Soft-sediment deformation structures are widespread in sedimentary successions of all ages and most depositional settings. They develop at or close to the sediment surface, during or shortly after sediment accumulation and before significant burial has taken place. As such, they have the potential to contribute to the understanding of depositional palaeoenvironments.
Progress has been made recently in developing methodologies to understand the processes that trigger the instabilities leading to soft-sediment deformation. In particular, it is possible in many cases to distinguish structures that have been generated by triggers of external origin (exogenic triggers such as earthquakes) from those of “internal” origin (endogenic triggers such as rapid sedimentation or flood-related turbulence).
The focus of this session will be to develop understanding of the palaeoenvironmental significance of soft-sediment deformation structures. All aspects of the palaeoenvironment will be considered, including the physical environment, tectonic setting, palaeoclimate and depositional processes.
The aim is to further develop the understanding of soft-sediment deformation structures beyond their description and classification, with an emphasis on their context and significance.
Contributions will be welcomed on all aspects of soft-sediment deformation that contribute to understanding the environmental context and significance, including theoretical approaches, experimental investigations, methodologies for analysing soft-sediment deformation, process studies and field-based case studies from bed to basin scale.