High-resolution sequence stratigraphy of clastic shelves VI: Mixed siliciclastic-carbonate systems

High-frequency sequences composed of mixed siliciclastic-carbonate deposits may exhibit either vertical or horizontal changes between siliciclastics and carbonates. Vertical facies shifts occur between systems tracts and define a ‘reciprocal sedimentation’ pattern, typically consisting of transgressive/highstand carbonates and forced regressive/lowstand siliciclastics, although variations from this rule are common. Mixed systems with lateral facies change, usually typifying transgressive and/or highstand systems tracts, may exhibit proximal siliciclastics and distal carbonates or vice-versa, although variations may also occur along depositional strike. The marked variability of mixed siliciclastic-carbonate sequences makes the definition of a universal sequence stratigraphic model impossible, as the composition and geometries of systems tracts may change considerably, and sequence stratigraphic surfaces and facies contacts may vary in terms of occurrence and physical expression. However, some resemblance exists between siliciclastic sequences and mixed sequences showing lateral facies changes between siliciclastics and carbonates. In particular, these mixed sequences display 1) a stratal architecture of the clastic part of the systems tracts that is comparable to that of siliciclastic deposits, 2) a dominant role of the inherited physiography and of erosional processes, rather than carbonate production, in shaping the shelf profile, and 3) a local lateral juxtaposition of siliciclastic sandstones and carbonate bioconstructions due to hydrodynamic processes. These observations are helpful in predicting the location of porous and potential sealing bodies and baffles to fluid flow at the intra-high-frequency sequence scale, and ultimately they are useful for both petroleum exploration and production.     

Seismic and sequence stratigraphy of the central western continental margin of India: late-Quaternary evolution

Seismic and sequence stratigraphic architecture of the central western continental margin of India (between Coondapur and south of Mangalore) has been investigated with shallow seismic data. Seismic stratigraphic analysis defined nine seismic units, that are configured in a major type-1 depositional sequence possibly related to fourth-order eustatic sea-level changes, comprising regressive, lowstand, transgressive and highstand systems tracts. The late-Quaternary evolution of the continental margin took place under the influence of an asymmetric relative fourth-order sea-level cycle punctuated by higher frequency cycles. These cycles of minor order were characterised by rapid sea-level rises and gradual sea-level falls that generated depositional sequences spanning different time scales. During the regressive periods, dipping strata were developed, while erosional surfaces and incised valleys were formed during the lowstands of sea level. Terraces, v-shaped depressions, lagoon-like structures observed on the outer continental shelf are the result of the transgressive period. In the study area we have recognised a complex erosional surface that records a long time span during the relative sea-level fall (regressive period) and the following sea-level lowstand and has been reworked during the last transgression. We also infer that sedimentation processes changed from siliciclastic sedimentation to carbonate sedimentation and again to siliciclastic sedimentation, marking an important phase in the late-Quaternary evolution of the western continental shelf of India. We attribute this to an abrupt climate change at the end of the oxygen isotope stage 2, between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Bølling-Allerod event (14?000 yr BP). This sensitive climate change (warming) favoured the formation of reefs at various depths on the shelf, besides the development of Fifty Fathom Flat, a carbonate platform on the outer shelf off Bombay developed prior to 8300 yr BP. The highstand systems tracts were deposited after the sea level reached its present position.     

High-resolution sequence stratigraphy of clastic shelves V: Criteria to discriminate between stratigraphic sequences and sedimentological cycles

