Sedimentary Geology, 81 (1992) 1-9

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam

ExpresSed

Stranded parasequences and the forced regressive wedge systems

tract: deposition during base-level'fall
Dave Hunt

* and Maurice E. Tucker

Department of Geological Sciences, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, UK

(Received June 16, 1992; revised version accepted September 14, 1992)

ABSTRACT
Hunt, D. and Tucker, M.E., 1992. Stranded parasequences and the forced regressive wedge systems tract: deposition during
base-level fall. Sediment. Geol., 81: 1-9.
To overcome inconsistencies in the Exxon sequence stratigraphic model as applied to siliciclastic and carbonate shelf
margins, it is proposed that an ideal sequence should consist of four systems tracts. In addition to the transgressive and
highstand systems tracts, developed during rising base-level, it is suggested that there should be two systems tracts associated
with falling and lowstands of relative sea-level. These are: the forced regressiue wedge systems tract formed during falling
base-level, bounded below by the 'basal surface of forced regression' and above by the sequence boundary, representing the
lowest point of sea-level fall, and the lowstand prograding wedge systems tract, developed as relative sea-level begins to rise
after sequence boundary formation. This systems tract downlaps the basin-floor forced regression deposits in a basinwards
direction and onlaps forced regressive wedge sediments on the slope. The forced regressive wedge systems tract consists of
shallow-water stranded parasequences deposited on the upper slope to the shelf, and basin-floor fan or apron sediments,
deposited at the toe-of-slope and derived from erosion of the stranded parasequences and/or erosion of the previous
highstand shelf and shelf-margin sediments.

Introduction
I n r e c e n t y e a r s a p p l i c a t i o n o f s e q u e n c e stratig r a p h i c m o d e l s to s e d i m e n t a r y b a s i n fills has inc r e a s e d d r a s t i c a l l y with t h e g e n e r a l a c c e p t a n c e o f
t h e s e q u e n c e s t r a t i g r a p h i c a p p r o a c h (e.g. p a p e r s
in P o s a m e n t i e r et al., 1993). T h e driving c o n t r o l s
upon individual sequences, notably the role of
eustatic, tectonic, d e p o s i t i o n a l a n d / o r e n v i r o n m e n t a l factors, however, r e m a i n controversial. A
critical c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e c o n c e p t s o f s e q u e n c e
s t r a t i g r a p h y , p a r t i c u l a r l y as it is a p p l i e d to t h e
s e d i m e n t s d e p o s i t e d d u r i n g b a s e - l e v e l fall a n d
sea-level lowstand, reveals s o m e i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s
in t h e g e n e r a l m o d e l , as e x p o u n d e d by t h e Exxon

Correspondence to: D. Hunt, Department of Geology, The

University, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.

g r o u p a n d its disciples (e.g. V a n W a g o n e r et al.,

1990). This s h o r t p a p e r a d d r e s s e s t h e p r o b l e m o f
s e d i m e n t s d e p o s i t e d d u r i n g a b a s e - l e v e l fall on a
s h e l f - m a r g i n s l o p e a n d in t h e basin, a n d o f the
chronostratigraphic position of the sequence
b o u n d a r y . T h e p r o b l e m s with t h e c u r r e n t Exxon
m o d e l a r e e n c o u n t e r e d in a r e a s o f g o o d e x p o s u r e
o f s h e l f - m a r g i n a n d s l o p e facies, w h e r e s e d i m e n t
b o d y g e o m e t r i e s a n d r e l a t i o n s h i p s a r e clear, a n d
t h e b i o s t r a t i g r a p h i c c o n t r o l is excellent.

Sequence stratigraphy terminology

I n t h e c o n c e p t s o f s e q u e n c e s t r a t i g r a p h y as
a d v a n c e d by t h e Exxon g r o u p (e.g. V a n W a g o n e r
et al., 1988; P o s a m e n t i e r et al., 1988; V a n W a g o n e r et al., 1990), a s e q u e n c e is d e f i n e d as a
relatively c o n f o r m a b l e g e n e t i c a l l y r e l a t e d succes-

0037-0738/92/$05.00 1992 - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved

D. H U N T A N D M . E . " F U C K E R

sion of strata bounded by unconformities or their

correlative conformities. A sequence is divided
into systems tracts, deposited during specific intervals of the relative sea-level curve. In a type 1
sequence, deposited after a base-level fall which
exposed the shelf and during the subsequent
base-level rise, three systems tracts are usually
recognised: the lowstand, transgressive and highstand systems tracts. The lowstand systems tract
is divided into a lowstand fan (LSF) deposited
during the base-level fall and a lowstand wedge
(LSW) deposited at the lowstand and in the early
part of the base-level rise, before the transgressive systems tract is established with the increased rate of sea-level rise (see Fig. 1). Although its definition has changed in a subtle
fashion in the last few years (see Schlager, 1991),
a sequence boundary is regarded as an unconformity (and its correlative conformity) separating

EXXON

SYSTEMATICS

1. S T R A T A L

younger from older strata, along which there is

evidence of subaerial erosional truncation or subaerial exposure with a significant hiatus. A sequence boundary of this type wilt be best developed on a siliciclastic shelf or carbonate platform,
with a correlative conformity developed in the
basin. Sequence boundaries in the Exxon model
occur beneath the lowstand systems tract so that
in terms of chronostratigraphy, the one point in
time represented along the whole length of the
sequence boundary, from the inner shelf to the
basin, has to be during the early part of the
base-level fall. On the inner shelf, the hiatus of
the sequence boundary could be a significant
unconformity representing the late highstand
through to the transgressive systems tract of the
next sequence, whereas in the basin, the correlative conformity may not be a hiatal surface at all.
In the toe-of-slope region, the sequence bound-

PATTERNS

sb ~ . ~ p o s u r e and subaer~l diagenesis

iT

i
i/,l
I ~
-H~lhstand systems tract
of preceding seque

~ .

Th ~

~
'"-'~:.:.~c..~;~
.....
~
~-~ ~i~Tlk.

L_.

~___~ d . . . . . ing expo . . . . . . d

1\ subaeriat diagenesis
I \

once s ~

"

-..z.................... : . : ~

These are placed below the sequence

boundary.

LSF
sb

Relative sea-level
HST/~

TqT

/~'~'\

~=

I~

KEY

Z ~

2. C H R O N O S T R A T I G R A P H Y

....

Fac,es; [ ~
]

'. . . . .

\AIIochthonous debris derived from

collapse of the slope as sea-level falls.
This is equivalent to the Iowstand fan
of silioiclastic shelves and is at present
placed above the sequence boundary
in the Iowstand systems tract.

,~:~?!~:i:!~i;:~i!~:::i~iJ:?~i!:~i~i~i~
--- - . . . . . .

he. facies

[]

sheff-marginfacies

allochthonous debris (mega breccia & slumDs)

s.Lt

\ + ~ ....

[]

foreslopefacies

meteoric diagenesis

boundary

-~LSF

slumps/debris flows

Surface; =..~sb sequence boundary

Fig. 1. Cross-sectionof a carbonate sand-shoal rimmed-shelfshowing facies, stratal patterns, chronostratigraphyand relationship to
relative sea-level change for sediments deposited during a third-order base-level fall with smaller-scale sea-level rises and falls
superimposed upon it. As relative sea-level falls, slope collapse supplies sediment to the basin-floor (allochthonous debris) and
autochthonous slope wedges (stranded parasequences) site progressivelylower down the slope. However, in the Exxon terminology,
the sequence boundary is placed beneath the basin-floor fan (LSF), but above the stranded parasequences.

STRANDED PARASEQUENCES AND THE FORCED REGRESSIVE W E D G E SYSTEMS TRACT

ary will occur beneath the coarse sediments of

the lowstand basin-floor fan, which represent the
first deposits of the base-level fall.

Deposition during base-level fall

Slope bypass, basin-floor fans and megabreccias

In many instances, there is no sediment deposited on the upper part of a slope during a
relative sea-level fall. In siliciclastic depositional
systems, the shelf and shelf margin are typically
subjected to subaerial erosion during a lowstand.
Incised valleys may be cut, and vast quantities of
sediment discharged onto the lower slope to form
a lowstand basin-floor fan (LSF). The upper slope
is typically bypassed. The basin-floor fan consists
of fluvially derived sandstones and mudrocks, deposited largely by debris flows and turbidity currents.
In a carbonate system, exposure of a shelf
rarely results in mechanical reworking of the shelf,
but more typically in a 'chemical reworking' (cementation/dissolution) in the form of subaerial,
surface-related diagenesis that will tend to be
climatically controlled (e.g. humid-karstification,
arid-dolomitization) (see Tucker, 1992). Exposure of the carbonate shelf thus does not normally result in an increased sediment supply to
the adjacent slope/basin, but the reverse, as negligible sediment is supplied off the shelf top.
During the lowstand, slope and basinal periplatform ooze sedimentation rates may decrease
drastically as the shelf top produces no carbonate
mud (Droxler and Schlager, 1985; Wilber et al.,
1990). During a lowstand, collapse of the exposed
carbonate platform margin, or of the shoulder of
a distally steepened ramp, now in shallower water, commonly takes place with the deposition of
megabreccias in a toe-of-slope apron. Megabreccias tend to form upon steep slopes (> 25), and
as such are more likely to form upon mud-free,
grain-supported slopes, or those subject to early
cementation/framebuilding (Kenter, 1990). Examples of such lowstand deposits include the
Raisby slide breccia, Zechstein (Upper Permian)
of NE England (Tucker, 1991), the lower Carnian
Marmolada breccia (Triassic) of the Dolomites in

