The spatial and temporal distribution of grain‐size breaks in turbidites

Grain‐size breaks are surfaces where abrupt changes in grain size occur vertically within deposits. Grain‐size breaks are common features in turbidites around the world, including ancient and modern systems. Despite their widespread occurrence, grain‐size breaks have been regarded as exceptional, and not included within idealized models of turbidity current deposition. This study uses ca 100 shallow sediment cores, from the Moroccan Turbidite System, to map out five turbidite beds for distances in excess of 2000 km. The vertical and spatial distributions of grain‐size breaks within these beds are examined. Five different types of grain‐size break are found: Type I – in proximal areas between coarse sand and finer grained structureless sand; Type II – in proximal areas between inversely graded sand overlain by finer sand; Type III – in proximal areas between sand overlain by ripple cross‐laminated finer sand; Type IV – throughout the system between clean sand and mud; and Type V – in distal areas between mud‐rich (debrite) sand and mud. This article interprets Types I and V as being generated by sharp vertical concentration boundaries, controlled by sediment and clay concentrations within the flows, whilst Types II and III are interpreted as products of spatial/temporal fluctuations in flow capacity. Type IV are interpreted as the product of fluid mud layers, which hinder the settling of non‐cohesive grains and bypasses them down slope. Decelerating suspensions with sufficient clay will always form cohesive layers near to bed, promoting the generation of Type IV grain‐size breaks. This may explain why Type IV grain‐size breaks are widespread in all five turbidites examined and are commonplace within turbidite sequences studied elsewhere. Therefore, Type IV grain‐size breaks should be understood as the norm, not the exception, and regarded as a typical feature within turbidite beds.     

The geometry of fan‐deltas and related turbidites in narrow linear basins

The sediment distribution in three narrow, linear basins, two modern and one ancient, in Greece and Italy, was studied and related to changes in basin configuration. The basins are the Plio‐Quaternary Patras–Corinth graben, the Pliocene–Quaternary Reggio–Scilla graben and the middle Tertiary Mesohellenic piggy‐back basin. These basins were formed at different times and under different geodynamic conditions, but in each case, the tectonic evolution produced a narrow area in the basin where the water depth decreased dramatically, forming a strait with a sill. This strait divided the basin into major and minor sub‐basins, and the strait has a similar impact on sedimentary environments in all three basins, even though different depositional environments were formed along the initial basin axis. Predictions for the development of depositional environments in the two modern basins, especially in their straits, are based on the studied ancient basin. In the straits, powerful tidal flows will transport finer sediments to sub‐basins and trapezoidal‐type fan‐deltas will gradually fill up and choke the strait through time. In sub‐basins, according to basin depth, either deltaic (in the shallow minor sub‐basin) or turbiditic (in the deep major sub‐basin) deposits may accumulate. Moreover, an extensive shelf is likely to develop between the strait and major sub‐basin. This shelf will be cross‐cut by canyons and characterized by thin fine‐ to coarse‐grained deposits. These sediment models could be applied to analogous basin geometries around the world. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anatomy, geometry and sequence stratigraphy of basin floor to slope turbidite systems, Tanqua Karoo, South Africa

The Tanqua area of the Karoo basin, South Africa, contains five Permian deep-water turbidite fan systems, almost completely exposed over some 640 km². Reconstruction of the basin-fill and fan distributions indicates a progradational trend in the 450 m+ thick succession, from distal basin floor (fan 1) through basin-floor subenvironments (fans 2, 3 and 4) to a slope setting (fan 5). Fans are up to 65 m thick with gradational to sharp bases and tops. Facies associations include basin plain claystone and distal turbidite siltstone/claystone and a range of fine-grained sandstone associations, including low- and high-density turbidite current deposits and proportionally minor debris/slurry flows. Architectural elements include sheets of amalgamated and layered styles and channels of five types. Each fan is interpreted as a low-frequency lowstand systems tract with the shaly interfan intervals representing transgressive and highstand systems tracts. All fans show complex internal facies distributions but exhibit a high-frequency internal stratigraphy based on fan-wide zones of relative sediment starvation. These zones are interpreted as transgressive and highstand systems tracts of higher order sequences. Sandy packages between these fine-grained intervals are interpreted as high-frequency lowstand systems tracts and exhibit dominantly progradational stacking patterns, resulting in subtle downdip clinoform geometries. Bases of fans and intrafan packages are interpreted as low- and high-frequency sequence boundaries respectively. Facies juxtapositions across these sequence boundaries are variable and may be gradational, sharp or erosive. In all cases, criteria for a basinward shift of facies are met, but there is no standard 'motif' for sequence boundaries in this system. High-frequency sequences represent the dominant mechanism of active fan growth in the Tanqua deep-water system.     

