Knowra Abrasion (geology) Abrasion (geology) Abrasion is the wearing of rock surfaces when transported particles scrape, grind, or strike them. It shapes landforms in rivers, glaciers, deserts, and along coasts.
Bedload : Sediment transported along a riverbed by rolling, sliding, or bouncing. Bedload grains scrape and strike the bedrock as flowing water moves them.
Glacial striation : A scratch or groove cut into bedrock by debris carried at a glacier's base. Striations preserve directional evidence of abrasion beneath moving ice.
Erosion : The removal and transport of soil or rock by water, wind, ice, or gravity. Abrasion is one way erosion wears exposed rock during sediment transport.
Glacial polish : A smooth, lustrous bedrock surface produced by glacial erosion. Fine debris beneath moving ice can polish bedrock through abrasion.
Saltation : The transport of particles in repeated short hops near a surface. Hopping grains repeatedly impact exposed rock and can abrade it.
Ventifact : A rock shaped, faceted, or polished by wind-driven sand. Ventifacts are diagnostic landforms produced by particle abrasion in deserts.
Attrition (geology) : The wearing and rounding of sediment grains through collisions with one another. Attrition acts mainly on transported particles, while abrasion acts on rock surfaces.
Striation : A narrow linear groove or scratch on a rock surface. Striations can record repeated abrasion by transported grains or glacial debris.
Rock flour : Fine rock particles produced by grinding, especially beneath glaciers. Its production is a fine-scale outcome of glacial abrasion.
Pothole (geomorphology) : A rounded cavity in bedrock, commonly formed by swirling sediment in flowing water. Rotating, trapped clasts abrade the bed and enlarge the cavity.
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