DeepwaterArchitectureSEPMStrata

Amalgamatedandlayeredsheetsands
Slumps
Debrisflows
Marineshales
Thesecombinedheterogeneousfacies,andtheirgeometriccharacterformthearchitecturesofdeepwater
sedimentsthatoftenhavehierarchiesuniquetothatlocalsetting.Thesereflectdifferencesinratesofsediment
accumulationtiedtogeographicpositionwithinthefansystemsforinstancethebranchesofadistributary
systemsorupslopeinthefeedercanyons.Measuringthehorizontalandverticaldimensionsofthevarious
sedimentbodiesenablesthecomparisonofthesedifferentsettings.
PossamentierandAllen,1999andCsatoandKendall,2001haveshownthattheproductsofdifferent
subsidence/uplifthistorieswithinthesamebasincanleadtoarelativesealevellowstandononebasinmargin
segmentwhilepenecontemporaneouslyarelativesealevelrisemayhavebeenoccurredanadjacentsegment
ofthemargin.Fromtheperspectiveofdefiningreservoirgeometriesdifferencesthatoccurinthecharacterof
themarginsupplyingadeepwaterbasinmeanthatlocallyhigherbutvaryingratesofsedimentaccumulation
maycollectivelyformpackagesofreservoirandsealorintrareservoirfaciesparticularlyiftherewerevariations
inthelocalsourceparameters.
basinmarginslope,baseofslopeandbasinfloor
FanComplexMorphology
Tracedfromupslopeintothebasinbothmodernandancientdeepwaterfanmaybedividedintothefollowing
endmembersofBeaubouefetal.,(1999)namely:
MidSlopeChannels

ToeofSlope
ProximalFan
MidFanandDistalFan
Thecharacteristiclithofaciesandgeometriesofeachofthesegeomorphicfeaturesoverlapswiththeadjacent
membersandthisclassificationisverygeneral.Itisonewaytoapproachthesearchitecturalmembersand
othersfavordifferentiatingmodernfromtheancientdeepwaterfansonthebasisthatmodernsettingsofthe
surfaceofthefancanbeviewedinitsentiretythoughitsinternalfabricisofteninferredwhereasfortheancient
fancrosssectionsarevisibleinoutcrops,wellsandseismiccrosssectionswhilethefansurfaceisinferred.In
thecaseoftheancientthedistaltoproximalpositionswouldthenbeexpressedvertically(Steltingetal.,2000).
UsingtheterminologyofSteltingetal(2000)thegeomorphologyandfaciesassociationsassociatedwithfine
grained,mudrichturbiditefansystemsofunconfinedbasinsmaybesubdividedinto:
Upper/innerorproximalfanregionexpressedbyanerosivecanyonthatdowndiptowardsthemiddlefan
becomesanerosional/constructionalchannelcomplex('fanvalley')
Middlefanaggradationalandcharacterizedbyachannelleveecomplexthatstartsatornearthebaseof
slope.Thiscomplexistypicallysinuousanddecreasesinsizeupwardandinadownchanneldirection
(Peakalletal.,2000)
Outer/lowerordistalfansurfacedbysmall,ephemeralchannels(distributaries)thatgradedowndipto
sheetsandcomplexesthatmarkthedistalportionofthefanlobe.

IntheconstrictedsaltprovinceoftheGulfofMexicoandonthewestAfricacontinentalslopessheetsandand

channelleveesystemsareverticallyinterlayered.Thisiscausedbychangesinthegradientofmicrobasinsor
thelocallyscouredandorupliftedbasinsurfaceandfluctuatingratesofsedimentsupplyasthebasinfillsand
sedimentspillsintothenextbasindownslope.Thefourelementsthatfilltheconfinedbasinsare:leveedchannel
sandsamalgamatedchannelsandsamalgamatedandlayeredsheetsandsandslumps,debrisflows,and
marineshales(Steffens,1993).

