Abstract
Sedimentation may be considered as a two-stage process. Environmental control determines the gross aspect of lithology but other sedimentation processes are responsible for bedding. The two are separated because they operate according to different time scales. The semi-Markov process provides an ideal model for this situation, under the condition that the environmental history is determined by a Markov chain.
Models of bed formation can be based on the theory of random walk. The resulting bed thickness is either exponentially or Gamma distributed. Gamma distributions seem to fit observed bed- thickness better than the lognormal distribution. The semi-Markov process may result in exponential or polymodal bed thickness distributions. Examples of both have been generated by simulation.
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Schwarzacher, W. (1972). The Semi-Markov Process as a General Sedimentation Model. In: Merriam, D.F. (eds) Mathematical Models of Sedimentary Processes. Computer Applications in the Earth Sciences. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-1995-5_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-1995-5_13
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