eaes 350-61 contents introduction unconsolidated clastic sediments sedimentary rocks diagenesis...
TRANSCRIPT
EaES 350-6 1
Contents
• Introduction• Unconsolidated clastic sediments• Sedimentary rocks• Diagenesis• Sediment transport and deposition• Sedimentary structures• Facies and depositional environments• Glacial/eolian/lacustrine
environments• Fluvial/deltaic/coastal environments• Shallow/deep marine environments
• Stratigraphic principles• Sequence stratigraphy• Sedimentary basins• Models in sedimentary
geology• Applied sedimentary geology• Reflection
EaES 350-6 2
Sedimentary structures
• Sedimentary structures occur at very different scales, from less than a mm (thin section) to 100s–1000s of meters (large outcrops); most attention is traditionally focused on the bedform-scale• Microforms (e.g., ripples)• Mesoforms (e.g., dunes)• Macroforms (e.g., bars)
EaES 350-6 3
EaES 350-6 4
EaES 350-6 5
Sedimentary structures
• Laminae and beds are the basic sedimentary units that produce stratification; the transition between the two is arbitrarily set at 10 mm
• Normal grading is an upward decreasing grain size within a single lamina or bed (associated with a decrease in flow velocity), as opposed to reverse grading
• Fining-upward successions and coarsening-upward successions are the products of vertically stacked individual beds
EaES 350-6 6
EaES 350-6 7
Animation
EaES 350-6 8
Animation
EaES 350-6 9
Sedimentary structures
Cross stratification
• Cross lamination (small-scale cross stratification) is produced by ripples
• Cross bedding (large-scale cross stratification) is produced by dunes
• Cross-stratified deposits can only be preserved when a bedform is not entirely eroded by the subsequent bedform (i.e., sediment input > sediment output)
• Straight-crested bedforms lead to planar cross stratification; sinuous or linguoid bedforms produce trough cross stratification
EaES 350-6 10
EaES 350-6 11
EaES 350-6 12
EaES 350-6 13
EaES 350-6 14
EaES 350-6 15
EaES 350-6 16
EaES 350-6 17
EaES 350-6 18
EaES 350-6 19
Sedimentary structures
Cross stratification
• The angle of climb of cross-stratified deposits increases with deposition rate, resulting in ‘climbing ripple cross lamination’
• Antidunes form cross strata that dip upstream, but these are not commonly preserved
• A single unit of cross-stratified material is known as a set; a succession of sets forms a co-set
EaES 350-6 20
EaES 350-6 21
Sedimentary structures
Planar stratification
• Planar lamination (or planar bedding) is formed under both lower-stage and upper-stage flow conditions
• Planar stratification can easily be confused with planar cross stratification, depending on the orientation of a section (strike sections!)
EaES 350-6 22
EaES 350-6 23
Sedimentary structures
• Cross stratification produced by wave ripples can be distinguished from current ripples by their symmetry and by laminae dipping in two directions
• Hummocky cross stratification (HCS) forms during storm events with combined wave and current activity in shallow seas (below the fair-weather wave base), and is the result of aggradation of mounds and swales
• Heterolithic stratification is characterized by alternating sand and mud laminae or beds• Flaser bedding is dominated by sand with isolated, thin
mud drapes• Lenticular bedding is mud-dominated with isolated ripples
EaES 350-6 24
EaES 350-6 25
EaES 350-6 26
EaES 350-6 27
Sedimentary structures
• Cross stratification produced by wave ripples can be distinguished from current ripples by their symmetry and by laminae dipping in two directions
• Hummocky cross stratification (HCS) forms during storm events with combined wave and current activity in shallow seas (below the fair-weather wave base), and is the result of aggradation of mounds and swales
• Heterolithic stratification is characterized by alternating sand and mud laminae or beds• Flaser bedding is dominated by sand with isolated, thin
mud drapes• Lenticular bedding is mud-dominated with isolated ripples
EaES 350-6 28
EaES 350-6 29
EaES 350-6 30
EaES 350-6 31
Sedimentary structures
