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A diagram of various depositional environments. In geology, depositional environment or sedimentary environment describes the combination of physical, chemical, and biological processes associated with the deposition of a particular type of sediment and, therefore, the rock types that will be formed after lithification, if the sediment is preserved in the rock record.
Robert J. Dunham published his classification system for limestone in 1962. [2] The original Dunham classification system was developed in order to provide convenient depositional-texture based class names that focus attention on the textural properties that are most significant for interpreting the depositional environment of the rocks.
These structures are within sedimentary bedding and can help with the interpretation of depositional environment and paleocurrent directions. They are formed when the sediment is deposited. Cross-bedding Cross-bedding is the layering of beds deposited by wind or water inclined at an angle as much as 35° from the horizontal. [1]
Normally graded beds generally represent depositional environments which decrease in transport energy (rate of flow) as time passes, but these beds can also form during rapid depositional events. They are perhaps best represented in turbidite strata , where they indicate a sudden strong current that deposits heavy, coarse sediments first, with ...
A contact can be formed during deposition, by the intrusion of magma, [2] or through faulting or other deformation of rock beds that brings distinct rock bodies into contact. [3] The geologic subdiscipline of stratigraphy is primarily concerned with depositional contacts, [4] while faults and shear zones are of particular interest in structural ...
In an aeolian environment, cross-beds often exhibit inverse grading due to their deposition by grain flows. Winds blow sediment along the ground until they start to accumulate. The side that the accumulation occurs on is called the windward side. As it continues to build, some sediment falls over the end. This side is called the leeward side ...
Hummocky cross-stratification from the Book Cliffs, Grand Junction, Colorado. Hummocky cross-stratification from the Book Cliffs, Utah. Hummocky cross-stratification from the Arisag Formation (Silurian), Nova Scotia. Hummocky cross-stratification is a type of sedimentary structure found in sandstones.
The study of the palynofacies of a sedimentary depositional environment can be used to learn about the depositional palaeoenvironments of sedimentary rocks in exploration geology, often in conjunction with palynological analysis and vitrinite reflectance. [7] [8] [9] Palynofacies can be used in two ways: