Herringbone cross-stratification is a type of sedimentary structure formed in tidal areas, such as tidal flats, where the current periodically flows in the opposite direction.
Herringbone cross-stratification is a type of sedimentary structure formed in tidal areas, such as tidal flats, where the current periodically flows in the opposite direction.
During the conventional formation process of cross-stratification, sand grains saltate up the upstream side of the dune, collecting at the peak until the angle of repose is reached. At this point, the crest of granular material has grown too large and will be overcome by the force of the depositing fluid, falling down the downstream side of the dune. Repeated avalanches will eventually form the sedimentary structure known as cross-stratification, with the structure dipping in the direction of the paleocurrent. [1]
In tidal areas, which have bidirectional flow, structures are formed with alternating layers of cross-beds dipping in opposite directions that reflect the alternating paleocurrent. These sedimentary structures are not common because they require the current to be equal in both directions, which rarely happens in nature. The time period represented by each cross-stratified layer is likely to be many years. [2]
The pattern of the structure is said to resemble the backbone structure of a herring fish. [1]
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles to settle in place. The particles that form a sedimentary rock are called sediment, and may be composed of geological detritus (minerals) or biological detritus. The geological detritus originated from weathering and erosion of existing rocks, or from the solidification of molten lava blobs erupted by volcanoes. The geological detritus is transported to the place of deposition by water, wind, ice or mass movement, which are called agents of denudation. Biological detritus was formed by bodies and parts of dead aquatic organisms, as well as their fecal mass, suspended in water and slowly piling up on the floor of water bodies. Sedimentation may also occur as dissolved minerals precipitate from water solution.
A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by the deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs when a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or another river that cannot carry away the supplied sediment. It is so named because its triangle shape resembles the Greek letter Delta. The size and shape of a delta are controlled by the balance between watershed processes that supply sediment, and receiving basin processes that redistribute, sequester, and export that sediment. The size, geometry, and location of the receiving basin also plays an important role in delta evolution.
Sedimentology encompasses the study of modern sediments such as sand, silt, and clay, and the processes that result in their formation, transport, deposition and diagenesis. Sedimentologists apply their understanding of modern processes to interpret geologic history through observations of sedimentary rocks and sedimentary structures.
In structural geology, a fold is a stack of originally planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, that are bent or curved during permanent deformation. Folds in rocks vary in size from microscopic crinkles to mountain-sized folds. They occur as single isolated folds or in periodic sets. Synsedimentary folds are those formed during sedimentary deposition.
Conglomerate is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed of a substantial fraction of rounded to subangular gravel-size clasts. A conglomerate typically contains a matrix of finer-grained sediments, such as sand, silt, or clay, which fills the interstices between the clasts. The clasts and matrix are typically cemented by calcium carbonate, iron oxide, silica, or hardened clay.
Lithostratigraphy is a sub-discipline of stratigraphy, the geological science associated with the study of strata or rock layers. Major focuses include geochronology, comparative geology, and petrology.
In geology, cross-bedding, also known as cross-stratification, is layering within a stratum and at an angle to the main bedding plane. The sedimentary structures which result are roughly horizontal units composed of inclined layers. The original depositional layering is tilted, such tilting not being the result of post-depositional deformation. Cross-beds or "sets" are the groups of inclined layers, which are known as cross-strata.
In geology, ripple marks are sedimentary structures and indicate agitation by water or wind.
In geology, a bed is a layer of sediment, sedimentary rock, or volcanic rock "bounded above and below by more or less well-defined bedding surfaces". Specifically in sedimentology, a bed can be defined in one of two major ways. First, Campbell and Reineck and Singh use the term bed to refer to a thickness-independent layer comprising a coherent layer of sedimentary rock, sediment, or pyroclastic material bounded above and below by surfaces known as bedding planes. By this definition of bed, laminae are small beds that constitute the smallest (visible) layers of a hierarchical succession and often, but not always, internally comprise a bed.
Sedimentary structures include all kinds of features in sediments and sedimentary rocks, formed at the time of deposition.
