Mass wasting can be defined as a geomorphic process. Mass wasting is the downslope movement of masses of earth materials. Gravity pulls rocks, soils and debris on a downward slope naturally without any chemical change. Physical geology has been evaluated and recommended for 3 semester hours and may be transferred to over 2,000 colleges and universities. Physical geology, first university of saskatchewanedition. Erosion, driven by gravity, is the inevitable response to that uplift, and various types of erosion, including mass wasting, have created slopes in the uplifted regions. Na description this note explains the following topics. Mass wasting is the failure and downslope movement of rock or unconsolidated materials in response to gravity. Free textbook for collegelevel introductory geology courses. A geomorphic process is a natural course of weathering, erosion and deposition that causes alteration of the surface materials and landforms of the earth mass wasting is also known as slope movement or mass movement. Processes of downslope movement of surficial earth materials under the pull of gravity are collectively termed mass wasting. Mass wasting, also known as slope movement or mass movement, is the geomorphic process by which soil, sand, regolith, and rock move downslope typically as a solid, continuous or discontinuous mass, largely under the force of gravity, frequently with characteristics of a. And, can you mentally image how weathering, mass wasting, and erosion would operated in such diverse landscapes.
Human activities such as undercutting the base of the slope, adding weight to the upper part of the slope by building large structures, removing vegetation, and saturating the ground with water increase the risks of mass wasting. Mass wasting is a unique geomorphological process destabilizing the surface rocks and soil mass. Factors that control slope stability mass wasting happens because tectonic processes have created uplift. Mass movement, also called mass wasting, bulk movements of soil and rock debris down slopes in response to the pull of gravity, or the rapid or gradual sinking of the earths ground surface in a predominantly vertical direction. Type of material involved mud, earth, rock type of motion fall free falling pieces slide material moves along a surface as a coherent mass flow material moves as a chaotic mixture the velocity of.
Slump can result in major and rapid slope retreat, especially in regions of river cutbanks. The burst of air from the impact flattened some 2000 trees and the area was showered with dust from the. Check our section of free ebooks and guides on geology now. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Weathering, mass wasting west virginia geological and economic. It has a strong emphasis on examples from western canada, especially british columbia, and also includes a chapter devoted to the. Knowledge about the relationships between lo cal geology and mass wasting. Mass wasting, which is synonymous with slope failure, is the failure and downslope movement of rock or unconsolidated materials in response to gravity. Chapter 4 weathering and soil western oregon university. Mass wasting and landslides mass wasting soest hawaii. Concerning the latter, loose sands, clays and soft shales can prove to be quite problematic. Mass wasting the transfer of rock material downslope under the influence of gravity erosion the incorporation and transportation of material by a mobile agent, usually water, wind, or ice. Tectonics, local geology, and weathering intensity all contribute to the generation of materials susceptible for movement.
A little bit of water helps to hold grains of sand or soil together. Mass wasting is the downslope translation of weathered and bedrock materials under the influence of gravity. This course is designed to be an introduction to the subject of landslides or mass wasting. Mass wasting, which is sometimes called mass movement or slope movement, is defined as the large movement of rock, soil and debris downward due to the force of gravity. Formerly, the term mass wasting referred to a variety of processes by. Mass movement is defined as the down slope movement of rock and regolith near. Mass wasting processes read chapter 5 in your textbook keller, 2000 geol g406 environmental geology s. Varieties of these are called earthflows, mudflows, and debris avalanches. Mass wasting is the transfer or movement of rock or soil down slope primarily. Humans can contribute to mass wasting in a few different ways. Movement occurs as freefalling, bouncing, and rolling.
These flows typically occur in humid areas on steep slopes with thick. Mass wasting 1 physical geology, first university of saskatchewanedition is used under a cc by nc sa 4. The details of all publications are in the researchgate in full text pdf. An introduction to geology free textbook for college. Mass wasting is a collective term addressing all down slope movements of weathered rock soil that are created by gravitational forces. Fall the free fall of detached pieces, talus slopes are built by rock falls.
