Jarðsaga 1

- Saga lífs og lands –

Ólafur Ingólfsson

Sedimentary Rocks and

Sedimentary Environments
Sedimentary Rocks are the
Principal Repository for
Information About the
Earth’s Past Environment
Earth’s history largely read from sedimentary strata

And Ce
ure me
e ss n tat
Pr i on

Sedimentary Erosion
Sediment
Rocks

on

Erosion
Pressure

si
Heat

E ro

Heat and Pressure Igneous

Metamorphic
Rocks Rocks
He l i ng
at o
Co
Magma
 Sedimentary Rocks
Clastic Rocks (molaberg)
• Made of Fragmentary Material
• Deposited by
– Water (Most Common)
– Wind
Chemical-Biological
– Glacial Action
Sedimentary Rocks
– Gravity
• Evaporation
• Precipitation
• Biogenic Sediments
 Sedimentary Rocks

Clastic Rock – composed of

fragments of preexisting rocks.

Nonclastic Rock – composed of

chemical precipitates or biogenic
matter.
 Sediment Sizes and Clastic
Rock Types
Rock Type Sediment Grain Size
Shale Clay less than 0.001 mm
Siltstone Silt .001-0.1 mm
Sandstone Sand .01-1 mm
Conglomerate Gravel 1mm +

Sedimentary rocks made of silt- and clay-sized

particles are collectively called mudrocks, and
are the most abundant sedimentary rocks.
Clastic Sediment Size
Some Special Clastic Rock
Types

• Arkose Feldspar-Rich
• Breccia Angular Fragments
• Graywacke Angular, Immature
Sandstone
 Classification of Clastic
Sedimentary Rocks
Major types of sandstone based on mineral/rock content
Quartzite Arkose Lithic Sandstone Greywacke
Chemical-Biological Sediments
Evaporites -Water Alteration After
Soluble Deposition
• Halite • Limestone ⇨ Dolomite
• Gypsum Biogenic Sediments
• Calcite • Limestone - Shells,
Precipitates Reefs, Etc.
• Gypsum Organic Remains
• Limestone • Coal
• Iron Formations • Petroleum
 Biogenic Sediments
Terestrial Sediments - mainly plant matter
Marine Sediments - mainly carbonates
Corals - Large components of reefs.
Bivalves, Gastropods (sníglar), Foraminifers
(götungar) - Whole or partial skeletons form
sand and gravels.
Algae, Crinoids (sælilja), Echinoderms
(skrápdýr), Bryozoans (mosadýr) -
disintergrate to form some sand particles and
lime mud.
Diatoms (kísilþörungar), Radiolaria (geislungar)
– Bedded chert SiO2
Conglomerate (völuberg) Sandstone Coal

Shale (leirskífur) Limestone (kalksteinn) Arkose

Some major
types of
sedimentary
rocks
Limestone Gypsum
 Environmental Clues in
Sedimentary Rocks
• Grain Size - Power of Transport
Medium
• Grading - Often Due to Floods
• Rounding
} Transport, Reworking
• Sorting
• Cross-bedding - Wind, Wave or
Current Action
 Features in sedimentary rocks

Sand grains show evidence

of transport
fossil fish

ripple marks formed by Mud cracks

wind or wave action
 Bedding or Stratification
• Almost Always Present in Sedimentary
Rocks
• Originally Horizontal
• Tilting by Earth Forces Later
• Variations in Conditions of Deposition
• Size of Beds (Thickness)
– Usually 1-100 cm
– Can Range From Microscopic to 50m
• Sedimentary rocks commonly show layering
that form as sediment is deposited Sedimentary
– Stratification (lagskifting) structures
– cross bedding (skálögun)
– graded bedding (lóðgreining)
Cross bedding is
wind wind Migration of the dune formed by the
migration of
windward leeward
sand waves
(ripple marks or
dunes) by sand
particles
travelling up the
windward face
and depositing
down the
leeward face

