Stones of organic origin - a selection of stones, photos, properties, origin

Stones born of life

They say about the stone "cold", "dead", "lifeless". But life on Earth is not much younger than the planet itself, and many terrestrial minerals are formed by living organisms. Oil, according to modern concepts, is a visible trace of the existence of microscopic unicellular plants and animals of the distant past. Coal was considered by ancient naturalists to be the brother of oil. Chalk, limestone, marble are the life products of sea creatures...

This is where the list of minerals of biogenic origin that comes to mind to the average person usually ends. However, a knowledgeable mineralogist could go on and on with the list of rocks that appeared on Earth solely due to the existence of life.

Even gemology, the science of precious stones, is ready to present an impressive list of gems, each of which was once alive. The champion of popularity among jewelry of biological nature is pearls!

Mother of pearl - half brother of pearls

It just didn't come out in shape. If a pearl is a spherical formation (or close to a sphere in shape), then it is only deposited on the walls of the shell.

The demand for mother-of-pearl has always exceeded the demand for pearls due to the low price and wide availability of the material. Pearls are rare, and there are tons of mother-of-pearl in any river. Mollusk shells, covered with a thick layer of mother-of-pearl, have been used to make buttons, combs, handles and other consumer goods for many centuries. Today there is no type of plastic that would be used as widely and actively as mother-of-pearl in the recent past.

Once palm trees grew everywhere

...because it was warm and humid. The petrified palm stem can be found in coal deposits, in shale, and in quartz deposits. It is silicates that make palm wood an aesthetically expressive stone.

It should be noted that in its botanical essence, the palm tree is a tree-like, but herbaceous plant. You can't find annual rings on palm trees! On the other hand, the longitudinal vessels, through which the nutrient juices circulated throughout the plant, are very clearly visible. They - both on the transverse and on the longitudinal cut of petrified palm wood - make up the beauty of the stone.

The soft starchy core of the palm trunk is not rich in vessels, and therefore is replaced during fossilization by a homogeneous siliceous material.

Various silicas, impregnating the trunks of flooded, covered, drowned trees in swamps, often turn unremarkable wood into a precious gem. Silicates, colored with a variety of mineral impurities, acquire an iridescent color. A chip, saw cut, and even better, a thin section often amazes with the richness of the natural palette of colors.

In this case, the layered wood structure remains, as a rule, well distinguishable. What only adds decorativeness to the most beautiful stone of biological origin.

Stromatolite jaspers

Jasper Rock Mary Ellen is located in the state of Minnesota (USA). It is famous for the fact that the main masses of the rocks that make up the mountain - red jasper and silver hematite - are intertwined in unimaginable clubs and twists.

Red and black is an advantageous color combination for any artistic subject. However, stromatolites, formed from layered colonies of cyanobacteria two billion years ago, rarely turn red. Only on the American continent were found traces of the first steps of life on the planet, made by red jasper on black iron ore...

petrified corals

A polished petrified one makes you want to blow off dust particles from it - the jewelry work of nature is so fine. Cellular frameworks of marine organisms of the distant past are delicately arranged and skillfully "executed". The resemblance of fossil coral to the work of a skilled craftsman is endless!

Quartz and calcite, replacing organic tissue in fossilized corals, make jewelry durable. However, the bright colors characteristic of modern corals are not found in fossil polyps. Fiery red or transparent yellow earrings made of petrified corals are the product of handicraft "improvement".

"Sand Dollar"

"Sand dollar" in both Americas is called the skeleton of a sea urchin, classified as incorrect (such is zoological terminology). Correct hedgehogs are round echinoderms, incorrect ones are flat. They have been living on Earth for a long time, and in some places they inhabit the shelf bottom so densely that they lie on the sand like scales on the body of a crucian carp - or even in two layers.

Wrong hedgehogs have a very conditional needle-like protection, and therefore everyone who is not lazy feeds on them. Nevertheless, many of the flat as a toy saucer animals manage to grow a decent thickness of the skeleton, live to a natural death and please people with the sight of their skeleton - the "sand dollar". Especially highly valued are dollars "issued" millions of years ago...

Ammonites

Anyone who has been interested in the history of evolution knows about the ammonites. They - sometimes quite modest in size, sometimes under two meters in diameter - are twisted into a flat spiral, like the horns of the god Amun in one of his earthly incarnations. Ammonites are easy to find in natural screes. In some European countries, they have long been called "golden snails".

Ammonite "gold" is a layer of petrified mother-of-pearl in sealed shell chambers. The most beautiful ammonites are mined in the Canadian province of Alberta. The iridescent radiance of the polished walls of the shells surpasses the play of color in opal and labradorite.

dinosaur bone

The process of bone petrification is extremely lengthy, because each molecule of calcium phosphate (of which, in fact, bones are composed) must be replaced by a molecule of silicon dioxide. It takes at least two million years for a medium-sized dinosaur skeleton to turn into a precious gem!

Fortunately, something, but dinosaur bones have enough time with a large margin. For 65 million years separating us from the last animal lizards of the Earth, many tons of bones turned into colored quartz. Moreover, a considerable part of quartz took on impurities, which allowed the hitherto unattractive natural material to acquire both the look, the pattern, and the texture at a good jewelry level. Dinosaur bone cabochons are often extremely attractive!

Ivory is younger than dinosaur bones. Today, under the name of "ivory" distinguish the tusks of African and Indian elephants, fossil mammoths, walrus fangs, hippo and sperm whale teeth.

The main thing is its luxurious appearance. However, the manufacturability of the material is also important. Last but not least, artisans fell in love with ivory because of its ability to become plastic, and then harden again.

Ivory color varies. The white and blue tooth of a hippopotamus, warm shades (up to red-brown) of mammoth tusk, translucent whiteness of the tusk of a young elephant are valued.

The list of stones of biological origin can go on and on. The gallery of precious gems is replenished by the efforts of geologists, researchers, pioneers of remote areas of the planet.

Like the glow of dawn

The first pearls people found in search of food. Oysters producing this gem are still loved by gourmets. For thousands of years, people have been admiring the radiance of pearls that have grown by the will of nature - and for several decades now we have been forcing mollusks to envelop seed grains of sand in multi-colored layers.

Today's pearls are all colors of the rainbow and even the colors of the night! But, as in the old days, this is a stone in which at least half of the mass falls on organic tissue. We looked at pearls in more detail in the article, and you can be sure that this stone of biological origin has been in favor with fashionistas for a reason for the fifth millennium in a row!

Frozen sunshine...

... poetically called amber. Both honey-transparent and the most “foggy” forms of the stone really give the impression of clots of luminous substance. There are countless varieties of amber! The color range of this natural jewel ranges from milky white through all shades of yellow and red to blue and green. There are amber and black!

Every amber is a piece of fossilized resin of a tree that grew millions of years ago. There are ambers born in pine groves, and ambers that originated from the resin of tropical trees. We talked about amber in the articles: and. Now the time has come to pay attention to the trees that grew hundreds of millions of years ago, and by our time have turned into "precious stones".

"Peanut" wood

Wood with a clear structuring of the array during fossilization can also give an unexpected visual effect. Particularly interesting are the fossilized wood remains that have spent many years under water. The point, in fact, is not in the water, but in the mollusks that inhabit the reservoirs of the planet. Some of them feed on rotting wood, and in the process of obtaining food they go deep into the flooded logs, gnawing through numerous passages.

The subsequent mineralization of organics led to a striking result. The cavities gnawed (more precisely, machined) by the mealybug were filled with white quartz. The fabrics of the tree remained colored. Minerologists dubbed this kind of petrified wood "peanut forest" - for the similarity of the stone pattern with sprouting peanuts is almost one hundred percent.

Jet

However, not all plant remains of the distant past are so lucky. Jet, a mineral related to coal, is recognized as the same prehistoric wood that survived flooding in the silt layers two hundred million years ago.

Unattractive in its raw form, polished jet shines like silk velvet. The best grades of stone are distinguished by a mirror gloss and are used to make jewelry. In the recent past, a lot of haberdashery trifles were made from jet - like buttons, beads, beads. served its owners no worse than mother-of-pearl.

corals

Most of the bottom marine sediments are formed by the calcareous remains of organisms that lived in ancient times. However, corals, having won a warm place five hundred million years ago, thrive to this day.

Calcareous skeletons of corals have three and a half hundred variants of natural coloration. Polished coral is an excellent material for making jewelry. However, the user must remember: the thicker the color of the coral, the more organic matter it contains, and the more careful the subject should be treated.

Modern types of corals are different from the polyps that inhabited the earth's seas in past geological epochs. However, we can say with confidence: petrified corals are extremely beautiful and interesting!

Compressed carcasses of sea lilies

Crinoid sea lilies once so abundantly inhabited the shallow bottom of the warm seas that their calcareous cores - mostly tubular, divided into short segments - became a rock-forming element. Many of the most interesting specimens of these Proterozoic pufferfish were obtained during the construction of the Moscow Metro.

However, crinoidal limestone, formed by the remains of flower-like animals three hundred million years ago, is not found under (literally) Moscow. Although this mineral is widely distributed.

Distinguishable remains of crinoids, “soldered” into the thickness of a translucent mineral, are sometimes very decorative. Such stones become a worthy decoration.

Under the sonorous name lies a beautiful mineral with an unusual history. In fact, turritella terebra is the name of a marine mollusk with a helical shell. They say that it was turitella shells that prompted the legendary Archimedes to construct a water-lifting propeller.

Turitella agate is, in fact, a scattering of shells of a mollusk of this species, which are in varying degrees of preservation, filled with hardened silicate. Many of the real turitell agates include sand, water, air bubbles.

Take a closer look at the appearance of the gem! Under the name of agate-turitella, any petrified garbage is often sold. If you do not see distinctly preserved elements of cone-spiral shells, this is a fake!

Organogenic sedimentary rocks

1. Sedimentary organogenic rocks

On the surface of the Earth, as a result of the action of various exogenous factors, sediments are formed, which are further compacted, undergo various physicochemical changes - diagenesis, and turn into sedimentary rocks. Among the sedimentary rocks, three groups are distinguished: clastic rocks resulting from the mechanical destruction of any rocks and the accumulation of debris formed;) clayey rocks, which are the product of predominantly chemical destruction of rocks and the accumulation of clay minerals that have arisen in this case;) chemical (chemogenic) rocks, formed as a result of chemical processes;) organogenic rocks formed as a result of biological processes.

Sedimentary organogenic rocks will be discussed. Organogenic rocks are sedimentary rocks formed from the accumulation of waste products and undecomposed remains of living organisms: shell limestone, fossil coals, guano - decomposed droppings of seabirds, etc.

When describing sedimentary organogenic rocks, one should pay attention to their mineral composition, which is a defining feature, and to their structure. Also, the most important feature characterizing the structure of sedimentary rocks is their layered texture. The formation of layering is associated with the conditions of sediment accumulation. Any change in these conditions causes either a change in the composition of the deposited material or a stop in its supply. In the section, this leads to the appearance of layers separated by bedding surfaces and often differing in composition and structure. The layers are more or less flat bodies, the horizontal dimensions of which are many times greater than their thickness (thickness). The thickness of the layers can reach tens of meters or not exceed fractions of a centimeter.

1.1 Origin

The formation of sediments, from which sedimentary rocks arise, occurs on the surface of the earth, in its near-surface part and in water basins.

The process of formation of sedimentary rock is called lithogenesis and consists of several stages:

) formation of sedimentary material;

) transfer of sedimentary material;

) sedimentogenesis - sediment accumulation;

) diagenesis - the transformation of sediment into sedimentary rock;

) catagenesis - the stage of existence of sedimentary rock in the zone of the stratisphere;

) metagenesis - the stage of deep transformation of sedimentary rock in the deep zones of the earth's crust.

