Antun Husinec Geology

 

Contact:

Dr. Antun Husinec
Department of Geology
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY 13617
USA

phone:
315-229-5248 (office) 315-229-5236 (lab)

fax: 315-229-5804

 

 

Fischer plots

Fischer plots are plots of accommodation (derived by calculating cumulative departure from mean cycle thickness) versus cycle number or stratigraphic distance (proxies for time), for “cyclic” carbonate platforms.

Fischer Plot Example
Example of Fischer plot showing cummulative departure from mean cycle thickness as a function of thickness

The plots can be used to derive periods of increased accommodation, shown on the plots as a rising limb (which commonly matches times of more open marine, subtidal parasequence development). Times of decreased accommodation, shown on the plots as a falling limb, generally are coincident with thin, shallow, peritidal parasequences.
The plots are valuable in that they allow geologists to recognize changes in accommodation space from cyclic carbonate successions, and hence allow them to pick depositional sequences, the fundamental units of modern stratigraphy.

Here is a simple method of generating Fischer plots of cumulative departure from mean cycle thickness plotted against either cycle number or stratigraphic distance, using an Excel spreadsheet program developed by Husinec et al. (Computers & Geosciences). The only data that needs to be input is number and thickness of covered intervals (or uncored intervals in core), and cycle thickness data. For further information you may download a pdf of the paper:

Husinec, A., Basch, D., Rose, B. & Read, J.F., 2008, FISCHERPLOTS: an Excel spreadsheet for computing Fischer plots of accommodation change in cyclic carbonate successions in both the time and depth domain. Computers & Geosciences, 34, p. 269-277. DOI:10.1016/j.cageo.2007.02.004

 

 

Fischerplots

This is a fully functioning program. If you use this program in any form and material is published/reported from it please acknowledge the use of the program.

Please send mail to ahusinec@stlawu.edu if you encounter any problems or have suggestions.