Erosion and Transportation, and Deposition and Depositional Land

EROSION,
TRANSPORTATION,
DEPOSITION AND
DEPOSITIONAL
LANDFORMS

BIG IDEA: Exogenic processes ae
responsible for shaping the Earth’s surface
and forming the geologic features that are
seen on the surface of Earth.

LEARNING TARGETS

Describe how rocks
undergo weathering.
01

Explain how the
products of
weathering are carried
away by erosion and
deposited elsewhere.

02

Explain how rocks and
soil move downslope
due to the direct
action of gravity.

03

WEATHERING
VS EROSION

WEATHERING is the physical
breakdown and/or chemical
alteration of rocks by certain
elements in the environment.
EROSION is the process of
transporting weathered
sediments by agents of erosion
and to different places.

AGENTS OF EROSION

WATER

GLACIER

WIND

WATER

Primary agent of
erosion on Earth

Types:

Splash erosion

Sheet erosion

Gully erosion

Valley erosion

Bank erosion

Coastline
erosion

Seaside cliff
erosion

WATER

•Primary agent of erosion on Earth
•Types:

•Splash erosion – raindrops
cause tiny particles of soil to be
detached and moved out

WATER

• Primary agent of erosion on

Earth

• Types:

• Sheet erosion –

raindrops break apart
the soil structure and
move downslope as
water flows over land as
sheet

WATER

• Primary agent of erosion on

Earth

• Types:

• Gully erosion – after a

heavy rain, water flows
in narrow channels,
eroding gullies into great
depth

WATER

•Primary agent of erosion
on Earth
•Types:

•Valley erosion –
continuous flow of
water alongside land and
downward movement
deepens a valley

WATER

•Primary agent of erosion on Earth
•Types:

•Bank erosion – continuous flow
of water wears out stones along
the bank of streams and rivers

WATER

• Primary agent of erosion on Earth
• Types:

• Coastline erosion – waves from

the ocean and seas crash onto
shorelines and break down
rocks into pebbles and reduce
the pebbles into sand.

WATER

• Primary agent of erosion on

Earth

• Types:

• Seaside cliff erosion – ocean

waves battering seaside cliffs
bore holes that may become
caves.

GLACIER

• Rocks embedded in the ice

scrape across bedrock,
cutting deep, parallel grooves
and scratches called glacial
striations

GLACIER

• Can erode land through plucking and abrasion

• Plucking – fractured bedrocks are incorporated into the ice
• Abrasion – ice and its load of rock fragments slide over a bedrock

WIND

• Strong wind wears away

soft rocks, also polishes
rocks, and cliffs until they
are smooth

• Erode materials until

nothing is left

• Desert – form sand dunes

WIND

•When wind blows, it
removes only the silt
and sand, leaving the
pebbles and cobbles as
a continuous cover of
stones called desert
pavement

TRANSPORTATION

•Factors:

•Particle weight
•Size
•Shape
•Surface configuration
•Medium type
•Resistance of particles
to be detached

TRANSPORTATION

Solution – dissolved and carried by
water

Suspension – carried by a medium (air,
water or ice)

Traction – rolling, sliding, and shuffling
along eroded surface

Saltation – move from the surface to
the medium in a quick, repeated cycles

DEPOSITION

•Aggradation or
accumulation of weathered
sediments to create
different landforms

EROSION

AGENT

TYPES

Water

Splash, sheet, gully, valley, bank, coastline, and seaside cliff

Glacier

Plucking and abrasion

Wind

Strong wind wears away soft rocks, also polishes rocks, and cliffs until they are smooth

DEPOSITION

AGENT

LANDFORMS

Water

Delta, alluvial fans, flood plain, and leeves

Glacier

Till, moraine, esker, drumlin, and kames

Wind

Loess and Sand Dune