Allan George G.
Jovellano 1
Introduction to Sedimentary Petrology | Sedimentary Petrology 2019
Four fundamental kinds of constituents in
Lesson I sedimentary rocks:
Introduction to 1.
Sedimentary Petrology
Also known as Sedimentology, is a branch of study
concerned especially with the composition,
characteristics and origins of your sediments and
your sedimentary rocks.
Sedimentary Petrology focuses on the physical,
2.
chemical, and biological characteristics of
sedimentary rocks and on the relationship of these
properties to depositional conditions and
provenance (sediment sources).
The source of the sediment largely dictates what the
composition of your sedimentary rocks will be.
Why do we study Sedimentary Rocks?
3.
 They provide the only clues to the evolution of
earth’s landscape and life forms through time.
 They contain minerals and fossil fuels that have
economic significance (petroleum, oil, natural
gas, salt, phosphate, and sulfur) 4.
 Sedimentary rocks are formed through
exogenic processes, texture of rock (dictated
by the sediment source)
 Sedimentary rocks are significantly at lower
temperature and pressure than endogenic-
processed rocks
 Their textures, structures, composition and
fossil content reveal the nature of past surface
environments and life forms on earth. Three Fundamental Types of Sedimentary
Rocks
1.
How do sedimentary rocks form?
2.
3.
Terrigenous/Siliciclastic Particles
 are gravel-to mud sized particles that are
either individual mineral grains of
aggregates of minerals generated by
terrestrial explosive volcanics and rock
weathering
 these particles may be minerals making
up your rock or rock particles
 mineral silicate examples are quartz,
feldspars, and micas
Chemical/Biochemical Constituents
 are material formed from chemical and
biochemical processes operating within
the depositional basin. Includes minerals
such as calcite, gypsum, and apatite
formed from precipitation of soluble
constituents in basin water.
 Also includes the formation of calcareous
and siliceous shells of organisms
(biochemical)
Carbonaceous Constituents
 preserved carbonized residues of
terrestrial plants and marine plants and
animals, together with petroleum
bitumens
Authigenic Constituents
 minerals precipitated from pore waters
within the sedimentary pile during burial
diagenesis
 a secondary component that may include
silicates, carbonates, clay minerals and
phosphates
Siliciclastic (Terrigenous)
Chemical/Biochemical
Carbonaceous
 Allan George G. Jovellano 2
Introduction to Sedimentary Petrology | Sedimentary Petrology 2019

Tectonic Setting of Sediment Accumulation

If you look at the geological processes occurring on earth,
the sedimentary rock types that you see in a certain setting
is largely dictated by the tectonic setting of that area.

Tectonic and Geologic History of the Area

Nature of Source Area and Depositional

Environment

Physical, Chemical and Biological

Characteristics of the Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary Basins
These are low-lying areas where sediments can
accumulate. Are commonly classified in terms of:

1. Type of crust on which the basins rest

2. Position of the basins with respect to plate
margins
3. For basins lying close to plate margins, the type
of plate interactions occurring during
sedimentation

Factors that affect depositional processes

and the resulting sediment characteristics:

1. Lithology of parent rock

2. Relief, slope and climate of source area
3. Rate of basin subsidence and of sea-level
rise or fall – indicates the accumulation space
4. size and shape of basins – limits the volume of
sediments that it may accumulate

A figure of factors influencing sediment accommodation and facies

distribution (modified from Nichols, 2009), divided into two groups:
controlling factors (round circles) and consequence (rectangular
boxes)

There are a lot of factors affecting depositional

processes and the formation of sedimentary rocks.
For example, tectonic setting affects sediment
pathways, subsidence, basin dimension and the
relief.

All in all, the figure states that different settings that

you see in the area affects the different geologic
processes that may occur, which in turn affects your
facies, deposits and formation of rocks.
 Allan George G. Jovellano 3
Introduction to Sedimentary Petrology | Sedimentary Petrology 2019

The several classifications of sedimentary basins:


The Different Sedimentary Textures | Sedimentary Petrology 2019
(For Unconsolidated Sediments)
Lesson II
Sedimentary Textures
Why do we study sedimentary textures?
✓ It helps characterize and distinguish between
different rock types and aids in the correlation
✓ It is affected by properties such as porosity,
permeability, bulk density, electrical
conductivity and sound transmutability
Natural siliciclastic particles range in size; thus, the
most useful grade scale are logarithmic or geometric
scales with fixed ratio between successive elements.
The Udden-Wentworth Scale. Each value is etither 2x
larger than the preceding value, or ½ as large. it expresses
the wide range of particle size found in natural sediments
and sedimentary rocks, bot not for the purpose of graphical
plotting and statistical calculation.
Measuring Grain Size
To preserve different types of grains/fragments, there are different
methods of analysis being used.
Allan George G. Jovellano 4
1. Sieving
 This method is used for unconsolidated
sediments. There are two types of sieving.
1.1. Wet – water is applied to aid in the sieving
process.
1.2. Dry – direct sieving of the samples
 Sieves have different sizes, all for the
purpose of differentiating rocks/grains of
different sizes.
2. Settling Tube Analysis
 This method involves measuring the fall
time of particles through a water in a
settling tube
3. Pipette Analysis
 fine, unconsolidated sediment is stirred
into a suspension in a measure volume of
distilled water in a settling tube. Uniform-
size aliquots of this suspension are
withdrawn with a pipette at specified
times, evaporated to dryness in an oven,
and weighed.
4. Sedimentation Balances
 are a type of automated settling tube for
fine sediment in which it is continuously
weighed as it collects on a pan at the
bottom of the settling tube.
5. Sedigraph
 an automated particle size and analyzer
that determines the size of particles
dispersed in a liquid by measuring the
attenuation of finely collimated X-ray
beam as a function of time and height in a
settling suspension
 Transmitted X-ray intensity increases with
time as particles settle out of suspension
and decrease X-ray absorption
6. Laser-Diffraction Size Analyzer
 operates on the principle that particles of
a given size diffract light through a given
angle
 the angle increasing with decreasing size
7. Electro-Resistance Size Analyzer
 measures grain size on the basis of the
principle that a particle passing through
an electrical field maintained in an
electrolyte will displace its own volume of
the electrolyte and thus cause a change in
the field
 These charges are counted as voltage
pulses, in which it is magnitude
proportional to particle volume, and the
number of pulses is a function of particle
concentration
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The Different Sedimentary Textures | Sedimentary Petrology 2019

(For Lithified Sedimentary Rocks) Aside from using the orthodox mean calculation, the
mean size can be calculated by using the Graphic
8. Petrographic Microscope
Mean Size:
 the grain size determined in this way is
the section diameter of randomly
oriented grains, which is commonly
smaller than the maximum diameter of
the grains (corpuscle effect)
 Measurements are commonly Grain Size Sorting (i)
corrected in some way to make them
Also known as Graphic (Phi) Standard Deviation (i)
agree more closely with sieve data
is a measure of the range sizes present and the
 Mostly consolidated, however can be
magnitude of the spread or scatter of these sizes
used on friable rocks.
around the mean size

Reducing and Displaying Grain Size

Data
Graphic Standard Deviation takes the mean of the
1. Graphical Method contributions from the 68 and 90% population
1.1. Histograms (a) are bar diagrams fractions produced:
constructed by plotting individual weight
percent (frequency) along the ordinate
(y-axis) and the phi size of each size class
along the abscissa (x-axis)
1.2. Frequency curve (b) is like a histogram
except that the bar diagram is replaced by
a smooth curve
1.3. Cumulative Curve (c) is generated by
plotting cumulative weight percent
frequency against phi size
1.4. Cumulative curve (d) can also be plotted These are the different verbal ratings of sediments
with a log-probability ordinate according to their deviation values.

2. Moment Method
✓ Mode: highest occurring particle size in
an association of grains in terms of weight
percent
✓ Median: represents the midpoint of the
grain size distribution
✓ Mean Size: the arithmetic average of all
the particle sizes in a sample

Textural comparison chart showing degree of sorting. Each section

is labeled with its verbal sorting description according to Folk
(1968).
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The Different Sedimentary Textures | Sedimentary Petrology 2019

Skewness (SKi) Application of Grain Size Data

This is an additional measure of grainsize sorting that
reflects sorting in the tails of distribution; any
tendency for a distribution to lean to one side:
1. Interpret coastal stratigraphy and sea level
fluctuations
2. Trace glacial sediment transport and the
cycling of glacial sediments from land to sea
3. Understand the fluxes, cycles, budges, sources
and sinks of chemical elements in nature
4. Understand mass physical properties of
seafloor sediment
Application of grain size data is not a consistently reliable for direct
interpretation of environment.

