Contents

Preface to the third edition

Preface to the second edition

Preface to the first edition

1 Introduction: basic concepts and methodology

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Basic concepts

1.3 Methodology

2 Siliciclastic sediments I: sandstones, conglomerates and breccias

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Sediment texture

2.3 Sedimentary structures

2.4 Palaeocurrent analysis

2.5 Detrital components of siliciclastic sediments

2.6 Classification of siliciclastic sediments

2.7 Petrography and origin of principal sandstone types

2.8 Sandstone composition, provenance and tectonic setting

2.9 Sandstone diagenesis

2.10 Porosity and permeability

2.11 Depositional environments of sandstones and coarser clastics

3 Siliciclastic sediments II: mudrocks

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Textures and structures of mudrocks

3.3 The colour of mudrocks

3.4 Mineral constituents of mudrocks

3.5 The formation and distribution of clay minerals in modern sediments

3.6 Diagenesis of clay minerals and mudrocks

3.7 Mudrocks and their depositional environments

4 Limestones

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Mineralogy of carbonate sediments

4.3 Components of limestones

4.4 Classification of limestones

4.5 Limestone grain size and texture

4.6 Sedimentary structures of limestones

4.7 Carbonate diagenesis

4.8 Dolomitization, dedolomitization and silicification

4.9 Porosity in carbonate sediments

4.10 Carbonate depositional environments and facies

5 Evaporites

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Gypsum and anhydrite

5.3 Halite

5.4 Other evaporite minerals and their occurrence

5.5 Evaporite dissolution and replacement

5.6 Evaporite sequences and discussion

6 Sedimentary iron deposits

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Source and transportation of iron

6.3 The formation of the principal iron minerals

6.4 Occurrence and petrography of the iron minerals

6.5 Precambrian iron-formations and Phanerozoic ironstones

6.6 Bog iron ores

6.7 Ferromanganese nodules and crusts, and metalliferous sediments

7 Sedimentary phosphate deposits

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Mineralogy

7.3 Nodular and bedded phosphorites

7.4 Bioclastic and pebble-bed phosphorites,

7.5 Guano and ocean-island phosphorites,

8 Coal, oil shale and petroleum

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Modern organic deposits

8.3 Ancient organic deposits

8.4 Coals and the coal series

8.5 Coal petrology

8.6 Coal formation and rank

8.7 Occurrence of coal

8.8 Oil shales

8.9 Formation of kerogen

8.10 Petroleum

9 Cherts and siliceous sediments

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Chert petrology

9.3 Bedded cherts

9.4 Nodular cherts

9.5 Non-marine siliceous sediments and cherts

10 Volcaniclastic sediments

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Autoclastic deposits

10.3 Pyroclastic-fall deposits

10.4 Pyroclastic-flow and -surge deposits

10.5 Hydroclastites: hyaloclastites and hyalotuffs

10.6 Epiclastic volcanogenic deposits

10.7 Diagenesis of volcaniclastic sediments

References

Index

Colour plates

To Vivienne (again)

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Tucker, Maurice E.
Sedimentary petrology : an
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Tucker. — 3rd ed.
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Preface to the third edition

The time has come for another revision of this book. In the 10 years since the second edition, there has been an enormous amount of material published on sediments and I have amended the text where necessary and added recent references to take this into account. Many very useful scientific papers from the 1970s and 1980s cited in the last edition have been removed and replaced by 1990s and 2000 references; students should be able to find their way into the modern literature through these. Much emphasis in the last 10 years in soft-rock research has been in the area of sequence stratigraphy, recognizing key surfaces, sedimentary cycles and their stacking patterns, and relating depositional environments, facies and diagenesis to relative changes in sea-level. However, in all this work, a proper understanding of the composition, textures, structures and origins of sedimentary rocks is essential; this book aims to provide students with that basic knowledge. In the next 10 years the sequence stratigraphic approach may go out of fashion or be replaced by some other paradigm; it will still be essential to know how to describe and interpret sediment.

To help with the petrographic side of sedimentary studies, this edition includes 74 colour photomicrographs of sedimentary rocks in thin-section. In addition several tables are included to help with the description and interpretation of sandstones and limestones.

This author derives enormous pleasure from studying sedimentary rocks; seeing them in the field, looking at them down the microscope, and puzzling over their origin. I hope the reader can also appreciate the excitement of sediments and the stories they can tell, and will enjoy learning about these fascinating rocks.

