GEOL 325: Stratigraphy & Sedimentary Basins

University of South Carolina

Spring 2005
All you wanted to know about Sedimentary
Structures
&
were afraid to ask?
Professor Chris Kendall
EWS 304
kendall@sc.edu
777.2410
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
 Sedimentary Structures

A key to the interpretation of

the “Depositional Setting” of
sedimentary rocks
Lecture Series Overview
 sediment production
 types of sediment and sedimentary rocks
 sediment transport and deposition (sedimentary structures)
 depositional systems
 stratigraphic architecture and basins
 chrono-, bio-, chemo-, and sequence stratigraphy
 Earth history

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Sedimentary rocks are the
product of the creation, transport,
deposition, and diagenesis of
detritus and solutes derived from
pre-existing rocks.
Sedimentary rocks are the
product of the creation, transport,
deposition, and diagenesis of
detritus and solutes derived from
pre-existing rocks.
 Lecture Outline
 Introduction to and use of sedimentary structures in
sedimentary stratigraphy
 Bedding Planes - their role and origins
 Primary sedimentary structures
Plane Beds
Unidirectional Current Structures
Bidirectional Current Structures
Bidirectional Wind Structures
Wave Structures

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Sedimentary Rocks
 Detrital/Siliciclastic Sedimentary Rocks
conglomerates & breccias
sandstones
mudstones
 Carbonate Sedimentary Rocks
carbonates Sedimentary
 Other Sedimentary Rocks
Structures
-
evaporites
Found in All
phosphates
organic-rich sedimentary rocks
cherts
volcaniclastic rocks

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Sedimentary Structures
 Sedimentary structures are features found within the
sedimentary section, and/or on, and/or between, bedding
plane surfaces subdividing that section
 Related to scale and hierarchy of features they occur in,
whether in sediments that have confined (as in a channel)
or unconfined settings (as on a shelf), & associated but
similar sized structures
 Sedimentary structures provide critical versus general clues
to depositional setting

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Sedimentary Structures
 Sedimentary structures are features found within the
sedimentary section, and/or on, and/or between, bedding
plane surfaces subdividing that section
 Related to scale and hierarchy of features they occur in,
whether in sediments that have confined (as in a channel)
or unconfined settings (as on a shelf), & associated but
similar sized structures
 Sedimentary structures provide critical versus general clues
to depositional setting

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Bedding Planes
 Beds are enclosed or bounded by sharply
defined upper & lower surfaces or bedding
planes.
 These surfaces are easiest physical features
of sedimentary rocks to identify in outcrop
 Subdivide successions of sedimentary rock
into beds
 Used to determine relative order & timing of
accumulation of sediments forming beds
 Character of bedding planes, be they eroded,
cemented, bored, bioturbated, or depositional
surfaces used to aid in interpretation of
sedimentary rocks.
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Bedding Planes
 Most probably formed by erosion of unconsolidated
sediment collected at sediment surface. Weight of
sediment, just beneath sediment surface, causes
sediment to dewater, compact & become cohesive
 Less cohesive sediment of surface truncated & expose
surface of firmer cohesive sediment below at bedding
plane surface in response to:
Storm waves
Fast flowing currents of water (say in tidal or fluvial channels)
Turbid flow of a density current

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Bedding Planes

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Sedimentary Structures
 Sedimentary structures are features found within the
sedimentary section, and/or on, and/or between, bedding
plane surfaces subdividing that section
 Related to scale and hierarchy of features they occur in,
whether in sediments that have confined (as in a channel)
or unconfined settings (as on a shelf), & associated but
similar sized structures
 Sedimentary structures provide critical versus general clues
to depositional setting

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 What determines character &
hierarchies of sedimentary structure?
 Inter-relationships of physical processes active in
depositional/and or erosional setting with:
Grain size of the sediments
Movement of water and/or wind
Current and/or waves
 Modification of depositional fabric by burrowing and/or
other organisms at & post deposition
 Post depositional events including:
Hydrations/dehydration
Compaction
Chemical signals
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Current Erosion/Transport & Grain Size
 As Hjulstrom & Sundborg showed a critical
current velocity is required to move sediment of
a specific grain size for a fixed water depth
 Sediment entrainment is also found to be
dependent on sediment cohesion and
consolidation

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Current Erosion/Transport & Grain Size

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Hierarchy of Bedforms Formed by Flow
 Southard and Bouchwal demonstrated that
sequence of specific bedforms develop in
response to increasing current velocity
 Differing grain sizes of sediment have slightly
different bedforms
 Sediment behavior is thought to be much the
same for deepwater as in shallow

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Hierarchy of Bedforms Formed by Flow

After Southard & Boguchwal 1990

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Bedforms
Current Ripple Rose Diagram

