Fluid Motions, Sediment Transport, and Current-Generated Sedimentary Structures
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this four-lecture sequence on the physics of sediment transport in water and air. The material builds a quantitative grip on fluid flow mechanics, the forces that pick up and move sand and silt, and how those processes leave behind ripples, dunes, and cross-bedding that geologists later read out of rock layers. Lectures connect the mechanics directly to the stratigraphic record, so the course works both as fluid dynamics and as a tool for interpreting ancient depositional environments. Materials come from MIT's Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences department and are freely available online with no enrollment fee, though there is no certificate attached. Suited to students who already have some background in physics or earth science and want a focused, technical treatment of sediment transport rather than a broad introductory survey.