Clinoform architecture and along‐strike facies variability through an exhumed erosional to accretionary basin margin transition     

Miquel Poyatos‐Mor  George D. Jones  Rufus L. Brunt  Daniel E. Tek  David M. Hodgson  Stephen S. Flint 《Basin Research》2019,31(5):920-947

Exhumed basin margin‐scale clinothems provide important archives for understanding process interactions and reconstructing the physiography of sedimentary basins. However, studies of coeval shelf through slope to basin‐floor deposits are rarely documented, mainly due to outcrop or subsurface dataset limitations. Unit G from the Laingsburg depocentre (Karoo Basin, South Africa) is a rare example of a complete basin margin scale clinothem (>60 km long, 200 m‐high), with >10 km of depositional strike control, which allows a quasi‐3D study of a preserved shelf‐slope‐basin floor transition over a ca. 1,200 km² area. Sand‐prone, wave‐influenced topset deposits close to the shelf‐edge rollover zone can be physically mapped down dip for ca. 10 km as they thicken and transition into heterolithic foreset/slope deposits. These deposits progressively fine and thin over tens of km farther down dip into sand‐starved bottomset/basin‐floor deposits. Only a few km along strike, the coeval foreset/slope deposits are bypass‐dominated with incisional features interpreted as minor slope conduits/gullies. The margin here is steeper, more channelized and records a stepped profile with evidence of sand‐filled intraslope topography, a preserved base‐of‐slope transition zone and sand‐rich bottomset/basin‐floor deposits. Unit G is interpreted as part of a composite depositional sequence that records a change in basin margin style from an underlying incised slope with large sand‐rich basin‐floor fans to an overlying accretion‐dominated shelf with limited sand supply to the slope and basin floor. The change in margin style is accompanied with decreased clinoform height/slope and increased shelf width. This is interpreted to reflect a transition in subsidence style from regional sag, driven by dynamic topography/inherited basement configuration, to early foreland basin flexural loading. Results of this study caution against reconstructing basin margin successions from partial datasets without accounting for temporal and spatial physiographic changes, with potential implications on predictive basin evolution models.  相似文献   

Deposition and preservation of fluvio-tidal shallow-marine sandstones: A re-evaluation of the Neoproterozoic Jura Quartzite (western Scotland)     

Bruce K. Levell  Howard D. Johnson  Daniel S. Collins  Marijn van Cappelle 《Sedimentology》2020,67(1):173-206

The 2 to 5 km thick, sandstone-dominated (>90%) Jura Quartzite is an extreme example of a mature Neoproterozoic sandstone, previously interpreted as a tide-influenced shelf deposit and herein re-interpreted within a fluvio-tidal deltaic depositional model. Three issues are addressed: (i) evidence for the re-interpretation from tidal shelf to tidal delta; (ii) reasons for vertical facies uniformity; and (iii) sand supply mechanisms to form thick tidal-shelf sandstones. The predominant facies (compound cross-bedded, coarse-grained sandstones) represents the lower parts of metres to tens of metres high, transverse fluvio-tidal bedforms with superimposed smaller bedforms. Ubiquitous erosional surfaces, some with granule–pebble lags, record erosion of the upper parts of those bedforms. There was selective preservation of the higher energy, topographically-lower, parts of channel-bar systems. Strongly asymmetrical, bimodal, palaeocurrents are interpreted as due to associated selective preservation of fluvially-enhanced ebb tidal currents. Finer-grained facies are scarce, due largely to suspended sediment bypass. They record deposition in lower-energy environments, including channel mouth bars, between and down depositional-dip of higher energy fluvio-ebb tidal bars. The lack of wave-formed sedimentary structures and low continuity of mudstone and sandstone interbeds, support deposition in a non-shelf setting. Hence, a sand-rich, fluvial–tidal, current-dominated, largely sub-tidal, delta setting is proposed. This new interpretation avoids the problem of transporting large amounts of coarse sand to a shelf. Facies uniformity and vertical stacking are likely due to sediment oversupply and bypass rather than balanced sediment supply and subsidence rates. However, facies evidence of relative sea level changes is difficult to recognise, which is attributed to: (i) the areally extensive and polygenetic nature of the preserved facies, and (ii) a large stored sediment buffer that dampened response to relative sea-level and/or sediment supply changes. Consideration of preservation bias towards high-energy deposits may be more generally relevant, especially to thick Neoproterozoic and Lower Palaeozoic marine sandstones.  相似文献   

