Review Items

Photomicrograph of a mudrock obtained by SEM. Quartz (Q) precipitated between flakes of muscovite (Mus). Mudrocks are the most common sedimentary rock.

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Last Update: October 25, 2011 3:40 pm

You should have some knowledge of the following items.

• Facies
  • Transgressions, regressions and their effect on facies.
  • Major sedimentary environments
  • Walther's Law- facies relationships
  • Effects of climate, tectonics and sea level
  • Autocyclic vs. allocyclic succession (what are Milankovitch Cycles? Punctuated Aggradational Cycles?)
• Depositional environments - Understand the important processes and sedimentary signatures (responses) that distinguish the following depositional environments.   You should be able to sketch a generalized stratigraphic column for each.
  • Fluvial (meandering vs. braided streams, alluvial fans)
  • Deltaic
    • Characteristics controlling deltaic sedimentation
    • Hinterland
    • Receiving Basin (3 characteristics)
    • Tectonic Framework
    • Delta subenvironments -distributary/levee, delta platform, delta slope, prodelta
    • Delta packages, cyclothem controversy
  • Coastal Systems- beach, upper and lower shoreface, transitional zone, tidal flats
  • Clastic Shelves - processes, classification (three types)
  • Carbonate Systems - autocyclic vs allocyclic control
    • Peritidal - sequence of shore-parallel facies belts
    • Subtidal shelf - mosaic of carbonate sediment styles
• Stratigraphy
  • Biostratigraphy
    • characteristics of index fossils
    • how are FAD vs. LAD vs. overlapping range zones used?
  • Lithostratigraphy - basic concepts
  • Seismic Stratigraphy - what do seismic profiles represent? How was the Vail sea level curve generated?
  • Basic concepts of sequence stratigraphy. How is it different from "traditional" stratigraphy?
  • Sequences and their probable causes
    • First order - icehouse vs. greenhouse
    • Sloss Sequences (2nd Order) - sea floor spreading rates
    • 3rd Order - essentially unknown
    • 4th Order - Milamkovich Cycles (what are Milankovich Cycles?)
  • Chronostratigraphy -radiometric age dates used in conjunction with relative age dating principles to date sedimentary rocks. UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF HALF-LIFE.
  • Magnetostratigraphy - what does the magnetic time scale measure? How is the magnetic time scale applied to geologic materials?