The morphology of a Messinian valley and its hinterland (Ventimiglia,NW Italy): a Miocene to Pliocene reconstruction

Along the Ligurian coast (NW Italy), Alpine‐folded and slightly metamorphosed rocks experienced fluvial to marine erosion prior to and during the base level fall associated with the Messinian salinity crisis. Following the subsequent sea‐level rise at the onset of the Pliocene, valleys incised along the coastal margins during the Messinian salinity crisis were partly filled with Pliocene marine and continental deposits. One such valley‐infill system is exposed near Ventimiglia (NW Italy). Using geological cross‐sections and geomorphological analysis we have constrained its shape and dimensions, as well as the morphology of its hinterland. The Messinian valley was very open, ∼10 km wide and probably 500 m deep. The basal unconformity between the Pliocene sediments and the underlying substratum is characterized by a smooth surface that has on either side of the palaeo‐valley a dip between 2 and 10°. The basal unconformity in the southernmost part of the palaeo‐valley roughly coincides with present‐day sea level. The hinterland of the middle Pliocene sea was characterized by kilometres‐wide valleys surrounded by mountains with a relief gentler than at present. The shapes and dimensions of the Messinian Ventimiglia valley and the relief during Pliocene times are different from those derived from comparable structures in SE France and NW Italy. We interpret this as being due to the exhumation history that the Ventimiglia region, different from the surrounding areas, experienced over the last few million years. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary valley-fill succession of the Lower Tagus Valley, Portugal

The Lower Tagus Valley in Portugal contains a well-developed valley-fill succession covering the complete Late Pleistocene and Holocene periods. As large-scale stratigraphic and chronologic frameworks of the Lower Tagus Valley are not yet available, this paper describes facies, facies distribution, and sedimentary architecture of the late Quaternary valley fill. Twenty four radiocarbon ages provide a detailed chronological framework. Local factors affected the nature and architecture of the incised valley-fill succession. The valley is confined by pre-Holocene deposits and is connected with a narrow continental shelf. This configuration facilitated deep incision, which prevented large-scale marine flooding and erosion. Consequently a thick lowstand systems tract has been preserved. The unusually thick lowstand systems tract was probably formed in a previously (30,000–20,000 cal BP) incised narrow valley, when relative sea-level fall was maximal. The lowstand deposits were preserved due to subsequent rapid early Holocene relative sea-level rise and transgression, when tidal and marine environments migrated inland (transgressive systems tract). A constant sea level in the middle to late Holocene, and continuous fluvial sediment supply, caused rapid bayhead delta progradation (highstand systems tract). This study shows that the late Quaternary evolution of the Lower Tagus Valley is determined by a narrow continental shelf and deep glacial incision, rapid post-glacial relative sea-level rise, a wave-protected setting, and large fluvial sediment supply.     

Late Neogene sequence stratigraphic evolution of the Foz do Amazonas Basin,Brazil

The margin of the Foz do Amazonas Basin saw a shift from predominantly carbonate to siliciclastic sedimentation in the early late Miocene. By this time, the Amazon shelf had also been incised by a canyon that allowed direct influx of sediment to the basin floor, thus confirming that the palaeo‐Amazon fan had already initiated by that time (9.5–8.3 Ma). Above this interval, during a prolonged lowstand, Messinian third‐order sequences are preserved only in the incised‐valley fills of the canyon with no equivalent strata on the shelf. Third‐ and fourth‐order sequences younger than Messinian are preserved on the shelf after sea‐level rise above the shelf by the early Pliocene. Sequences younger than 3.8 Ma often show fourth‐order cyclicity with an average duration of 400 ka (larger scale eccentricity cycles) often preserved in high‐sedimentation‐rate areas of river deltas. Mass wasting and transportation of slope sediments to the basin began to play an important role in sediment dispersal at least as far back as the mid‐Pliocene, after rapid progradation had produced steeper slopes more prone to failure.     

