The Catastrophic Record of the Monterey Formation

WILKERSON, GREGG, Bureau of Land Management, Bakersfield, CA

The Monterey Formation records a series of biogenic and sedimentary catastrophies. These catastrophies are of two types: planktonic blooms and turbidites. Everyday processes are not preserved in the Monterey record because those processes remove sediments and organic materials at the same rates as they are made. It is the unusual, the short-lived, the catastrophic which is preserved. Recognizing the uniqueness of each catastrophic event allows for detailed correlations within the Monterey section.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91009©1991 AAPG-SEPM-SEG-SPWLA Pacific Section Annual Meeting, Bakersfield, California, March 6-8, 1991 (2009)