Recent, arctic deltaic sedimentation: Olivier Islands, Mackenzie Delta, North-west Territories, Canada

Despite a low tidal range and relatively low wave conditions, the Mackenzie Delta is not prograding seaward but rather is undergoing transgressive shoreface erosion and drowning of distributary channel mouths. In the Olivier Islands region of the Mackenzie Delta the resultant morphology consists of a network of primary and secondary channels separated by vegetated islands. New ground is formed through channel infilling and landward-directed bar accretion. This sedimentation is characterized by seven sedimentary facies: (1) hard, cohesive silty clay at the base of primary channels which may be related to earlier, offshore deposition; (2) ripple laminated sand beds, believed to be channel-fill deposits; (3) ripple laminated sand and silt, interpreted as flood-stage subaqueous bar deposits; (4) ripple laminated or wavy bedded sand, silt and clay, representing the abandonment phase of channel-fill deposits and lateral subaqueous bar deposition from suspension settling; (5) a well sorted very fine sand bed, presumed to result from a single storm event; (6) parallel or wavy beds of rooted silt, sand and clay, interpreted as lower energy emergent bar deposits; and (7) parallel or wavy beds of rooted silt and clay, believed to represent present-day subaerial bar aggradation. The distribution of sedimentary facies can be interpreted in terms of the morphological evolution of the study area. Initial bar deposition of facies 3 and channel deposition of facies 2 was followed by lateral and upstream bar sedimentation of facies 3 and 4 which culminated with the deposition of the storm bed of facies 5. Facies 6 and 7 signify bar stabilization and abandonment. Patterned ground formed by thermal contraction and preserved in sediments as small, v-shaped sand wedges provides the most direct sedimentological indicator of the arctic climate. However, winter ice and permafrost also govern the stratigraphic development of interchannel and channel-mouth deposits. Ice cover confines flow at primary channel mouths, promoting the bypassing of sediments across the delta front during peak discharge in the spring. Permafrost minimizes consolidation subsidence and accommodation in the nearshore, further enhancing sediment bypass. Storms limit the seaward extent of bar development and promote a distinctive pattern of upstream and lateral island growth. The effects of these controls are reflected in the vertical distribution of facies in the Olivier Islands. The sedimentary succession differs markedly from that of a low-latitude delta.     

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.     

Point bar and floodplain formation of the meandering Beatton River, northeastern British Columbia, Canada

This study examines the morphology, sedimentology and genesis of the point bars and floodplain of the Beatton River. The formation of point bars occurs in distinct stages. An initial point bar platform composed mainly of coarse sediment is formed adjacent to the convex bank of a migrating meander bend, and is the base on which develops a single scroll bar of fine traction and suspended load. With continued sedimentation, the scroll bar grows, eventually supporting vegetation and becoming a floodplain ridge. Scroll bars form with greatest size and frequency in rapidly migrating bends, and the shape of the meander bend appears to determine both the location of the initial bar deposit, and its direction of growth up or downstream. Approximately one-half of the floodplain sediment is derived from suspended load, and the initiation of a scroll bar appears to be due to excessive deposition of suspended load in a zone of flow separation over a point bar platform. The critical flow condition for the initiation of a scroll bar does not occur with the same recurrence interval on different shaped meander bends, however, the average recurrence interval within the study reach is approximately every 30 years. Sedimentation rates on point bars and on the floodplain indicate two relatively distinct stages of floodplain alluviation. The most rapid is for surfaces less than 50 years old, although sediment accumulation still persists on surfaces up to 250 years in age. Although frequently flooded, surfaces older than this accumulate very little sediment. Despite 2–3 m of overbank deposition, the amplitude of floodplain ridges is maintained by secondary currents which sweep sediment from the swales towards the ridge crests.     