Allogenic and autogenic controls on facies and stratigraphic architecture of the Lower Jurassic Mashabba Formation,Gebel Al-Maghara,North Sinai,Egypt

The Lower Jurassic Mashabba Formation crops out in the core of the doubly plunging Al-Maghara anticline, North Sinai, Egypt. It represents a marine to terrestrial succession deposited within a rift basin associated with the opening of the Neotethys. Despite being one of the best and the only exposed Lower Jurassic strata in Egypt, its sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic framework has not been addressed yet. The formation is subdivided informally into a lower and upper member with different depositional settings and sequence stratigraphic framework. The sedimentary facies of the lower member include shallow-marine, fluvial, tidal flat and incised valley fill deposits. In contrast, the upper member consists of strata with limited lateral extension including fossiliferous lagoonal limestones alternating with burrowed deltaic sandstones. The lower member contains three incomplete sequences (SQ1-SQ3). The depositional framework shows transgressive middle shoreface to offshore transition deposits sharply overlain by forced regressive upper shoreface sandstones (SQ1), lowstand fluvial to transgressive tidal flat and shallow subtidal sandy limestones (SQ2), and lowstand to transgressive incised valley fills and shallow subtidal sandy limestones (SQ3). In contrast, the upper member consists of eight coarsening-up depositional cycles bounded by marine flooding surfaces. The cycles are classified as carbonate-dominated, siliciclastic-dominated, and mixed siliciclastic-carbonate. The strata record rapid changes in accommodation space. The unpredictable facies stacking pattern, the remarkable rapid facies changes, and chaotic stratigraphic architecture suggest an interplay between allogenic and autogenic processes. Particularly syndepositional tectonic pulses and occasional eustatic sea-level changes controlled the rate and trends of accommodation space, the shoreline morphology, the amount and direction of siliciclastic sediment input and rapid switching and abandonment of delta systems.     

Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of an Early Miocene incised valley-fill (Derinçay Formation) in the Mut Basin,Southern Turkey

An Early Miocene (Early Burdigalian) incised valley-fill was produced through development of an alluvial system during active extension and block rotation in the Mut Basin. Five phases of alluvial activity have been recognized and are linked to specific tectono-stratigraphic factors. The entrenchment phase (phase 1) was a response to a rapid decrease in accommodation caused by a combination of sea-level fall and accelerated tectonism that occurred around the basin during active extension. A lacustrine depositional system that pre-dated entrenchment was abruptly succeeded by an erosional fluvial system. The initial erosion, the entrenchment phase was followed by the deposition of ephemeral meandering fluvial facies and later by high sinuosity sandy meandering fluvial facies. During the aggradational phase (Phase 2), coarser-grained, lower sinuosity meandering river facies were vertically stacked in response to successive periods of fault-block rotation and basinal subsidence. The thickest stratigraphic interval was deposited during this time. Simultaneously in a basinward position, finer-grained distal facies were deposited. The succeeding backfilling phase (Phase 3) was marked by further fault-block rotation and an increase in the catchment area that resulted in higher flow regime and more sediment input. A further increase in accommodation space due to block rotation resulted in the retreat of facies belts, and the deposition of a retrogradational stacked gravelly low-sinuosity meandering facies during the early transgressive phase (Phase 4). In the downstream part of the alluvial valley, fluvio-deltaic and non-marine transitional facies were deposited and progressively retreated landwards during marine flooding. Phase 5 marks the main interval of Early Miocene marine transgression (a combination of global eustasy and regional epeiric subsidence). During this time, the facies belts within the incised valley-fill were dominated by estuarine and lagoonal facies assemblages, while the distal parts of the alluvial valley became completely flooded with marine waters. At the end of the transgressive phase, in the uppermost early Burdigalian, the estuarine and lagoonal facies migrated further inland, while shallow-marine sediments (reefal limestones) were deposited in distal parts of the now-drowned valley, blanketing the pre-existing topography.     

Architecture of fluvial-dominated valley-fill deposits in the Cretaceous Fall River Formation

