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Transcript
Sediments and
Sedimentary Rocks
Chapter 6
Weathering, Soil
and
Sedimentary Rocks
Sediments, Soils & Sedimentary Rocks
Processes of the rock cycle
• Weathering
(Soils)
• Erosion
• Transportation
• Deposition (sedimentation)
• Burial
• Diagenesis
Introduction
Introduction
™ Rocks and minerals are disintegrated and
decomposed by the processes of mechanical and
chemical weathering.
™How does weathering differ from erosion?
™Weathering is the mechanical and chemical
alteration of Earth materials at or near the surface
™Erosion involves removing weathered materials
from their place of origin-by running water or
wind, for example.
™This breakdown occurs
because the parent
material reacts with its
new physical and
chemical environment
transforming it into a new
equilibrium state.
Geo-inSight 4., p. 136
Fig. 6.2, p. 135
1
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
™ The products of weathering include soluble salts,
ions in solution, and solid particles
™ Weathering and erosion take place at different rates
™ These products of weathering can be eroded and
become sedimentary rock or modified in place to
become soils.
™This can occur even on
the same body of rock
because rocks are not
compositionally and
structurally homogenous
throughout, thereby
producing uneven
surfaces.
Fig. 6.1, p. 134
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
Geo-inSight 9., p. 137
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
™Mechanical Weathering
™ Mechanical Weathering
™Frost Action
™When water freezes in cracks
in rocks it expands and then it
contracts when it thaws, thus
exerting pressure and
opening the cracks wider.
™Repeated freezing and
thawing disaggregates rocks
into angular pieces that may
tumble downslope and
accumulate as talus.
™Frost action
™Pressure release
™Thermal expansion and
contraction
™Crystal growth
™Activities of organisms.
™ The products of mechanical weathering are
chemically the same as their parent materials.
Fig. 6.9d, p. 142
4. Physical weathering: frost wedging
Fig. 6.3a, p. 138
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
™Mechanical Weathering
™Pressure Release and Sheet Joints
™ Sheet joints are fractures that more or less parallel exposed rock
surfaces, especially rocks now at the surface that formed under
great pressure at depth.
™ These joints form in response to pressure release; that is, when the
rocks formed, they contained energy that is released by outward
expansion.
Frost wedging due the expansion of freezing
water can turn small cracks into large ones
Fig. 6.4 a-b, p. 138
2
Mechanical /Physical weathering: exfoliation
Exfoliation occurs where large flat & curved sheets
of rock fracture and detach from outcrop
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
Mechanical / Physical weathering: joints in rocks
Breakage along natural bedding joints plus cracking
from expansion due lowered pressure at surface
Mechanical / Physical weathering: tree roots
™Mechanical Weathering
™How do organisms contribute to mechanical and
chemical weathering?
™Any organic activity such as
tree roots growing in cracks
contributes to mechanical
weathering
™Organic acids and the
tendrils of mosses and
lichens aid in the chemical
alteration of parent material.
Fig. 6.5b, p. 139
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
The force of the growing roots pry the cracks apart
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
™Chemical Weathering
™
™These processes cause a change in the chemical
composition.
Chemical weathering
™ The parent material is transformed into products
including ions in solution, soluble salts and clay
minerals.
™Solution
™Oxidation
™Hydrolysis
™ Hot and wet environments accelerate chemical weathering.
™ Chemical weathering occurs in all environments, except,
possibly, permanently frozen polar regions.
Fig. 6.7, p. 141
Fig. 6.6, p. 140
3
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
™ Chemical Weathering
™Solution – rocks dissolve
™ Carbonate Rocks
™ Rocks such as limestone
(CaCO³) are nearly insoluble in
neutral or alkaline solutions, but
they rapidly dissolve in acidic
solutions
™ The atoms making up the
minerals dissociate, that is, they
separate and the rock dissolves.
Chemical weathering:
carbon dioxide
Chemical weathering:
carbon dioxide
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
™ Chemical Weathering
™Oxidation – rocks rust
™ Rocks such as
sandstone may contain
iron minerals that will
breakdown when
exposed to the
atmosphere
™ The atoms making up
the minerals dissociate,
that is, they separate as
the rock rusts away.
