Lithification occurs through which of the following processes?

Lithification occurs through which of the following processes?

• A. Compaction and cementation
• B. Erosion and deposition
• C. Melting and solidification
• D. Folding and faulting

Answer: (A)

Lithification is the process that turns loose sediment into solid rock. It happens mainly through compaction, where overlying layers squeeze the grains closer together and reduce pore space, and cementation, where minerals precipitate from groundwater and bind the grains to form a coherent rock. Some lithification can also involve minerals filling the spaces between grains, strengthening the rock. Erosion and deposition describe moving and layering sediment, not turning it into rock. Melting and solidification produce igneous rocks, not sedimentary lithification. Folding and faulting are tectonic deformations that alter rocks after they’ve formed, not the cementing or pressing that lithifies sediments.

Lithification is the process that turns loose sediment into solid rock. It happens mainly through compaction, where overlying layers squeeze the grains closer together and reduce pore space, and cementation, where minerals precipitate from groundwater and bind the grains to form a coherent rock. Some lithification can also involve minerals filling the spaces between grains, strengthening the rock.

Erosion and deposition describe moving and layering sediment, not turning it into rock. Melting and solidification produce igneous rocks, not sedimentary lithification. Folding and faulting are tectonic deformations that alter rocks after they’ve formed, not the cementing or pressing that lithifies sediments.