Information AboutRegolith |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT REGOLITH | |
| sedimentology | |
| geomorphology | |
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ON THE EARTH On Earth, the regolith is considered to be "everything between fresh rock and fresh air", and is composed of four major subdivisions;
In some instances, for example in the Craton s, thin veneers of unconsolidated Alluvium , Colluvium or debris may be considered part of the regolith, especially if considerably younger than the basement or bedrock. The origins of regolith on Earth are Weathering and Biological Processes ; if it contains a significant proportion of biological compounds it is more conventionally referred to as Soil . On Earth, the presence of regolith is one of the important factors for most Life , since few Plant s can grow on or within solid rock, and Animal s would be unable to burrow or build shelter without loose material. ON THE MOON shows the fine and powdery texture of lunar soil.]] Nearly the entire Lunar surface is covered with regolith, Bedrock is exposed only on very steep-sided crater walls and the occasional lava channel. This regolith has been formed over the last 4.6 billion years by the impact of large and small Meteoroid s and the steady bombardment of Micrometeoroid s and solar and galactic charged particles breaking down surface rocks. The impact of micrometeoroids, sometimes travelling faster than 60,000 mph, generates enough heat to melt or partially vaporize dust particles. This melting and refreezing welds particles together into glassy, jagged-edged ''agglutinates.'' |
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