New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock is one of the three main rock groups (along with igneous and metamorphic rocks) and is formed in four main ways: by the deposition of the weathered remains of other rocks (known as 'clastic' sedimentary rocks); by the accumulation and the consolidation of sediments; by the deposition of the results of biogenic activity; and by precipitation from solution. Sedimentary rocks include common types such as chalk, limestone, sandstone, clay and shale. Sedimentary rocks cover 75% of the Earth's surface. Four basic processes are involved in the formation of a clastic sedimentary rock: weathering (erosion)caused mainly by friction of waves, transportation where the sediment is carried along by a current, deposition and compaction where the sediment is squashed together to form a rock of this kind. Sedimentary rocks are formed from overburden pressure as particles of sediment are deposited out of air, ice, or water flows carrying the particles in suspension. As sediment deposition builds up, the overburden (or 'lithostatic') pressure squeezes the sediment into layered solids in a process known as lithification ('rock formation') and the original connate fluids are expelled. The term diagenesis is used to describe all the chemical, physical, and biological changes, including cementation, undergone by a sediment after its initial deposition and during and after its lithification, exclusive of surface weathering.

Related Stories
 


Earth & Climate News

May 14, 2026

Deep beneath Portugal’s São Jorge Island, a massive surge of magma silently pushed upward from more than 20 kilometers underground in 2022, triggering thousands of earthquakes and briefly raising ...
Scientists exploring deep underwater canyons off the coast of Western Australia uncovered a hidden world packed with bizarre and elusive marine life — including signs of the legendary giant squid. By analyzing traces of DNA floating in seawater ...
A remote island between Australia and Antarctica is showing signs of a dramatic climate transformation. Scientists found storms over Macquarie Island now unleash much heavier rainfall than they did ...
Humans may have returned to Britain far earlier than scientists once believed — not long after the last ice sheet began retreating. New evidence suggests people were already moving into the British ...
Researchers have uncovered unexpectedly high levels of silicone-based pollutants called methylsiloxanes floating through the atmosphere across cities, rural regions, and even forests. Much of the pollution appears to come from vehicle emissions, ...
Researchers created a special kind of algae that can grab microscopic plastic pollution out of water almost like a magnet. The algae produce limonene, an orange-scented oil that helps them bind to water-repelling microplastics, forming ...
The Toba supereruption 74,000 years ago was so massive it may have plunged Earth into years of darkness and cold, leading some scientists to believe humanity nearly went extinct. Yet archaeological ...
A team at the University of Hong Kong has developed a new “super steel” that can survive the harsh conditions needed to make green hydrogen from seawater. The material uses an unexpected double-protection mechanism that resists corrosion far ...
A colossal underwater volcano in the South Pacific may have revealed a surprising new weapon against climate change. After the 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai, scientists detected enormous amounts of formaldehyde in the atmosphere — ...
Scientists have uncovered strong evidence that a major Atlantic Ocean current system tied to global climate is weakening. The slowdown has been detected across a vast region of the North Atlantic ...
Scientists have uncovered a hidden Antarctic threat that could accelerate global sea level rise far faster than expected. Deep beneath floating ice shelves, long channels carved into the ice appear ...
Beneath the beauty of coral reefs lies a hidden universe of microbes unlike anything scientists expected. Each coral species supports its own specialized microbial partners, many of which have never ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56 pm ET