Differences between Weathering & Erosion + How They Work Together to Create Landscapes | GEO GIRL

[@donaldbrizzolara7720]

Wonderful discussion Rachel! As a petroleum geologist an understanding of the relationship of erosional unconformities and underlying reservoir properties was critical. Commonly uplifted and eroded, tite, carbonate sandstone units would display enhanced porosity and permeability beneath erosional unconformities exposed to acidic meteoric waters. These same units at greater depths below the unconformity would be “hammer ringers” but at and immediately below the unconformity could display phenomenal reservoirs properties. Many of the giant oil fields of the North Slope are based on this principle.

[@georgefspicka5483]

Hi Rachael ~ Beautiful. As always, you’ve helped expand my knowledge. The importance and difference between these two processes are now clearer in my noggin, especially the erosion aspect. // I can relate to when you mentioned that because of your output, you couldn’t precisely recall a specific earlier video. As a composer with nearly 700 works, I sometimes go through the same thing :) I especially liked it when you mentioned the complexities at work that influence climate. I’ve belonged to a very cool Facebook science forum for a while now. At the beginning, whenever I shared climate research that didn’t strictly adhere to the CO2 model, I sometimes was verbally assaulted by these know-it-all zealots. Thank God the moderator, who is quite unbiased, put her foot down and said that any who engaged in such behavior, would be banned from the forum, and she was true to her word. I personally view science, especially geology, as a never-ending adventure and opportunity to learn. Even if I may not agree with a certain opinion, I still want to know about it, because science does sometimes change. // My favorite example of this is when Darwin’s ideas about Natural Selection had to be modified, because what the fossil record showed was different then what Darwin had predicted - which was that as more and more fossils were discovered, it would show one species gradually developing into another over time. However, what the fossil record showed was that species generally remain stable until an external stressor acts upon them. “In 1972, paleontologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould published a landmark paper developing their theory and called it ‘punctuated equilibria.’” It was this paper that contrasted the idea of “phyletic gradualism”, the idea that evolution generally occurs uniformly by the steady and gradual transformation.

[@k4x4map46]

nice!! a touch of geomorph refresher!!

[@HoboMinerals]

The shores of Lake Michigan have a lot of both going on, and it’s devastatingly beautiful..

[@TazPessle]

Very slick that the quiz-poll told me if i was wrong or not and linked the upload. Loved it.

[@daveoatway6126]

I love your enthusiasm! Your organization makes the concepts very understandable! Thank you!

[@GEOGIRL]

Thanks so much! So glad you enjoyed it and found it understandable :D

[@JCO2002]

I'm a caver here in Jamaica, so this was a particularly pertinent one for me, thanks. There are large areas of karst that experience some of the exact processes you're discussing. I knew much of it already, but this really helps to sort it out. RS Stewart - Jamaican Caves Organisation.

[@tedetienne7639]

Hey, that sounds like a GREAT idea for a future Geo Girl video - physical features of karst topography! Rachel, I bet you know of some excellent examples of sinkholes, caves, and other karst features around Texas and New Mexico!

[@GEOGIRL]

Wow that's so cool! I just checked out your website, those caves look so amazing!

[@JCO2002]

@@GEOGIRL Hey, nice that you did! Yep, caves are incredible. There's so much science possible - obligate inverts, bats, hydrology, archaeology, palaeoclimatology. We've been lucky to be part of all of those over the years.

[@barbaradurfee645]

Great website, thanks for linking

[@Grumpyoldman037]

I enjoyed this video very much and I watched the last half twice. I was intrigued by your discussion of humic acid and the humus layer. I covered it all years ago in my soil science class, but you just put me to thinking. Guess I have some more investigation to do. Thank you much!

[@tedetienne7639]

Thanks for another great video! I noticed that you've placed this in the "Physical Geology Playlist", but you also talk a good deal about biological weathering and weathering's ability to bury carbon and affect the climate. So it COULD also go in the "Biogeochemistry Playlist" or the "Historical Geology Playlist". That's one of the great things I've found about geoscience - it's all connected!

[@GEOGIRL]

Yea I know right! I have such a hard time placing my videos into different playlist because they all cross over so much haha ;D I think I will add this one to the biogeochem playlist as well. I would put it in historical geo but that one is getting pretty full haha

[@DavoidJohnson]

The tendency to distinguish between chemical and physical here is interesting since all science comes under the heading of Physics.

[@ronaldbucchino1086]

As always, a fantastic re3fresher.

[@ronaldbucchino1086]

I have come to rely on your videos for refresh and updates to my geo knowledge -- thank you.

