Chapter 5 Conglomerate and sandstone
Conglomeratic rock is also known as rudite. Skim through the section entitled
“Composition”, but concentrate on the information about textural characteristics
and classification of conglomerates. Make sure that you understand the
characteristics and depositional environments of the 5 types of conglomerate
listed across the bottom of Figure 5.5.
There is a lot of information about thin section microscopy of sandstones. We’ll
be doing some of this, but don’t try to understand it just by reading about it. You
will soon figure out what to look for with practice.
It’s very important to become familiar with the Udden-Wentworth scale (Figure
5.13) for classifying clastic rocks. You will come across lots of references to Ф
(phi) units, so you need to understand how they relate to grain diameter. The
relationship is as follows:
–Ф
D= 2 (where D=diameter in mm)
(The minus sign is critical. For example if Ф = –2 , D = 22 = 4, so the diameter is
4 mm. Conversely, if Ф = 2, D = 2-2 = 1/(22) = ¼, or 0.25 mm)
The minus sign is used so that Ф values for the more common (ie. small) grain
sizes will be positive, rather than negative.
Ф (phi) -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2
mm 1024 512 256 128 64 32 16 8 4
boulder (>256 mm) cobble (>64 mm) pebble (>4 mm)
Ф (phi) -1 0 1 2 3 4
mm (dec.) 2 1 0.5 0.25 0.125 0.063
mm (fract.) 2 1 1/2 1/4 1/8 1/16
sand (> 0.063 mm)
Ф (phi) 5 6 7 8 9 10
mm (dec.) 0.031 0.016 0.008 0.004 0.002 0.001
mm (fract.) 1/32 1/64 1/128 1/256 1/512 1/1024
silt (> 0.004 mm) clay (no lower limit)
You should read through the information on the use of statistical techniques to
study grain size distribution, but don’t worry if its not totally clear. We will do
some of this in the lab.
Classification of sandy sediments and sandstones is very important to
understanding their history. We will talk about chemical and mechanical
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
maturity, which is what Figure 5.19A is all about. The important things to
remember are as follows:
Rock fragment content decreases with maturity
Feldspar content decreases with maturity
Chemical maturity
Quartz content increases with maturity
Matrix (clay & silt) content decreases with maturity
Degree of sorting increases with maturity
Mechanical maturity
Degree of rounding increases with maturity
Figure 5.20 is a depiction of the most commonly used classification scheme for
sandstones, so make sure that you understand what it means. The “Percent
matrix” axis is a measure of how much silt and clay sized material the sandstone
has, where an arenite ranges from 0 to 15% and a wacke ranges from 15 up to
75%. (A rock with more than 75% fine material is considered to be a mudrock.)
The triangular part of the diagram allows us to specify the proportions of quartz,
feldspars and rock fragments that make up the framework grains (as opposed to
the matrix and cement).
In case you’re not familiar with ternary (ie. triangular) diagrams, here is a generic
example with a few points plotted (the numbers are the proportions of A, B and C
in per cent):
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
And the following is an example of the sandstone diagram, with the corners
labelled: Quartz, Feldspar and Rock fragments, and the names of the arenite
fields:
The last part of the chapter discusses the characteristics and genetic
environments (weathering, transportation and deposition) of the various types of
sandstone.
Chapter 6 Mudrocks
Mudrocks (a.k.a. lutites) include all siliciclastic sediments with at least 75% silt
and/or clay sized fragments. They are the most abundant of the sedimentary
rocks, but as pointed out, they are not very well understood, partly because they
are not well exposed. We can see this clearly around Nanaimo. Most of the
rocky hills, ridges and cliffs around us are made up of sandstone and
conglomerate, while the soft and boggy valleys are underlain by mudrocks.
Many of the Gulf Islands are almost entirely composed of sandstone, while
mudrocks are typically hidden beneath the intervening straits and bays.
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
If you have done Geology 312 (and still remember any of it!) you will already
have some understanding of the mineralogy of clays, and their significance to a
wide range of geological issues.
When minerals and rocks get broken down into very small pieces virtually the
only two types of minerals that remain chemically stable are quartz and the clay
minerals. Fine silt is typically a mixture of quartz and clay minerals, but clay-
sized material (<0.004 mm) is almost entirely made up of a variety of clay
minerals. It is important, therefore, to have some understanding of the various
clay minerals, what makes them different and under what conditions they form.
