9 Surface Processes and Landforms Free Online FlashCards

What is weathering?

Weathering breaks down or alters rock in place, without carrying it elsewhere.

How do physical and chemical weathering differ?

Physical weathering fragments rock without substantially changing its minerals; chemical weathering changes minerals through reactions, such as dissolving or forming clay.

How do erosion, transport, and deposition differ?

Erosion removes material from a place, transport carries it elsewhere, and deposition leaves it where the transporting agent loses energy.

How does flow energy affect sediment transport?

More energetic or faster flow can usually move larger particles. When flow slows, deposition becomes more likely.

Where do erosion and deposition occur in a river meander?

A meander’s faster outer flow erodes a cut bank, while slower flow on the inside deposits a point bar.

How can an oxbow lake form?

When a river cuts through a meander neck, the abandoned bend may become an oxbow lake.

How does a river delta form?

A delta can build at a river mouth as sediment accumulates there.

How can waves and coastal currents shape shorelines?

Waves and coastal currents move sand along shorelines. Where transport slows or sediment collects, beaches, spits, and bars can form.

What is wind deflation, and what surface can it leave?

Deflation removes loose particles. It can leave behind a coarse surface called desert pavement.

What landforms can wind-deposited sand and silt create?

Wind-deposited sand forms dunes, while windblown silt can form extensive deposits called loess.

How do glaciers erode bedrock and shape valleys?

Glaciers erode bedrock by abrasion, as debris grinds against the ground, and by plucking, as ice removes rock blocks. They can widen and deepen valleys into broad U-shaped forms.

What are till and moraines?

Till is unsorted sediment left when glacier ice melts or retreats. Moraines are piles of glacial debris that mark former ice margins.