1.1 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL REVIEW
The term seflimentology was defined by Wadell (1932) as "the study of sediments."
Sediments have been defined as "what settles at the bottom of a liquid; dregs; a deposit"
(Chambers Dictionary, 1972 edition). Neither definition is wholly satisfactory. Sedimentology is generally deemed to embrace chemical precipitates, like salt, as well as
true detrital deposits. Sedimentation takes place not only in liquids, but also in gaseous
fluids, such as eolian environments. The boundaries of sedimentology are thus pleasantly diffuse.
The purpose of this chapter is twofold. It begins by introducing the field of sedimentology and placing it within its geological context and within the broader fields of physics, chemistry, and biology. The second part of the chapter introduces the applications
of sedimentology in the service of mankind, showing in particular how it may be applied
in the quest for fossil fuels and strata-bound minerals.
It is hard to trace the historical evolution of sedimentology. Arguably among the first
practitioners must have been the Stone Age flint miners of Norfolk who, as seen in
Grimes cave, mined the stratified chert bands to make flint artifacts (Shotton, 1968).
Subsequently, civilized man must have noticed that other useful economic rocks, such as
coal and building stone, occurred in planar surfaces that cropped out across the countryside in a predictable manner. It has been suggested that the legend of the "Golden
Fleece" implies that sophisticated flotation methods were used for alluvial gold mining
in the fifth century B.C. (Barnes, 1973). From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution the foundations of modern sedimentary geology were laid by men such as Leonardo da Vinci, Hutton, and Smith. By the end of the nineteenth century the doctrine
of uniformitarianism was firmly established in geological thought. The writings of Sorby
(1853, 1908) and Lyell (1865) showed how modern processes could be used to interpret
ancient sedimentary textures and structures.
Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, however, the discipline of sedimentology, as we now understand it, lay moribund. The sedimentary rocks were either
considered fit only for microscopic study or as sheltered accommodation for old fossils.
During this period heavy mineral analysis and point counting were extensively developed by sedimentary petrographers. Simultaneously, stratigraphers gathered fossils,
wherever possible erecting more and more refined zones until they were too thin to
contain the key fossils.
The term seflimentology was defined by Wadell (1932) as "the study of sediments."
Sediments have been defined as "what settles at the bottom of a liquid; dregs; a deposit"
(Chambers Dictionary, 1972 edition). Neither definition is wholly satisfactory. Sedimentology is generally deemed to embrace chemical precipitates, like salt, as well as
true detrital deposits. Sedimentation takes place not only in liquids, but also in gaseous
fluids, such as eolian environments. The boundaries of sedimentology are thus pleasantly diffuse.
The purpose of this chapter is twofold. It begins by introducing the field of sedimentology and placing it within its geological context and within the broader fields of physics, chemistry, and biology. The second part of the chapter introduces the applications
of sedimentology in the service of mankind, showing in particular how it may be applied
in the quest for fossil fuels and strata-bound minerals.
It is hard to trace the historical evolution of sedimentology. Arguably among the first
practitioners must have been the Stone Age flint miners of Norfolk who, as seen in
Grimes cave, mined the stratified chert bands to make flint artifacts (Shotton, 1968).
Subsequently, civilized man must have noticed that other useful economic rocks, such as
coal and building stone, occurred in planar surfaces that cropped out across the countryside in a predictable manner. It has been suggested that the legend of the "Golden
Fleece" implies that sophisticated flotation methods were used for alluvial gold mining
in the fifth century B.C. (Barnes, 1973). From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution the foundations of modern sedimentary geology were laid by men such as Leonardo da Vinci, Hutton, and Smith. By the end of the nineteenth century the doctrine
of uniformitarianism was firmly established in geological thought. The writings of Sorby
(1853, 1908) and Lyell (1865) showed how modern processes could be used to interpret
ancient sedimentary textures and structures.
Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, however, the discipline of sedimentology, as we now understand it, lay moribund. The sedimentary rocks were either
considered fit only for microscopic study or as sheltered accommodation for old fossils.
During this period heavy mineral analysis and point counting were extensively developed by sedimentary petrographers. Simultaneously, stratigraphers gathered fossils,
wherever possible erecting more and more refined zones until they were too thin to
contain the key fossils.