In contrast to high-frequency sequences driven by high-magnitude relative sea-level changes, those controlled by short-term, minor relative sea-level and/or sediment supply changes may be difficult to discriminate from sedimentological cycles (i.e., bedsets) unrelated to shoreline shifts, especially in case of limited outcrop exposures. In fact, meter-scale, fully shallow-marine high-frequency sequences and typical meter-scale bedsets may share a similar, simple facies succession documenting either an upward increase or decrease of event beds. It is therefore necessary to define a set of criteria that allows to discriminate between thin high-frequency sequences and bedsets, based on sedimentological, stratigraphic, micropaleontological, mineralogical and diagenetic data. In particular, the sedimentological and stratigraphic criteria that aid discriminating between high-frequency sequences and bedsets include: 1) occurrence of environmental changes across bounding surfaces; 2) occurrence of water-depth changes across bounding surfaces; 3) physical appearance of bounding surfaces and associated substrate-controlled ichnofacies; 4) lateral extent of bounding surfaces; 5) presence of condensed deposits; 6) cycle thickness; 7) recognition of a set of clinoforms in a regressive shoreface-shelf succession. Moreover, the formation of wave-ravinement surfaces in the shoreface is usually associated with an increase in the percentage of benthic micro-foraminifera specimens documenting energetic conditions, and in the abundance of heavy minerals. Extensive cementation may also be found just below and/or above transgressive surfaces. However, the integration of more than one of the above criteria is necessary to reliably discriminate between sequence stratigraphic surfaces (and therefore high-frequency sequences) and bedset boundaries, the latter being only related to changes of energy level and/or local sediment supply without shoreline shifts. This work is essential to correctly reconstruct the sequence stratigraphic framework of a given succession and to interpret the factors that controlled the cyclicity.     

Internal waves on continental and island shelves of the open ocean: A comparative analysis for observations on the New York and Hawaii shelves

Based on the results of processing experimental data obtained from measurements of current velocities and water temperatures on the United States Atlantic Shelf and near the Hawaii Islands (the island of Oahu and Mamala Bay), we perform a comparative analysis of the characteristics of internal waves in these representative areas of continental and island shelves of the ocean. These investigations indicate that the internal-wave fields in these areas are very different from one another in both the low- and high-frequency ranges. On the Atlantic Shelf, we have regularly observed tandems of powerful internal solitons clearly seen on space imagery of the oceanic surface. On the island shelves, soliton-type internal waves were less seldom seen as very specific oscillations. The absence of surface manifestations of even powerful solitons in Mamala Bay is explained both by the large pycnocline depth and by the fact that the vertical structure of these solitons is controlled by the second rather than the first mode, as it is on the Atlantic Shelf.     

Impacts of sediment supply and local tectonics on clinoform distribution: the seismic stratigraphy of the mid Pleistocene-Holocene Indus Shelf

We present results from the first high-resolution seismic reflection survey of the inner Western Indus Shelf, and Indus Delta, Arabian Sea. The results show major regional differences in sedimentation across the shelf from east to west, as well as north to south, both since the Last Glacial Maximum (~20?ka) and over longer time scales. We identify 10 major regional reflectors, interpreted as representing sea level lowstands. Strong compressive folding is observed underlying a reflector we have called Horizon 6 in the north-western shelf, probably compression associated with the transpressional deformation of the Murray Ridge plate boundary. Downslope profiles show a series of well developed clinoforms, principally at the shelf edge, indicating significant preservation of large packages of sediment during lowstands. These clinoforms have developed close to zones of deformation, suggesting that subsidence is a factor in controlling sedimentation and consequently erosion of the Indus Shelf. These clinoforms fan out from dome features (tectonic anticlines) mostly located close to the modern shoreline.     

Seismic stratigraphy of the central Scotian Rise: A record of continental margin glaciation

3.5-k Hz profiles from low channel levees on the Scotian Rise show transparent Holocene acoustic facies overlying stratified glacial facies, dated by Carbon-14 in cores. Corresponding acoustic facies in seismic records are correlated with glaciations by counting back from the present sea floor using sedimentation rates from Carbon-14 dating and biostratigraphy from wells as a guide. The regional thickness and character of the seismic units correlate with the duration and intensity of glacial periods inferred from the global isotopic record. Changes in glacial supply to the continental margin are interpreted using this chronology, which shows stage 12 as the first widespread erosional glacial event.     

High and very high resolution deep-towed seismic system: Performance and examples from deep water Geohazard studies

We present the technological development and initial results from the deep-towed seismic acquisition device SYstème SIsmique Fond de mer (SYSIF) recently built by Ifremer. The two configurations of the SYSIF are presented (high resolution (HR): 250–1000 Hz and very high resolution (VHR): 650–2000 Hz), and results are compared to conventional seismic acquisition systems such as multi-channel HR or single-channel VHR (hull-mounted sub-bottom profiler). The ability of SYSIF to achieve higher resolution imagery is due to both the technology employed (low-frequency Janus–Helmoltz piezoelectric transducer) and the deep-towed operating mode (reduction in the Fresnel zone). Sea trials have been conducted in various geological environments and in water depths as deep as 2500 m. The new technique improved imaging of deep seafloor and sub-surface features such as pockmarks, carbonate mounds, sub-marine slides and sub-surface faulting. SYSIF, therefore, is a well-suited tool to investigate deep water geological features, especially those related to geohazard for scientific and industrial purposes.     

Surficial sediments on the continental margin off the west coast of South Africa

A combination of climatic and oceanic factors has resulted in slow sedimentation rates on the continental shelf off the west coast of South Africa since Tertiary times. This has enabled a study to be made of the residual Late Tertiary, relict Pleistocene and Holocene sediments.Sediments on the continental shelf form rough belts parallel to the coast. Most of the coarse sediment is confined to the littoral zone and Holocene mud is concentrated at the base of a rocky nearshore platform. A veneer of Quaternary quartzitic sand seawards of the Recent mud belt wedges out onto a Tertiary erosion surface on the mid shelf. Residual glauconite and phosphorite sands derived by erosion during Tertiary sea-level fluctuations cover large parts of the mid shelf in the south. Most of the slope and parts of the outer shelf in the north are draped by Recent foraminiferal and coccolithophorid debris.     

楚科奇海陆架有机碳埋藏研究

分析了楚科奇海数个站位表层沉积物中有机碳含量、J8站位的沉积速率和有机碳含量的垂直分布.结果显示沉积物中有机碳含量为0.56%～2.00%,平均值为1.31%（m/m,下同）,J8站位有机碳含量随埋藏深度的增加呈略为降低的趋势,有机碳的埋藏速率约1.56mg/（cm2.a）,相对于楚科奇海和该站位的浮游植物光合作用合成的有机碳而言,进入沉积物的有机碳占初级生产力的比例很高.这说明楚科奇海沉积物有很高的接纳初级生产者产生的有机碳并将其固定、保存的能力.     

珠江口盆地西部新近纪高分辨率生物地层及海平面变化分析

珠江口盆地西部新近系主要为陆架浅海沉积环境,发育良好的海相砂岩储集层和多套储盖组合。因此,对这些砂体的成因及赋存位置的海平面变化研究至关重要。在有孔虫及钙质超微化石资料所建立的珠江口盆地西部新生代年代地层格架基础上,以有孔虫个体大于0.25mm的浮游有孔虫丰度和百分含量为依据,参照微体古生物化石带、岩性、电测和地震资料,总结出三级旋回边界和最大海泛面识别标志,从而提出具有国际对比意义的三级层序划分对比方案,对盆地内18口井进行了层序划分,识别出了2个完整的二级层序和15个三级层序。根据南海海域表层沉积物建立起的浮游有孔虫含量与水深的定量关系,得出量化古水深数据,辅以古生态成因相及特征沉积构造分析、海岸上超分析编制了海平面变化曲线,指出珠江口盆地西部新近系受拗陷阶段持续沉降影响,形成不同于海退型全球海平面变化的台阶式海侵特征。     

Deglacial and Holocene evolution of the Vietnam shelf: stratigraphy,sediments and sea-level change

On the Vietnam Shelf more than 1000 miles of shallow high-resolution seismics were analyzed to unravel post-glacial evolution in a tropical, siliciclastic environment together with 25 sediment cores from water depths between 21 and 169 m to determine stratigraphy, distribution and style of sedimentation. Fourty-seven samples were dated with the AMS-¹⁴C technique.The shelf was grouped into three regions: a southern part, a central part, and a northern part. On the broad Southern Shelf, sedimentation is influenced by the Mekong River, which drains into the SCS in this area. Here, incised valley fills are abundant that were cut into the late Pleistocene land surface by the Paleo-Mekong River during times of sea level lowstand. Those valleys are filled with transgressive deposits. The Holocene sedimentation rate in this low gradient accommodation-dominated depositional system is in the range of 5–10 and 25–40 cm/ky at locations sheltered from currents. The Central Shelf is narrow and the sedimentary strata are conformable. Here, numerous small mountainous rivers reach the SCS and transport large amounts of detrital sediment onto the shelf. Therefore, the Holocene sedimentation rate is high with values of 50–100 cm/ky in this supply-dominated depositional system. The broad Northern Shelf in the vicinity of the Red River Delta shows, as on the Southern Shelf, incised valleys cut into the Pleistocene land surface by paleo river channels. In this accommodation-dominated shelf area, the sedimentation rate is low with values of 5–10 cm/ky. Where applicable, we assigned the sampled deposits to different paleo-facies. The latter are related to certain intervals of water depths at their time of deposition. Comparison with the sea-level curve of [Hanebuth, T.J.J., Stattegger, K., Grootes, P., 2000. Rapid flooding of the Sunda Shelf; a lateglacial sea-level record. Science, 288: 1033–1035.] indicates subsidence on the Central Shelf, which is in agreement with the high sedimentation rates in this area. In contrast, data from the Northern Shelf suggest tectonic uplift that might be related to recent tectonic movements along the Ailao Shan–Red River Fault zone. Data from the Southern Shelf are generally in agreement with the sea-level curve mentioned above.     

东海外陆架残留沉积中硫复铁矿的发现及其油气指示意义

1994～1995年间在东海外陆架获取370个柱状样,每个样长约为2～4m.对其底部沉积物作了磁性测试,发现局部地区存在SIRM异常高现象.由磁参数推断导致SIRM异常的矿物为硫复铁矿.将磁性异常地区沉积物作矿物磁选,对磁选所得矿物做扫描电镜、电子探针和能谱、X衍射及穆斯堡尔谱测试,证实了次生硫复铁矿的存在.结合本区新生代油气构造圈闭和残留沉积物可溶铁Fe3+/Fe2+比值异常的分布,用油气渗漏解释了SIRM异常及硫复铁矿的成因,从而认为SIRM异常对深部油气藏具有指示意义.     

Unreciprocated sedimentation along a mud-dominated continental margin,Gulf of Mexico,U.S.A.: Implications for sequence stratigraphy in muddy settings devoid of depositional sequences

According to widely accepted sequence stratigraphic and fill-and-spill models, sedimentary cyclicity along continental margins is modulated by relative sea-level change, whereas smaller-scale intraslope accommodation is controlled by the filling of pre-existing bathymetric depressions. Although these concepts are presumed to apply to shelf-to-slope settings regardless of grain size, we have tested both hypotheses in the mud-prone lower Pliocene to Holocene of offshore Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico, and reach different conclusions. We determine that over the last ∼3.7 Myr, differential accumulation and accompanying salt tectonism dislocated the fine-grained shelf and slope, prevented the development of sedimentary reciprocity at 10–100 kyr time scales, and inhibited fill-and-spill accumulation. We show that only 3% of “lowstand” mass transport deposits can be correlated to low stands in relative sea level, whereas approximately 30% of the deposits are related to transgressions and high stands; the remaining 67% are poorly constrained. Mass transport deposits also show no clear evidence of up-section increases in bypass. Based on our results, we conclude that the dominant control on stratigraphic architecture in offshore Louisiana was not relative sea-level change or patterns of accommodation, but rather differential deposition and concomitant salt-related subsidence, which controlled the distribution of facies, timing and location of mass transport deposits, and rates of sediment accumulation. Our conclusions highlight the importance of sediment supply and local tectonism, and caution against a priori use of conventional sequence stratigraphic and fill-and-spill models to decipher the stratigraphic evolution of actively-deforming mud-dominated continental margins. We therefore recommend treating stratigraphic models as testable hypotheses, rather than as methods of interpretation, particularly in fine-grained areas devoid of well-developed depositional sequences and in settings lacking intraslope ponded-to-perched accumulations.     

Tracking the last sea-level cycle: seafloor morphology and shallow stratigraphy of the latest Quaternary New Jersey middle continental shelf

Seafloor geomorphology and surficial stratigraphy of the New Jersey middle continental shelf provide a detailed record of sea-level change during the last advance and retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet (120 kyr B.P. to Present). A NW–SE-oriented corridor on the middle shelf between water depths of 40 m (the mid-shelf “paleo-shore”) and 100 m (the Franklin “paleo-shore”) encompasses 500 line-km of 2D Huntec boomer profiles (500–3500 Hz), an embedded 4.6 km² 3D volume, and a 490 km² swath bathymetry map. We use these data to develop a relative stratigraphy. Core samples from published studies also provide some chronological and sedimentological constraints on the upper <5 m of the stratigraphic succession.The following stratigraphic units and surfaces occur (from bottom to top): (1) “R”, a high-amplitude reflection that separates sediment >46.5 kyr old (by AMS ¹⁴C dating) from overlying sediment wedges; (2) the outer shelf wedge, a marine unit up to 50 m thick that onlaps “R”; (3) “Channels”, a reflection sub-parallel to the seafloor that incises “R”, and appears as a dendritic system of channels in map view; (4) “Channels” fill, the upper portion of which is sampled and known to represent deepening-upward marine sediments 12.3 kyr in age; (5) the “T” horizon, a seismically discontinuous surface that caps “Channels” fill; (6) oblique ridge deposits, coarse-grained shelly units comprised of km-scale, shallow shelf bedforms; and (7) ribbon-floored swales, bathymetric depressions parallel to modern shelf currents that truncate the oblique ridges and cut into surficial deposits.We interpret this succession of features in light of a global eustatic sea-level curve and the consequent migration of the coastline across the middle shelf during the last 120 kyr. The morphology of the New Jersey middle shelf shows a discrete sequence of stratigraphic elements, and reflects the pulsed episodicity of the last sea-level cycle. “R” is a complicated marine/non-marine erosional surface formed during the last regression, while the outer shelf wedge represents a shelf wedge emplaced during a minor glacial retreat before maximum Wisconsin lowstand (i.e., marine oxygen isotope stage 3.1). “Channels” is a widespread fluvial subarial erosion surface formed at the late Wisconsin glacial maximum 22 kyr B.P. The shoreline migrated back across the mid-shelf corridor non-uniformly during the period represented by “Channels” fill. Oblique ridges are relict features on the New Jersey middle shelf, while the ribbon-floored swales represent modern shelf erosion. There is no systematic relationship between modern seafloor morphology and the very shallowly buried stratigraphic succession.     

Estimation of sea surface temperatures around Japan using the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR)/NOAA-11

The accuracy of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)/NOAA-11 is examined by comparison with sea-truth SSTs obtained from ocean data buoys durings November 1988 through December 1989. We made a 122 point data set of buoy SSTs from the oceans around Japan and the corresponding brightness temperatures of channels 4 and 5 during cloud free periods. The satellite temperatures are corrected for atmospheric effects using the NOAA Multi-Channel SST (MCSST) and Cross Product SST (CPSST) algorithms. The two algorithms give similar results for our data set and result in biases of about –0.1°C with rms errors of about 0.6°C relative to buoy SSTs. It is found that MCSSTs and CPSSTs tend to be higher than SSTs from the buoy in the Japan Sea in summer. New coefficients for the MCSST equations suitable for our data set are determined and the resultant rms error is 0.49°C. If we eliminate the cluster of anomalous summer data in the Japan Sea, the rms error becomes 0.43°C.     

琼东南盆地陆架区晚中新世以来断层活动性研究

对琼东南盆地陆架区晚中新世以来的断层活动性进行研究, 有助于理解南海西北部晚中新世以来的构造演化, 也对该区钻井平台的安全性评估、海洋工程勘查以及区域稳定性评价等有重要意义。研究区断层走向主要为NWW向, 多数断层在晚中新世时期停止活动。通过对断层几何形态的统计分析以及使用高分辨率断层落差图法(T-Z图示法)对断层活动性进行量化分析, 结果显示: 断层活动性在晚中新世末期(5.5Ma)发生转变; 研究区南部的断层落差值大于北部; 南部断层停止活动的时间较北部断层稍晚。这些研究成果表明, 晚中新世末期研究区断层受构造应力变化的影响, 在生长发育过程中断层活动性质发生了改变, 由逆断层转为正断层。红河断裂带对琼东南盆地的构造演化起着重要的控制作用, 文章推测研究区断层活动性变化是由红河断裂带的构造反转所导致, 因为红河断裂带在5.5Ma时发生了走滑运动的反转, 与研究区的断层活动性变化在时间和性质上相耦合。     

Late Cenozoic sea-level changes and the onset of glaciation: impact on continental slope progradation off eastern Canada

Late Cenozoic sedimentation from four varied sites on the continental slopes off southeastern Canada has been analysed using high-resolution airgun multichannel seismic profiles, supplemented with some single channel data. Biostratigraphic ties are available to exploratory wells at three of the sites. Uniform, slow accumulation of hemipelagic sediments was locally terminated by the late Miocene sea-level lowering, which is also reflected in changes in foraminiferan faunas on the continental shelf. Data are very limited for the early Pliocene but suggest a return to slow hemipelagic sedimentation. At the beginning of the late Pliocene, there was a change in sedimentation style marked by a several-fold increase in accumulation rates and cutting of slope valleys. This late Pliocene cutting of slope valleys corresponds to the onset of late Cenozoic growth of the Laurentian Fan and the initiation of turbidite sedimentation on the Sohm Abyssal Plain. Although it corresponds to a time of sea-level lowering, the contrast with the late Miocene lowstand indicates that there must also have been a change in sediment delivery to the coastline, perhaps as a result of increased rainfall or development of valley glaciers. High sedimentation rates continued into the early Pleistocene, but the extent of slope dissection by gullies increased. Gully-cutting episodes alternated with sediment-draping episodes. Throughout the southeastern Canadian continental margin, there was a change in sedimentation style in the middle Pleistocene that resulted from extensive ice sheets crossing the continental shelf and delivering coarse sediment directly to the continental slope.     

On the formation of laminated sediments on the continental margin off Pakistan: the effects of sediment provenance and sediment redistribution

The sedimentary processes and sediment sources contributing to the formation of laminated sediments along the upper slope off Pakistan are unravelled using inorganic bulk sediment geochemistry of 43 surface cores from the Pakistani continental margin and additional geochemical and Pb and Nd-isotope data for different types of layers. An important process everywhere along the margin is redeposition of fluvial-derived detritus from the shelf onto the slope. This process is of considerably higher intensity along the Makran margin than on the Indus margin. Trace element enrichment related to early diagenesis or surface productivity, which is commonly detectable in bulk sediment composition, is swamped by the high clastic supply in the Makran region, but may be observed in the Indus region.Four types of layers are found in the laminated sediment cores from the upper slope. They reflect different mechanisms of deposition and different sediment sources. An alternating pattern of olive-grey and black layers results from downslope redeposition of fluvial material over most of the year, to which organic matter from sea surface production is added during the late summer monsoon season. Distinctive white to grey coloured layers along the Makran slope originate from large scale expulsion of sediments from the Makran accretionary wedge through mud volcanoes on the shelf, subsequent erosion by waves, and downslope redeposition. These layers may dominate the sedimentary record within the Makran accretionary wedge, but are absent on the Indus margin. Occasional red coloured turbidites, which probably represent larger floods on the Indus plain, contribute to this mixture of varying sedimentary processes and sediment sources along the Pakistani continental slope.     

南海北部大陆架海底沉积物物理性质研究

用物理(声学的、工程地质的、扫描电子显微镜)等技术方法,综合分析了沉积物结构特征和工程力学性质,研究了颗粒接触、堆垒、孔隙等现象与物理性质之间的关系,得出了沉积物声学物理参数和应力一应变性质之间的关系。结果表明,南海北部大陆架海底沉积物有6种结构类型,其中混合接触结构类型的沉积物具有较高的抗压强度和声速,浅层海底存在着高、低声速分层的中尺度结构。