Sediment is often laid down in layers because of the different sizes and weights of particles settling out of water or air. Heavier particles settle faster, creating bottom layers, while lighter particles settle on top. Over time, this accumulation results in distinct layers of sediment.
Sediment is laid down in flat layers because gravity causes particles to settle evenly and compact together, forming a flat surface. Additionally, water or wind currents tend to distribute sediment horizontally, creating uniform layers. The flat layers of sediment can provide important clues about past environments and geological processes.
stratified drift ;D
The process in which sediment is deposited in any location is called sedimentation. This occurs when the energy of flowing water or wind decreases to the point where it can no longer transport sediment, leading to the settling of sediment particles to the Earth's surface. Over time, these accumulated sediments can form sedimentary rocks.
Sedimentary rock formations are those which are formed by layer upon layer of sediment being laid down by natural forces. It is the stone in which history is hidden.
The inner layers are laid down by earlier eruptions, and are then buried under ash and lava from later eruptions.
Sediment is laid down in flat layers because gravity causes particles to settle evenly and compact together, forming a flat surface. Additionally, water or wind currents tend to distribute sediment horizontally, creating uniform layers. The flat layers of sediment can provide important clues about past environments and geological processes.
When sediment is laid down, this is known as deposition. The sediment is unconsolidated and so it is not (yet) a rock.
We use the term deposition to describe the process by which sediment is laid down in a body of water. The sediment is said to have been deposited at the bottom of the body of water, and more may follow to build a layer of sediment.
A sediment laid down by glacial meltwater is called glaciofluvial sediment. It is formed when the meltwater carries and deposits sediments as it flows away from the glacier. These sediments can include sand, gravel, and boulders.
stratified drift ;D
stratified drift ;D
Layers of rock that were laid down longer ago than other layers. The law of superposition states the the layers deeper down are the oldest.
Erosion is a wearing away process, which is what creates the sediment in the first place, but when sediment is laid down in a new location, that is not erosion, it's sedimentation.
Under normal conditions, the largest, or the sediments with the most mass, are the first to be laid down, as they are able to more easily resist the force causing the movement of the sediments. Successively smaller particles are laid down after that, as deposition continues.
There will only be a record of a given part of geologic time if sediment was laid down at that time. For any given time period, there are regions in which sediment was not laid down. Addtionally, even where the sediment was laid down, some may been eroded and the rock record destroyed. Additionally, in a region where rock from one time period are expossed, rocks from older periods, if they exist, will bur buried, often too deep to be accessible.
Isn't it, " Why are very FEW fossils found in rocks made from sediment that laid down in deep ocean waters?"and i thought you would know.
Mos flat rocks are sedimentary, with shale being a prime example. Shale forms from fine sediment being laid down in layers and then later hardened into rock, with the layers preserved. Slate is a metamorphic rock derived from shale that still preserves the layering.