Parent Material - Climate and Weathering

Climate and Weathering

Climate is generally considered the most important factor influencing physical and chemical weathering processes.

Physical weathering is especially important during the early stages of soil development. Rock can be disintegrated by changes in temperature which produces differential expansion and contraction. Changes in temperature can also cause water to freeze. The forces produced by water freezing can be as great as 2.1 × 105 kPa, which can split rocks apart, wedge rocks upward in the soil, and heave and churn soil material.

Chemical weathering The principal agent is percolating rainwater charged with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Parent material becomes hydrolyzed by the acidic solution to produce minerals and to release cations.