Marine

Depositional
Environment
s
Presented by:
Waqas Javaid

Table of Contents:

Introduction to Sedimentary Depositional Environment

Marine Depositional Environment

Shallow Marine environment

Deep Marine Environment

Diagnostic characteristics

Introduction to Depositional Environments:

Sedimentary depositional environmentdescribes the
combination of physical, chemical and biological processes
associated with the deposition of a particular type
ofsedimentand, therefore, the rock types that will be formed
afterlithification.

A depositional environment

is anywhere sediment accumulates

especially a particular area

where a distinctive kind of deposit originates

from physical, chemical, and biological processes

Introduction to Depositional Environments:

Three broad areas of deposition include

Continental
Alluvial, Aeolian, Fluvial, Lacustrine

Transitional
Deltaic, Tidal, Lagoon, Beach

Marine
Shallow marine, Deep Marine

Some other depositional Environments include:

Glacial

Evaporite

Volcanic

Introduction to Depositional Environments:

Marine depositional Environment:

Importance of Marine Depositional environment:

Sedimentary rocks cover 75% of the Earth's surface.

Most of these sedimentary rocks are deposited in marine environment.

Oceans and seas are the largest basins available for accumulation of
sediments.

Marine sediments are economically important due to hydrocarbons,

manganese nodules etc.

Source of sediments in marine depositional environment:

Rivers and streams (most important)

Wind action, dust blows
Volcanism
Organic contribution

Marine depositional Environment:

Marine environments include:

Much of the sediments eroded from continents

Shallow Marine Environment i.e. shelf, slope, rise.

Deep Marine Environment
are eventually deposited in marine environments

but sediments derived from chemical

and organic activity are found here as well, such as

limestone
evaporites
both deposited in shallow marine environments

Shallow Marine Environment:

It is the depositional environment which is present at continental

margin

A continental margin is a zone of transition between continental

crust and oceanic crust.

It includes:
continental shelf (littoral + Sub-littoral zone)
continental slope (bathyal zone)
continental rise (bathyal zone)

Shallow Marine Environment:

Shallow Marine Environment:

Shallow Marine
Environment

Shallow Marine Environment:

The main source of sediments in shallow marine environment are
streams and rivers carrying the sediment load from continents.
Large number of species also live in shallow marine environment.
After death, their skeletons also deposit as sediments.

General trend of sediments at Shallow Marine Environment:

Continental Shelf:

The gently sloping area adjacent to a continent

It consists of a high-energy inner part that is

shaped into large cross-bedded dunes

Bedding planes are commonly marked

periodically stirred up by waves and tidal currents

Its sediment is mostly sand,

is a continental shelf

by wave-formed ripple marks

Marine fossils and bioturbation are typical

Continental Shelf:
Gentle, < 1o (1:500) slope
30m -1300km wide (passive vs active margins)
Shelf break at ~ 130m depth
9% of total ocean area (6% Earths surface)
2.5 km sediment thickness
15% of marine sediment volume
abundance of sand on the continental shelf

Continental Slope:

The low-energy part of the shelf

Typically fine-grained sediments

has mostly mud/clay with marine fossils

Low temperature

Much sediment derived from the continents

crosses the continental shelf

and is funneled into deeper water

through submarine canyons

It eventually comes to rest

on the continental slope and continental rise

as a series of overlapping submarine fans

Continental Slope:

2-6o slope

140m to 300-800m depth

6% of ocean area (4% Earths area)

Cut by submarine canyons

9 km sediment thickness

41 % of marine sediment volume

Continental Rise:

Sediments - muds, channel sands (fans),turbidities, slump and slide

deposits

Associated environments - deep marine, abyssal plain

Fossils - rare, some broken shells from continental shelf, some forams
- 800 - 4,000 m depth
- 6% of ocean area (4% Earths area)
- Cut by submarine canyons
- 8 km sediment thickness
- 31 % of marine sediment volume
- Submarine fan systems may contain coarse sediments
- Extremely important hydrocarbon reserves

Turbidity Currents:

Once sediment passes the outer margin

of the shelf, the shelf-slope break,

turbidity currents transport it

So sand with graded bedding is common

Also common is mud that settled from seawater

Shallow Marine Environment:

Turbidity
currents carry
sediment to the
submarine fans

Sand with
graded bedding
and mud settled
from seawater

Comparison of Marine Environments:

MARINE SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENT

CONTINENTAL SHELF

CONTINENTAL SLOPE AND

RISE

Deep Marine

Sandstone, shale, siltstone, fossiliferous

limestone, oolitic limestone

Litharenite, siltstone, and

shale (or limestone)

Shale, chert, micrite,

chalk, diatomite

Terrigenous or carbonate

Terrigenous or carbonate

Terrigenous or carbonate

Gray to brown

Gray, green, brown

Black, white red

Clay to sand

Clay to sand

Clay

---

---

---

Poor to good

Poor

Good

Inorganic
Sedimentary
Structures

Lamination, cross-bedding

Graded bedding, crossbedding, lamination, flute

marks, tool marks (turbidites)

Lamination

Organic or
Biogenic
Sedimentary
Structures

Trails, burrows

Trails, burrows

Trails, burrows

Fossils

Marine shells

Marine shells, rare plant

fragments

Marine shells (mostly

microscopic)

Rock Type

Composition
Color
Grain Size
Grain Shape
Sorting