Sedimentology Lecture Notes

(Week 5 Test)

21/02/2012

Types of Sedimentary Rock

1. Siliciclastic
2. Carbonate
3. Organic
4. Chemical
5. Volcaniclastic
Environments
Aeolian
Carbonate

Deep Marine
Shallow Marine
Deltaic
Estuarine
Fluvial
Volcanogenic
Alluvial Fan
Glacial

Composition
Matrix
Detrital Grains (quartz, feldspar etc..)
Cement
Weathering
Physical
Chemical
Biological

Sediment Texture
Grain Size

Skewness ( e.g. coarse -negative skew/ symmetrical skew /// well

sorted)
Sorting ( tells us about porosity)(well sorted/ moderately sorted)

Grain Roundness / Grain Sphericity (angular/ well rounded) (high

sphericity/ low) (tells us bout sediment maturity)
Clast Shape (discoid/ bladed/ equant/ rod)

Sedimentary rocks are classed based on clast type and or grain size.
Siliciclastic sediments are composed of mainly quartz, feldspars, lithic
fragments and heavy minerals(gold/diamond).

Sediment texture tells us about the about the transport process of the
sediment