I am grateful to Alison Jones, Rob Raiswell and Stuart Jones for reading parts of the text, and also to lecturers who use this book in their classes for reviews and suggestions for this edition. As always, thanks to Vivienne for patience, understanding, and enduring support.

Maurice Tucker
Durham
February 2001

Preface to the second edition

In the 10 years that have passed since the first edition of this book was published, there have been advances in our understanding of many aspects of sedimentary petrology, so that a new edition is now required to bring the book up to date. In fact, at the level at which this book is written, much of the original material is still correct, but there are new ways of looking at rocks, new terms and interpretations have come in and more recent references to the literature are required. As to be expected, there are areas of the subject where there is still much controversy and few new ideas have come forward in the last 10 years. The book has expanded in text and figures by about 30% throughout, and many of the original photomicrographs are a little bigger in the new double-column format. The depositional environments and facies sections of several chapters have been enlarged a little too, to make the book more complete. Descriptions of specific examples are not given, however, but simply noted. Many of the references in the first edition have been replaced by 1980s papers.

Sedimentary petrology is still a most important branch of the earth sciences. A knowledge of a sediment’s depositional and diagenetic history is essential for an understanding of facies geometry and porosity evolution, critical factors in hydrocarbon exploration. The last few years have seen the concepts of sequence stratigraphy, derived from seismic stratigraphy, applied more and more to surface, as well as subsurface, sedimentary rocks, to help elucidate the larger-scale controls (tectonics versus eustatic sea-level changes) and to provide a predictive tool in frontier basins. However, an understanding and consideration of the deposition of the sedimentary rocks themselves are essential to the sequence stratigraphy approach, if the latter is not to give misleading information and erroneous interpretations and correlations.

Acknowledgements for the second edition

I am indebted to John Aggett, Peter Balson and Mic Jones for comments on the original chapters. The reviews of the book by sed. pet. course professors in the early eighties and in the last year proved very useful indeed in the revision. I am most grateful to Karen Atkinson for drafting the new figures; to Gerry Dresser for the new photomicrographs; to George Randall and Ron Lambert for thin sections and Emmie Williamson at Blackwells for handling the manuscript and proofs so efficiently. As ever, I must thank Vivienne for her inexhaustible support and for typing the text and references. A and Z (Fig. 2.39) are to be thanked for being a great help rather than a hindrance this time, and for helping with the references too.

Maurice Tucker
Durham
March 1991

Preface to the first edition

The study of sedimentary rocks—sedimentary petrology—goes back to the last century and beyond. It is only in the past few decades, however, that we have begun to understand and appreciate the processes by which these rocks are formed. Many of the latest steps forward have come from research on modern sediments and material from shallow and deep bore-holes. The advent of sophisticated instruments, such as the electron microscope, has also been important. Some of the impetus for investigating sedimentary rocks has come from their economic importance: the fossil fuels coal and petroleum, and many essential minerals and raw materials are contained in these rocks. In spite of recent advances, there is still much that can be done just with a hammer in the field and simple microscope in the laboratory and a pair of sharp eyes.

This book attempts to present a concise, up-to-date account of sedimentary petrology. In recent years, many texts have been published dealing more with the depositional environments and facies of sediments, with less attention being given to features of the rocks themselves. This book approaches the subject from the other direction, examining each rock group in turn, with discussions of composition, petrography, sedimentary structures, diagenesis, and depositional environments and facies.

This book has been written with undergraduate students in mind. Because of this, references to the literature have been critically chosen. By and large, students do not want (or need) to consult original papers on a topic written many years ago. Students require up-to-date information, the latest ideas, and reviews. Good review papers of course do cite the early literature so that the keen student can soon delve back and locate important papers. All the references cited in this book should be readily available in university and institute libraries.

Acknowledgements

Many friends and colleagues have willingly read early drafts of chapters and made very valuable and useful comments. I am particularly grateful to Hugh Battey, Colin Braithwaite, Paul Bridges, Trevor Elliott, John Hemingway, Mic Jones, Duncan Murchison, Andrew Parker, Tim Pharoah, Alastair Robertson, Colin Scrutton and Bruce Sellwood. I should also thank the many people (acknowledged in the text) who have supplied specimens, photographs or thin-sections for text figures. I am indebted to Mrs K. Sales of Newcastle University’s Photographic Department for all her efforts in printing the photographs. My deepest gratitude must go to my wife, Vivienne, for doing much of the donkey-work (typing, etc., etc.), for giving up so many evenings and weekends without too much complaint, and for keeping the little horrors of Fig. 2.40 quiet during the day.

