Response of unconfined turbidity current to normal‐fault topography

Turbidity currents descending the slopes of deep‐water extensional basins or passive continental margins commonly encounter normal‐fault escarpments, but such large‐magnitude phenomena are hydraulically difficult to replicate at small scale in the laboratory. This study uses advanced computational fluid dynamics numerical simulations to monitor the response of large, natural‐scale unconfined turbidity currents (100 m thick and 2000 m wide at the inlet gate) to normal‐fault topography with a maximum relief of nearly 300 m. For comparative purposes, the turbidity current is first released on a non‐faulted pristine slope of 1·5° (simulation model 1). The expanding and waxing flow bypasses the slope without recognizable deposition within the visibility limit of 8 vol.% sand grain packing. Similar flow is then released towards the tip (model 2) and towards the centre (model 3) of a normal‐fault escarpment. In both of these latter models, the sand carried by flow tends to be entrapped in four distinct depozones: an upslope near‐gate zone of flow abrupt expansion and self‐regulation; a flow‐transverse zone at the fault footwall edge; a flow‐transverse zone at the immediate hangingwall; and a similar transverse zone near the crest of the hangingwall counter‐slope, where some of the deposited sand also tends to be reshuffled to the previous zone by a secondary reverse underflow. The near‐bottom reverse flow appears to be generated on a counter‐slope of 1·1°, increased to 2·0° by deposition. The Kelvin–Helmholtz interface instability plays an important role by causing three‐dimensional fluctuations in the flow velocity magnitude and sediment concentration. The thick deposits of large single‐surge flows may thus show hydraulic fluctuations resembling those widely ascribed to hyperpycnal flows. The study indicates further that the turbiditic slope fans formed on such fault topographies are likely to be patchy and hence may differ considerably from the existing slope‐fan conceptual models when it comes to the spatial prediction of main sand depozones.     

莱州湾西构造带断裂特征及其对油气成藏的控制

受古近纪莱州湾凹陷大规模断陷、郯庐断裂右旋走滑和垦东凸起大规模隆升三方面因素共同作用,莱州湾西构造带断裂系统发育,根据断裂性质及发育规模将断裂划分为3组不同方向的断裂组合,对油气的运移、聚集及保存都产生重要影响。根据莱州湾地区油气成藏规律并结合渤海其他区域近年勘探成果综合分析,莱北1号断层、斜坡区东西向反向正断层和走滑末端雁行式断层三类大规模调节断层对于油气成藏影响作用较大,这三类断层所控制的圈闭也是莱州湾凹陷及围区下一步勘探获得突破的重点区域。     

Age and origin of laterite and silcrete duricrusts and their relationship to episodic tectonism in the mid‐north of South Australia∗

Differential earth movements occurred during Eocene, Miocene, and late Caino‐zoic times. The faulting formed basins of sedimentation, led to dissection of land‐surfaces in some localities and burial in others, and faulted the Cainozoic sediments.

Laterite and silcrete cap remnants of relict landsurfaces of two different ages. Laterite formed before the Eocene; it was faulted and dissected during the Eocene in the north but continued to develop until the Miocene in the south. Silcrete formed from Eocene to Miocene times; its dissection was promoted by late Cainozoic tectonism.

Since laterite and silcrete formed on the same strata in warm, very moist environments, lithology and climate are not important genetic factors causing laterite to form at one time and silcrete at another. Only base levels of erosion differed. The silcrete surface was largely developed by streams flowing into mid‐Cainozoic lacustrine basins, whereas there is no evidence that these drainage conditions prevailed for laterite formation.     

