Abstract
The discovery of layered sediments of the Elatina Formation of South Australia has attracted intense speculation regarding their origin1,2. The formation 10-m layer of graded sandstone, consists of a pattern of light bands of periodically varying thickness3. A sequence of dark bands separates, on average, 11.6 light bands; the spacing of these dark bands exhibits a rich and complex spectrum. Previously, the periodicity has been attributed to the sunspot cycle and unassigned but putative solar periods. Prompted by a letter from G. E. Williams, summarizing new field data from the Adelaide region, South Australia, which imply that the Elatina varves may be tidal, we re-examined the dark-band spectrum and propose a luni-solar tidal interaction model as the source of the laminae.
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Sonett, C., Finney, S. & Williams, C. The lunar orbit in the late Precambrian and the Elatina sandstone laminae. Nature 335, 806–808 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/335806a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/335806a0
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