FISHERY 3

Chapter 5:

SEDIMENTS
 Sediments
Is an accumulation of particles of weathered rock,
organic remains, or both; rock fragments. These are
transported and deposited by water (rivers, lakes, and
oceans), ice (glaciers), and wind. Sediment examples
include boulders, pebbles, cobbles, sand, silt, and clay.
Boulders, pebbles, and cobbles are types of gravel and
are the largest sizes of sediment.
 Sediments

Figure 1. Sediments, sedimentary rocks

and sedimentary processes are part of
the Rock Cycle.
Sediments are classified by its origin:
a) Lithogenous Sediments or terrigenous sediments
b) Biogenous sediments
c) Hydrogenous sediments or authigenic sediments
and
d) Cosmogenous sediments
a. Lithogenous Sediments:
-The term lithogenous means “derived from rocks”.
They originate from erosion of land, volcanic
eruptions, and blown dusts. These are mainly
existing as continental masses, and as volcanic
islands inside the oceans.
- Quartz sands, clays, muds are the examples.
Clays are the major products of mineral
weathering reaction on land.
Figure 2. Sand and gravel on SoCal beaches are
typical lithogenous sediments. This view is of South
Carlsbad State Beach, California.
Terrigenous Sediments:
-Terrigenous sediments are those where the
ultimate source is weathering and erosion of rocks
on land. The materials composing these sediments
are introduced to the ocean by water, wind or ice.
The major products of such processes are
a) Clays – are derived from decomposition of feldspars
b)Chlorite – are derived from decomposition of
ferromagnesian minerals
c) Montmorillonite –is a notable clay mineral
d) Illite – is another clay mineral
e) Kaolinite –is a product of Potash Feldspar and mica
f) Zeolite – is a hydrated aluminum silicate resulting from
the weathering of feldspars.

*Wind plays a significant role in the transport of lithogenous

sediments towards the oceans.
Figure 3. Sample of Montmorillonite.
A very soft phyllosilicate.
b. Biogenous Sediments:
-Biogenous sediments (bio = life, generare = to produce)
-Are sediments formed from the accumulation of remains of
once-living organisms. These hard parts include a wide
variety of particles such as shells of microscopic organisms
(called tests), coral fragments, sea urchin spines, and pieces
of mollusc shells.

Ooze - pelagic (deep-sea) sediment of which at least 30

percent is composed of the skeletal remains of microscopic
floating organisms. Oozes are basically deposits of soft mud
on the ocean floor.
Two major Types of Oozes:
1. Calcareous ooze - is made of calcium carbonate
(CaCO3)
-This sediment is composed of the tests of protozoans called
foraminifers, and tiny algae called coccolithophores, which
produce tiny plates called coccoliths.

2. Siliceous ooze - is made of silica (SiO2 ) or opal (SiO2 .

nH2O)
- Is made from the tests of another protozoan, radiolarians,
and algae called diatoms.
Figure 4. Examples of common microscopic calcite-secreting organisms. (a) A test from a
single-celled protozoan called a foraminifer. (b) A test from a single-celled algae called a
coccolithophore, which has individual plates called coccoliths. The bars indicate scale;
1 micron equals 1 millionth of a meter or 0.00004 inch.
c. Hydrogenous sediments:
-Hydrogenous sediments are sediments directly precipitated
from water.
-Include evaporites, meaning any type of sediment that
forms from the evaporation of seawater.

-Two most common types of evaporites (salts):

1. Gypsum - a mineral composed of hydrous calcium
sulfate (CaSO4-2H2O)
2. Halite - commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt,
the mineral form of sodium chloride (NaCl).
 Hydrogenous sediments

Figure 5. Rock salt Figure 6. Anhydrite gypsum. Figure 7. A Sabkha is a desert

coastal environment is where salts,
(halite) including halite and gypsum, are
commonly deposited.
d. Cosmogenous Sediments:
-Cosmogenous sediments originated from outer space.
This is usually in the context of minor stardust or broken
down asteroid particles.

-Accumulate in the oceans (and land) from "micro-

meteorites" whose composition can be either silicate
(like the mantle), metal (like the core), or a mixture of
the two.
 Cosmogenous Sediments

Fig. 8. A meteor fireball (a Fig. 9. Iron-nickel Figure 10. The world’s best-
bolide) disintegrates in the night meteorite from the Diablo preserved meteor crater.
sky over Oklahoma. Canyon area
 Neritic Sediments

- Are generally shallow water deposits formed close to land.

Neritic sediments cover about ¼ of seafloor and are near
landmasses.
-Are dominated by lithogenous sources and are typically
deposited quickly.
Neritic sediments are those that are deposited near the
continents and oceanic sediments are the characteristic of
deep-ocean basins.
The major outputs of these are:
a) Turbidites
b) Glacial deposits
c) Carbonate deposits

The sediments of deep ocean basins include:

a) Abyssal clay
b) Calcareous and Siliceous oozes
Neritic Sediments

Figure 11. Silt rock

 Pelagic Sediments
-Are generally deep-water deposits mostly oozes (see below)
and windblown clays.
-Less lithogenous and more biogenous depending on biologic
productivity.
-Marine sediments are called Pelagic sediments when they
accumulate in the abyssal plain of the deep ocean, far away
from terrestrial sources.
Pelagic sediments that are mixed with terrigenous sediments
are known as hemipelagic.
There are three main types of pelagic sediments:
1. Siliceous oozes
2. Calcareous oozes
3. Red clays.

*The distribution of neritic or pelagic sediments is controlled by

proximity to sources of lithogenous sediments (i.e.: landmasses) and
the productivity of microscopic marine organisms.
Figure 12. Red clay found in
the seafloor of the Pacific
Ocean
 Chapter Review
Reviewing the Concepts:
There are 4 sources of sediments (and sedimentary rocks):
a) Lithogenous: material derived from erosion of other rocks,
typically from continental sources.
b) Biogenous: material formed from the accumulation of
remains of once-living organisms.
c) Hydrogenous: material precipitated directly seawater.
d) Cosmogenous: material that falls to the Earth surface from
outer space.
Chapter Review
Reviewing the Concepts:

Neritic sediments are generally shallow water deposits

formed close to land.
Pelagic Sediments are generally deep-water deposits
mostly oozes (see below) and windblown clays.
Presented by:
Jamiah T. Noay
Joey-ra A. Gabriel