Geol 11 - WEEK 8 Sedimentary Processes, Rocks

Sedimentary Processes
a. Erosion
-soil, mineral, and rock particles are worn away and moved

Agents of Erosion
-Water
-Gravity (Mass Wasting)
-Wind
-Ice
-Organism

Weathering
1. Physical Weathering
-Promotes furthering weathering by increasing surface area available
-Ratio of surface area-to-volume increases when a particle decreases in size

Frost Wedging
-stress induced by expansion of ice when water trapped in joints and fractures
freezes
-forms talus deposits
-water expands about 9% in volume when it freezes because they crystallize into
hexagonal lattices

Exfoliation due to unloading

-previously buried rock masses expand due to removal of loading pressure
-leads to exfoliation/sheeting/onion weathering, wherein material is shed
superficially as scales/layers.
-common batholiths.

Abrasion
-scraping/grinding away of rock via friction
-usully from running water/waves/wind/ice
-Tafoni: rounded pits and cavities formed via wind abrasion and chemical weathering

Impact
-rock falls and landslides
-Evorsion: erosion of rocks and sediments in a stream bed
-Cavitation: coastal erosion; occurs when air bubbles are forced into the cracks of
a cliff by incoming waves.
-Implode from resulting pressure peaks

Heating and Cooling

-repeated expansions and contraction due to temperature changes may cause formation
of joints and fractures

Wetting and Drying

-fracture may also form due to wetting and drying
-common in clay-bearing rocks and soils

Salt Crystal Growth

2. Chemical Weathering
-attacks less stable minerals by leaching or alteration to more stable minerals

Goldich Stability Series

-baliktad na bowen's
-crystals found near surfaces are last to weather
Dissolution
-Breakdown of minerals into ions.
-Dominant process in evaporites and limestones. Limestones can be dissolved even by
weak acids. Carbonic acids is formed when water is exposed to atmospheric carbon
dioxide.
-Explains Karst terrain.

Hydrolysis
-For silicate minerals where hydrogen and hydroxyl are introduced causing the
structure to breakdown.
-Forms clay

Hydration and Dehydration

-wet
-can cause swelling, expanding in microfractures

Oxidation/Reduction
-rusting
-usually purple to red colors
-green colors mean a reducing environment

3. Biological Weathering
Root Wedging
-roots grown and expand into existing fractures breaking apart rocks

Bioturbation
-ex. some mollusks bore into rocks by drilling

Lichens
-fungi, cyanobacteria, weathers rock by releasing oxalic acid and other compounds
attach to microcracks in rock surfaces

Transportation
1. Gravity
-occurs when slope exceeds angle of repose, ie dry sand is 34 degrees.

2. Water
-grain size and flow velocit are the most important factors

-Loose Sediments: Transpo is only possible when flow velocity exceeds the settling
velocity
-Indurated Sediments: the cohesion and adhesion forces must be overcome, hence
harder to erode despite fine grain

-Stream Competence - the maximum size of a stream

-Stream Capacity - the total sediment of a stream

Solution
Suspension
Saltation
Traction

3. Wind
Suspension
Saltation
Traction
-transport mechanism depends on grain characteristics and wind velocity
-they are the same with water except solution because wind and water are both
fluids.

4. Ice
-glacial sediments may be derived by plucking and abrasion or by deposition from
mass wasting
-glaciers carry internal load or a surface load
-glaciers transport sediments like conveyor belts, whether its advancing or
retreating
-sediments at the toe of glaciers are called End Moraines, can be used to determine
the reach of the glacier

5. Organism

----

Soil| A product of erosion

-the Regolith: A layer of sediments derived from weathering of rocks
-Soil = Regolith + Water + Air + Organic Matter (Humus)
-Formation of soils in due time leads to a soil profile, then into different soil
horizons.
-E Horizon: When water filters downward, materials are leached and eluviated from
the
-B Horizon: known as zone of accumulation; occurs when materials from E Horizon
accumulate

-Eluviation: removal of fine sediments by filtering of water

-Leaching: removal of dissolved material by filtering of materials

Factors Controlling Soil Formation

Sediment Source
-source rock composition determines effectivity of weathering processes

-Feldspar-rich granites easily weather due to hydrolysis.

-Quartz-dominant sand stones are weathering-resistant, because Quartz is hard and
chemically stable.

Climate
-Peltier's Diagram: physical weathering in low precipitation and temperature;
chemical weathering in high precipitation and temperature

Topographic Relief
-steeper and higher slopes are more prone to weathering and transport of sediments
-steeper slopes show little to no soil, except when vegetation is present
-elevated flatlands form residual soils, lower plains and basins form transported
soils

b. Deposition
c. Diagenesis
-refers to: lithification and modification

Diagenesis vs Metamorphism
-both diagenesis and metamorphism modify rocks
-Diagenesis: Occurs at temperatures below 200-250 C and at depths 15km or more
-Metamorphism: higher temps and pressures
-Reality inaccurate.

