Processes
Erosion
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The action of surface processes, water flow or wind chief among them, that removes soil, rock or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and transports it to another location where it is deposited. Over geologic time it is what wears mountains down to plains.
Facts
TimescaleContinuous, visible effects from single storms to millions of years for mountain ranges 1 Driving ForceErosion is driven by rainfall, river flow, coastal wave action, glacial plucking and abrasion, flooding, wind and mass movement. 1 Resulting FeatureEroded material is carried away and then deposited at a new location once the transporting agent loses energy. 1 SignificanceWater and wind erosion together drive about 84 percent of global land degradation, making erosion one of the most significant environmental problems worldwide. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
It differs from other erosion in that the debris is not entrained in a moving medium.
Erosion strips and transports the material sedimentation later lays down.
In Discipline
Sources
1. Erosion (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPhysical processesQuote, Physical processes
Agents of erosion include rainfall; bedrock wear in rivers; coastal erosion by the sea and waves; glacial plucking, abrasion, and scour; areal flooding; wind abrasion; groundwater processes; and mass movement processes.
1. Erosion (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationRivers and streamsQuote, Rivers and streams
The transport of eroded materials from their original location is followed by deposition, which is arrival and emplacement of material at a new location.
1. Erosion (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationConsequences of human-made soil erosionQuote, Consequences of human-made soil erosion
Water and wind erosion are the two primary causes of land degradation; combined, they are responsible for about 84% of the global extent of degraded land, making excessive erosion one of the most significant environmental problems worldwide.
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