Exam 5: Ocean Sediments

The sediments that occur on the slope, rise, and deep ocean floor and originate in the ocean are called:

Clays can remain suspended in a water column for decades before settling due to their small size.

Sometimes formations on land can shed light on ocean processes. What do the White Cliffs of Dover in England show?

Biological sediments are the most abundant sediments due to the high productivity of organisms along the continental shelf.

Most near shore sediments smell of hydrogen sulfide due to high levels of decomposing organic matter.

Which is an example of an authigenic sediment?

Most sediments have a composition derived from a mixture of origins.

The west coast of South America is known for its seasonal upwelling. What kind of sediment is likely to be abundant based on this information?

Even in a rare area in which there are no overlying sediments, there are sediments found in the water above.

Neritic sediments are mainly comprised of biogenous sediments due to the proximity to the continental shelf.

What is an example of terrigenous sediment?

If a sediment is white in color, it is likely to be:

The increased presence of carbonic acid at deep depths causes calcium carbonate to precipitate into a solid beneath approximately 4500 meters.

If there is an abundance of foraminifera shells found in a sediment, it would be categorized as:

What is often found in the middle of manganese nodules?

What explains why the ocean's sedimentary "memory" or record does not start with the ocean's formation?

The compression of small biological particles into fecal pellets increases the rate at which they sink to the bottom.

What can cause hydrogenous calcium carbonate deposits?

What organism is likely to be found in siliceous ooze?

What are manganese nodules? How are they formed? Using the information regarding the usefulness of these nodules, can you infer why the mining of these nodules could become a political issue?