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Geology & Earth Sciences vocabulary · Landforms & Surface Processes

Weathering

Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples

/ˈweðərɪŋ/nounCore term

In geology & earth sciences, weathering means: The breaking down of rock at or near the Earth's surface by physical, chemical or biological processes, without the pieces being carried away.

In Turkish: ayrışma, bozunma

How it is used

Divided into physical (mechanical) weathering, such as frost wedging, and chemical weathering, such as the dissolving of limestone. In field and engineering reports, rock is described as fresh, slightly weathered or highly weathered.

Example sentences

  1. Chemical weathering is faster in warm, wet climates.

  2. Break off a piece: weathering has stained the surface, but the rock inside is fresh.

Common collocations

  • chemical weathering
  • physical weathering
  • weathered surface
  • resistant to weathering
  • deeply weathered
  • erosionThe removal of soil and rock fragments from one place and their transport to another by water, wind, ice or gravity.
  • soilThe loose top layer of the land surface, made of weathered rock particles, organic matter, water and air, in which plants grow.
  • parent materialThe rock or loose sediment from which a soil develops through weathering. Its minerals strongly affect the soil's texture, colour and fertility.
  • karstA landscape formed when water slowly dissolves soluble rocks such as limestone or gypsum, creating caves, sinkholes, underground rivers and large springs.

More terms: Landforms & Surface Processes

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