geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

, the depositional resolution is the age span of objects that are contained within a

stratum In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

. In most cases the objects of interest are grains or fossils.

Limit cases

One limit case with an extremely low depositional resolution is a

reworked fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

in a younger

bed A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many b ...

. Here the stratigraphic resolution is approximately the time span between the deposition of the bed and the first deposition of the reworked fossil. The counterpart would be an environment that is rapidly covered in sediment, which kills and preserves all life present. Even in such cases there will still be some

death assemblage Thanatocoenosis (from Greek language ''thanatos'' - death and ''koinos'' - common) are all the embedded fossils at a single discovery site. This site may be referred to as a death assemblage. Such groupings are composed of fossils of organisms whi ...

around that has been generated beforehand. This puts a limit on the depositional resolution.

Depositional resolution and stratigraphic resolution

Depositional resolution and stratigraphic resolution are different concepts. This is since stratigraphic resolution is based on the relation between different

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

, whereas depositional resolution is a property within one stratum. Stratigraphic resolution can be higher than depositional resolution and vice versa. But since both are to some extent affected by the same controlling factors they can correlate.

Literature

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References

Paleontology {{geology-stub