Can liquefied debris flows deposit clean sand over large areas of sea floor? Field evidence from the Marnoso‐arenacea Formation,Italian Apennines

The Marnoso‐arenacea Formation in the Italian Apennines is the only ancient rock sequence where individual submarine sediment density flow deposits have been mapped out in detail for over 100 km. Bed correlations provide new insight into how submarine flows deposit sand, because bed architecture and sandstone shape provide an independent test of depositional process models. This test is important because it can be difficult or impossible to infer depositional process unambiguously from characteristics seen at just one outcrop, especially for massive clean‐sandstone intervals whose origin has been controversial. Beds have three different types of geometries (facies tracts) in downflow oriented transects. Facies tracts 1 and 2 contain clean graded and ungraded massive sandstone deposited incrementally by turbidity currents, and these intervals taper relatively gradually downflow. Mud‐rich sand deposited by cohesive debris flow occurs in the distal part of Facies tract 2. Facies tract 3 contains clean sandstone with a distinctive swirly fabric formed by patches of coarser and better‐sorted grains that most likely records pervasive liquefaction. This type of clean sandstone can extend for up to 30 km before pinching out relatively abruptly. This abrupt pinch out suggests that this clean sand was deposited by debris flow. In some beds there are downflow transitions from turbidite sandstone into clean debrite sandstone, suggesting that debris flows formed by transformation from high‐density turbidity currents. However, outsize clasts in one particular debrite are too large and dense to have been carried by an initial turbidity current, suggesting that this debris flow ran out for at least 15 km. Field data indicate that liquefied debris flows can sometimes deposit clean sand over large (10 to 30 km) expanses of sea floor, and that these clean debrite sand layers can terminate abruptly.     

深海沉积理论发展及其在油气勘探中的意义

深海沉积理论的进展主要涉及“鲍玛序列”、浊流、砂质碎屑流和深海层序地层四方面。以Shanmugam为代表认为:“鲍玛序列”并非唯一浊流产物,可含有砂质碎屑流、浊流、内潮汐、内波、等深流多种流体作用的结果;过去识别的“鲍玛序列”A段有浊流也有相当部分是砂质碎屑流成因,B—D段交错层理则是底层牵引流沉积产生的;只有浊流的沉积物才能称为浊积岩;“高密度浊流”是指砂质碎屑流而不是浊流;浊流是一种有牛顿流和紊乱状态的沉积物重力流;浊积岩没有复杂的颗粒悬浮层和碎石浮层,不发育逆粒序。Shanmugam等关于“鲍玛序列”这一新解是深海沉积学理论的一个进步。深海牵引流过去数十年取得了较大进步,但理论与实践脱节。深海层序地层是深海沉积理论进展的另一个方面,层序界面类型、体系域沉积有自身的独特性:层序界面至少存在斜坡侵蚀面、低水位下超面和水下沉积间断面三种;当沉积背景以陆源碎屑为主时,LST主要为盆底扇,TST和早期HST表现为非钙质远洋沉积,晚期HST一般不发育;当碳酸盐沉积为沉积背景时,LST主体为碎屑流和跨塌蹦落沉积或淡水透镜体,TST和早期HST为钙质细粒沉积,晚期HST可能存在有较小规模的钙屑海底扇。建议慎重解释“鲍玛序列”,审视“浊积扇”理论,废弃“浊积扇”概念,加强深海牵引流沉积机理方面的研究;LST浊积砂体、砂质碎屑流形成的块状不规则砂体、深海牵引流砂体可在深海储层预测方面具有巨大潜势,深海沉积作用及其过程的精细研究在指导深海油气勘探方面将会发挥越来越为重要的作用。     

