thumb|right|alt=Map of Cape Cod showing shores undergoing erosion (cliffed sections) and shores characterized by marine deposition (barriers).|Map of [[Cape Cod showing shores undergoing erosion (cliffed sections) in yellow, and shores characterized by marine deposition (barriers) in blue.]]
Deposition is the geological process in which sediments, soil and rocks are added to a landform or landmass. Wind, ice, water, and gravity transport previously weathered surface material, which, at the loss of enough kinetic energy in the fluid, is deposited, building up layers of sediment.
This occurs when the forces responsible for sediment transportation are no longer sufficient to overcome the forces of gravity and friction, creating a resistance to motion; this is known as the null point hypothesis. Deposition can also refer to the buildup of sediment from organically derived matter or chemical processes. For example, chalk is made up partly of the microscopic calcium carbonate skeletons of marine plankton, the deposition of which induced chemical processes (diagenesis) to deposit further calcium carbonate. Similarly, the formation of coal begins with the deposition of organic material, mainly from plants, in anaerobic conditions.
Null point hypothesis
The null point hypothesis explains how sediment is deposited throughout a shore profile according to its grain size. This is due to the influence of hydraulic energy, resulting in a seaward-fining of sediment particle size, or where fluid forcing equals gravity for each grain size. The concept can also be explained as "sediment of a particular size may move across the profile to a position where it is in equilibrium with the wave and flows acting on that sediment grain". This sorting mechanism combines the influence of the down-slope gravitational force of the profile and forces due to flow asymmetry; the position where there is zero net transport is known as the null point and was first proposed by Cornaglia in 1889. "The relatively strong onshore stroke of the waveforms an eddy or vortex on the lee side of the ripple, provided the onshore flow persists, this eddy remains trapped in the lee of the ripple. When the flow reverses, the eddy is thrown upwards off the bottom and a small cloud of suspended sediment generated by the eddy is ejected into the water column above the ripple, the sediment cloud is then moved seaward by the offshore stroke of the wave." The predominant storm wave energy has unlimited fetch for the outer harbour from a southerly direction, with a calmer environment within the inner harbour, though localised harbour breezes create surface currents and chop influencing the marine sedimentation processes. Deposits of loess from subsequent glacial periods have in filled volcanic fissures over millennia, resulting in volcanic basalt and loess as the main sediment types available for deposition in Akaroa Harbour
thumb|Figure 2. Map of [[Akaroa Harbour showing a fining of sediments with increased bathymetry toward the central axis of the harbour. Taken from Hart et al. (2009) and the University of Canterbury under the contract of Environment Canterbury. qualitatively correlated increasing intensity of fluid forcing with increasing grain size. "This correlation was demonstrated at the low energy clayey tidal flats of Bohai Bay (China), the moderate environment of the Jiangsu coast (China) where the bottom material is silty, and the sandy flats of the high energy coast of The Wash (U.K.)." This research shows conclusive evidence for the null point theory existing on tidal flats with differing hydrodynamic energy levels and also on flats that are both erosional and accretional.
Kirby R. (2002) takes this concept further explaining that the fines are suspended and reworked aerially offshore leaving behind lag deposits of the main bivalve and gastropod shells separated out from the finer substrate beneath, waves and currents then heap these deposits to form chenier ridges throughout the tidal zone, which tend to be forced up the foreshore profile but also along the foreshore. Cheniers can be found at any level on the foreshore and predominantly characterise an erosion-dominated regime.
Geomorphologists, engineers, governments and planners should be aware of the processes and outcomes involved with the null point hypothesis when performing tasks such as beach nourishment, issuing building consents or building coastal defence structures. This is because sediment grain size analysis throughout a profile allows inference into the erosion or accretion rates possible if shore dynamics are modified. Planners and managers should also be aware that the coastal environment is dynamic and contextual science should be evaluated before the implementation of any shore profile modification. Thus theoretical studies, laboratory experiments, numerical and hydraulic modelling seek to answer questions pertaining to littoral drift and sediment deposition, the results should not be viewed in isolation and a substantial body of purely qualitative observational data should supplement any planning or management decision.