How do soils differ from sediments?
1 Answer
Soils are the result of subaerial exposure and the weathering of rock, while sediments are the result of erosional transport of material away from a weathering site and deposition in a new location.
Explanation:
Soils are quite complex and form when rock is weathered in the presences of oxygen. The rock is slowly broken down by oxidation, freeze-thaw cycles, biological activity, and chemicals leaching through the rock. See pic.
Sediments are when weathering of rock occurs and erosion and transportation remove the rock particles and transport them to somewhere else. Once they are deposited "somewhere else" we call this a "sediment". Sediments are found in lakes, rivers, sand dunes, beaches, and the ocean. pic. If sediments get buried deep enough and undergo compaction and cementation, they turn into "sedimentary rocks".
