haloclasty
Sign in to saveHaloclasty (also called salt weathering) is a type of physical weathering caused by the growth and thermal expansion of salt crystals. The process starts when saline water seeps into deep cracks and evaporates depositing salt crystals. When the rocks are then heated, the crystals will expand putting pressure on the surrounding rock which will over time splinter the stone into fragments.
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Haloclasty (also called salt weathering) is a type of physical weathering caused by the growth and thermal expansion of salt crystals. The process starts when saline water seeps into deep cracks and evaporates depositing salt crystals. When the rocks are then heated, the crystals will expand putting pressure on the surrounding rock which will over time splinter the stone into fragments.
Salt crystallization may also take place when solutions decompose rocks (for example, limestone, chalk, or sandstone) to form salt solutions of sodium sulfate, sodium carbonate, or calcium carbonate, from which water evaporates to form their respective salt crystals.