• Tide-influenced sedimentary structures can take different shapes:• Herringbone cross stratification indicates bipolar flow
directions, but are rare• Mud-draped cross strata are much more common, and are
the result of alternating bedform migration during high flow velocities and mud deposition during high or low tide (slackwater)
• Tidal bundles are characterized by a sand-mud couplet with varying thickness; tidal bundle sequences consist of a series of bundles that can be related to neap-spring cycles
EaES 350-6 32
EaES 350-6 33
EaES 350-6 34
Sedimentary structures
Gravity-flow deposits
• Debris-flow deposits are typically poorly sorted, matrix-supported sediments with random clast orientation and no sedimentary structures; thickness and grain size commonly remain unchanged in a proximal to distal direction
• Turbidites, the deposits formed by turbidity currents, are typically normally graded, ideally composed of five units (Bouma-sequence with divisions ‘a’-‘e’), reflecting decreasing flow velocities and associated bedforms
EaES 350-6 35
EaES 350-6 36
Sedimentary structures
Gravity-flow deposits
• Debris-flow deposits are typically poorly sorted, matrix-supported sediments with random clast orientation and no sedimentary structures; thickness and grain size commonly remain unchanged in a proximal to distal direction
• Turbidites, the deposits formed by turbidity currents, are typically normally graded, ideally composed of five units (Bouma-sequence with divisions ‘a’-‘e’), reflecting decreasing flow velocities and associated bedforms
EaES 350-6 37
Turbidite
EaES 350-6 38
EaES 350-6 39
Sedimentary structures
• Imbrication commonly occurs in water-lain gravels and conglomerates, and is characterized by discoid (flat) clasts consistently dipping upstream
• Sole marks are erosional sedimentary structures on a bed surface that have been preserved by subsequent burial• Scour marks (caused by erosive turbulence)• Tool marks (caused by imprints of objects)
• Paleocurrent measurements can be based on any sedimentary structure indicating a current direction (e.g., cross stratification, imbrication, flute casts)
EaES 350-6 40
EaES 350-6 41
Sedimentary structures
• Imbrication commonly occurs in water-lain gravels and conglomerates, and is characterized by discoid (flat) clasts consistently dipping upstream
• Sole marks are erosional sedimentary structures on a bed surface that have been preserved by subsequent burial• Scour marks (caused by erosive turbulence)• Tool marks (caused by imprints of objects)
• Paleocurrent measurements can be based on any sedimentary structure indicating a current direction (e.g., cross stratification, imbrication, flute casts)
EaES 350-6 42
EaES 350-6 43
Sedimentary structures
• Imbrication commonly occurs in water-lain gravels and conglomerates, and is characterized by discoid (flat) clasts consistently dipping upstream
• Sole marks are erosional sedimentary structures on a bed surface that have been preserved by subsequent burial• Scour marks (caused by erosive turbulence)• Tool marks (caused by imprints of objects)
• Paleocurrent measurements can be based on any sedimentary structure indicating a current direction (e.g., cross stratification, imbrication, flute casts)
EaES 350-6 44
EaES 350-6 45
EaES 350-6 46
Sedimentary structures
• Trace fossils (ichnofossils) are the tracks, trails or burrows left behind in sediments by organisms (e.g., feeding traces, locomotion traces, escape burrows)
• Disturbance of sediments by organisms is known as bioturbation, which can lead to the total destruction of primary sedimentary structures
• Since numerous trace fossils are connected to specific depositional environments, they can be very useful in sedimentologic interpretations
EaES 350-6 47
EaES 350-6 48
EaES 350-6 49
Sedimentary structures
• Soft-sediment deformation structures are sometimes considered to be part of the initial diagenetic changes of a sediment, and include:• Slump structures (on slopes)• Dewatering structures (upward escape of water, commonly
due to loading)• Load structures (density contrasts between sand and
underlying wet mud; can in extreme cases cause mud diapirs)
EaES 350-6 50
EaES 350-6 51