Deglaciation history and landscape development of fjord-valley deposits in Buvika, Mid-Norway

Thick deposits of glaciomarine clay and silt overlain by Holocene marine sediments in Norwegian fjord valleys have been, and still are, subject to erosional processes such as river incision, ravine formation and slide activity. In Buvika, Mid‐Norway, these land‐forming processes have been highly influenced by the valley‐fill stratigraphy. Glaciomarine and marine clay sediments dominate this 8 km long hanging valley south of the Gaulosen fjord, with local occurrences of coarser‐grained sediments. Studies of sediments and structures in road excavations together with ¹⁴C ages indicate at least one, possibly two, minor glacier readvances in late Allerød/early Younger Dryas (YD) time. This implies a more dynamic ice sheet with more minor ice‐front oscillations than earlier documented in this region. Glacioisostatic rebound resulted in groundwater leaching of marine clay and quick‐clay formation in certain layers or zones. The relative sea‐level fall led to incision by rivers accompanied by numerous slides involving quick clay, which completely liquefies when remoulded. To the east, permeInger‐Lise Solberg (e‐mail: inger‐lise.solberg@sintef.no ), Department of Geology and Mineral Resources Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Present address: SINTEF Building and Infrastructure, Høgskoleringen 7a, NO‐7465 Trondheim, Norway; Kåre Rokoengen, Department of Geology and Mineral Resources Engineering, NTNU, Sem Sælands veg 1, NO‐7491 Trondheim, Norway; Louise Hansen, Lars Olsen and Harald Sveian, Geological Survey of Norway, NO‐7491 Trondheim, Norwayable layers of northwesterly dipping sand and gravel generally originate from a former ice‐marginal delta. These relatively thick and frequent layers of interbedded sand and gravel in the clay‐dominated deposits drain groundwater in the slopes, leading to the development of deeply incised ravines. To the south and north, thinner layers of coarse material in the clay lead to pore‐pressure build‐ups and quick‐clay development, resulting in numerous slide scars. Knowledge of the morphology, stratigraphy and erosion pattern of areas prone to formation of quick clay is important in order to understand the landscape development and evaluate risk areas.     

Large,prehistoric clay slides revealed in road excavations in Buvika,mid-Norway

Several excavated sections along new roads in Buvika, mid-Norway, display records of large, prehistoric clay slides. Slightly undulating but otherwise intact laminated clay, with minor amounts of unsorted or sorted coarser-grained debris, appears in the sections. Folding, shearing and internal slide surfaces have also been recorded, and the deposits are interpreted as slide debris. Slide-scar morphologies are diffuse or absent for most of these deposits, and the inferred slide mechanism is translation and rotation of blocks on a thin layer of remoulded quick clay. One section cuts through a slide block inside a classic, morphologically well-defined quick-clay slide scar. Varying results from ¹⁴C-datings of organic material in the deposits give only maximum ages of the slide events. The style of sliding reflected in several sections differs from slide events in the area known from historical records. These younger slide events seem to be characterised by collapse and remoulding of thicker quick-clay layers. The present study of slide deposits gives information on processes and deformation history of the slides. It is suggested that the gradual formation of quick clay has an important impact on long-term landscape degradation and on the character of the present day landscape. There may be far more signs of slide activity in Norwegian valleys than solely indicated by slide scars and also in the relatively high-lying parts of the valley fill, such as interfluve areas.     

Turbiditic,clay‐rich event beds in fjord‐marine deposits caused by landslides in emerging clay deposits – palaeoenvironmental interpretation and role for submarine mass‐wasting