The bulk of organogenic rocks originated in marine and continental water bodies of different salinity, depth and size, as well as as a result of the action of chemical processes and the vital activity of organisms on land and sea. All rocks of chemogenic and organogenic origin are connected by mutual transitions and have a mixed chemogenic-organogenic origin. Classification of rocks of chemogenic and organogenic genesis is carried out according to the chemical composition.

Consider the formation of some organogenic rocks. For example, limestone. Huge deposits of limestone, formed millions of years ago from the skeletons of marine animals, account for approximately 20% of the total amount of sedimentary rocks. Limestones were formed as a result of long-term geochemical processes. Rivers annually carry out into the sea many millions of tons of lime in the form of suspension and in dissolved form. When river water meets sea salt, a kind of “geochemical barrier” is formed, on which soluble compounds, including lime, precipitate, mixing with silt. Part of the calcium bicarbonate remains in a dissolved state and is gradually absorbed by marine plants and animals. As a result, over millions of years, a huge number of shells of dead mollusks and corals formed colossal accumulations of calcium carbonate. Thus, various limestones arose, among which coral, shell, nummulite, bryozoans, algae, etc., are distinguished according to rock-forming organisms.

Rice. 1. Formation of an oil deposit

Or the formation of another organogenic rock, such as oil. (Fig. 1) The main conditions for the development of the process of oil formation, called thermal catalysis, are the subsidence of sedimentary rocks containing organic residues to great depths, the impact of high temperatures and pressures prevailing at these depths, and the catalytic role of the host rocks themselves, accelerating the reactions of decomposition and chemical processing of organic substances. When oxidized on the surface, the oil passes into kirs and asphalts.

Another example is the formation of oil shale. Education begins from the moment of accumulation of organic residues. The "parents" of shales are the smallest algae moved by waves or (phytoplankton), sometimes algae of underwater meadows (phytobenthosis) or the lowest representatives of the animal world (fiankton). Oil shale began to form 130-140 million years ago in the Lower Volga age of the Jurassic period. The Jurassic seas were shallow, warmed up well and were densely populated with algae, which served as a habitat for numerous invertebrates and vertebrates. After death, the organisms sank to the bottom into a silty-argillaceous sediment, which served as the basis for the formation of oil shale. If you break off a piece of oil shale, you can see a large number of imprints of algae, passages of worms, ammonites, belemnites, bivalves, scales of fossil fish, vertebrae of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and other organisms.

Rice. 2. Coal formation

The variety of types of vegetation that grew on Earth in different geological epochs and in different climatic zones, the conditions of burial and transformation in peat deposits determined the widest range of properties of the organic mass, which was the source material, and subsequently became direct coal. The formation of peat deposits took place (and is happening now) in swamps of various types: in coastal-sea, lake, river valleys. Peatlands were periodically flooded with waters with which a certain amount of mineral impurities was introduced, both in suspended and chemically dissolved states. The intensity of their supply and the composition of the rocks surrounding the peatlands determined the ash content of coal and the presence in its composition of harmful and useful chemical elements, such as sulfur, phosphorus, germanium, allium, etc. Further, the peatlands were covered by a thickness of the so-called sedimentary rocks due to the bowing of the Earth's crust and sank to various depths, where, under conditions of significant pressures and temperatures, the original organic matter acquired the properties inherent in one or another brand of coal.

1.2 Classification

Organogenic rocks (biogenic rocks) - consist of the remains of animal and plant organisms or their metabolic products.

Organisms have the ability to concentrate certain compounds, forming skeletons or tissues that are preserved in the fossil state. According to the material composition, among the organogenic rocks, one can distinguish:

) carbonate;

) siliceous;

) phosphate;

) oil shale;

I propose to consider each group separately.

Organogenic carbonate rocks (limestones) consist of shells of foraminifers, corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, molluscs, algae, and other organisms. Their peculiar representatives are reef limestones that make up atolls, barrier reefs, etc., as well as chalk.) Reef limestones - At present, most of the reefs are built by corals, but hundreds of millions of years ago, the main builders of reefs were bryozoans (colonial aquatic, mainly marine, attached animals) and algae.) Chalk is a soft limestone with a very fine texture, which is usually white or light gray in color. It is formed mainly from the calcareous remains of microscopic marine organisms such as foraminifera or the calcareous remains of numerous species of seaweed.

Siliceous rocks are composed of hydrous silica (opal). Among them, they distinguish:) Diatomite - formed from the shells of diatoms and partly from the skeletons of radiolarians and sponges, between which the finest silt and clay were deposited. It consists mainly of amorphous silica in the form of the mineral opal.) Spongolites are rocks containing usually more than 50% spicules of flint sponges. Their cement is siliceous, from opal rounded bodies, or clayey, slightly calcareous, often includes secondary chalcedony.) Radiolarites are siliceous rocks, more than 30% consisting of radiolarian skeletons, which form radiolarian silt in modern oceans. In addition to radiolarians, they include single sponge spicules, rare shells of diatoms, coccolithophores, and opal and clay particles. During recrystallization, radiolarites turn into jaspers.) tripol - a rock of predominantly colloid-chemogenic origin, consisting of the smallest grains of opal;) flask - a hard siliceous rock formed as a result of recrystallization and cementation of diatomite or tripoli.

Organogenic phosphate rocks are not widespread. These include shell rocks from phosphate shells of Silurian brachiopods - obolid, accumulations of bones of fossil vertebrates known in sediments of different ages, as well as guano - decomposition products of bird droppings, the thickness of which usually accumulates on islands in a dry climate.

Coal forms from the accumulation and conservation of plant materials, usually in swamps. Coal is a combustible rock and together with oil and natural gas is one of the three most important fossil fuels. Coal has a wide range of uses, the most important being the use for electricity generation.

