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    EPS 50 Lab 4: Sedimentary Rocks: Grotzinger and Jordan, Chapter 5

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    Abood Buriahi
    The document provides instructions for classifying and identifying different types of sedimentary rocks. It discusses clastic rocks like sandstone and shale that form from the lithification of fragments like sand and clay. It also covers chemical rocks like limestone and evaporites that form via precipitation from solution, and biological rocks like coal and chalk that form from organic material. The objectives are to learn to identify common sedimentary rocks and structures and relate them to depositional environments.

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    EPS 50 Lab 4: Sedimentary Rocks: Grotzinger and Jordan, Chapter 5

    Uploaded by

    Abood Buriahi
    208 views7 pages
    The document provides instructions for classifying and identifying different types of sedimentary rocks. It discusses clastic rocks like sandstone and shale that form from the lithification of fragments like sand and clay. It also covers chemical rocks like limestone and evaporites that form via precipitation from solution, and biological rocks like coal and chalk that form from organic material. The objectives are to learn to identify common sedimentary rocks and structures and relate them to depositional environments.

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    LAB 4 Sedimentary rocks

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    LAB 4 Sedimentary rocks

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    The document provides instructions for classifying and identifying different types of sedimentary rocks. It discusses clastic rocks like sandstone and shale that form from the lithification of fragments like sand and clay. It also covers chemical rocks like limestone and evaporites that form via precipitation from solution, and biological rocks like coal and chalk that form from organic material. The objectives are to learn to identify common sedimentary rocks and structures and relate them to depositional environments.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    208 views7 pages

    EPS 50 Lab 4: Sedimentary Rocks: Grotzinger and Jordan, Chapter 5

    Uploaded by

    Abood Buriahi
    The document provides instructions for classifying and identifying different types of sedimentary rocks. It discusses clastic rocks like sandstone and shale that form from the lithification of fragments like sand and clay. It also covers chemical rocks like limestone and evaporites that form via precipitation from solution, and biological rocks like coal and chalk that form from organic material. The objectives are to learn to identify common sedimentary rocks and structures and relate them to depositional environments.

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    Name: _________________________

    EPS 50 Lab 4: Sedimentary Rocks


    Grotzinger and Jordan, Chapter 5
    Introduction
    In this lab we will classify sedimentary rocks and investigate the relationship between
    environmental conditions and sedimentary rock deposition. Remember that the diversity of rock
    in nature is generally continuous, and we are learning interpretive guidelines. The underlying
    principle for understanding sedimentary rocks and geological processes is that minerals and
    rocks are stable only under the conditions at which they form. If the temperature, pressure, water
    content, or other conditions change, the rocks will change to adapt to the new conditions.

    Objectives
    Learn to identify common sedimentary rocks (i.e. sandstone, shale, limestone and
    conglomerates) and the depositional environments they indicate. Learn to identify sedimentary
    structures and the processes that form them.

    Answers
    Please answer the numbered questions on the separate answer sheet handed out during lab.
    Only the answer sheet will be graded. Explanations should be concise—a few sentences or
    fewer. All answers should be your own, but we encourage you to discuss and check your answers
    with a few other students as you work through the exercises.

    =====================================================================

    Sedimentary Rocks
    Sedimentary rocks form by the accumulation of sediment (eroded bits of pre-existing rocks) or
    by the precipitation of minerals out of solution. Sediment is deposited in a number of
    environments by moving air and water. Sedimentary rock identification is primarily based on
    composition. Texture can be used, but texture of a sedimentary rock has a slightly different
    meaning than texture of an igneous rock. In this lab, texture of a sedimentary rock refers to the
    origin or type of sediment found in the rock. In this lab we will look at three different types of
    textures: clastic, chemical, and biological.
    The primary minerals found in sedimentary rocks include quartz, feldspar, clays (such as
    kaolinite), calcite, dolomite, gypsum and halite. These common minerals are generally either
    resistant to weathering and/or erosion processes (dissolution and transport) or are directly formed
    in sedimentary environments (e.g. by chemical precipitation, chemical weathering).