Clinoform growth and sediment flux into late Cenozoic Qiongdongnan shelf margin,South China Sea     

Si Chen  Ronald Steel  Hua Wang  Rui Zhao  Cornel Olariu 《Basin Research》2020,32(2):302-319

The South China Sea continental margin in the Qiongdongnan Basin (QDNB) area has incrementally prograded since 10.5 Ma generating a margin sediment prism more than 4km-thick and 150–200 km wide above the well-dated T40 stratigraphic surface. Core and well log data, as well as clinoform morphology and growth patterns along 28 2D seismic reflection lines, illustrate the evolving architecture and margin morphology; through five main seismic-stratigraphic surfaces (T40, T30, T27, T20 and T0) frame 15 clinothems in the southwest that reduce over some 200 km to 8 clinoforms in the northeast. The overall margin geometry shows a remarkable change from sigmoidal, strongly progradational and aggradational in the west to weakly progradational in the east. Vertical sediment accumulation rate increased significantly across the entire margin after 2.4 Ma, with a marked increase in mud content in the succession. Furthermore, an estimate of sediment flux across successive clinoforms on each of the three selected seismic cross sections indicate an overall decrease in sediment discharge west to east, away from the Red River depocenter, as well as a decrease in the percentage of total discharge crossing the shelf break in this same direction. The QDNB Late Cenozoic continental margin growth, with its overall increased sediment flux, responded to the climate-induced, gradual cooling and falling global sea level during this icehouse period.  相似文献   

Late Quaternary paleo sea level geomorphological markers of opposite vertical movements at Salina volcanic island (Aeolian Arc)     

F. Lucchi  A. Ricchi  C. Romagnoli  D. Casalbore  R. Quartau 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2019,44(12):2377-2395

Raised marine terraces and submerged insular shelves are used through an integrated approach as markers of relative sea level changes along the flanks of the Salina volcanic island (Aeolian Arc, southern Italy) for the purpose of evaluating its crustal vertical deformation pattern through time. Paleo sea level positions are estimated for the terrace inner margins exposed subaerially at different elevations and the erosive shelf edges recognized offshore at different depths. Compared with the eustatic sea levels at the main highstands (for the terraces) and lowstands (for the shelf edges) derived from the literature, these paleo sea level markers allowed us to reconstruct the interplay among different processes shaping the flanks of the island and, in particular, to quantify the pattern, magnitudes and rates of vertical movements affecting the different sectors of Salina since the time of their formation. A uniform uplift process at rates of 0.35 m ka⁻¹ during the Last Interglacial is estimated for Salina (extended to most of the Aeolian Arc) as evidence of a regional (tectonic) vertical deformation affecting the sub-volcanic basement in a subduction-related geodynamic context. Before that, a dominant subsidence at rates of 0.39–0.56 m ka⁻¹ is instead suggested for the time interval between 465 ka (MIS 12) and the onset of the Last Interglacial (MIS 5.5, 124 ka). By matching the insular shelf edges with the main lowstands of the sea level curve, a relative age attribution is provided for the (mostly) submerged volcanic centres on which the deepest (and oldest) insular shelves were carved, with insights on the chronological development of the older stages of Salina and the early emergence of the island. The shift from subsidence to uplift at the Last Interglacial suggests a major geodynamic change and variation of the stress regime acting on the Aeolian sub-volcanic basement. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Shelf‐margin clinothem progradation,degradation and readjustment: Tanqua depocentre,Karoo Basin (South Africa)     

