GLT I Geology

Petrology:
Sedimentary Rocks

M. Bodruddoza Mia, PhD

Professor, Dept. of Geology
Dhaka University
 Petrology
■ Petrology: Branch of Earth Science that
deals with the origin, structures, textures,
composition and classification of rocks.

■ Rock: Any naturally formed, firm and

coherent aggregate of minerals that
constitutes part of the Earth crust.
 A rock is a cohesive aggregate of one or
more minerals, glass, or organic matter

quartz

feldspar
hornblende
 Types of Rock
According to their mode of formation, there are
three types of rocks:
Igneous rocks (Latin "ignis" meaning "pertaining to fire"):
■
are formed by cooling and solidification of molten rock
material and typically represented by an interlocking
aggregate of silicate minerals.
■ Sedimentary rocks (Latin "sedimentum" meaning
"settle"): are formed from particles of pre-existing rocks
by cementation or other processes at the Earth's
surface.
■ Metamorphic rocks (Greek "meta" meaning "change"
and "morpho" meaning "form"): are formed within the
Earth's crust by solid-state transformation of pre-existing
rock (igneous, sedimentary or even metamorphic) as a
result of high temperature, high pressure or both.
 Sedimentary Rocks
■ Introduction
■ Sediments
■ Transportation of Sediments
■ Deposition of Sediments
■ Lithification
■ Textures of Sedimentary Rocks
■ Structure of Sedimentary Rocks
■ Classification of Sedimentary Rocks
■ Different Types of Sedimentary Rocks
■ Sedimentary Facies
■ Economics of Sedimentary Rocks
 Introduction
■ Sedimentary rocks are secondary rocks; results
from weathering, erosion, transportation and
deposition of pre-existing rocks.
■ Two types of weathering:
• Mechanical Weathering: involves the physical
disintegration of rock. The process produces smaller
rock particles that have the same composition as the
parent material - disintegration.
• Chemical Weathering: involves the decomposition of
rock, transforms the parent material chemically, and
releases mineral grains - decomposition.
■ Resistant minerals: Quartz, Zircon, Augite, Muscovite
■ Alterable minerals: Feldspar, Olivine, Biotite
 Soil & Soil Profile
Soil: Soil is the final product of weathering, and
is defined as that portion of the regolith
(unconsolidated rock and mineral fragments
covering the land surface), which is capable of
supporting plant life.
■ Soil Profile: Soil consists of a series of
horizontal layers called horizons. A soil with
well-developed horizons is called mature,
whereas a soil with poorly developed horizons is
called immature.
 Sediment & Sedimentary Rocks

• Sediments (soft)– a mass of, organic or

inorganic, naturally formed, fragments
of solid material.
• Sedimentary Rock (hard)– Any rock
that formed by chemical precipitation
from water at the Earth’s surface or by
the cementation of sediment.
 Sediment & Sedimentary Rocks

■ Single most important characteristic of

sediments and sedimentary rocks:
they are layered 🡪 history.

■ Layering of sediment records history of

sedimentary process, climate,
tectonics, life, etc…
 Sediments & Sedimentary Rocks

■ Sedimentary rocks only make up 5% of the

Earth's crust, but cover about 75% of the
surface of the earth.
■ The raw material for sedimentary rocks
comes from weathering.
■ History of a Sedimentary Rock:
• Source – where the sediment originated
• Transportation & deposition – where it went &
how it got there
• Burial and diagenesis – process that changes
sediment into rock
Sediments & Sedimentary Rocks
 Sediments
■ Raw materials for sedimentary rocks.
■ Derived from weathering of parent rocks:
• Detrital: rock fragments and mineral grains liberated
by mechanical weathering and
transported/deposited by mechanical processes -
Terrigenous or Clastic sediments.
• Chemical: formed of material dissolved during
chemical weathering and deposited by biological or
non-biological chemical reactions - Precipitates
(solutions).
• Biogenic: sediment consisting of the small shells or
casts secreted (precipitated) by organisms, such as
foraminifera and diatoms. Coral reefs are another
source - Bioclastic sediments.
 Weathering
1. Physical (mechanical breaking of rocks), produces
clastic sediment ⇒ CLASTIC sedimentary rocks
2. Chemical (chemical breakdown of rocks) produces ions
in solution ⇒ CHEMICAL sedimentary rocks
 Sediments
■ What sorts of material?
• Clay minerals
• Quartz
• Calcite and dolomite 🡪 chemical
• Feldspars
• Fe oxides and sulfides 🡪 chemical
• Salts and gypsum 🡪 chemical
• Volcanic debris (tephra)
• Organic matter - bioclastics
 Sediment Sizes
■ Detrital sediment is ■ boulder > 256 mm
classified according to
size. ■ cobble 64 to 56 mm

