1 / 26

Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks. A sedimentary rock is formed by the accumulation and compaction of sediments (rock pieces, minerals, animal parts, or chemical precipitates). Sediments are derived from weathering of rocks

avarielle
Download Presentation

Sedimentary Rocks

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Sedimentary Rocks • A sedimentary rock is formed by the accumulation and compaction of sediments (rock pieces, minerals, animal parts, or chemical precipitates)

  2. Sediments are derived from weathering of rocks • Chemical weathering – dissolution or decomposition of minerals grains due to chemical reactions

  3. Bowen’s Reaction Series: The last minerals to crystallize are the most resistant to weathering. Susceptible to weathering Resistant to weathering

  4. Mechanical weathering – Breakage of rock due to cracking, scratching, crushing, freezing, thawing, and abrasion

  5. There are 3 different types of sediments • Detrital (clastic) sediments – Pieces of eroded rock fragments and minerals grains. Sediments of this type form Detrital Sedimentary Rocks

  6. There are 3 different types of sediments • Detrital (clastic) sediments – Pieces of eroded rock fragments and minerals grains. Sediments of this type form Detrital Sedimentary Rocks • Chemical sediments – Minerals precipitated from water due to chemical reactions (ex. calcite, gypsum, halite). These sediments form Chemical Sedimentary Rocks

  7. There are 3 different types of sediments • Detrital (clastic) sediments – Pieces of eroded rock fragments and minerals grains. Sediments of this type formDetrital Sedimentary Rocks • Chemical sediments – Minerals precipitated from water due to chemical reactions (ex. calcite, gypsum, halite). These sediments formChemical Sedimentary Rocks • Biochemical sediments – Mineral remains of organisms or minerals precipitated due to biological processes (ex. shells, plant fragments, carbon). Sediments of this type form Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks

  8. Detrital sedimentary rocks are classified according to their grain characteristics: • Size of the grains: refers to the range of sizes of the individual sediment pieces found within the rock. Can be divided into three categories: • coarse-grained • Boulder, cobble, pebble, gravel • medium-grained • Sand • fine-grained • Silt, clay

  9. Classification of Clastic Sedimentary Rocks based on grain sizes Category: CoarseMediumFine Sediment: Boulder | Cobble | Pebble | Sand | Silt | Clay Size (mm): 256 64 2 0.062 0.0039 Rock Name: Conglomerate Sandstone Siltstone Shale Conglomerate Sandstone Shale

  10. A depositional environment is any place where sedimentary rocks form • Environments can be characterized as high, medium or low energy

  11. The larger the pieces being moved, the higher the energy of the environment • Mountain river, alluvial fan = high energy • Swamp, deep ocean = low energy • The more the pieces are being moved about, the higher the energy of the environment • Swash zone of beach = high energy • Floodplain, playa lake = low energy

  12. Stream Processes

  13. The water in all streams, large or small, can flow in two ways: • Laminar flow – The simplest type of flow. Streamlines do not cross, typically seen in slow moving waters • Turbulent flow – Complex flow pattern in which streamlines cross and form eddies. Typically seen in fast moving streams

  14. Streams transport a variety of sediment as either suspended load or bed load

  15. Most sand grains within a stream are transported by the process of saltation. This is the intermittent jumping of particles, and the smaller the particle, the higher it jumps and the farther it travels

  16. Experimental work has shown that there is a relationship between the velocity of a stream and the size of particles it can erode, transport, and deposit. This is called Hjulstrom’s curve

  17. The term stream valley encompasses both the actual stream channel and its floodplain

  18. The two main types of stream channel patterns are braided and meandering • Braided streams are characterized by • High sediment load • Variable discharge • High gradient • Relatively young in age

  19. Meandering streams are characterized by: • Low Sediment Load • Low Gradient • Meanders change shape • Old, mature stream

  20. Over time meanders change shape because on the cut bank side sediment is being eroded and along the point bar side deposition is occurring

  21. As streams flood natural levees are built up. Sometimes the levees build up so high that the floodplain level is below the stream level

  22. The longitudinal profile of a stream is generally always concave upward, with the steepest section being near the streams head, and leveling out near the mouth

  23. A delta is a fan shaped body of sediment that gets deposited at the mouth of a stream entering an ocean or lake. As the stream enters a standing body of water, deposition of the coarsest sediment occurs first

  24. Over time deltas build forward, and occasionally the main channel will shift to distributaries with shorter routes. This has occurred several times along the Mississippi delta

  25. Alluvial fans are similar to deltas in that they are fan shaped and formed from the sudden deposition of material, but alluvial fans are located at mountain fronts

More Related