Estimating stratal completeness of carbonate deposition via process-based stratigraphic forward modeling

Hiatuses are ubiquitous in stratigraphic records at various temporal scales, but they cannot be easily identified and quantified owing to the lack of adequate methods in determining the duration of hiatuses or stratal completeness. Here a processbased stratigraphic forward modeling(SFM) approach was used to effectively estimate the completeness of carbonate strata in three dimensions and at basin-scale. By using information derived from both spatial and temporal domains in the SFM outputs for five grid locations(pseudo wells) under different depositional settings, we were able to delineate basin-wide hiatuses of various temporal scales and determine their durations and stratal completeness quantitatively. The stratal completeness appears to be controlled by sea level changes, depositional environments, carbonate growth rates and tectonic subsidence patterns in various ways.