Distinct, clay‐rich beds are common in fjord‐marine deposits in Trondheimsfjorden near the outlet of the Nidelva River. Their characteristic light‐grey colour makes the beds easily distinguishable from the surrounding brownish, bioturbated, muddy fjord sediments. The clay‐rich beds commonly display a clear stratification in clay, silt and very fine sand. The beds are interpreted as originating primarily from large quick‐clay landslides upstream along the Nidelva River. Such events resulted in a sudden increase in the supply of fines to the fjord from disintegrating landslide debris and heavily loaded effluent plumes, possibly favouring hyperpycnal flow. Typical beds can be divided into a clay‐rich lower section, reflecting an initial surge with high concentrations of suspended mud, and a sandier upper section reflecting pulses of higher energy. This development can be explained, for example, by a lowering in the supply of mud, an increasing activity of deltaic sediment gravity flows due to a higher availability of sandy sediments in the landslide‐affected river, and by flooding and/or breaching of landslide dams. The typical, stratified beds are interpreted as the result of one quick‐clay landslide, whereas exceptionally thick, less organized, stratified beds are possibly the result of several large and/or complex landslides. Radiocarbon dating of mollusc shells has helped to establish a chronology for major terrestrial landslides in the area. The frequency of landslides increases towards the end of the Holocene. This is explained by a progressively deeper incision of rivers during glacioisostatic rebound, possibly combined with a change to a wetter climate. The marine core record displays deformation structures and hiati representing submarine mass‐wasting events, and supports the evidence that the clay‐rich beds are weak layers in the fjord‐marine stratigraphy. The inherent weakness of these layers may be explained by their composition, immature texture, loose fabric and contrasting permeabilities in the deposits. Slide‐prone layers similar to the clay‐rich beds described here may be found in other comparable fjord‐marginal settings and are considered to be of importance for geohazard assessments.     

长江三角洲晚第四纪地层沉积特征与生物气成藏条件分析

对长江三角洲晚第四纪地层沉积特征进行了精细研究,探讨了研究区层序地层格架,在此基础上分析了浅层生物气成藏条件、特征和分布规律。研究表明,长江三角洲晚第四纪发育3期下切河谷,形成了3套沉积层序;因后期河流的强烈下切破坏,早期沉积层序往往被剥蚀殆尽,仅残留下部的河床相粗粒沉积,造成不同期河床相的叠置;相对而言,末次冰期以来形成的下切河谷沉积层序以相对完整的沉积相组合被保存下来。长江三角洲浅层天然气是未经运移的原生生物气,其主要富集于末次冰期以来的沉积层序内,气藏为自生自储同生型的岩性圈闭。河口湾—河漫滩和浅海相泥质沉积物既是气源岩,又是盖层,后者可作为良好的区域盖层;河口湾—河漫滩和河床相砂质沉积物为主要储集层。因此,研究区晚第四纪多期下切河谷沉积层序有利于浅层生物气藏的形成,特别是晚期下切河谷内河口湾—河漫滩相砂质透镜体以及河床相砂体可作为优先勘探目标。     

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.     

High-resolution sequence stratigraphy of a Hettangian-Sinemurian paralic succession, Bornholm, Denmark

Sequence stratigraphic interpretation of paralic successions is complicated by the complex interfingering of marine and continental strata. The successions may also include terrestrial extensions of marine parasequences and completely independent lacustrine parasequence analogues. Failure in recognizing the possible interbeddding of these two independent parasequence types may lead to construction of sequence stratigraphic schemes based on incompatible data sets. We have studied a Lower Jurassic paralic section from the Baltic island of Bornholm, situated in the Tornquist Zone, which demarcates the transition from the stable Precambrian Baltic Shield to the subsiding Danish Basin and Danish-Polish Trough. The Hettangian-Sinemurian Sose Bugt Member (Rønne Formation) of Bornholm includes lacustrine, fluvial and restricted marine, estuarine deposits reflecting the basin-margin position. Biostatigraphic resolution is poor and a sequence stratigraphic interpretation of the paralic succession is far from straightforward. A multidisciplinary approach including facies analysis, recognition and lateral trading of key surfaces, palynostratigraphy, palynofacies, coal petrography, palaeopedology, clay mineralogy and source rock geochemistry is applied in order to obtain a high degree of precision in the interpretation of the paralic facies. In this way four sequences are recognized in the overall backstepping lacustrine to estuarine succession. Marine and marginal marine parasequences are distinguished from their purely lacustrine analogues, and an internally consistent sequence stratigraphic scheme is proposed. This is compared and tentatively correlated with fossiliferous marine sediments in the Danish Basin and with published eustatic cycle charts.     

