Bed (geology)

[5] This method of defining bed versus lamina is frequently used in textbooks, e.g., Collinson & Mountney[6] or Miall.

As a result, a bed is typically, but not always, interpreted to represent a single period of time when sediments or pyroclastic material accumulated during uniform and steady paleoenvironmental conditions.

[10] Such sedimentological studies are typically based on the hypothesis that the thicknesses of stratigraphic units follows a log-normal distribution.

[10][11] Differing nomenclatures for the bed and laminae thickness have been proposed by various authors, including McKee and Weir,[5] Ingram,[12] and Reineck and Singh.

[10][13] In the practice of engineering geology, a standardized nomenclature is used for describing bed thickness in Australia,[14] the European Union,[15] and the United Kingdom.

A flow is “...a discrete, extrusive, volcanic rock body distinguishable by texture, composition, order of superposition, paleomagnetism, or other objective criteria.” A flow is a part of a member as a bed of sedimentary rock is a part of a member.

[18][19] In geotechnical engineering a bedding surface often forms a discontinuity that may have a large influence on the mechanical behaviour (strength, deformation, etc.)