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JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARYPETROLOGY,.VOL. 39, No. 3 ~,1074-11O6FIGS. 1-21, SEPTEMBER,1969

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JGRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS

tributed to provenance and to the hydraulics ofstream transport, but little environmental s}g-nificance WaS placed on the observations. Nogeneral hypothesis' was developed to explainwhy the same modes should appear both in flu-vial and mariJ1esediments. '

One of the, most significant of the early pa-pers on' texture was by Doeglas (1946). Heconcluded that grain size distribUtions follow anarithmetic probability law. Two majDr contribu-fions by Doeg:laswere that (l) grain siz~ dis-tributions are' mixtures of two or more compo-nent-,distributi~ris 'or popu!a!16ns,. and that" -(2)these distributions were produce

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1076 GLENN S. VISHE]?,

face creep, (2) saltation, and (3) suspension.He found that these three populations could beintermixed in the same sample. He discussed atlength the transportation of clastic particles andmechanisms of entrapment of . particles at thesedimentary interface. Moss also provided in-sight into the roll of shape and size in sedimentlamination and mixing, andirito the mechanismsby which fine or coarse-grained tails are incor-porated into size distribution curves of sedi-ments deposited from a traction carpet of sal-tating sand grains. His data illustrated the sub-division of three sub-populations, and showedthat the position of truncation, sorting, an~mean size of these populations were .different indifferent samples. The most. exactingly selectedparticles are the ones transported and depositedfrom the dense traction carpet' of saltatinggrains. Breaks or truncations occur between thepopulation of particles finer or coarser. grainedthan those. found in the saltation population orfraction. The fine particles transported in sus-pension usually have an upper size range 'of

! about .07 to .1 mm, but may be coarser. This.size provides an indication of velocity otJr,e~current clear of the- bed (Moss, 1963, p. 340),,

The coatsergrained particles appear to betransported into position at the depositional in-terface by sliding or rolling. This necessitatestransport over a bed of low. grain roughness;consequently, these particles are always coarserthan those transported by saltation. The, uppersize limit of saltation depends on the nature ofthe current and on the characteristics of the bed(Moss, 1963,p. 306):

Work on truncation points illustrated by log-probability plots was presented by Fuller(1961). He suggested that the break betweensaltation and rolling' populations in many inc,stances occurred near 2 phi,

.

or the point ofjunction between the Impac~and Stokes laws ofpartic;1e settling (Fuller, 1961, p. 260). Spencer(1963, p. 190) suggested ro111analysis of datapresented by Krumbein and Aberdeen (1937)that: (1 ) all c1astic sediments are mixtures ofthree or less log-normallydisttibuted popula-tions ;anci(2) sorting is ameasure of the mi~-ing of these populatlons:'Il1termixture of thesepopulations causecCilie- variation .in mean andsorting values present within the group of re-lated samples from Barataria Bay, Louisiana.

Different populations in log-probability plotswere shown by Y:i~er (1965a) in a study of flu-vial sedimentation units in Oklahoma. Thisstudy using a ,factor analysis approach sug-gested that flow regime may control the range,of grain size of the saltation and suspensionpopulations and the approximate position of

truncation betWeen the two population$.,K1ovan (1966) applied a factor analysis to the

same data studied by Spencer (1963). He foundthat the degree of mbdng of the two fundamen.

,tal populations was environmentally sensitive.The environments separated by Klovan (1966,p. 12~) primarily reflected sedimentary process'and mcluded: (1) surf energy dominant; (2)current energy dominant; and (3) gravitationalenergy dominant. This illustrated the close asso-

-

ciation of process to the mixing of suspension.

and sa1t~t1on populations -in Barataria,Bay.Other lines of textural evidence for environ-

mental identification have - been pursued during-the last ten years; the most significant are thestudies by Folkand Ward (1957), Mason andFolk (1958), Harris (1959), and Friedman(1961, 1967). These authors have used the sta~tisticalmeasures of mean, standard deviation,skewness, and kurtosis to separate beach, dune,aeolian flat,. and fluvial environments. . This ap-proach has been moderately successful in mod-ern environments but less successful in inter-preting the genesis of anCient sediments. WorkbyPassega and others (1957; 1967) hasIed tothe development of C/M plots. By using a num-ber of samples it is possible to distinguish sus-pension, traction, graded 'suspension, and othersedimentary processes. Analysis of many sam-ples by use of C/M plots when combined withother methods of textural analvsis should addadditional insight into the gene;is of individualsand units.

RELATION OF' SEDIMENT 'I'RANSPORT TOGRAIN SIZE DISTRmUTIONS

The three modes, of sediment transport, sus-pension, saltation,and surface creep, have beenstudied in some detail from a theoretical andmathematical viewpoint. Some data are avail-able on the grain size ranges attributable to in.dividual modes of transport.

Transport by SuspensionTrue suspension caused by turbulence where

there is no vertical change in grain size occursin the very fine grained sand rallge, typicallyless than.1 mm (Lane, 1938). Otherstudiessug-gest a size of ,0375 mm (U. S. Waterwa)'s Ex-,periment Station, 1939). The true value mlist de-pend upon tile intensity of the turbulence andpossibly could be coarser than .1 mm. The prob-lem is complicated by the interchange ofsus-pension and bedload transport in certain grainsizes. As shown in figtlre 1, this results in agraded suspension, with coarser suspension sed-iments increasing in concentration toward the

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bed (U. S. Waterways E::cper'iment Station,.1939) .'

