Diagenesis

Chapters 5, 6, 7

Diagenesis
„ Definition
„ Controls on diagenesis
„ Zones, processes and products
„ Porosity
„ Organic matter
„ Summary

Diagenesis
„ Physical and chemical changes taking place
in a sediment or sedimentary rock between
deposition and either: a) metamorphism, or
b) uplift and weathering
„ Sediment converted into consolidated
sedimentary rock
„ Low temperature near-surface processes to
higher temperature subsurface processes
(<300C and 1-2 kb)

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Diagenesis vs. Metamorphism

Controls on Diagenesis
„ Movement of pore fluids
„ Meteoric/surface waters into sedimentary
basins
„ Potentiometric head defined by ground water
table – above sea level, pore fluids will readily
flow into marine sedimentary basins
„ Thermal convection
„ Inverse density gradient caused by thermal
expansion of water (batholiths, salt domes, etc.)
„ Compaction
„ Porosity reduction drives interstitial waters
upward

Shallow Carbonate Diagenesis

Boggs 2001

2
 Boggs 2001

Bioturbation

Carbonates
„ Micritization
„ Carbonate grains may be bored by fungi,
bacteria, algae
„ Fine-grained (micrite) carbonate
(aragonite, high-mag calcite) may then
precipitate in holes
„ In some cases, only exteriors of grains
affected – micrite rims/envelopes
„ In other cases, grains may be completely
micritized

3
 Micrite envelopes

http://geology.uprm.edu/Morelock/GEOLOCN_/7_image/micrit.jpg

Diagenetic Processes
„ Mesodiagenesis: four main processes:
„ Compaction
„ Dissolution
„ Precipitation
„ Recrystallization

Press and Siever 2001

4
Diagenetic Processes

McIlreath and Morrow 1990

Compaction
„ Loosely packed sand porosity approaches
25%; saturated mud 60-80% water. Porosity
reduced during burial due to overburden
pressure
„ Fabrics may form identifiable in thin section
including: deformation, distortion, flattening
„ Pseudomatrix formation when rock fragments
alter to clays under pressure – looks like a
primary clay matrix
„ Pressure solution where grain boundaries
undergo dissolution and crystallization

Compaction

Boggs 2001

5
Concavo-Convex Contact

0.27 mm
www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/PDFimage0208a.html

Sutured/Concavo-convex contacts

2.4 mm
www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/PDFimage0212.html

Dissolution
„ Silicate and carbonate minerals
dissolved under conditions that are the
opposite for cementation
„ Calcite and silicates show opposite
behaviour – conditions for precipitation of
the one are favourable for dissolution of
the other

6
 Factors influencing the solubility of
CaCO3 http://www.usask.ca/geology/classes/geol243/243notes/243week10a.html
http://www.usask.ca/geology/classes/geol243/243notes/243week10a.html

Feldspar dissolution and calcite cement

(high-pH conditions)

http://faculty.gg.uwyo.edu/heller/Sed%20Strat%20Class/SedStratL1/slideshow_1_7.htm

Cementation
„ Development of new precipitates in pore spaces
„ Carbonates (calcite) and silicates (quartz) most
common, also clays in siliciclastic rocks
„ May be in response to groundwater flow,
increasing ionic concentration in pore waters, and
increased burial temperatures
„ Overgrowths or microcrystalline cement when
high pore-water concentrations of hydrous silica
„ Iron oxide (hematite, limonite) determined by
oxidation state

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 Calcite cement
Press and Siever 2001

Quartz overgrowths – Dakota Fm.

Quartz overgrowths followed by calcite cement

http://faculty.gg.uwyo.edu/heller/Sed%20Strat%20Class/SedStratL1/slideshow_1_16.htm

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 Chlorite Cement

Boggs 2001

Illite cement

webmineral.com/specimens/picshow.php?id=1284

Cementation
„ Cementation of carbonates may take
place in a variety of realms
„ Meteoric – vadose/phreatic
„ Marine (phreatic) - seawater
„ “Subsurface” - basinal brines
„ Use fabric to help infer origin

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 Carbonate Cements

Pendant calcite cement

http://sheba.geo.vu.nl/~imma/Project3.html

Bladed calcite cement followed by coarse spar

http://web.umr.edu/~greggjay/Carbonate_Page/LSGallery/pages/c-TF(F)b_10.htm

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Mineral Replacement
„ Dissolution of one mineral is replaced
by another, simultaneously
„ No volume change
„ Carbonate replacement by
microcrystalline quartz; chert by
carbonates; feldspars and quartz by
carbonates; feldspars by clay minerals

Sericite www-geoazur.unice.fr/PERSO/verati/

Mineral Recrystallization
„ Existing mineral retains original
chemistry but increases in size
„ Volume change
„ Amorphous silica to coarse crystalline
quartz; fine lime mud into coarse sparry
calcite

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 Burial Dolomitization
„ Dolomite may form as a replacement of a
precursor limestone
„ Use textural relationships to determine origin
„ Certain types of calcium carbonate may be
preferentially dolomitized
„ Dolomite may be a fracture/void space
infill
„ Problem: need mechanism for circulating
large volumes of Mg-rich water

