Geomorphological and sequence stratigraphic variability in wave‐dominated,shoreface‐shelf parasequences

Abstract Physical stratigraphy within shoreface‐shelf parasequences contains a detailed, but virtually unstudied, record of shallow‐marine processes over a range of historical and geological timescales. Using high‐quality outcrop data sets, it is possible to reconstruct ancient shoreface‐shelf morphology from clinoform surfaces, and to track the evolving morphology of the ancient shoreface‐shelf. Our results suggest that shoreface‐shelf morphology varied considerably in response to processes that operate over a range of timescales. (1) Individual clinoform surfaces form as a result of enhanced wave scour and/or sediment starvation, which may be driven by minor fluctuations in relative sea level, sediment supply and/or wave climate over short timescales (10¹?10³ years). These external controls cannot be distinguished in vertical facies successions, but may potentially be differentiated by the resulting clinoform geometries. (2) Clinoform geometry and distribution changes systematically within a single parasequence, reflecting the cycle in sea level and/or sediment supply that produced the parasequence (10²?10⁵ years). These changes record steepening of the shoreface‐shelf profile during early progradation and maintenance of a relatively uniform profile during late progradation. Modern shorefaces are not representative of this stratigraphic variability. (3) Clinoform geometries vary greatly between different parasequences as a result of variations in parasequence stacking pattern and relict shelf morphology during shoreface progradation (10⁵?10⁸ years). These controls determine the external dimensions of the parasequence.     

Seismostratigraphic analysis with centennial to decadal time resolution of the sediment sink in the Ganges-Brahmaputra subaqueous delta

The deltas of large rivers have become the focus of many research studies due to their vulnerability in times of expected sea level rise. One major delta in peril is the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta (Bangladesh) due to its low elevation and high subsidence rate. In this study, high-resolution seismic and sediment echosounder data of the subaqueous part of the delta are analyzed by an integrated seismo-acoustic stratigraphic approach.Transparent Units (TUs) are the most prominent, continuously traceable architectural elements within the sigmoidal clinoform. TUs consist of homogenized sediments and are interpreted to be formed by liquefaction flows generated by subduction-related earthquakes of the nearby plate-boundary. The uppermost TUs are related to the historical well known major earthquakes which occurred in 1762, 1897 and 1950. Using the TUs as time marks the mean annual storage rates for the intervals could be assessed. A direct comparison of echosounder data gathered in 1994, 1997 and 2006 is used as another method to estimate the last decade mean annual storage rate.In general, the averaged decadal to centennial mean annual storage rates in the foreset beds have significantly decreased within the last ∼300 years from 22% to 18% and down to 13.8% of the present total annual fluviatile suspension supply to the delta (10⁹ t a⁻¹). This decrease, however, is not evenly distributed along the foreset beds. In the western clinoform mean annual storage rates slightly decreased during the last ∼300 years, whereas in the eastern clinoform the mean annual storage rate of the last decade is one-third of the initial value in the late eighteenth century.The variation of clinoform slope angles generally coincides with the local accumulation rates but a variable degree of asymmetry gives some new insights in the future trend of the subaqueous delta development. The sink of sediment in the western clinoform depocentre landward of the inflection point, where shape changes from convex to concave, is producing an increase in concavity.The decline in monsoon precipitation over the last centuries is assumed to have significantly contributed to the decreased mean annual storage rate in the eastern clinoform where the convexity of the clinoform increases seaward of the inflection point. It is very likely that the whole depocentre of the fluvial sediment load is shifting toward the western subaqueous delta and to the Swatch of No Ground Canyon and, thereby, increasing the export to the deep-sea fan.     