The size of a sediment particle that may beheld in suspension is ,dependent. upon tur?u-lence; consequently, the break or truncatIOn

,p.oint between suspension and bedload t!,ansportm,a)' be highly variable and reflect physical con-,ditions at the time of deposition. In true suspen-sion no variation in concentration. of sedimentse..".1 m.m)which are .part of the suspension or "c1ay" populatIOn.

998

Saltation Transport .Very little information is available on the

grain size distribution of the m?ving b:dlayer,or traction carpet. The maXllllUmSIZe tilatmoves in this layer is unknown; but from stud.ies of the U. S. Waterways Experiment Station(1939), grains from .75 to 1.0 mm have beensampled moving within 2 ft of the bot~om(fig. 1). Grains of this size must be. depositedby an interaction between the tractIOn carpetand the graded suspension. Log-probability plotsshow that grains of this size are the coarse endof a single population, and previous studies(Visher, 1965a) indicate these to be 1'!part of asaltation population.

Figure 2 shows a striking .similarity betweenthe shapes of. the log-probability curves of boththe bedload samples from the Mississippi River(U. S.. Waterways E2speriment Station,. 1939)and samples from fore-set beds of a model delta(Jopling, 1966). Jopling (1966) shows a com-parison to a theoretical distribution from aheavy fluid zone using Einstein's (1950) bed-load Jransport formula. The close agreementsuggests that the Recent bedload :",mp1e, .thegrain size distribution from a deposited laml~a,and the theoretical distribution from a movrnggrain layerare all measures of the .samefunda-mental distribution. The distributions shown in

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I-'~1078 GLENN S. VISHER

figure 2 all contain two or three populations andare similar to log-probability plots of fluvial de-posits described by Visher (1965a).

There appears to be a similar size distributionin the moving bed layer or traction carpet andin the resulting depositional laminae. This pro-vides .the opportunity to reconstruct from thegrain size distribution the physical forces pro-ducing a lamina. :More study of the conditionsresponsible for the development and character-istics of the traction carpet are needed; butfro~n prelimina.ry data t~econcentratio-n. and. ve-locityof the traction carpet appears to be di-rectly interpretable. The upper flow regime pro-duces a different shapecf log-probability plotthan does lower flow regime conditions (Visher,1965a) .

Surface Creep TransportMost grain size distributions show a coarse-

grained population with a different mean anddegree of sorting than the other two popula-tions. Certain fluvial deposits,' however, do not

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RELATION OF PROBABILITY PLOTTO CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY ANDTO THE FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

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changes in the size distribution of the wash loador material transported dominantly in suspen-sion (Lane, 1938).

.

The grain size distribution curve (fig. 4)shows two very well sorted saltation populationswhich differ' only slightly as to mean-size andsorting. The high .degree of sorting of these two

. populations suggests very. exactingly selectedgrains that logically wouldpe deposited from the!TIovinggrain layer or. traction carpet. of saltat-ing grains. This, particular sample is from theforeshore of a beach where, swash, and back-wash represent two differing transport condi-tions and presumably produce two separate sal"tation populations in, opposite flow directions:Such a result, emphasizes that smalI changes incurrent velocity can modify a single,' detritalpopulation., .'

The truncation, of the saltation populationsoccurs near 2 phi,or 250 microns. This -,~Eej.khas been attributed' by some wOrkersa,sJhejunction between the Stokes and lmpact Lawformulae (Fuller, 1961). 'This might be inter-pretedas the size where inertial forces causerolling or sliding of particles rather than salta- .don. The coarser straight line segment repre-sents traCtion load or surface -cr"eep.

Inasmuch as the evidence suggests that grainsize distributions'arein reality mixtures of oneor more 199-normal "populations," an 'analysisof the numbe.r, degree of mixing, size range,pe.rcentage, and degree of sorting of each popu-lation should characterize a grain size distribu-tion. If.it is assumed that each traI)sportatiI1.procesL (surface. creep, saltation, andsuspen-sion}Js reflected'in a separate log-normal popu-lation within, a single grain size distribution, theproportion' of each population should be relatedto the relative importance 01 the correspondingprocess, in the formation of the whole" distribu-tion. InJ~ddition, t!J.t:sorting, s.ize range, degreeof mixing, and the points of truncation of thesepopulations can provide i!1sight into provenance,currents, waves, and rates of deposition. ,

An analysis of more than 1500 samples has-shown that these parameters, vary in a predict:able and systematic manner, and that they havesignificance in terms of transport and deposition.

