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Sedimentary depositional environment

 

 
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Sedimentary depositional environment
 
 
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In geology, sedimentary depositional environment describes the combination of physical, chemical and biological processes associated with the deposition of a particular type of sediment
Sediment

Sediment is any particulate matter that can be sediment transport by fluid dynamics, and which eventually is deposited.Sediments are most often transported by water transported by wind and glaciers....
 and, therefore, the rock types that will be formed after lithification
Lithification

Lithification is the process in which sediments compact under pressure, expel connate fluids, and gradually become solid rock. Essentially, lithification is a process of porosity destruction through Compaction and cementation ....
, if the sediment is preserved in the rock record. In most cases the environments associated with particular rock types or associations of rock types can be matched to existing analogues.






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In geology, sedimentary depositional environment describes the combination of physical, chemical and biological processes associated with the deposition of a particular type of sediment
Sediment

Sediment is any particulate matter that can be sediment transport by fluid dynamics, and which eventually is deposited.Sediments are most often transported by water transported by wind and glaciers....
 and, therefore, the rock types that will be formed after lithification
Lithification

Lithification is the process in which sediments compact under pressure, expel connate fluids, and gradually become solid rock. Essentially, lithification is a process of porosity destruction through Compaction and cementation ....
, if the sediment is preserved in the rock record. In most cases the environments associated with particular rock types or associations of rock types can be matched to existing analogues. However, the further back in geological time sediments were deposited, the more likely that direct modern analogues are not available (e.g. banded iron formation
Banded iron formation

Banded iron formations are a distinctive type of rock often found in primordial sedimentary rocks. The structures consist of repeated thin layers of iron oxides, either magnetite or hematite , alternating with bands of iron-poor shale and chert....
s).

Types of depositional environment

Continental
  • Alluvial
  • Aeolian
  • Fluvial
    Fluvial

    Fluvial is used in geography and earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them....
  • Lacustrine
    Lacustrine

    Lacustrine means "of a lake" or "relating to a lake".Specifically, it may refer to:*Lacustrine plain*Lacustrine delta...


Transitional
  • Deltaic
    River delta

    A delta is a landform that is created at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river....
  • Tidal
  • Lagoonal
    Lagoon

    A lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed Bar , reef, or similar feature....
  • Beach
    Beach

    File:MiamiSouthBeachPanoramaEdit.jpgA beach is a geology landform along the shoreline of a body of water. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of Rock , such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, pebbles, or cobble....


Marine
  • Shallow water marine
  • Deepwater marine
  • Reef
    Reef

    In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...


Others
  • Evaporite
    Evaporite

    Evaporites are water-soluble mineral sedimentary rock that result from the evaporation of bodies of surficial water. Evaporites are considered sedimentary rocks....
  • Glacial


Recognition of depositional environments in ancient sediments


Depositional environments in ancient sediments are recognised using a combination of sedimentary facies
Facies

In geology, facies are a body of rock with specified characteristics. [Reading ] Ideally, a facies is a distinctive rock unit that forms under certain conditions of sedimentation, reflecting a particular process or environment....
, facies associations, sedimentary structures
Sedimentary structures

Sedimentary structures are those structures formed during sediment deposition.Sedimentary structures such as cross bedding, graded bedding and ripple marks are utilized in stratigraphy studies to indicate Way up structure of Stratum in geologically complex terranes....
 and fossils, particularly trace fossil
Trace fossil

Trace fossils, also called ichnofossils , are geological records of biological activity. Trace fossils may be impressions made on the substrate by an organism: for example, burrows, borings , footprints and feeding marks, and root cavities....
 assemblages, as they indicate the environment in which they lived.

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