DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Content

Continental Fluvial Alluvial Fan, Braided River, Meandering River Desert/Aeolian, Lacustrine Glacial Deltaic Delta Plain, Delta Front, Pro-delta Marginal Marine Beach, Barrier Island, Estuary, Tidal Flat Marine Continental Shelf Carbonate Reefs and associated environments, Siliciclastic Shelves Continental Slope and Ocean Floor

Alluvial Fan

Lacustrine

Depositional

Delta Plain

Desert/Aeolian

Fluvial
Meandering River Braided River

Environment

Deltaic
Prodelta Delta Front

Continental Shelf

Glacial
Beach

Continental Slope and Ocean Floor

Marine
Siliciclastic Shelves

Carbonate Reefs and associated environments,

Tidal Flat

Marginal Marine

Barrier Island

Estuary

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Environment
Environments
An Environment: a distinctive kind of geographic setting characterized by a distinctive set of physical and/or chemical and/or biological conditions.

Characteristics of Depositional Environment: Heres a list of what you can look for in a sediment rock or a sedimentary bed that might tell you something about depositional environment:
grain size

grain shape
grain surface texture grain fabric sedimentary structures

composition (siliciclastic; carbonate, evaporite, coal, chert)

fossils (body fossils, trace fossils) stratification sequence sediment-body geometry/architecture

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

What Happens

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

What we Want

DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
Continental Depositional Environment
Characteristic Deposits

Continental depositional environments & Characteristic Deposits:

Glacial : till, moraines, deltas, lakes, outwash, kames, drumlins Desert : arroyo (wadi) deposits, eolian sands, sand dunes, dust, loess Lake : clastic deposits (bedded), chemical (salts, carbonates) Fluvial : channels, banks, flood basins

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Continental Depositional Environment- Glacial Environment
Glacial Glaciers are important agents of erosion of bedrock Environments and mechanisms of transport of detritus in mountain regions. Deposition of this material on land produces characteristic landforms and distinctive sediment character, but these continental glacial deposits generally have a low preservation potential in the long term and are rarely incorporated into the stratigraphic record.

Processes in glacial environments

Glaciers radically transform landscapes because they carry out four types of geomorphological work. glacial erosion: erosion of rock by the direct action of moving glaciers. glacial transportation: movement of debris that is either frozen within the glacier or lying on the surface. glacial deposition: occurs when rock debris, either frozen within the glacier or lying on the surface, is deposited onto the ground by melting of ice. glaciofluvial activity: processes (erosion, transportation, deposition) caused action of meltwater streams.

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Continental Depositional Environment- Glacial Environment
Glacial Environments

Another important process that operates within glacial areas is frost weathering or freeze-thaw action. Frost weathering causes the disintegration of rock masses into fragmented debris due to the growth and expansion of ice in joints and pores. Once a rock mass has been weakened by frost weathering it collapses under the force of gravity. If this occurs on a steep slope the loosened debris moves down the slope as rockfall. Frost weathering of rock slopes on the flanks of glacial valleys supplies debris to the surface of a glacier. This debris may eventually be deposited as till or may be transported down to the base of a glacier to become to the tools of erosion. The action of these glacial environment processes is shaping and has shaped the landscapes in contemporary glacial areas and regions that were glaciated during the Ice Ages

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Continental Depositional Environment- Glacial Environment
Characteristics Characteristics of glacial deposits: lithologies conglomerate, sandstone and mudstone. mineralogy variable, compositionally immature. texture extremely poorly sorted in till to poorly sorted in fluvio-glacial facies. bed geometry bedding absent to indistinct in many continental deposits, glaciomarine deposits may be laminated. sedimentary structures usually none in tills, crossbedding in fluvio-glacial facies. palaeocurrents orientation of clasts can indicate ice flow direction. fossils normally absent in continental deposits, may be present in glaciomarine facies. colour variable, but deposits are not usually oxidised. facies associations may be associated with fluvial facies or with shallow-marine deposits

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Continental Depositional Environment- Fluvial Environment
Fluvial Environment

Fluvial - Rivers Make up a very large fraction of terrestrial sedimentary rocks Rivers are largely erosive, but some relatively continuous (pointbar) and periodic (flood) deposition
Braided streams - horizontal beds of conglomerates and sands with unidirectional crossbeds, almost no mud. Meandering streams Produce very distinctive sediments: Channel conglomerates Cross-bedded channel sandstones, well-sorted Pointbar sands, somewhat finer than channel sands Levee sands, ripple marks and finer grains Backswamp, non-laminated mudstones This package of sediments produces a sequence that fines upwards. Also associated with meandering streams

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Fluvial Environment
Fluvial Environment Cut-off meanders (ox-bow lakes) with lacustrine sediments Additionally, meandering stream sequences surrounded by flood-plain deposits of paleosols interrupted by layers of flood muds. The whole package of stream deposits, paleosols, and ox-bow lakes formfluviolacustrine deposits. In the above, each particular subenvironment produces rocks of a particular facies (particular combination of sedimentological, structural, and biological features).Walther's Law: As depositional environments migrate laterally, the sediments of one environment come to lie on top of sediments of the adjacent environment.