northern Italy (Bosellini, 1984; Doglioni et al.,

1990), Late Cretaceous-Eocene platform-margin
breccias of southern Italy (Bosellini, 1989), and
the 80,000-120,000 yr B.P. debrite of Exuma
Sound described by Crevello and Schlager (1980).
Caution should be used if attempting to use carbonate megabreccias as lowstand 'predictors' as
they are not specific to times of falling/lowstands
of relative sea-level. Aggradation during the
transgressive systems tract can lead to oversteepening and collapse of the shelf margin, as in the
Cambrian of the southern Rocky Mountains,
Canada (Mcllreath, 1977) and Permian Bone
Spring Formation of the Delaware Basin (Sailer
et al., 1989). Faulting can also generate
megabreccias, especially in rift basins (e.g. Colacicchi et al., 1975; Eberli, 1987). Megabreccias have
occasionally formed in areas of low-angle slopes
(e.g. mid-Cretaceous Urgonian platlorm, Aravis
Range, French Alps, Spence and Tucker, 1992).

Stranded parasequences, slope-perched deltas and

forced regression
During third-order (0.5-3 Ma) relative sealevel falls, higher-order cycles of sea-level change
(i.e~ 4-5th order, 10,000 yr to 0.5 Ma) may be
superimposed upon the general base-level fall.
This results in acceleration and deceleration of
the third-order base-level fall. During times of
decelerated fall, parasequence-scale sediment
bodies may be deposited on the upper slope and
then subsequently abandoned, exposed and incised as the third-order fall continues. Such deposits are termed 'stranded' parasequences
(Posamentier et al., 1990; Van Wagoner et al.,
1990) and the relative sea-level fall is termed a
forced regression. Stranded parasequences will
be best developed on low-gradient foreslopes to
shelf margins. They are unlikely to form on highangle shelf margins, typical of many reefdominated carbonate platforms, or on faultbounded shelf margins, as may occur in rift and
early extensional basins.
In siliciclastic. ~ystems, stranded parasequences
are typically shallowing-upward units of shoreface
to beach facies or coarsening-up deltaic sediments, deposited at the mouths of incised valleys.

D. HUNT

Exposure and, suba~ial di_agene._sis j s b _

Forced regressive wedge systems tract

(slope component) comprised of three
autochthonous slope wedges

"T

........

~
~ m ~ d
HST ~

~
~

~
=

~
~

ST
~

LPWST m

//
........

- ----

.
/"

~.................................................
.:..~..........~

t-A:.~.:.:.:~,~-~

. . . .

. . . . . .

S.12

Forced reg- . . . . . .
edge systems tract
(basin floor component) comprised
of aUocthonous debris

| Lr'WST

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

sequence boundary
superimposed upon basal
surface of forced regression

KEY

~.::!~!::!~........ ~ . ~ . ~ , ? . ~ _ T ~ - ~ . ~ -

FRWST[- ~
.

"':'::i:~(ii?!~i!};:f::.

s.L1

the time of sequence boundary formation

: _ _ , . ,

TUCKER

LPWST

m__,0. . . .
FRWST~
VA

surfaces of forced
regression
a-er~~i~rce

FRWS
~

~
k

M.E.

stratigraphy and base-level change, reflecting the

development of stranded parasequences on the
upper slope.
In carbonate environments, stranded parasequences deposited on upper slopes to platform
margins during forced regression will typically
consist of grainstones or reefs. These facies types
are the most likely to develop in view of the
relatively high-energy conditions that would exist
on the upper foreslope facing an open ocean. In
most carbonate systems, the shelf is exposed during the lowstand and subject to karstification and
meteoric diagenesis. Carbonate sediment is not
normally eroded from the shelf, which is usually
cemented up, although in some situations, siliciclastic sediment is carried across the shelf and
deposited at the toe of the slope. This was the
case in the Permian Delaware Basin of New
Mexico and Texas, in the lowstand Cherry and
Brushy Canyon Sandstones (Sarg, 1989; Sailer et
al., 1989). Examples of stranded carbonate
parasequences occur in the mid-Cretaceous Ur-