Maurice Tucker
Durham
January 1981

1

Introduction: basic concepts and methodology

1.1 Introduction

Some 70% of the rocks at the Earth’s surface are sedimentary in origin, and these include the familiar sandstones, limestones and shales, and the less common but equally well-known salt deposits, ironstones, coal and chert.

Sedimentary rocks of the geological record were deposited in the whole range of natural environments that exist today. The study of these modern environments and their sediments and processes contributes much to the understanding of their ancient equivalents. There are some sedimentary rock types, however, for which there are no known modern analogues, or their inferred depositional environments are only poorly represented at the present time.

Once deposited, sediments are subjected to the processes of diagenesis, that is, physical, chemical and biological processes which bring about compaction, cementation, recrystallization and other modifications to the original sediment, and form rocks.

There are many reasons for studying sedimentary rocks, not least because of the wealth of economic minerals and materials contained within them. The fossil fuels oil and gas are derived from the maturation of organic matter in sediments and these then migrate to a suitable reservoir, mostly a porous sedimentary rock. The other fossil fuel, coal, is also contained within sedimentary sequences of course. Sedimentological and petrological techniques are increasingly used in the search for new reserves of these fuels and other natural resources. Sedimentary rocks supply much of the world’s iron, potash, salt, building materials and many, many other essential raw materials.

Environments and processes of deposition and palaeogeography and palaeoclimatology can all be deduced from studies of sedimentary rocks. Such studies contribute much towards a knowledge and understanding of the Earth’s geological history. Sedimentary rocks contain the record of life on Earth, in the form of fossils, and these are the principal means of stratigraphic correlation in the Phanerozoic.

1.2 Basic concepts

1.2.1 Classification of sedimentary rocks

Sedimentary rocks are formed through physical, chemical and biological processes. On the basis of the dominant process(es) operating, the common sediment lithologies can be grouped into four broad categories (Table 1.1). The siliciclastic sediments (also referred to as terrigenous or epiclastic deposits) are those consisting of fragments (clasts) of pre-existing rocks, which have been transported and deposited by physical processes. The conglomerates and breccias, sandstones and mudrocks, discussed in Chapters 2 and 3 belong to this group. Sediments largely of biogenic, biochemical and organic origin are the limestones, which may be altered to dolomite (Chapter 4), phosphate deposits (Chapter 7), coal and oil shale (Chapter 8) and cherts (Chapter 9). Sedimentary rocks largely of chemical origin are the evaporites (Chapter 5) and ironstones (Chapter 6). Volcaniclastic deposits (Chapter 10) constitute a fourth category and consist of lava and rock fragments derived from penecontemporaneous volcanic activity. Each of these various sedimentary rock types can be divided further, usually on the basis of composition. In addition, many rock types grade laterally or vertically into others through intermediate lithologies. A scheme to help with the identification and description of sedimentary rock types is presented in Table 1.2.

Table 1.1 Principal groups of sedimentary rock

Table 1.2 Scheme for the identification and description of sedimentary rocks in hand specimen

1.2.2 Sedimentary environments and facies

Sedimentary environments vary from those where erosion and transportation dominate to those where deposition prevails. Most weathering and erosion, liberating sediment grains and ions in solution, takes place in continental areas, and climate, local geology and topography control the type and amount of material released. The main continental depositional environments are fluvial and glacial systems, lakes and the aeolian sand seas of deserts. Most shoreline environments, deltas, lagoons, tidal flats, sabkhas, beaches and barriers, and open marine environments, shallow shelves and epeiric seas, and bathyal–abyssal sites of pelagic, hemipelagic and turbidite sedimentation, are areas of net deposition, involving the whole range of sediment lithologies. Many of these sediments possess distinctive characteristics, which can be used to recognize their equivalents in the geological record.

