Architecture and evolution of the Paine channel complex, Cerro Toro Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Silla Syncline, Magallanes Basin, Chile

The Upper Cretaceous Cerro Toro Formation in the Silla Syncline, Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Magallanes Basin, Chile, includes over 1100 m of mainly thin‐bedded mud‐rich turbidites containing three thick divisions of coarse conglomerate and sandstone. Facies distributions, stacking patterns and lateral relationships indicate that the coarse‐grained sandstone and conglomerate units represent the fill of a series of large south to south‐east trending deep‐water channels or channel complexes. The middle coarse division, informally named the Paine member, represents the fill of at least three discrete channels or channel complexes, termed Paine A, B and C. The uppermost of these, Paine C, represents a channel belt about 3·5 km wide and its fill displays explicit details of channel geometry, channel margins, and the processes of channel development and evolution. Along its northern margin, Paine C consists of stacked, laterally offset channels, each eroded into fine‐grained mudstone and thin‐bedded sandy turbidites. Along its southern margin, the Paine C complex was bounded by a single, deeply incised but stepped erosional surface. The evolution of the Paine C channel occurred through multiple cycles of activity, each involving: (i) an initial period of channel erosion into underlying fine‐grained sediments; (ii) deposition of coarse‐grained pebble to cobble conglomerate and sandstone within the channel; and (iii) waning of coarse sediment deposition and accumulation of a widespread sheet of fine‐grained, thin‐bedded turbidites inside and outside the channel. The thin‐bedded turbidites deposited within, and adjacent to, the channel along the northern margin of the Paine C complex do not appear to represent levée deposits but, rather, a separate fine‐grained turbidite system that impinged on the Paine C channel from the north. The Cerro Toro channel complex in the Silla Syncline may mark either an early axial zone of the Magallanes Basin or a local slope mini‐basin developed behind a zone of slope faulting and folding now present immediately east of the syncline. If the latter, flows moving downslope toward the basin axis further east were diverted to the south by this developing structural high, deposited part of their coarse sediment loads, and exited the mini‐basin at a point located near the south‐eastern edge of the present Silla Syncline.     

Deep‐water foreland basin deposits of the Cerro Toro Formation,Magallanes basin,Chile: architectural elements of a sinuous basin axial channel belt

Coarse‐grained deep‐water strata of the Cerro Toro Formation in the Cordillera Manuel Señoret, southern Chile, represent the deposits of a major channel belt (4 to 8 km wide by >100 km long) that occupied the foredeep of the Magallanes basin during the Late Cretaceous. Channel belt deposits comprise a ca 400 m thick conglomeratic interval (informally named the ‘Lago Sofia Member’) encased in bathyal fine‐grained units. Facies of the Lago Sofia Member include sandy matrix conglomerate (that show evidence of traction‐dominated deposition and sedimentation from turbulent gravity flows), muddy matrix conglomerate (graded units interpreted as coarse‐grained slurry‐flow deposits) and massive sandstone beds (high‐density turbidity current deposits). Interbedded sandstone and mudstone intervals are present locally, interpreted as inner levée deposits. The channel belt was characterized by a low sinuousity planform architecture, as inferred from outcrop mapping and extensive palaeocurrent measurements. Laterally adjacent to the Lago Sofia Member are interbedded mudstone and sandstone facies derived from gravity flows that spilled over the channel belt margin. A levée interpretation for these fine‐grained units is based on several observations, which include: (i) palaeocurrent measurements that indicate flows diverged (50° to 100°) once they spilled over the confining channel margin; (ii) sandstone beds progressively thin, away from the channel belt margin; (iii) evidence that the eroded channel base was not very well indurated, including a stepped margin and injection of coarse‐grained channel material into surrounding fine‐grained units; and (iv) the presence of sedimentary features common to levées, including slumped units inferring depositional slopes dipping away from the channel margin, lenticular sandstone beds thinning distally from the channel margin, soft sediment deformation and climbing ripples. The tectonic setting and foredeep architecture influenced deposition in the axial channel belt. A significant downstream constriction of the channel belt is reflected by a transition from more tabular units to an internal architecture dominated by lenticular beds associated with a substantially increased degree of scour. Differential propagation of the fold‐thrust belt from the west is speculated to have had a major control on basin, and subsequently channel, width. The confining influence of the basin slopes that paralleled the channel belt, as well as the likelihood that numerous conduits fed into the basin along the length of the active fold‐thrust belt to the west, suggest that proximal–distal relationships observed from large channels in passive margin settings are not necessarily applicable to axial channels in elongate basins.     

