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Concept
Sedimentation
Summary
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 to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the forces acting on them: these forces can be due to gravity, centrifugal acceleration, or electromagnetism. Settling is the falling of suspended particles through the liquid, whereas sedimentation is the final result of the settling process.
In geology, sedimentation is the deposition of sediments which results in the formation of sedimentary rock. The term is broadly applied to the entire range of processes that result in the formation of sedimentary rock, from initial erosion through sediment transport and settling to the lithification of the sediments. However, the strict geological definition of sedimentation is the mechanical deposition of sediment particles from an initial suspension in air or water.
Sedimentation may pertain to objects of various sizes, ranging from large rocks in flowing water, to suspensions of dust and pollen particles, to cellular suspensions, to solutions of single molecules such as proteins and peptides. Even small molecules supply a sufficiently strong force to produce significant sedimentation.
Deposition (geology)
In geology, the term sedimentation is broadly applied to the entire range of processes that result in the formation of sedimentary rock, from initial formation of sediments by erosion of particles from rock outcrops, through sediment transport and settling, to the lithification of the sediments. However, the term is more particularly applied to the deposition of sediments, and in the strictest sense, it applies only to the mechanical deposition of sediment particles from an initial suspension in air or water. Sedimentation results in the formation of depositional landforms and the rocks that constitute the sedimentary record. The building up of land surfaces by sedimentation, particularly in river valleys, is called aggradation.
Official source
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