Sediment and

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks only make up 5% of the Earth's crust, but cover about
75% of the surface of the earth. The raw material for sedimentary rocks
comes from weathering. Two basic sources of sedimentary material are:
1. Mineral and rock fragments or clasts produced by mechanical
weathering or erosion of rock. Resulting sediment deposits are called
detrital, and rocks formed from the sediment are called detrital
sedimentary rocks.
2. Dissolved material that precipitates from solution. Rocks formed from
this nondetrital or chemical sediment are called chemical sedimentary
rocks, and can be derived from either inorganic or biochemical
processes.

Transportation and Deposition of Sediment

Sediment is transported from the place of weathering to the place of
deposition. During transportation, originally angular detrital sediment
particles can be sorted by size and composition, and can become rounded.
Agents of sediment transport include water (primary mechanism), gravity,
wind, and ice. Processes by which sediment is deposited (sedimentation)
involve loss of velocity, evaporation, and/or chemical interactions.

Depositional Environments
Sediment can be deposited in many different environments:
1. Continental
a) Fluvial - Sediment was deposited by a stream.
b) Eolian - Sediment deposited by wind (deserts).
c) Lacustrine - Lake sedimentary deposits.
d) Glacial - Sediment deposited by ice and meltwater.

2. Marine - Sediment accumulates on the ocean floor in shallow

(continental shelf and reef) to deep (abyssal plain) environments.
3. Transitional - between land (terrestrial) and marine environments.
a) Deltaic - Deposits at the mouth of a major stream.
b) Beaches, lagoons and barrier islands - Sediment deposited by
wind or water.

Lithification
Lithification is the conversion of sediment into rock, and results from a
number of processes:
1. Compaction involves packing together of sediment grains through
burial, leading to a reduction in sediment volume by up to 40%.
Reduction of volume generally results from the pressure or weight of
overlying sediments.
2. Desiccation involves the loss of water from sediment pore spaces,
typically resulting from compaction but also from evaporation in air.
3. Cementation occurs where minerals precipitate from sediment pore
fluids to bind to sediment particles together. Most common cements
are calcite (CaCO3) and quartz (SiO2), but dolomite [(CaMg)CO3], iron
oxides (Fe2O3), and iron hydroxides [FeO(OH)] may also serve as
cements.
4. Crystallization characterizes chemical sediments, and primarily
involves formation of interlocking crystals.

Sedimentary Rock Textures

Both detrital and chemical sedimentary rocks can show clastic texture. Rocks
are separated by the size of the clastic particles. Particle diameters are
determined by sieving. The Wentworth Scale of particle sizes is commonly
used:
gravel
> 2 mm
sand
1/16 to 2 mm
silt
1/256 to 1/16 mm
clay
< 1/256 mm
Detrital sediments are also characterized by their sorting, the degree to
which clastic particle sizes are similar. Sediments are described as poorly-

sorted if a mix of particle sizes is present, and well-sorted if primarily one

particle size is present. Sorting takes place during transportation, and
particles can be sorted by:
a) grain size - largest particles settle first
b) composition - high specific gravity minerals settle
first
The nature of detrital sediments is also indicated by the particle shape.
Clasts can range from angular to spherical, generally depending on how far
they have been transported. The shape of clasts are characterized in terms
of:
a) Roundness - degree of edge and corner removal.
b) Sphericity - degree to which the fragment
approaches the shape of a sphere.
Non-clastic textures, involving interlocking crystals similar to the crystalline
texture of igneous rocks, are shown only by chemical sedimentary rocks.
These rocks are subdivided according to crystal size as fine-grained (< 1
mm), medium-grained, or coarse-grained (> 5 mm).

Types of Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rocks are classified by texture and composition into two major
types, detrital and chemical.
A. Detrital sedimentarv rocks have clastic texture and can be grouped as:

Conglomerate and Breccia - Made of gravel-sized particles (>2 mm)

surrounded by finer grained material. If larger particles are angular, it
is called a sedimentary breccia. A breccia indicates the material has
not been transported great distances. Both rocks indicate deposition in
a high-energy environment characteristic of streams and beaches.

