Lithostratigraphy

Lithostratigraphy comprises the categorization of sediment/rock strata based on lithology (e.g., color, texture, grain size, and composition), physical properties (seismic character, nature of well log response, magnetic susceptibility), and structural sedimentary inventory.

A broad spectrum of methods is applied to describe and correlate marine lithostratigraphic units. This includes visual core description, smear slide analysis, digital imaging, diffuse color reflectance spectrophotometry, magnetic susceptibility, physical properties (gamma ray attenuation, moisture, density, sonic), grain size analysis, and geochemical analysis (e.g., CaCO₃, TOC, element composition measured with an XRF sediment scanner).

Fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy is the formation comprising beds as subunits that may reveal similar lithologies or were deposited in a certain environment. The higher hierarchy of classification terms includes groups and supergroups. Sediments deposited under similar...