Natural Weathering Processes Research Articles

Evaluation of heavy metal contamination in the tidal flat sediments of Nantong, East China

Heavy metals in sediments from the tidal flats of northern Nantong are investigated for the first time. Twelve sediment cores were analyzed to learn the vertical profiles of heavy metals. Averagely, the sediment cores contain 67.77 mg/kg of Cr, 20.13 mg/kg of Cu, 61.95 mg/kg of Zn, 0.13 mg/kg of Cd, 16.49 mg/kg of Pb, 7.36 mg/kg of As, and 0.005 mg/kg of Hg. To assess the contamination levels of heavy metals, geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and enrichment factor (EF) values were calculated. The Igeo values of heavy metals range from −6.721 to 0.957, showing that most sediments are in uncontaminated condition and a few are moderately contaminated by heavy metals. EF values of most samples are smaller than 1.5, which indicates that most heavy metals in the samples are from natural weathering processes. Also, Pearson correlation coefficients and principal component analysis is applied to find out the sources of the heavy metals. The correlation further indicates that Pb, As, and Hg are likely from natural weathering processes while Cu, Cr, and Zn have both natural and a small portion of anthropogenic sources. Additionally, anthropogenic sources such as vehicles and agricultural irrigations mainly contribute to the slight Cd contamination in Haimen tidal flats.

Investigation of petroleum hydrocarbon pollution along the coastline of South Attica, Greece, after the sinking of the Agia Zoni \u0399\u0399 oil tanker

Oil spills at sea pose risks to the marine environment and to the economy of many nations. Marine ecosystems are very vulnerable and precious as producers of oxygen and as regulators of climate. Therefore, their protection and preservation are necessary. In the event of an oil spill, anthropogenic clean-up activities and natural weathering processes can minimize the negative effects on marine organisms, and the marine environment in general. The target of this study was to investigate the status of the sea along the coastline of the Saronic Gulf, Greece, a year after the sinking of the Agia Zoni II oil tanker. Seawater samples from 15 sampling locations from Phlisvos coast to Anavissos, an area easily approached by bathers with recreational interest, were collected and analysed for total petroleum hydrocarbons. Concentrations up to a maximum of 56.6 μg/L were detected. Despite the large extent of the initial hydrocarbon pollution, the immediate clean-up operations and natural weathering and/or sorption processes have reduced the impact of the spill on surface waters.

Evaluation of the Physical and Adhesive Properties of Natural Weathering Asphalt

Asphalt suffers from a series of aging processes in the natural environment. This is a significant factor in asphalt pavement diseases. Research of the properties of the decay processes in the natural weathering of asphalt will be helpful in distinguishing the characteristics of the various types of asphalt and in the selection of pavement materials. Neat asphalt A70, a styrene‐butadiene‐styrene‐ (SBS‐) modified asphalt, and crumb‐rubber‐modified asphalt AR are exposed to outdoor conditions to weather naturally. This process is traced by testing the basic physical properties and the surface free energy of asphalts, using the sessile drop method. Results illustrate that the basic physical properties of asphalt change significantly during the natural weathering process and that the rubber asphalt has the superior aging resistance, while the neat asphalt A70 has a high aging susceptibility. Furthermore, the presence of the SBS and rubber‐powder modifiers transforms the change trend of the surface free energy of neat asphalt. The adhesion work between aggregate and asphalt can be used to quantitatively evaluate the adhesive properties between them. Meanwhile, the presence of moisture between the asphalt and aggregate changes cohesive failure into adhesive failure.

Lead toxicity in plants and phytoremediation potential of aromatic plants for lead contaminated soils

Lead contamination and subsequent degradation of the affected soil is a global environmental issue. Besides the natural weathering processes, the chief ways in which of lead contaminates the environment are anthropogenic. The plants which grow on such lead contaminated soils can uptake the heavy metal and translocate it to the various parts both in the intracellular and extracellular fashion. Lead toxicity can affect the overall plant health as it impacts basic physiological and metabolic processes such as germination, uptake of nutrients and minerals, photosynthesis, respiration, oxidative metabolism, mitosis etc. Plants in response to this toxicity can develop a certain degree of tolerance via passive and inducible mechanisms. These mechanisms have been exploited in the new era technology of phytoremediation which aims at a sustainable cleansing of lead contaminated soils by using plants. Aromatic plants because of their low risk of contamination in products consumption and a high demand over supply aspects are a suitable choice of plants that can be used for phytoremediation. This review addresses the aspects of lead contamination and its sources, the uptake of lead by plants, lead toxicity in plants, and the consequent tolerance developed as well as the potential and advantages of using aromatic plants for phytoremediation of soils which are contaminated with lead.

