SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY

ZIMBABWE SCHOOL OF MINES

MISS N. S. MPOFU
INTRODUCTION

Aims
 To learn the principles of Sedimentary Petrology and to provide a broad understanding on the characteristics and
origin of the sedimentary rocks.
 To understand the compositional, textural, structural and petrophysical characteristics of the sedimentary rocks, as
well as their classification.
 Know the effects of diagenetic processes which result in final properties of sedimentary rocks.

Students will learn to:

• Apply fundamentals of Sedimentary Petrology to interpretation of processes affecting sedimentary rocks
formation.
• Recognize, describe and classify sedimentary rocks, identifying their main compositional, textural and
structural characters in outcrop, hand samples and thin sections.
 Application of Sedimentary Petrology

 Mining and Petroleum exploration/exploitation (Hydrocarbon extraction)

 Environmental geology/hydrology (groundwater pollution studies)

 Remote sensing (soils analysis)

 Marine geology (Coastal management)

 Paleoclimatology

 Art (materials in ceramics, pigments etc)

 Archaeology (lithics analysis)

 Engineering (materials testing, seawall protection)

 Types of Sedimentary Rocks

• Detrital (clastic) sedimentary rocks

– Most common sedimentary rock type
– Form from cemented sediment grains that come from pre-existing rocks
(e.g conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, shale, mudstone)
• Chemical/Biochemical sedimentary rocks
– Have crystalline textures
– Form by precipitation of minerals from solution (e.g “Carbonates”
limestone, dolomite, chert)
• Organic sedimentary rocks
– Accumulate from remains of organisms (e.g coal)
Provenance/Origin of a sediment

Provenance: where something originated

The Origin of a sediment is derived from its composition which reflects the source
rock, tectonic and climatic characteristics of the source area.

Sediment: loose, solid particles originating from:

– Weathering and erosion of pre-existing rocks
– Chemical precipitation from solution, including secretion by organisms in water.
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Transport and depositional processes generate a wide variety of sedimentary rocks, each characterized by distinctive
textural and structural properties.

Sedimentary texture: refers to the features of sedimentary rocks that arise from the size, shape, and orientation of
individual sediment grains.
 It reflects the nature of transport and depositional processes.
 From texture, interpretation of environmental settings and boundary conditions can be derived.
 The textures of siliciclastic sedimentary rocks are produced primarily by physical processes of sedimentation and are
considered to encompass grain size, shape (form, roundness, and surface texture), and fabric (grain orientation
and grain to-grain relations).
 The interrelationship of these primary textural properties controls other derived, textural properties such as bulk
density, porosity, and permeability.
 The textures of some non-siliciclastic sedimentary rocks such as limestones and evaporites are also generated by
physical transport processes.
 However, extensive recrystallization or other diagenetic changes may destroy the original textures of non-siliciclastic
sedimentary rocks and produce crystalline textural fabrics that are largely of secondary origin.
SEDIMENTARY TEXTURES

a) GRAIN SIZE

 The sizes of particles in a particular deposit reflect on weathering and erosion processes, which
generate particles.

 Grains can range in size from clay-size particles that require a microscope for clear visualization to
boulders several meters in diameter.

 The grain-size scale used almost universally by sedimentologists is the Udden-Wentworth scale.

 This scale, first proposed by Udden in l898 and modified and extended by Wentworth in 1922,
METHODS OF MEASURING GRAIN SIZE
APPLICATION AND IMPORTANCE OF GRAIN-SIZE DATA
 Grain size is a fundamental physical property of sedimentary rocks and, as such, is a useful descriptive
property.

 Grain size is related to porosity and permeability, thus affecting potential reservoir rocks. For example,
coarse-grained, well sorted sandstones are better reservoir rocks for oil as well as good aquifers than are
fine-grained, poorly sorted sandstones.
Thus grain-size data are used in a variety ways:
1. To interpret coastal stratigraphy and sea-level fluctuations.
2. To trace glacial sediment transport and the cycling of glacial sediments from land to sea
3. By marine geochemists to understand the fluxes, cycles, budgets, sources, and sinks of chemical elements
in nature
4. To understand the mass physical (geotechnical) properties of seafloor sediment, that is, the degree to
which these sediments are likely to undergo slumping, sliding, or other deformation.
5. To understand sedimentation mechanisms and depositional conditions
b) PARTICLE/SEDIMENT SHAPE
The shapes of minerals and clasts (rock fragments) in sedimentary rocks are determined by a variety of
factors:
1. the original shapes of mineral grains in the source rocks
2. the orientation and spacing of fractures in bedrock that influence the shapes that clasts (rock fragments)
take on when they weather from exposed rock
3. the nature and intensity of sediment transport, which can roughen grains and change original shapes
4. sediment burial processes such as compaction, which can also change original shapes.
Particle shape is defined by three related but different aspects of grains.
Form: refers to the overall configuration (outline) of particles and reflects variations in their proportions. e.g
spherical or platy (flattened) or rod-like.
Roundness: is a measure of the sharpness of grain corners. E.g well-rounded grains have smooth corners and
edges; poorly rounded grains have sharp or angular corners and edges.
Surface texture: refers scratches, and ridges that occur on the surface of grains.
SIGNIFICANCE OF PARTICLE SHAPE:
SPHERICITY: Determined by original shapes of the grains, although the shapes of gravel-size particles can
be modified somewhat by abrasion and breakage during transport.
 It affects the settling velocity of small particles(spherical particles settle faster than non-spherical particles)

 spheres and roller-shaped pebbles roll more readily than do pebbles of other shapes).

PARTICLE ROUNDNESS: Determined by composition, grain size, type of transport process, and distance of
transport.
 Hard, resistant grains such as quartz and zircon are rounded less readily during transport than are weakly
durable grains such as feldspars and pyroxenes.

 Pebble- to cobble-size grains commonly are more easily rounded by abrasion during transport than are
sand-size grains.(factor of grain surface area)
SURFACE TEXTURE: originates in diverse ways, including mechanical abrasion during sediment
transport; tectonic polishing during deformation; and chemical corrosion, and precipitation of authigenic
growths on grain surfaces during diagenesis and weathering.

 It is more susceptible to change during sediment transport and deposition than do sphericity and
roundness.

 Surface texture most likely depicts the last cycle of sediment transport or the last depositional
environment.

 Therefore, geologists are interested in surface textural features as possible indicators of ancient
transport conditions and depositional environment.

 The usefulness of surface texture in environmental analysis is limited, however, because similar types
of surface markings can be produced in different environments.
c) FABRIC
The fabric of sedimentary rocks is a function of grain orientation and packing and is thus a property of
grain aggregates.
Orientation and grain packing in turn controls physical properties of sedimentary rocks such as bulk
density, porosity and permeability.
Grain Orientation
 Particles in sedimentary rocks that have a platy (blade or disc) shape or an elongated (rod or roller)
shape commonly show some degree of preferred orientation.
 Platy particles tend to be aligned in planes that are roughly parallel to the bedding surfaces of the
deposits.
Elongated particles show a further tendency to be oriented with their long axes pointing roughly in the
same direction.

 The preferred orientation of these particles is caused by transport and depositional processes and is
related particularly to flow velocities and other hydraulic conditions at the depositional site.
A. Particles oriented
parallel to current
flow.
B. B. Particles
oriented
perpendicular to
current flow.
C. C. Imbricated
particles.
D. D. Randomly
oriented particles,
characteristic of
deposition in quiet
water.
Grain Packing, Grain-to-Grain Relations, and Porosity
Grain packing: it is the spacing or density patterns of grains in a sedimentary rock and is
a function mainly of grain size, shape, and the degree of compaction of the sediment.
 Packing strongly affects the bulk density of the rocks as well as their porosity and
permeability.

