Sedimentation is the physical phenomenon in which suspended particles in a fluid (liquid or gas) undergo gravitational settling or deposition due to differences in density and hydrodynamic drag. It is governed by forces including gravity, buoyancy, and viscous resistance, often approximated for small, spherical particles at low Reynolds numbers by Stokes’ law. Sedimentation influences particle-size fractionation, concentration gradients, and stratification in natural and engineered systems, and is a key process in sediment transport, basin infilling, water and wastewater treatment, and laboratory separations, where it interacts with turbulence, flocculation, and chemical conditions to determine deposition rates and spatial distribution.
Organic particles that settle on the seabed ensure CO2 stays locked. However, natural gel-like substances slow down this process. Such microscale mechanisms play a crucial role in enhancing climate predictions.
Earth Sciences
May 28, 2025
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Research led by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), with the participation of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), has reconstructed the history of pollution ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 28, 2025
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For scientists who want to learn about the geological history of a planet, river deltas are a great place to start. Deltas gather sediment from a large area into one place, which can be studied to reveal climate and tectonic ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 18, 2025
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260
Long ago, flowing wind and water shaped Mars's malleable sand and sediment into dunes, ripples and other landscape patterns, called bedforms. Over billions of years, some of these landforms hardened into rock—scientists then ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 25, 2024
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