Author Question: What factors contribute to mass wasting in tropical versus arid and semiarid climates? What will be ... (Read 83 times)

misspop · **on:** Jul 15, 2018

What factors contribute to mass wasting in tropical versus arid and semiarid climates? What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What role does weathering play in mass wasting? What will be an ideal response?

C.mcnichol98 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 15, 2018

Answer to Question 1

In the tropics, high temperatures and rainfall extend weathering to depths of tens of meters, and mass
movements are common in the deep weathering zone. In arid and semiarid regions, the weathering
zone is much shallower, but a short period of intense rain falling on a slope with little vegetation to
absorb the water can cause rapid runoff and mass wasting.

Answer to Question 2

Weathering disintegrates and decomposes a slope, increasing its susceptibility to mass wasting and
reducing the rock's shear strength. Mass wasting is more likely to occur in loose or poorly consolidated
slope material than in bedrock. The deeper the weathering zone extends, the greater the likelihood of
mass wasting.