Facies and architectural element analysis of a meandering fluvial succession: The Permian Warchha Sandstone, Salt Range, Pakistan

The 30 to 155 m thick Early Permian (Artinskian) Warchha Sandstone of the Salt Range, Pakistan is a conglomerate, sandstone and claystone succession within which seven lithofacies types (Gt, St, Sp, Sr, Sh, Fl and Fm) occur in a predictable order as repeated fining-upward cycles. Common sedimentary structures in the conglomerates and sandstones include planar and trough cross-bedding, planar lamination, soft sediment-deformed bedding, compound cosets of strata with low-angle inclined bounding surfaces and lags of imbricated pebbles. Structures in the finer-grained facies include desiccation cracks, raindrop imprints, caliche nodules and bioturbation. Groups of associated facies are arranged into nine distinct architectural elements (channels, gravel bars, sandy bedforms, downstream and laterally accreting barforms, sand sheets, crevasse splays, levees, floodplain units and shallow lakes), which is consistent with a fluvial origin for the succession. The types of architectural elements present and their relationship to each other demonstrate that the Warchha Sandstone preserves a record of a meandering river system that drained the northern margin of Gondwanaland. The dominance of fine-grained (floodplain) facies over gravel-grade (channel-base) facies and the widespread occurrence of large-scale lateral accretion elements supports the interpretation of a high-sinuosity, meandering fluvial system in which channel bodies accumulated via the lateral accretion of point bars but in which the active channels covered only a small part of a broad floodplain at any time instant. Although the regional and temporal distribution of these deposits is complex, in broad terms the lower part is dominated by stacked, multistorey channel bodies, whereas single-storey channel elements isolated in abundant fine-grained floodplain deposits dominate the middle and upper parts of the formation.     

长春岭油田C107区块扶余油层密井网曲流河储层构型分析

以长春岭油田C107区块扶余油层为例,综合应用岩心、录井、动态及测试等资料,按层次分析的思路对曲流河储层进行了构型分析。在井上单河道砂体识别的基础上,采用相控对比方法进行了单河道砂体的井间对比。基于现代沉积,提出了"S"型、同向式、背向式和切割式4类点坝砂体的组合模式,结合点坝砂体厚度特征以及与其紧邻废弃河道分布特征,在研究区识别出8个点坝砂体,单个点坝砂体面积在0.02～0.16km2。综合录井、岩心和测井等资料,在单井侧积层识别的基础上,结合对子井分析法,计算出侧积层的倾角为5°左右,侧积体的宽度为25～70m,建立了点坝砂体内部构型定量模式。应用曲流河构型分析成果,指导了热采动态分析。     

埕岛地区曲流河砂体边界识别技术

正近几年,随着油气勘探程度不断提高,勘探难度逐年加大,寻找经济规模储量成为勘探技术工作中的重中之重。而埕岛地区新近系周边储量空白区,紧邻开发管网,能够实现整体开发,达到储量到产量的快速转化。埕岛地区新近系作为一个主要含油层系,在勘探开发中,单一河道砂体边界的识别是关键,由于河道砂体存在尺度小、散度大、地震资料分辨率有限等局限性,砂体边界识别存在不确定性。     