Depending on the stage of metamorphism in Russia, these types of coal are distinguished. (Table 1)

Table 1. Stages of coal metamorphism

	Properties
	Peat is the initial product for the formation of coal. Contains 50-60% carbon. It accumulates in swamps from the remains of dead plants that have undergone incomplete decomposition in conditions of high humidity and difficult air access. The layer of peat in swamps is at least 30 cm (if less, then these are wetlands).
Brown coal	Brown coals are solid fossil coals, which were formed from peat and consist of 65-70% carbon. This type of brown color is the youngest among all fossil coals. It is formed under the influence of high load and elevated temperature from organic dead remains at a depth of about 1 kilometer.
Coal	Coal is a sedimentary rock formed from the deep decomposition of various plant remains (horsetails, the first gymnosperms, tree ferns and club mosses). The chemical composition of this coal is a mixture of polycyclic high-molecular aromatic compounds with a high concentration of carbon and a lower concentration of water, volatile substances and mineral impurities that form ash when coal is burned. Some organic substances that make up such coal are carcinogenic. Hard coals are formed from brown coals at depths of about three kilometers. It has a high calorific value due to the content of 8-20% moisture and, depending on the variety, from 75% to 95% carbon.
Anthracite	Anthracites are coals of the highest degree of coalification. Differ in the high density and gloss. Carbon contain 95%. They are formed under the influence of temperature and pressure from coal at a depth of about 6 kilometers. They are used as a solid high-calorie fuel, since they have the highest degree of calorific value, but at the same time they ignite poorly.

Oil shale is a mineral occurring at relatively shallow depths, belongs to the group of solid caustobiolites and consists of organic matter (10-50% by weight) and a mineral part. Both organic and mineral parts of shales are of industrial value, the main components of which are carbonates and aluminosilicates. Oil shales are thin-layered, have a dark gray or brown color, emit the smell of bitumen when burned.

Oil is an organogenic rock. The source material for the formation of oil is putrefactive silt, or sapropel, accumulating at the bottom of stagnant water bodies: lakes, sea bays, lagoons, sometimes also in the coastal areas of the bottom of open sea basins as a result of the death of various lower plants and animals, mainly planktonic microorganisms inhabiting the waters of the seas. and oceans.

Organogenic rocks can also be divided by structure. In these rocks, the form of the constituent parts, which is determined by the nature of the organisms, is of great importance. Among the rocks of this group, structures are distinguished: crinoid, coral, pelecypod, bryozoan, foraminiferal, algal, mixed, etc. Depending on the safety of the fragments in the rock, the following structures are distinguished:

Biomorphic - good preservation of organic remains. In terms of the size of the components, they can be very different depending on the organisms - from very large (for example, corals) to the smallest (for example, diatoms);

Detritus (detritus) - the rock is composed of fragments of the skeletons of organisms.

In turn, among the rocks with a detritus structure, there are:) large-detritus rocks are composed of unrounded fragments, often clearly visible to the naked eye and easily identified under a microscope. The size of the fragments most often varies from a few millimeters to about 0.05 mm.) small-detritus. composed of the smallest fragments of organisms (usually from 0.05 mm and smaller), indistinguishable with the naked eye and for the most part not detectable under a microscope in thin section.

The organogenic-detrital structure is distinguished by the fact that shell fragments are mostly well-rounded and almost the same size (0.5-0.1 mm).

2 . Distribution of organogenic rocks in the Krasnodar Territory

More than 60 types of minerals have been discovered in the bowels of the region. They mainly occur in the foothills and mountainous regions. There are reserves of oil, natural gas, marl, iodine-bromine water, marble, limestone, sandstone, gravel, quartz sand, iron and apatite ores, rock salt and other minerals. The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation approved a list of common minerals in the Krasnodar Territory, below is a list of some of them:

diatomaceous earth;

Limestones;

Marl;

shell rock;

Shales (except combustible);

Peat (except used for medicinal purposes).

2.1 Deposits in the Krasnodar Territory

Hydrocarbon and energy raw materials

Hydrocarbon and energy raw materials. 280 oil and gas fields (Fig. 3) and gas have been discovered on the territory of the region. Oil deposits are located in the thickness of sedimentary rocks and are located at a depth of 700 to 5200 m. According to geological services, by 1995, 218 million tons of oil had been produced in the region. Of the more than 70 explored oil fields with a reserve of 41.8 million tons, 66 are in operation. The forecast estimate of oil reserves is approximately three times higher than the explored ones.

An example of one of the largest oil fields is Novodmitrievskoye (Seversky district): it has a length of about 10 km, a width of 2.5 km, and the thickness of oil-bearing rocks (oil-bearing level) is 450 m. Oil occurs here at a depth of 2400-2800 m .

Coal deposits are found in mountainous areas in the basins of the Belaya, Malaya and Bolshaya Laba rivers. Coal occurs in the form of seams with a thickness of 0.5-0.9 m. But due to the low calorific value, the extraction of Kuban coal is not profitable.

Manifestations of oil shale of low and medium quality were found in the interfluve of the Bolshaya and Malaya Laba. According to geologists' forecasts, shale reserves amount to 136.25 million tons. Peat deposits are found in the lower reaches of the Kuban (Grivenskoye), in the Novokubansky district along the river. Urup, as well as at the mouth of the Mzymta and Psou rivers on the Black Sea coast. The development of oil shale and peat deposits is also unprofitable due to their low energy value and small reserves.

Limestones

Limestones and chalk are widely used in the chemical industry for the production of soda, calcium carbide, caustic potash, caustic soda, in the production of mineral fertilizers and other products. On the territory of the Krasnodar Territory, one (Pravoberezhnoye) limestone deposit is known. It is located in the Labinsk region, on the right bank of the river. Malaya Laba, 4 km east of the railway. station Shedok. The useful strata are the limestones of the Turonian and Coniacian stages of the Upper Cretaceous, the thickness of which varies from 0 to 73 m. The chemical composition of the limestones of the productive strata (in%): CaO - 54.2; MgO - 0.3; SiO 2 - 1.4; R 2 O 3 - 0.7; Na 2 O - 0.04; K 2 O - 0.07; SO 3 - 0.1; P - 0.024. According to their properties, limestones are suitable for soda production, and can also be used in the sugar industry and for the production of lime and cement. Stocks of raw materials amount to 244314 thousand tons.