Grain Shape
Particle shape encompass all aspects of the external
morphology of particles. This includes Form,
Roundness, and Surface Texture, which can be
thought as a hierarchy and stand as independent
parameters (although dramatic changes in
form/roundness likely affect surface texture).

Skewed grain-size frequency curves, illustrating the

difference between positive (fine) and negative (coarse)
skewness.

The hierarchal relationship of form, roundness, and surface texture.

The heavy, solid line is the particle outline.

1. Form refers to the gross overall morphology of

These are the verbal skewness derived from the
calculated values.
Kurtosis (KG)
It is the sharpness of peakedness of a grain-size
frequency. Leptokurtic are sharp-peaked curves.
Platykurtic are flat peaked curves. A sharp-peaked
kurtosis means that the sediments are usually
concentrated around the recorded mode or the
central portion of the grain size frequency.
configuration of particles
2. Roundness is a measure of the sharpness of the
corners of the grain, and is usually measured in
two dimensions only
3. Surface Texture refers to the microrelief
features that appear on the surfaces of clastic
particles
Particle Form
It refers to the flatness, elongation, sphericity
roundness of the grains.
Sphericity is the degree to which the shape of the
grains approaches the shape of a sphere

Intercept sphericity formula (Krumbein, 1941):

Maximum projection sphericity (Sneed and Folk, 1958):


The Different Sedimentary Textures | Sedimentary Petrology 2019
Zingg’s Shape Classification is derived by plotting
on a bivariate diagram the ratio of the intermediate
to long particle axis versus the ratio of the short
intermediate particle axis
Figure A. Classification of pebble shapes after Zingg. Figure B.
Relation between intercept sphericity and Zingg shape fields. The
curves represent lines of equal sphericity.
Classification of pebble shapes after Sneed and Folk (1858).
The Corey shape index (CSI) plotted against the disc rod index DRI
on a triangular diagram.
What are the difficulties in measuring
sphericity? (explanation)
1. It is time-consuming
2. You are looking at a 2-dimensional object,
keeping in mind the difficulty in measuring fine
grained (clay and silts) materials
Allan George G. Jovellano 7
Particle Roundness
It is defined as the arithmetic mean of the roundness
of the individual corners
The roundness of individual corners is given by the
ratio of the radius of the curvature corners to the
radius of the maximum-size circle that can be
inscribed within the outline of the grain in the plane
of measurement. The degree of Wadell roundness
(RW) is thus expressed as:
Where r is the radius of curvature of individual corners, R
is the radius of the maximum inscribed circle and N is the
number of corners
Grain images for estimated the roundness of sedimentary particles
(After Powers, 1953)
Fourier Shape Analysis
Owing to the problems inherent in measuring
sphericity and roundness and the inability of these
parameters to delineate the shapes of particles with
a high degree of accuracy, some geologists have
sought more exact, mathematical methods for
characterizing particle shape. Most workers have
focused on measuring particle shape by Fourier
analysis, which appears to work well for describing
the regular shapes of most natural particles. Highly
irregular or strongly embayed particles are less
amenable to Fourier analysis.
Using Form in Determining Diaganesis and
Provenance
In reality, using them in such studies has not been
proving to be reliable. However, there are certain
parameters wherein the experts conceded them to
be applicable on certain studies such as:
1. Sphericity vs Settling Velocity
✓ “high sphericity is led by high velocity”
2. Shape associated with transportability
✓ example: roller shape is more
preferentially transported compared to
bladed shape
The failure of sphericity and roundness, as measured by
conventional techniques, to serve as dependable guides to
source and depositional environments rests in part on the
fact that many natural variables interact to produce the
characteristics of particular deposit.
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The Different Sedimentary Textures | Sedimentary Petrology 2019

Fabric
It refers to the textural characteristics displayed by
aggregate of grains. Fabric encompasses two
properties of grain aggregates: grain packing and
grain orientation.

1. Grain packing is the function of size and shape

of grains and the post-depositional physical
and chemical processes that bring about
compaction of sediment.

Diagrammatic illustration of principal kinds of grain contacts.

