Erosion is the naturally occurring earth process where the atmosphere removes and alters water, rock, dirt, and debris. This material regardless of what kind is then moved to another location. It is essentially the movement of matter from one part of the world to another. Erosion has two kinds — physical erosion and chemical erosion.
Physical erosion is when rock or soil is broken down into smaller pieces and relocated. Chemical erosion is when rock or soil is broken down into smaller matter, usually by water. The matter that is affected by erosion can be altered significantly or in a very small way. It can move somewhere nearby or be transported to a far distance away.
Factors that Influence Erosion
There are various factors that alter where the soil, earth, or rock are eroded to and the strength and speed of the erosion. The main factor is the weather and location of the matter in question. The amount of rain, size of ocean waves, ocean currents, wind speeds, landslides, and other mass movements. The speed and strength of these naturally occurring earth movements greatly alters the speed in which matter is eroded.
Additional reasons on how erosion takes place include the location of the matter in question. For example, matter situated on steep surfaces typically erode at a quicker timeframe than other matter. The atmosphere temperature and the temperature of the earth are additional variables on the speed in which land erodes.
One oftentimes overlooked act that affects the rate of erosion is human activity such as carbon emission and farming techniques. Some scientists suggest that humans have contributed to 100 times increases of erosion speed in areas that have heavily been farmed. This is because the quality and strength of the soil in farms that have been heavily farmed weaken overtime, therefore the speed of erosion increases dramatically because of the relatively weak nature of the soil.
Deforestation, climate changes, and urbanization have also contributed to increased erosion. There are certain things that can be done to reduce the speed in which erosion takes place such as strengthening the soil in farm land and giving it back lost nutrients that were lost during intensive agriculture.
