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10.7: Lab Exercise (Part B)

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    5659
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    Part B – Depositional Environments

    The following exercises use Google Earth to explore the depositional environments that are the source for sedimentary rocks. For each locality think about the types of sediments that are accumulating, the types of weathering that would occur, as well as the presence of any sedimentary structures.

    33. Search for 39 05 52.46N 84 30 56.16E and zoom out to an eye altitude of ~30,000 ft. The large-scale structures in this sedimentary environment are asymmetrical ripples (known as dunes at this size). Zoom in and out and examine the sedimentary environment. What type of sedimentary environment is this?

    a. Lacustrine

    b. Fluvial

    c. Eolian

    d. Glacial

     

    34. What type of weathering do you think is most prominent in this sedimentary environment?

    a. Mechanical weathering from a current

    b. Dissolution

    c. Frost Wedging

    d. Hydrolysis

     

    35. Study the large dunes in this image (zoom out to an eye altitude of ~25,000 feet). These structures can indicate the direction that the wind is blowing. What is the predominant wind direction in this area? (Hint: it is easier to see these features if we exaggerate the vertical scale to do this go to Tools, options, and on the 3D view tab change the Elevation Exaggeration to 3. To do this on a Mac go to Google Earth then Preferences)

    a. north to south

    b. south to north

    c. east to west

    d. west to east

     

    36. Search for 64 01 03.61N 16 52 56.63W and zoom out to an eye altitude of ~25,000 ft. What type of sedimentary environment is this?

    a. Lacustrine

    b. Fluvial

    c. Eolian

    d. Glacial

     

    37. What type of weathering do you think is most prominent in this sedimentary environment? (Make sure you evaluate all choices.)

    a. Mechanical weathering from ice

    b. Dissolution

    c. Frost Wedging

    d. Hydrolysis

    e. Both a and c are correct

     

    38. When the sediment you see today lithifies, what type of sedimentary rock would you expect to be most abundant in this area and how mature is this rock type?

    a. Shale, Mature

    b. Shale, Immature

    c. Sandstone, Immature

    d. Sandstone, Mature

    e. Conglomerate, Immature

    f. Conglomerate, Mature

     

    39. Search for 44 42 16.98N 1 05 23.88W and zoom out to an eye altitude of ~17 miles. Notice the depth of this shallow bay (Arcachon Bay, France). This bay dries out at times and later greatly expands in size daily. What sedimentary structure would you likely find in this area because of this?

    a. graded beds

    b. finely layered beds

    c. cross beds

    d. mud cracks

     

    40. What type of sedimentary environment is this?

    a. lacustrine

    b. tidal mudflats

    c. deep marine

    d. beach

     

    41. Search for 20 20 23.94S 150 38 29.14E and zoom out to an eye altitude of ~25 miles (also zoom far out to notice where you are in the world). What type of sedimentary environment is this?

    a. shallow marine

    b. deep marine

    c. delta

    d. reef

     

    42. Think about the origin of this marine formation and consider the latitude to assess climatic conditions. What is the most abundant type of rock you would expect to form in this sedimentary environment?

    a. Limestone

    b. Sandstone

    c. Coal

    d. Shale

     

    43. If the sea level dropped 1,000 feet and this sedimentary environment stopped being built and began to break down, what type of weathering would be most likely to occur on these rocks?

    a. Fracturing from the addition or subtraction of pressure

    b. Dissolution

    c. Frost Wedging

    d. Hydrolysis

     

    44. Search for 31 00 43.61N 81 25 40.92W and zoom out to an eye altitude of 1,500 ft. What type of sedimentary environment is this?

    a. shallow marine

    b. reef

    c. fluvial

    d. beach

    e. tidal mudflat

     

    45. What type of sediment would you expect to find in this depositional environment?

    a. Mostly mature clastic sediments with some biochemical and chemical sedimentary sediments

    b. Mostly biochemical and chemical sedimentary sediments with some mature clastic sediments

    c. Exclusively organic sediments

    d. Exclusively biochemical sediments

    e. Exclusively immature clastic sediments


    This page titled 10.7: Lab Exercise (Part B) is shared under a CC BY-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Deline, Harris & Tefend (GALILEO Open Learning Materials) .

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