曲流河扇相模式及应用

分支河流体系的讨论有助于促进各类冲积体系的分类学研究,并可促进源—汇体系分析的定量化。博茨瓦纳的奥卡万戈（Okavango）曲流河扇是分支河流体系的典型代表,具有独特的沉积学、水文学和地貌学特征,主要特点如下：①河道形态属于单线曲流河道向下游分叉型,顺流方向产生弯度不一的分支河道网络,从顶点向下游方向,河道呈放射状,由河谷内的限制性河道变为盆地内的非限制性河道;②顺斜坡向下,河道分叉作用增强,河道的尺度和规模减小,受物源控制,无论是曲流河道还是低弯度河道,皆为砂质载荷,河道宽度、水体深度和沉积物粒度虽有系统变化但不显著,且在极低的坡度控制下,随着流量的减少,河道由曲流河逐渐变为低弯度河,河道形态转化的主要影响因素是坡度、流量、沉积物粒级和河岸强度;③根据湿地和河道分布特征,可将扇体划分为补给河谷、近源扇、中部扇和远端扇4个亚环境：补给河谷以单线曲流带和不同规模的迂回坝发育为特征,近源扇主要为泥炭限制的分支河道和河间沼泽沉积,中部扇主要为曲流河和低弯度河沉积,沼泽减少,漫滩增加,远端扇为宽浅型的非限定性河道,以沙岛林地之间的漫滩沉积为主;④沉积物主要为未固结的石英砂,主要来源于卡拉哈里盆地近代风成沉积,砂质纯净,分选和磨圆俱佳,缺乏细粒杂基,粒间细粒组分主要为生物成因的硅藻、植硅石和有机物质,亦见有方解石和二氧化硅胶结物。  对现代曲流河扇体系进行调查的重要目的就是研究地下类似沉积体系的分布。通过对我国大型含油气盆地相关“内陆三角洲”沉积特征和沉积规律的重新认识,可为油气资源的勘探开发提供预测模式。鄂尔多斯盆地山西组沉积时期,沉积作用受盆地北缘物源控制,来自北部物源的碎屑物质在宽阔的湿地平原上发育了多套分支河流沉积体系,主要为曲流河扇沉积体系。顺着沉积斜坡向下,河道的尺度和规模减小,沉积物粒度变细,煤层和暗色泥岩厚度变小,缺乏明显的三角洲前缘沉积环境及稳定的前三角洲深水相。沉积组合主要表现为分支河道砂岩、漫岸细粒沉积与湿地泥岩及薄煤层的互层,为大气田的形成奠定了沉积基础。     

曲流河扇相模式及应用

分支河流体系的讨论有助于促进各类冲积体系的分类学研究,并可促进源—汇体系分析的定量化。博茨瓦纳的奥卡万戈（Okavango）曲流河扇是分支河流体系的典型代表,具有独特的沉积学、水文学和地貌学特征,主要特点如下：①河道形态属于单线曲流河道向下游分叉型,顺流方向产生弯度不一的分支河道网络,从顶点向下游方向,河道呈放射状,由河谷内的限制性河道变为盆地内的非限制性河道;②顺斜坡向下,河道分叉作用增强,河道的尺度和规模减小,受物源控制,无论是曲流河道还是低弯度河道,皆为砂质载荷,河道宽度、水体深度和沉积物粒度虽有系统变化但不显著,且在极低的坡度控制下,随着流量的减少,河道由曲流河逐渐变为低弯度河,河道形态转化的主要影响因素是坡度、流量、沉积物粒级和河岸强度;③根据湿地和河道分布特征,可将扇体划分为补给河谷、近源扇、中部扇和远端扇4个亚环境：补给河谷以单线曲流带和不同规模的迂回坝发育为特征,近源扇主要为泥炭限制的分支河道和河间沼泽沉积,中部扇主要为曲流河和低弯度河沉积,沼泽减少,漫滩增加,远端扇为宽浅型的非限定性河道,以沙岛林地之间的漫滩沉积为主;④沉积物主要为未固结的石英砂,主要来源于卡拉哈里盆地近代风成沉积,砂质纯净,分选和磨圆俱佳,缺乏细粒杂基,粒间细粒组分主要为生物成因的硅藻、植硅石和有机物质,亦见有方解石和二氧化硅胶结物。  对现代曲流河扇体系进行调查的重要目的就是研究地下类似沉积体系的分布。通过对我国大型含油气盆地相关“内陆三角洲”沉积特征和沉积规律的重新认识,可为油气资源的勘探开发提供预测模式。鄂尔多斯盆地山西组沉积时期,沉积作用受盆地北缘物源控制,来自北部物源的碎屑物质在宽阔的湿地平原上发育了多套分支河流沉积体系,主要为曲流河扇沉积体系。顺着沉积斜坡向下,河道的尺度和规模减小,沉积物粒度变细,煤层和暗色泥岩厚度变小,缺乏明显的三角洲前缘沉积环境及稳定的前三角洲深水相。沉积组合主要表现为分支河道砂岩、漫岸细粒沉积与湿地泥岩及薄煤层的互层,为大气田的形成奠定了沉积基础。     