珠江口盆地荔湾3-1气田珠江组深水扇沉积相分析

根据已钻井取芯段岩相分析,从荔湾3-1气田珠江组深水扇沉积体系中划分出巨厚层和厚层块状砂岩相、厚层正粒序砂岩相、厚层逆粒序砂岩相、平行—板状斜层理砂岩相、滑塌变形砂岩相、薄层砂岩夹层相、薄层（粉）砂岩与泥岩互层相、厚层粉砂岩相、厚层泥岩相和层状深水灰岩相等10种岩相类型和识别出砂岩相组合、泥岩相组合、（粉）砂岩与泥岩互...     

Down‐slope facies variability within deep‐water channel systems: Insights from the Upper Cretaceous Cerro Toro Formation,southern Patagonia

In southern Patagonia, outcrops of the Upper Cretaceous Cerro Toro Formation preserve a >150 km long deep‐water axial channel belt in the Magallanes–Austral Basin, providing a unique opportunity to investigate longitudinal variations in the depositional characteristics of a deep‐water channel system. This study documents sedimentological, stratigraphical and geochronological data from the Cerro Toro Formation in the Argentine sector of the basin. New results are integrated with previous work from the Chilean basin sector to conduct a basin‐scale comparison of the timing of deposition, provenance and lithofacies proportions. The Cerro Toro channel belt includes a nearly 1000 m thick section characterized by high‐density turbidites and mass‐wasting deposits. Two ash beds from the base of the section yield U–Pb zircon ages of 90·4 ± 2 Ma and 88·0 ± 3 Ma, indicating similar initiation ages as documented in the Chilean sector. The U–Pb detrital zircon age spectra from samples in the study area reveal similar provenance trends to samples from the Chilean basin sector, with peak age populations at 310 to 260 Ma, 160 to 135 Ma and 110 to 82 Ma. The maximum depositional age of the channel belt in the Argentine sector is 87·8 ± 1·5 Ma and all new geochronology data corroborate an 86 to 80 Ma depositional age for the main Cerro Toro channel belt. Statistical analyses of 7370 beds from nearly 8000 m of new and previously published stratigraphic sections along the entire outcrop belt suggest progressive variations in the down‐system proportion of lithofacies. In the up‐slope region, lithofacies representing mass wasting processes (for example, debris‐flow and mass‐transport deposits) account for ca 29% of the stratigraphic thickness, as opposed to 5% in the down‐slope region of the channel belt, where turbidity current deposits are more prevalent. The proportion of beds >1 m thick also decreases systematically down slope, particularly for conglomeratic turbidite deposits. This work highlights that: (i) the proportion of thick beds and distribution of lithofacies are key down‐system changes in the stratigraphic fill of this deep‐water channel belt; (ii) detrital zircon trends suggest a relatively well‐mixed longitudinal depositional system; and (iii) geochronology of the main Cerro Toro outcrop belt supports but does not necessitate the model of a single, roughly age‐equivalent, channel system. This study has implications for understanding the downslope variability in depositional processes, stratigraphic architecture and reservoir quality of submarine channel systems.     

西藏日喀则地区第三系大竹卡组砾质扇三角洲——片状颗粒流沉积

一、引言 1987和1988年仲夏,我们中国和联邦德国的地质同行联合对西藏雅鲁藏布江缝合带进行了地质考察,对日喀则地区所出露的第三系磨拉石进行了比较详细的沉积学工作,现将初步研究成果作一个简略介绍。西藏日喀则地区第三系磨拉石主要出露于雅鲁藏布江一带,是一套砾岩、砂岩、泥岩和少量泥灰岩的沉积组合,作为碰撞造山带山前或山间盆地的沉积产物,已被许多学者所认识。本文主要讨论始新—渐新世大竹卡组(钱定宇等,1985)磨拉石沉积,尤其是砾岩的沉积机制,并认为湖相砾质扇三角洲沉积是该磨拉石盆地的最主要沉积类型之一,扇三角洲沉积相带发育齐全,在德日剖面和南卡堆剖面(图1)部有完好的扇三角洲层序,是一种独特的、以突发性片状颗粒流和片状牵引流沉积为代表的扇三角洲类型。在青藏高原羌塘地区(余光明等,1986)和柴达木盆地(邓宏文等,1987)都报道过类似的第三纪沉积。研究此类发育于特定大地构造背景的扇三角洲的沉积特征和形成机制具有重要的理论意义。     

新疆吐哈盆地鲁克沁地区二叠系梧桐沟组沉积特征及沉积模式*

在岩心观察的基础上,结合录井及多种分析化验资料,对吐哈盆地鲁克沁地区二叠系梧桐沟组沉积相标志、物源方向、沉积相展布及沉积模式进行研究。结果表明,梧桐沟组沉积时期,鲁克沁地区湖盆经历了由断陷湖盆向坳陷湖盆转换的过程。梧桐沟组一段沉积时期,研究区东西两侧发育水下扇沉积,扇中水道形成多期叠置的厚层泥质砂砾岩沉积,砂砾岩分布面积大,物性较差。梧桐沟组二段和三段沉积时期,湖盆水体变浅,湖岸坡度变缓,研究区东西两侧发育扇三角洲沉积,前缘水下分流河道形成了几套厚10~15 m的砂砾岩沉积,分选性好于水下扇形成的砂砾岩,物性相对较好。相比较而言,扇三角前缘水下分流河道砂体和水下扇砂体顶部的含砾砂岩是较好的储集体。该研究成果将对鲁克沁稠油聚集带储集层预测及区带优选具有指导意义。     

The Cerro Rajón Formation—a new lithostratigraphic unit proposed for a Cambrian (Terreneuvian) volcano-sedimentary succession from the Caborca region,northwest Mexico

A new mappable rock unit, the Cerro Rajón Formation, is proposed for the Cambrian succession of the Caborca region, Sonora, México. Formerly Unit 1 of the Puerto Blanco Formation, the Cerro Rajón Formation is interpreted as a volcano-sedimentary succession deposited along the coast of a passive margin that was impacted by rift-related volcanism. At its proposed type locality, in Cerro Rajón, the Cerro Rajón Formation consists of 270–285 m of tuffaceous conglomerate, metabasalt, mafic tuff, mafic lapillistone, mafic agglomerate, and quartzite with minor siltstone, limestone, and dolostone- and quartzite-dominated conglomerate. The unit contains a major disconformity near its base, where m-to dm-thick conglomerate locally replaces the fine-grained clastics that make up the base of the Cerro Rajón Formation. δ¹³C chemostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the Rajón and its bounding strata limits Rajón deposition to the Fortunian Stage of the Terreneuvian Series. Volcanic rocks in the Cerro Rajón Formation are represented by mafic to ultramafic flows, including picrobasalts and metabasalts with hydrothermal alteration characteristics, evidenced by replacement of clinopyroxenes by chlorite, actinolite, and epidote. The mineral paragenesis of these volcanic rocks suggests the succession experienced greenschist grade metamorphism. Basalt geochemistry is consistent with low silica (34.32–48.21%) magmatism with high TiO₂ concentrations (3.63–7.52%), related to continental rift volcanism with OIB characteristics. This volcanism could represent the last southern evidence of the rifting process that occurred along the western margin of Laurentia or could be related to volcanic rift deposits further afield.     

The Maesan fan delta, Miocene Pohang Basin, SE Korea: architecture and depositional processes of a high-gradient fan-delta-fed slope system

The Maesan fan-delta-fed slope system in the Miocene Pohang Basin occurs between two Gilbert-type fan deltas. Detailed analysis of sedimentary facies and bed geometry reveals that the sequence is represented by 13 sedimentary facies. These facies can be organized into three facies associations, representing distinct depositional environments: alluvial fan (facies association I), steep-faced slope (facies association II), and basin plain (facies association III). Subaerial debris flows and dense, inertia-dominated currents were transformed into subaqueous sediment gravity flows in steep-faced slope environments. Further downslope, these flows were channelized and formed lobate conglomerate and sandstone bodies at the terminal edge of the channels (or chutes). Interchannel and interlobe areas were dominated by homogeneous mudstone and muddy sandstone, deposited by suspension settling of fine-grained materials. Part of the steep-faced slope deposits experienced large-scale slides and slumps. The chutes/channels, lobes and splays on the steep-faced slope of the Maesan system are similar to those in modern subaqueous coarse-grained fan-delta systems.     

四川西昌邛海的浊流沉积初探

鹅掌河位于邛海南岸,在近15年来泥石流和洪水不断地将泥沙从鹅掌河带入邛海,在邛海底部大量淤积泥沙,形成一由南到北(长2km),由低到高(平均高2m),由窄到宽(南岸宽200m,北岸宽600m)的水下堤,在邛海湖中连接鹅掌河河口堆积扇处还发现了的水下冲沟。湖底扇,水下堤和水下冲沟对于研究湖相和海相浊流沉积有一定的研究和应用价值。浊流特别是高浓度浊流在湖中的沉积模式研究对于湖底和海底地貌的变迁,湖盆和深海油气藏的发现都有一定的价值和意义。     

Coarse-grained submarine fan and slope apron deposits in a Cretaceous back-arc basin, Antarctica

The Cretaceous of west James Ross Island, Antarctica represents the proximal fill of a late Mesozoic back-arc basin that was probably initiated by oblique extension during the early development of the Weddell Sea. The succession records sedimentation in two contrasting depositional systems: a laterally persistent slope apron flanking the faulted basin margin interrupted both spatially and temporally by coarse-grained submarine fans. Slope apron deposits are dominated by thinly interbedded turbiditic sandstones and mudstones (mudstone association), interspersed with non-channelized chaotic boulder beds, intraformational slump sheets and isolated exotic blocks representing a spectrum of mass-flow processes from debris flow to submarine gliding. Localized sand-rich sequences (sandstone-breccia association) represent sandy debris lobes at the mouths of active slope chutes. The submarine fan sediments (conglomerate association) are typified by coarse conglomerates and pebbly sandstones, interpreted as the deposits of high-density turbidity currents and non-cohesive debris flows. Three assemblages are recognized and are suggested to represent components of the inner channelled zone of coarse-grained submarine fans, from major fan channels through ephemeral, marginal channels or terraces to levee or interchannel environments. The occurrence of both slope apron and submarine fan depositional systems during the Early and Mid-Cretaceous is attributed to localized input of coarse arc-derived sediment along a tectonically active basin margin. Periods of extensive fan development were probably linked to regional tectonic uplift and rejuvenation of the arc source region; cyclicity within individual fan sequences is attributed to migration or switching of fan channels or canyons. Slope apron sedimentation was controlled largely by intrabasinal tectonics. Local unconformities and packets of amalgamated slide sheets and debris flow deposits probably reflect episodic movement on basin margin faults. Differential subsidence across the basin margin anchored the basin slope for at least 20 Myr and precluded basinward progradation of shallow marine environments.     

Deposits of depletive high-density turbidity currents: a flume analogue of bed geometry, structure and texture

Flume experiments were performed to study the flow properties and depositional characteristics of high‐density turbidity currents that were depletive and quasi‐steady to waning for periods of several tens of seconds. Such currents may serve as an analogue for rapidly expanding flows at the mouth of submarine channels. The turbidity currents carried up to 35 vol.% of fine‐grained natural sand, very fine sand‐sized glass beads or coarse silt‐sized glass beads. Data analysis focused on: (1) depositional processes related to flow expansion; (2) geometry of sediment bodies generated by the depletive flows; (3) vertical and horizontal sequences of sedimentary structures within the sediment bodies; and (4) spatial trends in grain‐size distribution within the deposits. The experimental turbidity currents formed distinct fan‐shaped sediment bodies within a wide basin. Most fans consisted of a proximal channel‐levee system connected in the downstream direction to a lobe. This basic geometry was independent of flow density, flow velocity, flow volume and sediment type, in spite of the fact that the turbidity currents of relatively high density were different from those of relatively low density in that they exhibited two‐layer flow, with a low‐density turbulent layer moving on top of a dense layer with visibly suppressed large‐scale turbulence. Yet, the geometry of individual morphological elements appeared to relate closely to initial flow conditions and grain size of suspended sediment. Notably, the fans changed from circular to elongate, and lobe and levee thickness increased with increasing grain size and flow velocity. Erosion was confined to the proximal part of the leveed channel. Erosive capacity increased with increasing flow velocity, but appeared to be constant for turbidity currents of different grain size and similar density. Structureless sediment filled the channel during the waning stages of the turbidity currents laden with fine sand. The adjacent levee sands were laminated. The massive character of the channel fills is attributed to rapid settling of suspension load and associated suppression of tractional transport. Sediment bypassing prevailed in fan channels composed of very fine sand and coarse silt, because channel floors remained fully exposed until the end of the experiments. Lobe deposits, formed by the fine sand‐laden, high‐density turbidity currents, contained massive sand in the central part grading to plane parallel‐laminated sand towards the fringes. The depletive flows produced a radial decrease in mean grain size in the lobe deposits of all fans. Vertical trends in grain size comprised inverse‐to‐normal grading in the levees and in the thickest part of the lobes, and normal grading in the channel and fringes of the fine sandy fans. The inverse grading is attributed to a process involving headward‐directed transport of relatively fine‐grained and low‐concentrated fluid at the level of the velocity maximum of the turbidity current. The normal grading is inferred to denote the waning stage of turbidity‐current transport.     

Sea level controls on the textural characteristics and depositional architecture of the Hueneme and associated submarine fan systems, Santa Monica Basin, California

Hueneme and Dume submarine fans in Santa Monica Basin consist of sandy channel and muddy levee facies on the upper fan, lenticular sand sheets on the middle fan, and thinly bedded turbidite and hemipelagic facies elsewhere. Fifteen widely correlatable key seismic reflections in high-resolution airgun and deep-towed boomer profiles subdivide the fan and basin deposits into time-slices that show different thickness and seismic-facies distributions, inferred to result from changes in Quaternary sea level and sediment supply. At times of low sea level, highly efficient turbidity currents generated by hyperpycnal flows or sediment failures at river deltas carry sand well out onto the middle-fan area. Thick, muddy flows formed rapidly prograding high levees mainly on the western (right-hand) side of three valleys that fed Hueneme fan at different times; the most recently active of the lowstand fan valleys, Hueneme fan valley, now heads in Hueneme Canyon. At times of high sea level, fans receive sand from submarine canyons that intercept littoral-drift cells and mixed sediment from earthquake-triggered slumps. Turbidity currents are confined to ‘underfit’ talweg channels in fan valleys and to steep, small, basin-margin fans like Dume fan. Mud is effectively separated from sand at high sea level and moves basinward across the shelf in plumes and in storm-generated lutite flows, contributing to a basin-floor blanket that is locally thicker than contemporary fan deposits and that onlaps older fans at the basin margin. The infilling of Santa Monica Basin has involved both fan and basin-floor aggradation accompanied by landward and basinward facies shifts. Progradation was restricted to the downslope growth of high muddy levees and the periodic basinward advance of the toe of the steeper and sandier Dume fan. Although the region is tectonically active, major sedimentation changes can be related to eustatic sea-level changes. The primary controls on facies shifts and fan growth appear to be an interplay of texture of source sediment, the efficiency with which turbidity currents transport sand, and the effects of delta distributary switching, all of which reflect sea-level changes.     

乌里雅斯太凹陷斜坡带湖底扇相砾岩体沉积特征与隐蔽油藏勘探

乌里雅斯太凹陷南洼槽斜坡带发育一套厚度大、粒级粗和相变快的砾岩体,根据岩心观察、岩电组合特征和地震相分析等手段,结合岩矿等分析化验资料,认为该套砾岩体属具补给水道的湖底扇相沉积。砾岩体夹于较深湖亚相的深灰色泥岩中,发育沉积物重力流成因的沉积构造,内扇、中扇和外扇等相带发育齐全,并具有多期发育的特点。物源区具有的线物源或多物源特征,以及极粗的粒级造成补给水道的稳定性较差、规模较小、迁移性较强,沿斜坡带形成了纵向上由南向北依次叠置、横向上叠加连片的多个湖底扇相砾岩体。坡度很陡的斜坡,特别是构造坡折带的存在控制了湖底扇的形成和发育,使湖底扇相砾岩体主要沿构造坡折带下部分布,具有很好的隐蔽油藏成藏条件,以中扇辫状沟道微相区最为有利,已有多口井发现厚油层并获工业油流,实现了隐蔽油藏勘探的重大突破。     

大巴山构造带东段秭归盆地侏罗纪沉积充填过程及其构造演化

位于大巴山构造带东段秭归盆地较为完整地保存了侏罗纪地层,其沉积和构造演化过程可划分两个不同阶段,即早侏罗世受西北缘断裂走滑控制的伸展阶段和中、晚侏罗世受东部黄陵地区抬升挤压消亡的阶段。下侏罗统香溪组底部砾岩表明侏罗纪盆地开始形成。盆地北缘的砾岩较厚,主要形成于冲积扇和辫状河体系,并在其砾石中发现化石砾石,显示距离物源区较近。盆地东南部和南部砾岩较薄,形成于曲流河沉积环境。古水流和碎屑物源分析表明,盆地早期沉积物主要来自于盆地北部神农架地区。中侏罗统泄滩组和陈家湾组以湖泊相沉积为主。上沙溪庙组和下沙溪庙组为较成熟的曲流河沉积,沉积砾岩中无灰岩和燧石,几乎全部为泥岩砾石。上侏罗统遂宁组和蓬莱镇组虽然也为曲流河沉积,但其河床砂岩底部再次出现了灰岩、燧石等砾石。另外,中侏罗统上部和上侏罗统古水流方向为自东向西,指示物源区变为盆地东部的黄陵背斜地区。盆地的沉积充填特征和盆地西北缘具左行走滑运动的高桥断裂,以及北部南倾的多条逆断层表明断层对盆地形成的主控作用。黄陵背斜地区后期的不断抬升对秭归盆地有重大影响,持续的抬升可能导致盆地消亡。秭归盆地的沉积充填和演化过程,是对大巴山构造带东段“燕山运动”的响应。     

The Cretaceous Uhangri Formation, SW Korea: lacustrine margin facies

The Uhangri Formation forms part of the Cretaceous sedimentary sequence deposited in a series of inland basins in the south-western Korean Peninsula. It comprises an approximately 400-m-thick epiclastic sequence of conglomerate, (gravelly) sandstone, cherty mudstone and black shale. The entire sequence can be represented by 16 distinctive sedimentary facies organized into four facies associations. Facies association I is characterized by thick homogeneous brownish siltstone, wedge-shaped disorganized conglomerate and thinly interlayered gravelly sandstone units. The siltstone units were formed by large floods submerging the alluvial fan fringe (floodplain), whereas the conglomerate and gravelly sandstone units were deposited by sheetfloods and debris flows. Facies association II consists of stratified conglomerate — gravelly sandstone, laminated sandstone and sandstone/siltstone couplets which form fining-upward cycles. Some facies units are low-angle trough cross-bedded and show broad channel geometries. This association represents subaqueous delta lobes fed by high- and low-concentration turbidity currents in the distal delta realm. Facies association III is characterized, by wedged conglomerate and gravelly sandstone facies with interfingered massive sandstone bounded by scoured bases. It represents a delta front where distributary channels and mouth bars are dominant. Facies association IV consists of laterally continuous sequence of laminated black shale, crudely stratified sandstone and convoluted sandstone/cherty mudstone. This facies association is suggestive of depositional processes controlled by chemical equilibrium resulting from an interaction between density inflows and lake water. The cherty mudstone resulted from inorganic precipitation from siliceous solution provided by acidic volcanism. The Uhangri sequence generally shows a fining-upward trend with a transition from alluvial fan fringe, coarse-grained subaqueous delta, to shallow lake. The retrogradation was probably due to continuous subsidence related to continental rifting in the oblique-slip mobile zone.     

辽河盆地大凌河油层湖底扇沉积特征

辽河盆地位于辽宁省南部,渤海湾盆地东北角,是继中生代发育起来的第三纪断陷盆地。分东部凹陷,西部凹陷和大民屯凹陷等二级构造单元(图1)。     

Man-made turbidity currents in Lake Superior

The discharge of taconite tailings into Lake Superior at Silver Bay, Minnesota, produces turbidity current flow. The silty fine-sand tailings fraction transported to the deepest part of the lake has formed a small fan with valleys similar in gross morphology to a submarine fan. Current meters anchored 5 m above the lake floor over the wall and over the levee of a distributary valley on the fan recorded intermittent turbidity current flows during 30 weeks in 1972–73. At least twenty-five discrete periods of observation of turbidity current flow were obtained; single episodes lasted 4?328+ h. Only flows thick enough to overflow the eastern levee of the valley could be observed, and this accounts for the intermittent nature of our observations, as flow within the valleys is expected to be continuous as long as tailings are discharged. Flow velocities were higher near the valley axis where the flow is thicker. Velocities measured over the valley wall averaged 10.8 cm/s for eleven episodes; velocities measured over the levee, more than 1/2 km from the valley axis, only 3.3 cm/s. The maximum velocity during 1300 h of observation did not exceed 31 cm/s. This agrees reasonably well with velocities calculated from channel properties, as commonly done for turbidity currents on deep-sea fans. Current meters tethered above the bottom meters indicate that lake currents normally parallel the shore throughout the water column. With the onset of a turbidity current, currents higher in the water column remain unchanged but velocities near the bottom go to zero, currents then change azimuth by 90° to parallel the downslope (down-valley) direction of the fan, then increase in velocity. During a turbidity current episode, the direction of bottom flow stays relatively constant (± 20° of the down-valley trend) but the velocity oscillates (commonly with 10 cm/s amplitude), periods being of 1/2 h or less to several hours. Turbidity currents generated on Reserve Mining Company's delta are effective in carrying essentially all tailings discharged into the lake into deeper water, where they are deposited.     

