How are ice and water involved in mechanical weathering?
Nick is correct; it is called ice wedging. The H20 gets in the crack when the temperature is above freezing. Then at night, if the temperature drops below freezing, the water freezes, expands and enlarges the crack. When that process is repeated over and over again, a piece of the rock breaks off. Also, frost heaving is the process by which rocks are lifted vertically from soil by the formation of ice. Water freezes first under rock fragments and boulders in the soil; the repeated freezing and thawing of ice gradually pushes the rocks to the surface. The ice in glaciers can also cause mechanical weathering. This produces many different types of features such as aretes, cirques, hanging valleys, and horns. Water in a river or stream can also cause mechanical weathering. The abrasive action of water carrying stream load slowly breaks off or wears away small pieces of the rocks/pebbles in the stream load. This type of weathering is a factor in features that include meanders, oxbow lakes,
