Sedimentary Rocks

Weathering, Erosion, Deposition,

and Lithification

Layered Rock on Mars may indicate sedimentary rock

Importance of
sedimentary rocks.
• Source of many construction
materials.
Red Beds • Sediments can store information on
indicate past climate.
oxygenation
of early • Type of rock can indicate environment
Earth of deposition.
• The only rock type to preserve fossils.

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 How to make a sedimentary rock. Weathering
• Weathering = the breaking down of • Chemical
rock into smaller pieces (sediment). – Rock dissolved (in water) into individual
molecules.
• Erosion = the movement of – Especially effective if the water is acidic or
sediment from one place to another. hot.
• Deposition = the placement of • Mechanical
sediment at a new location. – Rock is physically broken into smaller pieces.
– Happens from impact, thermal expansion, or
• Lithification = turning loose sediment frost wedging.
into a sedimentary rock.

Erosion by water causes sediment

Agents of erosion to be transported as:
1. Bed load
1.Water – Rolls or bounces along the bottom
2. Suspended load
2.Wind – Turbulence in water keeps smaller sized
particles in the water and off the bottom
3.Gravity 3. Dissolved load
– Rock material is dissolved into individual

4.Ice molecules and transported in solution.

Deposition
1. Chemical deposition
– Dissolved molecules dissolved in water
reaches saturation and begins to
precipitate out of water.
– Makes a chemical sedimentary rock.
2. Clastic (detrital) deposition
– Rock pieces being eroded without
being dissolved in water get deposited.
– Makes a clastic sedimentary rock.

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 Lake Siltation

Clastic sediment size Clastic sedimentary rocks

• Clay (mud) Mud sized = mudstone or shale
• Silt Silt sized = siltstone
• Sand Sand sized = sandstone
• Pebble Rounded pebbles = conglomerate
• Cobble Sharp angular pebbles = breccia
• Boulder

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 Environments of deposition
clastic
• Need high energy to move large particles, and
need low energy to deposit small particles.
• Pebble sized and larger deposited in floods,
debris flows, and mountain streams
• Sand sized found at the base of mountainous
areas, fast moving stream beds, and beaches.
• Silt must have slow moving or still water to
deposit, usually near shore.
• Clay must have still water to drop out, usually
deep calm water far from shore.

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Lake Bonneville flood gravels underlying Lake Missoula Flood Deposits

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 Environments of deposition
Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
chemical
• Carbonates • Evaporites require a body of water with
– CaCO3 Æ Limestone high evaporation rate.
– (Ca,Mg) Æ Dolostone – Usually need a “closed basin” where water
• Silicates can run in but can’t run out.
– SiO2 Æ Chert (including flint, jasper, and • Limestone forms very slowly and will get
agate) overwhelmed by any clastic particles
• Evaporites – Need water with no clastics either far from
– Rock Salt shore or in areas with no clastic input.
– Rock Gypsum

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 What happened to Lake Peigneur?

Sedimentary particle
texture
• Sorting
–Poorly sorted, moderately sorted, well
+ + sorted
+
+ + • Size
+ + –Clay, silt, sand, pebble, cobble, boulder
+ + + + + + + • Roundness
+ ++ + + + + + + +
–Angular, subangular, subrounded,
rounded, well-rounded

Particle sorting
Degree to which particles are of the same
size.
• Well sorted = particles all of the same size
• Moderately sorted = particles within a
relatively narrow range of sizes
• Poorly sorted = particles of very different
sizes.
– Bimodal sorting = particles of two distinct
sizes.

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Information from sorting
• Well sorted = constant energy level
• Moderately sorted = energy
fluctuates within a certain range
• Poorly sorted = energy levels
fluctuates drastically over time or
the material has been dropped all at
once (as by melting ice).

Information from rounding

and size
• Rock clasts usually start out large
and angular.
• As they are eroded, sharper edges
get worn down quickly.
• The farther clasts have been eroded
from the site of weathering, the
rounder smaller they tend to be.

Lithification/Diagenesis
1.Compaction
2.Cementation
3.Recrystallization

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 Sedimentary patterns and Limestone
structures Shale

• Rhythmic layers = repeated sequences of Sandstone

sedimentary rock
• Cross bedding = lineation inside layers of
Shale
rock that go across the rock
• Ripples Limestone
• Graded bedding = layer of sedimentary
rock with coarse clasts at the bottom fining Shale
upward
• Raindrop impressions Sandstone
• Mudcracks
Conglomerate

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