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Ichnofacies and bathymetry: a passive relationship

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

Robert W. Frey ,
S. George Pemberton  and
Thomas D. A. Saunders
Robert W. Frey
Affiliation:
1Department of Geology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602
S. George Pemberton
Affiliation:
2Department of Geology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E3, Canada
Thomas D. A. Saunders
Affiliation:
2Department of Geology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E3, Canada
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Extract

Ichnofacies stand today as one of the more elegant but widely misunderstood concepts in ichnology, especially where paleobathymetry is concerned. Marine ichnofacies are not intended to be paleobathometers, as some workers continue to imply (e.g., Lockley et al., 1987; Ekdale, 1988); rather, they are archetypical facies models based upon recurring ichnocoenoses (Frey and Pemberton, 1984, 1985, 1987). If a particular ichnocoenose tends to occur repeatedly within a given bathymetric setting, so much the better; but water depth per se is rarely, if ever, a governing factor. Ichnocoenoses and ichnofacies, therefore, are best viewed in the context of actual depositional conditions or environmental gradients, wherever they occur (Figure 1).

Type
Paleontological Notes
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 64 , Issue 1 , January 1990 , pp. 155 - 158
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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