Batuan Sedimen Kimiawi

Bilal Al Farishi, B.Sc(Hons)., M.Sc

Capaian Pembelajaran
• Memahami proses pembentukan batuan secara
kimiawi
Batuan Sedimen Kimiawi
• Batuan sedimen yang terbentuk ketika mineral larut di dalam air dan
menjadi sangat jenuh.
• Konsenstrasi mineral yang larut lama kelamaan akan meingkat dan
mengalami presipitasi (Pengendapan).
• Mineral yang terkonsentrat ini akan menghasilkan tekstur mineral
yang mengkristal (Crystalline texture)
Chemical Sedimentary Rock Factor
• Evaporation
Take a glass of water and pour some salt (halite) into it. The salt will
dissolve into the water. If you set the water in a hot and dry place (like
Arizona) the water, but not the salt, will evaporate away. As the water
evaporates, the concentration of salt gets higher and the water will
eventually become saturated and will not be able to dissolve any more
salt. At this point, as the water continues to evaporate, the salt will
come out of solution and will be precipitated in the glass.
Chemical Sedimentary Rock Factor
• Change in Temperature
This is how rocks such as limestones form. Limestones commonly form
in oceans, which do not evaporate away. For example, when cold sea
water heats up, it can no longer hold as much calcium carbonate
(calcite, the mineral that limestones are made out of) in solution. When
this happens, the calcium carbonate is precipitated out of the water as
calcite, forming limestone. Limestones can also form from the shells of
different sea critters that settle out on the bottom of the ocean.
Gypsum.
This is hydrated
calcium
sulphate; the
sulphates are
the second
major group to
form as sea
water
evaporates.

Such large crystals as these are frequently formed by precipitation from

saturated groundwater circulating through near-surface sediment deposits
and soils, rather than precipitation from sea water. Note the clarity of these
large crystals, which have a Mohs hardness of 2.
Gypsum – the Effect of Crystal Size

Both photos illustrate the effect on opacity that crystal size has. These
evaporite samples consist of thousands of individual small crystals, whose
edges and grain boundaries dominate the optical effects and render the
samples opaque, even though gypsum is transparent to translucent. The
right sample is from the Devonian age Elk Point Group of the Western
Canada Sedimentary Basin.
 Anhydrite.
This is calcium
sulphate without
the bound
molecular water
that defines
gypsum.
In this sample it
is white.

This is less likely to form as a primary evaporite mineral, because the presence of water
makes gypsum formation more likely. It is possible to dehydrate gypsum after its initial
formation, or as apparently happened in this case, for anhydrite to form in a carbonate
host rock.
Halite – Rock Salt, NaCl

Halite forms third in the sequence of evaporation of sea water, and in a closed
system would account for approximately 75% of all the solids that will form.
It may be mined conventionally, or as suggested by the core sample on the
right, can be recovered from bore holes by circulation of water in the
subsurface and evaporation of the resulting brines at surface. The salty
taste is distinctive.
Sylvite.
This is potassium
chloride (KCl),
and unlike halite,
has a distinctly
bitter taste. Its
other properties
are similar to
those of halite.

The fourth group to form from the evaporation of sea water is a complex
assemblage, whose most useful member is sylvite. It is found in the potash
deposits of Saskatchewan, and is a major component in fertilizer production.
It forms when 98% of the water is lost.
 CHERT – PROBLEMATIC ORIGIN

Chert, a microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline form of silica (SiO2), can

originate either by organic means or not. There are two principal
groups of organisms that secrete siliceous skeletons whose
accumulation can result in the formation of bedded chert. Radiolarians
are microscopic plankton that are less than 1 mm in size. As well, there
are some sponges whose spicules (tiny hard parts that support the
tissues) are siliceous. These groups first appeared in the Cambrian, so
older rocks (>544 million years old) hypothetically can’t be
biochemical. Even younger chert may be chemical in origin, forming
during diagenesis as nodules and beds, usually in carbonates.
Chert.
Chert has many
properties in
common with
quartz. It has a
hardness of 7,
and samples
exhibit
conchoidal
fracture.

There are many coloured varieties of chert, ranging from white through
yellow and pale green to black, depending on trace elements and their
chemical state (e.g. red for oxidized and green for reduced iron).
Chert from Western Canada
The occurrence of chert as beds or bands, especially in carbonate sections, is
quite common in the rocks of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. From
left to right we see examples from the Mississippian Rundle Group, the
Pennsylvanian Kananaskis Formation, and the Permian Ishbel Group. Not only
is chert common in these rocks, but when they are weathered after uplift
during building of the Rocky Mountains, they form a rich source of the
common chert pebbles and sand grains seen in Cretaceous age siliciclastic
units.
Trims