Estimation of pollution indices and hazard evaluation from trace elements concentration in coastal sediments of Kerala, Southwest Coast of India

BackgroundThe environment is always subjected to exposure from different natural and anthropogenic sources of trace elements. The excessive intake of these trace elements may become toxic and cause health disorders to the people when the concentration exceeds certain threshold limits. The measurement of trace elements concentration in general and toxic trace elements concentration in particular is important for the assessment and prediction of risk to the environment and public. Distribution of trace elements in various environmental matrices depends on the nature of the element itself and the site-specific characteristics such as type of the matrices and its physicochemical parameters. In view of these aspects, an attempt is made to assess the concentration of trace elements and pollution indices in the sediment samples collected from the coastal belt of Kerala and possible conclusions were drawn.ResultsThe results of pollution indices clearly indicate the moderate level of trace elements contamination in the coastal belts of Kerala. Significant correlations were observed between the concentration of trace elements and physicochemical parameters of the sediments.ConclusionMost of the trace elements enrichment in the coastal belt is due the crustal materials or natural weathering process and atmospheric deposition. The investigation revealed the sources of most of the elements present in the coastal belt of Kerala are lithogenic such as weathering and atmospheric deposition.

Agriculture increases the bioavailability of silicon, a beneficial element for crop, in temperate soils

Crops may take benefits from silicon (Si) uptake in soil. Plant available Si (PAS) can be affected by natural weathering processes or by anthropogenic forces such as agriculture. The soil parameters that control the pool of PAS are still poorly documented, particularly in temperate climates. In this study, we documented PAS in France, based on statistical analysis of Si extracted by CaCl2 (SiCaCl2) and topsoil characteristics from an extensive dataset. We showed that cultivation increased SiCaCl2 for soils developed on sediments, that cover 73% of France. This increase is due to liming for non-carbonated soils on sediments that are slightly acidic to acidic when non-cultivated. The analysis performed on non-cultivated soils confirmed that SiCaCl2 increased with the < 2 µm fraction and pH but only for soils with a < 2 µm fraction ranging from 50 to 325 g kg−1. This increase may be explained by the < 2 µm fraction mineralogy, i.e. nature of the clay minerals and iron oxide content. Finally, we suggest that 4% of French soils used for wheat cultivation could be deficient in SiCaCl2.

Effect of experimental wet and dry cycles on bamboo fibre reinforced acrylic polymer modified cement composites

Abstract This study experimentally evaluated the effect of accelerated wet/dry cycles on the dimensional stability and some selected mechanical properties of polymer modified vegetable fibre cement composites. The bamboo fibres were pre-treated with 10% conc. of sodium hydroxide and varied from 0 – 2.0% while acrylic polymer admixture of 10% w/w of cement was added to improve the properties. The modified fibre-cement composites were subjected to 50 cycles of wet/dry processes to simulate natural weathering process of the environment. The samples were subjected to water absorption, thickness swelling, modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) after 28 days of curing and aging cycles respectively using 5 replicates. One way ANOVA at p&lt;0.05 was used to analyse the results. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transformer Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses were conducted on the samples. The results showed improvement of 33.3, 64, 71 and 57% in MOR and 135, 85, 101 and 188% in MOE for samples with 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2% fibre inclusion after ageing tests. Significantly improved dimensional stability values were observed in this study in comparison with data from similar ageing tests conducted on unmodified vegetable fibre-cement matrix. SEM micrographs showed marginal increase in the size of the pores before and after ageing tests. FTIR analysis indicated increase in intensities during the ageing tests especially for spectra bands located at 3384 – 3520cm−1 which are denoted for OH vibration stretching as well as 1676, 1726 and 1794 cm−1 which depict the presence of carbonyl groups because of absorption of polymers to the fibre surface during the ageing cycles. The study has shown thatwet/dry ageing cycles showed less harmful effect on vegetable fibre cement composites provided the cement matrix is modified with polymer admixtures.

