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Allochem
Allochem is a term introduced by FolkFolk, R. L. (1959) ''Practical petrographic classification of limestones.'' American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin. 43, pp. 1–38. to describe the recognisable "grains" in carbonate rocks. Any fragment from around 0.5 mm upwards in size may be considered an allochem. Examples would include ooids, peloids, oncolites, pellets, fossil or pre-existing carbonate fragments. Fragments are still termed allochems if they have undergone chemical transformations – for example if an aragonite shell were to dissolve and be later replaced by calcite, the replacement would still be deemed an allochem.Scholle, P. A., and D. S. Ulmer-Scholle (2003) ''A Color Guide to the Petrography of Carbonate Rocks: Grains, textures, porosity, diagenesis''. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir no. 77. Tulsa, Oklahoma, American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 474 pp. The allochems are typically embedded in a matrix of micrite Micrite is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbonate Rocks
Carbonate rocks are a class of sedimentary rocks composed primarily of carbonate minerals. The two major types are limestone, which is composed of calcite or aragonite (different crystal forms of CaCO3), and dolomite rock (also known as dolostone), which is composed of mineral dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2). Calcite can be either dissolved by groundwater or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits an unusual characteristic called retrograde solubility in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. When conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together or it can fill fractures. Karst topography and caves develop in carbonate rocks because of their solubility in dilute acidic groundwater. Cooling groundwater or mixing of different groundwaters will also create conditions suitable for cave f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ooids
Ooids are small (commonly ≤2 mm in diameter), spheroidal, "coated" (layered) sedimentary grains, usually composed of calcium carbonate, but sometimes made up of iron- or phosphate-based minerals. Ooids usually form on the sea floor, most commonly in shallow tropical seas (around the Bahamas, for example, or in the Persian Gulf). After being buried under additional sediment, these ooid grains can be cemented together to form a sedimentary rock called an '' oolite''. Oolites usually consist of calcium carbonate; these belong to the limestone rock family. Pisoids are similar to ooids, but are larger than 2 mm in diameter, often considerably larger, as with the pisoids in the hot springs at Carlsbad ( Karlovy Vary) in the Czech Republic. Formation An ooid forms as a series of concentric layers around a nucleus. The layers contain crystals arranged radially, tangentially or randomly. The nucleus can be a shell fragment, quartz grain or any other small fragment. Most m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peloids
Peloids are allochems that are composed of micrite, irrespective of size, shape, or origin. The two primary types of peloids are pellets and intraclasts Intraclasts are irregularly shaped grains that form by syndepositional erosion of partially lithified sediment. Gravel grade material is generally composed of whole disarticulated or broken skeletal fragments together with sand grade material of wh .... Another type of peloid is pseudo-oolith.Folk, R.L. (1959) ''Practical petrographic classification of limestones.'' American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin. 43, pp. 1-38.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, J.A., eds. (2005) ''Glossary of Geology'' (5th ed.). Alexandria, Virginia, American Geological Institute. 779 pp. Scholle, P.A., and D.S. Ulmer-Scholle (2003) ''A Color Guide to the Petrography of Carbonate Rocks: Grains, textures, porosity, diagenesis. '' American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir no. 77. Tulsa, Oklahoma, American Associati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oncolite
Oncolites are sedimentary structures composed of oncoids, which are layered structures formed by cyanobacterial growth. Oncolites are very similar to stromatolites, but, instead of forming columns, they form approximately spherical structures. The oncoids often form around a central nucleus, such as a shell fragment, and a calcium carbonate structure is deposited by encrusting microbes. Oncolites are indicators of warm waters in the photic zone, but are also known in contemporary freshwater environments. These structures rarely exceed 10 cm in diameter. Oncolites may have either a porostromate or spongiostromate texture. Most oncolites are spongiostromate, having no recognisable cellular texture or microstructure. Porostromate oncolites are mostly unknown during the Precambrian; since the Eocene they have mostly been confined to freshwater environments. Distribution The appearance of recent or near-recent freshwater oncoids has been documented in two rivers in Bavaria: th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pellets (petrology)
