Corrasion is a
geomorphological
Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or ...
term for the process of mechanical erosion of the earth's surface caused when materials are transported across it by running water, waves, glaciers, wind or gravitational movement downslope. An example is the wearing away of rock on a river or seabed by the impact or grinding action of particles moving with the water. The resultant effect on the rock is called
abrasion.
Corrasion is different from
corrosion
Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engi ...
which is due to chemical and solvent action of water on soluble or partly soluble rocks when they come in contact.
Corrasion acts in two ways:
# Lateral corrasion : the sideways erosion which widens the river.
# Vertical corrasion: downward erosion which deepens the river valley.
Thus corrasion is a form of erosion.
See also
*
Attrition (erosion)
*
Bratschen
''Bratschen'' are weathering products that occur as a result of frost and aeolian corrasion almost exclusively on the calc- schists of the Upper Slate Mantle (''Obere Schieferhülle'') in the High Tauern mountains of Austria. The term is German ...
*
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwar ...
*
Helicoidal flow
*
Hydraulic action
Hydraulic action, most generally, is the ability of moving water (flowing or waves) to dislodge and transport rock particles. This includes a number of specific erosional processes, including abrasion, at facilitated erosion, such as ''static eros ...
References
Erosion
{{geomorph-stub