the study of layers in sedimentary rock is known as
Specific to layered sedimentary rocks, geologists long ago determined that studying such layers -- what is called the “superposition” of the rocks -- is the key to tracking the Earth’s evolution, including the ebb and flow of oceans, lakes and rivers, and the shifting of sands and other forms of sediment.
Sedimentary rocks are formed particle by particle and bed by bed, and the layers are piled one on top of the other. Thus, in any sequence of layered rocks, a given bed must be older than any bed on top of it.ravel becomes a rock called conglomerate, sand becomes sandstone, mud becomes mudstone or shale, and the animal skeletons and plant pieces can become fossils. An idealized view of a modern landscape and some of the plants and animals that could be preserved as fossils.