STRATIGRAPHY
PROF. Dr. ALEJANDRO BELTRÁN-TRIVIÑO
UNIVERSIDAD EAFIT
EARTH SCIENCES DEPARTMENT
2021-2
STRATIGRAPHY
Lecture 2
Introduction to Stratigraphy
Principles of Stratigraphy
Introduction: Sedimentary environments
and facies
• In the description of
sedimentary rocks in terms of
depositional environments,
the term ‘facies’ is often
used’.
• Facies is a body of rock with
specified characteristics that
reflect the conditions under
which it was formed (Reading
& Levell 1996).
Del Valle et al., 2019 (Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 7(5):144)
Introduction: the spectrum of environments
and facies
• Every depositional environment has a unique combination of
processes, and the products of these processes, the sedimentary
rocks, will be a similarly unique assemblage.
Tropical Norway Fjord
Introduction: the spectrum of environments
and facies
• depositional environments are classified as, for example, a delta,
an estuary or a shoreline, ….
Introduction: the spectrum of environments
and facies
• depositional environments are classified as, for example, a delta,
an estuary or a shoreline, and subcategories of each are
established, such as wave-dominated, tide-dominated and river-
dominated deltas.
Introduction: the spectrum of environments
and facies
It is important to recognise that these environments of deposition are convenient
categories and that the description of them tends to be of ‘typical’ examples. Every
delta, for example, is different from its neighbour in space or time, that every
deltaic deposit will also be unique, and although we categorise deltas into a number
of types, our deposit is likely to fall somewhere in between these categories.
Introduction: the spectrum of environments
and facies
Sometimes it may not even be
possible to conclusively distinguish
between the deposits of a delta and
an estuary, especially if the data set
is incomplete, which it inevitably is
when dealing with events of the
past.
Introduction:
Summary I
• Our planet is a dynamic place.
• Plate tectonics creates
mountains and oceans
• Changes in atmosphere affect
the climate (even on a human
scale)
• To understand how these global
systems work, we need a record
of their past behaviour to
analyse, and this is provided by
the study of stratigraphy.
Introduction: Principles of Stratigraphy
• Stratigraphy can be considered
as the relationship between
rocks and time
• The stratigrapher is concerned
with the observation, description
and interpretation of direct and
tangible evidence in rocks to
determine the history of the
Earth.
Introduction: Principles of Stratigraphy
• The term ‘stratigraphy’ dates
back to d’Orbingy in 1852.
1802-1857
Introduction: Principles of Stratigraphy
• The term ‘stratigraphy’
dates back to d’Orbingy in
1852.
• 1667: N. Steno: principle of
superposition
1638-1686
Introduction: Principles of Stratigraphy
• Stratigraphy provides the
temporal framework for
geological sciences.
• The relative ages of rocks,
and hence the events that
are recorded in those
rocks, can be determined
by simple stratigraphic
relationships:
superposition
Introduction: Principles of Stratigraphy
• Stratigraphy provides the
temporal framework for
geological sciences.
• The relative ages of rocks, and
hence the events that are
recorded in those rocks, can be
determined by simple stratigraphic
relationships: superposition, by
fossils
Introduction: Principles of Stratigraphy
• Stratigraphy provides the
temporal framework for
geological sciences.
• The relative ages of rocks, and
hence the events that are
recorded in those rocks, can be
determined by simple stratigraphic
relationships like superposition, by
fossils, and by radioactive decay
of elements that allow us to date
some rock units:
GEOCHRONOLOGY
Introduction: Stratigraphy
Goal 1: To establishing
a nomenclature for
rock units of all ages
and correlating them
all over the world
Introduction: Stratigraphy
Goal 2: to find the evidence for climate change in the past or the
movements of tectonic plates.
Introduction: Summary II
One of the most powerful tools we have for predicting future climate change
is the record in the rock strata of local and global changes over periods of
thousands to millions of years.
Introduction: Applied Stratigraphy
• Stratigraphy provide the
tools for finding new
resources: for example,
‘sequence stratigraphy’ is a
predictive technique, widely
used in the hydrocarbon
industry, that can be used to
help to find new reserves of
oil and gas
Introduction: Applied Stratigraphy
• The combination of sedimentology and stratigraphy allows us to
build up pictures of the Earth’s surface at different times in
different places and relate them to each other.
Jurasssic
Introduction: Applied Stratigraphy
• Paleogeography, plate tectonics and
basin formation:
The distribution of different
environments and their changes
through time can be related to plate
tectonics, because mountain building
provides the source for much of the
sediment, and plate movements also
create the sedimentary basins where
Jurasssic
sediment accumulates.
Stratum = Estrato
Stratum = Estrato
Tiene su origen en el vocablo latino
stratus y permite hacer referencia
al conjunto de elementos que
comparten ciertos caracteres
comunes y que se integra con otros
conjuntos para la formación de una
entidad.
Stratum = Estrato
Clase
Categoría
Capa (Layer)
Stratum = Estrato
Geología: el estrato es cada una de las capas en las que pueden
dividirse las rocas debido al proceso de sedimentación. Los estratos
aparecen como capas de espesor más o menos uniforme, con
interfases nítidas en comparación con el estrato se sitúa encima y con
el que se encuentra debajo.