Sea shell

Seashell deposits in the Krasnodar Territory are confined to the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov and its estuaries and, to a lesser extent, the estuaries of the Taman Peninsula. Genetically, they are modern marine sediments washed up by sea currents and surf along the coastline in the form of swells and spits. Such accumulations of sea shells have a width and length of several kilometers and a thickness of several meters. The main component in the composition of seashell deposits are calcareous shells (whole or fragments) of modern mollusks containing small amounts of sand, clay, organic residues, etc. for roasting for lime, to obtain wall blocks and for the preparation of fodder flour and cereals.

In the Krasnodar Territory, 33 seashell deposits have been described. Of these, only 6 deposits are on the balance of reserves (Kirpilskoye, western area; Slobodkinskoye, Khanskoye, Dolzhanskoye; Zaboyskoye and Chernoerkovskoye) with total reserves equal to 4220 thousand m 3 . Of these, Kirpilskoye, Zaboyskoye and Chernoerkovskoye deposits are being developed. They are located on the territory of the Yeysk and Primorsko-Akhtarsky districts. Raw materials of all listed deposits are suitable for use as fodder flour and cereals.

The largest in the Krasnodar Territory is the Dolzhanskoye seashell deposit. It is located in the Yeiskomraion, 3 km northwest of the village of Dolzhanskaya and 45 km west of the city of Yeysk, on the Dolgaya Spit. The useful stratum is composed of Middle Quaternary and modern marine sediments, represented by whole and crushed seashells, with an admixture of sand. Shell accumulations occur in a sheet-like manner in the form of a spit 4 km long and 30 to 1200 m wide; the thickness of the useful thickness is 2.65-6.1 m. Shell deposits are suitable for feeding birds. The deposit is a reserve.

building stone .

There are 41 deposits of building stone in the Krasnodar Territory. 25 deposits are being developed, 7 are being prepared for development, one is being explored and 8 are in reserve. Such deposits are known as: Medvezhyegorsk (6 km from Derbentskaya), Severnaya Gora (4 km from Ilskaya), Pravoberezhnoye (4 km from Shedok), Khodzhokhskoye (12 km from Kamennomostsky). The total reserves of building stone are 213.15 million m³, while the reserves of limestone used to produce crushed stone and rubble stone are 118.886 million m³; reserves of sandstones suitable for obtaining crushed stone - 39.123 million m³. Limestones are also used for the needs of sugar production.

2.2 Mining of the main organogenic rocks in the Krasnodar Territory

The Krasnodar Territory is the birthplace of the domestic oil industry. 1.7 - 1.9 million tons of oil are annually extracted from the bowels of the region, natural gas production has been increased to 3 billion m³. The table below shows how oil production in the Kuban has grown steadily, with the exception of the war years and the period of the economic crisis of the 90s of the XX century.

Table 2. Growth rates of oil production in the Kuban

All currently developed oil fields in the Krasnodar Territory are located on land. Oil production in the region from small deposits amounted to 74%, and from the Anastasievsko-Troitskoye large field - 26% of the annual volume. In recent years, the largest increase in reserves and production of oil (and gas) is provided by prospecting and exploration of the Pribrezhno-Sladkovsko-Morozovskaya group of fields (33.8% of the annual volume of oil production). The average supply of oil reserves in the region, at the current level of production, is about 22 years.

The preparation of new commercial hydrocarbon reserves in the region, at the present stage, is complicated by the fact that the search is carried out mainly on small and complex deposits, with access to significant depths, in areas with difficult mining and technical conditions.

The main explored deposits on the territory of the region are at the final stage of development. The Krasnodar Territory is one of the oldest oil and gas producing regions in Russia. Most of its deposits with the main reserves of raw materials were put into operation more than 30-40 years ago and continue to be exploited to this day.

The main region of the coal industry is the eastern wing of the Donbass in the Rostov region. (Shakhty, Novoshakhtinsk, etc.). Coal production is about 7 million tons (2% of the total Russian production)”. Coal (coking and energy) is mined at great depths in conditions of low seam thickness, which leads to high cost and a limited (south of Russia) market for these coals. A further decline in production is unlikely to be stopped, as the conditions for production are difficult, and rich deposits have already been developed.

Unwanted limestone mining is underway on the eastern slope

Rice. 4. Limestone mining

Dzykhrinsky karst massif, in the 24th quarter of the Sochi National Park (Fig. 4), which is part of a specially protected area. Here, on the rocks of the Shakhginsky gorge, several species of plants grow, listed in the Red Book of Russia and the Krasnodar Territory. The quarry is developed with the help of excavators, the stone is loaded onto dump trucks and transported to a crusher located above Yermolovka.

3 . Applications in industry, construction and agriculture

Sedimentary rocks are of exceptional practical and theoretical importance. In this respect, no other rocks can compare with them.

Sedimentary rocks are the most important in practical terms: these are minerals, foundations for structures, and soils.

The scientific and practical significance of coals and oil shale is exceptionally great: they and their components are used for periodization of the history of the Earth, in stratigraphic studies (correlation of sections and age determination), facies analysis and paleogeography, in stadial analysis by the reflectivity of vitrinite, etc.

The practical importance of coal cannot be overestimated. It is primarily the main source of energy. Only since the mid-1950s, coal has given way to oil, but there has already been a tendency to re-enter the lead, and such a prospect is provided by the huge coal resources on Earth (almost 15 or even 30 trillion tons), which are an order of magnitude greater than the resources of oil and gas, taken together (Golitsyn, Golitsyn, 1989, p. 42). With an imminent reduction in oil production, oil shale (HS) will act as a substitute for it, “the total world reserves of which are 450 trillion. tons” (UN, 1967), which is an order of magnitude greater than the reserves of coal and oil (92 billion tons), although this number also included the predominant inorganic part in their composition. The HS contains from 26 to 53 trillion. tons of shale resin (according to various estimates; Golitsyn, Prokofieva 1990, p. 15), if 4% is taken as the lower limit of the resin content (and the upper reaches 35% in the Baltic kukersites and in the Glen Davis deposit in Australia). More than half (53%) of HS resources are concentrated in the US, especially in the richest Green River Basin (Rocky Mountains). Only from coal, if all of it is mined, it is possible to build a cube with an edge of 21 km (a volume of more than 10 thousand km3, which is almost 3 times higher than Everest (Golitsyn, Golitsyn, 1989, p. 42). depths of 1800 m (sometimes up to 2000 m), brown - 600, lignites - 300 m.

