Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Sedimentology = study of PROCESSES (i.e. production, composition, transport, and deposition of sediment)
Stratigraphy = study of RESPONSES (i.e. inferring the controls on the spatial and temporal changes of strata) exact processes that created the rocks cant be know because only the rocks are left, not the processes
Sediment
Sediment = loose, solid particles and can be:
Terrigenous = fragments from silicates (igneous and/or metamorphics) Biogenic = fossils (carbonate - reefs; silicates - forams) Chemical = precipates (halite, gypsum, anhydrite, etc) - note: with chemical sedimentary rocks, evaporation > precipitation and/or supersaturation in closed basins (lakes or oceans)
Grain size
Grain size (diameter) and grain-shape depend on: Transport media: rivers (pebbles bounce on river bottom, sand moved in traction, and silt/clay suspended in water column); oceans and lakes (near-shore and deep-water systems); glaciers (sediment moved on glacier bottom); wind (sand dunes) Distance from parent rock: the longer the distance traveled, generally the smaller and the more well-rounded the grains (due to higher kinetic energy) Mineral hardness: the harder the parent rock, the longer it will take the sediments to erode (example: silicates are more resistant to weathering and erosion than feldspars, and this is why beaches are often comprised of sand, not feldspar-rich sediments) Consider: sorting (= range of grain sizes) winds sort well (meaning grain sizes are very similar); glaciers sort poorly (meaning there is a large spread of grain sizes in glacial deposits)
SANDSTONES:
a) 25% of all sedimentary rocks
b) Sandstone particles (1/16-2 mm in diameter)
c) Practical uses of sandstones: buildings and reservoir for fossil fuels and groundwater
Sandstone
MUDSTONES:
a) More than half of all sedimentary rocks
III) Tufa
IV) Travertine
Diagenesis = Changes in the sediment due to increased heat, pressure, and circulating groundwater
Recrystallization: recrystallization of certain unstable minerals into new, more stable minerals (this happens primarily in carbonates, when you start with carbonate mud [a.k.a. micrite] heat it up, then cool it to form larger grains [a.k.a. sparite])
Types of Sediment
Sedimentary Structures
Bedding (stratification): arrangement of sediment particles into distinct layers
A) Changes in sediment change bedding B) Changes in transport energy change bedding
Normally graded bedding: sediment layer (formed by a single depositional event) in which particle size varies gradually with the coarsest particles on the bottom (note: inversely graded bed = fines on bottom and coarse grains on top )
B) Mudcracks: occur on the top of a sediment layer when muddy sediment dries and contracts
Development of Cross-Bedding
Formation of Ooliths
Lithification of Sediments
Sediment in a Stream
Turbidite = RESPONSE