Diagenetic Processes
Lithification =
a. Compaction
-as sediments accumulate, weight compresses deeper sediments

Following Mechanisms:
1. mechanical rearrangement of grain packing
2. bending of flexible grains
3. Ductile and plastic deformation
4. Brittle fracture
5. Pressure solution (only chemical compaction)

b. Cementation
-also called authigenic process, means that minerals are formed at location.
-results in loss in rock porosity (hollow spaces) and permeability (let water pass
thru)

Modification =
a. Recrystallization and Replacement
-new minerals are formed by alterating the composition of existing materials or
filling voids by dissolution

b. Dissolution
-unstable minerals are broken down into ions

c. Biogenic Modification/ Bioturbation

-disturbance of sediments by burrowing organisms

_____________________________

1. Sedimentary Textures
a. Composition
-Usually made up of Detrital grains, Biochemical Grains, and other materials
-Grain sizes are usually estimated by using visual comparison charts.

NOTE: Differentiating between silt and clay may be difficult, which is why they are
called as mud.

b. Grain Size
For Sedimentary Rocks made up of Crystals instead of Grains:
Microcrystalline - invisible under 10x hand lens
Macrocrystalline - visible under 10x hand lends

c. Roundness and Sphericity

-the shape of grains in sedimentary rocks can be described based on sphericity
(close to sphere) and roundness (lack of edge)

d. Sorting
-uniformity of grain sizes
-also estimated via visual comparisons charts

2. Sedimentary Structures
a. Bedding
-ubiquitous feature of sedimentary rocks
-Sedimentary rocks are usually divided into beds or strata
-Boundaries between beds are called Bedding Planes or Bounding Planes or Contact

Usually distinguished based on:

Grain composition
Texture
Structures
Fossil content
Geochemical and Geophysical properties

3. Classification and Identification of Sedimentary Rocks

a. Composition?
Detrital
Biochemical
Chemical
b. Texture and other Distinctive Properties
Roundness
Sorting
Texture
c. Name the Rock

Geol 11.1 Week 9 – Sedimentary Environments

-sites of erosion that are physically, chemically, and biologically distinct

Different Sediment Environments:

VA - Very Angular Grains
SA - Sub-Angular Grains
SR - Subrounded Grains
WR - Well Rounded Grains

Physical - Geology, Geomorphology, Climate, Temperature, Depth

Chemical - Salinity, Oxygen Content
Biological - Fauna and Flora

Sedimentary Environment Classification:

Terrestrial:
Glacial
Alluvial
Lacustrine
Fluvial
Aeolian
Paludal
Transitional:
Delta
Beach
Tidal Flat
Barrier/Lagoonal
Marine:
Reef
Continental Margin
Abyssal

II. Terrestrial Environments

1. Alluvial
-River transports from Upland to Flatlands
-Poorly sorted
-Sandstones and Conglomerates

Features:
-Alluvial Fan: fan-shaped accumulation of sediments (alluvium)

2. Fluvial
-River Environment, same with alluvial
Basic Parts of a River:
Headwaters/Source
Transfer Zone (Body/Channel)
Depositional Zone (Mouth)

Fluvial Zones:
-The headwaters is where water is replenished in the uplands from high
precipitation and where eroded sediments come from.
-The transfer zone is where materials are eroded and transported-
-Eventually in the Depositional Zone.

Channel Types:
Meandering
-single channel
-heavily winding bends, called meanders
-often found in low gradient areas
-asymmetric in cross section
-more sinuous

HOW TO: Form Meanders

-Deposition in the Point Bar (Inner Curve) and Erosion in the Cut Bank (Outer
Curve)
-When it overextends, it will be cutoff along the neck (narrow land between two
meanders), forming an Oxbow Lake (abandoned meander), and dries up into a Meander
Scar.

REMEMBER:
-Sediments found in the bottom are called Lag Deposits and are characterized by
gravel and sand.
-A Thalweg connects the deepest point, along a stream.

Braided
-single channel
-multiple bars, usually with coarse-grained sediments
-have trough cross bedded conglomerates and sandstones
-low sinuous

REMEMBER:
-Braided channels have high irregular flow regime, they experience minimum
discharge (minimal sediments) and maximum discharge (abundand sediment supply).