CHARACTERISTIC CURVE SHAPES FROMMODERN.ENVIRONMENTSSampling Pro

GLENN S. VISHER1082 GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS 1083The similarity of each of the~e sands is in the

development._of two saltation populations. Thereason -for this is believed to be related to swashand backwash in the foreshore zone,but otherpossibiIitiesmight include mixi.ng f~om s~parateprovenances or shape of particles of dlff.erentsize. These samples are related only by their oc"currence on the foreshore, and it is improbablethat the same break would occur in all samplesunless it is related to a specific process devel-oped orUheforeshore. In the hundreds of.ana-lyzed samples this particular curve shape IS al-"v~ys associated with th~ .foreshore of ,a beach.

lV/arille Sands from Wa",'e Zone.More variability occurs in the shapes of. the

log-probability curves of marine sands than inthose previously described. The 12 samples plot-ted on figure 9, however,. were selected frommore than 100 samples of. sediment-s from. thelower tidal flat to a water depth of 17 feet. Thebasic simil~rity of all these samples is that theyare from the wave zone, and that the deposi"tional ..interface. was wave rippled at . nearlyevery sample. locality. In each. instance threedilferent populations. are. developed, and eachsamnle contains..a variabk amount of sHr andmud~ All show a poorly sort(:d coarse population\vhich remains after the shell material is re-moved by an acid leach.

Characteristics of these curves include: (1) apoorly sorted coarse.. sliding or rolling pop~la-tion; (2) a very well sortedsa~tation populaho~with a size range from approximately 2.0 to 3.:>phi; and (3) a variable percentage of the sus,-pension population. The amount of the suspen-sion population appears to be related to theproximity. of the depositional site to a source .offine clastics. The samples with the largest pro-pOrtion of this fraction came from either theSea Island area, Georgia, where a: number ofrivers draining the coastal marshes and. plainenter. the sea or from the Mississippi Deltaarea. Other ~amples.farther from a clasticsource, for example Avon Beach' near CapeHatteras, North Carolina. (fig: 9A)and Gulf-shores, Alabama (fig: 9C), have a very smallfraction of the suspension population. The rela-tions,how~ver, are complicated by localphysi-cal conditions, such as breaker height, shorelinegeometry, and sedimentation rates.

Certain characteristics -6f marine sedimentssuggest a correlation to wave processes. The os-cillation which prod1,1ceswave ripples may cause -winnowing that produces .the excelIeIlt sortingand the narrow size range of the.saltation popu~lation. The lack of strong currents prevents theremoval of the coarse bedload population or itstransport. 0)'. saltation. The. fine suspeIlsion pop-ulatioh is related to the.amount of the mate-rial in suspension and to the amount of win-nowing at the sediment water interface.

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~0...i Dune SandsOf the more than 100 dune samples analyzed,.12 are shown in figure 8. The samples are fromdune ridge~ adjacent to ,beaches. This locationinfluence~ the general shape of size dQributionsfor these samples, making them a highly selec-tive group of wind blown sand deposits. How"ever, certain characteristics are developed thatcan be. a~sodated with wind. processes,and thesecharacteristics serve to distinguish them fromsamples- from other environments closely asso-dated with beaches.

Of special significance. is that the two p.opuJa-tions found in the saltation range. of the beachforeshore have been resorted into onepopula"

-

-. tion. A single saltation population is developedin all of the dune samples, and in each case itrepresentsriearly 98 percent of thedistributioJ1:The sorlingo:f this single population, as indi"cated by the slopes of the curves,is excellent,and. generally better than for bc=51chsamples.Also the truncation ofJhe coarse tractionpopu-lation o~curs between 1.0 and 2.0 phi in itIlsam-pIes. The percentage of the traction pop1.1lationwas found to be. very small, never more than 2percent. The presence of a suspensionpopula~tion and the truncation of the coarse populationaccount for the positive skewness characteristicof dune dep6sits. All these characteristic$serveto differentiate . dune sands f!'Om all other mod-'ern sands the writer has analyzed.

The importance of saltation in wind transportof sediment has long. been emphasized, and thedominance of this population in the samples an-alyzed suggests a genetic relationship; The gen-eral lack of competence. of wind. processes to

iIi-arille Sands from Zone 9fmove. a coarse populatIOn by surface creep .Breaking Waves -(Bagnold, 194-1), accounts for the small per-

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centage of material in the coars~ population. Fi- ~.. The final type of grain size distnbutlO? fro~

nally, the addition of 1 to 2 percent in th~ sus- the near shore zone is a product of depos~tton mpension population above that present in the the surf zone. Twelve samples from this zonebeach foreshore samples suggests. that unidirec- are iIlnstrated in figure 10. The samples aretional winds are like fluvial transport, and that characterized by relati,'ely high percentages ofthe suspension materials are incorporated into material in the coarse slidin.g and r?lIir;g popu-the sediment at the depositional interface. lation.. The percentage of thIS matenalls depen-

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GLENN S. VIS HER.1090

The offshore marine sands in the area of thetidal delta at depths of 10 to 40 ft show thecharacteristic. shape described for the shallow'marine samples associated with beach deposits.The three examples illustrated in figure 13A arefrom different depths and positions within thlOtidal delta. They all show the well sorted salt~-tion' pop\1lationdeveloped within a very narrow

.

size range. The break between saltation andsuspension populations was in the very fine saudrange, usually near 3.5 phi. The break betweenthe bedload population and the saltation popula-tion was also fine, generally near 2.5 phi. Thesecharacteristic.s are thought to be. typical of de-position by oscillation waves. The variation inshape oUhe curves appears to be related to po-sition on the delta and to - proximity to thesource of clastic detritus. :C1ase ~to the channdthe traction population is more abundant, andthere is less of the .suspension population. Thisappears to be related to stronger currents andshoaling action of the waves.

