Sedimentology

(EGE 3083)
Dr. Hafzan Eva Binti Mansor

LECTURE 4:
SEDIMENTARY
PETROLOGY PART I
(SILICICLASTIC
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS)
Udden-Wentworth
grain-size scale for
siliciclastic sediment
(Wentworth, 1922).
 Mudstone
• Mudstone: Sedimentary
rocks composed mainly of
grains smaller than 62
micron (silt and clay)

• Other terms
• Mudrock=Mudstone
• Shale: fissile variety of
mudstone
• Claystone: Clay-dominated
mudstone
• Siltstone: Silt-dominated
mudstone
• Gradations: Silty mudstone
etc.
 Mudstone
• Texture:
• Grains are typically angular (grains
<0.1mm not affected by transport)
• Grains typically have low sphericity
(mostly platy clay minerals)

• Sedimentary structures: may be

laminated or structureless
• Colours: variable depending on carbon
content or oxidation

• Mineralogy:
• Clay minerals dominate (e.g. kaolinite,
talc, micas, smectite, illite, chlorite)
• Also quartz, carbonate minerals, organic
matter

• Method of analysis: mainly microscopic

and geochemical-electron microscopy,
petrographic microscopy, XRD, XRF
Typical sandstone framework
 Grains
Quartz

Sandstone Framework
A coarse grained sedimentary rock
(sandstone, conglomerate) is
usually composed of three groups
of material: Cement
Calcite

Grains
Large particles forming the rock
framework
Matrix
Matrix Quartz (Silt)
Chlorite
Finer particles infilling the spaces
between the grains
Grains
Lithic
Cement
Quartz
Precipitated minerals infilling the spaces
Feldspar
between the grains
Typical Matrix in Sandstone
Clay mineral (Smectite,
Illite, Chlorite, Kaolinite)
Quartz (silt-sized)

Matrix

Quartz (Silt)
Chlorite

Typical Cements in
Sandstone
Quartz
Calcite Cement
Calcite
Hematite
Sorting

Shape (Sperecity and

Roundness)
Grains in Sandstone
• Can be divided into six categories:
• (1) Rock fragments (lithic clasts)
• (2) Quartz
• (3) Feldspar
• (4) Micas and clays
• (5) Heavy minerals
• (6) Other constituents
(2) Quartz Grains in Sandstone

• Most common mineral in sandstone (Average

sandstone: ~65% quartz)
• Most stable of all minerals under sedimentary
conditions
• Source: mostly derived from plutonic granitoid
rocks, acid gneisses and schists
Quartz Grain
Characteristics
• Poor cleavage
• Colourless, white, yellow
etc.
• Uniaxial
• Low relief
• Low birefringence

• Various types of quartz

grains:
• (1) Monocrystalline quartz
grains
• (2) Polycrystalline quartz
grains
Polycrystalline Quartz

Monocrystalline Quartz
(3) Feldspar Grains in Sandstone

• Source: Commonly from

igneous rocks and
schist/gneiss
• K-Feldspar more common
(more stable)

• Colourless
• Perfect-good cleavage
• Cloudy due to
inclusions/weathering
• Twinning
(1) Rock Fragments (Lithic clasts) in sandstone

• Composition of the rock

fragments depends on
source-rock geology and
durability of particles
during transport

• Note: As rock fragments

get smaller they tend to
break up into their
constituent minerals or
grains
/Rock Fragments
• Common rock fragments in
sandstone:
• (i) Fine grained sedimentary and
metasedimentary rock
– Mudstone, shale, siltstone, pelite, mica
schist
Shale fragment Siltstone fragment

• (ii) Siliceous sedimentary rocks

– Chert (usually classified as
polycrystalline quartz grains)

• (iii) Igneous rocks

 (4) Micas and clays

• Biotite and
muscovite
abundant as grains
• Muscovite more
resistant
• Mica is platy in thin
section
(5) Heavy minerals in sandstone

• Minerals with
density >2.85 g/cm3
• Zircon, tourmaline,
rutile, apatite, garnet
and other accessory
minerals
• Sandstones typically
have <1% heavy
mineral grains
(6) Other constituents: Authigenic minerals
• In situ mineral growths in the sandstone
• Not the dominant grain type in any
sandstone
• Carbonates, glauconite, other silicates,
hematite, etc.
Classification of
Sandstone
• Based on
microscopy
• Requires
assessment of
percentages of
grain types present
• McBride (1963)
and Folk et al
(1970)
classification:
Based entirely on
the composition of
the framework
grains
Sandstone Classification
• McBride (1963)
• Three end-
members: Quartz
, including
chert(Q), Feldspar
(F) and Rock
Fragments (F)
• Name of
sandstone based
on where it plots
on triangle
• Folk et al. (1970)
• Chert fragments
included with
rock fragments
 Major Sandstone Groups
• Quartz Arenites
• Feldspathic Arenites
• Lithic Arenites
 Gazzi-Dickinson Method/Point
Counting
• The Fleet Method
• The Ribbon Counting Method
• The Line Counting Method
• The Random grid (in image analysis software)
TECTONIC SETTING AND PROVENANCE
THANK YOU