clinothems are sigmoidal (sloped) rock strata bounded by clinoforms. They are formed when sediments prograde into the basin. clinothem rock volumes are often subdivided into topset, foreset and bottomset compartments, which are each associated with specific sedimentary rock facies.
clinothems are sedimentary strata and therefore represent a span of geological time.
Carvajal, C. and Steel, R., 2011. Source‐to‐sink sediment volumes within a tectono‐stratigraphic model for a Laramide shelf‐to‐deep‐water basin: Methods and results. Tectonics of sedimentary basins: Recent advances, pp.131-151.