Help
erosion — English
The group of denudation processes that wear away the land surface by mechanical and/or chemical actions. Debris is created by weathering is and removed by one or more of the agents of erosion, namely glaciers, flowing water (overland flow, also called surface runoff, and rivers), ocean waves and currents, wind, and mass movement (such as landslides) caused by gravity (see “channelization” and “mass wasting”). An agent of erosion containing debris will abrade (scour) the surfaces over which it moves and the debris particles themselves will also be worn away by abrasion and attrition (bumping against each other). Flowing water may also remove material in solution when soluble material, such as calcium carbonate from limestone and dolomite rocks, is dissolved in the water. Erosion differs from weathering since erosion includes the transportation of the weathered material (see “weathering”).