Geo-inSight 4., p. 136
4
Chemical weathering
● Role of oxygen in weathering:
from iron silicates to iron oxides
● ferric and ferrous iron
● hematite, a common mineral
● red and brown – the colors of
oxidized iron
Chemical weathering: red means iron
Chemical weathering: iron and oxygen
Pyroxene dissolves,
releasing silica and
ferrous iron.
Pyroxene (FeSiO3)
Ferrous iron is oxidized,
forming ferric iron.
Silica
Ferric iron precipitates
a solid, iron oxide.
Ferrous
iron
Ferric iron
Iron oxide (hematite)
Fe2O3
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
™ Chemical Weathering
™Hydrolysis – breakdown to clays
™Potassium Feldspar
™During hydrolysis hydrogen
ions react with and replace
positive ions in potassium
feldspar
™The result is clay minerals and
substances in solution such as
potassium and silica.
Chemical weathering: the
disintegration of granite
Chemical weathering: the
disintegration of granite
Granite is made up
of several minerals
that decay at
different rates.
Feldspar
Magnetite
Biotite
Quartz
Mr. Granite
5
Chemical weathering: the
disintegration of granite
Chemical weathering: the
disintegration of granite
Granite is made up
of several minerals
that decay at
different rates.
The decay progresses,
and the rock weakens
and disintegrates.
Granite is made up
of several minerals
that decay at
different rates.
Cracks form along
crystal boundaries.
Feldspar
Feldspar
Magnetite
Magnetite
Biotite
Biotite
Quartz
Quartz
Cracks form along
crystal boundaries.
Chemical weathering: the role of
increasing surface area 24 sq cm
How Are Earth Materials Altered?
™Chemical Weathering
™Factors That Control the Rate of Chemical Weathering
™ Mechanical weathering enhances chemical weathering by
breaking material into smaller pieces, thereby increasing the
surface area for chemical reactions.
™ Because chemical weathering is a surface process, the more
surface exposed, the faster the weathering.
2 cm
2 cm
Fig. 6.8 a-c, p. 141
Chemical weathering: the role of
increasing surface area 24 to 48 sq cm
Chemical weathering: the role of
increasing surface area 24 to 48 sq cm
2 cm
2 cm
1 cm
1 cm
2 cm
1 cm
2 cm
1 cm
Large rocks have less
surface area for chemical
weathering…
weathering…
6
Chemical weathering
Chemical stability: a speed control for
weathering
2 cm
1 cm
1 cm
2 cm
Large rocks have less
surface area for chemical
weathering…
weathering…
• Solubility (halite high, quartz low)
• rate of dissolution (feldspar higher than
quartz)
• relative stability of common rockrockforming minerals (halide to iron oxide)
…than small rocks do,
so smaller rocks weather
more quickly.
Weathering factors
A. duration of weathering
B. bedrock type - stability of minerals
C. climate
i. water & temperature >>> chemical weathering;
ii. lower temperature >>> mechanical weathering;
iii. more acidity >>> chemical weathering
D. topography
i. steep slopes >>> mechanical/physical weathering;
ii. gentle slopes >>>chemical weathering
weathering
How Does Soil Form and Deteriorate?
™The Soil Profile
™Soils consist of weathered materials, air, water,
humus and also the plants which they support.
Fig. 6.10a, p. 143
7
How Does Soil Form and Deteriorate?
How Does Soil Form and Deteriorate?
™ Factors That Control Soil Formation
™ Climate - Certainly climate is the most important factor because
chemical processes operate faster where it is warm and wet.
™The Soil Profile
™ Soil formation produces
horizons that are known in
descending order as O, A,
B, and C.
™ These horizons differ from
one another in texture,
structure, composition and
color.
™ Soils known as pedalfers
develop in humid climates such
as that of the eastern United
States and much of Canada.
™ Soils of arid and semiarid regions
are known as pedocals, and may
contain hard, irregular masses of
caliche (calcium carbonate) in
horizon B.
Fig. 6.10b, p. 143
How Does Soil Form and Deteriorate?
Fig. 6.11, 6.12, p. 144-145
How Does Soil Form and Deteriorate?
™ Factors that Control Soil Formation
Other Factors That Control Soil Formation
™ Laterite is a deep red soil typical of the tropics where
chemical weathering is intense.
™ Laterites are made up of
clays and the most
insoluble compounds
that were present in the
parent material.
™Parent material
™Organic activity
™Relief and slope
™Time
Fig. 6.12, p. 145
How Does Soil Form and Deteriorate?
Fig. 6.7, p. 141
How Does Soil Form and Deteriorate?
™Soil Degradation - Any soil losses, physical
changes, or chemical alteration is called soil
degradation, and all lead to reduced soil productivity.
™Causes include erosion, compaction, and any kind
of chemical pollution that inhibits plant growth.
Fig. 6.14, p. 147
™Soil Degradation
™Soil erosion is caused mostly by sheet and
rill erosion.
™It is a problem in some areas, especially
where accelerated by human activities such
as construction, agriculture, ranching, and
deforestation.
Fig. 6.13, p. 146
8
How Does Soil Form and Deteriorate?
™Soil Degradation
The Dust Bowl – An
American Tragedy
™Nutrient depletion
™Loss of nutrients is most prevalent in areas of land
overuse. Improper disposal of chemicals and
concentrations of insecticides can destroy soil.
Fig. 6.14, p. 147
Geo-Focus Fig. 1 a-c, p. 149
Sedimentary rocks are produced by
surface processes in the rock cycle.
Weathering and Resources
™Intense chemical weathering causes the
concentration of valuable mineral resources
™Residual concentrations – bauxite and other
valuable minerals are concentrated by selective
removal of soluble substances during chemical
weathering
™Bauxite, which forms in lateritic soils in the tropics, occurs
in areas where chemical weathering is so intense that only
the most insoluble compounds accumulate in the soil.
™Aluminum is just such an insoluble compound. Laterites
are the primary source of aluminum oxide, called bauxite.
It is the main source of aluminum ore.
•
•
•
•
Weathering processes break up rock to create sediment.
Physical - Mechanical breakage and disintegration.
Chemical - Decomposition by reaction with water.
Weathering processes occur at Earth’s surface.
- Rocks react with hydrosphere, atmosphere & biosphere.
- Low temperature and pressure.
Weathering
to >>>>>>
sediment
™Gossans - hydrated iron oxides formed on the
earth’s surface by oxidation of iron. Sulfide minerals
leach out and concentrate as deposits of iron ore,
copper ore, lead and zinc ore beneath the gossan.
Sediment and Sedimentary Rock
™The two primary types of sediment are detrital
and chemical. Sedimentary rock is simply rock
made up of consolidated sediments.
™Detrital sediment consists
of solid particles, products
of mechanical weathering.
Physical Weathering
• Mechanical breakup; doesn’t change mineral makeup.
• Creates broken fragments or “detritus.”
• Detrital fragments classified by size.
– Coarse grained – Boulders cobbles and pebbles.
– Medium grained – Sand-sized.
– Fine grained – Silt and clay (mud).
™Chemical sediments
consist of minerals
precipitated from solution
by inorganic processes
and by the activities of
organisms thru chemical
weathering.
Fig. 6.15, p. 150
9
SOURCE OF SEDIMENT
Chemical Weathering
• Weathering often forms stable from less stable minerals.
– Dissolution.
– Hydrolysis.
– Oxidation.
– Hydration.
• Dissolution
– halite, gypsum, &
calcite dissolve.
• Hydrolysis
– Water breaks apart cations that hold silicates together.
– Dissolved cations - Clay minerals.
– Alteration residues - Iron oxides (rust).
