A sediment is a material that, after being suspended in a liquid, settles to the bottom.
From the Latin sedimentum , sediment is the matter that, after having been suspended in a fluid, ends up at the bottom due to its weight. This process is known as sedimentation .
Sedimentation occurs when a solid material is transported by a water current and settles on the bottom of the river, reservoir, etc. Water currents have the capacity to transport solid matter in suspension and generate sediments due to their own characteristics or through the erosion of the channels.
Sediments in geology
At a geological level, a sediment is the solid material that accumulates on the Earth's surface and that arises from the action of various natural phenomena that act in the atmosphere , the hydrosphere and the biosphere . Winds, precipitation and temperature changes are some of the factors linked to the development of sediments.
Most sedimentation processes take place under the action of gravity . Depressed areas tend to be subject to sedimentation, while higher areas of the lithosphere tend to suffer erosion. The depressions in which sediments accumulate are called sedimentary basins .
There are devices that are used to produce sedimentation, a process that is necessary in issues such as water purification; Among them are decanters , sand traps and filter dams .
Sedimentology studies the processes of sediment formation and transport.
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Sedimentology is a branch of geology that deals with the study of the formation and transport processes , as well as the deposition of material accumulated in the form of sediment in regions of land or sea, and which generally becomes sedimentary rocks . Through his research, his purpose is to understand and reconstruct the sedimentation phenomena of the past.
Unlike stratigraphy, with which it has a close link, it is not responsible for the description of rocks, but for the interpretation of their processes and environments.
One of the principles on which it is based is called the Law of Superposition of Strata ; It defines that sedimentary layers are deposited over time, constituting a sequence in which the older they are, the greater the distance of the layer with respect to the surface. This axiom is fundamental for many natural sciences that depend on geology and part of the observation of the history of the planet.
Analysis of sediments throughout history
Our species' relationship with rocks dates back to the Stone Age , when they began to be used for economic purposes; However, scientific interest was not awakened until the end of the 19th century , and it was baptized with the name of sedimentology only in the first half of the 20th century .
By the 1960s , sedimentology had acquired great importance, and at that time it was used for the exploitation of hydrocarbons, providing the necessary data to locate the most suitable areas for their accumulation (which are known as reservoirs ).
Another field that benefits considerably from sedimentology is environmental management , since it finds in its observations the fundamental information for making certain decisions, such as the construction of ports and docks or actions to defend coasts from erosion. . With respect to this last point, there are positions that oppose human intervention in natural processes, considering them interference in the will of the Earth that alters its cycles and can cause catastrophes.
figurative use
The notion of sediment can also be used in a figurative sense , to refer to the remains that remain of something already past or finished.
"These are the sediments of an empire that knew how to dominate large areas of the planet" is a phrase that shows this use of the concept.