Sediment particles are created by weathering of rocks and physically deposited by running water, wind, or ice. O Diagenesisphysical and chemical changescaused by pressure, heat, and chemical reactionsby which sediments are lithified (converted into sedimentary rock) o chemical sedimentsa sediment formed at or near its place of deposition from dissolved materials that precipitate from water Ex. Mollusks and corals, precipitate minerals as they grow.
Sediment particles are created by weathering of rocks and physically deposited by running water, wind, or ice. O Diagenesisphysical and chemical changescaused by pressure, heat, and chemical reactionsby which sediments are lithified (converted into sedimentary rock) o chemical sedimentsa sediment formed at or near its place of deposition from dissolved materials that precipitate from water Ex. Mollusks and corals, precipitate minerals as they grow.
Sediment particles are created by weathering of rocks and physically deposited by running water, wind, or ice. O Diagenesisphysical and chemical changescaused by pressure, heat, and chemical reactionsby which sediments are lithified (converted into sedimentary rock) o chemical sedimentsa sediment formed at or near its place of deposition from dissolved materials that precipitate from water Ex. Mollusks and corals, precipitate minerals as they grow.
5- Sedimentation: Rocks Formed by Surface Processes
Surface Processes of the Rock Cycle • Materials moved from a source area, which sediment particles are created to a sink area, where they are deposited in layers • Important surface processes of the rock cycle o Weathering: physical or chemical o Erosion: processes that dislodge particles of rock produced by weathering and move them away from the source area Occurs most commonly when rainwater runs downhill o Transportation: sediment particles are moved to sink areas Occurs when water, wind, or the moving ice of glaciers transport particles to new locations downhill or downstream o Deposition: sediment particles settle out as water currents slow, winds die down, or glacier edges melt to form layers of sediment in sink areas. o Burial: layers of sediment accumulate in sink areas on top of older, previously deposited sediments, which are compacted and progressively buried deep within sedimentary basin o Diagenesis- physical and chemical changes- caused by pressure, heat, and chemical reactions- by which sediments buried within sedimentary basis are lithified (converted into sedimentary rock)
Weathering and Erosion: The Source of Sediments
Siliciclastic Sediments- sediment formed from clastic particles produced by the weathering of rocks and physically deposited by running water, wind, or ice o Most clastic particles are produced by the weathering of common rocks composed largely of silicate materials o Varying intensities of weathering can produce different sets of minerals in sediments derived from the same parent rock Chemical and Biological Sediments o Chemical sediments- a sediment formed at or near its place of deposition from dissolved materials that precipitate from water Ex. Evaporation of seawater often leads to the precipitation of gypsum or halite o Biological Sediments- form near their place of deposition, but are the result of mineral precipitation by organisms Ex. Mollusks and corals, precipitate minerals as they grow Ex. After organisms die, their shells or skeletons accumulate on the seafloor as sediments • Directly controls mineral precipitation • Indirectly- occurs outside organisms or even away from Bioclastic sediments- a shallow water sediment made up of fragments of shells or skeletons directly precipitated by marine organisms and consisting primarily of two calcium carbonate minerals- calcite and aragonite-in variable proportions Transportation and Deposition: The Downhill Journey to Sedimentary Basins o Currents as transport agents Water: transport capacities of rivers, Air currents: move smaller quantities of sediments • Stronger current, faster it flows, the larger particles it can transport Current strength, particle size, and sorting o Deposition starts when transformation stops Strong currents (faster than 50 cm/s) carry gravel, and smaller particles, common in mountainous terrain Moderately strong currents (20-50 cm/s) lay down sand beds, common in most rivers Weak currents (slower than 20cm/s) carry muds composed of the finest clastic particles (slit and clay) o Sorting- tendency for variations in current velocity to segregate sediments according to size o Abrasion- reduces particles size and rounds off edges o Transported intermittently
Sedimentary Basins: The Sinks for Sediments
Subsidence- depression or sinking of a broad area of crust relative to the surrounding curst, induced partly by the weight of sediments on the crust but driven mainly by plate tectonic processes Sedimentary Basins- regions of variable size where the combination of sedimentation and subsidence has formed thick accumulations of sediments and sedimentary rocks Rift Basins and Thermal Subsidence Basins o Rift basin- deep, narrow, and long, with thick successions of sedimentary rocks and extrusive and intrusive igneous rocks o Thermal subsidence basins- a sedimentary basin that develops in the later stages of plate separation as lithosphere that was thinned and heated during the earlier rifting stage cools, becomes more dense, and subsides below sea level o Continental shelf- a broad, flat, submerged platform, consisting of a thick layer of flat-lying shallow-water sediment, that extends from the shoreline to the edge of the continental slope. Flexural Basins- a type of sedimentary basin that develops at a convergent boundary where one lithospheric plate pushes up over the other and the weight of the overriding plate causes the underlying plate to bend or flex downward Sedimentary Environments- an area of sediment deposition characterized by a particular combination of climate conditions and physical, chemical, and biological processes Characteristics • Type and amount of water • Type and strength of transport agents • Topography • Biological activity • Plate tectonic settings of sediment source areas and sedimentary basins • The climate Continental Sedimentary Environments • Lake environments- fresh or saline water, transport agents are smallish waves and moderate currents • Alluvial environments- channel of a river, boarders and associated wetlands, and the flat valley floor on either side of the channel that is covered by water when the river floods (floodplain) • Desert environments- arid climate, wind transports sand and dust, organisms have little effect • Glacial Environments- cold climate, moving masses of ice, little biological activity Shoreline Sedimentary Environments • Delta- where rivers enter lakes or ocean • Tidal Flats- where areas exposed at low tide are dominated by tidal currents • Beaches- strong waves deposit sand or gravel - mostly siliciclastic Marine Sedimentary Environments • Continental shelf environments- shallow waters, gentle currents, siliciclastic or biological carbonate particles, may be chemical if climate is arid and arm of sea evaporates • Organic reefs- carbonate structures, built up on continental shelves or on oceanic volcanic islands • Continental margin and slope environments- deeper waters, sediments deposited by turbidity currents, siliciclastic or carbonate • Deep-sea environments- deep, no waves or tidal currents, carbonate sediments Siliciclastic VS Chemical and Biological Sedimentary Environments • Siliciclastic sedimentary environments- dominated by siliciclastic environments o All continental sedimentary environments, transitional zones, marine environments o Terrigenous sediments- sediments of siliciclastic environments, orgin on land • Chemical and biological sedimentary environments- characterized by chemical and biological precipitation o Carbonate environments- marine settings where calcium carbonate is main sediment Most common o Siliceous environments- unique deep sea sedimentary environments, siliceous sediments o Evaporite environments- warm sea, and part of sea evaporates rapidly, then chemical sediments form Sedimentary Structures- include all kinds of features formed at the time of deposition Cross Bedding- consists of beds deposited by wind or water and inclined at angles as much as 35 from the horizontal