Uploaded January 2009 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this video, I discuss some of the basic ideas about using sediment grain composition to identify the source of the sediment. This is called provenance analysis. If physical weathering dominates, the resulting sediment has the same composition as the original rock types, so one can distinguish volcanic from metamorphic sediment sources for example. Chemical weathering alters the composition of the grains, so it can be more difficult to identify the sediment source. However, some grains are resistant to chemical weathering and can still be used.
In this video, I discuss some of the basic ideas about using sediment grain composition to identify the source of the sediment. This is called provenance analysis. If physical weathering dominates, the resulting sediment has the same composition as the original rock types, so one can distinguish volcanic from metamorphic sediment sources for example. Chemical weathering alters the composition of the grains, so it can be more difficult to identify the sediment source. However, some grains are resistant to chemical weathering and can still be used.
