Attrition/weathering

prefLabel
  • Attrition/Weathering
definition
  • A form of coastal or river erosion, when the bed load is eroded by itself. As rocks are transported downstream along a riverbed (by a mixture of rolling, sliding and saltating), the regular impacts between them cause them to be broken up into smaller fragments. This process also makes them rounder and smoother. Attrition can also occur in glaciated regions, where it is caused by the movement of ice with embedded boulders over surface sediments.
broader