Facies

With sedimentary rocks, once they have been described and identified (the theme of this book), and their stratigraphic relationships elucidated, then the concept of facies is applied. A facies is a body or packet of sedimentary rock with features that distinguish it from other facies. A facies is the product of deposition, and it may be characteristic of a particular depositional environment, or a particular depositional process. Features used to separate facies are sediment composition (lithology), grain size, texture, sedimentary structures, fossil content and colour. Lithofacies are defined on the basis of sedimentary characteristics, whereas biofacies rely on palaeontological differences. With detailed work, subfacies can be recognized, and microfacies if microscope studies are used to distinguish between rocks that in the field appear similar (often the case with limestones). Facies can be described in terms of (a) the sediment itself (e.g. cross-bedded sandstone facies), (b) the depositional process (e.g. stream-flood facies) and (c) the depositional environment (e.g. tidal-flat facies). Only (a) is objective and, hopefully, unequivocal; (b) and (c) are both interpretative. Different facies commonly occur together and so form facies associations or facies assemblages. Repetitions of facies sequences are common and give rise to small-scale cycles a few metres thick. Some cycles develop naturally within the sedimentary environment without any changes in external factors.

There are many factors that control and affect the sediments deposited and determine the sedimentary rock type and facies produced. On a gross scale, overriding controls are (a) the depositional processes, (b) the depositional environment, (c) the tectonic context and (d) the climate.

Depositional processes and environments

Sediments can be deposited by a wide range of processes including the wind, flowing water as in streams, tidal currents and storm currents, waves, sediment + water flows such as turbidity currents and debris flows, the in situ growth of animal skeletons as in reefs and the direct precipitation of minerals as in evaporites. The depositional processes leave their record in the sediment in the form of sedimentary structures and textures. Some depositional processes are typical of a particular environment, whereas others operate in several or many environments. Environments are defined on physical, chemical and biological parameters and they can be sites of erosion, non-deposition or sedimentation. Water depth, degree of agitation and salinity are important physical attributes of subaqueous environments and these affect and control the organisms living on or in the sediment or forming the sediment. Chemical factors such as Eh (redox potential) and pH (acidity–alkalinity) of surface waters and pore waters affect organisms and control mineral precipitation.

Tectonic context

This is of paramount importance because it determines the depositional setting, whether it is, for example, a stable craton, back-arc basin or rift. There have been many studies in recent years of modern and ancient sedimentary basins and the main categories are given in Table 1.3. Each basin has a particular pattern of sedimentary fill, some with distinctive facies or even characteristic lithologies. The deposits of many ancient passive margins, back-arc/fore-arc basins and ocean floors, commonly much deformed, occur in mountain belts, produced by plate collisions. Rates of subsidence and uplift, level of seismic activity and occurrence of volcanoes are also dependent on the tectonic context and are reflected in the sediments deposited.

Table 1.3 Plate-tectonic classification of sedimentary basins and their typical rock types

Climate

This is a major factor in subaerial weathering and erosion and strongly affects the composition of terrigenous clastic sediments. Climate is instrumental in the formation of some lithologies, evaporites and limestones, for example, and there is a strong palaeolatitudinal control on some rock types (Fig. 1.1). Two other factors controlled by climate and tectonic context are sediment supply and organic productivity. Sediment supply is important in so far as low rates favour limestone, evaporite, phosphate and ironstone formation. High levels of organic productivity are important in the formation of limestones, phosphates, cherts, coal and oil shale.

Fig. 1.1 Palaeolatitude zonation of climate-sensitive deposits. Frequency (number of occurrences) against palaeolatitude.

Role of relative sea-level

Another major factor affecting sedimentary facies is the global position of sea-level and relative sea-level changes. The position of sea-level is determined principally by climatic and tectonic factors, and processes causing change in relative sea-level may be regional (e.g. changes in rates of uplift/subsidence and sediment supply), or global, referred to as eustatic (e.g. variations in climate causing changes in size of the polar icecaps, opening/closing of oceans and fluctuations in rates of sea-floor spreading causing ocean-basin volume changes). Various orders of sea-level change can be distinguished (Table 1.4), although there has been much discussion over the mechanisms responsible. The first-order global sea-level curve, shown in Figs 4.4 & 8.7, is the result of the opening and closing of the Iapetus Ocean in Palaeozoic times and the opening of the Atlantic and Tethys and closing of Tethys in Mesozoic and Cenozoic times. The occurrence of limestones (more abundant at times of relative sea-level highstand) and their primary mineralogy (see Fig. 4.4), the development of hydrocarbon source rocks (Fig. 8.7) and, to a certain extent, the abundance of dolomites, phosphorites and ironstones all broadly correlate with this first-order sea-level curve.

