks rock into smaller pieces so chemical weathering can happen
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This note was uploaded on 02/08/2012 for the course GEOLOGY 460:103 taught by Professor Feigenson during the Fall '10 term at Rutgers.

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