Dolomite replacing matrix around micritized ooids

web.umr.edu/~greggjay/Carbonate_Page/DoloGallery/

Saddle (“Baroque”) Dolomite

http://www.uky.edu/KGS/emsweb/trenton/fieldwork.html

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 Diagenetic Structures
„ Liesegangen bands - result from groundwater
precipitates in porous sandstones
„ Concretions - nucleated, regular shaped
rounded objects
„ Nodules - irregularly shaped rounded objects
„ Calcite, siderite, pyrite authigenesis around
an organic nucleus
„ Geodes - concentric layers of chalcedony with
internal crystals of euhedral quartz or calcite

Indicators of Diagenetic Histories

„ Conodont color alteration (Harris, 1979) -

Cambrian-Triassic phosphatic fossils from pale
yellow (1; <80C) to black (5; >300C)
„ Vitrinite Reflectance - resistant plant cells altered
under T&P, and reflect more light the higher the
rank (100-240C)
„ Clay Mineral Transformation - stability of certain
clay minerals (>100C smectites form mixed-
layer clays; >200C become illites; >300C only
mica remains)

Indicators of Diagenetic Histories

„ Zeolite facies - hydrous aluminosilicates
alteration (<100C heulandite & analcime; 100-
150C laumontite; >150C prehnite & pumpellyite)
„ Stable isotope ratios – see next slide

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 Isotopic
signature of
carbonate
can indicate
diagenetic
history

Diagenetic
Zones -
Shale

Diagenesis
„ Where multiple diagenetic episodes have
affected a rock, it can be important to
establish the paragenetic sequence
„ Detailed thin section observations
„ SEM images
„ Isotopic analyses of diagenetic phases
„ Etc.
„ Use to define burial history, fluid flow
episodes, etc.

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 SEM image of quartz
overgrowth (Q),
chlorite (C), and
framboidal pyrite (P)

Almon&Davies 1981

Diagenesis of Qtz Arenite

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 Porosity/Permeability
„ Characterization of porosity and
permeability may be a an important
part of thin-section description
„ How much?
„ What is origin?
„ Is porosity connected? (implies
permeability)

Burial and Porosity

Boggs 2001

Primary Porosity
„ Amount of void spaces within a rock
„ Primary porosity: a function of grain size, sorting,
and packing

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 Secondary Porosity
„ Development of pore spaces in rock
through diagenesis
„ Deep diagenetic fluids dissolve less
stable framework grains or cement such
as carbonate, plagioclase, pyroxene,
amphiboles, and rock fragments
„ Compression produces fractures

Secondary Sandstone Porosity

Porosity & Permeability

„ Porosity: % of void space in rock/sediment
that may contain fluids
„ Total porosity – all pore spaces
„ Effective porosity – connected pores
„ Permeability: ability to transmit fluids
„ Units – Darcies
„ Absolute/relative permeability a function of
porosity, texture, diagenesis, etc.

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 Press and Siever 2001

Small pores, but Large pores, but

interconnected – not connected –
high permeability low permeability

Moldic porosity

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Secondary porosity – Dakota Fm.

Interparticle porosity – Dakota Fm.

Porosity and Permeability

Sediment Porosity (%) Permeability
Gravel 25 to 40 excellent
Clean Sand 30 to 50 good to excellent
Silt 35 to 50 moderate
Clay 35 to 80 poor
Glacial Till 10 to 20 poor to moderate

Rock Porosity (%) Permeability

Conglomerate 10 to 30 moderate to excellent
Sandstone, Well-sorted, little cement 20 to 30 good to very good
Average 10 to 20 moderate to good
Poorly sorted, Well cemented 0 to 10 poor to moderate

Shale 0 to 30 very poor to poor

Limestone, dolomite 0 to 20 poor to good
Cavernous limestone up to 50 excellent
Crystalline rock
Unfractured 0 to 5 very poor
Fractured 5 to 10 poor
Volcanic Rocks 0 to 50 poor to excellent

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Organic Diagenesis
„ Buried organic matter also undergoes
diagenetic transformations
„ Peat -> coal (increase in wt % carbon,
decrease in “volatiles”)
„ Hydrocarbon generation
„ Type (gas or oil) depends on temperature and
kerogen type
„ Kerogen – set of complex organic compounds,
composed of varying proportions of C, H, and O

http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/coal_information.htm

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 van Krevelen plot

Summary
„ Diagenesis: Physical and chemical changes
taking place in a sediment or sedimentary
rock between deposition and either: a)
metamorphism, or b) uplift and
weathering
„ Affects all sedimentary deposits
„ Siliciclastics, carbonates, organic, others

Summary
„ Three zones:
„ Eodiagenesis – early/shallow diagenesis
„ Mesodiagenesis – deep burial
„ Teleodiagenesis – uplifted
„ Key results:
„ Compaction
„ Dissolution
„ Precipitation
„ Replacement

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 Summary
„ Porosity
„ May be destroyed (compaction, cementation)
or created (dissolution, fracturing) during burial
„ Characterization of porosity type and
connectivity can be important
„ Diagenesis of organic deposits leads to
formation of coals and hydrocarbons

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