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Marine sediment, or ocean sediment, or seafloor sediment, are deposits of insoluble particles that have accumulated on the seafloor.These particles either have their origins in soil and rocks and have been transported from the land to the sea, mainly by rivers but also by dust carried by wind and by the flow of glaciers into the sea, or they are biogenic deposits from marine organisms or from ...
A buoyant sediment-laden river plume can induce a secondary turbidity current on the ocean floor by the process of convective sedimentation. [24] [4] Sediment in the initially buoyant hypopycnal flow accumulates at the base of the surface flow, [25] so that the dense lower boundary become unstable. The resulting convective sedimentation leads ...
Terrigenous sediment is the most abundant sediment found on the seafloor. Terrigenous sediments come from the continents. These materials are eroded from continents and transported by wind and water to the ocean. Fluvial sediments are transported from land by rivers and glaciers, such as clay, silt, mud, and glacial flour.
Deep water marine environment – Flat area on the deep ocean floor (abyssal plains) caused by ocean currents. Common sediments are clay, carbonate mud, silica mud. Reef – Shoal of rock, coral, or other material lying beneath the surface of water caused by waves and tidal currents. Also creates adjacent basins. Common sediments are carbonates.
Coastal sediment transport (a subset of sediment transport) is the interaction of coastal land forms to various complex interactions of physical processes. [1] [2] The primary agent in coastal sediment transport is wave activity (see Wind wave), followed by tides and storm surge (see Tide and Storm surge), and near shore currents (see Sea#Currents) . [1]
The total sediment deposition rate in remote areas is estimated at two to three centimeters per thousand years. [31] [32] Sediment-covered abyssal plains are less common in the Pacific Ocean than in other major ocean basins because sediments from turbidity currents are trapped in oceanic trenches that border the Pacific Ocean. [33]
Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean's surface. However, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water's density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.
Ocean surface currents Distinctive white lines trace the flow of surface currents around the world. Visualization showing global ocean currents from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2012, at sea level, then at 2,000 m (6,600 ft) below sea level Animation of circulation around ice shelves of Antarctica