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describe the weathering due to air and water in datail
Chemical weathering changes the materials that make up rocks and soil. Sometimes, carbon dioxide from the air or soil combines with water. This produces a weak acid, called carbonic acid, that can dissolve rock.
We call weathering due to air and water Mechanical weathering.
Mechanical weathering is known as physical weathering. Mechanical weathering is the physical breakdown of rocks into smaller and smaller pieces. One of the most common mechanical actions is frost shattering. It happens when water enters the pores and cracks of rocks, then freezes. Frost weathering, frost wedging, ice wedging or cryofracturing is the collective name for several processes where ice is present. These processes include frost shattering, frost-wedging and freeze-thaw weathering.
Once the frozen water is within the rocks, it expands by about 10% thereby opening the cracks a bit wider. The pressure acting within the rocks alongside the changes in weather makes the rock split off, and bigger rocks are broken into smaller fragments.
Another type of mechanical weathering is called salt wedging. Winds, water waves, and rain also have an effect on rocks as they are physical forces that wear away rock particles, particularly over long periods of time. These forces are equally categorized under mechanical or physical weathering because they release their pressures on the rocks directly and indirectly which causes the rocks to fracture and disintegrate.