Recycling and chemical weathering in tectonically controlled Mesozoic–Cenozoic basins of New Zealand

Sedimentation in molasse basins is controlled by tectonics, however, recycling and chemical weathering play a critical role in the compositional evolution of a sedimentary succession. The Cretaceous to Pliocene molasse deposits of Central Otago, New Zealand are excellent examples of tectonically related deposits that were governed by the effects of chemical weathering and recycling. Preserved in fault-controlled basins floored by flysch deposits of the Otago Schist, the clastic successions contain ubiquitous unconformities and lithofacies consistent with alluvial, fluvial and lacustrine depositional settings. Textural analysis of Central Otago sandstones establishes a general quartz enrichment and increased mixing of angular and well-rounded quartz varieties up-section, consistent with a history of sediment recycling. Rare earth element (REE) patterns, which reflect upper crustal compositions, are similar for the flysch-type Otago Schist (Permian–Early Cretaceous), a palaeo-weathering profile, and the overlying molasse deposits. The development of quartz arenites is also consistent with high degrees of chemical weathering, and erosion of the schist basement, which contains numerous quartz veins. Although recycling has occurred, SiO₂ and TiO₂ do not consistently show a negative correlation over time. This reflects erosion of previously deposited quartz-rich sediment and the Otago weathering profile, which produced an inverse stratigraphy. CIA values range from 52 for lithic-rich, coarse-grained sandstones and polymictic conglomerate matrices, to 93 for coarse-grained to pebble-rich quartz arenites. Individual samples were split into finer- and coarser-grained pairs (<2·5φ and 2·5 to −1φ) and were analysed separately. The results show that finer-grained samples contain higher REE abundances and less SiO₂, but the coarser-grained Miocene–Pliocene samples have higher CIA values than their finer-grained counterparts. These coarse-grained deposits are quartz-rich and plot erratically on tectonic discrimination diagrams, implying that using SiO₂-poor samples is more reliable for geochemical analysis. Overall, the petrographic and geochemical results indicate that the main factors controlling the composition of the Central Otago molasse deposits were source composition, chemical weathering and recycling. Studies of this nature can be conducted in Archaean tectonically controlled molasse basins that are affected by similar allocyclic factors.     

Calibrated, late Quaternary age indices using clast rubification and soil development on alluvial surfaces in Pilot Knob Valley, Mojave Desert, southeastern California

The orange coating (varnish) that forms on the undersides (ventral sides) of clasts in desert pavements constitutes a potential relative-age indicator. Using Munsell color notation, we semiquantified the color of the orange, ventral varnish on the undersides of clasts from 15 different alluvial fan and terrace surfaces of various ages ranging from less than 500 to about 25,000 yr. All of the surfaces studied are located along the central portion of the left-lateral Garlock fault, in the Mojave Desert of southern California. The amount of left-lateral offset may be used to determine the relative ages of the surfaces. The previously published slip rate of the fault may also be used to estimate the absolute age of each surface. The color of the ventral varnish is strongly correlated with surface age and appears to be a more reliable age-indicator than the percentage coverage of dorsal varnish. Soil development indices also were not as strongly correlated with age, as were the colors of the ventral varnish. In particular, rubification appears to be more useful than soils for distinguishing relative ages among Holocene surfaces. Humidity sensors indicated that the undersides of clasts condensed moisture nightly for a period of several days to over a week after each rain. These frequent wet-dry cycles may be responsible for the rapid development of clast rubification on Holocene surfaces.     

Sub‐Cambrian pedogenesis recorded in weathering profiles of the Arabian‐Nubian Shield