Channels(includingamalgamatedchannelsands)
Channelstendtohavesharperosionalbasesandupdiptheirfilltendstobeconfinedwithinthedepressionthey
erodeintotheseafloor.Incanyonsandvalleysinthemidslopetheproximalfillofthesechannelsareoften
nestedtogether,andmaybeamalgamated,orevenbemassive.Downdipthefillmayspreadbeyondthe
confinesofthechannelmarginanddependingonthecharacterofthesedimentaryslopeandsourceareathe
sandsarelesslikelytobeamalgamatedandmaybeinterBeddedwithfinersediment.Atthebaseofslope
wherechannelsdebouchfromcanyonsandvalleysintheslopechannelwidthsmayrangefromgreaterthan3
kmtolessthan200m(Posamentier&Kolla,2003).Asthechannelmeandersmovedownsystemtheirsinuosity
changeslocallyfrommoderatetohigh.Thehighamplitudereflectioncharactercommontothesefeaturesis
interpretedtorecordthepresenceofsandfillingthechannels(Posamentier&Kolla,2003).Channelareasare
generallyelongatedowndip.Incrosssectionalseismicstrikeprofilesthechannelsjustseawardofthecanyon
mouthshowacharacteristic"gullwing"shapeformedbyproximalleveedeposits.Channelsconfinedbyerosion
oftenoccurinthemidfantodistalareasofthebaseofshelfmarginslope.Inthedistalportionsofthefan
channelsarenotasdeeplyincisedastheyareupdipandmorewidelyspacedandgradedowndipintosheet
sandcomplexesthatmarkthedistalportionofthefanlobe.Asoneproceedsdowndipamalgamatedturbidite
sheetsmaybecomelesscommon.Channelwidthsrangefromgreaterthan3kmtolessthan200m.Sinuosity
rangesfrommoderatetohigh,andchannelmeandersinmostinstancesmigratedownsystem.Thehigh
amplitudereflectioncharacterthatcommonlycharacterizesthesefeaturessuggeststhepresenceofsandwithin

thechannels.

SheetSands(includingamalgamatedandlayeredsheetsands)
Thedistalportionsofdeepwaterturbiditefansareoftenthesitesofthedepositionofsheetsands.Posamentier
andKolla(2003)explainhowlowsinuositydistributarychannelcomplexesformlobatesheetsupto510km
wideandtensofkilometerslongthatextendtothedistaledgesofthesesystems.Thesefrontalsplaysorlow
sinuosity,distributarychannelcomplexesareusuallyfedbyhighsinuositychannels.Thesesheetlikesandstone
unitsoftenconsistofshallowchannelizedandassociatedsandrichoverbankdepositswhereleveethickness
cannolongerberesolvedseismically(PosamentierandKolla,2003).Whenthedeepwaterturbiditesheetsare
depositedinunconfinedbasinsthesewillvaryinlithology,andgeometry,reflectingthattheyarenotaxially
confinedbythebasin.Howevertheywilltendtoexhibitdistinctverticalchangesinfaciesthatsuggeststhese
flowsmayhaveaccumulatedoversmallareasofthefan.ThesesheetswilloftenbeinterBeddedwithlaterally
continuousshalesthatseparatethesands.

Inthecaseofconfinedsmallbasinsthesheetswilllackalateralchangeinthecharacterofthecomponent
facies,willfineupandbeverticallystacked.Thesemaybespreadaslayeredamalgamatedintervalsthat
extendacrossanentirefanorevenacrossthebasin.
Leveedchannelsands
Modernseafloormorphologyshowleveeoverbankdepositsaccumulatelateraltothemainchannelsof
deepwaterfans,especiallyontheouterchannelbends.Theylackthecoarsercharacterofthechannellag.
PosamentierandKolla(2003)recordhowlocallyleveedepositsformsedimentwavesthatreachheightsof20m
withspacingsof23km.Theyshowhowthecrestsofthesesedimentwavesareorientednormaltotheinferred
transportdirectionofturbidityflows,andhowthewaveshavemigratedinanupflowdirection.

