SEDIMENTARY ROCKS - Breaks down rock and components

and internal structure of minerals

Sedimentary Processes producing more stable constituents
1. Weathering - No change until environment’s
2. Erosion conditions are changed (e.g. temp,
3. Transport pH, etc.)
4. Deposition Types of Chemical Weathering
5. Diagenesis
1. Dissolution- solids dissolving in a liquid
Weathering o NaCl -> Na+ + Cl-
- Physical breakdown (disintegration) and o Ca2+, Mg2+, Na, K (highly soluble
chemical alteration (decomposition) of rocks in water)
at or near the Earth’s surface. 2. Hydrolysis- minerals reacting with water to
- Product: sediments and dissolved ions form hydroxides
- Earth materials’ response to a change of - Feldspar -> clay and salts
environment 3. Acidification- H+ in water accelerates
- Mechanical- accomplished by physical weathering
forces that break the rock into smaller pieces o CO2 (air) + H2O -> H2CO3
without changing the composition (carbonic acid)
- Chemical- chemical transformation of rock o CaCO3 (limestone) + H2CO3
into new compounds (carbonic acid) -> Ca(HCO3)2
- Agents of weathering: wind, water, ice (carbonic bicarbonate)
(glacier), fauna, and flora 4. Hydration- combination of a solid mineral or
element with water
Mineral Residual Mat. In Sol’n o CaSO4 + 2H2O; Anhydrite ->
Product Gypsum
Quartz Quartz Si 5. Oxidation and reduction- combination of
Feldspars Clay Mineral Si, K+, Na+, oxygen with a compound and the change in
Ca2+ oxidation number of some chemical element
Amphibole Clay Minerals, Si, Ca2+, Mg2+ o 4FeO (ferrous oxide) + O2 ->
Limonite, 2Fe2O3 (ferric oxide)
Hematite o 4Fe3O4 (magnetite) + O2 -> 6Fe2O3
Olivine Limonite, Si, Mg2+ (hematite)
Hematite o 2Fe2O3 (hematite) + 3H2O ->
2Fe2O3 + H2O (limonite)
Weathering Types
 O + Fe -> Fe-oxide
1. Mechanical Weathering  Al + Si + O -> Clay
a. Frost wedging: freezing and thawing of
Rates of Weathering
ice due to alternating seasons
b. Salt crystal growth: evaporation of Differential Weathering
saline water leaving salt
c. Thermal expansion/contraction- of - difference on rates of weathering as
water normally due to alternating dry a function of composition, climate
and wet season: desiccation of cracks and physical properties
d. Sheeting/unloading- reduction of
Rock Characteristics
pressure as overlying rocks are eroded
away (common in plutons) - Structures- joints and fractures
e. Biological activity- burrowing animals, - Composition- Goldich stability
plants, humans series; fine-grained rocks more
2. Chemical Weathering prone to weathering (competent vs.
incompetent)
Climate and Relief
- Arid and high relief- less chemical
weathering and shorter transport
- Humid and low relief- enhanced chemical
weathering and longer transport
Soil and Regolith
- Regolith- layer of rock and mineral
fragments produced by weathering
- Soil- combination of decomposed and
disintegrated rock (mineral matter) and
organic matter (humus), water and air;
is the portion of regolith that supports
plant life
Layers of the Soil
- O horizon (organic)- loose and partly
decayed organic matter
- A horizon (organic + minerals) -
mineral matter mixed with some humus
(Silica, Mg, K, Na, etc.)
