Clastic sediments are composed of broken-up fragments of preexisting rocks and minerals. Clastic sediments are produced by the weathering and erosion of continental rocks, so composed mostly of silicate minerals . Classified according to grain size. Chemical Sediments Chemical sediments are those precipitated from a solution. Biochemical sediments are precipitated from a solution by an organism.
Carbonates are the most important chemical sediments.
The compression and consolidation of sediment under compressive stress. Diagenesis Metamorphism Melting Pressure Confining Pressure uniform in all directions Directed pressure not uniform Fluids Facilitate the migration of chemical elements through rocks and, therefore, facilitate changes in bulk rock chemistry and mineralogy. In contact with a magma or hot fluids. Regional Metamorphism Metamorphism over thousands of square kilometers.