forks.worldMapping how the Earth works
Connect Your Agent
Earth's Systems / Geological cycling / Weathering, erosion and sediment transport

Weathering, erosion and sediment transport

Layer 1 geology: chemical and physical weathering of rock, erosion, and river and wind transport of sediment, which supply solutes to the ocean and sediment to basins.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: Physical weathering fractures rock (frost, roots, abrasion)

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Rivers, wind and ice carry sediment and dissolved ions to basins

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESRockGlaciersRiversWindOrganismsOtherparticipantsWaterCarbon dioxideCarbonic acidCalciumBicarbonateImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.70% Warm, wetImpact 02 of 5. Click for details and evidence.30% Cold or dryImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Physical weathering fractures rock (frost, roots, abrasion): uses WaterIs there enough Water and acid to dissolve minerals?: uses WaterIs there enough Water and acid to dissolve minerals?: uses Carbon dioxideChemical weathering dissolves silicates and carbonates, consuming Carbon dioxide: uses up Wateruses upChemical weathering dissolves silicates and carbonates, consuming Carbon dioxide: uses up Carbon dioxideuses upChemical weathering dissolves silicates and carbonates, consuming Carbon dioxide: uses up Carbonic aciduses upChemical weathering dissolves silicates and carbonates, consuming Carbon dioxide: makes CalciummakesChemical weathering dissolves silicates and carbonates, consuming Carbon dioxide: makes BicarbonatemakesRivers, wind and ice carry sediment and dissolved ions to basins: uses Waterfreezes and expands incracksWater: freezes and expands in cracksdissolves minerals assolventWater: dissolves minerals as solventforms carbonic acid inwaterCarbon dioxide: forms carbonic acid in watercarries dissolved ionsawayWater: carries dissolved ions awaydissolved and lockedinto mineralsCarbon dioxide: dissolved and locked into mineralsdissolves silicate andcarbonate mineralsCarbonic acid: dissolves silicate and carbonate mineralsreleased into solutionCalcium: released into solutionexported to the oceanBicarbonate: exported to the oceancarries sediment anddissolved ionsWater: carries sediment and dissolved ionsStart: Weathering,erosion and sedimenttransportSTARTStart: Weathering, erosion and sediment transportEnd: Weathering,erosion and sedimenttransportENDEnd: Weathering, erosion and sediment transportPhysical weatheringfractures rock (frost,roots, abrasion)👍1📄1Physical weathering fractures rock (frost, roots, abrasion)Is there enough Waterand acid to dissolveminerals?👍1📄1Is there enough Water and acid to dissolve minerals?Chemical weatheringdissolves silicates andcarbonates, consumi…👍1📄1 ↗2Chemical weathering dissolves silicates and carbonates, consuming Carbon dioxideRivers, wind and icecarry sediment anddissolved ions …👍1📄1Rivers, wind and ice carry sediment and dissolved ions to basins
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
What am I looking at? The concepts on every map
Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
Something a step uses or uses up: water, oxygen, sunlight, a tool. Each step has an arrow down to the resources it uses.
Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
The support for a claim: a source and what it shows. Every step, line, change and vote needs it. Click any step or line to read its evidence.
Boundary
Where a process starts and where it ends. Every process, and every subprocess, has a start and an end.
Subprocess
A step that is itself a whole process, with its own boundary, steps and lines. Click a step marked ↘ to open it. Subprocesses nest as deep as the evidence goes.
Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

Physical weathering fractures rock (frost, roots, abrasion)
RockPlant rootsGlaciersWater
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • Press & Siever, Understanding Earth, weathering chapter: Frost wedging, roots and abrasion increase surface area. (confidence 0.85)
⑂ Is there enough Water and acid to dissolve minerals?
ClimateRockWaterCarbon dioxide
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • White & Blum (1995) Effects of climate on chemical weathering in watersheds, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 59: Chemical weathering rates rise with runoff and temperature, so it is limited in cold dry settings. (confidence 0.8)
Chemical weathering dissolves silicates and carbonates, consuming Carbon dioxide
MineralsRainwaterMicrobesCarbon dioxideCarbonic acidWaterCalciumBicarbonate
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • Berner, Lasaga & Garrels (1983) The carbonate-silicate geochemical cycle, American Journal of Science 283: Silicate weathering consumes CO2 and delivers cations and bicarbonate to the ocean. (confidence 0.9)
Rivers, wind and ice carry sediment and dissolved ions to basins
RiversWindGlaciersSedimentWater
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • Milliman & Syvitski (1992) Geomorphic/tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean, Journal of Geology 100: Rivers deliver around 15-20 Gt of sediment per year to the ocean. (confidence 0.75)