Physical Weathering Contributes to Underground Water Retention in Porous Sierra Nevada Rocks (3 of 4) (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Physical Weathering Contributes to Underground Water Retention in Porous Sierra Nevada Rocks (3 of 4)

Caption

Pore space in weathered rock, exposed here along a roadside in the Sierra Nevada, is a vital reservoir of water for mountain ecosystems. This material, known as "saprolite" lies between topsoil at the surface and unweathered bedrock at depth. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the Sept. 18, 2019, issue of Science Advances, published by AAAS. The paper, by J.L. Hayes at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and colleagues was titled, "Porosity production in weathered rock: Where volumetric strain dominates over chemical mass loss."

Credit

Credit: Cliff Riebe

Usage Restrictions

Please cite the owner of the material when publishing. This material may be freely used by reporters as part of news coverage, with proper attribution. Non-reporters must contact <i>Science</i> for permission.

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.