SEDIMENT &

SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS
EG208 PHYSICAL GEOLOGY: TOPIC 4 PART 4

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
■ Know the type of cementation in sedimentary rocks
■ Illustrate how sedimentary structures identify.
■ Know how sediment was transported and used to interpret the
environment of deposition.

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Recap: Classification of Sed. Rocks
■ Clastic sedimentary
rocks form through the
physical accumulation
of particles (clasts) and
are subdivided on the
basis of particle
(grain) size.
– Transported
Far/near the
source
– Particles & loose
sediment
– Sedimentary rock/
consolidated rock
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Cementing Agent in Sed. Rocks
■ As sedimentation continue, dissolved minerals in the ground
water precipitate (crystallize)  will gradually cementing the
sediments thus forming a rock.
■ Sandstone  most abundant sedimentary rocks
■ 3 types of cementing agent in sandstones are:
– Calcite (calcium carbonate),
– Silica
– Hematite (red iron oxide)

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Calcite Cement
■ Most common type of cement
found in sandstone.
■ They forms in patches and
does not fill all the gaps
within the stone.
■ This makes calcite cement
sandstone very porous.
■ Calcite is also soluble in
water, which can erode away
 the cement making the Carbonate cement (calcite,
stone even more porous. dolomite, ankerite, siderite)

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Silica Cement
■ Also called quartz cement.
■ Creates the strongest and most durable
type of sandstone.
■ Result from the quartz grains
overgrowing and expanding the
crystallized forms until it runs into
another quartz crystal.
■ This type of sandstone typically forms
in environments that have high-energy
currents:
– beaches, Quartz
– marine bars and
– desert dunes.
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Hematite Cement
■ Iron Oxides
■ The iron present in the
cement will give the
sandstone a distinctive red
color.
■ Iron oxide cemented
sandstone weather well in dry
climates and become harder
and stronger, resisting
weathering and deterioration.
Hematite/Iron oxide

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Sedimentary Structure
■ All stages of the sedimentary cycle leave clues  processes
that were operating in the past.
■ Perhaps the most easily observable clues structures left by
the depositional process.
■ One noticeable feature of most sedimentary rocks is 
stratification or bedding.
 process in which sedimentary rocks are arranged in layers.

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(A) Stratification and Bedding
■ The layering can be due to:
– differences in color of the material, or
– differences in grain size, or
– differences in mineral content, or
– Differences chemical composition.
■ All differences  related to differences in the environment present during the
depositional events.
■ A series of beds  referred to as STRATA.
■ A sequence of strata (unique & on a regional scale) referred to a FORMATION.
■ Example:
– Rhythmic layering
– Cross bedding
– Graded bedding 9
1) Rhythmic Layering
■ Alternating parallel layers
having different properties.
■ Sometimes caused by seasonal
changes in deposition (varve)
■ E.g: lake deposits wherein
– coarse sediment is
deposited in summer
months and
– fine sediment is deposited
in the winter when the
surface of the lake is
frozen.
Diorite 10
2) Cross Bedding
■ Sets of beds that are 
inclined relative to one
another.
■ They inclined in the
direction of wind or water
was moving during
deposition.
■ Boundaries between sets of
cross beds usually represent
an erosional surface.
■ Very common in beach
deposits, sand dunes, and
river deposited sediment.
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3) Graded Bedding
■ As current velocity decreases,
– larger or more dense particles
are deposited first
– followed by smaller particles.
■ This results  showing a decrease
in grain size from the bottom of
the bed to the top of the bed.
■ Each bed shows a gradation in
grain size from coarse below to
fine above  results by rapid
sedimentation in water
■ Multiple graded-bed sequences
called turbidites

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(B) Non-sorted Sediments
■ Sediment showing a mixture of grain sizes results from such
things as rockfalls, debris flows, mudflows, and deposition
from melting ice.
■ Example:
1. Ripple marks
2. Mudcracks
3. Sole marks
4. Raindrop marks
5. Fossils
6. Rock color
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1) Ripple Marks
■ The surface of some sed. Deposits
shows undulation/ ripple marks.
■ Characteristic of shallow water
deposition and can also be caused by
wind (blowing over the surface).
■ 2 types:
i. Asymmetric ripples indicate
flow direction, with the steep
slope on the down - current
direction.
ii. Symmetric ripples form as a
result of constant wave energy
oscillating back and forth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY2QdZLLRP8 14
2) Mudcracks
■ Result from  drying out of
wet sediment at the surface
of the Earth.
■ The cracks form due to 
shrinkage of the sediment as
it dries.
■ When present in rock 
indicate that the surface was
exposed at the earth's
surface and then rapidly
buried.

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3) Sole Marks
■ Flutes are troughs
eroded in soft
sediment that can
become filled
with mud.
■ Both the flutes
and the resulting
casts (called flute
casts) can be
preserved in rock.

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4) Raindrop Marks
■ Pits (or tiny craters)
created by falling
rain.
■ If present  suggests
that the sediment was
exposed to the
surface of the Earth
just prior to burial.

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5) Fossils
■ Remains of once living
organisms.
■ Probably the most important
indicator of the environment of
deposition.
– Different species usually
inhabit specific environments.
– Because life has evolved -
fossils give clues to relative
age of the sediment.
– Can also be important
indicators of past climates.
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6) Rock Color
■ Sulfides along with buried
organic matter give rocks a
dark color  Indicates
deposition in a reducing
environment.
■ Deposition in oxidizing
environment produces red
colored iron oxides
indicative of  non-marine
environment deposition.
■  Such red colored rocks are
often referred to as red beds

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Sedimentary Environments
■ Look at various environments present on Earth  can find
characteristics in the sediment that are unique to each
environment.
■ If found same characteristics in sedimentary rocks  it allows
us to interpret the environment of the past.
■ Sedimentary Environments can be divided into:
1. Terrestrial (Non-marine) environments
2. Marine environments

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1) Terrestrial (Non-marine) environments
■ Terrestrial (Non-marine) environments
– Glacial
– Alluvial fans
– Sand Dunes
– Mountain Streams
– Lakes
– Rivers

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 glacier desert alluvial
fan

wetland

stream lak
e
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2) Marine/ Coastal environments
■ Marine environments
– Deltas
– Coastal Beaches
– Shallow Marine Clastic
– Shallow Marine Carbonates
– Deep Marine
■ We will cover most of these environments in more detail later
in the course (Topic 7)

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 beach
delta

barrier
island

lagoon tidal wetland

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reef

continental shelf

deep sea environment

continental margin