《Sedimentology》2018,65(3):809-841

Degradation of basin‐margin clinothems around the shelf‐edge rollover zone may lead to the generation of conduits through which gravity flows transport sediment downslope. Many studies from seismic‐reflection data sets show these features, but they lack small‐scale (centimetre to metre) sedimentary and stratigraphic observations on process interactions. Exhumed basin‐margin clinothems in the Tanqua depocentre (Karoo Basin) provide seismic‐reflection‐scale geometries and internal details of architecture with depositional dip and strike control. At the Geelhoek locality, clinothem parasequences comprise siltstone‐rich offshore deposits overlain by heterolithic prodelta facies and sandstone‐dominated deformed mouth bars. Three of these parasequences are truncated by a steep (6 to 22°), 100 m deep and 1·5 km wide asymmetrical composite erosion surface that delineates a shelf‐incised canyon. The fill, from base to top comprises: (i) thick‐bedded sandstone with intrabasinal clasts and multiple erosion surfaces; (ii) scour‐based interbedded sandstone and siltstone with tractional structures; and (iii) inverse‐graded to normal‐graded siltstone beds. An overlying 55 m thick coarsening‐upward parasequence fills the upper section of the canyon and extends across its interfluves. Younger parasequences display progressively shallower gradients during progradation and healing of the local accommodation. The incision surface resulted from initial oversteepening and high sediment supply triggering deformation and collapse at the shelf edge, enhanced by a relative sea‐level fall that did not result in subaerial exposure of the shelf edge. Previous work identified an underlying highly incised, sandstone‐rich shelf‐edge rollover zone across‐margin strike, suggesting that there was migration in the zone of shelf edge to upper‐slope incision over time. This study provides an unusual example of clinothem degradation and readjustment with three‐dimensional control in an exhumed basin‐margin succession. The work demonstrates that large‐scale erosion surfaces can develop and migrate due to a combination of factors at the shelf‐edge rollover zone and proposes additional criteria to predict clinothem incision and differential sediment bypass in consistently progradational systems.  相似文献   

自然延伸概念及相关地质要素在海域划界中的影响效力分析     

邱文弦  金翔龙  方银霞  王奎 《海洋学报(英文版)》2017,36(2):35-42

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea entitled the coastal States to naturally extend the continental shelf, which has caused more drastic disputes of maritime delimitation. This paper devotes to clarifying the significant concept of natural prolongation through an effect method combing the legal principles and technical analysis. Firstly, the classic samples with respect of the development of geological features are traced. Based on these samples, the classification with a model is proposed in order to affirm the concept''s significance under certain geomorphologic situations. Lastly, scientific analysis is used to present two potential prolongation situations and emphasize that all the technical analysis on maritime delimitation should be complied with international law and protect the common interest of all the mankind.  相似文献   

Transition from storm wave‐dominated outer shelf to gullied upper slope: The mid‐Pliocene Orinoco shelf margin,South Trinidad          下载免费PDF全文

Yang Peng  Ronald J. Steel  Cornel Olariu 《Sedimentology》2017,64(6):1511-1539

Shelf‐edge deltas are a key depositional environment for accreting sediment onto shelf‐margin clinoforms. The Moruga Formation, part of the palaeo‐Orinoco shelf‐margin sedimentary prism of south‐east Trinidad, provides new insight into the incremental growth of a Pliocene, storm wave‐dominated shelf margin. Relatively little is known about the mechanisms of sand bypass from the shelf‐break area of margins, and in particular from storm wave‐dominated margins which are generally characterized by drifting of sand along strike until meeting a canyon or channel. The studied St. Hilaire Siltstone and Trinity Hill Sandstone succession is 260 m thick and demonstrates a continuous transition from gullied (with turbidites) uppermost slope upward to storm wave‐dominated delta front on the outermost shelf. The basal upper‐slope deposits are dominantly mass‐transport deposited blocks, as well as associated turbidites and debrites with common soft‐sediment‐deformed strata. The overlying uppermost slope succession exhibits a spectacular set of gullies, which are separated by abundant slump‐scar unconformities (tops of rotational slides), then filled with debris‐flow conglomerates and sandy turbidite beds with interbedded mudstones. The top of the study succession, on the outer‐shelf area, contains repeated upward‐coarsening, sandstone‐rich parasequences (2 to 15 m thick) with abundant hummocky and swaley cross‐stratification, clear evidence of storm‐swell and storm wave‐dominated conditions. The observations suggest reconstruction of the unstable shelf margin as follows: (i) the aggradational storm wave‐dominated, shelf‐edge delta front became unstable and collapsed down the slope; (ii) the excavated scars of the shelf margin became gullied, but gradually healed (aggraded) by repeated infilling by debris flows and turbidites, and then new gullying and further infilling; and (iii) a renewed storm wave‐dominated delta‐front prograded out across the healed outer shelf, re‐establishing the newly stabilized shelf margin. The Moruga Formation study, along with only a few others in the literature, confirms the sediment bypass ability of storm wave‐dominated reaches of shelf edges, despite river‐dominated deltas being, by far, the most efficient shelf‐edge regime for sediment bypass at the shelf break.  相似文献   