■ Detrital sedimentary ■ pebble 2 to 64 mm

rocks can contain a
wide range of sizes,
from mud to boulders… ■ sand 1/16 to 2 mm

■ silt 1/256 to 1/16 mm

■ clay < 1/256 mm ***

Sedimentary Processes - Transportation

■ Once created, sediment moves downhill

under the influence of gravity. The primary
agents are fluids (wind and water), glaciers
and steep slopes. Water is by far the most
important, carrying some 25 billion tons of
sediment per year to the world's oceans.

■ Transport affects sediment - it sorts it,

shapes it and winnows out less stable
components. Each process depends on the
transport agent and the sediment being
transported.
Sedimentary Processes - Transportation
■ Sorting: The sorting of sediment is primarily a result of
the variable carrying capacity of water, which is a strong
function of current velocity. Strong currents (> 50 cm/s)
can move gravel and even boulders on occasion.
Glaciers, which move very slowly compared to liquid
water, have enormous carrying capacity due to the much
higher viscosity of ice. Moderate currents (20-50 cm/s)
move sand and smaller clasts.
■ These currents are common in most rivers. Desert winds
also move sand. Weaker currents can only transport silts
and clays, the smallest size clasts. These are found in
floodwaters and ocean currents. Wind usually can only
move these small clasts due to its low viscosity.
■ Sediments of mixed size are sorted by carrying capacity.
If a stream's capacity decreases, then the larger clasts it
is carrying will no longer be transported. The suspended
load then consists only of fines.
Sedimentary Processes – Transportation
Sorting
Sorting by Winds
Sedimentary Processes – Transportation
Shaping
Shaping: Transport of clasts by water and wind causes additional
physical weathering.
Clasts are abraded by other clasts, causing them to break into smaller
clasts and to become rounded, since sharp edges are most easily
broken. This process is most effective for large clasts, which are
broken down quickly.
For these reasons, coarse and/or angular sediments are called
immature, whereas smaller, more rounded sediments are mature,
reflecting the time physical and chemical weathering has had to work
on them.
Sedimentary Processes – Transportation
Winnowing
Winnowing: is the natural removal of fine material
from a coarser sediment by wind or flowing water.
Once a sediment has been deposited, subsequent
changes in the speed or direction of wind or water
flowing over it can agitate the grains in the
sediment and allow the preferential removal of the
finer grains. This action can improve the sorting
and increase the mean grain size of a sediment
after it has been deposited.
■ Chemical weathering is slow. Transportation of
sediments is fast, but intermittent. Thus most chemical
weathering of sediment happens when sediment is
stuck, awaiting the next transport event.
■ Chemical weathering occurs at different rates for
different clasts. Pyroxene and olivine, both minerals with
high melting temperatures and lots of ionic bonding, are
readily broken down. Their presence in sediment load is
a sign of immaturity.
■ Quartz and clay minerals are very stable. The most
mature sediments have little else.
■ Feldspars and micas are moderately stable. We see lots
of feldspar in sediments, such as beach sand, because
they are so abundant.
Sedimentary Processes – Transportation
by Agents Other Than Water

Glaciers are different than water and wind. Glacial

transport results in little sorting, shaping or winnowing
since glacial sediment load is held in place by the ice.

Fluids also transport dissolved components (products of

chemical weathering). These are removed from solution
chemically, not by gravity.
 Sedimentary Processes -
Deposition

■ Mechanical - involves loss of velocity

■ Chemical – involves evaporation,

precipitation.
Sedimentary Processes - Deposition
■ Sediment eventually gets put somewhere. It ceases
to be transported and is deposited.

■ Deposition of detrital sediment occurs when energy

necessary for transport is no longer available.
Chemical deposition (precipitation) occurs when
environmental (chemical) conditions change.

■ Depositional environment: geographic area where

sediment is deposited.
• Continental
• Transitional
• Marine
Depositional Environments
 Depositional Environments

Continental Environments:
a) Fluvial - Sediment was deposited by a
stream.
b) Eolian - Sediment deposited by wind
(deserts).
c) Lacustrine - Lake sedimentary deposits.
d) Glacial - Sediment deposited by ice and
meltwater.
e) Alluvial Fan- sediment deposited near hill
slope by stream and gravity
 Depositional Environments
Marine Environments- Sediment accumulates
on the ocean floor:
a) shallow (continental shelf and reef
b) deep (abyssal plain)

Transitional Environments- between land

(terrestrial) and marine environments.
a) Deltaic - Deposits at the mouth of a
major stream.
b) Beaches, lagoons and barrier islands -
Sediment deposited by wind or water.
Depositional Environments
Sedimentary Processes - Lithification
■ Lithification is the conversion of sediment into rock,
and results from a number of processes:
• Compaction involves packing together of sediment grains
through burial, leading to a reduction in sediment volume by
up to 40%. Reduction of volume generally results from the
pressure or weight of overlying sediments.
• Desiccation involves the loss of water from sediment pore
spaces, typically resulting from compaction but also from
evaporation in air.
• Cementation occurs where minerals precipitate from
sediment pore fluids to bind to sediment particles together.
Most common cements are calcite (CaCO3) and quartz
(SiO2), but dolomite [(CaMg)CO3], iron oxides (Fe2O3), and
iron hydroxides [FeO(OH)] may also serve as cements.
• Crystallization characterizes chemical sediments, and
primarily involves formation of interlocking crystals.
Sedimentary Processes - Lithification
■ Deposited sediment has pore spaces between
particles.

■ Compaction due to pressure of overlying sediment,

etc. reduces the volume of the deposit:
• Reduces pore space (~50% volume reduction)
• Forces fluid out (dewatering)
Lithification of Clastic Sediments

Burial
and
Compaction

calcite
Cementation cement

quart
z
Sedimentary Processes - Cementation

■ Cementation is the process by which clasts

are stuck together.

■ Compaction does some of the job (e.g. for

mud), but for larger grain sizes, a cement or
matrix is needed.

■ The cement is like glue. Usually it is a

chemical sediment (calcium carbonate or
silica or Fe oxides) that precipitates in pore
spaces…
Recrystallized
texture
 Basic Sedimentary
Processes

Weathering ⇒ Transport ⇒ Deposition ⇒ Burial ⇒

 Sedimentary Rock Textures

Texture is defined by the three parameters:

1. Grain size
2. Grain shape
3. Sorting

Grain Size:
Depends on source rock
Depends on transportation capacity of the
medium, i.e. river/glacier/wind
 Sedimentary Rock Textures

Rocks are separated by the size of the clastic particles.

Particle diameters are determined by sieving.

The Wentworth Scale of particle sizes is commonly used:

Major Clast Specific Clasts Sizes

Boulder > 256 mm

Gravel Cobble 256 - 64mm
Pebble 64 - 4 mm
Granule 4 - 2 mm

Sand Sand 2 - 1/16 mm

Mud Silt 1/16 - 1/256mm

Clay < 1/256mm
 Sedimentary Rock Textures
Shape
Nature of detrital sediments is also indicated by the
particle shape.
Clasts can range from angular to spherical, generally
depending on how far they have been transported.
The shape of clasts are characterized in terms of:
Roundness - degree of edge and corner removal.
Sphericity - degree to which the fragment
approaches the shape of a sphere.
 Transportation of Clastic Sediments

Rounding

Sediment
Maturity
 Sedimentary Rock Textures
Sorting
Detrital sediments are also characterized by their
sorting, the degree to which clastic particle sizes are
similar. Sediments are described as
poorly-sorted if a mix of particle sizes is present,
well-sorted if primarily one particle size is present.

Sorting takes place during transportation, and particles

can be sorted by:
a) grain size - largest particles settle first
b) composition - high specific gravity minerals settle
first
 Transportation of Clastic Sediments
Fast
Size
Sorting
Moderate
Coarse-g Slow
rained

Medium-grained
Fine-grained
 Transportation of Clastic Sediments

Fast
Size
Sorting
Moderate
Coarse-g Slow
rained

Medium-grained
Fine-grained
Size
Distribution
Sorting
Size

Roundiness

Sphericity

Sorting
 Sedimentary Rock Textures
Non-clastic textures, involving interlocking
crystals similar to the crystalline texture of
igneous rocks, are shown only by chemical
sedimentary rocks.
These rocks are subdivided according to
crystal size as:
fine-grained (< 1 mm)
medium-grained (1-5 mm)
coarse-grained (> 5 mm)
 Sedimentary Structures
■ Keys to the past. Allow us to determine
facies, environment, and process.

