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Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur

EES 307 : Sedimentology  (3)

Prerequisites::All 100 and 200 level CHM, EES and PHY courses, credited or registered in EES 303, EES 307

Learning Objectives:

Sedimentology is the study of sediments, particularly focusing on how it is produced, transported, and deposited. Stratigraphy, which is a synthesis of the stratal record, emphasizes the analysis of layered sequences, principally sedimentary, that cover about 3/4th of the Earth's surface. Sedimentary rocks illuminate many of the details of the Earth's history - effects of sea level change, global climate, tectonic processes, and geochemical cycles. This course will cover basics of fluid flow and sediment transport, sedimentary textures and structures, and provide an overview of facies analyses, modern and ancient depositional sedimentary environments, and the relationship of tectonics and sedimentation.

Course Contents:

Unit-1: Development of Concepts in Sedimentology
The context of sedimentology, Origin and classification of sedimentary rocks.

Unit-2: Textural Properties of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
Grain Size and scale, grain size distributions; Grain orientation and fabric.

Unit-3: Sediment Transport
Fluid gravity flows & Sediment Gravity Flows, Hjulstrom’s diagram, Bedforms and structures under unidirectional flow – Flow regime concept, bedform stability diagrams.

Unit-4: Primary Sedimentary Structures
Primary structures and their directional significance, bedding, cross-bedding – planar, trough, HCS, Herringbone, normal and inverse graded beds; Bedding plane markings, biogenic sedimentary structures - Stromatolites and Ichnofossils; Penecontemporaneous Deformation Structures (PCD).

Unit-5: Depositional Sedimentary Environments: Facies Models
Walther’s Law of correlation of sedimentary facies, migration of facies tracts; Facies models and interpretation of depositional environments – Examples from continental, transitional and marine depositional environments.

Unit-6: Sedimentary rocks
Components, classification and diagenesis of sandstones and carbonate rocks and BIFs.

Unit-7: Tectonics of Sedimentary Basins: Basin classification –Divergent and convergent – margin basins, collision and post-collision basins, strike-slip basins.

Unit-8: Principles of Stratigraphy
Lithostratigraphy, Biostratigraphy and Chronostratigraphy: Stratigraphic units, stratigraphic correlation, Principles of geochronology and radiometric dating methods, magnetostratigraphy.

Suggested Readings :

1. Prothero, D. R., and Schwab, F., 2013, Sedimentary Geology (3 rd  Edition), Freeman Publishers.
2. Nichols, G., 2009, Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (2 nd  Edition), Wiley-Blackwell Publication.
3. Boggs, S., 2011, Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (5 th  Edition), Prentice Hall.
4. Miall, A. D., 2000, Principles of Sedimentary Basin Analysis (3 rd  Edition), Springer.
5. Leeder, M. R., 2011, Sedimentology and Sedimentary Basins – From Turbulence to Tectonics, Wiley-Blackwell.

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