Sedimentological constraints on hydrometeor-enhanced particle deposition: 1992 Eruptions of Crater Peak, Alaska

Water is a dominant component of volcanic clouds and has fundamental control on very fine particle deposition. Particle size characteristics of distal tephra-fall (100s km from source volcano) have a higher proportion of very fine particles compared to predictions based on single particle settling rates. In this study, sedimentological analyses of fallout from for the 18 August and 16–17 September 1992 eruptions of Crater Peak, Alaska, are combined with satellite observations, and cloud trajectory and microphysics modeling to investigate meteorological influences on particle sedimentation. Total grain size distributions of tephra fallout were reconstructed for both Crater Peak eruptions and indicate a predominance of fine particles < 125 μm. Polymodal analysis of the deposits has identified a particle subpopulation with mode ~ 15–18 μm involved in particle aggregation. Accounting for the magmatic water source only, calculated ice water content of the 3.7 hour old September 1992 Spurr cloud was ~ 4.5 × 10^− 2 g m^− 3 (based on an estimated cloud thickness of ~ 1000 m from trajectory modeling). Hydrometeor formation on particles in the volcanic cloud and subsequent sublimation may induce a cloud base instability that leads to rapid bulk (en masse) sedimentation of very fine particles through a mammatus-like mechanism.     

Flow dynamics at the origin of thin clayey sand lacustrine turbidites: Examples from Lake Hazar,Turkey

Turbidity currents and their deposits can be investigated using several methods, i.e. direct monitoring, physical and numerical modelling, sediment cores and outcrops. The present study focused on thin clayey sand turbidites found in Lake Hazar (Turkey) occurring in eleven clusters of closely spaced thin beds. Depositional processes and sources for three of those eleven clusters are studied at three coring sites. Bathymetrical data and seismic reflection profiles are used to understand the specific geomorphology of each site. X‐ray, thin sections and CT scan imagery combined with grain‐size, geochemical and mineralogical measurements on the cores allow characterization of the turbidites. Turbidites included in each cluster were produced by remobilization of surficial slope sediment, a process identified in very few studies worldwide. Three types of turbidites are distinguished and compared with deposits obtained in flume studies published in the literature. Type 1 is made of an ungraded clayey silt layer issued from a cohesive flow. Type 2 is composed of a partially graded clayey sand layer overlain by a mud cap, attributed to a transitional flow. Type 3 corresponds to a graded clayey sand layer overlain by a mud cap issued from a turbulence‐dominated flow. While the published experimental studies show that turbulence is damped by cohesion for low clay content, type 3 deposits of this study show evidence for a turbulence‐dominated mechanism despite their high clay content. This divergence may in part relate to input variables, such as water chemistry and clay mineralogy, that are not routinely considered in experimental studies. Furthermore, the large sedimentological variety observed in the turbidites from one coring site to another is related to the evolution of a sediment flow within a field‐scale basin made of a complex physiography that cannot be tackled by flume experiments.     

The use of microstructures for discriminating turbiditic and hemipelagic muds and mudstones

The microstructures of turbiditic and hemipelagic muds and mudstones were investigated using a scanning electron microscope to determine whether there are microstructural features that can differentiate turbiditic from hemipelagic sedimentary processes. Both types of muddy deposits are, in general, characterized by randomly‐oriented clay particles. However, turbiditic muds and mudstones also characteristically contain aggregates of ‘edge‐to‐face’ contacts between clay particles with long‐axis lengths of up to 30 μm. Based on observations of the clay fabric of the experimentally‐formed muds settled from previously agitated muddy fluids, these types of aggregates, hereafter referred to as ‘aggregates of clay particles’, are interpreted as having been formed by the collision of component flocs in turbulent fluids. Furthermore, some aggregates of clay particles have ‘face‐to‐face’ contacts between clay particles; this is similar to face‐to‐face aggregates characteristically developed in fluid‐mud deposits that are commonly recognized only in turbiditic mudstones, indicating the possibility of a final stage of deposition under highly‐dense conditions, such as temporary fluid muds. In conjunction with earlier proposed lithofacies‐based and ichnofacies‐based criteria, aggregates of clay particles should be useful for the differentiation of turbiditic and hemipelagic muddy deposits, particularly with limited volumes of non‐oriented samples from deep‐water successions.     

