The role of mechanical stratigraphy in the lateral variations of thrust development along the central Alberta Foothills,Canada

Fold-thrust belts generally exhibit significant variations in structural styles such as differences in thrust geometries and frequencies in imbrication. A natural laboratory of this pattern is preserved in the central Alberta Foothills of the Canadian Rockies, where differences in thrust geometries are represented by the existence vs. non-existence of triangle zones. To seek the factors that make this difference in these regions in terms of structural geometry, stratigraphic thickness variations and mechanical stratigraphy of the sedimentary layers, structural interpretation is conducted based on admissible cross-sections and well log interpretations. In northern region, a backthrust is detached from an incompetent layer(viz.Nomad Unit of the Wapiabi Formation), which gets thinner from the Foothills to the Plains, indicating that it is developed where the shale layers are pinched out where triangle zone is developed. Backthrust is also developed in the southern region, where mechanical strengths of strata(viz. Bearpaw Formation)increase toward the foreland. In the central region, however, only forethrusts are developed along the weak continuous decollement layers(viz. Turner Valley and Brazeau formations), forming an imbricate fan without development of the triangle zone. Incompetent layers such as the top Wapiabi(Nomad),Brazeau(Bearpaw), Coalspur and Paskapoo formations are also pinched out laterally, forming fault glide horizons in different stratigraphic levels in each region. These results indicate that, along the transport direction, triangle zone is developed in relation to the stratigraphic pinch out of the Nomad Unit in the northern region, and is formed associated with the variations in strengths of the layers constituting the Bearpaw Formation in the southern region. It is notable that all the glide horizons are developed along incompetent layers. However, triangle zones are not developed in the areas of continuous stratigraphy of the Nomad Unit, which does not serve as a glide horizon in the central region. This suggests that factors such as stratigraphic thickness changes of incompetent layers and mechanical stratigraphy of the sedimentary layers play an important role in the development of lateral variations in thrust system evolution in terms of triangle zone vs. imbricate fan in the central Alberta Foothills.     

A combined study of radar facies,lithofacies and three‐dimensional architecture of an alpine alluvial fan (Illgraben fan,Switzerland)

Alluvial fans serve as useful archives that record the history of depositional and erosional processes in mountainous regions and thus can reveal the environmental controls that influenced their development. Economically, they play an important role as groundwater reservoirs as well as host rocks for hydrocarbons in deeply buried systems. The interpretation of these archives and the evaluation of their reservoir architecture, however, are problematic because marked heterogeneity in the distribution of sedimentary facies makes correlation difficult. This problem is compounded because the accumulated sedimentary deposits of modern unconsolidated fan systems tend to be poorly exposed and few such systems have been the focus of investigation using high‐resolution subsurface analytical techniques. To overcome this limitation of standard outcrop–analogue studies, a geophysical survey of an alpine alluvial fan was performed using ground‐penetrating radar to devise a scaled three‐dimensional subsurface model. Radar facies were classified and calibrated to lithofacies within a fan system that provided outcropping walls and these were used to derive a three‐dimensional model of the sedimentary architecture and identify evolutionary fan stages. The Illgraben fan in the Swiss Alps was selected as a case study and a network of ca 60 km sections of ground‐penetrating radar was surveyed. Seven radar facies types could be distinguished, which were grouped into debris‐flow deposits and stream‐flow deposits. Assemblages of these radar facies types show three depositional units, which are separated by continuous, fan‐wide reflectors; they were interpreted as palaeo‐surfaces corresponding to episodes of sediment starvation that affected the entire fan. An overall upward decline in the proportion of debris‐flow deposits from ca 50% to 15% and a corresponding increase in stream‐flow deposits were identified. The uppermost depositional unit is bounded at its base by a significant incision surface up to 700 m wide, which was subsequently filled up mostly by stream‐flow deposits. The pronounced palaeo‐surfaces and depositional trends suggest that allocyclic controls governed the evolution of the Illgraben fan, making this fan a valuable archive from which to reconstruct past sediment fluxes and environmental change in the Alps. The results of the integrated outcrop–geophysical approach encourage similar future studies on fans to retrieve their depositional history as well as their potential reservoir properties.     

沧东-南皮凹陷舍女寺地区孔店组油层组沉积微相

舍女寺地区位于沧东凹陷和南皮凹陷之间,西靠沧县隆起东与孔店构造带以鞍部相接,朵体范围较大。该目标区孔二段2油层组主要发育辫状河三角洲及水下扇沉积相,延伸至官158井。物源主要来自西侧沧县隆起地区。本文通过砂体联井与代表井岩性及测井特征分析对该地区沉积微相进行详细研究。     

Distinctive erosional and depositional structures formed at a canyon mouth: A lower Pleistocene deep‐water succession in the Kazusa forearc basin on the Boso Peninsula,Japan

The canyon mouth is an important component of submarine‐fan systems and is thought to play a significant role in the transformation of turbidity currents. However, the depositional and erosional structures that characterize canyon mouths have received less attention than other components of submarine‐fan systems. This study investigates the facies organization and geometry of turbidites that are interpreted to have developed at a canyon mouth in the early Pleistocene Kazusa forearc basin on the Boso Peninsula, Japan. The canyon‐mouth deposits have the following distinctive features: (i) The turbidite succession is thinner than both the canyon‐fill and submarine‐fan successions and is represented by amalgamation of sandstones and pebbly sandstones as a result of bypassing of turbidity currents. (ii) Sandstone beds and bedsets show an overall lenticular geometry and are commonly overlain by mud drapes, which are massive and contain fewer bioturbation structures than do the hemipelagic muddy deposits. (iii) The mud drapes have a microstructure characterized by aggregates of clay particles, which show features similar to those of fluid‐mud deposits, and are interpreted to represent deposition from fluid mud developed from turbidity current clouds. (iv) Large‐scale erosional surfaces are infilled with thick‐bedded to very thick‐bedded turbidites, which show lithofacies quite similar to those of the surrounding deposits, and are considered to be equivalent to scours. (v) Concave‐up erosional surfaces, some of which face in the upslope direction, are overlain by backset bedding, which is associated with many mud clasts. (vi) Tractional structures, some of which are equivalent to coarse‐grained sediment waves, were also developed, and were overlain locally by mud drapes, in association with mud drape‐filled scours, cut and fill structures and backset bedding. The combination of these outcrop‐scale erosional and depositional structures, together with the microstructure of the mud drapes, can be used to identify canyon‐mouth deposits in ancient deep‐water successions.     

内蒙古二连盆地阿北凹陷下白垩统近岸水下扇沉积特征*

阿北凹陷位于内蒙古二连盆地东北部,面积约600 km²,是二连盆地勘探潜力最大的凹陷之一。针对阿北凹陷复杂的地质构造,充分利用岩心、录井、测井以及地震等资料,详细分析了阿北凹陷北部陡坡带下白垩统近岸水下扇沉积特征和分布规律。研究表明,近岸水下扇和扇三角洲在岩相组合、沉积构造、粒度特征、电性特征和地震反射特征方面均有较大区别,综合反映以重力流为主的沉积环境。阿尔善期北部陡坡带发育大规模水下扇,扇体规模自下而上逐渐向北部物源方向减小,到腾格尔期沉积了一大套深湖—半深湖暗色泥岩,近岸水下扇砂砾岩体下切到深湖—半深湖暗色泥岩中,决定了研究区近岸水下扇砂体具有优越的成藏条件。     

深水沉积差异及其对油气分布影响

尼日尔三角洲盆地深水油气资源丰富,其中盆地东部深水区已发现的亿顿级油气田数量和累计油气可采储量均约为西部深水区的两倍,东、西部深水区油气差异巨大,开展尼日尔三角洲盆地深水沉积特征和差异研究具有重要的生产意义和学术价值。通过对该盆地大量地震、测井和岩心等资料的分析,提出了西部深水扇主要是由三角洲提供物源,通过大型峡谷的运输,在深水平原区形成树枝状发散的深水扇,又称作“有根深水扇”;东部深水扇也是由三角洲供源,但由于缺乏大型峡谷的运输,沉积物沿大陆斜坡滑移至半深海—深海平原,形成根部不发育的“扇面状”深水扇,又称作“无根深水扇”。尼日尔三角洲盆地东西部深水区油气分布差异,除构造等因素外,其最主要的原因为有/无峡谷作为物源运输通道,分别形成的不同沉积类型,进而分别形成两种样式的深水圈闭类型,最终造成东西部深水区油气分布的巨大差异。     

The Geomorphology of Valley-Floor Troughs Illustrated From Depositional Sequences in the Durance Valley,Southeast France

