Marine Sedimentation Essay

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4-1. Sediment in the Sea A. Size classification divides sediment by grain size into gravel, sand, and clay. 1. Mud is a mixture of silt and clay. 2. Origin classification divides sediment into five categories: Terrigenous sediments, Biogenous sediments, Hydrogenous sediments, Volcanogenic sediments, and Cosmogenic sediments. B. Factors that control sedimentation include particle size and the turbulence of the deposition environment. 1. Terrigenous sediments strongly reflect their source and are transported to the sea by wind, rivers, and glaciers. 2. Rate of erosion is important in determining nature of sediments. 3. Average grain size reflects the energy of the depositional environment. 4. Hjulstrom’s Diagram graphs the relationship between particle size and energy for erosion, transportation, and deposition. 4-2. Sedimentation in the Ocean C. Based upon water depth, the ocean environment can be divided into the shelf, which is shallow and near a terrigenous source, and the deep ocean basin, which is deep and far from a terrigenous source. 1. Seaward, water becomes deeper and more distant from a terrigenous source. D. Shelf sedimentation is strongly controlled by tides, waves and currents, but their influence decreases with depth. 1. Shoreline turbulence prevents small particles from settling and transports them seaward where they are deposited in deeper water. 2. Particle size decreases seaward for recent sediments. 3. Past fluctuations of sea level has stranded coarse sediment (relict sediment) across the shelf including most areas where only fine sediments are deposited today. E. Worldwide distribution of recent shelf sediments by composition is strongly related to latitude and climate. 1. Calcareous biogenous sediments dominate tropical shelves. 2. River-supplied sands and muds dominate temperate shelves. 3. Glacial till and ice-rafted

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