GEOL 3900: Definitions

Unit 1: What is Sedimentology?

Law of superposition: layers of sedimentary rock are superimposed, or laid down one on top of another
(oldest rock layer will be on bottom, youngest on top)

- Based on idea that sedimentary rocks are typically deposited horizontally in a series of layers
over time

Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs): periods in Earth’s history when significant portions of the Earth’s oceans
became depleted of oxygen. During these events, oxygen concentrations in the ocean’s water column
dropped to levels that were insufficient to support most forms of aerobic life (e.g. mearing animals and
organisms)

- Characterized by widespread deposition of organic-rich sediments, such as black shales, due to

preservation of organic matter in the absence of oxygen

Principle of Original Horizontality: all sedimentary rock layers are originally laid down (deposited)
horizontally, and through time can be later deformed

- Based on idea that gravity acts to flatten & level seds (e.g. sand, silt, and clay) as they
accumulate when settling out of water or are deposited by other geologic processes to form
horizontal layers

Principle of Original Lateral Continuity: all sedimentary rock layers are laterally continuous and may be
broken up or displaced by later events (e.g. another rock unit, edge of basin, unconformity)

- This principle can be affected by subsequent geological processes, such as erosion, faulting, or
folding  leads to disrupting lateral continuity of rock layers

Sedimentology: study of the physical and chemical properties of sedimentary rocks and the processes
involved in their formation, including the transportation, deposition, and lithification (transformation to
rock) of sediments

Unit 2: Fluid Dynamics and Sediment Transport

Sea-level change: variations in the level of the Earth’s oceans over time, observable on both short and
long term scales

Wilson cycle: opening and closing of an ocean basin

- During opening phases of a Wilson cycle, tectonic plates move apart (by rifting) to form
divergent (passive) continental margins
- During closing phases of a Wilson cycle, its characterized by plates moving toward each other, as
oceanic crust is subducted (consumed) in trenches
Convergent (active) margins: geological boundaries where two tectonic plates move toward each other
and collide (characterized by significant geological processes, including subduction, mountain building,
and formation(s) deep-sea trenches)

Divergent margins: geological boundaries where two tectonic plate move away from each other (leads
to the creation of new oceanic crust and characterized by various geological processes, including
seafloor spreading, rift valleys, and volcanic activity)

Transform margins: geological boundaries where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally
in a lateral motion (involve plates that move side by side along strike-slip faults)

Eustatic Sea-level (ESL): changes in sea-level that are worldwide and that affect sea-level on all
continents essentially simultaneously (caused by glacial & interglacial periods, thermal expansion of
seawater)

Relative Sea-level (RSL): changes in sea-level that affect only local areas (caused by tides, ocean
currents, or geological processes)

Base level: lower limit for an erosion process

Accommodation space: space available for potential sediment accumulation (combined product of
eustasy, tectonics, and changes in rates of sediment accumulation)

Milankovitch cycles: variations in Earth’s orbital behaviour produce periodic changes of climate, which in
turn influence sea level and depositional patterns and facies

Orbital forcing: refers to cyclical variations in the Earth’s orbit and axial tilt that influence the planet’s
climate over long timescales  caused climatic changes that led to ices ages, thus affecting sea levels

- Key components of orbital forcing include: eccentricity, axial tilt (obliquity), and precession

Chemical weathering: responsible for the breakdown and alteration of rocks & minerals (involves
alteration of the chem comp of rocks and minerals through various chemical processes)

Erosion: process by which the Earth’s surface is worn away and materials are transported from one
location to another by natural forces (involves the detachment and removal of rock, sediment, and soil
particles due to the action of agents  wind, ice, water, and gravity)

Physical weathering: process that causes rocks and minerals to break down into smaller pieces without
altering their chemical composition (driven by physical forces/environmental factors, weakens the rock’s
structure, making it more susceptible to erosion)

Fluid flow: refers to movement of fluids (i.e. water, oil, gas, magma) through subsurface geological
formations, which can have significant geological, environmental, and economic implications

Laminar flow: type of fluid flow characterized by smooth, orderly, and predictable movement of fluid
particles in parallel layers (minimal mixing or turbulence)

- Key characteristics include: parallel layers, low Reynolds number, streamlined & steady flow
Turbulent flow: type of fluid flow characterized by chaotic, irregular, and unpredictable motion of fluid
particles  fluid moved in a highly disordered/agitated manner, with eddies/swirls forming throughout

- Key characteristics include: random motion, high Reynolds number, fluctuating velocity

Subcritical flow: open-channel flow in which the fluid velocity is less than the wave speed of small
disturbances or gravity waves, surface waves can travel upstream (Fr < 1 only in water)

Supercritical flow: type of open-channel flow in which the fluid velocity exceeds the wave speed of small
disturbances or gravity waves, surface waves cannot travel upstream (Fr > 1 only in water)

Entrainment: process by which surface sediment is incorporated into a fluid flow; a process for erosion

Particle settling (stationary fluids): process by which solid particles suspended in a fluid (typically a
liquid) gradually sink or settle to the bottom due to the force of gravity

