Terrigenous Clastic Depositional Systems

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W.E. Galloway D.K. Hobday

Terrigenous Clastic
Depositional Systems
Applications to Fossil Fuel
and Groundwater Resources

Second Completely Revised, Updated, and Enlarged Edition

With 288 Figures and 18 Tables

Springer
Prof. William E. Galloway
University of Texas at Austin
Department of Geological Sciences
Austin, TX 78712, USA

Dr. David K. Hobday

Earth Sciences and Resources Institute
1515 E. Mineral Square
Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA

ISBN-13: 978-3-642-64659-1 e-ISBN-13: 978-3-642-61018-9

001: 10.1007/978-3-642-61018-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Galloway. William E. Terrigenous clastic depositional systems:
applications to fossil fuel and groundwater resources/William E. Galloway, David K. Hobday. - 2nd completely rev ..
updated, and enl. ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 445-484) and index. ISBN 0-387-60232-1 (hardcover).
- ISBN 3-540-60232-1 (hardcover) 1. Sedimentation and deposition. 1. Hobday, David K. II. Title. QE571.G27
1996 553.2 - dc20 95-47132

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Preface to the Second Edition

Nonrenewable energy resources, comprising fossil fuels and uranium, are not ran-
domly distributed within the Earth's crust. They formed in response to a complex array
of geologic controls, notably the genesis of the sedimentary rocks that host most
commercial energy resources. It is this genetic relationship between economic re-
sources and environment that forms the basis for this book. Our grouping of petro-
leum, coal, uranium, and ground water may appear to be incongruous or artificial. But
our basic premise is that these ostensibly disparate resources share common genetic
attributes and that the sedimentological principles governing their natural distributions
and influencing their recovery are fundamentally similar. Our combined careers have
focused on these four resources, and our experiences in projects worldwide reveal that
certain recurring geologic factors are important in controlling the distribution of com-
mercial accumulations and subsurface fluid flow. These critical factors include the
shape and stability of the receiving basin, the major depositional elements and their
internal detail, and the modifications during burial that are brought about in these
sediments by pressure, circulating fluids, heating, and chemical reaction.
Since the first edition of this book in 1983, there has been a quantum leap in the
volume of literature devoted to genetic stratigraphy and refinement of sedimentologi-
cal principles and a commensurate increase in the application of these concepts to
resource exploration and development. Two wholly new chapters, 11 and 16, have
been added to accommodate these advances, two chapters (7 and 8) have been com-
pletely rewritten, and Chapters 3, 6, 9, 10, and 13 have been substantially revised.
We review the spectrum of terrigenous (land-derived or siliciclastic as opposed to
in-place or biochemical) clastic depositional systems and their component genetic
facies, with emphasis on subsurface as well as field recognition. These range from the
most proximal, subaerial, and generally coarse-grained alluvial-fan systems through
fluvial, deltaic, shore-zone, and shelf environments to the slope and base-of-slope
system (Chapters 3 through 8). The lacustrine environment (Chapter 9) may contain
elements of all of these systems but is considered separately. Eolian systems (Chapter
10) constitute a special case, which has received belated attention as. a repository of
major commercial energy resources. This chapter is followed by a synthesis of deposi-
tional systems and genetic facies in the context of sequence stratigraphy (Chapter 11).
We then examine ground-water flow systems and how they evolve in relation to
changing climatic regime, structural configuration, degree of compaction, diagenesis,
and recharge (Chapter 12). These chapters set the stage for detailed accounts of coal,
uranium, and petroleum resources in terms of their paleoenvironmental setting, mode
of emplacement, preservation, and subsequent transformations. The relationship of
petroleum to clastic depositional systems (Chapter 15) is widely documented, so only
an overview is possible here. However, we cite some important studies from mature
hydrocarbon provinces that provide excellent models and new insights for less-ex-
plored or frontier basins. In contrast to petroleum, coal and sedimentary uranium have
only relatively recently attracted a high level of detailed genetic sedimentological
analysis. Analysis of coal basins in particular was retarded by undue emphasis on
descriptive stratigraphy and formal classification. Although general environments of
VI Preface to the Second Edition

coal formation have been known since the last century, it was the detailed studies of
modern environments, including an appreciation of peat-mire evolution, that led to
comprehensive genetic and predictive models for coal. These coal models are currently
undergoing revision and refinement as a result of new studies of mire ecology and
organic facies development and are benefitting from the application of recent advances
in genetic stratigraphic sequence analysis (Chapter 13). Sandstone-type uranium em-
placement (Chapter 14) provides a classic example of the principles elaborated in this
book as it requires a particular combination of sedimentological framework, geochem-
istry, and fluid flow, all controlled by the depositional environment. Finally, we synthe-
size the current information base on the rapidly developing field of reservoir and
aquifer characterization (Chapter 16). Optimal commercial development of hydrocar-
bons and sediment-hosted minerals, with due regard to broader environmental issues,
as well as sustainable development of ground-water resources, represents a new and
expanding area of geologic endeavor.
The emphasis throughout is on principles or concepts, backed by our own experi-
ence and reference to other workers, rather than a comprehensive catalog of recent
progress. We believe that this application of genetic stratigraphic/sedimentologic prin-
ciples and techniques will increasingly be viewed as indispensable in these extractive
and resource-management industries. Our targeted readership of advanced students
and industry professionals will find that the concepts and procedures we advocate
provide a basis for advancing their understanding of the genetically determined distri-
butions of sedimentary rocks, particularly sandstones, and the relationship of petro-
leum, energy mineral resources, and ground water to these highly variable but largely
predictable sedimentary rock geometries and properties. This unifying theme, and the
successful transfer of technologies and principles from the upstream energy sector to
the environmental industry, make this book equally relevant to scientists and students
concerned with ground water as a resource in its own right, and with problems of
shallow subsurface contamination. After all, neither hydrologists nor petroleum geolo-
gists and engineers should be primarily concerned with the rocks themselves, but in the
fluids they contain, and the effects on fluid flow of the permeability distributions within
unconsolidated sediments and sedimentary rocks.
Our views are necessarily prejudiced by our own backgrounds, but we acknowledge
the prevailing state of the art in basin analysis, especially the relevance of geologic
conditions to the distribution of petroleum, fuel minerals, and ground water. We
present a deliberate bias toward examples from our own careers, generally as part of
teams within both industry and academia. We have benefitted greatly from exten-
sive interaction with our colleagues of diverse geologic affinities and views on five
continents.

January 1996 W.E. Galloway

D.K. Hobday
Preface to the First Edition

The reserves, or extractable fraction, of the fuel-mineral endowment are sufficient to

supply the bulk of the world's energy requirements for the immediately forseeable
future - well into the next century according to even the most pessimistic predictions.
But increasingly sophisticated exploration concepts and technology must be employed
to maintain and, if possible, add to the reserve base. Most of the world's fuel-mineral
resources are in sedimentary rocks. Any procedure or concept that helps describe,
understand, and predict the external geometry and internal attributes of major sedi-
mentary units can therefore contribute to discovery and recovery of coal, uranium, and
petroleum.
While conceding the desirability of renewable and nonpolluting energy supply from
gravitational, wind, or solar sources, the widespread deployment of these systems lies
far in the future - thus the continued commercial emphasis on conventional nonrenew-
able fuel mineral resources, even though their relative significance will fluctuate with
time. For example, a decade ago the prognostications for uranium were uniformly
optimistic. But in the early 1980s the uranium picture is quite sombre, although
unlikely to remain permanently depressed. Whether uranium soars to the heights of
early expectations remains to be seen. Problems of waste disposal and public accep-
tance persist. Fusion reactors may ultimately eliminate the need for uranium in power
generation, but for the next few decades there will be continued demand for uranium
to fuel existing power plants and those that come on stream.
This book is, to some extent, a hybrid. It is directed toward the practicing explora-
tion and development geologist who is, of necessity, something of a generalist. How-
ever, the stress on process and principle may also make this a suitable text for courses
in resource geology.
Our grouping of coal, uranium, and petroleum may appear to be incongruous and
artificial. However, our basic premise is that there are common genetic attributes
shared by all three, and that the sedimentological principles governing their distribu-
tion are fundamentally similar. We have both had geologic careers divided among all
three of the fuel minerals. Factors that we have found to be important include deposi-
tional processes and environments and their resultant genetic facies, interrelationships
of genetic facies within depositional systems, early postdepositional modifications by
circulating ground water, and, finally, the changes that take place at depth as sedimen-
tary basins evolve in response to tectonic and regional hydrologic controls.
In many instances the paleoenvironmental factor is preeminent in controlling the
distribution of fuel minerals. The origins of peat and both syngenetic and placer
uranium are directly related to depositional environment. Peat is subsequently modi-
fied to coal by burial and heating during the normal sequence of basin evolution.
However, many attempts to relate fuel-mineral deposits to genetic facies associa-
tions alone have met with mixed success. Sedimentary facies with apparently all of the
necessary attributes for hosting fuel minerals commonly prove to be singularly barren,
whereas some rich deposits in ostensibly unfavorable host facies defy conventional
explanation. These exceptions indicate the need to consider additional factors, some of
which may not be reflected in static facies elements. For example. it was recognized 30
VIII Preface to the First Edition

years ago that the role of postdepositional ground-water flow is crucial in sandstone-
type uranium mineralization. Hydrologic setting is important in peat genesis, and
critical to its preservation as coal; it may even have influenced the distribution of placer
uranium in early Precambrian Witwatersrand-type algal mats. Thus, differences in
ground-water circulation arising from topographic, structural, or climatic controls
explain differences in uranium mineralization in sandstones of similar origin. They may
also explain mutually exclusive distributions of coal and epigenetic uranium in identi-
cal, coeval facies in different parts of a sedimentary basin. For these reasons, we
summarize principles of ground-water flow in large sedimentary basins and explore
implications for fuel-mineral genesis.
Numerous excellent textbooks and other compilations are devoted to sedimentary
facies, environments, and processes, reflecting the burgeoning interest and involve-
ment of geologists in these fields. There has been a corresponding recent proliferation
of literature on fuel minerals from the standpoint of their geographic distribution,
regional geologic setting, host rock associations, and economic and engineering aspects
of their exploitation. This book attempts to bridge the gap between process-related
studies of sedimentary rocks and the more traditional economic geology of commercial
deposits of coal, uranium, and petroleum. Due attention is paid to subsurface tech-
niques which, integrated with outcrop data, enable the most realistic reconstructions of
genetic stratigraphy, and offer the greatest application in exploration. After reviewing
depositional systems and their component genetic facies with emphasis on field and
subsurface recognition, we examine ground-water flow systems - how they evolve in
relation to changing structural configuration, consolidation, climatic regime, and to-
pography in the recharge area. This sets the stage for an account of the associated fuel
minerals in terms of their paleoenvironmental setting, emplacement, and subsequent
transformations.
Our views are necessarily prejudiced by our own experience, but we attempt to do
justice to the prevailing state of the art in basin analysis. Prodigious volumes have been
published on the relationship of petroleum to clastic depositional systems, so only an
overview is possible here. However, we document important studies in mature hydro-
carbon provinces that provide excellent models for exploration in less-explored basins.
In contrast, with a few conspicuous exceptions, coal and sedimentary uranium have
only recently attracted the same level of detailed attention from sedimentologists. This
stems in part from the early dominance of petroleum as a fuel, the temporary eclipse
of coal, and the relatively recent emergence of uranium; and probably also from an
overemphasis on descriptive stratigraphy, particularly in coal basins. The burgeoning
studies of sedimentary uranium have presently reached a plateau, which permits a
fairly comprehensive synthesis. Although general environments of coal formation have
been known since the last century, it was only with detailed studies of modern fluvial
and deltaic environments, starting with the Mississippi, that predictive models were
developed. These coal models are currently undergoing considerable refinement.
Those that we describe have all shown economic application in exploration and mine
development.
The importance of sedimentary facies in affecting the quality and extraction of fuel
minerals is also being more widely appreciated. For example, the roof and floor
properties of coal mines are largely determined by subfacies characteristics. Knowl-
edge of the depositional framework and associated fluid flow and engineering prop-
erties has long been important in hydrocarbon production. Progressively more
sophisticated geological input is used in genetic-predictive modeling, and this trend is
likely to increase as reserves become depleted.
Compilation of a book which focuses on the geology and mineral deposits of many
parts of the world brings one face to face with the problem of units of measurement.
There is no ready solution to the complexity of English and metric units applied in
 Preface to the First Edition IX

different countries, or in the same country at different times, or for different commodi-
ties. We have attempted to cite measurements in their original units and to provide
equivalencies in parentheses. Where original figures are rounded off, conversions are
similarly rounded. In reality, the resource geologist must remain, for some time to
come, conversant in both English and metric.

W.E. Galloway
D.K. Hobday
Acknowledgments

The breadth of subject material included in any synthesis of the sedimentology and
stratigraphy of terrigenous clastic deposits obviously extends far beyond the experi-
ence of two authors. We have both been graced with numerous colleagues and friends
who have been willing to invest their time and share their knowledge. Without their
help, our labors would have been greater and our results less fruitful. To each one we
extend sincere gratitude.
Milo Backus, Ian Bryant, Elisabeth Kosters, Marc Marshall, and Virginia Pendleton
provided illustrations and references. Several figures that have appeared in publica-
tions of the Bureau of Economic Geology were generously located and made available
to us by Dick Dillon, Chief Cartographer.
Drafts of various chapters were reviewed and greatly improved in content and
clarity by Mike Blum, Ron Boyd, Dick Buffler, Bruce Cairncross, Jed Damuth, Frank
Ethridge, Robert Finley, Doug Hamilton, Gary Kocurek, Cliff Mallett, John
McPherson, Andrew Miall, Joe Moore, Bob Morton, Hans Nelson, Robert Ressetar,
William Ross, Jack Sharp, Michelle Smyth, Don Swift and Tony Tanka. Although we
did not follow every suggestion, their comments always necessitated thoughtful recon-
sideration of our proposition, often resulting in new insights.
Preparation of the manuscript incorporated the work of several professionals who
patiently persevered over the long haul with us. Dennis Trombatore, Geological
Sciences librarian at the University of Texas, was never defeated in the search for a
reference, no matter how obscure. Patrice Porter drafted all of our new illustrations
with patience, skill, and artistry. Jim Jaworski contributed his timely and often creative
photographic talent to the task of graphics preparation. Betty Kurtz created the com-
plex tables, completed inserts and corrections, and aided immensely in the last push to
complete the manuscript. Amanda Masterson, a seemingly indefatigable editor, re-
viewed each chapter and the final manuscript speedily and efficiently, turning up
hundreds of inconsistencies, fuzzy language, and typos too tricky for the spell-checker.
Finally, we acknowledge support for travel, time, and logistical needs provided by the
Morgan Davis Centennial Professorship in Petroleum Geology, Department of Geo-
logical Sciences, the University of Texas at Austin (WEG), and by the Earth Sciences
and Resources Institute at the University of Utah and the University of South Carolina
(DKH). John Barwis read the final manuscript and helped detect various errors and
omissions.

William E. Galloway
David K. Hobday
Contents

1 Fuel-Mineral Resource Base. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Energy Resource Base. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Relevance of Depositional Systems to Energy Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Applications in the Environmental Arena. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Introduction: Depositional and Sediment Dispersal Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Applied Depositional System Analysis ............................... 9
Seismic Stratigraphy and Facies Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Recognition of Depositional Systems: An Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Base Level Change and Vertical Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Integrated Depositional System Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

3 Alluvial Fans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Processes Acting on Alluvial Fans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Spectrum of Alluvial Fan Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Fan Deltas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Ancient Alluvial Fan and Fan Delta Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Basin-Fill Architecture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Alluvial Fans Through Geologic Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Resource Potential of Alluvial Fan Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

4 Fluvial Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Depositional Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Fluvial Environments and Facies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Spectrum of Fluvial Depositional Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Eroding Rivers: Stable Channel and Valley-Fill Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Fluvial Evolution Through Geologic Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Ancient Fluvial Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

5 Delta Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Delta Process Framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Delta Environments and Facies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Process Classification of Delta Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Fluvial-Dominated Deltas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Wave-Dominated Deltas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
XIV Contents

Tide-Dominated Deltas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Delta System Recognition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Delta System Stratigraphic Architecture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Evolution of Delta Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

6 Shore-Zone Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Spectrum of Shore-Zone Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Shore-Zone Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Shore-Zone Facies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Shore-Zone Depositional Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Stratigraphy of Shore-Zone Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Shore-Zone Systems Through Geologic Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

7 Terrigenous Shelf Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Shelf Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Shelf Sediment Sources and Dispersal Patterns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Shelf Facies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Spectrum of Shelf Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Stratigraphic Architecture and Evolution of Shelf Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Shelf Systems in Marine Basin Fills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

8 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Slope Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Bedding Architecture of Slope Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Slope Environments and Facies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Slope System Classification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Slope Systems in Time and Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

9 Lacustrine Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Factors Controlling Lake Geometry and Hydrology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Stratification of the Water Column. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Lacustrine Environments and Facies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Lacustrine Sequence Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Lake Systems Through Geologic Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

10 Eolian Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Supply and Transport of Eolian Sand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Eolian Bedforms and Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Biogenic Structures................................................ 256
Dune Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Interdune Facies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Sand Sheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Coastal Dune Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Interior Sand Seas (Ergs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Eolian Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
 Contents XV

Associations with Other Depositional Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Hydrocarbons and Minerals in Eolian Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

11 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence Stratigraphic

Framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Morphodynamics: Concepts of Regime and Grade Adjustment. . . . . . . . . . . 272
Sequence Stratigraphic Paradigm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Lessons of the Quaternary - Stratigraphic Signature of High-Frequency,
High-Amplitude Sea-Level Change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Depositional Systems and Sequences: Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Sequences in Other Kinds of Basins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Integration of Sequences, Systems, and Facies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

12 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Fundamentals of Groundwater Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Properties of the Aquifer Matrix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Geochemical Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Basin Geohydrology............................................... 304
Meteoric Flow Regime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Compactional and Thermobaric Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Hydrology of Depositional Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Example of a Confined Coastal Plain Aquifer System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

13 Coal and Coalbed Methane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Coal Through Geologic Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Coal-Forming Depositional Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Coal Petrography and Paleoenvironment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Coal Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Cyclicity in Peat-Forming Environments and Coal-Bearing Strata. . . . . . . . 339
Depositional Systems and Coal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Geometry and Evolution of Coal Basins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Coal-Basin Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

14 Sedimentary Uranium. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Uranium Ore Deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Classification of Uranium Deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Applications to Resource Evaluation, Exploration, and Development. . . . . 386

15 Petroleum.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Distribution of Petroleum in Time and Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Depositional Systems and Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production. . . . . . 392
Distribution of Petroleum in Depositional Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Example: Intracratonic Basin Depositional Systems
and Hydrocarbon Occurrence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
XVI Contents

Example: Frio Depositional Systems, Northern Gulf Coast Basin. . . . . . . . 417

16 Facies Characterization of Reservoirs and Aquifers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Types and Scales of Heterogeneity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Styles of Heterogeneity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Depositional Systems, Genetic Facies, and Fluid Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
Sequence Stratigraphic Applications to Reservoir
and Aquifer Characterization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Subject Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

1 Fuel-Mineral Resource Base
Introduction
Most of the world's energy and groundwater re-
sources are in sedimentary rocks, and any proce-
dure that helps to categorize, understand, and
predict the external geometry, internal architec-
ture, and other properties of sedimentary rocks
can contribute to more efficient discovery, exploi-
tation, and resource management. The deposi-
tional systems approach that we advocate involves
rigorous three-dimensional characterization of
lithological units and analogy with modern deposi-
tional environments, taking into account preserva-
tion potential and modifications that occur with
progressive burial. Where subsurface information
is fragmentary or incomplete, identification with a
particular depositional system permits extrapola-
tion beyond the data base and anticipation of
lithofacies in unexplored tracts. This procedure
often proves invaluable in preliminary assessment
of prospectivity and in ranking frontier or imma-
ture exploration acreage.
In its practical applications to resource explora-
tion and development, this genetic stratigraphic
approach stresses not only the distribution and
internal character of the sedimentary rocks, but
also the role of migrating fluids. As a fundamental
process in oil and gas accumulation, fluid migra-
tion is also involved in the emplacement of epige-
netic minerals such as sandstone-type uranium as
well as in the genesis and preservation of coal. A
similar approach to rock-fluid interactions is be-
ing adopted in the burgeoning environmental
arena. In this context, meteoric groundwater dis-
charge depends on the heterogeneity and trans-
missivity of the near-surface sediments, which are
to a large degree a product of their depositional
environment.
Genetic analysis of sedimentary basin fill is
typically conducted on different scales depending
on the range and purpose of the investigation.
This book is primarily concerned with the ar-
rangement and internal properties of the terrig-
enous clastic sedimentary units that influence
present-day distribution and recovery of oil and
gas, coal, uranium, groundwater, and many other
resources of placer or epigenetic origin. Because
of the different scales on which the controlling
processes operate, the scope ranges from the re-
gional to the more local.
Exploration and development are increasingly
reliant on sophisticated subsurface techniques;
therefore, we emphasize methods of compiling,
analyzing, and extrapolating drilling data, geo-
physical logs, and seismic records. This permits
delineation of large-scale to subregional geom-
etries that provide a necessary starting point for
more precise resolution of smaller-scale variabil-
ity, generally from outcrops or closely spaced
wells. The procedure may be facilitated by direct
comparison with modern or even well-studied
ancient analogues of similar genetic origin and
scale. In some cases, the paleoenvironmental
interpretation may progress through working
hypotheses until additional data or analysis weight
the balance of probability toward a particular
conclusion.
The reSUlting reconstructions of genetic stratig-
raphy and sedimentary facies provide the most
powerful applications in exploration and develop-
ment. Frontier-basin exploration involves recon-
struction of semiregional paleogeography and
depositional systems on the scale of, for example,
large delta complexes. With increasing explora-
tion maturity, the focus shifts toward progres-
sively finer resolution of lithological variability,
for example at the scale of facies components
within a delta system. Optimal resource develop-
ment requires detailed facies analysis and may
extend to the level of individual beds or even to
such features as clay laminae or occluded pores,
which affect sweep efficiency in enhanced oil and
gas recovery.
We therefore propose a hierarchical approach
to basin analysis that looks initially at the overall
2 Fuel-Mineral Resource Base
geometry of the basin fill and the major packages
of strata that are deposited under a particular
set of external controls. The next stage involves
delineation and interpretation of individual, litho-
logically defined sedimentary units of more re-
stricted dimensions. This approach therefore
takes account of extrinsic factors that control the
large-scale or basinwide arrangement of rock se-
quences, as well as intrinsic sedimentary processes
that operate locally and account for smaller-scale
heterogeneities.
Energy Resource Base
Petroleum and coal have both occupied an ex-
panding role in human society for several thou-
sand years. Coal was used in Bronze Age funeral
pyres, by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and
subsequently by the Chinese, American Indians,
and European nations, where it gradually sup-
planted animals, wind, water, and wood as the
dominant source of energy, fueling the Industrial
Revolution. Until it was superseded by petroleum
in the twentieth century, coal powered the expan-
sion of transport and manufacturing operations.
Petroleum likewise has a long history of human
utilization. It was employed in warfare and em-
balming prior to 500 B.C. and subsequently in
medicines and street lamps. Oil and gas fields were
operating in the Ordos and Sichuan Basins of cen-
tral China more than 2000 years ago, and by the
earliest nineteenth century. several thousand gas
wells had been drilled on the shallow Ziliujing
structure alone. Although the oil industry had
Table 1.1. The hierarchy of genetic sedimentary units, their scale of development, salient characteristics, and potential applica-
tions in resource exploration, development, and monitoring
Depositional unit Scale (km')
Sequence 103 or more; may be
of basinwide
extent
Depositional system 10'-103 (scale of
exploration play,
reservoir. or
aquifer system)
Depositional facies 10-' to 102 (scale
of field/pool)
been flourishing in North America, Europe, and
Asia since the early 1700s (Fuller 1993), it was the
discovery in 1859 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, that
presaged the modern petroleum industry. Oil's
pivotal role in global events, in the emergence of
the "hydrocarbon society," and in the modern
economic system is illustrated by Yergin (1991, p.
13), who states: "At the end of the twentieth cen-
tury, oil (is) still central to security, prosperity, and
the very nature of civilization." Uranium, in con-
trast, has been used for less than 60 years, with
consumption accelerated by World War IT weap-
ons research and, from 1968 to 1973, by fuel-min-
eral demand. Coal and uranium together account
for some 90% of the world's mineral energy re-
sources, in 1989 accounting for 27 and 6% of total
primary energy production, respectively. While
they comprise a relatively meager proportion of
the mineral energy resource base, crude oil and
natural gas generated 38 and 21 %, respectively, of
primary energy production in 1989 (Landis and
Weaver 1993).
The reserves (or commercially extractable
fraction) of the world's energy resources, particu-
larly coal and uranium, are sufficient to accommo-
date the burgeoning energy requirements of the
next few decades and beyond. The world's ulti-
mate crude oil reserves were calculated by
Campbell (1991) as 1600-1700 x 109 barrels (bbl),
with the stage at which extraction and replace-
ment are in balance expected toward the turn of
the century, after which depletion will set in
(Fuller 1993). However, the opening up for explo-
ration of parts of the world formerly off limits for
political or economic reasons, coupled with the
development of new technologies, play concepts,
and operational efficiencies, is likely to substan-
Distinguishing features Application
Unconformity-bounded Delineation of the basic framework of
packages related to potential source rocks, reservoir and
common external controls aquifer trends, and seals
Large-scale genetic units, Identification and ranking of potential
e.g., a major delta lobe or exploration plays; delineation of
submarine fan porosity fairways; aquifer
characterization
Smaller-scale genetic units, Reservoir development; optimal
e.g., delta-front or point wellfield design; enhanced oil and gas
bar recovery; prediction of contaminant
transport
 Relevance of Depositional Systems to Energy Resources 3

tially extend the life of the world's crude oil re- 2. Improved exploration methods
source. The gas resource available for future 3. Reduction in production costs through the ap-
development has also been greatly expanded by plication of new technologies
the recognition of new sources such as coal bed
The fruits of technical innovation and sophisti-
methane.
cated geologic analysis at the frontier exploration
Environmental considerations will, however,
stage, and detailed geologic reservoir character-
play an increasing role in determining the future
ization at the development stage, are evident in
energy mix and are imposing new constraints on
the reserve and production figures from several
exploration for and production and industrial uti-
parts of the world. In Texas, for example, wellfield
lization of petroleum, coal, and uranium. Notwith-
patterns designed to exploit geologic anisotropy
standing the ever-expanding social demand for
have proved highly effective in increasing or ex-
renewable and nonpolluting energy harnessed
tending recovery from mature fields. Reserve
from the Earth's abundant natural endowment of
growth of this type is achieved through the
wind, water, and solar power, widespread deploy-
selection of infill drilling prospects and design of
ment of these energy technologies lies far in the
waterflood programs based on detailed sedimen-
future; hence the continued commercial emphasis
tological reconstruction of reservoir architecture
on conventional, nonrenewable energy resources,
(Hamilton 1994).
with due regard for the environment at the extrac-
Accelerated exploration for gas and the com-
tion, utilization, and disposal stages. All three
mensurate increase in gas reserves over the past
primary energy resources face severe social or
decade or so are a result of the environmentally
market constraints in one form or other. Popular
friendly connotation of natural gas and increasing
apprehension of radioactive leakage and environ-
versatility in utilization, which has reduced or
mental pollution at the extraction and energy-con-
eliminated the price differential relative to oil. In-
version stages is a major issue in the uranium and
deed, in some parts of the world gas is currently
coal industries. Environmental pressure has, for
priced at a considerable premium on an energy-
example, led to selective exploitation of low-sulfur
equivalent basis. At the same time, conventional
seams and clean-burning technologies. Both ura-
petroleum and coal are being supplemented by
nium and coal are subject to fluctuating prices in
new coal bed methane resources and by increas-
response to global economic cycles, as well as to
ingly efficient synthetic-fuel processes. Coalbed
potential substitution by other sources of energy.
methane is now recognized as a potentially very
However, environmental impediments are not
large strategic energy resource in some regions
such an important factor in developing nations,
devoid of conventional hydrocarbons.
where the most rapid expansion in power genera-
tion can be expected. Developments in China
alone are likely to lead to considerable growth in
world coal consumption. The uranium market, al- Relevance of Depositional Systems
ready depressed, has felt the impact of a new flood to Energy Resources
of exports from the former Soviet Union, and al-
though problems of waste disposal and public ac-
ceptance persist, there is nevertheless continued The importance of the distribution, external ge-
growth in the proportion of power generated by ometry, and internal heterogeneity of sedimentary
nuclear reactors. rock units to hydrocarbon distribution has long
The even greater volatility of oil prices is attrib- been appreciated. Recognition of depositional
utable to political factors superimposed on excess controls on oil and gas reservoirs dates back to
global capacity. Gross additions to oil reserves Fisk (1944) and his predecessors in the United
since 1970 exceed the volume produced over the States petroleum industry, who noted that knowl-
same period, despite the decline in the rate of edge of modern fluvial and deltaic systems of the
giant field discoveries since 1968 (Campbell 1991). Gulf coastal plain provides a powerful tool in ex-
Among the factors responsible for the increase in ploring for buried reservoirs of comparable origin.
reserves are the following: This genetic approach to oil and gas exploration
was stimulated by more detailed and geographi-
1. Access to new exploration areas previously off cally more diverse studies of a range of clastic
limits for political or technical reasons environments, culminating in a comprehensive
4 Fuel-Mineral Resource Base
overview of depositional systems, which are the
stratigraphic counterparts of major depositional
environments (Fisher and Brown 1972). The obvi-
ous control of depositional systems on the distri-
bution of petroleum fields in many basins around
the world is well documented. Nowhere is this
more apparent than in the Gulf coastal plain of
Texas and Louisiana, where the profusion of sub-
surface geologic data, coupled with the results of
innumerable well tests and extensive production
records, clearly demonstrates the fundamental re-
lationship between depositional systems and
hydrocarbon fields.
In recent years, the growing acceptance of the
two powerful new disciplines of sequence stratigra-
phy, concerned with large-scale stratigraphic
intervals bounded by unconformities or hiatal sur-
faces, and reservoir characterization, focused on
internal detail at a scale that affects fluid flow,
have further strengthened the role of depositional
systems analysis in the upstream petroleum indus-
try. Both disciplines have benefited from tech-
nological advances such as three-dimensional
seismic and sophisticated well-log records. Se-
quence stratigraphy provides a genetically consis-
tent framework that determines the scale and
distribution of constituent, related depositional
systems (Chap. 11). Depositional systems, in turn,
are made up of sedimentary facies and subfacies,
which compartmentalize the reservoir and affect
fluid flow. The facies scale of sedimentological in-
vestigation has long been emphasized because it is
amenable to detailed outcrop study, but it requires
exceptional well control for effective application
in the subsurface. A recent combination of out-
crop description and comprehensive subsurface
delineation of facies-scale rock units, coupled with
geostatistics, pressure data, and fluid-flow records,
holds particular promise in optimizing reservoir
development and production practices.
For practical purposes, the scale of initial em-
phasis in this hierarchical scheme is largely deter-
mined by the exploration maturity of the area
under investigation. For example, in a frontier
basin the initial focus may be on the tectonic
framework, genetic sequence stratigraphy, and
broad distribution of depositional systems, with
the purpose of identifying potential source rock,
reservoir distribution, migration pathways, and
seals and of reconstructing the burial and hydro-
carbon maturation history. With increasing explo-
ration maturity, the emphasis shifts toward
individual fairways that may represent a combina-
tion of structural controls and depositional sys-
tems, for example stacked delta-front sands along
a growth fault trend. In well-explored basins, ma-
jor effort is directed toward defining incremental
reserves in old fields, for example by discovering
new pools, exploiting bypassed pay, and conduct-
ing geologically based infill drilling or stepout pro-
grams for attic oil or flank plays. In mature fields
subject to secondary oil recovery, geologic de-
scription is carried out at the scale of sedimentary
facies or beds, which provide information con-
cerning permeability pathways and barriers to
flow. Reservoir characterization at the field opti-
mization and enhanced recovery stage requires
a comprehensive understanding of three-dimen-
sional facies architecture and, most importantly,
of the effect of this heterogeneity on fluid-flow
behavior.
Unlike petroleum, which generally involves
one or more stages of migration, coal provides
direct evidence of conditions that prevailed at the
Earth's surface during a particular interval of geo-
logic time. An approximation of the nature and
size of the ancestral peat mire is provided by the
petrography, areal extent, and proportional thick-
ness of the seam. Analysis of seam continuity and
geometry and relationships to bounding clastic
sediments indicates the degree to which the domi-
nant controls on sedimentation were related to
factors such as regional changes in base level,
changing rates of sediment supply, or purely sedi-
mentary processes in a gradually compacting and
subsiding basin.
Some of the qualities that affect the utilization
of mined coal, such as its organic petrology, sulfur,
and inherent ash content, are also a product of the
depositional environment. Other qualities such as
rank, fracture or cleat density and distribution,
and secondary mineralization are generally a
product of later modification during deep burial.
Controls exercised by sedimentary facies on the
mineability of coal are also of major consequence,
insofar as potentially dangerous, unstable roof
and floor conditions in many underground mines
are generally associated with specific sedimentary
subenvironments and are therefore predictable
before mine development.
Most uranium deposits in sedimentary rocks
record the interaction between sedimentary
framework and migrating fluids. The distribution
of both syngenetic and epigenetic sandstone-type
uranium closely reflects sedimentological con-
trols, in the former case recording a particular