• Shapes and morphology (tool marks, etc.)

• Textures (coarse or fine; well sorted or not).
• Bedforms (ripples, dunes, etc.)
• Three-dimensional geometry of deposits (sheets
or channels)
• Fossils…

■ Interpreted based on comparison with

present-day processes.
 Sedimentary Structures
Primary Structures:
■ Bedding or Stratification: The most important feature of
sedimentary rocks, is layering that reflects changing conditions
during deposition. Texture and composition are fairly uniform
within a bed. Layering is usually horizontal or sub-horizontal.
■ Bedding results from:
• Changes in particle size
• Changes in particle shape
• Changes in sorting
• Changes in composition (color)
• Due to changes in weather, season, climate, tectonics, source
rocks
River System

Normal flow Flooding Normal flow

 Sedimentary Structures
■ Laminated/Bedding: horizontal layers (mm to m scale).
Represent timelines. Separated by bedding planes &
transitions in sediment size, composition, etc.

Varves: climatically
driven laminations
(seasonal) – light
(coarse grained) is
summer, dark (fine
grained) is winter
 Sedimentary Structures
■ Graded bedding: upward decrease in sediment size
within a single bed. Indicative of order of settling of
particles from suspension as in a turbidity current.
Lateral grading in bedding, too (facies changes)
 Sedimentary Structures
■ Cross bedding: bedding at angles to the horizontal
at time of deposition. Indicative of dunes, river
deltas, submarine environments where flow direction
changes 🡪 clues to paleocurrents.
 Sedimentary Structures
■ Bedforms: regularly repeating features on a
bedding plane of sediment (sand) that is
(was) being moved.
• Ripples
• Dunes

• Indicate environment (water or wind; river or

shore)
• Indicate flow direction and energy
• Indicate paleo-water temperature
 Sedimentary Structures
■ Mud cracks: polygonal cracks formed as mud dried; indicates
shallow water; used to show which way up.

■ Raindrops: impressions of falling rain in mudstone. Used to

tell environment & which way is up.

■ Flute marks: depressions scoured out by the flow.

■ Tool marks: tracks left by objects dragged along bedding

surface by flow.

■ Sole marks: casts (fillings) of primary structures (like flute and

tool marks). Used to tell which way is up.
 Sedimentary Structures
■ Soft sediment deformation:
• Flame structures
• Slump
• Disrupted/folded/convoluted bedding

■ Indicate something happened to

sediment after deposited but before it
was lithified (dewatering, storms,
earthquakes, dropped boulders.
 Secondary Sedimentary Structures
■ Form long after deposition, and therefore do not give clues
about how the sediment was originally deposited:
• Nodules, an irregular, knobby-surfaced mineral body of a different
composition than the surrounding sediment, usuallv lie parallel to
bedding. Septarian nodules show dehydration cracks that are filled
by material of a different composition.
• Concretions, usually spherical and often characterized by
concentric layering, are depositional bodies composed of
cementing material often found in sandstone.
• Geodes, which generally occur in limestone and shale, are roughly
spherical hollow structures formed when a pocket of water in
sediment is surrounded by a deposit of silica. Larger crystals of
quartz or calcite grow inward from solution.
 Fossils & Trace Fossils
■ Fossils represent reserved remnants of ancient
plants and animals that give clues about ancient life,
evolution, and depositional environment. Fossils
allow rocks in widely separated areas to be
correlated in time, and form the basis for
constructing the geologic calendar.
• Trace fossils provide indirect evidence of ancient life such
as burrows, trails, and tracks.
• Body fossils are the actual preserved parts (mostly hard
parts) of an organism. Most fossils have been dissolved and
replaced by other materials like silica and pyrite. Petrified
wood is formed when silica replaces cellulose. A mold is the
cavity in sediment that a shell once filled; a cast is the
filled-in mold.
 Sedimentary Rock Types
■ Sedimentary rocks are classified by the
particles that make them up.

