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Geol questions and Lab question

Description

Please review and answer the question pertaining to different sedimentary settings. The Journal should be at least one page in length and include diagrams/pictures to explain your geological answers.

In the Grand Canyon there are different two sandstone formations in the Paleozoic section. The lower one is called the Tapeats Sandstone and is roughly 515 my old and the upper one is called the Coconino Sandstone which is about 275 my old (see chart below). The characteristics of each sandstone gives us a clue on how each of the sandstones were deposited.

1) the Tapeats sand is a massive cliff-forming unit of brown sandstone. Much of the sand is very coarse-grained, often pea-sized or larger, and some grains are beautifully colored and often are conglomerates.

2) the Coconino sandstone is a little brown unit that consist of pure quartz grains that is well sorted and has very little clay matter. The sandstone has a high angle cross-bedding.

3) What separates the Tapeats sandstone from the underlying Precambrian rock? Why is this significant? Why do you think fossils are so rare in each formation?

4) Some have proposed that these two sandstone units were both deposited in a global flood event. Based on your findings above, do you agree or disagree with this idea and why?

What kind of depositional setting was each of the sandstones deposited in? Depositional features that are indicative of the setting? Age of sandstone? Max. thickness? Are there fossils present? Why or why not?

(hint: depositional setting means were the sands deposited on a beach, in a river/stream, by a glacier, alluvial fans, aeolian desert, deep-water fans, lakes, bars, braided streams, etc. see Figure 6.35 on pp. 150-152 in your textbook)Sedimentary Rock Lab Materials

Lab

We return to our rock kit and study sedimentary rocks (Rocks #27-37 in your Rock Kit). These rocks are by far the ones that I have studied the most and enjoy. Almost all of our energy (oil / gas /coal / uranium) resources are found in these types of rocks. Enjoy the Session and as always, I am available via Discussion Board to answer any questions you may have.

What are Sedimentary Rocks?

Sedimentary rocks are formed by the accumulation of sediments.

There are three basic types of sedimentary rocks:

1) clastic (detrital) sedimentary rocks such as breccia, conglomerate, sandstone and shale, that are formed from mechanical weathering debris;

2) chemical sedimentary rocks such as rock salt and some limestones, that form when dissolved materials precipitate from solution; and,

3) organic sedimentary rocks such as coal (coal is NOT a mineral) and some limestones which form from the accumulation of plant or animal debris.

Professor Strauss

There is a metric ruler and sediment grain size scale (from Geol Tools Sheets 1 and 2 at the end or back of the Lab Manual.

Objectives:

A. Be able to describe , classify, and interpret textural and compositional features of detrital, biochemical, and chemical sediment

B. Be able to describe textural and compositional features of sedimentary rocks, classify them by group (detrital, biochemical, or chemical), and specific name, and describe how they formed.

C. Apply the principle of Uniformitariansim and knowledge of common sedimentary structures to interpret sedimentary rock.

D. Infer Earth history by “reading” (interpreting) a sequence of strata, from bottom to top.

  1. Lab Manual: Activity 6.3: Sedimentary Rock Classification (Parts A & B)

2. Activity 6.6: This activity will be your sedimentary rock identification lab (Rock Kit). You will record your specimens you identify by making an Excel Chart modeled after the one in that is displayed in the PowerPoint for the Lab (better than the one in the Lab Manual). Make sure you are only using MS Excel for this submission.

You will use specimens from you lab kit for this lab. The specimens for this lab are numbered 27-37. You will upload your Excel chart by clicking on the title of the lab above ” Session 7 Lab.” You will first attach MS Word Document , and then hit browse to attach your MS-Excel chart. Both documents will be uploaded in one post.

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