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AP Dr Abdul Hadi Abd Rahman Room 16-03-29 Ext: 7039; e-mail: hadi_rahman@petronas.com.my
Sedimentary rocks cover 80% of the earths surface but only comprise ~1% of the volume of the crust (they are generally NOT dense either!)
material, the material is transported, deposited, compacted, and lithified, and maybe changed by reaction with groundwater (called diagenesis)
Transport
All weathered products can be transported Dissolved ions are transported until they get to a final
destination (such as the ocean) and/ or are precipitated Physically weathered minerals/ rock fragments How are they transported?
Water, wind, glaciers, gravity
particle
debris HOWEVER Many sedimentary rocks are combinations of 2-3 of these types WHY?
Weathering
Looking at the rock cycle, key to
forming sedimentary rocks is weathering (or erosion) of pre-existing rocks (or organisms) Types of weathering:
Physical (a.k.a. mechanical) Chemical
Physical Weathering
Joints and sheeting development in rocks
Exfoliation or unloading
Some rocks expand to to pressure release, uplift,
Chemical Weathering
How do we dissolve stuff? Ions dissolve into water based on properties of that ion and how easily the mineral releases it into the water What properties do you think make the ions in a mineral dissolve more easily?
Mineral Dissolution
Write a reaction: Mg0.5Fe0.5SiO4 + H2O 0.5 Mg2+ + 0.5 Fe2+ + SiO44 Describe that reaction as an equilibrium expression
which defines how much of the mineral can dissolve in a particular fluid
What aspects of fluid composition do you think might
affect how much of a mineral can dissolve? Keq=[products] / [reactants] Keq=[Mg2+][Fe2+][SiO44-] / [olivine][H2O]
Aqueous Species
Dissolved ions can then be transported and eventually
precipitate Minerals which precipitate from solution are rarely the same minerals the ions dissolved out of Why would they be transported before precipitating?
olivine olivine
FeOOHs
Acid/base reactions
Many minerals are affected by the pH of the solution
they are in
some form H+ or OH- when they dissolve Some dissolve much faster/ better in low or high pH
solutions
Calcite weathering CaCO3 + H+ + H2O H2CO3(g) + CaOH+ Acid/ base chemistry important in mineral
Oxidation
Recall that elements exist as different ions in a particular
oxidation state Changing that oxidation state can have a big effect on how well that element will dissolve and what minerals will form after it dissolves Oxidation (where a reduced ion loses an electron to an oxidant) is important in the weathering of many minerals at the surface of the earth where O2 is the oxidant
Chemical Weathering
Recap: How do minerals dissolve? Dissolution reactions
Acid-base reactions
Ions dissolve in water through interaction with H+ or OHIons dissolve/ precipitate affected by interaction of ions in mineral or in water with O2
Redox reactions
all energies are relative Energy changes depending on the conditions i.e. some minerals are more stable than others at high P and T; change the P and T conditions and different minerals are more stable In weathering environments, minerals that are weathering are not stable, minerals precipitating ARE stable
Activity diagram showing the stability relationships among some minerals in the system K2O-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O at 25C. The dashed lines represent saturation with respect to quartz and amorphous silica.
6 5
Muscovite
Amorphous silica
K-feldspar Pyrophyllite
-3
4 4
log (aK+/aH+)
4 3
Gibbsite
2 1 0 -6 -5 -4
Quartz
Kaolinite
-2
-1
log aH SiO 0
Resistance to weathering
Goldrich series empirical observation concerning
quartz
What happens when granite is weathered? The feldspars will undergo hydrolysis to form kaolinite
(clay) and Na and K ions The Na+ and K+ ions will be removed through leaching The biotite and/or amphibole will undergo hydrolysis to form clay, and oxidation to form iron oxides.
residual minerals because they are very resistant to weathering. Weathered rock is called saprolite. What happens after this?
Quartz grains may be eroded, becoming sediment. The quartz in
granite is sand- sized; it becomes quartz sand. The quartz sand will ultimately be transported to the sea (bed load), where it accumulates to form beaches. Clays will ultimately be eroded and washed out to sea. Clay is finegrained and remains suspended in the water column (suspended load); it may be deposited in quiet water. Dissolved ions will be transported by rivers to the sea (dissolved load), and will become part of the salts in the sea.
Sedimentary Minerals
We will focus on some minerals which form from
precipitation of dissolved ions other minerals in sedimentary rocks are derived from the source rocks! Clay, carbonate, and sulfate groups are key in sedimentary rocks can be the rock or cement fragments together! SiO44-, CO32-, SO42- anionic groups, respectively Also consider halides (anion is Cl- or F-) and mineralization of silica
Phyllosilicates
Phyllosilicates
Clays talc pyrophyllite micas Display increasing order and lower variability of chemistry as T of formation increases
Clays
Term clay ALSO refers to a size (< 1mm = <10-6 m)
together with a layered structure and weak bonding between layers make them SLIPPERY WHEN WET Very complex (even argued) chemistry reflective of specific solution compositions