GEOL205 - Sedimentary
Petrology
Introduction
Dr Nonkululeko Dladla (Nku)
E-mail address:
Dladlan2@[Link]
Room 111 (H1 building)
Consultation times: Thursdays-
10:00-13:00
Geol 205 Course outline
• Aim: To introduce students to sediments, sedimentary rocks and
their formation processes.
• Content: Particles and their textures, grain-size analysis, textures of
sedimentary rocks, rudaceous rocks, arenaceous rocks, argillaceous
rocks, limestone, dolomite and their formation processes.
• Practicals: Particles and grain-size analysis, identification of
sediment and rock specimens, sedimentary structures and
microscopic analysis of thin sections from sedimentary rocks.
• Continuous tests at end of each prac.
• Assessment: Theory tests (30%), practical exercises (20%), 2h
exam (50%)
205 Course Requirements
• Textbooks
– Tucker, M.E. (1991) Sedimentary Petrology, 2nd edition (Blackwell, Oxford).
– Tucker, M.E. (2001) Sedimentary Petrology, 3rd edition (Blackwell, Oxford).
– Prothero, D.R. and Schwab, F. (2004) Sedimentary Geology, 2nd edition
(Freeman, New York).
• Equipment for practicals
– Hand-lens, grain size chart, calculator, pencils, pens, ruler, etc.
– Lecture notes
– Not negotiable
• Course outline
– 18 lectures, 6 x 3 hour practicals
• Scheduled hours
– Two practical slots (Monday & Wednesday)- UGL1 H1 Building
GENERAL RULES
• DO NOT BE LATE FOR CLASS
→If you are more than 10 minutes late, do
not bother coming in
- This disturbs me and other students
• Class register to be signed
• No talking once lectures begin
- I will walk out.
Definitions
• Sedimentology: the study of sedimentary
processes, sedimentary products and
sedimentary systems.
• Sedimentary Petrology: the study of
sedimentary rocks.
Sedimentary Processes
• Weathering and sediment formation
• Transportation of sediment
• Deposition of sediment
Weathering and sediment formation
Transportation of sediment
Deposition of sediment
NASA
Sedimentary Products
• Sediments
• Sedimentary Rocks
• Sedimentary Structures
• Sedimentary Ore Deposits
Sedimentary Products
• Sediments
– Grain size, grain shape, surface textures etc
Sedimentary Products
• Sedimentary Rocks
– Mineral composition, texture
– Diagenesis
Sedimentary Products
• Sedimentary Structures
– Morphology & Genesis (e.g. Hydrodynamics)
Sedimentary Products
• Sedimentary Ore Deposits
– Mineralogical and chemical composition
– Depositional environment and genesis
Sedimentary Systems
• Sedimentary Environments
Why study sedimentary rocks?
• Sedimentary rocks provide information of the
evolution of the Earth
– 75% of the land surface is covered by sediments and
sedimentary rocks
• Sedimentary rocks are of major economic and
environmental importance
– are the main host of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal)
– are a host of a variety of mineral deposits (Cu, Au, U,
Fe)
– form important groundwater aquifers
Sedimentology - basic concepts
• Principle of superposition:
– In an undisturbed sequence of strata, the
oldest strata lie at the bottom and successively
higher strata are progressively younger
(Nikolaus Steno,1638-1687)
Sedimentology - basic concepts
• Principle of Uniformitarianism:
– "The present is the key to the past“ (James
Hutton, 1726-1797; Charles Lyell, 1797-1875)
Sediment
is material derived:
• from pre-existing rocks through weathering
• from volcanic eruptions
• from biogenic sources
• or precipitated by chemical processes
• -> and deposited at, or near, the Earth´s
surface
From sediment to sedimentary rock
• Diagenesis
• Consolidation
• Lithification
From sediment to sedimentary rock
• Diagenesis – physical & chemical changes that
transform a sediment into a rock
Mud Mudstone & shale
Sand Sandstone
Gravel Conglomerate/breccia
Carbonate Limestone & marl
rich muds
From sediment to sedimentary rock
• Consolidation by compaction upon burial
Mud
Pressure due to overburden
(burial) squeezes water out
of pore space.
Mudstone
70% water
5% water
Particles forced closer
together as pore volume
reduces
From sediment to sedimentary rock
• Lithification by cementation
Loose sand Cemented sandstone
Common cements •Quartz
•Calcium carbonate
•Clay minerals
•Iron oxide
Sediments are grouped into mainly
four categories:
• Siliciclastic sediments
• Biogenic, biochemical and organic
sediments
• Chemical sediments
• Volcaniclastic sediments
Siliciclastic sediments
• siliciclastic - fragments (clasts) of rocks
(igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary) and
minerals
• terrigeneous: land-derived
• e.g. conglomerate, sandstone, mudstone
Biogenic sediments
• biogenic: produced directly by the activity
of organisms, e.g. shelly limestone
Biochemical sediments
• biochemical: chemical precipitation
induced by the activity of organisms, e.g.
stromatolitic limestone
Organic sediments
• organic: consisting of organic material,
e.g. peat, coal
peat
lignite
Chemical sediments
• produced by precipitation from water
• 1. due to the evaporative concentration of dissolved salts
(e.g. evaporites)
• 2. due to changes in redox potential/ pH conditions of the
environment (e.g. BIF)
Volcaniclastic sediments
• sediments composed of grains of volcanic origin
that are derived from contemporaneous volcanic
activity