MECHANICAL
WEATHERING
(gravel, sand, silt,
clay–sized particles)
TRANSPORT
CHEMICAL
WEATHERING
(clay minerals and ions,
compounds in solution)
Transport
Transport
Precipitation
from solution
Deposition
(detrital sediments)
Used by
organisms
Deposition
(chemical sediment)
Lithification
Lithification
Detrital sedimentary rocks
(e.g.,sandstone)
Chemical sedimentary rock
(e.g., limestone)
Sediment and Sedimentary Rocks
Sediment and Sedimentary Rocks
™Sediment Transport and Deposition
™Sediment Transport and Deposition
™Sedimentary material weathers, undergoes erosion
and transport to a new location.
™Transportation of sediment results in rounding and
sorting.
™Why are rounding and sorting important in
sediments and sedimentary rocks?
™Both are important in determining how fluids move
through sediments and sedimentary rocks
™The amount of rounding and sorting depends on
particle size, distance of transportation, and
depositional processes.
Stepped Art
Fig. 6-15 (top), p. 150
™Eventually the sediment comes to rest in a
depositional environment.
™Depositional environments are areas of sediment
deposition that can be defined by their physical
characteristics (topography, climate, wave and
current strength, salinity, etc.).
™They provide geologist with clues as to how the rock
formed and what the geologic past was like.
Sediment and Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary environments
™Sediment Transport and Deposition
™Major depositional settings are continental,
transitional, and marine.
Glacier
Delta
Desert
Playa
lake
Sedimentary
rocks
Metamorphic
rocks
Plutons
™Each of these depositional settings includes
several specific subenvironments.
Fig. 6.17, p. 151
10
Weathering
breaks down
rocks.
Processes forming
sedimentary rock
Weathering
breaks down
rocks.
Erosion carries
away particles.
Glacier
Glacier
Delta
Delta
Desert
Playa
lake
Desert
Playa
lake
Sedimentary
rocks
Sedimentary
rocks
Metamorphic
rocks
Plutons
Weathering
breaks down
rocks.
Metamorphic
rocks
Plutons
Erosion carries
away particles.
Transportation moves
particles downhill.
Process transport
Weathering
breaks down
rocks.
Erosion carries
away particles.
Glacier
Process Deposition
Transportation moves
particles downhill.
Glacier
Delta
Delta
Desert
Playa
lake
Desert
Playa
lake
Sedimentary
rocks
Deposition occurs
when particles
settle out or
precipitate.
Sedimentary
rocks
Metamorphic
rocks
Plutons
Weathering
breaks down
rocks.
Processes Weathering
then
Erosion
Metamorphic
rocks
Plutons
Erosion carries
away particles.
Process –
Burial
Transportation moves
particles downhill.
Weathering
breaks down
rocks.
Erosion carries
away particles.
Glacier
Glacier
Delta
Delta
Desert
Playa
lake
Sedimentary
rocks
Metamorphic
rocks
Plutons
Process –
Diagensis
Transportation moves
particles downhill.
Desert
Playa
lake
Deposition occurs
when particles
settle out or
precipitate.
Burial occurs
as layers of
sediment
accumulate.
Sedimentary
rocks
Metamorphic
rocks
Plutons
Deposition occurs
when particles
settle out or
precipitate.
Burial occurs
as layers of
sediment
accumulate.
Diagenesis causes
lithification of the
sediment, making
sedimentary rocks.
11
Sediment Classes
Sediments are diverse, as are the rocks made from them.
Sedimentary rocks divide to groups based on sediments type.
1) Siliciclastics – Made from weathered rock fragments
(clasts primarily of silicates).
2) Biological & Chemical (Bio/Chemical) - subdivided as
– Bioclastic seds.– Shells of organisms (reefs, clams, etc)
– Chemical seds.– Minerals crystallized directly from water
– Organic seds.– Carbon-rich remains of plants (coal).
Clastic
Clastic
Biochemical
Biochemical
Organic
Organic
Chemical
Chemical
Sorting examples : Well vs Poor
Sedimentary rocks are produced by
surface processes in the rock cycle.
