Flaking, a Weathering Process Operating on Cavernous Rock Surfaces

Research Article| June 01, 1967 FLAKING, A WEATHERING PROCESS OPERATING ON CAVERNOUS ROCK SURFACES DEIRDRE DRAGOVICH DEIRDRE DRAGOVICH GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT, THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information DEIRDRE DRAGOVICH GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT, THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 22 Aug 1966 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Copyright © 1967, The Geological Society of America, Inc. Copyright is not claimed on any material prepared by U.S. government employees within the scope of their employment. GSA Bulletin (1967) 78 (6): 801–804. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1967)78[801:FAWPOO]2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 22 Aug 1966 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation DEIRDRE DRAGOVICH; FLAKING, A WEATHERING PROCESS OPERATING ON CAVERNOUS ROCK SURFACES. GSA Bulletin 1967;; 78 (6): 801–804. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1967)78[801:FAWPOO]2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Field observations carried out in southern South Australia indicate that rock flakes 1–15 mm thick occur on some cavernous rock surfaces in granites and gneisses. Measurements of temperature conditions within caverns indicate that rapid temperature changes are unlikely to cause flaking, and only minor differences in relative humidity were recorded between the air within a cavern and the air outside. Hydration of some minerals points to the importance of moisture, which in the absence of extreme temperature variations, can evenly penetrate relatively unfractured rock and cause swelling of altered minerals. Fracture planes eventually develop along the boundary of innermost moisture penetration. Most noncaverned rock surfaces experience wide variations in temperature and moisture conditions, causing randomly oriented fissures to develop concurrently with a reduction in rock cohesion. On these surfaces, weathering proceeds principally by granular disintegration. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.