Paleoenvironments during Younger Dryas‐Early Holocene retreat of the Greenland Ice Sheet from outer Disko Trough,central west Greenland          下载免费PDF全文

ANNE E. JENNINGS  MARIAH E. WALTON  COLM Ó COFAIGH  AOIBHEANN KILFEATHER  JOHN T. ANDREWS  JOSEPH D. ORTIZ  ANNE DE VERNAL  JULIAN A. DOWDESWELL 《第四纪科学杂志》2014,29(1):27-40

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The relationship between extension of lower crust and displacement of the shelf break     

YunFan Zhang  Zhen Sun  Xiong Pang 《中国科学:地球科学(英文版)》2014,57(3):550-557

With deep sea petroleum explorations become more and more popular,some geological phenomena have emerged:extension of lower crust and upper crust is inhomogeneous;shelf break has been moved rapidly after crustal stretching.These geological phenomena are important to the continental margin evolution.To investigate the thinning of the whole crust and the contribution of the upper crust versus the lower crust to the crustal stretching since the Cenozoic,we calculated the stretching factors of the upper and the lower crust based on the 13 seismic lines in the Baiyun Sag from CNOOC.The results indicated that the whole crustal thickness decreases seaward while the whole crustal stretching factor increases from shelf to slope.Our calculations showed that the lower crustal stretching factor is higher than that of the upper crust in the Baiyun Sag.In the Cenozoic,deformation of the Baiyun Sag is controlled mainly by ductile shearing rather than brittle shearing.Based on the numerical modeling,we can conclude the initial crust in the Baiyun Sag is thermally attenuated.The stretching factor(β)of the lower crust increases from the north to the south of the continental margin,indicating two stretching centers:the Baiyun Sag and the Liwan Sag.The geometry of the shelf break and theβisoline trap have the similar trend in 23.8 and 13.8 Ma,both located in the intense deforming zone of the lower crust,and therefore we conclude the stretching and flowing of the lower crust cause the displacement of the shelf break before and after 23.8 Ma.  相似文献   

Postglacial stratigraphic evolution of a current-influenced sandy shelf: offshore Kujukuri strandplain,central Japan     

Naohisa Nishida  Taku Ajioka  Ken Ikehara  Rei Nakashima  Hajime Katayama  Tomoyuki Sato  Seishiro Furuyama  Toru Tamura 《Sedimentology》2020,67(1):559-575

Sandy shelf sediments are important elements of clastic sedimentary systems because of their wide distribution in the geological record and their significance as hydrocarbon reservoirs. Although many studies have investigated shelf sediments influenced by waves or tidal currents, little is known about shelf sediments influenced by oceanic currents, particularly their lithofacies characteristics and stratigraphic evolution. This study investigated the stratigraphic evolution of shelf sediments off the Kujukuri strandplain facing the Pacific Ocean, which is influenced by the strong Kuroshio Current. Sediment cores were obtained from six locations on the Kujukuri shelf (34 to 124 m water depth) using a vibrocorer. The dominant lithofacies is mud-free sand with low-angle cross-lamination associated with alternating beds of finer and coarser sand with cross-lamination. These display depositional processes influenced by storm waves and the Kuroshio Current, respectively. This finding is consistent with the previously presented modern and historical observations of the Kuroshio Current and estimates of the storm-wave base. Radiocarbon dates show that the sediment succession formed during the last transgressive and highstand stages after 13·1 ka. The depositional processes during the stages represent a transition from storm waves with abundant sediment supply to both storm waves and the Kuroshio Current with sediment starvation mainly due to its trapping in the strandplain. Comparison to other Holocene–Modern shelf systems suggests that the sandy shelf successions are strongly influenced by oceanic currents under conditions of limited riverine input and open coastal geometry. The resultant sand-dominated succession is characterized by reversal of the proximal to distal grain-size trend compared to the fining for most other recognized wave/storm-dominated shelf successions. This is because of seaward increase in the influence of the Kuroshio Current. Thus, shelf deposits are naturally complex, and these may be further complicated by the additional influence of oceanic currents above the usual wave-dominated and tide-dominated end members.  相似文献