Morphology and evolution of bars in a wandering gravel-bed river; lower Fraser river, British Columbia, Canada

A hierarchical typology for the channels and bars within aggradational wandering gravel-bed rivers is developed from an examination of a 50 km reach of lower Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada. Unit bars, built by stacking of gravelly bedload sheets, are the key dynamic element of the sediment transfer system, linking sediment transport during individual freshets to the creation, development and remoulding of compound bar platforms that have either a lateral or medial style. Primary and secondary unit bars are identified, respectively, as those that deliver sediment to compound bars from the principal channel and those that redistribute sediment across the compound bar via seasonal anabranches and smaller channels. The record of bar accretion evident in ground-penetrating radar sequences is consistent with the long-term development of bar complexes derived from historical aerial photographs. For two compound bars, inter-annual changes associated with individual sediment transport episodes are measured using detailed topographic surveys and longer-term changes are quantified using sediment budgets derived for individual bars from periodic channel surveys. Annual sediment turnover on the bars is comparable with the bed material transfer rate along the channel, indicating that relatively little bed material bypasses the bars. Bar construction and change are accomplished mainly by lateral accretion as the river has limited capacity to raise bed load onto higher surfaces. Styles of accretion and erosion and, therefore, the major bar form morphologies on Fraser River are familiar and consistent with those in gravelly braided channels but the wandering style does exhibit some distinctive features. For example, 65-year histories reveal the potential for long sequences of uninterrupted accretion in relatively stable wandering rivers that are unlikely in braided rivers.     

曲流河古河道储层构型精细解剖——以孤东油田七区西馆陶组为例

以胜利油区孤东油田七区西为例,在沉积微相研究的基础上,主要应用研究区岩心、测井,动态等资料,对曲流河古河道砂体进行了系统的储层层次构型精细解剖。在点坝定量分布模式的指导下,根据点坝砂体垂向上典型的正韵律、砂体厚度大以及紧邻废弃河道分布等特征,在研究区Ng522单层复合河道砂体内部识别出2个单一点坝。综合露头和现代沉积的研究成果、经验公式预测以及对子井分析,建立了研究区点坝内部构型定量模式,以单井上识别的泥质侧积层作为依据,点坝内部定量模式及动态监测结果作为指导,进行模式拟合,达到系统解剖点坝内部构型的目的。建立了点坝内部泥质侧积层控制的剩余油分布模式,提出了采用在点坝砂体中上部钻水平井的方式开采侧积层控制的剩余油。点坝构型解剖成果在研究区得到了较好的应用效果,而且对类似油田储层精细研究及剩余分布预测都有较好的借鉴作用。     

Site preservation along an active meandering and avulsing river: The Red River,Arkansas

The low-gradient Red River is a rapidly migrating, sinuous stream with easily erodible banks. Avulsion is common at many scales, from individual meander bends that are cut off to major sections of the river that form multiple, complex meander belts. The present meander belt can be subdivided into mappable landforms—termed phases—that are associated with river courses of different ages and thus associated with archeological sites of different ages. Within the study area two phases are present. The younger Modern meander belt phase has formed within the past 0.2–0.3 ky, precluding preservation of prehistoric archaeological sites. Any protohistoric artifacts that may have been preserved in this meander belt phase would be deeply buried because as much as 2 m of the vertical accretion sediment has accumulated between artificial levees in <0.1 ky and 1–2 m of sediment has accumulated beyond the artificial levees in <0.2 ky. Archeological site preservation in this highly mobile fluvial end member can be used as a predictor for other, similar streams. A large prehistoric site is preserved on an older (0.5–1 kya) Late Prehistoric meander belt phase associated with an abandoned river course. In the study area a Fourche Maline 7 period (A.D. 800–900) through Caddo IV period (ca. A.D. 1500–1700) archeological site (3MI3/30) is preserved on this slightly higher altitude portion of the flood plain. At locations proximal to the river, the site may be buried by overbank sediment 0.4 m thick, but at more distant locations the site is at the surface or only buried by thin overbank sediment because of low sedimentation rates (0.04 cm yr⁻¹) over the span of a millennium. Sites, such as 3MI3/30, that are occupied contemporaneous with overbank sedimentation may be stratified; however, localized erosion and removal of some archeological material may occur where channelized flow crosses the natural levee. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Sedimentation in the Narrabeen Group,southern Sydney basin,New South Wales