Oil shale has been used as a fuel since at least 1694. As a source of energy, they are the hope of mankind. Their heat of combustion is from 4-5 to 20-25 MJ/kg (Golitsyn, Prokofieva, 1990, p. 7). In terms of calorific value (more than 15 mJ/kg), resin yield (up to 25-30%), low sulfur content (less than 1%), low ash content and humidity, Baltic kukersites are the best in the world. Shale burning is limited by their sulfur content, which reaches 10% (poisoning of nature with sulfuric acid), and high ash content and humidity (up to 30%). Shale is a valuable chemical raw material, especially because of the high content of phenols, which are difficult to obtain from oil. Dictyonema shales of the Baltic States are interesting for the content of molybdenum, vanadium, silver, lead, copper and other rare and trace elements (Golitsyn, Prokofieva, 1990, p. 25, etc.).

Peat is a unique material. Despite the fact that it has been known for many hundreds of years and has been actively used by mankind in industry as a fuel and in agriculture as a fertilizer, only recently have the unique properties of peat been discovered. Peat turned out to be an unsurpassed natural antiseptic and a fantastically excellent raw material for the production of natural fabrics.

Its vast and constantly renewed reserves can be regarded as gigantic deposits of a unique sorbent material.

Peat can process oil in large quantities into a harmless substance. During the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, it was simply necessary to fill the spot in large quantities with peat, which could turn into silt, which would stimulate the growth of algae.

Peat is practically not used to treat wastewater from metals and organic substances, although its low cost and high degree of purification can make it the most demanded material in the world. Moreover, the sorption spectrum of metals is very wide from lithium to uranium. Almost all toxic organic substances can be captured by peat.

The practical significance of carbonatoliths is that they are all minerals. Limestone, chalk and dolomite are used in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, the chemical industry, in the production of cement and other binders, for the production of rubber, glass, sugar, limestone flour for reclamation of acidic soils, mineral feeding in animal husbandry and poultry farming, as well as in other industries where the requirements for carbonate raw materials are determined mainly by its chemical and mineral composition. Due to the significant distribution and variety of properties, carbonate rocks are used in large volumes in various industries and agriculture. Also, one of the main consumers of carbonate rocks is the construction industry. It is used for finishing facades (Fig. 5), for the manufacture of various sealants, putty and plaster mixtures. The total number of explored reserves of carbonate raw materials, taken into account by various balances of reserves in Russia, currently exceeds 60 billion tons, more than 1900 deposits have been explored, about 570 are being developed.

Siliceous rocks (diatomites, tripoli, flasks), due to the presence of amorphous active silicic acid in their composition, have a number of very valuable properties: a finely porous structure, a relatively low bulk density and thermal conductivity. The combination of these properties predetermines their effective use in the production of building materials (Fig. 6) and in particular in the production of ceramic products. Experience shows that the use of siliceous and clay rocks in a mixture with coal-containing waste can significantly improve the physical and mechanical properties of ceramics by creating a reducing environment during firing and the transition of ferric iron into a more fusible ferrous one, which ensures more intensive sintering when the temperature drops by 100 - 1500C.

Conclusion

The purpose of this course work was to explore this type of sedimentary rocks as organogenic. The goal was achieved - the origin, composition and features, as well as the main deposits in the Krasnodar Territory, were considered.

Despite the variety of organogenic rocks, the most common and most important ones are present in the work.

More than three-quarters of the area of ​​the continents is covered with sedimentary rocks, so they are most often dealt with in geological work. In addition, the vast majority of developed mineral deposits, including oil and gas, are associated with sedimentary rocks. The remains of extinct organisms are well preserved in them, by which one can trace the history of the development of the Earth. Organogenic rocks are also widely used in many industries, construction and agriculture.

On the basis of the work done, it can be concluded that organogenic rocks used by man have unique and useful properties that make these rocks relevant today.

Bibliography

sedimentary mountain petroleum organogenic

1. Kuznetsov V.G. Lithology. Sedimentary rocks and their study. - M.: Nedrabusinesscenter, 2007.

2. Sokolovsky A.K., Korsakov A.K., Fedchuk V.Ya. etc. General geology. M.: KDU, 2006.

3. Krasilshchikov Ya.S. Fundamentals of geology, prospecting and exploration of mineral deposits. - M.: Nedra, 1987.

4. Shvanov V.N., Frolov V.T., Sergeeva E.I. and other Systematics and classification of sedimentary rocks and their analogues. St. Petersburg: Nedra, 1998.

Rocks are minerals and their compounds. It is impossible to imagine our planet without the minerals that actually form it.

Classification system

There are a huge number of species of rocks, divided into groups. Genetically distinguished:

• sedimentary;
• metamorphic;
• magmatic.

The latter are further divided into three classes:

• plutonic;
• hypabyssal;
• volcanic.

Subgroups can be divided into:

• sour;
• medium;
• basic;
• ultrabasic.

It is almost impossible to compile a complete list of rocks, considering all the species that exist on Earth, there are so many of them. Within the framework of this article, we will attempt to structure information about the most interesting and frequently encountered types.

Metamorphic rocks: list

Those are formed under the influence of those inherent in the earth's crust. Since transformations occur when substances are in the solid phase, they are visually invisible. During the transition, the structure, texture, and composition of the original rock change. For such changes to occur, a successful combination is necessary:

• heating;
• pressure;
• influence of gases, solutions.

There is a metamorphism:

• regional;
• contact;
• hydrothermal;
• pneumatolytic;
• dynamometamorphism.