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Channels & Shelves

el
n n Sh
ha e lf
C
Both have unique processes &
structures that can be used to
identify their setting
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
 Sedimentary Response
Confined or Channeled Flow
 Unique processes
Flow is parallel to channel
Bounded by both sides
Minor change in flow velocity
 Sediment responses
Little change in grain size
Basal/erosional contacts
Accretion: Lateral, vertical, downstream & upstream
No gross change in sedimentary structures
 Geometries
Ribbons
Lens
sheets
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Unconfined Flow - Not in a Channel
 Unique Processes
Flow is in all directions
No lateral boundaries, only upper and lower boundaries
Velocity changes: high to low
 Sediment responses
Decrease in grain size: Fining outward (coarse to fine)
Erosional/sharp/gradational contacts
Accretion: Downstream, upstream and vertical
Decrease in sedimentary structures away from source
 Geometries
Sheets
Thin in direction of flow

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Sedimentary Structures
 Sedimentary structures are features found within the
sedimentary section, and/or on, and/or between, bedding
plane surfaces subdividing that section
 Related to scale and hierarchy of features they occur in,
whether in sediments that have confined (as in a channel)
or unconfined settings (as on a shelf), & associated but
similar sized structures
 Sedimentary structures provide critical versus general clues
to depositional setting

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Critical Information - Bedding Forms!
Su
A n pr a t
hy id
dr al
ite
dr l
hy da
it e
An b ti
Su

Laminations versus diapirs

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
 Why Use Sedimentary Structures?
 Sedimentary structures are used to identify depositional
setting of sedimentary rocks in conjunction with:
Lithology
Bedding geometries
Subdividing surfaces
Fauna
 Depositional setting of sedimentary rocks used to
assess & predict the fabric of the rocks at that locality
 Extrapolate their distribution along & perpendicular to
strike, or vertically within that geologic section

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Primary Sedimentary Structures
Formed under influence of same hydrodynamic and/or
aerodynamic conditions as entrainment, transport and
deposition of sediment particles. Resolve:
 Which way is up?
 Orientation of process that dispersed sediment?
 What process was responsible for transportation
and deposition of sediment?

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Primary Sedimentary Structures
 Which way is up?
 Orientation of process that dispersed sediment?
 What process was responsible for transportation and
deposition of sediment?

This Way Up!

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Primary Sedimentary Structures
 Which way is up?
 Orientation of process that dispersed sediment?
 What process was responsible for transportation and
deposition of sediment?

This Way Up!

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Primary Sedimentary Structures
 Which way is up?
 Orientation of process that dispersed sediment?
 What process was responsible for transportation and
deposition of sediment?

This Way Up!

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Primary Sedimentary Structures
 Which way is up?
 Orientation of process that dispersed sediment?
 What process was responsible for transportation and
deposition of sediment?

This Way Up!

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Primary Sedimentary Structures
 Plane Bedding
 Bedforms generated by Unidirectional Currents
 Bedforms generated by Multidirectional flow
Currents
Waves
 Graded & Imbricate Bedding
 Bedding Plane Structures

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Planar Beds
 Often “planar laminae” or “planar laminations”
 Separated by variations in color, composition, grain
size, and bedding plane surfaces parallel to bedding.
 Products of product of sediment supply, sediment
composition, etc., and either:
Deposition from high flow velocity, e.g.: swash zone of a
beach
Settling from standing body of water with very low flow
velocity, etc. e.g.; lake varves, or pelagic rhythms!

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Plane Bedding

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Beach Face - South Carolina Foreshore
Note High Energy Planar Beds

Photo: G. Voulgaris

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Pleistocene Beach Face - Bahamas

Hig
Swa h En
sh L erg
ami y
nat
ion
s

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Planar Beds
 Often “planar laminae” or “planar laminations”
 Separated by variations in color, composition, grain
size, and bedding plane surfaces parallel to bedding.
 Products of product of sediment supply, sediment
composition, etc., and either:
Deposition from high flow velocity, e.g.: swash zone of a
beach
Settling from standing body of water with very low flow
velocity, etc. e.g.; lake varves, or pelagic rhythms!

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Plane Bedding – Gravitational settling?

Nolunchucky Limestone - Cambrian, Virginia

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Plane Bedding – Gravitational settling?

