Site icon PaGaLGuY

UPSC Civil Services GK update – Physical Geography: Geomorphic processes Capsule 8

Dear Readers,

General Knowledge and Current Affairs are an important component of many competitive exams, such as the UPSC Civil Services Examination, SSC CGL Exam, Bank PO & other PSU entrance tests, etc. Therefore, understanding the concepts/terms/events that are significant in our daily lives is critical for aspirants. To make your preparation easier and to help you score better in your exams, we at PaGaLGuY bring you brief articles on important phenomena, concepts and events. Spend just 15 minutes every day on pagalguy.com and score at least 10 more marks in your General Studies paper!

To access all the content available on PaGaLGuY, login to https://www.pagalguy.com/

In this article, we would discuss the slow mass movements.

What are slow mass movements?

1. It involves slower movements and are seen in moderately steeper slopes. The movement of materials is slow and less damaging compared to the rapid mass movements.

2. There are two types of slow mass movements: soil creep and soil flow.

3Soil creep:

i) It is slow, gradual yet continuous movement of the soil downwards.

ii) The rate of soil creep depends on factors like – type of sediment and material, steepness of the slope, water content and the type of vegetation on it.

iii) They are more common in damp soils and the movement is not very noticeable unless it is observed for extended periods of time.

iv) Gradual tilting of trees, fences and posts rooted in the soil are examples of soil creep mass movement.

v) Creep can also occur due to expansion of material-like clay. Though water helps sand particles bind with each other by cohesion, excess of it fills the pores between sand particles and causes them to slip away creating a creep.

4. Soil flow:

i) Also known as solifluction, it is the complete saturation of soil with water, which almost makes the soil particles suspend in it.

ii) Such soil acts like a fluid and moves easily over the underlying rock.

iii) It results in the slow downslope movement of water-saturated sediment, which carries with it rock debris and other underlying substances.

iv) Occurrence of soil flow depends on the composition of the slope. Higher the impermeability of materials, higher the chances of solifluction. However, soils with larger grain size are less prone since they get less saturated and permit greater filtration.

v) In temperate regions, soil flow of the surface of frozen ground occurs due to freeze-thaw effect (liquefying of a substance due to warming up).

vi) In areas of peat soil (soil that contains partially decomposed plants or organic matter), the moisture absorbed by it is very high. However, at its saturation point, the soil starts to flow downslope. In Ireland, this phenomenon is also known as ‘bog-bursts’.


Exit mobile version