Altered crystalline rocks occur at the peneplain exposed in southern Israel and in other localities across North Africa and Arabia where they underlie an extensive blanket of Cambro–Ordovician sandstones. This study focuses on the petrography, mineralogy and geochemistry of top basement rocks of the northern Arabian‐Nubian Shield. The altered rocks are shown to be weathering profiles that can be subdivided into three horizons interpreted as apparently unweathered granite, or saprock, which grades upwards to a saprolite, topped by a thin clayey plasmic zone. The plasmic zone is enriched in iron and aluminium and is depleted in silicon, calcium, magnesium and potassium relative to the underlying saprolite. The chemical index of alteration increases upward, but does not exceed 90 and, therefore, lags behind values observed in strongly leached present‐day tropical soils. Petrographic examinations reveal iron mobility under local fluctuating redox conditions, similar to modern and Proterozoic soils. A variety of birefringence fabrics induced by shrinkage and expansion of clays during wetting and drying cycles and clay illuviation strongly indicate pedogenic processes rather than a post‐depositional alteration. Illite and ordered illite‐smectite phases coexist with smectitic illite‐smectite in the lower part of the saprolite and with kaolinite in the plasmic zone, in line with increasing chemical index of alteration. Observations are in accordance with the current profile being a remnant of a thick weathering profile whose top was truncated by fluvial incision just prior to deposition of the overlying Early Cambrian sequence. A previously documented Devonian thermal event reaching temperatures of at least 200°C overprinted the studied rocks. During burial diagenesis, illitization affected original smectite rather than kaolinite. However, in spite of the elevated temperatures, illitization was incomplete implying restricted potassium addition. The sub‐Cambrian weathering reflects warm and humid conditions in a tropical or sub‐tropical climate, in line with several plate reconstructions placing Israel at low latitudes during Cambrian time.     

化学风化指数和磁化率对洞庭盆地第四纪古气候变化的响应

在安乡凹陷东南部两护村新施工揭穿第四系的ZKC1孔,孔内第四系为河流和湖泊沉积,地层组成自下而上依次为上新世—早更新世华田组、早更新世汨罗组、中更新世早期—中期洞庭湖组、晚更新世坡头组以及全新统等。对钻孔岩心进行了系统的主量元素及磁化率分析,进而从陆相沉积物化学风化指数(CWI)与温度和湿度正相关、磁化率与温度和湿度负相关的理论出发,探讨洞庭盆地第四纪气候演变。结合其他资料,CWI曲线特征指示洞庭盆地第四纪气候演变过程:早更新世为冷干→暖湿→冷干→暖湿,中更新世为冷干→暖湿→冷干—温湿→暖湿,晚更新世为寒冷→温湿→寒冷,全新世总体为温湿-暖湿。这一结论与ZKC1孔孢粉组合特征反映的气候演变过程及中国东部第四纪气候演化基本吻合,说明沉积物CWI对第四纪气候演变具有较好的响应。变化曲线及相关系数(-0.32)表明磁化率值与CWI值呈较明显的负相关,暗示温度和湿度对磁化率具有明显的控制作用。但可能受盆地升降等因素的影响叠加,磁化率曲线未能如CWI一样明确反映出第四纪气候的阶段性变化。     

亚热带小流域花岗岩化学风化及CO2消耗速率研究

文章选择深圳市的亚热带典型小流域作为研究对象,通过定期采集流域内降水、泉水、岩石及风化残积土样品,分析所有样品的常量元素和微量元素,探讨流域水体的化学成分组成和主要成分来源以及岩石化学风化程度和风化趋势,结合流域水文气象数据估算了花岗岩化学风化速率及CO2消耗速率.结果表明,研究区地下水化学类型为HCO3-Na型,主要...     

Evolution in the provenance of a tectonically controlled Plio–Pleistocene alluvial system between the Variscan Iberian Massif and the Atlantic margin, Portugal

Geochemical and mineralogical data from a Pliocene to Pleistocene alluvial sequence are integrated to access the factors that control rare earth elements (REE) geochemistry and the evolution and spatial differences in provenance. The studied alluvial system is situated in a tectonic active setting at the contact between the Variscan Massif, with several Paleozoic and Precambrian units that support a coastal range, and the Atlantic margin. REE and HREE abundances are generally higher in swamp-lake than in floodplain sediments. The majority of the REE in floodplain sediments is hosted by Y and Th-bearing minerals and illite; in swamp-lake sediments is also probable an association with organic matter. The high Gd/Yb, Eu/Eu* and kaolinite content in older sediments suggest that during the earlier phases provenance was mainly from the hinterland (weathered granitic rocks and its sediment cover). The subsequent illite (Mg-rich) clay assemblages and REE patterns indicate mainly lateral input from the eastern basin edge (Palaeozoic and Precambrian metapelitic rocks). These sediments tend to have lower Gd/Yb and La/Sm than their source rocks. The analysis of the chemical index of alteration (CIA) indicates that although a north-directed fluvial axis existed at that time the “mature” basin edge units found to the south (Silurian) had a limited role in supplying sediments. This shift in provenance is attributed to the uplift of the coastal range. Afterwards, the contribution of recycled Cretaceous and Cenozoic sedimentary units increased progressively. This is demonstrated by the increase is SiO₂/TiO₂, CIA and kaolinite/illite when the climatic conditions are expected to have become less chemically aggressive.     

