Deposition is the act of depositing sediment, such as sand or silt from one area to another when agents such as erosion (water, wind, gravity or ice) run out of energy to transport its load further.
Temperature plays a key role in particle deposition processes. In this article we’ll investigate different temperature conditions to see how they impact particle settling velocity.
Weathering
Weathering refers to the gradual breakdown of rocks, minerals and human-made objects on or near Earth’s surface through physical means (heating/cooling cycles or ice wedging) or chemical agents (for instance acid rain corroding iron in rocks).
Physical weathering involves the break-down of rocks into smaller fragments that retain their original properties, including thermal expansion and contraction, freeze-thaw cycles, abrasion from plant roots expanding through cracks in rocks, and wet-dry cycles.
Chemical weathering refers to the process of disintegrating rocks through chemical reactions with water or other chemicals, either slowly or quickly, depending on their composition and surface area available for chemical weathering – for instance, interlocking silicate grains found in fresh granite can decay along crystal boundaries into clays. Weathering also depends on energy available for erosion due to landscape slope and plate tectonics – thus altering whether rock faces will disintegrate quickly or gradually over time.
Erosion
Erosion is the natural process by which rocks, soil and other substances erode away and move from one location to the next, unlike weathering which only breaks down rocks but doesn’t involve movement.
Water, wind and glacial ice are three natural forces responsible for erosion. Wind erosion contributes to sediment production – which adds material to existing landforms through geological processes like deposition.
Erosion has become an ever-increasing global threat as erosion depletes top layers of fertile soil from Earth, contributing to nutrient depletion and environmental problems such as water quality degradation and desertification. Furthermore, excessive erosion deposits sediment into streams and rivers, clogging them up with debris while diminishing fish populations; controlling erosion is essential to sustainable agriculture practices. In addition, erosion causes landslides as well as mass wasting effects which reshape mountains and hills simultaneously known as mass wasting erosion.
Sedimentation
Erosion destabilises rock and other materials into smaller particles which are then carried away by natural agents such as water, wind or gravity and transported. When they reach gently sloping terrain or lose sufficient energy to continue transporting their load, the collected material is dumped on Earth’s surface in what’s known as sedimentation; such deposits might include pebbles, sand or salts produced from dissolving in water.
Particle size, shape and terrain coverage all influence how fast sediments settle; for example, heavier particles tend to settle more slowly due to their greater mass.
Evidence of sedimentation can be seen at beachfronts and dunes on land, as well as tea and coffee cups–where tiny sediment particles found at the bottom are called “dregs.”
Natural Agents
Natural forces that erode rocks and soil also deposit them elsewhere – glaciers, water, ice, wind and gravity among them – forming landforms such as deltas, sand dunes and mountains in their wake.
Deposition occurs when erosion agents (water, ice, wind and gravity) have exhausted their energy or reached gently-sloping or flat ground and begun depositing sediments, which then settle and form layers of soil.
Size, shape and density will all have an impact on how long sediment particles take to settle into one location. Rocks or pebbles tend to settle faster due to their larger sizes and denser composition than fine sand particles due to rapid deposition.