A study of the Narrabeen Group in the southern part of the Sydney Basin has provided a more complete understanding of the conditions of deposition in the area during the Lower Triassic. The sedimentology of the sequence indicates that several different types of fluvial deposits are represented, with an upward succession from piedmont conditions with braided streams to a swampy deltaic plain. This sequence is interpreted as the onshore portion of a slow marine transgression, probably brought about by declining erosive activity in the hinterland.

The palaeocurrent pattern shows that drainage was principally to the south‐southwest, parallel to the basin axis, and the lateral transition from quartzose to lithic sediments across the basin can be interpreted as a blending of sediment from western and northern source areas. In addition several influxes of material from a source east of the present coastline are indicated, with reworked volcanic debris being introduced into the south coast district. This southeasterly source area did not greatly impede the drainage of the basin during lower Narrabeen deposition, but was responsible for a major diversion of stream patterns as the topmost beds were laid down. This diversion was completed by a northeasterly drainage pattern during deposition of the overlying Hawkesbury Sandstone.     

筑坝对山区河流碳动力学的影响

流域的地貌和气候特征及干流筑坝等是影响河流碳动力学的主要因素。本文对干流下游筑坝的华南山地丘陵区河流增江的碳循环过程做了系统研究。结果表明,山地丘陵为主的流域地貌特征提高了增江河流碳的输出通量;而亚热带湿润气候和较高的森林覆盖率以及缺乏碳酸盐岩的流域地质背景使得溶解有机碳（DOC）构成增江河流碳的主要成分;光化学分解可以解释在秋季较强紫外线辐射下河水较低的DOC含量。受大坝影响河段水流速度的变缓为水生生物量的增加提供了条件,使得颗粒有机碳（POC）中来源于水生生物量的贡献率上升、有机物的C/N比降低。流速变缓的河道中藻类的生长导致水体CO₂分压低于大气中的CO₂分压。增江流域DOC和POC的输出通量分别为25.08×10⁵g/km²·a和11.58×10⁵g/km²·a。本文为研究自然因素和人类活动对河流碳循环过程及通量的影响提供了一个典型案例。

     

Counter point bar deposits: lithofacies and reservoir significance in the meandering modern Peace River and ancient McMurray Formation, Alberta, Canada

Counter point bar deposits in the meandering Peace River, North‐central Alberta, Wood Buffalo National Park, are distinct from point bar deposits in terms of morphology, lithofacies and reservoir potential for fluids. Previously referred to as the distal‐most parts of point bars, point bar tails and concave bank‐bench deposits, counter point bar deposits have concave morphological scroll patterns rather than convex as with point bars. The Peace is a large river (bankfull discharge 11 700 m³ sec^?1, width 375 to 700 m, depth 15 m, gradient 0·00004 or 4 cm km^?1) in which counter point bar deposits are dominated by silt (80% to 90%), which contrasts with sand‐dominant (90% to 100%) point bar deposits. Beginning at the meander inflection (transition from convex to concave), counter point bar deposit stratigraphy thickens as a wedge‐like architecture in the distal direction until the deposit is nearly as thick as the point bar deposits. The low permeability silt‐dominant lithofacies in counter point bar deposits will limit reservoir extent and movement of fluids in both modern and ancient subsurface fluvial deposits. In the exploration and extraction of bitumen and heavy oil in subsurface fluvial rocks, identification and mapping of reservoir potential of point bar deposits and counter point bar deposits is now possible in the fluvial‐dominated tidal estuarine Lower Cretaceous Middle McMurray Formation, North‐east Alberta. Recent geophysical advances have facilitated imaging of some ancient buried point bar deposits and counter point bar deposits which, on the basis of morphological shape of sedimentary bodies observed from seismic amplitude, can be interpreted and mapped as depositional elements or blocks that contain associated sandstone or siltstone dominant lithofacies, respectively. As counter point bar deposits exhibit poor permeability and thus limit reservoir potential for water, natural gas, light crude, heavy oil and bitumen, counter point bar deposits should be avoided in resource developments. Geophysical imaging, interpretation and mapping of point bar deposit and counter point bar deposit elements provide new opportunities to improve recovery of bitumen and heavy oil and reduce development costs in subsurface cyclic steam stimulation and steam‐assisted gravity drainage projects by not drilling into counter point bar deposits.     

