earth science

Matmor Formation

Matmor Formation is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Matmor Formation rather than just read about it. In short: The Matmor Formation is a geologic formation of up to 100 metres (330 ft) thick, that is exposed in Hamakhtesh Hagadol in southern Israel. The Matmor Formation contains fossils from a Jurassic equatorial shallow marine environment.

Key takeaways

Matmor Formation belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Matmor Formation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Matmor Formation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Matmor Formation is a geologic formation of up to 100 metres (330 ft) thick, that is exposed in Hamakhtesh Hagadol in southern Israel. The Matmor Formation contains fossils from a Jurassic equatorial shallow marine environment. Bivalves, gastropods, sponges, corals, echinoderms, and sclerobionts are present in the Matmor Formation to various degrees (Wilson et al., 2010). The stratigraphy of the Matmor Formation consists of alternating layers of limestone and marl (Hirsch and Roded, 1996).

Stratigraphy The Iraq Petroleum Company originally described the Jurassic sequence in Hamakhtesh Hagadol of Israel in the 1930s (Hudson, 1958). These findings were later described and published by Blake (1935). Shaw (1947) published a limited summary of the stratigraphy. Hudson (1958) later subdivided the rocks into the Callovian, Divesian, Argovian, Sequanim biostratigraphic stages. In 1963, Goldberg subdivided the section into the Zohar, Kidod and Be'er Sheva Formations. Goldberg (1963) further divided the Zohar Formation into the Ziyya and Madsus members. In 1966, Mayac dated the Callovian and what appeared to be the Lower Oxfordian stages with forams (Mayac, 1966, in Hirsch and Roded, 1996). Further biostratigraphic work by Hirsch et al. (1998) and Grossowicz et al. (2000) show that the Matmor Formation is entirely Late Callovian.

Gallery

References

Further reading Goldberg, M. (1963). "Reference section of Jurassic sequence in Hamakhtesh Hagadol (Kurnub Anticline). Detailed binocular sample description, including field observations." Israel Geological Survey, Unpublished Report, pp. 1–50. Grossowicz, L.P., Bassoullet, J.P., Hirsch, F., & Peri, M. (2000). "Jurassic large Foraminifera from Israel." Geol. Surv. Isr. Current Res, 12, 132-144. Hirsch, F., Bassoullet, J. P., Cariou, E., Conway, B., Feldman, H., Grossowicz, L., Honigstein, A., Owen, E. and Rosenfeld, A. (1998). "The Jurassic of the southern Levant. Biostratigraphy, palaeogeography and cyclic events." In: S. Crasquin-Soleau and E. Barrier (eds.), Peri- Tethys Memoir 4: Epicratonic basins of the Peri- Tethyan platforms. Mem. Mus. natn. Hist. nat. 179: 213-235. Hirsch, F.; Roded, A. (1996). "The Jurassic stratigraphic nomenclature in Hamakhtesh Hagadol, northern Negev". Geological Survey of Israel, Current Research. 10: 10–14. Hudson, R.G.S. (1958). "The Upper Jurassic faunas of southern Israel". Geological Magazine. 95 (5): 415–425. Bibcode:1958GeoM...95..415H. doi:10.1017/S0016756800062993. Wilson, M.A.; Feldman, H.R.; Krivicich, E.B. (2010). "Bioerosion in an equatorial Middle Jurassic coral-sponge reef community (Callovian, Matmor Formation, southern Israel)". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 289 (1–4): 93–101. Bibcode:2010PPP...289...93W. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.02.019.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Matmor Formation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Matmor Formation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Matmor Formation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Matmor Formation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Matmor Formation

In research: Matmor Formation appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Matmor Formation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Matmor Formation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Callovian Stage, Geologic formations of Israel, Jurassic System of Asia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Matmor Formation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Matmor Formation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Matmor Formation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Matmor Formation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Matmor Formation in simple terms?

Why does Matmor Formation matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Matmor Formation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Matmor Formation.