Geochemical characteristics of Holocene aeolian deposits and their environmental significance in the Mu Us Desert,northern China

This paper addresses the surface and Holocene aeolian deposits in the southeastern Mu Us Desert, N. China, systematically analysing the evolution of the geochemical characteristics of aeolian sand–palaeosol sequences and their environmental significance. Our results indicate that the geochemical components of the Holocene aeolian deposits and surface deposits had the similar material sources, sediment transport and deposition processes in the study region, which were dominated by SiO₂, Al₂O₃, and Na₂O. In the weathering process of the Jinjie (JJ) profile, the Na, K, and Si presented the slight leaching and migration in general, while the other elements were relatively accumulated. The Holocene aeolian deposits and surface deposits incurred weaker geochemical weathering under cold and dry conditions and were only weakly leached, which implies a relatively arid environment in the Holocene epoch and the modern era. The weathering degree was controlled by the regional temperature and precipitation, and was probably more sensitive to the precipitation changes. In the sedimentary profile, the geochemical parameters and migration of elements demonstrated that there have been several alternating warm–wet and cold–dry intervals in the Mu Us Desert in the Holocene epoch; there were relatively warm and wet conditions prior to 4.6 ka, and it has been cold and dry since then. Six millennial‐scale dry events were recorded during the Holocene, which were not only accordant with the history of palaeoclimatic changes in the different latitudes and archives of the Northern Hemisphere, but also correspond to the millennial‐scale variation of cosmic radiation and solar activity during that period. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chemical weathering in the drainage basin of a tropical watershed (Nsimi-Zoetele site, Cameroon) : comparison between organic-poor and organic-rich waters

This study deals with the weathering processes operating at the scale of a small catchment (Nsimi-Zoetele, Cameroon) and is focused on the role of organic colloids on mineral weathering and transport of elements in natural waters. Samples of river, spring and groundwaters from Nsimi-Zoetele were filtered through membranes of decreasing pore size (0.22 μm, 0.025 μm, or: 300,000 Da, 5000 Da) to separate colloidal fractions from the truly dissolved one. Major and trace elements and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were analysed in each fraction. Two kinds of waters can be distinguished in the catchment: clear and coloured waters. Clear waters exhibit low concentrations of major and trace elements and DOC. Elements are carried in these solutions in a true dissolved form except Al and rare earth elements (REEs). By contrast, the higher abundances of Al, Fe and trace elements in coloured waters are controlled by the colloidal fraction. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations show that clear waters are in equilibrium with kaolinite and iron oxi-hydroxide which are major minerals in the weathered soil. For coloured waters, the aqueous speciation of Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Al, La and Th was calculated taking into account the complexes with humic acids. Speciation calculations for Cu, Fe, Al, La, Th show a strong complexation with humic acids, in good agreement with the results of the filtration experiments. By contrast, although filtration experiments show a strong control of major cations by organic matter (for example 75% for Ca), speciation calculations reveal that their complexes with humic ligands do not exceed a few percent of total dissolved elements. This discrepancy is explained as an artefact induced by the organic colloids and occurring during the filtration procedure. Finally, both filtration experiments and speciation calculations show that organic matter plays an important role in natural DOC-rich waters. Organic acids increase significantly the dissolution rates of silicates and oxi-hydroxides and thus the amounts of solutes and of complexed elements leaving the catchment.     

黔中小流域水体C、S同位素特征及主要风化过程

选取贵州省红枫湖流域四条支流为研究对象,通过对水体中C、S元素浓度及稳定同位素特征的分析,探讨了典型碳酸盐小流域的主要风化过程对流域C、S循环的贡献。红枫湖流域河水中的C同位素组成在-7．47‰--11．68‰之间,硫酸根浓度为295．5～1315．6μmol／L,除受当地煤矿影响较大的区域外,其余部分水体中离子的δ^34S值在-3‰--7‰之内,反映了这些河段中硫化物矿物的氧化的影响。通过质量守恒的方法,得到硫化物的氧化、蒸发岩溶解以及大气输入对河水硫酸根离子的贡献率分别为63．8％、30．8％和5．4％。来自硫酸对碳酸盐岩、碳酸对碳酸盐岩以及碳酸对硅酸盐岩风化的DIC比例为1：3．58：1．37,三种不同的风化过程对区域二氧化碳的净吸收量为7．97×10^9mol／a。     