2. Grain Orientation is a function of the physical

processes and conditions operating at the time
of deposition, it may be modified by—

Hypothetical, schematic arrangement of grains in sediments.

Figure A. Platy or flaky grains deposited in quiet water on a flat bed.
Figure B. Elongated grains deposited in a random arrangement in
quiet water. Figure C. Elongated grains deposited under current
flow with long dimensions parallel to current flow. Figure D.
Elongated grains deposited under current flow with long
dimensions perpendicular to current flow. Figure E. Elongated
grains deposited in an imbricated arrangement under current flow.
Arrows indicate direction of current flow.

Particle imbrication and orientation in various kinds of sedimentary

deposits.

Textural Maturity
Textural maturity refers to the textural
characteristics of a particular sediment. The three
textural properties encompassing textural maturity
(according to folk):
1. amount of clay-sized sediment in the rock
2. sorting of framework grains
3. roundness of framework grains
Figure 2.19. Textural maturity classification of Folk. Textural
maturity of sands is shown as a function of input of kinetic energy.
From Immature as you go to Mature Stage your grains contain less
clay. Sorting: for immature stages, your grains are not well sorted
and becomes more sorted through time. Your grains are also more
rounded as you increase in maturity.
Porosity and Permeability are important derived
characteristics of sedimentary rocks controlled in part by
grain size, shape, packing and arrangement. In turn, your
porosity and permeability are the controlling parameters
of the movement of fluids through rocks.
POROSITY
Total or Absolute Porosity is defined as the ratio of
pore space in a sediment or sedimentary rock to the
total volume of the rock.
Effective Porosity is the ratio of the interconnected
pore space to the bulk volume of a rock. (where IVp
is interconnected pore volume)
Your total porosity is always greater than your effective
porosity.
In terms of origin:
Primary porosity is the space between the grain
particles (intergranular) or space provided by
internal structures of the particles (intragranular) as
in fossil, vugs and voids.
Secondary Porosity is the void spaces created
after deposition of the grains due to chemical or
physical changes though dissolution, fracturing and
diagenesis.
Allan George G. Jovellano 9
Textural Maturity | Sedimentary Petrology 2019
Three Types of Primary Porosity: (based on book)
1. Intergranular or Interparticle
 pore space that exists between or among
framework grains, such as siliciclastic
particles and carbonate grains (ooids,
fossils, etc)
2. Intragranular or Intraparticle
 pore space within particles, such as
cavities in fossils and open space in clay
minerals
3. Intercrystalline
 pore space between chemically formed
crystals, as in dolomites
Three types of secondary porosity
1. Solution porosity is caused by dissolution of
cements or metastable framework grains in
siliciclastic sedimentary rocks or dissolution of
cements, fossils, framework crystals, etc. in
carbonate or other chemically formed rocks
2. Intercrystalline porosity – arising from pore
space in cements or among other authigenic
minerals
3. Fracture porosity - owing to fracturing of any
type of rock by tectonic forces or other
processes such as compaction and desiccation
PERMEABILITY
(k) is the ability of the rock to transmit fluids. It is a
measure of fluid conductivity through the pores of a
rock.
some generalizations:
1. Permeability decreases with decreasing
particle size – owing to the decrease in pore
diameters and increase in capillary pressures
and decreasing sorting
2. Permeability decreases with increasing
particle sphericity – (perhaps owing to tighter
packing of spheres) and increasingly tighter or
denser packing (which may reduce pore size)
3. Permeability is affected by particle
orientation – permeability seems generally to
be greater parallel to an oriented fabric (e.g.
parallel to bedding planes), although this may
not be true in every case
4. Permeability tends to increase with
increasing effective porosity – but it may not
be positively correlated with total porosity
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Sedimentary Structures | Sedimentary Petrology 2019

Formation of Laminated Beds

Sedimentary Structures
Sedimentary structures may be classified purely on the
basis of their morphological or descriptive characteristics
or on the basis of presumed mode of origin.
Beds
These are tabular or lenticular layers of sedimentary
rock having characteristics that distinguish them
from strata above and below. Beds are a function of
and are distinguished by the composition, size,
shape, orientation, and packing of sediment. Beds
are formally designated as those layers thicker than
1 centimeter.
1. Suspension Settling Mechanism suggests
slow deposition in quiet-water environments
where organic activity (bioturbation) at and
below the depositional interface was not
intense enough to destroy the lamination.
2. Traction Transport Mechanism is the
spillover of the dilute upper parts of
channelized turbidity currents however, the
exact mechanism that produces the lamination
is still speculative.
Graded Bedding
Graded beds are strata characterized by gradual
but distinct vertical changes in grain size. There are
two types of bedding:

1. Normal Grading gradation from coarser

particles below and fining upwards.
2. Inverse Grading is the upward gradation from
fine grains to coarser grains.

