MKPP 1213

APPLIED GEOSCIENCE &

GEOPHYSICS

LECTURER: DR. CHONG AIK SHYE

 CHAPTER 4

Sedimentology and
Stratigraphy

3
 THE EARTH MATERIALS

• Three types of rocks exist in the Earth’s crust and at its surface :
1. Igneous rocks
2. Metamorphic rocks
3. Sedimentary rocks

• Rocks are naturally occurring combinations of one or more

minerals, with each mineral retaining its own discrete
characteristics within the rock.
 Minerals
• Minerals are the naturally occurring elements or chemical
compounds that comprise the soil and rock materials.
• Most rocks are aggregates composed of two or more minerals.
Rock Cycle

6
 Igneous Rocks

• Rocks that solidified from molten rock material

(magma) are called igneous rocks (from the Latin
ignis, or fire).
• As magma cools, the ions that compose it arrange
themselves into orderly patterns during a process
called crystallization.
• Igneous rocks are the most
abundant rocks on the earth’s crust, making up
about 64.7% of the Earth’s crust.
 Igneous Rocks

• Two groups of igneous rocks:

• a) Igneous rocks that form when molten rock
solidifies at the surface are classified as
extrusive, or volcanic rocks.

• b) Igneous rocks that form at depth (deep-

seated) are termed intrusive, or plutonic
rocks.
 Igneous Rock Textures

• Igneous rocks are most often classified by their texture and

mineral composition.
• The term texture is a measure of the overall size, shape, and
arrangement of its interlocking crystals.
• The most important factor affecting texture is the rate at which
magma cools.
Classification of Igneous Rocks
 Metamorphic Rocks

• Metamorphic rocks form from preexisting rocks (either igneous,

sedimentary, or other metamorphic rocks) that have been altered by
the agents of metamorphism, which include heat, pressure, and
chemical active fluids.
• Metamorphism (change form) is a process that leads to change in
mineralogy, texture, and often the chemical composition of rocks.
• The changes that occur in metamorphosed rocks are textural as
well as mineralogical.
• Making up 27.4% of the Earth’s crust.
 Metamorphic Rocks

• Metamorphism most often occurs in one of

three settings:
• 1. Contact or thermal metamorphism, which
occurs where rocks are heated by direct or
close contact with magma.
• Most contact metamorphic rocks are fine-
grained, dense tough rocks of various chemical
compositions.
 Metamorphic Rocks

• 2. Hydrothermal metamorphism results from the interaction of a rock

with high-temperature fluids, producting metamorphic and metasomatic
reactions that depend upon temperature and compositional differences
between the country rock and the invading fluid.
• 3. Regional metamorphism, which occurs over extensive areas of rock
are subjected to directed pressures and high temperatures associated
with large-scale deformation, generally in an area of plate convergence.
 Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic Rock Classification:
1. Foliated rocks
SHALE  SLATE  PHYLLITE

(sedimentary rock)
SCHIST  GNEIS
 Metamorphic Rocks

• 2. Nonfoliated rocks:
• Marble is a coarse, crystalline metamorphic
rock whose parent was limestone or
dolostone.
• Quartzite is a very hard metamorphic rock
formed from quartz sandstone.
• Hornfels is a metamorphic rock formed next
to intrusions.
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Sedimentary rock consists of sediment that has been lithified into

solid rock.
• Sediment from the Latin sedimentum, meaning settling. Sediment
consists of fragments of solid material derived from pre-existing rock,
the remains of organisms, or the direct precipitation of dissolved
minerals from solution in water.
• Although sedimentary rocks account for about 7.9% by volume of
the Earth’s crust, however, 75% of all rocks exposed are
sedimentary.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

• Sedimentology encompasses the study of sedimentary

processes and sedimentary rocks [included modern sediments
such as sand, mud (silt), and clay].
• Sedimentary Process:
• 1. Erosion and Transportation
• All rocks including igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary that
are exposed to the elements of wind, rain, heat and cold
eventually give way to wear and tear and are eroded.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