An antidune is a bedform found in fluvial and other channeled environments. Antidunes occur in supercritical flow, meaning that the Froude number is greater than 1.0 or the flow velocity exceeds the wave velocity; this is also known as upper flow regime. In antidunes, sediment is deposited on the upstream (stoss) side and eroded from the downstream (lee) side, opposite lower flow regime bedforms. As a result, antidunes migrate in an upstream direction, counter to the current flow. Antidunes are called in-phase bedforms, meaning that the water surface elevation mimics the bed elevation; this is due to the supercritical flow regime. Antidune bedforms evolve rapidly, growing in amplitude as they migrate upstream. The resultant wave at the water's surface also increases in amplitude. When that wave becomes unstable, breaks and washes downstream, much of the antidune bedform may be destroyed.
In sedimentology, imbrication is a primary depositional fabric consisting of a preferred orientation of clasts such that they overlap one another in a consistent fashion, rather like a run of toppled dominoes. Imbrication is observed in conglomerates and some volcaniclastic deposits.
In sedimentology, wave-formed ripples or wave-formed ripple marks are a feature of sediments and dunes. These ripple marks are often characterised by symmetric cross sections and long relatively straight crests, which may commonly bifurcate. Commonly, these crests can be truncated by subsequent flows. Their wavelength (periodicity) depends on the sediment grain size, water depth and water-particle orbits in the waves. On tidal flats the pattern of wave-formed ripples may be complicated, as a product of changing depth and wind and tidal runoff directions. Symmetrical ripples are commonly found in shallow waters. Beaches are a good place to find these ripples.
A bedform is a geological feature that develops at the interface of fluid and a moveable bed, the result of bed material being moved by fluid flow. Examples include ripples and dunes on the bed of a river. Bedforms are often preserved in the rock record as a result of being present in a depositional setting. Bedforms are often characteristic to the flow parameters, and may be used to infer flow depth and velocity, and therefore the Froude number.
A contourite is a sedimentary deposit commonly formed on continental rise to lower slope settings, although they may occur anywhere that is below storm wave base. Countourites are produced by thermohaline-induced deepwater bottom currents and may be influenced by wind or tidal forces. The geomorphology of contourite deposits is mainly influenced by the deepwater bottom-current velocity, sediment supply, and seafloor topography.
A paleocurrent or paleocurrent indicator is a geological feature that helps one determine the direction of flowing water in the geologic past. This is an invaluable tool in the reconstruction of ancient depositional environments.
Parting lineation is a subtle sedimentary structure in which sand grains are aligned in parallel lines or grooves on the surface of a body of sand. The orientation of the lineation is used as a paleocurrent indicator, although the precise flow direction is often indeterminable. They are also the primary indicator of the lower part of the upper flow regime bedform.
Vegetation-induced sedimentary structures (VISS) are primary sedimentary structures formed by the interaction of detrital sediment with in situ plants. VISS provide physical evidence of vegetation's fundamental role in mediating sediment accumulation and erosion in clastic depositional environments. VISS can be broken into seven types, five being hydrodynamic and two being decay-related. The simple hydrodynamic VISS are categorized by centroclinal cross strata, scratch semicircles and upturned beds. The complex hydrodynamic VISS are categorized by coalesced scour fills and scour-and-mound beds. The decay-related VISS are categorized by mudstone-filled hollows and downturned beds.
Soft-sediment deformation structures develop at deposition or shortly after, during the first stages of the sediment's consolidation. This is because the sediments need to be "liquid-like" or unsolidified for the deformation to occur. These formations have also been put into a category called water-escape structures by Lowe (1975). The most common places for soft-sediment deformations to materialize are in deep water basins with turbidity currents, rivers, deltas, and shallow-marine areas with storm impacted conditions. This is because these environments have high deposition rates, which allows the sediments to pack loosely.
Growth faults are syndepositional or syn-sedimentary extensional faults that initiate and evolve at the margins of continental plates. They extend parallel to passive margins that have high sediment supply. Their fault plane dips mostly toward the basin and has long-term continuous displacement. Figure one shows a growth fault with a concave upward fault plane that has high updip angle and flattened at its base into zone of detachment or décollement. This angle is continuously changing from nearly vertical in the updip area to nearly horizontal in the downdip area.
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