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Weathering
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{{Short description|Deterioration of rocks and minerals through exposure to the elements}} {{About|weathering of rocks and minerals|weathering of polymers|Polymer degradation|and|Weather testing of polymers|the public health concept|Weathering hypothesis}} [[File:KharazaArch.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A [[natural arch]] produced by erosion of differentially weathered rock in Jebel Kharaz ([[Jordan]])]] {{Geology sidebar}} '''Weathering''' is the deterioration of [[Rock (geology)|rocks]], [[soil]]s and [[mineral]]s (as well as [[wood]] and artificial materials) through contact with water, [[atmospheric gases]], [[sunlight]], and biological organisms. It occurs ''[[in situ]]'' (on-site, with little or no movement), and so is distinct from [[erosion]], which involves the transport of rocks and minerals by agents such as [[water]], [[ice]], [[snow]], [[wind]], [[Wind wave|waves]] and [[gravity]]. Weathering processes are either physical or chemical. The former involves the breakdown of rocks and soils through such mechanical effects as heat, water, ice and wind. The latter covers reactions to water, atmospheric gases and biologically produced chemicals with rocks and soils. Water is the principal agent behind both kinds,<ref name="leeder-4">{{cite book |last1=Leeder |first1=M. R. |title=Sedimentology and sedimentary basins : from turbulence to tectonics |date=2011 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location=Chichester, West Sussex, UK |isbn=9781405177832 |edition=2nd |page=4}}</ref> though atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide and the activities of biological organisms are also important.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blatt |first1=Harvey |last2=Middleton |first2=Gerard |last3=Murray |first3=Raymond |title=Origin of sedimentary rocks |date=1980 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |location=Englewood Cliffs, N.J. |isbn=0136427103 |edition=2d |pages=245β246}}</ref> Biological chemical weathering is also called biological weathering.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gore |first1=Pamela J. W. |url=http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~pgore/geology/geo101/weather.htm |title=Weathering |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510224332/http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~pgore/geology/geo101/weather.htm |archive-date=2013-05-10 |website=Georgia Perimeter College}}</ref> The materials left after the rock breaks down combine with organic material to create [[soil]]. Many of Earth's [[landform]]s and landscapes are the result of weathering, erosion and redeposition. Weathering is a crucial part of the [[rock cycle]]; [[sedimentary rock]], the product of weathered rock, covers 66% of the [[Earth's continents]] and much of the [[ocean floor]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blatt |first1=Harvey |last2=Tracy |first2=Robert J. |title=Petrology : igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. |date=1996 |publisher=W.H. Freeman |location=New York |isbn=0716724383 |edition=2nd |page=217}}</ref>
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