NS3310-Physical Science StudiesNS3310-Physical Science Studies

Weathering and Erosion

TopoBingo TopoBingo • You will each get a map.

• Each map has information about how to read it, and symbols that tell you where certain features are.

• As I call out each feature, look for that symbol on your map.

• The first team to get 5, gets Bingo

Agents of Weathering and ErosionAgents of Weathering and Erosion• Water

– Flooding– Dissolution

• Wind

– Scouring– Aeolian transport

• Gravity

– Slides, Slumps and Creep

• Ice (Glaciers)

– Frost Wedging– Scouring

Rivers and StreamsRivers and Streams

• Watershed– Climate– Terrain– Rainfall

• Bedrock– Permeability– Mineralogy– Faults

Water Flows Downhill!Water Flows Downhill!• Life Cycle of a Meandering River

– Degradational Stage• Tributaries• River Channel

– Balanced Stage• Point Bars• Levees• Flood Plains

– Aggradational Stage• Distributaries• Deltas

– Terminal Stage– Stream Piracy

Drainage PatternsDrainage Patterns

• Dendritic

• Rectangular

• Tellis

• Raidal

Erosional FeaturesErosional Features

• Meanders– Oxbow Lakes

• Cut Banks

• Terraces– Transgressive Sequences– Regressive Sequences

Depositional FeaturesDepositional Features

• Point Bars

• Levees

• Flood Plains

• Deltas

• Environments of Deposition

WindWind

• Mechanisms of Sand Transport– Saltation– Aeolian transport

• Sand Drifts

• Sand Dunes– Wind Speed– Wind Direction– Variability

Wind is the Dominant Factor in Arid Regions

Wind is the Dominant Factor in Arid Regions

• Depositional Features– Alluvial Fans– Bajadas– Playa Lakes

• Erosional Features– Plateaus– Mesas– Buttes

GlaciersGlaciers

• Alpine Glaciers

• Piedmont Glaciers

• Continental Glaciers

Alpine GlaciersAlpine Glaciers

• Hanging Valleys

• Cirques

• Aretes

• Horns

• Moraines

Continental GlaciersContinental Glaciers

• Moraines– Lateral– Terminal

• Outwash Plain– Drumlins– Eskers– Kettle Lakes

Glacial CyclesGlacial Cycles

• Why Glaciers– Land at the Poles– Global Temperature

• Glacial Cycles– Glacial Maximum– Glacial Minimum– Interglacial Periods

GravityGravity

• Slides– Rock– Mud– Avalanche

• Slumps

• Creep

Key ConceptsKey Concepts• Erosion is the movement of earth materials created by chemical and

physical weathering

• Landscape features are created by these physical forces acting on the earth’s surface over time (tectonism, volcanism and weathering and erosion)

• Weathering and Erosion change the earth • from the top down

• Water, Gravity, Wind and Ice are all Agents • of Weathering and Erosion

• The earth’s crust records these changes • in Strata

• Studying the earth’s strata tells us about the • earth’s past