What processes cause sediments to form?

Answer 1

I worked for a sand & gravel/ Ready Mixed Concrete company in the '70s. At that time we were pouring the ballast (sand/gravel/clay mix) into a hopper and it traveled up a conveyor belt to the plant. It consisted of a series of screens, small to large mesh with water poured on from above, and the screens shook (it was really loud.) These screens were on a slope. The smaller particles (soft sand) came out on the first screen. Course sand came off the second screen. These screens had a lot more water poured on than the later screens. The 2 sands were pumped into piles on either side of a turret. Huge piles they were, each at least 70 feet tall.

The gravel continued down the screens. 1/4" came out first (pea shingle in the UK), then the larger sizes up to 1 1/2". Anything bigger went off into the end hopper. I drove a tractor with a trailer. I backed under any hopper with a peak (showing it was about to overflow) I filled my trailer and backed into the appropriate heap and dumped my load onto the heap.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Sediments form from weathered away materials. For example, wind, wave action (oceans), glaciers, moving water (rivers and streams), and abrasion (rocks colliding and tumbling together) can all erode substances to create sediments.