You might find the following classification scheme useful:
Name Properties
The three main textural types of mudrock:
siltstone mudrock with over 68% of the particles larger than clay size (feels
gritty)
mudstone mudrock with 35 to 68% of the particles larger than clay size
claystone mudrock with at least 66% clay-sized particles (feels slick)
Various other categories:
shale any mudrock that has fissility (tendency to split into layers)
black any mudrock that has sufficient organic material to make it black in
“shale” colour
ferruginous any mudrock that has sufficient oxidized iron to make it red in
“shale” colour
bentonite bentonite rich rock (typically forms from volcanic ash that has
accumulated under water)
calclutite calcareous mudrock
Don’t worry about the section entitled “Proterozoic mudrock facies”, or Figures
6.11 and 6.12.
Chapter 7 Diagenesis
Any changes that take place within sedimentary rocks from the time of the
accumulation of sediments up until the onset of metamorphism (if there is any)
are referred to as diagenesis. These processes include the following:
• compaction
• bioturbation (as described in Ch. 4 under sedimentary structures)
• soft-sediment deformation (as described under sedimentary structures)
• cementation and de-cementation
• alteration of clay minerals
• alteration of organic matter
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
Make sure that you understand what these various processes are, why they
happen and how it can affect the rocks.
The most complex diagenetic changes are related to the alteration of clay
minerals, and many of these processes are not very well understood. Some of
the transformations are summarized below.
increasing temperature Æ
smectite Æ mixed-layer (interlayers of smectite and illite) Æ illite
kaolinite Æ illite (if K is present) or Æ chlorite (if Mg is more abundant)
illite Æ muscovite
Chapters 8 to 13 include descriptions of a variety of different depositional
environments or facies models. As noted in the introduction to Chapter 8, these
models are deliberate idealizations of the environments and the rocks that form
within them. While models are very useful for understanding what we see in the
rocks, they are never perfect and there are always many exceptions. We need to
be careful not to let the models constrain and colour what we observe.
There are many, many depositional environments, and I’m not expecting you to
understand all of the features of all of them. We will be concentrating on a few
important ones.
Chapter 8 Terrestrial sedimentary environments
The term “terrestrial” refers to any sedimentary environment on land as opposed
to within the oceans. It includes wind-blown (aeolian) deposits, alluvial fans (and
talus deposits), and all river and lake deposits. Prothero and Schwab did not
include glacial deposits in the 1st ed. and don’t give them a lot of room in the 2nd,
so we’ll cover those a bit in here – and we’ll look at lots out in the field.
Alluvial fan deposits are quite
common in desert areas where there
is active normal faulting producing
rising fault blocks. A good example is
the Basin and Range area of the
southwestern US.
A braided fluvial system exists
wherever a river has more sediment
than it can carry. This happens wherever there is rapid erosion, because of
recent uplift, or glaciation (eg. in many mountainous parts of BC) or volcanism
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
(eg. at Mt. St. Helens where there is abundant pyroclastic debris from the 1980
eruption) – or some combination of these factors. Make sure that you
understand the differences between longitudinal bars (L-bars) and transverse
bars (T-bars). The former tend to be rich in gravel, while the latter are finer
(sandy), and are typically cross-bedded (see Appendix A of the lab manual).
Mature rivers flowing across broad
flood plains tend to meander. These
systems produce a variety of deposits.
Cross-bedded point-bar sands are
common, but a number of other
deposit types are likely to be present,
as summarized under “Diagnostic
features of meandering fluvial
systems”. The flood plains of
meandering rivers are good
environments for the accumulation of
coal.
Make sure that you understand the
material on lacustrine and aeolian
environments, particularly the
summaries of “Diagnostic features …” at the end of each section.
Several types of sedimentary deposits are formed under glacial conditions. The
ice itself creates a unique type of deposit known as glacial till, which is a mixture
of fragments ranging in size from very fine clay to very large boulders. The
primary characteristic and diagnostic feature of till is that its components are
unsorted and unstratified. This is because they have been transported by ice
(either within or underneath the ice), and not by water or wind1. Tills are
commonly quite clay-rich (but they always have larger fragments as well).
Lodgement till is formed from material that is moved along at the base of the
ice, and is typically very well compressed (by the weight of the ice), almost to the
point of lithification in some cases. Ablation till is comprised of materials that
have been moved within or on top of the ice and then deposited when the ice
melts. All tills have the property of being poorly sorted and comprised of
fragments that are not well rounded.
There is normally a lot of water around a glacier - especially at its leading edge –
and also a lot of sediments, because the terrain is typically very steep, and
because of the erosive power of the ice. Various types of stratified sediments
are deposited in several different environments. Glaciofluvial deposits have
many of the features of the deposits of braided streams. Glaciolacustrine
deposits have many of the features of other lacustrine deposits – fine grained
1
Another name for a glacial till is diamicton, which implies a range (dia) of grain sizes. Tills
typically comprise a mixture of material ranging in size from clay to boulders
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
and well laminated - except that their organic levels are typically very low.
