Presentation on Introduction to

Sedimentary Petrology Submitted to Dr. Ravish Lal

By Group 4
CONTENTS
●
Introduction to sedimentary rocks
●
Classification of sediments
●
Physical Weathering
●
Chemical Weathering
●
Erosion and Denudation
●
Environment of Deposition
●
Soils and Soil Profile
●
Types of Soil in India
●
Paleosols
INTRODUCTION to SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS
• Sedimentary rocks are formed from deposits of pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organism
that accumulate on the Earth’s surface. If sediment is buried deeply, it becomes compacted and
cemented, forming sedimentary rock. The most important geological processes that lead to the
creation of sedimentary rocks are erosion, weathering, dissolution, precipitation, and lithification.
• Sedimentary rocks make up only a very small volume of the earth’s crust (5-10%), but they represent
at least 75% of the material exposed at surface.
• Sedimentary rocks contain important information about the history of the Earth. They contain
fossils, the preserved remains of ancient plants and animals. Coal is considered a type of sedimentary
rock. The composition of sediments provides us with clues as to the original rock. Sedimentary rocks
are economically important.
• They contain the world’s entire store of petroleum, natural gas, coal, and fertilizer. Sediments and
sedimentary rocks constitute a principal reservoir for Groundwater. Sedimentary rocks are the primary
repositories of the fossil record, on which rests our understanding of the evolution of life.
MAIN FEATURES of SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS
• Bedding – thickness, geometry, nature of bed, boundaries, dip & strike.
• Sedimentary structures – erosional, depositional, deformational, biogenic & chemogenic.
• Textures – clast types - In clastic textures, grain boundaries touch one another tangentially. When
grains are interlocked or intergrown, the texture is referred to as crystalline.
grain size
roundness
shape
fossil content
geometry
• Colour
• Much of the material in the sediment and sedimentary rocks has been recycled many times -
• deposited, uplifted, eroded, and then deposited – over and over.
• Several schemes are used for the broad classification sedimentary rocks. Prothero &Schwab use three main categories:
• Clastic
• Biogenic - limestone, chert and coal
• Chemical – evaporite and iron formation
• In some Introductory Geology texts the main categories are:
• Clastic – pyroclastic rocks
• Chemical - limestone and chert, as well as evaporite and iron formation
• Organic – used mainly for coal
• (In most schemes the pyroclastic rocks that P&S put into other are included in clastic)
• Argument – Limestone and chert are typically biogenic but not exclusively biogenic. Some can be entirely chemical in origin.
• Weathering is the destructive breakdown of pre-existing igneous, metamorphic, and
sedimentary rocks by physical disintegration and chemical decomposition. The removal of
weathering products from the weathering site constitutes erosion.
• Transportation is the movement of weathering products (either as discrete fragments of
pre-existing material or as components dissolved in water) from the sites where they are
produced to the sites where they accumulate.
• Diagenesis is a comprehensive term for all changes (short of metamorphism) in texture,
composition, and other physical properties that occur in a sedimentary rock after it is
deposited as a sediment up until the time it is examined.
WEATHERING AND EROSION
• Bedrock refers to the solid rock that makes up the Earth’s outer crust. Weathering is a process that
turns bedrock into smaller particles, called sediment. Mechanical weathering includes pressure
expansion, frost wedging, root wedging, and salt expansion. Chemical weathering includes carbonic
acid and hydrolysis, dissolution, and oxidation.

• Erosion is a mechanical process, usually driven by water, wind, gravity, or ice, which transports
sediment (and soil) from the place of weathering. Liquid water is the main agent of erosion. Gravity
and mass wasting processes move rocks and sediment to new locations. Gravity and ice, in the form
of glaciers, move large rock fragments as well as fine sediment.