The ilioal.areas shoreward of the tidal delta(fig. 13B) reflect the action of breaking waves:They contain a well developed saltation popula~tion, truncated at the fine erid. Also a large bed-load population joins the saltation. popl1lationbenveen 2.0 awl 2.25 phi. These characteristicsare similar to those samples from the beachplunge zone (fig. 10), but the percentage Ofbedload is much greater. The three samples il-lustrated are from shallow water areas close tobreakers marginal to the channel which extends' -across the tidal delta. This environment is simi-lat physically to the plunge zOne adjacent tobeaches, and a,c similar log-prohabilitycurveshape is reflected.

The zone of interaction of waves and tidalcurrents (fig. 13C) produces a different shapeddistribution curve. Each of. the three curves il-lustrated cQntains three popUlations (fig. 13C).The saltation population is truncated Or! the fineend and has i restriCted size range. The coarseend is truncated between 2.5imd 3.5 phi, whichis relatively fine;yhen ~ompared. to Qther' types'of size. distributions. The coarse truJ;lcation'point is from J.O phi to nearly 2.0 phi. The sal-tation population is poorly sorted andha~ abroa( size range. Its size range and sorting is

.

,unique 'when compared to any other distribu-tiort. ,The third population, truncated on thecoarse end, shows good sorting and extendsover a wide size range. ,

The mechanism for the. formation of this sizedistribution is unknown, but the line saltat;ionpopulation suggests \vinnowingby wave action.The poorly sorted intermediate population sug-gests dumping. from a highly turbulent gradedsusiiension-traction carpet, and the coarse popu;

lation s~ggests bedlWd transport by a strongcurrent. These conditions would be the result ofthe interaction of a strong bottom current withsurface w-aves within a tidal channel. Support-ing this interpretation, -the sample localitieswhere. these distributions . were developed. werecat thi margin between the tidal channel and theshoal area.

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Samples from the tidal inlet. (fig. 13D) werecharacterized by three., well developed andmoderatelywelI sOfted populations. The' suspen-sian population comprised from 2 to 5 percentoUhe' distrioution alld ranged from near 2.0 phito 4.0 .phi. The saltation population' was welIsorted and occurred over a very narrow sIzerange from 1.5 phi 1'02.0-2.5 phi. Theb.edloador surface creep poptilation was also well sortedand repres~nted from 30 to 70 percent of thedi,stributioIL These two populations join withlittle mixing at about 1.5 phi,and, are truncatedon the coarse end riear -1.0 phi.

.

Strong turbulent.currents generated by dis-charge into the ocean combine to' produce a sus-pension population, a ~oarse truncation. pointbetween saltation andsuspe!lsion, and a largebedload frac.tion. The sorting of thebed]oadpopulation was directly related to the position in .

the channel inlet and the velocity of the bottomcurrent. The sample' from' station number 10(fig. 13D) shows only one. population, possiblyindicating that the coarse bedload population is.

.

transported by sal~ation when current velodtyis high.. This is supported by data from the 12-hour sample station. at the inlet mouth~ which

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indicates that during low~flow .coriditions threedist1n

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FIG. 14.-S~mples ~rom t~e ~ltamaha River Estuary and River. Also, selected samplestrom two 12 hourtIdal statIOns. TIde mformation is plotted to ilIustrate effects' on grain size curve. shape.

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GRAI:V SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS 1093

9999(1) qistributions similar in sha,pe to those de-scribed for the main channel; and (2) distribu-tions with three well defined populations. Thislatter type is characterized by a highly variablepercentage of the suspension. population (fromless thin 1 to more than 10 percent), and bytruncation with the saltation population between2.5 and 3.5 phi. The saltation population of thistype extends over a range from 1.25 to 2.0 phi,is more poorly sorted, and the truncation withthe traction population, if present, occurs be-tween 1.0 and 1.5 phi. The amoim.t of the sur-face creep fraction ranges from 2 to 2S percent.The difference between these two types of dis-tributions appears to be related to positionwithin .the channel, with the second type foundin shallower water of a lower'eunent velocity.

.

The difference between these two types ofdistributions suggests that current velocity isthe controlling factor both for the position ofthe break between saltation and suspension andfor the. slope of the saltation population. Themaintaining of a bedload or surface creeppopu:-lation appears to be related. to the tidal actionrather than to current conditions. This popula-tion is thought to be concentrated in the estuaryby the alternating direction of the bottom cur-rent and may be an important textural criterionindicating tidal action.

