Soils & Mass

Movements
 Review: Weathering
Weathering produces rock fragments (sediments)
Sediments range in size from huge boulders to microscopic
particles

Physical Weathering: Minerals remain chemically unchanged

Breaking rock into smaller pieces
No change in composition

Chemical Weathering: minerals in a rock are dissolved or

otherwise chemically changed
 Physical Weathering - Effect of Temperature
Temperature plays a role in mechanical weathering
Frost (Ice) Wedging:
When water freezes, it expands and increases in volume
In many places on the earth, water collects in the cracks of rocks
and rock layers
If the temperature drops to the freezing point, water freezes,
expands, exerts pressure on the rocks, and can cause the cracks to
widen slightly.
When the temperature increases, the ice melts in the cracks
Example: pot holes in roads
Frost Wedging
Physical Weathering - Effect of pressure
Roots of trees and other
plants can exert pressure on
rocks when they wedge
themselves into the cracks in
rocks
As the roots grow and expand,
they exert increasing amounts
of pressure which often causes
the rocks to split
Physical Weathering
Exfoliation: gravity causes rocks to break loose, coming off in layers
During the day the rock heats up, causing it to expand, but at night it
contracts when the temperature is cool
When this is constantly repeated, the outer layer will often peel away from
the rest of the rock
Chemical Weathering
Process by which rocks and minerals undergo changes in their
compositions

Agents of chemical weathering:

Water
Oxygen
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Acid Precipitation

The interaction of these agents with rock can cause some

substances to dissolve, and some new minerals to form. The new
minerals have properties different than those that were in the
original rock.
Chemical Weathering: Effects of Water & Oxygen
Water:
Water may dissolve many kinds of
minerals and rocks

Oxygen:
Oxidation: the chemical reaction of oxygen
with another substance
~21% of Earths atmosphere is oxygen gas
Example: Iron & oxygen create iron oxide
(rust)
 Chemical Weathering: Effects of CO2
Carbon Dioxide:
Carbon Dioxide gas occurs
naturally in the atmosphere as a
product of living organisms
When carbon dioxide combines
with water in the atmosphere, it
forms a very weak acid called
carbonic acid
This can dissolve minerals like
calcite that is found in marble and
limestone
Chemical Weathering: Effects of Acid Precipitation
Acid Precipitation:
Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen
oxides released into the
atmosphere by human
activities can also cause
acid precipitation.
Can slowly dissolve
minerals in rocks, be
harmful to many
organisms, and destructive
to human-made structures
Rate of Weathering
The Natural weathering of Earth materials occurs slowly
It can take 2000 years to weather 1 cm of limestone
Climate
The interaction between temperature and precipitation in a given climate
determines the rate of weathering
Chemical weathering is rapid in climate with warm temperatures, abundant
rainfall and lush vegetation
Physical weathering is more rapid in cool climates. Physical weathering rates
are highest in areas where water in cracks undergoes repeated freezing and
thawing.
Rate of Weathering: Surface Area
Mechanical weathering breaks rocks into smaller pieces. As the
pieces get smaller, the surface area increases. When this happens,
there is more total surface area available for chemical weathering.
Weathering has more of an effect on smaller particles (with more
surface area)
 Erosion
Erosion: the removal
and transport of
sediment

Four main agents of

erosion:
Moving Water
Wind
Glaciers (Ice)
Gravity
Energy of transporting agents
Water:
Fast-moving water can transport large particles better than slow-moving
water
As water slows down, largest particles settle out first
Rivers, streams, ocean waves

Wind:
Can only move small grains

Glaciers:
Move all materials with equal ease
Dumps materials in unsorted piles as the glacier melts
Deposits similar to landslides
How do you start describing the
soil?

What do you see?

What is different from top to bottom?
How deep do roots go?
Soils
Soil: made of loose,
weathered rock and organic
material in which plants
with roots can grow
Product of thousands of
years of chemical and
mechanical weathering and
biological activity
Soil Development
The material from which a soil is
formed is called its parent rock
Residual Soil: A soil whose parent
material is the bedrock beneath the
soil
Example: the soil in the Bluegrass region
of Kentucky
Transported Soils: soils from
transported materials
Example: the soils in the Midwestern US
have parent material that was deposited
by the glaciers
Soil Development
A soil develops as its parent rock is
weathered away
Worms and other organisms break
down organic matter and add
nutrients to the soil
Organic matter can include leaves,
twigs, roots, dead animals and insects
As nutrients are added, the texture
changes, and the soils capacity to
hold water increases
 Soil Profiles
During the development of soil,
layers form
A soil profile is a vertical
sequence of soil layers (a cross-
section)

New soils are not fully developed

and dont have distinct layers
If there are distinct layers, the soil
is mature
 Soil Horizons
Soil Horizon: a distinct layer within a soil profile
4 major soil horizons in mature soil:
O-horizon: top layer of organic material
Humus: organic material that forms from decayed plant and animal materials
A-horizon (Topsoil): weathered rock combined with a rich concentration of dark
brown organic material
B-horizon (Subsoil): red or brown layer that has been enriched over time by clay
and minerals deposited by water flowing from the layers above
Usually a blocky structure
Can create a hard layer call the hardpan
So dense that it allows little or no water to pass through it
C-horizon: little or no organic matter, often made of broken-down bedrock or
rock fragments

