Applied Sedimentology &

Sequence Stratigraphy

FACIES &
SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENT
For the geologist the modern earths
surface is his laboratory, to monitor
the processes which generate
sediments, and the deposits which
are their end product.

By applying the principle of uniformitarianism "the key to the past is the

present", we can deduce the origin of ancient sedimentary rocks.

As a geologist we collect all important sedimentary data in the field.

Why do sedimentologists collect all this data in the first place?

Grain size (clay, silt, sand, gravel)

Lithology (quartz arenite vs. litharenite vs shale etc.)
Mineralogy (when important variations occur)
Paleontology
Sedimentary and biogenic structures
Palaeocurrent orientations
Obvious sedimentary trends (e.g., fining upward sequences)
Bedding (Bed thickness) (thin, medium, thick)
Lamination (thin, medium, thick)
Bedding contacts (sharp, gradational, scoured)
Lateral variations (e.g., channels etc.)
Facies interpretations

Ultimately, it is in order to interpret the environment of deposition of the

sediment/sedimentary rocks.
 Sedimentary Environment

A sedimentary environment has been defined as a part of the earths

surface which is physically, chemically and biologically distinct from
adjacent areas

Sand deserts, delta, river and

submarine fans are examples of
these different sedimentary
environments.
 Sedimentary Environment

A sedimentary environment has been defined as a part of the earths

surface which is physically, chemically and biologically distinct from
adjacent areas

Physical Chemical Biology

Include;
- The velocity, direction
and variation of wind,
wave and flowing water.
- The climate and weather
of the environment in all
their subtle variations of
temperature, rainfall,
snowfall and humidity.
Include; Include;
- The geochemistry of the - Flora
rocks in the catchments
- Fauna
area of a terrestrial
environment.
- The composition of the
waters which cover a
subaqueous sedimentary
environment.
 Sedimentary Environment

There are literally dozens of different depositional environments

that cover every imaginable marine and non-marine situation.

And in most cases, there are multiple varieties of each basic

environment of deposition.

For example, rivers come

in at least 3 flavors:
1) Meandering
2) Braided
3) Anastimosing
 Sedimentary Environment
Sedimentologists also need to consider the full range of variability
within each depositional environment. For example, a braided
river channel has deep areas, flats and bars (longitudinal and
transverse)..

When you look closely at braided river depositional systems, it is

clear that they consist of a lot of subcomponents. Not just a
channel and a floodplain.
 Sedimentary Environment

Examination of the modern earth shows that there are sedimentary

environments of;
- Net erosion
Typically terrestrial and consist largely of
the mountainous area of the world. Locally
sedimentation take place from glacial, mud
flow and flash flood processes.
- Equilibrium
These are surface, both on the land and
under the sea, which for long periods of
time are neither sites of erosion nor yet of
deposition.
- Net deposition
It Appears that depositional sedimentary
environments are predominantly
subaqueous.
 Sedimentary Environment

______________________________________________________________
Erosional Equilibrial Depositional
______________________________________________________________
Subaerial Dominant Development of Rare
peneplanes (eolian & glasial)
soils, laterites
Land & bouxites

Localized unknown? Localized

(fluvial & lacustrine)
Subaqueous

Sea rare Development of Dominant

"hardgrounds"
often nodular &
mineralized
______________________________________________________________
 Sedimentary Environment Classification
(Selley, 1988)

CONTINENTAL Braided
Fluviatile
Lacuctrine Meandering
Eolian

SHORELINE Lobate (Delta) Terrigenous

Linear (Barrier) Mixed
Carbonate

MARINE Reef Terrigenous

Shelf Carbonate
Submarine channel & fan
Pelagic
One sedimentary
environment can
changes to one
another
Each sedimentary
environment produce
a body of sediment
characterized by
specific textural,
structural and
compositional
properties refers to
sedimentary facies.
 Sedimentary Facies
The simplest definition A rock facies is a body of sedimentary rock with
specified characteristics and distinct from neighboring rock bodies
A facies is defined on the basis of criteria observable in the field and/or in
cores, such as;
- geometry,
- lithology,
- sedimentary structures,
- fossils,
- colour,
- paleocurrent pattern
e.g. cross-bedded-sandstone facies; rooted mottled mudstone facies;
centimetrebedded heterolithic facies.
 Sedimentary Facies

Defining characteristics for facies include:

Obvious sedimentary trends
Bedding (Bed thickness)
Lamination
Bedding contacts
Lateral variations
Grain size
Lithology
Mineralogy
Paleontology
Sedimentary and biogenic structures
Palaeocurrent orientations
 Sedimentary Facies

Facies can, and will, repeat vertically

through a sedimentary sequence, but
may vary in character as a result of
environmental and/or evolutionary
change through time, e.g., fossil
content.

