Paleogeographic significance of the oldest known oolite pebbles in the Archaean Swaziland Supergroup (South Africa)

In conglomerates of the Archaean Swaziland Supergroup (> 3200 m.y.) pebbles of a characteristic oolite were found, the source rock of which is a well-defined marker horizon at the base of the sedimentary succession. From the pebble finds it can be concluded that this oolite was deposited over a belt several km wide and up to 100 km long. This is comparable in size to recent conditions of oolite formation on the Great Bahama Bank.     

河控浅水三角洲沉积构型

自浅水三角洲的概念提出以来,已经历了60多年的研究历史。虽然在诸多方面取得了较大的研究进展,但在浅水三角洲的概念内涵、砂体成因类型及沉积构型样式等方面仍存在一定的分歧。本文探讨了浅水三角洲概念的内涵,并总结和分析了其沉积构型特征和样式。根据浪基面和河-盆水深比(初始河道深度与河口盆地水体深度比值),可将三角洲分为极浅水三角洲、较浅水三角洲和较深水三角洲。典型的浅水三角洲为极浅水三角洲,发育于河-盆水深比值大于或等于1的浅水水体,分流河道可下切至下伏的前三角洲沉积。根据三角洲前缘分流河道与河口坝的组合样式,将河控浅水三角洲的端元类型分为分流砂坝型和指状砂坝型。分流砂坝型三角洲为河道入海(湖)后形成的多级分叉的河口坝与分流河道系统,平面上呈扇状,河—坝组合呈现“河在坝间”的样式,而指状砂坝型三角洲为指状砂坝与分流间湾相间分布的系统,平面上呈枝状,河—坝组合呈现“河在坝内”的样式。     

关于滩相沉积

滩或滩相是碳酸盐沉积中的重要类型,常见的有生物碎屑滩和鲕粒滩。滩一般包容了坝、脊、洲、丘等沉积体。在认识滩时应力求识别出它的具体产出环境（如沿岸沙坝、潮汐三角洲等）和产出状态（形态、大小、展布等）。从列举的现代和古代鲕粒沉积的典型实例中可以看出它们的复杂性,如鲕粒滩不仅发育在台地边缘,也发育于海岸地带,鲕 粒沉积不仅产出于沙坝,也产于潮汐三角洲、沙脊、沙席、潮坪、舄湖等。     

辽河西部凹陷曙北地区沙四段薄砂层成因类型及分布规律

为了明确辽河西部凹陷曙北地区沙河街组四段薄砂层成因类型及分布规律,从岩心、测井响应和地震反射特征等方面总结了各类成因薄砂层的识别标志,并预测了各砂层组的砂体展布,探讨了砂体发育的控制因素,总结了沉积模式.研究结果表明,曙北地区沙四段为扇三角洲-湖泊的沉积体系,薄砂层发育水下分流河道、河口坝、低隆滩坝、沿岸浅滩4种成因类型,其中以水下分流河道和低隆滩坝为主.古地貌、古物源和古水深控制了各类砂体的展布.以曙光和兴隆台古潜山一线为界,南部为扇三角洲体系沉积区,主要发育前缘水下分流河道和河口坝;北部（包括低隆区）为无明显水流注入的半封闭湖湾区,主要发育低隆滩坝砂体和灰/云坪,在西侧沿岸局部地区还发育沿岸浅滩.储量区外大面积发育的低隆滩坝砂体,是下一步碎屑岩增储上产的潜在接替区域.     

Form, function and feedbacks in a tidally dominated ooid shoal, Bahamas

Although the general aspects of oolitic depositional systems are well documented, seascape‐scale (≈10³–10⁶ m²) patterns of oolitic shoals and the details of processes acting on them are not well understood or quantified. To begin to fill this basic gap in understanding, this paper describes the morphology and hydrodynamics of Lily Bank, a Modern tidally dominated Bahamian ooid shoal. In this study, integrating remote sensing imagery with quantitative, geo‐located bathymetrical, hydrological and granulometric data in a Geographic Information System documents geomorphic and sedimentological patterns and facilitates interpreting these patterns in the context of the processes operating in this system. The results of these analyses reveal that parabolic bars up to several kilometres in wavelength and several metres in height form a common morphologic motif, although there is considerable variation on that general theme. The seascape‐scale configuration of bars and superimposed sedimentary structures is closely linked to spatial patterns of tidal movements, and includes the presence of mutually evasive flood and ebb channels. Sedimentologically, bars are neither homogenous nor random bodies; instead, granulometric parameters such as sorting and percentage mud vary systematically, as shaped by hydro‐geomorphic controls. The best sorted, coarsest ooids are on bar crests, whereas the finest grains are found in the lower energy, deeper interior and flanking regions. In short, results clearly document hydrodynamic‐bathymetrical influences on these ooid shoals and their granulometry, linkages akin to siliciclastic analogues. Sedimentological, hydrodynamic and geomorphic observations are consistent with a conceptual model for the formation of parabolic bars in which initial irregularities in non‐parabolic bars are enhanced through their effect of focusing flow. Constricted flow leads to higher flow velocities, tidal flow velocity asymmetries, differential net sediment transport and growth of bathymetrical highs. This bathymetrical divergence creates separate paths for flood‐ and ebb‐tides, facilitating emergence of better‐developed parabolic forms. The resultant parabolic geometries and component bedforms appear to be either in dynamic equilibrium with both ebb‐ and flood‐tide flows, or evolving toward that state. In exploring patterns and processes within carbonate shoals, this study illustrates some of the first documented insights on quantitative details of morphology and dynamics and in the links between geomorphic framework and grain‐size and sorting in an oolitic carbonate system. Assuming a continuity of processes between ancient and modern, the insights from this shoal provide information on possible facies geometries and on the characteristics of grains and depositional porosity of analogous facies within ancient ooid shoals.     

四川盆地东北部飞仙关组层序地层与储层分布

四川盆地东北部飞仙关组层序界面主要有水下间断不整合面及暴露侵蚀不整合面等两类界面，相当于Peter Vail的Ⅱ类层序界面。通过对南江桥亭及PG2井等典型剖面解剖，将飞仙关组划分为两个沉积层序，厘清层序与储层的关系：储层主要位于三级层序高水位体系域中，其中，第一层序的高水位体系域发育浅滩鲕粒白云岩储层，其构成了川东北地区飞仙关组储层主体，第二层序高水位体系域发育浅滩相鲕粒灰岩储层。建立飞仙关组层序地层格架，对储层二维空间分布进行预测认为，浅滩鲕粒白云岩储层主要分布于PG2井-宣汉渡口立石河之间，浅滩鲕粒灰岩储层主要分布于南江桥亭及CP82井等地。浅滩鲕粒白云岩储层分布广，区域上分布于通江-开县局限台地及其西侧，浅滩鲕粒灰岩储层主要分布在通南巴地区及东部城口-万源一带。     

汊口滩沉积特征及沉积模式——以鄱阳湖赣江三角洲汊口滩为例

随着我国许多油田进入高含水开发阶段,剩余油挖潜难度增大,复合分流河道带和单河道的划分已不能满足生产要求,迫切需要进行分流河道内部有利砂体的识别。现代沉积研究是认识分流河道内砂体发育特征的有效手段。通过对鄱阳湖赣江三角洲的现场考察,发现汊口滩是三角洲分流河道中发育的重要砂体类型,以发育在分流河道的分汊口处为典型特征。根据水动力条件、沉积物组合、沉积构造等特征,将汊口滩划分为滩头、滩中、滩尾3个沉积单元。从滩头到滩尾具有水动力条件减弱、沉积物层理规模减小、单砂层厚度减小、粒度变细、泥质夹层增多的特点。汊口滩主要是由于在分汊口处,水流受到汊口的顶托作用流速降低,沉积物按粒度分异堆积形成;堆积方式主要以向上游方向的逆流加积为主。与水道砂体相比,汊口滩发育的层理类型多,而且内部夹层发育,非均质性更强;由于夹层的遮挡作用,砂体不易发生水淹,有利于形成剩余油的富集区。     

远源浅水辫状河三角洲前缘储层构型模式研究:以冀中坳陷饶阳凹陷留西油田L18断块为例*

利用渤海湾盆地冀中坳陷饶阳凹陷留西油田留18断块内岩心、录井、测井、三维地震以及生产动态资料,应用层次分析的方法,对远源浅水辫状河三角洲前缘进行了相带划分,对砂体构型进行了解剖,明确了各相带内沉积构型样式的特征,建立了远源浅水辫状河三角洲前缘精细的沉积构型模式。研究表明: (1)研究区水体整体较浅,远源浅水辫状河三角洲前缘亚相广泛发育,并进一步分为前缘近端、前缘中端和前缘远端3个相带,不同相带在砂体厚度、岩性组合特征和砂体横向连通性等方面存在差异。(2)前缘远端水下分流河道水动力较弱,所携带沉积物较少,形成横向连通性较差的小规模河口坝,河口坝之间的厚层泥质披覆夹层为主要的夹层类型。(3)前缘中端分流河道水动力强度中等,形成串珠状或分叉树枝状的河口坝,单一河口坝由2~4期前积增生体构成,前积倾角约2.2°,增生体间的泥质披覆夹层为主要的夹层类型。(4)前缘近端分流河道水流强度较大,下切作用较强,所携带沉积物较多;下伏河口坝互相叠置切割,形成连片分布的复合体;单个河口坝由多个前积增生体构成,前积倾角约3.5°,增生体内的漫溢夹层及增生体间的泥质披覆夹层为主要夹层类型。     

卡哈洛磷矿矿石特征及其成因分析

卡哈洛磷矿磷矿石以磷质碎屑（砂屑、鲕粒、砾屑、团块、生物碎屑）结构为主,次为胶状泥晶结构;原生磷块岩矿石主要有纹层-条带状和块状两种构造类型,矿石中磷酸盐矿物为泥晶磷灰石（胶磷矿）。矿床形成于水体较浅、水动力条件强、以波浪作用为主的潮下浅滩环境。     

Growth patterns of the acheloos and evinos deltas,Western Greece

The coastal plain complex on the north side of the Gulf of Patras has been built by the overlapping Acheloos and small Evinos deltas. Upstream river channels are braided; on the lower part of the delta they are meandering. Classical writings indicate that the present Acheloos channel has been occupied for at least 2300 years; air photographs show three former major distributary channels. The present annual sediment discharge (suspended: 3–4 million tons; bedload: 2 million tons) is sufficient to build all the modern delta plain by progradation of these four distributaries in the last 5000–7000 years of relatively stable sea level.Old maps and air photographs show that river mouths prograde by periodic plugging of sub-distributaries within 1 km of the mouth. Where the river progrades into deep water (> 20 m) a steep sandy pro-delta slope forms and a shoal mouth bar is developed by wave reworking. The freshwater muddy plume of the Acheloos extends up to 15 km offshore. Analysis of about 30 bottom samples shows that very silty sediment settles within a few kilometers of the river mouth, becoming progressively more clayey offshore. Marine reworking of abandoned distributaries takes place rapidly (0.5 km in the first ten years, and a further 0.5 km in the next 30 years). Sand is redistributed to form parallel accretionary spits and barrier beaches. A shallow pro-delta platform up to 2 km wide has formed by such reworking along the southern margin of both deltas. Gradual subsidence (less than 0.5 mm/year) leads to flooding of shallow lagoons behind barrier beach systems.Subaerial delta facies have been mapped in the field, and extensively sampled in artificial channel cuts. Normal tidal range is only 16 cm, but storm tides up to 1 m high flood low supratidal flats that locally extend several kilometres inland.Broad immediately subtidal silt flats are found on the inner part of the western Evinos pro-delta platform. Silt is drifted in suspension by strong winter easterly winds from the Evinos mouth, and the pro-delta platform is sufficiently wide and shallow to damp down most large waves that would subsequently remove the silt.Where sand supply is limited, the coastline is marked by a sandy low-tide terrace, and a berm or storm ridge built of variable proportions of sand and reeds. Only near delta mouths is sand supply sufficient for broad barrier beach-dune systems to form.     