A baseline study on elemental concentration and potential ecological risk status of the surface sediments of Ashtamudi Lake, south west coast of India

Element concentration (Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni and Co) in the surface sediments of Ashtamudi estuary, Southwest coast of India, has been analyzed to understand the spatial variation and potential ecological risk status. The sediment pollution index and Potential Ecological Risk index suggest that the northeastern part of the estuary exhibits low to moderate polluted sediments with moderate ecological risk. The results of correlation analysis indicate that the natural weathering process and river input play an important role in the distribution of the elements in the surface sediments of the estuary. The extracted factor results indicate that the fine sediment fractions supporting for accumulation of the trace elements, whereas the enriched level of Fe and Mn is chiefly controlled by the riverine process, and other elements are contributed by anthropogenic influences.

Release of geogenic uranium and arsenic results in water-quality impacts in a subarctic permafrost region of granitic and metamorphic geology

This study investigates geogenic U and As mobilization in relation to bedrock geology, groundwater geochemistry, and the presence of mineral deposits in the Dawson Range, Yukon, Canada, a remote subarctic region that has drawn recent interest from mining industry. For this study we compiled and interpreted a geochemical dataset from the region that includes 1075 rock samples, 365 sediment samples, 3189 surface water samples, and 384 groundwater samples. Elevated concentrations of U and As occur through natural weathering processes. Median U concentrations exceed the Canadian guideline for the protection of aquatic life of 15 μg/L (long-term exposure) at 8% of 547 surface-water monitoring locations and the maximum observed concentration is 337 μg/L. 39% of monitoring wells have median groundwater U concentrations above this guideline and the maximum observed concentration is 589 μg/L. Uranium mobilization is driven by weathering of granitic and metamorphic bedrock that has contents near or slightly above the average upper crustal abundance of 2.7 μg/g and by formation of soluble calcium-carbonato-uranyl complexes in groundwater. Arsenic is more heterogeneously distributed in rock than U, with localized enrichment occurring near sulfide-mineral bearing ore deposits. While >2000 μg/L As is observed present in chemically reduced groundwater, As attenuation is also observed through sorption onto Fe-(oxyhydr)oxides. Despite the occurrence of As-rich groundwater, surface-water As concentrations are consistently low (<1 μg/L), likely due to As attenuation in groundwater discharge zones. This work provides understanding of processes controlling U and As at a regional scale and presents baseline against which possible water-quality changes induced by climate change or industrial activity can be evaluated.

Comprehensive pollution monitoring of the Egyptian Red Sea coast by using the environmental indicators.

The environmental pollution indicators and multivariate statistical analysis were used to evaluate the potential ecological risk and the contamination of Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cu, Cd, and Co in surface sediments of the Egyptian Red Sea coast. The results revealed that the studied area suffers from high contamination of certain metals such as the Hurghada area (Pb, Cd, Zn, Ni, and Cu), Quseir City area (Cd, Co, Pb, and Ni), and Safaga and Marsa Alam areas (Cd and Pb). Enrichment factor and principal components analysis reported that the pollution sources of Fe, Mn, and Co are related to natural weathering process while Cu, Zn, Ni, and Pb are related to anthropogenic sources as landfill, plastic rubbish, fishing boats, phosphate operations, and tourist activities. Moreover, Co and Cd metals can come from both of natural and anthropogenic sources. The average concentrations of Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, and Co in sediments of the Egyptian Red Sea coast are higher than those in the coasts of the Red Sea (Saudi Arabia), Mediterranean Sea (Egypt and Libya), Bengal bay (India), and the Caspian Sea (Russia). However, the studied metal content is lower than the sediment quality guideline values except for Cd.

Experimental Check on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Saw Blocks

Blocks plays a major role in framed and non-framed structure, in framed structures blocks are employed as a filler and in non-framed structures it is employed to transfer the load. These are often used as an alternative for different stones with large weight and are generally used in the construction of buildings. The process of manufacturing of blocks from clay involves preparation of clay by natural weathering process, molding and then drying and burning of blocks. Due to high demand on fine aggregate, an attempt has been made to study saw waste as a partial and total replacement for fine aggregate and binder. A detailed investigation is carried out for Ordinary Portland cement and Portland pozzolana cement with various proportion of saw waste. Saw waste is utilized in the form of dust and ash. Saw waste is a by – product or waste product of wood working operation such as sawing, routing, drilling and sanding. It is sundried and kept in water proof bags. Mostly, the period of drying may be three to ten days. It also depends upon the weather conditions. This work aims to show the comparative studies of saw brick with fly ash brick and conventional brick. Test results of compressive, split tensile and crushing test are investigated.