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Fluvial Environment
Charateristic

Identification of Fluvial Environment : absence of marine fossils presence of plant fossils red beds scoured channels unidirectional-flow cross-stratification broadly unidirectional paleocurrents paleosols desiccation cracks plant fossils

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Fluvial Environment
Fluvial Environment Types Alluvial fans Alluvial fans are fan-shaped deposits of water-transported material (alluvium). They typically form at the base of topographic features where there is a marked break in slope. Consequently, alluvial fans tend to be coarse-grained, especially at their mouths. At their edges, however, they can be relatively fine-grained. Gravel Deposit -on an alluvial fan in Death Valley, California. Note how the upper half of the deposit is coarser than the lower half. It probably marks a former channel that migrated over the non-channelled part of the fan. It is now stranded above the active channel and is being eroded.

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Fluvial Environment
Fluvial Environment Types Channel Deposits When seen in cross-section, channels (red arrow) have elliptical profiles and are filled with sediment that is generally coarser than the surrounding rock. They also cut into (by erosion) the underlying rock. Hammer (circled) shows scale. Channel deposits indicate running water: they form on alluvial fans, in rivers, on deltas, even in submarine fans. Both of these photos are of channels in alluvial fan deposits (note how coarse the rock is). The red dashed line on the right shows the channel. the orange lines show bedding beneath the channel. Notice how it is cut by the channel.

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Fluvial Environment
Fluvial Environment Types Braided River Some rivers have lots of small channels that continually split and join. These are called braided rivers. Braided rivers are usually wide but shallow. They form on fairly steep slopes and where the river bank is easily eroded. Braided Rivers exhibit numerous channels that split off and rejoin each other to give a braided appearance. They typically carry fairly coarsegrained sediment down a fairly steep gradient. Additionally, the water discharge tends to be highly variable. When it rains really hard you Consequently, braided rivers usually can find little braided rivers exist near mountainous regions, flowing across building sites especially those with glaciers. and paths made of sand or fine gravel. Braided rivers have a lot of rock , gravel and sand that is carried along the river bottom. When the amount of water flowing through individual channels deceases the river dumps this material creating islands and bars.

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Fluvial Environment
Fluvial Environment Types Braided-river systems Characteristics: moderately steep grade fairly straight many channels, bars, and islands coarse-grained sediments

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Environment
Fluvial Environment Meandering rivers Types Rivers flowing over gently sloping ground begin to curve back and forth across the landscape. These are called meandering rivers. Meandering rivers erode sediment from the outer curve of each meander bend and deposit it on an inner curve further down stream. This causes individual meanders to grow larger and larger over time.
Meandering river channels are asymmetrical. The deepest part of the channel is on the outside of each bend. The water flows faster in these deeper sections and erodes material from the river bank. The water flows more slowly in the shallow areas near the inside of each bend. The slower water can't carry as much sediment and deposits its load on a series of point bars.

Oxbow lakes form when a meander grows so big and loopy that two bends of the river join together. Once the meander bends join, the flow of water reduces and sediment begins to build up. Over time oxbow lakes will fill with sediment and can even disappear. The point where the two bends intersect is The low-lying area on either side of called a meander cut-off. a river is called a floodplain. The floodplain is covered with water when the river overflows it banks during spring floods or periods of heavy rain. Sediment is deposited on the floodplain each time the river floods. Mud deposited on the floodplain can make the soil really good for agriculture

DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
Continental Depositional Environment- Aeolian Environments
Aeolian Environments

Aeolian sedimentary processes are those involving transport and deposition of material by the wind.

Characteristics of Aeolian Deposits: lithologies : sand and silt only. mineralogy : mainly quartz, with rare examples of carbonate or other grains. texture : well- to very well-sorted silt to medium sand. fossils : rare in desert dune deposits, occasional vertebrate bones. bed geometry : sheets or lenses of sand. sedimentary structures : large-scale dune crossbedding and parallel stratification in sands. palaeocurrents : dune orientations reconstructed from crossbedding indicate wind direction. colour : yellow to red due to iron hydroxides and oxides facies associations : occur with alluvial fans, ephemeral river and lake facies in deserts, also with beach deposits or glacial outwash facies

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Continental Depositional Environment- Lakes
Lakes Lakes Lakes form where there is a supply of water to a topographic low on the land surface. They are fed mainly by rivers and lose water by flow out into a river and/or evaporation from the surface. There are, however, important differences with marine settings: the fauna and flora are distinct, the chemistry of lake waters varies from lake to lake and certain physical processes of temperature and density stratification are unique to lacustrine environments.

