engleski

Sedimentological Characterization of Sediments as a Basis for Other Analyses

Sediment is any unconsolidated particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of water or other liquid. This definition describes the material that will be the main subject of this lecture. Any scientist dealing with the environmental studies sooner or later gets across with sediments – either as a primary subject of research or as a part of the broader investigation. In any case, a good characterization of sedimentary material is an important starting point for the interpretation of your results. A regular characterization of sediment samples usually includes grain size analysis, mineral composition, chemical analysis, organic matter content and occasionally the determination of some physico-chemical parameters (e.g. specific surface area, cation exchange capacity, surface charge etc.). In this course we will be mostly concentrated on the grain size determination. Grain-size analysis, also known as particle-size analysis or granulometric analysis, is perhaps the most basic sedimentological technique to characterize and interpret sediments and sedimentary rocks. Geologists and sedimentologists use information on sediment grain size to study trends in surface processes related to the dynamic conditions of transportation and deposition ; engineers use grain size to study sample permeability and stability under load ; geochemists use grain size to study kinetic reactions and the affinities of fine-grained particles and contaminants ; and hydrologists use it when studying the movement of subsurface fluids. Therefore, with these reasons in mind, the objectives of a grain-size analysis are to accurately measure individual particle sizes or hydraulic equivalents, to determine their frequency distribution, and to calculate a statistical description that adequately characterizes the sample.

sediments; geochemistry

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