Day2Lecture1 Notest

MSc
in Petroleum Engineering
G11PG Geoscience for Petroleum Engineering
Day 2 ‐‐ Chapter 2 ‐‐ Sedimentary Rocks
Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering
G11PG Geoscience for Petroleum Engineering Chapter 2 1
1
G11PG
Geoscience for Petroleum Engineering
Course contents:
Introduction and Earth Systems
Sedimentology
Petroleum Play
Structure
Geophysics
Depositional Environments
Correlation
Mapping
Geological Statistics
Volumetrics
The course contains 10 chapters, covering rocks types, structures, geophysics,
correlation and mapping, statistics and volumetrics. The order aims to build up to
developing the ability of the student to provide a reasonable estimate of the
hydrocarbon volume in a prospect.
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Chapter 2 – Learning Objectives
Learning Outcome Importance Rating*
1. Understand how depositional processes affect the texture and Rather Important
structure of sedimentary rocks
2. Understand the relationships between depositional texture and Essential
petrophysical properties
3. Can recognise the common sedimentary structures and explain Very Important
their origin and significance
4. Interpret and draw sedimentary logs. Useful
5. Understand how deposited sediment become sedimentary rocks Rather Important
through diagenesis, and how this affects the petrophysical properties
We will start with Chapter 1, which provides an introduction to the physical materials of
the Earth – rocks – and the important processes taking place at the surface of the Earth
over geological time.
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Chapter 2 – Learning Resources
• Workbook exercises to be marked in class
(formative assessment by self‐marking)
• Notes and Exercises from the end of Chapter 2
(to be read and done in students own time)
• Webtest on VISION (webtest – formative
assessment)
• Other exercises and resources on VISION
Please use the available learning resources and formative tests to make sure that you
understand the materials provided.
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Chapter 2 – Sedimentary Rocks
• Rock Properties
– Sedimentary rock types
– Appreciate what controls the porosity and
permeability of sedimentary rocks
• Processes of Transport and Deposition
– How sediments are transported and deposited
– Bedforms and Sedimentary Structures that
develop during transport and deposition, and how
to identify them.
This chapter is divided into two broad topics, Earth Materials and Earth Processes. In the
Earth Materials section we are going to cover the structure of the earth, and the types
of rocks and minerals that make up the physical world.
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Sedimentary Rocks
• Sedimentary rocks are where most hydrocarbons are
located, and also where we find source rocks, seals,
traps and other parts of the petroleum play…
• Why do you need to know details?
– Porosity and permeability are controlled by sediment
texture
– Texture is controlled by processes of transport and
deposition
– Distribution of facies or lithologies of a particular texture is
controlled by the depositional environment
– Therefore the distribution of porosity and permeability in
the reservoir is controlled by the processes of transport
and deposition, which are unique to particular
depositional environments.
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Sedimentary Rocks
• Other properties we might be interested in:
– Composition (mineralogy)
– Strength (geomechanics)
• Rock‐Fluid interactions
– Pressure and temperature
– Wettability (related to mineralogy)
– Capillarity
– Relative permeability (different depending on
what different fluids are present)
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Sediments and Rocks
• Point of definition:
– Sediments ‐‐ unconsolidated particles accumulated or
accumulating in layers…
– Sedimentary rocks ‐‐ compacted and cemented (buried) layers
in which the particles have been consolidated…
• Sediments are transported and deposited
• Accumulation occurs if accommodation space is being
created in the basin.
• Burial occurs with additional accommodation space
creation, burial causes increase in pressure and
temperature, leading to chemical processes of
cementation, precipitation of minerals, dissolution
(diagenesis), leading to consolidation and creation of
sedimentary rocks.
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Classification of Sedimentary Rocks
Size terms – not composition specific
There are various different kinds of sedimentary rock, and they are subdivided in
different ways. This subdivision is based on the mode of formation and the composition
of the sedimentary rock. Rocks formed from eroded remnants of pre‐existing rocks are
called clastic sedimentary rocks and are subdivided based on the grainsize of the
component clasts.
Rocks formed from pieces of shell and other organically derived debris are called organic
sedimentary rock, and are named depending on their composition – limestone, chert
and coal. Rocks formed by direct chemical precipitation of minerals are called chemical
sedimentary rocks and are named according to their composition and partly their mode
of formation.
Note that the terms clay, silt, sand and gravel are size specific, not necessarily
composition specific. Therefore all grains (no matter what composition) which are
between 0.0625 mm and 2 mm in maximum diameter are called ‘sand’.
In terms of reservoirs, sandstones and organic carbonates are the most likely to be of
sufficient porosity and permeability to be good quality reservoirs.
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Clastic Sandstones ‐ textural and
compositional classifications
Q = Quartz
F = Feldspar
L = Lithics (rock fragments)
Classification of silici-clastic sandstones. After Pettijohn et al. (1987).

Clastic sandstone are subdivided based firstly on the gradation within the ‘sand’ size
category, and then on the basis of composition of the grains and the percentage of
matrix. Here we can see a several typical ‘QFL’ triangular plots for composition. The
three points represent the three most dominant grain compositions likely in clastic rocks
– quartz, feldspar and lithics (or rock fragments). The sandstone is then given a name
depending on what proportions these three grains occur in. Other grains may occur, and
these are generally added to the name as a descriptor, so that the name of a
sedimentary rock ends up being a description of that rock. On this diagram you can also
see that rocks containing grains finer than 1/16th of a mm are called either siltstone (if
the rock is mostly silt sized particles), mudstone (if the rock is a mixture of silt sized and
clay sized particles) or claystone. Grains coarser than 2 mm are refered to a gravel.
Grains (or clasts – hence clastic)
• A word to describe the originally‐distinct particles
that comprise a sediment.
• The grains that make up a rock will have – with rare
exceptions – travelled to the site of deposition
separately, but often in an organised system of
transport.
• The characteristics (size, shape, surface texture) of
the suite of grains are determined by
transport/deposition.
• The composition is determined by the source rock
composition (provenance).
The grains or clasts in a sedimentary rock are those solid particles that were transported
to the site of deposition, usually in some sort of organised system of transport. The
characteristics of the grains are determined by the mode of transport and deposition –
so it is important to understand transport and deposition in order to predict textural and
therefore petrophysical property variation. The composition of the rock is determined by
the composition of the source rock (this is called the provenance of the sediment).
Textural Properties of Sediments
• The texture of a sediment is dominated by its
mode of deposition
• The main textural components include:
– grain size
– grain sorting
– grain shape
– grain surface texture
– sediment fabric
• Sediment texture is the single most important
control on reservoir properties
The Texture of a sediment is composed of the grain size, sorting, shape,
surface texture, and the fabric of the grains (packing and arrangement).
The texture of a clastic sedimentary rock is the single most important control
on the reservoir properties.
Definition of Porosity
• Total porosity ( is defined as the amount
of void (pore) space within a rock, expressed
as a fraction or percentage of the total
volume
• It is a measure of a rock’s storage capacity
• Total porosity is:
 = pore volume x 100

bulk volume
Lets talk now about some of the important properties that we want to know about. The
first property is porosity. The total porosity of a rock is the amount of void space with a
rock (the volume of pores), expressed as a fraction or percentage of the total volume of
the rock. This means that it is a measure of the storage capacity of the rock. Porosity is
symbolised by the greek letter phi.
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Pores
• The pore system of a body of sediment
(rock) is composed of the void (not‐
solid) spaces between the particles
• In a typical marine depositional setting,
the initial pore spaces are filled with
sea water
• The way that the sediments, and their
porefluids, jointly evolve will occupy
our attention later
Pore systems are composed of void space between particles. If the sediment is
deposited subaerially (on land) then the void spaces are initially filled with air. If the
sediment is deposited in a marine depositional setting then the pore spaces are filled
with sea water. As the rock is buried, the composition of the fluid in the pore spaces
changes, and this can lead to alteration of the rock – deposition of cements and also
dissolution of grains. We will go into this in a little more details later.
Porosity Types
• Effective Porosity
– The effective porosity of a rock is defined as the
ratio of the interconnected pore volume to the
bulk volume
• Microporosity (m)
– Pores less than 0.5 micron in size
• Macroporosity (M)
– Pores greater than 0.5 microns in size
There are different kinds of porosity – remember that total porosity is simply
defined as the total void volume versus the total rock volume. Effective
porosity however, refers to the interconnected pore volume versus the bulk
volume. Microporosity occurs when pores are less than 0.5 microns in size, as
opposed to macroporosity.
Porosity Types
• Primary Porosity ‐ pore space that results from

