Ad
related to: def of sediment in the water cycle
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. [1] It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles.
Sediment transport occurs in natural systems where the particles are clastic rocks (sand, gravel, boulders, etc.), mud, or clay; the fluid is air, water, or ice; and the force of gravity acts to move the particles along the sloping surface on which they are resting.
Wind, ice, water, and gravity transport previously weathered surface material, which, at the loss of enough kinetic energy in the fluid, is deposited, building up layers of sediment. This occurs when the forces responsible for sediment transportation are no longer sufficient to overcome the forces of gravity and friction , creating a resistance ...
However, the strict geological definition of sedimentation is the mechanical deposition of sediment particles from an initial suspension in air or water. Sedimentation may pertain to objects of various sizes, ranging from large rocks in flowing water, to suspensions of dust and pollen particles, to cellular suspensions, to solutions of single ...
In geography and geology, fluvial sediment processes or fluvial sediment transport are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by sediments. It can result in the formation of ripples and dunes , in fractal -shaped patterns of erosion, in complex patterns of natural river systems, and in the development of ...
The physical process of sedimentation (the act of depositing sediment) has applications in water treatment, whereby gravity acts to remove suspended solids from water. [1] Solid particles entrained by the turbulence of moving water may be removed naturally by sedimentation in the still water of lakes and oceans.
The ocean plays a key role in the water cycle as it is the source of 86% of global evaporation. [2] The water cycle involves the exchange of energy, which leads to temperature changes. When water evaporates, it takes up energy from its surroundings and cools the environment. When it condenses, it releases energy and warms the environment.
This forms a pair of layers—one coarse and one fine—for each annual cycle. Varves form only in fresh or brackish water, because the high levels of salt in normal sea water coagulate the clay into coarse grains. Since the saline waters leave coarse particles all year, it is nearly impossible to distinguish the individual layers in salt waters.