This book has been written with the aim of compiling from modern environments information that can be useful in the reconstruction of ancient environments. It is intended for all those interested in recognizing depositional environments. The study of sediments includes investigations of various aspects of sediments. This needs a study by standard methods. Methods of study have not been included, as many textbooks exist on the subject. However, the importance of various results obtained from such investigations has been discussed, as far as these results can be helpful in environ­ mental reconstruction. Special attention is given to information that has accumulated during the last decades on the mode of genesis of various sedimentary features and their distribution in present-day environments. As far as possible, existing terminology has been used. How­ ever, in several cases new simple groupings and classifications have been proposed. In making classification, generally, the form and shape of the features have been considered, so that they can be applied easily to ancient sediments. At the same time, the genesis of such features has been noted, and genetic names and their characteristics have been given for detailed work. The subject is so vast that several primary sedimentary features that have no direct bearing on environmental interpretation have been omitted. The subject is vast, and numerous publications are available.

Inhalt

I: Primary Structures and Textures.- Depositional Environments.- Physical Parameters.- General Information.- Inorganic Primary Sedimentary Structures.- Hydrodynamic Factors and Bedforms in Water.- Flow Regime.- Lower Flow Regime.- Transition Regime.- Upper Flow Regime.- Bedforms.- Plane Bed without Movement.- Small Ripples.- Megaripples.- Plane Bed with Sediment Movement.- Antidunes.- Rate of Migration of Bedforms.- Bedforms, Stream Power, and Water Depth.- Current and Wave Ripples.- General Information.- Description of Ripple Marks.- Internal Structure of a Ripple.- Pattern of Flow over a Lee Face of a Small Ripple, Megaripple, and "Microdeltas".- Zone of No Diffusion.- Zone of Mixing.- Zone of Backflow.- Development of Lamination in the Lee Face 19.- Variables Controlling the Shape and Slope of Foreset Laminae.- Velocity and Bed Shear Stress.- Influence of Depth Ratio.- Sediment Type.- Causes for the Production of Foreset Laminae of Varying Composition.- Sediment Movement in Symmetrical Wave Ripples.- Sediment Movement in Asymmetrical Wave Ripples.- Wave Ripples.- Symmetrical Wave Ripples.- Asymmetrical Wave Ripples.- Current Ripples.- Small-Current Ripples.- Straight-Crested Small Ripples.- Undulatory Small Ripples.- Lingoid Small Ripples.- Rhomboid Small Ripples.- Megaripples.- Straight-Crested Megaripples.- Undulatory Megaripples.- Lunate Megaripples.- Lingoid Megaripples.- Rhomboid Megaripples.- Giant Ripples.- Antidunes.- Combined Current/Wave Ripples.- Longitudinal Combined Current/Wave Ripples.- Transverse Combined Current/Wave Ripples.- Isolated Ripples.- Wind Ripples.- Movement of Sand in a Wind Regime.- Wind Sand Ripples.- Wind Granule Ripples.- Tables for the Identification of Ripples.- Distribution of Ripples in Various Depositional Environments.- Surface Markings and Imprints.- Mud and Sand Volcanoes and Other Similar Features.- Clastic Dykes.- Mud Cracks.- Frost and Ice Cracks.- Raindrop Imprints.- Foam Impressions.- Crystal Imprints and Casts.- Water Level Marks.- Primary Current Lineation.- Wrinkle Marks.- Antiripplets (Adhesion Ripples).- Bubble Sand Structure and Other Bubble Cavities.- Swash Marks.- Rill Marks.- Tooth-Shaped Rill Marks.- Comb-Shaped Rill Marks.- Fringy Rill Marks.- Conical Rill Marks.- Branching Rill Marks.- Meandering Rill Marks.- Bifurcating Rill Marks.- Rill Marks with Accumulation Tongues.- Scour-and-Fill Structures.- Channels.- Scour Marks.- Flute Marks.- Transverse Scour Marks.- Flute Rill Marks.- Longitudinal Furrows and Ridges.- Triangular Marks Tapering Down-Current.- Pillow-like Scour Marks.- Tool Marks.- Stationary Tool Marks.- Obstacle Marks.- Moving Tool Marks.- Groove Marks.- Chevron Marks.- Prod Marks.- Bounce Marks.- Brush Marks.- Skip and Roll Marks.- Penecontemporaneous Deformation Structures.- Load Structures.- Ball-and-Pillow-Structure.- Convolute Bedding.- Slump Structures.- Bedding.- General Information.- Cross-bedding.- Small-ripple Bedding-,.- Megaripple Bedding.- Wave-ripple Bedding.- Longitudinal Cross-bedding.- Channel-fill Cross-bedding.- Antidune Cross-bedding.- Microdelta Cross-bedding.- Beach and Longshore Bar Cross-bedding.- Sand Dune Cross-bedding.- Sand-Drift Cross-bedding.- Scour-and-Fill Cross-bedding.- Climbing-ripple Lamination.- Flaser and Lenticular Bedding.- Ripple Bedding with Flasers.- Flaser Bedding.- Wavy Bedding.- Lenticular Bedding.- Graded Bedding.- Evenly Laminated Sand and Horizontal Bedding.- Coarsely Interlayered Bedding.- Thinly Interlayered Bedding (Rhythmites).- Thinly Laminated Mud.- Homogeneous Bedding.- Sediment Grain Parameters.- General Information.- Grain Size.- Grain Size Distribution.- Suspension Transport.- Saltation Transport.- Rolling Transport.- Shape and Roundness of Sediment Grains.- Shape and Roundness of Gravel.- Shape and Roundness of Sand.- Surface Texture of Sediment Grains.- Primary Fabric or Grain Orientation.- Orientation of Pebbles.- Orientation of Sand Grains.- Orientation of Clay Particles.- Orientation of Organic Remains.- Chemical and Mineralogical Parameters.- Oxidation-Reduction Potential (Eh).- Acidity-Alkalinity.- Salinity.- Temperature.- Index Minerals.- Color.- Trace Elements.- Biological Parameters.- General Information.- Hard Skeletal Parts.- Bioturbation Structures.- Surface Lebensspuren.- Internal Lebensspuren.- Dwelling Structures.- Characterizing of Environments by Lebensspuren.- Fecal Pellets.- Environmental Reconstructions.- II: Modern Environments.- General Information.- Importance of Sequence in Environmental Reconstruction.- Glacial Environment.- General Information.- Geomorphology of Glaciers.- Glacial Flow.- Glacial Erosion.- Glacial Transport.- Glacial Deposit.- Eskers.- Kames.- Small-Delta Deposits.- Glacial Lake Deposits.- Sandur Deposits.- Interglacial Deposits.- Evidences of Glacial Activity.- Grain Size Characteristics of Glacial Deposits.- Wind Activity in Outwash Plains.- Ancient Sediments of Glacial Environments.- Desert Environments.- General Information.- Erosion and Sedimentation Processes in the Desert.- Deposits of Desert Environments.- Hamada Deposits.- Serir Deposits.- Desert Lake and Inland Sebkha Deposits.- Wadi Deposits.- Aeolian Sand Deposits.- Sand Drifts and Sand Shadows.- Gozes.- Sand Sheets.- Sand Dunes.- Internal Structure of Sand Dunes.- Horizontal Bedding.- Cross-Bedding.- The Lower Bounding Surfaces.- Other Bedding Types.- Sand Dune Types.- Barchan Dunes.- Seif Dunes.- Transverse Dunes..- Parabolic Dunes.- Dome-shaped Dunes.- Star Dunes.- Reversing Dunes.- Dikaka.- Interdune Areas.- Dust or Loess Deposits.- Grain-size Characteristics of Aeolian Sand Deposits.- Identification of the Desert Environment in Ancient Sediments.- Wind-deposited Sands.- Water-deposited Sediments.- Criterion for the Recognition of Subaerial Exposure of Water-laid Sediments.- Ancient Deposits of the Desert Environments.- Lake Environment.- General Information.- Clastic Lake Deposits.- Lake Geneva.- Delta Foreslope Outside the Channel and the Fan.- Central Plain.- Lateral Slope.- Channel Bottom.- Central Fan.- Marginal Part of the Fan.- Sublacustrine Natural Levees.- Lake Constance.- Rhine River Delta in Lake Constance.- Ripple Bedding.- Graded Bedding.- Thinly Interlayered Bedding.- Laminated Bedding.- Diffuse Bedding.- Bioturbation Structures.- Bubble Cavities and Plant Remains.- Distribution of Sedimentary Structures in the Delta.- Body.- Delta Topset Deposit.- Delta Foreset Deposit.- Delta Bottomset Deposits.- The Life in the Lakes.- Chemical Precipitates in Lakes.-…