• Erosion resistance is important in the creation of distinctive geological features. This is well-
demonstrated in the cliffs of the Grand Canyon. The cliffs are made of rock left standing after less
resistant materials have weathered and eroded away.
IMPORTANCE OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
• Sediments and sedimentary rocks cover most of Earth, and weathering is occurring on the rest of it. The reshaping of the surface of the
Earth has had a huge influence on the planet, affecting everything from the evolution of life to the tectonics of mountain ranges.
Sediments and sedimentary rocks record the events and processes that shaped the surface of Earth – and other rocky planets. They
provide the temporal framework that connects processes within the Earth to those at the surface. They are important for:

• Earth history. Sedimentary rocks contain features that allow us to interpret ancient depositional environments, including the evolution
of organisms and the environments they lived in, how climate has changed throughout Earth history, where and when faults were
active, etc.
• Economic resources. Petroleum reservoirs have organic-rich, sedimentary source rocks that produced the petroleum when heated, most
oil and gas migrates through sedimentary rocks, and most of the reservoirs are hosted in sedimentary rocks. Water aquifers are
dominantly found in sedimentary rocks (although some are in fractured metamorphic and igneous rocks). The composition of the rocks
strongly influences water quality due to water-rock interactions. Sedimentary rocks also host economic minerals such as gold and
diamonds, which are eroded from other rocks and concentrated to specific areas during sediment transport.
• Environmental geology. Sediments cover 2/3 of the continents and essentially all of the ocean floor, which totals 89% of the surface of
Earth. They host the biosphere, and they are most of the rocks we interact with directly and indirectly. Our actions as humans have an
extremely strong effect on sedimentation and erosion. Understanding our impact on the environment - and the environment’s impact
on us - must include deep appreciation for sediments and sediment transport.
 INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY ?

Sedimentary petrology studies the mineralogical and geochemical
composition of sediments and sedimentary rocks to determine
depositional and post-depositional processes of formation.

WHAT ARE SEDIMENTS ?

Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by
processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently
transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of
gravity acting on the particles.
CLASSIFICATION OF SEDIMENTS
1.TERRIGENOUS / SILICLASTIC/ CLASTIC SEDIMENTS

2. BIOGENIC SEDIMENTS

3.CHEMOGENIC SEDIMENTS

4.VOLCANICLASTIC SEDIMENTS
Terrigenous sediments (also siliciclastic or
clastic ) are composed mainly of detrital
grains derived from the weathering and
erosion of any pre- existing rock- they include
conglomerates, sandstone, mud rocks and
some paleo-sols .

These are those derived from the erosion of

rocks on land ; i.e., they are derived from
terrestrial environments, consisting of sand ,
mud and silt carried to sea by rivers , their
composition is usually related to their source
rocks ; deposition of these sediments is
largely limited to the continental shelf.
Biogenic/ bioclastic / organic are derived from the
skeletal remains and soft organic material from the
pre-existing organisms and of material that has
been biosynthesized- they include carbonated
( limestone and dolomite) some Cherts,
phosphorites and coal .

whereas most limestone and dolomite were

originally derived from biogenic material. Some
limestone are chemical precipitates example oolites
and travertine and most dolomites are formed by
post – depositional chemical alteration of the
original carbonate .
Chemical sedimentary rocks are
composed of minerals precipitated mainly
from ocean or lake water by ‘inorganic
(chemical) and organic processes .They
include limestone,chert,evaporites such as
gypsum and iron rich sedimentary
rocks .Evaporites are probably precipitated
entirely by inorganic processes resulting from
evaporation of lake or seawater .Biogenic
processes ,as well as inorgnic processes ,play
an important role in the origin of chert and
iron rich sedimentary rocks.
Volcaniclastic Clastic rocks and sediments
with mostly volcanic derived clasts
containing at least 25% by volume of
pyroclastic fragments. volcanoclastic rocks
and sediments were defined by fisher in
1961 and redefined in fisher and Smith in
1991 to include any natural material
composed in part or entirely of volcanic
fragments formed by any particle forming
mechanism, for example pyroplastic,
hydroclastic, epi clastic, autoclastic
transported by any mechanism, deposited in
any physiogeographic environment or mixed
with any other volcaniclastic type or with
any non volcanic fragment type in any
proportion
 Distribution of Sedimentary Rocks in
Time and Space
Sedimentary rocks are confined to Earth's outer crust, where they make up only
5-10 percent of the outer 10 miles (16 km) or so of the crust. On the other
hand,they are the most common rocks at Earth's surface. Sedimentary rocks and
sediments cover nearly three-fourths of Earth's land surface and most of the ocean
floor. They range in age from Precambrian to modern. The first sedimentary rocks
were deposited nearly four billion years ago, at which time most of Earth's surface
was covered with volcanic rocks. The relative proportion of sedimentary rocks at
Earth's surface has increased progressively with time, as weathering processes
brought about decomposition of other kinds of rock and deposition of the
decomposition products to form sedimentary rocks.
PHYSICAL WEATHERING
Physical (mechanical) weathering is the process by which rocks are
broken into smaller fragments
through a variety of causes, but without significant change in
chemical or mineralogical composition.
Except in extremely cold or very dry climates, physical and chemical
weathering act together, and it is
difficult to separate their effects.
TYPES OF PHYSICAL WEATHERING