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Characteristics

Continental Depositional Environment- Lake Characteristics of lake deposits

lithologies sandstone, mudstone, fine-grained limestones and evaporates. mineralogy variable. texture sands moderately well sorted. bed geometry often very thin-bedded. sedimentary structures wave ripples and very fine parallel lamination. palaeocurrents few with palaeoenvironmental significance fossils algal and microbial plus uncommon shells colour variable, but may be dark grey in deep lake deposits facies associations commonly occur with fluvial deposits, evaporites and associated with Aeolian facies

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Deltas Depositional Environment- Deltaic Environments Continental
Deltaic Environments

The mouths of rivers may be places where the

accumulation of detritus brought down by

the flow forms a sediment body that builds out into the sea or a
lake. Deltas are almost exclusively sites of clastic deposition ranging from fine muds to coarse gravels. Deposits formed in deltaic environments are important in the stratigraphic record as sites for the formation and accumulation of fossil fuels.

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Continental Depositional Environment- Deltaic Environments
Deltaic Environments Delta-top sub-environments: Deltas are fed by a river or an alluvial fan and there is a transition between the area that is considered part of the fluvial/alluvial environment and the region that is considered to be the delta top or delta plain. Delta-front sub-environments: At the mouth of the channels the flow velocity is abruptly reduced as the water enters the standing water of the lake or sea. The delta front immediately forward of the channel mouth is the site of deposition of bedload material as a subaqueous mouth bar. Pro-Delta sub-environment The furthest offshore portion of a delta, lying at the toe of the delta front, and characterized by a relatively slow rate of finegrained deposition.

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Continental Depositional Environment- Deltaic Environments
Characteristics Characteristics of Deltaic Deposits Lithologies: conglomerate, sandstone and mudstone Mineralogy: variable, delta-front facies may be compositionally mature Texture: moderately mature in delta-top sands and gravels, mature in wave-Reworked Delta: front deposits Bed Geometry: lens-shaped delta channels, mouthbar lenses variably elongate, prodelta deposits thin bedded Sedimentary structures: cross-bedding and lamination in delta-top and mouth-bar facies. Palaeo-currents: topset facies indicate direction of progradation, wave and tidal reworking variable on delta front Fossils: association of terrestrial plants and animals of the delta top with marine fauna of the delta front Colour: not diagnostic, delta-top deposits may be oxidised

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Marginal-Marine Environments
Marginal-Marine Environments Principal depositional environments Deltas Beaches and barrier island systems: Beaches Strandplains, barrier islands/bars ,Estuaries (characteristic of transgressive coasts) Lagoons (characteristic of transgressive coasts) Tidal flats

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Marginal-Marine Environments
Beach/barrier systems . lithology sand and conglomerate . mineralogy mature quartz sands and shelly sands . texture well sorted, well rounded clasts . bed geometry elongate lenses . sedimentary structures low-angle stratification and wave reworking . palaeocurrents mainly wave-formed structures . fossils robust shelly debris . colour not diagnostic . facies associations may be associated with coastal plain, lagoonal or shallow-marine facies

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Marginal-Marine Environments
Lagoons

. lithology mainly mud with some sand . mineralogy variable . texture fine-grained, moderately to poorly sorted . bed geometry thinly bedded mud with thin sheets and lenses of sand . sedimentary structures may be laminated and wave rippled . palaeocurrents rare, not diagnostic . fossils often monospecific assemblages of hypersaline or brackish tolerant organisms . colour may be dark due to anaerobic conditions . facies associations may be associated with coastal plain or beach barrier deposits

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Marginal-Marine Environments
Tidal channel systems . lithology mud, sand and less commonly conglomerate . mineralogy variable . texture may be well sorted in high energy settings . bed geometry lenses with erosional bases . sedimentary structures cross-bedding and crosslamination and inclined heterolithic stratification . palaeocurrents bimodal in tidal estuaries . fossils shallow marine . colour not diagnostic . facies associations may be overlain by fluvial, shallow marine, continental or delta

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Marginal-Marine Environments
Tidal mudflats

. lithology mud and sand . mineralogy clay and shelly sand . texture fine-grained, not diagnostic . bed geometry tabular muds with thin sheets and lenses of sand . sedimentary structures ripple cross lamination and flaser/lenticular bedding . palaeocurrents bimodal in tidal estuaries . fossils shallow marine fauna and salt marsh vegetation . colour often dark due to anaerobic conditions . facies associations may be overlain by shallow marine or continental facies

DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
Marginal-Marine Environments
Characteristics Depositional characteristics for marginalmarine environments River, wave, and tidal processes are dominant sedimentary processes Salinity varies significantly Some environments are of intermittent to nearly constant subaerial exposure, others are continuously covered by shallow water. Wide variety of sediment types including conglomerates, sandstones, shales, carbonates, and evaporites.

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Environment

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Environment

CONTINENTAL DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Environment