准噶尔盆地呼图壁河侏罗系齐古组点坝砂体叠迁样式及演化特征

点坝砂体是我国重要的油气储集层之一。随着河道的迁移,点坝砂体内部构型具有复杂性和多变性,使得现代沉积和古代露头都难以完全完整定量表征。因此,常常需要结合现代沉积和古代露头,运用先进的辅助工具(如航拍、遥感影像等)和数学方法,对点坝砂体的分布和迁移过程进行表征。本文通过分析良好的野外露头并结合卫片,识别了准噶尔盆地南缘发育的侏罗系齐古组古代露头剖面上的点坝砂体,精细解剖了点坝的平面与剖面叠迁样式,并分别对扩张型、迁移型、扩张旋转型及迁移旋转型四种点坝砂体类型的平面结构表征参数(弯度、曲率及扩张系数)、剖面叠迁样式进行了分析,建立了点坝砂体叠迁模式。该研究对于油气开发具有现实的指导意义,为古河道重建和储层构型建模提供依据。     

卵石沙洲发育与冲刷试验

沙洲是塑造分汊型河道最重要的形态因子,其发育与蚀退由于上游来水来沙变化呈现冲淤交替,从而影响分汊河道输水输沙平衡.通过单个卵石沙洲的淤积和冲刷试验,揭示不同加沙速率、粒径和来流量条件下,沙洲淤积和冲刷规律,并建立简化理论模型分析沙洲淤积速率.结果表明,4组加沙试验中,分流点后出现明显淤积下延至洲头,左汊和右汊成为输沙通道,洲尾中心线两侧的左右汊道有泥沙淤积,洲尾未出现淤积.7组清水冲刷试验中,洲头最先承受冲刷和蚀退,并沿洲体冲刷延伸,洲头冲刷的泥沙沿左右汊水流带到下游,洲尾未出现明显冲刷.卵石沙洲以洲头淤积为主导发育模式,泥沙粒径、洲头坡角和分流角是决定淤积速率的关键因子.     

Lateral accretion in a deep-marine channel complex: implications for channellized flow processes in turbidity currents

Some deep-marine channels show striking similarities to fluvial channels, despite major differences in the properties of the flows that they conduct. Some field observations from deep-marine channel deposits within a Late Cretaceous palaeo-canyon in the Rosario Formation of Baja California, Mexico, that bear on these comparisons have been reported. These channel deposits contain erosively based lateral accretion sets. These sets are generally a few metres thick and resemble fluvial point bar deposits. Sediment movement and deposition within these accretion deposits was induced by turbidity currents several to many times thicker than the depth of the channel, moving at several metres per second. The inclined sets define laterally migrating and sinuous channels locally at a high angle to the confining canyon. The instantaneous channel widths varied from 6 to 39 m, the depths from 2·5 to 4 m and the sinuosities from 1·3 to 3·1. Palaeocurrent data, taken mostly from clast imbrication in conglomerates, indicates current modes along the channel thalweg, but with other directions representing either secondary flow (oriented primarily up the point bar) or over-passing canyon-confined flow. It is suggested that, at times, the lower part of the turbidity currents flowing down the channels behaved similarly to within-bank fluvial currents, with a cross-channel component of flow towards the cut bank, and return flow at the bed sweeping up the point bar. At other times, this secondary circulation may be absent or reversed, which may be related to changes in flow thickness, coupling with the overriding flow and possible flow separation.     

曲流串沟型江心洲形成机制与演化探讨

曲流串沟型江心洲是现代河流水利学研究关注的重要河流要素,不同于曲流河点坝和辫状河心滩,但在油气储层沉积学研究中鲜有关注。选取现代松花江典型河段,开展基于水动力学的沉积数值模拟,恢复曲流串沟型江心洲的演化过程,建立了曲流串沟型江心洲演化模式。研究结果表明:1）洪水期曲流河发生漫滩冲刷,串沟发育扩张,截弯取直,形成分汊河道及江心洲地貌;2）分汊偏移角、相对梯度优势可用于预测短期汊道存在的稳定性;3）串沟型江心洲形成于曲流点坝残余沉积之上,发育洲头侵蚀、洲尾加积、翼部双侧积,但垂向加积主要发育在顶部,不构成沉积主体结构。通过上述研究建立了曲流江心洲沉积模式,揭示了曲流河江心洲内部结构及分汊河道水动力特征,对现代河流治理和地下河流沉积储层刻画有指导意义。     