Stratigraphical signatures of glacier activity,marine processes and a possible tsunami in the Leirfjorden fjord‐valley system,north Norway

An integrated interpretation of on‐ and offshore stratigraphical records at Leirfjorden, north Norway, reveals new aspects of the area's palaeoenvironmental history. The study is based on marine sparker data and well‐exposed sections on land that were analysed for their sediment facies, mineralogy and fossil assemblages. Existing research and new radiocarbon dates provide a chronological framework for the interpretation. The late Younger Dryas Nordli substage type locality in the Leirfjorden catchment is revised and found to reflect local glacial activity, maybe a collapse of stagnant ice rather than glacier advance, while late Younger Dryas to Preboreal glacier re‐advances south of Leirfjorden and near Ranfjorden are here named the Bardal substage. The stratigraphical record includes pre‐Younger Dryas, valley‐crossing, glacial striae and old till with provenance of resistant bedrock typical of more elevated mountain areas. It differs from younger till units representing topographically controlled glacier movement. Part of the Leirfjorden fjord‐valley system is located between the main glacial and fluvial drainage paths affecting the sediment supply. As a result, highstand deposits are indistinct and fluvial sediments form only a minor part of the forced‐regressive systems tract. Instead, the valley fill overlying till and subtill sediments is dominated by the deglacial transgressive tract and a forced‐regressive systems tract with composite marine deposits and various marine erosion surfaces. A special event bed is interpreted as a possible tsunami deposit caused by seismicity and/or mass‐wasting in the fjord following glacier retreat. The study highlights the stratigraphical complexity of interconnected fjord and sound systems in a low accretion setting.     

Signature of the last shelf-centered glaciation at a key section in the Pechora basin,Arctic Russia

The Vastiansky Kon' is the largest exposure of Quaternary deposits in the Pechora lowland, northern Russia. Morphologically the site belongs to the so-called Markhida Moraine; a complex, east–west trending zone of ice-marginal landforms deposited by the Kara Sea Ice Sheet during the last glaciation. The site exhibits a succession of sediments more than 100 m thick that, according to previous studies, covers the interval from the end of the Elsterian to the beginning of the Holocene. Unfortunately both the strong glaciotectonic deformation of the sedimentary succession and few absolute dates have made the chronological interpretation of the section difficult. The present paper reviews previous studies of the site published in Russian, and presents the results of a reinvestigation focusing on the post-Eemian stratigraphy. A marine Eemian clay more than 8 m thick is overlain erosionally by 20 m of fluvial deposits of Late Eemain or Early Weichselian age. The fluvial succession is overlain by a till and a marine clay, which, according to one interpretation, may represent an Early or Middle Weichselian advance of the Kara Ice Sheet followed by a transgression. The clay shows a transition into 15 m of estuarine and fluvial sediments overlain by more than 12 m of tundra–floodplain deposits. The whole succession has been upthrusted glaciotectonically by the last ice advance, which deposited a more than 12 m thick till on top of the section. Based on a number of subtill radiocarbon age-estimates from the site, in the range 25–32 ka BP, the youngest ice advance is considered to be of late Weichselian age, although a Middle Weichselian age cannot be excluded. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

杭洲湾地区晚第四纪下切河谷内部相结构与生物气勘探

本文根据杭州湾沿海平原大量的钻井、静力触探井和分析化验等资料，研究了下切河谷（钱塘江和太湖下切河谷）充填物的沉积建造和沉积相，以及浅层生物气藏分布特征。研究表明，末次冰期以来，随着海平面变化，杭州湾地区下切河谷演化经历了深切、快速充填和埋藏三个阶段。末次冰盛期，海平面下降的幅度大，增加了河流梯度、加强了下切作用，本区形成了钱塘江和太湖下切河谷，随后在冰后期被充填和埋藏，下切河谷的两侧为暴露地表的古河间地。根据岩石学、沉积结构和沉积构造特征，本区下切河谷充填沉积物表现为向上变细的沉积层序，可以划分为4个沉积相类型，有河床滞留沉积物到部分曲流河沉积体系的边滩沉积、河漫滩-河口湾沉积、河口湾-浅海沉积和河口湾沙坝沉积。在河漫滩-河口湾相沉积期间，由于海平面上升、潮流体系、沉积物供给和可容空间条件适合一个潮流沙脊体系的发育，该相中砂质透镜体可能代表下切河谷内发育的潮流沙脊。对于河口湾-浅海沉积和河口湾沙坝沉积而言，由于沉积条件不再有利，没有形成沙脊沉积。所有的商业性生物气都存储在下切河谷内河漫滩-河口湾砂质透镜体中。     