Straight
-single channel
-early stages of river system development
-structurally controlled by a fault or resistant bedrock
-very low sinuousity

Anastomosing
-multiple channels
-channels can be straight, braided, or meandering

Other Fluvial Features:

Terraces
- flat elevated areas at the sides
-formed from depostion or cutting down of bedrock

Yazoo Tributary
-a tributary that runs along the main channel, before connecting into the main
channel
-usually located within the back basin of the mainchannel's flood plain

Natural Levees
-accumulation of sediments along the banks of large rivers
-natural barriers to prevent stream water from reaching the back basin
-formed from multiple flooding events

3. Lacustrine
-Lacustrine environments are usually low energy environments.
-Common sediments are laminated muds and mudstones.

REMEMBER:
-Varves: lacustrine deposits that have alternating dark-light bands of fine
sediments, show seasonal changes within the lake.

4. Aeolian
-Aeolian environments are shaped by:
a. Wind Erosion
Deflation
- finer sediments are blown away
-results in formation of lag deposits, called desert pavements

Abrasion
- friction; sandblasting

-Wind Abrasion Erosional Features:

Ventifacts
- angular facets that form at the windward side of boulders

Yardangs
-formed from erosion of softer bedrock
-aligns along the prevailing wind direction

Tafoni
-general term for relatively small, cavernous features such as shelters and hollows
-often caused by chemical weathering and abrasion

REMEMBER: FORMING DUNES

-Most common aeolian deposition feature are sand dunes.
-Formed when there's enough sand, steady wind, and obstacles to keep the sand.
-The stoss side of a dune is shallow and windward, it is where erosion occurs.
-Once it reaches the crest (peak of dune), it slides and deposits down the lee
side.
-Ergo, dunes advance towards the direction of the lee side.

5. Glacial
-incorporates eroded material into the ice sheet via:
Plucking
-lifting pieces of bedrock
-can carry larger sediments up to boulders

Abrasion
-grinding or scraping of surfaces
-can carry finer sediments

REMEMBER: Sediments in Glacial environments are called Drift.

Types of Drift:
Glacial Till
- unsorted sediment absorbed directly by ice

Moraine
- accumulation of sediments found at the edge of glaciers

Stratified Drift
- well-sorted sediments from glacial meltwater

III. Transitional Environments

1. Delta
-found when river meets lake/sea
-same processes as alluvial environments
-abrupt loss of energy from opposing forces of river and sea

Types of Deltas:
River-dominated Deltas
-large sediment volume because rivers have high capacity and competence
-elongated and lobate because sediments are distributed widely
-delta lobe switching occurs often because channel migration
-can form Bird Foot Delta

Tide-dominated Deltas
-lower energy compared to river-dominated and wave-dominated deltas.
-form multiple mouth bars
-form tidal flats at the back of the coast
-form bars that are parallel to tidal flow, parallel to the shore, because of tidal
flow

Wave-dominated Deltas
-heavily influenced by wave currents
-smooth arcuate form because strong wave action
-still affected by tidal action, not as prominent tho

2. Beach
-accumulation of sand in the coast, covered by waves and tides
-some can have volcanic rock, carbonic rock, biogenic remains, gravels as sources
of sediments

Beach Environments:

a. Erosional Landforms
Sea caves, arch, and stack
-forms by refracting waves and erosion of rocky promontories
-sea caves develop at the sides of headlines, which can connect to sea arch, when
sea arch collapses it is called a sea stack.

b. Depositional Landforms from Longshore Drift

Spit
-linear accumulation of sand attached at shore's one end

Tombolo
-narrow accumulation of sand at shore's one end

Barrier Island
-linear accumulation of sand detached and usually parallel to the mainland

3. Tidal Flats
-less affected by wave action, relies on tidal waves
-low energy
-often have unconsolidated mud and sand
-can have mangroves

IV. Marine
1. Carbonate Reefs
-dominated by limestones
-shallow marine setting usually found wihtin the photic zone

Types of Reefs (evolution stages):

Fringing Reef
-direct contact with landmass
-would soon be eroded from wave action

Barrier Reef
-separation of coral from landmass
-corals can still thrive because they are bult on top of the previous coral reefs

Atoll Reef
-last stage
-form when there is no longer an above sea-level landmass; empty space in the
middle of reef
-shaped like a loop following the shape of the original island

2. Continental Margins
-include continental shelf, slope, and rise.
-Continental shelf dominated by mudstones and calcareous ooze.
-Continental slope and rise, have turbidity currents.

3. Abyssal Plains
-flat region (4500-6000m deep)
-low energy
-dominated by laminated mud to fine sand and siliceous ooze.

Sedimentary Rocks in this environment are:

Mudstone
Sandstone
Limestone
Chert

3.5 Turbidites
-sediments transported by density flows; sediment-laden water
-heavier than water and sinks around canyons
-show fining upward texture