• Detrital (terrigenous or clastic) sedimentary rocks

• Chemical sedimentary rocks
• Carbonates sedimentary rocks
• Organic sedimentary rocks
 Clastic Sedimentary Rocks
■ Generally consist of clasts (large pieces)
within a matrix (finer grained pieces, all held
together by a cement.

■ Classified according to the size of the clasts.

■ Classified by the angularity of the clasts

(breccia vs. conglomerate).

■ Classified by other characteristics (fissility,

composition).
 Massive claystone (not fissile) Shale (fissile claystone)

Siltstone
(quartz +/- clay)
Quartz sandstone

Arkose (> 25% feldspar) Greywacke (rock fragment)

sandstone sandstone
Breccia
Conglomerate
 Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
■ Result from the precipitation of minerals
from a solution. Material in solution
originated in the weathering environment.

■ Precipitation processes either biological or

non-biological. Biochemical sedimentary
rocks result from chemical processes of
organisms.

■ Chemical sedimentary rocks classified based

on composition/chemical process…
 Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
■ Carbonates (limestone) ■ Other
• biochemical • chert
■ fossiliferous limestone • amber
■ coquina
■ chalk
• coal
■ oolitic limestone
• non-biochemical

■ Evaporites
(evaporation)
• rock salt
• gypsum
 Carbonate Sedimentary Rocks
■ Carbonates are composed of calcite (CaCO3)
and/or dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2).

■ Most are biochemical (but not all).

■ Chemical process is the dissolution and

precipitation of carbonate from
water/carbonic acid solutions.
 Biochemical Carbonate Sedimentary
Rocks
■ Fossiliferous limestone: deposition of carbonate
matrix with organically-produced shells and other
fossils included

■ Coquina: broken shells held together by carbonate

cement (dense fossiliferous limestone).

■ Chalk: microscopic shells held together by

carbonate cement (microscopic fossiliferous
limestone).

■ Oolitic limestone: “sandstone” formed of cemented

together spheres of carbonate (ooids).
 Carbonate Sedimentary Rocks
■ A couple of examples of non-biological
carbonates:

■ Caliche: B soil horizion deposit of carbonate

formed when alkaliine groundwater rises to
the surface and evaporates into a crumbly
powder.

■ Travertine: calcareous deposits from

groundwater (freshwater):
• cave deposits (speleothems)
• surface mound deposits around hot springs,
desert lakes (tufa)
 Carbonate Sedimentary Rocks
■ Micrite: all microscopic carbonate cement (no clasts)

■ Crystalline (sparry): carbonate with interlocking

texture

■ Calcirudite: dominated by gravel-sized particles

■ Calcarenite: dominated by sand-sized particles

■ Calcisiltite: dominated by silt-sized particles

■ Calcilutite: dominated by clay-sized particles

 Evaporites
■ Form by inorganic chemical precipitation of
minerals (usually salts) from solution.

■ Include halite (rock salt) and gypsum

■ Why precipitate? Solution becomes

saturated (solvent can’t hold any more
dissolved ions).
 Siliceous Chemical Sediments
■ Dominated by silica (SiO2). Formed by:

• Accumulation of silica-secreting
organisms such as diatoms, radiolarians,
or some types of sponges 🡪 diatomaceous
earth, layered chert (ooze).

• Chemical reactions of dissolved silica

replacing carbonate in limstones 🡪 chert
interbeds
 Organic Chemical Sediments
■ Coal: compressed, altered remains of
ancient organisms.
■ Forms in oxygen-deficient (reducing)
environments. Bacterial decay is impeded.
■ Dead plant junk 🡪 peat 🡪 lignite 🡪 bitumen 🡪
anthracite.
■ Each step in this diagenetic process
involves:
• Compression and dewatering
• Removal of more volatile elements (O, N, H)
• Concentration of C
 Other Sedimentary Rocks
■ Phospates. Nodules on
the searfloor (ooze).
Fossilized guano (bird
crap).

■ Iron formations.
Sulfides. Bog iron.
Laterites. Placer
deposits. Oolites!
Banded iron formation.