神狐海域海底峡谷群脊部细粒浊积体分布范围及意义

利用广州海洋地质调查局在南海北部神狐钻探区采集的高分辨率地震数据,结合2007年第一次水合物钻探航次(GMGS01)获取的岩心资料,从宏观地震反射结构、微观岩心粒度特征两个方面对GMGS01区块内残留在峡谷群脊部的细粒浊积体进行特征识别和刻画。研究结果显示,似海底反射(bottom simulating reflectors,BSR)之上存在着2套特征不同的沉积单元,位于下部的沉积单元1表现为薄层杂乱透镜状的地震反射特征,对应于粒度C-M图版中与C=M基线近似平行的含水合物层段的样品,被解释为峡谷群脊部的细粒浊积体。选取穿过神狐海域峡谷群中第16条海底峡谷的8条测线为研究对象,能够揭示沉积单元1(细粒浊积体)自北向南的空间变化特征,从而进行分布范围的确定。神狐海域沉积过程分析表明,峡谷群脊部的细粒浊积体是北部小型水道侵蚀下伏沉积物并发生再搬运和再沉积的结果。利用区域性覆盖的二维地震资料,本次研究确定了小型水道的北部侵蚀边界。综合GMGS01区块细粒浊积体的地震反射特征、穿过神狐海域东部第16号海底峡谷自北向南的地震反射差异、研究区北部小型水道的侵蚀边界,本次研究利用两点确定一线和相似平行的方法,在整个神狐海域初步确定了峡谷群脊部细粒浊积体的分布范围。细粒浊积体沉积边界的识别,将为从深水沉积的角度探讨神狐海域水合物不均匀性分布提供依据,同时也能进一步揭示该区域峡谷群脊部水合物的成藏机制和富集规律。     

Identification and micro‐stratigraphy of hyperpycnites and turbidites in Cretaceous Lewis Shale,Wyoming

Sandy hyperpycnal flows and their deposits, hyperpycnites, have been documented in modern environments and, more recently, in Cretaceous and Tertiary strata; they may be more common in the rock record, and within petroleum reservoirs, than has been previously thought. Muddy hyperpycnites also occur within the rock record, but these are more difficult to document because of their finer‐grained nature and lack of common sedimentary structures. This paper documents the presence of submarine slope mudstone and siltstone hyperpycnites (and muddy turbidites) in the delta‐fed, Upper Cretaceous Lewis Shale of Wyoming; based on field measurements, analyses of rock slabs and thin sections, and laser grain‐size distributions. Four lithofacies comprise laminated and thin‐bedded mudstones that are associated with levéed channel sandstones: (L1) grey, laminated, graded mudstone with thin siltstone and sandstone interbeds; (L2) dark grey to tan, laminated mudstone with very thin siltstone and sandstone stringers; (L3) light grey, laminated siltstones; and (L4) laminated mudstones and siltstones with thin sandstone interbeds. Two styles of mudstone grain‐size grading have been documented. The first type is an upward‐fining interval that typically ranges in thickness from 2·5 to 5 cm. The second type is a couplet of a lower, upward‐coarsening interval and an upper, upward‐fining interval (sometimes separated by a micro‐erosion surface) which, combined, are about 3·8 cm thick. Both individual laminae and groups of laminae spaced millimetres apart exhibit these two grain‐size trends. Although sedimentary structures indicative of traction‐plus‐fallout sedimentary processes associated with sandier hyperpycnites are generally absent in these muddy sediments, the size grading patterns are similar to those postulated in the literature for sandy hyperpycnites. Thus, the combined upward‐coarsening, then upward‐fining couplets are interpreted to be the result of a progressive increase in river discharge during waxing and peak flood stage (upward increase in grain‐size), followed by waning flow after the flood begins to abate (upward decrease in grain‐size). The micro‐erosion surface that sometimes divides the two parts of the size‐graded couplet resulted from waxing flows of sufficiently high velocity to erode the sediment previously deposited by the same flow. Individual laminae sets which only exhibit upward‐fining trends could be either the result of waning flow deposition from either dilute turbidity currents or from hyperpycnal flows. The occurrence of these sets with the size‐graded couplets suggests that they are associated with hyperpycnal processes.     

