Sedimentary Rocks

Marine deposits
Fluvial deposits
Eolian deposits
(deposited by
wind)
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Stages of formation of
Sedimentary Rocks
Weathering: Physical or chemical
Transportation: by agents like water, wind, ice,
gravity. Mode of transportation: rolling, suspension or
in solution
Deposition: on land (continent), in transitional zone
(estuaries, deltas etc.) or in ocean (marine deposits)
Compaction/solidification: lithification or
cementation/diagenesis
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Almost 90% of earth crust is made up of igneous rocks
75% of land surface on the earth is covered by thin veneer of sediments or
sedimentary rocks
These sediments are transported and deposited by river water, wind or by
movement of glacial ice. Transportation is either in suspension or in
solution
When settle down after deposition undergo compaction/cementation to form
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS: are the secondary rocks which are
formed from the loose fragments or
detrital (clastic) sediments produced by
weathering of older rocks.
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IMPORTANCE OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK
Present is the key to the past
Helps in knowing depositional environment viz. marine
(ocean deposits), fluvial (river deposits), aeolian (wind
deposits), glacial, estuarine, Lacustrine (lake deposits)
etc.
Helps in knowing the provenance (i.e. source area of
the sediments); change in climatic conditions i.e. in
knowing and understanding old climate=paleoclimate.
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Sandstones
Conglomerates
Breccia
Shale/mudstones
TYPES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
Clastic rocks Inorganic & Organic rocks
Evaporitic rocks
These rocks are formed
due to evaporation of saline
water (sea water)
e.g. Gypsum, Halite
(rock salt)
Carbonate rocks
Form basically from
CaCO
3
both by
chemical leaching and
by organic source
(biochemical) e.g.
Limestone; dolomite
Organic rocks
Form due to
decomposition of
organic remains
under temperature
and pressure e.g.
Coal/Lignite etc.
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formed from broken rock fragments either by
weathering or erosion by river, glacier, wind and
sea waves. These clastic sediments are deposited
on floodplains, beaches, in desert and on the sea
floors.
CLASTI C ROCKS
Clastic rocks solidify
Clastic rocks are classified on the basis of
the grain size: conglomerate, sandstone,
shale etc.
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GRAI N SI ZE
Gravel
>256-2 mm
Sand
2- 0.062 mm
Clay
<0.004 mm
Silt
0.062-0.004 mm
Boulder: >256mm
Cobble: 64-256 mm
Pebble: 4-64 mm
Granule: 2-4 mm
Fine gravel
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Mudstone, siltstone
Mud, Silt
= -log2(grain size mm)
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Shape of grains
Angular: reflects less distance transport
Sub-rounded: far distance transport
Rounded: very far distance transport
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Clastic rocks mainly
comprise broken
fragment of older
rock they are also
know as Terrigenous
rocks
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Any rock fragment
(size is > 4 mm=Pebble)
Fine-gravel/
Granule
(size <4mm)
Matrix:
is the finer grains
or material that
surrounds the
larger clasts. It
consist of either
clay, silt and sand.
Cement:
dissolved
substance
that bounds
the
sediments.
1. Calcareous
2. siliceous
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When clastic fragments are
cemented or undergo consolidation
they are called
CONGLOMERATES
Similarly when angular clasts
undergo consolidation they are
called BRECCI A
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Sorting of the sediments also suggest the mode of deposition
and transportation.
Long distance transport= well-rounded and well-sorted
sediments.
Short distance transport = poorly sorted angular grains.
Also helps in knowing the energy conditions of the river.
Sorting means sediment in terms
various size
Poorly sorted (mixture of
wide range of particle size)
Well sorted (most of the clasts
are of same size)
Changes of grain size typically
result from fluctuations in the
velocity of the transporting agent,
such as water or wind (mode)
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If the energy conditions are high: larger or heavier particles will be
transported
Lighter particles will be carried for longer distance even if the
energy or the carrying capacity of the agent reduces.
About the mode of transportation: Till deposits (comprising
angular and variable size of sediments) are deposited by movement
of glacial ice
Rounded to well-rounded sediments well sorted are transported by
water and wind.
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DIFFERENT CATERGORIES OF CLASTIC ROCKS
RUDACEOUS ROCKS: are made up of rounded or
sub-rounded Pebbles and cobbles (4-256mm) e.g.
conglomerate
ARENACEOUS ROCKS: are made up of mainly
sand (0.062-2mm) e.g. Sandstone. These rocks are
made of sediments either deposited by wind
action/under water action/marine or lake environment
ARGILLACEOUS ROCKS: are fine grained made up
of clay size sediments (<0.004mm) e.g. Shale,
mudstones, siltstones.
