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Sediment: an accumulation of loose mineral

grains or very small fragments of rocks, such
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS as boulders, pebbles, sand, silt, or mud, that
are not cemented together.
Sedimentary rocks: rock that forms either by
SEDIMENTARY PROCESSES AND ITS the cementing together of fragments broken
PRODUCTS off preexisting rock or by the precipitation of
mineral crystals out of water solutions at or
near the Earths surface.

HOW ARE SEDIMENTARY ROCKS FORMED? WEATHERING

Weathering fractures and dissolves rock, creating MECHANICAL WEATHERING - physical
sediment and dissolved components.
Erosion carries away the products of weathering. disintegration or breaking up of rock into
Wind, water and glaciers carry them to where they smaller pieces
are deposited.
Deposition accumulates sediments from large source
regions.
Burial within the sediment pile compacts the
sediments.
Diagenesis transforms the sediments into a
sedimentary rock.

WEATHERING EROSION
CHEMICAL
WEATHERING comes from old word meaning eat away
- alters a involves movement of rock or soil
rocks
chemistry, Agents of Erosion:
1. gravity
changing it
2. ice
into different 3. organism
substances 4. water
5. wind

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Preventing erosion Preventing erosion

TRANSPORTATION TRANSPORTATION
Agents of sediment transport:
1. Ice Distance of sediment transport affects clast:
2. Water
Sorting
3. Wind
Roundness and Sphericity
Ways of
physically
transporting
particles:
1. Suspension
2. Saltation
3. Traction

Roundness and Sphericity

Sorting - measure of variation of grain sizes
measures how rounded corners are
measures sphere-like shape of clasts
Short distance Long distance
Short distance Long distance

Poorly Sorted Well Sorted

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Deposition
Transporting sediment requires energy Diagenesis

Grain size has relationship with Physical, chemical, and biological processes
energy which collectively result in:
Larger sediments are deposited transformation of sediments into sedimentary rock
in higher energy environments modification of the texture and mineralogy of the rock
Examples of diagenetic processes:
Compaction
Examples: Cementation
Gravel - needs fast moving water or rock slides
Sand - wind and wave action (beaches)
Silt and clay - lakes, swamps and deep oceans

CLASSIFICATION OF SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS Detrital Sedimentary Rocks
Detrital or Clastic Particle Size Classification
- Sedimentary rocks consisting of cemented
Wentworth Size Scale
together detritus derived from the weathering of
Clast Size Clast Name Rock Name/s
preexisting rock (detritus)
Gravel > 2 mm Conglomerate or
Breccia
Non-detrital or Chemical
Sand 1/16 to 2 mm Sandstone
- Sedimentary rocks made up of minerals that
precipitate directly from water solution (chemical Silt 1/256 to 1/16 mm Siltstone
sediment) Clay <1/256 mm Claystone or Shale

http://geology.csupomona.edu/drjessey/class/Gsc101/Weathering.html

Detrital rocks Sandstone - Grain size = 1/16 mm to 2 mm

- classified according to the amount of minerals found in the rock
Breccia - Grain size = 2
mm or greater
- Clasts are angular

Arkose Sandstone - 75% Quartz Sandstone - 95% or

greater feldspar greater quartz content

Conglomerate - Grain
size = 2 mm or greater
Lithic Sandstone
- Clasts are rounded

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Chemical/Non-detrital Rocks
Siltstone
Grain size = 1/256
to 1/16 mm

Shale - Grain size = Claystone

less than 1/256 mm

Limestone
- Most abundant chemical sedimentary rock OTHER CHEMICAL ROCKS
- 90% biochemical sediment and 10% chemical
Chert
a siliceous rock (composed of SiO2)
Coquina forms from the recrystallized skeletons of "animals "
(single-celled radiolarians and glass sponges) or single-
- Biochemical limestone
celled " plants " (diatoms, silicoflagellates)

Chalk Rock salt

(halite; NaCl) and gypsum (CaSO4 . H2O)
- Porous rock made sea water evaporates in a closed area, such as a
almost entirely of hard lagoon, the salt concentration becomes very high,
parts of microscopic supersaturated, and precipitates out.
organisms.

Resources from sedimentary rocks

OTHER BIOCHEMICAL ROCKS
Peat and coal
come from plant remains are biochemical rocks
always form in the presence of clastic rocks -
sandstones and shales.
coal is commonly called fossil fuel
1. Sediments are used as:
a. sand and gravel: used as road base, components
of concrete, fill, sand for sandboxes; if pure sand, for
glass making
b. pure clays for ceramics (dinner ware/plate ware)
2. Fossil fuels (e.g. coal, petroleum, natural gas)
3. Food additives (e.g. sodium and potassium salts)

4. Placer deposits (grains of economic minerals) e.g. gold,

diamond, garnet

5. Building stone, filtering materials

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Sedimentary
basins in the
Philippines