Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soil, and minerals. Mountains are broken down by harsh weather and turned into stone, sand, and eventually soil.
Weathering breaks down rocks and sediments on the surface of mountains, weakening their structure over time. This makes the mountains more susceptible to erosion by natural forces such as wind, water, and ice, which gradually wear away the rock material and reduce the height of the mountains.
Actually, weathering does not reduce the height of a mountain...erosion does. The rate of mountain erosion depends on the nature of the mountain material rate of weathering and the climate primarily. Some disappear in thousands of years or less while other take millions of years to go.If orogenic-isostatic uplift is faster than the weathering/erosion rate, then there will be mountain growth instead of height loss.(c) http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070807161730AAtVNtr@maybdeleon.follow me )Rate This Answer
The temperature of the atmosphere reduces with height. Mountains are high, thus cooler.
Weathering in an arid region would likely be dominated by physical weathering processes such as thermal expansion and contraction, exfoliation, and freeze-thaw cycles. The lack of moisture reduces chemical weathering processes like hydrolysis and oxidation. Wind abrasion and salt crystal growth may also play significant roles in breaking down rock in arid regions.
Both chemical and mechanical weathering breakdown a rock into particles, just in diffrent ways. Mechanical weathering is the physical weathering in which a rock is broken down into particles. Chemical weathering is the weathering in which rocks are disolved, decomposed , or loosend to change the minerals in the rock.
Polar regions keep chemical weathering to a minimum because of the cold temperatures, which slow down chemical reactions. The lack of vegetation and minimal water availability in the form of ice limit the presence of organic acids that contribute to chemical weathering. Additionally, the short growing season reduces the potential for plant root activities that can enhance weathering processes.
In hot and dry climates, there is less moisture available for chemical reactions to occur, which slows down the weathering process. Additionally, the lack of water reduces the formation of frost wedging and other physical weathering processes that rely on water freezing and expanding. The high temperatures can also increase evaporation rates, further limiting water's role in breaking down rocks.
There isn't much chemical weathering in Antarctica because the continent experiences extremely low temperatures, which slow down chemical reactions. Additionally, the ice cover reduces the availability of liquid water needed for chemical reactions to occur. The lack of vegetation and organic matter also limits the production of acids that aid in chemical weathering processes.
Mechanical weathering involves physical processes like freeze-thaw cycles and abrasion that break down rocks into smaller pieces without changing their chemical composition. Chemical weathering, on the other hand, involves the alteration of rock through chemical reactions, such as when minerals dissolve or react with substances in the environment, leading to the breakdown of the rock's structure.
Air density decreases as you climb mountains because the air molecules become more spread out at higher altitudes. This means there are fewer air molecules in a given volume, leading to lower air density.
Through weathering and erosion of the metamorphic rock. The metamorphic rock, exposed to weathering processes at the surface, breaks into smaller pieces. Erosional processes transport these pieces to a place of deposition where they build up, layer on layer. Eventually the compaction caused by the weight of the sediments above reduces the amount of space and water between particles. In this process of rock formation known as lithification, cementing minerals are formed out of the slowly disappearing fluids, which are saturated with mineral components. Once cemented together, it is now considered sedimentary rock.
Mountains are worn down through a process called erosion, which is primarily caused by natural elements such as wind, water, and ice. These forces break down the rocks and soil on the mountain's surface and transport the material downhill. Over time, this erosion gradually reduces the height and size of the mountain.