Question

What is weathering and how is it different from erosion?

Answer 1

Hint: Around 29% of the earth surface is made up of land in the form of continents and the rest 71% is water. The solid surface or the land is formed of rocks and soil. The components of rocks and soil contribute largely to the sustenance of life on the planet, mainly the minerals contained in them. The study of soil is divided into two branches namely Edaphology which focuses on the influence of soil on living things and Pedology which focuses on the formation, description and classification of soil. Weathering and Erosion are two processes of disintegration of rocks.

Complete answer: Although both are processes of disintegration of rocks, weathering and erosion cannot be used synonymously. Weathering only involves breaking down rocks and minerals due to contact with various factors in the Earth’s atmosphere or through water and biological organisms. However, weathering is in situ which means that the process happens on-site and is not displaced. Erosion, on the other hand, is the displacement of broken-down rocks and soil to other locations through various agents like wind, water, snow, human activities, etc. Removal of rocks or soil as sediments is called mechanical erosion while removal of the same through dissolution is called chemical erosion.

Note: The Earth is made up of the following components— the inner core which is made up of solid iron and the liquid outer core which together generate the magnetic field of Earth; the upper and lower mantle which are made up of rocks containing various chemicals; and the crust which is made up of the tectonic plates, continents and oceans. The crust along with a part of the upper mantle is called the lithosphere.