Imbrication was
produced by river
currents flowing
from left to right
(arrow).
 Poorly sorted sediments tend to have lower porosities and permeabilities than well-sorted
sediments because grains are packed more tightly in these sediments owing to finer
sediment filling pore spaces among larger grains.

 Compaction forces grains into closer contact and causes changes in the types of grain-to-
grain contacts.

 Taylor (1950) identified four types of contacts between grains that can be observed in
thin-sections:
1. tangential contacts
2. long contacts
3. concavo-convex contacts
4. sutured contacts
Primary sedimentary structures are generated by four fundamental kinds of processes:
(1) Deposition (depositional structures)

(2) Processes that involve an episode of erosion followed by deposition (erosional structures)

(3) Deposition followed by physical soft-sediment deformation (deformation structures)

(4) Biogenically mediated deposition or non-biogenetic deposition followed by biogenic

modification (biogenic structures).
1. SEDIMENTARY BEDS

 beds represents individual flow.

 The thickness of a bed indicates the magnitude of the event.

 Beds are the basic building blocks of successions and are thus of foremost importance as primary
sedimentary structure.

 They are generally tabular or lenticular in geometry that has lithologic, textural, or structural unity that
clearly distinguishes them from layers above and below.

 Bounding surfaces of beds are known as bedding planes or bedding surfaces.

 They represent either erosion, or non-deposition, or an abrupt change in depositional conditions.

 Bedding planes can be of various types, even, wavy, or curved.

 The gross geometry of a bed (tabular or lenticular) depends upon the relationship between bedding-plane
surfaces, which can be either parallel or nonparallel.
 Laminae (laminations) are the building blocks of beds and represent fluctuations within a single flow.

 They may be parallel or non-parallel, continuous or discontinuous and curved, either wavy or planar.
 2. RIPPLES/RIPPLE MARKS

 ripples are very common primary structures (two types Current and Wave ripples.)

 Current Ripples are the commonest bedforms encountered within the lower flow regime unidirectional
flow conditions.

 They are dominantly formed by bedload movement.

 They are asymmetric with a steeper, downstream-facing lee side and a gentle upstream-facing stoss
side.
 Dunes are large, asymmetric bed forms, dynamically different from that of ripples, commonly
forming sand coarser than0.15 mm.

 They are larger bedform with wavelengths of 1m or more and heights of several 10’s of centimeters.

 The shape of the ripples and dunes is described as two-dimensional if the crests are straight, or three-
dimensional, if the crests are curved.
3. CROSS STRATIFICATIONS

 Stratification deposited at an angle to the main depositional surface due to primary processes are known
as cross stratification.

 If the individual inclined layers are thicker than 1 cm, the cross-stratification may be referred to as cross-
bedding whilst thinner inclined layering is called cross-lamination.

 Cross-stratification forms primarily by migration of ripples and dunes (in water or air).

 It can also be formed by filling of scour pits and channels, by deposition on the point bars of meandering
streams, and by deposition on the inclined surface of beaches and marine bars.

 Cross-stratification thus can be formed under many depositional environments.

 Tabular cross-strata forms due to migration of 2-d or straight crested ripples and dunes;
avalanching is the dominant mechanism for migration; it is formed under lower flow regime.

 Trough cross-strata, on the other hand is formed by migration of 3d ripples and dunes; formed
under comparatively higher flow conditions.

 Depending upon the overall geometry and the nature of the bounding surface tabular cross-strata
can be of two types, planar tabular cross-strata and planar wedge-shaped cross-strata.

