Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Sedimentology & Stratigraphy Technical Network
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Bedform
Stability
Diagram
The type of current bedform which forms is dependent on grain size, flow velocity, water depth etc…
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Current Ripples Ripple Cross-Lamination
Recognition Criteria:
• < 3cm in Height & 50cm wavelength Depositional Environments:
• Small prograding foresets typically • Nonmarine to Deep-water
steeper than 15°. Inclinations of 25°-28° are typical
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Current Ripples Ripple Cross-Lamination
Recognition Criteria:
• < 3cm in Height & 50cm wavelength
• Small prograding foresets typically steeper than 15°. Depositional Environments:
Inclinations of 25°-28° are typical • Nonmarine to Deep-water
• No matter the crest morphology the cross-sectional
expressions are essentially the same
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Current Ripples
Tunuck Shale, Utah
Ordovician, Algeria
Recognition Criteria:
• < 3cm in Height & 50cm wavelength Depositional Environments:
• Small prograding foresets typically • Nonmarine to Deep-water
steeper than 15°. Inclinations of 25°-28° are typical
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Climbing Current Ripples
Balakhany Delta Front, Caspian
Recognition Criteria: Depositional Environments:
• < 3cm in height & 50cm in wavelength • Non-marine, Delta front, Deep-water
• Small prograding, climbing foresets • Rapid deposition during waning flow (high sediment
supply & accommodation)
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Dunes Cross Bedding
Dunes:Amplitude often > 30cm, Wavelength often > m
Sinuous/Lunate Crested: Trough X-bed
Straight Crested: Tabular X-bed
Large scale bedforms are termed dunes; may have simple slip faces (planar
cross-bedding) or a more complex 3D morphology (trough cross-bedding)
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Dunes Planar Cross Bedding
Planar cross-bedding
(Ordovician Umm
Sahm Fm. Jordan)
Dunes with simple slip faces result in planar
cross-bedding (Ordovician, Algeria) Straight Crested: Tabular X-bed
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Trough Cross-Bedding
Diagnostic Criteria
• Cross-stratification sits on sharp, undulatory basal
erosion surfaces
•Internal laminae are concave & steepen upwards, Implications/Environment
up to 32° • Unidirectional tractional flow
•Internal laminae show well-developed toesets • deep-water to non-marine environments
which downlap basal erosion surface
•Typically medium-coarse grained
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Trough Cross-Bedding
Diagnostic Criteria
• Cross-stratification sits on sharp, undulatory basal
erosion surfaces
•Internal laminae are concave & steepen upwards,
up to 32° Implications/Environment
•Internal laminae show well-developed toesets • Unidirectional tractional flow
which downlap basal erosion surface • deep-water to non-marine environments
•Typically medium-coarse grained
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Mud Drapes Tangguh Field - Vorwata 2
Jurassic Roabiba Sandstone tidally
dominated shoreface sandstone
Recognition Criteria:
• Beds draped by mud or silt
• May form ‘bundles’ of several drapes which alternate with
mud free intervals on a scale of a few 10’s cms
Depositional environment:
• Tidal deposition – alternating periods of flow and slackwater
(twice daily occurrence) when the mud may settle out
• Cyclical nature may reflect alternation between strong/high
tides and weaker/lower tides
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Cretaceous, Utah
0.5m
Sigmoidal Cross-Bedding &
reactivation surfaces
Recognition Criteria:
• Sigmoidally shaped laminae and/or beds (topset through
foreset to bottomset)
• Beds typically draped by mud or silt
• Mud drapes thicken toward toes of laminae
• Reactivation surfaces exceedingly challenging to discern
in core
Depositional environment:
• Common in tidal deposits – alternating periods of flow
and slackwater (twice daily occurrence)
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Tidal cyclicity
Upper Proterozoic
tidal rhythmites,
Australia
Spring-neap tidal bundles, Miocene Nyalau
Formation, Sarawak, Borneo
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Composite bedsets: Heterolithic Bedding
Flaser
Wavy
Recognition Criteria:
Lenticular • Recurring alternations of lithologies and
sedimentary structures
• Ripples may be current-generated,
oscillatory, or combined flow
Reineck and Wunderlich (1968)
Depositional environment:
• Common in, but not confined to, tidal
deposits – alternating periods of flow and
slackwater
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Planar Stratification (upper flow regime)
Carboniferous, UK
Bedding plane
parting lineation,
Carboniferous, UK
Recognition Criteria:
• Laminae are horizontal, planar & parallel
• Typically associated with high flow velocities Depositional Environments:
and/or relatively shallow water depths in finer- • Beaches
grained sand • Braided Streams
• Bedding planes may show a parting lineation • Shallow and deepwater turbidites
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Planar Stratification (upper flow regime)
