Erosion Prepared by: Jesel-an C.

Luad

What is Erosion?

Erosion- is the wearing away of the earth’s surface by the action of natural forces, for example, water, wind
and glacial ice.

Various Causes of Erosion

Water-Water is a liquid drank by humans, animals, and plants. It’s also produced during photosynthesis.

Wind- wind is the movement of air, in most cases with significant force.

Ice- Ice forms during periods when temperatures considerably drop, resulting in the pile-up of snow and ice.

Gravity-This is the force of attraction between two objects. The force of attraction relies on the masses of the
two objects and the distance between them.

Waves- are moving swells or ridges in a water body.

Effects of Erosion

Reduction of soil fertility- Repeated erosion washes away the topsoil. The top soil is loaded with nutrients and
organic matter critical for crop growth.

Damage and increased costs- Erosion leads to massive deposition of sediments on roads, and railways. This
may cut off transportation lines. Costs will be incurred in regards to clearing away the deposition on the
transport lines to allow transportation to resume.

Environmental impacts- Erosion leads to huge deposition of sediments into drains. This may cause drainage
problems. Water sources such as rivers, streams, and lakes can be polluted through extensive inputs of
pesticides, nitrogen and phosphorous.

What are Water Erosion, Wind Erosion, and Glacier Erosion?

Water Erosion- Water plays a significant role in rock erosion since it’s able to move these weathered materials
from one point to another.

Wind Erosion- Wind blows away weathered particles from the source to other locations. Wind can also speed
up the erosional capability of water.

Glacier Erosion- glacier is an enormous sheet of snow-covered ice that slowly accumulates on a mountain.

Thanks for Listening!

Internal processes- take place within/inside the earth’s surface.

Plate tectonics

1. Catastrophism

earth scientists believed that present landscapes were created by a previous period of great and cataclysms.

largely rejected after about 1830.

2. Uniformitariasm- an idea that internal and external process operated in the geologic past as they do today

THE THEORY OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT

In 1900s Alfred Wegener a German climatologist proposed the theory

The idea that continents & other landmasses have shifted their positions during the earth’s history.

He hypothesized that all continents had once been part of super continent, which called Pangaea

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE (gondwana)

South America, Africa, Australia, Antartica and India.

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE (Laurasia)

- North America, Europe & Asia

Seafloor Spreading

A new oceanic crust forms along the mid oceanic ridges, where basaltic rocks are youngest and that
the oceanic crust moves slowly in opposite directions away from the axis of a ridge.

3 types of plate boundaries

1. Divergent Boundaries- occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other.

2. Convergent Plate- when two plates come together

3. Transform Plate Boundary- two plates sliding past each other