Are carbonate barrier islands mobile? Insights from a mid to late-Holocene system,Al Ruwais,northern Qatar     

John Rivers  Max Engel  Robert Dalrymple  Ruqaiya Yousif  Christian J. Strohmenger  Ismail Al-Shaikh 《Sedimentology》2020,67(1):534-558

Barrier islands are important landforms in many coastal systems around the globe. Studies of modern barrier island systems are mostly limited to those of siliciclastic realms, where the islands are recognized as mobile features that form on transgressive coastlines and migrate landward as sea-level rises. Barrier islands of the ‘Great Pearl Bank’ along the United Arab Emirates coast are the best-known carbonate examples. These Holocene islands, however, are interpreted to be anchored by older deposits and immobile. The mid-Holocene to late-Holocene depositional system at Al Ruwais, northern Qatar, provides an example of a mobile carbonate barrier island system, perhaps more similar to siliciclastic equivalents. Sedimentological and petrographic analyses, as well as ¹⁴C-dating of shells and biogenic remains from vibracored sediments and surface deposits, show that after 7000 years ago a barrier system with a narrow back-barrier lagoon formed along what is now an exposed coastal zone, while, contemporaneously, a laterally-extensive coral reef was forming immediately offshore. After 1400 years ago the barrier system was forced to step ca 3 km seaward in response to a sea-level fall of less than 2 m, where it re-established itself directly on the mid-Holocene reef. Since that time, the barrier has retreated landward as much as 1000 m to its current position, exposing previously-deposited back-barrier lagoonal sediment at the open-coast shoreline. In modern neritic warm-water carbonate settings mobile barrier island systems are rare. Their construction and migration may be inhibited by reef formation, early cementation, and the relative inefficiency of sourcing beach sediments from open carbonate shelves. Carbonate barrier island systems likely formed more commonly during geological periods when ramps and unrimmed shelves predominated and in calcite seas, when meteoric cementation was minimized as a result of initial calcitic allochem mineralogy. As with their siliciclastic analogues, however, recognition of the influence of these transient landforms in the rock record is challenging.  相似文献   

Facies and sequence stratigraphic architecture of the Mural Limestone (Albian), Arizona: Carbonate response to global and local factors and implications for reservoir characterization     

Rachel Aisner-Williams  Charles Kerans 《Sedimentology》2020,67(7):3735-3768

This study documents the detailed facies and sequence stratigraphic architecture of a multi-cyclic patch-reef and its associated ramp interior facies that formed during Oceanic Anoxic Event 1b in the Mural Limestone, Arizona, USA. Ramp interior facies are comprised of bedded wackestone/packstone, rudist build-up and coral–algal patch-reef facies located north of Bisbee, Arizona, at the Grassy Hill locality. The larger multi-cyclic patch-reef that developed coevally ca 5 km to the south of Grassy Hill consists of a high-angle windward margin with a narrow ca 70 m long reef frame containing vertically zonated Microsolena, Actinastrea, diverse branching coral and rudist assemblages, and an 870 m long low-angle leeward margin comprised of reef debris rudstone and grainstone shoal facies. Similar reef geomorphology and orientation is documented across the Gulf of Mexico and reflects the shelf-wide north to north-east-trending prevailing wind and current energies. Controls affecting reef formation and growth patterns include changes in accommodation space associated with low-amplitude global sea-level rise and regional thermotectonic subsidence, local accommodation space and nutrient fluctuations associated with the inner shelf depositional setting within a humid and siliciclastic-rich environment. Four aggradational to retrogradational high-frequency sequences are documented in Arizona: High-frequency sequences 1 and 2 represent the first pulse of patch-reef development in an overall second-order marine transgression over the Sonora/Bisbee Shelf. These sequences correlate to δ¹³C signatures associated with Oceanic Anoxic Event 1b across the Gulf of Mexico and suggest that carbonate reefs persisted on the ramp interior during this time. High-frequency sequences 3 and 4 record a second brief transgression and backstepping of reef facies followed by the final regression of shallow shelf carbonates that correlates to more robust patch-reef development in Sonora, Mexico. The patch-reef at Paul Spur is an excellent outcrop analogue for productive patch-reefs in the Maverick Basin (Comanche Shelf) of Texas. Detailed facies mapping of this outcrop analogue shows that the greatest reservoir potential is contained within the backreef grainstone shoals where primary porosity of up to 15% is observed.  相似文献   

Adding the missing third and fourth dimensions to trajectory analysis in carbonate systems     

Philipp Tesch  Robert S. Reece  James R. Markello  Juan Carlos Laya  Michael C. Pope 《Basin Research》2020,32(2):388-401

