EXOGENIC PROCESS

- Processes occurring on the Earth's surface and that generally reduce relief. These processes
include weathering and the erosion, transport, and deposition of soil and rocks; the primary
geomorphic agents driving exogenic processes are water, ice, and wind.

TYPES OF EXOGENIC PROCESS

1. WEATHERING
- Process that breaks down rock into smaller pieces
- action of elements of weather and climate over earth material
- defined as mechanical disintegration and chemical decomposition of rocks through the actions
of various elements of weather and climate
- When rocks undergo weathering, some minerals are removed through chemical/ physical
leaching by groundwater and thereby the concentration of remaining (valuable) minerals
increase. Weathering can be classified as – physical, chemical and biological

TYPES OF WEATHERING

A. PHYSICAL WEATHERING
- Happened when rock is physically broken into smaller pieces
- caused by the effects of changing temperature on rocks, causing the rock to break apart. The
process is sometimes assisted by water.
- Where does it occur?
- Physical weathering happens especially in places places where there is little soil and few plants
grow, such as in mountain regions and hot deserts.
- How does it occur?
- Either through repeated melting and freezing of water (mountains and tundra) or through
expansion and contraction of the surface layer of rocks that are baked by the sun (hot deserts).

PROCESSES THAT CAN CAUSE PHYSICAL WEATHERING:

1. FREEZE-THAW
- occurs when water continually seeps into cracks, freezes and expands, eventually breaking the
rock apart.
2. EXFOLIATION
- Exfoliation occurs as cracks develop parallel to the land surface a consequence of the reduction
in pressure during uplift and erosion.
3. UNLOADING & EXPANSION
- Removal of overlying rock load because of continued erosion causes vertical pressure release
- As upper rock portions erode, underlying rocks expand. The underlying rocks then begin to crack
and peel away in sheets or slabs along joints, which are fractures or cracks that are regularly
spaced beneath the surface. Some geologists consider the development of joints a type of
mechanical weathering, as the joints form because of the expansion that occurs as the overlying
rocks are eroded.
4. THERMAL EXPANSION
- Repeated heating and cooling of some rock types can cause rocks to stress and break, resulting
in weathering and erosion. High temperatures cause rocks to expand, then as temperatures cool
 the rocks contract. This continual expansion and contraction weakens the rock, eventually
causing the rock to fracture.
5. FROST WEDGING
- As water seeps into rock cracks and crevices, cold temperatures can cause the water to freeze,
resulting in ice deposits that expand and exert pressure on the rock. According to Missouri State
University, frost wedging is the most abundant form of mechanical weathering. When frost
wedging occurs on mountainous slopes it can cause a geographical feature called a talus, a slope
of loosened gravel at the base of the mountain or cliff that is the result of frost wedging
breaking loose pieces of bedrock from above.

B. CHEMICAL WEATHERING

- Process of breaking down rock through chemical changes

- caused by rain water reacting with the mineral grains in rocks to form new minerals (clays) and
soluble salts. These reactions occur particularly when the water is slightly acidic.

Where does it occur?

- These chemical processes need water, and occur more rapidly at higher temperature, so warm,
damp climates are best. Chemical weathering (especially hydrolysis and oxidation) is the first
stage in the production of soils.

How does it occur?

There are different types of chemical weathering, the most important are:

a. Solution
- removal of rock in solution by acidic rainwater. In particular, limestone is weathered by
rainwater containing dissolved CO2, (this process is sometimes called carbonation).

b. Hydrolysis
- the breakdown of rock by acidic water to produce clay and soluble salts.

c. Oxidation
- the breakdown of rock by oxygen and water, often giving iron-rich rocks a rusty-coloured
weathered surface

FACTORS THAT AFFECT CHEMICAL WEATHERING

WATER - Water dissolves rock chemically

OXYGEN- Rocks that has iron in it mixes with oxygen and rusts.

CARBON DIOXIDE- CO2 dissolves in rainwater and weathers marble and limestone.

LIVING ORGANISMS- Acids from plants and roots chemically weather rock.

ACID RAIN- Air pollution reacts with clouds and falls on rock as acid rain.
2. EROSION
- Involves the movement of the weathered rock (snow, soil, sand and pebbles) from their site of
weathering by the agents of erosion such as wind, moving water, ice and gravity
- Weathering does not always occur before erosion. Erosion always follows after the weathering.
- Transport makes erosion complete. It complete the movement of the eroded materials and
sediments. Weathering can continue during transport.

TRANSPORTS BY

A. WATER
- Rainwater is the most important force or agent of erosion. When there is heavy rain, rock pieces
are carried downstream to a suited depositional environment with the action of gravity.
- Gravity is the driving force and it gives water the energy to erode and carry away rock materials.
- Physical weathering dominates at higher elevation while Chemical weathering takes on a more
active role at lower elevation
- Water can carry almost any size of rocks. The greater the volume of water and the steeper the
slope, the bigger and more rocks can be transported.
- Serious problems in the Philippines are soil erosion and mudslide
- Rock materials are loosened by heavy rains and strong winds and they can come speeding down
slopes, sweeping everything in its path.
B. WIND
- Wind continuously blows away loose particles of rocks and soil from place to place. • This is
common in dry areas such as deserts.
- result in stunning landscapes as sand is blown away and creates sand dunes.
- create sandstorms that contain dust particles and deposit them in wide areas.

3. MASS MOVEMENT (MASS WASTING)

- slope movement
- bulk movements of soil, sand, and rock debris downslopes in response to the force of gravity or
the rapid or gradual sinking of the Earth’s ground surface in a vertical direction.
- The term “mass wasting” was limited only to the variety of processes by which large masses of
crustal materials are moved by the action of gravity form one place to another
- Mass wasting is a type of erosion that is capable of making big chances to a mountain.
- Sinking mass movement that occurs in a relatively rapid fashion is known as subsidence; and a
gradual movement is called settlement.
Subsidence involves the roof collapse or breakdown of a subsurface cavity forming a
cave.
There is also subsidence in the form of sinkholes caused by underground drainage. Mass
movement (mass wasting)
REFERENCE:

https://sciencing.com/unloading-contribute-weathering-5026.html

https://www.clearias.com/exogenic-forces/

https://www.slideshare.net/AbbieMahinay/earth-materials-and-processes-exogenic-process

https://www.slideshare.net/JeromeJerome1/exogenic-process