• Graded bedding can be
produced by turbidity currents,
which can travel up to 100
km/hr
– currents can be started by
landslide or earthquake down the
continental slope
– deposition based on density
(gravity) and settling velocity
Graded bedding
As the current slows
the coarse grains are
deposited first,followed
by successively finer-
grained sediments
 Environmental Clues in
Sedimentary Rocks
• Fossils
– Salt Water - Corals, Echinoderms (skrápdýr)
– Fresh Water - Insects, Amphibians
– Terrestrial - Leaves, Land Animals
• Color And Chemistry
– Red Beds - Often Terrestrial
– Black Shale - Oxygen Poor, Often Deep
Water
– Evaporites – Arid Climates
Each kind of sedimentary environment
on Earth’s surface is characterized by
particular kinds of sediment and
patterns of bedding
• Sediments are deposited in a variety of places.
• Each is characterized by a combination of the kind
and amount of water, the local topography, and the
biological activity.
• These in turn are related to plate tectonic setting
and climate.
• Although sediment can be deposited anywhere,
large accumulations of sediment are not, being found
in only a handful of environments.
 Common Sedimentary Environments:

Non-marine environments
Stream sediments, Lake sediments, Glacial (ice deposited)
sediments, Eolian (wind deposited) sediments

Continental Shelf sediments

Estuarine sediments, Deltaic sediments, Beach sediments,
Carbonate shelf sediments, Marine evaporite sediments

Continental slope and rise sediments

Turbidites, Deep Sea Fans, Sediment drifts

Deep Sea Sediments

Deep -Sea oozes, Land-derived sediments
 Major sedimentary environments
alluvial
fluvial
tidal
• Sedimentary
fan beach flat environments
dunes
encompass the
glacier delta barrier
lake island
physical, chemical,
and biological
Shallow marine conditions in areas
deep marine
organic reef where sediment is
organic deposited. These
reef
comprise three
distinct groups:
1) continental,
• weathering - physical and chemical
• transportation - wind, water, and ice
2) shoreline
– sorting
(transitional),
• deposition 3) marine
 Sedimentary Environments

Shoreline Environments
Deltaic
Continental (land-based) Tidal flat
Environments Beach
Alluvial Marine Environments
Desert Continental shelf
Lake Continental slope
Glacial Organic reefs
Deep-sea
 Continental sedimentary environments – Classification Chart

Alluvial Fan Fluvial Lacustrine Dunes

Rock type Breccia, Conglomerate, Siltstone, Quartz arenite

conglomerate, sandstone, shale,limestone (sandstone) or
arkose siltstone, shale or evaporites gypsum
Composition Terrigenous Terrigenous Terrigenous, Terrigenous or
carbonate, or evaporite
evaporite
Grain Size Clay to gravel Clay to gravel Clay to silt or Sand
(Fining upward) sand (Coarsening
upward)
Grain Shape Angular Rounded to ----- Rounded
angular

Sorting Poor Variable Variable Good

Sedimentary Cross-bedding Asymmetrical Symmetrical Cross-bedding

and graded ripples,cross- ripples,
Structures bedding bedding,graded lamination,
bedding,tool cross-bedding,
marks graded bedding
(http://www.dc.peachnet.edu/~pgore/geology/historical_lab/environmentchart.htm)
 Transitional sedimentary environments
BARRIER LAGOON TIDAL FLAT
DELTA BEACH
Rock Type Sandstone, Quartz Siltstone, Siltstone, shale, calcilutite,
siltstone, arenite, shale, dolostone or gypsum
shale, coal coquina limestone
Composition Terrigenous Terrigenous Terrigenousc Terrigenous, carbonate, or
or carbonate arbonate, or evaporite
evaporite
Grain Size Clay to sand Sand Clay to silt Clay to silt
Grain Shape --- Rounded to --- ---
angular
Sorting Poor Good Poor Variable
Inorganic Cross- Cross- Lamination, Lamination, mudcracks, ripples,
Sedimentary bedding, bedding, ripples, cross-bedding
Structures graded symmetrical cross-
bedding ripples bedding
Organic or Trails, Tracks, Trails, Stromatolites, trails, tracks,
Biogenic burrows trails, burrows burrows
Sedimentary burrows
Structures
Fossils Plant Marine shells Marine shells Marine shells
fragments,
shells
 Marine sedimentary environments
CONTINENTAL CONTINENTAL SLOPE AND
REEF SHELF RISE
Rock Type Fossiliferous Sandstone, shale, Litharenite, siltstone, and shale
limestone siltstone, (or limestone)
fossiliferous
limestone, oolitic
limestone
Composition Carbonate Terrigenous or Terrigenous or carbonate
carbonate
Grain Size Variable, Clay to sand Clay to sand
framework,
few to no
grains
Grain Shape --- --- ---
Sorting --- Poor to good Poor
Inorganic --- Lamination, cross- Graded bedding, cross-bedding,
Sedimentary bedding lamination, flute marks, tool
Structures marks (turbidites)
Organic or --- Trails, burrows Trails, burrows
Biogenic
Sedimentary
Structures
Fossils Corals, marine Marine shells Marine shells, rare plant
shells fragments
 • Continental glaciers greatly modify the
entire landscape they cover. Flowing ice Continental
removes and transports soil and bedrock,
and transports it long distances.
glacier
system
Supraglacial
debris