Clinoform mechanics in the Gulf of Papua, New Guinea

The largest islands of the Indo-Pacific Archipelago are estimated to account for 20–25% of the global sediment discharge to the ocean, and much (>50%) of this sediment is supplied to wide (>150 km) continental shelves. These conditions are conducive to creation of large-scale morphologic features known as clinoforms—sigmoidal-shaped deposits on the continental shelf. The Gulf of Papua (GOP) receives 3.84 ×10⁸ tons of sediment annually from three principal sediment suppliers, the Fly, Kikori and Purari Rivers, and its prograding clinoform is the focus of this study. During three research cruises, 80 cores and 37 CTD/optical backscatter casts were collected, and an instrumented tripod was deployed twice. Sedimentological and radiochemical results indicate that the GOP clinoform has characteristics similar to those seaward of other major rivers (e.g., Amazon, Ganges–Brahmaputra), specifically sand/mud interbedding on the topset, rapidly accumulating muds on the foreset, and siliciclastic mud mixed with carbonate sand on the bottomset.Using core data and field observations, the mechanics of clinoform progradation are examined. Discrete, large sedimentation events are identified as processes building the clinoform feature. X-radiographs from foreset cores reveal thick beds (>5 cm) between bioturbated sections. Detailed ²¹⁰Pb and grain-size data indicate that low activities and increased clay contents are associated with these beds. They are hypothesized to be formed by fluid–mud deposition in response to periods of large wave-tide bed shear stresses, more likely during the SE-tradewind season, and their regular occurrence produces high rates of mean accumulation (4 cm/y). Bed preservation is determined by the rates of sediment accumulation and bioturbation.To assess the influence of physical oceanographic factors on clinoform shape, bottom shear stresses from tides and surface waves were calculated using available wave and tripod data. This effort reveals that the depth range (25–40 m) of the clinoform rollover point (seaward edge of the topset region) is roughly consistent with the sediment-transport regime. Furthermore, calculations corroborate the core data that suggest possible seasonal sediment storage in the inner topset region (<15-m water depth, during the NW-monsoon winds) with subsequent transfer to foreset beds (more probable during SE-tradewind conditions).A 100-yr sediment budget created with accumulation rate data suggests approximately 20% of the total sediment supplied to the GOP accumulates on the clinoform (creating the clinoform morphology). Less than 5% is believed to escape to the adjacent slope, and much of the remaining 75% is likely trapped on the inner-topset region (<20 m water depth) and within the mangrove forests and flood/delta plains of the northern GOP.     

River-dominated and tide-influenced shelf-edge delta systems: Coarse-grained deltas straddling the Early–Middle Jurassic shelf–slope break and transforming downslope,Lajas–Los Molles formations,Neuquén Basin,Argentina

The three-dimensional facies and architecture variability of shelf-edge deltaic units cropping out at the transition between the Lower–Middle Jurassic Lajas and Los Molles formations of southern Neuquén Basin, Argentina, is presented here, as well as their stratigraphic relationship to uppermost deep-water slope channel systems. Deep-water, slope mudstones with thin turbidite beds merge upward with prodelta mudstones and thin sandstones, which are truncated by delta-front to mouth-bar sandstones. The latter sandstones are then downcut by large-scale, trough cross-stratified coarse-grained sandstones and conglomerates of distributary channel systems and along-strike, amalgamated with cross-bedded sandy units showing evidence of tidal reworking. Proximal–distal facies and architecture variability within a shelf-edge deltaic succession demonstrates that distributary channel-complexes become wider and deeper basinward, forming channelized river-dominated distributary fairways separated by tidally reworked inter-distributary sand belts at the shelf edge. Evidence from depositional-dip oriented outcrops shows a lack of collapsed and slumped strata at the shelf edge, and that the coarse shelf-edge distributary channel fills continue far down the deepwater slope, and conglomerates transform to become high-density turbidites to mainly thick-bedded, sand-matrix-supported debrites. The interplay between flood tides and river currents is interpreted to have primarily modulated the focusing of river drainages, and consequently coarse-grained sediment transport, along preferential routes on the outer-shelf to shelf-edge and down onto the slope. This contribution documents a unique example of coarse-grained (mostly conglomeratic) shelf-edge delta systems, tying bed-scale facies and architecture data to a seismic-scale shelf-margin morphology, thus providing outcrop analogue data for the characterization of shelf-edge delta systems in the subsurface.     