- E horizon (eluviation) - zone of
eluviation and leaching
- B horizon (illuviation) - accumulation
of clay transported from above
- C horizon- partially altered parent
material
- Unweathered parent material
Controls of soil formation
- Climate and topography- type, depth, degree
and rate of weathering
- Parent material and biological factors- rate
of weathering and composition of
corresponding soil
Erosion
- Physical removal of material by gravity,
mobile agents such as wind, water, ice, or
fauna
- Traction - dragged or rolled along the bed
- Saltation - pick up and deposited (hopping)
- Suspension - carried along the water column
- Solution - some materials are dissolved
- Competence (max size) vs Capacity (max
load) of an agent
Agents of Weathering
- Gravity
- Water
- Wind
- Ice
Erosion and Transportation (greater length and
transportation, greater erosion)
A. Sorting
- Very poorly sorted
- Poorly sorted
- Well sorted
- Very well sorted
B. Angularity and Sphericity
- Angular
- Subangular
- Subrounded
- Rounded
Transportation of Sediments
- Grain size- measure of the energy of the
transporting agent (greater grain size, mas
energetic, mas malayo, mas fine grained)
- Roundness- measure of angularity of the
corners of the sediments; degree of
transportation (mas malayo, mas bilog)
- Sorting- measure of uniformity of grain size
within the rock; degree of transportation and
energy of transporting agent (far from
source, mas well sorted)
Interpretation Transport Agent
Poorly sorted Gravity and Glaciers
(and Rivers)
Well Sorted Water and Wind
- Textural maturity- rounded, well-sorted vs.
compositional maturity - quartz rich + clay
minerals
Erosion
- Seawalls along shorelines (Panget na idea)
- Vegetation along slopes (Better idea to
avoid erosion)
Deposition
- Wind and water currents slow down and as
glacial ice melts (for materials transported as
solids) -> detrital sedimentary rock aka
clastic sedimentary rock
- When chemical or temperature changes
causes precipitation (for dissolved material)
-> chemical sedimentary rocks
- When undecayed organic materials piles up
(coal)
Diagenesis
- sum of physical and chemical processes by
which sediments are lithified into
sedimentary rocks
 Pore spaces and pore waters
 Compaction: burial by succeeding
sedimentation
 Cementation: precipitation of the
cement glue (“glue”) around clasts
from pore waters
 Recrystallization: unstable crystals
to more stable counterparts
 Replacement: dissolution of
unstable to be replaced by a more
stable mineral
 Bioturbation: burrowing animals
 *Shells - aragonite (CaCO3) to
calcite (CaCO3, but different
internal structure)
Classifying sedimentary rocks
Detrital sedimentary rocks- transported as solid
- Clasts- large sediments; matrix- finer
components; and cement (precipitate “glue”)
- Minerals- clay minerals, quartz, micas, and
feldspars indicate source rock and climate
- Lithic fragments and organic material-
indicates source rock and degree of
transportation
- Classified depending in grain size (+-
roundness +-sorting
Chemical sedimentary rocks- transported as dissolved
substances
- chemical or biochemical (if precipitation is
facilitated by marine animals)
- Clasts- large grains; and matrix (including
cement)
Classified by composition
- Limestone- if carbonates (coquina- made up
of shells ex. (Carbonate) Tests (and its
products are chalk)
- Dolostone- if Mg-rich carbonate (dolomite)
- Chert- if siliceous materials
- Evaporites -if halides and sulfates
Coal
- organic sedimentary rock
- in anoxic environments (e.g.) stagnant
swamps) when aerobic decomposition is
scarce leading to undecomposed organic
material
- Peat (partially altered plant material),
Lignite (soft, brown coal), Bituminous (soft,
black coal), Anthracite (Hard, black coal)
Sedimentary structures
Bed/Strata
- layer of accumulated sediments separated by
bedding planes; characteristic feature of
sedimentary rocks
- Interbeds signifying an environment of
alternating low and high energy: results to
differential weathering
Types of Beds
- Graded beds- particles within a single
sedimentary layer gradually change from
coarse (bottom) to fine (top)
- Cross bedding- characteristic “bedding” type
of dunes, river deltas and some stream
channel (inclined)
Flame structures (can be found within the beds, sa
may bedding plane)
- coarser sediments pressing down on the
finer sediments causing them to start to rise,
resulting to flame structures
Ripple marks
- small waves of sand that develop on the
surface of a sediment layer by the action of
