5 Soil Formation Factors: How Rocks Weather into Dirt
Soil formation is vital for food production and plant growth. Weathering is the process that breaks rock down into soils. Without it, soil wouldn’t exist.
Soil formation is vital for food production and plant growth. Weathering is the process that breaks rock down into soils. Without it, soil wouldn’t exist.
Lucky for us, Earth is in the Goldilocks zone. The range where liquid water persists is 0.99 to 1.7 AU. But it doesn’t necessarily mean life or water exists.
Geologists study bedrock and surface rocks. They best understand how Earth’s land forms and rock change over time (physical and chemical structure).
Earth has experienced 5 large ice ages. During these frigid times, hefty layers of ice smothered the planet with temperatures 10°C lower than it is today.
The earliest anatomically modern human fossil found was dated at about 200-300,000 years old in Morocco, Africa. They had modern faces and used stone tools.
Biological weathering can occur from mechanical force and chemical reactions such as through plants, bacteria, fungi, burrowing animals and living organisms