Progress and problems in rock weathering related to stone decay

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Abstract
Geologists who are interested in the processes of rock weathering find greatest excitement in the most intense or greatest amount of weathering, whereas those concerned with the preservation of ancient works of stone art are most pleased with rock that exhibits the greatest resistance to weathering. Preservation of stone may be achieved by determining how rocks weather and then by applying protective measures so as to forestall such action. This paper will review the processes and ways by which rocks are weathered in natural and artificially imposed environments. Recent books on rock weathering include those of Winkler (1973), Carroll (1970), Loughnan (1969), and Ollier (1969); these publications indicate a strong resurgence of interest in the subject following older publications (Keller, 1961, 1966; Reiche, 1945). Additional recent books that devote a significant part to weathering include those by Garrels and Christ (1965), Garrels and Mackenzie (1971), Hunt (1972), Millot (1970), Sweeting (1973), Valeton (1972), and Weaver and Pollard (1973). I will touch on only the most timely, diagnostic, or controversial parts of weathering in this review. Rock weathering may be defined as the response of rocks and minerals to the environment that is generated by the weather and biosphere at and near the Earth's surface, a response in which the component phases characteristically are reduced in size, even to ions released in solution. This definition, as with most geologic definitions, is a compromise; it is too restrictive in some cases, too broad in others, but reduction in size is a good descriptive, nongenetic, common denominator in the role of the weathering process. Rock weathering merges gradually into other geologic processes, such as mineral genesis, diagenesis, and sedimentation.

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