SOURCE-TO-SINK: A RETROSPECTION OF THE SEDIMENTARY PETROGRAPHY EVOLUTION

The improved development on sedimentary geology with the evolution of sedimentary petrography includes a wide methodological spectra, from sample classification to tectonic setting, and depocenter determination.

Data classification establishment, from a qualitative and quantitative perspective, dates pioneer works from the late 1800’s to the beginnings for the twenty century that extended up to the 1950’s. Nonetheless, the most relevant works that described sandstones in a numbered manner appeared on the 1960’s, which serve as a future guideline to picture the genetic print in sandstones.

The second progress in the evolution of sedimentary petrography involves defining the source-areas petrogenesis and composition that gave breed to clastic sediments. This work upgrade can be seen by the diversification and metrization of: (1) quartz grain-types, (2) feldespar characterization, and (3) lithic fragments associations.

Once achieved a consolidation between sediment and source-areas compositions, the last important academic stage for sedimentary petrography was to solve sandstones deposition at a specific tectonic environment. The final integration of the data from Quantitative Provenance Analysis (QPA) to sediment generation paths aims for the closure of a big spatial and temporal cycle that is of an Source-to-Sink analysis.