Fluvial sedimentation in the lower carboniferous of Clew Bay,County Mayo,Ireland

A succession of about 300 m of fluvial sediments from the Lower Carboniferous of northwest Ireland is described and interpreted. A lower, mainly red, formation contains fluvial channel deposits dominated by flat laminated sandstone. These are separated by interbedded sandstones and mudrocks with local caliche horizons and abundant mudcracks interpreted as levee and flood basin deposits. An upper, mainly non-red, formation contains fluvial channel deposits with common trough cross-stratification and epsilon cross-stratification also separated by interbedded sandstones and mudrocks. Evidence of desiccation is less common in the uppermost beds which pass transitionally upwards into marine sediments.The change in fluvial channel style is interpreted as due to increasing sinuosity and permanence of flow which may have been partly temporally and partly spatially controlled. The predominance of coarse sediments is thought to be largely controlled by limited subsidence. The Lower Carboniferous transgression was the major overall control of alluviation.     

长江三峡东部地区震旦纪事件沉积?

长江三峡东部地区震旦纪先后发生了热事件、冷事件、重力事件等突发性灾变沉积。早震旦世发育由河流作用与陆地冰川作用形成的陆源碎屑沉积；晚震旦世则发育由两次台地-盆地-台地的海进-海退旋回形成的巨厚海相碳酸盐沉积。热事件沉积产物见于下震旦统莲沱组，夹于河流相沉积的砂岩及粉砂岩中。根据凝灰碎屑的岩石学特征，可将其分为降落型凝灰碎屑和水携型凝灰碎屑两类。冷事件沉积产物为下震旦统南沱冰碛层，属低纬度低高程的大陆冰川沉积。重力事件可分为滑塌事件和浊流事件，其沉积产物均分布于上震旦统，夹在大套的深水碳酸盐岩中。其中滑塌事件的沉积产物主要为滑塌角砾白云岩（石灰岩），浊流事件的沉积产物主要为浊积颗粒石灰岩（白云岩）。     

Discussion and Reply: Shaping the Australian crust over the last 300 million years: Insights from fission track thermotectonic imaging and denudation studies of key terranes

Ellis Fjord is a small, fjord‐like marine embayment in the Vestfold Hills, eastern Antarctica. Modern sediment input is dominated by a biogenic diatom rain, although aeolian, fluvial, ice‐rafted, slumped and tidal sediments also make a minor contribution. In areas where bioturbation is significant relict glaciogenic sediments are reworked into the fine‐grained diatomaceous sediments to produce poorly sorted fine sands and silts. Where the bottom waters are anoxic, sediments remain unbioturbated and have a high biogenic silica component. Three depositional and non‐depositional facies can be recognised in the fjord: an area of non‐deposition around the shoreline; a relict morainal facies in areas of low sedimentation and high bioturbation; and a basinal facies in the deeper areas of the fjord.     

Glacially-influenced deep-marine sedimentation of the Late Precambrian Gaskiers Formation, Newfoundland, Canada

The Late Proterozoic Conception Group, exposed on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada, is a 4 km thick turbidite succession containing a conformable 300 m thick sequence of diamictites (the Gaskiers Formation) near the base. Massive and crudely-stratified diamictites form beds up to 25 m thick which have a tabular geometry with slightly erosive basal contacts and are interbedded with mudstones and fine-grained, thin-bedded turbidites. These diamictites are interpreted as submarine debris flow deposits. Disrupted diamictites form strongly deformed units that contain large, complexly folded rafts of mudstone and turbidite facies. These diamictite units are interpreted as submarine slumps. Diamictites contain glacially-striated and faceted clasts; clasts and matrix are predominantly of volcanic provenance. One outcrop shows interbedded volcanic agglomerate and diamictite, and volcanic bombs can also be identified. The interbedding of diamictites with turbidites and the stratigraphic context provided by the thick sequences of turbidites below (Mall Bay Formation) and above (Drook Formation) indicate a deep marine slope setting of diamictite deposition. Diamictite facies record remobilization and downslope transfer of large volumes of unstable volcanic and glacial debris initially deposited in a shallower water marginal marine zone. The regional tectonic framework suggests the Conception Group accumulated in a deep, southward-opening ensialic rift basin with active but waning volcanic centres to the north. The Gaskiers Formation may be representative of other Late Precambrian glacially-influenced diamictite sequences that were deposited around the North Atlantic region and in Europe. These deep marine diamictite sequences characterized by debris flows, turbidites, and slump deposits, can be contrasted with more extensive shallow marine shelf diamictite sequences found in association with dolomites and tidally influenced shallow water facies in other basinal settings.     

