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Journal of the Geological Society

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Storm sedimentation

Department of Geology, University College, PO Box 78, Cardiff CF1 1XL, UK

Report on a meeting of the British Sedimentological Research Group held on 5 May 1984 at University College, Cardiff. The meeting was organized by P. A. Allen and C. J. Pound.

This meeting was arranged to reflect the recent resurgence of interest in the dynamics and sedimentation of continental shelves. To some extent this has been stimulated by advances in physical oceanography which reveal exceedingly complex patterns of water motion on the continental shelf. Yet there still remains enormous uncertainty as to the response of a mobile substrate to these complex water motions. As if to fill this scientific vacuum, hummocky cross-stratification has become an obsessional focus of attention amongst clastic sedimentologists. It was thought timely to consolidate our knowledge of storm sedimentation as a whole and in particular, first, to evaluate critically the palaeohydraulic constraints on the formation of hummocky cross-stratification (HCS) and second, to document its context within marine sedimentary sequences.

The contributions to the meeting fall into two themes: (1) insights into the genetic significance of storm deposits, particularly HCS, and (2) documentation of the geometry and anatomy of storm-generated sedimentary sequences.

Physical significance of storm deposits

J. R. L. Allen (Reading) provided the general physical implications of storms. Storms cause changes in water level resulting from barometric effects and from wind drag on the water surface creating a water surface slope or set-up. They also induce currents in the affected water body; these currents are created by wind drag, flowing as a surface layer in the

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