The Fall River Formation is a 45 m thick layer of fluvial-dominated valley-fills and shore-zone strata deposited on the stable cratonic margin of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway. Fall River deposits in Red Canyon, in the south-west corner of South Dakota (USA), expose a cross-section of a 3.5 km wide valley-fill sandstone and laterally adjacent marine deposits. The marine deposits comprise three 10 m thick upward-shoaling sequences; each composed of multiple metres-thick upward-coarsening successions. The lower two of these sequences are laterally cut by the valley-fill sandstone, and are capped by metres-thick muddy palaeosols. The upper sequence spans the top of the valley-fill sandstone, and is overlain by the Skull Creek Shale. The 30 m thick valley sandstone is partitioned into four distinct fills by major erosion surfaces, and each of these fills contain many metres-thick channel-form bodies. Deposits in the lower parts of these fills are sheet-like, top-truncated channel bodies, whereas deposits in the upper parts of fills are upward-concave, laterally amalgamated channel bodies, more completely preserved heterolithic channel bodies, or wave-deposited sheets. Each valley-fill basal erosion surface records an episode of valley incision and relative sea-level fall, and the gradual progression from fluvial to more estuarine deposits upwards within each fill records relative sea-level rise. All fills are dominantly channel deposits and are capped by marine flooding surfaces. The dominance of channel deposits, the gradual change to more estuarine facies in the upper parts of fills, and the location of flooding surfaces at valley-fill tops all suggest that sediment supply initially kept pace with relative sea-level rise and valleys filled during late marine lowstand and transgression, not during subsequent highstands. Recently proposed facies models have focused on variations in the relative strength of tide, wave and river currents as controls on valley-fill deposits. However, relative rates of sediment supply and basin accommodation change, and the shift in this ratio along the depositional profile during multiple-scale cycles in relative sea-level, are equally important controls on the style of valley-fill deposits.     

Seismic stratigraphy and depositional history of the Büyükçekmece Bay since Latest Pleistocene,Marmara Sea,Turkey

High-resolution seismic data shed light on latest Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentation beneath the Büyükçekmece Bay, northern shelf area of the Marmara Sea, Turkey. Discontinuous fluvio-marine and marine deposits overlying the erosional truncation surface of Oligocene–Lower Miocene deposits are as thick as 30 m and preserved preferentially within the incised valleys that were controlled by some old faults. A series of prograding shoreline, laterally passing to the latest Pleistocene–Holocene valley-fill deposits, are thought to have accumulated mainly during times of shoreline transgression and sea-level rise. The overall morphology and stratigraphic setting observed in the Büyükçekmece Bay and at the southern outlet of the Bosphorus Strait have nearly same characteristics, implying that similar hydrodynamic conditions, erosional and depositional processes were mainly under the control of strong northerly flows during the Late Quaternary. These flows were less powerful in the Büyükçekmece region with decreased sediment input and smaller accommodation space.     

Stratigraphic architecture of the Plio-Pleistocene infill of the Corinth Rift: Implications for its structural evolution

An integrated study of the stratigraphy, structure, sedimentology, and geomorphology of the Akrata–Derveni region (southern coast of the Gulf of Corinth, Greece) forms the basis for a tectono-stratigraphic model for the evolution of the Plio-Pleistocene central Corinth Rift.

The syn-rift sediments exposed on the uplifted southern coast of the Gulf of Corinth comprise three stratigraphic groups. Maximum total thickness of the syn-rift sediments can reach 2800 m in the middle of the studied area. The Lower Group is made of fluvio-lacustrine deposits. The Middle Group corresponds to thick alluvial fan conglomerates and their equivalent Gilbert-type fan deltas that built toward the north. The Upper Group is composed of uplifted terrace deposits, slope breccias and small Gilbert-type deltas. These groups have been subdivided into informal formations and depositional systems. Restoration of the stratigraphic architecture along a N–S transect provides a linked structural and depositional model for this part of the rift. Reconstruction of the latest phases of uplift is based on a study of geomorphological features.

Evolutionary phases include, (1) an overall increase in accommodation space during deposition of the Lower and Middle Groups followed by (2) a drastic decrease in accommodation space during deposition of the Upper Group. Sedimentary signals indicate that most of the major normal faults were active during deposition of the Lower Group. The depocentre was located in the middle part of the study area and paleocurrents were predominantly toward the ENE. The main depositional system shifted south at the onset of deposition of the Middle Group, recording a widening and deepening of the rift. This major event also corresponds to a change in paleocurrent direction to a clear northward polarity. The southernmost border fault, the Killini Fault, was sealed during deposition of the Middle Group. A northward migration of fault activity was associated with northward progradation of giant Gilbert-type fan deltas that record water depths up to 500 m. Finally, the fan delta system was abandoned as progressive tilting to the south and uplift of the margin induced a reversal of the drainage system with the development of an endorheic depression. Sediment supply to the basin thus decreased and a forced regression took place during deposition of the Upper Group recording a northward shift of more than 5 km and a 600 m relative sea-level drop. As no major eustatic sea-level falls of such amplitude are documented during the Pleistocene, the uplift is linked to regional tectonics. Uplift and fault reactivation gave the present day configuration of the southern coast of the Gulf.     

Signatures of climate vs. sea-level change within incised valley-fill successions: Quaternary examples from the Texas GULF Coast

The passive margin Texas Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain consists of coalescing late Pleistocene to Holocene alluvial–deltaic plains constructed by a series of medium to large fluvial systems. Alluvial–deltaic plains consist of the Pleistocene Beaumont Formation, and post-Beaumont coastal plain incised valleys. A variety of mapping, outcrop, core, and geochronological data from the extrabasinal Colorado River and the basin-fringe Trinity River show that Beaumont and post-Beaumont strata consist of a series of coastal plain incised valley fills that represent 100 kyr climatic and glacio-eustatic cycles.

Valley fills contain a complex alluvial architecture. Falling stage to lowstand systems tracts consist of multiple laterally amalgamated sandy channelbelts that reflect deposition within a valley that was incised below highstand alluvial plains, and extended across a subaerially-exposed shelf. The lower boundary to falling stage and lowstand units comprises a composite valley fill unconformity that is time-transgressive in both cross- and down-valley directions. Coastal plain incised valleys began to fill with transgression and highstand, and landward translation of the shoreline: paleosols that define the top of falling stage and lowstand channelbelts were progressively onlapped and buried by heterolithic sandy channelbelt, sandy and silty crevasse channel and splay, and muddy floodbasin strata. Transgressive to highstand facies-scale architecture reflects changes through time in dominant styles of avulsion, and follows a predictable succession through different stages of valley filling. Complete valley filling promoted avulsion and the large-scale relocation of valley axes before the next sea-level fall, such that successive 100 kyr valley fills show a distributary pattern.

Basic elements within coastal plain valleys can be correlated with the record offshore, where cross-shelf valleys have been described from seismic data. Falling stage to lowstand channelbelts within coastal plain valleys were feeder systems for shelf-phase and shelf-margin deltas, respectively, and demonstrate that falling stage fluvial deposits are important valley fill components. Signatures of both upstream climate change vs. downstream sea-level controls are therefore interpreted to be present within incised valley fills. Signatures of climate change consist of the downstream continuity of major stratigraphic units and component facies, which extends from the mixed bedrock–alluvial valley of the eroding continental interior to the distal reaches, wherever that may be at the time. This continuity suggests the development of stratigraphic units and facies is strongly coupled to upstream controls on sediment supply and climate conditions within hinterland source regions. Signatures of sea-level change are critical as well: sea-level fall below the elevation of highstand depositional shoreline breaks results in channel incision and extension across the newly emergent shelf, which in turn results in partitioning of the 100 kyr coastal plain valleys. Moreover, deposits and key surfaces can be traced from continental interiors to the coastal plain, but there are downstream changes in geometric relations that correspond to the transition between the mixed bedrock–alluvial valley and the coastal plain incised valley. Channel incision and extension during sea-level fall and lowstand, with channel shortening and delta backstepping during transgression, controls the architecture of coastal plain and cross-shelf incised valley fills.     

塔里木盆地台盆区三叠纪大型挤压坳陷湖盆层序地层及构造响应

三叠纪是塔里木盆地区域应力场由伸展至挤压的重大转折期,台盆区发育大型挤压坳陷盆地.经过地震层序解释,将台盆区三叠系划分为4个三级层序,其顶、底界面均为区域性削截不整合面;内部除了少量削截、上超和下切谷之外,顶超是最为普遍的层序界面标志.进一步的钻井层序对比表明,层序内幕沉积演化独特,湖扩体系域普遍发育大型辫状河三角洲,其沉积物粒度粗,砂体厚;相反,高位体系域三角洲规模小,沉积物粒度细.结合区域构造背景分析认为,挤压坳陷盆地的层序发育受控于逐渐增强-减弱的幕式挤压作用,湖扩体系域对应于挤压增强时期:一方面,基底挠曲沉降加剧,湖盆范围迅速扩张;另一方面,前隆和周围山系快速隆升,沉积物供给大大增加,甚至超过了可容纳空间的增加速率,导致大型辫状河三角洲的广泛发育.      