FREEZE-THAW (FROST) WEATHERING

INSOLATION

ORGANIC ACTIVITY
FREEZE-THAW (FROST) WEATHERING

Disruption of rock fabrics owing to stresses generated by freezing and

thawing of water in rock fractures is an important physical weathering
process in climates where recurring, short-term changes from freezing to
thawing temperatures take place. Water increases in volume by about 9
percent when it changes to ice, creating enough pressure in rock
fractures to crack most types of rock. To be effective, water must be
trapped (sealed by freezing) within the rock body, and repeated freezing
and thawing are necessary to allow progressive disintegration of the
rock, which occurs very slowly.
INSOLATION
Insolation refers to stresses generated when minerals are exposed to changing
temperatures and undergo differential thermal expansion and contraction.
When the latticework of adjacent minerals enlarges and collapses as bedrock
surface temperatures rise and fall, expansion and contraction cracks develop
and cause the solid rock to disintegrate. This process is common in arid
climates such as the Sahara Desert, where daily temperature fluctuations of
20° to 30°C are common. In wetter climates, moisture facilitates insolation.
Minerals such as clays hydrate and swell, then contract and dries up,
generating additional stress and strain. Insolation creates mechanical
weathering products that are indistinguishable from those produced by
freeze-thaw.
ORGANIC ACTIVITY
Organisms that live on or in weathering bedrock promote physical
weathering. Plant roots seek out small pockets of soil formed above
developing cracks. As plant growth continues, the root system
lengthens and thickens, gradually prying apart the crack by generating
stresses similar in magnitude and orientation to freeze-thaw stresses.
Microscopic and megascopic organisms living within soil and altered
bedrock can also fragment them further as they ingest and burrow through
the material.
CHEMICAL WEATHERING
Chemical weathering involves changes that can alter both the chemical
and
. the mineralogical composition of rocks. Minerals in the rocks are
attacked by water and dissolved atmospheric gases (oxygen, carbon
dioxide), causing some components of the minerals to dissolve and be
removed in solution. Other mineral constituents recombine in situ and
crystallize to form new mineral phases. These chemical changes, along
with changes caused by physical weathering , disrupt the fabric of the
weathered rock, eventually producing residual blocks and a loose
residue of resistant grains and secondary minerals. Water and dissolved
gases play a dominant role in every aspect of chemical weathering.
Because some water is present in almost every environment, chemical
weathering processes are important even in arid climates. Nevertheless,
owing to the low temperatures of the weathering environment (<30oC),
chemical weathering occurs very slowly.
TYPES OF CHEMICAL WEATHERING

