bed
Let an agent handle a bed as a stratigraphic unit with a position, a lithology and a thickness, within the hierarchy of formation, member and bed.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Lithology What the bed is made of.
Composition
Rock type and grain size.
Rock description
The rock type, grain size and colour.
- What is the lithology of this bed? definition
- How does it differ from the beds above and below? boundary
Sedimentary structures
Internal structure.
Structures observed
Bedding type and structures.
- Which sedimentary structures does it show? definition
- What environment do they indicate? definition
Position and hierarchy Where it sits in the sequence.
Position
Place in the section.
Stratigraphic position
The level and neighbouring units.
- Where in the section does this bed sit? definition
- Which member and formation contain it? definition
Naming
Formal or informal name.
Nomenclature
The name and its status.
- Is this bed formally named, and where was the name published? provenance
- Where is its type section? provenance
Measurement and correlation Thickness, extent and matching.
Thickness
Measured thickness and variation.
Thickness data
Measured thickness and its variation.
- What is the thickness of this bed, and how does it vary? measurement
- How was it measured? provenance
Correlation
Matching across sections.
Correlation evidence
The evidence used to correlate.
- On what evidence is this bed correlated between sections? provenance
- How confident is the correlation? measurement
Use and hazard Resources and engineering.
Resources
Coal, ore or water in the bed.
Resource content
Resources and their grade.
- Does this bed carry an economic resource? definition
- What grade and extent are established? measurement
Engineering behaviour
Strength and stability.
Engineering properties
Strength and permeability.
- What are its strength and permeability? measurement
- Does it pose a stability or groundwater hazard? boundary
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.PLC
What it is Filled
In geology, a layer of sedimentary rock or sediment, the smallest formal lithostratigraphic unit, distinct in composition or texture from the layers above and below and separated from them by bedding planes.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent handle a bed as a stratigraphic unit with a position, a lithology and a thickness, within the hierarchy of formation, member and bed.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The smallest formal lithostratigraphic unit, below member and formation
- Bounded by bedding planes
- Distinguished by lithology, not by age
- The furniture sense of bed is a different entry
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Misreport bed thickness or correlation to support a resource or safety claim.
- Sample or excavate beds on protected geological sites without permission.
- Ignore weak beds when advising on slopes, cuttings or foundations.
Only with a human decision
- Declaring a slope or excavation safe where weak beds are present.
May
- Describe, log and correlate beds from sections, outcrops and borehole records.
- Report formal bed names as published under stratigraphic rules.
Moral aspects Filled
- Geological interpretation feeds into mining, building and hazard decisions that affect lives and land.
Who is affected
- People living on or below slopes
- Landowners
- Workers in quarries and mines
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the concept; the landowner and mineral rights holder answer for a given site.
Master systems
- National geological survey records
- Borehole registers
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q3550897 - registry parent class
related
- member or formation - the stratigraphic hierarchy
- sedimentary rock - its lithology
- bed as furniture - a homonym; this entry is geological
- biostratigraphy or radiometric dating - age is established separately from lithology
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.bed-q806617
- Wikidata: Q806617 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q806617)
Direct properties required Filled
- thickness: 0.01-several metres - beds thinner than 1 cm are laminae
- lateral extent: metres to hundreds of kilometres distance - key beds extend far
Recognition required Filled
- Parallel bedding planes marking its top and base
- Consistent lithology, colour or fossil content within the layer
- Key beds such as volcanic ash layers traceable over wide areas
- A layer in a cliff, quarry face or core, bounded by bedding planes, often with a different colour, grain size or hardness from its neighbours.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- describe and measure it, in a section log
- correlate it, between outcrops and boreholes
- name it formally, under stratigraphic rules
- extract resources from it, such as coal or ore beds
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Miscorrelating beds between sections, which distorts maps and resource estimates
- Confusing a bed with a lamina or a member
- Weak beds such as clays causing slope failures
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- International Stratigraphic Guide (IUGS)
- National stratigraphic codes, such as the North American Stratigraphic Code
Context of use required Filled
- Describing and correlating the sequence of rock layers, which records past environments and guides mapping, mining and engineering.
- by lithology: sandstone, shale, limestone, coal, evaporite beds
- key beds and marker beds used for correlation
- by structure: graded, cross-bedded, massive
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q806617: bed - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Bed (geology) - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should named beds be registered as instances under their formations?
- How should informal and formal beds be distinguished?
- Which properties are needed for engineering use of bed data?
- The registry entry carries no aliases or definition; is the geological sense the one intended?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q806617/spec.json