Editing Weather (section)

==Shaping the planet Earth==
{{Main|Weathering}}
Weather is one of the fundamental processes that shape the Earth. The process of weathering breaks down the rocks and soils into smaller fragments and then into their constituent substances.<ref>[[NASA]]. [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/odyssey/odyssey-20080320.html NASA Mission Finds New Clues to Guide Search for Life on Mars.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611112222/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/odyssey/odyssey-20080320.html |date=11 June 2008 }} Retrieved on 28 June 2008.</ref> During rains precipitation, the water droplets absorb and dissolve carbon dioxide from the surrounding air. This causes the rainwater to be slightly acidic, which aids the erosive properties of water. The released sediment and chemicals are then free to take part in [[chemical]] reactions that can affect the surface further (such as [[acid rain]]), and sodium and chloride ions ([[sea salt|salt]]) deposited in the seas/oceans. The sediment may reform in time and by geological forces into other rocks and soils. In this way, weather plays a major role in [[erosion]] of the surface.<ref>West Gulf River Forecast Center. [http://www.srh.noaa.gov/wgrfc/resources/glossary/e.html Glossary of Hydrologic Terms: E] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116022913/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/wgrfc/resources/glossary/e.html |date=16 January 2009 }} Retrieved on 28 June 2008.</ref>