Marine clay

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Marine clay is a type of clay found in coastal regions around the world. In the northern, deglaciated regions, it can sometimes be quick clay, which is notorious for being involved in landslides.

Marine clay is a particle of soil that is dedicated to a particle size class, this is usually associated with USDA's classification with sand at 0.05mm, silt at 0.05-.002mm and clay being less than 0.002 mm in diameter. Paired with the fact this size of particle was deposited within a marine system involving the erosion and transportation of the clay into the ocean.

Soil particles become suspended when in a solution with water, with sand being affected by the force of gravity first with suspended silt and clay still floating in solution. This is also known as turbidity, in which floating soil particles create a murky brown color to a water solution. These clay particles are then transferred to the abyssal plain in which they are deposited in high percentages of clay.

Once the clay is deposited on the ocean floor it can change its structure through a process known as flocculation, process by which fine particulates are caused to clump together or floc. These can be either edge to edge flocculation or edge to face flocculation. Relating to individual clay particles interacting with each other. Clays can also be aggregated or shifted in their structure besides being flocculated.