Sediment Selfie
~ Aidan Geleott ~
Weathering in my Backyard
I chose the cracks in my patio right outside my house. This is an example of freezing and thawing. Freezing and thawing is when rock is weathered. Sometimes cracks form. These cracks in concrete/cement can form by tools dropping, people being too rough with it, etc. When it snows during winter, it will eventually melt. When it does melt the water will slide right into the crack. Finally, the water in the crack will freeze. When liquid freezes and turns into ice (which is a solid) it expands, pushing the rock apart. This process turns into a cycle, happening again and again, year after year. This is a form of mechanical weathering because the cracks were formed by water and ice (freezing and thawing).
Erosion and Deposition in my Backyard
During the spring, my family always lays mulch down in our backyard. We did this year, and the same thing happened. The mulch is always perfect looking right when we put it down and is a very bold shade of brown. It also smells very fresh. After about a month of rain, it all starts to fade. The color isn't as bold, and is instead very pale. This is a cause of erosion. The rain has moved the mulch around. It was very extreme this summer because Rensselaer had tons of rain! All of the rain moved the mulch around, causing all of the pieces to scrape against each other (abrasion). They become smaller and smoother after this process. This is an example of deposition and erosion because the water moved all of the mulch and left some behind along the way/deposited (water movement).
Weathering
Above, I am looking at a crack in the concrete of my patio. It was weathered away by ice. Taken in my backyard. (South Park Avenue)
Erosion and Deposition
Above, I am posing in the spot where there used to be mulch, but now it is just dirt because the mulch was moved by rainwater. The mulch was deposited by water. Taken in my backyard. (South Park Avenue)
Erosion and Deposition (Continued)
Above, I am posing in the spot where all of the mulch was moved by rainwater (deposition). Taken in my backyard. (South Park Avenue)