The unweathered parent rock lies directly beneath the C-horizon

Soil Horizons
 Top Soil

Subsoil

Parent Material
A Horizon

B Horizon

C Horizon
Factors of Soil Formation
Various factors can affect soil formation and product different types
of soil, called soil orders.
1) Climate:
Most significant factor
Dry, arid climate vs. tropical determine
the minerals present in the B-horizon
Heavy rainfall intensely weathers soils
where lots of minerals have been
flushed out
Factors of Soil Formation
2) Topography:
Slope and orientation of land
On steep slopes, weathered rock is carried downhill
Hillsides tend to have shallow soils while valleys and flat areas have thicker soils with
more organic material
Slopes that are oriented towards the sun receive extra sunlight allows more
vegetation to grow
Slopes without vegetation tend to lose more soil to erosion
3) Parent Material:
The texture and composition of soil depend partly on the parent rock
Residual vs. Transported soil
Factors of Soil Formation
4) Biological Organisms:
Organism including fungi, bacteria as well as plants and animal interact with
soil
Microorganisms decompose dead plants and animals
Different types of biological organisms in a soil can result in different soil
orders

5) Time:
New soils are often found along rivers where sediment is being deposited
After tens of thousands of years of weathering, more of the original minerals
in a soil are changed or washed away
Soil Texture
Particles of soil are classified according
to size as clay, silt, sand, with clay being
the smallest and sand being the largest.
Soil texts affects is capacity to retain
moisture and therefore its ability to
support plant growth
Example: Soil that is very sandy holds
water easily, but dries out quickly
Texture can vary with depth
Soil Fertility
Soil Fertility: The measure of how well a
soil can support the growth of plant

Determined by:
Topography
Availability of minerals and nutrients
Number of microorganisms present
Amount of precipitation
Level of acidity
 Soil Color
The minerals, organic matter, and moisture in each soil horizon determine its color

Dark layers are usually rich in organic matter

O-horizon & A-horizon
Red and yellow soils might be the results of oxidation of iron minerals
Yellow soils are usually poorly drained and are often associated with environmental
problems
Grayish or bluish soils are common in poorly drained regions where soils are
constantly wet and lack oxygen
Munsell System of Color Notation: used to describe soil color based on hue, value
(light/dark) and intensity
Mass Movements
Mass Movement: The downslope movement of soil and
weathered rock resulting from the force of gravity
All occur on slopes
Because few places on Earths surface are completely flat, almost
all of Earths surface undergoes mass movement
Can range from motions that are barely noticeable to sudden
slides, falls, and flows.
Materials that are moved can range in size from fine-grained mud
to large boulders.
Factors that Influence Mass Movements
1) Materials Weight
2) Materials resistance to sliding or flowing
- Amount of friction
- How cohesive the material is
- Anchored to bedrock
3) Trigger
- Earthquake shaking material loose
4) Water
- Saturation increases the weight of soils and sediment
- Water also acts as a lubricant between the grains, reducing the friction

Mass Movements occur when the forces pulling material downslope are stronger
than the materials resistance to sliding, flowing, or falling
 Types of Mass Movements
1) Creep: slow, steady, downhill flow of
loose, weathered Earth materials,
especially soils
Movement might be as little as a
few centimeters per year
Usually noticeable only over long
periods of time
Observe the positions of structures
and objects over time to tell if
creep has occurred
Creep can cause once-vertical utility
poles and fences to tilt, and trees and
walls to break
 Types of Mass Movements
2) Flows: materials have been saturated with water and flows as if they were
a thick layer
Can flow a few centimeters per year to hundred of
kilometers per hour

A. Earthflows: moderately slow movements of

soils
B. Mudflows: swiftly moving mixtures of mud
and water
Triggered by earthquakes or similar vibrations
Tend to occur in drier regions that experience
infrequent but heavy rainfall
Lahar: mudflows that accompany volcanic eruptions
Heat from erupted materials melts snow and ice
on top of a volcano. Water flows down the
slopes of the volcano, carrying mud along with it
 Types of Mass Movements
3) Slides: a rapid, downslope movement
of Earth materials
A. Landslide: occurs when a relatively thin
block of soil, rock, and debris separate
from the underlying bedrock
Material rapidly slides downslope as one
block with little internal mixing
A landslide mass eventually stops and
becomes a pile of debris at the bottom of a
slope, sometimes damming rivers and
causing flooding
Causes almost 2 billion dollars in damage
cost in the US per year
Causes 25-50 deaths per year in the US
 Avalanches: a landslide that occurs in
mountainous areas with thick
accumulation of snow
About 10,000 avalanches occur each year in
the mountains of the western US
Radiation from the Sun can melt surface
snow, which then refreezes at night into an
icy crust. Snow that falls on top of this crust
can build up, become heavy, slip off, and
slide downhill as an avalanche.
Large avalanches occur at slope angles
between 30 and 45. (If greater than 45,
not enough snow can accumulate to create
large avalanches)
B. Rockslide: types of landslide when a sheet
of rock moves downhill on a sliding surface
Types of Mass Movements
4) Slumps: when the mass of material in
a landslide moves along a curved surface
Material at the top of the slump moves
downhill, and slightly inward, while the
material at the bottom moves outward
Tends to occur because a slope becomes
too steep for the bottom to support the
soil at the top of the slope
Frequently occurs on along highways
where the slopes of soils are extremely
steep
Human Activity
While mass movements are natural
processes, human activities often
contribute to factors that cause mass
movements
Construction of buildings, roads, and
other structures can make slopes
unstable
Poor maintenance of septic systems,
which often leak, can trigger slides
Reducing the Risks Humans can minimize the destruction caused
by mass movements by not building structures
on or near the base of steep and unstable
slopes
A series of trenches can be dug to divert
running water around a slope and control its
drainage
Landslides and rockslides can be controlled by
covering steep slopes with materials such as
steel nets and constructing fences along
highways
Installation of retaining walls to support the
bases of weakened slopes
Best way to reduce the number of disasters
related to mass movements is to educate
people about the problems of building on steep
slopes