Rhythmic Bedding are graded units repeating one

after another.

Bouma Sequence is an “ideal” graded-bed sequence

described by Bouma (1962,), in rocks of probable turbidity
current origin.

These are the terms used for describing the thickness of beds and
laminae.

 Bedding Planes or Bounding Planes are those

bounding surfaces that separate beds into
units.
 Amalgamation Surface is a distinct
discontinuity, such as an erosional surface, that
is present between two beds of similar
composition.
 Amalgamation beds, on the other hand, are
separated by amalgamation surfaces.
 Planar-Stratified beds contain internal layers
that are essentially parallel to the bounding
bedding surfaces.
 Bedsets are groups of similar planar beds.
1.1. Simple bedsets are characterized by
similar compositions, textures and
internal structures.
1.2. Composite bedsets consist of group of
beds that differ in these characteristics,
however, are genetically associated. They
are associated in terms of deposition and
formation of the beds.
 Cross-stratified beds display internal layers
deposited at a distinct angle to the bounding
surfaces. Coset is a succession of cross-strata.

Laminated Bedding
Laminae are layers thinner than 1cm and are
distinguished on the basis of differences in grain
size, clay and organic matter content, composition
and microfossil content.
This complete sequence of units grades upward from a massive,
well-graded basal portion (unit A) through a lower unit
characterized by parallel laminae (B), a ripple cross-laminated
middle unit (C), an upper unit with parallel laminae (D), and a
topmost nearly structureless mud unit (E)
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Sedimentary Structures | Sedimentary Petrology 2019

Formation of Graded Beds Ripple Cross-Lamination

There are different mechanisms in which you can It is a type of cross-stratification that has the general
form graded beds: appearance of waves when viewed in outcrop
sections cut normal to the wave crests.
1. Turbidity currents
2. Storm activity on shelves Types of Ripple Cross-Lamination:
3. Periodic setting from tributaries
4. Deposition in the last phases of a flood 1. Subcritically-climbing ripples the angle of
5. Settling of volcanic ash after an eruption climb is less than the stoss side angle.
2. Critically-climbing ripples have equal values
In general, there must be a sudden activity followed for stoss stide angle and angle of climb
by a period of low activity. 3. Supercritically-climbing ripples where the
angle of climb is greater than the stoss stide
angle
Massive Beds
These are beds of sedimentary rocks that contain few
or no visible laminae. Many massive appearing beds
have been shown actually to contain internal
structures when examined.
 Nonetheless, massive beds do occur, both in
graded and nongraded units.
 They appear to be most common in sandstones

Formation of Massive beds

1. Absence of fluid-flow traction transport

2. Rapid deposition of material from suspension
3. Rapid Aggradation
Deposition takes place very rapidly during
migration of current or wave ripples. It occurs in a
Cross Beds
variety of environments, including fluvial
These are strata in which internal layers, or floodplains, point bars, river deltas subject to
foresets, dip at a distinct angle to the surfaces that periodic flooding, and environments of turbidite
bound the sets of cross-beds. Cross-lamination if sedimentation.
thickness of the foresets is less than 10 mm.

Types of Cross Beds

1. Tabular Cross-Beds have bounding surfaces Flaser and Lenticular Bedding

that are planar
Flaser Bedding is a special type of ripple-cross
2. Trough Cross-beds have bounding surfaces
lamination in which thin streaks of mud occur
that are curved
between sets of ripple laminae. Lenticular bedding
Formation of Cross-beds is the interbedded mud and ripple-cross laminated
sand in which ripples or sand lenses are
1. Migration of bedforms discontinuous and isolated in both vertical and
2. Filling of scour pits and channels lateral directions.
3. Deposition on point bars
4. Deposition on inclined surfaces It appears to form under fluctuating depositional
conditions marked by periods of current activity,
when traction transport and rippling of fine sands
takes place, alternating with periods of
quiescence, when mud is deposited.
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Sedimentary Structures | Sedimentary Petrology 2019

Both structures are common in the deposits of tidal 3. Current ripples are ripples developed
flats and some sub-tidal environments. They may under unidirectional current flow which are
also form in marine and lacustrine delta-front asymmetrical in cross-sectional shape, with a
environments, and possible on shallow-marine gently sloping upcurrent stoss side and a more
shelves. steeply sloping lee side.

