Sedimentary rock information

Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles to settle in place. The particles that form a sedimentary rock are called sediment, and may be composed of geological detritus (minerals) or biological detritus (organic matter). The geological detritus originated from weathering and erosion of existing rocks, or from the solidification of molten lava blobs erupted by volcanoes. The geological detritus is transported to the place of deposition by water, wind, ice or mass movement, which are called agents of denudation. Biological detritus was formed by bodies and parts (mainly shells) of dead aquatic organisms, as well as their fecal mass, suspended in water and slowly piling up on the floor of water bodies (marine snow). Sedimentation may also occur as dissolved minerals precipitate from water solution.

The sedimentary rock cover of the continents of the Earth's crust is extensive (73% of the Earth's current land surface),^[1] but sedimentary rock is estimated to be only 8% of the volume of the crust.^[2] Sedimentary rocks are only a thin veneer over a crust consisting mainly of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Sedimentary rocks are deposited in layers as strata, forming a structure called bedding. Sedimentary rocks are often deposited in large structures called sedimentary basins. Sedimentary rocks have also been found on Mars.

The study of sedimentary rocks and rock strata provides information about the subsurface that is useful for civil engineering, for example in the construction of roads, houses, tunnels, canals or other structures. Sedimentary rocks are also important sources of natural resources including coal, fossil fuels, drinking water and ores.

The study of the sequence of sedimentary rock strata is the main source for an understanding of the Earth's history, including palaeogeography, paleoclimatology and the history of life. The scientific discipline that studies the properties and origin of sedimentary rocks is called sedimentology. Sedimentology is part of both geology and physical geography and overlaps partly with other disciplines in the Earth sciences, such as pedology, geomorphology, geochemistry and structural geology.

^ Wilkinson et al. 2008.
^ Buchner & Grapes 2011, p. 24.

[FOOTNOTEWilkinsonMcElroyKeslerPeters2008-1] Wilkinson et al. 2008.

[FOOTNOTEBuchnerGrapes201124-2] Buchner & Grapes 2011, p. 24.

Sedimentary rock information

and 25 Related for: Sedimentary rock information

Sedimentary rock

Clastic rock

Shale

List of rock types

Rock cycle

Metasedimentary rock

Carbonate rock

Sedimentology

Sandstone

Sedimentary basin

Limestone

Metamorphic rock

Chalk

Petrology

Coquina

Geology

Igneous rock

Richat Structure

Caliche

Teapot Rock

Glossary of geology

Siltstone

Sedimentation

Greensand

Coral Castle

Sediments
Part of a series on

By origin Terrigenous (lithogenous) Biogenous Cosmogenous Hydrogenous
By texture Roundness Sorting Grain size boulder cobble gravel pebble granule sand silt clay colloid Other oolite scree till
By composition Manganese nodules Oolitic aragonite sand Tektites
By process Sedimentation Sedimentary budget Sediment transport coastal Weathering Erosion Aeolian (windborne) transport Biomineralization Bioturbation Compaction Concretion Exner equation Fluvial processes Glacier flow ice-sheet dynamics ice rafting Lithification Siltation Turbidity currents
By structure Sedimentary structures Bedforms cross-bedding duness graded bedding ripple marks Alluvial fan Alluvial river Fault Fold Paleocurrent indicators sole markings imbrication River delta Sediment–water interface Sedimentary basin Soft-sediment deformation Unconformity Vegetation-induced
Soil sediment Soil matrix pore space permeability morphology texture value color Catena Soil horizon Humus Humin Soil salinity Hydropedology Mineralization Microbial calcite precipitation
Marine sediment Abyssal fan Aragonite aragonite sea oolitic aragonite sand Calcite calcite sea Amorphous calcium carbonate Calcification Continental rise Bay mud Bioirrigation Coastal sediment transport Coastal sediment supply Evaporites Marine clay pelagic red clay Marine regression transgression Pelagic turbidite contourite hemipelagite Salt tectonics Sedimentary basin Tidal bundle
Biogenous sediments Calcareous ooze biogenic calcification calcareous nannoplankton Siliceous ooze biogenic silica silicification diatomaceous earth radiolarite Microfossil Reverse weathering
Sedimentary ecology Soil biomantle Soil zoology soil pathogens Pedodiversity Soil biodiversity Rhizosphere root microbiome
Sedimentary carbon Soil carbon storage Soil carbon Coal Peat
Sedimentary rock Badlands Carbonates limestone dolomite Clastic conglomerate breccia sandstone mudrock Evaporite Chalk Chert Greywacke Iron-rich Organic-rich Phosphorite Siliceous
Related History geology geological paleontology soil science Legacy sediment Principles cross-cutting relationships lateral continuity original horizontality Provenance Sedimentary record Sedimentology Stratigraphy Rock cycle calcium silica carbonate-silicate Paleolimnology Biosignature
Category
v t e