Identification,characterization, and statistical analysis of mudstone aggregate clasts,Cretaceous Carlile Formation,Central Alberta,Canada

While clastic mudstones and shale were traditionally interpreted to have been deposited in quiet water settings, recent flume experiments and studies have shown that mud can be transported in and deposited by traction currents as migrating ripples of mud aggregates. Despite these recent advances, mud aggregates have rarely been adequately described in the rock record.These mud aggregates and the sedimentary structures they form in mudstone successions are difficult to observe in the rock record due to compaction, which often obliterates the aggregates and flattens bedforms. This paper documents unambiguously identifiable sand sized mudstone aggregates in thin sections and SEM, transported in traction, and deposited in a series of prograding clinothems. These aggregates were sufficiently indurated to locally preserve shelter porosity, significantly improving the hydrocarbon reservoir properties.Grain size analysis of the aggregates was performed on thin sections, as well as disaggregated samples measured by a laser diffraction grain size analyzer for comparison. These analyses showed that sand sized aggregates often comprise more than half of the sediment volume. While the clay-rich composition of the Carlile Formation would suggest that it is a mudstone, statistical analysis of these grain size measurements show that it could alternatively be described as a silty sandstone. These findings potentially change how we think about mudstone classification, fine-grained sedimentation, and mudstone dominated petroleum reservoirs.     

Flux and fate of Yangtze River sediment delivered to the East China Sea

Numerous cores and dating show the Yangtze River has accumulated about 1.16 × 10¹² t sediment in its delta plain and proximal subaqueous delta during Holocene. High-resolution seismic profiling and coring in the southern East China Sea during 2003 and 2004 cruises has revealed an elongated ( 800 km) distal subaqueous mud wedge extending from the Yangtze River mouth southward off the Zhejiang and Fujian coasts into the Taiwan Strait. Overlying what appears to be a transgressive sand layer, this distal clinoform thins offshore, from  40 m thickness between the 20 and 30 m water depth to < 1–2 m between 60 and 90 m water depth, corresponding to an across shelf distance of less than 100 km. Total volume of this distal mud wedge is about 4.5 × 10¹¹ m³, equivalent to  5.4 × 10¹¹ t of sediment. Most of the sediment in this mud wedge comes from the Yangtze River, with some input presumably coming from local smaller rivers. Thus, the total Yangtze-derived sediments accumulated in its deltaic system and East China Sea inner shelf have amounted to about 1.7 × 10¹² t. Preliminary analyses suggest this longshore and across-shelf transported clinoform mainly formed in the past 7000 yrs after postglacial sea level reached its mid-Holocene highstand, and after re-intensification of the Chinese longshore current system. Sedimentation accumulation apparently increased around 2000 yrs BP, reflecting the evolution of the Yangtze estuary and increased land erosion due to human activities, such as farming and deforestation. The southward-flowing China Coastal Current, the northward-flowing Taiwan Warm Current, and the Kuroshio Current appear to have played critical roles in transporting and trapping most of Yangtze-derived materials in the inner shelf, and hence preventing the sediment escape into the deep ocean.     

Transport dynamics of mass failures along weakly cohesive clinoform foresets

This study addresses the initiation mechanisms of mass failures on clinoform foresets. Previous studies have created mass flows by releasing dense water–sediment mixtures into standing water, thus imposing the initial conditions for the mass failures rather than allowing them to form on their own. Para‐meters such as the density, composition and initial momentum of the failures are pre‐determined, precluding observation of the factors that set them initially. This study uses a new experimental method that allows a range of mass failures to self‐generate. Building a clinoform using a cohesive mixture of walnut‐shell sand and kaolinite allows the foreset to build up and fail episodically, generating mass failures. Slopes undergo a series of morphological changes prior to failure, creating a concave shape that becomes exaggerated as deposition continues. This morphology leaves the slope in a metastable state. Once the slope is destabilised, failure is initiated. This study investigates the effect of clinoform progradation rates on failure size and frequency by conducting experiments over a range of water and sediment discharge rates. Neither failure size nor failure frequency changes with discharge rate; instead, increases in sediment supply are taken up by changes in the partitioning of sediment between the steep upper foreset and the more gradual delta‐front apron (toeset) below. Sediment is delivered to the delta‐front apron by a form of semi‐continuous slow creep along the foreset. This slow creep is a failure mode that has not received sufficient attention in the submarine mass‐flow literature. The independence of failure size and frequency from sediment supply rate suggests that the presence of mass‐failure deposits does not provide information on the rate of sediment delivery. If these relations hold at field scales, this would imply that individual mass failures are relatively insensitive to changes in water and sediment supply.