moving water or air
Desiccation cracks
- environment of deposition experiences
alternating wet and dry periods
Sole marks- depressions that gets filled with
sediments because of energy flowing water telling us
the idea of the current direction
Flute marks- direction of current
Tool marks
Imbrication- alignment of pebbles
Bioturbation and ichnofossils- structures by
organisms(bioturb) traces of life but not remains
(ichno)
Sedimentary Environments
- a geographic setting where sediments is
accumulating and/or erosion occurs;
- Physically, chemically, and biologically
distinct from adjacent terrane
- Differentiated using their properties:
 Physical: geology, geomorphology,
climate, temperature and depth
(marine)
 Chemical: salinity, O2 content
 Biological: fauna and flora
Sedimentary Facies
- a mass of sedimentary rock which can be
distinguished from others having the same
age in terms of geometry, lithology,
sedimentary structure, paleocurrent patter
and fossil content (Selley, 1970)
How to recognize the environment
1. Geometry
 a function of pre-depositional
topography, geomorphology, and
its post-depositional history
 fan-shape of an alluvial fan,
triangular shape of deltas
2. Lithology
 parameters easily observed and has
environmental significance
 grain size, sorting, shape, and
texture often reflect process of the
environment
 sand deposits of desert
environments vs. silt to clay-sized
sediments of lake environments
3. Sedimentary Structures
 important indicators of sedimentary
environment
 cross-bedding for river (fluvial)
environments
4. Fossil Content
 one of the most important tools in
identifying the depositional
environment
 two assumptions are made:
a. the fossil lived in the place
where it was buried
b. the habitat of the fossil can be
deduced either from its
morphology or from studying
its living descendants (if there
are any)
 Trace fossils (foot print) are useful:
they occur in situ (cannot be
reworked, some trace fossils
characterize particular environment
 Coral fossils and bioturbation
*Water is the most important erosional agent
sculpting Earth’s landscape
Fluvial (River Systems)
Drainage Basin (a.k.a. Watershed)
- fundamental geomorphological unit within
which precipitation is transferred to the sea,
lake or larger river
Stream- a water flowing through a channel;
River- stream that carry substantial amounts of water
and have numerous tributaries. (tributaries vs.
distributaries)
o River head- where river begins
o River flow- downhill
o Tributary- small creek or river that runs into
a larger one
o River mouth- where river ends
o Mouth- empties into lake or ocean often
forms a delta with extensive wetlands
o Sea or lake
Base level- lowest elevation to which a river can
erode its channel = to the level at which the mouth of
a stream enters its ultimate base level- the ocean or
temporary base levels such as a lake or a trunk
stream;
Knickpoint- a point of sudden change in channel
slope (e.g. water falls because of resistant rock type)
Graded stream- has the necessary slope to maintain
the minimum velocity required to transport the
material
Shaping stream valleys:
a. Valley deepening- when stream’s gradient is
steel and channel is above base level
(=rapids and waterfalls)
 b. Valley widening- when stream approaches
graded condition, energy is directed side to
side (=erosional floodplain- a broad valley
of alluvium)
c. Incised meanders and stream terraces: valley
widening phase -> uplift or base lvl
decreased
Two types of stream
1. Meandering streams- streams that move in
sweeping bends on deep and smooth
channels while carrying most of their load
(mostly mud sized to fine gravel) as
suspension *evolution from point bats and
cut banks to oxbow lakes and cutofffs
*sinuosity
a. Flood plains- low lying areas along the
sides of a river that during regular times
of heavy water flow can be blooded by
spill over from the river. *Yazoo
tributary- dating part ng mainstream
b. Natural levees- levees that parallel their
channel on both banks built by eats of
successive floods (Bankswamps and
Yazoo tributary); Candon, Ilocos Sur;
Pampanga Iber
2. Braided Stream- streams that flow on
complexly networked diverging/converging
channels. Stream’s load- coarse material
(sand and gravel) with a highly variable
discharge. (Abra River; Ilocos Stream)
a. Bars- Elongate structures where
coarse sediments are deposited during
periods of low discharge
b. Drainage Patterns- response of the
drainage system to the type of
material and structures (folds, faults,
and fractures) present in the area.