 Trough cross-strata, on the other hand, is characterized by curved bounding surfaces having trough-
shaped sets consisting of an elongate scour filled with curved foresets having asymptotic bases.
COMPOSITION and CLASSIFICATION of SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
 Particle and mineralogical composition are fundamental properties of sedimentary rocks that
allow us to distinguish one kind of sedimentary rock from another.
 They also provide additional information about the history of the rocks.
 The mineralogy of sandstones, for example, is dominated by particulate silicate grains such
as quartz and feldspar. Similarly, limestones are composed mainly of the carbonate minerals
calcite and aragonite.
SILICICLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
 These are sedimentary rocks composed mainly of silicate particles derived by the
weathering and breaking down of older rocks and by pyroclastic volcanism e.g Sandstones,
conglomerates, and shales.

 .The siliciclastic sedimentary rocks make up roughly 75% of all sedimentary rocks in the
geologic record.

 The textures and structures provide important information about ancient sediment transport
and depositional conditions.

 The minerals and rock fragments in siliciclastic sedimentary rocks give clues on the nature
and location of weathered and eroded source rocks.
 The Classification of Sedimentary Rocks

A very basic classification of

all sedimentary rocks is
based on the type of material
that is deposited and the
modes of deposition.
Classification based on grain size

A simple classification of terrigenous clastic rocks and sediment is based

on the predominant grain size of the material:

Grain Sediment Rock Name Adjectives

Size1 name
(mm)
>2 Gravel Rudite Cobble, pebble, well
sorted, etc.
0.0625-2 Sand Arenite Coarse, medium, well
sorted, etc.
< 0.0625 Mud Mudstone Silt or clay
or
Lutite
I. Genetic Implications of Sandstone Composition

 In addition to providing a basis for sandstone nomenclature, the composition

of a sandstone also indicates something of its history.

a) Maturity of a sandstone

 Maturity refers to the cumulative changes that particles go through as it is

produced by weathering and is transported to a final site of deposition.

 Given that the source rocks for many sediments are pre-existing sedimentary rocks,
a very mature sediment may have been through the rock cycle several times.
Clastic sedimentary rocks can be
made up of “multicycled” particles.

i.e., have passed through the

rock cycle several times.

Each time through the cycle the

sediment becomes more and more
mature.
 Sediment texture and mineralogical composition all reflect the maturity of a
sediment.
 Most changes are related to transport distance, nature of weathering at the site
of sediment formation and number of passes through the rock cycle.

i) Textural Maturity
Changes in grain size and shape.

Increasing textural maturity

Increased sorting

Increased rounding

Increased sphericity
The name of a sandstone tells you something of its maturity.
E.g., a Quartz arenite has less than 15% matrix and is better sorted than
a Quartz graywacke.

 The quartz arenite is more mature (greater transport distance and/or more times
through the rock cycle) than the Quartz graywacke.

ii) Compositional Maturity

 Compositional maturity is reflected by the relative proportion of physically soft

or chemically unstable grains.
 The fewer the soft or unstable grains, the more mature the sediment.
 The most “mature” sediment would be made up of 100% quartz grains.

 With increased transport and number of times through the rock cycle the less
stable minerals are lost.
 The “average” igneous and metamorphic rocks contain 60% feldspars.
 The “average” sandstone contains 12% feldspars.
 This reflects the fact that many sandstones are made up of particles that have been
through several passes of the rock cycle.
 b) Provenance of a sediment

Provenance: where something originated.

 The Provenance of a sediment is inferred from aspects of composition that reflect the
source rock and tectonic and climatic characteristics of the source area for the
sediment.
i) Tectonic setting

 The source rock of a sediment and the tectonic setting are closely linked: the tectonic
setting determines the relative abundance of different types of rock that is available for
weathering and the production of clastic sediment.

e.g., An arkosic sandstone (rich in feldspars) would have a source area

that is rich in granites.
  e.g., a sandstone with abundant volcanic and low grade metamorphic
rock fragments.

Island arc setting.

Quartz arenite: sedimentary source rocks; uplifted sediments in an orogenic belt.

ii) Climate

 Climate exerts a strong control on the type of weathering that takes place in the
source area of a sediment; this, in turn, influences composition.

