Sedimentary Rocks: Texture

Definition
• Sedimentary rocks are those rocks which form
at or near the earth's surface at relatively low
temperatures and pressures primarily by either:
– deposition by water, wind or ice, and gravity flows
– precipitation from solution (may be biologically
mediated); and /or
– growth in position by organic processes (e.g.,
carbonate reefs )
66% of the surface of the Earth is covered by sediment or
sedimentary rocks.
 They…..
Grow food on it.

Build structures on it. Take resources from it.

 Constituents
(Raymond, 1995) subdivide sedimentary rock constituents into three basic constituents: silicate
fragments and associated grains (S), and allochems (A), chemical and biochemical
precipitates (P).
 Silicate fragments and associated grains
• Derived from the weathering and erosion of pre-existing
sedimentary, metamorphic or igneous rocks.
• Examples: quartz and feldspar sand grains, chert pebbles,
clay minerals and gneissic boulders.
• Rocks dominated by these grains are termed
"SILICICLASTICS"
 Allochems
• Precipitated from solution within the basin of deposition, commonly as a result
of biological activity
• Transported as solids within the basin
• Examples: skeletal materials (broken or entire shells and other hard parts of
both plants and animals), ooliths, faecal pellets, fragments of
penecontemporaneous carbonate sediment eroded within the basin and
reworked to form pebbles and sand grains, and microcrystalline carbonate
ooze.
 Chemical and biochemical precipitates
• "Normal" chemical precipitates
• Formed at the actual site of deposition,
or have undergone only minimal
transport
• Examples include EVAPORATE
minerals, CEMENT in sandstones or
limestones, and REPLACEMENT
minerals.
Siliciclastics
 Siliciclastics: Composition
In sedimentary rocks the constituents are organized into framework grains,
matrix and cement. Framework grains and matrix are allogenic (transported to
the site of deposition), whereas cements are authigenic (precipitated at the site of
deposition).

The three most common framework grain types

are:
1. Quartz: both monocrystalline (single
grains) and polycrystalline (e.g., chert)
2. Feldspar
3. Lithic Fragments (any pre-existing rock
fragment)
Common cementing minerals include:
the carbonate minerals: calcite, dolomite, ankerite and siderite
quartz (as overgrowths on quartz framework grains),
feldspars such as orthoclase (as overgrowths on detrital orthoclase grains) and albite
(neomorphic), and
clays of the mica, smectite, kaolinite and chlorite groups.
Idealized change in grainsize of sediment from higher energy nearshore to
lower energy offshore environments.
 Three "textural components" to most clastic
sedimentary rocks:

 Clasts - the larger grains in the rock (gravel,

sand, silt).
 Matrix - the fine-grained material surrounding
clasts (often clay).
 Cement - the "glue" that holds the rocks together.
 Silica (quartz, SiO2)
 Calcite (CaCO3)
 Iron oxide
 Other minerals
 These properties collectively make up the texture of a sediment or
sedimentary rock.

