Sorting of Sediments in the Light of Fluid Mechanics

ABSTRACT Observations show that a physical relationship exists between the sorting, skewness and median diameters of sediment samples. Investigation of the fluid mechanic principles involved in the transportation and deposition of sediments indicates that there are three primary controlling factors; the degree of bottom roughness, the settling velocity, and the threshold velocity. Analysis of sedimentary processes in the light of these controlling factors indicates that the relationship of sorting and skewness to the median diameter of a sediment may furnish a clue to the conditions under which the sediment was transported and deposited.