Difference Between Erosion And Weathering

Weathering and erosion are both related, but they are distinct processes. Rocks are broken down and moved away from their original location by two processes called weathering and erosion. Erosion is the natural process that occurs on the Earth’s crust’s surface and Weathering is the process of degrading rocks, soils, and all other minerals, including synthetic minerals and wood.

What is Erosion?

The term “erosion” refers to the movement of solids (soil, rock, and other particles) downward or down-slope in reaction to gravity or by living creatures. Existing forces like wind, water, or ice are most frequently responsible for erosion. Erosion is a natural process that removes soil, rock, and material from the earth’s surface as well as dissolves it, and carries it to another site. Erosive agents including water, ice, snow, air, plants, animals, and people are all engaged in the dynamic processes that can cause erosion. Erosion differs from weathering as it doesn’t involve the movement of particles. You may prevent erosion using a variety of techniques, including planting vegetation, contour farming, avoiding overgrazing, reforestation, and the use of mulches.

Types of Erosion

There are four different forms of erosion: water, wind, ice, and gravity erosion. 

1. Water erosion: It is the removal of soil from an area by water and the transportation of the eroded materials away from the area where the soil was removed. 
2. Wind erosion: Rainwater activity erodes the soil through the gully, rill, and stream erosion processes, which have the downstream impacts of floods and sedimentation. Wind erosion occurs on tiny dust, rock, and ash particles.  In certain instances, it may displace enormous numbers of tiny particles from their original places and create remarkable structures like sand rises. 
3. Ice erosion: Ice or glacier movement results in ice erosion. 
4. Gravitational erosion: Gravitational forces, which result from rock movement downslope, cause gravity erosion. 

Causes of Erosion

1. Deforestation

To cultivate the land and feed the world’s expanding population as well as to construct homes, industries, and other structures, humans have taken land from the forest. Deforestation refers to the removal of trees for these uses that are mentioned. The earth is kept together by the roots of trees, which prevents uprooting. The topsoil is damaged by wind and running water when extensive tracts of forest are destroyed.

2. Construction

The soil is at risk of erosion due to the development of buildings and roadways. For building purposes, the woods and grassland are destroyed due to which soil gets removed and makes it susceptible to erosion.

3. Recreational Activities

Ecosystems are frequently harmed by tourism and recreational activities, especially when there are more tourists than the ecosystem can handle in a particular place. At the most popular locations, visitors destroy the vegetation along trails, gradually resulting in wider sections of a surface free of vegetation. Trails that are used often get compacted, which results in less permeable soil and more surface runoff and causes erosion.

4. Logging and Mining
Several trees are chopped down to complete the logging process. Trees strongly retain the soil. The soil is shielded from heavy rains by the forest cover. During logging, the leaf litter that shields the soil from erosion is also removed. Mining is one of the industries that enabled the expansion of our economy, has severely terrified the world, and brutally destroyed several unique ecosystems. As a result of mining operations, the soil is additionally disturbed and more prone to erosion.

5. Overgrazing
When cattle are let to graze on the same field again, they consume every blade of grass, even the roots. This increases the topsoil’s susceptibility to wind and water movement, which causes soil erosion. Moreover, while grazing the cattle also remove plants from the roots due to which the soil becomes more prone to erosion as a result of this loosening.

What is Weathering?

Due to the weathering the rocks, soils, minerals, wood, and manmade materials all deteriorate, which is the result of interaction with water, gases in the atmosphere, and living things.   This procedure may go on for hundreds of years and be extremely slow. A case of rapid weathering involves damage to pathways or roadways after a cold, icy winter. Weathering, in contrast to erosion, is an in-situ process, meaning there is no movement, and it takes place in the same location as the source. One of the main causes of weathering is air pressure. The agents of weathering, lithological and structural aspects of rocks, variables affecting height and slope, and other factors all affect and control weathering. Other factors that have a stronger impact on various weathering processes include terrain, vegetation, and microfauna.

Types of Weathering

There are three types of weathering processes: physical, chemical, and biological. 