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Modern Fluvial SamplesFluvial sample?, illustrated in figure 15, show

a distinctive pattern. They are characterized by:(1) _a well developed suspension population

. comprising up to 20 percent of the distribution;(2) the truncation between suspension and sal-tation occurring between . 2.75 and 3.5 phi; (3)the size ranging from 1.75 to 2.5 phi in the sal-

.

tation population; and (4) the saltation popula-tion having a slope or sorting intermediate be-tween deposits' formed by waves or reversingcurrents and those formed by suspension. The.slope of the saltation population is in the 60 to65 degree range, as compared to the high 60's or70's for wave deposited distributions or the 50'sfor suspension deposits. The bedload or surfacecreep population, if present, would be coarser

. than 1.0 phi. This is. strongly provenance con-trolled, and is developed most frequently in the-.deepest portion, of the channel. Because of va-riations in channel patterns and the' size ofmaterials in transport, an inclusive statementconcerning the shape of fluvial grain size distri-butions cannot be made.

The characteristics described above are par-tia.lly developed in some oJ the samples de-scribed from the ,Altamaha River Estuary (fig.14D) and the Mississippi River channel sands(fig. lID). A gradation between deltaic and flu-

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r1094 GLENN S. VIS HER

vial. grain size curve shapes is indicated. thatmight make it possible to place individual sam-ples within the fluvial, upper deltaic plain, orlower deltaic plain environmental regimes.

RELATION OF MODERK DISTRIBUTIONSTO ANCIENT SEDIMENTS

Possible Differences in Ctlrve ShapesThe primary purpose of the study of modern

sediments' was to obtain information fromknown environments to aid in classifying distri-butions from ancient se'diments. Nearly 1000distributions from ancient rocks have been ob-tained, and a number of specific patterns can' berecognized. Specific shaped curves also werecorrelated with environments determined fromother pIlysical and paleontologic criteria, buttextural data from modern sediments providedthe basis for environmental comparisons.

The major difference observed between an-cient ~nd modern grain size distributions is. inthe amount of fines less than 44 microns thatoccurs in the ancient samples. The reason forthi's is probably multiple:. (I)' related to diage-netic addition of clays, (2) post-depositionalmixing, (3) sediment settling downwardthrough the pores, and (4) possible transport bymoving interstitial fluids. Each of these pro-cesses is described in the literature, but little in-formation has been published evaluating the rel-ative importance of each process. When grain

. size distributiorts of ancient sediments are inter-preted" the possibility of these processes modi-fying.the curve shape must be recognized.

Other changes might be related to solutionand preo

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poorly sorted. These factors suggest that cur- (fig. 13), indil.-.ng .that physical conditionsrent velocity and depth control the saltatian-sus- may have been similar and that low current Ve-pension truncation point as~well as the slope of lacity and high suspended laadalso character-the saltation papulatian. ized the Bluejacket-Bartlesville delta. In addi-

The sliding or rolling papulation was. nat tion, the high concentration and poor sorting .ofcammonly developed in these size distributions. the surface creeppopulatian in'these Pennsylva-The .only samples that shawed thi~ papulatian nian sandstanes suggest dumping .of the caarse\vere ripple cross-beds at the very tap .of the flu- fractian, possibly as a result .of a large tidal Ivial sequence (nat illustrated). The absence . of ra:nge similar to that of the Altahama Estuary. :a tractian papulation appears ta be characteris- itic of many fluvial sand depo~ts. Cretaceous deltaic sands.-Samples. from the'

, . Almand and Lance Formations show a differentMid-Continimt Pennsylvanian channel sands.- shaped lag-probability curve shape (figs. l7BSandstanes from. Mississippian and. Pennsylva- and C).. These sands have been described byn!an channel depcsits-~vefe-:analyzedJ and r:pn:--~\Veimer (i965) -ana are jnterpn~tedby- him assentative examples fram the. Arkoma basin, the being .of deltaic .origin. The curves show a smallIIlinais Dasin, and the Oklahama shelf are iIIus- maderately well sorted surface creep populationtrated in figures 16B' and l6C. The sandstanes (figs. l7B-C). The saltationpopulationtanges ifrom the Illinois basin (fig. l6B) are described from abaut 2.5 to 3.5 phi with moderate sorting!by Patter (1963), who provides detailed .dec (slope from 60 to 68 degrees). Some .of these I

. scriptians of the channel sequences and geaine- curves are similar ta the fluvial

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GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS

CORSANP(ES -BLUEJACKET "":SARTlESVlllE SANDSTONE. A

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FIG. 17.-Deltaic.distributary sandstane curve. shapes. Thesee..'..c~mplesshaw a wide variation in cun'e shapeand poSSlbly reflect strangly cantrastmg delta types and positions within the~delta cample..x.

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1- !1m GLENN S. VISHERC

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FIG. l8.-Sand~tones from probable marineenvironments. Each sample Occurred within a section withdemo?strable mart!lecharacteristics. .AII examj:)les are suggestive of Mississippi Delta area samples (fig. 11)r of ~lta,,!aha River Inlet and manne delta samples (fig, 13). These samples may be related to marine por-tions ot anqent deltas rather than to nearshore environmerits associated' with beaches.

