Geological Weathering

"Weathering involves two processes that often work in concert to decompose rocks. Both processes occur in place. No movement is involved in weathering. Chemical weathering involves a chemical change in at least some of the minerals within a rock. Mechanical weathering involves physically breaking rocks into fragments without changing the chemical make-up of the minerals within it. It's important to keep in mind that weathering is a surface or near-surface process. As you know, metamorphism also produces chemical changes in rocks, but metamorphic chemical changes occur at depth where either the temperature and/or pressure are significantly higher than conditions found on the Earth's surface. "

风化作用涉及两个过程，通常协同作用以分解岩石。这两个过程都在原地发生。风化过程中没有物质的移动。化学风化涉及岩石中至少某些矿物的化学变化。机械风化则涉及将岩石物理地破碎成碎片，而不改变其中矿物的化学组成。要记住的是，风化是一个表面或近表面的过程。如你所知，变质作用也会使岩石发生化学变化，但变质作用的化学变化发生在深处，那里的温度和/或压力显著高于地表的条件。

"As soon as a rock particle (loosened by one of the two weathering processes) moves, we call it erosion or mass wasting. Mass wasting is simply movement down slope due to gravity. Rock falls, slumps, and debris flows are all examples of mass wasting. We call it erosion if the rock particle is moved by some flowing agent such as air, water or ice."

一旦岩石颗粒（由两种风化过程之一松动）开始移动，我们称之为侵蚀或地质作用。地质作用 simply 是由于重力导致的沿坡移动。岩崩、滑坡和碎屑流都是地质作用的例子。如果岩石颗粒是由某种流动介质如空气、水或冰搬运的，我们称之为侵蚀。

"If a particle is loosened, chemically or mechanically, but stays put, call it weathering. Once the particle starts moving, call it erosion." Reference NPS on Weathering

如果一个粒子被化学或机械方式松动，但仍然留在原地，就称为风化。一旦粒子开始移动，就称为侵蚀。参考NPS上的风化