Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Depositional fabric of mudstones

  • Reference work entry
Sedimentology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Science ((EESS))

Definition

The fabric of a rock is the total of all textural and structural features (Whitten and Brooks, 1972). Texture is defined as the relationship between the particles that form a rock, and structure has to do with discontinuities and major inhomogeneities. Both are intrinsic properties of the rock that serve as guides to its origins (Pettijohn and Potter, 1964), as well as providing a basic rationale for the study of mudstone fabrics.

Studying mudstone fabrics

The structural dimension of mudstone fabrics (discontinuities and major inhomogeneities) is best examined in hand specimens (preferably cut and polished surfaces) and in petrographic thin sections (Figure D8). For hand specimens, one starts with visual inspection, followed by closer examination under a binocular microscope. This approach is suitable to study features in the millimeter range, such as small-scale sedimentary structures. Petrographic thin sections should initially be examined at low magnification (binocular...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 519.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Bennett, R.H., Bryant, W.R., and Hulbert, M.H. (eds.), 1991. Microstructure of Fine-Grained Sediments. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, R.D., and Picard, M.D., 1975. Primary and secondary sedimentary structures in oil shale and other fine-grained rocks, Green River Formation (Eocene), Utah and Colorado. Utah Geology, 2: 49–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuomo, M.C., and Rhoads, D.C., 1987. Biogenic sedimentary fabrics associated with pioneering polychaete assemblages: modern and ancient. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 57: 537–543.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandelbrot, B.B., 1983. The Fractal Geometry of Nature. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattiat, B., 1969. Eine Methode zur elektronenmikroskopischen Untersuchung des Mikrogef&#00FC;ges in tonigen Sedimenten. Geologisches Jahrbuch, 88: 87–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Brien, N.R., and Slatt, R.M., 1990. Argillaceous Rock Atlas. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Brien, N.R., Brett, C.E., and Taylor, W.L., 1994. Microfabric and taphonomic analysis in determining sedimentary processes in marine mudstones: example from Silurian of New York. Journal of Sedimentary Research, A64: 847–852.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potter, P.E., Maynard, J.B., and Pryor, W.A., 1980. Sedimentology of Shale. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pettijohn, F.J., and Potter, P.E., 1964. Atlas and Glossary of Primary Sedimentary Structures. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reineck, H.-E., and Singh, I.B., 1980. Depositional Sedimentary Environments, 2nd edn. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rust, B.R., and Nanson, G.C., 1989. Bedload transport of mud as pedogenic aggregates in modern and ancient rivers. Sedimentology, 36: 291–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schieber, J., 1986. The possible role of benthic microbial mats during the formation of carbonaceous shales in shallow Proterozoic basins. Sedimentology, 33: 521–536.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schieber, J., 1989. Facies and origin of shales from the Mid-Proterozoic Newland Formation, Belt basin, Montana, U.S.A. Sedimentology, 36: 203–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schieber, J., 1990. Significance of styles of epicontinental shale sedimentation in the Belt basin, Mid-Proterozoic of Montana, U.S.A. Sedimentary Geology, 69: 297–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schieber, J., 1999a. Microbial mats in terrigenous clastics: the challenge of identification in the rock record. Palaios, 14: 3–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schieber, J., 1999b. Distribution and deposition of mudstone facies in the Upper Devonian Sonyea Group of New York. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 69: 909–925.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schieber, J., Zimmerle, W., and Sethi, P. (eds.), 1998. Shales and Mudstones, 2 vols. Stuttgart: Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trewin, N., 1988. Use of the scanning electron microscope in sedimentology. In Tucker, M. (ed.), Techniques in Sedimentology. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, pp. 229–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitten, D.G.A., and Brooks, J.R.V., 1972. The Penguin Dictionary of Geology. New York: Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

Cross-references

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, UT Arlington, Arlington, Texas, 76019, USA

    Juergen Schieber

Authors
  1. Juergen Schieber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1978 Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc.

About this entry

Cite this entry

Schieber, J. (1978). Depositional fabric of mudstones. In: Sedimentology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg . https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31079-7_63

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31079-7_63

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-87933-152-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-31079-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation