Seafloor Sediments

What are the different types of seafloor sediments?

The three main types / categories of seafloor sediments are Terrigenous sediment, Biogenous sediment, and Hydrogenous sediments. Terrigenous sediment covers about 45% of the ocean floors, and originated from the erosion of land near the ocean's edge, from volcanic eruptions, and from dust that has blown from land to the oceans (Garrison, 2011).

Terrigenous sediments are composed of quartz sand, clays, and estuarine mud. Biogenous sediment results from the organic accumulation of materials broken down from some marine organisms. Biogenous sediment makes up about 55% of the ocean floor, and is composed of "…calcareous and siliceous oozes" (Garrison). In short, some Biogenous materials originate from corals, from the shells of mollusks (as they deteriorate their particles sink to the bottom of the oceans).

Meanwhile only about one percent of the sediment on the ocean floor is composed of hydrogenous materials,...
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