1. Physical weathering: In the physical weathering process, rocks and soil break down when they come into direct touch with mechanical elements including heat, water, ice, and pressure. This process is particularly common in extremely cold or extremely dry climates. 
2. Chemical weathering: It is a process that takes place in extremely humid and warm environments and involves the chemical interaction of water, atmospheric gases, and biologically generated compounds with rocks and soils. 
3. Biological weathering: Chemical weathering caused by biological activity is known as biological weathering. 

Causes of Weathering:

1. Temperature: Rocks expand and contract with temperature as the temperature rise and falls.  As a result, the rock’s structure deteriorates over time and eventually crumbles.
2. Pressure: Deep beneath the Earth’s surface, intrusive igneous rocks like granite are formed. These intrusive rocks are exposed when erosion eliminates the underlying rock material, which releases pressure on them and causes the outer portions of the rocks to expand.
3. Root wedging: It occurs when plant roots grow into cracks and start to separate the bedrock. These roots could sometimes turn into fossils. These roots that have been retained in the rock record are known as rhizoliths. Earthworms and ants are biological agents that cause weathering in a manner akin to root wedging. They are also known as tunneling creatures.
4. Frosting and thawing: Water is flowing into a variety of gaps, cracks, and holes. Water expands quickly when it freezes, taking advantage of any flaws. The liquid water expands farther into the wider gaps when the ice melts. A series of freezing and thawing cycles finally causes the rocks to split.

Difference Between Erosion and Weathering:

Basis of comparison	Erosion	Weathering
Definition	Erosion is a process that involves the movement of geological sources from one location to another as a result of surface activities like water flow.	Weathering is a geological process of breaking down resources like rocks and minerals as a result of interaction with the environment, water, or living things.
Causes	Ice, wind, water, and human activity.	Atmospheric conditions like air pressure.
Types	(1) Water erosion (2) Wind erosion (3) Ice erosion (4) Gravity erosion.	(1) Physical weathering (2) Chemical weathering (3) Biological weathering.
Displacement	Yes	No
Time period	Longer	Shorter
Movement	Eroded material moves.	Weathered material does not move.
Control	Planting Vegetation, Applying Mulches, and reforestation.	Wind barriers.

Similarities Between Erosion & Weathering:

1. Both processes are aided by the force of water.
2. Both processes include the loosening and crumbling of the dirt that is present on the surface.

Conclusion

Weathering and erosion, both processes are similar and also distinct in some terms. Erosion is the movement of solids (soil, rock, and other particles) downward or down-slope in reaction to gravity or by living creatures. 4 types of erosion are Wind, water, ice, and gravity erosion. Deforestation, overgrazing, Recreational activities, Construction, logging, and mining are the major causes of erosion. Weathering is a geological process of breaking down resources like rocks and minerals as a result of interaction with the environment, water, or living things. There are three types of weathering: Physical, chemical, and biological. Temperature, Pressure, frosting and thawing, and root wedging are the main causes of weathering. Both are distinct as weathering involves movement and erosion doesn’t. And both processes include the loosening and crumbling of the dirt that is present on the surface.

FAQs

Q1. What are erosion and weathering?

Ans. Erosion is a process that involves the movement of geological sources from one location to another as a result of surface activities like water flow.  Weathering is a geological process of breaking down resources like rocks and minerals as a result of interaction with the environment, water, or living things. 

Q2. What are the main causes of Weathering?

Ans. The main causes of weathering are temperature, pressure, root wedging, frosting, and thawing.

Q3. What are the types of erosion?

Ans. There are four types of erosion are:

1. Water erosion: It is the removal of soil from an area by water and the transportation of the eroded materials away from the area where the soil was removed. 
2. Ice erosion: Ice or glacier movement results in ice erosion. 
3. Wind erosion: the process of deterioration or degradation caused by wind.
4. Gravity erosion:  Gravity erosion is caused when the movement of rocks downslope produced gravitational forces.

Q4. What is the main difference between erosion and weathering?

Ans. Weathering involves movement whereas erosion doesn’t. The causes of erosion are Deforestation, overgrazing, Recreational activities, Construction, logging, and mining whereas the causes of weathering are Temperature, Pressure, frosting and thawing, and root wedging.

Q5. What are the similarities between erosion and weathering?

Ans. Weathering and erosion both are aided by the force of water, and both include loosening and crumbling of the dirt that is present on the surface.