Ancient Foreshore: Blackhawk Fm. Modern Foreshore: Galveston
Recognition Criteria: Balakhany Delta Front,
• Laminae are horizontal, planar & parallel Caspian
• Typically associated with high flow velocities and/or
relatively shallow water depths in finer-grained sand
• Bedding planes may show a parting lineation
Depositional Environments:
• Beaches
• Braided Streams
• Shallow and deepwater turbidites
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Antidunes Antidunes
(upper flow 2m
regime)
Flow
Angle of climb Ordovician, Algeria
Recognition Criteria:
• laminae are very gently dipping
• associated with high flow velocities
and/or relatively shallow water depths
Depositional Environments:
Flow • transient in braided streams
• turbidites
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Wave Ripples
Reineck & Singh, 1980 Wave-rippled bed tops,
Recognition Criteria: Carboniferous, UK
• Symmetrical bedforms with minimal migration
• Lens-like shapes with concavo-convex internal laminae
• Onlap onto basal boundary
• Bedform wavelength <50 cm, amplitude < 3cm (> hummock)
Depositional Environments:
• wave affected substrates; lower shoreface of wave-dominated coastlines
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Aggrading Wave Ripples
Harms et al., 1982
Aggrading wave ripples,
Cretaceous, Utah
Recognition Criteria:
• Symmetrical bedforms with minimal migration in
conjunction with rapid sedimentation
• Bedform wavelength <50 cm, amplitude < 3cm
(> hummock)
Depositional Environments:
• wave affected substrates; lower shoreface of
wave-dominated coastlines
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Hummocky Cross-Stratification
Harms, 1975
Diagnostic Criteria: Implications
Low-angle (<10 degrees) trunction surfaces draped
• Formed by large oscillatory wave motion
by parallel to flattening-upwards, fine-scale laminae
• Occurs along shorelines (marine/ lacustrine)
• Dip in all directions
affected by storm wave motion
• Hummocks show convex-up laminae, swales
display concave-up laminae
• vf to f of m sst (grain size limited)
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Hummocky Cross-Stratification
Cretaceous, Utah
Cretaceous, Utah
1m
Diagnostic Criteria:
Low-angle (<10 degrees) trunction surfaces draped
by parallel to flattening-upwards, fine-scale laminae Implications
• Dip in all directions • Formed by large oscillatory wave motion
• Hummocks show convex-up laminae, swales • Occurs along shorelines (marine/ lacustrine)
display concave-up laminae affected by storm wave motion
• vf to f of m sst (grain size limited)
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
2.5cm
Diagnostic Criteria: Implications
Low-angle (<10 degrees) trunction surfaces draped • Formed by large oscillatory
by parallel to flattening-upwards, fine-scale laminae wave motion
• Dip in all directions • Occurs along shorelines
• Hummocks show convex-up laminae, swales (marine/ lacustrine) affected
display concave-up laminae by storm wave motion
• vf to f of m sst (grain size limited)
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Swaley Cross-Stratification
SCS records the preferential
preservation of the intervening
swales and the erosional
removal of the topographically
higher hummocks
Diagnostic Criteria:
Low-angle (<10 degrees) trunction surfaces draped Implications
by parallel to flattening-upwards, fine-scale laminae • Formed by large oscillatory
• Dip in all directions wave motion
• Hummocks show convex-up laminae, swales • Occurs along shorelines
display concave-up laminae (marine/ lacustrine) affected
• vf to f of m sst (grain size limited) by storm wave motion
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Loading / Ball & Pillow Structures
Diagnostic Criteria: Implications
• Loading – sharp-based disruption of • Rapid emplacement of sand
the base of the overlying unit onto soft, plastic muds
• Flames – upward injection of mud into commonly results in loading
the base of the overlying unit and foundering from above
Kuenen, 1965
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Dish and Pillar Structures
Diagnostic Criteria: Implications
• Narrow subvertical pipes or ‘pillars’ • Rapid deposition of sand
typically of cleaner sand with convex- with silty or delicate clayey
up clayey laminae or ‘dishes’ interlaminae leading to rapid
water escape focused along
narrow conduits
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Desiccation Cracks
Diagnostic Criteria: Implications
• Commonly polygonal in shape on bedding planes • Subaerial shrinkage cracks,
• Form downward tapering v-shaped fractures with reflecting subaerial exposure
low length-to-width ratios
• Sharp edges and not compressed (formed when
host sediment was stiff, cf. syneresis cracks)
Guide To Physical Sedimentary Structures
Syneresis Cracks
Diagnostic Criteria:
• Rarely polygonal on bedding planes
• Form downward tapering v-shaped
fractures with high length-to-width ratios
• Sharp edges and compressed, can
exhibit ptygmatic folding (formed when
host sediment was plastic, cf.
desiccation cracks)
Implications
• Subaqeous cracks, reflecting clay
lattice shrinkage in response to
salinity change
• Most common in brackish- water
settings (i.e. mixed salinities, e.g.
deltas and estuaries)