This study documents the processes involved in forming flaser and wavy bedding governed by microbial activity in sediments. It focuses on a modern marginal‐tidal system providing evidence of the role that biofilms play in the stabilization of ripples and their potential preservation. A combination of detailed field work, analysis of water level records and microscopic petrographic inspection were used to reply to the question: how fine‐grained and coarse‐grained sediments can sequentially be deposited and preserved in a coastal environment. The hydraulic energy was measured by water level sensors recording flooding events that inundate the colonized tidal flat. Changing surface morphologies were monitored after storms, revealing the importance of biological processes in the preservation of ripples. A mud drape over ripples was observed several days after the undulated surface formation, known as a sinoidal sedimentary structure, which is a thin biofilm covering the ripples, caused by the presence of a microbial mat. Because bedforms are essential predictors of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, interpretation in the geological record should take into consideration the important effect that colonized sediments have on the preservation of ripples. A geobiological model explains the flaser sedimentation, common in depositional coastal environments, suggesting that the hydrodynamic conditions may not be directly reflected by the grain size at the time of deposition. The study reveals that flaser sedimentation involves an interaction with benthic organisms, reflected by the sequence of microbial mats with sand ripple marks. A detailed description of heterolithic sequences shows that the presence of microbial activity can drive ripple preservation. This suggests that hydraulic interpretation of the sedimentary record based only on physical processes might be erroneous.

中文翻译：

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上缘杂岩沉积序列中波纹形成和保存的地球生物学模型

这项研究记录了由沉积物中微生物活性决定的形成火成岩和波浪状地层的过程。它着眼于现代的边缘-潮汐系统，提供了生物膜在稳定涟漪及其潜在保存方面所发挥作用的证据。结合详细的现场工作，水位记录分析和显微岩相检查相结合来回答这个问题：如何在沿海环境中依次沉积和保存细颗粒和粗颗粒沉积物。水能传感器通过记录淹没事件的水位传感器测量水淹事件，这些事件淹没了定居的潮汐滩。暴风雨过后，对不断变化的表面形态进行了监测，揭示了生物过程在保护涟漪中的重要性。在起伏的表面形成后几天观察到波纹覆盖的泥浆，称为正弦沉积结构，这是由于存在微生物垫而导致的覆盖波纹的薄生物膜。由于床形是古环境重建的重要预测因子，因此在地质记录中的解释应考虑到殖民化沉积物对波纹形成的重要影响。地质生物学模型解释了在沉积沿海环境中常见的火焰状沉积，表明水动力条件可能不会直接由沉积时的晶粒尺寸反映出来。这项研究表明，沙尘沉积涉及与底栖生物的相互作用，这由具有沙纹痕迹的微生物垫的序列反映出来。对异质石序列的详细说明表明，微生物活性的存在可以促进波纹的保存。这表明仅根据物理过程对沉积记录进行水力解释可能是错误的。