    Classifications (Tray 1)
    1) Name and classify the minerals in Tray 1 (minerals may fall into more than one category) as
    silicate minerals, evaporite minerals and/or carbonate minerals. (9 pts)

    Clastic Rocks (Tray 2)


    Name of Clastic Rock Fragment Type
    Breccia Coarse fragments of angular gravel and rocks
    Conglomerate Coarse fragments of rounded gravel and rocks
    Sandstone Sand sized particles that are 90% quartz
    Arkose Sandstone composed of 25 % feldspar grains
    Shale Clay particles
    Siltstone Silt particles
    Mudstone Mixture of clay and silt
    Siliciclastic rocks are composed of “chunks” or clasts of weathered rock material like gravel,
    sand, silt, and clay that become a solid mass through burial, compaction, and/or cementation in a
    process called lithification. Weather resistant quartz (SiO2) and other silicate minerals form the
    majority of clastic rocks, hence siliciclastic.
    As a pile of unconsolidated material grows, gravity compacts the sediment at its base, while
    squeezing out water and forcing grains together. Fluids circulate through the pile of sediment and
    cements the grains together, converting the sediment into a cohesive aggregate—a rock.
    Chemical, physical or biological changes undergone by sediment following deposition are
    known as diagenesis, which occurs during and often following lithification.
    Clastic sedimentary rocks are divided into types based on clast size: clay, silt, sand and gravel.
    Clay particles have diameters less than 1/256 mm and silt particles have diameters from 1/256
    mm to 1/16 mm; neither are visible to the unaided eye. Sand grains range from 1/16 mm to 2
    mm, and gravel grains include clasts larger than 2 mm. In general, deposition concentrates
    sediments of common size together; some sedimentary rock names, such as siltstone and shale,
    depend on their grain size. However, in turbulent depositional conditions sediments may not be
    so well-sorted, and a greywacke, a rock that includes angular grains of quartz, feldspar and small
    rock fragments mixed with sand in a fine matrix, might be formed. A sedimentary rock with a
    very wide distribution of clast sizes is called a diamictite and is commonly of glacial origin.
    Common Components of Siliciclastic Rocks

    Because quartz does not weather into any other mineral, it remains after
    Quartz
    everything else is weathered or sorted out.
    Feldspars are some of the most abundant minerals in the earth's crust. Most
    Feldspar igneous rocks have large amounts of feldspar, e.g. Ca-plagioclase in gabbro, and
    Na-plagioclase and orthoclase in granite.
    If a siliciclastic particle is not quartz or feldspar it is classified as a lithic
    fragment. Lithic means "rock," and all mechanically weathered pieces of rock are
    Lithics included here. Lithics are usually small, dark in color, and their mineral
    composition is difficult to identify, except in conglomerates and breccias where
    clast size is commonly large.
    Matrix is the finer material in which larger particles are embedded. In a
    sandstone the matrix is commonly silt and clay or carbonate. In a gravel the
    Matrix
    matrix may be sand. However, since all minerals other than quartz will
    eventually weather into silt or clay-sized particles, silt or clay is very common.

    2) Name two ways to distinguish between the quartz and the feldspar minerals you might find in
    siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. (7 pts)

    3) Arrange the 9 clastic rocks in Tray 2 in order from smallest grains (label as 1) to largest
    grains (label as 9). Write the name of each clastic rock in the table next to its relative grain
    size. (9 pts)

    Chemical Rocks (Tray 3)


    Chemical sedimentary rocks are identified by their component minerals. Chemical sedimentary
    rocks form through the chemical precipitation or crystallization of elements and compounds
    from solution. Multiple precipitated minerals tend to be deposited together geographically and
    are not generally deposited in the presence of siliciclastic rocks. Chemical sedimentary rocks are
    so different from siliciclastic rocks that geologists often specialize in studying either one group
    or the other.

