EARTHSC 1G03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Lithification, Siltstone, Uniformitarianism
5 Oct 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
They constitute only 7% of the earth"s crust by volume. Cover approximately 75% of the earth"s surface. Archive the physical, chemical, and biological records of their sedimentary environment: ex. Contain the entire record of biological life: ex. Have an enormous economic significance: ex. Stages of sedimentary rock formation: weathering. Sediments are particles which have been: mechanically transported or chemically precipitated from solution, or secreted by organisms, deposited in loose layers on the earth"s surface, transport. The greater the distance of transport, the smoother or more rounded grains become. The better sorted it is, the more likely it is that it has travelled farther and was transported by water: deposition. Glacial deposition continual deposition of all sizes of particles. Stream deposition particles get sorted by size by water. Lithification is the conversion of sediment into rock. Compaction: reduction in volume of sediments resulting from weight of newly deposited sediments above.