Sandstones are composed of sand-sized parttcles (0.06-2 mm),

primarily of quartz with some feldspar and rock fragments.Types of
sandstone include:
a. Quartz Sandstone - almost pure quartz
b. Arkose - quartz and more than 25% feldspar
c. Graywacke - "Dirty" sandstone containing quartz, feldspar, rock,
and clay.
Both arkose and graywacke indicate a lack of transport and
weathering.

Mudrocks comprise about 40% of all detrital sedimentary rocks, and

are deposited in low-energy environments. They are subdivided into:
a. Siltstones are composed of silt-sized particles (0.004-0.06 mm) of
quartz and feldspar.
b. Mudstones, which may be blocky or massive in appearance, are
composed of a mixture of silt- and clay-sized particles (< 0.004
mm) of clay, quartz, feldspar, calcite, and dolomite.
c. Claystones are massive and composed mostly of clay
d. Shales, the most abundant detrital rock, are similar to a
mudstones or claystones except that the rock breaks into layers
parallel to the bedding.

B. Inorganic chemical sedimentary rocks originate from dissolved material

that is precipitated inorganically. These rocks include:

Limestone made up of calcite. Oolltic, travertine, and tufa forms of

limestone are precipitated inorganically; travertine, a freshwater
limestone, differs from the other types which are precipitated from
seawater.

Dolostone made up of dolomite. Dolostone has been thought to form

by the replacement of limestone, although recent evidence indicates
that some dolomite may be biochemical in origin. Very little primary
dolomite has been found.

Evaporites are sedimentary rock composed of minerals precipitated

from evaporated sea water (e.g., gypsum and halite).

Silica can precipitate as quartz, opal, or chert (cryptocrystalline silica

including jasper, agate, and flint), and can occur as irregular masses or
nodules in other rocks, especially limestone.

C. Biochemical sedimentary rocks originate from dissolved material that is

precipitated through the activities of organisms. Include:

Limestones that originate as accumulations of shell and skeleton

material made up of calcite or aragonite represent the most abundant
chemical sedimentary rock. Types of biogenic limestone are:
1. Chalk, a powdery accumulation of microscopic plant and animal
shells.

2. Fossiliferous Limestone, an accumulation of visible fossil

organisms. Coquina is a very poorly cemented fossiliferous
limestone.
3. Micrite, a smooth, dense, microcrystalline limestone.

Bedded chert (silica) forms from accumulations of microscopic marine

organisms that secrete silica shells around their bodies.

Peat (partiallv decomposed plant material that accumulates in

swamps) can be converted to coal (lignite or bituminus) through burial.
Coal, however, is not considered a rock by most geologists.

Depositional Environment Analysis

Evidence preserved in sedimentary rocks can allow geologists to infer the
events and processes which formed them. Using sedimenary structures and
fossil evidence, geologists can infer the specific depositional environment of
ancient sedimentary rocks:
A. Sedimentary Structures
1. Bedding or Stratification, the most important feature of sedimentary
rocks, is layering that reflects changing conditions during deposition.
Texture and composition are fairly uniform within a bed. Layering is
usually horizontal or sub-horizontal. Original bedding can be obscured
or destroyed through sediment flow or the action of burrowing animals.
Kinds of bedding include:
o Laminated bedding consists of closely spaced parallel bedding.
o Cross-bedding involves non-horizontal bedding caused by wind or
water currents, and can be used to indicate top of bed and
paleocurrent directions.
o Graded-bedding represents a progressive decrease in grain size
upward through a bed, and can be used as a top of bed indicator.
Grading can be caused by rapid deposition from turbidity
currents.
2. Ripple marks, small waves on the surface of sediment caused by water
or wind currents, can in some cases be used as a top of bed indicator.