Late Quaternary depositional history of the Reuss delta,Switzerland: constraints from high‐resolution seismic reflection and georadar surveys

Glacial erosion has caused overdeepening of many alpine valleys. After retreat of the ice, they were filled with heterogeneous deposits of glacial, lacustrine and fluvial sediments. A typical example of such a valley segment and its infill is the Reuss delta on the southern shore of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. To obtain a detailed three‐dimensional image of this valley segment, the ETH Institute of Geophysics has acquired several two‐dimensional, high‐resolution seismic and georadar profiles, and conducted a three‐dimensional georadar survey. Interpretations of these geophysical data were constrained by a geological core extracted from a borehole 300 m deep near the investigation site. The seismic profiles imaged ca. 600 m of sediment infill above bedrock. Based on their reflection characteristics, five different deposition units were distinguished. These units were interpreted as a succession of clay/silt at the base, followed by different sand units with variable but generally increasing amounts of gravel. This succession represented a prograding delta that filled the southern part of Lake Lucerne. The latest fluvial development of the region is best represented by the georadar data. In particular, the three‐dimensional georadar data set provides a detailed view of an ancient braided river channel Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controls on sedimentation in distal margin palaeovalleys in the Early Tertiary Alpine foreland basin, south-eastern France

The influence of palaeodrainage characteristics, palaeogeography and tectonic setting are rarely considered as controls on stratigraphic organization in palaeovalley or incised valley systems. This study is an examination of the influence of source region vs. downstream base level controls on the sedimentary architecture of a set of bedrock-confined palaeovalleys developed along the distal margin of the Alpine foreland basin in south-eastern France. Three distinct facies associations are observed within the palaeovalley fills. Fluvial facies association A is mainly dominated by poorly sorted, highly disorganized, clast-to-matrix-supported cobble-to-boulder conglomerates that are interpreted as streamflood deposits. Facies association B comprises mainly yellow siltstones and is interpreted as recording deposition in an estuarine basin environment. Estuarine marine facies association C comprises interstratified estuarine siltstones and clean, well-sorted washover sandstones. The sedimentary characteristics of the valley fill successions are related to the proximity of depositional sites to sediment source areas. Palaeovalleys located proximal to structurally controlled basement palaeohighs are entirely dominated by coarse fluvial streamflood deposits. In contrast, distal palaeovalley segments, which are located several kilometres downstream, contain successions showing upward transition from coarse fluvial facies into estuarine central basin fines, and finally into estuarine-marginal marine facies. Facies distributions suggest that the fluvial deposits form wedge-shaped, downstream-thinning sediment bodies, whereas the estuarine deposits form an upstream-thinning wedge. The vertical stacking of fluvial to estuarine to marginal marine depositional environments records the fluvial aggradation and subsequent transgression of relatively small bedrock-confined river valleys, which drained a rugged, upland terrain. Facies geometries suggest that a fluvial sediment wedge initially prograded downvalley, in response to high bed load sediment yields. Subsequently, palaeovalleys became drowned during the passage of a marine transgression, with the establishment of estuarine conditions. Initial fluvial aggradation and subsequent marine flooding of the palaeovalleys is a consequence of the interaction of high local rates of sediment supply and relative sea-level rise driven by flexural subsidence of the basin.     

Reconstructing the sedimentation history of the Bengal Delta Plain by means of geochemical and stable isotopic data

The purpose of this study is to examine the sedimentation history of the central floodplain area of the Bengal Delta Plain in West Bengal, India. Sediments from two boreholes were analyzed regarding lithology, geochemistry and the stable isotopic composition of embedded organic matter. Different lithofacies were distinguished that reflect frequent changes in the prevailing sedimentary depositional environment of the study area. The lowest facies comprises poorly sorted fluvial sediments composed of fine gravel to clay pointing at high transport energy and intense relocation processes. This facies is considered to belong to an early Holocene lowstand systems tract that followed the last glacial maximum. Fine to medium sands above it mark a gradual change towards a transgressive systems tract. Upwards increasing proportions of silt and the stable isotopic composition of embedded organic matter both indicate a gradual change from fluvial channel infill sediments towards more estuarine and marine influenced deposits. Youngest sediments are composed of clayey and silty overbank deposits of the Hooghly River that have formed a vast low-relief delta-floodplain. Close to the surface, small concretions of secondary Mn-oxides and Fe-(oxyhydr)oxides occur and mark the fluctuation range of the unsaturated zone. These concretions are accompanied by relatively high contents of trace elements such as Zn, Ni, Cu, and As. To sum up, the outcomes of this study provide new insights into the complex sedimentation history of the barely investigated central floodplain area of West Bengal.     