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9999ern and ancient deltas)r!e needed before therange of the variation can be determined. Moreprecise in formation concerning the processes re-sponsible for the formation o~ indivi~ual curve

-

shapes is needed beforespectfic environmentalinterpretations are possible. Sufficient informa-tion: however, is available for the identificationof deltaic type curve shapes:

Shallow 1na~inesalldsBurrowed and wave-rippled sandstones were

collected from many different iock units, includ-ing the Cretaceous, Almond and Lance Forma-tions, Pennsylvanian Sands from northeasternOklahoma, and. the Pennsylvanian .A.taka For-mation from the Arkoma basin (fig. 18) :Threedistinctive characteristics are' common to thesesands :( 1) the bedload population when present15 poorly sorted, and truncatidngenerally isfiner than 2.0 phi; (2) the size range of the saletationpopulation is from 1.0 to 1.5 phi; and (3)the suspension population is well sorted andusually truncated at a size finer than 3.5, phi.This population typically ranges from 5 percentto as mUj,;h as 80 percent of the distribution.

These sands differ from tidal-channeldistri-LAMONT OBSERVATORY ./ICofedepthO.4clII.1

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FIG. iO.'-:"Examples of turbidity current deposited .s~dstone~. Il!sets A, B, and~

iIlustratethe variab~ityfound in turbidity current deposits. Inset C shows similar gramsl:ze curve shapes trom modern and anCIentsal1ds..A subsea fan origin is suggested for the Bell Canyon Formation.

1102 GLENN S. VISHER

'1999,. I

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AMODIFIED SUSPENSION DEPOSITS

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,- mm. ScaleFIG. 21.-Examples of ancient sandstones not observed in modem sands. The 'ppssible mode of origin is

indieated from curve shape and the relation to other samples and data. .

supporting evidence for the concept of a denseturbid c1oudmoving rapidly down a slope, Theturbidite unit from the. sole. marks tq the upperlaminated zone, therefore, would all be a prod-uct of the same flow. Alternative modes of de-position would be reflected by abrupt changes inthe shapes of the 10g-proba,biIity plots andshould be easily recognized.

Miscellaneous CUr'"ueShapes, The study of any grouP of log-probability dis-tribution curves from an ancient sand providesmany unanswered questions concerning a num-ber of curve shapes. Many variations and .un-usual curve shapes are present, and their expla"nation necessitates a re-study. of all the physicaland biologic aspects of the sedimenta,ry se-quence. Some of the anomalous curve shapesmay be due to composite'samples (those repre-senting more thana single depositional unit),but others may represent unusual processes andhave real significance in interpretation of thegenesis of the, sand body. These curve shapesusualIy can be related to the vertical sequenceof sedimentary units or to their position withinthe environmental framework, and their signifi"cance can thus be properly evaluated. $ome ofthe interpretations suggested for specific typesof grain size distribution curves have been de-veloped in this manner; but their true signifi-

.5.067

cance must await detailed analyses of samplesfrom known modern environments.

The most important group of grain- size dis.tribution curve shapes that have not been de-scribed an; those developed by deposition fromsuspension (fig. 21A)c ,Many. density currentand slump deposit~ occur at relatively shallowwater depths, These curves usually 'shmv apoorly developed saltation population,' or strongmixing between surface creep and suspensiontransport populations. These characteristics also

. can ~e developed by post-depositional reworkingproduced by burrowing organisms or secondar~'processes (fig. 21B), and care must be takennot to confuse these curve shapes with onesproduced by primary depositional, processes.These curve shapes are inCluded to show thehazards of attempting to interpret every distri"bution found within a sand unit.

DYNA:xnCRESPONSE OF cURvE SHAPES TOENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

The analysis of grain size distribution cun'eshapes from both modern and ancient environ-ments . has provided information concerningcharacteristics of the log-probability cun'e:,.Most of these characteristics were suggested bythe association of a specific property of an em'i-ronment to a unique characteristic of one ormore of the stJbordinate j>opulations of the size

. GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS'

"

-. '.~ Jistribution,. The characteristics indicate certain!eneral hypotheses concerning cause and effect~eiationships between sedimentary processes and'textural responses, These relationships are out-iined below, but with the precautionary note[hat they are only empirical and are not based\Ipon quantitative hydraulic studies.. They areoutlined here to provide a basis for the morequantitative work that is needed to support the~eneral thesis that log~proba'bility curves do re-flect sedimentary processes.

Characteristics Reflected by theSUsPei-;,sion .r.C>opi,f,lation

'

~

".

C 5.

The suspension population reflects thecondi-!ions above the depositional interface. A Closeassociation exists between a large suspensionpopulation, a high concentration of suspendedsediment in the fluid, ane! rapid sedimentationrates. Relations concerning sorting of t)1ispopu-lation and, mixing with the saltation popuhitionare ambiguous, but appear to reflect turbulencein the overlying fluid and the presence of aboundary. layer. Strong currents produce aboundary layer and 'restrict both. the amountand the sorting of the suspension population in-'eluded in theclistribution. Strong mixing be"tweeri the suspension and saltation populationappears to be related to highly variable energyconditions which result in the partial destruc-tion of the boundary layer.