Two forms of ripples are recognized:

o Wave-formed ripple marks are symmetric ripple marks formed in
a surf zone.
o Current ripple marks, asymmetric ripple marks formed by water
or air currents moving generally in one direction, can be used as
a current direction indicator.
3. Mud cracks, polygonal cracks caused by contraction of mud as it dries,
indicate shallow water deposition, and can be used as a top of bed
indicator.
4. Sole marks, which are casts (fillings) of a primary sedimentary feature
such as a groove or burrow, can indicate top of bed.
5. Secondary sedimentary structures form long after deposition, and
therefore do not give clues about how the sediment was originally
deposited:
6. Nodules, an irregular, knobby-surfaced mineral body of a
different composition than the surrounding sediment, usuallv lie
parallel to bedding. Septarian nodules show dehydration cracks
that are filled by material of a different composition.
7. Concretions, usually spherical and often characterized by
concentric layering, are depositional bodies composed of
cementing material often found in sandstone.
8. Geodes, which generally occur in limestone and shale, are
roughly spherical hollow structures formed when a pocket of
water in sediment is surrounded by a deposit of silica. Larger
crystals of quartz or calcite grow inward from solution.
Fossils represent reserved remnants of ancient plants areprteshentat give
clues about ancient life, evolution, and depositional environment. Fossils
allow rocks in widely separated areas to be correlated in time, and form the
basis for constructing the geologic calendar. Trace fossils provide indirect
evidence of ancient life such as burrows, trails, and tracks. Body fossils are
the actual preserved parts (mostly hard parts) of an organism. Most fossils
have been dissolved and replaced by other materials like silica and pyrite.
Petrified wood is formed when silica replaces cellulose. A mold is the cavity
in sediment that a shell once filled; a cast is the filled-in mold.

Sedimentary Facies
Sedimentary rocks tend to change in composition and nature laterally due to
changes in depositional environment. Sediment can be deposited in different
places at the same time, yet look very different because of a different
depositional environment. Sedimentary facies reflect the characteristics of a
particular depositional environment. These deposits each have a distinctive
set of physical, chemical and biological attributes. Sea level fluctuations can
result in a particular facies being deposited over wide areas:
1. Marine Transgressions - Sandstone (nearshore deposit) overlain by
shale (shallow marine deposit) and limestone (deeper marine deposit)
indicates sediment deposition during a time of sea level rise.
2. Marine Regressions - Deep marine deposits are overlain by shallower
marine and nearshore deposits, indicating sediment deposition during
a time of falling sea level.
Changes in global sea level may reflect subsidence or uplift and increased
glacial activity

Sedimentary Rocks and Natural Resources

Sediments, sedimentary rocks and the materials they contain have many
uses.
1. Petroleum and Natural Gas are hydrocarbons formed from the remains
of microscopic plants and animals. The organic matter has been
preserved in sediments (the source rock) by rapid burial. With burial,
heat and chemical reactions transform organic matter into petroleum
and natural gas. After formation, the hydrocarbons migrate upward
until they reach the surface or are trapped. A petroleum trap consists
of a permeable reservoir rock and an impermeable cap rock. Oil shales
(contain at least 1 barrel of oil per ton of shale) and tar sands (sand
that contains thick, asphalt-like hydrocarbons) may be important future
sources of petroleum.
2. Uranium ores, that occur in fluvial (stream-deposited) sandstones
containing organic matter, are found in several western states.
Uranium dissolved in oxidizing groundwater is transported with the
groundwater until reducing conditions cause precipitation of carnotite
(a uranium mineral).
3. Banded iron formations represent largest source of iron ore in the
world, and are found on all the continents. The deposits consists of

chemical sediments that are extremely rich in iron. Most were

deposited in shallow seas during the late Precambrian (before 2.5
billion years ago) when a lack of atmospheric oxygen allowed seawater
to have much higher dissolved iron concentrations. The ores formed
when iron was precipitated out of seawater by addition of oxygen from
algae (photosynthesis) or bacteria (respiration) living in large colonies
called stromatolites. These organisms became abundant about 2.5
billion years ago.
4. Other sediment or sedimentary rock derived resources include:
1. Building materials (sand and gravel, construction; limestone,
cement; gypsum, wallboard and plaster; clay, bricks; quartz,
glass
2. Halite used as a seasoning and preservative.
3. Clay used in ceramics and kitty litter.
4. Phosphates used for fertilizers, matches, and preservatives
5. Diatomite used in filtration.
6. Coal used for energy and coke in steel production.