Limestone Granite Weathering

Limestone areas are predominantly affected by chemical weathering when rainwater which contains a weak carbonic acid reacts with limestone.

Limestone granite weathering.

Although the granite is now starting to show some signs of decay it took over a hundred years and exposure to aggressive water to do so. Many horizontal and vertical cracks run through limestone. Limestone is a rock which is more prone to especially chemical weathering than other types of rocks such as granite. Characteristics of rocks include texture appearance color fracture streak hardness etc.

Karst is landscape formed from the weathering of limestone. B hydration and hydrolysis. Carbon dioxide from the respiration of animals and ourselves is one cause of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These two processes indicate the direct attack of atmospheric moisture on the individual minerals of a rock that ultimately affect its structural make up.

Limestone being sedementary is sheety and softer than granite which is igneous and harder having less cracks so it weathers more slowly. 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. This causes the limestone to dissolve. It begins when a crack made larger by freeze thaw and tree roots growing larger until the rock splits.

Weathering is the breakdown of rock by physical chemical or biological processes. Granite vs limestone characteristics. The rounded shapes are pillows formed at depth in the granitic magma roots rub against the edges of the granite burrowing animals eat away parts of the granite weathering removes corners and edges as in spheroidal weathering. Rainwater can get acidic because of the carbonic acid that it contains.

Hard rocks such as granite weather more slowly than softer rocks such as limestone. These cracks allow water to pass easily through the rock. Thus limestone is not easily soluble in pure water but carbonated water dissolves the rock effectively. This greatly shows that out of the three rock samples being tested against limestone that granite will most likely show less weathering through the duration of the experiment.

A gravestone made of granite will therefore resist fracturing cracking and chipping longer than a sandstone marker found in the same location. This is because calcium carbonate which is one of the minerals found in limestone readily reacts with rainwater. Differential weathering happens when softer rocks weathers away and leaves harder more resistant rock behind. Though some rocks look identical they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others.

Why does weathering of granite bedrock produce rounded shapes. Mechanical weathering is weathering done by trees ice etc.