Transport agents - oceans, wind (minor/yr),
rivers (25 billion ton/yr), etc
Current strength distance affect: particle size
• strong >50cm/s – gravel
• weak <20cm/s - muds
Transport distance affect:
• Size of clastic particles
• Sorting of clastic particles
• Rounding of clastic particles
Size & rounding versus transport distance
Sorting affected by strength, distance, time, agent
More rounding with longer transport, stronger
current, low rock hardness, clay minerals
Size & rounding versus transport distance
Sedimentary rocks are produced by
surface processes in the rock cycle.
Chemical mixing vats:
• Oceans
• Lakes
Salinity varies with water input &
evaporation. e.g.
• Great Salt Lake, Ut (NaCl)
NaCl)
• Tularosa Basin, NM (~65(~65-50 ma,
white sands (CaSO4) precipitate)
More rounding with longer transport, stronger
current, low rock hardness, clay minerals
12
Sedimentary basins
• Sediments tend to accumulate in
depressions in the Earth’
Earth’s crust.
• Depressions are formed by subsidence.
• Sedimentary basins are depressions filled
with thick accumulations of sediment. They
are sinks for sediment.
Sedimentary environments
Types of environments:
1. Continental
Lake
River (alluvial)
Desert
Glacier
3. Sedimentary environments
3. Sedimentary environments
Types of environments:
Types of environments:
2. Shoreline
Delta
Tidal flat
Beach
Sedimentary
environments
3. Marine
Continental shelf
Organic reef
Continental margin
Continental slope
Deep sea
3. Sedimentary environments
13
Sedimentary
edimentary environments
Sedimentary environments
Environments of chemical and
biological sediments:
1. Carbonate deposits (organic reefs,
beaches, shelves, and tidal flats)
2. Siliceous environments (deep
sea)
3. Evaporite environments (lakes)
Environments of siliciclastic
sediments:
1. Continental (alluvial, desert,
lake, and glacial)
2. Shoreline (deltas, beaches,
and tidal flats)
3. Marine (shelf, margin, slope,
and deep sea)
Sediment and Sedimentary Rock
Sediment and Sedimentary Rock
How Does Sediment Become Sedimentary Rock?
How Does Sediment Become Sedimentary Rock?
™Thru the process of lithification of sediment is
converted into sedimentary rock.
™ Lithification involves two
processes
™ Lithification involves two
processes
™ 1. Compaction - The volume
of a deposit of sediment
decreases as the weight of
overlying sediment causes a
reduction in pore space (open
space) as particles pack more
closely together.
™ Compaction alone is sufficient
for lithification of mud into
shale.
™ 2. Cementation is a process
that glues the sediments
together.
™ The most common cements
are calcium carbonate and
silica, but iron oxide and iron
hydroxide are important in
some rocks.
™ Compaction alone will not form
rocks from sand and gravel.
Cementation is necessary to
glue the particles together into
rocks.
Fig. 6.19c, p. 153
Sediment
Gravel > 2 mm
Process
Rock
Compaction/cementation
Types of Sedimentary Rock
Conglomerate
™Detrital Sedimentary Rocks are made of solid
Rounded clasts
particles of pre-existing rocks.
Sedimentary
breccia
Angular clasts
Sand 2 mm–1/16 mm Compaction/cementation
Quartz sandstone
(mostly quartz)
Sandstone
Mudrocks
Compaction
Siltstone
Mostly silt
Mudstone
Silt and clay
Claystone
Mostly clay
Shale if
fissile*
*Fissile refers to rocks capable of splitting along closely spaced planes.
™Detrital sedimentary particles are classified according to
grain (particle) sizes, in decreasing diameter:
Arkose
(> 25% feldspars)
Silt 1/16 mm–1/256 mm Compaction/cementation
Clay < 1/256 mm
Fig. 6.18, p. 152
™Gravel (including boulders, cobbles and pebbles)
™Sand
™Silt
™Clay (or mud).
Stepped Art
Fig. 6-18, p. 152
14
Types of Sedimentary Rocks
Types of Sedimentary Rocks
™ Detrital sedimentary rocks are classified on the basis of
particle size.
™ Examples include conglomerate, breccia, sandstone, siltstone,
mudstone, and shale.