Types of Drainage Patterns
a. Dendritic pattern- develops on uniform
bedrock
b. Radial pattern- develops on isolated volcanic
cones or domes
c. Rectangular pattern- develops on highly
jointed bedrock
d. Trellis pattern- develops in areas of
alternating weak and resistant bedrock
Dendritic- uniform underlying bedrock; igneous
rocks; flat-lying sedimentary rocks; most common
drainage patter on all scales; determined by direction
of slope of land
Rectangular- common in faulted or fractured igneous
rock; often control patter of streams; guides
directions of valleys
Trellis- Most common in tilted and folded
sedimentary or metamorphic rocks; formed by
alternating less resistant and resistant layers e.g.
Appalachians
Radial- develops in isolated volcanic cones and
domal uplifts; often localized
Alluvial fans
- Fan-shaped deposits that accumulate along
steep mountain fonts;
- Prevalent in mountainous and arid regions
- As mountain stream emerge onto a relatively
flat low-land, gradient drops and a large
portion of sediment load is deposited
- Bajada- coalescing alluvial fans
- *Sediments na dala ng river = Alluvium
- Alluvium: freshly eroded sediments carried
by streams (coarse sediments)
- usually sandstone and conglomerate
- poor sorting, grading
- cone-shape
- Sibuyan Island; Laur, Nueva Ecija
Lacustrine
Lake- landlocked body of standing, non-marine
water; ephemeral; excluding small ponds/puddles
How to form lakes
1. Tectonic setting
- Lakes originate through:
 Subsidence of land
 Isolation of a part of the ocean either
by local constructive processes of
sediment deposition or by crustal
uplift
 Glacial erosion and deposition on
the continents
 Volcanoes- pyroclastic damming,
crater collapse (caldera) through
eruption or tectonic processes
 Damming by landslides
 Meteorite impacts
Tectonic Lakes- Laguna de Bay
Lacustrine
- circular or elongate in plan view;
lenticular in cross section
- Sediment sorting?
- Oxic and anoxic conditions
- Typical sequence- coarsening upward
from laninated shales, marls and
limestones to crossbeds of sandstones
- Quiet waters, energy: low, sedimentation :
relatively slow
- Mud-sized sediments: laminated (beds < 1
cm in thickness) shales, marls to
limestones and sandstones, well preserved
fossils
- Varves- alternating oxic and anoxic
(organic rich); represents 1 year
Paludal
- swamps and marshes, energy: low,
vegetations is high
- Fine clastic sedimentary rocks, similar to
lakes
- Laminated, thinly bedded, burrows
Aeolian
- arid/dry climates: desert; semiarid climate:
steppe
- “Dry” if precipitation is less than potential
loss of water by evaporation
- Distribution:
a. low latitude deserts: equatorial low and
subtropical highs
- Middle latitude deserts: rainshadow effect
- Equatorial low: heated air at the equator
rises and cools of while spreading
- Subtropical highs: air sinks, compressed and
warmed
- Transportation: saltation and suspension
- Weathering and erosion:
 two types of wind erosion: abrasion
and deflation
 Deflation: erosion of ground when
dry, loose particles of dust and salt
are lifted and blown away
 Abrasion/sandblasting: shaping of
solid rock surfaces by constant
impact of grains by wind;
 Loess: unconsolidated unstratified
aggregation of small, angular
mineral fragments
- Transportation: Saltation and suspension
(loess windblown silt)
- Some prominent features shaped through
wind erosion
 Blowouts- depressions produced by
deflation
 Desert pavements- closely packed
layer of coarse particles (deflation)
 Ventifacts- polished stones by
abrasion
 Yardangs- streamlined wind
sculpted landform oriented parallel
to prevailing wind
- Deposition
 Dunes- mounds and ridges where
sand is deposited as wind slow
down
 Deposition: leeward side (slip fave)
and erosion stoss side migrating
towards the direction of the wind ->
Cross beds.
