Sediments and Exponential Curves

Abstract

Several sedimentary situations are discussed in which the suggestion is strong that negative exponential functions are involved. Methods of testing data for these relationships are given in the case of pebble size on a beach, the thickness of a loess deposit, the profile of an alluvial fan, and the dispersion of glacial boulders in a boulder train. In each case the controlling coefficient is determined, and in a summary at the end of the paper are discussed the implications of the exponential function as applied to geological phenomena. It is tentatively suggested that the laws of probability play a part in determining the exponential functions, and that these laws may find a wider application in the study of sedimentary deposits.