Hummocky Cross-Stratification
It is a type of cross-stratification characterized by
undulating sets of cross-laminae that are both
concave-up (swales) and convex-up (hummock).
The cross beds cut into each other with curved
erosional surfaces.

4. Oscillation ripples or wave ripples are

ripples that are formed by back-and-forth
motion of your waves (also known as
oscillation).

Most workers agree that hummocky cross-

stratification forms in some manner under the action
of waves and that it appears to be particularly
common in ancient sediments deposited on the
shoreface and shelf. The exact process or processes
by which hummocky cross-stratification is formed is,
however, still speculative.

Bedforms and its classifications Current dominated: asymmetrical but starts to take a
symmetrical as it reaches wave-dominated type.
Ripple Marks

They occur owing to traction transport of granular

materials under either unidirectional current flow or
oscillatory flow (wave action). They are most
common in sand-size sediment but can occur in finer
and coarser sediment.
1. Dunes migrate in downcurrent direction; form
in moderate to high flow velocities.
2. Antidunes migrate in upward current
direction; form in high flow velocities.
When flow velocities eventually diminish; bedforms
tend to be destroyed in the reverse order in which
they are produced; therefore ripples, especially
large ripples and dunes have low preservation
potential.
Irregular Stratification
Many of these structures appear to have formed from
regular bedding or stratification that was deformed
or altered during or after deposition---
Deformation Structures formed by physical
processes such as soft-sediment slumping, loading,
squeezing, or partial liquefaction.
1. Convolute bedding, or convolute lamination
(for laminae), is the name applied to complexly
folded or intricately crumple beds or
laminations that are commonly, although not
invariably, confined to a single sedimentation
unit. This is particularly common in turbidites
but can occur also in a variety of other
sediments, including intertidal-flat, deltaic,
river-floodplain, point-bar, and eolian deposits

2. Flame Structures are flame-shaped
projections of mud that extend upward from a
shale unit into an overlying bed of different
composition, commonly sandstone. These are
probably caused by squeezing of low-density
water-saturated muds upward into denser sand
layers owing to the weight of the sand. The
oriented, overturned crests of some flames
suggest that slight horizontal (downslope or
downcurrent) movement or drag may take
place between the mud and sand layers during
the process of loading ang squeezing
3. Ball and Pillow structures are the basal
portion of sandstone beds, which overlie
shales, that are broken into masses of various
sizes packed vertically and laterally in a mud
matrix. In some deposits, the sand masses may
become detached from the overlying sand and
be completely surrounded by shale, forming a
laterally extensive layer of nearly uniform-size
sand balls that may superficially resemble
concretions called pseudonodules.
Ball and pillow structures are caused by the
breakup and foundering of semi-consolidated
sand or limy sediment when underlying muds
become temporarily liquefied or partially
liquefied
4. Synsedimentary folds, faults and rip-up
clasts are structures formed when
unconsolidated sediment may move
downslope under the influence of gravity such
as slumps slides and flows.
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Sedimentary Structures | Sedimentary Petrology 2019
4.1. Folds are from a decollement type of
movement in which the lateral
displacement is concentrated along a sole,
producing beds that are tightly folded and
piled into a nappe-like structures.
4.2. Rip-up clasts are broken fragments
incorporated into and surrounded by sand
produced by flowing and slumping.
5. Dish structures are thin, dark-colored,
sub-horizontal, flat to concave-upward clayey
laminations which typically occur in laterally
extensive, thick beds.
6. Pillar structures form commonly in association
with dishes. They are vertical to near-vertical
cross-cutting columns and sheets of
structureless or swirled sand that cut though
either massive or laminated sands.
Dish structures (long arrow) and pillar structures (short
arrow) in siliciclastic sediments of the Jackfork Group,
southeast Oklahoma.
Dish structures and pillars have generally been considered
water-escape structures formed as a result of rapid
deposition with subsequent escape of water from the
sediment during compaction and consolidation.
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Erosional structures
2. Tool-formed erosional structures
These structures have formed as a result of erosion The erosional event that initiates the process of
of unconsolidated beds followed by an episode of forming erosional sole markings can result
sedimentation. from the action of current-transported objects
that intermittently or continuously make contact
1. Channels are sediment filled troughs that show
with the bottom. Such contact may
a U-or V shape in cross section and that cut
simultaneously deform (compress) the soft
across previously formed beds and
bottom sediment and gouge depressions or
laminations.
grooves in the sediment.
2.1. Groove cast are elongate, nearly straight
ridges that result from infilling of grooves
produced by some object dragged over.