[@Beastclub679]

Very nice video geo girl 🐱🐱💖

[@HoboMinerals]

Excellence, as always! ❤

[@barbaradurfee645]

Nice job Rachel ❤️

[@jackstutts6439]

That was fun. I majored in geology in college but that's been almost 40 years. So a refresh was nice.

[@philochristos]

Does weather always have to refer to when something breaks down? The reason I ask is because there are some situations where biological organism change the ground, but not by breaking it down. In one of my history classes in college, they were talking about how after hundreds of thousands of years of huge herds bison migrating north and south across the plains, the soil became really compacted and hard. That's why people were able to use it fresh out of the ground to make bricks for their houses. Is that a form of weathering? If not, does it have a name?

[@GEOGIRL]

Absolutely! Many chemical weathering phenomena simply refer to the chemical conversion of minerals within rocks rather than the 'break down'. I guess some people still see some of these conversions as 'breaking down' the rock, but in many cases I would say that they are just 'changing' it as you mentioned, rather than 'breaking it down'. The physical compacting by the herds is a great example of physical weathering! It isn't 'breaking down' the rock per se, but it is certainly changing it and thus, weathering it. :) I am sure there are scientists that have other opinions on what 'counts' as weathering because the lines get a bit fuzzy for some scenarios, but this is what I think based on what I've been taught. :) Thanks for the wonderful question!

[@eerokutale277]

In my opinion Fungi are fascinating organisms, long ago Prototaxites were the largest living organisms on Earth and according to some sources modern Fungi can be really humongous, miles across but we don't see them because they are under ground and they even interact with plants.

[@barbaradurfee645]

As a gardener, I am a big fan of fungi!

[@Adam_First]

You're like the coolest science teacher ever

[@GEOGIRL]

Omg this comment made my week! Thank you so much! I hope my real students think that lol! ;D

[@nerdwisdomyo9563]

This video was fantastic! The best subject. Dose justice

[@denmaroca2584]

Great video; lots of info, clearly told. I learned a lot (including the fact that there was a difference between weathering and erosion!).

[@geodad4782]

I loved my visit to Arches NP. Very beautiful. I need to take my son, since he wasn’t born the first time I went.

[@meesalikeu]

omg the erosion along lake erie, the shallowest great lake, is epic. your waterfront breakwall and upkeep costs as much as your house and lakefront property.

[@JKTCGMV13]

I’m 27 and this topic always reminds me of my 4th grade science class and the chorus of the music they’d play 🎶 Waves, wind, water and ice 🎶 🎶 Shape and reshape the Earth’s 🎶 🎶 Laaaaand surface 🎶

[@ericbrown2336]

😊❤ Yay!! 🎉😊 ❄️☀️🌬🌪🌨🌧⛰️🏔🗻🌋🏜🌊💧Weathering & Erosion!!! Great Video GEOGIRL! 😊 Srry couldn't decide on emojis.... YAY! 🎉

[@TrentSpriggs-n7c]

TY. A superb job, as always. I wonder if you have done something on the evolution of forests, and the relationships with dirt and soil. Humus breakdown, degree, and quality as phenomena seem to be prerequisite. Topsoil dynamics are intriguing. I learned a great deal from this video.

[@GEOGIRL]

I have not yet discussed the evolution of forests (well I briefly mentioned that that has occurred in the holocene and anthropocene videos, but I didn't actually discuss it), that is a great idea, thanks!! And thank you for the kind words, I am so glad you enjoyed it and learn a lot ;)

[@judychurley6623]

I recall the term "mass wasting", too. Also, every 'geology ' national park in the west had a video that began "Wind... water... time... these are the forces that shaped national park...."

[@tomschmidt381]

Interesting distinction between weathering and erosion. I had not thought much about the distinction before. I'll use the terms more precisely in the future. I've only recently come to understand how much life has sculptured the planet. Previously I had thought about life simply existing on the planet but the more I've learned the more I understand just how extensively life has remodeled to planet.

[@shadeen3604]

Thank you geo girl if we read hundred bootks we will not get this simple explanation about landscape

[@GEOGIRL]

Wow that means so much, thank you!

[@gerardcoyle2587]

Thanks. First clear explanation I've had of the differences between weathering and erosion. Also, in the case of organic material such as waxes that can remain in the soil for thousands of years, is there anyway they can be used to investigate the history of the soil or any other information that can be derived from them?

[@joecanales9631]

Thanks for your video. I suspected you were a geochemist. (It’s my weakest geologic sub-discipline, I like bigger processes as in tectonophysics. My best geologic collaborators were strong geochemists) Your video has reminded me I need to fix a few cracks in my retaining wall, water freezing is a strong weathering process. On a side note, I recently watched a video on large spherical boulders which were represented as being carved by ancient people. I remember encountering round boulders in a well core in west Africa, not created by ancient people. I always thought it was some geochemical process but never saw it resolved satisfactorily.