Multidirectional,synchronously‐triggered seismo‐turbidites and debrites revealed by X‐ray computed tomography (CT)

On 21 April 2007, a M_w 6·2 earthquake struck Aysén fjord (Chilean Patagonia) and caused onshore and offshore mass movements which triggered tsunamis and density flows in the fjord. To better understand the facies successions in, and the intercalation of, the density‐flow deposits, a study was made of the 2007 deposits in 22 short sediment cores taken in the inner Aysén fjord. By combining grain‐size analysis with X‐ray computed tomography scanning, it was possible to demonstrate that the encountered facies correspond to classical divisions of debrites and turbidites. The single‐event deposits consist of a succession of several sub‐deposits deposited under different flow directions and can be interpreted as stacked turbidites. Orientations of: (i) folds; (ii) imbricated mud clasts; (iii) backsets and foresets of climbing ripples; and (iv) asymmetrical convolute lamination were used to determine relative flow directions at the location of the cores. By assigning the basal flow of the stacked debrites and turbidites to the closest principal mass flow, the absolute flow directions of the sub‐deposits were determined which, in combination with multibeam basin‐floor morphology, allowed reconstruction of the 2007 density‐flow successions in Aysén fjord. Furthermore, alternating flow directions provide evidence for a seiche induced by the density flows. It was concluded that X‐ray computed tomography scans provide crucial information for reconstructing palaeoflows and can be a useful tool in marine and lacustrine sedimentology and palaeoseismology. The multidirectionality of sub‐deposits in turbidites is, next to differences in mineralogy, a new criterion to identify stacked turbidites. These multidirectional, stacked turbidites are an indication of simultaneous triggering of density flows and can therefore, in most cases, be attributed to earthquakes, ruling out other triggers, such as floods, storms or other sediment failures.     

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

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

Tidal influence in Cretaceous fluvial strata from Utah, USA: a key to sequence stratigraphic interpretation

Detailed models already exist that outline physical and temporal relationships in marine and marginal marine strata. Such models are still in their infancy in alluvial deposits. Recognition of tidal and estuarine influence in fluvial strata is critical to the development of high resolution sequence stratigraphic correlations between marine and non-marine strata. Strata that have previously been interpreted as low energy meandering river deposits contain sedimentary and biogenic structures that suggest a tidal influence. These structures include sigmoidal bedding, paired mud/silt drapes, wavy and lenticular bedding, shrinkage cracks, multiple reactivation surfaces, inclined heterolithic strata, complex compound cross-beds, bidirectional cross-beds, and trace fossils including Teredolites, Arenicolites and Skolithos. Although none of these structures is unique to tidal processes, the preponderance of data suggests that fluvial systems have been affected by tidal processes well inland of coeval shoreline deposits. These deposits rarely form a significant proportion of a depositional sequence; however, their occurrence allows time significant surfaces to be extended for tens or even hundreds of kilometres inland from coeval shoreline deposits. In Turonian through Campanian strata exposed in the Kaiparowits Plateau of southern Utah, tidally influenced facies are recognized within at least two distinct stratigraphic levels that were deposited during periods of relatively rapid base level rise. These strata form part of an alluvial transgressive systems tract. Landward of each of the marine transgressive maxima, tidal facies are present in fluvial channels that are completely encased in non-marine strata at distances up to 65 km inland from a coeval palaeoshoreline. Our work suggests that such deposits may have gone unrecognized in the past, but they form a significant component of alluvial strata in many depositional sequences. Although these tidally influenced fluvial deposits may be difficult to recognize, they are temporally equivalent to marine maximum flooding surfaces and provide a chronostratigraphic correlation between alluvial and nearshore marine deposits.