Introduction to Sedimentology and

Stratigraphy
What do you see?

Photo by W. W. Little
Sedimentology vs. Stratigraphy

Photo by W. W. Little

Photo by W. W. Little
Photo by W. W. Little

Sedimentology involves all factors Stratigraphy records changes in

that go into the accumulation of sedimentology through time as a
sediment at a specific locality under vertical succession.
a relatively uniform set of
conditions.
 Sediment Production,
Preservation, and Alteration

A sedimentary rock is the cumulative

product of six distinct steps:

Weathering
Erosion
Transport
Deposition
Lithification
Diagenesis

Photo by W. W. Little
 Environmental Interpretation
The primary objectives of sedimentology are to:
Determine the conditions (flow characteristics, water chemistry, climate,
topography, sediment source, etc) under which a package of sediment was deposited
Determine how one package of sediment relates to other, time-equivalent packages
Rock record

Depositional model

Photo by W. W. Little

Big picture

Photo by W. W. Little

Modern analog
 Assumes Uniformitarianism

Photographer unknown Photo by W. W. Little

Modern river channels Ancient river channels

Scientists make observations of an event or an object and then try to explain those
observations by organizing them into a logical system. As rock bodies can cover
extensive areas and represent vast periods of time, much of geological research
cannot be done as controlled experiments in a formal laboratory setting. In these
situations, we rely on the assumption that chemical and physical laws are constant.
That is, the processes operating today are the same as those that operated in the
past. For instance, since water flows down hill today, it must have done so in the
past. Therefore, if we identify a body of rocks that exhibit characteristics similar to
those found in modern geological environments, we assume that they must have
formed in a similar manner.
 Three Levels of Interpretation
Depositional Environment (facies)
Photo by W. W. Little
Depositional System (facies assemblage)
Photo by W. W. Little
Systems Tracts
Photo by NASA
A facies is a body of sediment/rock
with characteristics (lithology, texture,
structures, fossils) formed under a
unique set of physical, chemical, and
biological conditions representing a
Photo by W. W. Little specific depositional environment.
A facies assemblage is a body of
sediment/rock composed of
contemporaneous, genetically-related
facies that form part of a depositional
system. Often defined as a formation.
Photo by W. W. Little
A systems tract is a series of laterally-
equivalent bodies of sediment/rock
composed of contemporaneous, facies
assemblages.
Three Levels of Models
Depositional System

Circles denote
specific environments

A group of environments makes a

depositional system. A group of
depositional systems forms a
systems tract.
Systems Tract
 Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is the study of temporal relationships in sedimentary
rock bodies and reflects changes in the balance between rates at
which space is produced and filled.

Photo by W. W. Little
 Sediment Preservation Potential
To be preserved, sediment must be deposited within a basin.
A basin is space located below base-level.
Space available for sediment accumulation is referred to as
accommodation space.
Accommodation space is created/destroyed by relative base-
level fluctuations.
Base-level fluctuations are caused by changes eustatic sea-level
or uplift/subsidence of the basin floor.
The nature of stratigraphic packages is controlled by a balance
between the rate at which is space is created and filled.

Photo by W. W. Little
 Stratigraphy Records History

The stratigraphic record preserves details pertaining to major

geologic events, such as:

Mountain-building events (orogenies)

Eustatically-driven transgressive/regressive cycles (sequences)
Climatic changes

Photo by W. W. Little
 Walthers Law
In a conformable stratigraphic succession, facies that are now in
vertical contact represent environments that were once laterally
adjacent.

Floodplain

Levee

Point Bar

Photo by W. W. Little

Photographer unknown
 Correlation
One of the principle jobs of a stratigrapher is to correlate (or
match) equivalent stratigraphic units from one area to another.
This has led to a number of different branches of stratigraphy.

Some of the formalized types of stratigraphy are:

Lithostratigraphy
Biostratigraphy
sequence stratigraphy
Chronostratigraphy
Magnetostratigraphy

Rules governing the naming and use of stratigraphic units are found
in the North American and international codes of stratigraphic
nomenclature.
Photo by W. W. Little
Geologic Time Scale