Tectono sedimentary evolution of the Umm Ghaddah Formation (late Ediacaran-early Cambrian) in Jordan

The terrestrial Umm Ghaddah Formation of late Ediacaran-early Cambrian age was deposited in NE–SW elongated intracontinental rift system basins and sub-basins bounded by active listric half-graben faults. Basin fill consists of conglomerate facies association A, deposited in a fault-controlled transverse alluvial fan system that drained northwestward and graded laterally into sandstone facies association B, deposited by a braided river system flowing northeastward axial to the rift basin. The alluvial fan facies association was deposited by rock falls and non-cohesive debris flows of sediment gravity flow origin, and by sheetflood processes.The Umm Ghaddah Formation is dominated by a large-scale fining upward succession interpreted to reflect a gradual cessation of the Pan African Orogeny. Within this large-scale trend there are also minor fining and coarsening upward cycles that are attributed to repeated minor tectonic pulses and autocyclic shifting of the system.The distribution pattern of the Umm Ghaddah Formation and the underlying Ediacaran Sarmuj Conglomerates, Hiyala Volcaniclastics and Aheimir Volcanics in Jordan and adjacent countries in isolated extensional half-grabens and grabens formed during the extensional collapse phase of Arabia associated with the Najd Fault System seems to be unrelated to the present day Wadi Araba-Dead Sea transform fault system.     

准噶尔西北缘玛北地区扇三角洲砂砾岩岩相分类及储集意义

准噶尔盆地西北缘三叠系处于大型逆冲推覆断裂带,盆地边缘同生断裂构造活动强烈,发育砂砾岩为主的扇三角洲沉积体系。通过对玛北地区三叠系百口泉组砂砾岩储层取芯段岩芯观察和描述、岩石薄片、扫描电镜、测井以及储层物性数据的分析,结合砂砾岩岩石构成、层理类型、沉积层序和测井曲线响应特征,对准噶尔盆地西北缘砂砾岩体岩性进行精细刻画,建立岩相模式,划分出同沉积相(微相)相符的11种岩相:其中扇三角洲前缘水下河道砂砾岩相、扇三角洲平原辫状河道砂砾岩相叠置连片展布,是最有利的储集体;扇三角洲前缘水下主河道砾岩相、水下河道末端砂岩相及河口坝—远砂坝砂岩相分布局限,储集性良好,为有利"甜点"区;水上泥石流砾岩相和水下泥石流砂砾岩相与扇三角洲平原和前缘分流河道间储集性较差的细粒砂泥岩相组成百口泉组油藏致密的顶底板;前扇三角洲粉砂岩相和泥岩相可作为良好的区域性盖层。不同的岩相类型及沉积条件提供了准噶尔西北缘百口泉组大规模低渗透岩性油气藏优良的储盖组合及顶底板条件。     

鄂尔多斯盆地本溪组—太原组扇三角洲沉积与油气聚集的关系

利用盆地北部大量钻井资料、岩心及露头观察结果,结合古地质背景,以及粒度、岩矿等分析资料,对晚石炭—早二叠世广泛分布的含砾砂岩体沉积特征进行了深入的分析。结果表明:它们属于扇三角洲体系,并以河道化冲积的形式前积到陆表海盆地中,平面上分带性和纵向上退积结构较清楚,重力流沉积特征不明显,而水道化的牵引流成因沉积特征明显。以高能辫状水道、水下分流河道砂砾岩为主要骨架,河口坝不发育。而且,这些水道作用居重要地位的扇三角洲高能水道砂体因受物源、古地貌及潮汐等影响,往往被潮汐改造而形成障壁砂坝,也是有利储集体。它们之间因沉积特征不同,储集空间、储集性能和含油性也各具特色,但都以高能化水道形成的厚石英砂带为有利相带。