What is water and gas in the air that eats away at rock?

Answer 1

Look at any graveyard, you'll see acid rain eating away at limestone.

Granite is eroded by water in the form of ice. Half Dome in CA, and Pikes Peak in CO are good examples of exfoliation by freeze thaw.

The sandstones around Lake Powell AZ and UT, are a great testimony to wind erosion. Air (wind) in of itself doesn't erode, it's the dust and grit carried with it. It sandblasts surfaces.

As any shoreline can attest, water carries sand and uses it as an abrasive on cliffs and lithified beach sand.

I've only touched the eaten away surface!

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Answer 2

Water and air will erode different types of rocks, one more than others, but very importantly depending on the environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, quantity of water, air humidity, wind speed, and frequency of exposure to this factors). Water naturally is the universal solvent and it will help to formed almost all types of chemical by-products (e.g. carbonates, sulfates) and as its pH decreases and/or temperature rises it will attack quicker
some rocks. But in other cases for rocks that have the right
porosities, if water,s temperatures lower once it is inside the rocks it will expand when ice is formed and therefore break the rock. In the case of wind a popular erosion in dry climates will be due to wind transportation of particles that are hitting the rocks. In our humans life time frames we dont see it, but if a rock after thounsands or milions of yrs, it will have an effect.

L.A.

Answer 3

Carbon dioxide can react with water and forn carbonic acid, which will attack rock. However other gases will also combine with the water and form acidic solution, such as hydrogen sulfide.

Answer 4

Acids

Answer 5

Just plain old FRICTION!!