Fades of subglacial channel sedimentation in late-Pleistocene drumlins, Northern Ireland

The sedimentology of three sand-cored drumlins in central Ulster. Northern Ireland is described. The sand-cores of the drumlins consist of complex sequences of cohesive sediment gravity forms, grain-flow deposits, turbiditic sands and deltaic sands and gravels, showing complex fades relationships. The bulk of the sediments formed in water-filled cavities associated with a major subglacial meltwater escape route excavated in bedrock. The sand-cores are overlain by a streamlined carapace of basal melt-out till. A model is presented to account for spatial variations in faeies arrangement within the sand-cores. Three specific meltwater depositional subenvironments were recognised: (1) main channel axis, (2) main channel flank, and (3) minor tributary channel. The sand-cores formed prior to the main phase of basal melt-out till deposition and before drumlin streamlining.     

从端点走向连续:河流沉积模式研究进展述评

从河道类型的划分、河床演变与河型转换、河道沉积与河流砂体的建筑结构要素、河漫滩沉积、季节性河流与分支河流体系、河流沉积相模式、河流沉积学研究技术与方法等方面对国内外河流沉积模式的研究进展进行了综述,认为近十年来河流沉积学的理论和方法都发生了重要的变化。地貌学家、沉积学家和工程师认识到河道形态是连续可变的,而不是只有4~40多个端点类型。河床的演变受河床比降、流量变幅、河岸沉积物粒度构成、气候、植被以及构造沉降速率等多方面的影响。垂向剖面分析法难以对古河流类型做出正确的判断,运用建筑结构要素分析法重建河道内大型底形的地貌形态是河型判别和河流相模式重建的正确方法。河漫滩是河流沉积事件记录最为齐全的部位,对河漫滩、天然堤和泛滥平原沉积层序的研究能够揭示更多古河流沉积过程以及古环境、古气候和古生物方面的信息。对季节性河流、受季风强烈影响地区的河流、以及不同气候带河流所发育的独特沉积构造和建筑结构要素的研究不断增加。分支河流体系的概念得到越来越多的应用,但也得到不少质疑。我国学者应当注重对现代河流地貌形态和沉积过程的观察,把河床演变学的定量方法与沉积学的观点、理论和资料相结合,利用露头、三维地震资料和探地雷达技术建立河流砂体内部建筑结构信息数据库,加强对古河流河漫滩和泛滥平原的沉积过程、特征及其控制因素的研究,加强对不同构造和气候条件下河流沉积的差异性研究,不断发展河流沉积学研究技术,加强河流沉积学实验室建设和研究队伍建设,加强国际交流与合作,使我国河流沉积学为国家经济社会发展提供更加有力和有效的支撑,为推动国际河流沉积学发展做出中国人自己的贡献。     

Planform architecture,stratigraphic signature and morphodynamics of an exhumed Jurassic meander plain (Scalby Formation,Yorkshire, UK)

Modern fluvial meander plains exhibit complex planform transformations in response to meander‐bend expansion, downstream migration and rotation. These transformations exert a fundamental control on lithology and reservoir properties, yet their stratigraphic record has been poorly evaluated in ancient examples due to the lack of extensive three‐dimensional exposures. Here, a unique exhumed meander plain exposed to the north of Scarborough (Yorkshire, UK) is analysed in terms of architecture and morphodynamics, with the aim of developing a comprehensive model of facies distribution. The studied outcrop comprises tidal platforms and adjacent cliffs, where the depositional architecture of un‐tilted deposits was assessed on planform and vertical sections, respectively. In its broader perspective, this study demonstrates the potential of architectural mapping of extensive planform exposures for the reconstruction of ancient fluvial morphodynamics. The studied exhumed meander plain is part of the Scalby Formation of the Ravenscar Group, and originally drained small coastal incised valleys within the Jurassic Cleveland Basin. The meander plain is subdivided into two storeys that contain in‐channel and overbank architectural elements. In‐channel elements comprise expansional and downstream‐migrating point bars, point‐bar tails and channel fills. Overbank elements comprise crevasse complexes, levées, floodplain fines and lake fills. The evolution of the point bars played a significant role in dictating preserved facies distributions, with high flood‐stage nucleation and accretion of meander scrolls later reworked during waning flood‐stages. At a larger scale, meander belt morphodynamics were also a function of valley confinement and contrasts in substrate erodibility. Progressive valley infilling decreased the valley confinement, promoting the upward transition from prevalently downstream migrating to expansional meander belts, a transition associated with enhanced preservation of overbank elements. Strikingly similar relations between valley confinement, meander‐bend transformations and overbank preservation are observed in small modern meandering streams such as the Beaver River of the Canadian prairies and the Powder River of Montana (USA).     

Sedimentary architecture and 3D ground-penetrating radar analysis of gravelly meandering river deposits (Neckar Valley, SW Germany)

Sedimentological outcrop analysis and sub‐surface ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) surveys are combined to characterize the three‐dimensional sedimentary architecture of Quaternary coarse‐grained fluvial deposits in the Neckar Valley (SW Germany). Two units characterized by different architectural styles are distinguished within the upper part of the gravel body, separated by an erosional unconformity: (i) a lower unit dominated by trough‐shaped depositional elements with erosional, concave‐up bounding surfaces that are filled by cross‐bedded sets of mainly openwork and filled framework gravel; and (ii) an upper unit characterized by gently inclined sheets of massive and openwork gravels with thin, sandy interlayers that show lateral accretion on a lower erosional unconformity. The former is interpreted as confluence scour pool elements formed in a multi‐channel, possibly braided river system, the latter as extensive point bar deposits formed by the lateral migration of a meandering river channel. The lateral accretion elements are locally cut by chute channels mainly filled by gravels rich in fines, and by fine‐grained abandoned channel fills. The lateral accretion elements are associated with gravel dune deposits characterized by steeply inclined cross‐beds of alternating open and filled framework gravel. Floodplain fines with a cutbank and point bar morphology cover the gravel deposits. The GPR images, revealing the three‐dimensional geometries of the depositional elements and their stacking patterns, confirm a change in sedimentary style between the two stratigraphic units. The change occurred at the onset of the Holocene, as indicated by ¹⁴C‐dating of wood fragments, and is related to a re‐organization of the fluvial system that probably was driven by climatic changes. The integration of sedimentological and GPR results highlights the heterogeneity of the fluvial deposits, a factor that is important for modelling groundwater flow in valley‐fill aquifers.     

The anatomy of exhumed river-channel belts: Bedform to belt-scale river kinematics of the Ruby Ranch Member,Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation,Utah, USA

Many published interpretations of ancient fluvial systems have relied on observations of extensive outcrops of thick successions. This paper, in contrast, demonstrates that a regional understanding of palaeoriver kinematics, depositional setting and sedimentation rates can be interpreted from local sedimentological measurements of bedform and barform strata. Dune and bar strata, channel planform geometry and bed topography are measured within exhumed fluvial strata exposed as ridges in the Ruby Ranch Member of the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA. The ridges are composed of lithified stacked channel belts, representing at least five or six re-occupations of a single-strand channel. Lateral sections reveal well-preserved barforms constructed of subaqueous dune cross-sets. The topography of palaeobarforms is preserved along the top surface of the outcrops. Comparisons of the channel-belt centreline to local palaeotransport directions indicate that channel planform geometry was preserved through the re-occupations, rather than being obscured by lateral migration. Rapid avulsions preserved the state of the active channel bed and its individual bars at the time of abandonment. Inferred minimum sedimentation durations for the preserved elements, inferred from cross-set thickness distributions and assumed bedform migration rates, vary within a belt from one to ten days. Using only these local sedimentological measurements, the depositional setting is interpreted as a fluvial megafan, given the similarity in river kinematics. This paper provides a systematic methodology for the future synthesis of vertical and planview data, including the drone-equipped 2020 Mars Rover mission, to exhumed fluvial and deltaic strata.     

成都平原东郊台地中更新统合江组沉积特征及工程地质意义

通过地层沉积序列、粒度特征、砾石特征综合分析认为,成都平原东郊台地中更新统合江组为河流相沉积,垂向上具有明显的"河流二元"结构特征,主要以细粒沉积物为主,底部砾石层多为中-粗砾,磨圆较好,具有定向性。该组可细分为河道、边滩、堤岸-河漫3种沉积微相类型,对应发育3种岩相类型。河道砾石岩相沿十陵镇-红河镇-大面镇一带呈北西-南东向展布,边滩砂坝岩相集中发育于大面镇-西河镇东侧古河道凹岸处,堤岸-漫滩粘土岩相广泛分布于研究区内。这3种岩相特性及分布对工程建设的影响存在差异:河道砾石层作为地下水储集层的同时,水溶蚀使其地层结构稳定性被破坏,影响工程稳固技术的选择;边滩砂坝分布较为集中,对区内工程建设影响面最小;堤岸-河漫粘土广泛分布,是一种分布稳定的软弱层,对地下水有一定的封闭效果,同时软弱层的特性使其降低了边坡、坝体的稳定性。     

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).     

Quaternary geology and sapphire deposits from the BO PHLOI gem field,Kanchanaburi Province,Western Thailand

One of the most famous blue sapphire deposits in Thailand and SE Asia is from the Bo Phloi District, Kanchanaburi Province, Western Thailand. This paper presents the results of our gemstone investigation as well as establishing the Bo Phloi depositional sequence as one of the Quaternary Type Sections in the region. Relationships among the sedimentology, depositional sequences and geomorphology were investigated in order to understand the gemstone depositional features. Sedimentary structures and textures of the sequences show that the deposition of gemstones is related genetically to fluvial processes. Gemstones are recognized in floodplain and low terrace deposits where gemstone paystreaks concentrate mostly inside layers of gravel beds and foreset-bedded gravels lithofacies. C-14 dating of wood and peat within gemstone-bearing layers indicated that the deposit formed during the middle to late Pleistocene. The gemstone-bearing gravel bed defines a north–south trend along the incised palaeo-channel of an ancient braided river system in the middle part of the basin.     

深海弯曲水道内部一种特殊的沉积单元:凹岸坝

在深海水道研究过程中,识别出深海弯曲水道内部存在一种特殊的沉积单元--凹岸坝,基于尼日尔三角洲陆坡区浅层高频三维地震资料,利用地震相分析技术,探究了凹岸坝的沉积结构特征和形成机制,讨论了其与水道弯曲丘(nested mounds)、曲流河凹岸滩坝之间的差异。研究结果表明:凹岸坝是分布于曲率较大、以垂向加积为主的末期水道弯曲凹岸处的坝体沉积单元,该沉积单元在地震剖面上表现为强振幅、连续性较好的反射特征,其内部沉积界面倾向于水道弯曲凸岸处,倾角约1°~20°,且在凹岸弧顶处达到最大值。凹岸坝形成的关键在于惯性作用,其造成水道内部重力流流体在弯曲处发生溢岸,导致流量减少,流体动能相应降低,流体携砂能力小于沉积物负载,造成沉积物快速沉降,从而形成凹岸坝。由于凹岸坝是一种连续性较好的砂体沉积,所以其可成为潜在的、储集性能较好的油气储集体。     

江汉平原洪水沉积物的粒度特征及环境意义——以2005年汉江大洪水为例

2005年10月初汉江发生了自1983年以来最大的一次洪水。通过对江汉下游仙桃河段不同地貌单元洪水沉积物的系统取样和分析,发现2005年汉江洪水沉积的粒度特征具有以下特点：  1)不同河道地貌单元的沉积物粒级组分有所不同,高河漫滩的粒径相对偏细,主要以粉砂级组分为主（49.56.％）,粘土含量相对较高（约为4.871％）。低河漫滩和平水位边滩沉积物的粒径相对偏粗,主要以砂级组分为主（低河漫滩为82.96.％,边滩为69.72.％）,低河漫滩沉积物中粘土含量较少,只有1.058.％; 2)平水位边滩沉积物的粒径的统计平均值比高河漫滩沉积物值偏大,而标准差值的统计平均值却比高河漫滩和低河漫滩沉积物的偏小;   3) 3种地貌单元中,高河漫滩的偏度平均值最大,低河漫滩的偏度平均值最小,但低河漫滩偏度平均值的分布范围却较大;   4)低河漫滩沉积的粒度参数值曲线的空间波动起伏最为明显,而高河漫滩粒度参数值的空间变化不大;   5) 3种地貌单元的峰态系数的统计平均值均大于1.15（为窄态）,频率曲线表现为单峰,概率累积曲线都较平缓且均为2段式,反映了一般河流高水位沉积的基本特征。分析认为,粒度特征与河道不同地貌单元的微地貌形态和沉积结构是一致的,均是由洪水时不同地貌单元的水动力特征决定的。     

Inter- and supratidal sedimentology of a fjord-head estuary, south-western British Columbia

Detailed examination of inter- and supratidal delta and floodplain sediments exposed in eroding bank sections at 52 locations along the Squamish River estuary provides the basis for recognizing seven distinct facies within the 5500 m-long estuary. Estuary sedimentation is initially driven by the development of sand bar complexes along the seaward edge of the intertidal delta. Sedimentation continues within interdistributary bay environments as intertidal sandflats and then tidal marshes develop, Aggradation of the delta within interdistributary bay environments results in a gradual transition from delta to alluvial plain. Of the seven facies identified, only the intertidal sands and tidal marsh deposits provide evidence of their tidal origin. Examination of deposits throughout the riverine estuary reveals a number of gradual yet distinct changes of sediment size, structure, and sequence architecture. These trends record the changing nature of tidal and riverine control on sedimentation along the tidal gradient. Generally, with increasing distance up-estuary, sediment grain-size increases, the thickness of fine-grained overbank deposits decreases, and bedding changes from fine parallel bedding to higher energy bedforms. In addition, fining-upward successions become capped by coarser sands, facies contacts change from gradational to abrupt and occasionally erosional, and facies successions become increasingly complex and less predictable. Squamish River estuary has been divided into four zones based on sedimentological and stratigraphical evidence, each zone reflecting changes in the relative influence of tidal and riverine control on sedimentation. Each zone contains distinctly different facies sequences, although zone boundaries generally are gradational.     

琼东南盆地崖13-1气田陵三段沉积微相对储层非均质性及流动单元划分的影响

崖13-1气田陵三段是河控与潮控的辫状三角洲,主要储层沉积微相为分流河道、水下分流河道、河口坝、远砂坝及席状砂,其中河口坝的储层物性比分流河道和水下分流河道微相好,席状砂与远砂坝的物性相对较差,而各类正韵律河道与反韵律的砂坝决定了各垂向流动单元储层韵律特征。气田内的隔夹层与不同规模的海泛面相关,隔层以前三角洲泥为主,分布稳定,而夹层以分流间湾与水下分流间湾泥为主,分布较局限。结合沉积微相分布、储层非均质性及断层的分布,可以把气田区分为两个大区及6个流动单元,而南II、南III区仍可有较好的储层,但由于构造上处于低部位,含气前景还需进一步论证。     

东营凹陷沙三中亚段东营三角洲沉积期次成因及对含油性的影响

根据岩性组合变化、测井曲线叠加样式及地震反射特征,将东营三角洲沙三中亚段划分为八个期次,准层序组PS8~PS1,各期次间沉积小型湖泛泥岩楔。结合岩心及测录井沉积相分析,认为研究区发育三角洲-重力流-湖泊沉积体系。东南部主要发育三角洲分流河道、河口坝、席状砂,西北部发育与三角洲前缘滑塌相伴生的坡移堆积体、滑塌浊积岩和远源浊积岩。准层序组PS8~PS1,活动三角洲经历了由南至北的迁移演化过程。当波浪与河流能量能够抗衡并往复运动时,形成厚度较大的三角洲楔状体叠加区,沉积席状砂和河口坝砂体。受湖平面变化、构造沉降及沉积物供给速率的影响,湖退体系域早期PS7~PS4重力流砂体含油丰富,而浅水区准层序组界线附近的席状砂和河口坝由于临近具有侧向封堵及局部盖层作用的泥岩楔及沼泽沉积,其含油性也较好。     

Depositional history of the Tyne valley associated with retreat and stagnation of Late Devensian Ice Streams

This paper provides sedimentological and morphological data from an investigation of the Late Devensian glacigenic deposits along the Tyne valley, northeast England. The area lies in the central sector of the British-Irish Ice Sheet, with the lowlands influenced by both the Tyne Gap and Tweed-Cheviot ice streams. The sequences here provide insights into the existence of complex, multi-phase activity within the British-Irish Ice Sheet. Field mapping of the area reveals kamiform topography in the Tyne lowlands and lower South Tyne valley, whilst the mid Tyne is characterised by high-level sandur terraces. Inset below the glacial features are river terraces. The sedimentary sequence comprises diamicton overlain by gravel and sandy gravels; sands, muddy sands and gravels; laminated silty sands and muds; and well sorted sands and gravel. The depositional environments indicate ice-contact, subaqueous and terrestrial sedimentation, with supraglacial, proglacial, subaquatic and paraglacial landsystems. Following the onset of deglaciation, westward retreat of Tyne Gap ice resulted in land to the east and southeast of its margin becoming ice-free. Continued/renewed southward flow of ice along the North Sea coast formed a persistent barrier to sediment-charged meltwaters draining the Tyne Gap ice margin. The separation of these two ice masses allowed a glacial lake to develop in the lower Tyne fed by a large proglacial sandur system, which with ice marginal retreat subsequently merged with Glacial Lake Wear. The sediment sequences record the final waning of the Tyne Gap ice stream, and are contiguous with sediments that extend west through the Tyne Gap and into the Cumbrian lowlands.     

Bar structure in an arid ephemeral stream

This study describes the structure of gravel bars in Nahal Zin, an ephemeral stream in the Negev desert. The internal structure of the bars was examined along trenches and in shallow pits. Gravel sheets and unit bars form during transporting flow events in the main channel, on intra-bar channels and near bar heads. Unit bars are dominated by the Go facies. Compound bars develop from accretion around, and modification of, unit bars. Compound bars are active under the current flow regime and the average depth of the fill layer is about 35 cm. The structure of compound bars is dominated by Gm (massive), containing large amounts of sand. The second most common facies is clast-supported, openwork, and well sorted sediments of the Go (pebbles) facies. Bar formation, and the development of the range of facies evident in the bars is controlled by sediment supply, particularly the high volumes of sand-sized sediment, the passage of gravel sheets and bedforms during floods, and the lateral and vertical instability of the channel. Repeated scour and fill events have produced a diverse arrangement of facies, with numerous erosional contacts between depositional units. Lateral and downstream shifts in the pattern of scour and fill due to flow and antecedent conditions shape the channel morphology and bar internal structure. Ephemeral river bars differ from those of humid and proglacial rivers in terms of the dominant facies present, the arrangement of the facies within the bars, and the sedimentary structures developed within the depositional units and on the bar surface.     

A simple approach to define Holocene sequence stratigraphy using borehole and cone penetration test data

Cone penetration testing has been widely used since the 1950s for determining the subsurface geotechnical conditions of unconsolidated sediments. This paper highlights the potential value of cone penetration testing as an aid to define the stratigraphic structure of Holocene sedimentary deposits. By calibrating cone penetration test logs with adjacent borehole logs and by utilizing all the available information produced during geotechnical surveying, stratigraphic models that accurately describe the vertical and lateral boundaries, as well as the stacking pattern, of Late Quaternary systems can be constructed. The widespread application and technical simplicity of cone penetration testing, combined with simple data interpretation via correlation with adjacent borehole logs, yield a useful and inexpensive tool for sedimentological investigations. This methodology is illustrated using data from 36 cone penetration tests and 11 boreholes on the Holocene deltaic plain of the Aliakmon River, Greece. Sedimentological and stratigraphic information from core log correlations, the spatial distribution of cone penetration test parameters, sediment grain size and per cent concentration of organic matter are utilized. The results suggest, that in sequence stratigraphic terms, the delta is divided into a lowstand systems tract composed by fluvial gravels and sands (U0) of Late Pleistocene age, as well as from red oxidized clays, and a transgressive systems tract represented by fluvial channel sands (U1), overlain by a thin transgressive sand sheet of coastal origin (U2), characterized by fining upward trends. The highstand systems tract is constituted by a variety of stratigraphic units (U3 to U7) and depositional environments, characterized by coarsening upward sequences, representing both aggradational and progradational facies, and dominated by the presence of three prograding wedges. Detailed definition of the thickness, vertical boundaries and stacking pattern of the resolved stratigraphic units, presented as a two‐dimensional stratigraphic model, demonstrates the applicability of the proposed method.     

Recognizing the product of concave-bank sedimentary processes in fluvial meander-belt strata

Downstream migration of point bars is an important process in meander belts. Inherent to downstream migration is sediment accumulation in concave channel banks, immediately adjacent to and downstream of convex point bars. Despite this, associated concave bank processes are often overlooked, with depositional products sparsely identified in the stratigraphic record. Counter-point-bar deposits are a type of concave-bank deposit that have been positively identified in subsurface three-dimensional seismic datasets, yet outcrop examples are not well-constrained. This study characterizes and establishes recognition criteria of counter-point-bar deposits in outcrop using extensive exposure of Late-Cretaceous meander-belt deposits in eastern Alberta, Canada. Using a combination of traditional field-based sedimentological analyses and three-dimensional outcrop mapping with an Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle and Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry, point bar, counter-point bar, and associated abandoned-channel deposits, as well as adjacent floodplain deposits are identified. Bed-scale characteristics of counter-point-bar deposits include interlaminated and interbedded siltstone and fine-grained sandstone, abundant organic detritus, and evidence of deformation and slumping. At the bend scale, accretion packages bounded by internal erosion surfaces are composed of dipping siltstone and minor sandstone beds that extend from the top to the base of the meander belt. At the belt scale, positive identification relies on concave accretion surface mapping, their orientation relative to the meander-belt edge (i.e. dipping away), and consideration of meander-bend evolution. These results have implications for recognition of counter-point-bar deposits in analogous, less-constrained data sets, which provides a foundation for more complete palaeoenvironmental interpretations.     

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.     

Gravel-topped offshore bar sequences in the Lower Carboniferous of southern Ireland

Within the Kinsale Formation (Lower Carboniferous) of southern Ireland are pebbly sandstones and conglomerates contained in what is known locally as the Garryvoe conglomerate facies. In this facies there are three main groups of lithologies: (a) heterolithic mudrocks and sandstones characterized by a wide variety of wave-produced structures; (b) sandstones dominated by swaley cross-stratification (SCS), parallel lamination, and rare hummocky cross-stratification (HCS); and (c) pebbly sandstones and conglomerates occurring as discrete beds or as gravel clasts dispersed through SCS sets. Successions of the facies comprise units of heterolithic mudrock and rippled sandstone alternating repeatedly with coarsening-upward units of SCS pebbly sandstone capped by top-surface granule and pebble lags. The Garryvoe conglomerate facies accumulated in a system of offshore bars on a muddy shallow-marine shelf that was dominated by waves and currents generated by storms. Sands and gravels were bypassed from a contemporaneous northerly coastal zone to the shelf, where they were moulded by the storm-generated flow into low, broad, sand ridges (offshore bars). The elongate bars were spaced kilometres apart, oriented obliquely to the coast, and separated by muddy interbar troughs. Their surfaces were largely covered by hummocky and swaley forms. Long-term, gradual seaward migration of the offshore bars concentrated gravels on landward flanks from the dispersed pebbly sands that were on the crests and seaward flanks. Exceptionally intense storms could form laterally extensive winnowed gravel lags above thinned bar sequences. Such storms could also flush gravel-bearing turbidity currents into muddy interbar trough areas.