Basalt weathers faster than granite because it is not as hard and it s easier for outside substances to impact and manipulate its structure.
Basalt and granite weathering.
The higher weathering fluxes associated with basalt weathering have been explained by the high intrinsic reactivity of basaltic mafic mineral assemblages oelkers and gíslason 2001 dessert et al 2003 gíslason and oelkers 2003 increased porosity in the basalt weathering zone navarre sitchler et al 2009 navarre sitchler et al 2013.
It is common both on earth and other planetary bodies.
Why does basalt weather faster than granite.
Basalt is largely composed of minerals with little resistance to weathering.
Basalt is an aphanitic fine grained igneous rock that is relatively low in silica and alkali metals it has less than 10 feldspathoid by volume with at least 65 of the rock consisting of feldspar in the form of plagioclase this places basalt in the basalt andesite field of the qapf diagram basalt is further distinguished from andesite by its silica content of less than 52.
Magnetite is one of the most resistant common minerals in basalt and forms the bulk of heavy mineral sands.
Rocks with minerals that crystallize late in bowen s reaction series like granite are usually more resistant to chemical weathering than those with minerals that crystallize early like basalt.
Basalt is an igneous volcanic rock that forms commonly in oceanic crust and parts of continental crust.
Earth contains three kinds of rocks namely igneous rocks sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks basalt and granite are two types of igneous rocks.
Thus the low degree of mineral alteration in gabbro rindlets reflects a shorter time of residence for minerals in this system compared to rindlets on granitic outcrops.
It forms from lava flows which extrude onto the surface and cool.
The classifications depend on how the.
Sedimentary metamorphic and igneous.
Weathering how rocks break down can happen in a multitude of ways including adding water and freezing impacting plant roots impact from another object and when minerals expand.
This contradiction in goldich s stability series is explained if weathering rinds are produced faster on gabbros than in granite outcrops.
The earth s crust is made up of 3 different kinds of rocks and minerals.
For example granite and basalt are both igneous rocks with different chemical composition and structure and therefore different weathering rates.
The key difference between basalt and granite is that basalt is mostly occurring on ocean floors while granite is in the crust of the earth in all continents.
Its principle minerals include pyroxene feldspar and olivine.
Summary of basalt vs.
