weathering
The breakdown of rocks and *minerals at and below the Earth’s surface by the action of physical and chemical processes. Essentially it is the response of Earth materials to the low pressures, low temperatures, and presence of air and water that characterize the near-surface environment, but which were not typical of the environment of formation. There are several varieties of rock breakdown. Simple disintegration may occur, resulting in the production of coarse, angular blocks, of peels or skins (the process of ‘desquamation’), of ... ...
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