Once a particle is entrained, it tends to move as long as the velocity of the medium is high enough to transport the particle horizontally. This can occur in air, water, and ice. Saltation is where the particle moves from the surface to the medium in quick continuous repeated cycles. The action of returning to the surface usually has enough force to cause the entrainment of new particles. This process is only active in air and water.
Traction is the movement of particles by rolling, sliding, and shuffling along the eroded surface.
This occurs in all erosional mediums. Solution is a transport mechanism that occurs only in aqueous environments. Solution involves the eroded material being dissolve and carried along in water as individual ions. Particle weight, size, shape, surface configuration, and medium type are the main factors that determine which of these processes operate. The erosional transport of material through the landscape is rarely continuous.