191CE305 - ENGINEERING
GEOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
II YEAR / III SEM
WEATHERING OF ROCKS
It is the breaking down of rocks and other materials on the
earth’s surface.
It is also known as the process of disintegration and
decomposition of rocks.
Agents of Weathering:
1) Wind
2) Glacier
3) Running Water
4) Sea Waves
5) Animals
6) Plants
7) Chemicals
Types of Weathering:
1) Physical or Mechanical Weathering
2) Chemical Weathering
3) Biological Weathering
Physical or Mechanical Weathering:
It is caused by the change in temperature.
It is the process of disintegration of rocks without affecting
the chemical composition.
Examples:
a) Abrasion
When rocks collide one another
or scrape against each other ,
their exposed surfaces can
be chipped or fractured.
b) Exfoliation
When the outer layer of rock is peeled off.
c) Freezing and Thawing
Water enters cracks in the rocks. Temperature falls at night, causing water to
freeze. When water turns to ice it expands by 10%. This puts pressure on the
rocks making the rock to crack apart.
Chemical Weathering:
Decomposition and disintegration of rocks due to chemical
reaction.
Water causing change in the chemical composition of rocks.
Examples:
a) Carbonation
Takes place when dissolved carbon di oxide present in water
and air forms carbonic acid.
b) Hydrolysis
Hydrogen in rain water reacts with the minerals in the rocks, changing them
to clay.
c) Oxidation
When oxygen combines with iron in rocks, it changes into iron oxide.
Biological Weathering:
Decomposition and disintegration of rocks due to action of
plants and animal burrowing.
Roots growing plants which disintegrate rocks
Geological Work - WIND
Air in motion is called Wind.
Wind act as agent of erosion, as a carrier for
transporting particles and grains so eroded from one
place and also for depositing huge quantities of such
wind blown material at different places.
There are three modes of activities i.e. erosion,
transportation and deposition by wind.
Geological Work - WIND
Wind Erosion:
a) Deflation
The process of removal of particle of dust and sand by strong wind is
called deflation.
Wind, when moving with sufficient velocity over dry and loose sand it
can remove or swept away huge quantity of the loose material from the
surface.
b) Abrasion
Wind becomes a powerful agent for rubbing and abrading the rock
surface when naturally loaded with sand and dust particles This type of
erosion involving rubbing, grinding, polishing the rock surface by any
natural agent is termed as abrasion.
Geological Work - WIND
c) Attrition
The sand particles and other particles lifted by the wind from different
places are carried away to considerable distances. The wear and tear of load
particles suffered by them due to mutual impacts during the transportation
process is termed as attrition
Geological Work - WIND
Transportation
The total sediment load carried by a wind can be divided into two
parts.
a) Bed load
b) Suspended load
The larger and heavier particles such as sands or gravels, which are
moved by the winds but not lifted more than 30 to 60 cm of the earth
surface constitute the bed load.
Whereas the finer clay or dust particles which are lifted by the
moving winds by a distance of hundreds of meters above the earths
surface constitute the suspended load.
Geological Work - WIND
Deposition
The sediments get dropped and deposited forming what are
known as Aeolian deposits. There are two types of Aeolian
deposits;
a) Sand Dunes
b) Loess
a) Sand Dunes
Sand dunes are huge heaps of sand formed by the natural
deposition of wind blown sand sometimes of characteristics and
recognizable shape. Such deposits are often found to migrate
from one place to another due to change in the direction and
velocity of wind.
Geological Work - WIND
Types of Sand Dunes
a) Barchans or Crescent shaped dunes
b) Transverse dunes
c) Longitudinal dunes
Geological Work - WIND
Geological Work - WIND
Geological Work - WIND
b) Loess
The finest particles of dust travelling in suspension with the wind are
transported to a considerable distance. When dropped down under
favourable conditions these have been found to accumulate in the
different constituents the form of paper-thin laminae, which have
aggregated together to form a massive deposit known as Loess.
Geological Work - RIVER
Erosional landforms:
Different types of landforms are created due to the erosional
effect of the river. They are as follows:
1) V-Shaped Valley
2) Gorge and Canyon
3) Waterfall
4) Pot hole
5) River Terraces
6) River Meanders
1) V-Shaped Valley
• The valleys curved out by the rivers are significant erosional
landforms.
• The valley is very deep and narrow, both the valley sides meet
together at the valley floor thus water always touches the valley
sides.
.
Geological Work - RIVER
• The valleys are gradually widened due to lateral erosion.
2) Gorge and Canyon
During river erosion, down cutting of its channel gives rise to
depressed land surface, on either side covered with vertical (or) steep
walls.
Such a valley is termed as a “Gorge”, when it is deep and narrow
without widening and as “canyon” when widening takes place.
Geological Work - RIVER
3) Water fall
When a river flows along steep slope, over a vertical rock face, it forms a
waterfall.
Geological Work - RIVER
4) Pot hole
These are the cylindrical (or) bowl shaped depressions, formed due to
plucking out of rock formation in the river bed by hydraulic action. They
vary in size from few centimeters to several meters in diameter and depth.
5) River Terraces
The narrow flat surface on either side of the valley floor are called river
terrace.
Sometimes, the river valleys are frequented by several terraces on either
side wherein they are arranged in step-like forms.
Geological Work - RIVER
6) River Meanders
River meanders refer to the bends or longitudinal courses of the rivers.
The shape of meander is usually semi-circular but sometimes it is circular.
Each bend of a meander belt has two types of slopes:
(1) Concave slope: This is the slope where the channel strikes the valley
sides directly which is subjected to severe erosion resulting into the
formation of vertical cliffs.
Geological Work - RIVER
(2) Convex slope: Characterized by gentle slope and which is formed by the
deposition of mostly of sands and gravels but sometimes alluvium is also deposited.