Lateral Baroclinic Forcing Enhances Sediment Transport from Shallows to Channel in an Estuary

We investigate the dynamics governing exchange of sediment between estuarine shallows and the channel based on field measurements at eight stations spanning the interface between the channel and the extensive eastern shoals of South San Francisco Bay. The study site is characterized by longitudinally homogeneous bathymetry and a straight channel, with friction more important than the Coriolis forcing. Data were collected for 3 weeks in the winter and 4 weeks in the late summer of 2009, to capture a range of hydrologic and meteorologic conditions. The greatest sediment transport from shallows to channel occurred during a pair of strong, late-summer wind events, with westerly winds exceeding 10 m/s for more than 24 h. A combination of wind-driven barotropic return flow and lateral baroclinic circulation caused the transport. The lateral density gradient was produced by differences in temperature and suspended sediment concentration (SSC). During the wind events, SSC-induced vertical density stratification limited turbulent mixing at slack tides in the shallows, increasing the potential for two-layer exchange. The temperature- and SSC-induced lateral density gradient was comparable in strength to salinity-induced gradients in South Bay produced by seasonal freshwater inflows, but shorter in duration. In the absence of a lateral density gradient, suspended sediment flux at the channel slope was directed towards the shallows, both in winter and during summer sea breeze conditions, indicating the importance of baroclinically driven exchange to supply of sediment from the shallows to the channel in South San Francisco Bay and systems with similar bathymetry.     

Formation of point bars through rising and falling flood stages: Evidence from bar morphology,sediment transport and bed shear stress

Flow processes and sediment transport in a channel bend and associated point bar have been studied in modern rivers, theoretical models and physical experiments: however, the relationship between flow process and point‐bar morphology has rarely been explained due to the complex nature of open channel flow. Plan‐view exposures of an ancient point‐bar complex, exposed at the top of the Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale Formation, south‐central Utah, allowed reconstruction of bar morphology, sediment transport and bed shear stress, which were used to extrapolate flow processes. Studies of these outcrops show that compound point bars and scroll bars were probably formed during falling and rising flood stages, respectively. A simulation model of plan‐view channel form shows that channel dimensions, such as radius of curvature and sinuosity of the point‐bar complex, range between 205 m and 351 m and 1·04 and 1·22, respectively, throughout the evolution of the channel bend. Variations in strength of the helical flow were interpreted as the main control on facies architecture and bar morphology. Strong helical flow was related to the deposition of the scroll bars, while strength of helical flow is decreased for compound bars. The use of cross‐beds as a common palaeocurrent indicator was found to be inconsistent with mean flow directions and channel margin orientation.     

琼东南盆地深水区中央峡谷沉积微相特征

中央峡谷位于南海北部琼东南盆地深水区,是琼东南盆地深水区油气勘探的重点区域。迄今为止,对于峡谷的成因及沉积微相的认识,不同学者有不同的观点。近来,峡谷内又新增了多口钻井,系统的分析总结峡谷的充填期次、沉积微相的划分及骨架砂体的展布意义重大,将直接影响到峡谷下一步的勘探部署。因此,本文以钻井资料为基础,通过岩矿特征、粒度分析、沉积构造、古生物特征、测井相等的分析,再结合高分辨率三维地震资料,综合分析了地震剖面、均方根振幅属性、多种切片技术等地震相特征,根据从点到面的研究思路对黄流组时期（S₄₀～S₃₀）中央峡谷发育的沉积微相进行了精细研究,研究表明琼东南盆地中央峡谷为大型侵蚀型水道,具有曲流水道特征,类似陆上曲流河沉积,发育点砂坝、天然堤复合体、泥质水道等沉积微相;综合构造背景、古地貌及古地貌与平面沉积相叠合图的研究表明,点砂坝主要发育于峡谷古地形的弯曲处,系水道不断迁移摆动而形成的侧向加积体,地震剖面上表现为强振幅叠瓦状前积型特征,岩性为块状细砂岩夹薄层泥岩,测井曲线GR呈中-高幅箱形夹薄层低幅齿形,为正旋回沉积特征。点砂坝规模不等,面积约8~20.5 km2;天然堤复合体范围较窄,这可能受峡谷壁的限制作用影响。已钻井也证实,点砂坝作为峡谷水道的骨架砂体,储层物性好,具有良好的勘探前景。     

