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Cross-Bedding and Ripple Marks (1963–1976)

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Paleocurrents and Basin Analysis

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Abstract

The study of cross-bedding and ripple mark in ancient sediments and of bedforms and sand-wave systems in flumes and modern environments is now commonplace; only the study of turbidite structures and processes is comparable. Certainly cross-bedding continues to be the most useful and widely studied of all the paleocurrent structures so that, for example, for each study of ripple mark, there are probably thirty or more of cross-bedding. Moreover, field studies now suggest that a cross-bedding map pattern has some environmental significance, an idea that in 1963 was not fully established. Several techniques have contributed significantly — the sonic depth finder primarily for rivers, photography from space for deserts (Wobber, 1967), and side scan sonar for mapping sand-wave systems on continental shelves (Belderson et al., 1972). In 1963 we were also just on the threshold of the flume studies of sand waves and their paleohydraulic significance. Although many have contributed to our better understanding of sand waves, the name of J. R. L. Allen easily stands foremost among sedimentologists.

Measurement of cross-bedding and ripple mark in terrigenous sandstones is now routine and has made great progress in the last thirteen years. There is some interest also in crossbedding of carbonate and volcaniclastic sediments; in addition, there is strong emphasis on the paleohydraulic and environmental significance of cross-bedding and ripple mark in sandstones

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Old Tech Building, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA

    Prof. Paul Edwin Potter

  2. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA

    Prof. Francis J Pettijohn

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Potter, P.E., Pettijohn, F.J. (1977). Cross-Bedding and Ripple Marks (1963–1976). In: Paleocurrents and Basin Analysis. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61887-1_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61887-1_7

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