• Some are simply broken up into small pieces by running water and
frost while others are dissolved slowly as weak acids in ground
water react with the minerals contained within the rocks.
• In either case, the debris or sediment, is gradually carried downhill
by the forces of gravity and running water.
• As the sediment is washed further and further "downstream", it
is broken into smaller and smaller pieces.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

• Eventually, these rock fragments are deposited in sediment traps

such as ponds or lakes.
• A large depressed area in which a lot of sediment has been or is
being deposited is called a sedimentary basin.
• During transport, the sedimentary particles become sorted by size
and density. This means that the larger and heavier fragments will
settle faster than the lighter ones.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

• The very smallest particles (fine sand and mud particles) can be
carried hundreds of kilometres out to sea before settling to the bottom
in the quiet deeper waters.
• The larger pieces (sand, gravel and boulders) will be deposited
closer to the shore such as along beaches.
• Sedimentary rocks that are formed primarily from fragments of other
rocks are called clastics.
SEDIMENTOLOGY

Clastic sedimentary rock -

conglomerate
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

• The flowing waters also contain dissolved minerals such as calcium

and salt. These minerals will eventually come out of solution and form
precipitates (solids) when the conditions are right.

• 2. Deposition/ Sedimentation
• As sediment is continuously dumped into the ocean, it gradually sinks
to the bottom and starts to form layers.
 SEDIMENTOLOGY

• Coarser, heavier material (gravel) is deposited close to the shore and

finer grained sediment (fine sand and clay particles) is deposited
further out, in the deeper water.
• Varying the water depth and environmental conditions of an area
results in different types of sedimentary layers being deposited in the
area at different times.
• The result is that in any given area there can be many different
layers, containing different kinds of sedimentary rock.
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Turning sediment into sedimentary rock:

• A great deal of change can occur to sediment from the time it is
deposited until it becomes a sedimentary rock.
• Diagenesis refers to all of the physical, chemical, and biological
changes that occur after sediments are deposited and during and after
lithification.
• Diagenesis includes lithification, the processes by which
unconsolidated sediments are transformed into solid sedimentary
rock.
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Most sedimentary rocks are lithified by means of compaction

and/or cementation.
• Compaction occurs when the weight of overlying
materials compresses the deeper sediment.
Sedimentary Rocks
 Cementation
Cementation, the most important process by which sediments
are converted to sedimentary rock, occurs when soluble
cementing materials, such as calcite, silica, and iron oxide, are
precipitated onto sediment grains, fill open spaces, and join the
particles.
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Sediment Texture:
• The vast majority of sediments are detrital. They are composed
of transported solids fragments, or detritus, produced by
mechanical weathering or released by erosion from preexisting
rocks.
• Detrital particles are deposited when the transporting medium
loses its capacity to carry the sediment farther.
• Sediment texture depends on the source rocks of the
sediment particles, the energy of the medium that transported
them, and their environment of deposition.
 Sedimentary Rocks
• During transport, sediment grains undergo sorting, a process
by which they are carried or deposited selectively, based on
the energy of their transport medium and the grain’s size,
density, and shape.
• A well-sorted deposit consists of particles of one size; a poorly
sorted deposit contains particles of widely varying sizes.
Sedimentary Rocks
 Sedimentary Rocks
• Rounding – Relative sphericity.
• Sediment grains start out as angular grains.
• With transport, sediments become more spherical.
• Well-rounded – long transport distances
• Angular – negligible transport
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Concept of maturity:
1. Physically mature
– All grains well rounded/ spherical
– All grains same size
– No matrix
2. Chemically mature
– All grains are quartz.
– Unstable minerals (feldsfars, micas) are removed
with transport and by chemical weathering.
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Classification of Sedimentary Rocks

• Can be divided into two major groups: detrital/ clastic and
chemical.
• Detrital (clastic) sedimentary rocks:
• All detrital rocks have a clastic texture, which consists of
discrete fragments and particles that are cemented or
compacted together.
• Classification depends on their particle sizes rather than the
composition of their particles.
• Common detrital rocks include conglomerate/ breccia,
sandstone, and shale.
 Sedimentary Rocks
Classification
• Conglomerate