长江下游潮流界变动段三益桥边滩与浅滩演变驱动机制分析

潮流界变动段的边滩与浅滩演变关联性强，同时受径潮流水动力、供沙来源及人类活动等多重影响，是航道治理与疏浚维护的重点河段。通过对三益桥河段1976—2017年期间河床冲淤、汊道分流比、三益桥边滩及浅滩演变过程的分析，明确三益桥边滩及浅滩演变的驱动机制。2012年以来三益桥边滩12.5 m水深以浅滩体体积为增大态势，大水年份边滩以淤积为主，设计航槽及深槽以冲刷为主，中水年份边滩淤积厚度小于深槽。上游五峰山弯道河势稳定，具有阻隔上游和畅洲河段河势、汊道分流比调整等传递作用，三益桥边滩淤涨（长）与上游和畅洲河段河势及汊道分流比调整的关系不显著，主要与流域来流流量大小及过程、上游河道冲刷供沙等相关。洪季三益桥上浅区碍航程度大于枯季，汛前中水流量（大通水文站流量介于26 000~34 000 m³/s之间）持续天数长的年份碍航程度大于大洪水年份同时期；因此，流量过程决定边滩与浅滩的冲淤分布，中水流量持续时间长短及供沙量大小决定三益桥边滩淤积量及浅滩碍航淤积量。     

长江下游潮流界变动段三益桥边滩与浅滩演变驱动机制分析

潮流界变动段的边滩与浅滩演变关联性强，同时受径潮流水动力、供沙来源及人类活动等多重影响，是航道治理与疏浚维护的重点河段。通过对三益桥河段1976—2017年期间河床冲淤、汊道分流比、三益桥边滩及浅滩演变过程的分析，明确三益桥边滩及浅滩演变的驱动机制。2012年以来三益桥边滩12.5 m水深以浅滩体体积为增大态势，大水年份边滩以淤积为主，设计航槽及深槽以冲刷为主，中水年份边滩淤积厚度小于深槽。上游五峰山弯道河势稳定，具有阻隔上游和畅洲河段河势、汊道分流比调整等传递作用，三益桥边滩淤涨（长）与上游和畅洲河段河势及汊道分流比调整的关系不显著，主要与流域来流流量大小及过程、上游河道冲刷供沙等相关。洪季三益桥上浅区碍航程度大于枯季，汛前中水流量（大通水文站流量介于26 000~34 000 m3/s之间）持续天数长的年份碍航程度大于大洪水年份同时期；因此，流量过程决定边滩与浅滩的冲淤分布，中水流量持续时间长短及供沙量大小决定三益桥边滩淤积量及浅滩碍航淤积量。     

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。     

Morphological response of tidal marshes,flats and channels of the Outer Yangtze River mouth to a major storm

Systematic morphological changes of the coastline of the outer Yangtze River mouth in response to storms versus calm weather were documented by daily surveys of tidal marshes and flats between April 1999 and May 2001 and by boat surveys offshore during this and earlier periods. The largest single event during 1999 to 2001 was Typhoon Paibaian, which eroded the unvegetated tidal flat and lower marsh and led to accretion on the middle-to-upper marsh and in the subtidal channel. The greatest erosion of 21 cm occurred at the border between the marsh and the unvegetated flat due to the landward retreat of the marsh edge during the storm. Strong waves on the flats increased suspended sediment concentration by 10–20 times. On the upper marsh, where the frequency of submergence by astronomical tides is only 3%, Typhoon Paibian led to 4 cm of accretion, accounting for 57% of the net accretion observed over the 2-yr study. Typhoon Paibian led to 4 cm of accretion, accounting for 57% of the net accretion observed over the 2-yr study. Typhoon Paibian and other large storms in the 1990s caused over 50 cm of accretion along the deep axis of the river mouth outlet channel. During calm weather, when hydrodynamic energy was dominated by tides, deposition was centered on the unvegetated flats and lower, marsh with little deposition on the high marsh and erosion in the subtidal channel. Depositional recovery of the tidal flat from typhoon-induced erosion took only several days, whereas recovery of the subtidal channel by erosion took several weeks. A conceptual model for the morphological responses of tidal marshes, flats, and subtidal channels to storms and calm weather is proposed such that sediment continually moves from regions of highest near-bed energy towards areas of lower energy.     