浊流沉积研究的新进展:鲍马序列、海底扇的重新审视

本文在总结前人对浊流沉积研究的基础上,分析前人对浊流与浊积岩、浊流沉积与浊流相模式的对应关系之间的认识,并对鲍马序列进行重新审视。在海底扇研究过程中,鲍马序列已经不能充分反映浊流沉积的全过程。鲍马序列所反应的沉积模式其实是由碎屑流、浊流、底流等多种形式流体组合和改造后的结果,海底扇沉积模式不能笼统归结为浊流沉积作用的结果。在完善重力流、底流等沉积作用的同时,建立一个与沉积作用相互联系的深海沉积系统,以对深海研究提供更好地指导和预测。     

重力流沉积：理论研究与野外识别

重力流沉积是（半）深海和深湖环境中一种重要的沉积现象,因此准确识别重力流沉积对恢复古代沉积环境具有重要意义。从沉积物重力流的基本理论出发,介绍四类重力流沉积的特点和野外鉴别特征。碎屑流沉积表现为颗粒大小混杂,底面平坦,板条状砾石平行层面排列;超高密度流沉积的砂岩呈厚层状或块状,砂岩内部经常出现较大砾石或泥岩碎片,泄水构...     

Anatomy of turbidites and linked debrites based on long distance (120 × 30 km) bed correlation, Marnoso Arenacea Formation, Northern Apennines, Italy

Much of our understanding of submarine sediment‐laden density flows that transport very large volumes (ca 1 to 100 km³) of sediment into the deep ocean comes from careful analysis of their deposits. Direct monitoring of these destructive and relatively inaccessible and infrequent flows is problematic. In order to understand how submarine sediment‐laden density flows evolve in space and time, lateral changes within individual flow deposits need to be documented. The geometry of beds and lithofacies intervals can be used to test existing depositional models and to assess the validity of experimental and numerical modelling of submarine flow events. This study of the Miocene Marnoso Arenacea Formation (Italy) provides the most extensive correlation of individual turbidity current and submarine debris flow deposits yet achieved in any ancient sequence. One hundred and nine sections were logged through a ca 30 m thick interval of time‐equivalent strata, between the Contessa Mega Bed and an overlying ‘columbine’ marker bed. Correlations extend for 120 km along the axis of the foreland basin, in a direction parallel to flow, and for 30 km across the foredeep outcrop. As a result of post‐depositional thrust faulting and shortening, this represents an across‐flow distance of over 60 km at the time of deposition. The correlation of beds containing thick (> 40 cm) sandstone intervals are documented. Almost all thick beds extend across the entire outcrop area, most becoming thinly bedded (< 40 cm) in distal sections. Palaeocurrent directions for flow deposits are sub‐parallel and indicate confinement by the lateral margins of the elongate foredeep. Flows were able to traverse the basin in opposing directions, suggesting a basin plain with a very low gradient. Small fractional changes in stratal thickness define several depocentres on either side of the Verghereto (high) area. The extensive bed continuity and limited evidence for flow defection suggest that intrabasinal bathymetric relief was subtle, substantially less than the thickness of flows. Thick beds contain two distinct types of sandstone. Ungraded mud‐rich sandstone intervals record evidence of en masse (debrite) deposition. Graded mud‐poor sandstone intervals are inferred to result from progressive grain‐by‐grain (turbidite) deposition. Clast‐rich muddy sandstone intervals pinch‐out abruptly in downflow and crossflow directions, in a fashion consistent with en masse (debrite) deposition. The tapered shape of mud‐poor sandstone intervals is consistent with an origin through progressive grain‐by‐grain (turbidite) deposition. Most correlated beds comprise both turbidite and debrite sandstone intervals. Intrabed transitions from exclusive turbidite sandstone, to turbidite sandstone overlain by debrite sandstone, are common in the downflow and crossflow directions. This spatial arrangement suggests either: (i) bypass of an initial debris flow past proximal sections, (ii) localized input of debris flows away from available sections, or (iii) generation of debris flows by transformation of turbidity currents on the basin plain because of seafloor erosion and/or abrupt flow deceleration. A single submarine flow event can comprise multiple flow phases and deposit a bed with complex lateral changes between mud‐rich and mud‐poor sandstone.     

水下碎屑流沉积：深水沉积研究热点与进展

自20世纪50年代以来,作为沉积物搬运两大主要动力之一的重力流因其在记录地质事件、改造地表地貌和勘查油气资源方面的特殊意义而引起广泛关注。重力流研究历史经历了现象观测、概念体系建立、沉积模式建立、工业应用与质疑和碎屑流研究深化5个阶段。近期,以深海水下碎屑流为核心的研究重建了"砂质碎屑流"概念,新建立了以碎屑流细分为主要内容的3套重力流分类,提出并讨论了水下碎屑流"滑水"搬运机制特征、形成条件,系统分析沉积物浓度、粘土含量及成分对水下重力流性质及搬运沉积过程的影响。继20世纪60~70年代重力流研究热潮后,1996年以来水下碎屑流为主的研究再次掀起新一轮研究热潮。综合沉积物重力流研究现状、进展和当前油气工业勘探开发需求,指出未来水下碎屑流研究动态包括:①水下碎屑流成因分类体系的建立及重力流分类体系的完善;②实地观测与模拟实验结合下水下碎屑流发育机制深化;③重力流泥岩沉积机制及油气意义和④水下碎屑流主控型重力流沉积模式的建立及其在油气勘探开发中的应用。     

浊流沉积研究综述和展望

浊流理论的建立具有划时代的意义。浊流沉积的研究已经进行了半个多世纪,从理论到实践都取得了巨大的进展。本文首先讨论了浊流及其相关的几个概念,同时概述了浊流沉积的国内外研究历史和进展,重点介绍了浊积岩的识别标志及其沉积序列,指出下一步研究的重点应放在陆相湖泊浊流沉积及其含矿性上。     

水下扇岩相特征及形成机制

20世纪50年代初期以来，沉积物重力流研究得到沉积学家们的广泛重视，特别是自60年代末期,与沉积物重力流密切相关的水下扇研究成为沉积学领域的热点。通过对国内外大量沉积物重力流及水下扇研究成果的总结，结合我国中新生代陆相断陷盆地水下扇发育的特点，将水下扇的组成岩相划分为基质支撑砾岩相，颗粒支撑砾岩相，砾质砂岩相，块状砂岩相，经典浊积岩相。水下扇的形成机制系重力流成因。内扇以杂基支撑，颗粒支撑砾岩组合为特征；中扇以砾质砂岩、块状砂岩组合为特征；外扇以CDE序及DE序经典浊积岩发育为特征。     

Carbon isotope and rare earth element composition of Late Quaternary sediment gravity flow deposits on the mid shelf of East China Sea: Implications for provenance and origin of hybrid event beds

The East China Sea Shelf has an unusually wide and low gradient shelf, supplied from sediment‐charged rivers and large river delta systems, with bottom currents sweeping the sea floor and located in the path of strong typhoons. Sediment gravity flow deposits, including four hybrid event beds and a high density turbidite, are identified in a core from the mid‐shelf of the East China Sea. The hybrid event beds typically comprise three or two internal divisions from the base to the top: (i) H1, H3 and H5; or (ii) H3 and H5. Radiocarbon ages of the hybrid event beds were in the range of 3821 to 8526 yr bp . Based on correlation with surrounding cores, the hybrid events may have happened at any time between 1930 yr bp and 3890 yr bp . The δ¹³C values in hybrid event beds together with bathymetry data suggest local erosion on the shelf. The average δ¹³C value for the H1 division is similar to the H3 division in the hybrid event beds, implying that the organic matter in the H1 and H3 divisions may come from the same source area. Cross‐plots of upper continental crust normalized rare earth elements in the five units reveal that the sediment source of the four hybrid event beds and the turbidite was ultimately primarily from Korean rivers. Partial transformation from a moderate‐strength debris flow with the additional role of erosional bulking can explain occurrences of hybrid event beds on the East China Sea Shelf. The data indicate that hybrid sediment gravity flow deposits were sourced from intra‐shelf failures and subsequently transformed and deposited as hybrid event beds. The study shows that hybrid sediment gravity flows and turbidity currents may not necessarily indicate proximity to a major fluvial or deltaic system and that intra‐shelf sedimentation can be a sediment source. It is unlikely that the debris flows and turbidity currents were triggered by a hyperpycnal flow or tsunami, because both can carry continental and/or coastal signals which have not been recognized in the core. Typhoons are the probable triggering mechanism.     

