tasanduvad

Tasanduvad is the Estonian verb tasanduda in the third-person plural present tense, meaning “they settle” or “they flatten out.” It is used when the subject is plural and the action refers to changes in surface relief or the settling of materials.

In geology and geomorphology, tasanduvad describes processes that reduce relief and create flatter terrain. This can involve sediment deposition, wind or water smoothing, erosion that lowers peaks relative to valleys, or the compaction of sediments over time. In hydrology, sediments may tasanduvad as water flow slows and particles settle to form more level layers. In civil engineering and land management, the related noun tasandamine denotes leveling or grading of soil, and the verb form can describe how ground conditions change during construction or land-improvement work.

Grammatical notes: tasanduvad is formed from tasanduda with the present-tense plural suffix. The infinitive is tasanduda, and related forms include tasandamine (the act of leveling) and tasandumine (the process of becoming level). The term is used across scientific and technical contexts as well as in general descriptions of landscape change.

See also: tasanduma, tasandamine, maastiku tasandumine.