Evolution and deposits of a gravelly braid bar, Sagavanirktok River, Alaska

The evolution, migration and deposits of a gravelly braid bar in the Sagavanirktok River, northern Alaska, are described in unprecedented detail using annual aerial photographs, ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) profiles, trenches and cores. Compound braid bars in the Sagavanirktok River form by chute cut‐off of point bars and by growth of mid‐channel unit bars. Subsequent growth is primarily by accretion of unit bars onto their lateral and downstream margins. The upstream ends of braid bars may be sites of erosion or unit bar deposition. Compound braid bar deposits vary in thickness laterally and are thickest in medial sections and near cut banks. Compound bar deposits are typically composed of three to seven sets of simple large‐scale inclined strata, each simple set formed by a unit bar. The simple large‐scale strata contain medium‐scale cross‐strata (from dune migration) and planar strata (from migration of bedload sheets). The upstream and medial parts of compound braid bar deposits show very little vertical variation in grain size, but downstream and lateral margins tend to fine upwards. The deposits are mostly poorly sorted sands and gravels, although sands tend to be deposited at the top of the braid bar, and open‐framework gravels preferentially occur near the top and base of the braid bar. The patterns of braid bar growth and migration, and the nature of the deposits, described from the Sagavanirktok River are generally similar to other sandy and gravelly braided rivers, and consistent with the theoretical braid bar model of Bridge (1993).     

Evolution and sedimentology of a channel fill in the sandy braided South Saskatchewan River and its comparison to the deposits of an adjacent compound bar

The depositional stratigraphy of within‐channel deposits in sandy braided rivers is dominated by a variety of barforms (both singular ‘unit’ bars and complex ‘compound’ bars), as well as the infill of individual channels (herein termed ‘channel fills’). The deposits of bars and channel fills define the key components of facies models for braided rivers and their within‐channel heterogeneity, knowledge of which is important for reservoir characterization. However, few studies have sought to address the question of whether the deposits of bars and channel fills can be readily differentiated from each other. This paper presents the first quantitative study to achieve this aim, using aerial images of an evolving modern sandy braided river and geophysical imaging of its subsurface deposits. Aerial photographs taken between 2000 and 2004 document the abandonment and fill of a 1·3 km long, 80 m wide anabranch channel in the sandy braided South Saskatchewan River, Canada. Upstream river regulation traps the majority of very fine sediment and there is little clay (< 1%) in the bed sediments. Channel abandonment was initiated by a series of unit bars that stalled and progressively blocked the anabranch entrance, together with dune deposition and stacking at the anabranch entrance and exit. Complete channel abandonment and subsequent fill of up to 3 m of sediment took approximately two years. Thirteen kilometres of ground‐penetrating radar surveys, coupled with 18 cores, were obtained over the channel fill and an adjacent 750 m long, 400 m wide, compound bar, enabling a quantitative analysis of the channel and bar deposits. Results show that, in terms of grain‐size trends, facies proportions and scale of deposits, there are only subtle differences between the channel fill and bar deposits which, therefore, renders them indistinguishable. Thus, it may be inappropriate to assign different geometric and sedimentological attributes to channel fill and bar facies in object‐based models of sandy braided river alluvial architecture.     

