Marine

Depositional
Environment
s
Presented by:
Waqas Javaid
Table of Contents:
Introduction to Sedimentary Depositional Environment
Marine Depositional Environment
Shallow Marine environment
Deep Marine Environment
Diagnostic characteristics
Introduction to Depositional Environments:

Sedimentary depositional environmentdescribes the

combination of physical, chemical and biological processes
associated with the deposition of a particular type
ofsedimentand, therefore, the rock types that will be formed
afterlithification.
A depositional environment
is anywhere sediment accumulates
especially a particular area
where a distinctive kind of deposit originates
from physical, chemical, and biological processes
Introduction to Depositional Environments:
Three broad areas of deposition include
Continental
Alluvial, Aeolian, Fluvial, Lacustrine
Transitional
Deltaic, Tidal, Lagoon, Beach
Marine
Shallow marine, Deep Marine

Some other depositional Environments include:

Glacial
Evaporite
Volcanic
Introduction to Depositional Environments:
Marine depositional Environment:
Importance of Marine Depositional environment:
Sedimentary rocks cover 75% of the Earth's surface.
Most of these sedimentary rocks are deposited in marine environment.
Oceans and seas are the largest basins available for accumulation of
sediments.
Marine sediments are economically important due to hydrocarbons,
manganese nodules etc.

Source of sediments in marine depositional environment:

Rivers and streams (most important)
Wind action, dust blows
Volcanism
Organic contribution
Marine depositional Environment:
Marine environments include:
Shallow Marine Environment i.e. shelf, slope, rise.
Deep Marine Environment
Much of the sediments eroded from continents
are eventually deposited in marine environments
but sediments derived from chemical
and organic activity are found here as well, such as
limestone
evaporites
both deposited in shallow marine environments
Shallow Marine Environment:
It is the depositional environment which is present at continental
margin
A continental margin is a zone of transition between continental
crust and oceanic crust.
It includes:
continental shelf (littoral + Sub-littoral zone)
continental slope (bathyal zone)
continental rise (bathyal zone)
Shallow Marine Environment:
Shallow Marine Environment:

Shallow Marine
Environment
 Shallow Marine Environment:
The main source of sediments in shallow marine environment are
streams and rivers carrying the sediment load from continents.
Large number of species also live in shallow marine environment.
After death, their skeletons also deposit as sediments.

General trend of sediments at Shallow Marine Environment:

Continental Shelf:
The gently sloping area adjacent to a continent
is a continental shelf

It consists of a high-energy inner part that is

periodically stirred up by waves and tidal currents

Its sediment is mostly sand,

shaped into large cross-bedded dunes

Bedding planes are commonly marked

by wave-formed ripple marks

Marine fossils and bioturbation are typical

Continental Shelf:
Gentle, < 1o (1:500) slope

30m -1300km wide (passive vs active margins)

Shelf break at ~ 130m depth

9% of total ocean area (6% Earths surface)

2.5 km sediment thickness

15% of marine sediment volume

abundance of sand on the continental shelf

Continental Slope:
The low-energy part of the shelf
Typically fine-grained sediments
has mostly mud/clay with marine fossils
Low temperature

Much sediment derived from the continents

crosses the continental shelf
and is funneled into deeper water
through submarine canyons

It eventually comes to rest

on the continental slope and continental rise
as a series of overlapping submarine fans
Continental Slope:
2-6o slope

140m to 300-800m depth

6% of ocean area (4% Earths area)

Cut by submarine canyons

9 km sediment thickness

41 % of marine sediment volume

Continental Rise:
Sediments - muds, channel sands (fans),turbidities, slump and slide
deposits
Associated environments - deep marine, abyssal plain
Fossils - rare, some broken shells from continental shelf, some forams

- 800 - 4,000 m depth

- 6% of ocean area (4% Earths area)
- Cut by submarine canyons
- 8 km sediment thickness
- 31 % of marine sediment volume
- Submarine fan systems may contain coarse sediments
- Extremely important hydrocarbon reserves
Turbidity Currents:
Once sediment passes the outer margin
of the shelf, the shelf-slope break,
turbidity currents transport it

So sand with graded bedding is common

Also common is mud that settled from seawater
Shallow Marine Environment:
Turbidity
currents carry
sediment to the
submarine fans

Sand with
graded bedding
and mud settled
from seawater
 Comparison of Marine Environments:
MARINE SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENT
CONTINENTAL SLOPE AND
CONTINENTAL SHELF Deep Marine
RISE

Sandstone, shale, siltstone, fossiliferous Litharenite, siltstone, and Shale, chert, micrite,
Rock Type
limestone, oolitic limestone shale (or limestone) chalk, diatomite

Composition Terrigenous or carbonate Terrigenous or carbonate Terrigenous or carbonate

Color Gray to brown Gray, green, brown Black, white red

Grain Size Clay to sand Clay to sand Clay

Grain Shape --- --- ---

Sorting Poor to good Poor Good
Inorganic Graded bedding, cross-
Sedimentary Lamination, cross-bedding bedding, lamination, flute Lamination
Structures marks, tool marks (turbidites)
Organic or
Biogenic
Trails, burrows Trails, burrows Trails, burrows
Sedimentary
Structures
Marine shells, rare plant Marine shells (mostly
Fossils Marine shells
fragments microscopic)