SIMPLE SOLUTION WEATHERING

HYDROLYSIS

CHEMICAL ALTERATION
1. Simple solution (congruent dissolution) occurs when a mineral goes into
solution completely without precipitation of other substances. Simple solution of
highly soluble minerals such as calcite, dolomite, gypsum, and halite, and even less
soluble minerals such as quartz, occurs during exposure to meteoric water
(rainwater). Chemical bonds between ions in the minerals are broken, destroying
the minerals and releasing constituent ions into solution in surface and ground
waters. If carbon dioxide is dissolved in the rainwater through interaction with
atmospheric or soil CO2, the usual case in the weathering environment, the
solubilizing ability of water
. is enhanced. Dissolution of CO2 in water forms
carbonic acid (H2CO3—this is what makes soft drinks effervesce), which
subsequently dissociates to produce hydrogen ions and carbonate ions. Increase in
H+ ions, relative to OH– ions, makes meteoric waters more acidic and thus more
aggressive dissolution agents, particularly for carbonate minerals. Simple solution
of this type is an important weathering process, particularly in moderately wet
climates where carbonate rocks or evaporites are present near the surface or at
the water table
2. Hydrolysis is an extremely important chemical reaction between silicate
minerals and acids that leads to breakdown of the silicate minerals and release of
metal cations and silica.This kind of incomplete dissolution is called incongruent
dissolution. If aluminum is present in the minerals undergoing incongruent
dissolution during weathering, clay minerals such as kaolinite, illite, and smectite
may form as a by-product of hydrolysis. For example, orthoclase feldspar can break
down to yield kaolinite or illite, albite (plagioclase feldspar) can decompose to
kaolinite or smectite, and so on. The H+ ions are commonly supplied by the
dissociation of CO2 in water. Thus, the more CO2 that is dissolved in water, the more
aggressive the hydrolysis reaction. Hydrolysis can also take place in water containing
little or no dissolved CO2, with H+ ions being supplied either by clay minerals that
have a high proportion of H+ ions in cation exchange sites or by living plants, which
create an acid environment. Most of the silica set free during hydrolysis goes into
solution as silicic acid (H4SiO4); however, some of the silica may separate as colloidal
or amorphous SiO2 and be left behind during weathering to combine with aluminum
to form clay minerals. Hydrolysis is the primary process by which silicate minerals
decompose during weathering.
3. Chemical alteration of iron and manganese in silicate minerals such as biotite
and pyroxenes, caused by oxygen dissolved in water, is an important weathering
process because of the abundance of iron in the common rock-forming silicate
minerals. An electron is lost from iron during oxidation which causes loss of other
cations such as Si4+ from crystal lattices to maintain electrical neutrality. Cation loss
leaves vacancies in the crystal lattice that either bring about the collapse of the lattice
or make the mineral more susceptible to attack by other weathering processes.
Oxidation of manganese minerals to form oxides and silicic acid or other soluble
products is a less important but common weathering process. Another element that
oxidizes during weathering is sulfur. For example, pyrite (FeS2) is oxidized to form
hematite (Fe2O3), with release of soluble sulfate ions. Under some conditions where
material undergoing weathering is water saturated, oxygen supply may be low and
oxygen demand by organisms high. These conditions can bring about reduction of iron
(gain of an electron) from Fe3+ to Fe2+. Ferrous iron (Fe2+) is more soluble, and thus
more mobile, than ferric iron (Fe3+) and may be lost from the weathering system in
solution.
EROSION
Erosion is the geological process in which earthen
materials are worn away and transported by natural
forces such as wind or water. It differs from
weathering as weathering is the break down of a
rock without any movement i.e in situ. Loose
material on the land surface may be transported
downslope under gravity, it may be washed by
water, blown away by wind, scoured by ice or
moved by a combination of these processes.
EROSION AND TRANSPORT UNDER
GRAVITY
On steep slopes in mountainous areas and along cliffs movements downslope
under gravity are commonly the first stages in the erosion and transport of
weathered material.

Downslope movement
There is a spectrum of processes of movement of material downslope
Landslide
Rock fall
Soil creep
Slump

Scree and Talus cones

In mountain areas weathered detritus falls as grains, pebbles and boulders down
mountainsides to accumu- late near the bottom of the slope. These accumulations
of scree are often reworked by water, ice and wind but sometimes remain
preserved as talus cones, i.e. con- centrations of debris at the base of gullies (Fig.
6.9) (Tanner & Hubert 1991). These deposits are charac- teristically made up of
angular to very angular clasts because transport distances are very short
Erosion and transport by water

Erosion by water on hillsides is initially as a sheet wash, i.e. unconfined surface run-off
down a slope following rain. This overground flow may pick up loose debris from the
surface and erode the regolith
Factors affecting amount of surface run off
Amount of rainfall
Slope gradient
Vegetation along slope
Porosity of substrate

Most effective at carrying detritus during flash-flood events on steep, impermeable

slopes in sparsely vegetated arid regions
Sheet wash becomes concentrated into rills and gullies that confine the flow and as these
gullies coa- lesce into channels the headwaters of streams and rivers are established.
Rivers erode into regolith and bedrock as the turbulent flow scours at the floor and
margins of the channel, weakening them until pieces fall off into the stream. Flow over
soluble bedrock such as limestone also gradually removes material in solution. Eroded
material may be carried away in the stream flow as bedload, in suspension, or in
solution; the confluence of streams forms larger rivers, which may feed alluvial fans,
fluvial environments of deposition, lakes or seas.
EROSION AND TRANSPORT BY WIND

Winds are the result of atmospheric pressure differences that are partly
due to global temperature distributions, and also local variations