Dropstones are found in glaciolacustrine (and some marine) sediments, but not
in normal lacustrine sediments. The photo at the front of Chapter 5 is a
dropstone in marine sediments. They are also found in lacustrine sediments, but
are not normally that large.
Chapter 9 Coastal environments
Coastal environments include deltas, beaches, tidal flats and barrier complexes.
They are dominated by clastic sedimentation (rather than carbonate) because
there is almost always abundant input of terrigenous material near to shore.
A characteristic feature of delta deposits is that different materials are deposited
in different parts of the delta at the same time. The resulting deposits are
stratified, but, as shown on Figure 9.2, each such layer does not represent a
specific time. Instead, the time planes are parallel to the depositional surface. In
reference to Figure 9.2, one could talk about “lithostratigraphic” units, such as
the offshore clay, the prodelta silty clay and the delta front silts and sands. It is
very important to be aware, however, that the “chronostratigraphic” units in this
diagram are separated by the time planes, and that each of these units includes
some of each of these different sediment types. We’ll talk more about
lithostratigraphy versus chronostratigraphy later on.
Ensure that you understand the differences in delta characteristics as a function
of the controlling factors, sediment supply, tidal flows and wave action (eg. Figure
9.3).
Deltas are even more significant than meandering rivers as the depositional
environments for coal deposits.
Please read through the material on peritidal and barrier environments, making
sure that you understand the “Diagnostic features ..”.
Chapter 10 Clastic marine and pelagic environments
Chapter 10 covers clastic sedimentation processes that take place on continental
margins (shelves, slopes and continental rises), and also in the deep oceans
(abyssal plains).
Please read through the material on clastic shelf deposits, making sure that you
understand the “Diagnostic features ..”.
The continental slope and rise environment is particularly important, both
because these types of sediments are abundant world wide, and also because
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
this is the interpreted environment of most of the Nanaimo Group - which we will
be looking at in some detail.
The main features of the submarine fan environment are described in Box 10.1,
and Figure 10.14A [10.15A], and are summarized in the table below. The
submarine fan environment was originally described by Mutti and Ricci Lucchi in
1972; although some of the sedimentological features were described earlier by
Bouma (1962). The designations of Bouma (TABC etc.) represent sediments
formed in a turbidite environment, as described on Figure 10.13 [10.14] (and the
Appendix of the lab manual). They include sequences with multiple repetitions of
fining-upward beds, each representing one turbidity current event. Please don’t
confuse the facies letters (A, B, C etc.) of the table below with the Bouma
sequence letters (TABC etc.).
Facies* description Bouma position
conglomerate and coarse feeder channels on shelf
A TA (± E)
sandstone, 1 to 2 m bedding and slope
medium to coarse sandstone,
B TABCE slope and inner fan
lenticular
fine to medium sandstone, thin
C TABCDE middle fan
shale partings
very fine to fine sandstone, siltstone
D TBCDE mostly outer fan
and mudstone
overbank deposits from
similar to D, but the sand layers are
E TBCDE channels in upper and
thinner and coarser
middle fan
F slump, slide or olistostrome slope and upper fan
outer fan and abyssal
G mudstones TE
plain
A seismic profile and
the interpreted
geological features of
the present-day
Amazon River fan are
shown on the figure to
the right. In this case
there is evidence of at
least three vertically
stacked submarine fan
complexes, with an
intervening debris flow
(DF) deposit beneath
the upper fan complex.
Idealized cross-sections
of the inner, middle and
outer parts of a fan
complex are shown on
the figure below.
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
The word pelagic2 means
the open ocean, and in the
context of sedimentary
rocks it refers to any
sediments that are made
up of material that settles
out of deep ocean water.
For the most part these
include clay particles
(derived from the
continents), as well as
calcareous and siliceous
skeletal material derived
from planktonic organisms.
Pelagic sediments cover
virtually the entire ocean
floor. As shown on Figure
10.17 [10.16], and the
figure here, they include the following types:
2
In your reading you will also encounter the term hemipelagic, literally: half-pelagic. These are
clay-rich sediments with a significant component of coarser terrigenous material. They are
restricted to the shelves and near-shore parts of the abyssal plain.
