Chemical Weathering Of Granite

Chemical weathering of granite occurs when dilute carbonic acid and other acids present in rain and soil waters alter feldspar in a process called hydrolysis.

Chemical weathering of granite.

What are the products of physical and chemical weathering of granite. Hydrolysis is the chemical weathering of minerals by a mildly acidic water that forms when rains dissolves trace gases in the atmosphere. For example granite and gabbro are hard rocks that are weathered only slowly. Hydrolysis occurs for example when water comes in contact with granite.

A gravestone made of granite will therefore resist fracturing cracking and chipping longer than a sandstone marker found in the same location. Granite is extremely hard and less affected by the freeze thaw cycle the forces of abrasion and the surface exfoliation processes that are all a part of physical weathering. The kinds of changes that take place are highly specific to the mineral and the environmental conditions. 5 2 chemical weathering chemical weathering results from chemical changes to minerals that become unstable when they are exposed to surface conditions.

Some minerals like quartz are virtually unaffected by chemical weathering while. The reaction of feldspar minerals in granite with rainwater produces kaolinite white clay known as china clay used in the production of porcelain paper and glass. The physical and chemical weathering of a granite will produce. As demonstrated in the following reaction this causes potassium feldspar to form kaolinite with potassium ions bicarbonate and silica in solution as byproducts.

The deep red color of solis found in georgia and other warm humid regions in caused by. Chemical weathering of rocks is a spontaneous i e irreversible thermodynamic process leading to a more stable state for natural materials under a given set of conditions e g temperature and pressure. Granite contains on average 75 of silicon dioxide quartz and feldspar various metal aluminosilicates. Ions dissolved in rainwater and soil water mineral fragments and granite fragments clays and iron oxides all of these.

Chemical weathering studies are of fundamental importance for several reasons. This reaction is called hydrolysis. Breakdown of rock to depths of many metres induced by the chemical alteration of rock minerals by groundwater. Chemical weathering can produce caves made of limestone some types of rock are not easily weathered by chemicals.

Chemical weathering is the breakdown of rock induced by reactions between rock minerals and groundwater.