Please compare the terminology of the terms "sedimentology" and "sedimentary petrology" given by the Glossary of Geology, Second Edition, Robert L. Bates and Julia A. Jackson, Editors (1980), and please decide for yourself what the similarities and differences are:

"sedimentology" (quotation): "The scientific study of sedimentary rocks and of the processes by which they were formed; the description, classification, origin, and interpretation of sediments. Sometimes miscalled 'sedimentation'."

"sedimentary petrology" (quotation): "The study of the composition, characteristics, and origin of sediments and sedimentary rocks. Often miscalled 'sedimentation'."

Best regards,

Guenter Grundmann

No Sir. They are not synonymous, although many a times they are seen used as overlapping terms. The former deals with processes, provenance with special emphasis on description to sediments, while the latter deals mostly with characteristic/composition/formation of sedimentary rocks.

Best,

AK

I routinely explain the difference to Physical Geology students. Sedimentology focuses on the processes of sedimentation (deposition). Sedimentary petrology focuses on patterns of composition (mineralogy).

Sedimentology encompasses the study of modern sediments such as sand, silt, and clay, and the processes that result in their formation (erosion and weathering), transport, deposition and diagenesis.

While sedimentary petrology related sedimentary rocks , their types , classification , composition , and conditions under which they form.

I agree with Dr. Grundmann, his answer is quite specific and scientific.

Regards

Dear Dr Najem A. Najem,

Does sedimentology remain confined to the study of modern sediments only and not with those deposited in geological past millions of years ago?

Sedimentology can refer to studying processes regarding sediment deposition, their source (provenance), transportation, diagenesis etc while Sedimentary petrology refers to studying rocks formed from these processes physically, chemically, type and classifying them according to the processes that form them.

As stated by colleagues earlier, Sedimentology focuses on the study of weathering, transport and deposition processes related to unconsolidated fragments of natural origin, while Sedimentary Petrology studies this consolidated fragmentary material, that is, resulting from the processes of lithification. Even after lithification and diagenesis, most sedimentary rocks preserve both their particle size and their primary depositional structures. Thus, the sedimentological study of current depositional environments provides parameters that allow us to build models that can be applied in the analysis of the old depositional systems.

Dear Dr. Saxena,

I have been working in the field of applied sedimentology since several decades. You can already conclude from the use of this term that sedimentology is a top-level term relative to sedimentary petrography which is equal to sedimentary chemistry and that are second-order terms in the hierarchy. Both of them are related to the composition of the unconsolidated sediments and sedimentary rocks and their methods are conducted in the laboratory only, e.g., heavy mineral analysis, thin section examination or as far as the chemical part is concerned, e.g., XRF. Sedimentology is, however, also applied to some laboratory works such grain size analysis or morphological studies. Field work does measurements of clast orientation, structural and textural analysis at outcrop or facial mapping will rarely be denominated as sedimentary petrography but sedimentology. I would use these three terms only when the handling renders it necessary to make a precise distinction of methods and goals, e.g. examining thin section of sediments for environment analysis (s. petrography), LECO of black shales for TOC and TSC evaluation (s. geochemistry) and measurements and documentation of sedimentary features in the field during till exploration (sedimentology sensu stricto). All can be grouped under the headers applied sedimentology (in my case, economic geology and environmental geology) or genetic sedimentology (e.g. modeling of grain transport and computer-based calculations) sensu lato.

A further group is sedimentary geophysics whose application can me described as capturing digital data in the field and has proved to e very effective method in the sedimentology s.l. (see some of my papers on Researchgate). It is very economic and saves time.

This cited approach is rather personal and based upon my practical experience I collected in the field and the lab.

In this case Dr. Saxena you are right in every direction because the term sedimentology is on one hand a sharp one and on the other interchangeable.

Kind regards H.G.Dill

Dear Professor Dill,

Thank you very much for the detailed reply based on your own experience.

With kind regards,

R K Saxena

Petrology is the knowlege of rocks which is deal with genises of rocks and its study the source of three kinds

Dear Hafizullah Rasouli,

Thanks for your answer.

R K Saxena

Thak you R.K. Saxena!

Sedimentary petrology is the study of their occurrence, composition, texture, and other overall characteristics, while sedimentology emphasizes the processes by which sediments are transported and deposited.

Sedimentology explores the origin, transport, deposition and diagenetic alterations of the materials that compose sediments and sedimentary rocks. Stratigraphy investigates how those types of rocks are accumulated and distributed in space and time.

Sedimentary petrology is the study of their occurrence, composition, texture, and other overall characteristics, while sedimentology emphasizes the processes by which sediments are transported and deposited.

Surely I verify the first answer by G. Grundmann , who depended on scientific reference