沉积物重力流流体转化沉积-混合事件层

随着浊流和碎屑流理论体系日臻成熟,重力流的流体转化过程逐渐受到重视,而与其相关联的混合事件层概念也应运而生。混合事件层是单次碎屑流或浊流流体转化中的沉积记录,是多种流变学特征的垂向沉积组合。典型混合事件层沉积序列具有五段式的特征（即纯净砂岩段H₁、条带状砂岩段H₂、黏性碎积岩段H₃、波状层理段H₄、块状泥岩段H₅）,其内部通常存在岩性突变界面。混合事件层发育于粗粒三角洲内部、海底扇和水道与舌状体过渡区、舌状体侧缘、远端及限制性的微型盆地边缘地区,其垂向叠置厚度可达数十米。混合事件层的发现对重力流流体转化、重力流沉积物空间流变学性质研究具有重要意义,同时也推动了油气储层构型和非均质性研究,为进一步寻找深水有利储集砂体提供了新思路。混合层地球物理识别方法的建立及其相关概念在湖泊重力流研究中的灵活应用将是下一步的研究方向。     

High-resolution X-ray fluorescence profiling of hybrid event beds: Implications for sediment gravity flow behaviour and deposit structure

Hybrid event beds form when turbidity currents that transport or locally acquire significant quantities of mud decelerate. The mud dampens turbulence driving flow transformations, allowing both mud and sand to settle into dense, near-bed fluid layers and debris flows. Quantifying details of the mud distribution vertically in what are often complex tiered deposits is critical to reconstructing flow processes and explaining the diverse bed types left by mud-bearing gravity flows. High-resolution X-ray fluorescence core scanning provides continuous vertical compositional profiles that can help to constrain mud distribution at sub-millimetre scale, offering a significant improvement over discrete sampling. The approach is applied here to cores acquired from the Pennsylvanian Ross Sandstone Formation, western Ireland, where a range of hybrid event beds have been identified. Raw X-ray fluorescence counts are calibrated against element concentrations and mineral abundances determined on coincident core plugs, with element and element log-ratios used as proxies to track vertical changes in abundances of quartz, illite (including mica), chlorite and calcite cement. New insights include ‘stepped’ (to higher values) as opposed to ‘saw-tooth’ vertical changes in mud content and the presence of compositional banding that would otherwise be overlooked. Hybrid event beds in basin floor sheets that arrived ahead of the prograding fan system have significantly cleaner sandy components than those in mid-fan lobes. The latter may imply that the heads of the currents emerging from mid-fan channels entrained significant mud immediately before they collapsed. Many of the H3 debrites are bipartite with a sandier H3a division attributed to re-entrainment and mixing of a trailing debris or fluid mud flow (H3b) with sand left by the forward part of the flow. Hybrid event bed structure may thus partly reflect substrate interaction and mixing during deposition, and the texture of the bed divisions may not simply mirror those in the suspensions from which they formed.     

Recognition of cyclic steps in sandy and gravelly turbidite sequences,and consequences for the Bouma facies model