Types of Sand Dunes:
- Barchan dunes- crescent-shaped dunes. Hard
ground surface, a moderate supply of sand
and constant wind direction
- Transverse dunes- large field of dunes that
resemble sand ripples on a large scale. Form
in areas where there is abundant supply of
sand and a constant wind direction
- Linear dunes- long straight dunes; form in
areas with a limited sand supply and
converging wind directions
- Parabolic dunes- are “U” shaped dunes with
an open end facing upwind. Areas with
abundant vegetation and constant wind.
Most common in coastal areas.
- Star dunes- dunes with variable arms and
slip face directions. Form in areas with
abundant sand supply and variable wind
direction.
Aeolian
- Lithology: well-sorted, cross bedded to
planar bedded sandstones, polished clasts
(rounded) Low vegetation (fossils:
mummification)
Glacial
Glaciers: thick ice mass that is moving slowly
(cm/day) and is from accumulation, compaction and
recrystallization of snow; in areas where snow falls in Transitional
winter > snow melt in summer note, that movement is
fastest at the center Progradation- sediments advance towards the sea

- Zone of accumulation- more snow falls each Retrogradation- sediments retreats away from the sea
winter than melts each summer Transgression- landward migration of sea level (sea
- Zone of wastage- all the snow from the level rise)
previous winter melts along with some
glacial ice Regression- seaward migration of sea level (sea level
- Snow line fall)
- Crevasses
Delta
- Basal slip
- Plastic flow - prograding depositional bodies that form at a
- Piggy Back (cracks -> crevasses) point where a river deposits in a lake or sea
- Similar to morphology to an alluvial fan, but
Valley (Alpine) Glaciers: high elevation mountain
deposition results from ocean reduction in
tops, occupy valleys as streams of ice bounded by
velocity as a stream enters standing
steep rock walls; valley glaciers can be long or short,
water/ocean.
wide or narrow, single or branching tributaries
Types of delta
Continental ice sheets: larger scale than valley
glaciers (Greenland and Antarctic); occupies 10% of a. River dominated (aka birdfoot delta)
Earth’s land area  large sediment volume
 Lobate shape when moderate
Ice shelves: extensions of ice sheets on the adjacent
sediment supply
ocean
 Elongated when sediment supply is
Glacial erosion large
 Mississippi River
Plucking- loosening and lifting sediments of all sizes; b. Tide dominated
when ice melts, it leaves unsorted sediments  linear feature parallel to tidal flow
generally called glacial drift and perpendicular to shore (sand
Abrasion- like a sandpaper which smoothen the bars)
interface; if glacier carries rock fragments -> glacial  Colorado River
striations c. Wave dominated
 smoothly arcuate; wave action
Fjords- valleys going into the sea reworks sediment
 Much sandier than the other types
Glacial deposition: of delta: beach ridges
Moraines: ridges of till; some are common only to  Nile River
mountain valleys (lateral and medial) others are Beach Environment
associated with areas affected by ice sheets or valley
glaciers (end and ground moraines) Beach- accumulation of sediment found along the
landward migraine of the ocean
a. Till (Tillite when lithified)- materials
deposited directly by glacier; polished and Shoreline- contact between land and sea
scratched; if boulders in the till or lying free:
glacial erratics (poorly sorted) Shore- area that extends between the lowest tide level
b. Stratified drift- glacial meltwater; well and the highest elevation on land affected by storm
sorted according to size (fluvial-like but waves
clasts are polished) Sandy or pebbly material

- well sorted sand and pebbles either from

terrestrial (e.g. volcanic fragments) or from
 the seafloor (e.g. corals), smoothened and
rounded by wave action
Wave Erosion
Wave Refraction- bending of waves; distribution of
energy along shore since most waves travel toward
the shore at an angle
Wave impact is concentrated against the sides and
ends of headlands (landmasses extending to the sea)
and weakened at bays (body of water partly enclosed
by land and has a wide opening)
Longshore transport
Longshore current: turbulent currents moving at an
angle picks up sediments (back swash) and then
deposit them (swash).
