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Lithostratigraphy

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Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences

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Definition

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...

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Bibliography

  • Henrich, R., and Hüneke, H., 2011. Hemipelagic advection and periplatform sedimentation. In Hüneke, H., and Mulder, T. (eds.), Deep-Sea Sediments. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Developments in Sedimentology, Vol. 63, pp. 215–351.

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  • Hüneke, H., and Henrich, R., 2011. Pelagic sediments: modern and ancient. In Hüneke, H., and Mulder, T. (eds.), Deep-Sea Sediments. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Developments in Sedimentology, Vol. 63, pp. 353–396.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Univ Bremen, Klagenfurter Str, Postfach 330 440, D-28359, Bremen, Germany

    Rüdiger Henrich

Authors
  1. Rüdiger Henrich
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Correspondence to Rüdiger Henrich .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

    Jan Harff

  2. Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Martin Meschede

  3. Leibiniz Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Sven Petersen

  4. Academy of Sciences, Humanities, and Lit c/o Helmholtz-Center for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany

    Jörn Thiede

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Henrich, R. (2015). Lithostratigraphy. In: Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_70-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_70-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6644-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Lithostratigraphy
    Published:
    03 March 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_70-3

  2. Lithostratigraphy
    Published:
    30 January 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_70-2

  3. Original

    Lithostratigraphy
    Published:
    12 February 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_70-1

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