Winds are capable of picking up loose clay, silt and sand-sized debris
from the land surface. Wind erosion is most effective where the land
surface is not bound by plants and hence it is prevalent where
vegetation is sparse, in cold regions, such as near the poles and in high
mountains, and dry deserts. Eroded fine material (up to sand grade) can
be carried over distances of hundreds or thousands of kilometres by the
wind. The size of material carried is related to the strength (velocity) of
the air current.
EROSION AND TRANSPORT BY ICE
Ice is also an important agent of erosion. Glaciers in temperate
mountain regions contribute significantly in erosion and transport of
bedrock and regolith whereas glaciers and ice sheets in polar regions
inhibit erosion as ice is frozen to the bedrock. Erosion of bedrock by
ice occurs through two different processes.

Glacial Abrasion- Abrasion occurs when rocks and stones become

embedded in the base and sides of the glacier. These are then rubbed
against the bedrock (at the bottom of the glacier) and rock faces (at
the sides of the glacier) as the glacier moves.

Glacial Plucking- Plucking occurs when rocks and stones become

frozen to the base or sides of the glacier and are plucked from the
ground or rock face as the glacier moves. This leaves behind a jagged
landscape.
DENUDATION

The lowering of the land surface by the combination of weathering and erosion is termed
denudation. Rates of denudation are determined by a combination of topographic and
climatic factors, which in turn influence soil development and vegetation, both of which
also affect weathering and erosion.

Denudation = Weathering + Transportaion + Erosion

TOPOGRAPHY AND RELIEF

Relief is the change in the height of the ground over the area. With increasing relief the mechanical denudation
rate increases as erosion processes are more efficient. A deeply incised topography consisting of steep sided
valleys separated by narrow ridges provides the greatest area of steep slopes for bedrock and regolith to be
eroded.
 CLIMATE CONTROLS ON DENUDATION
PROCESSES
Wet tropical regions

Chemical weathering is enhanced because of the higher temperatures and abundance of water. Bedrock in these areas is typi- cally deeply weathered and highly altered at
the sur- face

Arid subtropical regions

The limited availability of water in arid regions means that chemical weathering processes are subdued. The bedrock is frequently barren of soil or vegetation cover.
However, mechanical weathering is prominent. Cold nights and warm days promote freeze– thaw action. Fine-grained debris is removed from the regolith by wind
ablation

Polar and cold mountain regions

Chemical weathering is less significant in cold, dry regions where chemical reactions are slower. In these areas physical weathering processes are more effective, although
these too rely on the presence of water. The products of weathering in cold mountains are typically debris of the bedrock, broken up but with little or no change in the
mineral composition.

Temperate regions

In temperate climates both physical and chemical weathering processes tend to be subdued. Erosion is generally more vigorous under wetter climates, but on the other
hand, vegetation, which is usually denser in humid climates, tends to stabilise the surface and can reduce erosion.
DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT

A depositional environment is a specific type of

place in which sediments are deposited, such as
a stream channel, a lake, or the bottom of the
deep ocean. They are sometimes called
sedimentary environments. The layers of
sediment that accumulate in each type of
depositional environment have distinctive
characteristics that provide important
information regarding the geologic history of an
area.
 SOILS

●
The weathering process affects not only fresh bedrock ,but also
sediments that have been deposited but not yet lithified into rocks .
●
BEDROCK is the unaltered rock of any kind.
●
REGOLITHS a layer of broken pieces of rocks and slightly altered
rock that overlies the bedrock.
 “ mineral
SOIL is a layer of altered
material usually
mixed with organic material.
”
Soil consists of weathered bedrock material and
additional chemical elements that move through the soil
in ground water and the organic material added by
living organisms .
●
Soil forming process
●
The characteristic and thickness of the soils are a function of
●
1.bedrock lithology
●
2.the climate
●
3.the slope of bedrock surface
 PROCESSES THAT MODIFIES SOIL CHARACTERISTICS

●1. ADDITION TO GROUND SURFACE

●2.TRANSFORMATION

●3. TRANSFERS
● Various zonations of
●4.REMOVALS horizons which are
collectively referred to as
●5.BIOTURBATION OF SOIL the SOIL PROFILE
 Soil profile and classification