• Each can be used to infer something

of:
–The history of a sediment.
–The processes that acted during
transport and deposition of a sediment.
–The behavior of a sediment.
 Examination of Sedimentary Rocks in Hand Specimen
Commonly transparent and vitreous, but will appear dull and translucent if the grain surfaces are pitted.
Quartz Grain shape is best seen on weathered, rather than fresh, sample surfaces. Vein quartz is usually white,
due to the presence of abundant fluid inclusions, but is also vitreous.
Potassium feldspars and sodic plagioclase are most common.
White to light grey colours may indicate orthoclase or sodic plagioclase.
Pink colours generally indicate either orthoclase or microcline.
Mineral Grains Unaltered and unweathered feldspars may be difficult to distinguish from quartz because of their
Feldspar
vitreous lustre. If the sandstone was collected from a weathered outcrop, however, the feldspars will be
altered on the surface to a white or light grey clay. The grain shape indicates their origin and they
should be listed as framework feldspar, NOT as matrix clay. Be careful. Slightly weathered carbonate
rock fragments (rare) or calcite cement patches can give similar white spots with a "grain" shape.
Both muscovite and biotite are common and relatively easy to identify. They are generally larger than
Micas
adjacent quartz and feldspar, as their large surface area to weight ratio makes them easy to transport.
The most stable rock fragment, and thus the most common, even in mature sandstones. Commonly
dark to light grey, less commonly white, black, brown, red or green. Greasy lustre. Very hard. Makes up
Chert
the "pepper" of "salt and pepper" sandstones. Chert is included with monocrystalline quartz rather than
with rock fragments in some, but not all, sandstone classification schemes.
Commonly black or dark to light grey, often with yellowish, greenish or brownish hues. Dull lustre. Soft.
Metamorphic rock
Shape is commonly a rounded disk. Cleavage may show under the hand lens. Most common types are
fragments
slate, phyllite and schist.
ROCK
FRAGMENTS May be any colour except blue. Dull to greasy lustre; may be difficult to distinguish from chert. Hard
Volcanic rock fragments
(unless weathered), but not so hard as chert.
Rather rare as sand size grains because of their instability under weathering conditions. Commonly grey,
Carbonate rock white or pale yellowish brown, with an earthy lustre. Quite soft. Sandstones containing carbonate rock
fragments fragments commonly contain calcite cement, making it impossible to test potential carbonate rock
fragments for effervescence with 10% HCl.
Common in some sandstones from fluvial, intertidal and submarine fan environments. Black, dark grey
Mud clasts
or brown. Soft. May be hard to distinguish from weathered slate and phyllite fragments.
 Siliciclastics: Texture
Sedimentary rock texture refers to size, shape and arrangement of rock constituents.

• Grains Size
• Grain Shape
• Grain Fabric
– Grain Packing
– Grain Orientation
 Siliciclastics: Grain Size
One of the textural properties of a rock is the size of the grains. The two
important parameters are the

• modal (average) size

• the size distribution, commonly described
using the term sorting.
Grain Size Scales

from Wentworth (1922)

Displaying Grain Size Data

Historically it was hoped that ancient depositional

environments could be determined on the basis of
grain size and grain size distributions.
Depositional environments on the basis of grain size
distribution
 Grain Size Distribution
The range in grain size in a siliclastic rock is commonly known
as sorting Sorting is one of the parameters used to determine
Textural Maturity.
 Textural Maturity
 Clastic sediment is differentiated or evolved from its parent
rock by processes (such as erosion and transportation)
which act over a long period of time.
 As sediment is subjected to such processes, easily-
weatherable materials such as clay are broken down leaving
more stable minerals (such as quartz).
 The degree of mineralogical maturity can be determined by
looking at the types of grains present. For example, if the
rock contains no feldspar (feldspar easily weathers to clay),
then either:
• the rock contained to feldspar to begin with, or
• the rock is made of lithified sediment which underwent much
weathering and/or transport, destroying the unstable feldspar grains.
 Textural and Mineralogical Maturity

grain size greater than 9

phi units will contain
mostly clays and micas,
with relatively low amount
of monocrystalline quartz

a sediment with grain size

~1 phi unit will contain (on
average) approximately
48% monocrystalline
quartz, 30% rock fragments
+ chert, 15%
Textural maturity is reflected by the sorting and roundness of
polycrystalline quartz, and
the grains. These features implying large transport distance 7% feldspars.
of the sediment, causing the grains to become more well-
rounded and well-sorted.
 Siliciclastics: Grain Shape
Grain shape comprises attributes which refer to the external morphology of particles.
These include surface texture, roundness and form. Grain shape (Bustin, 1995) is
determined by:

 internal structure, (mineral cleavage);

 characteristics of source rock such as jointing
and bedding;
 lithology;
 hardness
 fracture
 transport
 Surface Texture
Surface texture refers to irregularities on the surface
so small that they do not affect the overall shape of
the grain. Features include various types of pits,
frosting, etc. These features MAY have something
to do with depositional environment. However, they
are difficult to determine without an SEM (scanning
electron microscope).
 Roundness
Roundness is defined as the average radius of curvature of corners (ri in
figure) to that of the largest inscribing circle (R in figure).
 Form
Form refers to attributes involving the three dimensional morphology: i.e., the
variation in proportion of the three axes which define the geometric shape. Various
measures are used, the most popular include:

