Depositional Sedimentary

Environment
 WHAT IS A SEDIMENTARY
ENVIRONMENT?

The depositional environment is a

geomorphic unit in which deposition takes
places. Thus, the study of depositional
environment is essentially the study of
geomorphology that is recognition of
geomorphic units. Geomorphic units are
recognized by features preserved in ancient
sediments
• The Depositional Environments are
depressions where sediments got deposited.
The eroded sediments transported and
deposited by water, glaciers, and wind.
• Depositional Environments are mostly
sedimentary environments. The layers of
sediment that accumulate in each type of
depositional environment have distinctive
characteristics, which provide important
information regarding the geologic history of
an area.
• These sediments, form at the surface and
provide information about the past
environments. The physical characteristics
and geographical location of the catchment
area determine the type of sediment that
will normally be deposited in depressions.
Parent rocks of catchment zones play a
dominant role in these processes.
 I. CONTINENTAL ENVIRONMENTS

These are environments which are present on the continents,

such as alluvial fans, fluvial environments (rivers), lacustrine
environments (lakes), aeolian or eolian environments
(deserts), and paludal environments (swamps).
 Examples of continental environment
Alluvial fans

These are fan-shaped deposits formed at the base of mountains. Alluvial fans are most
common in arid and semi-arid regions where rainfall is infrequent but torrential, and
erosion is rapid. Alluvial fan sediment is typically coarse, poorly- sorted gravel and sand.
 Fluvial environments
River channels, bars, levees, and floodplains
are parts (or sub-environments) of the fluvial
environment. Channel deposits consist of
coarse, rounded gravel, and sand. Bars are
made of sand or gravel. Levees are made of
fine sand or silt. Floodplains are covered by
silt and clay.
 Lakes (lacustrine environments)

They may be large or small, shallow or deep,

fresh water or salt water, and filled with
terrigenous, carbonate, or evaporite
sediments. Mudcracks, wave ripples,
laminations, and varves may be present in
lakes. Fine sediment and organic matter
settling in some lakes produced laminated oil
shales.
 Deserts (aeolian or eolian
environments)

These are areas with little or no rainfall

during the year. Deserts usually contain vast
areas where sand is deposited in dunes. Dune
sands are well sorted, well rounded, and
frosted or polished, without associated gravel
or clay. Cross-bedding is common.
 Swamps (paludal environments)
These are areas of standing water with trees. Decaying
plant matter accumulates to form peat, which may
eventually become coal.
II. TRANSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
These are environments which include deltas,
beaches and barrier islands, lagoons, salt
marshes, and tidal flats. Tidal flats are low-lying
areas that are alternately covered by water and
exposed to the air each day.
 Deltas
These are fan-shaped deposits of sediment, formed where
a river flows into a standing body of water, such as a lake or
sea. Coarser sediment (sand) tends to be deposited near
the mouth of the river; finer sediment is carried seaward
and deposited in deeper water.
 Beaches and barrier islands
These are shoreline deposits exposed to wave energy
and dominated by sand with a marine fauna. Barrier
islands are separated from the mainland by a lagoon.
They are commonly associated with tidal flat deposits.
 Lagoons
These are bodies of water on the landward side of barrier
islands. They are protected from the pounding of the ocean
waves by the barrier islands, and contain finer sediment
than the beaches (usually silt and mud). Lagoons are also
present behind reefs, or in the center of atolls.
 Tidal flats
These are areas that are periodically flooded and
drained by the tides (usually twice each day). Tidal
flats are areas of low relief, commonly cut by
meandering tidal channels. Laminated or rippled
clay, silt, and fine sand (either terrigenous or
carbonate) may be deposited. Intense burrowing
is common. Stromatolites may be present on
carbonate tidal flats, if conditions are appropriate
(high salinity).
 III. MARINE ENVIRONMENTS

These are in the seas or oceans. Marine

environments include reefs, the continental
shelf, slope, rise, and abyssal plain.
 Shallow marine clastic

• Nearly flat, gentle sloping edge of the

continent that extends under the ocean. The
regions near the mouths of rivers are usually
clastic dominated.
 Continental shelf
• The continental shelf is the flooded edge of
the continent. It is relatively flat (with a slope
of less than 0.1º), shallow (less than 200 m or
600 ft deep). It may be up to hundreds of
miles wide. The continental shelves are
exposed to waves, tides, and currents. They
are covered by sand, silt, mud, and gravel.
 Continental slope
• The continental slope and continental rise are
located seaward of the continental shelf. The
continental slope is the steep (5- 25º)
"drop-off" at the edge of the continent. The
continental slope passes seaward into the
continental rise, which has a more gradual
slope. The continental rise is at the base of the
continental slope, where thick accumulations
of sediment are deposited.
 Deep marine
• The abyssal plain is the deep ocean floor. It is
basically flat, and is covered by very fine-grained
sediment. It consists primarily of clay and the shells
of microscopic organisms (such as foraminifera,
radiolarians, and diatoms).
• The abyssal plain sediments may include chalk,
diatomite, and shale, deposited over the basaltic
ocean crust. In the deep sea, out on the abyssal
plains, the depth to the seafloor varies from about
2.5 to 6 km (2500 to 6000 meters) or more below sea
level. The abyssal plains receive very little sediment
from the continents.
 Conclusion
• The depositional environments are reflected
by the types of sediment that accumulate and
thus their potential to contain resources. The
environments include continental, transitional
(coastal) and marine settings. The deposition
are composed of particular sedimentary rock
type accumulates over a period of time. These
are vital in all aspects of generating and
storing hydrocarbons.
 THANK YOU....

Engr. Melannie P. Adante