Preservation of cyclic steps contrasts markedly with that of subcritical‐flow bedforms, because cyclic steps migrate upslope eroding their lee face and preserving their stoss side. Such bedforms have not been described from turbidite outcrops and cores as yet. A conceptual block diagram for recognition of cyclic steps in outcrop has been constructed and is tested by outcrop studies of deep water submarine fan deposits of the Tabernas Basin in south‐eastern Spain. Experimental data indicate that depositional processes on the stoss side of a cyclic step are controlled by a hydraulic jump, which decelerates the flow and by subsequent waxing of the flow up to supercritical conditions once more. The hydraulic jump produces a large scour with soft‐sediment deformation (flames) preserved in coarse‐tail normal‐graded structureless deposits (Bouma Ta), while near‐horizontal, massive to stratified top‐cut‐out turbidite beds are found further down the stoss side of the bedform. The architecture of cyclic steps can best be described as large, up to hundreds of metres, lens‐shaped bodies that are truncated by erosive surfaces representing the set boundaries and that consist of nearly horizontal lying stacks of top‐cut‐out turbidite beds. The facies that characterize these bedforms have traditionally been described as turbidite units in idealized vertical sequences of high‐density turbidity currents, but have not yet been interpreted to represent bedforms produced by supercritical flow. Their large size, which is in the order of 20 m for gravelly and up to hundreds of metres for sandy steps, is likely to have hindered their recognition in outcrop so far.     

砂质碎屑流和底流改造——部分传统浊积岩成因新解

以鲍马层序为代表的古典浊积岩,在地质学界曾广泛流行。近年来的研究表明,真正的浊积岩是很少发生的。由于浊流和碎屑流具有不同的流变学特点,人们对部分传统浊积岩提出了砂质碎屑流和底流改造成因及其鉴别标志,并对传统海底浊积扇模式在进行重新研究的基础上提出了海底碎屑流模式。     

Depositional processes,bedform development and hybrid bed formation in rapidly decelerated cohesive (mud–sand) sediment flows

Flows with high suspended sediment concentrations are common in many sedimentary environments, and their flow properties may show a transitional behaviour between fully turbulent and quasi‐laminar plug flows. The characteristics of these transitional flows are known to be a function of both clay concentration and type, as well as the applied fluid stress, but so far the interaction of these transitional flows with a loose sediment bed has received little attention. Information on this type of interaction is essential for the recognition and prediction of sedimentary structures formed by cohesive transitional flows in, for example, fluvial, estuarine and deep‐marine deposits. This paper investigates the behaviour of rapidly decelerated to steady flows that contain a mixture of sand, silt and clay, and explores the effect of different clay (kaolin) concentrations on the dynamics of flow over a mobile bed, and the bedforms and stratification produced. Experiments were conducted in a recirculating slurry flume capable of transporting high clay concentrations. Ultrasonic Doppler velocity profiling was used to measure the flow velocity within these concentrated suspension flows. The development of current ripples under decelerated flows of differing kaolin concentration was documented and evolution of their height, wavelength and migration rate quantified. This work confirms past work over smooth, fixed beds which showed that, as clay concentration rises, a distinct sequence of flow types is generated: turbulent flow, turbulence‐enhanced transitional flow, lower transitional plug flow, upper transitional plug flow and a quasi‐laminar plug flow. Each of these flow types produces an initial flat bed upon rapid flow deceleration, followed by reworking of these deposits through the development of current ripples during the subsequent steady flow in turbulent flow, turbulence‐enhanced transitional flow and lower transitional plug flow. The initial flat beds are structureless, but have diagnostic textural properties, caused by differential settling of sand, silt and cohesive mud, which forms characteristic bipartite beds that initially consist of sand overlain by silt or clay. As clay concentration in the formative flow increases, ripples first increase in mean height and wavelength under turbulence‐enhanced transitional flow and lower transitional plug‐flow regimes, which is attributed to the additional turbulence generated under these flows that subsequently causes greater lee side erosion. As clay concentration increases further from a lower transitional plug flow, ripples cease to exist under the upper transitional plug flow and quasi‐laminar plug flow conditions investigated herein. This disappearance of ripples appears due to both turbulence suppression at higher clay concentrations, as well as the increasing shear strength of the bed sediment that becomes more difficult to erode as clay concentration increases. The stratification within the ripples formed after rapid deceleration of the transitional flows reflects the availability of sediment from the bipartite bed. The exact nature of the ripple cross‐stratification in these flows is a direct function of the duration of the formative flow and the texture of the initial flat bed, and ripples do not form in cohesive flows with a Reynolds number smaller than ca 12 000. Examples are given of how the unique properties of the current ripples and plane beds, developing below decelerated transitional flows, could aid in the interpretation of depositional processes in modern and ancient sediments. This interpretation includes a new model for hybrid beds that explains their formation in terms of a combination of vertical grain‐size segregation and longitudinal flow transformation.     