[@barbaradurfee645]

The handful of Geochemists I have known & work with have all been astonishingly good at interdisciplinary thinking 😊🧠

[@reinholdhenke1641]

Thanks!

[@GEOGIRL]

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it :D

[@geraldfrost4710]

Perfect video! If I'd done it, I would have shown a 105 year old person in an old folks home vs. a 45 year old Eskimo. My video would have been blacklisted by the algorithm.

[@geraldfrost4710]

Fun fact: The Anazon has acid rain. It's not from sulfur, which gets lofted into the atmosphere from sulfur rich coal, and then becomes sulphuric acid. No. It's formic acid, which comes from ants! Go figure.

[@TagiukGold]

The gold at my mine was weathered by frost weathering, and eroded by glacial alluvial erosion.

[@KwanLowe]

Thanks! My brain feels like it did a workout. QQ iydm - what coursework in a college would cover this subject?

[@GEOGIRL]

Thanks so much! I am glad you enjoyed the video :) That is a great question! Basically any introductory geology course would cover this, like Intro to physical geology and intro to historical geology are the two introductory geo courses at my university, but there may be others that call them different names, like Earth history, History of Earth, Intro to Earth science, Earth processes, etc. Sometimes more advanced geology courses, like structural geology, geophysics, petrology, or sedimentology and stratigraphy, may also cover this topic, but they would likely only briefly discuss it as a recap (with the exception of sedimentology and stratigraphy which would likely cover it in much more depth). Hope that helps! ;)

[@hermanmusimbi4337]

😢 great job rachel but I do wish you added more to the erosion part. Maybe another episode with that goes into depth on erosive agents and mechanisms. And throw in deposition. In my class however we always put gravity aside as an erosive agent as it wasnt physical matter transporting sediment.

[@GEOGIRL]

Thanks! Just in case you are not aware, I have many videos on my channel already that discuss sediment transport and deposition, that is why I didn't discuss it much here. I actually have two whole playlists about that haha, one is called sedimentology and stratigraphy: kzbin.info/aero/PL69bBhmsrgfu4RUeenBNwJfnZa0VrX2hm, and the other is depositional environments: kzbin.info/aero/PL69bBhmsrgfsrQyfSaxx5ioVhhfwtyAHI. Hope you find these helpful!

[@amirsohail755]

Dear Love Your Work From Pakistan 🇵🇰

[@nukelewman]

I used to think geology was the least interesting subject. Now, with a deeper understanding of physics, chemistry, and history, I can appreciate geology much more. I am from Michigan, and a big problem all over the state is erosion. Lots of ledges and shores being damaged.

[@claymonsterpottery]

Yay for feldspar into clay! Would you ever do a video about the chemistry of clay getting fired? Thanks.

[@sparklytreesarecool]

Weathering and Erosion--hah, I know the difference. NO I DIDN'T. Thank you for another highly informative, quality lecture. Old Fossil

[@GEOGIRL]

Haha I love it! Don't worry, when someone asked me to do this topic, I thought, oh yea, that's easy, but it turns out I didn't know a lot of this either until I researched it haha ;)

[@DenilsonBaiensedeLima-to1fy]

Beautiful!!!!

[@terenzo50]

Next time you go cave exploring -- Beware the Snottites! (Soon to be a major motion picture...)

[@sophierobinson2738]

Incongruent dissolution. Describes me.😊

[@leggomuhgreggo]

I've heard speculation that there are no gradual / uniformitarian processes that form rock arches. That all the rock arches we see are from massive fluvial episodes for which there is no contemporary analogue. Is that true?

[@rsdogra1595]

lovely

[@ravimistri1]

Very informative…..

[@rsdogra1595]

please make more vudeos on plaentology and stratigraphy

[@royaleblizzard2460]

Im so amaze with an erosion, makes me think where is the water comes from? and its all around the world.

[@iquemedia]

rock arches are S tier earth

[@Inlocked]

I think you must mentioned mohs scale and the mineral hardness because if minerals have high hardness (usually more than 7 or above)its naturally resist against weathering example igneous rock usually contains more silica compare than other rock types so its hard to weathered easily. I hope you understand my thoughts and opinion :D

[@LorenStClair]

I hope you are doing well, So clear you have a gift

[@brentwilbur]

Is it possible to de-hydrolyze or condense clay back into feldspar?