primary depositional texture (even though it is
later reduced by grain re‐arrangements or the
introduction of cement)
• Secondary Porosity – new pore space type
generated by post‐depositional processes (e.g.
dissolution, fracturing etc.)
There are also two subgroups of porosity, because these groups are formed at
different times in the history of the rock.
Primary porosity is the pore space that results from primary depositional
texture – which we will discuss in detail in the next few slides. Primary
porosity is reduced during burial by compaction and cementation, but that
pore space that remains is still primary porosity.
Secondary porosity is the pore space created by post‐depositional processes,
of which the two most common are dissolution and fracturing.
Measurement of Porosity
• Cuttings, Core‐plugs, Whole Core (for Conglomerates/
Vuggy Carbonates) or Side‐wall Samples
– Boyle’s Law Helium Porosimetry
– Mercury Injection
– CAT Scanner
• Wireline (Well) Logs (Under Reservoir Conditions)
– Neutron Log
– Sonic Log
– Formation Density Log
ESTIMATES
• Seismic Attributes
Porosity can be measured from solid samples, using various methods – mostly
involving forcing something into the volume of rock and measuring how much
goes in (note this only measures effective porosity). It can also be estimated
from various petrophysical logs, please always remember that calculation of
porosity and permeability values from petrophysical logs (and seismic
attributes) involves making assumptions about the physical properties in the
subsurface, so it will always be an estimate.
Controls on Primary Porosity
• Rock Texture
– grain size
– grain sorting
– grain shape
– grain surface texture
– grain fabric
• Packing or arrangement
• Grain alignment
• Grain‐to‐grain contacts
• Primary (depositional) porosity is modified during
burial by diagenesis (e.g. dissolution, compaction,
cementation). Diagenesis may overprint the primary
porosity but, in most cases, the primary, depositional
control is still evident.
• The Texture also controls the Permeability of the rock
So, looking at how depositional texture affects the primary porosity of a rock, Texture of
course refers to this list of properties: grain size, grain shape, sorting, packing and grain
alignment.
Definition of Permeability
• The permeability of a rock is a measure of its capacity
to transmit a fluid under a potential gradient (pressure
drop)
• The unit of permeability is the Darcy
• The millidarcy (1/1000th Darcy) is generally used in
core analysis
• The Darcy relationship assumes:
– non‐turbulent
– single phase
– ‘inert’ solid
Permeability is related
to porosity… K = C ꞏ d2 QꞏμꞏL
K=
ΔP ꞏ A
Now it is time to consider the other main property we are concerned about, that is
permeability. Permeability is a measure of the capacity of a substance to transmit a fluid
when it is submitted to a pressure gradient. The unit of permeability is the Darcy, but
generally rocks have a lower permeability that that, so millidarcys are used. The Darcy
equation assumes that the fluid in question is non‐turbulent and single phase, and that
the rock is not interacting with the fluid passing through it. Now in petroleum systems
flow is frequently turbulent, rarely single phase, and the rock‐fluid interactions are many
and complex. Nevertheless, the Darcy equation is the best first approximation to the
behaviour of fluids flowing through rocks.
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Definition of Permeability
• The really important controlling factors on the rate of flow
are:
– Permeability (k) (of the rock)
– Viscosity () (of the fluid)
– Pressure Differential (P)
• Because the P is directional (from high to low pressure),
the permeability is a VECTOR
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Permeability Anisotropy
• Lamination and cross‐
bedding/lamination
• Sand‐body connectivity
• Discontinuous shales
• Diagenetic nodules Carboniferous, Fife, Scotland
Anisotropy occurs at different

scales for different reasons
One thing to note here is that permeability is a directional property. It is
measured across a pressure gradient, and that gradient is in a particular
direction. In rocks permeability can be (and frequently is) different in different
directions. This is called anisotropy, and can be caused by several different
factors – and at several different scales. It is important to remember that
permeability anisotropy measured at the core scale may not apply at reservoir
scale, or that an isotropic bed may still be part of an anisotropic reservoir.
Anisotropy can be caused at grain scale by imbrication, at bed scale by
laminations or cross‐bedding, and at larger scales by connectivity issues,
discontinuous shales and diagenetic nodules.
Permeability Anisotropy
• Permeability is a vector – and tends to be anisotropic
• Generally permeability is lower vertically than horizontally (that is kv < kh
– due to barriers, grain orientation and packing)
• The anisotropy is commonly expressed as kv/kh, and this ratio can vary
from practically 0 to almost 1 in real rocks.
• Permeability is generally highest parallel to the paleoflow
Generally permeability is lower vertically than horizontally, but is also varies within the
‘horizontal’ direction (in this case horizontal is depositional horizontal orientation).
According to this study, permeability is greatest parallel to paleo‐flow, and lowest
perpendicular to the bedding plane. Paleoflow refers to the flow direction of the
transport mechanism that was moving the sediment along during deposition (the river,
stream, sea current, wind etc.). We will talk more about paleoflow directions later today.
Example: Reconstructed Medium Kz =38mD
Thin section from sandstone Ky =1931mD

with shear band Kx =6377 mD
9  6 mm
White – Grain
Black – Pore
Simulated Cube (10  10  10 mm)

Courtesy of Kejian Wu and Zeyun Jiang 500  500  500 pixels
In this simulated sandstone, permeability is greatest in the Kx direction, and least in the
vertical Kz direction (probably due to the shear band in a horizontal orientation
preventing flow vertically).
Grainsize
• Grainsize is described in
various ways – but always the
measurement of the largest
diameter in any grain.
• Millimetres are used to
describe grainsize, and μ at
small grainsizes. However, the
grainsize classes are placed on
a log scale, and they are
subdivided and defined using
Ф units – a simple log
relationship to mm sizes.
• Note: do not confuse Ф
grainsize units with Ф meaning
porosity…
Let us look closely at grainsize first. Grainsize is always the measurement of the largest
diameter of any grain. You can describe the size of a grain in mm or in microns. However
there have been defined descriptive grainsize classes, for example ‘very coarse sand’ or
‘medium silt’. The boundaries of these size classes are defined in phi units – which are a
log relationship to the mm sizes. Please do not confuse grainsize defined in phi units
with the porosity symbol phi. Most people do not use phi units directly, but almost
everyone uses the descriptive classes.
Grain size
• Main descriptive component of all sedimentary rocks
• Accurate measurements are derived from:
– sieving the sediment
– thin section analysis
– settling sediment in water
• Grain size can be reported in phi units ()
– phi = ‐log2(d) where d = grain size in millimetres
– often, grain size is simply given as the average diameter
You will only rarely hear anyone (other than expert

sedimentologists) use phi units to describe grain sizes
The grainsize of a rock is the main mechanism for describing and separating
sedimentary rocks. We can measure the grain size in a rock by sieving, settling
and direct measurement using microscopes of various sorts. Most
sedimentary rocks have a range of grainsizes, the one that is used in the rock
description is always the dominant grainsize – meaning the one that makes up
most of the rock.
Sorting
• The standard deviation of the grain size
• Quantifies how well a depositional process
has concentrated (sorted) grains of a given
size
SD in phi ( units Descriptor
less than 0.35 very well sorted
0.35-0.5 well sorted
0.5-0.71 moderately well sorted
0.71-1.00 moderately sorted
1.0-2.0 poorly sorted
greater than 2.0 very poorly sorted
phi = -log2 (grain size in millimetres)
The sorting of a sediment refers to the range of the grainsizes within that sediment. It is
quantified (when measurements are available) by calculating the standard deviation of
the grainsize. The more well sorted a sediment is, the more a particular size of grain has
been concentrated by the transportation and depositional processes acting.
Examples of Sorting
Well-sorted
lamina
Poorly-sorted
Note that the size of the observation rock
window affects the assessment of sorting
Most of the time, we do not have many measurements of grainsize in order to calculate
the standard deviation, so we use comparison charts in order to estimate the degree of
sorting. We always use the descriptive terms (for example ‘moderately well sorted’) to
describe the sorting of a sediment.
It is important to realise that different degrees of sorting can exist at different scales
within a sediment. In this example, the layer (or laminae) outlined in red is well sorted
within itself, but the overall rock (outlined in yellow) is composed of many laminae of
different grainsizes, so it is poorly sorted. The difference is that if you were expecting
poor quality due to poor sorting, you would instead find that each laminae has good
properties within itself, and it is only flow between laminae that may be restricted.
Porosity and Permeability as a function of
grain size and sorting
1. Permeability
increases with
increasing sorting
2. Porosity increases
with increasing
sorting
3. Permeability
increases with
increasing
grainsize
4. Porosity is
relatively flat with
grainsize changes
This diagram illustrates the relationship between grainsize, sorting and porosity and
permeability. As you can see, porosity is relatively unchanging with grainsize, but shows
a marked relationship with sorting, whereas permeability shows a rapid increase with
grainsize, and not such a good relationship with sorting.
Primary Porosity & Grain Size
• In theory, porosity is independent of grain size
• In practice, porosity of sediments tends to increase with
decreasing grain size due to:
– the shape factor
– the sorting factor
• Examples:
– Clay sediments can have 50‐85 percent porosity
– Fine sand sediments can have 48 percent porosity
– Coarse sand sediments rarely above 40 percent
• Rocks are different, because compaction changes the packing
arrangement… and the less equidimensional the grains, the
more efficiently they become packed.
– Shale usually has less than 12% effective porosity, often less than 1%,
partly because of clay‐bonded water filling the very small pore spaces
available. The greater the compaction, the less the porosity.
– Sandstone has between 5 and 30% porosity
In theory, the porosity of a sedimentary rock is independent of the grain size.
Try drawing some diagrams of nice round grains… no matter how large or
small you draw the grains, the ratio of the void space volume between the
grains to the total volume is the same. However in practice this is not the
case. Porosity tends to increase with decreasing grainsize, because finer
grained sediments tend to be better sorted and have elongate, platey grains
that do not pack nicely – allowing more pore space between grains. In
general, clay sediment can have porosity up to 85% (although this is very
rare), while sandy sediments rarely have porosities approaching 50%. Note
that these examples are for uncompacted sediments, and that these figures
will change drastically during burial and lithification. For example, shales (the
compacted versions of clay sediments) rarely have over 12% porosity, and
often have very, very small values of effective porosity, at least in part because
of the clay‐bonded water that fills the micro‐porosity between grains, and
cannot be removed or displaced.
Primary Porosity and Grain Size
This is an illustration of the theoretical (for grains of equal sphericity regardless of size),
real sediment and real rock relationships between grainsize, porosity and permeability.
30
Grain Shape Greater
sphericity
The next parameter of texture to look at is the shape of the grains.
The shape of a grain depends on the relative length of the three dimensions of the grain
– grains with three unequal lengths are blade shaped, grains with a long length and two
roughly equal smaller lengths are rods, grains with roughly equal long lengths and a
shorter width are discs, and if all three dimensions are roughly equal, then the grain is
spherical.
Grains shape depends on the type of transport mechanism and the type of grain – the
rock or mineral type of the grain will have a huge effect on how the grain breaks as it is
transported.
Primary Porosity & Grain Shape
• The less equi‐dimensional the grain shape,
the greater the porosity (generally)
Minimum porosity
Maximum porosity
Grain shape affects porosity because grains that are not spherical do not pack together
very well, resulting in higher initial porosity. It is this effect that results in the very high
porosity of muddy sediments, since the disc‐like shape of clay particles tends to result in
poor initial packing, although compaction rotates the grains and rapidly reduces the
porosity so that compressed mudstones have very low porosity and permeability, and
act as the seals in petroleum systems.
Grain Roundness
Another property of the grains that affects the porosity of the sediment is the roundness
of the grains. Do not confuse this property, which refers only to the smoothness of the
grain surface, with the property of shape. In this diagram, you can see grains of two
different shapes (high and low sphericity) and a range of roundness, or smoothness of
the surface. The more smooth a grain, the longer it has been transported, and also the
larger and more regular the pore spaces between grains will be in the deposited
sediment.
Grain roundness and porosity
• Highly rounded and smoothed grains tend to greater
porosity, highly angular grains tend to have greater
micro‐porosity – smoother shaped and larger pore
spaces leads to higher permeability.
• Grain morphology (shape, sphericity, roundness and
surface texture) is dependent on the mineralogy of
the grain and (mainly) the degree of transportation
(e.g. beach sediment is well‐sorted and well‐
rounded)
Angular grains tend to lock together producing micro‐porosity (very, very
small pores), so that smoother grains lead to higher porosity and
permeability. The shape and roundness of grains is dependent on two things,
the mineralogy of the grain and the distance and type of transportation that
has occurred to that grain.
Sediment Grain Fabric
• The packing and orientation of sedimentary
grains, e.g.:
– cubic and rhombohedral packing
– matrix and clast support
– imbrication
• The form of grain‐to‐grain contacts, e.g.:
– point contacts
– concave‐convex contacts
– sutured contacts
The last factor to consider is the grain fabric, which refers to the stacking,
packing, arrangement and orientation of grains. Firstly, there are several
different arrangements of grains (for example cubic and rhombohedral
packing) that result in different porosity and permeability for the sediment.
Secondly there is the difference between clast and matrix support, and finally
there is imbrication, which is an alignment of grains due to current flow. The
actual contact points of the grains may also vary, with implications for the size
an connectivity of the pore spaces.
Examples of Grain Fabric
These diagrams illustrate the different arrangements of packing, grain‐to‐grain contacts,
imbrication (or preferred orientation of grains) and the difference between grain or clast
supported and matrix supported fabrics.
36
Poro‐Perm = f(Depositional Environment
Fluvial
Aeolian
Flash flood/alluvial fan
Porostiy and permeability properties of rocks can be related to each other – as this
graph shows, and also to the depositional environments in which they form, as well as
rock types – you will see frequent ‘cross‐plots’ of porosity and permeability interpreted
in different ways on this course.
Porosity and Permeability in
Carbonates
• Primary porosity controlled by TEXTURE
– Special pore types (next slide)
• BUT early dissolution and cementation with
carbonate minerals usually destroys primary
porosity – MOST carbonate reservoirs rely on
secondary porosity (dissolution and
fracturing).
For now, we need to have a brief discussion on the differences and similarities between
everything I’ve been discussing about porosity and permeabilities in siliciclastic rocks,
and the distribution of these properties in carbonate rocks. The primary porosity in
carbonates is in general controlled by the same textural properties that occur in
siliciclastic rocks. However there are some special pore types that only occur in
carbonate rocks – for example shelter pores which occur within or beneath fossils.
The main difference between clastics and carbonates is that primary porosity in
carbonates is very rarely preserved due to early and pervasive diagenesis, which occurs
because calcium carbonate minerals are very reactive at low temperatures.
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Carbonate Pore Types
Moldic porosity
VUGS
Shelter porosity
(from North,1985, after
Choquette and Pray, 1970)
Here we have some types of pores and pore systems that occur in carbonate rocks.
‘Fabric selective’ pores are those that relate to the original texture of the rock, between,
within or under particles, or in the voids created by selective solution of particles. ‘Not
fabric selective’ pores and pore systems are those that are imposed on the rock by post‐
depositional processes, and may not relate to the original fabric of the rock. These
include many of our secondary porosity types, like fractures and vugs (irregular dissolved
areas).
39
Primary Porosity & Compaction
• Porosity reduces exponentially with burial
• Burial duration also important
Porosity (percent)
0 40
0
rotate
Maximum depth of burial (m)