combination of sedimentary provenance and
hydrodynamic conditions, and in the latter,
the association of mineralized ground waters,
aquifers, permeability barriers, and geochemical
contrasts.
In short, the paleoenvironmental factor is pre-
eminent in the distribution of energy resources.
Coal is related directly to the depositional envi-
ronment. In the case of petroleum and sandstone-
type uranium, the sedimentary environment
provides the necessary framework for the sourc-
ing, migration, and accumulation of the economic
resource. Fluid flow is a key consideration in these
models, hence the considerable emphasis that it
receives in this book.
Applications in the Environmental Arena 5
Applications
in the Environmental Arena
Many of the principles of depositional systems,
facies interpretation, and fluid-flow analysis devel-
oped by oil and mining companies are finding new
and expanding applications in the environmental
domain. Aquifer characterization, fluid-flow
monitoring, and remediation of polluted substrate
and contaminated groundwater all require a com-
prehensive understanding of the properties and
arrangement of sedimentary units and their influ-
ence on groundwater flow. The high cost of com-
plex monitoring and remediation programs, often
designed using gridded or statistically based well
fields, demands improved efficiency. Like energy
resource geoscientists before them, hydrologists
will also discover that contaminant monitoring,
delineation, and remediation programs based
upon thoughtful sedimentological interpretation
will be cost-effective and successful.
2 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis
The real world is immensely complex (and) continuous. Iso-
lated structures are therefore subjective and artificial portions
of reality, and the biggest initial problem is the identification
and separation of meaningful sections of the real world. On the
one hand, every section or structure must be sufficiently
complex ... so that its study will yield significant and useful
results; on the other, every section must be simple enough for
comprehension and investigation (Chorley and Kennedy 1971,
p. 1).
Introduction: Depositional
and Sediment Dispersal Systems
One of the most difficult tasks in the application of
sedimentological interpretation in resource explo-
ration, appraisal, and development is the delinea-
tion of genetic stratigraphic units of sufficient
areal extent, vertical resolution, and appropriate
scale. The depositional basin defines the bound-
aries and general conditions of the accumulation
of a sediment pile. The depositional systems de-
scribed in subsequent chapters provide "meaning-
ful sections" of the basin fill. Their recognition and
delineation establish a hierarchical framework for
facies differentiation, mapping, and interpretation
using appropriate process-response models. It is
commonly at the systems level that source beds,
fluid-migration pathways (the basin plumbing),
potential hosts or reservoirs, trapping configura-
tions, and fluid-flow properties are sought and
analyzed.
A natural system is a structured set of objects or
attributes that exhibit defined relationships and
operate together as a complex whole. The concept
of natural systems is widely applied in physical
geography and geomorphology. A geomorphic
process-response system is a three-dimensional
array of interacting processes and landforms that
function both individually and jointly to form a
landscape (Chorley et al. 1984). Indeed, the
approach to depositional system interpretation
used in this text emphasizes the process-oriented
geomorphic or, more appropriately, the paleo-
geomorphic elements that form a paleolandscape.
Following the original application of Fisher and
McGowen (1967) and Brown and Fisher (1980),
we define a depositional system as a three-dimen-
sional body of sediment deposited in a contiguous
suite of process-related sedimentary environ-
ments. There are eight primary generic terrig-
enous clastic depositional systems (Fig. 2.1):
alluvial fan, fluvial, delta, shore-zone, shelf, slope
and base-of-slope, eolian, and lacustrine systems.
An active depositional system is a geomorphic sys-
tem that is a major element of the physical geogra-
phy of a basin. Most basins contain several active
depositional systems at anyone time. Linkages of
depositional systems constitute the principal sedi-
ment dispersal systems of a basin (Fig. 2.1).
Through geologic time, the number, kinds, and
geographic array of depositional systems change,
either progressively or abruptly, as sediment dis-
persal systems evolve or are disrupted and re-
placed. Abandoned systems are buried and
become three-dimensional rock bodies with de-
fined areal extent and stratigraphic thickness.
Most clastic depositional systems are character-
ized by specific processes of sediment dispersal.
Processes of sediment transport, sorting, and
deposition include:
a) Subaerial
- Gravitational potential energy
- Confined fluid flow
- Unconfined fluid flow (sheetflow, wind)
b) Marine or lacustrine reservoir
- Wave energy flux
- Tidal (wind or solunar) energy flux
- Permanent (geostrophic) currents
- Storm-generated currents
- Gravitational potential energy
Differing depositional environments and sys-
tems are characterized by the interplay of specific
processes, resulting, in turn, in diagnostic ero-
sional and depositional features.
 Introduction: Depositional and Sediment Dispersal Systems 7

SOURCE AREA ~

~~II/'=?
/ ~"\Y ______

__
Fan Delta
/'/JA/J~
/,\
~
. FAN
Unconfined flow
I Gravity moss transport
I Confined flow
/? ~

~~cr
Lacustri ne
LACUSTRINE Delta EOLIAN
_ "h~_~UVIAL
Geochemical isolation
\ Unconfined flow
Water moss stratification ~elized flow
Instability

SHELF
Unconfined flow

Storm pro.c~esses...
Waves '
.' \ \ \ \
, \ '

\ \

BASE-OF-SLOPE ~
Gravity moss transport ~
~ Boundary conf ined flow

Fig. 2.1. The eight terrigenous clastic depositional systems and the sediment transport pathways that commonly connect them

In environments of active fluid transport, sig-
nificant sorting of an initially heterogeneous sedi-
ment mix occurs. Suspended load and bed load are
efficiently separated and deposited at different
sites by three basic sorting mechanisms:
1. Decreasing velocity resulting in deposition of
progressively finer grain sizes.
2. The ability of moving water to erode loose sedi-
ment, which is a direct function of current ve-
locity, commonly greater than the velocity re-
quired to transport sediment of the same grain
size. This velocity inequality was expressed
conceptually by Hjulstrom in 1939. For fine
sediments, such as clay and silt, the difference
between the velocity necessary to erode a par-
ticle and that necessary to transport it once it is
moving is more than an order of magnitude.
Sand, on the other hand, responds readily to
changing flow conditions and can be washed
8 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis
through the system in the course of several
cycles of erosion, transport, and deposition.
3. The vertical concentration gradient of sedi-
ment within flowing water is primarily depen-
dent on grain size. Although the dividing line
is somewhat arbitrary, sediment load is con-
ventionally subdivided into bed load and
suspended load. Bed-load sediment, which
in normal flow conditions includes sediment
coarser than very fine sand, moves near the
base of the channel. Suspended-load sediment
(very fine sand, silt, and clay) is more uniformly
distributed throughout the water column. The
significance of this distinction is twofold. First,
any process that either separates the moving
water mass from the channel bottom or bleeds
off the upper water column will separate bed
load and suspended load. If flow separation oc-
curs at the channel base, sand-sized sediment is
rapidly deposited but suspended load remains
within the moving water column. Second, as
flow velocity wanes, fine sediment, which is
mixed throughout the water column and has
very low settling velocities, may be transported
a considerable distance before deposition. The
bed-load sediment, which is moving over the
substrate and has a high settling velocity, will
be rapidly deposited before most of the sus-
pended load settles out. This settling lag, com-
bined with waning flow, can efficiently separate
suspended-load and bed-load sediment and re-
sult in distinctive vertical and lateral textural
gradients.
Moving fluids interact with bed sediment to
produce a variety of bedforms. Resulting primary
sedimentary structures are inherent features of
most clastic sediments and provide a wealth of
information on depositional processes, rates, and
paleotransport directions. Thorough reviews of
structures and their interpretation are contained
in Harms et al. (1982), Allen (1984), and Ashley
(1990).
Once formed, primary structures may be
subject to partial or complete destruction by
burrowing organisms or root penetration (see,
e.g., Bromley 1990 and Pemberton 1992). Lateral
or vertical variation in the nature and density
of biogenic structures (trace fossils or ichnofossils)
provides information on comparative rates of
sediment accumulation and intensity of reworking
by physical processes. Specific ichnofossil assem-
blages or biofacies are associated with specific
depositional settings. As with conventional fossils,
species diversity is environmentally sensitive.
Few, if any, primary or biogenic structures are
unique to a specific depositional environment;
rather, the total suite is a reflection of the overall
environmental setting and depositional process
association.
Because bed-load transport typically leaves a
depositional "trail," delineation of the distribution
and geometry of the bed-load (sand) framework
sand bodies, the depositional skeleton of a stra-
tigraphic unit, is basic to unraveling sediment
dispersal pathways and provides much useful
information about depositional processes and
environments. Primary distinctions may be made
among channelized, boundary-confined (e.g.,
shoreface) and unconfined (e.g., eolian, shelf)
transport styles and between dip-fed and strike-
fed sediment dispersal systems. A dip-fed system,
such as a fluvial system, is gravity driven and trans-
ports sediment downslope toward the deposi-
tional basin. In contrast, a strike-fed transport
system, such as the shoreface, moves bed-load
sediment parallel to the basin margin. Some depo-
sitional systems, such as wave-modified deltas,
contain both dip- and strike-fed transport path-
ways. Relative volume, vertical and areal distribu-
tion, and cross-sectional geometry of the dip-fed
and strike-fed deposits are powerful guides for
facies interpretation. Further, these attributes are
readily determined from subsurface data.
An active depositional system consists of a fam-
ily of related environments. Each environment is
represented by a specific genetic facies. Genetic
facies are thus the building blocks of a strati-
graphic depositional system. Like subdivision and
classification of environments, genetic facies sub-
division can be general or quite specific, depend-
ing on objectives and data availability. Each
genetic facies consists of one or more lithofacies,
which are defined by textural, compositional, bed-
ding, or other physical attributes of the sediment.
Lithofacies are largely descriptive (e.g., massive,
gravelly sandstone facies), while genetic facies are
interpretive (turbidite channel-fill facies). Inter-
pretation of individual genetic facies is most effec-
tively accomplished within a depositional system
framework. Even with limited data, accurate
choices can be made from the suite of framework
and nonframework facies likely to be present
within a known system.
Facies interpretation relies to a greater or lesser
extent on the use of models. Models may be

largely descriptive, attempting to generalize the
physical attributes of the deposits of a particular
depositional environment. Although appealing
because of the relative simplicity of idealized stan-
dards for comparison, physical models have real
limitations. Whereas the process regime is defined
by the environment, the depositional product is
equally determined by the nature of sediment
supply to the environment, and supply is an inde-
pendent variable. Thus, great variation in the
characteristics of the resultant facies is the rule
rather than the exception. An alternative ap-
proach that is emphasized in subsequent chapters
relies on development of flexible process-
response models. Fundamental to this approach
is the qualitative understanding of processes
inherent in each depositional environment and
the range of products that may result.
Paleoenvironmental reconstruction is thus based
on process interpretation in the context of the
three-dimensional geometry and stratigraphic
relationships of the genetic facies.
Applied Depositional System Analysis
In most sedimentary basins, exploration for and
development of energy minerals and characteriza-
tion of reservoirs and aquifers rely increasingly
on the generation and analysis of subsurface
data. Detailed description of sedimentological at-
tributes requiring outcrop exposure as a basis for
interpretation becomes, at best, of limited utility.
Similarly, whole diamond core is a lUxury that is
typically available only in volumetrically trivial
portions of the total basin fill. However, inherent
in depositional system analysis is the concept that
component genetic facies (and thus lithofacies)
are spatially related, three-dimensional units,
which can be recognized, described, and inter-
preted using commonly available types of subsur-
face data, augmented where possible with
descriptions of core or outcrop sections. This ap-
proach to facies analysis is based on the following:
1. Reconstruction of depositional architecture
2. Recognition and delineation of depositional
packages
3. Determination of bulk lithology and delinea-
tion of framework sand facies geometry
4. Recognition of vertical and lateral lithofacies
successions and associations
Applied Depositional System Analysis 9
The following sections discuss these four
approaches to three-dimensional facies analysis,
with emphasis on subsurface data.
Depositional Architecture
Bedding geometry and spatial relationships within
and among lithological units are fundamental
properties of genetic stratigraphic sequences con-
stituting a basin fill. Delineation of "bedding
style" or "depositional architecture" on both re-
gional and local scales provides much information
on depositional processes and probable deposi-
tional systems or environments.
Sedimentation within a receiving basin, such as
a channel, lake, bay, or shelf, can occur at the
margin or at the bottom. Aggradation is the pro-
cess of vertical accretion of successive beds on the
basin floor. Infilling from the margin is accom-
plished either by progradation, if sediment is
washed into the basin, or by lateral accretion, if
sediment moving within the basin preferentially
accretes against the margin (Fig. 2.2). Each of
these three mechanisms produces a characteristic
bedding architecture and is typified at the facies
scale by a general textural profile (Fig. 2.2).
Progradation and lateral accretion both produce
depositional units of sigmoidal geometry. They
are readily differentiated, however, by contrasting
textural successions: progradational sequences
coarsen upward, whereas lateral accretion nor-
mally produces an upward-fining succession. In
both, the sequence is reproduced laterally within a
single bed and vertically as successive beds are
stacked one upon the other. Aggradational beds
may simply pile up, with no inherent systematic
textural trends. However, successive beds may
offstep, placing coarser proximal facies above
finer distal facies, or backstep, reversing the tex-
tural trend. Aggradational successions of strata
may be mounded, reflecting focused deposition or
lap out against a sloping surface (Fig. 2.2).
Accretionary, aggradational, and prograda-
tional depositional settings may exist side by side
within the same depositional system. For example,
an abandoned fluvial channel may fill by
progradation of sediment washed in during floods
from an adjacent, active channel in which point
bars build by lateral accretion. At the same time,
overbank sediment deposited by flood waters
aggrades the floodplain. Whole depositional
systems may be dominantly progradational
10 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis

..
Coarse Fine Fig. 2.2. Three basic styles of basin-
filling deposition, their resultant
bedding geometries, and typical ver-
tical textural profiles. Aggradational
successions may display offstepping,
back stepping, mounded, or lapout
geometries. (Modified from Gallo-
way ct al. 1979b)

Progradation

Lateral Accret ion

Aggradat ion

a Offsteppin g
b Vert i cal
c Bocks fepping

c:
Q}

"'C Moun ded

o
....
0>

u
<f>
o
c:
0>
o
"'C

o
Z

(e.g., delta systems) or aggradational (e.g., fluvial
systems).
Large-scale depositional geometries can also be
recognized at the basin scale (Brown and Fisher
1977; Thorne and Swift 1991b). These can be de-
scribed using simple geometric terms that reflect
the internal stacking geometry and termination
pattern of depositional units and their areal pat-
tern (wedge, apron, fill, fan) (Fig. 2.3). Uplap oc-
curs where aggrading stratal units abut an inclined
structural or bedrock surface; onlap is geometri-
cally similar, but aggradation is onto a deposi-
tional or unconformity surface within the basin fill;
offlap shows progressive outbuilding of clinoform
units. Together, onlap, uplap, and offlap define the
basic stratal geometries. Additional, noteworthy
geometries include development of clinoforms
displaced basinward of the depositional platform
edge (downshifted offlap wedge) and low-angle
onlapping sheets or wedges in which successive
stratal units backstep from the platform edge
(backstep wedge). Lateral and vertical relation-
ships among successions displaying different
stratal geometries reflect depositional system as-
sociations and evolutionary histories in space and
time.
Genetic Packages: Depositional Episodes
and Sequences
Genetic packages of strata must be defined and
correlated if the sediment dispersal system, depo-
sitional system framework, and facies distribution
are to be correctly recognized, interpreted, and
Backstep Wedge
Geometric descriptor
Wedge
Apron
Fill
Fan
Fig. 2.3. Basin-scale stratal geometries
Applied Depositional System Analysis 11
mapped. Definition of genetic packages at a vari-
ety of stratigraphic and geographic scales is pos-
sible because terrigenous clastic sediment input
and accumulation within sedimentary basins is
typically episodic. Pulses of deposition include the
following:
1. Basin-scale episodes of up to several million
years duration
2. Climate-driven Milankovitch cycles, with dura-
tions of tens to hundreds of thousands of years
3. High-frequency auto cyclic and allocyclic
fluctuations within individual sediment dis-
persal systems
4. Flood, storm, and mass failure events
Long-term episodes create regional to sub-
regional sequences that are fundamental stra-
tigraphic subdivisions of the basin fill. Such
sequences contain deposits of several depositional
systems, which commonly show progressive evolu-
tionary changes during the episode. Climate di-
rectly affects sediment yield and, through global
ice-volume and groundwater storage changes, sea
level. Orbitally forced changes in global climate
thus punctuate basin infilling, commonly within
the context of longer-lived depositional system
arrays. Autocyclic processes, such as channel avul-
sion and lobe switching, and allocyclic controls,
such as subregional climatic fluctuations and
pulsed tectonism, affect sediment dispersal and
accumulation within individual or closely linked
depositional systems. Together, Milankovitch
cycles and less periodic punctuations of deposition
provide the foundations for cyclostratigraphy.
Event beds or horizons provide the finest scale
Onlap Wedge
Mound
Mound
12 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis

of temporal resolution, but they commonly are
restricted to a single depositional system or
environment.
Frazier (1974) developed a conceptual model,
based on extensive three-dimensional strati-
graphic studies of Quaternary depositional sys-
tems of the United States Gulf Coast Basin, which
integrated the principal components of the basin
fill in the context of depositional episodes and
higher-frequency cycles. This model, with due rec-
ognition of differences required for basins of
differing tectonic setting and bathymetric con-
figuration, provides a useful framework for defini-
tion and correlation of genetic stratigraphic units
within large marine or lacustrine basin fills.
Several sedimentological principles form the
basis of the model (Frazier 1974):
1. Terrigenous clastic sediments are allochthono-
us and are transported to the depositional basin
margin primarily by rivers.
2. Basins are filled by clastic sediment through a
repetitive alternation of depositional episodes
and nondepositional intervals.
3. At anyone time, active deposition is concen-
trated in limited areas of the basin (Fig. 2.4A).
Nondepositional areas are most widespread
when input is low and during periods of rapid
relative base level rise. Where energy is avail-
able, erosion occurs in nondepositional set-

- - - - - - - - - DI STANCE BAS INWARD - - - - - -- - -_.

1
0
0 VI
(f) w
VI
0::: ...J
W ::::l LL
CL
....I ::!'

z ...J t-
<t
0 z
0
I-
i=
in iii
0 0
a..
w
0

w
r
u
z
W
:::J
0
W
(f) III
III
W
U Z
I- :x:
W u
Z I
W I-
C)

FACIES ASSOCIATION

~ Progradational i:}}}::1Aggradational Transgressive

SURFACE
B ~ Nonmarine - - - Marine
Fig. 2.4A,B. Temporal and spatial relationships of a deposi- graphic cross-section showing the idealized stratal architecture.
tional episode and its resultant allostratigraphic unit, a genetic distribution of subaerial and subaqueous unconformities, and
stratigraphic sequence. A Time-space diagram illustrating the facies successions produced by the depositional episode.
shifting locus of sediment (Smt) accumulation and depositional (Modified from Frazier 1974)
styles and relationships of bounding hiatal intervals. B Strati-
 Applied Depositional System Analysis 13

tings. Where accumulation is very slow or is
augmented by biogenic or chemical sedimenta-
tion, condensed beds form. Consequently,
widespread stratigraphic surfaces - disconfor-
mities, unconformities, and correlative con-
densed beds - separate deposits of successive
episodes.
4. The time interval represented by a hiatus and
its resultant stratigraphic surface varies from
place to place; however, at least one time line
extends throughout the entire extent of the sur-
face (Fig. 2.4A). Thus, the subaqueous stra-
tigraphic surface upon which succeSSIve
progradational beds are deposited (Fig. 2.4B)
represents a progressively longer time interval
in the basinward direction.
5. An idealized depositional episode consists of
three facies associations (Fig. 2.5). Deposits of
the progradational phase progressively offlap
into the basin, forming a wedge of sediment
that commonly thickens basinward. Contem-
poraneous aggradational facies cap the
progradational platform, commonly thickening
in the landward direction and showing vertical
stacking. Termination or decrease in sediment
output and ongoing basin subsidence results in

m
o
It
o
F-:-C
iMAXIMUM FLOODING
SURFACE

aRETROGRADATION

U)
600 w
200 <.)
AGGRADATION
z
W
::::J
a
w
U)

0::
it

PROGRADATION

MAXIMUM FLOODING
SURFACE

- Genetic stratigraphic sequence boundary

- - - Parasequence boundary

- - - - Event marker QAa5486

Fig. 2.5. Correlative log segments through deposits of the
Yegua depositional episode (Eocene. northwest Gulf of
Mexico Basin). Log response reflects vertical lithological
trends and facies successions (right column). condensed sec-
tions that form genetic stratigraphic sequence boundaries.
parasequences. facies-scale textural successions (central col-
umn). and numerous correlative cvent beds. Marker bed trun-
cations define surfaces of channel incision and regional
erosion. F Fine. C coarse
14 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis

deposition of a veneer of reworked transgres- depositional episode. Combination of the trans-

sive facies, which onlap landward and cap the gressive succession with the overlying deposits is
depositional unit. Where transgression is ac- best avoided for several reasons:
companied by ongoing input of new sediment,
1. Transgressive facies commonly consist of sedi-
a backstep wedge that incorporates thick,
ment reworked from the underlying systems.
aggradational facies, are ally extensive trans-
Thus transgressive lithofacies composition and
gressive facies, and limited progradational
distribution are preconditioned by facies distri-
facies onlaps the basin margin.
butions in the underlying progradational and
aggradational phase deposits.
Each depositional episode thus produces pre-
2. The physical geography of the transgressive
dictably ordered facies successions recording
depositional systems tract is highly sensitive to
initial progradation, penecontemporaneous ag-
the geomorphology of the transgressed coast-
gradation, and terminal transgression. Addition-
line and coastal plain. Consequently, there are
ally, short-term pulses typically punctuate the
commonly close spatial relationships between
overall depositional episode, creating internal
transgressive facies and underlying facies suc-
stratigraphic units, now commonly called para-
cessions. For example, transgressive estuary
sequences (Fig. 2.4B). Parasequences in turn dis-
deposits occupy underlying fluvial axes, and
play progradational/aggradational/transgressive
their fills are predictable in the context of the
facies successions.
precursor channel type (Dalrymple et al. 1992;
Each depositional episode produces an al-
Koss et al. 1994).
lostratigraphic unit, bounded by marine surfaces
3. Each depositional episode is characterized by a
of nondeposition or erosion, called a depositional
relatively stable array of depositional systems,
complex by Frazier (1974) and a genetic strati-
and many studies have demonstrated that this
graphic sequence by Galloway (1989a). (Chapter
array persists well into the retrogressive or
11 discusses sequence stratigraphy in greater de-
transgressive phase. Retrogressive or trans-
tail.) Each genetic stratigraphic sequence consists
gressive deposits continue to reflect this paleo-
of the deposits of a three-dimensional array of
geography. Subsequent depositional episodes
depositional systems that record a period of re-
commonly produce very different arrays of
lative tectonic and geomorphic stability. The
depositional systems that may show little or no
sequence may contain internal surfaces, such as
relationship to the older transgressed paleo-
the subaerial hiatus contained within the episode
geography (e.g., Galloway 1989b). Under-
illustrated in Fig. 2.4. Internal surfaces provide
standing of the pretransgressive facies
useful boundaries for map units that differentiate
distribution allows prediction of transgressive
evolving paleogeography and facies distributions.
paleogeography and facies distribution. In con-
Progradational-phase depositional system at-
trast, knowledge of transgressive facies distri-
tributes commonly differ from those of ensuing
bution has little predictive value for overlying
retrogradational phase systems and can be iso-
progradational deposits of the subsequent
lated and mapped individually by using the inter-
depositional episode.
nal subaerial unconformity or transgressive onlap
surfaces. Transgressive facies tracts are commonly Recognition of allostratigraphic units such as
distinctive and can be separated by internal sur- genetic stratigraphic sequences has two applica-
faces (Chap. 11). Boundaries between genetic tions. First, these constitute regional coeval stra-
stratigraphic sequences are ill-defined landward tigraphic units that must be recognized and
of the shoreline of maximum transgression and correlated if quantitative facies mapping is to pro-
in any area where deposition is relatively duce meaningful patterns. Second, the model re-
continuous. lates the various bedding architectures and facies
As pointed out by Frazier (1974), conventional successions to preferred positions within the basin
stratigraphic units may approximate depositional fill.
episodes. However, the transgressive facies, which Both transgressive facies and unconformities
are components of the stratigraphic sequence pro- provide physical stratigraphic correlation markers
duced by a depositional episode, are commonly that can be used to define the boundaries of ge-
given individual formational status or are com- netic units. Unlike maximum flooding surfaces,
bined with the marine strata of the overlying however, transgressive beds and surfaces do not

