Progressive chemical modification of clastic sediments with burial

Abstract

The porosity of clastic sediments at deposition varies very approximately between about 45% (sands) and 85% (muds). With burial, consolidation takes place as pore water is progressively eliminated. It would be misleading, however, to attribute alterations in sediment bulk properties to physical processes alone. Very significant mineralogical changes occur and these start soon after burial, especially in mudrocks. Striking heterogeneities such as thin, laterally continuous cemented horizons or discrete concretions are commonly introduced. These shallow burial processes are predominently the result of microbial activity. Thermodynamically unstable mixtures of organic matter and various oxidants [dissolved oxygen, sulphate, nitrate, particulate Fe(III) and Mn(IV)] provide both substrate and energy source for a variety of different microbial ecosystems. Mineralogical consequences include both leaching and the precipitation of carbonate, sulphide, phosphate and silica cements. The type and extent of mineral modification depends strongly on depositional environment variables such as rate of sedimentation and water composition.At greater depths, large scale modification of detrital clay minerals (particularly the smectite‐I/S‐illite transformation) takes place. Recent work of various kinds, however, has demonstrated that these changes may not be solid state transformations: clay mineral dissolution, transport and precipitation occur much more widely than was formerly supposed. In sandstones, authigenic precipitation of clay minerals from pore solution is much more obviouis. Systematic patterns of precipitation, alteration and replacement have been documented in many sedimentary basins. Porosity and permeability are reduced by cementation and, sometimes, enhanced by mineral dissolution. Whereas the general nature of these chemical reactions is fairly well understood, it is not yet possible to predict with certainty the scale or distribution of mineralogical consequences. Much debate, for example, surrounds the mechanism of porosity enhancement in sandstones. More information is needed about amounts and rates of porewater migration at different stages of compaction and the mobility of chemical solutes in the deep subsurface. What is certain is that almost all clastic sediments encountered during deep drilling will have been modified very substantially by chemical processes during burial. Texturial characteristics such as grain size and shape, fabric and packing will have been altered in consequence.