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Estuarine sedimentation in the Eocene of southern England
Author(s) -
GOLDRING R.,
BOSENCE D. W. J.,
BLAKE T.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
sedimentology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.494
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1365-3091
pISSN - 0037-0746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3091.1978.tb00333.x
Subject(s) - geology , facies , sedimentation , fluvial , sediment , erosion , channel (broadcasting) , geochemistry , trace fossil , estuary , geomorphology , paleontology , oceanography , engineering , structural basin , electrical engineering
A temporary section in the Cuisian Bagshot Beds, which has been mapped in detail, displayed estuarine sediments with interlayered sands and muds, fine sands, channel‐fill sands and intraformational (mainly mud clast) conglomerates. The facies show rapid lateral and vertical changes in grain size and bed form and a restricted suite of trace fossils including Ophiomorpha nodosa and Arenicolites sp. The sequence is shown to have been deposited in a subtidal channel where tidal, wave and fluvial processes were dominant at different times. The following points are considered to be characteristic of sedimentation in this environment: (i) correlation is difficult and facies predictability is low; (ii) there are frequent lateral facies changes from the channel to the subtidal bank environment; (iii) pene‐contemporaneous erosion removes considerable amounts of sediment; (iv) load structures may be exposed, eroded, buried and reactivated; and (v) muddy layers and bioturbated horizons offer similar resistance to penecontemporaneous erosion.