Chemical weathering is the other important type of weathering. Chemical weathering is different from mechanical weathering because the rock changes, not just in size of pieces, but in composition. That is, one type of mineral changes into a different mineral. Chemical weathering works through chemical reactions that cause changes in the minerals.

Figure 1. Deforestation in Brazil reveals the underlying clay-rich soil.

Most minerals form at high pressure or high temperatures deep in the crust, or sometimes in the mantle. When these rocks reach the Earth’s surface, they are now at very low temperatures and pressures. This is a very different environment from the one in which they formed and the minerals are no longer stable. In chemical weathering, minerals that were stable inside the crust must change to minerals that are stable at Earth’s surface.

Remember that the most common minerals in Earth’s crust are the silicate minerals. Many silicate minerals form in igneous or metamorphic rocks. The minerals that form at the highest temperatures and pressures are the least stable at the surface. Clay is stable at the surface and chemical weathering converts many minerals to clay (figure 1).

There are many types of chemical weathering because there are many agents of chemical weathering. Water is the most important agent of chemical weathering. Two other important agents of chemical weathering are carbon dioxide and oxygen.

Chemical Weathering by Water

A water molecule has a very simple chemical formula, H₂O, two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom. But water is pretty remarkable in terms of all the things it can do. Remember from the Earth’s Minerals chapter that water is a polar molecule. The positive side of the molecule attracts negative ions and the negative side attracts positive ions. So water molecules separate the ions from their compounds and surround them. Water can completely dissolve some minerals, such as salt. Follow this link to check out this animation of how water dissolves salt.

Hydrolysis is the name of the chemical reaction between a chemical compound and water. When this reaction takes place, water dissolves ions from the mineral and carries them away. These elements have undergone leaching. Through hydrolysis, a mineral such as potassium feldspar is leached of potassium and changed into a clay mineral. Clay minerals are more stable at the Earth’s surface.

Figure 7. This statue has been damaged by acid rain.

Chemical Weathering by Acid Rain

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) combines with water as raindrops fall through the atmosphere. This makes a weak acid, called carbonic acid. Carbonic acid is a very common in nature where it works to dissolve rock.

Pollutants, such as sulfur and nitrogen, from fossil fuel burning, create sulfuric and nitric acid. Sulfuric and nitric acids are the two main components of acid rain, which accelerate chemical weathering (figure 7). Acid rain is discussed in the Human Actions and the Atmosphere chapter.

Chemical Weathering by Oxygen

Figure 8. When iron rich minerals oxidize, they produce the familiar red color found in rust.

Oxidation is a chemical reaction that takes place when oxygen reacts with another element. Oxygen is very strongly chemically reactive. The most familiar type of oxidation is when iron reacts with oxygen to create rust (figure 8). Minerals that are rich in iron break down as the iron oxidizes and forms new compounds. Iron oxide produces the red color in soils.

Now that you know what chemical weathering is, can you think of some other ways chemical weathering might occur? Chemical weathering can also be contributed to by plants and animals. As plant roots take in soluble ions as nutrients, certain elements are exchanged. Plant roots and bacterial decay use carbon dioxide in the process of respiration.

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