Diagenetic density inversions and the deformation of shallow marine chert beds in Israel

ABSTRACT Chert folds and 'dyke'-like boudinage in the Senonian Mishash Formation of Israel have orientations consistent with contemporaneous tectonic patterns whereas their amplitudes are anomalously high relative to strains calculated for adjacent layers. We suggest several means by which density inversions associated with chert diagenesis might amplify gentle structures whose wavelengths and orientations were determined by regional stresses.