Free geology books download ebooks online textbooks. Classification of mass wasting events susan mahoney. Classification of mass wasting processes generally, each event is classified by. Geologically, a landslide is a general term for mass wasting that involves fastmoving geologic material. In the fargomoorhead region, three types of mass wasting impact slopes bordering the red river and its tributaries. Chapter 10 mass wasting free online course materials. If the surficial and sometimes subsurface geology is unstable, mass wasting often occurs. This page contains list of freely available ebooks, online textbooks and tutorials in geology. Erosion is the removal of sediments by natural processes e.
The pdf portable document format versions of the lecture notes are optimized for printing. The term landslide is almost synonymous with mass wasting, but not quite because some people reserve landslide for relatively rapid slope failures, while others do not. Mass wasting is the downhill movement of rock and soil material due to. Research geological sciences department california. Slope failure, also referred to as mass wasting, is the downslope movement of rock debris and soil in response to gravitational stresses. Soil, debris, sediment, and broken rock is called regolith. Physical geology download book free computer books.
Because this process involves the free fall of material, falls commonly occur where there are steep. Mass movements occur when the force of gravity exceeds the. These type of strata are highlighted in our discussions. These 36 halfhour lectures are your initiation into the geological world that lies just outside your door. The 1983 thistle landslide foreground dammed the spanish fork river creating a lake that covered the town of thistle, utah. Hughes, 2003 gros ventre landslide, wyoming there are many types of slope failure. Minerals, volcanoes, igneous rocks, mountains and deformation of rock, geologic time, mass wasting, earthquakes and the. Physical geology is a comprehensive introductory text on the physical aspects of geology, including rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciation, groundwater, streams, coasts, mass wasting, climate change, planetary geology and much more.
Mass wasting is the downhill movement of rock and soil material due to gravity. Pdf overview of the effects of mass wasting on the. Pdf masswasting is a unique geomorphological process. If your web browser has the proper plugin installed, clicking on the pdf will bring the file into your web browser from which you can then print the notes. Three example videos found across the web of mass wasting events. Chapter 15 mass wasting physical geology 2nd edition. Knowledge about the relationships between local geology and mass movement processes can. Download fulltext pdf overview of the effects of mass wasting on the natural environment article pdf available in environmental and engineering geoscience 1. That includes all earth materials, rock and regolith. Gravity is the controlling force of mass wasting, but several other factors play important roles.
Physical geology 2nd edition by steven earle is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4. Plate tectonics, minerals, volcanoes, igneous rocks, mountains and deformation of rock, geologic time, mass wasting, earthquakes and the earths interior, groundwater, oceans and coasts. The rate of movement how quickly the material moved. Weathering, mass wasting, erosion, and landscape change. Mass movements and mass movement processes tulane university. The term landslide is often used as a synonym for mass wasting, but mass wasting is a much broader term referring to all movement downslope. When earth material moves down a hillside as a fluidlike mass, it is called an earthflow. A search of the document itself finds only three standards related to weathering, mass wasting, erosion, and landscape change. Media in category mass movements geology the following 16 files are in this category, out of 16 total. Types and causes of mass wastingmass movement of rocks. There are several factors that increase the chance that a landslide will occur. Geological sciences department, california state university, long beach. Mass wasting mass wasting the process by which materials e. Creep and earthflow, generally induce lesser amounts of.
Landslides or mass wasting occur in both solid bedrock and in poorlyconsolidated sediments. An introduction to geology introduces you to physical geology, the study of earths minerals, rocks, soils, and the processes. Wasting is the movement of rock and soil down a slope due to the force of gravity. Sep 12, 2019 see also see more ideas about geology, natural disasters and department of. According to the glossary of geology, disintegration is any.
The work of gravity earth 9thedition chapter 15 mass wasting. Environmental geology ge ol 406506 module 4 landslides, slope failure, and other mass wasting processes. The slide covered hwy 6 and the main railroad between salt lake and denver. Proper design during construction projects can eliminate the potential for increased mass wasting. Introduction mass wasting the downslope movement of.
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