Lamar Limestone - Permian Basin W. Texas

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Gravitational
Settling
-
Varves
- Photo
-
Cariaco Basin David
- Lea

Northern shelf
of Venezuela

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Primary Sedimentary Structures
 Plane Bedding
 Bedforms generated by Unidirectional Currents
 Bedforms generated by Multidirectional flow
Currents
Waves
 Graded & Imbricate Bedding
 Bedding Plane Structures

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Unidirectional Current Ripples

Bedforms & Asymmetric Current Ripple

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Bedforms
–
Unidirectional
Current Ripples
-
increasing Flow
Velocities

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Bedforms & Asymmetric Current Ripple

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Bedforms – Ripple Terminology

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Bedforms & Unidirectional Currents

Internal character of ripples. Note dominance of forset

over single bottom set laminae and a stoss side laminae

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Bedforms & Unidirectional Currents

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Bedforms & Downslope Accumulation
Current Ripple

Effect of slope of forset on downslope coarsening of grains

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Bedforms & Back Flow Current Ripple

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Bedforms
-
Current
Ripples
Migrating
in Channel

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Trough Cross Bed Current Ripples

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Tidal Current Cross-Beds

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Asymmetric Ripples – Cross Beds

Migrating small straight crested ripples, flatter than

asymmetric wave ripples
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
 Current Ripples

Migrating
small straight
crested
ripples,
flatter than
asymmetric
wave ripples

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Asymmetric Ripples on Bedding Plane

These migrating small flat

straight crested ripples, are
probably current ripples
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Allen’s Classification of Ripples
Based on plan view shape, with increasing
complexity tied to shallower water & higher
velocities:-
 Straight
 Sinuous
 Catenary
 Linguoid
 Lunate

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
 Undulatory Current Ripples

Transition between low energy straight crested ripples,

and higer energy linguoid ripples
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
 Linguoid Ripples

Greater complexity reflects even higher energy ripples

with strong festooned shapes
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Linguoid Ripples

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Rhomboid Ripples

Migrating
rhomboid
ripples,
formed in the
shallowest of
water and the
highest of
velocities

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Linguoid Megaripples or Bars

These are higher energy ripples with strong festooned

shapes
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Trough Cross-bed - Current Ripples

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Primary Sedimentary Structures
 Plane Bedding
 Bedforms generated by Unidirectional Currents
 Bedforms generated by Multidirectional flow
Currents
Waves
 Graded & Imbricate Bedding
 Bedding Plane Structures

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Bedforms & Tidal Current Ripples

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Bedforms
Composite Current Mega-Ripple

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Bedforms
Composite Current Mega-Ripple
Slipface

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Lenticular, Wavy and Flaser Bedding
 Lenticular beds are small lenses of sand in a
predominant matrix of muddy beds
 Wavy beds are subequal mixtures of small
lenses of sand and muddy beds
 Flaser beds are predominantly stacks of small
lenses of sand in less than 50% muddy matrex

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Bedforms

Sa n
Sa n

Sa n
Current Ripples

dp
d in

d&

red
mu

Mu

om
dm

d5

ina
0/5
atr

tes
ix

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Asymmetric Current Ripples

Upper Mississippian – Pennington Formation

Pound Gap

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Asymmetric Current Ripples

Upper Mississippian – Pennington Formation

Pound Gap

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Asymmetric Current Ripples

Upper Mississippian – Pennington Formation

Pound Gap

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Channel Fill & Current Ripples

Upper Mississippian – Pennington Formation

Pound Gap

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Bimodal Current History
Herring Bone Structures

Photo
-
Peach
Tree
Rock
-
SC

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Bimodal Current History
Bi-Directional Cross Bed Structures

Photo
-
Peach
Tree
Rock
-
SC

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Asymmetric Current Ripples

Upper Mississippian – Pennington Formation

Pound Gap

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Asymmetric Current Ripples

Upper Mississippian – Pennington Formation

Pound Gap

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Asymmetric Current Ripples

Upper Mississippian – Pennington Formation

Pound Gap

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Trough Cross-bed Current Ripples

Upper Mississippian – Pennington Formation

Pound Gap

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Trough Cross-bed Current Ripples

Ordovician – Near Winchester

Kentucky

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Trough Cross-bed Current Ripples

Ordovician – Near Winchester

Kentucky

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Trough Cross-bed Current Ripples

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Windblown Sediments
 Current driven
 Multidirectional currents

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Barchan Dunes!

Holocene – Near Al Ain - UAE

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Bedforms & Wind Current Ripple

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Asymmetric Wind Climbing Ripples
Erosion to Lee

From USGS
GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Barchan Dunes - Mauritania, West

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Dunes - Algeria

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

 Wind Ripples

Avalanche Grain F
low

Holocene – Near Abu Dhabi - UAE

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
 Wind Ripples

Ava
la n
c he
Gra
in F
low

Holocene – Near Abu Dhabi - UAE

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Wind blown Cross-bed Current Ripples

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures

Wind Cross Beds in Carbonates

Pleistocene – Near Abu Dhabi - UAE

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Wind Trough Beds – Stokes Surface

c e le
r a
f ab
” Su e r T
e s at
t ok to W
“S es
o d
E r

Pleistocene – Near Abu Dhabi - UAE

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures
Wind Trough Beds – Capped by marine

Ma
ri n
Ear e lim
l y H es
olo ton
ce e o
ne
? f

Pleistocene – Dhabaiya - UAE

GEOL 325 Lecture 6: Sedimentary Structures