Sedimentary environments Flashcards
What is a sedimentary environment?
A setting where sediment accumulates with identifiable characteristics
What does the principle of uniformitarianism suggest?
Processes happening now also occurred in the geologic past
Which feature would most likely indicate intermittent wetting and drying?
Mud cracks
What do asymmetric ripple marks tell geologists?
Flow was in a consistent direction
What are unconformities?
Breaks or gaps in the rock record due to erosion or non-deposition
Which of the following environments is not continental?
Tidal flat
In shallow marine environments, what kind of rock is common due to chemical precipitation?
Limestone
What is a sedimentary facies?
A unit of rock showing specific features tied to a depositional environment
What type of bedding forms when coarser sediments settle first followed by finer ones?
Graded bedding
What does diachronous deposition refer to?
Deposition of the same type of sediment at different times in different places
