An allostratigraphic approach to a non-marine basin: the north-western part of Cretaceous Kyongsang Basin, SE Korea

The north-western part of the Cretaceous Kyongsang Basin, south-east Korea, comprises alluvial deposits of conglomerate, gravelly sandstone, sandstone and mudstone which can be grouped into four allomembers bounded by stratigraphic discontinuities. The discontinuities trend NW–SE and are marked by distinct facies transitions, abrupt emplacement of conglomerate and thin but persistent mudstone beds. Sedimentary facies and architectural analyses reveal that each allomember formed a depositional system of fluvial channel networks draining toward the south-east with alluvial fans on the northern margin. Each allomember can be characterized by distinctive architecture of channel-fills, clast composition of conglomerate and sandstone/mudstone ratio. Successive units show an eastward shift in the locus of deposition, suggesting basinward relocations of alluvial systems. Such variations with time and space are interpreted to reflect changes in accommodation space and sediment supply during basin evolution, probably caused by fault movements. This study shows that detailed mapping, combined with architectural analysis, and the establishment of alluvial allostratigraphy can help assess changes in alluvial systems and structural development of the basin.     

Sequence stacking patterns in the Western Canada foredeep: influence of tectonics, sediment loading and eustasy on deposition of the Upper Cretaceous Kaskapau and Cardium Formations

The Kaskapau and Cardium Formations span Late Cenomanian to Early Coniacian time and were deposited on a low‐gradient foredeep ramp. The studied portion of the Kaskapau Formation spans ca 3·5 Myr and forms a mudstone‐dominated wedge thinning from 700 to <50 m from SW to NE over ca 300 km. In contrast, the Cardium Formation spans about 2·1 Myr, is about 100 m thick, sandstone‐rich and broadly tabular. The Kaskapau and Cardium Formations are divided, respectively, into 28 and nine allomembers, each bounded by marine flooding surfaces. Kaskapau allomembers 1 to 7 show about 200 km of offlap from the forebulge, accompanied by progradation of thin sandstones from the eroded forebulge crest. In contrast, Kaskapau allomembers 8 to 28 and Cardium allomembers C1 to C9 show overall onlap onto the forebulge of about 350 km, and contain no forebulge‐derived sandstones. This broad pattern is interpreted as recording a latest Cenomanian pulse of tectonic loading which led to shoreline back‐step in the proximal foredeep and coeval uplift of the forebulge, leading to erosion. The advance of the sediment wedge after Kaskapau allomember 7 is attributed primarily to the isostatic effect of a distributed sediment load; the advance of the orogenic wedge had a subordinate effect on subsidence of the forebulge. For Kaskapau allomembers 1 to 6, isopachs trend north to south, suggesting a load directly to the west; allomembers 7 to 28 show an abrupt rotation of isopachs to NW–SE, suggesting that the load shifted several hundred kilometres to the south. This re‐orientation might be related to a change from an approximately orthogonal to a dextral transpressive stress regime. Within the longer‐term offlap–onlap cycle recorded by the Kaskapau and Cardium Formations, individual allomembers are grouped into packages reflecting higher‐frequency onlap–offlap cycles, each spanning ca 0·5 to 0·7 Myr. Offlap from the forebulge tends to be accompanied by more pronounced transgression in the foredeep, whereas onlap onto the forebulge is accompanied by progradation of tongues of shoreface sandstone. This relationship suggests that changes in deformation rate in the orogenic wedge modulated proximal subsidence rate, enhancing or suppressing shoreline progradation, and also causing subtle uplift or subsidence of the forebulge region. Wedge‐shaped allomembers in the Kaskapau Formation contain shoreface sandstone and conglomerate that prograded, respectively, <40 and <25 km from the preserved basin margin; progradation of coarse clastics was limited by rapid flexural subsidence. Tabular allomembers of the Cardium Formation imply a low flexural subsidence rate and contain sandy and conglomeratic shoreface deposits that prograded up to ca 180 km from the preserved basin margin. This relationship suggests that low rates of flexural subsidence promoted steeper alluvial gradients, more vigorous gravel transport and more extensive shoreface progradation. Overall, observed stratal geometry and facies distribution is explained readily in terms of current elastic flexural models. Most shoreface sandstones in the proximal foredeep show evidence of forced regression. Eustasy provides the most plausible explanation for relative sea‐level rise–fall cycles on the 125 kyr allomember timescale. Geometric relationships suggest eustatic oscillations of about 10 m. Forced regressive shoreface development was suppressed during Kaskapau allomembers 1 to 10 when the rate of flexural subsidence was at its highest.     

Tectonic control on third‐order sequences in a siliciclastic ramp‐style basin: An example from the Roper Superbasin (Mesoproterozoic), northern Australia

TThe Roper Group is a cyclic, predominantly marine, siliciclastic succession of Calymmian (Early Mesoproterozoic) age. It has a distribution of at least 145 000 km² and a maximum known thickness of ～5000 m. In the Roper River district the middle part of the Roper Group (～1300 m thick) is characterised by the cyclical alternation of mudstone and sandstone units, and can be divided into six third‐order depositional sequences. A typical sequence is broadly progradational in aspect, and comprises a lower, mudstone‐rich, storm‐dominated shelf succession (up to 330 m thick), and a sequence‐capping unit dominated by tidal‐platform cross‐bedded sandstone (up to 80 m thick); both are interpreted as highstand systems tracts. Transgressive strata are poorly represented but where present are characterised by paralic to fluvial redbed assemblages that include ooidal ironstone. Roper Group sequences lack a distinct condensed section and sequence boundaries are mostly conformable. Erosional contacts separate mud‐rich shelf facies from sequence‐capping sandstones. We infer that these erosion surfaces were generated by episodic flexural tectonism, which also generated the accommodation and sediment supply for Roper sequences.     

Palaeoenvironments, palaeogeography, and physiography of a large, shallow, muddy ramp: Late Cenomanian-Turonian Kaskapau Formation, Western Canada foreland basin

The Kaskapau Formation spans Late Cenomanian to Middle Turonian time and was deposited on a low‐gradient, shallow, storm‐dominated muddy ramp. Dense well log control, coupled with exposure on both proximal and distal margins of the basin allows mapping of sedimentary facies over about 35 000 km². The studied portion of the Kaskapau Formation is a mudstone‐dominated wedge that thins from 700 m in the proximal foredeep to 50 m near the forebulge about 300 km distant. Regional flooding surfaces permit mapping of 28 allomembers, each of which represent an average of ca 125 kyr. More than 200 km from shore, calcareous silty claystone predominates, whereas 100 to 200 km offshore, mudstone and siltstone predominate. From about 30 to 100 km offshore, centimetre‐bedded very fine sandstone and mudstone record along‐shelf (SSE)‐directed storm‐generated geostrophic flows. Five to thirty kilometres from shore, decimetre‐bedded hummocky cross‐stratified fine sandstone and mudstone record strongly oscillatory, wave‐dominated flows whereas some gutter casts indicate shore‐oblique, apparently mostly unidirectional geostrophic flows. Nearshore facies are dominated by swaley cross‐stratified or intensely bioturbated clean fine sandstone, interpreted as recording, respectively, areas strongly and weakly affected by discharge from distributary mouths. Shoreface sandstones grade locally into river‐mouth conglomerates and sandstones, including conglomerate channel‐fills up to 15 m thick. Locally, brackish lagoonal shelly mudstones are present on the extreme western margin of the basin. There is no evidence for clinoform stratification, which indicates that the Kaskapau sea floor had extremely low relief, lacked a shelf‐slope break, and was probably nowhere more than a few tens of metres deep. The absence of clinoforms probably indicates a long‐term balance between rates of accommodation and sediment supply. Mud is interpreted to have been transported >250 km offshore in a sea‐bed nepheloid layer, repeatedly re‐suspended by storms. Fine‐grained sediment accumulated up to a ‘mud accommodation envelope’, perhaps only 20 to 40 m deep. Continuous re‐working of the sea floor by storms ensured that excess sediment was redistributed away from areas that had filled to the ‘accommodation envelope’, being deposited in areas of higher accommodation further down the transport path. The facies distributions and stratal geometry of the Kaskapau shelf strongly suggest that sedimentary facies, especially grain‐size, were related to distance from shore, not to water depth. As a result, the ‘100 to >300 m’ depth interpreted from calcareous claystone facies for the more central parts of the Interior Seaway, might be a significant overestimate.     

Synorogenic alluvial-fan – fan-delta deposition in the Papuan foreland basin: Plio-Pleistocene Era Formation,Papua New Guinea

The Pliocene to possibly Pleistocene uppermost Orubadi and Era Formations, southwest margin of the Papuan Peninsula, are interpreted as having been deposited in alluvial-fan, fan-delta and shallow-marine environments. The alluvial-fan facies consists primarily of lenticular, coarse-grained conglomerate (up to 2 m boulders) and cross-bedded and horizontally laminated sandstone. Conglomerate and sandstone were deposited in shallow fluvial channels and by overbank sheetfloods. The facies also contains thick mudflow diamictite and minor tuff and terrestrial mudstone. The shallow-marine and fan-delta facies, in contrast, consists of heterogeneously interbedded marine and terrestrial mudstone, sandstone, diamictite, conglomerate and limestone. Marine mudstone is calcareous, sandy, bioturbated, and contains marine shells. Limestone is mostly packstone that has a varied, open-marine fauna. Rare coral boundstone is also present. Marine sandstone is burrowed to bioturbated and is hummocky cross-stratified in places. Some marine mudstone contains sandstone pillows formed by loading of unconsolidated sand by storm waves. Other sandstone in the fan-delta facies is cross-bedded, lacks shells and was probably deposited by fluvial processes. Several conglomerate beds in the fan-delta facies are well sorted and imbricated and were also deposited by stream floods. The synorogenic Orubadi and Era Formations were deposited in a foreland basin formed from loading of the Papuan–Aure Fold and Thrust Belt on the edge of the Australian craton. Deformation in the fold and thrust belt was probably related to docking and compression of the Finisterre Terrane–Bismarck Arc against the New Guinea Orogen. The Era Formation interfingers with the reefal Wedge Hill Limestone in which reef facies likely grew on a deforming anticline. Era Formation siliciclastics were sourced from volcanic, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks that were uplifted in the orogen to the northeast. Volcanic sediment was derived mostly from a then-active volcanic arc likely related to southward subduction at the Trobriand Trough.     

An iron-bearing wave-dominated siliciclastic shelf: Facies analysis and palaeogeographic implications (Silurian-Lower Devonian Sierra Grande Formation,Southern Argentina)

The Sierra Grande Formation (Silurian-Early Devonian) consists of quartz arenites associated with clast supported conglomerates, mudstones, shales and ironstones. Eight sedimentary facies are recognized: cross-stratified and massive sandstone, plane bedded sandstone, ripple laminated sandstone, interstratified sandstone and mudstone, laminated mudstone and shale, oolitic ironstone, massive conglomerate and sheet conglomerate lags. These facies are interpreted as shallow marine deposits, ranging from foreshore to inner platform environments. Facies associations, based on vertical relationships among lithofacies, suggest several depositional zones: (a) beach to upper shoreface, with abundant plane bedded and massive bioturbated sandstones; (b) upper shoreface to breaker zone, characterized by multistorey cross-stratified and massive sandstone bodies interpreted as subtidal longshore-flow induced sand bars; (c) subtidal, nearshore tidal sand bars, consisting of upward fining sandstone sequences; (d) lower shoreface zone, dominated by ripple laminated sandstone, associated with cross-stratified and horizontal laminated sandstone, formed by translatory and oscillatory flows; and (e) transitional nearshore-offshore and inner platform zones, with heterolithic and pelitic successions, and oolitic ironstone horizons. Tidal currents, fair weather waves and storm events interacted during the deposition of the Sierra Grande Formation. However, the relevant features of the siliciclastics suggest that fair weather and storm waves were the most important mechanisms in sediment accumulation. The Silurian-Lower Devonian platform was part of a continental interior sag located between southern South America and southern Africa. The Sierra Grande Formation was deposited during a second order sea level rise, in which a shallow epeiric sea flooded a deeply weathered low relief continent.     

Ramp sedimentation across a middle Albian,Arctic embayment: Influence of subsidence,eustasy and sediment supply on stratal architecture and facies distribution,Lower Cretaceous,Western Canada Foreland Basin

Regional mapping of Middle Albian, shallow‐marine clastic strata over ca 100 000 km² of the Western Canada Foreland Basin was undertaken to investigate the relationship between large‐scale stratal architecture and lithology. Results suggest that, over ca 5 Myr, stratal geometry and facies were dynamically linked to tectonic activity in the adjacent Cordillera. Higher frequency modulation of accommodation is most reasonably ascribed to eustasy. The Harmon and Cadotte alloformations were deposited at the southern end of an embayment of the Arctic Ocean. The Harmon alloformation, forming the lower part of the succession, constitutes a wedge of marine mudstone that thickens westward over 400 km from <5 m near the forebulge to >150 m in the foredeep. Constituent allomembers are also wedge‐shaped but lack distinct clinothems, a rollover point or downlapping geometry. Ubiquitous wave ripples indicate that the sea floor lay above storm wave base. Deposition took place on an extremely low‐gradient ramp, where accommodation was limited by effective wave base. Lobate, river‐dominated deltas fringed the southern margin of the basin. The largest deltas are stacked in the same area, suggesting protracted stability of the feeder river. A buried palaeo‐valley on the underlying sub‐Cretaceous unconformity may have influenced compaction and controlled river location for ca 3 Myr. Adjacent to the western Cordillera, a predominantly mudstone succession is interbedded with abundant storm beds of very fine‐grained sandstone and siltstone that reflect supply from the adjacent orogen. Bioturbation indices in the Harmon alloformation range from zero to six which reflects the influence of stressors related to river‐mouth proximity. Harmon alloformation mudstone grades abruptly upward into marine sandstone and conglomerate of the overlying Cadotte alloformation. The Cadotte is composed of three allomembers ‘CA’ to ‘CC’, that represent the deposits of prograding strandplains 200 × 300 km in extent. Allomembers ‘CA’ and ‘CB’ are strongly sandstone‐dominated, whereas allomember ‘CC’ contains abundant conglomerate in the west. The dominantly aggradational wedge of Harmon alloformation mudstone records flexural subsidence driven by active thickening in the adjacent orogen: the high accommodation rate trapped coarser clastic detritus close to the basin margin. In contrast, the tabular, highly progradational sandstone and conglomerate bodies of the Cadotte alloformation record a low subsidence rate, implying tectonic quiescence in the adjacent orogen. Erosional unloading of the orogen through Cadotte time steepened rivers to the extent that they delivered gravel to the shore. These observations support an ‘anti‐tectonic’ model of gravel supply proposed previously for the United States portion of the Cretaceous foreland basin. Because Cadotte allomembers do not thicken appreciably into the foredeep, accommodation changes that controlled these transgressive–regressive successions were probably of eustatic origin.     

Cyclicity in the nearshore marine to coastal, Lower Permian, Pebbley Beach Formation, southern Sydney Basin, Australia: a record of relative sea-level fluctuations at the close of the Late Palaeozoic Gondwanan ice age

The Lower Permian (Artinskian to Sakmarian) Pebbley Beach Formation (PBF) of the southernmost Sydney Basin in New South Wales, Australia, records sediment accumulation in shallow marine to coastal environments at the close of the Late Palaeozoic Gondwanan ice age. This paper presents a sequence stratigraphic re‐evaluation of the upper half of the unit based on the integration of sedimentology and ichnology. Ten facies are recognized, separated into two facies associations. Facies Association A (seven facies) comprises variably bioturbated siltstones and sandstones with marine body fossils, interpreted as recording sediment accumulation in open marine environments ranging from lower offshore to middle shoreface water depths. Evidence of deltaic influence is seen in several Association A facies. Facies Association B (three facies) comprises mainly heterolithic, interlaminated and thinly interbedded sandstone and siltstone with some thicker intervals of dark grey, organic‐rich mudstone, some units clearly filling incised channel forms. These facies are interpreted as the deposits of estuarine channels and basins. Throughout the upper half of the formation, erosion surfaces with several metres relief abruptly separate open marine facies of Association A (below) from estuarine facies of Association B (above). Vertical facies changes imply significant basinward shift of environment across these surfaces, and lowering of relative sea level in the order of 50 m. These surfaces can be traced over several kilometres along depositional strike, and are defined as sequence boundaries. On this basis, at least nine sequences have been recognized in the upper half of the formation, each of which is < 10 m thick, condensed, incomplete and top‐truncated. Sequences contain little if any record of the lowstand systems tract, a more substantial transgressive systems tract and a highstand systems tract that is erosionally truncated (or in some cases, missing). This distinctive stacking pattern (which suggests a dominance of retrogradation and progradation over aggradation) and the implied relative sea‐level drop across sequence boundaries of tens of metres are remarkably similar to some other studies of continental margin successions formed under the Neogene icehouse climatic regime. Accordingly, it is suggested that the stratigraphic architecture of the PBF was a result of an Icehouse climate regime characterized by repeated, high‐amplitude cycles of relative sea‐level change.     

Petrographic-microchemical studies and origin of the Agbaja Phanerozoic Ironstone Formation, Nupe Basin, Nigeria: a product of a ferruginized ooidal kaolin precursor not identical to the Minette-type

The Campanian-Maastrichtian Agbaja Ironstone Formation of the Nupe basin, Nigeria, forms a major part of the about 2 billion tons of iron ore reserves of the Middle Niger Embayment. The ironstone deposits were previously reported to be similar to the Minette-type ironstones because of their depositional patterns, composition and inferred origin. Four rock-types are recognized within the Agbaja Ironstone Formation: ooidal pack-ironstone, pisoidal pack-ironstone, mud-ironstone and bog iron ore. In the ironstones, kaolinite of both the groundmass and the ooids/pisoids is of lateritic origin, whereas the associated quartz, mica and heavy minerals are of detrital origin. Ooids and pisoids were formed by mechanical accretion of platy kaolinite crystals by rolling on the sea floor in a near-shore environment, and were subsequently transported and deposited together with a fine-grained kaolinitic groundmass. Pyrite (mainly framboidal) and siderite (both exclusively occurring as pseudomorphs of goethite and/or hematite) are diagenetic whereas goethite is post-diagenetic in origin, resulting from the ferruginization of the kaolinitic precursor. Crandallite-gorxeicite-goyazite, bolivarite and boehmite are also post-diagenetic in origin. Hematite was formed from the dehydration of goethite, whereas gibbsite (restricted to the upper part of the deposit) is of recent and in situ lateritic origin. The presence of newly formed authigenic pyrite and siderite (now replaced by hematite and goethite) are indicators of a reducing environment during diagenesis. The absence of diagenetic chamositic clay minerals, evidently caused by a low Mg concentration, suggests that fully marine conditions were not established during sedimentation. This is supported by the lack of fossils, brecciated shell materials and bioturbation features in the deposit. Reworking and redeposition of the primary constituents are inferred from broken pisoids, nuclei of pisoidal/ooidal fragments in pisoids and high iron concentrations present in the pisoids and ooids compared to that of the groundmass. These observations indicate that the Agbaja ironstone deposits of the Lokoja study area exhibit some environmental and mineralogical characteristics that are markedly different from other known deposits of Minette-type, where primary chamositic clay minerals generally form the protore for the ironstones. The recognition of kaolinite as the precursor constituent and the occurrence of similar deposits of the same age (Late Cretaceous) in Nigeria, Sudan and Egypt have implications for the paleoenvironmental interpretations of Phanerozoic ironstone deposits. Received: 16 February 1998 / Accepted: 8 July 1998     

Upper Cretaceous Gongila Formation in the Hawal Basin, northeast Benue Trough: a storm and wave dominated regressive shoreline complex

The Gongila Formation in the Hawal Basin displays lithological characteristics, textural variations and sedimentary structures that facilitate palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. The 41 m thick Gongila succession is divisible into: (i) a mudstone facies association (at the bottom) composed of fossiliferous limestone, clay shale, and sharp-based, graded and swaly-bedded shell debris; and (ii) a cross-stratified sandstone facies association that constitutes the uppermost 60% of the entire succession. The cross-stratified sandstone facies association is further subdivided, on the basis of sedimentary structures, into: (i) a lower interval represented by a coarsening upward fine- to medium-grained sandstone, siltstone and shale in which units characterised by parallel lamination and hummocky cross-stratification pass upward through a zone of small-scale low angle cross-stratification into units characterised by planar cross-stratification and sparse Teichichnus and Skolithos burrow traces; and (ii) an upper interval dominated by fine- to medium-grained sandstone and bioturbated siltstone characterised by erosive based, high angle tangential foresets, subhorizontal laminations and burrow structures belonging to the Thalassinoides, Ophiomorpha and Skolithos ichnogenera.The overall sequence of the Gongila Formation represents progradation on a wave influenced coast, passing from shelf mudstone at the base to lower and upper shoreface sandstones at the top. Each facies association displays an alternation between relatively high energy conditions when sediment was mainly deposited by decelerating suspension laden currents, and relatively low energy conditions when wave reworked fine-grained sediment as it was deposited from suspension. The influence of storms in these conditions is inferred from the associated lithofacies, textural characteristics and sedimentary structures.     

Facies analysis and depositional environment of the Jurassic, Jumara Dome sediments, Kachchh, western India

The study deals with the depositional environment of Jumara Dome sediments. The Jumara Dome is an important outcrop of Bathonian to Oxfordian sediments amongst the Kachchh Mainland exposures. On the basis of facies analysis three associations have been documented, namely, G-1 consisting of low energy facies comprising of cross-bedded sandstone, massive sandstone, grey shale and thin bedded sandstone, bioclastic — lithoclastic grainstone, bioclastic — lithoclastic packstone, microbioclastic packstone/wackestone, bioturbated laminated wackestone to mudstone and pelagic lime mudstone; G-II consisting of moderate energy facies comprising of laminated sandstone and grapestone or agglutinated grainstone; G-III consisting of high energy facies comprising of interbedded gypsiferous shale and sandstone/siltstone, oolitic grainstone to conglomerate and bioclastic grainstone. The facies associations reflect an ideal shallowing upward sequence representing slope, bioclast bar, lagoon and inner shelf. Presence of wide range of facies indicates that the rocks of the studied area were deposited during the fluctuating sea level, interrupted by the storms, in the shallow marine environment.     

Facies analysis and palaeoclimatic significance of ironstones formed during the Eocene greenhouse

Lower and middle Eocene ironstone sequences of the Naqb and Qazzun formations from the north‐east Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt, represent a proxy for early Palaeogene climate and sea‐level changes. These sequences represent the only Palaeogene economic ooidal ironstone record of the Southern Tethys. These ironstone sequences rest unconformably on three structurally controlled Cenomanian palaeohighs (for example, the Gedida, Harra and Ghorabi mines) and formed on the inner ramp of a carbonate platform. These palaeohighs were exposed and subjected to subaerial lateritic weathering from the Cenomanian to early Eocene. The lower and middle Eocene ironstone sequences consist of quiet water ironstone facies overlain by higher energy ironstone facies. The distribution of low‐energy ironstone facies is controlled by depositional relief. These deposits consist of lagoonal, burrow‐mottled mud‐ironstone and laterally equivalent tidal flat, stromatolitic ironstones. The agitated water ironstone facies consist of shallow subtidal–intertidal nummulitic–ooidal–oncoidal and back‐barrier storm‐generated fossiliferous ironstones. The formation of these marginal marine sequences was associated with major marine transgressive–regressive megacycles that separated by subaerial exposure and lateritic weathering. The formation of lateritic palaeosols with their characteristic dissolution and reprecipitation features, such as colloform texture and alveolar voids, implies periods of humid and warm climate followed major marine regressions. The formation of the lower to middle Eocene ironstone succession and the associated lateritic palaeosols can be linked to the early Palaeogene global warming and eustatic sea‐level changes. The reworking of the middle Eocene palaeosol and the deposition of the upper Eocene phosphate‐rich glauconitic sandstones of the overlying Hamra Formation may record the initial stages of the palaeoclimatic transition from greenhouse to icehouse conditions.     

南祁连盆地木里坳陷石炭系—侏罗系天然气水合物潜在气源岩地质特征

通过对南祁连盆地木里坳陷石炭系、二叠系、三叠系、侏罗系等4套层系5条剖面的野外测量及室内地质分析,明确了该区天然气水合物潜在气源岩的岩性特征、沉积相类型及沉积演化过程。石炭系—二叠系整体以出露中厚层砂岩夹薄层泥岩为主要特征,沉积浅海陆棚相、滨岸相和三角洲相,由于断层发育致使局部地层厚度减薄且泥质岩大部分缺失,可能难以成为天然气水合物潜在气源岩;上三叠统整体以发育中薄层泥岩与中薄至中厚层砂岩互层为主要特征,沉积相类型为潮坪相、湖泊相和河流相,泥岩累积厚度较大,是天然气水合物主要潜在气源岩;中侏罗统整体上以发育厚层泥岩、砂岩为主要特征,沉积相类型为辫状河相、三角洲相和湖泊相,是天然气水合物次要的潜在气源岩。研究结果为南祁连盆地木里坳陷天然气水合物气源岩研究提供了重要地质依据。     

Internal architecture and sedimentary evolution of coarse-grained, turbidite channel-levee complexes, Early Eocene Regência Canyon, Espírito Santo Basin, Brazil

Successions of Early Eocene coarse-grained turbidites up to 400 m thick fill fault-controlled canyons along the eastern Brazilian continental margin. They form part of a Late Albian to Early Eocene transgressive succession characterized by onlapping, deepening-upward sedimentation. In the Lagoa Parda oil field (Regência Canyon, Espírito Santo Basin) the turbidite facies consist mostly of unstratified conglomerate and sandstone, with interbedded bioturbated mudstone and thin-bedded, stratified sandstone. Within the main Regência Canyon, the coarser grained facies occur within 38 deeply incised channels. The fills are 9 to >50 m thick, 210 to >1050 m wide and >1 km long. The finer grained facies build asymmetrical levees that are higher and thicker on the left side (looking downstream) of their channels, probably as an effect of the Coriolis force (to the left in the Southern Hemisphere). Nine levee successions up to 50 m thick are associated with the 20 youngest channels. The deposits filling the low-sinuosity Lagoa Parda channels record successive channel abandonment through relatively rapid avulsions. Avulsions of unleveed channels took place randomly, but channels with well-developed levees show preferential avulsion to the right (looking downstream), opposite to the direction of preferential levee growth. Lagoa Parda channels can be grouped into three complexes 20–100 m thick. These complexes have an estimated duration of about 140 000 years. It is suggested that control of the development of individual channel complexes was related to variation in sediment supply, in turn probably related to climatic changes. The deposition of each channel complex would have followed an increase in sediment supply into the Regência Canyon through delta/fan-delta and littoral drift systems, which in turn would have responded to phases of higher denudation rates in the high-relief, ancestral coastal ranges of south-eastern Brazil. Overall, the three Lagoa Parda channel complexes form a turbidite succession characterized by channel fills that become narrower, thinner and finer grained upward. These trends were induced mostly by a longer term (>400 000 years) decrease in sediment supply, which in turn resulted from the combined effects of a long-term (second-order) trend of sea-level rise, and the decreasing fault activity at the basin margin and source area.     

海南岛万宁地区寒武纪地层及其沉积特征

海南岛万宁地区的寒武系为海南岛除三亚地区外迄今所见惟一有化石依据的寒武纪地层。该区寒武纪地层暂命名为美子林组,自下而上可分为３个岩性段：一段为滨—浅海相为主体的陆源碎屑沉积,厚度大于６７３ｍ ;二段为滨海—浅海相含灰质的细碎屑岩沉积,局部见灰岩条带,厚１５６ｍ 以上;三段以浅海—近滨相碳酸盐岩沉积为主体,主要为灰岩、泥灰岩、砂质—粉砂质灰岩、灰质粉砂岩,厚度大于１９６ｍ ,寒武纪瓶虫和海绵骨针化石即产于该段灰岩中     

Trench-slope channels from the New Zealand Jurassic: the Otekura Formation, Sandy Bay, South Otago

The Otekura Formation (Early Jurassic, Pseudaucella zone) at Sandy Bay comprises part of a 10+ km thick, regressive, forearc shelf and slope sequence, the Hokonui facies belt of the Rangitata Geosyncline. The Otekura Formation is dominantly fine grained, being mostly mudstone, silty mudstone and siltstone. The sediments are volcanogenic throughout. The upper 150 m of the formation contains two 20 m thick, channelized bodies of medium-thick bedded sandy flysch, each associated with thin bedded muddy flysch interpreted as overbank turbidites. Directional indicators within the channel sequence indicate emplacement from the south-southwest. In contrast, rare turbidites that occur below the channel sequence, within the background mudstone sediment, were emplaced from the east, i.e. at right angles to the channelized flows. The immediately overlying Omaru Formation contains more abundant macrofossils, intraclastic conglomerates, and appreciable amounts of traction-emplaced cross-bedded sand. Bioturbated calcareous siltstones with an in situ molluscan fauna follow (Boatlanding Formation), and are of shelf origin. The Omaru Formation is therefore interpreted as a shelf-slope break deposit, and the Otekura Formation as an upper slope facies. Reconnaissance studies indicate that the Otekura Formation is underlain by several kilometres of dominantly fine grained, deep water slope sediments, containing occasional sand and conglomerate filled channels similar to those here described in detail from the Otekura Formation. Such channels are inferred to form when a mass-transported sand, derived from failure higher on the slope, ploughs erosively into the sea floor. After their incision, the channels served for a short time as conduits for downslope transport of sediment, the redeposited deposits of which are found filling each channel. Both channel fills at Sandy Bay are capped by thin-bedded turbidites inferred to have overspilled from similar channels nearby on the slope.     

A depositional model for storm- and tide-influenced prograding siliciclastic shorelines from the Middle Devonian of the central Appalachian foreland basin, USA

A stratigraphic motif observed in many foreland basins is the development of basinward tapering siliciclastic wedges characterized by various scales of depositional cycles. The Middle Devonian (Givetian) Mahantango Formation in the central Appalachian foreland basin is such an example. It consists of both small-and large-scale thickening- and coarsening-upward cycles; the small-scale cycles are typically less than 10 m thick whereas larger-scale cycles are generally a few tens of metres thick and commonly contain several of the smaller-scale cycles. Outcrop-based facies analyses indicate that the depositional cyclicity resulted from episodic progradation of a regionally straight, tide-dominated shoreline onto a storm-dominated, shallow marine shelf. The depositional model for this ancient shallow marine system consists of a vertical facies succession in which storm-dominated offshore marine mudstone and fine sandstone pass gradationally upward into storm-dominated nearshore marine shelf and shoreface sandstone overlain by, in proximal sections, tide-dominated shoreline sandstone, pebbly sandstone and mudstone. Transgressively reworked lag deposits cap most of the thickening- and coarsening- upward packets. In this model, coarse-grained rocks, rather than implying basinward shifts of facies, are a consanguineous part of the stacked shoaling cycles. Lateral facies relationships show that the dominance of storm- vs. tide-generated sedimentary features is simply a function of palaeogeographical position within the basin; proximal sections contain tidally influenced sedimentary features whereas more distal sections only display evidence for storm-influenced deposition. These results suggest caution when inferring palaeoceanographic conditions from sedimentological datasets that do not contain preserved examples of palaeoshorelines.     

The Lower Permian Wasp Head Formation,Sydney Basin: high‐latitude,shallow marine sedimentation following the late Asselian to early Sakmarian glacial event in eastern Australia

The Lower Permian Wasp Head Formation (early to middle Sakmarian) is a ～95 m thick unit that was deposited during the transition to a non‐glacial period following the late Asselian to early Sakmarian glacial event in eastern Australia. This shallow marine, sandstone‐dominated unit can be subdivided into six facies associations. (i) The marine sediment gravity flow facies association consists of breccias and conglomerates deposited in upper shoreface water depths. (ii) Upper shoreface deposits consist of cross‐stratified, conglomeratic sandstones with an impoverished expression of the Skolithos Ichnofacies. (iii) Middle shoreface deposits consist of hummocky cross‐stratified sandstones with a trace fossil assemblage that represents the Skolithos Ichnofacies. (iv) Lower shoreface deposits are similar to middle shoreface deposits, but contain more pervasive bioturbation and a distal expression of the Skolithos Ichnofacies to a proximal expression of the Cruziana Ichnofacies. (v) Delta‐influenced, lower shoreface‐offshore transition deposits are distinguished by sparsely bioturbated carbonaceous mudstone drapes within a variety of shoreface and offshore deposits. Trace fossil assemblages represent distal expressions of the Skolithos Ichnofacies to stressed, proximal expressions of the Cruziana Ichnofacies. Impoverished trace fossil assemblages record variable and episodic environmental stresses possibly caused by fluctuations in sedimentation rates, substrate consistencies, salinity, oxygen levels, turbidity and other physio‐chemical stresses characteristic of deltaic conditions. (vi) The offshore transition‐offshore facies association consists of mudstone and admixed sandstone and mudstone with pervasive bioturbation and an archetypal to distal expression of the Cruziana Ichnofacies. The lowermost ～50 m of the formation consists of a single deepening upward cycle formed as the basin transitioned from glacioisostatic rebound following the Asselian to early Sakmarian glacial to a regime dominated by regional extensional subsidence without significant glacial influence. The upper ～45 m of the formation can be subdivided into three shallowing upward cycles (parasequences) that formed in the aftermath of rapid, possibly glacioeustatic, rises in relative sea‐level or due to autocyclic progradation patterns. The shift to a parasequence‐dominated architecture and progressive decrease in ice‐rafted debris upwards through the succession records the release from glacioisostatic rebound and amelioration of climate that accompanied the transition to broadly non‐glacial conditions.     

Sharp-based, tide-dominated deltas of the Sego Sandstone, Book Cliffs, Utah, USA

The lower part of the Cretaceous Sego Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale in east‐central Utah contains three 10‐ to 20‐m thick layers of tide‐deposited sandstone arranged in a forward‐ and then backward‐stepping stacking pattern. Each layer of tidal sandstone formed during an episode of shoreline regression and transgression, and offshore wave‐influenced marine deposits separating these layers formed after subsequent shoreline transgression and marine ravinement. Detailed facies architecture studies of these deposits suggest sandstone layers formed on broad tide‐influenced river deltas during a time of fluctuating relative sea‐level. Shale‐dominated offshore marine deposits gradually shoal and become more sandstone‐rich upward to the base of a tidal sandstone layer. The tidal sandstones have sharp erosional bases that formed as falling relative sea‐level allowed tides to scour offshore marine deposits. The tidal sandstones were deposited as ebb migrating tidal bars aggraded on delta fronts. Most delta top deposits were stripped during transgression. Where the distal edge of a deltaic sandstone is exposed, a sharp‐based stack of tidal bar deposits successively fines upward recording a landward shift in deposition after maximum lowstand. Where more proximal parts of a deltaic‐sandstone are exposed, a sharp‐based upward‐coarsening succession of late highstand tidal bar deposits is locally cut by fluvial valleys, or tide‐eroded estuaries, formed during relative sea‐level lowstand or early stages of a subsequent transgression. Estuary fills are highly variable, reflecting local depositional processes and variable rates of sediment supply along the coastline. Lateral juxtaposition of regressive deltaic deposits and incised transgressive estuarine fills produced marked facies changes in sandstone layers along strike. Estuarine fills cut into the forward‐stepped deltaic sandstone tend to be more deeply incised and richer in sandstone than those cut into the backward‐stepped deltaic sandstone. Tidal currents strongly influenced deposition during both forced regression and subsequent transgression of shorelines. This contrasts with sandstones in similar basinal settings elsewhere, which have been interpreted as tidally influenced only in transgressive parts of depositional successions.