    Dissolved chemical species can precipitate from solution in several ways:

    - Water rich in dissolved species, like seawater or salty lake water in an enclosed basin,
    evaporate leaving behind sedimentary evaporites (sample in tray, not numbered). Rock
    salt or halite (NaCl) and gypsum (CaSO4*H2O) exist originally as dissolved constituents
    in the water, thus making the sea and enclosed lakes (such as Salt Lake) salty. When
    water evaporates in a closed area such as a lagoon, the salt concentration becomes
    supersaturated, and minerals precipitate.

    - Chert (sample 520A) is a siliceous (composed of SiO2) rock that forms from the
    recrystallized skeletons of single-celled marine creatures such as radiolaria and diatoms.
    Although the silica comes from skeletons, to become chert it must be chemically
    recrystallized, thus putting it in the chemical category.

    - The upper layers of oceans are near saturation with respect to dissolved calcium
    carbonate (CaCO3). Many marine organisms use calcium carbonate to construct shells
    and other hard body parts, and because these organisms live in solution, some of the
    calcium carbonate dissolves into the ocean waters. Under the right circumstances the
    dissolved calcium carbonate can precipitate, forming limestone (sample 589) deposits.
    The formation of the chemically similar mineral dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) involves the
    chemical modification of limestone deposits by a magnesium rich solution.

    4) List three methods for distinguishing the above chemical rock types from one another (think
    back to your mineral identification skills and use Appendix 4 in the textbook). (6 pts)

    Biological Rocks (Tray 4)


    Mineral precipitation also occurs via plants and animals, which can extract the dissolved
    constituents from the seawater to make skeletons. These skeletons eventually become
    biochemical or biological sedimentary rocks.

    Biological sedimentary rocks form as the result of accumulation and lithification of organic
    material or biologic activity. Coal (sample 565) is the lithified remains of plants and can be
    identified by its dark brown to black color. Limestone (sample 62 and 173) deposits can form by
    lithification of coral reefs, marine organism shells, or marine organism skeletons (as opposed to
    the precipitation of dissolved calcium carbonate mentioned above). Limestone that contains
    fossils is referred to as fossiliferous limestone. Chalk (sample 64) is a particular variety of
    limestone that is composed of the skeletons of marine microorganisms like foraminifera.
    Diatomite (sample 47), which looks similar to chalk, is formed from silicate-shelled critters
    called diatoms. In both chalk and diatomite, fossils or fossil fragments may be microscopically
    visible in contrast to precipitated limestones or cherts where new crystal growth or re-
    crystallization has occurred. Note that many carbonate rocks are formed by both chemical and
    biochemical processes; rocks observed in the field may be a combination of both.

    4) Why are carbonates not formed in deep ocean environments? How, then, do we find them
    there? Read about the formation of carbonates in the textbook. (8 pts)

    Sedimentary Structures
    Sedimentary structures are features that tell us about depositional conditions. The images below
    demonstrate cross bedding, mud cracks and bioturbation.

    Cross-bedding (side view):


    Mud cracks (top view):

    Bioturbation (side view):

    Bioturbation (top view):


    6) Sketch each of the four structures next to the photo (be sure to include a scale bar). Briefly
    describe the processes that resulted in the formation of these sedimentary structures (refer to
    chapter 5 of the text). (24 pts)

    Sedimentary Wonderland
    The following is a map of Sedimentary Wonderland, a very special place where a variety of
    sedimentary rock-forming environments converge.

    7) Using your knowledge of sediments and their formation processes, identify where on this map
    you expect the 15 sedimentary rock types listed below to form. Some rock types can fit into more
    than one environment and some environments can form more than one rock type. Write the
    location(s) next to each rock type. For each rock type, write down at least one observation
    you made that helped you decide which rock types formed in which environments. (37 pts)

    1. sandstone (193) 6. volcanic breccia (278) 11. coal (565)


    2. shale (15) 7. limestone (62) 12. chalk (64)
    3. cross-bedded sandstone 8. chert (132) 13. greywacke
    4. siltstone (419) 9. halite 14. diamictite
    5. conglomerate (416) 10. gypsum 15. diatomite (47)

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