SEDIMENTARY TEXTURES

Sediment texture refers to the shape, size and three-

dimensional arrangement of the particles that make up
sediment or a sedimentary rock.

Textures can be clastic, where they are composed of grains

from pre-existing rocks (allochthonous grains)

or

crystalline, where the crystals grew from a fluid producing

an interlocking mosaic of crystals.
Textures are primary, where the grains possess their arrangement that
existed after they came to rest (or after precipitation in the case of crystals).

In sedimentary rocks, however, textures are commonly secondary, because

they have been altered in some way from their original condition.
 Grain Size
Particles are generally measured by their maximum grain
diameter.

The most common classification is use is the

Wentworth scale.

In this classification, terms such as pebble, sand and gravel

have well-defined limits.
Many statistical methods can be applied to article size
distributions (e.g., median, mean, skewness, kurtosis, etc.)
to try to characterize the depositional processes that
produced them and even to distinguish depositional
environments.
A common practice in studying grain size
distribution is to use the phi scale as well
as mm.

The boundaries between each class can

be expressed by the negative logarithm of
this dimension to the base 2:

(phi) Φ = -log2 d

where d is particle size in mm.

Most sedimentologists
estimate the particle size
range in a sediment or
sedimentary rock rather
than physically measure
it, but it some situations
quantitative
measurement of particle
size and
its range is desirable or
needed.
 SORTING

Sorting refers to the uniformity of grain size in a sediment

or sedimentary rock.
Particles become sorted on the basis of density because of
the energy of the transporting medium.
High energy (high velocity) currents can carry larger
fragments.
 Shape
Particle shape is difficult to quantify or describe.

Shape is commonly described with reference to three axes at 90° to

each other.

The longest axis is L, shortest S and the intermediate is I.

In a sphere or cube, those axes intersect at the centre and have equal
length.

By comparing the ratios of the axes, it is possible to describe four

basic "shapes" of particles:

Shape Includes:
Form- --- outline of the grain i-e sphere, platy or rod like

Roundness------ measure of sharpness of grain corners i-e well

rounded, poorly rounded
 ROUNDING

During the transportation process, grains may be

reduced in size due to abrasion.

Random abrasion results in the eventual rounding

off of the sharp corners and edges of grains.

Thus, the degree of rounding of grains gives us

clues to the amount of time a sediment has been
in the transportation cycle.
Rounding is classified on relative terms as well.

Note that rounding is not the same a sphericity.

Sphericity is how closely a grain outline resembles that of a circle.

 SEDIMENT FABRICS

Fabric refers to the mutual arrangements of grains in a

sediment

or Sediment fabric stresses the three-dimensional make up of

the components in the rock -- especially whether the particles
show any preferred orientation, and how individual grains are
in contact with each other.

Primary fabrics are those that formed during sedimentation;

Secondary fabrics reflect the imprint of post-depositional

processes such as compaction by overlying younger
sediments.
Fabric can be useful in determining the depositional
processes.

If particles are elongate, they may be aligned by

currents parallel to the direction of flow.

A common fabric in gravel and conglomerate is

imbrication.
 Textural Maturity

The degree of sorting,

the roundness
And
the matrix content in a sandstone contribute towards the
textural maturity of the sediment.

Texturally immature sandstones are

poorly sorted with angular grains and some matrix,

whereas

texturally supermature sandstones are well sorted with

well-rounded grains and no matrix.
The longer sediment is involved in the transportation
cycle, the more time it has to become well-sorted.

Similarly, the longer the sediment is transported, the

more time is available for grains to lose their rough
edges and corners by abrasion.

Thus, we consider a texturally mature sediment to be

sediment that is well-sorted and well-rounded.

Note that sediment tends to become both texturally and

mineralogically mature the longer it is in the
transportation cycle.
 DESCRIPTIONS OF TEXTURE

A complete description of the texture of a sedimentary rock should include

statements about each of the factors discussed above. To summarize, these are:

1. Size of the grains.

2. Sorting.

3. Degree of roundness and sphericity of the grains.

4. An estimate of the porosity of the rock.

5. Packing of the grains.

6. A description of the matrix.

7. A statement about the textural maturity of the rock