Table 1.4 The orders of sea-level change and possible mechanisms. There is still much discussion over the mechanism(s) behind global eustasy as a cause of sea-level changes on the scale of 1–10 Myr (second- to third-order), and the significance of changes of the in-plane stress regime within plates in terms of relative sea-level change has still to be evaluated

Sequence stratigraphy

Second- to third-order relative sea-level changes are responsible for the formation of depositional sequences, packages of genetically related strata, generally several hundreds of metres thick, bound by unconformities and their correlative conformities (i.e. sequence boundaries). Carbonate platforms, for example, are generated during such periods of time (1–10 Myr). The stratigraphic record is made up of depositional sequences, and within them there is commonly a regular and predictable arrangement of sedimentary facies (the product of lowstand, transgressive and highstand systems tracts) deposited at specific intervals on the curve of relative sea-level change (see Fig. 2.86). Systems tracts are separated by key surfaces: sequence boundaries, transgressive surfaces and maximum flooding surfaces. Fourth- to fifth-order relative sea-level changes are responsible for the repetition of small-scale cycles (parasequences), 1–10 m thick, which are a feature of many sedimentary formations. Systematic vertical changes in the nature of the parasequences reflect long-term onlap (transgression/relative sea-level rise) or offlap (regression/relative sea-level fall), i.e. longer-term relative sea-level changes. Orbital forcing in the Milankovitch band is a popular but contentious explanation for parasequences, especially carbonate ones, but other explanations include sedimentary processes (autocyclicity) and periodic tectonic subsidence.

Facies models

Many attributes of a facies are reflections of the depositional processes and environment. There is a finite number of environments so that similar facies and facies associations are produced wherever and whenever a particular environment existed in the geological past. Differences do arise of course, from variations in provenance (the source of the sediment), the nature of the fossil record at the time and climatic and tectonic considerations. From studies of modern and ancient sedimentary environments, processes and facies, generalized facies models have been proposed to show the lateral and vertical relationships between facies. These models facilitate interpretations of sedimentary formations and permit predictions of facies distributions and geometries. However, facies models are just snapshots of an environment; depositional systems are dynamic and a facies model may only relate to a particular state of relative sea-level change. The importance of the vertical succession of facies was first appreciated by Johannes Walther at the end of the nineteenth century in his ‘Law of the Correlation of Facies’: different facies in a vertical succession reflect environments that originally were adjacent to each other, providing there were no major breaks in sedimentation. Vertical changes in facies result from the effects of internal and external processes. Familiar examples of the former are the progradation (building out) of deltas and tidal flats into deeper water, and the combing of a river across its floodplain. External processes are again chiefly tectonic movements, acting on a regional or global scale, and climatic changes. Both of these affect the relative position of sea-level, a major factor in facies development, and the supply of sediment, as noted above.

1.2.3 Diagenesis

Considerations of sedimentary rocks do not stop with environmental interpretations. There is a whole story to be told of events after deposition, that is during diagenesis. It is during diagenesis that an indurated rock is produced from an unconsolidated, loose sediment. Diagenetic processes begin immediately after deposition and continue until metamorphism takes over; this is when reactions are the result of elevated temperatures (in excess of 150–200 °C) and/or pressures. A distinction is made between early diagenetic events, taking place from sedimentation until shallow burial, and late diagenetic events, occurring during deep burial and subsequent uplift.

Diagenetic processes, which can be introduced here but are considered further in later sections (2.9, 3.6 and 4.7), are compaction, recrystallization, dissolution, replacement, authigenesis and cementation. Compaction is both a physical and chemical process arising from the mass of the overlying sediment, which causes water to be squeezed out and grains to become closer packed. Some grains and minerals deposited in a sediment or forming a sediment are unstable and during diagenesis they may recrystallize (i.e. their crystal fabric changes but the mineralogy is unaltered) or they may undergo dissolution and/or be replaced by other minerals. The effects of dissolution and replacement are common in limestones, sandstones and evaporites. The formation of dolomite largely takes place by replacement of limestone. The precipitation of new minerals within the pore spaces of a sediment is referred to as authigenesis, and if precipitated in sufficient quantity then cementation of the sediment results. Concretions and nodules, such as commonly occur in mudrocks, form through localized mineral precipitation. The ions for cementation are derived from pore waters and grain dissolution.

