PETROLOGY OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

PART - I

Fadlin, ST, M.Eng Jurusan Teknik Geologi Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi NasionalYogyakarta 2012

INTRODUCTION
Three Rock Types: Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic rocks Sedimentary rocks : rocks formed at the surface of the earth under low-temperature and low-pressure, result from the accumulation and solidification of sediments, material transported in water, air or ice (Raymond, 1995).
Origin of sedimentary rocks: - Formation of source rocks/sediment source : intrusion, metamorphism, volcanism, tectonic uplift - Weathering : physical and chemical breakdown of source rocks - Erosion and Transportation agent of transportation : water, wind, ice - Deposition material is deposited within depositional basins - Diagenesis sediment is covered by successive layer of younger sediment; increased temperature and pressure leading to consolidation and lithification of the sediment into sedimentary rocks

INTRODUCTION
Sedimentary rocks are characterized by : -Presence of layers -Presence of transported grains -Sedimentary structures -Fossils

Types of Sedimentary Rocks: (Tucker, 1991) Siliciclastic (fragmental) : - Conglomerates & breccias - Sandstones - Mudrocks Biogenic, biochemical and organic : - limestones & dolomites - cherts - phosphates - coal - oil shale Chemical : - evaporites - ironstones Volcaniclastic : (e.g.) ignimbrites, tuffs, hyaloclastites

Sedimentary rocks

Clastic (siliciclastic) rocks (80-85% of the stratigraphic record) Carbonate sediments and rocks (10-15% of the stratigraphic record) Volcaniclastic sediments and rocks Others (< 5% of the stratigraphic record) :
-

Organic (carbonaceous) sediments and rocks Evaporites

SILICICLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Clast (from the Greek klastos, meaning broken) is the technical term for broken fragment within sedimentary rocks. It is also called as terrigenous grains

Because most terrigenous grains are composed in part of silica, they are often referred to as siliciclastic grains.
Siliciclastic sedimentary rocks are composed by clasts that originated from transportation and deposition of pre-existing rocks within depositional environments. Mechanism involved in the transportation include the wind, glaciers, river currents, waves, tidal currents, debris flow and turbidity currents (Tucker, 1991). Two important features of siliciclastic sediments related to depositional processes and diagenesis are sedimentary textures and structures.

DESCRIPTION OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS (Prothero & Schwab, 2005): -Color -Sedimentary textures -Sedimentary structures -Composition -Fossil contents -Geometry of sedimentary rocks

Basic components of siliciclastic sedimentary rock are :

-clasts or fragments -matrix -cements

Color
-Color usually reflects some aspect of the rocks composition (bulk color can reflect the color of major mineralogical components) -Color of rock controlled by color of clast, matrix and cement -Color is not treated as an independent property, however, but as an aspect of sedimentary rock composition

Sedimentary textures
Textures refers to the size, morphology, and arrangement (fabric) of siliciclastic grains that make up a sedimentary rock.

Grain size
-Grain or siliciclastic particles range in size from clay to boulder
-The grade scale most widely used by sedimentologist is the Udden-Wenthworth scale

-The Udden-Wentworth grain-size scale is based on factors of two: = -log2 d ; where d is grain size in mm
- It extends from <1/256 mm (0.0039) to >256 mm and is divided into four major size categories (clay, silt, sand, and gravel) that can be further subdivided

Udden-Wenthworth grain-size scale for sediments and the equivalent phi scale

Mud

Grain Morphology
Three aspects of grain morphology are the shape, sphericity and roundness.

The shape or form of grain is measured by various ratios of the long, intermediate and short axes. Sphericity is a measure of how closely the grain shape approaches that of a sphere. Roundness is concerned with the curvature of the corners of a grain and six classes from very angular to well rounded.

Grain shape classification

Roundness and Sphericity

Grain Fabric
Fabric for grain in sedimentary rock refers to their orientation and packing and to the nature of contacts between them.
Grain Packing is a function of the size and shape of grains and postdepositional physical and chemical processes that bring about compaction of sediment. Grain orientation is mainly a function of the physical processes and condition operating at the time of deposition

Sedimentary structures

Sedimentary structures occur at very different scales, from less than a mm (thin section) to 100s1000s 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) The majority of structures form by physical processes, before, during and after sedimentation. Other result from organic and chemical processes

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

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

Low angle planar cross-bedding, Kali Ngalang-Gunung Kidul, YK

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

Planar stratification

Planar lamination (or planar bedding) is formed under both lowerstage and upper-stage flow conditions Planar stratification can easily be confused with planar cross stratification, depending on the orientation of a section (strike sections!)

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

Gravity-flow deposits

Debris-flow deposits are typically poorly sorted, matrixsupported 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