Sequence stratigraphy of the Mancos Shale,lower Tres Hermanos Formation,and coeval middle Cenomanian to middle Turonian strata,southern New Mexico,USA

Sequence stratigraphic analysis of four widely spaced outcrops of middle Cenomanian to middle Turonian strata deposited in the Western Interior foreland basin in southern New Mexico, USA, defines ten sequence boundaries in a marine shale‐rich interval ca 200 m thick. The majority of sequence boundaries are based on basinward shifts in lithofacies characterized by either a non‐Waltherian contact between distal‐bar or lower shoreface sandstone and underlying lower offshore shale, or an erosional contact between distal‐bar or lower shoreface sandstone and underlying upper offshore shale. The sequence boundaries commonly correlate basinward to packages of storm‐deposited sandstone and to beds of sandy grainstone composed of winnowed inoceramid shell fragments. In several cases, however, the sequence boundaries pass basinward into presumably conformable successions of lower offshore shale. Maximum flooding surfaces within the sequences are represented by one or more beds of locally phosphatized globiginerid wackestone and packstone or exist within a conformable succession of lower offshore shale. Following initial south/south‐westward transgression into the study area, the regional trend of palaeoeshorelines was north‐west to south‐east, although isopach data indicate that lobes of sandstone periodically spread south‐eastward across the study area. The ten sequences in the study area are arranged into a third‐order composite megasequence that is characterized by overall upward‐deepening followed by upward‐shallowing of sequences. The composite megasequence is similar but not identical to the previously established T‐1 transgression and R‐1 regression in New Mexico. Based on radioisotopic dates of bentonites, the average frequency of the sequences within the study area was ca 327 kyr, which is consistent with fourth‐order cycles of ca 400 kyr interpreted in coeval marine strata elsewhere in the world.     

Upper Cretaceous marine‐continental transition (Leonese Area,NW Spain) defined from integrated outcrop and seismic stratigraphy

The Upper Cretaceous succession of the Leonese Area (NW Spain) comprises mixed clastic and carbonate sediments. This succession is divided into two lithostratigraphic units, the Voznuevo Member and the Boñar Formation, which represent fluvial, shoreface, intertidal, subtidal and open‐shelf sedimentary environments. Regional seismic interpretation and sequence stratigraphic analysis have allowed the study of lateral and vertical changes in the sedimentary record and the definition of third‐order levels of stratigraphic cyclicity. On the basis of these data, the succession can be divided into two second‐order depositional sequences (DS‐1 and DS‐2), incorporating three system tracts in a lowstand to transgressive to highstand system tract succession (LST–TST–HST). These sequences are composed of fluvial systems at the base with palaeocurrents that flowed westward and south‐westward. The upper part of DS‐1 (Late Albian–Middle Turonian) shows evidence of intertidal to subtidal and offshore deposits. DS‐2 (Late Turonian–Campanian) comprises intertidal to subtidal, tidal flat, shallow marine and lacustrine deposits and interbedded fluvial deposits. Two regressive–transgressive cycles occurred in the area related to eustatic controls. The evolution of the basin can be explained by base‐level changes and associated shifts in depositional trends of successive retrogradational episodes. By using isobath and isopach maps, the main palaeogeographic features of DS‐1 and DS‐2 were constrained, namely coastline positions, the existence and orientation of corridors through which fluvial networks were channelled and the location of the main depocentres of the basin. Sedimentation on the Upper Cretaceous marine platform was mainly controlled by (i) oscillations of sea level and (ii) the orientation of Mesozoic faults, which induced sedimentation along depocentres. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deterministic and statistical size effect during shearing of granular layer within a micro‐polar hypoplasticity

