SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY

SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS:
Global tectonic activity continually alters earth’s
crust.
This process distills out the lighter and lower
melting point materials which accumulate on the
surface, forming the continents.
Sedimentary rocks evolved as a result of chemical
and mechanical alterations of these rocks through
the exposure to the surface environment.
Organic remains in these sedimentary rocks when
sufficiently concentrated and subjected to
moderate levels of geothermal heat and
overburden pressure in an oxygen free
environment- lead to the formation of petroleum.
 SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
ROCK CYCLE:
SEDIMENTARY
COMPACTION- ROCK
CEMENTATION

HEAT
SEDIMENTS PRESSURE

EROSION

METAMORPHIC
IGNEOUS ROCK
ROCK

COOLING MELTING

MAGMA
 SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
 THE ROCK CYCLE
 SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
THE FORMATION OF ROCKS:
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ORIGINS OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK
Source rock

Chemical Mechanical
weathering weathering

Plant Solution New

extraction minerals

Basic extraction
and Precipitation Shale
precipitation
Peat coal
Conglomerate
sandstone
Limestones Evaporites
Diatomaceous- (some limestones)
shales chert
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ROCKS AND MINERALS
MINERAL:
 Naturally occurring inorganic crystalline element or
compound.
Has a definite chemical composition and
characteristic physical properties such as crystal
shape, melting point, color and hardness.
Minerals as found in rocks are not pure.
ROCKS:
Most rocks are assemblages of different minerals.
which are stable under normal conditions
temperature and pressure.
Some rocks are made up of a single mineral(rock salt)
 SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
:WEATHERING:

WEATHERING

PHYSICAL WEATHERING CHEMICAL WEATHERING

EARTH QUAKES ACID RAINS-CHEMICAL
CRACKING UP BY INTERNAL REACTIONS OF PERCOLATING
STRESSE WHEN OVERBURDEN WATERS
IS NOT THERE Oxidation-hydrolysis-
ICE FORMATION IN THE carbonation
CRACKS

BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING
ANIMALS-PLANTS
 SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
PHYSICAL WEATHERING:
 FROST WEDGING
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS:
Weathering and Erosion
•Rocks of every sort and shape are worn away over time. Weathering is the
process which breaks rocks into smaller bits. There are three main types:

•PHYSICAL WEATHERING :.A physical action which breaks up rocks : An

example of this is called freeze-thaw weathering when water gets into tiny
cracks in rocks. When the water freezes it expands. If this is repeated the crack
grows and bits eventually break off.
•CHEMICAL WEATHERING: is when the rock is chemically attacked: An
example of this is the breakdown of limestone by acid rain.

•BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING: Rocks are weakened and broken down by

animals and plants. An example would be a tree root system slowly splitting
rocks.

•Erosion is a type of physical weathering which involves wearing down rocks.

Have you heard of coastal erosion?
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY ROCK:

Any type WEATHERING: a process which breaks

of surface down the structure of the rock by
rock chemical and physical attack.

EROSION: Removal of weathered rock

or soil particles by flowing water, wind,
moving ice or other agents

DEPOSITION: The rock and soil particle

carried away by erosion eventually come
to rest in a sedimentary deposit often far
from their source and get consolidated..
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
CLASSIFICATION OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS

CLASTIC ROCKS
SAND-SHALE CHEMICAL ROCKS
HALITE-GYPSUM

BIOCHEMICAL
ROCKS
COAL-OIL SHALE
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS:CHEMICAL ROCKS

Chemical rocks,
like halite (rock
salt) and gypsum,
form when
minerals that exist
in a solution are
extracted after the
solution
evaporates. For
instance, when
large bodies of
saltwater dry up,
they leave behind
halite.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS:BIOCHEMICAL ROCKS>

Biochemical rocks, like coal and oil

shale form when the remains of
dead organisms such as coral and
mollusks merge with existing
sediment.
Often, biochemical rocks contain
the same foraminifera that Hendrik
Bruins found in the Palaikastro
layer. However, it would be
impossible for marine organisms
and ancient pottery debris to exist
in the same rock layer unless
something forced them together,
which is why Bruins suspected a
fierce wave struck Palaikastro.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
MIX UP BY FIERCE WAVES:
Mixed into the sediment,
you can clearly see floor
plaster, wall plaster, and
fragments of typical
Minoan pottery. The
existence of the Minoan
fragments in conjunction
with the marine organisms
suggests that a massive
amount of ocean water
swept ashore, destroyed
Minoan structures, and
then swept the debris back
toward the sea when the
water finally receded.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS:
Layers of sediment are deposited
at the bottom of seas and lakes.
Over millions of years the layers
get squashed by the layers above.
The salts that are present in the
layers of sediment start to
crystallize out as the water is
squeezed out. These salts help to
cement the particles together.
How can you spot a Sedimentary
rock?
Sedimentary rock will often have
layers or bands across them.
It will often contain fossils which
are fragments of animals or
plants preserved within the rock.
Only sedimentary rocks contain
fossils.
The rock will tend to scrape easily
and often crumble easily.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS:CLASTIC ROCKS:
Clastic sediment layers,
like sandstone and
shale, form when rock
fragments are
broken down by
weathering – a
decomposition process
that occurs when rocks
come into direct contact
with heat, water, ice,
pressure, and natural
chemicals – and are then
transported and
deposited elsewhere
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
TRANSPOTATION AND DEPOSITION
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
CLASTIC ROCKS:
Sandstones - shales : Sediments composed of
distinct grains mechanically deposited.
Character depends upon:
Composition of grains
Relative abundance
Grain size
Shape
Orientation and packing of grains
Distribution of cement and the nature of the
fluid content of the pore system.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
CLASSIFICATION OF SEDIMENTS BY GRAIN SIZE