In the same way that relative sea-level changes and global sea-level stand are a fundamental control of many aspects of the deposition of sedimentary rocks, they can also account for the major diagenetic events. Much early diagenesis relates to sequence boundaries, produced by second- to third-order sealevel fluctuations, but climate (arid versus humid) is important at this stage too. The nature of near-surface diagenesis very much controls the path of later (burial) diagenesis.

Diagenetic processes are important for several reasons. They can considerably modify a sediment, both in terms of its composition and texture, and in rare cases, original structures are destroyed completely. Diagenetic events also affect a sediment’s porosity and permeability, properties that control a sediment’s potential as a reservoir for oil, gas or water.

1.3 Methodology

The study of sedimentary rocks invariably begins in the field but after that there are several avenues which can be explored, depending on the objectives of the study and the interests of the investigator. Samples collected can be examined on a macro-, micro- and nanoscale. Sophisticated techniques and machines can be used to discover a sediment’s mineralogy and geochemistry. Experiments can be devised to simulate the conditions of deposition. Data collected in the field or laboratory can be subjected to statistical tests and computer analysis. Account should be taken of any existing literature on the rocks being studied and of descriptions of similar rocks and facies from other areas, together with their probable modern analogues. With all this information at hand, the rocks under consideration can be interpreted with regard to origin, depositional process and environment, palaeogeography, diagenetic history and possible economic significance and potential.

1.3.1 In the field

The main point about fieldwork is being able to observe and record accurately what you see. With a little field experience and some background knowledge, you will soon know what to expect and what to look for in a certain type of sedimentary rock of particular facies. It is obviously important to appreciate the significance of the various sedimentary features you see, to know which are environmentally diagnostic, for example, and also to know how they can be used to obtain maximum information: what to measure, what to photograph, what to collect. The field study of sedimentary rocks is discussed in Tucker (1996); the description and interpretation of sedimentary structures are explored in Collinson & Thompson (1989) and the statistical analysis of field data is covered in Potter & Pettijohn (1977) and Graham (1988).

The study of sedimentary rocks in the field requires the initial identification of the lithology (often with the aid of a lens) in terms of composition, grain size, texture and fossil content (see Table 1.2). These attributes can be confirmed and quantified later in the laboratory. Sedimentary structures are usually described and measured in the field because of their size. It is relatively easy to see structures in hand specimen or block, but those on the scale of a quarry or cliff face are easily overlooked. So observe on all scales. It is important to note the size and orientation of structures. Many sedimentary structures can be used for palaeocurrent analysis and these and others reflect the processes operating in the environment (see Sections 2.3, 2.4, 3.2 and 4.6). Sedimentary structures should be described within their lithological context; many are related to grain size or composition, for example. These days considerable emphasis is being placed on the largerscale geometric relationships of sedimentary strata, seeking the onlap, offlap, downlap, etc., arrangements (see Fig. 2.86) that reflect long-term relative sea-level changes. In mountainous regions of good exposure, these seismic-scale relationships can be observed directly; in other instances they may need to be mapped out. The identification of sequence boundaries is also important, as many vertical and lateral facies patterns can be explained by a sequence stratigraphic approach, and much diagenesis ties into these boundaries too.

One of the best methods of recording sedimentary rocks is to construct a log of the section. Basically, measure the thickness of each bed or facies unit, note its composition, grain size, colour, sedimentary structures, fossils and any other features. If a palaeocurrent measurement can be taken, record this too. A graphic log can be drawn up in the field using an appropriate vertical scale for the sediment thickness and a horizontal scale for the sediment grain size (for examples see Figs 2.64, 2.66, 2.68 & 2.74). Different types of shading can be used for the various lithologies and symbols and abbreviations can be used for the sedimentary structures and fossils (see Graham, 1988; Collinson & Thompson, 1989; Tucker, 1996). The value of such graphic logs lies in the immediate picture that is obtained of the vertical succession of facies. In logging a section, the lateral extent and continuity of beds must be taken into account. Many beds are actually lenticular.

Although in the field study of sedimentary rocks, it is likely that a geological map will be at hand, some detailed mapping of small areas could well be required to ascertain the relationships between facies and facies packages, and effects of local structural complications.

In many cases the interpretation of sedimentary rocks hinges on the fieldwork, so much care and attention should be paid to it. Localities need to be visited several times; it is amazing how many new things you can see at an exposure on a second or third visit.

