Ocean Deposits

Based on their location of occurrence, ocean deposits may also be classified as Neritic and Pelagic.

Neritic deposits are found on continental shelves and in shallow waters near islands.
These are generally coarse grained.
These generally comprise of terrigenous deposits.
The pelagic deposits are those which are found over deep sea plains and the deeps.
The pelagic deposits consist of both organic and inorganic materials.

ORGANIC MATERIAL:

This is in the form of a kind of liquid mud, called ooze, which contains shells and skeletons of various marine organisms.
The ooze is said to be calcareous when the shell is made of calcium carbonate. The calcareous ooze may be either pteropod ooze or globogerina ooze.
When the shell is made of silica, the ooze is said to be siliceous ooze, which can be either the diatom type or the radiolarian type of ooze.

INORGANIC MATERIAL:

This is in the form of red clay, which is apparently of a volcanic origin. The chief constituents of red clay are silicon and aluminium dioxide, while other constituents include iron, manganese, phosphorus and radium.
It is believed to be accumulation of volcanic dust blown out during volcanic eruptions.
The red clay is the most widely spread pelagic deposit and covers 38% of the sea floor and are particularly abundant in the Pacific Ocean.