Sedimentarycharacterofexternalandinternallevees(KaneandHodgson,2010)
However,asKaneandHodgson(2010)note,itisuncommontoidentifyoutcropanaloguesofchannellevees,
andparticularlytheyfindalackofidentifiableinternalandexternallevees.Howvertheyhavefoundlargescale
externalleveesenvelopingchannelsystemswhilstsmallerscaleinternalleveesboundindividualthalweg
channelswithinthechannelbelt.Theyfindthisassociatedwithtwoexhumedchannelleveesystemsfromthe
RosarioFm.ofBajaCalifornia,andtheFortBrownFm.ofSouthAfrica.
Channelmarginleveethicknessdecreasessystematicallydownsystem.Theyoftenshowalateralcontinuityin
thefaciesoftheproximalportionsofleveefacies,butthereareoftenabruptchangesinthelithologieswhere
channelfillandleveesandshaveanerodedcontacts.Conceptualmodelsbasedonoutcrops,boreholeimages
andseismiccorrelationshelpwithidentificationofpotentialreservoirfacies(Slatt,2000).Slattetal(2004)record
howleveesdepositsshowdifferenceincharacterrelatedtotheirproximaltodistalpositionacrossthelevee.
Proximalleveeswilltendtohavehighernetsands,buttendtobethinBeddedwithcutandfillfeatures,mud
linedscours,climbingripples,goodconnectivityandhighangleandvariabledippingBeds.Thedistalleveehas
lowernetsand,thinBedded,interBeddedsandandsilt,goodcontinuity,andlowanglerippleandthebedsdipin
auniformly.Thechannelmarginsofleveesaremorecomplex,duetoslumping.Channelmarginsare
discontinuous,mudlined,andhavevariablefluidcommunicationinchannelleveereservoirs.Thebreachingof
levees,commonlyatchannelbendsleadtotheformationofcrevassesplaycomplexes.PosamentierandKolla
(2003)recordhowthesefeaturesaresimilartofrontalsplays,butsmallerinsizeandcommonlyareformedby
sheetliketurbidites.ChannelleveeandoverbankexamplesfromtheGulfofMexicoexhibitvariableoilwater
contactsacrossthereservoir.Overbankareas

Slumps
Whereevertheslopeofabasinmarginbecomestoosteeptosupporttheloadofthesedimentthatis
accumulatingthere,slumpingofsedimentarymaterialoccurs.Thiscanhappenonunprecedentedscales,asfor
instanceintheBeaufortSeaandthesubmarinemarginoftheNileDelta.Sedimentthatcollectedontheover
steepenedupperandlowerslopeiscommonlydeformedbycreepormorerapiddownslopemovement.
Evidenceofthismovementisexpressedintheintraformationaldeformationofthesedimentorsometimesby
hugeslumpscars.Slumpingisalsocommoninminibasinsconnectedanddissectedbysubmarinecanyonsand
valleys.Asthechannelsdowncutintothemarginsandfloorsofthesebasins,theirmarginsoversteepenandfail,

depositingslumpedmaterialoverthesheetsandsthatformtheoverbankfillmarginaltothechannels.

Debrisflows(linktofurtherdetails)
Debrisflowdepositsformmanyofthesamefeaturesofthatturbiditesandsexpress.Theserangefromlow
sinuositychannelfills,narrowelongatelobes,andsheetsandarecharacterizedseismicallybycontorted,
chaotic,lowamplitudereflectionpatterns(PosamentierandKolla,2003).Thesedepositscommonlyaccumualte
onstriatedorgroovedpavementsthatcanbeuptotensofkilometerslong,15mdeep,and25mwide.
PosamentierandKolla(2003)indicatethatwheretheflowsareunconfined,divergentstriationpatternsprobaby
reflecttheflowdirectionandbehaviour.Debrisflowdepositscanextendatleastasfarbasinwardasturbidites,
andindividualdebrisflowunitscanreach80minthicknessandcommonlyaremarkedbysteepedges
(PosamentierandKolla,2003).Transparenttochaoticseismicreflectioncharactersuggestthatthesedeposits
aremudrich.
Marineshales

seesectionondeepwatersediments
Surfaces
Allen(1983)established,usingfluviatilesedimentsasanexample,thatthereatleastfourkindsofboundaries:
concordantnonerosional(normalBedding)discorcordantnonerosionalconcordanterosionaland
disconcordanterosionalcontacts.
ClickonhighlightedDeepwaterGalleryforaccesstoacompleteindextoimages,maps,diagramsand
photographsofdeepwatergeologyincludingthegeologyofCoClareoraccessthisgalleryusingthepulldown
menuontheheaderbarabove.
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Sunday,February24,2013
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