Focus on Sedimentary Environments

Modern subtropical carbonate beach

Sombrero Beach, Marathon, Florida Keys, USA

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resin mount
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Loose sand sample mounted in resin, cut and polished. Scale is in mm.
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Sediment texture

Examine the sediment, then describe the sediment texture. Check your answers against the check lists below. Further information on these and other sediment properties.

Identify the predominant grain size(s):
boulders
cobbles
pebbles
granules
very coarse sand
coarse sand
medium sand
fine sand
very fine sand
silt and clay
Describe the sorting seen in the sample:

very well sorted
well sorted
moderately well sorted
moderately sorted
poorly sorted
very poorly sorted
Identify the dominant grain shape(s):

equant (cubic or spherical)
oblate (disc-shaped)
bladed
prolate (rod or roller shaped)
How would you describe the rounding of this sample (more than one answer may be correct)?
very angular
angular
subangular
subrounded
rounded
well rounded

 


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