Stratum
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In geology and related fields, a stratum (pl.: strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as either bedding surfaces or bedding planes.[1] Prior to the publication of the International Stratigraphic Guide,[1] older publications have defined a stratum as either being either equivalent to a single bed or composed of a number of beds; as a layer greater than 1 cm in thickness and constituting a part of a bed; or a general term that includes both bed and lamina.[2] Related terms are substrate and substratum (pl.substrata), a stratum underlying another stratum.
Characteristics
Typically, a stratum is generally one of a number of parallel layers that lie one upon another to form enormous
Types of stratum
In the study of rock and sediment strata, geologists have recognized a number of different types of strata, including bed, flow, band, and key bed.[1][5] A bed is a single stratum that is lithologically distinguishable from other layers above and below it. In the classification hierarchy of sedimentary lithostratigraphic units, a bed is the smallest formal unit. However, only beds that are distinctive enough to be useful for stratigraphic correlation and geologic mapping are customarily given formal names and considered formal lithostratigraphic units. The volcanic equivalent of a bed, a flow, is a discrete extrusive volcanic stratum or body distinguishable by texture, composition, or other objective criteria. As in case of a bed, a flow should only be designated and named as a formal lithostratigraphic unit when it is distinctive, widespread, and useful for stratigraphic correlation. A band is a thin stratum that is distinguishable by a distinctive lithology or color and is useful in correlating strata. Finally, a key bed, also called a marker bed, is a well-defined, easily identifiable stratum or body of strata that has sufficiently distinctive characteristics, such as lithology or fossil content, to be recognized and correlated during geologic field or subsurface mapping.[1][5]
Gallery
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Strata on a mountain face in the French Alps
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Rock strata at Depot Beach, New South Wales
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Rainbow Basin Syncline in the Barstow Formation near Barstow, California. Folded strata.
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Outcrop of Upper Ordovician limestone and minor shale, central Tennessee
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Chalk Layers in Cyprus showing classic layered structure
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Heavy minerals (dark) as thin strata in a quartz beach sand (Chennai, India)
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Stratified Island near La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
See also
- Archaeological horizon
- Bed (geology)
- Geological formation
- Geologic map
- Geologic unit
- Lamination (geology)
- Law of superposition
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8137-5216-7.
- ISBN 0-922152-76-4.
- ^ Davies, N.S., and Shillito, A.P. 2021, True substrates: the exceptional resolution and unexceptional preservation of deep time snapshots on bedding surfaces. Sedimentology. published online 22 May 2021, doi: 10.1111/sed.12900.
- ^ Davies, N.S., and Shillito, A.P. 2018, Incomplete but intricately detailed: the inevitable preservation of true substrates in a time-deficient stratigraphic record. Geology, 46, 679–682.
- ^ a b Murphy, MA., and Salvador, A., 1999. International stratigraphic guide—an abridged version. Episodes, 22(4), pp.255-272.