Particle name Diameter range in mm Rock Type

Gravel larger than 2 Conglomerate

Sand 1/16 – 2 Sandstone

Silt 1/256- 1/16 Siltstone

Clay Smaller than 1/256 Shale

Sediments are classified primarily by grain size. Gravel, sand and

silt can be a variety of minerals(Quartz and Feldspar) and are
non-cohesive. Clay particlesare microscopic platelets of various
hydrous aluminum silicates and are cohesive. They adsorb water
quickly and swell.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
TEXTURE OF CLASTIC ROCKS:
Grain shape

SORTING Angular: having sharp

corners and edges and
VERY WELL showing little or no effects of
abrasion or wear.
High energy
environment Subangular: having edges
and corners slightly
WELL rounded so that wear is
evident
Subround: having most of the
MODERATELY corners and edges worn down
Low energy to smooth curves thus
environment showing extensive abrasion.

Round: having all edges

POORLY and corners smoothed off
to gentle curves by
prolonged wear.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
GRAIN CONTACTS-PACKING
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY ROCK

SHALE, SILTSTONE

•Usually grey/brownish grey

(also tan to red).
•Finely layered (foliated);
often soft, easily broken
(siltstone).
Composition: Clay minerals
with accessory minerals
(oxides).

Formed in near-shore
marshes, or in deep-water
marine environments;
common in Valley & Ridge.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY ROCK:
LIMESTONE
•Whitish to light grey;
few crystals; may contain
fossils.
•May be coarsely or finely
banded, or massive.
Composition: Calcite,
with mixture of clay
minerals.
•Formed in off-shore
marine environments;
common in Valley &
Ridge, parts of Coastal
Plain.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS:
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
PYROCLASTICS
Certain types of magma
contain much water. When
pressure is released the
water flashes into steam
blasting the molten mass
into tiny splinters of
solidifying glass.
Residual temperatures of
several hundred degrees
may unite the still soft
fragments into welded tuff.
Light-porous rocks often
found near extinct volcanoes.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
 SEDIMENTARY TRANSPORT:
 Gravity: high to low: landslide-water-wind-ice

MASS
MOVEMENTS
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
 TALUS SLOPES Angle of repose: maximum stable angle

MASS MOVEVEMENTS
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
DISTRIBUTION OF STREAM SEDIMENT LOAD

Suspended load

BED LOAD
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
SURFACE TO VOLUME RATIO:

1,4mm
2.48mm S-V RATIO
S-V RATIO
3/0.62=4.84
3/1.24=2.42

Less stream energy

required to move the
particle

More stream energy

Surface area =4πr2 required to move the
Volume = (4/3) π r3 particle.(Turbulent
Ratio =3/r streams have more
energy than laminar
flows)
For the same mass as
that of a spherical
body irregular body
requires lesser energy
of stream.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
 STREAM TRANSPORT: size-shape-density- stream energy
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
STREAM DOWN CUTTING:
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
 OTHER TRANSPORTING AGENTS:

::WIND AND GLACIERS::

Compared to flowing water they move minor amounts of
sediment.

High winds can carry clay ,silt, and sand.

In arid climates wind can act as primary weathering and
transporting agent carving exposed rock into fantastic
shapes.

A glacier moves slowly but with great weight grinding

rocks into powder and carrying jumbles of unsorted rock
material to its snout.

Both the glacier and wind driven sediments are reworked

by water streams.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT:

Large inflow of
sedimentary
particles. Small outflow
of sedimentary
particles.

FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE CHARACTER OF SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS.

Wind.
Waves.
Temperatures.
Flow patterns.
Seasonal variations.
Biotic communities.
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SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY
:CONTINENTAL ENVIRONMENT:
Since more areas on land above sea level are subject
to erosion ,depositional conditions tend to localize
more on onshore.
Susceptible to rapid changes in weather.
Sediments deposited during months of slack water
flows may be carried away downstream in a single day
of heavy runoff.