Amphibolites

These minerals are also formed by plagioclase. The first is classified as ribbon silicate. Visually, amphibolites are shales or arrays of colors from dark green to black. The color depends on the ratio in which the dark-colored components are present in the composition of the mineral. Minor minerals of this group:

• Garnet;
• magnetite;
• titanite;
• zoisite.

gneisses

In its structure, gneiss is exceptionally close to granite. It is far from always possible to visually distinguish these two minerals from each other, since gneiss copies granite and approaches it in physical parameters. But the price of gneiss is significantly lower.

Gneisses are widely available and therefore applicable in construction. Minerals are diverse and aesthetic. The density is high, so stone can be used as concrete aggregate. With a small porosity and a low ability to absorb water, gneisses have an increased resistance to freezing. Since weathering is also small, it is allowed to use the mineral as a facing.

Slates

When compiling a list of rocks, shales must be mentioned among the metamorphic rocks. There are such types as:

• clay;
• crystalline;
• talc;
• chlorite.

Due to the unusual structure and aesthetics of this stone, in recent years slate has become an indispensable decorative material used in construction.

Shales are a fairly large group of rocks. List of species names actively used by mankind for various purposes (mainly in construction, repair, reconstruction):

• siltstone;
• goldite;
• serpentinite;
• gneissic;
• and phyllite shales.

Quartzite

This stone is known for its durability, as it is formed by quartz with the addition of impurities. Quartzite is formed from sandstone when the original elements of the mineral are replaced by quartz during regional metamorphism.

In nature, quartzite is found in a continuous layer. Common impurities:

• hematite;
• granite;
• silicon;
• magnetite;
• mica.

The richest deposits are found in:

• India;
• Russia;
• Canada.

The main features of the mineral:

• resistance to frost, moisture, temperatures;
• strength;
• safety, environmental cleanliness;
• durability;
• resistance to alkalis, acids.

Phyllit

Not the last place in the list of rocks belongs to phyllites. They occupy an intermediate position between argillaceous and mica shales. The material is dense and fine-grained. At the same time, the stones are obviously crystalline, they are characterized by pronounced schistosity.

Phyllites have a silky sheen. Colors - black, shades of gray. Minerals break into thin slabs. Phyllites are composed of:

• mica;
• sericite.

There may be grains, crystals:

• albite;
• andalusite;
• grenade;
• quartz.

Phyllite deposits are rich in France, England and the USA.

Sedimentary rocks: list

Minerals of this group are located mainly on the surface of the planet. For formation, the following conditions must be met:

• low temperatures;
• precipitation.

There are three genetic subspecies:

• clastic, which are rough stones formed during the destruction of the rock;
• clay, the origin of which is associated with the transformation of minerals of the "silicate" and "aluminosilicate" groups;
• biochemo-, chemo-, organogenic. Such are formed in the processes of deposition in the presence of appropriate solutions. Microscopic and not only organisms, substances of organic origin also take an active part in this. The role of waste products is important.

From chemogenic emit:

• halide;
• sulfate.

List of rocks of this subgroup:

• gypsum;
• anhydrites;
• sylvinite;
• rock salt;
• carnallite.

The most important sedimentary rocks are:

• Dolomite, similar to dense limestone.
• Limestone, consisting of potassium carbonate with an admixture of the same magnesium and a number of inclusions. The parameters of the mineral vary, determined by the composition and structure, as well as the texture of the mineral. A key feature is increased compressive strength.
• Sandstone formed by mineral grains bound together by substances of natural origin. The strength of the stone depends on the impurities and what kind of substance has become a binder.

Volcanic rocks

Volcanic rocks must be mentioned. A list of those is created, including here the minerals formed during this. At the same time, they distinguish:

• poured out;
• clastic;
• volcanic.

• andesite;
• basalt;
• diabase;
• liparitis;
• trachyte.

Pyroclastic, that is, detrital, include:

• breccias;
• tuffs.

An almost complete alphabetical list of volcanic type rocks:

• anorthosite;
• granite;
• gabbro;
• diorite;
• dunit;
• comatite;
• latite;
• monzonite;
• obsidian;
• pegmatite;
• peridotite;
• perlite;
• pumice;
• rhyolite;
• syenite;
• tonalit;
• felsite;
• slag.

organic rocks

Organic rocks are formed from the remains of living beings, the list of which rightfully begins with the most significant substance - chalk. These rocks belong to the sedimentary group already discussed above, and are important not only in terms of their applicability to solving various human problems, but also as a rich archaeological material.

The most important subspecies of this type of rock is chalk. It is widely known and actively used in everyday life: it is they who write on the boards in schools.

The chalk is formed by calcite, from which the shells of coccolithophorid algae that lived in ancient seas previously consisted. These were microscopic organisms that inhabited our planet in abundance about a hundred million years ago. At that time, algae could freely swim across vast areas of the warm sea. Dying, microscopic organisms fell to the bottom, forming a dense layer. Some areas are rich in deposits of such sediments, with a thickness of a hundred meters or more. The most famous chalk hills are:

• Volga;
• French;
• English.

Studying Cretaceous rocks, scientists find traces in them:

• sea ​​urchins;
• shellfish;
• sponges.

As a rule, these inclusions are only a few percent of the total explored chalk, so such components do not affect the parameters of the rock. Having studied the Cretaceous deposits, the geologist obtains information about:

• breed age;
• thicker than the water that was here before;
• special conditions that previously existed in the study area.

Igneous rocks

Magmatism is commonly understood as a set of phenomena caused by magma and its activity. Magma is a silicate melt that is present in nature in a liquid form close to fire. Magma contains a high percentage of volatile elements. In some cases, there are types:

• non-silicate;
• low silicate.

When magma cools and crystallizes, igneous rocks form. They are also called igneous.

Allocate breeds:

• intrusive;
• effective.

The former were formed at great depths, and the latter - during the eruption, that is, already directly on the surface of the planet.

Often, magma contains various rocks that have melted and mixed with the silicate mass. This is provoked:

• an increase in temperature in the thickness of the earth;
• pressurized pressure;
• a combination of factors.

