Sedimentary Rocks

Dr. R. B. Schultz
Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rocks are those that represent the material record of environments in the
form of rock layers or strata that once existed on earth.

There are two (2) types of sedimentary rocks, based on their textures:
1. Clastic (also called Detrital)-- form from deposition of solid grains; classified based
on grain size: conglomerate, sandstone, and shale
2. Chemical -- form from minerals precipitating out of water and usually involves some
sort of chemical reaction; classified based on mineral content: limestone, dolomite
are examples.

Importance of sedimentary rocks: Sedimentary rocks contain information about
what earth surface environments were like in the past and generally possess
natural resources including important fossil fuels.

Sedimentary Environments are places where sediments accumulate usually in nearly
horizontal layers. There are three (3) very general sedimentary environments:

1. Continental (on a landmass)
2. Near shore/shallow water (Transition between continental and ocean)
3. Deep marine water
Importance of
Sedimentary Rocks
Bauxite: ore of aluminum
Physical, chemical, and biological processes operating in the environment produce
diagnostic features in the sediments

Controls on sedimentary environments:
Sedimentary rocks may contain fossils
Body fossils are lithified remains of the hard parts of organisms.
Trace fossils are disruptions of sediment by animals moving through, or may be
imprints of animal's movement (e.g. dinosaur tracks)

Continental Sedimentary Environments
1. Glacial -- deposits may have wide range of grain sizes (poorly sorted). Bluffs made of
glacial till. This type of sediment covers much of N.Y.
2. Fluvial -- migration of ripples/dunes on riverbed produces X-stratification in deposits.
3. Lacustrine -- deposition of mud thin layers on lakebed; in arid regions forms evaporites
4. Aeolian -- large wind-blown sand dunes produces thick cross-stratification in deposits

Marine (Nearshore) Sedimentary Environments (Transitional)
1. Deltas -- where rivers meet the sea -- clastic sediments are deposited
2. Beaches -- deposits of sand at the coast
3. Shelf -- may be sand and mud or carbonate sediments
4. Reefs -- build-up of limestone from coral skeletons

Marine (Offshore) Sedimentary Environments (Deep Sea)
1. Shelf -- carbonates
2. Slope and rise -- clastics and mixed carbonates/clastics
3. Deep marine -- finely layered mud
How to Interpret Sedimentary Rocks

Observe characteristic in rock texture, sedimentary structures, vertical variations,
and fossils
Match with features found in modern environments, i.e., "The present is the key to
the past" (principle of Uniformitarianism)

Clastic Sedimentary Rocks Classification based on grain size
1. Conglomerate (rounded grains) -- more than 30% of grains are gravel-sized (> 2mm)
2. Breccia (angular grains) -- more than 30% of grains are gravel-sized (> 2mm)
3. Sandstone -- grain bits. 1/16mm-2mm
4. Shale -- made of mud-sized grains (<1/16 mm)

Chemical Sedimentary Rocks classified by composition
1. Limestone -- made mostly of calcite
2. Dolomite (dolostone) - made mostly of dolomite
3. Evaporites -- various mineral salts that precipitate from
evaporating water (ex: halite, gypsum)
4. Bituminous Coal: organics compressed into peat then lithified into coal

Conglomerate Breccia (Bretcha)
Sandstone Coquina
Diagenesis refers to processes that lithify sediments or make them into a solid
sedimentary rock. It may occur at or very near surface, but more commonly
occurs after sediments are buried.

Diagenetic Processes
1. Weathering and Erosion- from pre-existing rocks
2. Transportation- movement from one place to another (by wind, water, or ice)
material is then deposited.
3. Compaction -- due to pressure; fine-grained sediments undergo more
compaction than coarse sediments
4. Cementation -- precipitation of minerals around sediments (commonly quartz
or calcite are precipitated)
5. Recrystallization -- due to pressure, temperature changes
6. Lithification -- squeezing out of fluid to make final solid rock

*Most important processes: weathering/erosion, transportation, deposition,
lithification.
Diagenesis
Lithification
Recrystallization
Cementation
by silica or calcite
Compaction
Deposition
(Sediment is laid down)
Transportation
by
Water,ice, or wind
Weathering and Erosion of pre-existing rocks and minerals
Other terms associated with sedimentary
geology:

1. Sorting - terms referring to the range of
particle sizes in clastic rocks (well- or
poorly-sorted)
2. Roundness - degree of smoothness of
particle edges and sphericity. (Well-
rounded and angular)

Sedimentary structures

*Records the sedimentary history and depositional environment; provides
valuable clues as to deposition. Most basic is simple bedding (layering effect
of sedimentary rocks).
1. Ripple marks - undulations on a sand surface produced by wind or water
(asymmetrical or symmetrical)
2. Cross-bedding - inclined layering produced in sand by ripples or dunes at an
angle to the horizontal
3. Mudcracks (desiccation cracks) - polygonal pattern of cracks produced on
the surface of mud as it dries.
4. Raindrop imprints - circular pits produced by the impacts of rain on soft mud
5. Graded bedding - progression of grain sizes from coarser at the bottom to
finer on top (or vice-versa)
6. Flute marks - scoop-shaped depressions preserved on the bottom surface of
muddy beds. Good indicator of top and bottom of bed.
7. Tool marks - ridges or discontinuous marks with a preferred orientation on
bottom surfaces of beds. Indicates current direction.
8. Tracks-footprints of organics, dinosaur footprints. Trails are caused as
organism crawls through mud or sediment. Burrows - excavations made by
organisms in soft sediment commonly filled with different sediment
9. Stromatolites-mound-like structures formed when sediment is trapped by
blue-green algae. Characteristic of limestones. Oldest life form on Earth.
10. Stylolites-pressure solution cracks formed as pressure squeezes solution
through fractures in carbonates.


Key Terminology
Texture Clastic
Chemical Sedimentary environment
Environment of deposition Natural resources
Fossil fuels Diagenesis
Weathering Erosion
Transportation Deposition
Compaction Recrystallization
Lithification Cementation
Sorting Roundness
Formation Cross Section
Stratigraphic column Sedimentary structures

Pertinent Web Sites
Mineral and Rock Description (National Park Service)
Mineral and rock photographs and descriptions from the National Park Service.
Online Rock Tutorial from W. H. Freeman Company
An introduction to rock identification online tutorial.
Rock and Mineral Collecting (USGS)
Selected references on rocks, minerals, and gemstones from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Rock Classification and Identification
A good tutorial on the classification and identification of common rocks from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, British Columbia,
Canada.
Rock Cycle (Mineralogical Society of America)
The Mineralogical Society of America site offers a good, general description of the rock cycle directed toward elementary
school students.
Rock Cycle - University of British Columbia
A general introduction to the rock cycle.
Rockhounds Information Page
The Rockhounds Information Page offers many links to mineral and rock related Websites.
Rock Identification Tutorials
Rock identification tutorials (see lab notes) from Texas A & M University.

Rocks and Their Origins (UBC)
An online study of rocks and their origins at the University of British Columbia.

Rocks and the Rock Cycle Links (NAGT)
An extensive listing of rocks and the rock cycle links arranged by topic from the National Association of Geology Teachers
(NAGT).

Sedimentary Geology Web Resources
This site contains an extensive list of web sites of interest for sedimentary geologists and other interested individuals.

Sedimentary Rocks and Processes
Great slides for New Mexico Tech.

Sedimentary Rocks Links (Houghton Mifflin)
Links to several sedimentation and sedimentary rock sites, including class lecture notes, arranged by topic.

Sedimentary Rocks Links (NAGT)
An extensive listing of sedimentary rocks links arranged by topic from the National Association of Geology Teachers (NAGT).

Sedimentary Rocks (UBC)
An overview of sedimentary rocks from the University of British Columbia.

Society for Sedimentary Geology
Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) is an international not-for-profit Society based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. SEPM, through
its network of 5,400 members, is dedicated to the dissemination of scientific information on sedimentology, stratigraphy,
paleontology, environmental sciences, marine geology, hydrogeology, and many additional related specialties.

Society of Exploration Geophysicists
The Society of Exploration Geophysicists promotes the science and education of exploration geophysicists. The Society
fosters the expert and ethical practice of geophysics in the exploration and development of natural resources, in
characterizing the near-surface, and in mitigating earth hazards.