内陆湖泊流域的化学风化及气候变化—以内蒙古岱海为例

利用湖泊沉积物中Rb/Sr值来反映受古气候制约的流域陆地化学风化率的变化，并恢复了岱海近400a以来以小冰期为特征的、具有100a准周期（经谱分析）的气候波动历史。通过磁化率、粘土矿物含量和种类的综合分析，确证了湖泊沉积物Rb/Sr值的变化可以用来重建流域内化学风化率与其相应的古气候演化过程，是湖泊沉积记录中具有比磁化率更明显气候意义的有效代用指标。     

Tropical chemical weathering of hillslope deposits and bedrock source in the Aburrá Valley, northern Colombian Andes

Tropical chemical weathering produces extensive lateritization and formation of deep weathering profiles. Both processes are fundamental to landscape evolution and slope instability. The Aburrá Valley of the northern Colombian Andes is characterized by tropical conditions. The valley slopes are mostly covered by hillslope deposits originating from four basement rock suites which comprise contrasting granitoid, volcanic–sedimentary, ophiolitic, and metamorphic sources, respectively. Tropical chemical weathering of the Aburrá hillslope deposits and their respective bedrock were examined using X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction analysis, to document and quantify their chemical weathering profiles, compositions, and mineralogical properties. The Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), loss on ignition (LOI), and the Mobiles index (Imob) were used to quantify the degree of weathering of hillslope deposits and bedrock source. Weathering trends were analyzed using A–CN–K and A–CNK–FM diagrams. The material mantling the slopes in the Aburrá Valley records an intense weathering history. Chemical weathering is characterized by increased development of clay minerals (kaolinite, halloysite) and iron and aluminum sesquioxides. Lateritization characterizes the final stage of the weathering profiles. Concentrations of CaO, Na₂O, K₂O decrease markedly in the weathering products compared to the fresh bedrock source, whereas concentrations of Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, and MgO increase significantly. CIA ratios of matrix slope deposits derived from all four sources near 100, whereas those of boulder slope deposits and saprolites are lower, but exceed source rock values. Different A–CN–K weathering paths are evident for each lithotype, validating the correlation established between the hillslope deposits and their various parents. Chemical weathering indices in some samples are strongly influenced by the presence of sesquioxides, as reflected by high LOI, anomalously low CIA, and varying enrichment trends on the A–CNK–FM diagrams. Consequently, different chemical indices based on different criteria need to be combined to obtain best results, as illustrated here by the combination of LOI, CIA, and Imob. The overall results suggest that tropical conditions have dominated for a long time in the northern Colombian Andes, leading to uniformly high weathering indices in matrix slope deposits irrespective of parent lithotype. Prolonged warm and humid conditions could thus be responsible for the weathering and remobilization of extensive old hillslope deposits during the Quaternary. However, in addition to the influence of climatic factors, tectonism has also undoubtedly influenced slope evolution in the Aburrá Valley.     

湖北清江榨洞石笋中可溶硅的测定及其古气候意义研究

洞穴石笋蕴含着丰富的古气候信息，其正确解译有赖于各类古气候替代指标的开发，应用改进的硅钼兰分光光度法测定湖北清江榨洞石笋中痕量可溶硅，探讨其古气候指示意义。结果表明，石笋中可溶硅含量记录了岩溶地下水的硅酸组成，后进反映了气候控制下土壤的化学风化作用。因而，石笋可溶硅是一个潜在的古气候（特别是古湿度）替代指标。     

Measuring and adjusting the weathering and hydraulic sorting effects for rigorous provenance analysis of sedimentary rocks: a case study from the Jurassic Ashikita Group,south‐west Japan

The present study examines the provenance of the Jurassic Ashikita Group distributed in south‐west Japan, which is composed of the Idenohana, Kyodomari and Sakamoto Formations. Two geochemical diagrams for provenance analysis were utilized, which incorporate full consideration of compositional modifications resulting from weathering (MFW diagram) and hydraulic sorting processes (SiO₂/Al₂O₃–Na₂O/K₂O diagram). The MFW diagram delineates weathering trends of sedimentary rocks and allows estimation of the original source rock composition by tracing the weathering trends backwards to an unweathered domain. Weathering trends of the Idenohana and Kyodomari Formations extend backward to the domain of intermediate and felsic igneous rocks. In contrast, sediments of the Sakamoto Formation do not fit into a linear weathering trend, indicating that the source rock cannot be approximated to igneous rocks. On the SiO₂/Al₂O₃–Na₂O/K₂O diagram, sediments are organized into compositional trends, in which the range reflects compositional variations induced by the hydraulic sorting effect. On this diagram, sediments derived from the igneous and recycled sedimentary provenances can be distinguished by reading the inclination of the trend. By utilizing this principle, source rocks of the Idenohana and Kyodomari Formations are interpreted as igneous rocks and those of the Sakamoto Formation are interpreted as recycled sedimentary rocks. Therefore, these diagrams concurrently estimate the source rock composition through quantifying and adjusting the weathering and sorting effects, and reveal a systematic transition in the provenance of the Ashikita Group. The Idenohana and Kyodomari Formations were supplied chiefly from an igneous provenance, which shifted from intermediate to felsic compositions in stratigraphic order. Whereas, sediments of the Sakamoto Formation were sourced primarily from a recycled sedimentary provenance.     