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IMPORTANCE
CONGLOMERATE comprise clastic
sediments like pebbles and cobbles
(heterogeneous)
If the cementation is good (voids
between the clasts), then the
conglomerate will be hard and competent
hence act as strong foundation, but not
good rock for ground water source.
However, if the cementation is poor, it
makes the rock more porous with high
porosity; act as good reserve for ground
water (aquifer), but is undesirable at the
site for foundation of major CE
structures.
Due to heavy seepage the conglomerate
may result in failure by sliding e.g.
Failure of St. Francis dam, US.
When clastic fragments are
cemented or undergo
consolidation they are called
CONGLOMERATES
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Cementation:
Cementing material is usually secondary Silica (Siliceous
cement), Calcium carbonate (Carbonate cement), Iron rich
(ferruginous cement)
Cement itself to some extent is the source of weakness in the
sedimentary rocks
Because cementing material and the clastic sediments are
usually of different composition, leading to heterogeneity in
their physical characteristics.
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Hence such rock will not behave homogeneously under stress,
resulting into development of cracks or fissures which develops
in cementing material.
If the cement is Calcium Carbonate- it is undesirable, because
it is susceptible to dissolve in water
However, if cementation process continuous for longer span of
time cementation will become more complete, which reduce
the porosity and permeability in the rock mass and increase the
competency.
Shape of grains: i.e. if coarser grains are rounded or sub-
rounded then the cement material will not have firm grip,
hence such rocks will be incompetent.
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SANDSTONE:
Made up of sand grains dominantly of Quartz and Feldspars,
where quartz is highly resistive to weathering
Cementation plays similar role in this rock as seen in conglomerate
However, Siliceous cement are best and highly desirable for CE
purposes, also the ferruginous sst.
Quartz Sst.
Arkose (Feldspar)
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SHALE
Shales are clastic rocks, made up
mainly fine silt/clay
They are most abundant
sedimentary rocks, accounts for
about 80% of them
Often contain fossils
Mostly hydrous-aluminum silicate in
composition (sourced from
weathered feldspars)
Deposition takes place under low
fluvial regime or under weak water
current e.g. Offshore or in Lagoon
Shale
Shales are made up of fine well sorted silt and clayey sediments, where
clayey sediments have tendency to retain water
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When shales are saturated with water under pressure they are likely to
produce slippery foundation for any structure- therefore not suitable for
CE structures
Examples: Lafayette dam of US constructed on argillaceous rocks sunk
by 20 feet.
Srisailam Dam in Andhra Pradesh (one of the 12
th
largest Hydroelectric
Projects in the India) faced similar problem, however, precautions were
take by grouting to stop the seepage along the weak zones.
Because of its impermeable and porous nature it acts as cap rocks in the
occurrence of Oil and Gas.
CE IMPORTANCE
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EVAPORI TI C ROCKS
These rocks are formed within the a depositional basin from
chemical substances dissolved in the seawater or lake water.
Gypsum
Halite
(NaCl)
CaSO
4
.2H
2
0
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Economic importance of Evaporates
SALT: other then daily use of salt for cooking,
it is used
For production of Paper
Soap
Detergents
Antiseptics
As chemical for dyeing etc.
GYPSUM: is used for plaster and in
manufacturing construction materials.
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Limestone: It is a non-clastic rock formed either
chemically or due to precipitation of calcite (CaCO
3
)
from organisms usually (shell).
Limestones formed by chemical precipitation are usually
fine grained, whereas, in case of organic limestone the
grain size vary depending upon the type of organism
responsible for the formation
Fossiliferous Limestone: is medium to coarse grained,
as it is formed out of cementation of Shells.
CARBONATE ROCKS
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used as a building stone and in the manufacture of lime, cement etc.
Massive and compact limestone are competent to support CE-structure
However, if it occur in huge thickness then it is not advisable, because of its
typical CAVING character.
Chalk
Is made up of carbonate
shells of minute floating
organisms (foraminefera). It
is very fine grained
Chalk:
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Sedimentary structures
Bedding is most imp. Feature of a sedimentary rock
Beds are usually > 1 cm
Laminae < 1 cm
Orientation of bedding helps in knowing the paleo-current
direction of the old rivers
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Fine gravelly lithounit
Medium-coarse sandy
lithounit (cross stratified)
Cross bedding refers to beds:
indicative of deposition under
variable flow regime. Helpful to
infer the depositional direction
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Graded bedding
Shows fining upward
sequence:
Indicative of depositional
cycle and mainly deposited
when the turbulent current
slows down.
At this stage the
heaviest/larger particles
will settle down first,
followed by the lighter and
smaller ones.
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Varves: Rhythmic layers indicating deposition under lake environment
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Sand Dunes
Cross stratification
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Ripple marks
Foot prints
Biogenic structures
Snake Trails
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Mud cracks
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