●
SOILS are classified on the
basis of the characteristic
horizontal layers or horizons
that are divided in five major
horizons .
●
In many temprate climate we find PEDALFER SOILS which have well
developed O ,A,B,&C horizons.
●
In desert climates ,we find PEDOCAL SOILS which have much less organic
content and O horizon .
●
The LATERITE SOILS of the tropics have very thick deeply weathered A
horizon
Soils in India
●
On basis of genesis ,color,composition and location
soil of India can be classified into-
●
FOREST SOILS

●
ALLUVIAL SOILS

●
BLACK SOILS

●
LATERITE SOILS

●
RED AND YELLOW SOILS

●
ARID SOILS
 PALEOSOLS

• In the context of this text, we are concerned primarily with

ancient soils, called paleosols, rather than modern soils.
• Paleosols, sometimes referred to as fossil soils, are buried soils
or horizons of the geologic past. Most soil horizons that
developed in the past on elevated landscapes were eventually
destroyed as erosion lowered the landscape. Nonetheless,
some soils, presumably those formed mainly in low-lying areas,
escaped erosion to become part of the stratigraphic record.
RECOGNITION OF PALEOSOLS

Because interbedded paleosols in sedimentary successions superficially

resemble sediments or sedimentary rocks, many paleosols have
unquestionably gone unrecognized in the past. Many of us have simply
identified them as gray, red, or green mudstones. As awareness of
paleosols has increased, however, more and more paleosols are being
recognized.
three principal kinds of diagnostic characteristics of paleosols that help
distinguish them from sedimentary rocks: traces of life, soil horizons, and
soil structure
• Root traces are the most important traces of life
preserved in paleosols.
• Root traces provide diagnostic evidence that rock was
exposed to the atmosphere and colonized by plants,
thus forming a soil. The top of a paleosol is the surface
from which root traces emanate.
• Root traces mostly taper and branch downward, which
helps to distinguish them from burrows. On the other
hand, some root traces spread laterally over hardpans in
soils, and some kinds branch upward and out of the soil.
• Root traces are most easily recognized when their
original organic matter is preserved, which occurs
mostly in paleosols formed in waterlogged, anoxic
lowland environments.
• Root traces in red, oxidized paleosols consist mainly of
tubular features filled with material different from the
surrounding paleosol matrix.
●
The presence of soil horizons is a second general feature of paleosols. The top of the
uppermost horizon of a paleosol is commonly sharply truncated by an erosional
surface, but soil horizons typically show gradational changes in texture, color, or
mineral content downward into the parent material.
●
Differences in grain size, color, reaction with weak hydrochloric acid (to test for the
presence of carbonates), and the nature of the boundaries must all be examined to
detect soil horizons. Comparison with modern soil horizons aids in recognition.
●
Bioturbation (disruption) by plants and animals, wetting and drying, and other soil-
forming processes cause paleosols to develop characteristic soil structures at the
expense of the original bedding and structures in the parent rock.
●
One of the characteristic kinds of soil structure is a network of irregular planes
(called cutans) surrounded by more stable aggregates of soil material called peds.
This structure gives a hackly appearance to the soil. Peds occur in a variety of sizes
and shapes. Their recognition in the field depends upon recognition of the cutans
that bound them, which commonly form clay skins around the peds.
●
Other kinds of soil structure include concentrations of specific minerals that form hard,
distinct, calcareous, ferruginous, or sideritic lumps called glaebules (a general term
including nodules and concretions).
●
More diffuse, irregular, or weakly mineralized concentrations are called mottles. The field
appearance of some Miocene paleosols. These paleosols are red; however, paleosols can
have a variety of colors and properties.
●
Paleosols can be recognized to have characteristics similar to those of modern soils; thus,
U.S. Soil Taxonomy names such as aridosol and ultisol can be applied to paleosols. Because
the characteristics of paleosols reflect the conditions under which they formed, including
climatic conditions, study of paleosols is an important tool in paleoenvironmental analysis.
●
For example, aridosols suggest formation under desert conditions whereas ultisols reflect
weathering under warm, moist conditions. Clearly, the processes of weathering that lead to
generation of sedimentary particles and soil formation are intimately tied up with climatic
conditions. Weathering did not begin on Earth until an atmosphere containing water vapor
and carbon dioxide had accumulated sometime during the early Precambrian; subsequent
addition of oxygen also had an important bearing on the weathering processes.