™ How do conglomerate and sedimentary breccia differ?
™ Both begin as detrital gravel. Conglomerate consists of rounded
gravel, breccia consists of gravel with sharp edges.
™Chemical and Biochemical
Sedimentary Rocks
™Chemical and biochemical sedimentary rocks
are substances derived from solution by
inorganic or biochemical processes.
™Some have a crystalline texture, meaning they
are composed of a mosaic of interlocking
crystals
™Others have a clastic texture, meaning that they
are made of fragments, like shells that are
glued together.
Fig. 6.19 a and b , p. 153
Types of Sedimentary Rocks
Types of Sedimentary Rocks
™Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
™Chemical sedimentary rocks are classified
on the basis of composition.
™Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
™Evaporites
™Bedded rock salt (halite) and
rock gypsum are chemical
evaporite sediments formed by
precipitation of minerals during
the evaporation of water.
™Carbonate rocks consist primarily of minerals
containing the carbonate ion, such as limestone
and dolostone.
™ Dolostone forms when magnesium replaces
calcium in limestone.
Fig. 6.20b-d, p. 154
Types of Sedimentary Rocks
Fig. 6.21a-b, p. 155
Types of Sedimentary Rocks
™Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
™Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks
™Coal is a biochemical sedimentary rock composed
largely of altered land plant remains
™Bedded Chert
Marin County, California
The origin of chert is highly
debated.
Fig. 6.21c, p. 155
Fig. 6.21d, p.155
15
Sedimentary Facies
Sedimentary Facies
™ Geologists realize that if they trace a sedimentary
layer far enough, it will undergo changes in
composition and/or texture.
™Marine Transgression and Regression
™Bodies of sediment or sedimentary rocks which are
recognizably different from adjacent sediment or
sedimentary rocks and are deposited in a different
depositional (sub) environment are known as
sedimentary facies.
™Today we recognize modern facies changes when
we go from an inland area with rivers to the beach.
™ A marine transgression
occurs when sea level rises
with respect to the land,
resulting in offshore facies
overlying nearshore facies.
™ A marine regression,
caused when the land rises
relative to sea level, results in
nearshore facies overlying
offshore facies
™ Note the difference in the
vertical rock sequence that
occurs in a transgression
versus a regression.
Three Stages of Marine Transgression
Offshore
Near shore
Low-energy High-energy
Land
Limestone Shale Sandstone surface
facies
Time
line
facies
Fig. 6.22, p. 156
Three Stages of Marine Regression
facies
Time
lines
Cross-bedded Sandstone
Time
lines
Old land surface
Old land
surface
Stepped Art
Peter Kresan
Fig. 6-22, p. 156
Sedimentary structures
Sedimentary structures – all kinds
of features in sediments formed at
the time of deposition.
Bedding (stratification)
CrossCross-bedding
Graded bedding
Ripples
Bioturbation structures
Fig. 7.6
Reading the Story in Sedimentary Rocks
™Sedimentary Structures
™ Some sedimentary structures, such as ripple marks, bedding,
cross-bedding, and mud cracks form shortly after deposition.
™ Sedimentary structures
are useful in determining
the types of
environments in which
the sediments were
deposited.
™ Sediments are most
commonly deposited flat
in water. One of the most
common is strata or
bedding.
Fig. 6.23 a, p. 158
16
Reading the Story in Sedimentary Rocks
Formation of Cross-beds
™Sedimentary Structures
Depositional environments are also inferred by comparison of these
structures with present-day depositional environments.
™Cross-bedding preserves layers deposited at an angle.
™ They are common in depositional environments like sand
dunes, shallow marine deposits and stream-channel deposits
™ How is cross-bedding used to determine ancient current
directions?
™ Understanding how physical features like cross-beds form today can
reveal important ancient climate information such as current
directions.
Fig. 7.7
Fig. 6.23b-c, p. 158
Ripples
Reading the Story in Sedimentary Rocks
™Sedimentary Structures
™ Cross-bedding
™ Depositional environment: streams or shallow marine?
™ Streams have a current and leave behind asymmetric dunes.
