Knowra Sediment Sediment Sediment is loose mineral or rock material transported or deposited by natural processes. It ranges from clay-sized particles to gravel and larger fragments.
Weathering : The breakdown of rocks and minerals at or near Earth’s surface by physical, chemical, or biological processes. Weathering creates many of the particles that become sediment.
Wentworth scale : A grain-size classification for sediment that divides particles into categories such as clay, silt, sand, and gravel. This scale gives sediment grain sizes a shared vocabulary.
Sediment core : A cylindrical sample of layered sediment collected from a lake, ocean, or other depositional setting. Cores expose successive layers for reconstructing past environments.
Soil : A mixture of mineral particles, organic matter, water, and air that supports plant life at Earth’s surface. Soil includes biological and chemical development beyond loose mineral particles.
Erosion : The removal and transport of soil or rock by water, wind, ice, or gravity. Erosion detaches and moves sediment from its source.
Grain size : A measure of the diameter of individual particles in a sediment or rock. Grain size helps indicate transport energy and depositional conditions.
Sedimentology : The study of sediment, its formation, transport, deposition, and transformation into rock. This field investigates sediment from source to preserved record.
Sedimentary rock : Rock formed from accumulated sediment or chemical and biological deposits, commonly preserved in layers. Lithified sediment is no longer loose material.
Sediment transport : The movement of sediment by flowing water, wind, glaciers, or gravity. Transport depends on particle size, flow strength, and the carrying medium.
Sorting (sediment) : The degree to which sediment particles have similar or varied grain sizes. Sorting reflects how transport and deposition separated particle sizes.
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