This major new text provides a unified treatment of the whole of sedimentology. The artificial division between carbonate and clastic studies has been eschewed in favour of a general approach rooted firmly in the basic sciences. The whole book is organised around the logical progression from the birth of grains to their cementation in sedimentary rock and it integrates qualitative and quantitative approaches at every opportunity. As an interdisciplinary subject, sedimentology involves both a traditional descriptive approach from the viewpoint of geology or geomorphology and a quantitative approach from mathematics, physics and chemistry. One of the main aims of the book is to bridge this cultural gap and to demonstrate clearly the contributions of both sides in an integrative manner. A basic knowledge of geology, physics, chemistry and mathematics is assumed as background, and no understanding of advanced mathematics is needed. The coverage starts with the origin of sediment grains and progresses through fluid flow, sediment transport and deposition to bedforms and sedimentary structures. The principles of facies analysis are then presented before their application to continental, coastal and oceanic sediments. Finally, diagenesis - including organic diagenesis - is discussed and the book ends with a useful account of hydrocarbons. Sedimentology: process and product is profusely illustrated with almost 400 line drawings and photographs. Each chapter is accompanied by a helpful summary of its content and a guide to further reading. Some chapters are followed by appendices dealing with the mathematical derivations that arise out of the restrained mathematical discussion in the text. The bibliography contains over 800 carefully selected references. Senior undergraduate students, graduates, and professional and research scientists should find this book to be of considerable value as a comprehensive and fully integrated treatment of a major division of the Earth sciences. The book should also be useful to geo­ morphologists, civil engineers and other neighbouring groups as an authoritative account of an interdisciplinary subject of much relevance to their interests. With all the unifying advantages arising out of single authorship, this book should serve as an eminently useful text for all those beginning a serious study of sedimentology or wishing to refresh their knowledge and understanding of the subject. Mike Leeder graduated in geology at the University of Durham. His postgraduate research into the Lower Carboniferous clastic/carbonate succession of northern England and southern Scotland led to a PhD at the University of Reading. He then joined the University of Leeds as a Lecturer in Earth Sciences and he has taught and carried out research there for ten years. He has undertaken field, laboratory and theoretical research into sediments and sedimentary rocks and has visited geological localities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America. He was the originator and co-author of A dynamic stratigraphy of the British Isles (George Allen & Unwin, 1979). Front cover Infrared colour composite of the Mississippi delta as photographed by the Landsat satellite on 9 April 1976. Vegetation appears red, clear water dark blue, and suspended sediment light blue. Note the southwesterly deflection of the sediment plumes by shelf currents as they enter the Gulf of Mexico from the modern birdsfoot delta distributary mouths. Landsat image numbers 2443-15 460 and 2443-15 462 as assembled and discussed by G. T. Moore (1979). Back cover Abraded skeletal grains (molluscs, lorams, echinoids, algae) 01 calcium carbonate from the Bahama Banks. Titles of related interest Physical processes of sedimentation Soils and landforms J. R. L Allen A. J. Gerrard The formation of soil material Soil survey and land evaluation T. R. Paton D. Dent & A. Young Petrology of the sedimentary rocks The poetry of geology J. T. Greensmith R. M. Hazen (ed.) A dynamic straighraphy of the British Isles Adjustments of the fluvial system R. Anderton, P. H. Bridges, M. R. Leeder & D. D. Rhodes & G. P. Williams (eds) B. W. Sellwood Applied geomorphology Thresholds in geomorphology R. G. Craig & J. L Craft (eds) D. R. Coates & J. D. Vitek (eds) Space and time in geomorphology Fluvial geomorphology C. E. Thorn (ed.) M. Morisawa (ed.) Sedimentary structures Glacial geomorphology J. D. Collinson & D. B. Thompson D. R. Coates (ed.) Pedology Theories of landform development P, Duchaufour (translated by T. R. Paton) W. N. Melhorn & R. C. Flemal (eds) Statistical methods in geology Geomorphology and engineering R. F. Cheeney D. R. Coates (ed.) Field mapping for geology