Coastal & Marine Geology InfoBank

USGS CMG InfoBank: Abrasion


Dictionaries:	The USGS and Science Education USGS Fact Sheets Topics Keywords Data Dictionary Metadata Dictionary Computer Terminology Digital Formats
InfoBank Terms:	Activity ID activity overview crew formal metadata lines metadata NGDC port stops project/theme region ship stations time virtual globe year
Data Types:	bathymetry geodetic positioning gravity ground penetrating radar imagery LIDAR magnetics metering equipment navigation samples seismic definitions disclaimer
Data Formats:	ARC coverage E00 FGDC metadata gridded/image imaging material scattered/swath Shapefile vector/polygon

Comment: 06:18 - 06:45 (00:27)

Source: Annenberg/CPB Resources - Earth Revealed - 19. Running Water I: Rivers, Erosion and Deposition

Keywords: "James Sadd", river, stream, abrasion, "rapid current", sediment, scouring, bedrock, energy, "river channel", cobble, erosion, "flow velocity"

Our transcription: The rapid current of a sediment-laden river can also generate a sandblasting effect, which can scour its way down through sediment or even solid rock.

In this process called "abrasion" the energy of the moving water is converted into collisions between sedimentary grains and the bedrock at the channel bottom.

Abrasion not only smoothes river cobbles into rounded shapes, it can also wear away the bedrock many times faster than hydraulic action alone.

Geology School Keywords

Skip footer navigational links

InfoBank Menlo Park & Santa Cruz Centers St. Petersburg Center Woods Hole Center Coastal and Marine Geology Program Geologic Information Ask-A-Geologist USGS Disclaimer

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/school/moviepage/18.01.09.html
Page Contact: InfoBank staff
Page Last Modified: Tue Dec 16 06:31:55 PST 2008 (wcs)

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices
U.S. Department of the Interior \| U.S. Geological Survey URL: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/school/moviepage/18.01.09.html Page Contact: InfoBank staff Page Last Modified: Tue Dec 16 06:31:55 PST 2008 (wcs)