Organic & Chemical

Sedimentary Rocks
I.G.Kenyon

Organic sedimentary
rocks are composed of
the remains of onceliving organisms, this
includes both animal and
plants

Chalk a type of Bio-clastic limestone

Very friable and has
a high porosity and
permeability

Comprises over 95%

calcium carbonate content

Deep sea
deposit

Reacts violently with

dilute hydrochloric acid

Fossil belemnite
replaced by flint
Made up of microscopic marine
phytoplankton shells called coccoliths

1cm

Chalk
A white and very pure
form of limestone
Made up of microscopic
calcite discs called coccoliths
High porosity and permeability
Forms the White Cliffs of
Dover, the back of Lulworth
Cove, the stacks Old Harry and
His Wife and The Needles off
the coast of the Isle of Wight

Electron microscope
view of coccoliths

Most of Londons water

supply is extracted from
the chalk aquifer

Shelly Limestone/Bio-clastic Limestone

Comprises mainly
broken bivalve shells

Cement is calcium carbonate

1cm

Shallow water marine

environment with high
energy conditions
such as the inter-tidal
or littoral zone

The rock reacts with

dilute hydrochloric acid

Some silty material

and iron oxides
comprise the matrix

Bio-clastic Limestone/Crinoidal Limestone

Over 75% of the rock is made
up of broken crinoid stems
1cm

Organic remains cemented

together by calcium carbonate

All of the rock reacts with

dilute hydrochloric acid

Algal Limestone

The structures dome

upwards towards the
sky

All parts of the rock

reacts with dilute
hydrochloric acid

Algal mounds known as stromatolites

constitute the bulk of this rock.
2cm

Reef Limestone/Coral Limestone

Coral fossils preserved
in life position

Tropical or subtropical shallow

water marine deposit

Corals formed the living

upper part of a reef complex

All of the rock reacts with

dilute hydrochloric acid

1cm

Coal
A carbon-rich mineral deposit formed
from the remains of dead plant matter
Most of the coal in Europe formed 280-300
Ma during the Carboniferous Period
Hot, wet, tropical climates with
stagnant anaerobic swamps are the most
favourable coal-forming environments
Modern day coal forming environments
occur in the Everglades of Florida and the
Okefenokee Swamp in South Carolina, USA

Artists impression of coal forming swamps during

the Carboniferous Period (360 to 286 Ma) in the UK

Coal
Approximatey 12 metres of vegetation will
produce 1metre of anthracite, the highest
grade coal with 90-95% carbon content
The vegetative material must eventually
be covered by sediment for coal to form
With burial and increasing compaction, volatiles
such as water and carbon dioxide are expelled,
leading to a relative increase in carbon
The percentage of carbon is used to identify the
rank of coal and its position in the coal series
Coal series: Peat-Lignite-Bituminous Coal-Anthracite

Roots?

Peat
Semi-decomposed
plant material
Original vegetation
structure still clearly
recognisable
Carbon content 50%
Burns poorly, gives
off a lot of smoke
Leaves behind a lot of ash

Low density-feels very

light when held in the
hand
1cm

Only burned where

other fuels not available
Rural areas-Southern
Ireland and Northern
Scotland

Lignite/Brown Coal
Carbon content
70%

60-

Darker brown
colour than peat
Often has a woody look
to it and ring when
tapped with the fingers
Generates much smoke
and ash when burned
2cm

Bituminous Coal
Carbon Content 80-85%
results in black colour

Breaks into
cuboidal fragments
and soils the fingers

Decomposition of plant
material is complete, little
evidence of original
vegetation structure

Used in town gas and

coke manufacture

This is the main type of

coal mined in the UK

Anthracite
Contains
90-95% carbon

Does not soil

the fingers
when handled

Burns slowly with a

hot, bright flame, gives
off minimal smoke and
leaves very little ash

Shows a vitreous to metallic

lustre and conchoidal fracture
1cm

No traces of original vegetation structure evident

The Composition of different Types of Coal

Main UK Coalfields
Carboniferous in
age (360-286 Ma)
Seams relatively
thin 30cm to 2m

(mainly co

ncealed)

UK Exposed Coalfields

Affected by the
Hercynian Orogeny
which resulted in
extensive folding
and faulting of
coal seams

Distribution of Coal Deposits in the United States

Chemical Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rocks formed by the
precipitation of material from solution