30
Mesozoic
young sands
Paleozoic Tertiary
(percent)
Porosity
old sands
0
Depth
6000
Porosity reduces with burial. This firstly because the pressure of burial causes the grains
to become rearranged into the tightest possible arrangement, and secondly because
various cements get precipitated on and between the grains in the sediment, which start
to fill the pore spaces. The longer a sediment is buried, or if it undergoes multiple
episodes of burial, the more likely it is that porosity will be filled with cements or grains
will be pressed very closely together.
Siliciclastic Diagenesis
• Compaction
• Cementation (clay minerals, carbonates,
quartz, iron minerals)
• Dissolution (of clays, feldspars, other unstable
minerals)
• Replacement
• Fracturing
– Closed (cement, veins, cataclastic fill)
– Open (no fill – extra void space, connections)
41
Mechanical Processes
Compaction: Depths
Porosity declines rapidly
G11RR Reservoir Characterisation Topic 3e 42
So what is the effect of this? Within 1 km of burial, porosity had reduced to less than
half of the original value, mainly due to mechanical rearrangement of the grains. As
pressure increases, deformation of the grains will take place, and then pressure solution
along grain‐to‐grain contacts will cause chemical deformation from roughly 3 km depth.
The porosity decline curve typically looks something like this – with a rapid decline
during early burial due to the efficiency of the mechanical re‐arrangement of grains, and
then a slow decline with depth as chemical compaction gradually reduces porosity
further and cementation occurs. (note this graph is all about the compaction processes).
42
Rock Properties with Depth
Compaction‐ Deeper burial
Shales (mudrocks) have
more initial porosity but
they compact more and
faster than sandstones
Sclater & Christie (1980)
Remember the lessons of primary porosity – as sediments, muddy sediments have a

very high initial porosity because of the irregular shapes of the grains (clay minerals) and
the well sorted nature of the grain distribution. However, because of the irregular
shapes of the grains, the grains pack extremely efficiently during mechanical
compaction, meaning that the porosity in the sediment is rapidly lost, and further
compaction into greater depths often results in rocks with practically zero porosity and
permeability. Note that this graph only shows the top 2 km of burial (compare to
previous slides), and yet by 1km depth when mechanical compaction begins to be
succeeded by grain deformation processes, most of the porosity in mudrocks is already
lost, while sandstones still have 20% or more porosity (on average).
43
Compaction
Sand Effect of compaction:
‐Sandstones retain more
porosity due to rounder
Clay
framework grains which are
more resistant to mechanical
compaction
Sandstone ‐Claystones become highly

compacted due to flat initial
grain shape, rotation of grains,
Claystone and breakage of grains.
Shale or compacted mudstone usually has less than 12% effective porosity, often less

than 1%, partly because of clay‐bonded water filling the very small pore spaces
available. The greater the compaction, the less the porosity.
Sandstone has between 5 and 30% porosity in the subsurface.
44
Carbonate Diagenesis
• Early carbonate cement
• Compaction
• Dissolution of cement, shells and shell fragments
• Cementation
• Replacement by different carbonate minerals
(recrystallization)
• Fracturing
• Complex, void spaces often disconnected, often requires
fracturing to create reasonable reservoir quality.
• IF early cementation is arrested (for example by oil
charge), then primary porosity can be preserved…
45
CARBONATE rocks and depth
Porosity forming processes Processes at shallow burial
Pre‐deposition porosity
‐ Porosity within grains
Depositional porosity controls
‐ Facies, energy, mud
‐ Inter‐grain porosity
Porosity reducing processes
Burial porosity controls
Vadose conditions
‐ Humid ?
‐ Arid ?
Phreatic conditions
Modified by S.Ilott after Scoffin (1987)
The origin of porosity in carbonate rocks is by depositional textures, including the
presence of possible porosity inside fossils that will occur within carbonates. During
burial porosity is controlled by a number of processes that can be either porosity
creating or porosity destroying. Early cementation and dissolution processes are often
controlled by the climate, where vadose conditions are involved. Humid conditions lead
to a higher water content and a higher likelihood of dissolution, whereas Arid conditions
are more likely to lead to cementation, of both carbonates and salts.
Porosity forming processes include various dissolution periods, Dolomitisation at both
shallow and deeper depths, fracturing, and dissolution related to pre‐hydrocarbon
production acidic solutions.
Porosity reduction is largely related to compaction, cementation and pressure
dissolution processes.
46
Relative Permeability
krw
kr
kro
0
0 100
Saturation (%)
Two or three phase flow ‐
Lastly for the discussion of permeability, let us consider the concept of relative
permeability. This only applies when we have a multi‐phase system, with two or more
fluids. Each fluid will have a relative permeability which depends on the saturation of the
other and also on the chemical characteristics of the rock (wettability). In this example
of an oil and gas two phase system, at 100 % oil saturation, only oil flows. Even at low
levels of gas, only oil will flow through the pores. However, at higher levels of gas
saturation, gas will flow, and some oil will be trapped in areas where the gas saturation
has risen above some critical point – because at high gas saturation oil will not flow at
all. In this situation, even if there is still oil present, because the relative permeability of
oil is zero, all that you will get is the gas.
Wettability Is Also Important
Some minerals have a tendency to become oil-wet (or, at
least, not water-wet), which can “reverse” the
drainage/imbibition considerations.
The point we wish to

make is that rocks+fluids
SYSTEMS are complex,
with several possible
interactions. Predicting
flow properties is not an
easy task!
Wettability is a critical factor in relative permeability – the idea is that although most
minerals and rocks tend to attract water and not oil, some (notably carbonates) can
become ‘oil‐wet’, which means they will attract oil. In these cases, oil will cease flowing
at a much lower water saturation, as it will become trapped against the edges of the
pores in the same way that was illustrated in slide 79. Rocks are very complex in this
way, and it is very difficult to accurately predict flow behaviour of multiple fluids within
rocks.
But Also Capillary Forces…
Darcy’s Law determines viscous flow, but surface tension
between the fluids leads to capillary effects
pressure
Small pore throats (~capillary tubes) require higher

pressures for a non-wetting fluid to force entry
The last factor to consider in this complex system is capillary forces. Basically a fluid in a
small tube is under higher pressure or can withstand higher pressure than a fluid in a
larger tube. Because of this effect, if the fluid attempting to pass through the rock is
non‐wetting (not reacting or clinging to the rock) and not soluble in the fluid already
present (immiscible), then it requires much higher pressures to force that fluid into small
pore throats than larger pore throats. Thus finer rocks have much lower permeability
than would be suggested by their porosity.
Summary of effect of Texture on
Porosity and Permeability
•Rock Texture
– grain size  ‐‐ porosity (rocks) permeability  
– grain sorting  ‐‐ porosity  permeability 

