Sedimentology 1300-OSED2ZW

The course covers issues related to processes occurring on the Earth surface, especially the processes of accumulation and erosion, leading to the formation of sedimentary rocks. It covers a wide range of basic concepts and methodology of a sedimentological study. During the series of lectures will be present the following topics: sedimentary processes, their energy; sedimentary material; the role of the biosphere; time vs. sedimentation; the rate of deposition and rate of sedimentation; the relationship between sedimentation, climate and diastrophism; the relationship of sedimentology with hydrology, petrology, stratigraphy, and facies analysis; sections of sedimentary rocks as a record of sedimentation processes; physical basis of the transport and deposition of grain deposits, the differences in the transport and sedimentation of clay (cohesive); flow characteristics; bottom forms and their relation to different transport phases; waves and wave-induced currents; density currents; other currents and the aeolian transport; textural characteristics of clastic sediments such as grain size, grain shape and orientation as an indicator of the transport directions; sedimentation process; depositional structures (beddings, bottom forms), erosional structures (e.g. channels, cast and hieroglyphs), deformational structures (e.g. load, landslide, unstable density stratification), and biogenic structures (including trace fossils); sediment gravity flows, including models of sedimentation turbidites; flysch; models for classic facies of sedimentary environments: terrestrial and marine; modern carbonate depositional environments; the components of carbonate rocks; macroscopic classifications; microfacies; dolomites, evaporites; selected sedimentary environments and their sedimentological characteristics: fluvial, aeolian, glacial, lacustrine, coastal, shelf and other marine; basic of sedimentological facies analysis as a component of the sedimentary basins analysis; practical application of sedimentology. Sedimentology is one of the main subjects of geology and provides the basis for the further geological courses, especially in the Sedimentary Basin Analysis, Regional Geology, Historical Geology and Mineral Deposits Geology.