Facies may also change

laterally through a
deposit as a result of
changing environments
with distance at the same
time.
 Relationship between sedimentary environment & facies
A facies is a product of a process operating in a depositional environment.
PROCESS RESPONSE

Geometry
Physical SEDIMENTARY Erosion SEDIMENTARY Lithology
Chemical ENVIRONMENT Equilibrium FACIES Sedimentary
biological Deposition structure
paleocurrent
Fossil
 Relationship between sedimentary environment & facies
A facies is a product of a process operating in a depositional environment.
PROCESS RESPONSE

Geometry
Physical SEDIMENTARY Erosion SEDIMENTARY Lithology
Chemical ENVIRONMENT Equilibrium FACIES Sedimentary
biological Deposition structure
paleocurrent
Fossil
 Relationship between sedimentary environment & facies
Facies name
- use descriptive term;
- pebbly sand facies
- redbed facies
- cross-bed sandstone facies
- should not be used a genetic term;
- fluvial facies
It may be correct, &
- turbidite facies
may be incorrect
- Shoal facies
 Relationship between sedimentary environment & facies
Depositional environments generate sedimentary facies
PROCESS RESPONSE

Geometry
Physical SEDIMENTARY Erosion SEDIMENTARY Lithology
Chemical ENVIRONMENT Equilibrium FACIES Sedimentary
biological Deposition structure
paleocurrent
Fossil

When dealing with the depositional

environment, geologist attempt to work the
process-response model backward and infer the
conditions of the ancient depositional
environment.
Facies analysis must always begin with study of
sedimentary facies.
 Facies sequence

A facies sequence is a vertical

series of facies which pass
gradationally from one into the
other.
The most commonly
recognised facies sequences
are: fining-up, coarsening-up,
thinning-up, thickening-up, and
sandying-up.
A sequence may occur only
once in a rock column, or
repeatedly (i.e. cyclic).
 Facies Associations
Individual facies may not be diagnostic
of any particulr environment.
A facies association is an interval
comprising two or more facies,
considered to be genetically or
environmentally related. The usual
scale is 10s m to km thickness.
Distinction of facies associations is
strictly observational, and might be
based, for example, on abrupt vertical
changes in overall grain size or
sandiness, or a change in the
background sediment (containing
coarser 'event beds').
 Facies Associations
A facies association generally
corresponds to a discrete depositional
environment, and is commonly named
accordingly, e.g. delta-plain association.
Alternatively, a purely
descriptive/objective name might be
applied, e.g. coallenticular sand-mottled
shale association.
The number of facies associations in a
study is usually considerably less than
the number of facies. For example, three
facies associations might be nominated,
each containing five facies, two of which
occur in all three associations, thus
making a total of eleven facies.
A facies association may occur only
once in a studied succession, or
repeatedly.
 Walters Law

Facies are seldom randomly arranged.

Environmental analysis shows that vertical sections of strata originated in
sequences of environments that are seen side by side on the earths surface.
Walters Law - a conformable vertical sequence of facies was generated by
a lateral sequence of environment

Lateral environment

Vertical facies
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation

Facies analysis
A facies analysis consists of two
stages:
(i) recognize, define, describe the
facies; then
(ii) interpret the facies in terms of
depositional process and environment.
Sources of data are outcrops, cores
and well logs (electrofacies, image
facies).
In describing and interpreting the
facies, the ABSENCE of features can
be just as important as the presence.
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation

Facies analysis
Interpretation is at two levels:
(i) interpretation of individual facies;
followed by
(ii) interpretation of all the facies
collectively.
The latter allows a much more detailed
interpretation than does any facies
individually, due to Walthers Law, e.g.
cross-bedded sand overlain by coal
has a much narrower range of possible
interpretations than does cross-
bedded sand alone.
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation

Facies analysis
Interpretation of process and
environment is based on comparison
with:
(i) observations from modern
environments;
(ii) interpreted ancient analogues; and
(iii) laboratory experiments (which
yield information on processes only,
e.g. turbidity currents).
Distinguish component
facies in the outcrops
that they are
examining.
Then they determine
which depositional
environment best fits
this variety of facies.
This is called: Facies
Modeling
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
Interpretation and reconstruction of ancient depositional environments
depends upon facies analysis;

A facies is defined on the basis of criteria observable in the field and/or

in cores, such as;
- geometry,
- lithology,
- sedimentary structures,
- paleocurrent pattern,
- fossils
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
GEOMETRY
Refers to the three-dimentional shape of sedimentary bodies

