sea floor sediments
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Sea Floor Sediments. Seafloor Sediments. Ocean floor is mantled with sediment Sources Turbidity currents Sediment that slowly settles to the bottom from above Thickness varies Thickest in trenches —A ccumulations may approach 10 kilometers. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Seafloor Sediments
Ocean floor is mantled with sediment Sources
Turbidity currents Sediment that slowly settles to the
bottom from above Thickness varies
Thickest in trenches—Accumulations may approach 10 kilometers
Turbidity Currents – move sediments long distances
Submarine Canyons – Formed by Turbidity Currents
Seafloor Sediments
Thickness varies Pacific Ocean—About 600
meters or less Atlantic Ocean—From 500 to
1000 meters thick
Mud is the most common sediment on the deep-ocean floor
Sediments: Classification
• By size
• By mineralogy
• By source
Sediment Size Classification
Sediment Class Size (mm)
Boulder >256
Cobble 64-256
Pebble 4-64
Granule 2-4
Sand 0.062 - 2
Silt 0.004 - 0.062
Clay < 0.004
Distribution of Marine Sediments
Region % Ocean Area
% Marine Sediment
Average Thickness
Continental Shelves 9 15 2.5 km
Continental Slopes 6 41 9 km
Continental Rises 6 31 8 km
Deep Ocean Floor
78 13 0.6 km
Sediment Classification by Source
•Terrigenous
•Biogenous
•Hydrogenous
•Cosmogenous
Terrigenous Sediment
• From erosion of land, volcanic eruptions, blown dust from wind storms, glaciers and icebergs
• Dominant around continental margins and in polar oceans
• Cover ~45% of ocean floor, although they have the greatest volume of all types
• e.g. quartz sands, clays
Seafloor Sediments Terrigenous sediment
Material weathered from continental rocks
Virtually every part of the ocean receives sediment from land
Fine particles remain suspended for a long time and are carried by currents
Biogenous Sediment• Hard parts of some marine organisms –
living organisms• Covers ~55% of ocean floor and is
dominant in deep ocean• e.g. calcareous oozes from
foraminifera, pteropods, and coccolithophores; siliceous oozes from radiolarians and diatoms; phosphatic components from fish bones and teeth
Seafloor Sediments Biogenous sediment
Shells and skeletons of marine animals and plants
Most common are calcareous oozes produced from microscopic organisms
Siliceous oozes composed of skeletons of diatoms and radiolarians
Phosphate rich materials derived from the bones, teeth, and scales of fish and other marine organisms
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Foraminifera
Coccolithophores
Radiolarians
Diatoms
Hydrogenous Sediment
• From precipitation of dissolved material in seawater by bacteria or through evaporation
• Covers <1% of the ocean floor and is normally found only with other sediments
• e.g. manganese nodules
Seafloor Sediments Hydrogenous sediment
Minerals that crystallize directly from seawater
Most common types include Manganese nodules Calcium carbonates Metal sulfides Evaporites
Cosmogenous Sediment
• From space—dust and meteorite debris
• Very small proportion of sediment
• e.g. tektite spheres, glassy nodules
Distribution of Marine Sediments