 Cold, arid climate: predominantly physical weathering, producing abundant

detrital grains (unaltered mineral grains and rock fragments).

 Sandstones produced in such settings will be relatively immature, depending on

the source rocks.
 A rudite composed Generally indicates that the clasts have not traveled far
Breccia predominantly of angular from their source or were transported by a non-fluid
clasts. medium (e.g., gravity or glacial ice).
MUDSTONES AND SHALES
 These are fine-grained, siliciclastic sedimentary rocks.

 They contain more than 50 percent siliciclastic grain less than 0.062 (1/256) mm in size (silt-size -
1/16–1/256 mm) and clay-size (< 1/256 mm) particles.

 Mudstones and shales are abundant in sedimentary successions, making up roughly 50 percent of all
the sedimentary rocks in the geologic record.

 Composed primarily of clay minerals and fine-size quartz and feldspars, as well as carbonate minerals
(calcite, dolomite, siderite), sulfides (pyrite, marcasite), iron oxides (goethite), and heavy minerals, as
well as a small amount of organic carbon.

 They form under any environmental conditions in which fine sediments are abundant as well as low
water energy to allow settling of suspended fine silt and clay.
Fissility: Refers to the tendency of lutite to break evenly along parting
planes. The greater the fissility the finer the rock splits; such a rock is said to
be "fissile".
SANDSTONES
 They make up 20–25 percent of all sedimentary rocks.

 Sandstones occur in beds ranging in thickness from a few centimeters to beds tens of meters
thick.

 Sandstones consist mainly of silicate grains ranging in size from 1/16 to 2 mm.

 Also contain various amounts of cement and very fine-size (< ~ 0.03 mm) material called
matrix, which are present within interstitial pore space among the framework grains.

 Bulk chemical composition of sandstones can be determined by instrumental techniques such

as XRF, XRD, EDX.
QUARTZ (SiO2)
 Dominant mineral in most sandstones, making up on average about 50–60 percent of the
framework fraction.
 Its superior hardness and chemical stability, enables it to survive multiple recycling.
 Quartz grains in many sandstones display some degree of rounding acquired by abrasion
during one or more episodes of transport.
 Quartz can occur as single (monocrystalline) grains or as composite (polycrystalline) grains.
 When examined under crossed polarizing light with a petrographic microscope, many quartz
grains display sweeping patterns of extinction as the stage is rotated.
 This property is called undulatory extinction.
 Quartz is derived from plutonic rock, particularly felsic plutonic rocks such as granites,
metamorphic rocks, and older sandstones.
Very little sand-sized quartz is derived from volcanic rocks
FELDSPARS
 Feldspar minerals make up about 10–20 percent of the framework grains of average sandstones.
 They are the second most abundant mineral in most sandstones.
 Several varieties of feldspars are recognized on the basis of differences in chemical composition and optical properties.
 They are divided into two broad groups: alkali feldspars and plagioclase feldspars.
 Alkali feldspars constitute a group of minerals in which chemical composition can range through a complete solid
solution series from KAlSi3O8 through (K,Na)AlSi3O8 to NaAlSi3O8.
 Because potassium-rich feldspars are such common members of this group, it has become widespread practice to call the
alkali feldspars potassium feldspars (K-feldspars)(common members are orthoclase, microcline and sanidine)
 Plagioclase feldspars form a complex solid solution series ranging in composition from NaAlSi 3O8 (albite) through
CaAl2Si2O (anorthite).
 Unfortunately, some K-feldspars (e.g., orthoclase and sanidine) and some plagioclase are untwinned, making them
difficult to differentiate from each other and from quartz.
 Potassium feldspars are generally considered to be more abundant overall in sedimentary rocks than plagioclase feldspars
 However, plagioclase is more abundant in sandstones derived from volcanic rocks.
 Feldspars are chemically less stable than quartz and are more susceptible to chemical destruction during weathering and
diagenesis.
A high content of feldspars, particularly on the order of 25 percent or more, probably indicates derivation directly from
crystalline source rocks.
 ACCESSORY FRAMEWORK MINERALS

