Orientation Studies of Waterlogged Wood: A Paleocurrent Indicator?

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ABSTRACT Fossil wood has been used extensively as a paleocurrent indicator, and published evidence suggests that it may be aligned either parallel or perpendicular to a unidirectional current. Flume experiments on deposition of waterlogged wood show that most fragments are aligned parallel to the current. For fragments with a high degree of symmetry, however, a perpendicular orientation is possible. The dominant factors in controlling the orientation of wood fragments appear to be current velocity, fragment shape and fragment size.