During the rock cycle rocks get broken apart by weathering carried along by erosion and eventually deposited in a body of water What happens next?

Answer 1

It depends on where the sediment is deposited. Not all sediment is deposited in a body of water. If the transport mechanism is a stream then the sediment can be deposited on the flood plain of the river or in a lake. If the sediment is deposited on the flood plain it will do two things. 1) The sediment of the flood plain will eventually lithify and 2) The river will continue to down cut and after X number of years the flood plain will no longer be subject to the flood waters of the river. At this point it is classified as a terrace (a flood plain of the past that is no longer inundated by flood water). The cycle basically starts over at this point with weathering and erosion processes breaking down and transporting the terrace sediment back into the river. If the sediment is transported to a lake, a delta will form. As the sediment is deposited in the lake the main channel of the river will extend out into the lake, this lowers the gradient of the main channel which slows the flow of water through the channel and allows for the deposition of sediment in the channel. When the main channel fills with sediment and no longer has the ability to channel all of the water from the river, dis-tributary channels will form these dis- tributary channels migrate across the delta transporting sediment as they go. Lithification takes place in the lower layers of the delta but this lithified sediment is only subjected to erosion during very high flows that are capable of transporting the sediment that covers the lithified layers.

Basically, no matter where the sediment is deposited, it is subject to the processes which weathered and transported it to its current location.

Wow really? these guys are just looking for a basic answer not an essay

Answer 2

Once deposited in a body of water, sediment undergoes compaction and cementation to form sedimentary rocks through the lithification process. Over time, these sedimentary rocks may be exposed to heat and pressure due to tectonic movements, leading to their metamorphism into metamorphic rocks. Further geological processes can cause metamorphic rocks to melt and solidify, forming igneous rocks, thus completing the rock cycle.