Geology Word of the Week: D is for Dredge

Note: I started the Geology Word of the Week at Skepchick, where I am one of several fabulous, skeptical women (and one deserving man) bloggers. For the first few weeks of the Geology Word of the Week, I am going to re-post my "Geology Words of the Week(ish)" from Skepchick. Before being distracted by graduate school and life, I made my way from A to G... I will re-post those letters here and then continue with the rest of the alphabet. In 26 weeks, I will have made my way through the alphabet!

Over at Skepchick, I actually blogged about the geology word dip for the letter D. However, here at Georneys I cannot resist blogging about another geology D word: dredge!

A dredge, Indian Ocean, Summer 2007.

def. dredge:
1. (verb, definition 1) Removing sediments or other material from one area and depositing them in another area, usually done in a lake or other body of water. For example, harbors and canals are often dredged to removed accumulated sediments so that the water remains deep enough for ships to pass safely.
2. (verb, definition 2) Searching for something lost or valuable by combing- so to speak- the bottom of a body of water. I think I most often hear this usage on shows such as "CSI" and "Bones." The detectives say something like, "We are going to dredge the lake/pond/entire ocean to look for the rest of the body."
3. (noun, marine geology) A tool used to collect geological samples from the seafloor. Dredges used to obtain rocks from the seafloor generally consist of a metal net attached to square metal shovel that scrapes rocks into the net. The dredge is attached to a ship with a cable and dragged along the seafloor. After dragging a dredge along the seafloor for a period of time or a certain distance, the dredge is hauled back up to the ship by the cable. When the dredge is successful, the metal net will be filled with rocks.