• Breccia

• Sandstone

• Shale
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Classification of Sedimentary Rocks

Sediment composition

Classification of clastic rocks according to texture

Wentworth
Grade Scale
 Detrital/Clastic sedimentary
rocks
Grain Size Composition Shape/Description ROCK NAME

Gravel size >2mm Fragments or any

rock type - quartz, Rounded Conglomerate
quartzite, and chert
Angular Breccia
dominant
Sand size 2mm - Mostly quartz Relatively uniform Quartz
0.0625 mm grain size Sandstone
Mostly feldspar Pink K-Feldspar Arkosic
present Sandstone
Silt size 00039 to Quartz grains,
0.0625 mm feldspar grains, clay Siltstone
minerals
Clay size <0.0039 mm Clay minerals Fissile Shale
Clay minerals Non-fissile Claystone
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Chemical sedimentary rocks:

• The primary basis in the chemical group is their mineral
composition.
• There are two kinds of chemical sediments: inorganic, and
biogenic.
• Inorganic chemical-sedimentary rocks precipitate directly from
water, usually when the water evaporates or undergoes a
significant temperature change.
 Sedimentary Rocks
Classification

• They include inorganic limestone, evaporites, chert, and

dolostone.
• Inorganic limestones include travertine and oolitic
limestone.
• Evaporites include halite (rock salt) and gypsum (rock gypsum).

Oolitic limestone
Inorganic (evaporite) sedimentary rocks

Grain Size Composition Shape/Description ROCK NAME

<2mm Mostly calcium Spherical grains like tiny Oolitic

carbonate beads with concentric Limestone
(CaCO3) laminations
Fizzes with cold
Coarse Banded Travertine
dilute HCl
crystalline
Cryptocrystalline Variety of Scratches glass Chert
Quartz (SiO2)
Fine to coarse Gypsum Can be scratched with Rock
crystalline (CaSO4•2H2O) fingernail Gypsum
Fine to coarse Halite (NaCl) Salty taste Rock Salt
crystalline
 Sedimentary Rocks
• Biogenic chemical-sedimentary rocks form when organisms extract
dissolved compounds from water, convert them into biological hard parts
(such as shells and skeletons), and subsequently deposit them as
sediment when they die.
• They include biogenic limestone, biogenic chert, coquina and coal.
 Biogenic sedimentary rocks
Grain Size Composition Shape/Description ROCK NAME

Mostly calcium Muddy matrix with Fossiliferous Limestone

carbonate fossils (Wackstone)
(CaCO3) >2mm Shells or shell Coquina
Fizzes with cold fragments poorly
<0.0625 mm Chalk
dilute HCl cemented to form
porous, earthy rock)
<0.0039 mm Shells or shell Micrite
fragments well (Calcareous
cemented to form dense Mudstone)
rock
Dull brown and plant- Porous and easy to Peat
like break apart in plant
fragments
Woody appearance, Lignite
light weight
Highly altered plant Black, dense and brittle Bituminous
remains (Carbon) or porous and sooty Coal
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Depositional Environments:
• Sedimentary environments are
those places where sediment
accumulates (or deposited).
• They are grouped into
continental, marine, and
transitional (coastal)
environments.
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Continental environments are those

environments which are present in
continents (alluvial fan, fluvial,
lacustrine, desserts and swamps).
• Transitional environments are those
environments at or near the transition
between the land and the sea (deltas,
beaches and barrier islands, lagoons,
tidal flats).
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Marine environments are those environments in the seas or

oceans (reefs, continental shelf, continental slop and
continental rise).
• Each is characterized by certain physical, chemical,
and biological conditions.
• A sedimentary facies is the set of unique properties that
distinguish a rock in a given layer from surrounding rocks
formed in different depositional settings at the same time.
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Sedimentary Structures:
• Sedimentary rocks form as layer upon layer of
sediment accumulates in various depositional
environments.
• This layers, called strata, or beds, are the single
most characteristic feature of sedimentary rocks.
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Separating the strata are bedding plane.

Changes in the grain size or in the
composition of the sediment can create
bedding plane.
• The thickness of beds ranges from
microscopically thin to tens of meters
thick.

