High-resolution sequence stratigraphy of clastic shelves V: Criteria to discriminate between stratigraphic sequences and sedimentological cycles

In contrast to high-frequency sequences driven by high-magnitude relative sea-level changes, those controlled by short-term, minor relative sea-level and/or sediment supply changes may be difficult to discriminate from sedimentological cycles (i.e., bedsets) unrelated to shoreline shifts, especially in case of limited outcrop exposures. In fact, meter-scale, fully shallow-marine high-frequency sequences and typical meter-scale bedsets may share a similar, simple facies succession documenting either an upward increase or decrease of event beds. It is therefore necessary to define a set of criteria that allows to discriminate between thin high-frequency sequences and bedsets, based on sedimentological, stratigraphic, micropaleontological, mineralogical and diagenetic data. In particular, the sedimentological and stratigraphic criteria that aid discriminating between high-frequency sequences and bedsets include: 1) occurrence of environmental changes across bounding surfaces; 2) occurrence of water-depth changes across bounding surfaces; 3) physical appearance of bounding surfaces and associated substrate-controlled ichnofacies; 4) lateral extent of bounding surfaces; 5) presence of condensed deposits; 6) cycle thickness; 7) recognition of a set of clinoforms in a regressive shoreface-shelf succession. Moreover, the formation of wave-ravinement surfaces in the shoreface is usually associated with an increase in the percentage of benthic micro-foraminifera specimens documenting energetic conditions, and in the abundance of heavy minerals. Extensive cementation may also be found just below and/or above transgressive surfaces. However, the integration of more than one of the above criteria is necessary to reliably discriminate between sequence stratigraphic surfaces (and therefore high-frequency sequences) and bedset boundaries, the latter being only related to changes of energy level and/or local sediment supply without shoreline shifts. This work is essential to correctly reconstruct the sequence stratigraphic framework of a given succession and to interpret the factors that controlled the cyclicity.