1.3.2 In the laboratory

A great deal can be done with sedimentary rocks in the laboratory, and there are several books concerned with laboratory procedures (see Tucker, 1988). Starting with a hand specimen, cutting and polishing a surface may reveal sedimentary structures poorly displayed or invisible in the field. With limestones, etching with acid and staining a surface may further enhance the structures. With unconsolidated sediments and sedimentary rocks that are readily disaggregated, sediment grain-size can be measured through the use of sieves and sedimentation chambers (see Section 2.2.1). The heavy minerals (Section 2.5.5) can be extracted from loose sediment using heavy liquids, but this can be dangerous.

Much detailed work is undertaken on thin sections cut from sedimentary rocks or resin-impregnated unconsolidated sediments. With limestones, acetate peels are used frequently, and the staining of these and thin-sections with Alizarin Red S and potassium ferricyanide helps identify the carbonate minerals present. Stains also can be used for feldspars in terrigenous clastic sediments. There are a relatively small number of common minerals in a sedimentary rock and with a little experience it is not necessary to examine their optical properties to identify them each time. The properties of the common sedimentary minerals are given in Table 1.5. The precise composition of many sedimentary rocks (the sandstones and limestones in particular), which allows them to be classified, is obtained from microscopic studies by the use of a point counter. Several hundred grains are identified as the thinsection is moved systematically across the microscope stage. Grain sizes of indurated silt- to sand-sized rocks are measured from a thin-section or peel using a calibrated eye-piece graticule. Grain shape and orientation also can be assessed. Many aspects of diagenesis in sandstones, limestones and evaporites are deduced from thin-section studies. Use of a cathodoluminoscope, which bombards a rock slice with electrons and causes luminescence, can reveal details of cements and overgrowths (see Plate 13b,c for an example and D. J. Marshall, 1988), and UV fluorescence also is useful for identifying organic matter as well as revealing ‘hidden textures’. In view of the interest in porosity and reservoir potential, many sedimentary rocks are now impregnated routinely with a resin containing a dye before they are thin-sectioned (e.g. Plates 2c & 6d). For illustrations of sedimentary rocks and minerals in thin-section see Scholle (1978, 1979), Adams and MacKenzie (1998), Adams et al. (1984) and MacKenzie and Adams (1994).

Table 1.5 Optical properties of common minerals in sedimentary rocks as observed with the petrological microscope

In recent years, much sedimentological work has been carried out with the scanning electron microscope (SEM). This instrument allows examination of specimens at very high magnifications; features down to 0. 1 μm can be seen. The SEM is especially useful for fine-grained sedimentary rocks, such as cherts, and for observing clay minerals and the cements of sandstones and limestones: see for example, Figs 2.54, 2.55, 4.29 & 4.31. The back-scattered mode is useful for textural studies of mudrocks, see Fig. 3.2. See Trewin (1988) for a review of the SEM in sedimentary studies.

For mineral identification in fine-grained sediments and sedimentary rocks, X-ray diffraction (XRD) is widely used. Clay minerals in mudrocks are invariably analysed in this way (see Hardy & Tucker (1988) for details on this technique).

It is becoming apparent that geochemical analyses of sedimentary rocks, especially limestones and shales, can give useful and vital information on the environment of deposition and path of diagenesis. Major and minor elements are determined mostly by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS), inductively coupled plasma optical-emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES)or mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). On the scale of individual grains and crystals, the electron microprobe and laser ablation with ICP-MS are used to determine trace elements on areas only a few micrometres across. A consideration of the isotopes of such elements as oxygen and carbon, measured with a mass spectrometer, is a powerful tool in the study of limestone and chert diagenesis (see Fairchild et al. (1988) for a review of geochemical techniques in sedimentary studies). Analysis of fluid inclusions in calcite, quartz and halite crystals also gives much important information on the temperature and salinity of pore waters from which the minerals were precipitated (see Goldstein & Reynolds, 1994).

One further laboratory approach has been to carry out experiments to determine the conditions under which sedimentary structures, grain types, minerals, etc., were formed. Perhaps the best known are those involving laboratory channels or flumes, where the effects of water flowing over sand have been monitored (Section 2.3.2), and the attempts to precipitate dolomite.

