A form of weathering, especially important in hot deserts, which combines crystal growth with hydration. See Smith and Warke in D. Thomas et al., eds (1997) on the importance of the nature of salt and moisture delivery to weathering in arid areas, and Buj et al. (2011) ESPL 36, 3, 383 on the role of salt in the weathering of limestone. Salt weathering is closely linked to groundwater controls in enclosed arid depressions (Aref et al. (2002) Geomorph. 45, 3–4). See Viles and Goudie (2007) Geomorph. 85, 1–2 on salt weathering in coastal salt pans. Smith et al. (2005) Geomorph. 67, 1–2 evaluate recent simulations of salt weathering. Landforms associated with arid salt weathering include columnar weathering networks (Goudie et al. (2002) Zeitschrift Geomorph. 46) and tafoni.