necessarily incorporate a time line (Fig. 2.4A).
Maximum flooding surfaces are recognized as
downlap surfaces for progradational clinoforms
or as onlap surfaces for younger marine strata.
Lithological indicators include development of
firm grounds or hard grounds, taphonomic ally
complex shell lag concentrations, and coarse, re-
sidual lags and diagenetic concentrates (Kidwell
1993). Correlative condensed sections, which rep-
resent long intervals of essentially no deposition
of terrigenous clastic sediment, may be indicated
by a variety of thin, laterally continuous beds or
horizons, including the following:
1. Pelagic drapes
2. Richly glauconitic, phosphatic, or sideritic
sand, mud, or marl
3. Thin, organically rich or bentonitic, radioactive
shale
4. Highly fossiliferous or burrow-churned
hemipelagic mud
5. Multiple hiatal fossil lags (Loutit et al. 1988;
Kidwell 1993).
The presence of carbonate and other chemical
constituents in these veneers reflects the long con-
tact times between surficial sediments and the
overlying water column. On the upper slope and
shelf edge, the flooding surface may develop as a
surface of marine mass wasting and erosion (Dietz
1963; Swift and Thorne 1991). Resulting dissec-
tion, canyon cutting, and planation are readily
apparent in reflection seismic data (Brown and
Fisher 1980).
Chemical or biogenic materials are indicated
on well logs as thin zones of relatively dense,
low-porosity, high-resistivity, and/or radioactive
material. In contrast, nearly pure pelagic mud
units are indicated by zones of minimum resistiv-
ity on electric logs. Thus, the most useful member
of the family of stratigraphic markers, the
flooding surface and its associated condensed
section, can commonly be distinguished by its
log signature, lateral continuity, and seismic
attributes.
Nonmarine surfaces within the genetic se-
quence (Fig. 2.4) may be unconformities with in-
cised valleys and drainage networks, widespread
paleosoils or peat beds, or "condensed" sections
dominated by amalgamated channel lags. The
chemical and physical attributes of such horizons
may also produce distinctive log responses.
However, their lateral continuity is typically less
easily recognized than that of their submarine
Applied Depositional System Analysis 15
counterparts, which form under more uniform
conditions.
Depositional Pulses and Parasequences
Frazier (1974) and many subsequent authors
(Van Wagoner et al. 1990; Swift et al. 1991)
have recognized relatively short-term, subregional
to regional stratigraphic units, now called para-
sequences, as a fundamental and widely devel-
oped subdivision within sequences and their
contained depositional systems. Geologically brief
depositional pulses prograde the shoreline and
terminate with transgression. Progradational fa-
cies are overlain landward by aggradational de-
posits; the seaward part of the packet is capped by
a transgressive veneer. Unconformities are absent
or poorly developed; time spans are too short and
scale of relative base level change too small for
creation of stratigraphically significant surfaces.
A parasequence is the simplest depositional
package, consisting of conformable successions
of facies deposited within contiguous environ-
ments during a depositional pulse. Stratal archi-
tecture is relatively simple, conslstmg of
progradational offlap followed by transgressive
onlap. Surfaces such as channel scours or trans-
gressive ravinements may be present, but they
record local environments of erosion and occur
within a Waltherian progression of facies. The
thin, lithologically distinct transgressive beds and
minor flooding surfaces provide useful markers
for internal correlation within deltaic, shore-zone,
and shelf depositional systems of larger se-
quences. Parasequences provide a fundamental
unit for lithofacies mapping and interpretation.
They are most easily correlated within the context
of a particular depositional system.
Sand Distribution and Geometry:
Log Interpretation and Lithofacies Mapping
Quantitative geologic mapping is standard proce-
dure in energy resource geology. In addition to
basic structure contour and interval isopach maps,
isolith maps, such as a net sandstone or coal iso-
pach, and proportion maps, including sandstone
percentage and sand/shale ratio maps, define the
areal extent and expected thickness of reservoirs
or other economically important lithologies. Data
needed for quantitative maps are derived largely
from electrical or gamma-ray logs, supplemented
by well cuttings and core.
16 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis
Quantitative Lithofacies Maps
In terrigenous clastic depositional systems, a com-
bination of genetic interval isopach maps, a net
sand isopach map, and, if the interval thickness
changes markedly, a sand percentage or ratio map
is particularly useful for genetic stratigraphic in-
terpretation. Such a map suite outlines principal
depocenters both for total sediment and for the
bed-load fraction and displays the distribution,
trends, and areal patterns of the framework sand
bodies. Further, the distribution of framework and
nonframework facies can be related to basement
and intraformational structure and to basin mor-
phology.
The detailed geometry of a specific sand body is
typically obscured because the facies succession of
even a single depositional pulse consists of amal-
gamated sand units of several different environ-
ments. However, depositional pattern of the
framework sand facies dominates contour pat-
terns. Even in thick stratigraphic sequences
that incorporate many tens of individual
parasequences, vertical persistence of deposi-
tional environments is characteristic and results in
stacking of similar facies and persistence of frame-
work trends. Although such amalgamation inher-
ently decreases overall map resolution and causes
loss of detail of framework geometry, the posi-
tions of depocenters, areal distribution of frame-
work sands within the genetic package, relative
importance of dip- or strike-fed dispersal systems,
and relationships between contemporaneous
structures and sand distribution remain visible.
Utility and accuracy of maps are further in-
creased if sedimentological concepts and genetic
models are incorporated into contouring style.
With the exception of gravitational remobilization
in subaqueous slope settings, total bed-load sedi-
ment bypass is rare in clastic depositional systems.
Sand bodies are, in effect, the fossilized hard parts
of the bed-load sediment dispersal system. Conse-
quently, elements of the dispersal system are pre-
served as a series of interconnected sand bodies
whose trends trace pathways of sediment trans-
port. Contouring most appropriately emphasizes
continuity rather than isolation of sand deposits.
Contouring should attempt to recognize and ap-
propriately emphasize emerging patterns such
as discrete belts, radiating distributary aprons,
or subparallel pods. Systematic areal changes in
pattern, dimensions, or trend of contours likely
reflect the paleogeographic associations of envi-
ronments and systems. Thick, isolated pods or
lobes of sand are noteworthy and have strong im-
plications for interpretation of depositional pro-
cess or history.
Well Logs
Various wire-line logs are the most common type
of geologic data available for subsurface geologic
analysis and lithofacies mapping. Together with
drill cuttings, such logs provide a basic suite of
information about the lithology, petrophysical
properties, and pore-fluid content of the strata
penetrated.
No wire-line log determines lithology or grain
size directly. Consequently, lithological and tex-
tural interpretations are based on calibration of
log response with core or other independent
lithological data, use of known correlations be-
tween lithology and the property actually mea-
sured, or comparison of several log types. Details
of log interpretation lie beyond the objectives of
this book. The mechanics of well logging and the
techniques and theories of log interpretation are
discussed in numerous petroleum engineering
texts and reference manuals. However, logs can be
readily used for qualitative lithological informa-
tion and provide a three-dimensional data base for
facies recognition and mapping. Two types of logs
are commonly utilized for lithofacies interpreta-
tion: the electric log and the natural gamma log.
The electric log, which has many different
names, including resistivity log, induction log, and
laterolog, typically displays two basic traces, an SP
(spontaneous potential) and a resistivity curve.
The SP curve, which lies along the left side of the
log, measures the relative electric potential devel-
oped between the fluid within the borehole and
the formation, referenced to the fixed potential of
an electrode at the surface. Indirectly, SP mea-
sures permeability, but the direction and magni-
tude of the electric potential, and consequently of
the deflection of the log trace, are also functions of
the electrochemical contrast between borehole
and formation fluids. In deep wells, where bore-
hole fluids are typically less saline than formation
waters, the SP curve deflects to the left from the
baseline (indicating negative current flux) within
porous, permeable lithologies such as sand. SP
response is less stable at shallower depths where
freshwater aquifers are encountered.
The resistivity trace measures the resistivity of
the rock matrix and its contained pore fluids. Sev-
 Applied Depositional System Analysis 17

eral types of resistivity measurements are com-
monly recorded on the same log. Because resistiv-
ity of sediment or rock matrix is high compared to
that of saline or brackish water, measured resistiv-
ity is primarily a function of pore-fluid chemistry
rather than of lithology. However, if porosity and
permeability are low, as in a tightly cemented or
highly compacted, texturally immature bed, the
resistivity curve registers the high matrix resistiv-
ity by a deflection to the right. The resistivity
curve may thus be used to measure thickness of
sand bodies in freshwater zones or in facies succes-
sions characterized by very low intergranular
porosity.
The gamma log measures natural gamma radia-
tion of the bed. The more sophisticated gamma
spectrometric log distinguishes relative contribu-
tions of potassium, thorium, and uranium. Most
measured radiation is emitted by radiogenic po-
tassium contained in clay minerals or in micas or
data allows a more accurate calibration of lithol-
ogy to log response.
Determination of the major depositional epi-
sodes along with the nature and extent of their
bounding surfaces, followed by systematic delin-
eation of their contained bedding geometries,
lithofacies distribution, and geometry of frame-
work sand facies, provides the basis for recogni-
tion of the principal depositional systems and their
component facies associations.
Vertical and Lateral Facies Associations
Both electric and gamma logging tools have finite
lower limits to their resolution of thin beds. Trace
deflections are subdued when bed thickness is less
than the minimum. Intervals of thinly interbedded
If)
Q)
c: If)

orthoclase. In mixed siliciclastic sequences, the

If) If)
Q) Q) Q)
c: If) Q) c:
gamma curve readily distinguishes between sand -""
.!'? 0
.0 : -""
.!'?
~ Q)
and shale; the degree of the deflection is an index -0
c:
If)
0
~
of "shaliness" of the interval. In addition, gamma '2 0 .0
::::J
If)
0
c: ~ >
logs are particularly useful for recognition and -0
c: 0 0
.c
~

~
0 ~
correlation of organically rich marine shales and (f) U (f) E
are generally used to define and correlate mud-
stone intervals within sandy facies (Hatton et al.
1992; Slatt et al. 1992). Organically rich shales
commonly contain anomalous amounts of ura-
nium, making them readily apparent on the highly
sensitive oil well gamma log. Problems in the use
of the gamma log may arise if small amounts of
other radioactive materials such as uraniferous
heavy minerals, phosphatic or glauconitic grains,
or detrital mica are present in abundance. Low
30{IOO
m ft
gamma counts also characterize relatively pure 420
carbonate units, which might be misinterpreted as
interbedded sands and shales.
For quantitative lithological techniques, such as
summation of the net sand within a map unit, logs
are internally calibrated by defining typical re-
sponses to end-member lithologies within an in-
oo
terval known or assumed to contain thick, clean
sand and mudstone beds (Fig. 2.6). Connecting
deflections produced by the end-member litholo-
gies defines clean-sand and shale baselines that
bracket the log trace. Intermediate deflections in- 148
148 = Net sand Sand percent = 420 = 35
dicate interbedded or texturally mixed lithologies.
An operational definition of sand is established by
Fig. 2.6. Example calculation of net sandstone thickness from
selecting a minimal proportional deflection (such a spontaneous potential (SP) log curve. A 50% cutoff between
as one half or two thirds) from the shale baseline shale and clean-sand baselines is used to define the two end-
as the cut off. The addition of core and sample member lithologies
18 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis
sand and mud, for example, may produce a trace
deflection midway between shale and sand base-
lines. In a progradational succession, in which up-
ward coarsening is the result of the increasing
number and thickness of sand beds relative to
interbedded mud, both SP and gamma log traces
ideally display a progressive deflection from the
shale baseline to the sand baseline, reflecting the
increasing proportion of permeable sand and de-
creasing proportion of radioactive clay. Similarly,
vertical change in the textural maturity of a sand
may be readily reflected by both log types. How-
ever, textural changes exclusively within sand-
sized sediment are least likely to be indicated by
the logs, although in theory the SP log would re-
spond to the changes in permeability that accom-
pany changes in grain size.
Log patterns may be used at three levels of
interpretation:
1. Determination of vertical facies successions
and bedding architecture at the scale of se-
quences and depositional systems
2. Recognition and mapping of log facies within
correlative stratigraphic intervals
3. Delineation of lateral and vertical textural rela-
tionships of individual sand bodies
One of the most obvious and earliest uses of
wire-line logs, beyond the determination of basic
lithology, is the interpretation of vertical facies
succession. The characteristic upward-coarsening
and upward-fining textural patterns of pro-
gradational and lateral accretion bedding geom-
etries are readily recognized on electric and
gamma logs. Besides recognition of the overall
vertical sequence, comparison of many logs
through a genetic stratigraphic unit will likely lead
to recognition of recurrent log motifs, sometimes
called electrofacies. Such motifs may be character-
ized by vertical sequence, scale of units, dominant
lithological composition, or comparative response
of different log curves, and their areal, lateral, and
vertical distributions may be examined for system-
atic patterns using maps and cross-sections. For
example, in Fig. 2.5, the lower progradational
stratigraphic succession consists dominantly of a
series of thin to moderately thick sand units typi-
fied by upward increase in SP and resistivity
deflections, suggesting upward coarsening. The
aggradational succession consists of a lower inter-
val of medium to thick, blocky log patterns, indi-
cating abrupt bases and tops to stacked sand units,
and an upper interval of sand packages typified by
a lower, upward-coarsening (increasing deflec-
tion) succession overlain by variably interbedded
(serrate) to upward-fining (waning deflection)
sand bodies. Retrogradational units are shaley
and highly interbedded, giving a highly serrate log
motif. Maps showing areal distribution of log
motifs along with sand thickness or percentage
can be particularly useful for differentiating depo-
sitional systems and major facies associations
within them.
With detailed data bases and aided by core cali-
bration, log patterns can be correlated directly
with specific depositional facies. Such interpreta-
tion attempts to make use of the fact that logs
convey much information about vertical textural
changes, degree of bedding, thickness, and nature
of sand body contacts with underlying strata.
These attributes, in tum, reflect the processes ac-
tive during sand body deposition. An enlightening
suite of SP logs recorded in shallow drill holes in
Holocene coastal plain environments is given by
Bernard et al. (1970).
A log trace is, however, at best a nonunique
and incomplete description of facies. Genetic fa-
cies interpretation of log motifs is most successful
where applied within the context of a known
depositional system and improves as the details
of log signature are calibrated with specific
lithological attributes. Figure 2.7 illustrates an ide-
alized example in which contemporaneous coastal
environments, including fluvial, deltaic, barrier-
bar, and tidal-inlet settings, are each characterized
by a unique log facies. Differences include vertical
sequence, thickness, and degree of interbedding
within the sand body. Vagaries of depositional and
preservation preclude such idealized fidelity in
real log shapes. However, examination of many
logs, combined with emphasis on areal associa-
tions and recurrent patterns, allows considerable
sophistication in facies interpretation within a re-
gional depositional system and sequence frame-
work.
Subsequent chapters contain numerous ex-
amples of vertical sequences and generalized SP
or gamma log profiles characteristic of a variety
of genetic facies. In addition, many subsurface
cross-sections illustrate the use of wire-line log
response in detailed as well as regional facies
interpretation.
A much less common wire-line log, the
dipmeter, appears to have potential for subsurface
facies interpretation. Though originally designed
as a tool to measure structural dip, highly special-

/ .1 t
:,-::-:'*
':0:
2 3 4 5
Fig. 2.7. Idealized association of log motifs with facies of vari-
ous coastal environments. Thickness, nature of vertical con-
tacts (transitional, sharp), and degree of internal interbedding
displayed by the log traces r efl ect processes active in each
ized processing of dipmeter readings may produce
information on the direction and vertical variation
of depositional dip (bedding architecture; Selley
1978; Serra 1985; Cameron 1992). Application of
dipmeter interpretation to depositional system
analysis offers a promising area for further re-
search and experimentation.
A relatively new tool , the formation micro-
scanner (FMS) combines a series of microre-
SlStiVlty readings within the borehole and
computer processing to produce an image of the
borehole. In ideal circumstances, the image mim-
ics a monochrome image of a core, displaying
lithological interbeds, sedimentary structures,
clasts, and other features that are useful for facies
description and environmental interpretation
(Luthi 1992; Harker et al. 1992).
In summary, conventional subsurface data
bases, combined with outcrop and core informa-
tion, provide powerful tools for depositional sys-
tem and facies recognition, interpretation, and
mapping. A relatively new family of reflection
Seismic Stratigraphy and Facies An alysis 19
6 7
environment. The numbers indicate the environments. 1
Flood-tidal delta, 2 distal shoreface . 3 barrier core , 4 washover
fan . 5 inlet fill , 6 channel mouth bar, 7fluvial meande rbelt
seismic techniques - high-resolution and three-
dimensional seismic surveys - are providing pow-
erful additions to the geologist's tool kit. Seismic
data are particularly good at defining geometric
attributes of beds and facies.
Seismic Stratigraphy
and Facies Analysis
High-resolution reflection seismology provides a
powerful tool for delineation of genetic strati-
graphic units, depositional architecture, and facies
geometry. Reflection patterns outline genetic
packages of conformable strata bounded by re-
gional unconformities or marked changes in bed-
ding style (Mitchum et al. 1977; Vail et al. 1977b;
Cross and Lessinger 1988). Seismic facies analysis
delineates internal features, such as channels and
chaotic units, and bedding geometries within such
20 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis
stratigraphic units (Sangree and Widmier 1977;
Brown and Fisher 1980; Bally 1987; Armentrout
1991). Analysis of individual waveforms contained
on record sections through manipulation of syn-
thetic seismograms or seismic modeling may detail
the geometry of individual lithological units or
define facies transitions (Galloway et al. 1977;
Meckel and Nath 1977). In addition, seismically
derived interval velocities can be used to deter-
mine gross lithology. More recently, three-dimen-
sional seismic technology has dramatically
expanded the application of the seismic tool to
lithofacies analysis and mapping.
Acoustic waves reflect at interfaces between
media with contrasting impedance, which is in
turn a function of bed velocity and density con-
trasts. Both the rock matrix and pore-fluid compo-
sition affect the impedance of earth materials.
Consequently, lithological boundaries are com-
monly reflective interfaces and, on a local scale,
reflection patterns are indicative of facies varia-
tions. Primary seismic reflections approximate
time-stratigraphic horizons and are especially
useful for defining bedding architecture and
unconformities (Vail et al. 1977a; Cross and
Lessinger 1988). However, seismic resolution is
bandwidth limited, and reflectivity is a function of
petrophysical properties; the chronostratigraphic
reliability of seismic reflections clearly has limits
(Tipper 1993).
Figure 2.8 shows a segment of a seismic record
section containing well-defined progradational
clinoform reflections bracketed by horizontal
aggradational reflections. A thick, sandstone-
capped mudstone wedge onlaps the limestone-de-
fined shelf edge. Above the field record section is
an interpretation of the equivalent stratigraphy,
translated into acoustic stratigraphic units and
showing inferred lateral relationships of major
lithofacies. The interpretive section was based on
scattered well control in the general area of the
section. Sonic logs provided the interval velocity
data for sandstone, shale, and limestone units that
were used to convert the lithostratigraphic section
into the acoustic stratigraphic model. The velocity
model was then processed with a computer seis-
mic simulation program, and the depth scale con-
verted to two-way travel time. The computer plot
displays the impulse response (in which the spikes
show magnitude and polarity of the acoustic im-
pedance contrast between adjacent beds) and a
synthetic seismic record section that reproduces
with reasonable fidelity the distribution, polarity,
and trace spacing of each of the numbered seismic
reflections. Comparison of the model section with
the field record shows that the originally inferred
stratigraphic model is a reasonable interpretation
of the subsurface bed configuration. In addition,
the seismic model shows that some traces may
indicate details of bed thickness by variations in
amplitude. In this example, the combination of
geologic information and seismic data allowed
development and testing of a stratigraphic correla-
tion between equivalent basin and shelf deposi-
tional sequences in a cratonic basin. Mapping a
seismic attribute - amplitude - defined the areal
distribution of the sandstone unit capping the
onlapping wedge.
Most exciting in recent years is the evolution of
three-dimensional seismic records into a tool that
is increasingly realizing its potential to image fa-
cies distribution (Brown 1991). The great strength
of three-dimensional data is the capability of cre-
ating horizon slices that follow a particular reflec-
tion interval through the data volume and create a
map view of a reflection attribute, such as ampli-
tude, that defines facies distribution or thickness
(Fig. 2.9). Geometry of sandstone bodies can be
delineated and interpreted in the broader deposi-
tional system context.
By providing information in the form of con-
tinuous cross-sections or three-dimensional slices,
reflection seismic records offer a powerful tool
for recognition of genetic sequences, determina-
tion of their internal composition and bedding ge-
ometry, and areal delineation of the distribution
of framework sand units. Continuous improve-
ments in recoverable bandwidth, and thus resolu-
tion, combined with new processing techniques
and color display formats, presage an increasing
role for seismic stratigraphic studies in facies
analysis.
Recognition of Depositional Systems:
An Example
Integration of various subsurface methods in re-
gional genetic stratigraphic analysis can be illus-
trated by a case history (Galloway et al. 1982a,b).
The Frio Formation (Oligocene through early
Miocene) comprises a major wedge of sediment
deposited as part of the Tertiary fill of the Gulf
Coast Basin. The Frio depocenter is centered in
 VELOCITY MODEL