北海盆地维京地堑新近纪下切谷发育主控因素及其内部充填特征*

下切谷是陆地上一种常见的侵蚀地貌,古今均十分发育,但是不同盆地、不同时代发育的下切谷,无论是在沉积充填特征还是平面展布形态等多个方面都大相径庭。为此,作者依据曼宁公式进行理论推导,再结合分析北海盆地维京地堑发育的典型下切谷实例以及前人进行的相关水槽实验结果总结认为: 地形坡度、基准面下降速率及幅度与下切谷所侵蚀地层的岩性是影响下切谷发育模式的最主要因素。这些因素共同控制了: (1)下切谷的弯度指数及宽深比,(2)下切谷平面上发育密度及其规模,(3)与下切谷伴生的陆棚三角洲、陆棚边缘三角洲沉积厚度及展布范围。海侵过程中下切谷的沉积充填类型及岩性,受平均基准面上升速率及沉积物供应量的共同控制,根据沉积充填类型及岩性的不同可将其划分为富砂型陆棚三角洲充填及富泥型河口湾充填两类。     

The effects of differential subsidence and coastal topography on high-order transgressive-regressive cycles: Pliocene nearshore deposits of the Val d'Orcia Basin, Northern Apennines, Italy

This study focuses on the lowstand and early transgressive systems tracts of a basin-fill sequence of lower Pliocene nearshore deposits in the Val d'Orcia Basin of the Northern Apennines, Italy. The basin at that time was a semi-enclosed marine embayment, and, in the study area, its margin was subject to highly variable subsidence along the depositional strike, attributed to a decrease in tectonic displacement. The nearshore succession in the more rapidly-subsiding segment of the basin is around 20 m thick, comprising three storeys of laterally-stacked Gilbert-type delta lobes overlain by a shoal-water delta, whereas the nearshore succession in the adjacent, more slowly-subsiding segment, is up to 9 m thick. This succession is characterised by alternation of shoreface and offshore deposits, moderately wave-worked and covered by shoal-water deltaic facies.These coeval nearshore successions consist of several transgressive-regressive cyclothems. The development and lateral variation of the cyclothems was controlled by the local subsidence rate and coastal topographic gradient. Some of the cyclothems are considered to be higher-order sequences and others to be parasequences, with the former passing laterally into the latter in the area where the sea-level fall was countered by fast local subsidence. Some of the bounding surfaces are of limited lateral extent, with two parasequences passing laterally into a single one.Coastal topography controlled particularly the thickness of transgressive deposits. In the low-gradient setting of a delta plain, the relative sea-level rises caused major landward shifts of the shoreline and reduced fluvial sediment supply, with the formation of a transgressive lag in sediment-starved conditions. In the high-gradient coastal setting of the non-deltaic zone, the shoreline shift was minimal and had relatively little impact on local sediment supply, which promoted an accretionary transgression.At the end of the lowstand stage, the rate of sediment accumulation in the non-deltaic nearshore zone was lower, allowing the onset of subsequent transgression to be recorded considerably earlier than in the deltaic nearshore zone. This diachroneity suggests that facies criteria alone may not necessarily be a reliable basis for the recognition of systems tract boundaries.     

Detailed architecture of a compound incised valley system and correlation with forced regressive wedges: Example of Late Quaternary Têt and Agly rivers,western Gulf of Lions,Mediterranean Sea,France

Quaternary incised valley systems are usually characterized by the preservation of a single valley-fill attributed to the last post-glacial period. Moreover, there are very few cases of correlation between incised valley system developed on inner shelf and sedimentary units observed on the mid to outer shelf, mainly forced regressive wedges. The Roussillon shelf, in the western part of the Gulf of Lion, is a particular example of preserved Quaternary compound incised valley system also characterized by a direct correlation with the forced regressive lowstand wedges on the mid-outer shelf. High-resolution seismic data and a borehole, 60 m deep, located on the beach barrier permit an accurate study of the geometry and lithology of the system. Six imbricated and more or less preserved incised valleys and valley-fills are observed up to the inner to mid-shelf. The key surfaces associated to the incised valleys are correlated to the boundaries of the forced regressive wedges. They are assumed to be reworked surfaces. At the borehole location, only few thin layers, less than 1 m thick, of coarse grain and/or floating pebbles, are observed and should correspond to preserved fluvial lowstand deposits reworked under marine influence. The valley fills are mainly composed of estuarine muddy silts. From AMS ¹⁴C age dating it is inferred that the uppermost incised valley system is younger than 45 ky cal BP. Based on those observations, the six preserved incised valley systems are assumed to be controlled by the last six 4th order sea-level cycles — 100 ky — of the middle to late Quaternary. The paleo-topography of the underlying Plio-Quaternary deposits controls the compound incised valley system location. The deep topography of the Messinian Erosionnal Surface is a controlling factor at a lower degree. The partial preservation of the successive valley fill is attributed not only to the differential subsidence but also to the lateral migration of each incision and to the hydrodynamic regime.     

Bahamian carbonate platform development in response to sea-level changes and the closure of the Isthmus of Panama

In this paper we show that the development of the sediment architecture at the leeward toe-of-slope of Great Bahama Bank (Ocean Drilling Project Leg 166, Bahama Transect) during the last 6 Ma is not only a response to sea-level fluctuations, but also to major paleo-oceanographic and climatic changes. A major sequence boundary close to the Miocene/Pliocene boundary (dated at 5.6-5.4 Ma) is interpreted to reflect a major sea-level drop that was followed by a sea-level rise, which led to the re-flooding of the Mediterranean Sea at the end of the Messinian and increasing sea-surface temperatures at Great Bahama Bank. Distinct erosional horizons occurred during the Pliocene (dated at 4.6 and 3.3-3.6 Ma) related to sea-level change and the intensification of the Gulf Stream when the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama reached a critical threshold. The Gulf Stream brings warm, saline and nutrient-poor waters to the Bahamas. Starting at the Early-Late Pliocene boundary at 3.6 Ma this paleo-oceanographic reorganization in combination with enhanced sea-level fluctuations associated with the Late Pliocene main intensification in Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (since 3.2 Ma) led to (1) a gradual change from a ramp-type to a flat-topped type morphology, and (2) a change from a skeletal to a non-skeletal-dominated sedimentary system (mainly peloidal). Increased sea-level fluctuations during the second half of the Pleistocene led to an intensified high stand-shedding depositional pattern within the surrounding basins.     

The carbonate—clastic cycles of the East-Alpine Raibl group: Result of third-order sea-level fluctuations in the Carnian

The Carnian Raibl group of the Eastern Alps consists of three 50–100 m thick, alternating carbonate and clastic third-order cycles, each of which can be traced for hundreds of kilometers. Tectono-eustatic sea-level fluctuations of a few tens of metres, spanning a few millions of years, are the driving mechanism of this cyclicity. The carbonate intervals represent restricted marginal marine, tidal and evaporitic environments. The clastic intervals represent inner and outer shelf facies, and are related to the fluviatile “Schilfsandstein” of the Germanic facies belt. In the Raibl group, contrary to other carbonate/clastic depositional settings, relative sea-level lowstands are dominated by carbonate production, and highstands are dominated by clastic deposition.

Each of the three Raibl cycles corresponds to a type-2 sequence, containing shelf margin, transgressive and highstand systems tracts. During sea-level lowstands, deltaic point sources were near the shelf margin, allowing clastics to bypass the carbonate platform. This setting corresponds to a shelf margin systems tract. Transgressive and highstand systems tracts developed during the subsequent sea-level rise, as deltaic clastics were reworked and redistributed over the carbonate platform, and the deltas retrograded to the inner shelf. The highstand systems tracts are capped by a type 2 sequence boundary, which is conformable in the study area. The systems tracts can be further subdivided into shallowing upward subcycles, caused by fourth-order sea-level fluctuations, believed to represent Milankovitch rhythms.

The middle Raibl cycle is consistently thinner, and may represent a shorter termed, third-order sea-level fluctuation. Our data also corroborate a second-order transgressive trend for the Carnian.     

Facies analysis and high-resolution sequence stratigraphy of the Lower Eocene shallow marine Ametlla Formation, Spanish Pyrenees

The Lower Eocene Ametlla Formation of the Ager Basin, Spanish Pyrenees, is a rapidly deposited shallow marine unit formed in a setting characterized by syn-sedimentary tectonic activity. Mapping of the formation over a distance of 25 km was conducted according to sequence stratigraphical principles with emphasis on facies analysis. Twelve facies, grouped in five facies associations, have been recognized in the Ametlla Formation. The studied succession records a vertical transition from deltaic systems prograding onto a sediment-starved shelf, via estuarine deposits associated with incised valleys, to sandbar complexes in a tidal seaway. In terms of sequence stratigraphy, three scales of genetic sedimentary units were recognized. (1) At the regional scale, elements of two 3rd-order composite sequences (sensu Exxon) have been recognized. These include a 3rd-order highstand sequence set encompassing the lowermost part of the Ametlla Formation and the underlying Passarella Formation, and a 3rd-order transgressive sequence set that constitutes the middle parts of the Ametlla Formation. The sequence sets are separated by an unconformity with up to 35 m of incision that is interpreted as a major sequence boundary. It is argued that the incised valleys associated with this unconformity were infilled during landward-stepping of the shelfal depositional system. Basinwards, the unconformable surface becomes subhorizontal and is overlain by a 2 m thick oyster bed formed in a sediment-starved setting subsequent to flooding of the incised valleys (which still acted as sediment conduits). Sandstones dominate the transgressive sequence set, whereas the highstand sequence set is dominated by siltstones, particularly in the lower part. In the transgressive sequence set, an upward increase in sand content and calibre is observed, relatable to punctuations of the transgressive trend by high-frequency sea-level fluctuations, and to downslope redistribution of sand. (2) At the subregional scale, detailed mapping indicates the presence of five 4th-order sequences. The 4th-order sequence boundaries are associated with sediment bypassing and minimal erosional relief, and were created by forced regressions during periods of relative sea-level fall. Sharp-based sandstones overlying these unconformities are believed to have accumulated during subsequent rise of relative sea-level. Where 4th-order maximum flooding surfaces can be recognized, the sequences may be subdivided into a sandstone-dominated transgressive systems tract and a siltstone-dominated highstand systems tract. (3) At the local scale, 2–9 5th-order parasequences are present within the 4th-order sequences. Superimposed parasequences are separated by flooding surfaces characterized by bioclastic accumulations, pervasive burrowing and extensive calcite cementation. The parasequences are commonly stacked in a landward-stepping manner.     

Plio-Quaternary megasequence geometry and its tectonic controls within the Maghrebian thrust belt of south-central Sicily

Sequence stratigraphy in marine foredeep and thrust-top basins is controlled by the conventional variations in eustatic sea-level and sedimentation rate together with tectonics. Vertical motions reflect combinations of subsidence due to regional flexure and uplift on local thrust anticlines which act to modify the volume and shape of accommodation space together with syn-depositional slopes. Plio-Pleistocene successions on Sicily were deposited in thrust-top and foredeep basins, above and ahead of evolving structures of the Maghrebian fold and thrust belt. Collectively the sediments represent a single megasequence defined at its base by a maximum flooding surface of earliest Pliocene age following reconnection with global sea-level at the end of the Messinian. The internal stratigraphy of this megasequence consists of Trubi chalks, blue marls and a coastal calcarenite package with subordinate silciclastic sand. Plankton biostratigraphy allows these facies to be placed in a chronostratigraphic framework. Regionally the upper assemblage progrades away from the orogenic hinterland, recording a tectonically forced regression in response to regional uplift from late Pliocene times. This uplift may be associated with isostatic unloading in the orogenic hinterland due to tectonic collapse of the more internal thrust sheets. Prior to this, flexure from orogenic loading is inferred to have been sufficient for regional subsidence locally to outstrip uplift associated with the growth of some thrust structures. For shallow-water facies the competition between thrust-related uplift and flexural subsidence can be investigated from the stacking patterns of parasequence sets. For structures developed at greater palaeobathymetries receiving fine-grained pelagic sediment, active tectonics may be recognized from depositional hiatuses.     

Sedimentology and palaeogeomorphology of four large valley systems incising delta plains, western Canada Foreland Basin: implications for mid-Cretaceous sea-level changes

The mid-Cenomanian Dunvegan Formation represents a delta complex deposited on a foreland basin ramp over about 2 my. The Dunvegan is divided into 10 transgressive–regressive allomembers, labelled J–A in ascending order, each defined by regional marine transgressive surfaces. Parasequences within allomembers show an aggradational to offlapping stacking pattern that reflects alternate generation and removal of accommodation. The upper surfaces of allomembers H–E are incised by extensive valley systems traceable for up to 320 km and over about 50 000 km². Valley depths range up to 41 m and can change significantly over short distances. However, the average depth of incision (mean 21 m) shows no systematic variation in longitudinal profiles and no evidence of headward shallowing. Valleys are typically 1–2 km wide, but locally widen to about 8 km. Widening is sometimes associated with confluence zones, but elsewhere it is not. Updip reaches of valleys are dominated by cross-bedded fluvial sandstone forming multistorey point-bar deposits. Sandstones contain widespread but uncommon paired carbonaceous drapes recognizable as tidal bundles. Inclined heterolithic stratification is locally well developed at the top of the valley fill. Downdip reaches of valleys, typically within 50 km of the lowstand shoreline, have a sandstone-dominated lower part and, locally, a mud-rich upper portion consisting of a variety of laminated heterolithic facies with a clear tidal signature. These heterolithic deposits may represent central basin, tidal flat, bayhead delta and point-bar environments. Valley filling took place mainly during the transgressive systems tract (TST) when tidally influenced environments migrated upvalley. Semi-diurnal tidal backwater effects extended at least 30 km landward of the regional maximum transgressive marine shoreline. The aggradational late TST and highstand systems tract (HST) includes deltaic and coastal plain deposits comprising lake and anastomosed river deposits that suggest a very low gradient (≈ 1:3000). Delta parasequences of the falling stage systems tract (FSST) offlap seaward and have no equivalent coastal plain deposits. The FSST has an average width of 60 km and an inferred gradient of 1:2500. The upper surfaces of the HST and FSST are extensively incised by valleys. The lowstand systems tract (LST) is subtly aggradational, lacks valleys and is characterized by large delta lobes fed by major distributaries. The width and inferred slope of the FSST, coupled with the thickness of aggradational TST and HST deposits on the coastal plain, suggest a vertical accommodation of about 35 m per transgressive event. About 11 m of this is attributed to isostatic subsidence resulting from water and sediment loads; the residual 24 m is attributed to eustatic rise. This sea-level change is of the same order of magnitude as the valley depths. The length of valleys, however, does not seem to be explicable solely in terms of downstream forcing by sea-level change, and an additional, upstream-forcing mechanism, possibly related to precipitation cycles in the Milankovitch band, might be inferred.     

Deposition in a changing paleogulf: evidence from the Pliocene–Quaternary sedimentary succession of the Nile Delta,Egypt

Sedimentary complexes of ancient gulfs provide valuable information about paleoenvironmental dynamics. The study of several Pliocene–Pleistocene sections allowed reconstruction of the regional stratigraphical framework in the southwestern fringes of the Nile Delta. The Kafr El-Shiekh, the Gar El-Muluk, and the Kom El-Shelul formations of the Zanclean Age and the Wastani Formation of the Piacenzian Age constitute the Pliocene sedimentary succession in the study area. The establishment of 11 facies types related to 5 facies associations coupled with the results of the stratigraphical study indicate the existence of a paleogulf corresponding to the modern delta and lower valley of the Nile. This Nile Paleogulf appeared and reached its maximum spatial extent in the beginning of the Pliocene. Then, it retreated gradually and disappeared before the end of this epoch when alluvial sedimentation reestablished. There was significant flux of siliciclastic material to the study area. The Zanclean Flood in the Mediterranean Sea allowed marine incursion in the study area where the river valley incised during the precedent Messinian Salinity Crisis. Regional tectonic uplift and filling of the accommodation space with siliciclastic material from the eroded land were the main controls on the paleogulf evolution. Strengthened glaciation triggered global sea level fall, and alluvial deposition dominated the study area in the late Pliocene–Pleistocene.