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Tidal Bundle
A tidal bundle is a sedimentary structure that forms in tidal areas as a result of spring and neap tides. Overview A tidal bundle sequence can be seen as a variation in bed thickness with a periodicity of 14 days (diurnal) or 28 days (semidiurnal). During the neap tide, when the tidal current strength is weakest, smaller quantities of finer grains are deposited. As the tidal variation grows larger, towards the spring tide, larger quantities of coarser material will be deposited which results in an increasing bed thickness. Bed thickness will be greatest at the spring tide and then decreases as the tidal variation grows smaller, towards the neap tide again and the thinnest beds. Significance The presence of tidal bundles depends on the presence of spring and neap tides, which can only occur in three-body gravitational systems (the Earth, the Sun and the Moon). Therefore, the earliest time from which tidal bundles can be identified gives a conclusive lower bound on the age of the Moon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedimentary Structure
Sedimentary structures include all kinds of features in sediments and sedimentary rocks, formed at the time of deposition. Sediments and sedimentary rocks are characterized by bedding, which occurs when layers of sediment, with different particle sizes are deposited on top of each other. These beds range from millimeters to centimeters thick and can even go to meters or multiple meters thick. Sedimentary structures such as cross-bedding, graded bedding, and ripple marks are utilized in stratigraphic studies to indicate original position of strata in geologically complex terrains and understand the depositional environment of the sediment. Flow structures There are two kinds of flow structures: bidirectional (multiple directions, back-and-forth) and unidirectional. Flow regimes in single-direction (typically fluvial) flow, which at varying speeds and velocities produce different structures, are called bedforms. In the ''lower flow regime'', the natural progression is from a f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can be used for any given locale to find the predicted times and amplitude (or "tidal range"). The predictions are influenced by many factors including the alignment of the Sun and Moon, the #Phase and amplitude, phase and amplitude of the tide (pattern of tides in the deep ocean), the amphidromic systems of the oceans, and the shape of the coastline and near-shore bathymetry (see ''#Timing, Timing''). They are however only predictions, the actual time and height of the tide is affected by wind and atmospheric pressure. Many shorelines experience semi-diurnal tides—two nearly equal high and low tides each day. Other locations have a diurnal cycle, diurnal tide—one high and low tide each day. A "mixed tide"—two uneven magnitude ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herringbone Cross-stratification
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. Formation 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. 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, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
