>As you know, virtually all small particles settle out as a result of
>flocculation and do not depend on settling velocities unless the
>concentration of particles is extremely dilute. This is why the Gulf of
>Mexico is relatively free of particulates not far from the mouth of the
>"Muddy Mississip".
That applies only to shale, not to the biogenic particles. Most of the tiny
coccoliths radiolarians and diatoms. They reach the ocean floor because
they are ingested by fish and the skeletons come out in the droppings and
fall to the sea. This is a process which takes time.
By the way, do you know why the Yellow Sea is called the Yellow Sea? It is
because it is colored yellow far offshore of China. The Huang He or Yellow
River (which also is yellow) carries a heavy load of loess which consists
of tiny particles and they don't drop via flocculation very rapidly. They
color the sea yellow for hundreds of miles.
glenn
Adam, Apes, and Anthropology: Finding the Soul of Fossil Man
and
Foundation, Fall and Flood
http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.htm