Exogenic processes are processes that take place at or near the Earth's surface that cause the surface to wear away through physical and chemical weathering. Some physical weathering processes include ice wedging, release of pressure, growth of plants, animal activity, and abrasion. Chemical weathering processes involve water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, living organisms, and acid rain breaking down rocks through chemical changes. Erosion by water, wind, ice and gravity then transports the weathered material away, which eventually settles as sediment through the process of sedimentation.