GES 101 - Review Questions: Diagenesis & Sedimentary Rocks

1. How does diagenesis differ from metamorphism? Identify and briefly discuss one physical and one chemical change which are considered diagenetic.

2. Explain how compaction and cementation contribute to the lithification of sediments. Explain how the porosity and permeability of sediments are modified during lithification.

3. If estuaries are generally shallow bodies of water, how can you explain the occurrence of 1000m thick estuarine accumulations in the sedimentary record?

4. Use a labeled cross-section of a transgressive sequence produced by rising sea level to explain how sedimentary facies change in space and time.

5. Recent sedimentary deposits exposed in Maine may be buried and lithified in the future. What sedimentary rocks will form from the sediment constituting
a. ground moraine
b. an esker or delta
c. the Presumpscot Formation
d. a peat bog
e. Sand Beach (high percentage of shell fragments)
Which one or two of these deposits would you expect to suffer the greatest degree of compaction? Why?

 

Back to GES 101 Home Page Back to Handouts Page