The classic version of the igneous rock is granite. Already its very name in Latin - "fire", reflects the fact that the breed in its original state was exceptionally hot. Granite is highly valued not only for its technical parameters (this material is incredibly durable), but also for its beauty due to crystalline inclusions.

A large group of rocks occurs in various water bodies and in places on
dry land as a result of various chemical processes and the vital activity of animals and plants, as well as due to the accumulation of organic residues after the death of animals and plants. Among them, carbonate rocks, siliceous, sulphate and halide, ferruginous, phosphorite and caustobiolites can be distinguished.

The group of carbonate rocks includes limestone, dolomite and marl.

Limestones(CaCO 3) are most widespread and are formed both by chemical precipitation and mainly by organogenic. Organogenic limestones are usually composed of calcareous shells of mollusks, remains of crinoids, calcareous algae, corals, etc. Depending on the predominance of the remains of certain marine organisms, limestones are called coral, brachiopod, foraminiferal, etc. Among limestones of chemical origin, the following are known: oolitic limestones, which are accumulation of spherical calcareous grains-oolites; calcareous tufas deposited by springs rich in bicarbonate of lime dissolved in water.

writing chalk is a rock formed in two ways. A significant part of it, about 60-70%, is the remains of skeletal formations of planktonic organisms, the rest - fine-grained, powdery calcite - arose chemically.

Marl gives another example of a rock, which has arisen in two ways. It consists of 50-70% CaCO 3 of organic origin, and the remaining 50-30% falls on clay particles, which include particles of both detrital and chemical origin.

Dolomites in terms of chemical composition, they are (by 90-95%) a double carbonate salt of calcium and magnesium CaMg(CO 3) 2 . With a content of at least 50% CaCO 3, the rock is called calcareous dolomite. They can be formed by precipitation from water with high salinity, in which case dolomite layers often alternate with gypsum layers. But more often, dolomites are formed as a result of alteration (“dolomitization”) by the corresponding solutions of limestones (or lime sediments before the transformation of the latter into rock) - the so-called exogenous-metasomatic replacement of limestones, as well as by the hydrothermal-metasomatic way (at low temperature).

Siliceous rocks

diatomaceous earth- loose, earthy or weakly cemented yellowish or light gray rock, consisting of an accumulation of skeletal remains composed of hydrous silica (opal) and belonging to microscopic diatoms. They sometimes contain a small admixture of clay particles, grains of quartz and glauconite.

Tripoli similar in properties to diatomite, but differs from it in the absence of remains of obvious organic origin. The rock is composed of the smallest opal grains.

Flask- siliceous light rock, consisting of opal silica (up to 90%) with a small admixture of remains of radiolarians and diatom shells, with grains of quartz, glauconite and clay particles. Most often, the flasks are hard, the fracture is conchoidal, the color is from bluish-gray to almost black.

flint concretions(concretions) are widespread among sedimentary rocks. They are formed in various ways. Some of them arise from the solutions circulating in the rocks by filling the voids in the rocks with opal-chalcedony substance. Others are formed in the process of diagenesis (regeneration of sediment into rock) by growing around a center from foreign matter as a result of the action of crystallization forces. Concretions with voids inside are called geodes, with a solid core inside - nodules. Siliceous concretions are found in many rocks, but they are especially frequent in limestone strata.

Sulfate and halide rocks, despite the diversity of their chemical composition, are united by the commonality of their origin. Their homeland is drying lagoons and salt lakes separated from sea water bodies. This group of rocks includes such single-mineral rocks as anhydrite (CaSO 4), gypsum (CaSO 4 2H 2 O), rock salt (NaCI).

Iron rocks. Oolitic brown iron ore, consisting of small, rounded, concentrically shelled or radially radiant formations, is the most widespread and of practical importance among them.

Phosphorite rocks are sedimentary rocks containing 12-40% P 2 O 5 . According to the form of occurrence, phosphorites are distinguished as concretional or nodular, when they are represented by nodules of spherical or irregularly rounded shape, and reservoir, when they are cemented into conglomerate slabs.

Caustobioliths(organogenic combustible rocks). Among them stand out caustobiolites of the coal series, which include peat, brown coal, hard coal, anthracite and caustobiolites of the bitumen series - oil.

Peat consists of semi-decomposed plant remains accumulated over a long period in the specific conditions of swamps and lakes. Decomposition occurred in water with the participation of various microorganisms and with insufficient air flow. The total thickness of peat can sometimes reach several meters. Peat organic matter contains carbon (from 28 to 35%), oxygen (30-38%), hydrogen (5.5%).

brown coals are also the product of changes in plant sediments of previous geological periods. Brown coals are harder and denser than peat: specific gravity is 1.1-1.3. They contain an admixture of clay material, which causes their high ash content. The carbon content in them is in the range of 67-78%. They are a transitional rock from peat to coal.

hard coals represent the next stage in the change of brown coals. They are black, dense, have a greasy or resinous sheen and form a black line on the porcelain plate. Specific gravity - 1.0-1.8; hardness - 0.5-2.5. The carbon content reaches 80-85%.

Anthracite - the last stage of the process of metamorphosis of solid plant remains. The specific gravity of anthracites is 1.3-1.7; hardness - 2.0-2.5; black colour; gloss - semi-metallic; line is black. The carbon content is 95-97%.

Oil- natural flammable brown oily liquid. The composition of oil includes C, O, H, of which the main role belongs to carbon and hydrogen. Oil is a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons of methane (C n H 2 n +2), naphthenic (C n H 2 n) and aromatic (C n H 2 n -6) series. The specific gravity of oil is 0.8-0.9. Oil is formed in the thickness of sedimentary rocks accumulating on the bottom of water basins in the presence of dispersed organic matter among silt particles, which is converted into oil with the participation of organic and inorganic catalysts, under conditions of a strictly reducing environment.

Rocks formed as a result of the life of organisms are called organic sedimentary rocks. They are formed from the remains of plants and animals deposited at the bottom of reservoirs. These include limestone, coal, oil, oil shale, peat, shell rock, chalk...

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