Longshore drift: the movement of sediment along a
beach by swash and backwash of waves that
approach the shore obliquely
Jettles interrupt the movement of sand causing
deposition on the upcurrent side
Erosion by sand- starved current occurs downcurrent
from these structures
Spit- long ridge of sand deposited by longshore
current and drift; attached to land at upstream end
Tombolo- a sand or gravel bar that connects an island
with the mainland or another island
Lagoon
- shallow salt water body separated from the
deeper sea by sandbar (exposed and
submerged) or coral reef
- Quiet waters: fine silt and clays to
mudstones and shales
- Overgrown with vegetation forming salt
marshes, coal, peat swamps, algal mats or
even evaporites
Tidal flats/mud flat
- coastland wetlands found in sheltered
areas such as bays, lagoon and
estuaries; affected by high and low tide
water levels
- Low energy with little fauna and flora
(because of changing salinity)
- Lahat ng water in between high and low
tide- brackish water
Marine
- Continental Margins
 Shallow-water areas close to shore
 Shelf, slope and rise
 ~15% of ocean floor
- Deep-Ocean Basins
 Deep water areas farther from land
- Mid-ocean ridge
 Submarine mountain ridge
Shallow Marine
Continental shelf
- continuous with the coastal plain; part of the
continental margin that is between the
shoreline and the continental slope
Continental shelf: Reef Environment
- Coral reefs- composed of carbonate
structures formed by carbonate secreting
organisms; builds up on continental shelves
Types of Reefs
a. Fringing reef- coral reef that is directly
attached or borders the shore of an island or
continent
b. Barrier reefs- long narrow coral reef parallel
to shore and separated by lagoon
c. Atoll- continuous or broken circle of coral
reef and low coral islands surrounding a
central lagoon
Deep Marine
Continental Slope
- between the continental shelf continental
rise (oceanic trench); sedimentation is low
- Carbonate compensation depth - depth at
which CaCO3 dissolution >= CaCO3
precipitation below CCD: little to no
carbonates
Continental Rise
- gentle incline and generally smooth
topography; between continental slope
and abyssal plain
- May be cut by submarine canyons
- Turbiditic deposits- chaotic deposits of
debris from shallow environments
Abyssal Plains
- Pelagic: the ocean floor
- Fine-grained limestones, cherts, volcanic
materials e.g. pillow lavas from submarine
volcanoes
- Covered with pelagic mud with fine sand
from distal turbidities
Features of the Deep Marine
Seamounts- undersea volcanoes
Guyots- tablemounts, rose above sea level in the past
then eroded to a flat top by waves
If above sea level: volcanic islands
Groundwater
- Freshwater- non-saline located beneath the
ground
- Largest reservoir of freshwater that is
readily available to humans
- All water:
 Oceans (97%)
 Freshwater (3%)
- Freshwater
 Ice caps and Glaciers (79%)
 Groundwater (20%)
 Accessible Surface Freshwater
(1%)
- Accessible Surface Freshwater
 Lakes (52%)
 Soil moisture (38%)
 Water w/in living organisms (1%)
 Rivers (8%)
 Water vapor (8%)
Groundwater or Run-off
- Amount of freshwater beneath the ground
a. Intensity of rainfall
b. Steepness of the slope
c. Nature of surface material
d. Type and amount of vegetation-
Stored in and transmitted through:
1. Spaces between grains of
sediments and clastic rocks
2. Cracks or openings in rocks
Distribution of groundwater
Unsaturated zone (Vadose zone) - pore spaces
contain both air and water
Water table - upper limit of the zone of saturation
Groundwater zone (zone of saturation; Phreatic zone)
- where all of the open spaces in the sediments and
rock are filled with water
Porosity and Permeability
Porosity
a. Measures amount of water that can be held
by rocks/sediments
b. Volume of voids/total volume of material
c. Affected by grain size, sorting, and grain
packing
 poorly sorted -> less porous
 Cubic vs rhombohedral packing
Well-rounded coarse-grained sediments usually have
higher porosity than fine-grained sediments, because
the grains do not fit together well.