Bedload: refers to sediment and particles that are transported along the bed or bottom of a river/stream
for example. (particles are typically coarser/larger than the fine silt and clay-sized particles that are
transported in suspended load)  i.e. traction, rolling, sliding, impact & creep, saltation

Suspended load: refers to fine-grained particles and sediments that are carried in suspension within the
water column (particles that are small and light enough to remain suspended in the flowing water) 
continuous/intermittent suspension

Bedform: shape of surface of sediment bed produced by fluid flow

Cross-stratification: internal structure of some bedforms that is at an angle to the bounding surface of
the beds

Sediment gravity flow: sediment transport by the effect of gravity, independent of fluid

Cross-bedding: geological feature found in sedimentary rocks that consist of inclined layers or sets of
layers within the rock (layers are at an angle to the main horizontal bedding plane, and form as a result
of the migration of sediment in response to current flow)

Unit 3: Depositional Environments

Facies: lateral change in lithologic aspect of a stratigraphic unit

- Geologic aspects include:

1. Environment of deposition
2. Lithologic composition
3. Geographic, climatic, or tectonic association

Unconformity: substantial break or gap in the geological record (implies uplift and erosion with loss of
the previously formed record)

Disconformity: an unconformity in which the bedding planes above and below the break are essentially
parallel, indicating a significant interruption in the orderly sequence of sedimentary rocks
Paraconformity: obscure or uncertain unconformity in which no erosion surface is discernible, and in
which the beds above/below the break are parallel

Angular unconformity: unconformity between two groups of rocks whose bedding planes are not
parallel or in which the older, underlying rocks dip at a different angle

Nonconformity: unconformity developed between sed rocks and older ign or meta rocks that had been
exposed to erosion before overlying sediments covered them

Diastem: gap or interval in the sedimentary rock record where there is no deposition of sediment, or
where erosion has removed a portion of previously deposited sediments

Conformity: undisturbed relationship between adjacent sedimentary strata that have been deposited in
orderly sequence

Eustasy: refers to a global change in sea-level, as opposed to a local or regional change

Transgression: shoreline moves landward, shifting of sediments towards the continent (sea-level rise
with zero sediment flux)

Regression: shoreline moves seaward/basin-ward

Aggradation: sediments accumulate at the same rate the sea-level rises resulting in zero net movement
(sea-level rise with sediment flux = rate of sea-level rise)

Progradation: sediments accumulate at a faster rate than the rate of erosion, resulting in the growth of a
river delta further out into the sea over time (sea-level rise with high sediment flux)

- Depositional trend for regressions, and is defined as the building forward or outward toward the
sea of a shoreline or coastline (e.g. beach, delta, or fan)

Walther’s Law: environments of deposition that are adjacent to each other will appear in a vertical
succession

- Walther’s Law only applies to a section without unconformities

- Walther’s Law only applies to a section without subdividing diachronous boundaries, including
transgressive surfaces (TS) and the maximum flooding surfaces (MFS)

Continental (Terrestrial) environment: refers to the portion of Earth’s surface that consists of land, as
opposed to water bodies like oceans and seas (wide range of landscapes and ecosystems found on
continents)

- Fluvial systems
- River systems
- Eolian desert system
- Lacustrine system
- Glacial system

Marginal-Marine environment: transitional zones located at the interface between terrestrial (land) and
marine (ocean) environments (found along coastlines, estuaries, deltas, and tidal flats)
 - Deltaic and estuarine systems
- Beach and barrier island systems
- Lagoonal systems
- Tidal-flat systems

Siliciclastic Marine environment: characterized by the predominance of clastic (fragmental) sediments,

typically composed of mineral grains like qtz, f-spar, and clay (found in nearshore marine settings and
extend from the coastline into the continental shelf)

- Shelf environment
- Oceanic (deep-water) environment

Carbonate and Evaporite environment: carbonate environments are characterized by the dominance of
carbonate minerals, primarily CaCO3 (associated with warm, clear, and shallow marine waters). Evaporite
environments are characterized by the deposition of minerals that precipitate from the evaporation of
water leaving behind dissolved salts. (found in arid/semi-arid regions where evap. rates > precip. rates

- Carbonate environment
- Slope/basin carbonates
- Mixed carbonate-siliciclastic system

Unit 4: Stratigraphy and Stratigraphic Facies

Stratigraphy: branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering
(stratification), primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks

Depositional environment: A specific geological setting/location where sediments and rocks accumulate
through the processes of erosion, transportation, and deposition  characterized by particular physical,
chemical, & biological processes

Depositional system: 3-D assemblage of facies genetically linked by active (modern) or inferred (past)
processes and environments. It involves the analysis and interpretation of sedimentary strata and the
environments in which they were deposited in  builds in the evolution of a depositional environment
over time

Lithofacies: rocks with a consistent lithological character within a formation; e.g. evaporite lithofacies

Biofacies: rocks with a consistent biological character; e.g. oyster bank facies

Seismic facies: representative of characteristic seismic reflectors

Petrophysical facies: representative of characteristic log response

Facies model: geological concept and tool used to describe and understand the spatial and temporal
distribution of sedimentary facies within a sedimentary rock or geological formation

