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| A weak acid (H2CO3) that forms from the reaction of water and carbon dioxide. Most rain water is a very weak carbonic acid solution formed by the reaction of rain with small amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. |
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| The breaking down of surface rock material by solution or chemical alteration. Common alteration processes are oxidation and hydrolysis. |
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| The slowest form of mass movement, measured in millimeters or centimeters per year and occurring on virtually all slopes. cross bed A bed made up of particles dropped from a moving current, as of wind or water, and marked by a downward slope that indicates the direction of the current that deposited them |
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| A general term applied to the wearing away and movement of earth materials by gravity, wind, water and ice |
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| A physical weathering process in which concentric layers of rock are removed from an outcrop. |
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| A chemical reaction involving water that results in the breakdown of mineral material |
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| is a crack in the ground formed by a narrow or thin piece of ice that measures anywhere from 3 to 4 meters wide and extends downwards into the ground up to 10 inches. During the winter months, the water in the ground freezes and expands. |
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| A downslope movement of rock and soil over a failure surface and under the influence of gravity. Slumps, earthflows, debris flows and debris slides are examples. |
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| A general term used for any downslope movement of rock, soil, snow or ice under the influence of gravity. Includes: landslides, creep, rock falls and avalanches. |
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| The process by which a rock or mineral is broken down into smaller fragments without altering its chemical makeup; weathering that affects only physical characteristics. See also chemical weathering |
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| A type of mass movement composed mainly of clay-size materials with a high enough water content that it flows readily. |
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| A chemical reaction in which substances combine with oxygen. For example, the combination of iron with oxygen to form an iron oxide. |
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| The source from which a given soil is chiefly derived, generally consisting of bedrock or sediment. |
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| the soil that is remaining after the soluble elements have been dissolved |
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| The top few meters of regolith, generally including some organic matter derived from plants. |
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| the soil that is remaining after the soluble elements have been dissolved |
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| A vertical strip of soil stretching from the surface down to the bedrock and including all of the successive soil horizons. |
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| the bed or stratum of earth or earthy material immediately under the surface soil. |
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The thin, rich layer of soil where most nutrients for plants are found. |
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| The weathered pieces of rocks that have been carried by several agents like wind and water and finally breaks down into further small pieces to settle down is called transported soil. They are very fertile as they consist of minerals from a variety of transported rocks |
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| The process by which exposure to atmospheric agents, such as air or moisture, causes rocks and minerals to break down. This process takes place at or near the Earth's surface. Weathering entails little or no movement of the material that it loosens from the rocks and minerals. See also erosion. |
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| A permeable body of rock or regolith that both stores and transports groundwater. |
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| All methods of water moving from a liquid to water vapor in nature. Includes both evaporation and transpiration. |
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