They are generally not very thick (several metres),

as a result of the decreasing accommodation space
on the upper slope during the base-level fall, and
there is little or no coastal plain facies updip on
the shelf. Examples of slope-perched deltas occur
in the Cretaceous of the Western Interior Seaway, Utah and Colorado, and in the Tertiary of
the subsurface of the Gulf Coast region, Louisiana
(Van Wagoner et al., 1990).
Upper-slope, shallower-water siliciclastic environments may supply sediment to the toe-of-slope
and basin through sediment gravity flows. The
sediment is likely to be texturally mature, even
compositionally mature, as a result of the extensive reworking in the beach, nearshore and delta
mouth bar environments. The resedimented deposits will generally be poorly structured sands,
with a vague lamination and some water-escape
structures. Such deep-water massiue sands are a
particular facies type of deeper-water siliciclastic
successions (e.g. Stow, 1992). It is suggested here
that they are significant in terms of sequence

NEW SYSTEMATICS

AND

. ~ , ~

.e.

basal
of
forcedsurface
regression

.t

A .~\Jt
-. ~
~

1FRWSTI~
-.!
-k

new position of sequence

bourldst3/on the basin floor
(downlap surface)

Facies;as in Fig 1
Surfaces

/sb

New position of sequence boundary developed at time of lowest sea-level

Basal surface of forced regression

Fig. 2. Similar cross-section to Fig. 1 but showing a different interpretation, with the stranded parasequences and the basin-floor
fan comprising the forced regressive wedge systems tract beneath the sequence boundary and the lowstand prograding wedge the
first systems tract of the new sequence.

S T R A N D E D P A R A S E Q U E N C E S A N D T H E F O R C E D R E G R E S S I V E W E D G E SYSTEMS T R A C T

gonian of the Vercors in the French Alps, where

a bioclastic sand body developed on the upper
foreslope to a platform during the early stages of
base-level fall (Hunt and Tucker, 1993), and in
the Miocene of the Nijar region of Almeria, SE
Spain (Dabrio et al., 1981; Fransen and
Mankiewicz, 1991), where several downstepping
reefal parasequences were deposited during a
3rd-order base-level fall.
During episodic base-level fall, stranded
parasequences will be subjected to erosion, and
in a carbonate environment, exposure and karstification. Sediment will be supplied to the basinfloor fan or apron. In a carbonate system, the
basin-floor fan will consist of 'fresh' grains derived from an active, perched sand shoal or reef
on the upper foreslope. In addition to the fresh
grains, there may well be some lithoclasts derived
from a higher abandoned parasequence or from
the earlier platform-margin highstand facies.
Basin-floor fans of this type occur in the lower
Barremian (Cretaceous) Urgonian of the Vercors
in the French Alps (Hunt, 1992).
The new terminology

The stratal patterns and chronostratigraphy of

both 'stranded' parasequences and the lowstand
systems tract in relation to the 'Exxon'-defined
sequence boundary are summarised in Fig. 1. On
the slope, 'stranded' parasequences are placed
below the sequence boundary, i.e. the sequence
boundary is forming close to the lowest point of
sea-level (Van Wagoner et al., 1990). However, in
the Exxon scheme the basin-floor time-equivalent
deposits to the 'stranded' slope parasequences,
allochthonous debris in the basin-floor fan (LSF),
are placed above the sequence boundary. This
means that the formation of the sequence boundary on the basin-floor occurs prior to the lowest
point of sea-level (SI 2, Fig. 1) and is older than
the sequence boundary on the foreslope above
the stranded parasequences. Thus, in this model,
the position of the sequence boundary in relation
to geological time is somewhat contradictory and
ambiguous. This requires a revision of the model
and this is provided here in Fig. 2.
The revised scheme (Fig. 2) is based on the

models of a type 1 sequence of Van Wagoner et

al. (1990) and earlier authors. The most significant revisions are the subdivision of the current
lowstand systems tract into two newly named
systems tracts, the forced regressive wedge systems tract and the lowstand prograding wedge
systems tract, and the alteration of the position of
the sequence boundary on the basin-floor to
above deposits formed as base-level fell. In this
way, the sequence boundary is now everywhere
coincident with the lowest point of relative sealevel. The new systems tract boundaries are chosen to coincide with changes of both the rate and
direction of relative sea-level change. In reality,
this new scheme is academic and no easier to use
than its predecessors for real geological situations, but it does eliminate the contradictions and
ambiguities associated with failing and lowstands
of relative sea-level in the previous models.