 Minerals that have an average abundance in sedimentary rocks less than about 1–2 percent are called
accessory minerals.
 These minerals include the common micas, muscovite (white mica) and biotite (dark mica), and a large
number of so-called heavy minerals.
 The average abundance of coarse micas in siliciclastic sedimentary rocks is less than 0.5 percent, although
some sandstones may contain 2–3 percent.
 Micas are distinguished from other minerals by their platy or flaky habit.
 Muscovite is chemically more stable than biotite and is commonly much more abundant in sandstones than
biotite.
 Micas are derived particularly from metamorphic source rocks as well as from some plutonic igneous rocks.
 Minerals that have a specific gravity greater than about 2.9 are called heavy minerals. e.g zircon and rutile
 These minerals can survive multiple recycling episodes and are commonly rounded, indicating that the last
source was sedimentary.
 Less stable minerals, such as magnetite, pyroxenes, and amphiboles, are less likely to survive recycling.
 They are commonly first-cycle sediments that reflect the composition of proximate source rocks.
 Thus, heavy minerals are useful indicators of sediment source rocks because different types of source rocks
yield different suites of heavy minerals.
 ROCK FRAGMENTS/LITHICS

 Pieces of ancient source rocks that have not yet disintegrated to yield individual mineral grains are
called rock fragments or clasts.

 Rock fragments make up about 15–20 percent of the framework grains in the average sandstone.

 Lithics are composed of any kind of igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks.

 The most common rock fragments in sandstones are clasts of volcanic rocks volcanic glass (in
younger rocks), and fine-grained metamorphic rocks such as slate, phyllite, schist and quartzite.

 Composite quartz grains that consist of exceedingly small quartz crystals, referred to as
microcrystalline quartz, are called chert.
 MINERAL CEMENTS

 The framework grains in most siliciclastic sedimentary rocks are bound together by some type of
mineral cement.

 These cementing materials may either be silicate minerals such as quartz, opal, and clay minerals or
non-silicate minerals such as calcite and dolomite.

 Quartz is the most common silicate mineral that acts as a cement and it occurs as overgrowths.

 Carbonate minerals are the most abundant non-silicate mineral cements in siliciclastic sedimentary
rocks and calcite is a particularly common carbonate cement.

 And other cements such as dolomite and siderite (iron carbonate), hematite and limonite, feldspars,
anhydrite, gypsum, barite, clay minerals and zeolite minerals.
MATRIX MINERALS
 These are grains in sandstones smaller than about 0.03 mm, which fill spaces amongst framework
grains.

 Matrix minerals may include fine-size micas, quartz and feldspars; however, clay minerals make up the
bulk of matrix grains.

 The most common clay mineral groups are illite, smectite (montmorillonite), kaolinite and chlorite.

 Clay minerals form principally as secondary minerals during sub-aerial weathering and hydrolysis.
 CLASSIFICATION OF SANDSTONES

 Classification of sandstones is based fundamentally on framework mineralogy.

 Quartz, feldspars, and rock fragments/lithics are the only framework constituents that are commonly
abundant enough to be important in sandstone classification.

 Most authors of sandstone classifications use a classification scheme that involves a QFR or QFL
plot.

 Sandstones that are effectively free of matrix (<5 percent) are classified as quartz arenites, feldspathic
arenites, or lithic arenites.

 When sandstones are composed of at least 5 percent matrix (up to 15%), they are classified as quartz
wacke, feldspathic wacke, and lithic wacke.

 The name arkose is often used informally by geologists for any feldspathic arenite that is particularly
rich (>~25 percent) in feldspars.

