Basic Information Sediment is a natural material degraded by weathering and erosion. Sediment formation begins when igneous or metamorphic rocks are exposed to the Earth's surface. The long process begins with erosion. The first thing that happens to an igneous or metamorphic rock when exposed to the Earth's surface is erosion. All rocks, regardless of type, are susceptible to weathering. Weathering is part of erosion and consists of any process that destroys rocks. Some examples, called erosion agents, are water, wind, ice, and gravity. Weathering breaks rocks into sediments. The sediments formed are usually transported to other locations by water, wind, ice or gravity. This action is called deposition. The three most important modes of transportation in Long Island's history are fluvial (water), coastal, and glacial. Sediment moved by water can be much larger than sediment moved by air. The movements of the waves transport sediments to the shore and deposit them. Deposition is the settling or placing of sediments. Deposition occurs when the energy that causes sediment transport is no longer able to move the sediment due to the weight of the sediment, other particles, or friction. This means that sediments are deposited in order of weight or size. The largest sediment is deposited first. You will generally see a gradual change in sediment size from largest (furthest into the ocean) to smallest (furthest away). Sediment size is measured on a scale called the “Phi” scale which measures from colloid (the smallest sediment) at >10φ to boulder (the largest possible sediment) at <-8φ. The symbol for the Phi measurement is φ. From smallest to largest, the scale goes colloidal, clay, silt, ve... paper medium... on the dune to hold the sand together. This helps the beach resist harmful erosion from storms and prevents sand from being washed away. An example of a beach on a barrier island is Jones Beach. This explains the dunes in the background and the round, fine and powdery sand. Using all the information I gathered, I can conclude that the beaches on the North Shore and South Shore are very different. The beaches of the North Shore are rocky, unorganized, jagged and rough. The beaches of the South Shore are smooth, fine, uniform and feature dunes. I conclude that this is due to the geography of the two shores. The North Shore has been heavily impacted by glaciers that deposited rocks and eroded the land. The southern coast has been heavily eroded by coastal and wind erosion. This is due to its location in barrier islands and the Atlantic Ocean. The beaches of the North Shore and South Shore are very different.