– grain shape  see next slide…
– grain surface  ‐‐ porosity  permeability 
– grain fabric
• Packing or arrangement ‐‐ different arrangements change
porosity and permeability…
• Grain alignment  ‐‐ porosity  permeability  anisotropic
• Grain‐to‐grain contacts ‐‐ increasing contact area,
decreasing porosity and permeability
50
Grain Shape
• {Remember – shape = 3D shape, not ‘roundness’}
Rigid Framework Grains Weak Framework Grains
(sand, quartz, feldspar etc) (clay minerals, mud)
COMPACTION COMPACTION
grain shape  = porosity ↓ grain shape  = porosity ↑

(more efficient packing) (less efficient compaction)
51
Exercise 1
A B
Which will have the greater B

porosity?
B is moderately to well
Why? sorted, so will have higher
porosity than the poorly
Where is the bedding in B?
sorted A
Lets look at a few examples. Here are two different sediments – these are thin sections,
slices of rock 30 microns thick. The clear patches are grains of quartz or feldspar, the
darker patches are matrix, and the brown parches are iron oxide cements. You can
clearly see that there is a difference in grainsize between the two (note the scale bars in
the bottom right corners). Which will have the greater porosity and why? Can you spot
the bedding in B?
Exercise 2
A B
Which will have the greater B initially, then A after lots of

porosity? compaction
B is well sorted, but very fine
Why? grained (mud), so will have higher
initial porosity than the poorly
sorted A – but this will decrease
rapidly during burial
In this example we are looking at outcrops. In this case which will have the greater
porosity? Consider your answer both at the time of deposition of the sediments, and
also after significant compaction or burial.
Exercise 3
A B
Which will have the greater B

permeability?
B is moderately to well
Why? sorted, and larger in
grainsize, porespaces are
In what direction is the
bigger, so will have higher
highest permeability?
permeability.
Now lets look at these two examples again, and ask ourselves which as the best
permeability and why? In what direction do you think there will be the greatest
permeability?
Exercise 4
A
B
Which will have the greater A

permeability?
B very fine grained (mud), so
Why? will have very small sized
porespaces, while larger
In what direction is the
pores in A will allow greater
highest permeability?
fluid flow.
An which of these samples will have the greatest permeability?
HU2
Estimate porosity and permeability
Sample H1(HFU02) Well A28 Pc curve Well A28 Sample 2H(HFU4) partical size analysis
30 100
100000
25
80
10000
20
cum % over
60
Pressure,psi
1000
vol %
15
100 40
10
10 20
5
1 0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Sw ,frac Partical size (phi)
 = 12% k = ???mD
These two examples show SEM and thin section examples of some sediments – try to
estimate the percentage of pore space, and the possible permeability. The pore space in
the thin section is coloured blue, by staining the resin used to hold the sediment slice
together.
In this example the grains are very large – and there is also a considerable amount of
cement between each grain. The answer for porosity is 12% ‐ did you guess higher?
Most people overestimate the amount of porosity present in a visual estimate like this –
especially since the pore spaces are coloured blue and the rest of the image is white.
Despite the low porosity, the permeability is high, because the grainsize is very large and
the pore spaces not filled by cement are correspondingly large.
HU5
Estimate porosity and permeability
Sample 5H(HFU5) Well A28 Pc vs.Sw

100000 Well A28 Sample 5H (HFU5) Patical size vs
30 100
10000
25
1000 80
Pc,psi
20
cu m % o ver
100 60
vo l %
15
10
40
10
1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 20
5
Series1 Sw , f rac 0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
 = 15% k = ?(less)mD Partical size,phi
This is the next example, note the difference in grainsize, and the arrangement of the
pores.
The amount of pore space in this example is actually slightly more than the previous
slide, but it is more distributed across the image. However, because the grainsize is
much smaller and the pore spaces are also smaller and more blocked up, the
permeability is much less. Looking at the grainsize graph (bottom right) you can see that
the majority of grains are between 1 and 2 phi in size (that is medium sand), and that
there is little spread in size, meaning that the sediment is well sorted.
Grainsize: ms
A Roundness: wr
500m
Sorting: ws
Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society
Porosity: ~30%
Institute of Petroleum Engineering
Permeability: ~500 mD
In this example the pale coloured grains are quartz, but the smaller ‘grains’ are actually
crystals of cement growing in the pore spaces between grains. Be aware that grains
always appear to be more angular in thin section than they do in real life – these grains
are well rounded despite the occasional appearance of angularity in the edges. Note
instead the very well rounded ends that are present. Some of the apparent angularity
may also be due to cement growth on the surfaces of the grains.
Grainsize: cs
500m
Roundness: subr
B Sorting: ws
Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Porosity: ~20%
G11PG Geoscience for Petroleum Engineering Chapter 2
Permeability: ~10059mD
There are several features of interest here – the black/brown splotch is some bitumen,
or immobile hydrocarbon trapped in a porespace. The area of irregular and fan shaped
crystals to the right is the location of a grain that has been partially dissolved and
partially replaced with something else. The original grain was probably a feldspar, and
the dissolution of feldspars and other unstable grains often causes secondary porosity to
develop. In this case the grain has be partially replaced by what appears to be clay
minerals (the fan shaped crystals), probably kaolinite.
Grainsize: fs
Roundness: suba
Sorting: vws
Porosity: ~20%
C
60
G11PG Geoscience for Petroleum Engineering 1000m Chapter 2

There is more evidence of bitumen in this example – note the change in scale.
Grainsize: fs-ms
Roundness: suba
Sorting: ws
1000m D
Porosity: ~15%
61
Grainsize: ms
Roundness: subr
Sorting: ps
Porosity: ~10%
E
62

In this sample we again have evidence for an unusual grain type – remember that the
pale grains are probably quartz, but the brown area in the middle‐left of the slide seems
to have been a grain, and may even have been a rock fragment. The irregularity of the
outline of some of these quartz grains is definitely caused by cementation – in this case
‘quartz overgowths’, which occur where silica grows over the surface of the grain in
crystallographic allignment with the grain underneath. The edge of the quartz grain
arrowed above the answer box shows up in two places – the original edge of the grain
marked by a line of ‘dust’ (lower arrow) and the edge of the quartz overgrowth (upper
arrow). See if you can spot other places in the slide where similar features can be
observed.
Grainsize: ms
Roundness: subr 500m F
Sorting: ps
Porosity: ~10%
63
G11PG Geoscience for Petroleum Engineering Chapter 2
In this case the quartz overgrowths are even more distinctive, and there are several
other types of grain present (all altered to various degrees).
Grainsize: ms
Roundness: r
Sorting: ms 2000m G
Porosity: ~30%
Permeability: Kv ~5 mD
Kh ~500 mD
In this example a layer or laminae of finer grainsize has been clogged up with bitumen,
giving graphic evidence of the lower permeability of this layer, and meaning that this
sample has different permeability in each direction.
Grainsize: fs
Roundness: suba
Sorting: ms
Porosity: ~10%
H Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society