 Greywacke is commonly applied to matrix-rich sandstones of any composition that have undergone
SANDSTONE MATURITY

Compositional maturity: the relative abundance of stable and unstable framework grains in a
sandstone. e.g A sandstone composed mainly of quartz is considered compositionally mature, whereas
a sandstone that contains abundant unstable minerals (e.g., feldspars) or unstable rock fragments is
compositionally immature.
Textural maturity: It expresses sorting, matrix content, and grain angularity in a sediment. An
immature sediment is one with poor sorting, a large proportion of matrix, angular particles as well as
no distinct grain size.
 A texturally mature sediment is matrix poor or matrix free, well sorted, and with well-rounded
grains.
 CONGLOMERATES AND BRECCIAS

 These are rocks that contain an abundance of coarse grained clasts (pebbles, cobbles, or boulders).

 The coarse grained clasts are well rounded, indicating that they spent considerable time in the
transportation process and were ultimately deposited in a high energy environment capable of
carrying the large clasts.

 In a breccia, the coarse grained clasts are very angular, indicating the clasts spent little time in the
transportation cycle.

 Conglomerates that are so rich in gravel-size framework grains are called clast-supported
conglomerates.

 Those that consist of sparse gravels supported in a mud/sand matrix are called matrix-
supported conglomerates.
PROVENANCE ANALYSIS

 Mineralogy is a particularly important property for studying the origin of siliciclastic sedimentary
rocks because it provides clue to the nature of source areas.

 The kinds of siliciclastic minerals and rock fragments preserved in sedimentary rocks furnish important
evidence of the lithology of the source rocks.

 Rock fragments provide the most direct lithologic evidence:

• Volcanic rock fragments indicate volcanic source rocks
• Metamorphic rock fragments indicate metamorphic source rocks.
• Feldspars and other minerals are also important source-rock indicators.
• For example, potassium feldspars suggest derivation mainly from alkaline plutonic igneous or
metamorphic rocks
• whereas sodic plagioclase is derived principally from alkaline volcanic rocks
• calcic plagioclase comes mainly from basic volcanic rocks.
 Suites of heavy minerals are also used for source-rock determination.

 A suite of heavy minerals consisting of apatite, biotite, hornblende, monazite, rutile, titanite, pink
tourmaline, and zircon indicates alkaline igneous source rocks.

 A suite consisting of augite, chromite, diopside, hypersthene, ilmenite, magnetite, and olivine suggests
derivation from basic igneous rocks.

 Andalusite, garnet, staurolite, topaz, kyanite, and sillimanite constitute a mineral suite diagnostic of
metamorphic rocks

 A suite of heavy minerals consisting of barite, iron ores, leucoxene, rounded tourmaline, and rounded
zircon suggests a recycled sediment source.
 Quartz also has value as a provenance indicator.

• For example, Basu et al. (1975) suggest that a high percentage of quartz grains with undulose
extinction combined with a high percentage of polycrystalline grains containing more than three
crystal units per grain are typical of low-rank metamorphic source rocks.

• By contrast, non-undulose quartz and polycrystalline quartz containing less than three crystal units
per grain indicate derivation from high-rank metamorphic or plutonic igneous source rocks.
DIAGENESIS OF SILICICLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Definition: It is the natural changes which occur in sediments and sedimentary rocks between the
time of initial deposition and the time they are exposed to elevated temperature and pressure
conditions.

PHYSICAL PROCESSES:
 breaking down of sediments
 compaction
 recrystallization
 neomorphism (diagenetic replacement of a mineral by a different crystal form of the same
mineral
COMPACTION
 CHEMICAL PROCESSES:

 Cementation

 Replacement

 Dissolution
 The temperatures of diagenesis are below temperatures required for metamorphism.

 Nature of the end products of diagenesis are determined by:

 The composition of the original sediments

 The nature of the fluids and their movements

 The physical and chemical processes involved

The time subjected to them during diagenesis