The forced regressive wedge and lowstand prograding wedge systems tracts
Sediments deposited during forced regression
(i.e. falling relative sea-level), but prior to the
lowest point of relative sea-level, are placed within
the forced regressive wedge systems tract (FRWST)
(Fig. 2). The base of this systems tract is the basal
surface of forced regression (BSFR) (Fig. 2), a
chronostratigraphic surface separating older sediments of the preceding highstand systems tract,
deposited during slowing rates of relative sea-level
rise and stillstand, from younger sediments, deposited during the base-level fall (Fig. 2). The
systems tract has a slope component, termed the
forced regressive slope wedge (after which the systems tract is named), and a basin-floor component, the forced regressive basin-floor fan~apron.
Both components are schematically illustrated in
Fig. 2.
The slope-wedge component of the FRW systems tract consists of one or more 'stranded'
parasequences bounded below by the basal surface of forced regression and above by the sequence boundary (Fig. 2). Thus, the upper and
lower surfaces are common to both components
of the systems tract (Fig. 2). Slope and basin-floor
elements of the forced regressive wedge systems

D. H U N T A N D M . E . T U C K E R

tract (as depicted in Fig. 2) are not necessarily

developed together during an individual forced
regression; the F R W systems tract may be just
represented by the slope wedge or just .the basinfloor apron. Alternatively, the systems tract may
be totally absent as a result of non-deposition
during the forced regression (e.g. the sea-level
fall is too rapid to allow deposition or the slope is
too steep to sustain carbonate production).
The upper surface of the forced regressive
wedge systems tract is the sequence boundary; this
represents the lowest point of relative sea-level,
and is thus the most extensive unconformity (Figs.
1 and 2). The position of the sequence boundary
on the shelf top and upper slope is unchanged
from previous models, but on the basin-floor, it
should be placed above sediments (if any) deposited during the forced regression (i.e. above

the lowstand fan) so that it is now truly a

chronostratigraphic surface in that all sediments
below it are older and those above it are younger
(e.g. compare positions of the sequence boundary
in Figs. 1 and 2). Any sediments deposited at, or
after, sea-level has reached its lowest position are
above the sequence boundary and are thus part
of the lowstand prograding wedge (LPW) systems
tract, developed from the time that relative sealevel is at its lowest point and beginning to rise,
but prior to the transgressive systems tract. The
LPW systems tract downlaps the sequence
boundary in a basinwards direction and onlaps it
landwards (Figs. 2 and 3). The size of the LPW
systems tract reflects slope angles and the ratio of
the rate of relative sea-level rise to that of sedimentation (see Fig. 3). Its upper surface marks
the beginning of the transgressive systems tract.

Rimmed s h e l f : LST models

Control: inherited slope morphology

exposure and s u b a e r i , I diagenesis

z" a u t ~ h m o n o u s wedge

AIM

?':!.):i;:::;:?.:!:2:1

........................

lI~s-IOO'S
f metres

All2

exposure and subaerial diagenesls

eo,oc.,,

co,,.0 . . . . .

~.~:~:::~i~:~i~`:~:~j~:~i~!~:i~ii~

All1

Fig. 3. Two end-member models for lowstand prograding wedge systems tracts for a carbonate platform with a low-angle
mud-supported foreslope (above) and a high-angle grain-supported foreslope (below). As base-level falls, slopes undergo
mass-wasting through slumps and debris flows to give a basin-floor fan (All. 1), of the forced regressive wedge systems tract. Upon
exposure, the shelf undergoes chemical 'reworking'. When sea-level reaches its lowest point the sequence boundary is formed and a
lowstand prograding wedge of autochthonous material may then develop and build out from the slope. The potential for sediment
production is directly related to the available source area (P), and this increases as slope angles decrease. If, as modelled here,
carbonate production rates remain constant then as the wedge builds out, topography increases and a bypass margin to the
autochthonous wedge can develop (All. 2). Such secondary basin-floor allochthonous debris formed after the lowest point of
relative sea-level fall sits above the sequence boundary. The lowstand prograding wedge will show a progradation to aggradation
pattern of bedding geometries as the amount of accommodation space increases when base-level begins to rise more rapidly. The
two slope end-members, high angle and low angle, develop contrasting styles of lowstand prograding wedge. Low-angle slopes
develop wide, volumetrically significant lowstand prograding wedges, whereas high-angle slopes develop narrow autochthonous
wedges. These Iowstand prograding autochthonous wedges onlap the slope and downlap basinwards onto the sequence boundary.