 Sphericity - proximity in shape to a sphere; normally visually estimated

using charts.
 Zing diagrams - plot the ratio of the axes (short: intermediate) vs.
(intermediate to long). The shape terms given in the picture on the right
are most commonly used to describe pebble to boulder size particles.
Often a visual estimate, rather than actual measurements are used.
 Siliciclastic Textures:

Fabric: the group of properties that

are related to the spatial arrangement
of the particles (including packing and
orientation).
 Siliciclastics: Diagenesis
the physical, chemical or biological processes that turn sediment into
sedimentary rock by modifying the mineralogy and/or texture.

• Diagenesis occurs where the mineralogy of the

rock becomes unstable as a result of changes
in the conditions or chemistry.
• Instability usually occurs at grain contacts and
in pore space between the grains.
• Changes in pressure and temperature cause
new minerals to form or preexisting minerals
to become modified as the sediment (or rock)
adjusts to new equilibrium conditions.
 Main diagenetic processes
1. compaction
2. recrystallization
3. solution
4. cementation
5. authigenesis
6. replacement
7. bioturbation
 1. Compaction is the process by
which the volume of a sediment is
Diagenesis: compaction reduced as the grains are squeezed
together.
2. The weight of the overlying
sediment and rock causes a
reorganization of the packing of
grains and the expulsion of
intergranular fluid.
3. As a result, the porosity of the
sediment is reduced.
4. The degree of compaction is
controlled by such factors as grain
shape, sorting, original porosity,
and the amount of pore fluid
present.
 Diagenesis: recrystallization
1. Recrystallization is a process in which
physical or chemical conditions induce a
reorientation of the crystal lattices of mineral
grains.
2. These textural changes cause the sediment to
become lithified.
3. It occurs in response to such factors as
pressure, temperature, and fluid phase
changes.
4. It also occurs as a result of solution and
reprecipitation of mineral phases already
present in the rock.
 • Solution refers to the process in which a
mineral is dissolved.
Diagenesis: solution • As fluids pass through the sediment, the
unstable constituents will dissolve and are
either transported away or are reprecipitated
in nearby pores where conditions are
different.
• Pressure solution is a process which occurs
as pressure is concentrated at the point of
contact between two grains in the sediment.
• This causes solution and subsequent
migration of ions or molecules away from
the point of contact, towards an area of
lower pressure where the dissolved phase
can be reprecipitated.
 • Cementation is the process in which
chemical precipitates (in the form of new
crystals) form in the pores of a sediment or
Diagenesis: cementation
rock, binding the grains together.
• Some common cements are quartz, calcite
and hematite, but a wide variety of cements
are known, such as aragonite, gypsum, and
dolomite. Pressure solution produces locally
derived cement, but many cements consist of
new minerals previously in solution in the
fluid phase. er.
• Cementation reduces porosity by filling in
the pore spaces between the grains.
Photomicrograph of a dolomite-
cemented siltstone in crossed and
uncrossed polars. The cement
between the grains can be easily
seen.
 Diagenesis: authigenesis
 Authigenesis (neocrystallization) is the process in which
new mineral phases are crystallized in the sediment or rock
during diagenesis.
 These new minerals may be produced
 by reactions involving phases already present in the sediment (or
rock)
 through precipitation of materials introduced in the fluid phase,
or
 from a combination of primary sedimentary and introduced
components.
 Authigenic phases include silicates such as quartz, alkali
feldspar, clays and zeolites; carbonates such as calcite and
dolomite; evaporite minerals such as halite, sylvite and gypsum,
as well as many others.
 Diagenesis: replacement
• Replacement occurs when a newly formed mineral replaces a
preexisting one in situ. Replacement may be:
– neomorphic: where the new grain is the same phase as the old grain, or is
a polymorph of it (i.e. albitization; replacing a grain with a more Na-rich
plagioclase grain).
– pseudomorphic: where the old grain is replaced with a new mineral but the
relict crystal form is retained,
– allomorphic: an old phase is replaced with a new phase with a new crystal
form
• Although there are many replacement phases, dolomite, opal, quartz,
and illite are some of the most important phases.