The paper deals with numerical investigations of a deterministic and statistical size effect in granular bodies during quasi‐static shearing of an infinite layer under plane strain conditions, free dilatancy and constant pressure. For a simulation of the mechanical behaviour of a cohesionless granular material during a monotonous deformation path, a micro‐polar hypoplastic constitutive relation was used which takes into account particle rotations, curvatures, non‐symmetric stresses, couple stresses and the mean grain diameter as a characteristic length. The proposed model captures the essential mechanical features of granular bodies in a wide range of densities and pressures with a single set of constants. In the paper, a deterministic and statistical size effect is analysed. The deterministic calculations were carried out with an uniform distribution of the initial void ratio for four different heights of the granular layer: 5, 50, 500 and 2000 mm. To investigate the statistical size effect, the Monte Carlo method was applied. The random distribution of the initial void ratio was assumed to be spatially correlated. Truncated Gaussian random fields were generated in a granular layer using an original conditional rejection method. The sufficient number of samples was determined by analysing the convergence of the outcomes. In order to reduce the number of realizations without losing the accuracy of the calculations, stratified and Latin hypercube methods were applied. A parametric analysis of these methods was also presented. Some general conclusions were formulated. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of sequence stratigraphic concepts to the Upper Cretaceous Tununk Shale Member of the Mancos Shale Formation,south-central Utah: Parasequence styles in shelfal mudstone strata

Although sequence stratigraphic concepts have been applied extensively to coarse-grained siliciclastic deposits in nearshore environments, high-resolution sequence stratigraphic analysis has not been widely applied to mudstone-dominated sedimentary successions deposited in more distal hemipelagic to pelagic settings. To examine how sequence stratigraphic frameworks can be derived from the facies variability of mudstone-dominated successions, the Tununk Shale Member of the Mancos Shale Formation in south-central Utah (USA) was examined in detail through a combination of sedimentological, stratigraphic and petrographic methods. The Tununk Shale accumulated on a storm-dominated shelf during the second-order Greenhorn sea-level cycle. During this eustatic event, the depositional environment of the Tununk Shale shifted laterally from distal middle shelf to outer shelf, then from an outer shelf to an inner shelf environment. At least 49 parasequences can be identified within the Tununk Shale. Each parasequence shows a coarsening-upward trend via upward increases in silt and sand content, thickness and lateral continuity of laminae/beds, and abundance of storm-generated sedimentary structures. Variations in bioturbation styles within parasequences are complex, although abrupt changes in bioturbation intensity or diversity commonly occur across parasequence boundaries (i.e. flooding surfaces). Due to changes in depositional environments, dominant sediment supply and bioturbation characteristics, parasequence styles in the Tununk Shale show considerable variability. Based on parasequence stacking patterns, eleven system tracts, four depositional sequences and key sequence stratigraphic surfaces can be identified. The high-resolution sequence stratigraphic framework of the Tununk Shale reveals a hierarchy of stratal cyclicity. Application of sequence stratigraphic concepts to this thick mudstone-dominated succession provides important insights into the underlying causes of heterogeneity in these rocks over multiple thickness scales (millimetre-scale to metre-scale). The detailed sedimentological characterization of parasequences, system tracts and depositional sequences in the Tununk Shale provides conceptual approaches that can aid the development of high-resolution sequence stratigraphic frameworks in other ancient shelf mudstone successions.     