Permeability: ~165mD
This sample is very clogged with bitumen, and there is evidence for extensive
cementation as well (the light brown patches between grains).
A
For these SEM images, we will not attempt to estimate porosity and permeability. This
sample is poorly sorted – note the larger grain in the group of smaller grains. Also note
the cement that fills the pore spaces and holds the grains together.
B
Again a relatively poorly sorted ample, also the surface of the grains exposed here
shows evidence of cement in the angular planes on several grain surfaces.
C
This is an example of clay minerals filling a pore space (the sharp edge on the right is the
grain at the edge of the pore). These stacks of plates are typical of the appearance of
clay minerals.
D
Here again we have clay minerals growing into a pore space from the grains at the edge.
E
These grains have only a speckling of clay growing on their surfaces, although again the
flat planes are indication of other cements growing from the grains out into the pore
spaces.
F
This is a different type of clay mineral – still platey, but with a fibrous pattern of growth,
rather than the stacked book pattern of earlier examples. This is probably chlorite.
Rock‐Property Variability
• Primary factor is arrangement of the grains
• Mixture of sizes and shapes = lower flow
capacity
• Expressed as intrinsic permeability
• 10+ orders of magnitude (from 10‐6 mD to 104
mD)
• Porosity and permeability “related”
So to summarize – poroperm properties are dependent on texture (in siliciclastic rocks
composed of grains). If there is a mixture of sizes and shapes you get a lower flow
capacity (or permeability). This varies in rocks from 10‐6 milli‐Darcies to 10000 milli‐
Darcies. Porosity and permeability are related to each other, but in a complex fashion.
Rock‐Property Variability
• How do we map this?
– Need to find out more information about how
sediments are deposited… changes in texture and
structures.
– Need depositional environments… gives us
sediment body geometry and more information
about systematic variations in sediment texture
What we need to know for our reservoir is how to predict the distribution of porosity
and permeability – changes in the texture of the sediments. In order to predict this we
need to be able to predict the distribution of the different sediment types, which relies
on a knowledge of the environment of deposition. Which we will cover in a later lecture.
Chapter 2 – Sedimentary Rocks
• Rock Properties
– Sedimentary rock types
– Appreciate what controls the porosity and
permeability of sedimentary rocks
• Processes of Transport and Deposition
– How sediments are transported and deposited
– Bedforms and Sedimentary Structures that
develop during transport and deposition, and how
to identify them.
This chapter is divided into two broad topics, Earth Materials and Earth Processes. In the
Earth Processes section we are going to talk about how sediments are transported and
deposited and what how sedimentary structures are created during this process.
74
Transport and Deposition
of Sediments
• Sediment is transported and/or deposited by
two basic processes:
– Gravity (gravity flows or mass movement and
deposition from suspension)
– Fluids (water, ice and air)
Deposition needs ACCOMMODATION SPACE
Sediments, grains or clasts, are transported and or deposited by two basic processes.
Either gravity induces gentle settling through water or air, or induces gravity flows down
slopes (potential energy gradients), or fluids pick up or entrain sediment particles and
carry them down slope. Deposition occurs at any point during the processes of transport
where accommodation space has been created and needs to be filled.
75
Outline
• Gravity Processes and deposit features
• Fluid Flow processes
• Bedforms and sedimentary structures, types of
sedimentary structures
– Definition: bedding
– Bedforms and sedimentary structures developed by:
• Unidirectional currents
• Oscillatory currents
• Aeolian (air) currents
– Erosional sedimentary structures
– Secondary sedimentary structures
• Carbonate sediments
76
Gravity Processes
• Falls
Increase in fluid content
• Slides
• Flows
• Turbidity and
density flows
• Deposition from
suspension
Gravity affects sediments on slopes or suspended in fluids. Blocks of rock, layers of
surface sediment, mixed sediments or fluids of different densities on any slopes are
affected by gravity and will over time fall, slide or flow down slope. The difference
between the different types of gravity flow – sometimes called mass movement –
depends on the relative size of grains and the amount of water that is included within
the flow. The amount of water affects the internal processes that are occurring within
the flow. Finally sediment suspended in a fluid settle out under gravity to be deposited.
77
Gravity Flows
This illustration shows us the different internal processes that are occurring within
different types of gravity flow. More water is included in the flow from right to left, and
this affects the way the grains interact. The process of grain interaction affects how the
grains are eventually deposited, and therefore the size, sorting and fabric of the layer
deposited.
78
Features of Slumps and Slides
• Blocks or coherent layers
moving downslope and
breaking up
• Deformed bedding or
rotated blocks
79
Features of Debris Flows
• Very poor sorting
• Ability to carry very large
clasts
• Matrix supported texture
• Some clast alignment
• Waning flow may be
stratified and graded
80
Features of Turbidity Flows
• Turbidites (deposits
of turbidity currents)
– sharp bases, with
erosional features
(sole marks)
– sequence of
sedimentary
structures
– graded bedded
(fining‐up)
– aligned grain fabrics
81
Movie of Debris Flows
• Movie starts with falls
• Flows with increasing water content
• Ending with sediment rich turbidity currents
across a lake…
82
Outline
83
Transport and Deposition by
Fluid (Water and Air)
• This area of sediment transport is referred to
as loose‐boundary hydraulics
• Sediment is transported either:
– in suspension (through the effects of turbulence)
– as bed load (by bouncing (‘saltating’) and/or rolling)
• The ability of a fluid to transport a sediment is
called its competence
Sediment being transported by a fluid is either transported in suspension or as
bed load, where the grains are bouncing or sliding along the sediment‐water
interface. The competence of a fluid is a reflection of the ability of that flow to
transport sediment of certain size and volume.
84
Outline
85
Definition: Bedforms vs
Sedimentary Structures
Bedforms: shape (or form) on the bed surface;
formed by transport of sediment particles under
certain conditions
Sedimentary Structures: layering (or structures)

within a bed; formed by deposition during migration
of bedforms preserving the internal structure of
those bedforms, or by erosion, or by subsequent
deformation or disturbance of primary bedding
An important definition to keep in mind here is the difference between a bedform and a
sedimentary structure. Bedforms are the shapes that form on the bed surface during the
transport of sediment grains, and the type and shape of the bedform reflects the
conditions of flow at the time. Sedimentary structures are the arrangements of layering
within a bed, and are formed by deposition during migration of bedforms. The
deposition allows the preservation of the internal structure of the bedforms. Other
types of sedimentary structure include those formed by erosion or soft‐sediment
deformation.
• Primary (produced by transport, erosion, or
depositional processes)
• Secondary (produced by organisms or deformation)
• Important for interpretation of environment of
deposition
– palaeocurrents
– strength of ancient currents (ripples, megaripples/dunes,
plane beds)
– Facies Analysis
Sedimentary structures are sub‐divided into primary and secondary
structures. Primary sedimentary structures are formed by the deposition of all
or part of bedforms, or by erosion before deposition. Secondary sedimentary
structures are those that are formed after sediments have been deposited, for
example by organisms disturbing the sediment or by soft‐sediment
deformation. Sedimentary structures provide us with useful information about
the palaeocurrent direction, and other information leading to facies analysis
and interpretation of the environment of deposition.
87
Outline
88
Bedding
• Product of changes in
– grain composition
– size
– shape
– orientation
– packing
– sorting
One of the first sedimentary structures to consider is the bedding. Bedding is the first
thing we notice in a rock succession, because each bed is distinctively different from the
ones below or above. These differences in appearance are caused by changes in the
process of deposition, which causes changes in grain composition, grain size, grain
shape, grain orientation, grain packing or sorting. Each bed will also usually contain
different smaller‐scale sedimentary structures within it.
Bed and Lamina Thickness
(b) Terms to
describe splitting or
(a) beds parting units within
beds
very thick massive
100 100
thick blocky
Thickness (cm)
Thickness (cm)
30 30
medium (c) Terms to

slabby
describe laminae
10 10 within beds
Thickness (mm)
thin
flaggy
10
very thin
1 1
thick
lamina laminated 3
thin
Beds can be any thickness, so long as the sediment within each bed is the same. We
have names for the different thicknesses of beds – for example if a bed is between 10
and 30 cm thick we would describe it as medium thickness. Beds can have internal
layers, also of varying thicknesses. If the layers within our medium thick bed are
between 1 and 10 cm thick, then the bed is described as flaggy. If they are less than 1
cm thick, the bed is laminated. Laminae can also be subdivided into thick or thin laminae
based on how many millimeters thick they are.
Bed Boundaries ‐ contacts
• sharp or gradational?
Pinchout
Vertical Lateral
Interfingering
(interfingered
interbedded) Grading
It is important when identifying beds to notice what kind of boundaries or
contacts the beds have with surrounding beds – both vertically in succession
and also in a lateral direction. Bed contacts can be gradational (one lithology
grades into another), or sharp (a clear boundary), or they can be
interfingering, where each lithology alternates over a short distance with the
other. Laterally, beds can pinch out, interfinger or grade into another lithology.
91
Bed Boundaries ‐ contacts
• erosional or non‐erosional?
A sharp boundary between one lithology and another could be flat and due to
a process change, or it could mean that there has been a period of erosion
between the deposition of the first and second lithologies. In the case on the
left, an irregular erosional surface is overlain by a shell accumulation. Bed
boundaries are often therefore described by their geometry as well –
erosional, straight, curved, channelized and so on.
92
Bed boundaries ‐ time
• Continuous versus discontinuous or
episodic processes
• Erosional boundaries remove sediment
making a gap in the record, or non‐
deposition also means a gap in the record
– Small gap = diastem or hiatus
– Big gap = unconformity
It is clear from these descriptions of beds that bed boundaries therefore have a distinct
time significance. Each bed represents a different process, so that bed boundaries
usually represent discontinuities in deposition, so that deposition is an episodic process
and not a continuous one. The erosional boundaries also remove sediment making
longer gaps in the preserved record, in addition to the gaps created by non‐deposition
between ‘events’. Most of the time these gaps in deposition are very small scale – days
or maybe years in the case of erosion. Small scale gaps are not particularly important,
and are usually ignored. They are called diastems or hiatuses if they are big enough to
be noticed, although many are too small to accurately detect. Larger gaps, on the order
or thousands or millions of years, are called unconformities.
A subtle unconformity
Unconformities are not always obvious – this example of a disconformity can only be
identified because the trace fossils formed during a period of non‐deposition have been
truncated by subsequent erosion below the later cross‐bedded sediments of the
Chenque Formation.
Outline
95
Bedforms Formed in Water
• Unidirectional Flows
– current ripples
– megaripples/dunes
– upper stage plane bed
• Oscillatory Flows
– wave‐formed ripples
Lets move on to some of the sedimentary structures that we might find inside
beds. Firstly we are going to look at some of the sedimentary structures
formed by processes occurring in water, including both unidirectional flows
(rivers, streams), and oscillatory flows (waves, the sea). The process of flow
creates bedforms on the sediment‐water interface, and the migration of these
bedforms coupled with deposition create the sedimentary structures found in
the rock layers. We are going to look at some of the bedforms first, and then
consider what sedimentary structures they create.
96
Bedforms, Stream Power and
Water Depth
Schematic representation of
various bedforms and their
relationship to grain size and
stream power. Based on Simons
et al. 1965 and Allen 1968a.
a) straight-crested ripples
b) undulatory ripples
c) lingoid ripples
d) lunate ripples
For both small ripples and
megacurrent ripples, ripple crests
tend to become discontinuous
(three dimensional) with
increasing stream power. Recent
flume experiments show that
megaripple field pinches out at
0.1 mm grain size.
What happens to silt and clay?

