Lyell Collection
Journal of the Geological Society
Lyell Centre  |   Lyell Collection  |   Subscriptions   |   Geological Society  |   Email alerts  |   Online bookshop  |   Help

Keywords:
Author:
Advanced search>>
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Allen, J. R. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation
Journal of the Geological Society; 1971; v. 127; issue.6; p. 553-561;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.JGS.1971.127.06.02
© 1971 Geological Society of London

Article

Instantaneous sediment deposition rates deduced from climbing-ripple cross-lamination

John Robert Lawrence Allen, D. Sc., F.G.S.

Sedimentology Research Laboratory, Department of Geology, The University, Reading

A mathematical analysis is made showing how the geometrical properties of climbing-ripple cross-lamination, a common sedimentary structure in fluviatile and turbidity current deposits, depend on the ripple height and the prevailing rates of sediment deposition and bed load transport. This structure is very commonly found in the field in vertical association with parallel laminated sand-grade deposits. The orientation of the ripple structures and of the parting lineations and/or grain fabric associated with the parallel laminae can be accounted for only if the two kinds of deposit were formed during consecutive stages in the change of a single current. Because the hydraulic conditions attending the transition between current ripples (giving cross-lamination) and a plane bed (giving parallel laminations) are known, the sediment deposition rate at the moment of transition can be calculated, from field measurements of ripple height, angle-of-climb and sediment size. Examples of deposition rates calculated in this way are discussed from the Old Red Sandstone and the Aberystwyth Grits of Wales.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Journal of Sedimentary ResearchHome page
J. T. Pietras and A. R. Carroll
High-Resolution Stratigraphy of an Underfilled Lake Basin: Wilkins Peak Member, Eocene Green River Formation, Wyoming, U.S.A.
Journal of Sedimentary Research, 2006; 76: 1197 - 1214.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]