Soft Sediment Deformation Structures
Soft-sediment deformation structures or SSD, is a consequence of the loading of wet sediment as burial continues after deposition. The heavier sediment "squeezes" the water out of the underlying sediment due to its own weight. There are three common variants of SSD:
- load structures or load casts (also a type of sole marking) are blobs that form when a denser, wet sediment slumps down on and into a less dense sediment below.
- pseudonodules or ball-and-pillow structures, are pinched-off load structures; these may also be formed by earthquake energy and referred to as seismites.
- flame structures, "fingers" of mud that protrude into overlying sediments.
- clastic dikes are seams of sedimentary material that cut across sedimentary strata.
Read more about this topic: Sedimentary Structures
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