Erosion

The erosion is the wearing away of rocks produced by wind and water, dragging the rock particles colliding with each other and against the rocks.

The materials are not chemically transformed, they are only worn away. The debris is transported and accumulates by gravity forming sediments.

Video: An experiment that demonstrates the importance of plants to prevent soil erosion.

Transport

The transport is the movement of sediments from where the produced erosion until they are deposited.

Depending on the force of the wind or water and the weight of the transported material, the transport can be carried out by:

• Crawling or rolling: heavy materials are dragged without lifting them off the ground.
• Saltation: small particles rise and fall again.
• Suspension: air or water transport very fine particles that do not settle on the ground.
• Dissolution: materials are transported dissolved in water.

By NASA [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Sedimentation

The sedimentation  occurs when the carrying agent has less energy sediments and deposits the transported materials.

Each geological agent produces a characteristic type of sedimentation, which is why we can distinguish different sedimentary structures in sediments.

Materials accumulate, by the force of gravity, in sunken areas, sedimentary basins, where sediments can be transformed into  sedimentary rocks through diagenesis.