Once the data on the sedimentary rocks under investigation have been gathered, then the interpretations can begin. Information on sediment composition and microfacies can be combined with field data to deduce the environment and conditions of deposition. Petrographic studies of sandstones can give information on the geology of the source area (the provenance) and the plate-tectonic setting. Diagenetic studies can be integrated with facies and burial history to account for the patterns of cementation and dissolution, and porosity evolution.

Statistics and computers are being used increasingly for the evaluation and interpretation of sedimentological and petrographic data. Mathematical geology is now an established branch of the earth sciences and reference should be made to the available textbooks on this subject. Field data also can be subjected to statistical analysis, to identify cycles in a succession of facies for example (see Graham, 1988). Quantitative modelling of sedimentary basin filling and simulation of stratigraphic sequences and cycles are also making great contributions to our understanding of the factors controlling deposition (see review by Paola, 2000).

1.3.3 In the library: sedimentological reading

However good your field and laboratory work is, it must be supported with a knowledge of the literature on the subject. Publications on the petrology of sedimentary rocks go way back into the last century, but in fact most advances have come in the past four decades.

There are many textbooks available that cover some aspects of the subject in more detail than can be given here or that deal with directly related topics. Recent texts on sedimentary processes include Pye (1994), Reading (1996), Allen (1997), Leeder (1999) and Nichols (1999). At the end of each of the other chapters in this book, a list of readily accessible textbooks and papers is given for further reading on that particular sedimentary rock type. Books dealing with more practical aspects of sedimentology/sedimentary petrology include Friedman & Johnson (1982), Lewis (1984), Lindholm (1987) and Tucker (1988). Recent books on sequence stratigraphy include Emery & Meyers (1996), Miall (1997) and Gradstein et al. (1998). Basin analysis, an important branch of the earth sciences in its own right now, but very relevant to sedimentary studies and vice versa, is discussed by Busby & Ingersoll (1995), Einsele (1990), Maill (2000) and Allen & Allen (2001). There are many collections of papers on a specific topic within sedimentology and here can be cited the series of special publications of the Society of Sedimentary Geologists (formerly Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, SEPM) and the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS), some memoirs of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and special publications of the Geological Society of London.

Most research papers, however, are published in the learned journals. Interested students should keep their eyes on the current journals for the latest information and ideas. Books soon go out of date(!). The three principal periodicals are the Journal of Sedimentary Research (formerly Journal of Sedimentary Petrology), Sedimentology and Sedimentary Geology, published by SEPM, IAS and Elsevier, respectively. Others devoted to sediments or containing many sedimentological papers are Geology, Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Facies, Journal of Geology, Marine Geology, Palaeogeography, Palaeoecology and Palaeoclimatology, and Palaios. In addition there are many other journals that often contain relevant articles; a regular perusal of the current periodicals in the library will spot these as they are published. Increasing numbers of journals are now available online; check your library’s website for a list of these.

Finally, there are many abstracts, indexes and bibliographies available, from which you can search for references on a particular topic within sedimentology. There are several periodicals that regularly cite all published papers. However, there are now many online databases for locating journal articles, books, theses and conference proceedings. Of particular interest to sedimentology are the Web of Science (Science Citation Index), GeoRefS and GEOBASE.

2

Siliciclastic sediments I: sandstones,conglomerates and breccias

2.1 Introduction

Siliciclastic sediments are a diverse group of rocks, ranging from fine-grained mudrocks, through sandstones to the coarser-grained conglomerates and breccias. The sediments are composed largely of grains (clasts) derived from pre-existing igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. The clastic grains are released through mechanical and chemical weathering processes, and then transported to the depositional site by a variety of mechanisms, including wind, glaciers, river currents, waves, tidal currents, debris flows and turbidity currents. Conglomerates are made mainly of pebbles and boulders, and these can be of a wide variety of rock types. Sandstones also contain rock fragments, but the majority of the grains are individual crystals, chiefly of quartz and feldspar, abraded to various degrees. The finer breakdown products of the original rocks, formed during weathering and consisting mainly of clay minerals, are predominant in mudrocks and form the matrix to some sandstones and conglomerates. In a broad sense, the composition of siliciclastic sediments is a reflection of the weathering processes, determined largely by the climate and the geology of the source area (the provenance of the sediment). Source areas generally are upland, mountainous regions undergoing uplift, but detritus also may be supplied from erosion in lowland and coastal areas. Sediment composition also is affected by distance of sediment transport and by diagenetic processes.

Table 2.1Table 2.2