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
Type Composition and distribution
Clay kaolin: in tropical regions
illite: in temperate regions
chlorite: in polar regions
smectite: close to ridges
Calcareous ooze v. fine CaCO3 shell material: in tropical to temperate
latitudes at water depths under 4000 m
Siliceous ooze v. fine SiO2 shell material: in tropical and near-polar
latitudes, mostly deep water
Terrigenous and Clastic and hemipelagic sediments of shelf and near-shore
Continental margin abyssal regions
Glacial glacial and ice-rafted sediments in polar regions
CaCO3 has a low solubility in near-surface ocean water (and is typically present
at supersaturation levels), but becomes more and more soluble with depth. At
depths greater than between 3500 and 4500 m (depending on other factors)
CaCO3 becomes so soluble that it is unlikely to be preserved. This is the
carbonate compensation depth (CCD), and it has a major influence on the sea
floor sediment distribution. As a consequence of this factor, calcareous pelagic
sediments are essentially absent from the deepest parts of the ocean floor.
Chapter 11 Carbonate rocks
Make sure that you understand the differences between the three main
carbonate minerals aragonite, calcite and dolomite. Many organisms make their
shells out of aragonite, but most of that aragonite is eventually transformed into
calcite. the mineral dolomite is not typically made by any organisms. Most
dolostone is formed from limestone by diagenetic processes.
Don’t stress out about the section on carbonate geochemistry, but do remember
that: “The precipitation of limestone is promoted by any process that removes
carbon dioxide from water”, and also by biological factors. The processes that
lead to precipitation of carbonate are summarized by the 7 points on page 218
[236].
Limestone is classified primarily on the basis of the proportions of its
allochemical and orthochemical carbonate components; where allochemical
includes carbonate grains that came from elsewhere, and orthochemical includes
carbonate crystals (and some grains) that formed in situ. Limestone dominated
by allochemical grains is called micrite, while that dominated by orthochemical
crystals is called sparite. Various other textural features, such as limestone
clasts, bioclasts, ooids and peloids, are used in the standard classification initially
devised by R.L. Folk – which is the one that we’ll stick with. See Figure 11.1 and
the associated text.
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
Make sure that you understand the stuff on limestone diagenesis, and
dolomitization.
Chapter 12 Carbonate environments
Limestones typically accumulate in shallow marine environments where the
water is clear (because of limited clastic input) and warm (that is primarily
between 30º S and 30º N under current climate conditions).
Make sure that you understand the characteristics and typical rock types of the
three environments described:
Environment Characteristics
within the intertidal zone, typically with well-developed tidal
peritidal
channels, commonly hypersaline with evaporite deposits as well
from the low-tide line to between 100 and 200 m, oolitic and
subtidal shelf
pelletal textures are common
high-productivity areas near the edges of carbonate banks,
reefs
skeletal fragments are common
Chapter 13 Other biogenic sedimentary rocks
I only want you to read about bedded and nodular chert deposits. (Phosphorites
are cool, but we have to draw the line somewhere.)
The source of most of the silica in the oceans is the hydration weathering of
silicate minerals other than quartz, for example:
Na-feldspar + H+ Æ kaolinite + Na+ + dissolved silica (H4SiO4))
Be sure that you understand the differences (in features and origin) between
bedded and nodular chert.
Chapter 14 Chemical and non-epiclastic sedimentary rocks
We will only be looking at the parts of this chapter that deal with iron-rich
sediments and evaporites. Don’t worry too much about the part entitled Solution
Geochemistry, we’ll refer to that as needed.
Iron exists in two main ionic states, namely the reduced ferrous form (Fe2+) and
the oxidized (rusty) ferric form (Fe3+). Ferrous iron is quite soluble, while ferric
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
iron is quite insoluble. Banded iron formation (BIF – alternating bands of chert
and iron minerals) only exists in old rock, and it is generally believed that this is
because the atmosphere was anoxic up until around 2 b.y. years ago, and that,
under those conditions, most iron was in the more soluble ferrous form.
As shown on Figure 14.2, the most popular model for BIF formation involves a
stratified ocean and an atmosphere with low, but increasing oxygen levels. The
deep water would have been anoxic and Fe-rich, while the shallow water would
have been slightly oxic and iron-poor. Deposition of chert was probably
continuous, but periodic vertical mixing of the ocean water would have led to
oxidation of the bottom waters and deposition of bands of iron-rich sediments.
Deposition of evaporite minerals requires evaporation of seawater to around 20%
of its original volume, and of fresh water to a much greater extent. There is no
evidence that the oceans themselves have ever been significantly depleted by
evaporation, so this process must take place in restricted basins that get
separated from the rest of the ocean. This can happen on various scales, from
small near-shore shelves, to huge basins.
Make sure that you understand the origin of concentric zoning in evaporite
deposits, and be sure to read about the Messinian deep-marine evaporites in the
Mediterranean.
Malaspina University-College – GEOL 201 – Sedimentary Geology – May 2004