Pellets are small spherical to ovoid or rod-shaped grains that are common component of many limestones. They are typically 0.03 to 0.3 mm long and composed of carbonate mud (micrite). Their most common size is 0.04 to 0.08 mm. Pellets typically lack any internal structure and are remarkably uniform in size and shape in any single limestone sample. They consist either of aggregated carbonate mud, precipitated calcium carbonate, or a mixture of both. They either are or were composed either of aragonite, calcite, or a mixture of both. Also, pellets composed of either glauconite or phosphorite are common in marine sedimentary rocks. Pellets occur in Precambrian through Phanerozoic strata. They are an important component mainly in Phanerozoic strata. The consensus among sedimentologists and petrographers is that pellets are the fecal products of invertebrate organisms because of their constant size, shape, and extra-high content of organic matter.Folk, R.L. (1959) ''Prac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the ''fossil record''. Paleontology is the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are usually considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years old to 4.1 billion years old. Early edition, published online before print. The observation in the 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aragonite
Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate, (the other forms being the minerals calcite and vaterite). It is formed by biological and physical processes, including precipitation from marine and freshwater environments. The crystal lattice of aragonite differs from that of calcite, resulting in a different crystal shape, an orthorhombic crystal system with acicular crystal. Repeated twinning results in pseudo-hexagonal forms. Aragonite may be columnar or fibrous, occasionally in branching helictitic forms called ''flos-ferri'' ("flowers of iron") from their association with the ores at the Carinthian iron mines. Occurrence The type location for aragonite is Molina de Aragón in the Province of Guadalajara in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, for which it was named in 1797. Aragonite is found in this locality as cyclic twins inside gypsum and marls of the Keuper facies of the Triassic. This type of arago ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calcite
Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on Scratch hardness, scratch hardness comparison. Large calcite crystals are used in optical equipment, and limestone composed mostly of calcite has numerous uses. Other polymorphs of calcium carbonate are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite over timescales of days or less at temperatures exceeding 300 °C, and vaterite is even less stable. Etymology Calcite is derived from the German ''Calcit'', a term from the 19th century that came from the Latin word for Lime (material), lime, ''calx'' (genitive calcis) with the suffix "-ite" used to name minerals. It is thus etymologically related to chalk. When applied by archaeology, archaeologists and stone trade pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matrix (geology)
The matrix or groundmass of a rock is the finer-grained mass of material in which larger grains, crystals, or clasts are embedded. The matrix of an igneous rock consists of finer-grained, often microscopic, crystals in which larger crystals, called phenocrysts, are embedded. This porphyritic texture is indicative of multi-stage cooling of magma. For example, porphyritic andesite will have large phenocrysts of plagioclase in a fine-grained matrix. Also in South Africa, diamonds are often mined from a matrix of weathered clay-like rock (kimberlite) called "yellow ground". The matrix of sedimentary rocks is finer-grained sedimentary material, such as clay or silt, in which larger grains or clasts are embedded. It is also used to describe the rock material in which a fossil is embedded. Cementation All sediments are at first in an incoherent condition (e.g. sands, clays and gravels, beds of shells), and they may remain in this state for an indefinite period. Millions of years have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Micrite
Micrite is a limestone constituent formed of calcareous particles ranging in diameter up to four μm formed by the recrystallization of lime mud. Flügel, Erik, ''Microfacies of Carbonate Rocks: Analysis, Interpretation and Application,'' Springer, pp 74-94, 2004 The term was coined in 1959 by Robert Folk for his carbonate rock classification system. Micrite is derived from MICRocrystalline calcITE. In the Folk classification micrite is a carbonate rock dominated by fine-grained calcite. Carbonate rocks that contain fine-grained calcite in addition to allochems are named ''intramicrite'', ''oomicrite'', ''biomicrite'' or ''pelmicrite'' under the Folk classification depending on the dominant allochem. Micrite is lime mud, carbonate of mud grade. Micrite as a component of carbonate rocks can occur as a matrix, as micrite envelopes around allochems or as peloids Peloids are allochems that are composed of micrite, irrespective of size, shape, or origin. The two primary types of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedimentology
Sedimentology encompasses the study of modern sediments such as sand, silt, and clay, and the processes that result in their formation (erosion and weathering), transport, deposition and diagenesis. Sedimentologists apply their understanding of modern processes to interpret geologic history through observations of sedimentary rocks and sedimentary structures. Sedimentary rocks cover up to 75% of the Earth's surface, record much of the Earth's history, and harbor the fossil record. Sedimentology is closely linked to stratigraphy, the study of the physical and temporal relationships between rock layers or strata. The premise that the processes affecting the earth today are the same as in the past is the basis for determining how sedimentary features in the rock record were formed. By comparing similar features today to features in the rock record—for example, by comparing modern sand dunes to dunes preserved in ancient aeolian sandstones—geologists reconstruct past environmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