[@GEOGIRL]

Nope, not in a sedimentary environment like soils; the only way feldspar could form again from clay is if it was remelted into magma and re-crystalized :)

[@SeaScienceFilmLabs]

@@GEOGIRLNice use of Semi~Colons! “Semantics;” I didn’t know You were a semantic acrobat, as Well… 🤔 😁

[@SeaScienceFilmLabs]

@@GEOGIRL So… 😁 Do You know about the Cleaved Rock at the “Jabal Al Lawz” site in Saudi Arabia, GeoGirl? 🍎

[@TazPessle]

Minor Q. Ferrous is Fe2+, ferric is Fe3+, but what's it called if its iron metal, Fe0? Colloquially, it's ferrous metal, right? But i feel like this should have a different term.

[@rs86]

I always wondered why rock type is weak against water type. Is this why?

[@JKTCGMV13]

Oh frick I never considered the difference. If you asked me I wouldn’t have said there was one

[@mohammedagilah6549]

Thank u❤

[@RavenRains]

huh, I didnt know they were so different :oo

[@nicholasmaude6906]

Isn't some weak nitric acid generated in nature, Rachael, by NO2 generated by lightning interacting with moisture and rain in the atmosphere? I remember reading somewhere years ago that about 50% of naturally formed nitrates on Earth come from Nix compounds formed in lightning-bolts.

[@mohamed19-g7w]

Rocks that contain vesicles and contain olivine, what is the probability that they are meteorites instead of being igneous igneous rocks?

[@kayakMike1000]

Carbonic acid is only common if you're at a soda fountain. Only a tiny fraction of the carbon dioxide dissolved in water contributes to the formation of carbonic acid. Still, Almost all rain is somewhat acidic ph around 5.5 or so. Why? Well we have a nitrogen atmosphere. Acid rain is mosly nitrous and nitric acid.

[@jackwt7340]

As the sun's radiation gets stronger, the Earth needs to cool itself. This is how the Earth sustenes life.☀🌎 But this creates a problem -- it's very hot in summer and very cold in winter.🥵🥶

[@kayakMike1000]

Hum... Rocks get weathered, but soil embankments get eroded. Soil is often composed of weathered rocks... I think I got it.

[@TheRCvie]

Ah, a story as old as time.

[@meesalikeu]

hi doc geo -could you do a video for us about the Indian Ocean geoid low (IOGL) sometime? it was in the news lately.

[@johnvl6358]

😎

[@SeaScienceFilmLabs]

Semantics…

[@SeaScienceFilmLabs]

So… Where is the “Geological Column,” again??? Is that under the Clay?

[@SeaScienceFilmLabs]

It’s almost as though the “Weathering” due to Life Forms, should have it’s own compound term..: Such as, “Biological Weathering…” (Captain Obvious has arrived…)

[@shaunleier922]

"promo sm"

[@paytonpryor]

I unsubscribed. You have literally no following. How are you expecting people to pay you just to hear you talk about your opinions?

[@GEOGIRL]

I don't talk about my opinions on my channel, I teach information from peer reviewed papers and textbooks, and I don't ask people to pay me... I am not sure I understand your comment, but I apologize if it came off that way.

[@paytonpryor]

@@GEOGIRL I tried to watch one of your videos and I couldn't watch watch it without paying. I apologize I didn't mean your opinion. That was a poor choice of words. I really appreciate you responding and hearing me out. There's no need for you to apologize with how you run your channel.

[@paytonpryor]

@@GEOGIRL May I ask why I need to pay to watch some of your videos when I have Premium already.

[@GEOGIRL]

@@paytonpryor Oh I understand the confusion! I assume you tried to watch the video that will be coming out tomorrow (the 'how we study Earth's past' video), that one is a 'members-only' video for now because I put my videos out early for members and then I put them out for the public to see freely :) If it was a different member-only video that you were trying to watch, like one of my lab vlogs or talking vlogs, those I only put out for members because my subscribers wanted me to make a membership feature with exclusive content, so I decided to put keep putting out the most valuable and informative videos for everyone for free, and then just put things like vlogs for the member-only content. This is not because I think people should pay for my opinions, it is just for those people that want to see the behind the scenes of my life, the content that I don't polish for public viewers you know? I do not publish those videos for public because one, they wouldn't do well on my lecture based channel since they don't really teach anything, and two I have to provide my channel members with something extra because they deserve that :) But trust me, you are not missing much! All the 'valuable' and informative videos that are currently members only will come out for free eventually, they are only members-only for a limited time :) Hope that makes sense! Sorry for the confusion!

[@paytonpryor]

@@GEOGIRL I totally didn't know the difference. I believe education should be free for all. Life long learning is essential. Thank you for clarifying. Like this post when you see it. I will delete it, post a positive post, and resubscribe. Most KZbinrs would just ignore what I said. You took the time to explain. I owe you an apology. Please excuse my frustration.

[@Gracinda80]

@SabineHossenfelder see from minute 6:47 to 9:11