Lets start with unidirectional flow, and by considering how water flow conditions affect
which bedform is created. Relatively slow flow conditions create ripple bedforms, which
change with increasing flow rate from straight crested to curved crested (the exact types
of curved crest do not matter here). Increasing the flow rate again creates larger
structures, if the depth of the stream is sufficiently deep (if not we go straight from
ripples to upperstage plane bed). Megaripples are larger scale bedforms than ripples,
but essentially the same structure. Again their crests change from straight to curved
with increasing stream power. Eventually under high flow rates the bed smooths out, in
upperstage plane bed, and higher stream powers create antidunes, chutes and pools
and other largely erosional bedforms that are not generally preserved in the rock record.
Note that in this diagram silt and clay are not included, at the lowest stream power
represented here the silt and clay particles will be carried in suspension, transported out
of the system and not deposited.
Current Ripple
1. Asymmetric shape
2. Will not form in coarse sands
(greater than 0.7 mm)
3. Wavelength varies with
grainsize Crest
4. Low flow strength 30-35º
3‐5 cm
A. Flow pattern and velocity Lee
distribution, flow separation
(Modified after Jopling 1963,
1967)
B. Sediment particle transport wavelength () 5-40cm
patterns across ripples.
Particles accumulate at the Stoss
crest, from where sediment
avalanches at the lee face. In
the zone of back-flow some
sediment is deposited at the toe
of the lee slope. (Modified after
Jopling, 1967)
Trough
So lets start at the smallest bedform – ripples. These are asymmetric bedforms with a

gentle stoss side and a steep lees side. The top is the crest, and the trough occurs
between each successive ripple form. They will not form in coarse sands, and are never
more than 5 cm high.
Ripples are created when an undulation on the sediment surface creates a flow
separation. Note how at the crest of the bedform the flow breaks into two zones – an
upper zone where the flow continues in the original direction, and a lower zone where
there is eddying or backflow occurring. This creates a slow zone immediately infront of
the ripple for sediment to be deposited in, and also a zone of erosion on the back of the
ripple infront, which contributes to supplying sediment to the front of the migrating
ripple. Sediment is trasported up the back of the ripple and in suspension, accumulates
on the crest of the ripple and then avalanches down the lee face to create one of the
inclined foreset laminae that are aligned with the lee face inside the ripple. In the zone
of backflow, sediment is also transported back to be deposited at the base of each
foreset, creating a curved intersection of the foresets with the erosional surface below.
The erosion of the stoss side of the ripple creates the erosional surface onto which each
ripple migrates.
98
Internal Structure of a Ripple
Internal structure of a well-developed ripple. Main body is made up of foreset

laminae, a single bottomset lamina, and one or few stoss side laminae.
This process creates an internal structure that is dominated by the foreset laminae
created by a combination of avalanching grains and backflow deposition. Often
bottomset and stoss side laminae are not preserved.
Bedform Migration
• For net deposition to occur, a ripple crest
must climb in a downcurrent direction
• Sets of cross lamination result, bounded by
erosive surfaces Need ACCOMMODATION SPACE
Experimentally produced climbing-ripple cross-lamination seen

in vertical profile parallel with flow. The increasing angle of
climb from top to bottom is caused by the increasing rate of net
vertical deposition relative to the speed of advance of the
ripples.
(after JRL Allen 1972)
If the sediments being transported in ripples are deposited, then various effects are
produced depending on the amount or rate of deposition. If deposition is occurring then
the ripple crest locations of successive ripples will climb in height as the ripples migrate
downstream. We get sets of cross‐lamination (the inclined foreset laminae) bounded by
erosion surfaces that have been created by erosion in the backflow zone on the stoss
side of the ripples infront. The most usual case is to get a little deposition, which creates
the last profile here – where there are many erosional surfaces and each is filled with
foreset laminae. Increasing the rate of deposition increases the angle of climb (draw a
line through each crest, the difference between this and horizontal is the angle of climb).
Eventually we get the topmost situation, which is called climbing ripples – this is where
each ripple shape is preserved totally – no erosion takes place. This only happens during
extremely rapid deposition.
Planform Classification of Ripple and
Megaripple/dune Crest Types
Classification of ripple and dune crest types. View from above, with flow from bottom to top in each case (After JRL Allen, 1968)
This set of plans of what ripple crests look like show the transition (with increasing flow
rate) from straight crested to curved crested ripples. The exact names of each type of
curved crest shape are not important here, just remember that the transition from
straight to curved crest indicates increased stream power.
Straight‐crested and
Curved‐crested Ripples
• Straight‐crested bedforms produce tabular
(or planar) ‘sets’ of cross‐lamination
• Curved‐crested bedforms produce trough
‘sets’ of cross‐lamination
Diagrams to show that the migration
of (a) straight-crested and (b)
curved-crested bedforms produces
planar and trough cross sets
respectively (after Allan 1970b).
Note that the preservation of

successive cross lamina sets
necessarily involves a degree of net
deposition. Most sets therefore
‘climb’ at some angle from the local
bed inclination.
The difference shapes of the bedforms affect the shape of the sedimentary structure
produced. Straight‐crested bedforms produce tabular cross‐sets, where the erosional
surfaces (set boundaries) are mostly parallel and the perpendicular to current view will
show parallel lamination. Curved‐crested bedforms will produce trough cross‐sets,
where the set boundaries are curved and cross‐cut each other, and the perpendicular to
current view will show curved erosional features filled with curved laminae. In the case
of ripples we call these types of sedimentary structure tabular or trough cross‐
lamination.
Movie of ripple migration – pay attention to the bedforms
produced.
Watch this movie (available on vision) of ripple migrating and pay attention to the
bedforms produced and the way the migration takes place. You can also find lots of
flume tank experiments and other movies on places such as YouTube.
Water Depth
c) lingoid ripples
d) lunate ripples
0.1 mm grain size.

Back to our stream – and if we increase stream power then we start to get megaripples.
Dunes or Megaripples
(also known as large‐scale ripples, sandwaves)
• Larger than ripples, similar in shape but dynamically
distinct (H v.  plots differ)
• Typical dimensions
–  = 0.6 to hundreds of metres
– H = 0.05m to ~10.00m
• Experimental/field observations show correlation
between H and flow of depth
• Superimposed hierarchies of ripples and dunes or small
and large dunes may co‐exist
• Sub‐class of long wavelength (5‐100m) dunes
sometimes referred to as sandwaves
Megaripples are larger scale ripples, where the processes of migration and
deposition work in the same way. We use megaripple here to distinguish from
the word ‘dunes’ which is associated with aeolian (desert) environments,
although in the literature you will see a variety of terminology used to refer to
these sub‐aqueous bedforms, including dune, megaripple and sandwave.
Because megaripples are so much larger, they may have ripples forming on
their surfaces, so that you can get superimposed hierarchies of ripples and
megaripples. Obviously the height of the subaqueous megaripple is strongly
controlled by the depth of the water flow in which it is formed.
105
Megaripple/Dune Migration (1)
• Megaripple/dune migration generates trough cross‐bedding
• Tabular (or planar) sets – straight crested megaripples
– commonly <1m thick
– 10s m wide
– foresets have tangential (asymptotic) or planar (angular) contacts
• Trough sets – curved crested megaripples
– commonly 30cm thick
– 1‐2m wide (perpendicular to flow)
– 5‐10m long (parallel to flow)
– ‘spoon‐shaped’
– foresets have tangential contacts
The migration of megaripples creates a sedimentary structure called cross‐
bedding (to distinguish it from cross‐lamination created by the migration of
ripples). Once again the crest changes from straight to curved with increasing
stream power, and the cross‐bedding types generated will similarly change
from tabular to trough cross‐bedding. Remember that sets are the inclined
laminae between the erosional surfaces developed during megaripple
migration – in the case of water current generated cross‐bedding these range
from 30cm to around 1m thick. Tabular cross‐bedding has relatively parallel
set boundaries, while trough cross‐bedding has curved, cross‐cutting set
boundaries, with a distinctive spoon‐shape in the orientation perpendicular to
paleocurrent direction.
106
Megaripple/Dune Migration (2)
• Generation of trough and tabular cross‐bedding
Patterns of cross bedding

generated by the migration
of (a) ‘3-d’ megaripples
(trough cross bedding) and
(b) ‘2-d’ megaripples
(tabular cross bedding).
After Harms et al. 1975
This illustration shows curved crested megaripples generating curved set boundaries
(trough cross‐bedding) and straight crested megaripples generating tabular cross‐
bedding.
Water Depth
c) lingoid ripples
d) lunate ripples
0.1 mm grain size.