Figure A. Channel (arrow) in fine sandstone, filled with fine

sand and pebbles. Coquille Formation (Pleistocene),
southern Oregon coast. Figure B. Small channel filled with
gravel, showing a lens-like form in cross-section

2. Scour and fill (or cut and fill structures)

resemble channels but tend to be somewhat
smaller, more asymmetrical in cross-sectional
shape and shorter in length. They may be filled
with material that is either coarser or finer than Large intersecting groove casts on the base of a
the substrate into which they are cut. graded turbidite sandstone.

2.2. Bounce, brush, prod, roll and skip

marks are related in origin to groove
Bedding Plane Markings casts, but they are produce by tools that
There are different causes for the formation of these make intermittent contact with the bottom
marks. Some are: rather than continuous contact.

1. Erosion & Deposition

2. Bioturbation
3. Burying Processes

(Generated by Erosion & Deposition)

1. Sole markings are common features, typically

consisting of positive relief casts and various
kinds of irregular markings, especially on the
soles of irregular markings, especially on the
soles of coarser-grained sedimentary rocks
that overlie shales.
(butang explanation)

3. Current-formed erosional structures

3.1. Flute casts are caused by flow separation
and scouring round surface irregularity.

These are particularly common on the soles of turbidide

sandstones, but they can form in any environmentent where
the requisite condistons of an erosive event followed quickly
by a depositional event are met.

Flute casts covering the entire base (sole) of a

turbidite sandstone bed. Note also the large groove
cast in the lower part of the photograph (running
under the hammer). The paleocurrent direction is from
the upper right toward the lower left.
 Allan George G. Jovellano 15
Sedimentary Structures | Sedimentary Petrology 2019

3.2. Current Crescents (obstacle scour) Other Structures

occur as narrow semicircular or
horseshoe-shaped troughs, which form 1. Sandstone Dikes are tabular bodies of
around small obstacles such as pebbles or sandstone that fill fractures in any kind of host
shells owing to current scour. rock. Sandstone Sills are features of similar
appearance and origin except that they are
sand bodies that have been injected between
beds of other rock
2. Concretions form by precipitation of minerals
around a center, building up a globular mass.
3. Nodules are small, irregularly rounded bodies
that commonly have a warty or knobby surface
4. Color Banding sometimes referred to as
Liesegang banding, is a type of rhythmic
layering resulting from the precipitation of iron
Current crescents formed downflow from pebbles on oxide in fluid-saturated sediments to form thin,
a modern beach. closely spaced, commonly curved layers
5. Stylolites are suture- or stylus-like seams, as
seen in cross-section, in generally
(Generated by Deformation)
homogeneous, thick-bedded sedimentary
4. Load Casts are rounded knobs or irregular rocks
proturbenarances on the soles of sandstone
beds that overlie shales.

Load casts on the base of a large sandstone boulder.

Some of the load casts may be modified organic traces.

(Generated by Organisms)

5. Biogenic Structures
5.1. Bioturbation structures
5.2. Bioerosion structures
5.3. Biostratification structures
5.4. Excrements

Organic markings (trace fossils). Figure A. Copious organic

traces (arrows) on the base of a massive sandstone bed.
Bateman Formation (Eocene), southwestern Oregon. Figure
B. Shallow burrows (arrows) that cut across laminated fine
sandstone.

6. Other bedding plane marks of

miscellaneous origin:
6.1. Mudcracks
6.2. Raindrop Imprints
6.3. Hailstone imprints
6.4. Bubble imprints (from volatiles or
chemical bubbles)
6.5. Syneresis cracks
6.6. Rill marks
6.7. Swash Marks
6.8. Parting Lineation (current lineation)