We developed a seismic geomorphology-based procedure to enhance traditional trajectory analysis with the ability to visualize and quantify lateral variability along carbonate prograding-margin types (ramps and rimmed shelves) in 3D and 4D. This quantitative approach analysed the shelf break geometric evolution of the Oligo-Miocene carbonate clinoform system in the Browse Basin and delineated the feedback between antecedent topography and carbonate system response as controlling factor on shelf break rugosity. Our geometrical analysis identified a systematic shift in the large-scale average shelf break strike direction over a transect of 10 km from 62° to 55° in the Oligo-Miocene interval of the Browse Basin, which is likely controlled by far-field allogenic forcing from the Timor Trough collision zone. Plotting of 3D shelf break trajectories represents a convenient way to visualize the lateral variability in shelf break evolution. Shelf break trajectories that indicate contemporaneous along-strike progradation and retrogradation correlate with phases of autogenic slope system re-organization and may be a proxy for morphological stability of the shelf break. Shelf break rugosity and shelf break trajectory rugosity are not inherited parameters and antecedent topography does not dictate long-term differential movement of the shelf margin through successive depositional sequences. The autogenic carbonate system response to antecedent topography smooths high-rugosity areas by filling accommodation and maintains a relatively constant shelf break rugosity of ~150 m. Color-coding of the vertical component in the shelf break trajectory captures the creation and filling of accommodation, and highlights areas of the transect that are likely to yield inconsistent 2D sequence stratigraphic interpretations.  相似文献   

Sedimentary processes,stratigraphic sequences and middens: the link between archaeology and geoheritage—a case study from the Quaternary of the Broome region,Western Australia     

P. Clifford 《Australian Journal of Earth Sciences》2019,66(6):955-972

The cliffed and active dune coastal region of Broome provides an excellent record of Pleistocene and Holocene stratigraphy of desert environments interfacing with the Indian Ocean. The Mesozoic Broome Sandstone is the basal stratigraphic unit in the area and is overlain by Pleistocene red desert quartz sand (Mowanjum Sand). Modern coastal processes of waves, wind and tide have resulted in distinctive sedimentary bodies (stratigraphic units) clearly linked to the sedimentary environment. The Mowanjum Sand, reworked by coastal winds, generates the landward-ingressing orange quartzose Churchill Sand, or reworked by waves and abraded to white sand with the addition of carbonate grains that form the beaches (Cable Beach Sand) and with eolian action, coastal dunes or inland-ingressing white dunes (Shoonta Hill Sand). These sedimentary bodies and stratigraphic units form a template with which to locate and interpret archaeological middens and Indigenous occupation over the past 5000?years in a context of coastal occupation, coastal stability, mean sea-level changes, climate changes, and availability of marine food and freshwater. Shell middens and stone artefacts form definitive layers or horizons in relation to the stratigraphy, in places in situ, and elsewhere reworked as sheets and plumes; understanding their inter-relationships has enabled the unravelling of the archaeological history and relating Indigenous occupation to biofacies and lithofacies. The array of sedimentary, biofacies and stratigraphic units are of national geoheritage significance in their own right. The addition of archaeological deposits as stratigraphic units provides a link between geoheritage and archaeology, where the archaeological materials are viewed as part of the complex stratigraphic story, part of the coastal history, and part of the geoheritage story.  相似文献   

New Devonian plant fossil occurrences on the New South Wales South Coast: geological implications     

R. L. Dunstone 《Australian Journal of Earth Sciences》2019,66(1):57-70

Devonian fossil localities are summarised for coastal southeastern Australia, including both marine invertebrates representing a major late Frasnian (Late Devonian) transgression, and plant remains of Middle–Late Devonian age in associated non-marine strata. Lycopsid plant specimens (Leptophloeum) from near Majors Creek, NSW, first documented by Edgeworth David and E. F. Pittman in association with marine fossils to demonstrate a Late Devonian age, are illustrated for the first time. Lycopsid plants of presumed Middle Devonian age are illustrated from three new localities: Yowrie River inland from Cape Dromedary, Tuross River northwest of Narooma and Charlies Forest Road northeast of Braidwood. The Yowrie River occurrence (in float) indicates probable Middle Devonian strata upstream that are not shown on published maps. The Tuross River occurrence is in sheared and folded strata previously mapped as Ordovician, and the Braidwood occurrence demonstrates Devonian black shales adjacent to previously mapped Ordovician. Evidence supporting alternative thrust or simple fold interpretations for the Budawang Synclinorium is discussed, and relevant Ordovician fossil localities are listed.  相似文献   

