Chemical Weathering In Limestone And Granite

Carbon dioxide from the respiration of animals and ourselves is one cause of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Chemical weathering in limestone and granite.

The solution of soluble minerals is particularly important in limestone landscapes. Granite and limestone are two of the most common and widely distributed rocks on earth. Limestone areas are predominantly affected by chemical weathering when rainwater which contains a weak carbonic acid reacts with limestone. 5 2 chemical weathering.

Two important ones are rock salt and limestone. Calcite is the major component of limestone typically more than 95 and under surface conditions limestone will dissolve to varying degrees depending on which minerals it contains other than calcite as shown in figure 5 12. Mechanical weathering occurs when water drips or flows over rock for prolonged periods. Chemical weathering involves the decomposition of rocks due to chemical reactions between minerals such as calcite with water and gases in the atmosphere e g.

Chemical weathering some material on this page borrowed from usgs. Limestone also dissolves at relatively shallow depths underground forming limestone. Weathering is the breakdown of rock by physical chemical or biological processes. Granite is extremely hard and less affected by the freeze thaw cycle the forces of abrasion and the surface exfoliation processes that are all a part of physical weathering.

The grand canyon for example was formed to a large degree by the mechanical weathering action of the colorado river. When these rocks dissolve the materials which make them up become ions in solution in the water and are carried away with it. The little chunks of granite are weathering and accumulating in topographic lows. This causes the limestone to dissolve.

Chemical weathering can produce caves made of limestone some types of rock are not easily weathered by chemicals. They are however very different in their composition appearances and uses. Water causes both mechanical weathering and chemical weathering. Although the science behind the formation of these types of rocks is complex you can.

Both have been used as key building blocks over the centuries.