Fluvial
submarine canyon

Littoral
Delta
Alluvial fan

Beach,
deep water turbidite
desert
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
LITHOLOGY
General indicator of depositional environment
- Limestone deposited on warm shallow-marine shelves
- Mature, quartzose sandstone common deposits in eolian environment
- Evaporite deposited suggest deposition under conditions of high
evaporation, restricted water circulation
- Coals occur in fluvial, swampy environment

Limestone
warm shallow-marine

Fine grains
low-energy environment
Coarse grains
high-energy environment
Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
SEDIMENTARY STRUCTURE
Sedimentary structures generated almost exclusively by depositional processes and
they definitely formed in place.

Herring-bone cross
bedding - tidal

Mud crack -
Wave ripple - continental
shallow sea
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
SEDIMENTARY STRUCTURE
Sedimentary structures generated almost exclusively by depositional processes and
they definitely formed in place.
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
PALEOCURRENT PATTERN
Some sedimentary structures yield directional data that show the direction ancient
current flowed at the time of deposition.
Paleocurrent pattern may be;
Unidirectional
Bidirectional
polydirectional
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
FOSSIL
Fossils as indicators of;
- water depth
- Water temperature
- Water turbidity &
sedimentation rate
- Salinity indicator
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
FOSIL
as indicators of;
- water depth
- Water temperature
- Water turbidity &
sedimentation rate
- Salinity indicator
 Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
FOSIL
Fassils as indicators of;
- water depth
- Water temperature
- Water turbidity &
sedimentation rate
- Salinity indicator
Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
Ancient sedimentary environment interpretation
 Types of Stratigraphy

Classical branches
Lithostratigraphy
Chronostratigraphy
Biostratigraphy

Newer subdisciplines
Seismic stratigraphy
Cyclostratigraphy
Magnetostratigraphy
Chemostratigraphy

Integration of disciplines in Sequence Stratigraphy

41
 Terminology of Lithostratigraphic Units

Supergroup
Group
Formation
Member
Bedset
Bed
Types of unconformities
Angular unconformity
Disconformity
Paraconformity
Nonconformity
hiatus

42
 History of Sequence Stratigraphy: Time-significant
surfaces

1748: Maillet
Eustatic sea level fall
Exposed topography
Erosion
Deposition of
sedimentary packages

43
History of Sequence Stratigraphy: Unconformities

James Hutton (1726-

1797): Father of Modern
Geology
First described
unconformity at Siccar
Point in northern Scotland
In a paper entitled
Theory of The Earth
(1785) Hutton recognized
the importance of
unconformities
Also recognized
stratigraphic nature of
igneous rocks and believed
came from molten material
within Earth

44
History of Sequence Stratigraphy

William Smith measured and

described outcrop stratigraphy
during excavation of transport
canals in England beginning in 1791

45
History of Sequence Stratigraphy: Facies

Johannes Walther (1892)

proposed what is now
known as Walthers Law
of Facies Succession

"Facies adjacent to one another in a

continuous vertical sequence also
accumulated adjacent to one another
laterally".

46
History of Sequence Stratigraphy: Time-significant
surfaces
1909: Eliot Blackwelder published use
of unconformities as time markers;
introduced concept of time
represented by surfaces (erosional
removal and sedimentary hiatus)

47
History of Sequence Stratigraphy: Base Level

1917: Joseph Barrell stated the

most fundamental events in
geologic history--the time-space
distribution of deposition and non-
deposition: the alternating rise
and fall of Base-level.

48
What Really Happened: New Concepts from New
Technology
1951 John L. Rich proposes the
concept of clinoforms

recognition of seismic
reflection geometries

49
 History of Sequence Stratigraphy: Time Stratigraphy

1958 Harry Wheeler produced first chronostratigraphic chart

50
History of Sequence Stratigraphy: Time Stratigraphy

1963 Lawrence Sloss recognized 6 major sequences in

North America controlled by eustatic sea level changes
51
Official Birth of Sequence Stratigraphy

1977 Peter Vail and Robert Mitchum co-

ordinated the publishing of AAPG Memoir
#26 based on the assumption that a
seismic relection surface represents a time
line

52
A Simpler, More Useful Definition of Sequence Stratigraphy

A method to impose the dimension of time on the

relationships of rock units in space (area and depth)
To do this we first describe
facies
Then we observe the
geometric relationships
among facies

By understanding how rock units are related

in time and space, we can better interpret how they are 53
connected as oil and gas reservoirs
THANK YOU