1.

SEDIMENTARY STRUCTURES

2. Brief content Introduction Body Conclusion and Economic

Importance reference

3. S E D I M E N T A R Y S T R U C T U R E S C L A S S I F I E D

4. Physical sedimentary structures Physical (inorganic) structures are

sedimentary features formed by physical processes without the influence of
organism. Primary sedimentary structures are the most important.They are
mechanical structures formed during deposition of the sediments.

5. PLANE BEDDING The simplest sedimentary structures is plane

bedding.They form in practically all sedimentary environments and under a
variety of conditions. Three basic mechanism can form plane bedding:
sedimentation from suspension, horizontal accretion from a moving bed
load, and encroachment into the lee of an obstacle. Bed forms Generated By
Unidirectional Currents As soon as flow attains a force sufficient to erode
particles from the bed, sediments are transported in a set of structures of the
bed called Bedforms. If they are latter buried and preserved, they will
form sedimentary structures.

6. Lamination Finer scale plane bedding (less than 1 cm thick). It can

be form by alteration of light and dark layers such as glacial varves.
Lamination in mud is usually the result of slow steady deposition.
Absence of lamination in mud is due to flocculation (clumping of clays
before they settle) or to secondary bioturbation. Laminated sands are the
results of rapid deposition, often by a single hydrodynamic event. Lack of
lamination may be the result of bioturbation.

7. Studies have shown that there is a predictable sequence of bedforms

that depend on velocity, grain size, depth of flow. In Sand that is finer than
0.7 mm (coarse or finer) the first feature to form is ripples. Typically their
spacing is 10 to 20 cm or less, and their height is less than a few centimeters.
As flow velocity increase the ripples enlarge until they form sand waves,
and finally dunes, which have spacing from 0.5 to 10m or more and heights
of tens of cm to a meter or more. In deeper currents, greater flow velocity
is required to produce the large bedforms. With increasing flow velocity,
dunes are destroyed and the turbulent flow which was out of phase turns into
sheetlike flow in phase with the bedform. It forms plane beds. At higher

velocities plane beds are replaced by antidunes of up to 5m spacing. Low dip

angles of 10 degrees or less, eventually chutes and pool.

8. Trough cross-strat. Develops from migrating Ripples & dunes Tabular

cross-strat. Is produced by migrating sand waves Symetrical ripple marks
with A distinctive lenticular x- section Terminology for the shape of the
crests of ripples and dunes formed by unidirectional currents. Ripple types
and variation with flow regime

9. Interference pattern form In symmetrical ripples from Two coexisting

wave sets In a modern tidal flat. Herringbone cross- stratification from
alternating tidal currents. Bedform generated by multidirectional flow

10. In tidal regions the most significant features are caused by the mixing of
sand- and mud-sized fractions from the asymetrical currents. Lenticular
bedding occur when sand is trapped in troughs in the mud as sand waves
migrate across a muddy substrate. If mixing produces minor mud layer in a
sandy substrate the pattern is called flaser bedding. Lenticular bedding
Flaser bedding

11. Small-scale erosional features on a bed surface are referred to as sole

marks.They are preserved in the rock record when another layer of sediment
is deposited on top leaving the feature on the bedding plane. Sole marks may

be divided into those that form as a result of turbulence in the water causing
erosion (scour marks) and impressions formed by objects carried in the
water flow (tool marks).They may be found in a very wide range of
depositional environments, but are particularly common in successions of
turbidites where the sole mark is preserved as a cast at the base of the
overlying turbidite.

12. Graded Bed

13. Bio-genic Sedimentary Structures

14. Bio-genic Sedimentary Structures Bio-genic structures result from

bioturbation, the post-depositional disturbance of sediments by living
organisms.This can occur by the organisms moving across the surface of
sediment or burrowing into the first few centimeters. It is usually
contemporaneous with deposition. The organisms that cause these alterations
in the sediments have a dual affect.They physically and chemically alter the
original deposit, and they give some useful information about the bottom
conditions at the time of deposition. Depending on the location, these
animals can affect up to 90% of the sediment surface. As a result, this
biological action can completely destroy primary laminations and the
original orientation of sediment particles. There are usually significant

changes in the formations porosity and permeability.This can help determine

the origin and magnitude of any abnormal pore pressures. It can also
enhance the tendency for slumping and sliding on steep continental margins,
as the sediment shear strength is decreased.

15. Conclusion and Economic Importance: Having gone through the study
of sedimentary structures, it is necessary to note that they can be used to
determine depositional processes, being that depositional processes occurs in
several environments, and few structures are immediately diagnostic of a
specific environment. Sedimentary structures can also indicate the direction
of paleocurrent flow, paleoslope, paleogeography and sand-body trend. They
record the processes that occur during deposition and so help in
interpreting sedimentary and post-depositioal processes Help in defining
geological history and surface processes . Cross-beds within ancient rocks
helps to tell the direction a stream flowed millions of years ago or the
direction of prevailing wind in the past.

16. Reference Baker hughes INTEQ, Petroleum geology. Principles of

Sedimentation and Stratigraphy. Sedimentary structures, Wikipedia.

17. THE END