硫酸对典型岩溶流域碳酸盐岩溶蚀及碳循环意义:以广西平果岩溶流域为例

为探讨硫酸参与碳酸盐岩的溶蚀过程和对碳循环的影响,选择广西西南部平果县西南部右江中游以西典型岩溶流域,利用流域地表水和地下水水化学及碳同位素（δ¹³C_DIC）探讨了流域水化学特征及其主要影响因素,并利用水化学计量法对硫酸溶蚀碳酸盐岩的比例和对HCO₃^-离子的贡献比例进行了定量计算。结果表明：1）研究区水化学类型为HCO₃-Ca型,Ca²⁺和HCO₃^-是地下水和地表水最主要的阳离子和阴离子,水化学特征主要受碳酸盐岩化学风化作用的控制;2）地下水和地表水δ¹³C_DIC值介于-5.90‰~-16.62‰之间,大多数水样[Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺]与[HCO₃^-+SO₄^2-]当量平衡,[Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺]/[HCO₃^-]当量比值介于0.86~1.31之间,平均值为1.13,大部分大于1,表明除碳酸外,硫酸也参与了溶蚀碳酸盐岩;3）硫酸溶解碳酸盐岩对地下水（Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺）和HCO₃^-的贡献比例分别为0~46.88%和0~30.62%,平均贡献比例分别为20.08%和11.81%;对地表水（Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺）和HCO₃^-的贡献比例分别为14.67%~67.65%和7.92%~51.11%,平均贡献比例分别为38.88%和26.35%,显示了硫酸显著地参与了流域碳酸盐岩的溶蚀。硫酸参与流域碳酸盐岩的溶蚀改变了区域碳循环,这是全球碳循环模型应考虑的一个重要环节,不能被忽视。

     

Inter‐annual variability of southerly winds in a coastal area of the Atacama Desert: implications for the export of aeolian sediments to the adjacent marine environment

The analysis of the aeolian content of marine cores collected off the coast of the Atacama Desert (Mejillones Bay, Chile) suggests that marine sediments can record inter‐annual to inter‐decadal variations in the regional southerly winds responsible for particle entrainment at the surface of the nearby desert. However, the establishment of a simple and direct correlation between the sediment and wind records is complicated by the difference of time scales between the erosion and accumulation processes. The aim of this work is to: (i) assess the inter‐annual variability of the surface winds responsible for the sand movements; and (ii) determine whether the integration over periods of several months completely smoothes the rapid changes in characteristics of the transported and deposited aeolian material. To accomplish this aim, 14 years of 10 m hourly wind speed, measured at the Cerro Moreno (Antofagasta) Airport between 1991 and 2003 and at the Orica Station between 2000 and 2004, were analyzed. For each year, the wind speed statistical distribution can be represented by a combination of two to three Weibull functions. Winds of the lowest Weibull mode are too weak to move the sand grains at the surface of the pampa; this is not the case for the intermediate mode and especially for the highest speed mode which are able to erode the arid surface and transport particles to the bay. In each individual year of the period of study, the highest speed mode only accounted for a limited number of strong erosion events. Quantitative analysis of the distribution of the friction velocities and of their impact on erosion using a saltation model suggests that, although all wind speeds above threshold produce erosion events, values around 0·45 m sec^?1 contribute less to the erosion flux. This gap allows separation of the erosion events into low and high saltation modes. The correlation (r = 0·997) between the importance of the third Weibull mode and the extent of higher rate saltation indicates that the inter‐annual variability of the erosion at the surface of the pampa, as well as the transport of coarse particles (>100 μm), are directly related to inter‐annual variations in the prevalence of the strongest winds. Finally, a transport and deposition model is used to assess the possible impact of the wind inter‐annual variability on the deposition flux of mineral particles in the bay. The results suggest that inter‐annual differences in the wind speed distributions have a quantifiable effect on the intensity and size‐distribution of this deposition flux. This observation suggests that a detailed analysis of the sediment cores collected from the bay could be used for reconstructing the inter‐annual variability of past winds.     

