Denudation is an erosive process of breaking and removing the rocks from the surface of the earth. It is the wearing away of the terrestrial land by weathering, erosion, moving water, ice waves. Denudation is the result of two main processes, Endogenous and exogenous.
Endogenous process uplifts the surface and exposes the continental crust to exogenous process.
Denudation involves three major denudation processes:-
1. Weathering
2. Mass wasting
3. Erosion
Weathering
Weathering is the process of decomposition of rocks into smaller particles.
This decomposition is done via three weathering means, physical, chemical and biological weathering. Decomposition and disintegration of rocks into fragments is done by physical weathering, in chemical weathering this decomposition is due to the chemical change in the rock formation, and in biological weathering animals and plants are responsible for decomposition of rocks.
Mass wasting
It is the dynamic process of going sloping down the weathered or loosened materials due to gravity.
For example, Landslide, mud flow.
Erosion
Erosion is the movement of rocks and weathered materials due to natural agents like rivers and glaciers.
Denudation measured on the basis of stream load measurements using gauging stations. This stream load waste is converted into the volumetric units and then estimate the fraction of this volume with the area of the watershed. The final result shows the estimate of wearing down of Earth's surface in inches per 1000 years.