东太平洋海隆13°N表层含金属沉积物物质组成与元素赋存状态     

荣坤波  曾志刚  武力  李康 《海洋科学》2018,42(7):70-79

为了解不同类型含金属沉积物在物质组成和元素赋存状态的差异,对东太平洋海隆13°N洋中脊两侧表层含金属沉积物(站号:E271和E53)进行了矿物学、地球化学分析,顺序提取实验,并与前人对轴部表层沉积物(站号:17A-EPR-TVG1)的研究结果作了对比分析。研究结果表明, E271和E53是远端含金属沉积物,由非浮力热液羽状流中颗粒物沉降所形成的;17A-EPR-TVG1沉积物是近喷口含金属沉积物,由黑烟囱或者热液硫化物丘状体崩塌、堆积,或者由热液羽状流中Fe-Mn氧化物和硫化物快速沉淀而形成的,近喷口沉积物比远端沉积物更富集Fe、Cu和Zn等元素。元素在两种含金属沉积物中的赋存状态基本相同,除了Fe,Cu,Zn,Mo和稀土元素(REE)等元素在远端沉积物中主要存在于Fe-Mn氧化物相,在近喷口沉积物中主要在残留相中。远端沉积物中REE页岩标准化配分模式与海水相似,表明REE主要来自海水,而近喷口沉积物中REE配分模式与热液流体相似,说明REE以高温热液流体来源为主。相关研究结果加深了对热液沉积作用研究的认识。  相似文献   

Ephemeral rollover points and clinothem evolution in the modern Po Delta based on repeated bathymetric surveys     

Fabio Trincardi  Alessandro Amorosi  Alessandro Bosman  Annamaria Correggiari  Fantina Madricardo  Claudio Pellegrini 《Basin Research》2020,32(2):402-418

Reconstructions of ancient delta systems rely typically on a two-dimensional (2D) view of prograding clinothems but may miss their three-dimensional (3D) stratigraphic complexity which can, instead, be best documented on modern delta systems by integrating high-resolution geophysical data, historical cartography, core data and geomorphological reconstructions offshore. We quantitatively compare three precisely positioned, high-resolution multi-beam bathymetry maps in the delta front and pro delta sectors (0.3 to 10 m water depth) of Po di Pila, the most active of the modern Po Delta five branches. By investigating the detailed morphology of the prograding modern Po Delta, we shed new light on the mechanisms that control the topset to foreset transition in clinothems and show the temporal and spatial complexity of a delta and its pro delta slope, under the impact of oceanographic processes. This study documents the ephemeral nature of the rollover point at the transition between sandy topset (fluvial, delta plain to mouth-bar) and muddy seaward-dipping foreset deposits advancing, in this case, in >20 m of water depth. Three multibeam surveys, acquired between 2013 and 2016, document the complexity in space and time of the topset and foreset regions and their related morphology, a diagnostic feature that could not be appreciated using solely 2D, even very high-resolution, seismic profiles. In addition, the comparison of bathymetric surveys gathered with one-year lapses shows the migration of subaqueous sand dunes on the clinothem topset, the formation of ephemeral cut-and-fill features at the rollover point (few m below mean sea level), the presence of collapse depressions derived by sagging of sediments and fluid expulsion (possibly induced by storm waves) on the foreset, and splays of sand likely reflecting gravity flows on the lower foreset. Though the modern Po Delta is anthropogenic in many respects, its subaqueous clinothem can be studied as a scale model for ancient clinothems that are less resolved geometrically and far less constrained chronologically.  相似文献   

On the use of geochronology of detrital grains in determining the time of deposition of clastic sedimentary strata     

Peter Copeland 《Basin Research》2020,32(6):1532-1546

Placing geologic events in a temporal framework is essential to telling the story of Earth history. However, clastic sedimentary rocks can be difficult to date in an absolute reference because they are made up of grains that are older than the rock in which they are now found, and some clastic rocks do not contain fossils that allow precise reference to the Geologic Timescale. For such rocks, the isotopic dating of detrital minerals can be used to estimate the time of deposition; the clastic rock must be younger than the youngest grain analysed. However, many researchers eschew this simple and straightforward approach in favour of schemes that estimate the maximum allowable depositional age as the weighted mean of the age of several grains, chosen by a variety of selection criteria. This is a mistake; in the absence of a geochemical resemblance apart from the similarity of their age, detrital grains should not be assumed to have originated in the same system and therefore any averaging or other manipulation of such data is statistically invalid and produces results without geologic significance. In the absence of interbedded volcanic rocks or index fossils, dating of detrital minerals can be an important aid in understanding the time of deposition of clastic rocks, but the best estimate will come from taking note of the youngest single grain and not by inappropriately averaging data.  相似文献   

