ABSTRACT
Coarse-grained surface sediments, such as sand and mixtures of silt and sand, contain typically about 30 to 40% water. Fine-grained surface sedi ments, such as silty clays found in lake depositional areas, contain about 90 to 95% water. Surface fine-grained sediments with high organic matter, found typically in focusing centers of smaller, eutrophic lakes, may contain up to 99% water. Some of this water is held by surface forces such as adsorption and capillarity and is bound to the crystalline lattice of minerals in the sediments. The content of this water is related to the physical properties and mineralogical composition of the bottom deposits. The rest of the water filling the space between sediment particles is called pore water or interstitial water.