Transformation,partitioning and flow–deposit interactions during the run‐out of megaflows

Four megabeds (I to IV) were recognized throughout the Cerro Bola inlier, a glacially influenced depositional area of the Carboniferous Paganzo Basin, south‐western La Rioja Province, Argentina. Such anomalous thick beds are associated with the collapse of an unstable basin margin after periods of large meltwater discharge and sediment accumulation. Failure of these previously deposited sediments triggered mass flows and associated turbidity currents into the basin. Megabed I is up to 188 m thick and was deposited during a transgressive stage by re‐sedimentation of ice‐rafted debris. Also part of the transgressive stage, Megabeds II, III and IV are up to 9 m thick and are associated with a dropstone‐free period of flooding. Megabeds were subdivided into three divisions (1 to 3) that represent a spectrum of flow properties and rheologies, indicative of a wide range of grain support mechanisms. These divisions are proposed as an idealized deposit that may or may not be completely present; the Cerro Bola megabeds thus display bipartite or tripartite organization, each division inferred to reflect a rheologically distinct phase of flow. Division 1 is a basal layer that consists of clast‐supported and matrix‐supported, pebble conglomerate, rarely followed by weak normally graded to ungraded, very coarse‐ to coarse‐grained sandstone. This lower interval is interpreted to be the deposit of a concentrated density flow and is absent in bipartite megabeds. Division 2 is represented by a mud‐rich sandstone matrix with dispersed granule to pebble‐size crystalline and mudstone clasts. It also includes fragments of sandstone up to boulder size, as well as rafts of cohesive muddy material and wood fragments. Division 2 is interpreted to be a result of debris‐flow deposition. A debrite‐related topography, resulting from the freezing of high yield strength material, captures and partially confines the succeeding upper division 3, which fills the topographic lows and pinches out against topographic highs. Division 3 is rich in mudstone chips and consists of very coarse‐grained, dirty sandstones grading upward to siltstones and mudstones. It is interpreted to be a deposit of a co‐genetic turbidity current. Spectral gamma ray and petrographic analyses indicate that both debrite and co‐genetic turbidite have high depositional mud content and are of similar composition. One of the megabeds is correlated with an initial slump‐derived debris flow, which suggests that the mass flow becomes partitioned both at the top, generating a co‐genetic turbidity current and, at the base, segregating into a concentrated density flow that seems to behave as a gravelly traction carpet.     

Review on Subaqueous Sediment Gravity Flow and Submarine Fan

Subaqueous sediment gravity flow is the volumetrically most important process transporting sediment across our planet, which forms its largest sediment accumulations (submarine fan). Based on the previous studies, we tried to clear up the concept, classification and identification of subaqueous sediment gravity flow, and introduced the progress of modern direct observation and submarine fan model. Turbidity current and debris flow are two of the most important parts of the gravity flow, the former deposits layer by layer with normal gradation while the latter is en masse settling with chaotic disorder. The turbidity current transformed into the debris flow during the transportation is called hybrid flow. The hyperpycnal flow is the turbidity current formed by flood discharges into the ocean/lake. Modern direct observations show that the turbidity current can contain dense basal layers and last for a week. The structure of turbidity current can be different from those surge-like turbidity current observed in laboratory. Submarine fans are mainly composed of channel, levee, lobe, background deposits and mass transport deposits, which should be studied by architecture analysis and hierarchical classification. The channel deposits extend narrowly with abundant erosion structures; levee deposits are composed of thin layer mud-silty turbidites, wedge thinning laterally; the lobe deposits extend well laterally with narrow range of grain size. The hierarchy of channel deposits is channel unit, channel complex and channel complex system. The hierarchy of lobe deposits is bed, lobe element, lobe and lobe complex.     

