Air and Water Oxidation

Oxidation can take place due to the air but this will occur a lot quicker when water is involved. The minerals that have high amounts of iron are very susceptible to oxidation. Hydration is the chemical combination of water with another mineral. However this is not the same as oxidation since oxidation consists of a different kind of development. When it comes to hydration the mineral can become so changed that a new mineral forms such as in the case of anhydrite turning to gypsum. Carbon dioxide can be found in the air, water and soils in large quantities. When these are mixed with some minerals it causes their composition to change a lot and in many cases creates new compounds through a process that is known as carbonation. Besides this, the union of water and carbon dioxide makes carbonic acid that is a stronger technique of altering compounds of minerals. Solution consists of a physical weathering process that takes place when the water dissolves the minerals and seeps downwards or percolates up to the surface. This geologic occurrence is what has caused there to be a lot of rich outcrops of minerals that have been discovered. This is also known as leaching by mining geologists because a lot of rich outcrops have been produced by some of the carrying rock being leached out while the minerals that were valuable stayed close to the surface. The weathering process and method has been taking place for millions of years now and still continues to occur to this very day. Besides the quick removal of soils that are loosened by water or air, it is rarely noticed as only small changes in the topography and is produced in numerous common life spans of man. The speed in which the weathering occurs is controlled by the composition as well as physical conditions of rocks that are getting assailed, the conditions of the climate and the topography of the area they are placed in.