Structural Geology

GLY 4400 Lecture 03 Primary Sedimentary Structures

Petrified Forest

Grand Canyon Bedding

Photo shows the many different layers, which are emphasized by different resistance to erosion Vertical cliff faces are produced by sandstone and limestone (cliff-formers) Sloping surfaces are shale beds
3

Primary Structures Within Beds

Provide information concerning:
Depositional environments Younging direction Current direction

Bouma Sequence
Turbidity deposits Figure 2.2 in text

Graded Bedding
Graded bedding means a deposit becomes finer higher in the sequence Most graded beds are the product of turbidity flows, clouds of sediment that move downslope under water
6

True Origin of Flysch

Flysch sequences are recognized as as turbidites deposited in deep trenchs, associated with convergent plate boundaries (oceancontinent or oceanocean) Trenches have steep slopes, so turbidites flows are common
7

Cross-bedding

Figure 2-3a in text

8

Cross-bed Formation
Formed by movement from the windward (upstream) face of a dune, ripple mark, or delta deposit, to the leeward (downstream) side Current velocity on the leeward side is lower, so sediment settles out
9

Cross-bedding
Cross-beds occur within a thicker master bed Cross beds are oblique to the boundary surfaces of the master bed
10

Cross-bedding Zion National Park, Utah Photo Duncan Heron

Surface Markings
Rain, desiccation, current traction, and movement of organisms provide an indication of facing direction These markings are often called right-sideup indicators Things like mudcracks, ripple marks, raindrop impressions, salt crystal casts, etc. fall in this category
11

Mudcracks

12

Aeolian Ripple Marks

Aeolian (wind) ripples at White Sands, New Mexico (Photo Yamato Sato)
13

Fossilized Ripple Marks

Parallel ripple marks preserved on a slab of sandstone The rocks contain the fossilized remains of marine animals these ripples were formed in shallow sea water by gentle currents
14

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Raindrop Impressions

15

Salt Crystal Casts

When deposition occurs in the ocean, especially if the water is quite saline, salt crystals may precipitate and settle on the sediment

16

Sand Volcano Photo

Sand boil or sand volcano measuring 2 m (6.6 ft) in length erupted in median of Interstate Highway 80 west of the Bay Bridge toll plaza when ground shaking transformed loose watersaturated deposit of subsurface sand into a sand-water slurry (liquefaction) in the Oct. 17, 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake Vented sand contains marine-shell fragments
Credit: J.C. Tinsley, U.S. Geological Survey
17

Clastic Dike
Figure 2-7 in text Very coarse clasts in the center of the dike, which cuts sharply through the Proterozoic sandstones Sudbury, Ontario

18

Disrupted Bedding
Disrupted turbidite beds, with a hammer (left center) for scale Cantabria, Spain Figure 2-8 in text

19

Load Casts

Eifel, Germany The stakes are support for grape vines, in a wine-growing region Figure 2-6 in text
20

Contacts
Surfaces between geologic units Color differences highlight the contact between layers

21

Types of Contact
Depositional contacts Fault contacts Intrusive contacts

22

Depositional Contact Types

Conformable Unconformable examples of types of unconformities are shown on the next four slides

23

Angular Unconformity
Strata above and below the contact have a different attitude The angular discordance of the beds makes recognition of these unconformities in the field very simple
24

Buttress Unconformity Picture

A buttress unconformity (contact at red arrow) is one in which 25 the younger, overlying rocks are cut by the contact

Disconformity

Rocks above and below the contact surface are parallel, but there is a measurable age difference between the underlying and overlying sequences

Disconformities represent periods of nondeposition or active erosion, without tectonic deformation This is by far the hardest type of unconformity to recognize in the field
26

Disconformity Recognition
Figure 2.12c in text Fossil evidence

27

Disconformity Recognition
Figure 2.12a in text Channel Scouring

28

Disconformity Recognition
Figure 2.12d in text Paleosol formation

29

Disconformity Recognition
Figure 2.12b in text Basal Conglomerate

Picture from Blue Ridge Tertiary Deposit near Clints Well on the Mogollon Rim
30

Disconformity Photo

Difficult to identify, unless there are big differences in rock type (like in this photo) or you know the ages of every layer
31

Nonconformity Diagram

Nonconformities are characterized by an erosional surface which truncates igneous or metamorphic rocks
32

Nonconformity Picture

This is the unconformity at the base of the Grand Canyon

33

Differential Compaction
Differential compaction may occur within a horizontal layer Parts of the layer compact more than others, producing lateral variations in thickness, called pinch-and-swell structures.
Pinch and swell couples in the Wallace Formation north of Plains, Montana - Light gray quartzite beds with thin black argillite interlayers

34

Pitted Pebble

Figure 2.13 in text

35

Styolite

Figure 2.14 in text Note penknife for scale

36

Liesegang Band Photo

Iron oxide Liesegang Bands (rust color) precipitate when oxygenated ground water moving through fracture permeates granite containing chemically reducing porewater
37

Slump Folding

Figure 2.15 in text

38

Salt Structure Terminology

Salt structures which are symmetrical in plan view are called salt domes or salt pillows If the are elongated, they are called salt anticlines If the salt pierces the overlying layer, it becomes a salt diapir

39

Fracturing by Salt

A normal-fault array above a salt dome in Texas Figure 2.19 in text

40

Normal Faults
During slumping, the landward side of the basin is stretched Tensional forces create normal faults

41

Listric Faults
The dip of the faults decreases with depth, and the faults are called listric faults Salt rises beneath the faults, taking advantage of the zone of weakness, and creating structures, known as salt rollers, which resemble waves
42