Abrasion is the physical process of rubbing, scouring, or scraping whereby particles of rock (usually microscopic) are eroded away by friction. Thornbury (1954, p. 47) indicates that all the four principal agencies of erosion may involve abrasion: (a) running water, (b) waves and currents, (c) wind, and (d) glaciers. The term corrasion (as distinct from corrosion: chemical weathering) is really a synonym for abrasion, but only with respect to running water for the deepening of valley floors. Nevertheless Holmes (1965) uses “corrasion” for mechanical wear by waves and rivers, and “abrasion” for similar wear by wind. Webster's dictionary specifically refers to “corrasion” by wind-borne sands.
Example of abrasion (or “corrasion,” q.v.) by wind-borne particles at Djadokhta, Mongolia: cliffs of massive red sandstones of Cretaceous age (Berkey and Morris, 1927). (Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History.)
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Fairbridge, R.W. (1968). Abrasion . In: Geomorphology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31060-6_2
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