Distribution of sediment types on the seafloor Within each colored area, the type of material shown is what dominates, although other materials are also likely to be present. For further information about this diagram see below ↓
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Sediments
By origin
Terrigenous (lithogenous)
Biogenous
Cosmogenous
Hydrogenous
By texture
Roundness
Sorting
Grain size
boulder
cobble
gravel
pebble
granule
sand
silt
clay
colloid
Other
oolite
scree
till
By composition
Manganese nodules
Oolitic aragonite sand
Tektites
By process
Sedimentation
Sedimentary budget
Sediment transport
coastal
Weathering
Erosion
Aeolian (windborne) transport
Biomineralization
Bioturbation
Compaction
Concretion
Exner equation
Fluvial processes
Glacier flow
ice-sheet dynamics
ice rafting
Lithification
Siltation
Turbidity currents
By structure
Sedimentary structures
Bedforms
cross-bedding
duness
graded bedding
ripple marks
Alluvial fan
Alluvial river
Fault
Fold
Paleocurrent indicators
sole markings
imbrication
River delta
Sediment–water interface
Sedimentary basin
Soft-sediment deformation
Unconformity
Vegetation-induced
Soil sediment
Soil
matrix
pore space
permeability
morphology
texture
value
color
Catena
Soil horizon
Humus
Humin
Soil salinity
Hydropedology
Mineralization
Microbial calcite precipitation
Marine sediment
Abyssal fan
Aragonite
aragonite sea
oolitic aragonite sand
Calcite
calcite sea
Amorphous calcium carbonate
Calcification
Continental rise
Bay mud
Bioirrigation
Coastal sediment transport
Coastal sediment supply
Evaporites
Marine clay
pelagic red clay
Marine regression
transgression
Pelagic
turbidite
contourite
hemipelagite
Salt tectonics
Sedimentary basin
Tidal bundle
Biogenous sediments
Calcareous ooze
biogenic calcification
calcareous nannoplankton
Siliceous ooze
biogenic silica
silicification
diatomaceous earth
radiolarite
Microfossil
Reverse weathering
Sedimentary ecology
Soil biomantle
Soil zoology
soil pathogens
Pedodiversity
Soil biodiversity
Rhizosphere
root microbiome
Sedimentary carbon
Soil carbon storage
Soil carbon
Coal
Peat
Sedimentary rock
Badlands
Carbonates
limestone
dolomite
Clastic
conglomerate
breccia
sandstone
mudrock
Evaporite
Chalk
Chert
Greywacke
Iron-rich
Organic-rich
Phosphorite
Siliceous
Related
History
geology
geological
paleontology
soil science
Legacy sediment
Principles
cross-cutting relationships
lateral continuity
original horizontality
Provenance
Sedimentary record
Sedimentology
Stratigraphy
Rock cycle
calcium
silica
carbonate-silicate
Paleolimnology
Biosignature
Category
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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 chemical precipitation in seawater, as well as from underwater volcanoes and meteorite debris.
Except within a few kilometres of a mid-ocean ridge, where the volcanic rock is still relatively young, most parts of the seafloor are covered in sediment. This material comes from several different sources and is highly variable in composition. Seafloor sediment can range in thickness from a few millimetres to several tens of kilometres. Near the surface seafloor sediment remains unconsolidated, but at depths of hundreds to thousands of metres the sediment becomes lithified (turned to rock).
Rates of sediment accumulation are relatively slow throughout most of the ocean, in many cases taking thousands of years for any significant deposits to form. Sediment transported from the land accumulates the fastest, on the order of one metre or more per thousand years for coarser particles. However, sedimentation rates near the mouths of large rivers with high discharge can be orders of magnitude higher. Biogenous oozes accumulate at a rate of about one centimetre per thousand years, while small clay particles are deposited in the deep ocean at around one millimetre per thousand years.
Sediments from the land are deposited on the continental margins by surface runoff, river discharge, and other processes. Turbidity currents can transport this sediment down the continental slope to the deep ocean floor. The deep ocean floor undergoes its own process of spreading out from the mid-ocean ridge, and then slowly subducts accumulated sediment on the deep floor into the molten interior of the earth. In turn, molten material from the interior returns to the surface of the earth in the form of lava flows and emissions from deep sea hydrothermal vents, ensuring the process continues indefinitely. The sediments provide habitat for a multitude of marine life, particularly of marine microorganisms. Their fossilized remains contain information about past climates, plate tectonics, ocean circulation patterns, and the timing of major extinctions.[1]
^Webb, Paul (2019) Introduction to Oceanography, Chapter 12: Ocean Sediments, page 273–297, Rebus Community. Updated 2020. Modified text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Marinesediment, or ocean sediment, or seafloor sediment, are deposits of insoluble particles that have accumulated on the seafloor. These particles either...
accumulate sediment over time. The sediment can consist of terrigenous material, which originates on land, but may be deposited in either terrestrial, marine, or...
particles produced in surface waters. In case of marinesediments, ooze does not refer to a sediment's consistency, but to its composition, which directly...
oceans is covered in layers of marinesediments. Categorized by where the materials come from or composition, these sediments are classified as either: from...
settle in place. The particles that form a sedimentary rock are called sediment, and may be composed of geological detritus (minerals) or biological detritus...
sediment or one that is composed completely of siliciclastic sediment. Shallow water marinesediment is made up of larger grain sizes because smaller grains...
additional form of calcareous marinesediment consists of calcareous ooze, which is a form of calcium carbonate sediment that consists of >30% biogenous...
Terrestrial microfossils include pollen and spores. Marine microfossils found in marinesediments are the most common microfossils. Everywhere in the...
A marine habitat is a habitat that supports marine life. Marine life depends in some way on the saltwater that is in the sea (the term marine comes from...
in the sediment as protection and may also have fed upon detritus or the mat of microbes which tended to grow on the surface of the sediment. Today,...
Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come...
are active in the chemistry of marinesediments. Many fungi have been identified as commensals or pathogens of marine animals (e.g., corals and sponges)...
degraded in aerobic soils but is relatively recalcitrant in anoxic marinesediments. This example shows bioavailability varies as a function of the ecosystem's...
also be present. Ooze, in the context of a marinesediment, does not refer to the consistency of the sediment but to its biological origin. The term ooze...
both to marine influences such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water, and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing...
also be present. Ooze, in the context of a marinesediment, does not refer to the consistency of the sediment but to its biological origin. The term ooze...
level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek...
derived from pollen and foraminifera (plankton) remains in drilled marinesediment cores, sapropels, and other data that reflect historic climate; these...
storing considerable amounts of carbon in marinesediments, thus becoming important regulators of climate change. Marine microorganisms are key parts of these...
a spatial separation of sulfide oxidation and oxygen reduction in marinesediment that was interrupted and re-established at a rate faster than could...
(1995-12-01). "Aerobic and anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in marinesediment: Which is fastest?". Limnology and Oceanography. 40 (8): 1430–1437...
both to marine influences—such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water—and to riverine influences—such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The...
Martin curve Particulate organic matter Sea snot Sediment trap Whale fall Vampire squid Seston What is marine snow? NOAA National Ocean Service. Updated:06/25/18...
and marinesediment is sensitive to marine oxygenation, seawater temperature, and various geological and biological processes. Iridium in sediments can...
Sediment transport is the movement of solid particles (sediment), typically due to a combination of gravity acting on the sediment, and the movement of...
continental rise, in which sediment from the continent above cascades down the slope and accumulates as a pile of sediment at the base of the slope. Extending...
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Modified text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