Bedding = Estratificación
Bedding = Estratificación
Bedding = Estratificación
Base and Top = Base y Tope
Base and Top = Base y Tope
Base and Top = Base y Tope
Tope y base
Base and Top = Base y Tope
Base and Top = Base y Tope
Base and Top = Base y Tope
Base and Top = Base y Tope
Estratificación o laminación
Bedding or lamination
Estratificación o laminación
Bedding or lamination
Thickness = Espesor
Thickness = Espesor
True thickness = Espesor real
sen d = t/w
t= w . sen d
True thickness = Espesor real
Dirección y buzamiento
Strike and Dip
Dirección y buzamiento
Strike and Dip
Dirección y
buzamiento
Strike and Dip
Apparent Dip = Buzamiento Aparente
Trigonometría:
tan a = tan d. sin b
Apparent Dip =
Buzamiento Aparente
• Nomogramas
• Trigonometría:
tan a = tan d. sin b
Principio de la horizontalidad original
• "Strata either
perpendicular to the
horizon or inclined to
the horizon were at
one time parallel to the
horizon." Steno, 1669
Principio de la horizontalidad original
all sedimentary rocks are
originally deposited
horizontally.
Sedimentary rocks that
are no longer horizontal
have been tilted from
their original position.
Principio de la continuidad lateral
"Material forming any
stratum were continuous
over the surface of the
Earth unless some other
solid bodies stood in the
way." Steno, 1669
Principio de la continuidad lateral
"Material forming any
stratum were continuous
over the surface of the
Earth unless some other
solid bodies stood in the
way." Steno, 1669
Principio de la superposición
"...at the time when any
given stratum was being
formed, all the matter
resting upon it was fluid,
and, therefore, at the time
when the lower stratum
was being formed, none
of the upper strata
existed." Steno, 1669.
Principio de la superposición
"...at the time when any given
stratum was being formed, all
the matter resting upon it was
fluid, and, therefore, at the
time when the lower stratum
was being formed, none of the
upper strata existed." Steno,
1669.
Principio de las relaciones de corte
Cross-cutting relations
"If a body or discontinuity
cuts across a stratum, it
must have formed after
that stratum." Steno, 1669
Principio de las relaciones de corte
Cross-cutting relations
Cross-cutting relations states that if a rock unit "A" cuts through (intrudes)
another rock unit "B", rock unit unit "B" must have been there prior to
rock unit "A". Therefore, rock unit "B" is younger than rock unit "A".
Principio de las relaciones de corte
Principio de las inclusiones o intraclastos
this law states that rock
fragments (in another
rock) must be older than
the rock containing the
fragments
Principio de las inclusiones o intraclastos
Principio de las inclusiones o intraclastos
Principio de las inclusiones o intraclastos
Xenoliths
Principio de las sucesiones faunísticas
Fossil time interval (age)
This law was developed by
William "Strata" Smith who
recognized that fossil groups
were succeeded by other fossil
groups through time.
TIME
William Smith (1769–1839)
Principio de las sucesiones faunísticas
Principio de las sucesiones faunísticas
Principio de las sucesiones faunísticas
Fossil time interval (age)
TIME
Principio de las sucesiones faunísticas
This allowed
geologists to develop
a fossil stratigraphy
and provided a
means to correlate
rocks throughout the
world.
Principio de las sucesiones faunísticas
Principio de las sucesiones faunísticas
Principio de las sucesiones faunísticas
Enay and Cariou, 1999
Discontinuidades estratigráficas
Concordantes: sin
interrupciones
Discontinuidades estratigráficas
Sedimentation and
deposition have
been suspended
and reactivated
several times
through history
Discontinuidades estratigráficas
Sedimentation and
deposition have
been suspended
and reactivated
several times
through history
Discontinuidades estratigráficas
Discontinuidades estratigráficas
Discontinuidades estratigráficas
Son rasgos importantes
porque representan
acontecimientos
geológicos significativos
de la historia de la
Tierra.
Su reconocimiento nos
ayuda a identificar qué
intervalos de tiempo no
están representados
por los estratos y, por
tanto, no aparecen en
el registro geológico.
Unconformities (Discordancias)
Unconformities involve time
gaps, typically on the order of
hiatus tens of millions of years or
more. A time gap, also known
as a "hiatus“ refers to missing
time
Unconformities (Discordancias)
A time gap may be due to a time of
"nondeposition", meaning that no
sediments were deposited for an
interval of time.
More likely, unconformities indicate
a time when uplift and erosion have
occurred such that layers deposited
at an earlier time have been
stripped away. Typically,
unconformities involve:
• Major sea level changes
• Major tectonic events
Unconformities (Discordancias)
Three major types of
unconformites:
• Angular Unconformity
(discordancia angular)
• Nonconformity
(inconformidades)
• Disconformity
(disconformidades y
paraconformidades)
Unconformities (Discordancias)
Angular Unconformity
Unconformities (Discordancias)
Angular Unconformity
Discordancia Angular
Unconformities (Discordancias)
Disconformity
Disconformidad o Discordancia
paralela o erosiva:
Se observa la superficie de
erosión
Unconformities (Discordancias)
Unconformities (Discordancias)
Paraconformity
Paraconformidad: Discordancia
paralela no erosiva:
La superficie de erosión no es
detectable directamente.
Unconformities (Discordancias)
Paraconformity
Paraconformidad: Discordancia
paralela no erosiva:
La superficie de erosión no es
detectable directamente.
Unconformities
(Discordancias)
Nonconformity
Inconformidad: Discordancia
litológica
Thanks!!!
And please remember:
Next:
Unconformities
Stratigraphic units
Geological Time
Further Reading:
Nichols,
