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A List of Sedimentary Structures
Objectives
1. Recognize various types of sedimentary structures.
2. Connect the structures with the processes that form them.
List of types of sedimentary structures to recognize and understand
Bedforms
Massive beds (without structure)
Planar stratification (thickness <1 cm) and planar lamination (thickness <1 cm)
Normallygraded beds (finingupward grains)
Inverselygraded beds (coarseningupward grains)
Unidirectional or current ripples (asymmetrical)
Oscillation ripples (symmetrical)
Climbing ripples
Interference ripples / ladder ripples (currents in two directions)
Superimposed ripples (on the top of other, larger bedforms (megaripples or dunes)
Unidirectional megaripples, sandwaves, or subaqueous dunes (all names are used
for mediumscale bedforms that produce cross stratification)
Antidunes
Dunes (height > 1 m; most are eolian dunes)
Parts of a ripple or dune bedform: crest, trough, lee side (slip slope that is
preserved as cross stratification), stoss side
Cross stratification
Planar cross stratification/lamination (produced by ripples/megaripples with
straight crests)
Trough cross stratification/lamination (produced by ripples/megaripples with
sinuous or linguloidshaped crests)
Hummocky cross stratification
Flaser bedding (ripples with drapes of mud)
Lenticular bedding (isolated ripples encased in mud)
Herringbone cross stratification (two current direction at two different times)
Irregular stratification
English version Sedimentology course
Convoluted beds (they form after the bed has been deposited)
Syndepositional folds and slumps (they form after the bed has been deposited)
Flame structures (they form very shortly after the bed has been deposited)
Dish and pillar structures (they form very shortly after the bed has been
deposited)
Scour and fill structures
Channels (beds with erosive bases) and beds in the shape of lenses
Tops and bottoms of beds can have the following shapes: parallel, undulatory,
discontinuous, curved, etc.
Marks on the surface of beds (those on the bottoms of beds are also called “sole marks”)
Current lineations (are found on the tops of planar beds; also sometimes called
parting lineations because the beds come apart along these bedding planes)
Scour marks (casts of sand formed from erosion of a current into mud; they are
found on the bottoms of beds)
Tool marks (for example, tools of sticks or stones; casts of current erosion; they
are found on the bottoms of beds)
Flute marks (casts of current erosion; they are found on the bottoms of beds)
Load casts (they are found on the bottoms of beds)
Mud cracks (they are found on the tops of beds)
Rain drop impressions (they are found on the tops of beds)
Imbricated clasts
Biogenic structures (bioturbacion; they form after the bed has been deposited)
Mottled bedding
Tracks, trails, and burrows that are living structures and foraging structures
Bioturbation from plant roots and casts of plant roots
Concretions: localized cement that forms after the bed has been deposited (usually when
the sediment has been buried only by about 1 meter of sediment; a secondary chemical
process of diagenesis)