outwash
proglacial plain subglacial till
lake plucking abrasion

moraine

iceberg

Surface tilts
towards glacier dropstones

Isostatic subsidence
 Glacial
landforms and
sediments
Glacial till Glacial varves
• Geological
fingerprinting of
continental scale
glaciations is very
important in
Moraine terrain Esker
paleogeographical
reconstructions –
• Distribution of
glacial tills used early
on to argue for
Continental Drift
drumlin outwash plain
 The glacial
environment
• Glaciers
generally create
poorly sorted
Margins of a valley Ancient glacial sediments sedimentary
glacier in Canada (diamictite) in Utah
rocks

The delta
environment
• Deltas (óseyri)
form a variety of
rock types,
depending on the
environment of
Minor delta in the Ancient delta deposit
Great Bear Lake, Canada in the Colorado Plateau deposition.
 Deltas
• The history of the Mississippi delta involves repeated
switching of the main channel. Previous deltas are
numbered (1-6) by age from oldest to youngest.
 River systems and tectonics

• The evolution of the major rivers of the world is

influenced directly and indirectly by plate
tectonics.
 The fluvial environment
• Rivers are the major channels by which erosional debris
is transported from the continents to the oceans.
• River deposits are characterized by channels of sand or
gravel.
• River deposits are typically graded due to channel
migration and a decrease in flow energy

Point bar deposits in Ancient stream channel

a meandering river in Utah
 River
systems
•Running water is
by far the most
important agent of
erosion. Other
agents, such as
groundwater,
glaciers, and wind,
are locally
dominant but
affect only limited
parts of the
Earth’s surface.

The evolution of stream meanders

 The major features of a floodplain

• In the lower parts of the drainage system, the gradient of a

river is very low. As a result the velocity of the river is
reduced and deposition of much of the sediment load occurs,
to create
– Floodplains (flæðiland)
– alluvial valleys (árdalir)
– Deltas (óseyrar)
– alluvial fans (árkeilur)
 Alluvial Fans

Modern alluvial fan Ancient alluvial fan

in Death Valley, CA deposit in Utah
The eolian (wind)
environment
• Wind is a very
effective sorting
agent separating
mud, silt, and
Modern sand dunes Ancient dune deposits gravel from sand
in the Sahara Desert in Zion National Park
The desert environment
Deserts should more correctly be
called arid regions. Arid and semi-
arid regions characteristically receive
less than 50-100 mm of
precipitation/year, and often the
amount of evaporation is greater than
the amount of rainfall. One-third of
the earth's land mass is arid to
semiarid (either desert or
semidesert).
Locations of deserts have changed
throughout geologic time as the
result of continental drift and the
uplifting of mountain ranges.
Modern desert regions are centered
between 15 and 30 degrees north
and south of the equator and in the
Polar regions
 Sorting by Wind

Enormous loess deposits, composed of long-transported

aeolian silt, common on continents – China
Wetlands environments

It is no accident that
river valleys and their
floodplains have been
the focus of human
civilisations for over
6,000 years. This
simply reflects the
key role that water
and wetlands have
played throughout the
development of life on
planet Earth.
 The beach and
lagoon
environments

A modern beach An ancient beach • Much sediment

on the Atlantic coast deposit in Utah
accumulates in zones
where land meets
the sea; the type of
sedimentary rock
formed is
dependent on the
energy of the fluid
environment.
A lagoon along USA Ancient lagoon deposits
Atlantic coast in eastern Wyoming
 Shoreline
systems

• Shorelines are dynamic systems involving the energy of waves and

currents.
• Wind-generated waves provide most of the energy for erosion,
transportation and deposition of sediment.
• Waves approaching a shore are bent, or refracted, so that
energy is concentrated on headlands and dispersed in bays
 Output to
backshore dunes
Input from rivers
Deposition
Output to beaches Input from cliff erosion
along coasts
Output to deep water