Characteristics Reflected by theSaltation Population

The saltation population is a product of themoving grain layer. The forces active in thetransport of sediments within this zone arepoorly' understood. The range of grain sizes,sorting, and points of truncatio.n of the popula-tion are highly variable, but they do s1.iggestcertain interpretations,'

Samples with good sorting of. the saltationpopulation appear to reflect reworking or win"hawing by wave, tide, or swash and backwtlsh.The higher the velocity of the opposing cur-rents and the slower the rate of sedimentation,the better is the sorting and therefore the~teeper is the slope of this part of the distribu-tion curve. When opposing c,urrents each formseparate laminae, two distinct saltation popula-tions may be developed as described for beachforeshor~ deposits. The position of the finetruncation point may reflect turbulent energy atthe depositional interface. High turbulent en-ergy would produce tnmcation at a coursePOine,anc!JQ~v:tu!,~ulenE energy at a 'finer trun-.~ion point. The coarse truncation point wouldreflect- the-. shear at the depositional interface,I';ith high shear produced b)' high bed layer ve~

01

001

1103

locities. The amount of the saltation populationdepends upon the stability of the moving bealayer and the rate 0 f deposition.

Characteristics Reflected by Surface. Creep Population

The amount of the surface creep populationis largely provenance controlled. A large perccentage of this .population necessitates the re-moval of finer graiiJ sizes. This can' occur bythe selective removal of finer materials by win-nowing. The slope of this population reflects thecompetenc," of the transporting currents. Themaximum size may indicare a provenance con"trol; or a limit related to current velocity. Manydistributions are truncated at the coarse end,which suggests there is a, mechanism limitingthe coarsest size material in transport.

CLASSIFICATION OF GRAIN SIZE CURVES

The characteristics of the individual grainsize distribution curves provide a oasis for anenvironmental classIfication.' Any attempt to de-fine' precise limits for the slopes, truncationpoints, and percentages of each of the- threebasic populations for individual environmentsprobably is impossible.. Certain guidelines; how-ever, may be based on the samples that wereavailable for this study. Because of variations inprovenance, post-depositional processes, and im~proper sampling, any single grain size distribu-tion curve may not. fit into a unique category.Also improper Classification, is possible if theguidelines are taken too rigidly. With these limeitations as a guide, a proposed Classification ispresented in table 1. Only a few sedimentaryenvironments are included, but others may beadded as 'more information is obtained.

CONCLUSIONS.

The determination of the depositional envi-ronments of an ancient sand is a difficult prob-lem, arid ,in most. instances physical, biological,and chemical criteria are needed before a firminterpretation is possible. The textural criteria

. outlined in this paper should properly be only~nother set of criteria to be used in conjunctionwith many others. Together with other informa-tion such as sedimentary structures, position insequence, fauna,. and mineralogy, the texturalinformation may provide new insight or possi-bly the confirming data needed for environmen"tal interpretation.

The emphasis .of this paper has been in de\-el-oping the background material fOr anew ap"proach to textural analysis. Sufficient datahave been presented to indicate that this ap-proach has possibilities. Rigid application of theprQPosed classification, or specific genetic in-

-Saltation .population ~uspension pop~lation Surface creep population!

lV1ix~C.T. F.T.IPercent

Mixing F.T;" C.T.Sorting Phi. , Phi. Sorting A&B Phi. Percent Sorting Phi. A&CSand type Percent

i:.{ttl;--1.5 '. 2.15 2 Poor Little >4',5 Varies Poor N(fLimitFluvial 65 Fa~r 3.50 3598 ,~I.O-Fait 2.0 2.0- 60- Poor Much >4.5 0- None-Natural levee 0-. \.0 3.5 100 5-30-20 ,Good . 1.5-' 1.5- 0 Poor Much 35. 0- Fair- -0.5 AverageTidal channel 2.0 3.5 20 Good >4.5. 10. Good

-1.580

Good 1.25 2.0- 2 Fair A~rage 3.5 30', Fair--'0.5 Ave~geTidal inlet I' 30- 4.0 10 Good No Limit65, 1.15 2.5 5 Good

.to2 .Populations .5 3.0 0 Fair- Little 3,5 0- Fair

-1.0- Ave~ieBeach 50- >4.5 50 No--Limit99 Excellent 2.0 4.25 10 G90d

Good 1.5 3.0 0- Good Much 3.0- 10 Fair- No Limit AveragePlunge zone 20-'-, 2.5 4.25 2 >4.5 90 Poor.90

Good 2.00 3.5- 0-' Poor- Little 3.5- 5 Fair- 0.0-, 'MuchShoal area 30- 2.15 >4.5 2 Fair >4.5 10 Poor-2.0'95

Good~ 2.00 3.0 5- Fair Much 3.15 '0- Poor. 0.'0- Littlet Wave zone 35->4'.5 10 Poor-

'\(. >4.5 10 No Limit90 Excellent 3.00

1.0- 3:0 I Fair ~verage 4.0- 0-' Poor \.0- -LittleDune 91- Excellent>4.5 Z 0.099 2.0 4.0 ,, 3

'

>

Fair 1.0 0.0-, 30 Poot Much >4.5 0- Fair. No-Limit MuchTurbidity 0-2..> 3.5 100 40 Poorcurrent 70 Poor

.'-

1'::-:1104 GLENN S. VISHER

~

"~-

TABLE 1.-Key: C. T.=

Coarse Truncation point; F. T.=

Fine Truncation point;4.=Saltation population; B = Suspension popufation; C = Surface creep population.

