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Sea Sediments

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What are the different types of seafloor sediments, and what are the factors that control the distribution of each major sea sediment type? Where does each major seafloor sediment type tend to accumulate in greatest quantity (i.e., discuss the distribution of these sediments)?

There are three different types of seafloor sediments; terrigenous ("derived from land"), biogenous ("derived from organisms"), and hydrogenous ("derived from water"). No body of sediment comes entirely from a single source.

Terrigenous consists primarily of mineral grains that were weathered from continental rocks and transported to the ocean. Bigger stuff like gravel and sand usually settle rapidly near shore, whereas the very smallest particles take years to settle to the ocean floor and may be carried thousands of miles by currents in the ocean. Sediment accumulates at a very slow rate on the deep-ocean floor.

Biogenous sediment is made of shells and skeletons of marine animals and algae. Microscopic organisms living in the sunlit waters near the ocean surface mostly produce this debris. Once these organisms die, their hard tests continually "rain" down and accumulate on the seafloor. Calcareous ooze is the most common biogenous sediment, as the name implies, has the consistency of thick mud. Siliceous ooze and phosphate-rich material are some other biogenous sediment.

Hydrogenous sediments are made of minerals that crystallize directly from seawater through various chemical reactions.

Terrigenous travel so much virtually every area of the ocean receives some terrigenous sediment. Also on mouths of large rivers you can see a buildup. Biogenous sediment is produced from the tests of organisms that inhabit warm surface waters. When calcareous hard parts slowly sink through a cool layer of water, they begin to dissolve. Hydrogenous you can find in a little of both place. It's like a mixture of both of the other two because part of the hydrogenous can make limestone, which makes it biogenous. It also can be find on the deep ocean floor just like terrigenous.

Lutgens, Frederick K. & Tarbuck, Edward J. (2011). Foundations of Earth Science Six Edition

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