Ephemeral-stream processes: Implications for studies of quaternary valley fills

Three unstable ephemeral-stream channels (arroyos), which drain source areas that have high sediment yields ranging from predominantly sand (Arroyo Calabasas) to a mixture of sand, silt, and clay (Sand Creek) to largely silt and clay (Sage Creek), were resurveyed to provide data on the rates and mechanics of erosion and sedimentation processes during periods ranging from 14 to 22 yr. Channel morphology changed significantly. Erosion occurred through nickpoint recession and bank collapse, but erosional reaches are separated by aggrading or stable-channel reaches. In general, sediment that is eroded, as the nickpoint recedes upstream, is trapped in the widened channel downstream. In this manner sediment is transported episodically out of these basins during a series of cut-and-fill cycles. The manner by which the channels aggrade and the morphology of the aggraded stable channels are controlled by the sediment type. The wide and shallow channel of Arroyo Calabasas is filled by vertical accretion of sand-size sediment. The narrow and deep channels of Sage Creek and Sand Creek are created by the lateral accretion of cohesive fine-grained sediment. The channel modification and the cut-and-fill episodes are dependent on high sediment yields, and therefore they are independent of subtle climatic shifts. Cut-and-fill deposits that have been created in this manner should not be equivalent in age from basin to basin, and therefore channel trenching and filling in the semiarid western United States during the Holocene need not be synchronous.     

浅述深水水道的形态学特征

目前深水水道的分类方案较多,本文基于深水水道的形态学特征,且聚焦于单一型深水水道,将其划分为顺直型(曲率介于1～1.25)、低弯度S型(曲率介于1.25～1.5)和高弯度S型(曲率1.5)。其中,顺直型水道侵蚀作用最强,往往不发育天然堤沉积,无侧向加积;低弯度S型水道发育天然堤,并具有侧向加积;高弯度S型天然堤及侧向加积最为发育,决口扇常与之伴生。深水水道的曲率是水道形态的直观表现,曲率大小主要受深水地貌即深水地形坡度的影响。在上陆坡区域,地形坡度较大,沉积物能量强,深水水道以顺直型为主。中陆坡区域,随着地形坡度的减缓,水道的弯曲形态也逐渐增加,形成低弯度S型,直至下陆坡,水道演变为高弯度的S型。     

Fine‐grained meandering systems of the Lower Permian Clear Fork Formation of north‐central Texas,USA: Lateral and oblique accretion on an arid plain

Facies models that adequately represent the diverse range of fine‐grained fluvial systems are currently lacking from the literature. In this paper, the spectrum of these systems on the arid plains of western equatorial Pangea is explored, as well as the source and nature of the fine‐grained sediments. Eight fluvial elements in the Early Permian Clear Fork Formation of north‐central Texas represent channel systems up to 7 m deep with coarse basal deposits, three types of lateral‐accretion deposits and sandstone sheets, with laminated, disrupted and massive mudstones laid down in abandoned channels and on floodplains. The three fine‐grained fluvial styles represent a continuum between two end‐members: sustained lateral accretion of bedload composed of quartzose sediments and mud aggregates on point bars, and oblique accretion of suspended sediment on steep accretionary benches and banks with limited lateral migration. This spectrum is controlled, in part, by grain size and the proportion of suspended to bedload sediments. The presence of rarely documented swept ripples on exhumed accretion surfaces is attributed to rapid decline in water levels and downstream re‐entry of overbank floodwaters into the channel. Rill casts, roots and disrupted mudstones low down in channel bodies indicate periods of near‐dryness. Laterally extensive sheet sandstones were formed by episodic flows in broad, sandbed channels. The fluvial sediments were primarily intrabasinally sourced with extrabasinal sediments brought in during major floods from upland source areas or reworked from local storage in the basin, representing a supply limited system. The upward change in cement composition from mainly calcite and ankerite to dolomite and gypsum with minor celestine implies increasingly saline groundwater and progressive aridification, supporting Late Palaeozoic palaeoclimatic models. By integrating petrographic data with sedimentology, a plethora of information about ancient landscapes and climate is provided, allowing a fuller comparison between the Clear Fork Formation and modern dryland alluvial plains.     