terpreta~ions,probablYiS unwarranted at thistime, but the approach has been successfully ap-plied to a number of study are.~'

..' .. The analysis'of log-probability gram ~Ize dis-

tribution curves appears to bl: a fruitful methodfor studying sedimentary dy~ami~s. If morl:

'teJCtural data were presented m this manner abasis would exist for comparing textures of clas-tic rocks. More infonnation is believed to be ob-tainable from this type of plot than for anyother method of presenting the data, .and for"this reason alone such curves should be mcluded,as a part of the petrographic description of

, Clastic rocks. '

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Support during the early phases of this studywas furnished by Sinclair Research, Inc. Laterthe National Science ,Foundation, under Grant

Nos. GA-997 and'GA-1635, and The University.

of Tulsa provided direct aid. Without the finan-cial assistance of these organizations this studywould not have' been possible. In additiQn, aportion of the publicatiQn costs have been pro-vided by The. University of, Tulsa and the- Na-tional Science Foundation: Ideas expressed inthis' paper' were developed, during discussio~swith' colleagues at Sinclair Research and tnclasses at The-'University of Tulsa. Drs. JamesDavis, Phillips Petroleum Company" and Roder-ick Tillman, Sinclair Research" Inc., offeredsuggestions for revision of the manuscriptwhich have been helpful indariying. the ideasexpressed. The careful editing" o~ the m~nu-script by Dr. Roy Graves, Information Services.University of Tulsa, is gratefully acknowledged.Responsibility for all errors and interpretations.however, must rest with the writer.

REFERENCESR A 1941 Ph sics of blown sand and d~ert dUPes. Methuen and~o., London, ?65 p:

.-.

BAGN~~954, Experiinenfs on a gravjty~free dispersion of large spheres In a Newto~!an fluid under stres>r, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Londo!!, v. 225, p'.4tJ-?3.. .

' s"

d , 249 ' '23- -29i.19-6 The flow of coheslOnless grams m flUids: PhIL.Trans. Roy. oc. Lon on, v,. ,p: :J- .B~' G

:J ,IT ANDCLI ~~ L M 1967 Paleocurrents

.

and source ar.

eas.

of late Pa.

le.

ozolc S.

edlment.s otRIGGS ARRE, ..~, . . .," J Sed ' P t I 37 985 1000th~ Ouachita Mountains, southeastern Oklahoma: our. lentary e ro ogy, v'.

.'

p.'.

- .BN'

H 1958 Mechanics of streams with movable beds of fine sand: Am. ClVll Engmeers Tra,ns.,ROOKS, o_.t ,- -,

v. 123, p. 526-594."

"

'..

' A S C. .1E ." TransC' N N 1956 The present stratus of research on sediment transport: m. oc. IVI ngmeers'."

HIp;er'Z824 '.833-844. ""

'.

,',,

.

'"

.CRowdL, J. c.: ~-\NDOTHERS,1966, Deep water s.edlm~ntary structures-Pliocene Plio PICOFo~atlOn Sant:1Paula Creek, Ventura basin, Californ~a:, Calif; Dly:MIn.es GeoL, SP~c. Rept. 89,.40 p.

D, The.is.DILL, R F" 1964, Contemporarysubmanne erosion ,m Scnpps submanne Canyon. Unpub. Ph..-Univ. of Calif. San Diego, 299 p. .

-/GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS. 1105[JOEGLAS,D. T., 1946, Interpretation of the results of mechanical analyses: Jour. Sedimentary Petrology.

v. 16, p. 19-40."','DtULYSKI, STANISLAW, AND WALT.N, E. !:C.,.1965, Developments in Sedimentology, 7, Sedimentary features

or flysch and greywacke. Elsevier Puhhshmg Co., New York, 274 p.1::r~STEIN H; A., 1950, The bed-load function for sediment transportation in open channel flows: U. S.: Dept.'Agriculture, Tech. Bull. 1026,71 p.

,

"-, AND BARBAROSSA,N. L, '1952, River channel roughness: Am.' Soc. Civil -Engineers Trans., v. 117,p.121l-1l46.

" -. -. '

"

-..'~..c--, AND CHIEN, N,; 19J3, Transport of sedunent mixtures with large ranges of gram size: Untv. Calif.Inst.Eng. Research,M. R.D. Sed.Series,No.2, 49p

,,- ,

.

FOLK,R. L., AND WARD, W. c., 1957, Brazos River bar: a study in the significance of grain-size parameters:Jour. Sedimentary Petrology, v. 27, p:3-26.'

"F~EDMAN,G: M.:' 1961"Distinction between dune, beach" and river sands from the textural characteristics:

~'. Jonr. Sedimentary Petrology, v. 31, p. 514-529. ,-

1967, Dynamic processes and statistical parameters compared for size frequency distributions ofbe~ch and river sancl,s: J oUF. Sedimentary Petrology, v. 37, p, 327-354.FULi:.Ert,-'A. 0., 1961~ Siz-e characteristics of shallow rtarine san,ds- from Cape oiGood Hope, South Africa:Jour, Sedimentary Petrology, v. 31, p. 256-61.

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