Generation of a realistic 3D sand assembly using X‐ray micro‐computed tomography and spherical harmonic‐based principal component analysis

Three‐dimensional particle morphology is a significant problem in the discrete element modeling of granular sand. The major technical challenge is generating a realistic 3D sand assembly that is composed of a large number of random‐shaped particles containing essential morphological features of natural sands. Based on X‐ray micro‐computed tomography data collected from a series of image processing techniques, we used the spherical harmonics (SH) analysis to represent and reconstruct the multi‐scale features of real 3D particle morphologies. The SH analysis was extended to some highly complex particles with sharp corners and surface cavities. We then proposed a statistical approach for the generation of realistic particle assembly of a given type of sand based on the principle component analysis (PCA). The PCA aims to identify the major pattern of the coefficient matrix, which is made up of the SH coefficients of all the particles involved in the analysis. This approach takes into account the particle size effect on the variation of particle morphology, which is observed from the available results of micro‐computed tomography and QICPIC analyses of sand particle morphology. Using the aforementioned approach, two virtual sand samples were generated, whose statistics of morphological parameters were compared with those measured from real sand particles. The comparison shows that the proposed approach is capable of generating a realistic sand assembly that retains the major morphological features of the mother sand. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene relative sea‐level changes in Harris,Outer Hebrides,Scotland, UK

Evidence for relative sea‐level changes during the middle and late Holocene is examined from two locations on the Atlantic coast of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, using morphological mapping and survey, stratigraphical, grain size and diatom analysis, and radiocarbon dating. The earliest event identified is a marine flood, which occurred after 7982–8348 cal. a (7370 ± 80 ¹⁴C a) BP, when the sea crossed a threshold lying at ?0.08 m Ordnance Datum Newlyn (OD) (?2.17 m mean high water springs (MHWS)) before withdrawing. This could have been due to a storm or to the Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami. By 6407–6122 cal. a (5500 ± 60 ¹⁴C a) BP, relative sea levels had begun to fall from a sandflat surface with an indicated MHWS level of between 0.08 and ?1.96 m (?2.01 to ?4.05 m). This fall reached between ?0.30 and ?2.35 m (?2.39 to ?4.44 m) after 5841–5050 cal. a (4760 ± 130 ¹⁴C a) BP, but was succeeded by a relative sea‐level rise which reached between 0.54 and ?1.57 m (?1.55 to ?3.66 m) by 5450–4861 cal. a (4500 ± 100 ¹⁴C a) BP. This rise continued, possibly with an interruption, until a second sandflat surface was reached between 2.34 and ?0.26 m (0.25 to ?2.35 m) between 2952–3375 cal. a (3000 ± 80 ¹⁴C a) and 1948–2325 cal. a (2130 ± 70 ¹⁴C a) BP, before present levels were reached. The regressive episode from the earliest sandflat is correlated with the abandonment of the Main Postglacial Shoreline. It is maintained that the fluctuations in relative sea level recorded can be correlated with similar events elsewhere on the periphery of the glacio‐isostatic centre and may therefore reflect secular changes in nearshore sea surface levels. Despite published evidence from trim lines of differential ice sheet loading across the area, no evidence of variations in uplift between the locations concerned could be found. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Abandoned channel fill sequences in the tidal estuary of a small mountainous,dry‐summer river

