Maturity: textural and compositional
Maturity refers to the degree to which clastic sediment has been modified by physical and chemical processes at Earth's surface. Textural maturity refers to the degree to which physical characteristics of grains and populations of grains approach the “ultimate end product” (Pettijohn, 1975, p.491). Compositional maturity (stability) refers to the degree to which chemical characteristics approach the “ultimate end product,” so that grains are more in equilibrium with Earth's surface conditions.
Textural maturity
As rocks approach Earth's surface during removal of overlying rocks, individual fragments of rock are defined by diverse physical, chemical and biologic weathering processes. Joints and other structural discontinuities tend to define gravel clasts, whereas preexisting grain size tends to define sand and silt clasts. Intensity of chemical weathering largely controls clay mineralogy (q.v.). Chemical weathering causes the least stable components in go into solution and/or to...
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