湘西北永顺——龙山地区早志留世三角洲沉积

湘西北早志留世龙马溪期至溶溪期为三角洲沉积，可划分出前三角洲、三角洲前缘和三角洲平原三个亚相。前三角角洲亚相以龙马溪组为代表，已鉴别出原地泥页岩、浊积岩和底流沉积三一相，其中后二者主要见于龙马溪组 ；三角洲前缘亚相以小河坝且为代表，已鉴别出试状砂粒滩、礁间泥微相；三角洲平面亚相以溶溪组为代表，已鉴别出分流河道及沼沼泽微相。该三角洲沉积的特征是入海河流流速低而流量大，泥沙含量高而粒级细小，在三角洲前     

松辽盆地新立-新北地区嫩江组三段浅水三角洲水下分流河道砂体半定量解剖

 利用松辽盆地新立-新北地区井间距约200 m的1800余口探井及开发井资料,在岩性观察和测井相识别的基础上,编制嫩江组三段I砂组砂岩等厚图和连井剖面图。对砂体进行半定量统计分析发现,目的层段为浅水三角洲前缘沉积,水下分流河道砂体是最主要的骨架砂体类型,在平面上延伸20 km以上,向三角洲前缘末端演化出3种类型:水下曲流河道砂体,呈长豆荚状,宽600~900 m,延伸8~10 km分叉;水下分汊河道砂体,呈短豆荚状,分叉呈“人”字形或菱形,宽500~900 m,延伸2~3 km分叉;水下网结河道砂体,分叉呈网状展布,宽300~500 m,直线延伸0.5~1 km分叉。     

Jurassic aeolian oolite on a palaeohigh in the Sundance Sea, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming

Aeolian limestones are widespread in the Quaternary record and have been identified in outcrops and cores of late Palaeozoic strata. These rocks have been interpreted as a low latitude signal of glacio-eustatic sea level fluctuations and have not been previously reported from the Mesozoic or from other episodes of earth history generally believed to have been non-glacial. Numerous lenticular bodies of cross-stratified oolite lie near the contact between the lower and upper members of the mudstone-dominated lower Sundance Formation (Middle and Upper Jurassic) in the Bighorn Basin of north-central Wyoming, USA. The lenses, up to 12 m thick, contain sedimentary structures diagnostic of aeolian deposition. Inversely graded laminae within thick sets of cross-strata were deposited by climbing wind ripples. Adhesion structures and evenly dispersed lag granules are present in flat-bedded strata at the bases of several of the oolite bodies. Thin sections reveal abundant intergranular micrite of vadose origin. The lenses appear to represent virtually intact, isolated aeolian bedforms that migrated across a nearly sand-free deflation surface. When the Sundance Sea transgressed the dunes, a thin (<1 m thick), wave-rippled, oolite veneer formed on the upper surface of the aeolianite. Previous workers, primarily on the basis of sedimentary structures in the veneer, interpreted the oolite lenses as tidal sand bodies. The dunes provide clear evidence of widespread subaerial exposure on the crest and north flank of the Sheridan Arch. This structural high was delineated by previous workers who demonstrated thinning of pre-upper-Sundance Formation strata and localized development of ooid shoals. Ooids that formed in shoals on the windward (southern) side of the palaeohigh were exposed and deflated during lowstand. Thin, scour-filling ooid grainstone lenses that crop out in the southern part of the study area represent remnants of the marine beds that sourced the aeolianites. Farther north (down-wind), oolitic dunes prograded over thinly laminated lagoonal silts. When relative sea level began to rise, the uncemented dunes were buried under fine-grained marine sediment as the lee side of a low-relief island was inundated.     

陆相湖盆三角洲—滩坝复合砂体分布模式及编图方法*

陆相湖盆与海洋环境不同,具有水体浅、能量弱、湖进湖退频繁等特点。综合应用高精度层序地层学和地震沉积学等关键技术,通过中国东部及中西部典型陆相湖盆的勘探实践、野外露头解剖和现代沉积考察,总结了陆相湖盆三角洲—滩坝复合砂体的分布模式,并提出了复合砂体地质编图法。研究结果表明:(1)陆相湖盆的“湖—陆过渡沉积体系”不仅发育分流河道,还发育河口坝和沿岸砂坝,这些不同时期的分流河道、河口坝和沿岸砂坝交织叠加在一起,在古代地层和现代沉积中得以保存;(2)地形平坦处,水体浅、波浪作用不强、河流作用为主,形成河道砂体;湖岸较陡处,波浪作用强,分流河道砂体被波浪改造,形成沿湖岸分布的滩坝砂体;(3)在高频湖平面变化背景下,岸线的迁移导致沉积坡折的迁移,形成了多期垂直于岸线分布的树枝状三角洲分流河道砂体,和多期平行于岸线呈带状分布的沿岸滩坝砂体相互交织的陆相湖盆三角洲—滩坝复合砂体的特殊结构;(4)复合砂体地质编图法基于传统单因素法,以复合砂体分布模式为指导,主要针对发育在水体较浅、地形平坦开阔背景下的陆相湖盆三角洲—滩坝砂体。     

Reappraisal of Precambrian sheet‐braided rivers: Evidence for 1·9 Ga deep‐channelled drainage

The repetitive sedimentology of many Precambrian sheet‐dominated fluvial sandstones favoured their attribution to unconfined depositional processes. This article presents outcrop evidence for deep‐channelled drainage in the 1·9 Ga Burnside River Formation of Kilohigok Basin, Arctic Canada. On the ground, sheet‐like sandbodies with ubiquitous cross‐bedding are at first consistent with classic, unconfined depositional models. However, satellite and oblique‐aerial imagery of sections up to 15 km wide and 500 m thick reveals the occurrence of incised palaeovalleys hosting clustered, kilometre‐scale, channel bodies with attached large foreset bars pointing to downstream‐lateral accretion, sand sheets with aspect ratios (i.e. width to thickness) as high as 2500, and scattered aeolian intervals. The genetic association of these architectural elements points to aggradational fluvial piedmonts composed of low‐relief unit bars generated by braidplain channels several metres deep. Preservation of aeolianites was facilitated by fluctuating groundwater table and accommodation. Fluvial piedmonts were transected by weakly sinuous channel belts up to 25 m deep and characterized by through‐going or tributary planform. Aspect ratios comparable with those of late Palaeozoic to modern braided channels disprove the inference that all Precambrian streams readily widened in response to increased discharge. Previous facies models for large‐scale Precambrian sheet‐braided rivers failed to depict entire channel forms, possibly because they could not be resolved by ground‐based observations. Based on their limited geomorphic variability and abundance of architectural elements with very high aspect ratios, this study recommends that large sheet‐braided fluvial systems should still be considered separately from their post‐Silurian (i.e. vegetated) braided counterparts. Parallels between sheet‐braided and modern dryland rivers do not, however, reconcile with the deep, perennial, channelized processes described here. Yet, distal sand‐bed and perennial reaches of modern sandur plains remain the closest analogue to sheet‐braided rivers. This conjecture contradicts the assumption that all Precambrian rivers were prone to simulate seasonal behaviours independently from their actual climate regime.     

塔中地区晚奥陶世碳酸盐台缘与台内沉积差异--定性和定量的碳酸盐岩微相综合分析

为揭示塔中地区东部的晚奥陶世镶边型碳酸盐台地边缘与台地内部的沉积差异,利用钻井岩芯及薄片资料,对良里塔格组开展了定性的和定量的碳酸盐岩微相分析研究。研究表明,台缘-台内沉积区发育9种微相类型（MF1~MF9）,不同颗粒岩类微相所代表的几种颗粒滩具有典型差别的粒度累积频率曲线样式。台地边缘主要发育各种高能颗粒滩的微相组合（MF1~MF4）,与台缘生物礁构成礁滩复合体;台地内部主要发育代表中-低能的潮坪-潟湖沉积的微相组合（MF5~MF9）。结合定量的粒度分析分析认为生屑砂屑颗粒灰岩微相（MF1）、生屑砾屑灰岩微相（MF2）和鲕粒颗粒灰岩微相（MF3）是冲流带（前滨）环境的产物,分别代表着台地边缘生屑滩、鲕粒滩和礁前砾屑滩沉积;球粒颗粒灰岩微相（MF5）为位于受障壁的台地内部、中等能量波浪控制的球粒滩;棘屑泥粒灰岩-漂浮岩微相（MF4）发育于台缘礁后的中-高能生屑滩。     

Sediment distribution and evolution of tidal deltas along a tide-dominated shoreline, Wachapreague, Virginia

Borings from the barrier island/lagoon system of the Eastern Shore of Virginia penetrated an unconformity which separates Pleistocene barrier island and offshore marine sediments from the overlying Holocene tidal delta and barrier island sediments. Offshore marine sediments and deposits within the flood-tidal delta (marsh, tidal flat-bay, inlet-mouth bar complex) are recognized on the basis of sediment color, composition, grain-size changes in the vertical sequence, presence of organic matter, and faunal suite. Subsurface data, historical records, and morphology of lateral accretion on barrier islands suggest that major inlets in the vicinity of Wachapreague have been relatively stable throughout Holocene time; they appear to be located where Pleistocene stream valleys previously existed. Holocene barrier islands apparently developed on drainage divide areas following post-Wisconsin transgression of the sea.

The initial phase of tidal delta development was characterized by vertically accreting, fan-shaped, inlet-mouth bars; tidal channels stabilized after bar crests had shoaled sufficiently for marsh to form. With landward progradation across the lagoon, sand-rich deposits graded laterally away from the inlets and vertically into clayey sand and silty clay of the tidal flat-bay and marsh environments.

Ebb inlet-mouth bars developed asymmetrically southward in response to littoral drift. Flood tidal deltas also built preferentially toward the south as indicated by: (1) sand distribution of the inlet-mouth bar complex; and (2) greater development of marsh south of the inlets.     

Detrital clay grain coats in estuarine clastic deposits: origin and spatial distribution within a modern sedimentary system,the Gironde Estuary (south‐west France)

Porosity and permeability may be preserved in deep sandstone reservoirs by clay coating (mainly chlorite) which limits quartz overgrowths. Chloritization around quartz grains results mainly from mineralogical transformations of pre‐existing clays. It is fundamental to study those clay precursors to better understand and predict the location and distribution of clay coatings in subsurface sandstones for petroleum or geothermal prospecting. This paper reports a high‐resolution analysis of the composition, distribution and fabric of clays along a modern estuary, the Gironde (south‐west France). The scale of the study ranges from thin sections, through sand bar bodies, up to the entire estuary. Results show that clays are detrital and deposited at the same time as sand grains despite strong hydrodynamic conditions. Clays bind to medium‐grained sands forming detrital clay grain coats. On average, 26% of detrital sand grains are coated along the entire length of the estuary. Coat thickness varies from 1 μm to more than 200 μm, and coat coverage exceeds 30% in some samples. The turbidity maximum zone position (surface water turbidity from 1 to 10 g l^?1) in the estuary, which is controlled by seasonal variations in hydrodynamic processes, significantly impacts the location of the maximum clay content and the abundance of coated grains in sandy facies along the estuary. Flocculation in the water column results in the accumulation of suspended matter and contributes to the high turbidity in the estuary. Exopolymeric substances produced by diatoms are observed both in the field and by cryo‐scanning electron microscopy, suggesting that they may play a major role in binding detrital clay around sand grains. Finally, tidal bars and heterolithic point bars in the estuary funnel and estuarine channels are prime sedimentological targets for finding clay coatings and potentially good reservoir quality in deeply buried sandstones.     

Fluvial processes and facies sequences in the sandy braided South Saskatchewan River, Canada

The South Saskatchewan River has a long term average discharge of 275 m³/sec, with flood peaks in the range of 1500 to 3800 m³/sec. South of Saskatoon, the four major types of geomorphological elements recognised are channels, slipface-bounded bars, sand flats and vegetated islands and floodplains. Major channels are 3-5 m deep, up to 200 m wide, and flow around sand flats which are 50-2000 m long, and around vegetated islands up to 1 km long. At areas of flow expansion, long straight-crested cross-channel bars form. During falling stage, a small part of the crest of the cross-channel bar may become emergent, and act as a nucleus for downstream and lateral growth of a new sand flat. The dominant channel bedforms are dunes, which deposit trough cross bedding. Cross-channel bars deposit large sets of planar tabular cross bedding. Sand flats that grow from a nucleus on a cross-channel bar are mostly composed of smaller planar tabular sets, with some parallel lamination, trough cross-bedding, and ripple cross-lamination. A typical facies sequence related to sand flat growth would consist of in-channel trough cross-bedding, overlain by a large (1-2 m) planar tabular set (cross-channel bar), overlain in turn by a complex association mostly of small planar tabular cross-beds, trough cross-beds and ripple cross-lamination. By contrast, a second stratigraphic sequence can be proposed, related only to channel aggradation. It would consist dominantly of trough cross-beds, decreasing in scale upward, and possible interrupted by isolated sets of planar tabular cross-bedding if a cross-channel bar formed, but failed to grow into a sand flat. During final filling of the channel, ripple cross-lamination and thin clay layers may be deposited. In the S. Saskatchewan, these sequences are a minimum of 5 m thick, and are overlain by 0.5-1 m of silty and muddy vertical accretion deposits.