The Rock Cycle
Sedimentary Processes1
2) & 3) Sediments are transported and deposited
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Products of weathering
Primary Residual DissolvedMinerals Minerals Ions
Feldspar Clay minerals K+, Ca+2, Na+
Aluminum hydroxide
Fe-Mg minerals Hematite & Mg+2
Limonite
Quartz Quartz Silica
Primary Solids that Ions that are carriedMinerals remain in soil away in water
----------Detrital sediments------------------ Chemical & biochemicalsediments
Types of sediment
Detrital – mineral & rock fragments Chemical – halite (NaCl) crystals that precipitate from water
Biochemical – shells made of calcite (CaCO3) by organisms that extract the ions from water
Detrital sedimentary rocks- classified by grain size differences
Conglomerate
Breccia
Sandstone
Shale
All these rocks have clastic textures – the rocks are composed of particles (fragments) that are cemented together
Detrital sediments are sorted by the processes of transportation and deposition
Well sorted Poorly sorted
Sands and sandstones can be used to interpret the erosional history of an area and the kinds of rocks that were eroded
Well-sorted
Poorly sorted
“Mature” sediments have little feldspar. This means that the sediment was derived from weathered rocks or that the feldspar decomposed during transportation in water.
The same diagram is used to interpret the provenance (source rocks) of sediments
Placer deposit– accumulation of sand or gravel containing minerals that are highly resistant to chemical attack and economically valuable - gold, platinum, ilmenite, rutile, zircon, diamond, garnet, magnetite, corundum, monazite.
These and other chemically resistant minerals are widely used to indicate the provenance of sediments, e.g. kyanite, sillimanite, staurolite
indicate that metamorphic rocks were eroded. Diamonds indicate kimberlite; gold indicates hydrothermal veins, etc.
Chemical and biochemical sedimentary rocks
Limestones – composed of calcite
Travertine Coquina
Chalk
Deep ocean sediments are mainly fine-grained biochemical sediment called oozes, with some hydrogenous (chemical) and terrigenous (wind or water borne) detrital sediment
Calcareous & siliceous ooze
Manganese nodules are hydrogenous - they precipitate from deep ocean water when the Mn oxidizes:Mn+2 (dissolved) + O2 + 2e- = MnO2 (pyrolusite)
Banded Iron Formations – ancient (>2.5 billion year old) sedimentary deposits of iron-bearing minerals. These indicate that Earth’s early atmosphere was too poor in oxygen to oxidize iron at the site of weathering. Dissolved iron was transported in water: 4Fe+2 (dissolved) + 3O2 = 2Fe2O3 (hematite)
Phosphates form in shallow marine environments where dissolved PO4-3
is carried by upwelling of deep ocean water. These areas are biologically productive - many fossils are found, especially bone material.
Phosphate Mining of the Bone Valley Formation in Florida
Shallow basin with high rate of evaporation – Gulf of Mexico, Persian Gulf, ancient Mediterranean Sea, Red SeaSequence is: calcite, gypsum, halite with increasing evaporation
Evaporite minerals
Evaporites
Gypsum
Halite
Seawater evaporation:
1) Calcite 2) Gypsum3) Anhydrite4) Halite (95% evaporation)5) Sylvite 6) Other rare minerals
Dolomite may form afterward by reaction of Mg+2 with calcite
Continental waters:Borax & boratesNitrates
Saltdome
Sulfur is produced by sulfate reducing bacteria which consume the oxygen in gypsum or anhydrite