™ Shallow marine crossbeds exhibit a symmetrical shape from the
rocking motion of the waves.
Fig. 6.25 a-d, p. 159
17
Fig. 7.9
Reading the Story in Sedimentary Rocks
Bioturbation structures
™Sedimentary Structures
™ Mud cracks
™ Depositional environment: Lagoons and mudflats
Fig. 6.26 a-b, p. 159
Reading the Story in Sedimentary Rocks
Reading the Story in Sedimentary Rocks
™Sedimentary Structures
™Fossils-Remains and Traces of Ancient Life
™Graded Beds
™ Depositional environment: Submarine fans – tell us
the location of the ancient shelf margin
Fig. 6.24a-b, p. 158
™ Fossils are the remains of past life and are usually found
only in sediments and sedimentary rocks.
™ They provide the only record of prehistoric life, and are used
by geologists to correlate strata, and to interpret depositional
environments.
Fig. 6.27 a-b, p. 160
18
Burial and diagenesis
Burial is the preservation of
sediments within a sedimentary
basin.
Diagenesis is the physical and
chemical change that converts
sediments to sedimentary rocks.
19
Burial and diagenesis
Lithification includes:
Compaction
Cementation
Classification of siliciclastic sediments
and sedimentary rocks
Classification of sediments by
particle size
Classification of sedimentary
rocks by texture and composition
20
7. Classification of chemical and
biological sedimentary rocks
Limestone
Chert
Evaporite
Organics
Phosphorite
21
Organic reef development
Organic reef rock
Organic reef development
Foraminifer in the Eye of a
Needle
Chevron Corporation
Fig. 7.17
Fossiliferous Limestone
Peter Kresan
22
One Model for the
Formation of Evaporites
Fig. 6-17, p. 109
Reading the Story in Sedimentary Rocks
Reading the Story in Sedimentary Rocks
Determining the Environment of Deposition
™ How do we know that the Navajo Sandstone formed as a
desert dune deposit?
Determining the Environment of Deposition
™Sedimentary Rocks in the Grand Canyon
Fig. 6.28 a, p. 161
Important Resources in
Sedimentary Rocks
™Many important natural resources are
sedimentary rock deposits. These include:
™Sand and gravel
™Coal
™Clay
™Evaporites (like salt)
™Banded-iron formations.
™Oil and gas
Fig. 6.28 b, p. 161
Important Resources
in Sedimentary Rocks
Petroleum and Natural Gas
Most oil and gas reserves are found within sedimentary rocks.
™ What are stratigraphic and structural traps? Both are areas where
petroleum, natural gas, or both accumulate in economic quantities.
™ Stratigraphic traps form because of facies changes in the rock layers
(strata).
Fig. 6.29a p. 162
23
Important Resources in
Sedimentary Rocks
Important Resources in
Sedimentary Rocks
™Petroleum and Natural Gas
™Petroleum and Natural Gas
™Structural traps form as the result of folding or fracturing
(faulting) of rocks.
™Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock
that contains kerogen from which liquid oil and
combustible gases can be derived.
™ None is mined at
present in the United
States because oil and
gas from conventional
sources are cheaper. Oil
shale and tar sands are
increasingly important
petroleum reserves.
Fig. 6.29b, p. 162
Important Resources in
Sedimentary Rocks
Fig. 6.29c p. 162
Important Resources
in Sedimentary Rocks
™ Uranium
™Banded Iron Formation
™Most uranium is used in nuclear reactors. The
uranium comes from the minerals carnotite and
uraninite.
™ The richest ores are found in Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and New
Mexico in ancient stream deposits.
™ Large reserves of low grade ore is found in the Chattanooga
Shale, which covers portions of several states.
™Why is banded iron
formation such an
important sedimentary
rock?
™Banded iron formation consists of alternating thin
layers of chert and iron minerals, mostly iron oxides.
Nearly all of Earth’s iron ore is mined from ancient
banded iron formations.
Fig. 6.30 a-b, p. 163
Fig. 6.30b, p. 163
End of Chapter
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