STRANDED PARASEQUENCES AND THE FORCED REGRESSIVE W E D G E SYSTEMS TRAC'F

A LPW systems tract will typically show a parasequence stacking pattern or bedding/clinoform
geometry of progradation to aggradation, as the
amount of accommodation space begins to increase. In a carbonate system, much new
shallow-water sediment can be created in a LPW
systems tract. This was the case in the lower
Barremian Urgonian of the Vercors, French Alps
(Arnaud-Vanneau and Arnaud, 1990; Jacquin et
al., 1991; Hunt and Tucker, 1993).
Since the FRW systems tract lies below the
sequence boundary, it becomes the fourth and
final systems tract of a sequence. The first three
systems tracts (lowstand prograding wedge, transgressive and highstand systems tracts) of a sequence are now all formed during times of rising
base-level (Fig. 2) after the lowest point of relative sea-level (represented by the sequence
boundary, Fig. 2). The development and distinction of each of these systems tracts (LPW, TST
and HST) will depend upon the ratio of sedimentation rate to the rate of base-level rise, so that
their boundaries can form at different points on
the relative sea-level rise curve. The fourth systems tract of a sequence (FRW) forms during the
time of falling relative sea-level (forced regression) and is terminated by the sequence boundary
representing the lowest point of base-level (Fig.
2). Thus, in the scheme presented here, the upper
and lower bounding surface to a sequence, the
sequence boundary, is more precisely defined everywhere to form at the lowest point of relative
sea-level.
It could be argued that the megabreccias which
commonly develop during the lowstand of a carbonate rimmed shelf should be attributed to the
forced regressive wedge systems tract. In most
cases, these megabreccias are derived entirely
from the highstand shelf margin and they probably form during the relative sea-level fall. In a
sense they also represent the final stage in a cycle
of deposition, before any new sediment is generated. They should therefore be regarded as the
end of one sequence rather than the beginning of
the next.
In siliciclastic depositional systems the times of
falling and lowstand of relative sea-level are synonymous with increased sedimentation rates and

the deposition of extensive lower-slope and

basin-floor coarse clastics. In carbonate depositional systems, the response is typically more
complex, although in terms of sedimentation
rates, times of failing and lowstand of relative
sea-level are normally associated with a decrease
or even cessation of sedimentation, as the shelf is
exposed and the carbonate factory closed down.
In special situations, normally where there is a
strong antecedent topographic control or tectonic
influence, a n d / o r high production rates as a result of o c e a n o g r a p h i c factors (such as
leeward/windward effects), the lowstand prograding wedge can become a major location of
shallow-water carbonate production and deposition. Bypass may lead to fans and aprons on the
basin floor ahead of the wedge, as shown in Fig.
3. This also occurred in the lower Barremian
(Urgonian) LPW of the Vercors, French Alps
(Arnaud-Vanneau and Arnaud, 1990; Hunt and
Tucker, 1993).
Conclusions
This short paper has drawn attention to some
inconsistencies in the concepts of sequence
stratigraphy and has suggested that sequences
should be discussed in terms of four systems
tracts: lowstand prograding wedge, transgressive,
highstand and forced regressive wedge systems
tracts. The last systems tract is introduced here to
cover those sediments deposited during base-level
fall, when stranded parasequences may be deposited on the upper slope of a shelf margin and
a basin-floor fan or apron may be deposited in a
toe-of-slope location. The lowstand prograding
wedge is the first systems tract of a sequence. A
sequence boundary is defined as a chronostratigraphic surface developing at the lowest point of
sea-level. These modifications to the increasingly
used general sequence stratigraphic model remove the inconsistencies inherent in the original
Exxon model.
The existing Exxon-derived sequence stratigraphic model can be applied to many carbonate
and siliciclastic successions. However, the problems arise where sediments were deposited on
the upper slope to a shelf during base-level fall

and during the lowstand, and where exposure is

sufficiently good to see the geometric relationships.

Acknowledgements
D. Hunt gratefully acknowledges the receipt of
NERC grant G T 4 / 8 8 / G S / 3 0 .

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