■ Mn nodules on ocean
floor.
Relative Abundance of Sediments
 Sedimentary Facies
■ Sedimentary rocks tend to change in composition and nature
laterally due to changes in depositional environment. Sediment
can be deposited in different places at the same time, yet look
very different because of a different depositional environment.
Sedimentary facies reflect the characteristics of a particular
depositional environment. These deposits each have a distinctive
set of physical, chemical and biological attributes. Sea level
fluctuations can result in a particular facies being deposited over
wide areas:
• Marine Transgressions - Sandstone (nearshore deposit) overlain by
shale (shallow marine deposit) and limestone (deeper marine deposit)
indicates sediment deposition during a time of sea level rise.
• Marine Regressions - Deep marine deposits are overlain by shallower
marine and near-shore deposits, indicating sediment deposition
during a time of falling sea level.
■ Changes in global sea level may reflect subsidence or uplift and
increased glacial activity
Sedimentary Facies
 Sedimentary Facies
■ Remember lateral continuity? A given horizon of
sediment deposited at a single time (a “geologic
timeline) will extend in all directions.

■ But, as you trace a sediment stratum laterally (over

large enough distances), it will change in
composition and/or texture. Why?
• Moving towards/away from different sources.
• Moving across different environments with different
processes (agent & energy).

■ At any one time, different environments are

operating in different places, and each will have
characteristic deposits 🡪 facies.
 Transgressions & Regressions
■ The seas came in…the seas
went out again…

■ Sea level fluctuations can

cause changes in facies over
large areas as time passes 🡪
sediment changes vertically
in a column.

■ Transgression: coarse to
fine. Ocean comes in.

■ Regression: fine to coarse.

Ocean goes out again.
Information contained in Sedimentary Rocks
River Environment
River Environment
Typical Bedding Sequence for River Systems

floodplain
deposits

Typically are red color:

“Red Beds”

channel deposits
Alluvial Fan Environment Typcially are red color:
“Red Beds”
Very Coarse Gravel and Sand

Death Valley, CA Mud and Evaporites

Shallow-Marine
Carbonate Environment
Warm, Tropical Waters

Chemical Biochemical
Limestones Limestones
Sedimentary Environments and Tectonics

Convergent Plate Boundaries

 Continent-Continent Convergence
Tibetan Plateau, Himalaya Mts; SE Asia
Eurasian
Plate Crustal Deformation- Mountain Building
(continental)
No volcanism!
Moderate to large earthquakes

Indian
Plate
(continental)
Sedimentary Environments and Tectonics

Divergent Plate Boundaries

 Sedimentary Resources
■ Sediments, sedimentary rocks and the materials they
contain have many uses.
• Petroleum and Natural Gas are hydrocarbons formed from the
remains of microscopic plants and animals. The organic matter
has been preserved in sediments (the source rock) by rapid
burial. With burial, heat and chemical reactions transform
organic matter into petroleum and natural gas.
• Uranium ores, that occur in fluvial (stream-deposited)
sandstones containing organic matter, are found in several
western states. Uranium dissolved in oxidizing groundwater is
transported with the groundwater until reducing conditions
cause precipitation of carnotite (a uranium mineral).
• Banded iron formations represent largest source of iron ore in
the world, and are found on all the continents. The deposits
consists of chemical sediments that are extremely rich in iron.
 Sedimentary Resources
■ Other sediment or sedimentary rock derived resources
include:
• Building materials (sand and gravel, construction; limestone,
cement; gypsum, wallboard and plaster; clay, bricks; quartz,
glass.
• Halite used as a seasoning and preservative.
• Clay used in ceramics and kitty litter.
• Phosphates used for fertilizers, matches, and preservatives
• Diatomite used in filtration.
• Coal used for energy and coke in steel production.
 Sedimentary Resources
■ Gravel and sand 🡪 construction, placer
deposits
■ Clay 🡪 ceramics
■ Limestone 🡪 cement
■ Evaporites 🡪 chemicals
■ Phosphates 🡪 fertilizers
■ Iron formations 🡪 metal ores
 Sedimentary Resources
■ Coal, petroleum & natural gas for fuel &
chemicals.
■ Deep sedimentary source rocks (contain
dead plant and animal matter) 🡪 heat &
pressure 🡪 hydrocarbons.
■ Hydrocarbons accumulate in reservoir rocks
with high porosity & permeability.
■ Cap rocks with low permeability trap
hydrocarbons.
■ Facies changes and structural features
(faults) important for geometries of
reservoirs, caps, and traps.