Dimensions and architecture of late Pleistocene submarine lobes off the northern margin of East Corsica

Sandy lobe deposits on submarine fans are sensitive recorders of the types of sediment gravity flows supplied to a basin and are economically important as hydrocarbon reservoirs. This study investigates the causes of variability in 20 lobes in small late Pleistocene submarine fans off East Corsica. These lobes were imaged using ultra‐high resolution boomer seismic profiles (<1 m vertical resolution) and sediment type was ground truthed using piston cores published in previous studies. Repeated crossings of the same depositional bodies were used to measure spatial changes in their dimensions and architecture. Most lobes increase abruptly down‐slope to a peak thickness of 8 to 42 m, beyond which they show a progressive, typically more gradual, decrease in thickness until they thin to below seismic resolution or pass into draping facies of the basin plain. Lobe areas range from 3 to 70 km² and total lengths from 2 to 14 km, with the locus of maximum sediment accumulation from 3 to 28 km from the shelf‐break. Based on their location, dimensions, internal architecture and nature of the feeder channel, the lobes are divided into two end‐member types. The first are small depositional bodies located in proximal settings, clustered near the toe‐of‐slope and fed by slope gullies or erosive channels lacking or with poorly developed levées (referred to as ‘proximal isolated lobes’). The second are larger architecturally more complex depositional bodies deposited in more distal settings, outboard more stable and longer‐lived levéed fan valleys (referred to as ‘composite mid‐fan lobes’). Hybrid lobe types are also observed. At least three hierarchical levels of compensation stacking are recognized. Individual beds and bed‐sets stack to form lobe‐elements; lobe‐elements stack to form composite lobes; and composite lobes stack to form lobe complexes. Differences in the size, shape and architectural complexity of lobe deposits reflect several inter‐related factors including: (i) flow properties (volume, duration, grain‐size, concentration and velocity); (ii) the number and frequency of flows, and their degree of variation through time; (iii) gradient change and sea floor morphology at the mouth of the feeder conduit; (iv) lobe lifespan prior to avulsion or abandonment; and (v) feeder channel geometry and stability. In general, lobes outboard stable fan valleys that are connected to shelf‐incised canyons are wider, longer and thicker, accumulate in more basinal locations and are architecturally more complex.     

Seismic expression of shallow- to deep-water contourites along the south-eastern Brazilian margin

The Neogene-to-Quaternary sediment section along the south-eastern Brazilian margin was deeply influenced by bottom currents acting from the upper slope down to the continental rise in water depths ranging from 100 m to >3,500 m. Different depositional styles are observed as a resultant of the interaction between bottom currents, seafloor topography, available grain size and time span involved in the process. Their importance in the sedimentary record varies in accordance with the intensity of that interaction. Deposits associated to bottom currents are both coarse-grained and fine-grained and are distributed along all margins. The identification of coarse-grained deposits in deep-water is critical for the petroleum industry, thus characterising sandy contourites as relevant for the understanding of reservoir analogues. Slope plastered sand sheets occur in the upper slope setting. They are strike-fed, along slope-elongated and internally characterised by high amplitude seismic reflections usually developing reflection free blankets above erosional terraces due to their small thickness (in average less than 30 m thick). Middle and lower slope contourites are mostly constituted of fine-grained plastered and separated drifts, where a general upslope migration trend and an erosional basal surface are observed. The seafloor topography from the foot of the slope towards the continental rise is controlled by salt walls and diapirs which influence the acceleration of the currents and the development of contourite drifts. Paleoceanographic reconstructions supported by seismic evidence indicate that the major currents sculpting the seafloor are southerly originated and their action can overcome the importance of gravity currents where continental supply is reduced.E&P/UN-RIO/ATEX/ABIG-PL