Oolitic Limestone (Bath Stone)

Made up of spherical ooliths
0.5 to 1mm in diameter

Ooliths cemented
by calcite cement

Uniform texture
and composition

Can be carved with a

chisel in any direction as
ooliths are not fused
together, slightly friable

All parts of the rock react

with dilute hydrochloric acid
1cm

Oolitic Limestone
Each oolith has a nucleus of
a small sand grain or shell
fragment at its centre
Concentric shells of calcium
carbonate are precipitated
around this nucleus to build
up the spherical oolith
Individual ooliths are
surrounded and cemented
together by calcite

1mm

Oolite is forming today in

the Persian Gulf and the
Bahama Banks
Shallow water marine deposit in a tropical or sub-tropical environment where
evaporation rates are high and there is an abundance of calcium carbonate

Tufa, Travertine or Dripstone

Banded, internal
concentric structure

Cross section
through a stalactite
2cm

2cm

Stalactite shows a
ridged outer surface

Reacts with dilute

hydrochloric acid

Re-deposited calcium carbonate, often precipitated from solution in cave systems

The lower carbon dioxide levels in the caves render Ca CO 3 less soluble
Forms stalactites, stalagmites and pillars in the caves-a form of limestone

Tufa, Travertine or Dripstone

Stalactites extending
down from the cave roof

Stalagmite
growing up from
the cave floor

A pillar connecting the

cave roof to the floor

1m

Kango Caves, South Africa

Micrite Carbonate Mud

Microscopic CaCO3
crystals are precipitated
to form a fine white mud

1cm

Often clastic mud is

also incorporated to
give a darker colour
Forms in warm, shallow and
tranquil marine conditions
where evaporation rates
are very high
Classifies as a limestone containing
over 50% calcium carbonate
A typical environment
would be a flat, shallow
bank where current
Reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid
action is weak

Evaporites material precipitated from Seawater

13%

80%

% water needing evaporating for minerals to precipitate

K + Mg Salts >95%
Halite (Rock Salt) >90%
Gypsum (Rock Gypsum) >80%
Calcite >60%

The Bar Theory of Evaporite Formation

Arid climate with high
rates of evaporation

Playa Lake

Subsidence occurs as evaporite deposits build up

The lagoon is created by waves crashing over the bar during high spring tides and storms
The shallow lake just 1- 2m deep covers a large area and is known as a Playa Lake
The water in the lagoon evaporates to precipitate thin beds of evaporites
3 metres of sea water produces just 5cm of evaporite rock
Many cycles of replenishment, evaporation and subsidence are needed to form thick beds

Playa Lake The Devils Golf Course, Death Valley, California

The floor of the playa is covered

with irregular shaped salt mounds
Saline waters are drawn up to the surface by capillary
action here due to high rates of evaporation

Rock Salt and Rock Gypsum are

the most important Evaporites
Extensive deposits of
Permian age occur in
Cheshire (286-248 Ma)

3cm

Rock Gypsum

On Teesside significant
deposits of Triassic age
are found (248-213 Ma)
1cm

Rock Salt

These deposits form the basis

of the petro-chemical industry
in these areas using crude oil
as an additional raw material
Detergents, cosmetics,
plastics and fertilizers are
manufactured from them

Evaporites variety Desert Rose Gypsum

5cm

Sometimes evaporites are precipitated on

broad coastal salt flats called sabkhas.
This specimen is from Tunisia in North Africa, where locals dig them
out of the salt flats to sell to tourists. This one cost just 50 pence in 1986!

Ironstone
Sandstones or limestones
that contain over 15% iron
Occur mainly in older rock
formations >400Ma
Iron was more soluble in the
past when the atmosphere
had less oxygen content

Main iron minerals are

chamosite, siderite and limonite

1cm

Today most iron released

by weathering is oxidised
before it can be transported
to the sea
Ironstones are not forming
at the earths surface today
Uniformitarianism
cannot be applied

Ironstone Doggers on the beach at Hengitsbury Head

Nodular lumps of ironstone of

middle Jurassic age (188-163 Ma)
1m

Chalcedony/Agate re-precipitated quartz

Sometimes occurs as
stalactitic and botryoidal forms

A variety of quartz that is very finely

crystalline (cryptocrystalline)

Iron and manganese impurities give

rise to distinct colour banding
1cm

The End