This study proposes a modification of the current model for abandoned channel fill stratigraphy produced in unidirectional flow river reaches to incorporate seasonal tidal deposition. Evidence supporting this concept came from a study of two consecutive channel abandonment sequences in Ropers Slough of the lower Eel River Estuary in northern California. Aerial photographs showed that Ropers Slough was abandoned around 1943, reoccupied after the 1964 flood, and abandoned again in 1974 with fill continuing to the present. Planform geomorphic characteristics derived from these images were used in conjunction with sub‐centimetre resolution stratigraphic analyses to describe depositional processes and their resultant sedimentary deposits. Both abandonment sequences recorded quasi‐annual scale fluvial/tidal deposition couplets. In both cases, tidal deposits contained very little sand, were higher in organic and inorganic carbon content than the sandier, fluvially dominated deposits, and possessed millimetre‐scale horizontal laminations. The two abandonment fills differed significantly in terms of the temporal progression of channel narrowing and fluvial sediment deposition characteristics. Aerial photographic analysis showed that the first abandonment sequence led to a more rapid narrowing of Ropers Slough and produced deposits with a positive relationship between grain size/deposit thickness and discharge. The second abandonment resulted in a much slower narrowing of Ropers Slough and generally thinner fluvial deposits with no clear relationship between grain size/deposit thickness and discharge. The δ¹³C values and organic nitrogen to organic carbon ratios of deposits from the first phase overlapped with Eel River suspended sediment characteristics found for low flows (one to five times mean discharge), while those of the second phase were consistent with suspended sediment from higher flows (seven to ten times mean discharge). When considered together, the results indicate that the early fill sequence recorded a reach experiencing regular fluvial deposition through flow conditions during the wet season, while the latter fill sequence records a reach more disconnected from the main stem in terms of flow and sediment. The major factor affecting the difference in sedimentation between the two fill periods appears to have been the morphology of the upstream river bend in relation to the position of the bifurcation node. During the first fill period, the upstream entrance to Ropers Slough seems to have remained open, in part due to the placement of its entrance on the outside of the mainstem river bend, and despite stronger tidal effects caused by a larger tidal prism and closer proximity to the tidal inlet. By the second fill sequence, the upstream bend morphology had altered, placing the entrance to Ropers Slough on the inner bank of the mainstem bend, which resulted in more rapid plug bar formation. The role of tidal effects in the geomorphic trajectory of the two abandonment sequences is unclear, but appears to have been less important than local bifurcation geometry.     

Micromechanical approach to effective viscoelastic properties of micro‐fractured geomaterials

The aim of this paper is to formulate a micromechanics‐based approach to non‐aging viscoelastic behavior of materials with randomly distributed micro‐fractures. Unlike cracks, fractures are discontinuities that are able to transfer stresses and can therefore be regarded from a mechanical viewpoint as interfaces endowed with a specific behavior under normal and shear loading. Making use of the elastic‐viscoelastic correspondence principle together with a Mori‐Tanka homogenization scheme, the effective viscoelastic behavior is assessed from properties of the material constituents and damage parameters related to density and size of fractures. It is notably shown that the homogenized behavior thus formulated can be described in most cases by means of a generalized Maxwell rheological model. For practical implementation in structural analyses, an approximate model for the isotropic homogenized fractured medium is formulated within the class of Burger models. Although the approximation is basically developed for short‐term and long‐term behaviors, numerical applications indicate that the approximate Burger model accurately reproduce the homogenized viscoelastic behavior also in the transient conditions.     

A micro‐mechanical study of peak strength and critical state

We present a micro‐mechanical analysis of macroscopic peak strength, critical state, and residual strength in two‐dimensional non‐cohesive granular media. Typical continuum constitutive quantities such as frictional strength and dilation angle are explicitly related to their corresponding grain‐scale counterparts (e.g., inter‐particle contact forces, fabric, particle displacements, and velocities), providing an across‐the‐scale basis for a better understanding and modeling of granular materials. These multi‐scale relations are derived in three steps. First, explicit relations between macroscopic stress and strain rate with the corresponding grain‐scale mechanics are established. Second, these relations are used in conjunction with the non‐associative Mohr–Coulomb criterion to explicitly connect internal friction and dilation angles to the micro‐mechanics. Third, the mentioned explicit connections are applied to investigate, understand, and derive micro‐mechanical conditions for peak strength, critical state, and residual strength. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measuring alluvial fan sensitivity to past climate changes using a self‐similarity approach to grain‐size fining,Death Valley,California