Mineralogical and geochemical implications of weathering rates in coastal dunes and beach sands close to a volcanic rock source in the western Gulf of Mexico,Mexico

Coastal dune (CD) and beach sand samples were mineralogically and chemically studied to assess the weathering rates in a coastal area surrounded by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). The study area is a narrow coastal plain with sub-humid warm weather and vigorous coastal dynamics located in the Western Gulf of Mexico (WGM). Our results show that the grain size parameters remain homogeneous along nine CD and beach sites, probably due to the hydrodynamic mechanisms prevailing in the area, i.e. wind deflation, longshore currents, and waves. The minerals found in the CD and beach sands are enriched in recycled, highly corroded monocrystalline quartz (Qm), with loss of plagioclase (P) and olivine (ol), with ilmenite fractions (op) especially in the northern sites. The geochemical data show that the sands are controlled by the exhumation of the TMVB rocks composed of a high volcanic lithic content with lathwork, microlithic, and negligible vitric textures. These volcanic fractions are in agreement with the presence of lavas of calc alkaline, andesite, Na-alkaline lavas, and rhyolite tuffs derived from the TMVB. Significant Spearman Rank Correlations (SRCs) resulted from high silica, titanium, iron, magnesium, calcium, vanadium, chromium, cobalt, associated with the presence of Qm, ilmenite, clinopyroxene, shell fragments, and volcanic lithics. Monocrystalline quartz enrichments, compared to a quartz dilution effect (<Qm; < Qm) at the northern and southern beach sites, reflect the vigorous coastal dynamics. The presence of ilmenite lag deposits in the northern sites indicate that high energy hydrodynamic conditions prevail at the site. The rare earth element (REE) patterns support the mineralogical and compositional framework of the CD and beach sands as part of the TMVB exhumation. We used various chemical indices such as the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), the Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW), the Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA), and the Weathering Index of Plagioclase (WIP). The WIP values reflect the depletion of mobile elements such as Ca, Na, K, and enrichment of Qm at the northern beach sites, e.g. the Istirinchiá site. The CIA/WIP ratio of 2.13 indicates intermediate weathering under warm climatic conditions and recycling of CD and beach sands.     

Architecture of a coarse‐grained channel–levée system: the Rosario Formation,Baja California,Mexico

Seafloor images of coarse‐grained submarine channel–levée systems commonly reveal complex braid‐plain patterns of low‐amplitude bedforms and zones of apparent bypass; however, mechanisms of channel evolution and the resultant channel‐fill architecture are poorly understood. At Playa Esqueleto the lateral relationships between various elements of a deep‐marine slope channel system are well‐exposed. Specifically, the transition from gravel‐dominated axial thalwegs to laterally persistent marginal sandstones and isolated gravel‐filled scours is revealed. Marginal sandstones pass into a monotonous thin‐bedded succession which built to form relatively low‐relief levées bounding the channel belt; in turn, the levées onlap the canyon walls. Three orders of confinement were important during the evolution of the channel system: (i) first‐order confinement was provided by the erosional canyon which confined the entire system; (ii) confined levées built of turbidite sandstones and mudstones formed the second‐order confinement, and it is demonstrated that these built from overspill at thalweg margins; and (iii) third‐order confinement describes the erosional confinement of coarse‐grained thalwegs and scours. Finer‐grained sediment was transported in suspension and largely was unaffected by topography at the scale of individual thalwegs. Facies and clast analyses of conglomerate overlying channel‐marginal scours reveal that they were deposited by composite gravity flows, which were non‐cohesive, grain‐dominant debris flows with more fluidal cores. These flows were capable of basal erosion but were strongly depositional; frictional freezing at flow margins built gravel levées, while the core maintained a more fluidal transport regime. The resultant architecture consists of matrix‐rich, poorly sorted levées bounding better‐sorted, traction‐dominated cores. The planform geometry is interpreted to have consisted of a low‐sinuosity gravel braid‐plain built by accretion around mid‐channel and bank‐attached bars. This part of the system may be analogous to fluvial systems; however, the finer‐grained sediment load formed thick suspension clouds, probably several orders of magnitude thicker than the relief of braid‐plain topography and therefore controlled by the levées and canyon wall confinement.