Ecological Stoichiometry of Microbial Biomass Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Bauxite Residue Disposal Areas

Ecological succession by microbial activity on bauxite residue disposal areas (BRDAs) would accumulate nutrients and convert the residue into a soil-like material. However, the role of microorganisms in nutrient cycling remains elusive on BRDAs. Carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) ecological stoichiometry is a critical indicator of nutrient cycling in an ecosystem. In order to investigate the changes in nutrients following long-term natural weathering process, the contents of C, N, P, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), nitrogen (MBN), and phosphorus (MBP) were measured in chronological stacks of bauxite residue. Deeply, their ecological stoichiometric characteristics were analyzed. Compared to freshly stacked residue, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN) and available phosphorus (AP) have increased 89%, 1640%, and 369% after 20 years, respectively. The C/N in 20-year-old residue (BR20) is 12.41, which close to the mean range of soil C/N in China. Bauxite residue C/P and N/P increased significantly with the stacking age increased. MBC/MBN decreased from 6.75 to 4.52 after stacked for 5 years, whilst MBC/MBP increased from 23.74 to 59.16 with stacking age. Data analysis of C, N, P and MBC, MBN, MBP in bauxite residue correlated significantly, indicating that microbial biomass can be used as a biological indicator to evaluate bauxite residue quality. This study revealed that BRDAs ecosystem development reaches homeostasis gradually, whilst CNP and MBCNP substrate ratio can be used as an effective tool to explore the mechanism of nutrient cycling.

Weathering behaviour of road aggregate of andesitic composition in a New Zealand quarry

The process of weathering progressively affects the characteristics of geomaterials. Despite prior assertions, this process may happen in a relatively short time and can cause ageing and deterioration of the structure of aggregates. This study investigates the effect of natural weathering processes on characteristics of road materials, exposed within a quarry that produces road materials compliant with New Zealand specifications for premium base course material. While not an exact replica of in-use weathering conditions, this case study serves as an observable analogue, recording the chemical and mineralogical degradation of andesite aggregate materials. The variations in chemical and physical properties of roading materials of andesitic composition were investigated using image processing and a variety of analytical methods, including thin section petrography, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Whilst initially there was almost no obvious sign of weathering in fresh materials, within a short time-frame (less than 15 years) intense weathering was evident. The immediate loss of bases (notably alkalies) is the primary chemical trend in the natural weathering, although the rate of loss appears to decrease with time. It is consistent with the results of chemical indices of weathering, including Chemical Index of Weathering and Alteration (CIW and CIA), Weathering Index of Parker (WIP), Plagioclase Index of alteration (PIA), and A-CN-K diagram. Furthermore, XRD analysis revealed the presence of clay minerals in the weathered materials, with kaolinite and smectites the product of relatively short-term of weathering. Thin-section petrography indicates that the original textural features of the andesites were significantly changed during weathering. The results suggested that the grain size and zonation of primary minerals are critical controls in the weathering process and glass and plagioclase phenocryst are the least stable mineral phases in the examined andesitic aggregate materials.

The dynamic development of bacterial community following long-term weathering of bauxite residue

Bauxite residue is the industrial waste generated from alumina production and commonly deposited in impoundments. These sites are bare of vegetation due to the extreme high salinity and alkalinity, as well as lack of nutrients. However, long term weathering processes could improve residue properties to support the plant establishment. Here we investigate the development of bacterial communities and the geochemical drivers in bauxite residue, using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. Long term weathering reduced the pH in bauxite residue and increased its nutrients content. The bacterial community also significantly developed during long term weathering processes. Taxonomic analysis revealed that natural weathering processes encouraged the populations of Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria and Planctomycetes, whereas reducing the populations of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. Redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that total organic carbon (TOC) was the dominant factors affecting microbial structure. The results have demonstrated that natural weathering processes improved the soil development on the abandoned bauxite residue disposal areas, which also increased our understanding of the correlation between microbial variation and residue properties during natural weathering processes in Bauxite residue disposal areas.

