Sediment Transportation

Upon walking outside the break room where I work, I found this beauty:




What initially seems to simply be a dirty table is really small amounts of sediment deposited by snow onto the table which has then melted and settled at the bottom of this small puddle. This silt gathered in snow fall is likely from multiple locations. As water gathers in clouds before falling in the form of rain or snow, dust and other particles gather and weigh down the H2O as it tumbles to this table each winter.

I work in downtown Salt Lake City, where there is plenty of exhaust and dust in the air from close by refineries and construction zones. I'm sure the sediments kicked up by this wind also contributed to this dirty puddle. Because of this mix of sediments, and their size it is difficult to determine their shape (whether rounded or sharp).

These well sorted sediments, if compacted, would most likely create a Frankenstein type sedimentary rock if cemented, due to the different elements contained within, and their various origins. This is no pile of sandstone sediment from Southern Utah.

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