Sedimentary Rocks

1. Sedimentary Rocks

2. form from particles deposited by water and wind along beaches you may notice tiny sand grains, mud, and pebbles These are some sediments that eventually form into sedimentary rocks Sedimentary Rocks

3. Sedimentary Rocks Sedimentary rocks form: • Weathering • Erosion • Deposition • Compaction • Cementation WEDC²

4. Lithification The process by which sediment becomes sedimentary rock: • 1st step : erosion • 2nd step : deposition • 3rd step : compaction • 4th step : cementation

5. Destructive forces are constantly breaking up and wearing away all the rocks on Earth’s surface Forces - heat and cold, rain, waves, and grinding ice Erosion : when running water or wind loosens and carry away the fragments of rock. (fragments – from weathering) Sedimentary Rocks: Erosion

6. The moving water or wind slows & deposits the sediment. Deposition is the process by which sediment settles out of the water or wind carrying it. In addition to particles of rock, sediment may include shells, bones, leaves, stems, and other remains of living things. Over time, any remains of living things in the sediment may slowly harden and change into fossils trapped in the rock. Sedimentary Rocks: Deposition

7. At first the sediments fit together loosely. But gradually, over millions of years, thick layers of sediment build up. These layers are heavy and press down on the layers beneath them. Compaction occurs – It is the process that presses sediments together. Year after year more sediment falls on top, creating new layers. The weight of the layers further compacts the sediments, squeezing them tightly together. The layers often remain visible in the sedimentary rock. Sedimentary Rocks: Compaction

8. Sedimentary Rocks: Cementation • While compaction is taking place, the minerals in the rock slowly dissolve in the water. • The dissolved minerals seep into the spaces between particles of sediment. • Cementation is the process in which dissolved minerals crystallize and glue particles of sediment together. • It often takes millions of years for compaction and cementation to transform loose sediments into solid sedimentary rock.

9. Sedimentary Transformations • Point A: water or wind deposits sediments • Point B: The heavy sediments press down on the layers beneath • Point C: Dissolved minerals flow between the particles and cement them together

10. Sedimentary Rocks • Sedimentary rock forms near the Earth’s surface. • The layers are called strata. • Strata can have features such as ripple marks or mud cracks depending on how the rock was made.

11. Classification of Sedimentary Rocks • Classified by the process of formation: • Clastic • Chemical • Organic

12. Clastic Sedimentary Rocks • Fragments of rocks cemented together by calcite or quartz. • Classified by size of fragments: coarse grained to fine grained. • Conglomerate, sandstone, and shale

13. Chemical Sedimentary Rock • Forms from solutions of dissolved minerals and water • Example halite, limestone • Stalactites and stalagmites

14. Organic Sedimentary Rock • Coquina or (fossiliferous limestone) forms from the remains of animals that once lived in the ocean. • Corals become cemented into fossiliferous limestone • Coal is decomposed plant material.

15. Sedimentary Rocks • S rocks forms at or near the Earth’s surface. • Clastic S rock forms when rock or mineral fragments are cemented together. • Chemical S rocks forms from solutions of dissolved minerals and water. (stalactites) • Organic limestone forms from remains of ocean animals. (coquina)