opalized wood
 Diagenesis: bioturbation
• Bioturbation refers to the physical and biological activities that occur
at or near the sediment surface which cause the sediment to become
mixed.
• Burrowing and boring by organisms in this way, can increase the
compaction of the sediment and usually destroys any laminations or
bedding.
• During bioturbation, some organisms precipitate minerals that act as
cement.
U-shaped burrows dug by organisms in the sediment
 Siliciclastics: Provenance
• The provenance, or source area from which the
sediment is derived, is the main control on
sediment composition.
• The tectonic setting also has some influence on
the accumulation of sediment and hence, its
provenance.
• The mineralogy/petrology of a sedimentary
rock provides information concerning the
nature of the source rocks.
The variation from the original host rock composition is
dependent upon:
1. Lithology of rocks in the source region. For example, if only quartz
sandstone is exposed in the source area, the sediments derived from that
source region will be quartz-rich.
2. Climate and relief in area: controls weathering and erosion rates. In
general, those areas of high relief (especially those in which uplift is
active) undergo rapid erosion. Flat areas serve as local base levels, places
where potential energy is at a minimum. Here, the degree to which
downward erosion and disintegration of a landscape will occur is reduced.
3. The nature of sediment transport process (selective destruction of some
minerals, selective sorting by shape, size, specific gravity)
4. Depositional environment: more selective sorting, alteration. Mixing of
rocks from different sources.
5. Diagenesis: all of the surface, sub-surface physical, chemical, and
biological processes that collectively result in transformation of sediment
into sedimentary rock and modification of the texture and mineralogy of a
rock.
 Classification of Siliciclastic Sedimentary
Rocks
THE STEPS
 Step One: Classification by GRAIN SIZE
 Step Two: Look at the COMPOSITION
 gravel
 sand
 mud
 Step Three: Look at the TEXTURE
 Gravel
 Step Four: COLOUR
 Step Five: Any important CLASTS, etc?
 Step Six: Give the rock a NAME!
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Chemical

Grainsize
No grainsize

Composition
Calcite

Rockname
Limestone
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Biologic

Grainsize
No grainsize

Composition
calcite, almost entirely shell and
skeletal fragments

Rockname
Coquina
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Chemical

Grainsize
No grainsize

Composition
Gypsum

Rockname
Rock Gypsum
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Biologic

Grainsize
No grainsize

Composition
calcite with some shell
and skeletal fragments

Rockname
Fossiliferous Limestone
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Clastic

Grainsize
Grainsize <1/16 mm

Composition
quartz, clay minerals

Rockname
Siltstone
(Mudstone, Shale)
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Clastic

Grainsize
Grainsize >1/16

Composition
Feldfar, quartz

Rockname
Arkose
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Clastic

Grainsize
Grainsize >2 mm

Composition
rounded quartz, feldspar and rock
fragments

Rockname
Conglomerate
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Chemical

Grainsize
No Grainsize

Composition
Silica (quartz)

Rockname
Chert
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Clastic

Grainsize
Grainsize 1/16 - 2 mm

Composition
quartz, feldspar

Rockname
Sandstone
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Clastic

Grainsize
Grainsize 1/16 - 2 mm

Composition
quartz, feldspar

Rockname
Sandstone
 Sedimentary Rock
Identification
Texture:
Biologic

Grainsize
No Grainsize

Composition
densely compacted organic material
and plant fragments

Rockname
Bituminous Coal