chemical weathering

noun

, Geology.

1. any of the various weathering processes that cause exposed rock to undergo chemical decomposition, changing the chemical and mineralogical composition of the rock:

   Oxygen and acids are agents in chemical weathering.

Word History and Origins

Origin of chemical weathering¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Runaway chemical weathering is a really provocative hypothesis to explain what happened to Mars’s water.

From MIT Technology Review