• Cross-bedding refers to sediment

layers that are oriented at an angle to
the underlying sets of beds. It is most
characteristic of sand dunes, river delta,
and certain stream channel deposits.
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Graded bedding when the particles

within a single sedimentary layer
gradually change from coarse at the
bottom to the fine at the top.
• Graded beds are most characteristic
of rapid deposition from water
containing sediment of varying sizes.
• The deposition of graded bed is most
often associated with a turbidity
current, a mass of sediment-choke
water that is denser than clear water
and that moves downslope.
 Sedimentary Rocks

• Ripple marks are small waves of

sand that develop on the surface of
a sedimentary layer by the action of
moving water or air.

• Mud cracks occurs at the top of a

sediment layer when muddy
sediment dries and contracts.
 STRATIGRAPHY

• Stratigraphy is the study that deals

with the formation, composition,
sequence, and correlation of
stratified rocks.
• Rock layers were studied since the
time of Avicenna (Ibn Sina, 1027).
He was the first to outline the law of
superposition of strata:
• “Sedimentary layers are deposited in
a time sequence, with the oldest on
the bottom and the youngest on the
top”.
 STRATIGRAPHY

• Grand Canyon Rock

Layers
 Stratigraphy

• Basic Concepts:
• Lithostratigraphy
• „Biostratigraphy
• Sequence Stratigraphy
– Sea level and sediment supply
– Consequences of changes in sea level
– Types of sequences „
 Stratigraphy

• Thus the goal of any stratigraphic analysis is to

establish the temporal sequence of sedimentary
rocks in the area under investigation.
• Petroleum exploration without stratigraphic
analysis degrades to simply drilling the largest
structures seen on seismic—without attempting
to determine whether the source, reservoir, and
seal exist.
• Stratigraphy includes two related subfields:
lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy.
 Stratigraphy

• Lithostratigraphy, or lithologic stratigraphy, is deals with the

physical lithologic, or rock type, change both vertically in layering or
bedding of varying rock type and laterally reflecting changing
environments of deposition, known as facies (a body of rock with
specified characteristics) change.
• Lithostratigraphic correlation should only be applied with great
care, and only within a
well-defined biostratigraphic and/or sequence stratigraphic
framework.
Stratigraphy
 Stratigraphy

• Biostratigraphy or paleontologic stratigraphy is based on fossil

evidence in the rock layers.
• Strata from widespread locations containing the same fossil fauna
and flora are correlatable in time.
• Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and
other organisms from the remote past.
• Biologic stratigraphy was based on William Smith's principle of
faunal succession.
 Stratigraphy

• Principle of faunal succession states that “fossils succeed each

other vertically in a specific, reliable order that can be identified
over wide horizontal distances”.
 Stratigraphy

• Correlation:
Matching rocks or to
fit together
sedimentary strata
of similar age found
in different areas.
• Correlation involves
comparing the rocks
and fossils in
separate rock
exposures.
 Stratigraphy

• Sequent Stratigraphy was developed from seismic stratigraphy

in the 1970s by Exxon.
• Examines sedimentary packages over a large area (entire
sedimentary basin).
• Sequence stratigraphy focuses on the relationships between
sequences of conformable layers and the unconformities that
bound them. The strata patterns were as distinctive as the
biostratigraphic correlations.
 Stratigraphy
• It can provide a predictive tool for
determining the likely presence of source
rocks, and the distribution of reservoirs and
seals.
• The basic unit in sequence stratigraphy is the
sequence (succession of strata bounded by
unconformities). Unconformities: represent a
gap in the rock record.
• Smaller units of subdivision are beds and
laminae.
• A marine
transgression is a
geologic event during
which sea level rises
relative to the land
and the shoreline
moves toward higher
ground, resulting in
flooding.
• The opposite of
transgression is
regression, in which
the sea level falls
relative to the land
and exposes former
sea bottom.
62
Generalized Stratigraphy of Malay Basin
Stratigraphy of Zagros Foreland Sediment Iran
 Next Class
Chapter 5
Clastic Reservoir
Rocks

71
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