The effects of climate change on eroding landscapes and the terrestrial sedimentary record are poorly understood. Using mountain catchment–alluvial fan systems as simple analogues for larger landscapes, a wide range of theoretical studies, numerical models and physical experiments have hypothesized that a change in precipitation rate could leave a characteristic signal in alluvial fan sediment flux, grain size and down‐system fining rate. However, this hypothesis remains largely untested in real landscapes. This study measures grain‐size fining rates from apex to toe on two alluvial fan systems in northern Death Valley, California, USA, which each have well‐exposed modern and ca 70 ka surfaces, and where the long‐term tectonic boundary conditions can be constrained. Between them, these surfaces capture a well‐constrained temporal gradient in climate. A grain‐size fining model is adapted, based on self‐similarity and selective deposition, for application to these alluvial fans. This model is then integrated with cosmogenic nuclide constraints on catchment erosion rates, and observed grain‐size fining data from two catchment‐fan systems, to estimate the change in sediment flux from canyon to alluvial fan that occurred between mid‐glacial and modern interglacial conditions. In a fan system with negligible sediment recycling, a ca 30% decrease in precipitation rate led to a 20% decrease in sediment flux and a clear increase in the down‐fan rate of fining, supporting existing landscape evolution models. Consequently, this study shows that small mountain catchments and their alluvial fan stratigraphy can be highly sensitive to orbital climate changes over <10⁵ year timescales. However, in the second fan system it is observed that this sensitivity is completely lost when sediment is remobilized and recycled over a time period longer than the duration of the climatic perturbation. These analyses offer a new approach to quantitatively reconstructing the effects of past climate changes on sedimentation, using simple grain‐size data measured in the field.     

Numerical investigations of shear localization in a micro‐polar hypoplastic material

In this paper a micro‐polar continuum approach is proposed to model the essential properties of cohesionless granular materials like sand. The model takes into account the influence of particle rotations, the mean grain size, the void ratio, the stresses and couple stresses. The constitutive equations for the stresses and couple stresses are incrementally non‐linear and based on the concept of hypoplasticity. For plane strain problems the implementation of the model in a finite element program is described. Numerical studies of the evolution of micro‐polar effects within a granular strip under plane shearing are presented. It is shown that the location and evolution of shear localization is strongly influenced by the initial state and the micro‐polar boundary conditions. For large shearing the state quantities tend towards a stationary state for which a certain coupling between the norm of the stress deviator and the norm of the couple stress tensor can be derived. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘Boninitic’ clasts from the Mesozoic olistostromes and turbidites of Angelokastron (Argolis,Greece)

The Lower Unit of the ophiolitic sequence of Northern Argolis comprises turbiditic sediments and olistostromes, both containing ophiolitic clasts, mainly crystal fragments (clinopyroxene, plagioclase, Cr-spinel, amphibole) in the turbidites and cumulitic intrusives (quartz noritic amphibole-bearing gabbros), subvolcanic rocks (dolerites) and various effusive lithologies (mainly Si-rich basalts to basaltic andesites) in the olistostromes. The volcanic rocks belong to three groups. In rare cases the lavas are mineralogically and chemically comparable with MORB; most of them, and the subvolcanic rocks, contain primary quartz and amphibole, orthopyroxene, Ca-rich plagioclase and clinopyroxene±Cr-spinels. All rocks are Si- and Mg-rich and have high concentrations of ‘compatible’ and very low concentrations of ‘incompatible’ elements. The REE profiles are characteristically U-shaped. Many of the observed features are comparable with those of subduction-related lavas and, in particular, with present day boninites and ophiolitic boninitic rocks. The gabbroic rocks have mineralogical and chemical analogies with the dolerites and lavas, thus it may be argued that the gabbros represent the intrusive counterparts of the ‘boninitic’ volcanic clasts. The mineral clasts occurring in the turbidites are chemically comparable with those analysed in the ophiolitic clasts of the overlying olistostrome. It may be concluded that the ophiolitic clasts of both olistostromes and turbidites were derived from a subduction-related sequence. An island arc–back-arc system might explain the occurrence of both boninitic and MORB-type lithologies in the olistostrome of Angelokastron. This may support the hypothesis of the onset of compressive tectonics along the Pindos Ocean during the Jurassic. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐resolution sequence stratigraphy of the Maastrichtian‐Ypresian succession along the eastern scarp face of Kharga Oasis,southern Western Desert,Egypt

