Weathering and Sediment Genesis

The genesis of detrital sediments could not take place without weathering. Both chemical and mechanical weathering processes work toward the fragmentation, disaggregation, and chemical alteration of rocks to form clastic particles (clay to boulder size) and solutes. Clastic particles are entrained into the sediment system by various geomorphic processes. Solutes indurate soils and near surface sediments as well as cementing buried sediments. The weathering genesis of particles and weathering of sediments becomes relevant to concerns within geomorphology and sedimentology, including the recognition of fine-grained particles derived from weathering, and the implications of sediment weathering on environmental factors and dating methods.