Three kinds of valley-floor troughs occur in the Durance catchment of southeast France. Details of widths and spatial variations of 10 different sedimentary forms are presented to show how these relate to the present types of troughs and their margins. Internal controls, such as geology, altitude, and available relief, provide a wide variety of conditions, which have been modified through time by external controls such as past and present climates and their hydrological regimes, as well as by anthropogenic activity over several millennia. The 10 sedimentary forms occupy more than 900 km² or 6.4% of the total catchment area, with the present enlarged floodplain having just over 50% of this area. The present channel occupies less than 10%, which is less than the Würm terrace (17.2%) but somewhat more than the marginal colluvia in the lower valley (8.6%). The other forms include older Pleistocene terraces, moraines from the last three glacial stages, and alluvial fans. It is the type of trough and its relative age that condition what, where, and how much of past and present sedimentary forms can survive.     

新疆克拉玛依油田三叠系克下组冲积扇内部构型*

应用研究区丰富的密井网和邻近露头资料,探讨了新疆克拉玛依油田三叠系克下组冲积扇内部构型单元的层次划分系统,并建立相应的沉积构型模式。在冲积扇的扇根、扇中和扇缘各亚相带,进一步划分了3个级次的构型要素以表达其内的沉积复杂性。扇根亚相主要由主槽、片流带和漫洪带组成,其中,在主槽内主要发育槽流砾石（岩）体（可细分为砾石坝和流沟）与泥石流沉积,在片流带内主要发育片流砂砾体（可细分为砾石坝和流沟）,在漫洪带主要发育漫洪砂体和漫洪细粒沉积,总体构型样式以广泛分布的砾石坝夹含流沟和漫洪沉积的“泛连通体”为特征;扇中亚相主要由辫流带和漫流带组成,其中,辫流带的主体构型要素为辫流水道（可细分为砂坝和沟道）,总体构型样式为复合宽带状辫流水道砂体与漫流细粒沉积侧向相间、垂向互层为特征;扇缘亚相主要由径流带和漫流带组成,其中,径流带的主体构型要素为径流水道,总体构型样式以窄带状径流水道和漫流砂体镶嵌于漫流—湿地泥岩之中为特征。     

桦甸盆地始新统桦甸组扇三角洲和水下扇粒度分析与对比

桦甸盆地始新统桦甸组扇三角洲主要划分出泥石流、水上分流河道、水下分流河道、河口坝、席状砂等沉积微相; 水下扇主要划分出辫状沟道和远源浊积岩等沉积微相。扇三角洲沉积物以颗粒支撑为主,自下而上按席状砂、河口坝、水下分流河道、水上分流河道、泥石流的顺序,沉积物粒度和标准偏差递增; 频率曲线尖度递减; 概率累计曲线由高--较高斜度两段式逐渐过渡为中--低斜度两段式、微向上凸的弧线式。反映出上述各微相向上粒度由细变粗的反粒序沉积特征,分选由好变差,杂基含量和水介质能量均逐渐增加。水下扇沉积普遍为杂基支撑,自下而上从远源浊积岩到辫状沟道沉积,粒径和标准偏差增大; 频率曲线尖度减小; 概率累计曲线主要由斜度较高的一段式过渡为斜度不大的一段式或微向上凸的弧线式,说明从远源浊积岩到辫状沟道微相粒度逐渐变粗,分选逐渐变差,杂基含量和水介质能量也逐渐增强。本区扇三角洲CM 图像呈“S”形,主要表现为牵引流沉积特征; 水下扇CM 图像表现为与C = M 线平行的长条带状重力流沉积特征。     

水道加朵体型深水扇形成机制与模式:以白云凹陷荔湾3-1地区珠江组为例

深水扇储层的沉积特征是油气勘探开发中的一个热点问题。通过分析珠江口盆地白云凹陷荔湾3-1地区珠江组深水扇的沉积特征,明确了研究区具备深水扇形成的有利条件,受白云凹陷总体构造沉积背景影响,形成了富砂型的深水扇。本区深水扇是多种流体动力学机制共同作用的结果,碎屑流、浊流及底流相互作用与复合,形成了平面上具水道复合朵体的分布特征。在建立深水扇沉积模式的基础上,提出了水道加朵体型深水扇沉积微相划分方案,研究区储层以重力流水道、天然堤及滑塌朵体为主;而水道逐渐由相对近源的宽浅下切型变为远离物源的窄深型,其深度与天然堤宽度呈正比。