A thick Maastrichtian‐Ypresian succession, dominated by marine siliciclastic and carbonate deposits of the regionally recognized Nile Valley and Garra El‐Arbain facies associations, is exposed along the eastern escarpment face of Kharga Oasis, located in the Western Desert of Egypt. The main objectives of the present study are: (i) to establish a detailed biostratigraphic framework; (ii) to interpret the depositional environments; and (iii) to propose a sequence stratigraphic framework in order to constrain the palaeogeographic evolution of the Kharga sub‐basin during the Maastrichtian‐Ypresian time interval. The biostratigraphic analysis suggests the occurrence of 10 planktonic zones; two in the Early Maastrichtian (CF8b and CF7), four in the Palaeocene (P2, P3, P4c and P5) and four in the Early Eocene (E1, E2, E3 and E4). Recorded zonal boundaries and biostratigraphic zones generally match with those proposed elsewhere in the region. The stratigraphic succession comprises seven third‐order depositional sequences which are bounded by unconformities and their correlative conformities which can be correlated within and outside Egypt. These depositional sequences are interpreted as the result of eustatic sea‐level changes coupled with local tectonic activities. Each sequence contains a lower retrogradational parasequence set bounded above by a marine‐flooding surface and an upper progradational parasequence set bounded above by a sequence boundary. Parasequences within parasequence sets are stacked in landward‐stepping and seaward‐stepping patterns indicative of transgressive and highstand systems tracts, respectively. Lowstand systems tracts were not developed in the studied sections, presumably due to the low‐relief ramp setting. The irregular palaeotopography of the Dakhla Basin, which was caused by north‐east to south‐west trending submerged palaeo‐highs and lows, together with the eustatic sea‐level fluctuations, controlled the development and location of the two facies associations in the Kharga Oasis, the Nile Valley (open marine) and Garra El‐Arbain (marginal marine).     

深水浊积岩层序地层学研究中碳氧同位素的应用——以湖南大庸田坪剖面为例

笔者通过海平面变化曲线与碳氧同位素曲线比较,发现两者曲线基本吻合。碳同位素曲线显示的海平面变化更接近露头层序地层的海平面变化;氧同位素曲线与露头层序海平面变化大体一致,局部出现相反结论。碳同位素曲线对沉积环境变化较氧同位素曲线更敏感。通过两者曲线研究,说明运用稳定同位素曲线变化可作为浊积岩层序地层学研究的一个研究手段。     

A log‐normal spectral analysis of inorganic grain‐size distributions from a Canadian boreal lake core: Towards refining depositional process proxy data from high latitude lakes

Better methods for interpreting grain‐size spectra will enhance current understanding of past transport–depositional processes. A high‐resolution inorganic grain‐size dataset has been measured from a freeze core extracted from ‘Alberta Lake E’ a boreal fresh water lake 40 km east of the Athabasca Oil Sands in north‐eastern Alberta, Canada. The grain‐size spectra are remarkably consistent throughout the core, exhibiting a structure comprising six persistent grain‐size distributions below ca 250 μm, plus a rare medium‐sand distribution. Automated deconvolution of the grain‐size spectra produced poor results. Constraining the modes of two of the distributions produced deconvolution solutions that were statistically excellent and consistent with the structure of each spectrum. Statistical analysis of the ‘constrained’ solutions indicates that deconvolution successfully extracted independent grain‐size populations. Conversely, the multimodal spectra generate traditional measures (for example, mean grain size) that are inconsistent combinations of different individual populations and thus are poor proxies of transport–depositional processes. Alberta Lake E is situated in a boreal wetland landscape where sediment delivery is dominated by overland flow transport during spring melt. This context means that the Alberta Lake E grain‐size spectra can be interpreted to reflect: (i) a bedload component transported during short‐duration high discharge events that reflect the intensity of the melt; and (ii) a finer suspended load component representing material whose magnitude is controlled by the volume of the spring melt. Stratigraphically, bedload and suspended load populations demonstrate different short‐wavelength and long‐wavelength cyclicity, suggesting that spring melt is likely to be driven by cyclic external forcing factors. The links between the grain‐size spectra and spring melt have potential for generating proxy records that better capture the external controls over spring melt in boreal systems and the risks associated with these energetic hydrodynamics. This is exemplified by the coarsest Alberta Lake E distributions, which indicate that more intense spring‐melt dynamics occurred in pre‐historical times.     