Permeability
a. Ability to transmit fluids
b. Degree of interconnection of voids in the
material
Groundwater Transport
Aquifer- stores and transmits sufficient amount of
water freely
Other confining units
- Aquitard- stores but slowly transmits water
- Aquiclude- stores but does not transmit
water
- Aquifuge- does not store nor transmit water
Groundwater Transport
An aquifer can be unconfined, perched or confined
Unconfined aquifer
- bounded at the bottom by a confining
unit\water rises up to the water table
Perched aquifer
- unconfined aquifer defined by a
discontinuous confining unit
- local water table (usually above the
main/regional water table)
Confined aquifer
- bounded at top and bottom by confining
units
- water rises up to the piezometric water level
(also called as the pontentiometric line or
surface)
Springs
- Form when the water table, confined
aquifers or groundwater bearing fractures
and cavities intersect the ground surface
Potentiometric surface/ Piezometric level
- Level to which water will rise ina well due
to natural pressure in the rocks
Artesian wells
- When confined groundwater under high
hydrostatic pressure is forced up to a level
higher than the top aquifer
 Wells tapping a confined aquifer
 Analogy: water supply from
elevated water tanks
Geologic work of groundwater
Karst topography
- Landforms result from the solution of highly
soluble (e.g. carbonate rocks, dolomite,
gypsum, evaporites) by acidic groundwater;
- Takes place more rapidly at regions with
high temperatures, lush vegetation, intense
microbiotic activity -> CO2
- Cockpit Country, Jamaica (Cockpit karst)
- Yangshuo, China (Tower karst (turmkarst))
- Chocolate Hills, Bohol
- Palawan
Sinkhole
- a small, circular to oval, closed depression
formed by: -
1. Downward solution of limestone from
the surface (solution sinkhole)
2. Collapse of the roof of a solution cavity
(collapse sinkhole) May be bowl-,
funnel-, or cylinder-shaped
- Dean’s Blue Hole, Bahamas
- New Zealand
- Tennessee
- Wright Park, Florida (1981)
Cave
- an elongate cavity in limestone produced by
solution, aided by mechanical erosion of
subterranean flowing water
- Study of formation and development of
caves is known as speleogenesis
- Its shape is directed by lithology, by the
pattern of joints, fractures, and faults, and by
cave breakdown and evaporite weathering
- Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico
Speleothems - secondary mineral deposits
formed in caves
Karst topography: inside and out
- Sinkhole
- Solution sinkhole
- Disappearing stream
- Cave entrance
- Collapse sinkhole
- Karst valley formed from coalescing
sinkholes
- Giant spring
- Cave
- Collapse breccia
Problems associated with groundwater
- Pollution (groundwater contamination)
- Saltwater intrusion (e.g. Hundred Islands,
Alaminos)
- Land subsidence due to groundwater
withdrawal
 San Joaquin Valley, CA (1925-
1975)
 >5000 km2 in central California
subsided up to 8.93 m due to over
extraction of groundwater for
agriculture
 Mixed factors: camanava “enhance
flooding”
 Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and
Valenzuela (CAMANAVA)
Mixed factors CAMANAVA “enhanced”: flooding
Excessive groundwater extraction -> Compaction of
aquifers -> Land subsidence (3-9 cm/yr) -> Increased
susceptibility to floods
Does groundwater run out?
