The Wave, a rock formation at Coyote Buttes North. This area is an exposure of cross-bedded aeolian sandstone. Blowing wind created inclined dunes, which turned into sandstone with tilted layers. (Courtesy of Henry Morgan on flickr. License: CC-BY-NC-SA.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. John Southard
MIT Course Number
12.090
As Taught In
Fall 2006
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
This course begins by introducing students to aspects of fluid dynamics relevant to transport and deposition of particulate sedimentary materials. Emphasis is on the structure of turbulent shear flows and the forces exerted by fluid motions on bed of loosed sediment. With fluid dynamics as background, the course deals with sediment movement as bed load and suspended load, and with the geometry, kinematics, and dynamics of ripple and dune bed forms. The course concludes with basic material on the styles of current-generated primary sedimentary structures, with emphasis on cross stratification.