A depositional model for deep‐lacustrine,partially confined,turbidite fans: Early Cretaceous,North Falkland Basin

This paper presents a model of facies distribution within a set of early Cretaceous, deep‐lacustrine, partially confined turbidite fans (Sea Lion Fan, Sea Lion North Fan and Otter Fan) in the North Falkland Basin, South Atlantic. As a whole, ancient deep‐lacustrine turbidite systems are under‐represented in the literature when compared with those documented in marine basins. Lacustrine turbidite systems can form extensive, good quality hydrocarbon reservoirs, making the understanding of such systems crucial to exploration within lacustrine basins. An integrated analysis of seismic cross‐sections, seismic amplitude extraction maps and 455 m of core has enabled the identification of a series of turbidite fans. The deposits of these fans have been separated into lobe axis, lobe fringe and lobe distal fringe settings. Seismic architectures, observed in the seismic amplitude extraction maps, are interpreted to represent geologically associated heterogeneities, including: feeder systems, terminal mouth lobes, flow deflection, sinuous lobe axis deposits, flow constriction and stranded lobe fringe areas. When found in combination, these architectures suggest ‘partial confinement’ of a system, something that appears to be a key feature in the lacustrine turbidite setting of the North Falkland Basin. Partial confinement of a system occurs when depositionally generated topography controls the flow‐pathway and deposition of subsequent turbidite fan deposits. The term ‘partial confinement’ provides an expression for categorising a system whose depositional boundaries are unconfined by the margins of the basin, yet exhibit evidence of internal confinement, primarily controlled by depositional topography. Understanding the controls that dictate partial confinement; and the resultant distribution of sand‐prone facies within deep‐lacustrine turbidite fans, is important, particularly considering their recent rise as hydrocarbon reservoirs in rift and failed‐rift settings.     

New data on the stratigraphy and depositional environment for Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits of the Stolbovoi Island (New Siberian Islands)

The section of Mesozoic terrigenous deposits over 1200 m thick has been described, and a new geological map of the Stolbovoi Island southern half has been compiled. The inference has been made that the sedimentary sequence represents a single uniform turbidite complex, which is indivisible into lithological units and which does not show transition to shallow-marine facies either in the visible foot section or visible roof section. The complex accumulated in the foreland basin emerged on the margin of the Novosibirsk-Chukchi continental block during the Anyuian orogeny. The presence of upper Volgian deposits (Upper Jurassic) with a visible thickness of 640 m, Berriasian (Ryazanian) deposits about 100-m thick, and lower Valanginian deposits with a visible thickness of ～200 m has been established on the basis of identification of fossils represented by remains of bivalve mollusks (the genus Buchia). Finds of upper Volgian buchias in the southeastern part of the island are inconsistent with field geological observations of the sequence of deposits. Paleontological data acquired for the island southern part suggest the presence of a transverse thrust fault, along which upper Volgian rocks were thrust over lower Neocomian rocks. The possibility of another interpretation of the data has also been considered. The correlation of the Buchia Beds of the Stolbovoi Island, Nordvik Peninsula, the basin of the Anyui River, and northern California has been carried out. The inference about a close relationship between the biota of the Stolbovoi Island and the North Pacific paleobiogeographic realm has been drawn.