2'00

17,0 00
7500 +--- ----

o
L~.OOO
(j
eooo ..

FIELD RECORD SECTION

MODEL IMPULSE RESPONSE

,
"
I! i II i !~t --iI ..! !, !, . 1i : , I
i
,,
! ! I i I I. ; :
l, UIi-I'
,. ,
I :
i I i
r I I ! ; I I
i ' L~L
I
L i
,2

f rrr
i tr,' ,~ .1 1 ,
~l-'
W
. ! , I (
I
,
\{'f'l<r
j' U
H ~ ..
t. ( r
,~

, it~ -
,- ~.~

)o-~ ~..h~{ 11 II
13

1 ! 1 L.. :\ "1 . "'i i~

....
. ~Jt J ~~~ 1iii
r
I I 1+_
'-f , .r n-f~I i f. :- !
. J.-
.
!
~
. ,
;. \. \.
.
I
.
t I
14
! . , , ,: I .
! ! , ,
rT! : ! .. . 1 .. +-,-+. ;: !
I :
: j
I I i
,I I J! i
15
~
-:-:j

I
:
. --1-1 i !: :
I
1
:
I I ! I
i
I
! : ,! ., II i i I I !I I

MODE L SECTION

Fig. 2.8. Interpreted acoustic stratigraphic (velocity) model
of a mixed carbonate-clastic shelf edge (Pennsylvanian.
Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma), an equivalent seismic record
section, the impulse-response plot of the velocity model shown
in time domain, and a computer-generated synthetic seismo-
gram of the model. Comparison of the number, amplitude.
spacing, and geometry of the model traces with the field record
confirms the validity of the stratigraphic interpretation. (G allo-
way et al. 1977)
22 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis
Fig. 2.9. Reflection amplitude map and interpretation of a res-
ervoir sand unit, Maui field, New Zealand. The sand body is
interpreted to be a barrier bar crosscut by a minor channel.
(Modified from Bryant et al. 1994)
the Rio Grande Trough, a broad, subtle structural
downwarp that intersects the Gulf Coast Basin in
South Texas.
Subsurface correlation of electrical logs and
seismic lines along dip profiles shows the Frio to
be an offtapping stratigraphic unit bounded re-
gionally by marine flooding surfaces and consti-
tutes deposits of one of the major depositional
episodes of the Gulf Coast Basin. The simple pat-
tern of progradational basin filling is complicated
by large, strike-parallel growth fault zones, which
produce a series of depositional sub-basins.
Lithostratigraphic and paleontologic correlation
within the Frio stratigraphic sequence provided a
basis for subdivision of the total sequence, which
may exceed 10000ft (3000m) in thickness, into
operational map units. Units were selected to in-
corporate the lower, dominantly progradational
succession, the middle aggradational succession,
and the upper retrogradational succession.
Vertical persistence of facies over hundreds to
thousands of feet, which is a common attribute of
depositional sequences in rapidly subsiding basins,
is apparent in wire-line logs penetrating the Frio
section. This vertical persistence suggests that fa-
cies maps, though incorporating many successive
parasequences, still reveal basic patterns of sand
distribution. In fact, the combination of net sand-
stone and percentage sandstone maps (Figs. 2.10,
2.11) provides considerable information about
sediment dispersal and paleogeography. Total
sandstone within the lower Frio map unit (Fig.
2.10) shows an irregular, lobate depocenter cen-
tered along the gulfward margin of the Frio wedge
(near the present shoreline). The depocenter en-
compasses a number of local sandstone thicks and
intervening thins, reflecting the concentration of
sand in fault-bounded sub-basins. Updip, sand-
stone distribution displays a broad belt dominated
by dip-oriented contours, which is centered
around the axis of the Rio Grande Trough. To the
northeast along depositional and structural strike,
sandstone is concentrated within a relatively
narrow strike-parallel belt that is bounded
both basin ward and landward by a mudstone-
dominated Frio section. The strike alignment of
the contours is offset across faults, indicating con-
temporaneous structural subsidence and deposi-
tion. Near the outcrop belt the Frio is thin, and
regional subdivision is impractical. Here, sand-
stone contained within the entire Frio section
was mapped. Interweaving, dip-oriented patterns
dominate.
 \

7'