students Geomorphology in arid regions F. Ahmed & D. Almond D. O. Doehring (ed.) Groundwater as a geomorphic agent Geomorphological techniques R. G. LaFleur (ed.) A. ,5. Goudie (ed.) Environmental change and tropical geomorphology Terrain analysis and remote sensing I. Douglas & T. Spencer (eds) J. R. G. Townshend (ed.) Elements of dynamic oceanography British rivers D. Tolmazin J.lewin (ed.) Process and Product M. R. Leeder Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds CHAPMAN & HALL London . Glasgow · Weinheim . New York· Tokyo· Melbourne· Madras Published by CUJlBO "Hall, 2-6 Boundary Row, London SEI 8HN, UK Chapman & Hall, 2-6 Boundary Row, London SEI 8HN, UK Blackie Academic & Professional, Wester Cleddens Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow G64 2NZ, UK Chapman & Hall GmbH, Pappeiallee 3, 69469 Weinheim, Germany Chapman & Hall Inc., One Penn Plaza, 41st Floor, New York, NYI0119, USA Chapman & Hall Japan, Thomson Publishing Japan, Hirakawacho Nemoto Building, 6F, 1-7-11 Hirakawa-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102, Japan Chapman & Hall Australia, Thomas Nelson Australia, 102 Dodds Street, South Melbourne, Victoria 3205, Australia Chapman & Hall India, R. Seshadri, 32 Second Main Road, CIT East, Madras 600035, India First edition 1982 Fourth impresssion 1985 Fifth impression 1988 Sixth impression 1991 Reprinted 1992, 1994 © 1982 M.R. Leeder Typeset in 9/11pt Times by Pintail Studios Ltd, Ringwood, Hampshire Printed in Great Britain by the Alden Press Ltd, Oxford ISBN-13: 978-0-412-53300-6 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-5986-6 DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-5986-6 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may not be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction only in accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK, or in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the appropriate Reproduction Rights Organization outside the UK. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to the publishers at the London address printed on this page. The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. A Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available To Kate The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labour. ... Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy. From: The myth of Sisyphus (Camus) Preface The origin, dispersal, deposition and burial of natural sediment grains is the central concern of sedimentology. The subject is truly inter­ disciplinary, commands the attention of Earth scientists, is of consider­ able interest to fluid dynamicists and civil engineers, and it finds widespread practical applications in industry. Sedimentology may be approached from two viewpoints: a descrip­ tive approach, as exemplified by traditional petrography and facies analysis, and a quantitative approach through the physical and chemical sciences. Both approaches are complementary and must be used in tandem if the recent remarkable progress in the field is to be sustained. This text aims to introduce such a combined approach to senior undergraduate students, graduate students and to interested professional Earth scientists. Thus the many descriptive diagrams in the text are counterbalanced by the use of basic physical and chemical reasoning through equations. I have tried to construct a text that follows logically on from the origin of sediment grains through fluid flow, transport, deposition and diagenesis (the change from sediment to rock). The text has been written assuming that some basic previous instruction has been given in the Earth sciences and in general physics and chemistry. Certain important derivations are given in appendices. I have avoided advanced mathematical treatment since it is my opinion that recogni­ tion of the basic physical or chemical basis to a problem is more important to the student than the formal mathematical reduction of poorly gathered data. As T. H. Huxley has written, Mathematics may be compared to a mill of exquisite workmanship which grinds you stuff of any degree of fineness but, nevertheless, what you get out depends upon what you put in, and as the grandest mill in the world will not extract wheat-flour from peas­ cod, so pages of formulae will not get a definite result out of loose data. I feel I ought to make some comments on my choice and emphasis of subject matter in this text. The book deals essentially with principles. I have had particular problems in deciding on the amount of space that should be devoted to case histories of ancient sedimentary rocks from the point of view of facies analysis, basin analysis and tectonic regime.