Beds comprising debrite sandwiched within co-genetic turbidite: origin and widespread occurrence in distal depositional environments

Co‐genetic debrite–turbidite beds occur in a variety of modern and ancient turbidite systems. Their basic character is distinctive. An ungraded muddy sandstone interval is encased within mud‐poor graded sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. The muddy sandstone interval preserves evidence of en masse deposition and is thus termed a debrite. The mud‐poor sandstone, siltstone and mudstone show features indicating progressive layer‐by‐layer deposition and are thus called a turbidite. Palaeocurrent indicators, ubiquitous stratigraphic association and the position of hemipelagic intervals demonstrate that debrite and enclosing turbidite originate in the same event. Detailed field observations are presented for co‐genetic debrite–turbidite beds in three widespread sequences of variable age: the Miocene Marnoso Arenacea Formation in the Italian Apennines; the Silurian Aberystwyth Grits in Wales; and Quaternary deposits of the Agadir Basin, offshore Morocco. Deposition of these sequences occurred in similar unchannellized basin‐plain settings. Co‐genetic debrite–turbidite beds were deposited from longitudinally segregated flow events, comprising both debris flow and forerunning turbidity current. It is most likely that the debris flow was generated by relatively shallow (few tens of centimetres) erosion of mud‐rich sea‐floor sediment. Changes in the settling behaviour of sand grains from a muddy fluid as flows decelerated may also have contributed to debrite deposition. The association with distal settings results from the ubiquitous presence of muddy deposits in such locations, which may be eroded and disaggregated to form a cohesive debris flow. Debrite intervals may be extensive (> 26 × 10 km in the Marnoso Arenacea Formation) and are not restricted to basin margins. Such long debris flow run‐out on low‐gradient sea floor (< 0·1°) may simply be due to low yield strength (? 50 Pa) of the debris–water mixture. This study emphasizes that multiple flow types, and transformations between flow types, can occur within the distal parts of submarine flow events.     

东非鲁伍马盆地深水X气藏海底扇储层构型研究:重力流—底流交互作用的指示意义*

底流在陆缘深水环境下广泛存在,可对深水沉积过程及砂体分布产生重要影响。前人对重力流与底流的交互作用机制及沉积产物开展了大量研究,但目前有关底流改造型的海底扇储层构型模式仍然研究不够深入。东非鲁伍马盆地是当前重力流—底流交互作用研究的热点地区,文中以其代表性的下始新统海底扇水道体系为例,综合岩心、测井及三维地震资料开展储层构型精细表征,建立重力流—底流交互作用下的海底扇水道体系构型模式。研究表明,目标水道体系内部发育水道、溢岸及朵叶3种构型要素,其中水道可分为水道复合体、单一水道及其内部不同级次的构型单元。底流对细粒物质的搬运可形成非对称的溢岸沉积,导致水道复合体之间呈逆底流侧向迁移叠置样式,其间泥岩隔层容易保存; 单一水道之间呈顺水道纵向迁移或逆底流侧向迁移样式,其中纵向迁移部位水道切叠连通,而侧向迁移部位容易保存泥质侧向隔挡体。受重力流沉积演化的影响,单一水道内部充填由砂泥交互型逐渐演化为富砂型,且在水道弯曲段的轴部砂体最为发育。     

鄂尔多斯盆地华池地区长6油层组湖底扇内深水重力流沉积特征

以岩心的详细观察与测井录井资料综合分析为基础,通过岩石学特征和原生沉积构造等沉积相标志分析,确定鄂尔多斯盆地华池地区长6油层组厚层块状砂体属于半深湖内的深水重力流沉积体系。划分出内扇、中扇和外扇3个亚相,该区主要以中扇亚相最为发育;在深水重力流中识别出液化沉积物流、砂质碎屑流、近源浊流和远源浊流等沉积类型,建立了湖盆深水重力流沉积模式。砂质碎屑流沉积最为广泛,砂体厚度大,连片发育,具有最好的储集层物性,含油性好,是华池地区长6油层组最有利的储集层。