Facies

Ingeology,afacies(/ˈfeɪʃɪ.iːz/FAY-shih-eez,USalso/ˈfeɪʃiːz/FAY-sheez;same pronunciation and spelling in the plural)^[a]is a body of rock with distinctive characteristics.^[1]The characteristics can be any observable attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or condition of formation) and the changes that may occur in those attributes over a geographic area. A facies encompasses all the characteristics of a rock including its chemical, physical, and biological features that distinguish it from adjacent rock.^[2]

The term "facies" was introduced by the Swiss geologistAmanz Gresslyin 1838 and was part of his significant contribution to the foundations of modernstratigraphy,^[3]which replaced the earlier notions ofNeptunism.

Walther's law

Walther's law of facies, or simply Walther's law, named after the geologistJohannes Walther,states that the vertical succession of facies reflects lateral changes in environment. Conversely, it states that when a depositional environment "migrates" laterally, sediments of one depositional environment come to lie on top of another.^[4]In Russia the law is known as Golovkinsky-Walther's law, honoring alsoNikolai A. Golovkinsky.^[5]A classic example of this law is the vertical stratigraphic succession that typifies marinetransgressionsandregressions.

Types

Sedimentary

Ideally, asedimentaryfacies is a distinctiverock unitthat forms under certain conditions ofsedimentation,reflecting a particular process or environment. Sedimentary facies are either descriptive or interpretative. Sedimentary facies are bodies of sediment that are recognizably distinct from adjacent sediments that resulted from different depositional environments. Generally, geologists distinguish facies by theaspectof the rock or sediment being studied.^{[citation needed]}Facies based onpetrologicalcharacters (such as grain size andmineralogy) are calledlithofacies,whereas facies based onfossilcontent are calledbiofacies.

A facies is usually further subdivided. The characteristics of therockunit come from thedepositional environmentand from the original composition. Sedimentary facies reflect their depositional environment, each facies being a distinct kind of sediment for that area or environment.

Since its inception in 1838, the facies concept has been extended to related geological concepts. For example, characteristic associations of organic microfossils, and particulate organic material, in rocks or sediments, are calledpalynofacies.Discreteseismicunits are similarly referred to as seismic facies.

Sedimentary facies are described in a group of "facies descriptors" which must be distinct, reproducible and exhaustive. A reliable facies description of an outcrop in the field would include: composition, texture, sedimentary structure(s), bedding geometry, nature of bedding contact, fossil content and colour.

Metamorphic

The sequence of minerals that develop during progressivemetamorphism(that is, metamorphism at progressively higher temperatures and/or pressures) define afacies series.

Notes

^Other pronunciations include/ˈfeɪsiːz/FAY-seezand/ˈfæʃiːz/FASH-eez,but these are so rare that they are not recorded in any major dictionaries (incl. Collins, Merriam-Webster, Oxford (Lexico), and American Heritage).

References

^Reading, H. G. (1996).Sedimentary Environments and Facies.Blackwell Scientific Publications.ISBN 0-632-03627-3.
^Parker, Sybil P. (1984).McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology.McGraw-Hill. p. 705.ISBN 0-07-045482-5.
^Cross, T. A.; Homewood, P. W. (1997). "Amanz Gressly's role in founding modern stratigraphy".Geological Society of America Bulletin.109(12). Geological Society of America: 1617–1630.Bibcode:1997GSAB..109.1617C.doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1997)109<1617:agsrif>2.3.co;2.S2CID 73609554.
^Stanley, Steven M. (1999).Earth System History.New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 134.ISBN 0-7167-2882-6.
^ Nurgalieva, N. G.; Vinokurov, V. M.; Nurgaliev, D. K. (2007). "The Golovkinsky strata formation model, basic facies law and sequence stratigraphy concept: Historical sources and relations".Russian Journal of Earth Sciences.9:1–7.doi:10.2205/2007ES000222.S2CID 55280334.The fundamentals of the facies law, known in the West as Walther's Law and in Russia as Golovkinsky-Walther's Law, were also described in Golovkinsky's work long before Walther drew his conclusions on this subject. The present paper shows that the fundamentals of sequence stratigraphy were first set forth in the work of N. A. Golovkinsky.

[1] Other pronunciations include/ˈfeɪsiːz/FAY-seezand/ˈfæʃiːz/FASH-eez,but these are so rare that they are not recorded in any major dictionaries (incl. Collins, Merriam-Webster, Oxford (Lexico), and American Heritage).

[Reading-2] Reading, H. G. (1996).Sedimentary Environments and Facies.Blackwell Scientific Publications.ISBN 0-632-03627-3.

[3] Parker, Sybil P. (1984).McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology.McGraw-Hill. p. 705.ISBN 0-07-045482-5.

[Cross-4] Cross, T. A.; Homewood, P. W. (1997). "Amanz Gressly's role in founding modern stratigraphy".Geological Society of America Bulletin.109(12). Geological Society of America: 1617–1630.Bibcode:1997GSAB..109.1617C.doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1997)109<1617:agsrif>2.3.co;2.S2CID 73609554.

[Stanley-5] Stanley, Steven M. (1999).Earth System History.New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 134.ISBN 0-7167-2882-6.

[6] Nurgalieva, N. G.; Vinokurov, V. M.; Nurgaliev, D. K. (2007). "The Golovkinsky strata formation model, basic facies law and sequence stratigraphy concept: Historical sources and relations".Russian Journal of Earth Sciences.9:1–7.doi:10.2205/2007ES000222.S2CID 55280334.The fundamentals of the facies law, known in the West as Walther's Law and in Russia as Golovkinsky-Walther's Law, were also described in Golovkinsky's work long before Walther drew his conclusions on this subject. The present paper shows that the fundamentals of sequence stratigraphy were first set forth in the work of N. A. Golovkinsky.

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v t e Geologicprinciples and processes
Stratigraphic principles	Principle of original horizontality Law of superposition Principle of lateral continuity Principle of cross-cutting relationships Principle of faunal succession Principle of inclusions and components Walther's law
Petrologic principles	Intrusive Extrusive Volcanic Exfoliation Weathering Soil formation Diagenesis Compaction Metamorphism
Geomorphologic processes	Plate tectonics Salt tectonics Tectonic uplift Subsidence Marine transgression Marine regression
Sediment transport	Fluvial processes Aeolian processes Glacial processes Mass wasting processes
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