Sequence stratigraphic framework and sedimentary model of Shanxi Formation in northeast Zhoukou Depression of the North China Plate     

《China Geology》2020,3(4):575-590

The sequence stratigraphic framework of Shanxi Formation in the northeast Zhoukou Depression was established based on detailed sequence stratigraphical and sedimentological analysis by utilizing the logging and core data of six wells drilled in the eastern tectonic unit of Zhoukou Depression. It was divided into three third-order sequences, namely SQs1, SQs2, and SQs3 from bottom to top. Each sequence can be divided into a transgressive system tract (TST) and a highstand system tract (HST). Furthermore, four sequence boundaries and three maximum flooding surfaces were identified, and they are the bottom interface SBs and maximum flooding surface mfss1 of SQs1, the bottom interface SBs1 and maximum flooding surface mfss2 of SQs2, the bottom interface SBs3 and maximum flooding surface mfss3 of SQs3, and the top interface SBx from bottom to top. Carbonate tidal flat –clastic tidal flat sedimentary system developed in Shanxi Formation in the northeast Zhoukou Depression (also referred to as the study area) under the control of regression. Meanwhile, four sedimentary microfacies were identified in the sedimentary system, which are lime-mud flats, sand flats, mixed flats, and mud flats. The transgression in the study area occurred from the southeast to the northwest. Therefore, the northwestern part is the seaward side, and the southeastern part is the landward side. As revealed by relevant drilling data, SQs1 of the Shanxi Formation is characterized by the development of limestone and carbonaceous mudstone, with limestone, dark mudstone, and carbonaceous mudstone mainly developing. Meanwhile, lime-mud flats were mainly deposited in it. During the periods of SQs2 and SQs3, the sedimentary environment of the study area changed from the carbonate tidal flats to clastic tidal flats as the coastline migrated towards the sea. In these periods, sand flats mainly developed near the maximum flooding surfaces and were relatively continuous in the eastern and southern parts of the transgressive system tract; mixed flats were relatively continuous in the western and northern parts of the transgressive system tract as well as the eastern and southern parts of the highstand system tract; mud flats widely developed in the highstand system tract. Peat flats mainly developed in the period of HSTs2, with coal seams relatively developing in the southeastern part of the study area as revealed by drilling data. The peat flats in SQs2 are favorable hydrocarbon source layers, the lime-mud flats in SQs1 and sand flats formed in the transgression periods of SQs2 and SQs3 constitute favorable hydrocarbon reservoirs, and the mud flats form in the transgressions periods serve as favorable cap rocks. Therefore, the study area features a reservoir-cap assemblage for self-generating and self-storing of hydrocarbon, and the southeastern part of the study area can be taken as a favorable exploration area.  相似文献   

四川盆地西北部二叠系栖霞阶层序地层特征及地质意义   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2       下载免费PDF全文

胡笙  谭秀成  罗冰  张本健  张亚  苏成鹏  芦飞凡  李明隆 《古地理学报》2020,22(6):1109-1126

基于露头、钻井岩心和测录井资料,采用层序地层学理论与方法,将四川盆地西北部二叠系梁山组+栖霞组作为一个整体予以解剖,识别出梁山组底界面(Ⅰ型)、栖一段与栖二段界面(Ⅱ型)和栖霞组与茅口组界面(Ⅰ型)3个三级层序界面,将中二叠统栖霞阶划分为2个三级层序: 下部的SQ1层序对应梁山组+栖一段,上部的SQ2层序对应栖二段。通过栖霞阶层序地层格架分析,发现栖霞阶地层存在“底超顶削”的充填规律,统计并绘制SQ1与SQ2层序地层厚度等值线图,对研究区栖霞阶SQ1初期和SQ2期构造—古地理格局进行了恢复,在明确SQ2期为栖霞阶主要成滩期的基础上,结合岩溶发育单元及白云岩展布特征,讨论栖霞阶油气储集意义。结果表明:区内栖霞阶存在北西、北东向隆坳分异,汉南隆起、川北隆起、北缘隆起与广元—旺苍凹陷始终控制了区内沉积格局,指出广元—旺苍海槽雏形始于二叠系栖霞阶。研究区岩溶白云岩孔洞型储集层区与环广元—旺苍凹陷周缘的灰岩岩溶型储集层区为有利的勘探区。  相似文献