Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Experiments in Stratification






One of my favorite short documentaries about Geology. Guy Berthault discusses some evidences from deep sea drilling, deposits at the mouths of rivers, and work done in concert with hydrologists at the Colorado State University hydraulics laboratory laboratory at Fort Collins. I suggest buying this DVD and giving it to the local professor at the closest community college with a note, thought you should see. The site where the DVD is available, is HERE.


Description from site: "Guy Berthault uses laboratory and sediment flume experiments to test accepted principles for the formation of strata. He shows, using easy to follow computer animation, that in moving currents several of the basic principles of stratigraphy do not apply. These principles, including the principles of superposition and continuity, are applicable only in calm water. He applies flume experiments to the real world of strata, mainly the formation of the layers in the Grand Canyon. Long periods of time are not required to deposit a sequence of strata in a moving current, and multiple beds can be deposited simultaneously, especially as a result of changing current speeds. His results have profound implications for the geological column and the interpretation of fossil sequences." Best article on this work is entitled, "Experiments in Stratification"