Linking submarine channel–levee facies and architecture to flow structure of turbidity currents: insights from flume tank experiments

Submarine leveed channels are sculpted by turbidity currents that are commonly highly stratified. Both the concentration and the grain size decrease upward in the flow, and this is a fundamental factor that affects the location and grain size of deposits around a channel. This study presents laboratory experiments that link the morphological evolution of a progressively developing leveed channel to the suspended sediment structure of the turbidity currents. Previously, it was difficult to link turbidity current structure to channel–levee development because observations from natural systems were limited to the depositional products while experiments did not show realistic morphodynamics due to scaling issues related to the sediment transport. This study uses a novel experimental approach to overcome scaling issues, which results in channel inception and evolution on an initially featureless slope. Depth of the channel increased continuously as a result of levee aggradation combined with varying rates of channel floor aggradation and degradation. The resulting levees are fining upward and the grain‐size trend in the levee matches the upward decrease in grain size in the flow. It is shown that such deposit trends can result from internal channel dynamics and do not have to reflect upstream forcing. The suspended sediment structure can also be linked to the lateral transition from sediment bypass in the channel thalweg to sediment deposition on the levees. The transition occurs because the sediment concentration is below the flow capacity in the channel thalweg, while higher up on the channel walls the concentration exceeds capacity resulting in deposition of the inner levee. Thus, a framework is provided to predict the growth pattern and facies of a levee from the suspended sediment structure in a turbidity current.     

The alluvial architecture of a suspended sediment dominated meandering river: the Río Bermejo,Argentina

The alluvial architecture of fine‐grained (silt‐bed) meandering rivers remains poorly understood in comparison to the extensive study given to sand‐bed and gravel‐bed channels. This paucity of knowledge stems, in part, from the difficulty of studying such modern rivers and deriving analogue information from which to inform facies models for ancient sediments. This paper employs a new technique, the parametric echosounder, to quantify the subsurface structure of the Río Bermejo, Argentina, which is a predominantly silt‐bed river with a large suspended sediment load. These results show that the parametric echosounder can provide high‐resolution (decimetre) subsurface imaging from fine‐grained rivers that is equivalent to the more commonly used ground‐penetrating radar that has been shown to work well in coarser‐grained rivers. Analysis of the data reveals that the alluvial architecture of the Río Bermejo is characterized by large‐scale inclined heterolithic stratification generated by point‐bar evolution, and associated large‐scale scour surfaces that result from channel migration. The small‐scale and medium‐scale structure of the sedimentary architecture is generated by vertical accretion deposits, bed sets associated with small bars, dunes and climbing ripples and the cut and fill from small cross‐bar channels. This style of alluvial architecture is very different from other modern fine‐grained rivers reported in the literature that emphasize the presence of oblique accretion. The Río Bermejo differs from these other rivers because it is much more active, with very high rates of bank erosion and channel migration. Modern examples of this type of highly active fine‐grained river have been reported rarely in the literature, although ancient examples are more prevalent and show similarities with the alluvial architecture of the Río Bermejo, which thus represents a useful analogue for their identification and interpretation. Although the full spectrum of the sedimentology of fine‐grained rivers has yet to be revealed, meandering rivers dominated by lateral or oblique accretion probably represent end members of such channels, with the specific style of sedimentation being controlled by grain size and sediment load characteristics.