Output to
spits and bars

• Sediment transported along the shore is

deposited in areas of low wave energy, A barrier island can form by
the migration of a spit
and results in various landforms
– beaches
– spits
– barrier islands
 The tidal flat
and reef
environment
• Tidal flats (leirur)
Modern tidal flat in Ancient tidal flat
the Gulf of California deposit in Utah are alternately
covered with shallow
water and exposed
to air.
• Organic reefs are
solid structures of
calcium carbonate
constructed of
shells and secretions
An organic reef on Ancient Devonian reef of organisms.
Moorea near Tahiti in Australia
• Reefs form a unique coastal feature since they are biological
in origin.
• Modern reefs are built by a complex community of coral, algae,
sponges and other marine invertibrates
• most reefs grow in warm, clear, shallow waters in tropical regions
Volcanic island
surrounded
by a fringing
reef

Reef mounds are The global distribution of modern

visible through the coral reefs
Community of shallow waters in the
organisms in a reef lagoon
 Types of reefs
A fringe reefs
first begins to • Fringing reefs
grow along the
coast of a newly-
(jaðar-)
formed volcanic • Barrier reefs
island
(hindrunar-)
• platform reefs
As the island
subsides, the reef (pall-)
grows upward and
develops a barrier • atolls (hringey) -
separating the ring structured
lagoon
from open water
reef.
• Darwin was first to
Further propose how an
subsidence
completely
atoll might have
submerges the formed, in 1842 on
island while the
reefs continues to
the voyage of the
grow Beagle.
 The shallow and
deep marine
environment
• Shallow marine
The shallow marine Ancient shallow marine environments border
environment in the sediments in Kansas most land area,
Bahamas
forming sandstones,
shales, and limestones.
• Deep ocean
sediments are derived
from turbidites and
the constant rain of
Seismic reflection of
carbonate and silica
Ancient turbidites on
deep sea fans off the the southern coast of from shallow oceans.
Indian coast France
Shallow-marine and
continental shelf
environment
Open continental shelves
display a variety of physical
conditions and therefore
produce a variety of
sedimentary deposits.
• Tidal currents and wave
motion produce sandy
bottoms
• On more quiet shelves,
muddy sands accumulate

Very important
environment for
development of life!
 sand mud
Sea expands over the land
(transgression)
shoreline lime

Stratigraphic
sequences
- example of a
transgression-
regression cycle
Sea moves back from the land
(regression)

Exposure of a transgressive
regressive cycle
 Interpretation of ancient sedimentary
environments
Alluvial Barier
fan River island Shallow
Lagoon marine
Delta

Conglomerate
Coal Sandstone Shale Limestone

• Sedimentary rocks are products of the hydrologic

system and interaction with Earth’s crust.
• They provide a record of changing surface environments.
• Plate tectonics has a profound influence on the origin of
sedimentary rocks.
• Each tectonic setting produces a distinctive sequence of
sedimentary rocks.
 Stratigraphical
mapping
- The purpose of stratigraphical
mapping is to get a sense of the
physical and petrographic
properties of rocks and
interpret in terms of geological
events or environments -
Lithostratigraphy:
Describes and defines units
of rocks on the basis of
lithological characteristics.

Unit boundaries, textures

(samsetning), structures
(bygging), fossils
 Additional reading, some good web-sites,
references used when prepating this lecture:
Stanley: Earth System History, chapter 5.
http://www.virtual-geology.info/FILTER/intro.html#templates
http://gpc.edu/~pgore/geology/historical_lab/environmentchart.htm
http://www.es.ucsc.edu/~jsr/EART10/Lectures/HTML/lecture.05.html
http://www.bhc.edu/academics/science/harwoodr/Geol101/study/sediment.htm
http://www.amateurgeologist.com/content/glossary/rock/sedimentary.html#sedimentary
http://www.homepage.montana.edu/~esci111/RockCycle-1/sedimentary.htm#clastic
http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/SedRx/SedEnvir.html#sedenvir
http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC202PowerPoint/5
http://www.uic.edu/classes/geol/eaes350/1
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/eng/InfoPoint/downloads/civ/SE1122/1
http://www.volcanoworld.org/vwdocs/vwlessons/lessons/Sedrocks/Sedrocks1.html