Sedimentary Geology

An Introduction To
Sedimentology And
Stratigraphy

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

1
 Sedimentary Geology
• Sedimentology:
– Processes that erode, transport, and deposit
sediments
– Surface environments of sediment accumulation
– Genesis of sedimentary strata
• Sedimentary Petrology:
– Physical and mineralogical properties and origin of
sediments and sedimentary rocks (SEDS)
• Stratigraphy:
– Distribution, origin, and description of
sedimentary strata in space and time
Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat
2
 Relevance of
Sedimentary Geology
• ~ 75% of the Earth's Surface materials
consists of SEDS (sedimentary earth
materials)
• SEDS contain the majority of Earth
Resources
– Oil, Natural gas, fossils fuels
– minerals
– water
– building materials
– Subsurface fluid storage

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

3
 Earth History
Largely based on the SED Record
• Climate/atmospheric dynamics through
time
• Paleoceanography
• Plate tectonics and crustal dynamics
• History of Life

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

4
 Environmental/Natural Hazards
An understanding of Earth Surface Processes and
Materials is fundamental to:
• Slope Stability: Landslide and catastrophic slope failure
• Fluvial processes: river basin flood hazards
• Coastal Change: erosion/flooding hazards; coastal land
loss
• Ground water resources: contamination/remediation

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

5
 Sedimentary Geology is Fun!
• We see SEDS and sedimentary environments all
around us
• We observe and hear about exciting surface
processes almost every day,
• We are all interested in the past and future
evolution of the Earth, especially the Earth’s
Surface Environments (‘cuz we are Geoscientists!)

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

6
 Social Relevance of
Sedimentary Geology
• Let’s list the five most important social
issues of our time

• Let’s see how sedimentary geology

might address these issues

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

7
 History of Sedimentary Geology
Nick Steno: 17th century Original horizontality/Superposition
Jimmy Hutton: 18th century The geological cycle: including surface
erosion and deposition/Uniformitarianism
Billy Smith: 17th/18th century Faunal Succession
d'Orbigney/Oppel: 18th/19th Stages, Zones, Biozones
century
Hank Sorby: 19th century Sedimentary Petrology/Petrography
Lot’s o Folks: 1960's - 70's Plate Tectonics
Al Scott, Bill Galloway (UT Austin); Depositional Systems Analysis/ Facies
Harold Reading (Oxford Un); and Oriented Sedimentology
many others: 1970's - 80's
Exxon Research, Peter Vail: 1970's Seismic/Sequence Stratigraphy
- 80's
Jan VanHinte, and many others: Quantitative Basin Modeling: 1980's - 90's
1970’s-80’s

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

8
 Sedimentary Geology
is a "synthesis course"
It depends on other geology courses and other
science disciplines:
• Physics: fluid dynamics, petrophysics, plate tectonics
• Chemistry: weathering, chemical sediments,
diagenesis, sedimentary petrology
• Biology: paleoecology, sedimentary environments, the
fossil record

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

9
 Sedimentary Geology
provides the framework for most
other Geosciences disciplines
• Structural Analysis Studies: requires an
understanding of initial sedimentary and
stratigraphic context prior to deformation, etc.
• Geochemical Studies: require a stratigraphic and
petrological context
• Hydrogeological Studies: depend on an understanding
of the “hydrogeological matrix" both macro- and
micro-scale
• Geophysical Studies: built on a stratigraphic context
and requires "ground truth" based on a reasonable
sedimentologic and stratigraphic framework.

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

10
 Sedimentary Geology
is the Study of
Sedimentary Processes and Stratigraphic
Products
(Process - Response Models)
• Sedimentary Facies
– A sedimentary facies--> descriptive aspect of a rock
stratigraphic unit including
• lithology, sedimentary structures, geometry, fossils, etc
• Sedimentary-Depositional Environments
– Limited areas of the Earth’s surface where sediment
accumulates, from mountain top to deep sea, with distinctive
physical, chemical, and biological processes.
• Paleogeography
– Determined from the stratigraphic record of sedimentary
facies and the time/space distribution of sedimentary-
depositional environments
Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat
11
 Paleogeography and Earth
History
The time and space mosaic of sedimentary-
depositional environments reflecting the
evolution of:
• Tectonic,
• Climatic,
• Biologic, and
• Eustatic (sea level)
Dynamics through time,
• either on a relative (geological) or
• absolute (radiometric) time frame
Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat
12
 Sedimentary Geology
Provides methodology and a theoretical basis to
understand:
• Stratigraphic relationships
– relative age, geometry, physical/spatial relationship of strata
• Provenance
– sediment source, location, type, etc
• Depositional setting, sediment dispersal patterns, and transport
mechanisms
– sedimentary processes
• Paleogeography
– physical geography during deposition
• Tectonic setting
– Plate tectonic setting during deposition
• Diagenesis
– modifications to sediment during burial and the conditions (temperature,
timing, fluid flow regime) responsible for those changes
Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat
13
 Using the Principles of
Sedimentary Geology
We can make useful interpretations and
predictions about:
• Relationships that are not available for
observation (hidden from view)
– Spatial distribution, properties, and geometry of
stratigraphic units and resources that are not exposed/have
not been sampled
• Relationships that are not preserved in the
geological record
– Geological terranes eroded or tectonically removed
• Earth processes that have not yet occurred
– Environmental hazards such as coastal change, flood
hazards, landslides, etc

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

14
Class Attendance and Engagement
The emphasis in this class is on application,
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of our
topic material (higher order thinking skills)
• active learning strategies (in the class room)
• move beyond passive participation in the learning
experience (sitting and listening to me)
• aggressively think about what you are learning
• hard, time consuming work

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

15
Class Attendance and Engagement
Active learning strategy in the class room
requires some prior knowledge and
comprehension of topic material in preparation
for class discussions
• mastery of basic facts and vocabulary
– Book and Power Point Presentations
• use class time efficiently and effectively for the
development of higher level intellectual skills

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

16
Class Attendance and Engagement
Inquiry-based portion of class meetings
• a collaborative learning format
• Small groups (2-3) of students working together to
process knowledge and reach conclusions to questions
through thinking and discussion amongst the
collaborative group
• In class group accountability

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

17
Class Attendance and Engagement

In-class group accountability.

• Each group member is accountable for the
information/conclusions reached by the group in
class.
• A group member will be selected by me to present
group consensus conclusions in class.
• The evaluation of the group is dependant on the
individuals presentation which will assess the
effectiveness of group comprehension

Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat

18
Geos 435, Intro to Sed/Strat
19