\ ~
\

\} ,,
\ I
/
,..
\ 1\ --I
J
~j!' \
\
\ \
:x>~
!t1 ( \}
-0 "\

<~
~() tQ
~~~ ,!i
~
!t1
)(
()
o

GU'-F
OF
41'C ...r/co
/"1-
7'

D 5100 I. (30 m ) net sondstone

o 25 5011')1
I- -, -
o t~ O ol, !"n
Con t our . n tervol rS vorrOD l e

Fig.2.10. Net-sandstone-isopach map of the lower Frio Formation, Rio Grande Trough area, northwest Gulf of Mexico Basin. Solid heavy lines outline principal growth faults; well control is indicated
by dots. The contour interval is given in feet. (Galloway et al. 1982b). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology)
 -...

dJ
/

If \
\ \ ---.
f"\J" " \ /
,-
\

../
;o~
11' (
\l "\
C
al
r
()

o
" ~
11'
)(
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o

OF MX1CO
GULF /"V
/' :::::::::::::::
. >501
- 10 sonds tone
.......
EEJ
t~:::1 <! 80% nonmorine mUdstone

L':-~3 ~ 90% morine muostone

o 2 50.,
~
f- ..,-
o 2~ !>O io, m Contour interval 10%

Fig.2.11. Sandstone-percentage map of the Frio Formation, Rio Grande Trough area. Three distinct paleogeographic systems are evidenced by sand distribution and contour patterns. (Galloway
et al. 1982b). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology)

AGGRADAT I ONAL
[......
Fig.2.12. Electric log motifs recognized within the Frio Formation of the northwest Gulf of Mexico Basin. Letters a-k distinguish
the 11 individual log motifs (Galloway et al. 1982b). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology)
Electric logs used in the preparation of the cor-
relation sections and quantitative facies maps
exhibit recurrent motifs, which can be grouped
either as progradational, aggradational, or mixed
types (Fig. 2.12). On the basis of unit thickness,
relative sand content, and suggested degree of bed
uniformity, 11 log motifs were identified. Using
representative log segments as standards, logs
through each operational map unit were classified,
and the information transferred to cross-sections
and maps (Fig. 2.13). Cross-sections showed that
an upward succession from progradational to
aggradational successions, similar to that shown
in Fig. 2.5, is typical. In map view, the Frio
depocenter displays a systematic basinward
change from aggradational to mixed, and finally to
progradational log facies assemblages, as pre-
dicted by the Frazier model. To the northeast,
however, sand-rich progradational patterns grade
laterally into an area of sand-rich aggradational
patterns. Thick, sand-poor progradational se-
quences front the strike-oriented sandstone belt;
aggradational patterns lie updip.
Examined together, the following can be said of
the three maps and supporting cross-sections:
Recognition of Depositional Systems: An Example 25
o
1. They both defined and delineated regional pa-
leogeographic elements of the Frio and suggest
the probable trends of their framework sand
facies.
2. They documented systematic vertical and lat-
eral patterns in depositional style consistent
with the framework of a depositional episode.
3. They demonstrated relationships between
lithological composition and contemporaneous
structural features.
4. They suggested consistent lateral and vertical
facies changes that reflect depositional
processes.
These interpretations, combined with knowl-
edge of common depositional styles and compo-
nent systems of the Gulf Coast Basin, are the basis
for the interpretation of a large Frio delta system
and updip fluvial system centered along the Rio
Grande Trough (see Chap. 14). Further, the delta
flank area was clearly a shore zone dominated by
a stable, aggrading barrier bar system that was
bounded updip by lagoonal and coastal plain fa-
cies and downdip by marine shelf and slope facies
(Galloway et al. 1983). Detailed local studies, cor-
 .( I -""""""'1--

\ c/l --y~
I
;'-----L /

o"T1
~
{T\
~
()
o

-\
GU/..;::-
0;::-

1-" 4,fC ...r/Co

j .y!:-.::-.:. ~ /
'.
'1~-:: .. '-::>" \
\

.1-
~ Upd ip l imi t of Nodosorio !JIO"p;~OI
t
" 0 25 50 I'T\I Updip l imit of Tel(flli orio worreni
~ .~
I--- ~

0 25 !>O ,m
~
\
lVI
~~

Fig. 2.13. Electric log motif map of the lower Frio Formation , Rio Grande Trough area. Patterns are identified in Fig. 2.12. Aggradational log facies grade systematically basinward into progradational
log patterns. (Galloway et a1. 19R2b). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology)

relating and mapping parasequence-scale units
(e.g., Galloway and Morton 1989), as well as core
examination, are consistent with and add detail to
the regional interpretations.
Base Level Change
and Vertical Sequence
Most process-response models imply upper and
lower limits to thickness and lateral dimensions of
beds or facies. For example, accumulation of sand
along a shoreline would likely be limited to the
interval between the high-tide beach and active
wave base. This interval varies from a few feet in
low-energy coasts and typical values of a few tens
of feet on moderate-energy coasts to as much as
100ft (30m) on very high energy coasts. Simple
progradation of the shoreline into a basin contain-
ing a few hundred feet of water would produce
sand bodies of comparable thickness. However,
thickness of facies successions, as well as vertical
superposition of successive facies, is affected by
dynamic changes in the equilibrium profile of the
sediment dispersal system.
External factors that determine the evolution
of depositional equilibrium profile include the
following:
1. Isostatic subsidence due to sediment loading
2. Tectonic subsidence or uplift
3. Climate change
4. Change in sediment supply (volume and tex-
tural mix)
5. Eustatic sea level (or lake level) changes
(Thorne and Swift 1991a)
Documented isostatic subsidence rates exceed
101 m per 1000 years. Isostatic subsidence due to
sediment loading, is, of course, self-limiting, and
rates are proportional to sediment accumulation.
Tectonic deformation induced by crustal shorten-
ing, extension, loading, or cooling has demon-
strated rates ranging from 10- 1 to 10 1 m per 1000
years. Eustatic changes in sea level during the
Pleistocene occurred at rates exceeding 10 1 m
per 1000 years. Such rates approximate or exceed
all but the most rapid rates of sediment ac-
cumulation within depositional systems. For
example, the Holocene Mississippi delta system
has deposited sediment at rates of 10 1-I02m per
1000 years.
Integrated Depositional System Analysis 27
Thus, isostatic and tectonic subsidence as well
as eustatic rise are capable of measurably expand-
ing the thickness of a single facies succession pro-
duced where accumulation is slow or maximum
tectonic or eustatic change rates exist. Tectonic or
eustatic rises in base level may exceed rates of
sediment accumulation and lead to shoreline ret-
rogradation and inverted facies successions. Base
level fall, on the other hand, may compress facies
successions or preclude deposition within some
environments. ReSUlting facies successions con-
tain additional diastem or unconformity surfaces
that may separate facies deposited in related, but
not contiguous, environments. Large-scale shifts
in base level may shift sediment accumulation
from one to another depositional environment
entirely, initiating long-term sediment starvation,
bypass, or erosion in large areas of the basin.
Integrated Depositional
System Analysis
The tremendous variability in basin settings and
stratigraphic sequences and in type and complete-
ness of data bases precludes the use of a single
approach to facies analysis. However, our thesis
is that a hierarchical approach that first defines
regional genetic stratigraphic units before at-
tempting more detailed or site-specific facies in-
terpretation affords the greatest potential for
successful application of the interpretation to re-
source discovery, development, or management.
Systematic stratigraphic analysis should define,
describe, and interpret:
1. The framework of the depositional basin, in-
cluding its size, shape, relief, maximum water
depth, and major sources of sediment.
2. The principal genetic stratigraphic units or se-
quences and their depositional architecture.
Both regional well log and seismic sections are
particularly useful.
3. The three-dimensional geometry of framework
facies outlining the sediment dispersal systems
and their component paleogeographic ele-
ments (depositional systems). Quantitative
lithofacies maps, regional cross-sections, and
fence diagrams are all basic tools at this level of
analysis. Regional facies distribution may
28 Approaches to Genetic Stratigraphic Analysis
sometimes be determined by seismic reflection
pattern mapping.
4. The recurrent vertical facies successions within
genetic units of various geographic and strati-
graphic scales. Wire-line logs are an especially
effective tool for revealing vertical distribution
of lithology and facies thickness.
5. The lateral and vertical facies associations
and cross-sectional geometry. Representative,
closely spaced logs and measured sections
can be selected for detailed correlation and
mapping.
6. The geometry of framework sand bodies and
other diagnostic facies. Dense well control and,
increasingly, three-dimensional seismic data
are of greatest use at this level of analysis.
7. The internal bedding and sedimentary struc-
tures, textures, and bedding features of main
facies. This final step requires outcrop or core
material. Limited amounts of core typically
available may be used for site-specific calibra-
tion of wire-line log response so that detailed
facies interpretations can be extrapolated using
log data. Dipmeter and FMS logs may be
useful.
The more completely each level of description
and interpretation can be achieved, the more
likely a unique, correct, and predictive inter-
pretation can be made at the next level of
detail.
3 Alluvial Fans
Introduction
Alluvial fans are conical, lobate, or arcuate accu-
mulations of sediment that have a focused source
of sediment supply, usually an incised canyon or
channel from a mountain front or escarpment.
Fans are depositional geomorphic features, de-
fined by their point source, equidimensional plan-
view geometry, mounded topographic profile,
and radial sediment dispersal pattern (Chorley
et al. 1984; Chap. 14). They are deposited
along highland margins in response to the high
rate of sediment supply and abrupt reduction in
stream competency as the gradient flattens onto
the basin floor. As such they contain the coarsest,
most poorly sorted, and most proximal units
in the terrestrial sediment dispersal system (Fig.
2.1). Fans may be spatially isolated or may coa-
lesce laterally, forming an elongate sedimentary
prism known as a bajada or alluvial apron
(Fig. 3.1). Downflow they merge into finer-
grained, lower-gradient eolian flats, fluvial plains,
or playas. Alternatively, they may terminate in
standing bodies of water as fan deltas (Fig. 3.1),
which show characteristic progradational geom-
etries and modification by currents or waves. Ter-
minal fans form where topographically confined
rivers drain into an unconfined lowland (Fig. 3.1).
Blair and McPherson (1994) have argued for a
restrictive definition of fans based on distinctive
sedimentary processes, but we find the geomor-
phic definition more useful in applied basin
analysis.
Fans are characteristic of extensional terranes,
forelands, and pull-apart basins, where reactiva-
tion of basin-margin relief and prolonged subsid-
ence can result in enormous sediment thicknesses.
However, tectonism is not a prerequisite for allu-
vial fan development, although without continued
tectonic rejuvenation of the topographic relief,
fans may be volumetrically limited and shortlived.
Climate fluctuations, for example regional or
global warming and the concomitant rapid libera-
tion of glacial moraine by ice wasting, may deter-
mine timing of fan deposition. Such meltwater
fans may be seasonally active, as are their tropical
equivalents, which are fashioned by monsoonal
deluge. Alluvial fan growth may also be initiated
by volcanism, devegetation of slopes, or lowering
of base level, either eustatically or within closed
lacustrine basins.
Although most widely documented in arid
regions, fans are present in all climatic zones.
Climate does, however, account for the basic dis-
tinction between the steep, relatively small fans
of arid regions and the low-gradient, commonly
larger fans of regions with higher or more persis-
tent surface discharge. The climate picture is
blurred by the fact that source drainage basins,
located in higher elevations, may lie in a signifi-
cantly different climate regime from that of
the depositional basin. Fans show an irregular
tendency toward larger size and decreasing
gradient with increasing drainage area (Bull 1962;
Harvey 1989; Blair and McPherson 1993). Climate
may also account for lithological distinctions,
such as the greater mineralogical maturity of
deposits in warm, humid regions (Girty 1991).
Fan size is also influenced by relief, drainage
area, and lithology of the eroding hinterland.
Variations in tectonic relief and provenance
may bring about differences in fan size and
geometry, even on adjacent or opposing margins
of the same basin. Other factors being equal,
fans bordering easily eroded highlands such
as the poorly consolidated Pleistocene escarpment
gravels of Kuwait (AI-Sarawi 1988) tend to be
more extensive than those derived from a more
resistant source, for example unjointed quartzites.
Similarly, mud-rich fans are larger and have
lower gradients than coarse-gravelly fans in
the same setting (Bull 1962). Finally, fan size is
modified by sediment loss along the terminus,
for example reworking by streams flowing longitu-
dinally along the rift axes, by wind, or, in the case
30 Alluvial Fans
TERM INA L FAN
Fig. 3.1. Geomorphic and depositional expressions of alluvial fans
of fan deltas, by lacustrine and marine shore-zone
processes.
Adjacent or opposed fans may be separated by
axially flowing rivers, lakes, playas, or dunefields.
Bajadas are common features of semiarid land-
scapes and may grade laterally into erosional
pediments.
Fans are rich repositories of economic miner-
als. Much of this century's gold production has
been from placers in early Precambrian alluvial
fan systems of the Witwatersrand Supergroup in
South Africa (Pretorius 1976; Tankard et al. 1982).
The Witwatersrand also contains large quantities
of placer uranium, which was stable in the prevail-
ing Archean atmosphere. Some Phanerozoic allu-
vial fans are ideal hosts for epigenetic uranium
because of granitic or volcanogenic provenance,
high meteoric groundwater transmissivity,
geochemical contrasts, and internal permeability
barriers. The marine-reworked fringes of fan del-
tas can be excellent petroleum reservoirs, and dip
reversal by basin-margin faulting and warping
provides stratigraphic pinchout and structural trap
potential. Great economic importance is attached
to the vast coal resources associated with alluvial
fan systems.
Processes Acting on Alluvial Fans
Alluvial fans are distinguished by their point
source of sediment influx, radial pattern of sedi-
ment dispersal, and subequallength to width ratio,
which contrast with the linear-elongate patterns of
fluvial systems. Given their requisite but variable
topographic relief, alluvial fan deposition is dom-
inated by three processes, i.e., debris flow,
channelized flow, and sheetflow, which vary in
relative importance according to topographic re-
lief, sediment texture, climate, and vegetation. As
Miall (1977) has stressed, there is nothing unique
about the dominant processes acting on alluvial
fans; it is the fan morphology that is distinctive
and noteworthy.
Debris flows are typically triggered by floods on
steep surfaces of unconsolidated clay-rich sedi-
ment. They are the dominant process on many
small fans in arid climates, as well as on some fans
in more humid regions. Noncohesive debris flows
involve mass movement of coarse clastics that lack
silt and clay. Another process typical of many
sand and gravel alluvial fan environments is
sheetflooding, involving unconfined flow across
 Processes Acting on Alluvial Fans 31

\
\
i
" Purneo
- 1. " ,
J

o 16miles
t---'-T'-'r-'
o 20km
o1-1--'---,,--'
m II
o 5km
15 250

&0 200

45 150

30 100

15 50

o 0
rt)\001-1_________________5+~--------M-ile-s-------I,~-0-----------------151_10----___________1~
9~
\.V 80 Kilometers 160 240 320

Fig.3.2a,b. Setting, morphology, and downflow textural gradient of the Kosi alluvial fan. (Modified from Gole and Chitale 1966)

the fan surface. Channelized flow, in contrast,
dominates deposition on fans that range from the
immense Kosi Fan of Nepal and India (Fig. 3.2),
spanning 150 km (100 mi) from apex to toe, to the
small Honduran fans with dimensions of 1-2 km.
Some such streamflow-dominated fans are ex-
amples of Rust's (1978) braided alluvial plains and
are regarded by McPherson et al. (1987) and Blair
and McPherson (1993) as distinct from alluvial
fans sensu stricto. Here we include channelized
flow as one common type of alluvial fan process
that varies from relatively minor to dominant in
different fans.
Alluvial fans are, therefore, fashioned by
channelized flow , sheetflow. and mass flow in vari-
ous combinations, modified by subordinant pro-
32 Alluvial Fans
cesses such as eolian winnowing, infiltration and
illuviation, and pedogenesis.
Mass Movement
Mass movement is an important process in many
arid or semiarid regions or in areas of heavy rain-
fall where high relief, deep weathering, or un-
stable lithology prevail and where floods or
seismicity cause gravitational instability. Alterna-
tively, mass movement may be triggered by events
such as subglacial volcanism (Maizels 1989), de-
struction of vegetation in the fan catchment by
volcanic ash falls (Evans 1991), or fire.
Debris flows are typical of rugged, semiarid
regions where abundant glaciogenic or vol-
caniclastic material is available and in the proxi-
mal reaches of fans in areas of high rainfall. Of the
Arizona fans studied by Blissenbach (1954), be-
tween 5 and 40% of the sediment was of debris-
flow origin, the proportions varying within the
region. Other fans in the arid western United
States are composed almost entirely of mass-wast-
ing products (Beaty 1990; Blair and McPherson
1992).
Unconsolidated material resulting from pro-
cesses of weathering and colluviation may accu-
mulate to considerable thickness in catchment
depressions before being rendered unstable by
water saturation (Wasson 1977; Beaty 1990) or
earth tremors (McCalpin et al. 1993). McCalpin et
al. (1993) document earthquake-related colluvial
wedges extending from intrasediment fault scarps.
Some such scarps may be preserved for hundreds
of years, whereas others formed in unconsolidated
sediment may slump soon after they are formed
(Nelson 1992). The colluvium has many of the
internal characteristics of the more extensive de-
bris flows to which they contribute.
Two mechanisms commonly initiate debris
flows (Postma 1986; Harvey 1989; Blair and
McPherson 1993):
1. Transformation of a colluvial gravity slide to a
debris flow by the entrapment of water and air
2. The entrainment of coarse, unconsolidated
sediment by fast-flowing water to form a
hyperconcentrated flow
As a result of viscosity variations within indi-
vidual debris flows, some portions may display
pervasive shearing or transport as a semirigid
mass, while other parts show features of fluid flow.
Principal deposits are elongate lobes of crudely
bedded gravel supported by muddy to sandy ma-
trix, deposited by viscous flow, and clast-sup-
ported gravel, deposited by hyperconcentrated
fluidized flows. Differences in grading and degree
of clast alignment result from this segregation
(Bull 1972). In the most viscous flows, the larger
clasts are disseminated throughout the deposit,
but with lower viscosities, inverse, normal, and
inverse-to-normal grading may be apparent along
with some alignment of clasts. Low-viscosity, co-
hesionless flows with very high sediment concen-
trations may result in inverse grading with
scattered large clasts, which are also dispersed to
the surface (Postma 1986). Such deposits show
little or no internal stratification. Debris-flow de-
posits have sharp, sometimes erosional basal con-
tacts and may occur within broad channels.
The frequency of storms, relief of the drainage
basin, lithology of the eroding hinterland, and rate
of weathering determine the volume and caliber
of sediment, which in turn influences the processes
that will operate. A source terrane of glacial mo-
raine, volcanic ash, phyllite, or shale may yield
voluminous fine, clayey sediment conducive to
cohesive debris flow. Debris flows result where
clay and water provide a low-viscosity medium of
low yield strength capable of transporting larger
particles. The competence of debris flows is deter-
mined largely by the proportion and composition
of clays and the duration of flow (Hampton 1975).
Clast-rich and clast-poor debris flows (or mud-
flows) are distinguished by the proportion of en-
trained graveL whereas noncohesive debris flows
lack clay matrix (Blair and McPherson 1993).
Laminar flows of cohesive, clay-rich mixtures may
be preceded or succeeded by other processes such