- Aquifers are recharged by the infiltration of
rainwater or snowmelt from the ground
 surface, but considering current situation:
discharge > recharge
Mass wasting
- Downslope movement of rocks, regolith
(unconsolidated material) and soil under the
influence gravity
- Some mass wasting processes act very
slowly; others occur very suddenly, often
with disastrous results
- Dingalan, Aurora (debris flow)
- Real, Quezon
- Cherry Hills, Antipolo, Rizal Aug 3, 1999-
not debris flow
- Maco, Compostela Valley- debris flow
Factors promoting mass wasting
1. Slope
- Material resting on flat surface will not
move under force of gravity
- On a slope, force of gravity is divided into 2
components: normal to surface and
tangential to it
- If G+ (to downslope) > Gp (stay in place):
mass wasting
2. Water
- Angle of repose or steepest angle at which a
pile of unconsolidated grains remain stable
- Dry, undersaturated soil, saturated soil
3. Soil Cover
- Soil is more unconsolidated, and water
percolating down may reach its contact with
bedrock. This interface may serve as a
sliding plane
- Thicker soil cover, greater volume of
unconsolidated material
4. Geologic features
- Type of rock
- Presence of joints or fractures
- Presence of bedding planes
- If direction of slope is the same as direction
of planar features: daylighting slope
Triggers of Mass Wasting
1. Ground shaking (e.g. earthquake or volcanic
eruptions)
2. Excessive rainfall that may saturate
unconsolidated material
o Feb. 2012 Negros Occidental
 Trigger: earthquake
 Casualties: 51 dead, 62 missing
 Tracks and Intensity of all tropical
storms
 Saffir-Simpson
1. Ground shaking (e.g. earthquake or volcanic
eruptions)
2. Excessive rainfall
o Jan 2012 Pantukan, Compostela Valley
 Trigger: rain
 Casualties: 38 dead; 16 injured, 37
missing
Classification of mass wasting processes
Types of movement (slope failures)
- Sudden failure of the slope resulting in
transport of debris down hill
- Fall, topple, slide, slump, spread and
subsidence, flow
Water content and rate of movement
- Materials flow downhill mixed with water or
air
- Slurry flows (solifluction, debris flow, mud
flow)
- Granular flows (creep, earth flows, grain
flows, debris, avalanches)
Types of materials
- Rocks, solid or debris
Fall
- sudden movement of rock, separated along
fractures or bedding planes
- No fluidity in the motion, only bouncing,
rolling, and free fall
Topple
- blocks of material fall over as a unit, similar
to falling dominos
Slides (Translational)
- results when rocks (rock slides) and debris
(debris slides) slide down a pre-existing
surface such as a bedding plane, foliation
surface or joint
Slump (Rotational slides)
- downward rotation of rock or regolith occurs
along a concave-upward curved surface
 - Leave arcuate scars or depressions on the
hill slope
Flow
- materials behave in a fluid manner and move
rapidly
Spread and subsidence
- there is compression, it is shortened, we are
elevated, there is subduction
Water content and rate of movement
Slurry flows
Creep
- very slow, usually continuous movement if
regolith down slope
Solifluction
- flowage at rates measures on the order of
cm/yr of regolith containing water
- Produces distinctive lobes in hill slopes,
where the soil remains saturated with water
for long periods of time.
- Solifluction lobes, Kyrgyzstan
Earth flows
- involve fine-grained materials that form a
thick slurry and have a fluid motion; usually
associated with heavy rains and move at
velocities between several cm/yr and 100s of
m/day
- Ooze rather than rush; form lobes rather than
long streams like debris flows
Debris flows
- occur at higher velocities than solifluction,
with velocities between 1 m/yr and 100
mm/hr and often result from heavy rains
causing saturation of the soil and regolith
with water
- Sometimes start with slumps and then flow
down hill forming lobes with an irregular
surface consisting of ridges and furrows
- Hokkaido, Japan
Grain flows
- usually form in relatively dry material, such
as sand dune, on a steep slope
- A small disturbance sends the dry
unconsolidated grains moving rapidly down
slope
Mudflows
- highly fluid, high velocity mixture of
sediment and water that has a consistency
ranging between soup-like and wet concrete
- Move at velocities greater than 1 km/hr and
tend to travel along valley floors
o February 2006, Southern Leyte
 Trigger: prolonged rainfall (La
Niña weather)
 Death toll: ~1,126 people
o December 2006, Mt. Mayon mudflows
 Trigger: heavy rainfall (TY Reming
| Int: Durian)
 Death toll: ~1,266 people
Debris avalanches
- very high velocity flows of large volume
mixtures of rock and regolith that result
from complete collapse of a mountainous
slope
- Often triggered by earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions
- Goodell Creek, USA (WA)
- Mt. St. Helens, USA (WA)
Mitigation Measures
- hazard maps provide information about
proper land use in certain areas identified to
be prone to mass wasting
- “Hard” engineering measures (e.g.
construction of features to stabilize slope) or
“soft” measure (e.g. monitoring, information
education campaign, earthquake drills)