A comparison of mud- and sand-dominated meanders in a downstream coarsening reach of the mixed bedrock-alluvial Klip River, eastern Free State, South Africa

Along a 28 km reach of the Klip River, eastern Free State, South Africa, mud- and sand-dominated meanders have developed in close proximity within a floodplain wetland up to 1.5 km wide, providing an unusual opportunity to compare their characteristics under similar hydrological conditions. Throughout the reach, the channel bed is grounded on sandstone/shale bedrock although the banks are alluvial, and most river activity occurs during summer high flows. The reach can be divided into three geomorphological zones: Zone 1 (0–11 km), a muddy proximal part with a single meandering channel (w/d < 10) and near-permanent standing water in oxbows and backswamps; Zone 2 (11–17.5 km), a transitional mud-to-sand part with one main channel (w/d  20–30), a number of sinuous palaeochannels and oxbows, and only limited standing water; and Zone 3 (17.5–28 km), a sandy distal part with a single meandering channel (w/d  15–30), scroll bars and oxbows, and little standing water. Each zone also has a distinctive sedimentology: Zone 1 is characterised by an  3–4 m thick succession of basal sand and minor granules overlain by dominantly muddy sediment deposited primarily by oblique accretion in meander bends; Zone 2 is characterised by < 4 m of interbedded sand and mud deposited primarily by lateral point-bar accretion, although a history of avulsions also attests to the importance of abandoned-channel accretion; and Zone 3 is characterised by < 3 m of dominantly sand deposited primarily by lateral point-bar accretion. This unusual downstream sediment coarsening trend, and the associated changes in channel and floodplain character, are independent of sediment inputs from tributaries, and result from a downstream increase in bankfull unit stream power from < 3.5 W m^− 2 (Zone 1) to  4–10 W m^− 2 (Zone 3). Mud is deposited primarily in low-energy Zone 1 but is conveyed in suspension more effectively through higher energy Zones 2 and 3, only forming drapes over sandy lateral accretion deposits during waning flood stages. The downstream increase in unit stream power is controlled in part by a slight downstream increase in floodplain gradient that may be related to a subtle variation in the erosional resistance of the bedrock underlying the channel bed. These findings add to previous work on meandering rivers by demonstrating that mud-dominated meanders can occur in long-term erosional settings where the channel bed is grounded on bedrock, and that downstream fining trends may be reversed locally.     

Erosional scours and meander development in response to river engineering: middle Tisza region, Hungary

We present a case study on how riverbed morphology of the engineered and meandering Tisza River of the Pannonian Basin (Hungary) has changed during post-engineering times. The objectives were (1) mapping the location and morphology of scours and point bars, (2) reconstructing their changes in a 150 year time-scale in response to engineering work, (3) describing the differences of quasi-natural and engineered channels and (4) distinguishing of local and general causes, both natural and anthropogenic.Recent erosion and deposition have been traced on continuous ultrahigh resolution (UHR) seismic profiles. These results were matched up to channel cross-sections and to time-series planimetric and bathymetric maps. The topography of the riverbed is determined primarily by two factors: the plan view geometry of the channel and the lithology of the substratum. As well as naturally developing scours in the river bends, shallower and elongated, slightly refilled ones appear on straight reaches or in engineered channels. Elongated bed scours and extraordinary forms are related to local human effects. However, erosion is observed everywhere in the investigated 102 km long Middle-Tisza region. As a result of cut-offs the gradient increased and, as a consequence, the riverbed became incised.Sedimentation is reflected in accelerated point bar development, which resulted in intensive lateral migration and increasing sinuosity, which is enhanced in the vicinity of human interventions. Changes do not propagate far away. Channel adjustments happened in two phases: rapid incision was followed by a slower sinuosity increase in order to obtain a new dynamic equilibrium.     

The upper Hawkesbury River, New South Wales, Australia: a Holocene example of an estuarine bayhead delta

