What is lithification of sedimentary rocks?
lithification, complex process whereby freshly deposited loose grains of sediment are converted into rock. Lithification may occur at the time a sediment is deposited or later. Cementation is one of the main processes involved, particularly for sandstones and conglomerates.
What is the best definition of lithification?
Lithification is the process by which sediments are turned into solid rock. Sediments are fragments of material, such as sand, gravel, bones, and silt, that have been moved and deposited somewhere by water, ice, or wind.
How are sediments lithified?
Lithification is the process by which sediments combine to form sedimentary rocks. With compaction, sediment grains get squished together, reducing the size of the original pore space that divided them. Cementation is the process by which dissolved minerals crystallize and glue sediment grains together.
What is mineral sediment?
Sedimentary Minerals. Mineralogy of Wales. Like other rock-types, sedimentary rocks are composed of a variety of minerals. There are two broad groups of sedimentary rocks, clastic (or detrital) sediments which accumulate from fragments of pre-existing rocks and minerals, and chemical sediments or precipitates.
Where does sediment undergo lithification?
LIthification of sediment into sedimentary rocks takes place after the sediment has been deposited and buried. The processes by which the sediment becomes lithified into a hard sedimentary rock is called diagenesis and includes all physical, chemical and biological processes that act on the sediment.
How are sediments formed?
Sedimentary rocks are formed when sediment is deposited out of air, ice, wind, gravity, or water flows carrying the particles in suspension. This sediment is often formed when weathering and erosion break down a rock into loose material in a source area.
What is the definition of evaporites?
Definition of evaporite : a sedimentary rock (such as gypsum) that originates by evaporation of seawater in an enclosed basin.
What is compaction and cementation?
Compaction is when deposited sediments are smooshed together by the weight of water and other sediment that has settled on top of it. Cementation is when the sediments are glued together by the minerals that come out of supersaturated water.
What is surface sediment?
Surface sediments mainly consisted of coarse-grained materials, indicating strong hydrodynamic conditions in the study area. According to Folk and Ward (1957), sediment in this region was classified into mud, silt, sandy mud, sandy silt, and silty sand (Fig. 2).