Distribution, Sources and Water Quality Evaluation of the Riverine Solutes: A Case Study in the Lancangjiang River Basin, Tibetan Plateau.

To examine the chemical composition, potential sources of solutes, and water quality of Lancangjiang River, the concentrations of major ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO3−, SO42−, Cl− and NO3−) in 45 river water samples collected in July and August 2019 were determined. Ca2+ and HCO3− are the predominant ions in river water. The extremely low K+ and NO3− concentrations and the sparse population suggest that the anthropogenic inputs are limited. The Pearson correlation coefficients and the elemental ratios Ca2+/Na+ versus Mg2+/Na+, Ca2+/Na versus HCO3−/Na+, [Ca2+ + Mg2+]/[HCO3−] versus [SO42−]/[HCO3−] reveal the mixing processes of different sources; the chemical composition of the river water is controlled by the mixture of carbonate weathering, evaporite weathering and silicate weathering inputs. To quantify the contributions of atmospheric input and rock dissolution, the forward method is employed in this study, which is based on the mass balance equation. The calculation results suggest the carbonate weathering inputs and gypsum dissolution make up the majority of the riverine cations, while silicate weathering and halite dissolution constitutes a relatively small proportion, the contributions of the atmospheric input are limited. The fast dissolution rate of evaporite and carbonate minerals and their lithologic distributions should be the key factor. To evaluate the water quality for drinking and irrigation purposes, the drinking water quality guidelines and the calculated parameters were employed, including sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), soluble sodium percentage (Na%,) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC). The assessments indicate that the river waters in the middle-lower reaches are generally suitable for irrigation and drinking purpose, and will not lead to health and soil problems, such as soil compaction and salinization. While in the upper reaches, the dissolution of carbonate and gypsum minerals transport abundant ions into river water and the river waters are not appropriate to use directly. This result highlights that the water quality status can also be affected by natural weathering processes in the area without anthropogenic inputs, where the long-time monitoring of water quality is also necessary.

A Review of Mineral Carbonation from Industrial Waste

For relieving CO2 emissions and climate change, carbon sequestration and storage has been paid more attention. Mineral carbonation technology is a process that the calcium and/or magnesium-containing minerals react with CO2 to form stable carbonate precipitation, which in turn fixes CO2. It originates from natural rock weathering process that calcium and magnesium-containing rocks react with CO2 dissolved in rain water to form carbonate minerals. The source of mineral carbonation is the solid containing calcium and magnesium compound. The classification of mineral carbonation including direct and indirect mineral carbonation is indicated, and the descriptions of extraction by different extract agent have been given. The pretreatments, operation conditions and reaction kinetics are also discussed. Furthermore, the different processes by carbonizing from industrial waste are reviewed and the energy loss and cost are also described.

Hydrochemical properties and groundwater quality evaluation in Suzhou City, lower Yangtze Delta, China

Detailed study of the chemical analysis results of 49 groundwater samples collected from the region’s second confined aquifer were carried out in an attempt to identify the samples’ hydrochemical properties and to assess the quality and usability of groundwater in Suzhou city, China. The results revealed that sodium, calcium and bicarbonate were the dominant ions in the groundwater samples. Na-HCO3, mixed Na-Ca-HCO3, Ca-HCO3, and Na-Cl type were the four major hydrochemical facies identified by a Piper Trilinear diagram. It was observed that the concentration of ammonia and nitrite in most of the samples in study area exceeded the permissible limit values prescribed by the national (China) and international (WHO) drinking water guidelines. Anthropogenic activities have been shown to be largely responsible for groundwater contamination. Scatter diagrams and factor analysis suggest that natural weathering processes, along with anthropogenic activities, control the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater. On the basis of the analytical results of the 49 groundwater samples as compared to water quality standards, it was found that majority of groundwater samples were not suitable for drinking or for industrial uses directly. Toxic metals and high levels of ions must be removed to render the groundwater suitable for drinking and industrial purposes. However, salinity, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and sodium percentage (Na%) values indicate that most of groundwater samples were suitable for irrigation purposes.

Metal concentrations and pollution assessment in bottom sediments from Inle Lake, Myanmar

Heavy metal concentrations and assessment of pollution were carried out in the bottom sediments from Inle Lake, Myanmar analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP- MS). Potential contamination of the sediments was assessed by geo-accumulation (Igeo) index and enrichment factors. The ranges of the metal enrichment in the lake bottom sediments are as follows: Mn > V > Cr > Zn > Ni > Pb > Cu > As > Co > Ga > Sb > Bi> Cd. Based on the results, it can be concluded that lake sediments may be minimal enrichment to moderate enrichment with metals such as Cd, Pb and Bi while moderate enrichment to signifying significant enrichment in sediments by As and Sb. The enrichment factor and geo-accumulation index, revealed that the concentrations of V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Ga were mainly influenced by crustal materials or natural weathering processes, while that of metals As, Cd, Pb, Bi and Sb were impacted by the natural and anthropogenic processes. Concentration of As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Sb and Zn were comparison with Intrime Freshwater Sediment Quality Guidelines (ISQGs). The mean concentrations of elements viz.Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Sb and Zn were lower than the threshold effect level (TEL) of ISQGs values except for As. The concentration of As (arsenic) was higher than threshold effect concentration (TEL) value of ISQGs values.

Seasonal diversity of the bacterial communities associated with petroglyphs sites from the Negev Desert, Israel

Rock art sites in the form of petroglyphs are found in the Negev Desert in southern Israel. These petroglyph sites include thousands of images depicting the life and culture of people in the region over the years. As they are part of the desert environment, these petroglyphs are exposed to natural and anthropogenic weathering processes. In natural rock sites, it is known that climatic conditions influence weathering and biofilm community development (Friedmann in Orig Life 10:223–235, 1980; Li et al. in PloS one 11:(9),163–287, 2016) Therefore, in order to develop tools for preservation and remediation, it is imperative to ascertain possible seasonal diversity of surface-inhabiting bacterial communities. To do so, we undertook to study and characterize the microbial communities inhabiting the rock sites during winter and summer. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies using 16S rRNA gene were implemented on rock-surface slab samples to identify the microbial communities. 16S rRNA gene sequencing data revealed the presence of five main bacterial phyla, among them Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Chloroflexi across the analyzed sites. The predominant phylum was Cyanobacteria (10–60% relative abundance), followed by Actinobacteria (20–60% relative abundance), Proteobacteria (5–35%), Bacteroidetes (0.02–35%), and Chloroflexi (1–12%). There was no significant difference in the bacterial diversity between samples from winter and summer. Five main phyla were observed in samples from the two seasons, winter (December) 2017 and summer (July) 2018. This study provides an important first step in understanding the possible seasonal dynamic of bacterial communities associated with the petroglyphs.

The Detachment Physical Weathering Form Group Affecting Stone Building Materials at The Archaeological Site of Sabratha, Northwest Libya

The archaeological Sabratha City is a UNESCO World Heritage site located on the Mediterranean Sea coast west of the Capital City of Tripoli north of Libya. Like many other archaeological cities in the world, Sabratha monuments have been built using naturally existing stones which according to the rules of nature are subjected to continuous weathering processes and become damaged to varied degrees. The range of extension as well as the type of stone damage is dependent on the reacting stone materials with the natural weathering processes. From an important point of view, the preservation of stone monuments now has attained the care of the government institutions who are in concern. The present paper discusses the main physical weathering forms belonging to the weathering form group-3 "the detachment group" which has been established by (Fitzner, and Heinrichs, 2002, 2004). The methodology of this research will be based on applying certain forms invented by Fitzner and Heinrichs that serve to estimate every damage of weathering forms affecting the monuments of Sabratha City. A number of nine main weathering forms of the detachment group including about fifteen individual weathering forms were found to affect the whole monuments of the city with damage intensity degrees varied between non-visible damage and moderate damage (0 degrees and 3 degrees). To make it easy for observations, fifteen contour maps were drowning for each individual weathering form showing the damage intensity degree and distribution. To summarize the overall picture of the weathering form damages, linear and progressive damage indices were found and mapped. Diurnal and seasonal temperature variations; relative humidity fluctuations; salt crystallization; moisture and or water content are factors expected to produce such weathering damages. As a recommendation, the authorities in response are invited to take this matter seriously and should act to protect the built heritage of Sabratha City.