Using the voids to fill the gaps: caves, time, and stratigraphy

Plotnick, Roy E.; Kenig, Fabien; Scott, Andrew C.

doi:10.1144/sp404.5

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…The modelling exercise conducted by Tipper (2014) showed that the basal unconformity underlying a typical sediment sequence can account for a substantial amount of the total available time; Plotnick et al (2014) demonstrate that cave and fissure deposits -long known to preserve sediments belonging to periods otherwise unrepresented at a regional or even basinal scale -may be the place to look for the stratigraphy that is often missing from the earlier part of depositional cycles, at least in areas of palaeokarst. Accommodation space, usually conceived of as tabular, is far more complex in such areas and can include highly irregular spaces below the general level of the conventional erosional/depositional surface.…”

Section: Strata and Time In The Field And Subsurfacementioning

confidence: 98%

Strata and time: probing the gaps in our understanding

Smith¹,

Bailey²,

Burgess

et al. 2015

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Sedimentary strata are the paramount source of geohistorical information. The 'frozen accidents' of individual deposits preserve evidence of past physical, chemical and biological processes at the Earth's surface, while the spatial relationships between strata (especially superposition) yield successions of events through time. There is, however, no one-to-one relationship between strata and time, and the interpretation of the stratigraphic record depends on an understanding of its limitations. Stratigraphic continuity and completeness are unattainable ideals, and it is the departures from those ideals -the often cryptic gaps in the record -that provide both its characteristic texture and the principal challenge to its analysis. The existence of gaps is clearly demonstrated by consideration of accumulation rates, but identifying and quantifying them in the field is far more difficult, as is assessing their impact on the degree to which the stratigraphic record represents the environments and processes of the past. These issues can be tackled in a variety of ways, from empirical considerations based on classical field observations, to new ways of analysing data, to the generation and analysis of very large numbers of synthetic datasets. The range of approaches to the fundamental questions of the relationship between strata and time continues to expand and to challenge long-established practices and conventions.Superposed sedimentary strata are the most accessible routes into deep time, and acceptance of their historical significance was a major scientific breakthrough. Given that the study of strata has been undertaken in something like its modern form for over two centuries, stratigraphy as a scientific discipline might be expected to have stabilized, as perhaps is indicated by stratigraphy textbooks suggesting that the subject is widely regarded as boring. Yet if there is a problem with stratigraphy, it is the converse: its development is increasingly punctuated by paradigm shifts triggered by new theories (evolution; global tectonics; eustasy; orbital forcing of climate change) and technological breakthroughs (digital computing; continuous seismic profiling; isotopic methods in chronology and palaeoclimatology). With this accelerating progress, it has become increasingly clear that the stratigraphic record yields only snapshots of Earth's past surface processes -the 'frozen accidents' that give the record its character and its enduring fascination. 'Time is missing from sedimentary sequences on all scales . . . This discontinuity gives recorded planetary (geological) time a different architecture to human time' (Paola, C. 2003. Floods of record. Nature, 425, 459).Strata and Time: Probing the Gaps in our Understanding was the title of the Geological Society's William Smith Meeting for 2012. Its aim was to explore the relationship between the preserved sedimentary rock record and the passage of geological time, identifying, evaluating and updating the models that lie behind current stratigraphic method...

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Section: Strata and Time In The Field And Subsurfacementioning

confidence: 98%

Strata and time: probing the gaps in our understanding

Smith¹,

Bailey²,

Burgess

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Generally, the clastic sediments within caves are allochthonous and derived from adjacent rocks units under weathering, and their triggers mechanism depends on external regional factors such as climate, tectonics and surface geomorphology, thus representing the scenario of the surrounding environment/watershed (Farrant and Smart, 2011;Plotnick et al, 2015). Therefore, the deposited materials and deposition patterns reflect the scale of terrestrial processes caused by regional driving forces transmitted by climate and tectonics (Springer, 2005;Arriolabengoa et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study of clastic sediments in caves is challenging since even with deposition processes similar to the superficial ones, the particular sedimentary dynamics in the cave can lead to deposits with complex stratigraphic configurations (Osborne, 1986;Gillieson, 1996;Ford and Williams, 2007), sometimes having older sediments overlapping the younger ones (Springer, 2005). Moreover, the deposition in the conduits is highly heterogeneous, generating temporal gaps and discontinuity into sediment records, reinforcing the need to gather several deposits to obtain a more comprehensive paleoenvironmental scenario (Gillieson, 1996;Plotnick et al, 2015). Thus, establishing a precise chronology of depositional and erosion phases is fundamental to shed light on the connections between underground and surface events (Osborne, 2005;White, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Quaternary episodes of clastic sediment deposition in the Tarimba Cave, Central Brazil

Caldeira

Uagoda

Nogueira

et al. 2021

Quaternary International

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“…Caves are important sites of fossil preservation, especially for Quaternary vertebrates throughout the world (Behrensmeyer et al 1992;Noto 2011;Plotnick et al 2014). For example, of 84 Quaternary fossil sites in Virginia in the Paleobiology Database (paleodb.org), 47 are in currently open caves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining Taphonomic Controls and Rates of Decay in Cave Environments Using Microcosms

Boblitt

Plotnick

Kenig

et al. 2018

Palaios

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Caves are important sites of fossil preservation, especially for Quaternary vertebrates. Taphonomic processes operating in caves are not well understood and have never been experimentally examined. This study focuses on the potential role of bat guano, which impacts environmental biogeochemistry and serves as the base of the food chain in cave ecosystems. The presence or absence of guano is expected to be a major control of preservation potential. The oldest bats are Eocene and so bat guano likely influenced cave preservation only during the Cenozoic. This is a probable megabias of the cave fossil record. Microcosm experiments were used to determine the impact of guano presence and composition, moisture, temperature, and time on preservation potential of small mammal bones, leaves, and crickets. Guano came from insectivorous and frugivorous bats. The guano of insectivorous bats has an acidic pH, while the guano of frugivorous bats is close to neutral. Lab studies were supplemented with field experiments at Crumps Cave, Kentucky.Leaves and crickets were better preserved in the guano of insectivorous bats, while bones showed recrystallization after burial. Leaves and crickets buried in the guano of frugivorous bats were quickly colonized by fungi and mostly destroyed, while only a few bones showed signs of fungi and degradation. Microcosms with a higher moisture content showed greater degradation, while time and temperature had less of an effect. Bones buried in both types of guano decayed much more rapidly than in sand. Bones buried in situ in cave sediments showed little degradation over three months. These results provide insight into the variable impact of environmental conditions on the taphonomy of Quaternary vertebrates and plants.

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Using the voids to fill the gaps: caves, time, and stratigraphy

Cited by 10 publications

References 94 publications

Strata and time: probing the gaps in our understanding

Strata and time: probing the gaps in our understanding

Late Quaternary episodes of clastic sediment deposition in the Tarimba Cave, Central Brazil

Determining Taphonomic Controls and Rates of Decay in Cave Environments Using Microcosms

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