Abstract
THE way in which a spreading ridge system affects the pattern of pelagic sedimentation with time is not yet understood in detail. For example, what rules govern the geometry of facies boundaries on a spreading ridge system, especially if the boundaries fluctuate with climatic change? What are the rules for a migrating ridge; and for a ridge which has variable spreading rates? So far sedimentologists and stratigraphers have had to use a “layer-cake” framework because of the paucity of oceanographic data (with a few exceptions1,2). It seems certain, however, that sedimentation occurring with seafloor spreading will give rise to intricate facies relationships. Intricate relationships are well known to occur in sedimentary rocks and diachronism may prove to be the rule among pelagic sediments.
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FRAKES, L., KEMP, E. Generation of Sedimentary Facies on a Spreading Ocean Ridge. Nature 236, 114–117 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/236114a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/236114a0
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