Back to our stream power diagram, and as we increase stream power again, we go up to
upper stage plane bed, and finally antidunes.
Upper‐stage Plane Bed
• Intense sediment transport over flat
bed
• Generates primary current lineation
on bedding planes and planar
lamination in cross sections
During upperstage plane bed, the current is moving sediment along so fast that there is
no creation of irregularities like ripples and megaripples, just intense planar transport.
This generates flat planar structures, called planar lamination. Sometimes on the surface
of each planar laminae, there may be linear trends called current lineations, which
indicate a sense of current direction (but not the exact orientation – it could be flowing
either way in this diagram). Both antidunes and the other erosional features that
commonly develop in higher stream flows than this are unlikely to be preserved, so are
unlikely to produce any sedimentary structures.
Movie of plane bed transport – watch what the grains
are doing.
Movie of ripples, antidunes and plane bed in a

modern beach stream…
These movies show plane bed transport and also a combined movie that includes some
antidunes (watch them migrate upstream and then flatten out – no long‐term
deposition occurs, only erosion) and other bedforms in a shallow stream across a
modern beach (available on VISION – and also look for similar things on YouTube and
other sedimentology sites).
Wave Motion
Diagrams to show the orbital

motion of open waves (a), and
the ellipsoidal motion of
shoaling waves (b).
Now we are going to move away from uni‐directional currents and talk about bi‐
directional current motions or oscillatory flow. This occurs where we have waves
developing, due to the effect of wind on the water surface. Mostly this takes place in the
ocean, but small waves can also develop in lakes. A wave travelling along the surface of
the ocean moves the water particles in an orbital motion (as seen in the top diagram
here). The depth to which the wave affects the water column is proportional to the
wavelength, and the stronger the wave the longer its wavelength, meaning that storm
waves will affect a greater depth of sea‐water than calm weather waves. When the
water motion created by the wave intersects with the sea floor, the interaction causes
the motion to become more ellipsoidal, this effect is also what creates breaking waves
on the sea‐shore. The water is not in motion directly over the sediment lying on the sea
floor, and it is moving back and forwards, creating an oscillatory flow.
Current Velocity vs Grain Size
for Wave Ripples
Graph to show the grain size

and velocity field for wave
ripples.
(Simplified from Allen, 1985a)
Once again, there needs to be a minimum current velocity to create wave ripples – these
are ripple bedforms that are created by the oscillatory flow, rather than a strong
unidirectional current.
Wave‐formed Ripples
• Vary greatly, size‐dependent on wave dimensions
•  0.0009m to 2.00m
• H 0.003m to 0.25m
• Water depths up to 200m
• Distinction from current ripples by lower ripple indices
(/H), symmetrical shape, crestal bifurcation and
chevron interlaminae
The exact shape of the wave ripple depends on a lot of factors, such as water depth,
tidal conditions, wave height and length, substrate consistency, and so on. They can be
somewhat larger than unidirectional current ripples, but their main distinguishing
features are their relatively symmetrical shape and the tendency of the crests to merge
and diverge. The internal lamination of the ripples varies depending on whether the
ripple is created by relatively long‐lasting tidal currents that oscillate (or wave ripples
generated during a single tidal stage), or by quickly varying oscillation due to direct wave
action. In the first case the ripple may be slightly assymmetric, but a cross‐section will
show two directions of cross‐lamination intersecting each other. In the second case the
rapid motion tends to create chevron interlaminae (concave‐up laminae) in cross‐
section.
Hummocky Cross‐Stratification
(HCS)
• Harms, 1975
• Multiple convex‐up cross‐beds, 10‐15cm thick
• Typical sets 0.5m thick
• Sharp base, sharp or graded top
This is a sedimentary structure also produced by oscillatory flow – in this case complex
current and wave flows during and following storm events are thought to be responsible
for this structure. The bedforms are complex hummocks and swales, and so the
sedimentary structure of intersecting concave and convex‐up laminations is called
Hummocky cross‐stratification.
Hummocky Cross‐Stratification
(HCS)
• Observed on continental shelf of NW Atlantic
Ocean in water depths 10‐40m
• In ancient successions occurs beneath shallow
marine sandstones and above pelagic muds
• Interpreted as product of complex waning
oscillatory currents related to storm activity
• Swaley cross‐stratification (higher energy?)
Hummocky cross‐stratification has been observed in shallow water regions in
modern environments, and also in shallow‐marine deposits from older
successions. In some cases the hummocks are missing, and only swales are
preserved, and this is sometimes called Swaley cross‐stratification.
115
Bedforms Formed in Air
• Aeolian ripples
• Aeolian dunes
• Draas
So on to a different setting, we are now going to look at the various bedforms that are
created by movement of sediment in air. These include small bedforms like ripples,
larger bedforms called dunes, and complexes of dunes all amalgamated together called
draas.
Aeolian Ripples
•  0.01m to 20.0m
• H mm to 1m
• Internal lamination poorly defined
•  related to mean saltation jump length
Starting small, lets look quickly at aeolian ripples. These tend to be very small features,
often climbing over larger dune bedforms, but they can reach large sizes – the definition
of what is a ripple and what is a dune in an aeolian system depends on the relative scale
of one to the other, and not so much on exact numbers – thus if the dunes are really
large, then the ripples will also be large. The wavelength of the ripples are related to the
saltation of the sand grains, which depends on the sand size and the wind strength.
Because saltation is the dominant transport process, the internal lamination in aeolian
ripples tends to be poorly defined, often making them difficult to identify in the rock
record.
Aeolian Dunes and Draa
• Diverse morphologies
– transverse
– barchan
– stellate
– longitudinal/seif dunes
• Draa: are larger‐scale
topographic features with
superimposed dune‐scale
bedforms. If the superimposed
bedforms are of the same type
(but different scale) as the
draa it is described as a
compound. if the
superimposed bedforms are of
a different type, the draa is
complex.
The larger bedforms are dunes, and amalgamations of many dunes are called draa.
Dunes can have many different morphologies, similar to the curved and straight crested
varieties mentioned before, but also various other forms which are caused by the
variability of the current direction in an aeolian system. Wind changes direction very
frequently, so that a dune may have many active faces depending on what direction the
wind is blowing in on any given day.
Internal Structure
• Bounding surfaces, reactivation surfaces, large scale
cross‐bedding, coarse lags and grain‐slump lobes
The variability of wind direction results in a complex internal structure of dunes, with
multiple generations of erosional surfaces each representing a change in wind direction,
as well as reactivation surfaces where wind strength has dropped for a period of time.
Because dunes in a desert can be many 10s of meters high, the cross‐bedding inside a
dune and resulting from dune migration can be very large‐scale – the cross‐bed sets can
be many 10s of meters thick. In addition collapse features, and possible lag deposits
relating to interdune depositional process may complicate the aeolian sedimentary
structures.
Outline
120
Erosional Sedimentary Structures
• Channels
• Erosional features…
– Tool marks
– Flute marks
121
Outline
Which brings us to secondary sedimentary structures.
122
Secondary Sedimentary Structures
• Biogenic
– Bioturbation, trace fossils
• Deformation
– Convolute bedding
– Overturned bedding
– Flame and pillow structures
• Desiccation cracks
• Raindrop imprints
Secondary sedimentary structures, those formed after deposition of the layers of
sediments, fall into a number of categories.
Firstly the interference of animals and plants causes various types of bioturbation,
secondly the deformation of deposited sedimentary layers creates a number of
secondary sedimentary structures. Lastly there are a number of special secondary
structures, like desiccation cracks caused by exposure of the wet sediment to
atmosphere, or raindrop imprints created when a wet sediment layer is rained on and
almost immediately covered by a new sediment layer.
123
Bioturbation
• Activities of animals and plants produce effects in the deposited
sediments:
– Tracks and trails on the surface
– Burrows and borings into the sediment
• Bioturbation is the general overarching term used to include all ‘trace
fossils’
• Bioturbation destroys primary sedimentary structures and bedding, which
can have both positive and negative effects on porosity and permeability…
• Provides information about depositional environment, sedimentation
rates, substrate consistency…
Animals and plants disturb the deposited sedimentary layers and create trace fossils –
structures within the deposited layers that represent the various activities of animals
living, feeding, hiding and generally mucking around. Bioturbation is the term we use to
describe all trace fossils within a layer. Bioturbation destroys primary sedimentary
structures and therefore can have both positive and negative effects on porosity and
permeability. Trace fossils can provide valuable information about the depositional
environments and sedimentation rates.
124
Soft‐sediment Deformation
• After deposition of the sedimentary layers
– Pillow and flame (caused by loading of soft muddy layers by
heavier overlying layers)
– Slumping
– Convolute lamination or layering (caused by slumping or
pillow structures)
– Overturned bedding
– Water escape structures
Soft‐sediment deformation occurs where layers already deposited are stressed by some
outside force – gravity (slumps and slides), further deposition, loading, water escape and
so on.
125
Outline
126
Carbonates
• Everything in this section about sedimentary
structures applies equally to carbonate rocks.
Some limestones are formed by deposition of
calcareous material from moving currents… so
these also have sedimentary structures.
Everything said so far about the transport and deposition of sediments and creation of
sedimentary structures applies equally to carbonate rocks. Some limestone are formed
in situ by precipitation or by organisms like coral, but other limestones are formed by
the deposition from moving currents of calcareous grains (often fragments of shells),
which will also result in sedimentary structures.
For example, this Carboniferous limestone from the north of England has lovely cross‐
bedding structures, indicating a transport from left to right in the photograph.
Bedforms vs Sedimentary
Structures
Bedforms: shape (or form) on the bed surface;
formed by transport of sediment particles under
certain conditions
Sedimentary Structures: layering (or structures)