- Premise:
1. Finite number of sedimentary environments
2. Finite number of sedimentary facies
 3. Uniformitarianism can be applied

Bioerosion: geo/biological process in which living organisms (i.e. plants & animals) erode, excavate, or
modify geological materials such as rocks or sediments (evidence includes: distinctive marks, burrows,
and tracks)

Unit 5: Biostratigraphy and Chronostratigraphy

Biostratigraphy: branch of stratigraphy that uses fossils to establish relative ages of rock and correlate
successions of sedimentary rocks within and between depositional basins

Principle of faunal succession: based on the observation that sedimentary rock strata contain fossilized
flora and fauna, and that these fossils succeed each other vertically in a specific, reliable order that can
be identified over wide horizontal distances

Stage: group of strata containing the same major fossil assemblages

Zone: characterized by more than two taxa and having boundaries based on two or more documented
first and/or last occurrences of the included characterizing taxa

Index fossils: fossilized organisms that are used to determine the relative age of rock layers and the age
od the rocks in which they are found (valuable for correlating and dating sedimentary rocks and
establishing the relative chronology of geological events)

Biostratigraphic units: also called biozones are bodies of strata that are defined or characterized on the
basis of their contained fossils

Fossils: once living organisms and as such are sensitive indicators of past environments, sedimentation
patterns, and their distributions

Autochthonous: organisms that lived in the community and may have been preserved in like positions

Parautochthonous: autochthonous components that have been moved (disarticulated, reoriented,

concentrated) from their original position by bioturbators, predators, or scavengers, but not transported
from another community

Allochthonous: foreign remains that have been derived from other communities

Reworked fossils: fossils from rocks of one age that been eroded, transported, and redeposited in
sediments of a younger age. (should be treated apart from those believe to be indigenous)

Introduced/infiltrated fossils: fossils introduced into older or younger rocks by fluids, through animal
burrows or root cavities, or by sedimentary dikes or diapirs. (should be distinguished from indigenous
fossils in biostratigraphic zonation)

Effects of stratigraphic condensation: extremely low rates of sedimentation may result in fossils of
different ages and different environments being mingled or very intimately associated in a very thin
stratigraphic interval, even in a single bed
Range zone: body of strata representing the known stratigraphic and geographic range of occurrence of
a particular taxon or combination of two taxa of any rank

Taxon-range zones: specific intervals in the geological record characterized by the presence of certain
fossil species or assemblages

Concurrent-range zones: involves the use of fossils to establish the relative ages of rock layers and the
correlation of strata in different geographic locations

Interval zone: uses the presence and distribution of fossil species to establish the relative ages of rock
layers and correlate strata from different locations

Lineage zone: zones defined by the presence of a single evolutionary lineage of a fossil taxon or species

Assemblage zone: characterized by the presence of a particular assemblage or group of fossil species or
taxa that coexist within a defined interval of geologic time

Abundance zone: defines a geological interval based on the relative abundance of a particular fossil
taxon or group of taxa

Paleobiogeography: study of distribution of organisms in space

Chronostratigraphy: study of rock layers/relationships that focus on the organization of rock strata into
units based on their ages. Classifies and name rock layers (strata) based on the time period in which they
were formed

Geochronologic units: units of geologic time during which chronostratigraphic units were formed

Chronostratigraphic units: bodies of rocks, layered or unlayered, that were formed during a specified
interval of geologic time

Unit 6: Lithostratigraphy and Field Methods

Lithostratigraphy: element of stratigraphy that deals with the description and nomenclature of how the
rocks of the Earth based on their lithology and their stratigraphic relations

Lithostratigraphic units: body of rocks that is defined and recognized on the basis of its lithologic
properties or combination of lithologic properties and stratigraphic relations (can be any kind of rock
sed, ign, or meta)

- Lithostratigraphic units are defined and recognized by observable physical features NOT by their
inferred age, the time span they represent, inferred geologic history, or manner of formation
- Kinds of lithostratigraphic units:
 Group: two or more formations
 Formation: primary unit of lithostratigraphy
 Member: named lithologic subdivision of a formation (possesses lithologic properties
distinguishing it from adjacent parts of the formation)
 Bed: named distinctive layer in a member or formation
 Flow: smallest distinctive layer in a volcanic sequence
  Complex: composed of diverse types of any class/classes or rocks (sed, ign, meta) and
characterized by irregularly mixed lithology or by highly complicated structural relations

Lithostratigraphic classification: organization of rock bodies into units on the basis of their lithologic
properties and their stratigraphic relations

Lithodemic units: defined body of predominantly intrusive, highly deformed, and/or highly
metamorphosed rock, distinguished and delimited on the basis of rock characteristics (doesn’t conform
to law of superposition)

Fieldwork: involves making careful observations and measurements in the field and the collection and
precise recording of the position of samples for laboratory analysis

Geological data collection: refers to the systematic and organized process of gathering, recording, and
analyzing various types of data and info related to the Earth’s geology