Holocene deposits of the Hawkesbury River estuary, located immediately north of Sydney on the New South Wales coast, record the complex interplay between sediment supply and relative sea-level rise within a deeply incised bedrock-confined valley system. The present day Hawkesbury River is interpreted as a wave-dominated estuarine complex, divisible into two broad facies zones: (i) an outer marine-dominated zone extending 6 km upstream from the estuary mouth that is characterized by a large, subtidal sandy flood-tidal delta. Ocean wave energy is partially dissipated by this flood-tidal delta, so that tidal level fluctuations are the predominant marine mechanism operating further landward; (ii) a river-dominated zone that is 103 km long and characterized by a well developed progradational bayhead delta that includes distributary channels, levees, and overbank deposits. This reach of the Hawkesbury River undergoes minor tidal level fluctuations and low fluvial runoff during baseflow conditions, but experiences strong flood flows during major runoff events. Fluvial deposits of the Hawkesbury River occur upstream of this zone. The focus of this paper is the Hawkesbury River bayhead delta. History of deposition within this delta over the last c. 12 ka is interpreted from six continuous cores located along the upper reaches of the Hawkesbury River. Detailed sedimentological analysis of facies, whole-core X-ray analysis of burrow traces and a chronostratigraphic framework derived from 10 C-14 dates reveal four stages of incised-valley infilling in the study area: (1) before 17 ka BP, a 0–1 m thick deposit of coarse-grained fluvial sand and silt was laid down under falling-to-lowstand sea level conditions; (2) from 17 to 6·5 ka BP, a 5–10 m thick deposit composed of fine-grained fluvial sand and silt, muddy bayhead delta and muddy central-basin deposits developed as the incised valley was flooded during eustatic sea-level rise; (3) during early highstand, between 6·5 and 3 ka BP, a 3–8 m thick bed of interbedded muddy central-basin deposits and sandy river flood deposits, formed in association with maximum flooding and progradation of sandy distributary mouth-bar deposits commenced; (4) since 3 ka BP, fluvial deposits have prograded toward the estuary mouth in distributary mouth-bar, interdistributary-bay and bayhead-delta plain environments to produce a 5–15 m thick progradational to aggradational bayhead-delta deposit. At the mouth of the Hawkesbury estuary subaqueous fluvial sands interfinger with and overlie marine sands. The Hawkesbury River bayhead-delta depositional succession provides an example of the potential for significant variation of facies within the estuarine to fluvial segment of incised-valley systems.     

靖边油田梁镇区域延9曲流河储层构型单元划分

对于已经进入注水开发中后期的油藏,开展储层构型研究是精细化油藏描述、深化剩余油分布认识的必要举措。本文以靖边油田梁镇区域延9曲流河储层为研究对象,结合岩芯、测井等资料,通过密井网解剖,识别不同级次的构型界面并分级次细分构型单元。本研究在梁镇区域主力油层延9^2-1单层内部划分出了3—5级构型界面;延9^2-1小层同期单河道之间以孤立式、对接式为主,不同期次河道垂向上以叠加式、切叠式为主,该小层整体上呈侧向拼接-垂向切叠式复合河道结构形式;在单河道内部识别出3个单一点坝,同时,在点坝内部识别出3个侧积层,4个侧积体构型单元。本次储层构型单元划分研究可以为下一步储层构型定量解剖及剩余油挖潜提供地质依据。     

开发尺度的曲流河储层内部结构地震沉积学解释方法

曲流河地层内部结构复杂,岩性界面具有穿时性,传统的地震相分析法不能满足油藏开发地质研究中对储层内部结构精细解释的需要,急需探索有效的地震解释方法。采用基于探地雷达的露头探测、点坝复合体三维正演模拟和实际地震资料相结合的方法,分析了地震资料频率和地层厚度对曲流河内部结构地震反射特征的影响,研究了利用地层切片解释曲流河沉积结构的原理和方法,建立了开发尺度的曲流河内部结构地震沉积学解释技术。研究发现:(1)高频地震资料中地震反射能够反映曲流河侧积复合体边界,而低频地震资料中反射同相轴与岩性界面一致;(2)不同厚度的点坝侧积单元地震反射特征存在差异,造成反射剖面的多解性。同时指出曲流河内部结构地震沉积学解释的技术关键:(1)发挥地震资料平面与剖面信息的相互约束和补充;(2)将地质体作为三维空间发育的成因体,利用其平面与剖面特征的成因联系指导解释;(3)级次化解释方法,在不同级次上采用针对性的解释方法。将该方法应用于墨西哥湾新近系地震沉积学解释,实现了曲流河点坝复合体内部结构的三维刻画。