within a bed; formed by deposition during migration
of bedforms preserving the internal structure of
those bedforms, or by erosion, or by subsequent
deformation or disturbance of primary bedding
We need to clearly distinguish between bedforms – the shape formed during the
transport process, and sedimentary structures – the layering or other structures created
within a bed by all the various processes during and immediately after deposition.
129
• Primary ‐‐ Created during deposition
– Depositional
– Erosional
• Secondary ‐‐ Created after deposition
– Bioturbation (trace fossils)
– Soft‐sediment deformation
– Raindrop imprints
– Desiccation cracks
130
Sedimentary Structures: Summary
131
132
133
134
135
Exercise
• Describe, interpret images of bedforms from modern
depositional environments and sedimentary
structures from ancient deposits:
– For structures: classify as erosional, depositional or post‐
depositional and identify the type.
– For bedforms: identify the type (they are all depositional).
– State whether you can identify way‐up or paleocurrent
direction from the structures or bedforms.
136
AF20
Bedform, plan view of linguoid ripples, current towards top
137
AA48
Bedform, straight crested (‘2D’) megaripples, current from right to left,
with ripples climbing over
138
AF12
Bedform, lunate (‘3D’) megaripples/dunes, current from right to left
139
BP2
6
Bedform, trench through a megaripple/dune showing foresets,
current from left to right
140
BK1
Primary depositional structure, tabular cross‐bedding (slightly 3
asymptotic foresets), showing way‐up (cut‐off at top and curve of
foresets) and current direction from left to right
141
CJ35
Primary depositional structure, tabular crossbed set with planar
foresets, way up by cross cutting and current from right to left
142
BK15
Primary depositional structure, close‐up view of foresets, showing
curved shape, current from left to right, cut‐off and shape give way‐up.
143
Primary depositional structure, climbing ripples, current
from right to left, cut-off giving way-up
144
BK12
Primary depositional structure, end‐on view of trough cross bedding,
current either towards or away from viewer, cut‐off gives way‐up
145
G3_22
Primary depositional structure, end‐on view of large scale trough cross
bedding (fluvial), current either towards or away from viewer, cut‐off
gives way‐up.
146
G3_28
Primary depositional structure, side view of large scale trough cross
bedding (fluvial), current from right to left, cut‐off gives way‐up
147
I36
Primary depositional structure, planar lamination (upper stage plane
beds), no direction or way‐up
148
May77
Bedform, wave ripples – note slight asymmetry, probably caused by
tidal flow (right to left), and bifurcation, confirming primary origin as
wave ripples.
149
Y10
Primary depositional structure, wave‐ripple cross lamination (viewed
perpendicular to ripple crests), cut‐off gives way up, note two
directions of cross‐lamination
150
Primary depositional structure, hummocky/swaley
cross stratification, oscillating currents, cut-off
gives way-up
151
0151_34
Primary depositional structure, hummocky and swaley cross
stratification, cut‐off gives way‐up
152
0153_27
Primary depositional structure ‐ aeolian dune cross bedding
overlain by interdune facies, current away from the viewer, cut‐
off gives way‐up
153
0153_28
Primary depositional structure, wind‐ripple lamination in
aeolian dune cross bedding, current from left to right
154
Secondary, post-depositional structure,
convoluted bedding
155
Secondary, post-depositional structure, pillow
structures
156
Test Time!
• Download the app “Socrative Student”
• Enter the Room Name LEVER1382
• Provide name (if requested)
• Answer the questions!
• How well did you do?
157
Field
Observations
• Notebook
entries:
• Sketches
• Measured
sections
• Lithology
158
Measured Sections
• Classical way of firstly accurately recording a
sections, then using a summary log to visually
represent what is there:
159
160
Symbols
161
Summary Logs
• At suitable scale
• Graphical
summary of
information in
measured section
log
• Figures
• Allows trends to
be seen
162
G11PG Geoscience for Petroleum Engineering
Patterns… Chapter 2 163
163
Exercises
• Practice creating field sketch of an outcrop
• Practice converting descriptions into summary
sedimentary log
164
165
Descriptions
Double Corner Shell Beds, Lower Waipara Gorge ‐ 27 May 2001, 09.30 ‐ Field Log by Alex Zeolite
– Weather conditions : Fine and sunny ‐‐ Tokama Siltstone/Double Corner Shell Beds/Greenwood Formation, Miocene and Pliocene?.
Base of section at grid reference N34/914889
Contact ‐ obscured 0.50 m mudstone Massive blue silty mudstone
0.30 m Fine sandstone Cemented concretionary grey‐green fine shelly sandstone.
Contact – Sharp planar 4m Massive fine sandstone Bioturbated fine sandstone partially cemented. Rare shells, Red discolouration on
many clasts, Fe cement?, friable black bit.
Contact ‐ Sharp, planar basal contact. 0.20 m Shelly fine conglomerate Shell rich bed incorporating large disarticulated type 1 molluscs
many bored, gastropods, barnacle plates and thin oyster shells. Granules of cherty mudstone (greywacke) dominate the clastic fraction. Bed
strikes 68° dip 20°
Contact ‐ Gradational basal contact. 2 m Fine sandstone Very fine sandstone with rare shells in thin lenticular layers. Apparent dip of
lentincular beds 175°, Dip 15°
Contact – sharp planar basal contact 0.30 m Coquina. Clast supported shell bed with rare mudstone granules. All bivalves disarticulated
and often nested. Gastropods present.
Contact ‐ planar basal contact. 2.5m Fine sandstone Very fine sandstone with rare shells in thin lenticular layers. Apparent dip of
lentincular beds 165°, Dip 19°
Contact ‐ Basal contact sharp. 0.10m Coquina. Shell bed incorporating the gastropod Maoricrypta sp. Disarticulated pink barnacle plates,
many bored.
Contact ‐ planar basal contact. 2.5m Shallow marine beds Very fine sandstone with rare shells in thin lenticular layers
Contact ‐ Basal contact sharp. 0.20m Coquina. Shell bed incorporating the gastropod Maoricrypta sp.. Disarticulated pink barnacle
plates, many bored.
Contact ‐ planar basal contact. 4m Fine sandstone Very fine sandstone with rare shells in thin lenticular layers. Bed strikes 80° dip 19°
Contact ‐ basal contact sharp and erosional, trough shaped. 0.4m Coquina Discontinuous very distinctive clast supported shell bed with 2
species of bullet like gastropods. Disarticulated bivalve shells are aligned.
Contact – planar basal contact. 0.4m Fine sandstone Very fine sandstone
Contact‐ planar, sharp 1m Shelly sandstone Trough cross‐bedded shelly fine sandstone with many Turia sp. and Polinices, Maoricrypta and
some Baryspira, Arachnoides and Dentalium. Apparent dip of trough beds 171°, dip 14°
Contact ‐ basal contact sharp and erosional, trough shaped. 0.3m Coquina Shell bed composed of thick walled taxa including Eumarcia
and large Dosinia shells. Shells are disarticulated but aligned. Shells are imbricated 168°SE, dip 15° continued on next page…
166
Descriptions
Double Corner Shell Beds, Lower Waipara Gorge ‐ 27 May 2001, 09.30 ‐ Field Log by Alex Zeolite
– Weather conditions : Fine and sunny ‐‐ Tokama Siltstone/Double Corner Shell Beds/Greenwood Formation, Miocene and Pliocene?.
Base of section at grid reference N34/914889
continued from previous page…
Contact – planar basal contact. 4m Fine sandstone Massive very fine sandstone with small vertical burrows present in top 0.20 m
Contact ‐ basal contact sharp and erosional, trough shaped. 0.3m Coquina Shell bed composed of Glycimeris and many gastropods. Shells
are disarticulated but aligned. Rare mudstone pebbles.
Contact – planar basal contact. 7.5m Fine sandstone Massive very fine sandstone with lenticular shell beds. Polinices present.
Contact – irregular contact with convolute bedding 0.5m Shelly sand. Shelly sand bed containing broken and disarticulated shells, very
laterally variable in thickness. Big grey oysters at top. Turia present. Bed coarsens upward and then fines. Heavily bioturbated at top with
vertical and horizontal tubes up to 0.2 m long.
Contact ‐ Basal contact sharp, erosional 8m. Conglomerate Very rounded, pebble to cobble conglomerate of Greywacke clasts with
frequent shells including white thin shelled oysters. Large blocks of sandstone up to 0.5 m diameter with sub angular edges. Conglomerate
is strongly imbricated 120° at dip of 14°.
Contact – planar basal contact. 12m Fine sandstone Massive very fine sandstone with lenticular shell beds.
Contact ‐ basal contact sharp and erosional, trough shaped. 0.3m Coquina Discontinuous shell bed composed of barnacle plates,
Lentipecten, Polinices etc.
Contact – planar basal contact. 1m Fine sandstone Massive very fine sandstone with lenticular shell beds. Apparent dip of lenticular beds
170°, Dip 14°
Contact ‐ basal contact sharp and erosional, trough shaped. 0.2m Coquina Discontinuous shell bed composed of barnacle plates,
Lentipecten, Polinices etc.
Contact – planar basal contact. 4.5m Fine sandstone Massive very fine sandstone with lenticular shell beds. Apparent dip of lenticular
beds 162°, Dip 13°
Contact ‐ Basal contact sharp. 0.20m Coquina. Shell bed incorporating gastropods. Disarticulated pink barnacle plates.
Contact – planar basal contact. 7m Fine sandstone Massive very fine sandstone with lenticular shell beds. Apparent dip of lenticular beds
160°, Dip 12°
Contact – irregular lower contact, erosional 4m. Conglomerate Very rounded, pebble to cobble conglomerate of Greywacke clasts with
frequent shells including grey oysters. Huge Polinices and many thin bivalve shells. Large blocks of sandstone up to 0.5 m diameter with sub
angular edges. Conglomerate is strongly imbricated 120° at dip of 10°. Top of measured section
167
Log basic design
168
Summary Log –
example,
suggested
symbols
169
Thinking ‐
• What information would you be able to add to
the sketch if you had field observations?
• What information is missing from the
provided field observations?
• What trends or other information can you
infer from the summary log you have created?
170

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Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

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Classification of silici-clastic sandstones. After Pettijohn et al. (1987).

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 = pore volume x 100

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Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

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• Primary Porosity ‐ pore space that results from

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Anisotropy occurs at different

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Thin section from sandstone Ky =1931mD

Simulated Cube (10  10  10 mm)

You will only rarely hear anyone (other than expert

phi = -log2 (grain size in millimetres)

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Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

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Flash flood/alluvial fan

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Maximum depth of burial (m)

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Remember the lessons of primary porosity – as sediments, muddy sediments have a

Sandstone ‐Claystones become highly

Shale or compacted mudstone usually has less than 12% effective porosity, often less

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

The point we wish to

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Small pore throats (~capillary tubes) require higher

– grain sorting  ‐‐ porosity  permeability 

grain shape  = porosity ↓ grain shape  = porosity ↑

Which will have the greater B

Which will have the greater B initially, then A after lots of

Which will have the greater B

Which will have the greater A

Sample 5H(HFU5) Well A28 Pc vs.Sw

 = 15% k = ?(less)mD Partical size,phi

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

G11PG Geoscience for Petroleum Engineering 1000m Chapter 2

G11PG Geoscience for Petroleum Engineering 500m Chapter 2

G11PG Geoscience for Petroleum Engineering 500m Chapter 2

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot‐Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Institute of Petroleum Engineering