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Geology & Earth Sciences vocabulary · Landforms & Surface Processes

Sediment

Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples

/ˈsedɪmənt/nounCore term

In geology & earth sciences, sediment means: Loose particles such as sand, mud, gravel, shells or plant matter that are carried by water, wind or ice and settle in a new place.

In Turkish: sediman, tortu, çökel

How it is used

Used in sedimentology, hydrology and environmental work. Sediment is transported, deposited, compacted and eroded. It is countable for types (marine sediments, lake sediments). Engineers worry about sediment filling the reservoirs behind dams.

Example sentences

  1. The river carries huge amounts of sediment after heavy rain.

  2. We took cores of lake sediment to study the past climate.

Common collocations

  • sediment transport
  • sediment load
  • marine sediments
  • fine-grained sediment
  • sediment core
  • depositionThe process by which sediment carried by water, wind or ice is dropped and builds up, for example when a river slows down.
  • erosionThe removal of soil and rock fragments from one place and their transport to another by water, wind, ice or gravity.
  • sedimentary rockRock formed when sediment such as sand, mud or shells is laid down in layers, then buried, pressed together and cemented over time.
  • deltaA flat, often fan-shaped area of land built from sediment that a river deposits where it slows down on entering a sea or lake.

More terms: Landforms & Surface Processes

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