as noncohesive-sediment gravity flow and turbu-
lent bed-load transport. Abrupt variation in flows
involving gravitational instability and flooding are
documented by Maizels (1989) in Iceland, where
mass movement of catastrophic dimensions in-
volves abrupt change from noncohesive debris
flows to turbulent deposition, followed by pro-
tracted erosion.
The 1982 Roaring River flood in Colorado
caused by dam failure triggered gravity mass flows
of sand- to boulder-sized material that transported
blocks as large as 400 tonnes (Blair 1987). A simi-
lar event was witnessed in volcanic terrane of cen-
tral Africa, where a debris flow initiated by a
tropical thunderstorm carried rocks weighing sev-
eral tonnes like corks (L. King 1964, personal

communication). The debris flow observed by
Sharp and Nobles (1953) in the arid southwestern
United States commenced on a steep slope of 32,
which flattened abruptly downstream. Neverthe-
less, boulders 18in (45cm) in diameter were car-
ried distances of almost 12 mi (20 km). In the
desert environment, flash floods may activate
noncohesive debris flows in wadis as a slurry of
sand and boulders.
Stream Flow
Stream flow dominates fans supplied by perennial
discharge from eroding highlands comprising re-
sistant lithologies or with a stabilizing vegetation
cover. The Kern River fan, for example, is fed by
perennial stream runoff from the nearby Sierra
Nevada mountains, where rainfall is augmented
by snowmelt (Davis et al. 1959). Some stream-
dominated fans show a radial pattern of distribu-
taries. Others have one or two dominant channels
that migrate laterally over the fan, reworking it
continuously. The modern Kosi fan channel (Fig.
3.2) has migrated 112km (70mi) westward in
228 years (Wells and Dorr 1987). Over geologic
timespans, the entire fan surface is repeatedly re-
worked by channels.
Streams emerging from a mountain canyon or
escarpment gorge bifurcate downslope to assume
a radiating pattern that may persist to the fan
margin (Fig. 3.3). Stream competency is rapidly
reduced by percolation and reduction in gradient,
typically depositing poorly sorted, unstratified
conglomerates at the fan apex. Average grain size
and maximum clast size decrease regularly
downslope (Fig. 3.3), selective traction and sus-
pension processes increasing the proportion of
rod-shaped and discoidal clasts (Bull 1962; Bluck
1964). Similarly, channel geometry and deposi-
tional bar macroforms evolve rapidly downfan as
the gradient decreases, load to discharge ratios
change, and the textural mix fines. For example,
the Kosi fan displays four progressive downfan
zones (Gohain and Parkash 1990; Singh et al.
1993):
1. Gravelly-sandy braided channel
2. Sandy braided channel
3. Low-sinuousity channel
4. Meandering channel
In zones 1 and 2, various midchannel bars and
islands, side bars, three-dimensional dunes, and
Processes Acting on Alluvial Fans 33
large linguoid dunes are common. Laterally
accreting sandy side bars covered by migrating
linguoid dunes characterize zone 3. The channels
of zone 4 circle the periphery of the fan toe.
In humid climates or on fans fed by perennial
streams, vegetation stabilizes sandy and gravelly
channels, developing meanderbelts within alluvial
floodplains or swamps and marshes with stable,
anastomosing channels in which channel-floor
aggradation keeps pace with peat growth (Smith
and Smith 1980). Anastomosing or distributary
channels may recombine into a single-braided or
meandering trunk stream, which leads away from
the fan or flows around the fan fringe (Fig. 3.2).
On some fans, streams lose their identity at the
intersection point (Hooke 1967), where the chan-
nels become broad and poorly defined and merge
into sheetflood surfaces. Thus, the sandy distal fan
is traversed by an expanding system of braided
channels separated by longitudinal, linguoid, and
transverse bars. As channels bifurcate and shal-
low, they become poorly defined and may give
way to a flat, sandy surface dominated by
sheetflood processes. On small fans, however,
the distal sandy facies is commonly absent
(Boothroyd and NummedaI1978).
Sheetflood and Ephemeral Channel
Streamflood Processes
Sheetflooding (unchannelized flow) and stream-
flooding (broad, poorly channelized flows within
ephemeral channels) of the fan surface follow in-
tense rainfall events. Flow is shallow and
shortlived, but may inundate much of the fan sur-
face or be localized on the distal fan where chan-
nels become shallow and ill-defined. Sheetfloods
also arise from torrential rainfall directly on a fan
surface. Water depths are very shallow, commonly
50 cm or less, so that upper flow regime conditions
prevail, with plane-bed and antidune bedforms.
The principal deposit is a sheet of planar lami-
nated sand or pebbly sand.
Blair (1987) observed that sheetflooding suc-
ceeded noncohesive debris flows in the Roaring
River flood. Supercritical flow prevailed, with bed-
load gravel deposited during the destructional
phases of antidunes, leaving a sedimentary record
of horizontally bedded cobbles and pebbles, fol-
lowed by settling of suspended sand as flow veloci-
ties were briefly reduced. Antidunes were also
prevalent in the broader, downstream channels of
34 Alluvial Fans

10 mi
I
16 km

B
sw NE
It m
600

500
150

L acustr ine
Basin 400

100
300

200
50

-- 100

Sea Level 0

o 5mi
[ :'.: " .:,.:., Sand
",:: '; -.::,:::: m.zJ0 '
. '. ~::~.~: Pebbly san d
" '~' O .'.~
I
o
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
10 km

F' 33 A Surficial sediments and hydrogeology of the K~rn tural fining and the oxidation front that extends bas.inward
Ig. .
River , Valley, C al'fIorma.,
fan , San Joaqum ' B Dip cross-sectIOn from the proximal recharge zon e. (Modified from DavIs et al.
of the Kern River fan showing the promment downflow tex- 1959)

the Roaring River fan, where sub horizontally bed-
ded gravelly sand alternates with pebble beds.
Postflood modification of the Roaring River allu-
vial fan superimposed a braided channel morphol-
ogy on the gently inclined sheetflood surfaces.
These channels became larger with time and as-
sumed a multiple distributary pattern, concentrat-
ing a lag of pebbles and boulders while conveying
the finer fraction downstream.
Sheetflood deposition by supercritical turbu-
lent flow with local landslides and noncohesive
debris flows, followed by postflood reworking of
the surficial layers by braided distributaries, eolian
processes, weathering, and bioturbation, is most
common in arid environments underlain by frac-
tured granite, high-grade metamorphics, and
poorly consolidated gravel and sand (Blair and
McPherson 1993). These conditions are facilitated
by the sparsity of clay in the weathering products,
coupled with episodic torrential runoff.
Sieve Deposition and Infiltration
Rapid percolation of runoff into highly permeable
proximal fan sediments washes finer sand and
mud into grain interstices, decreasing original
sorting and adding matrix to originally open
framework gravels. With infiltration, flow loses
competence, stranding sediment lobes on the per-
meable substrate (Hooke 1967). Preservation po-
tential of such sieve lobes is low, but they have
been documented by Wasson (1977) on fans in a
semiarid Australian environment, where their ini-
tially good sorting is diminished by invasion of the
openwork gravel by smaller particles. Stranding of
an initial barrier of debris is followed by backfill-
ing, so that lenticular sieve deposits tend to be
banked against obstructing boulders (Gloppen
and Steel 1981).
Eolian Processes
Redistribution of sediment by wind is important
on poorly vegetated fan surfaces. Small mounds
and ridges of well-sorted, fine-grained sand form
along the fan fringe and may coalesce as dunes
and migrate upfan onto coarse deposits of the
middle to upper fan. This is particularly common
in interior sand seas, where protruding highlands
receive higher rainfall and are flanked by a belt of
wadi fan sediment (Glennie 1970) that merges
Spectrum of Alluvial Fan Systems 35
with eolian dunes. Pebbly deflation lags show evi-
dence of wind etching and develop a coat of desert
varnish produced by in-place weathering. Exten-
sive dune fields cover the distal fans of southern
Iceland (Boothroyd and Nummedal 1978). This
is an area of high precipitation, amounting to
1000mm (40in) a year, swept by strong winds that
exceed Wm/s (68mph) more than 30% of the
time. Dunes include longitudinal and smaller
transverse forms that generally lack slipfaces as a
result of variable wind direction.
Groundwater Processes
Groundwater flow is an important process in allu-
vial fans, particularly the larger, more permeable
fans deposited by stream flow and sheetfloods.
Groundwater recharge occurs by infiltration of
stream waters in the upper fan (Fig. 3.3) and by
direct precipitation on the fan surface. Downslope
flow occurs below a water table that mimics the
depositional fan surface, and discharge occurs
along the lower fan and at the fan toe (Emery et
al. 1971; Galloway et al. 1979b; Belitz and Heimes
1990). As the deposits are buried by younger allu-
vial fan, lacustrine, or fluvial systems, groundwa-
ter flow evolves from unconfined to confined, and
artesian aquifers are common.
The large volume of imported dissolved oxygen
oxidizes the bulk of the fan sediment (Fig. 3.3).
Water chemistry changes along flow and tends to
be mildly reducing on discharge. In arid climates,
evaporite minerals such as gypsum and calcite
are precipitated, while travertine and tufa may
encrust surfaces around springs at the toe of the
fan. Evaporative pumping of groundwater results
in carbonate crusts, nodules, and pore-filling ce-
ments. In wetter climate settings, spring-fed
streams rework the lower fan, and peatswamps
may form in the zone of groundwater discharge.
Spectrum of Alluvial Fan Systems
Alluvial fans show a wide variety of sizes, shapes,
and internal characteristics, depending on the
dominant sedimentary processes. Distinctive fan
types deposited by debris flow, stream flow, and
sheetflood processes can be distinguished and il-
lustrated by a triangular classification diagram
36 Alluvial Fans
DEBRIS-FLOW FAN
STREAMFLOW
FAN
Confined flow ___- - - -- - - - - - - - 1..- Unconfined flow
Perennial flow
Fig. 3.4. Classification of alluvial fan systems
(Fig. 3.4). The identifying features of the three end
members are reviewed below. Most fan systems
reflect deposition by combinations of these domi-
nant processes.
Fans Dominated by Debris-Flow Processes
Fans of this type are most commonly identified
with the arid southwestern United States, but
they have been recorded in a range of climatic
settings, including some Icelandic sandurs
(Maizels 1989) as well as the Gulf of Aqaba
(Friedman 1968), the Dead Sea (Sneh 1979), and
Baja California (Thompson 1968). Alluvial fans
arising from debris flows and related gravitational
processes tend to be small, with surface areas of
1-100km2 (O.4-40mF), and have steep gradients
(Figs. 3.5, 3.6). Fan deposits are characteristically
poorly stratified matrix- to clast-supported con-
SHEETFLOOD
FAN
.. Ephemeral flow
glomerates and breccias. Depositional units are
broadly lenticular in transverse section and
sharply to erosionally bounded. Units may be up
to several meters thick at the fan apex and com-
monly thin downfan. Ephemeral stream and eo-
lian deposits are common ancillary facies that
occur interbedded with debris-flow units. Subor-
dinant sieve deposits comprise clast-supported
gravel typically showing a gradational contact with
underlying units.
A reappraisal of the frequently cited Trollheim
alluvial fan (Death Valley, California; Fig. 3.5) by
Blair and McPherson (1992) revealed:
1. A debris-flow facies comprising unstructured,
matrix-supported, pebble to boulder gravel,
with the coarse fraction dominated by angular
quartzite
2. A gravel mantle produced through surface win-
nowing by runoff that follows debris flows, rain,
and wind
 Spectrum of Alluvial Fan Systems 37

Fig. 3.5. Proximal part of a

coarse debris-flow fan

I~ s / I Sheetflood lobes
showing the typical
association of debris-flow
lobes with sheetflood,
sieve, and ephemeral f:::::=;:.::.:.J Channel
channel deposits. (Hooke '. .. "

1967)
_ Sieve deposits
,
\
\
Debris-flow levees
\
\
\ I:JJJ:'J:::1Debris-flow lobes
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
I
I
r
I
/
I
I
I o 100 m
r I 1 !
\
o 300 fI

t
N

1
o 3miles
~I--~L,--~"--T'~'
o 4km

~ Upper fan-coarse gravel >15cm t:::.i Midfan-mediumgravel 5-15cm

[t;:.'.,1.] Midfan - fine gravel <5cm r;jj~<lI'(;1 Lower fan - sand
o Braided outwash, overbank sand & silt

Fig. 3.6. Downfan reduction of gradient accompanying decrease in grain size of a glacial outwash streamflow fan. (Boothroyd
1972)
38 Alluvial Fans
3. Lenticular clast-supported gravels deposited
on the bed of upper-fan channels or distal-fan
gullies
The debris-flow facies is volumetrically most
important. Small fans of the White Mountains,
California and Nevada, are also constructed of
debris-flow tongues (Beaty 1990).
Icelandic examples contain massive and in-
versely graded, noncohesive debris-flow units with
large, rafted clasts alternating with cross-bedding
and horizontal lamination produced by turbulent
flow. Deposits of this type make up over 85% of
some sandur deposits, but they may be bounded
laterally or vertically by erosively based, poorly
sorted, clast-supported stream gravels (Maizels
1989).
Progressive loss of moisture with downslope
transport may lead to an increase in matrix
strength (Rust 1978). Accordingly, proximal de-
bris-flow deposits display more pronounced strat-
ification and textural organization than their
down dip equivalents, although most examples
show no regular tendency of this type. Debris-flow
deposits may comprise composite, steep-sided
lobes several meters thick or thin sheets inclined
subparallel to the fan surface at angles of 1-8 0
(Wasson 1977). Successive flows occupy different
areas of the fan surface so that the deposits
ultimately overlap and coalesce. Certain debris
flows blanket an irregular topography but are
flat topped; others occupy steep-sided scour chan-
nels.
Some debris flows on alluvial fans extend into
lakes where the fluidity is increased, resulting in
Talus and colluvium
talus, and colluvium
Fig. 3.7. Internal facies partitioning within debris-flow fans. Note decreasing clast size. improved sorting. and development of
stratification downflow. (Derived from Blair and McPherson 1993)
more dilute density currents (Nemec et al. 1980).
Alternatively, textural inversion involving a de-
crease in sorting may take place toward the foot of
fans as a result of mixing between alluvial fan and
axial fluvial systems.
Bedding thickness and maximum clast size also
decline downfan, although not as regularly as in
stream-dominated fans. An idealized stratigraphic
succession arising from progradation of alluvial
fans dominated by mass movement (Fig. 3.7)
might comprise the following:
1. A basal muddy lacustrine unit and distal
sheetflood sands
2. An overlying poorly ordered sequence com-
prising massive, matrix-supported, graded or
reverse-graded units, which increase in thick-
ness upward
3. Interspersed erosion surfaces, cross-stratified
sands, and imbricated gravels near the top.
Streamflow-Dominated Fans
Streamflow-dominated fans range in area from a
few square kilometers to as much as 16000km2
(6200mi2) and typically have low gradients, which
become even flatter downstream, so that the longi-
tudinal profile is concave. In areas of high rainfall,
for example Honduras, certain fans do retain
steep slopes, which Schramm (1981) ascribed to
the stabilizing effect of vegetation and the fixed
apex. A small catchment is probably also a factor,
as exemplified by small Holocene fans in semiarid
Kuwait (AI-Sarawi 1988).
bouldery sheetfloods
and clast- poor debriS flows

The defining attribute of streamflow-domi-
nated fans is the presence of a perennial or
semipermanent channel system. Deposition is
concentrated, at anyone time, in or along the
channel, creating a distinction between channel-
fill and overbank facies. The large size of stream-
dominated fans reflects the permanent or seasonal
flow and sediment supply combined with the in-
creased sediment transport efficiency and lower
requisite gradients of channelized flow. Well-stud-
ied modern fan examples include the Kosi (Fig.
3.2), the Reno (Po River basin), and the Kern
(Fig. 3.3; Great Valley, California). Braidplain
fans are a variant of stream-dominated fans
in which the channel system is broad, poorly
bounded, and intricately braided. Glacial outwash
fans, such as the Scott (Fig. 3.6), provide good
examples. Finally, terminal fans such as the
Okavango and Markando (Parkash et al. 1983;
Stanistreet and McCarthy 1993), are typically
dominated by stream flow, are of large areal ex-
tent and very low gradient, and display well-
defined channelization.
The Quaternary Reno fan deposits form a
gravel-rich wedge that onlaps the fault-bounded
Apennine uplands on the southern flank of the
humid Po basin (Ori 1982). The River Reno is a
tributary of the axially flowing Po River, and it
forms a piedmont fan about 8km (5mi) in length
and more than 400m (1300ft) thick. The fan shows
three facies associations:
1. Proximal longitudinal bar deposits consisting of
gravelly, crosscutting lenses
2. Midfan gravel bodies displaying lateral accre-
tion bedding with plane or slightly concave-up
bases
3. Distal fan tabular gravel and sand bodies show-
ing lateral accretion bedding and associated
overbank silt and mud deposits exhibiting hori-
zontal stratification, root disturbance, and ter-
restrial mollusks
The downfan progression reflects channel evo-
lution from gravelly braided, to straight, to moder-
ately sinuous (Ori 1982). A comparable gradation
in channel morphology is seen, at a larger scale, on
the Kosi Fan (Wells and Dorr 1987; Singh et al.
1993).
The Scott braidplain fan described by
Boothroyd (1972) differs in detail of downflow
channel and facies evolution, but it similarly pre-
serves the overall pattern of decreasing grain and
clast size and evolution toward increasingly stable
Spectrum of Alluvial Fan Systems 39
channels with more elaborate bar macroforms
(Fig. 3.6). Crude subhorizontal stratification may
be evident in low gravel bars of the proximal fan,
with trough cross-bedding in the finer, intervening
in-channel gravels and sands. Gravels, commonly
of boulder dimensions on the upper fan, tend to
display strong imbrication with long axes oriented
perpendicular to flow. Boulders displaying percus-
sion marks and other evidence of in-place abra-
sion aggrade in a clast-supported framework that
is later infiltrated by finer sediments. The largest
clasts are stranded at the upstream ends, while the
bar top aggrades to produce horizontal stratifica-
tion, with planar cross-bedded sand wedges (Rust
1972a) along lateral and downstream margins.
The proportion of cross-bedding increases down-
fan, accompanied by a progressive improvement
in sorting. Dominant sedimentary structures of
the sandy distal fan are planar cross beds, overlain
in places by bar-top plane beds or ripples, and
trough cross beds formed by migrating in-channel
bedforms. Overbank areas are highly vegetated
and trap the finest sediment.
The 18000km2 (7000mi2) Okavango Fan is a
classic example of a terminal fan. It lies in the
semiarid Kalahari of Botswana, but receives an-
nual flooding from the catchment in tropical
Angola (McCarthy et al. 1991). The sediment
load comprises reworked eolian sands of the
intracratonic Kalahari Basin and is deposited
predominantly in meandering and anastomosed
channel complexes on the upper fan and by chan-
nel-floor aggradation on the midfan. Flow be-
comes dispersed and is lost to infiltration and
evapotranspiration on the lower fan. McCarthy et
al. (1991) document peat levees along the distribu-
tary channels, with sufficient permeability for wa-
ter to drain into the adjacent swamplands. During
peak flood, the fan distributaries discharge into a
vast, shallow lake system. Channel-fill facies form
radially dispersed, thick, isolated, lenses of sand
contained within widespread peat deposits.
In summary, a generalized stream-flow fan
(Fig. 3.8) consists of a radially dispersed wedge
constructed dominantly of coarse gravelly to
sandy channel fill deposits. Specific channel types
are highly variable, depending on the river hy-
drography and sediment load, as well as on the
tectonic and climatic setting of the fan itself. How-
ever, proximal channels are typically coarse and
braided, and prominent downflow evolution in
channel type and attributes is characteristic.
Proximal incised fan valley fills grade into uncon-
40 Alluvial Fans

UPLAND SOURC E

Inci sed channel fill

.. Moss flow deposits

---
Channel fill WID

.. Channel dimension

Gravell sand Imud

..

.. Maximum groin si ze

Fig. 3.8. Generalized facies architecture of a streamflow fan in map view and along a proximal (P) to distal (D) transect. Stream
width/depth ratio (W/D) and various other parameters vary systematically down fan

fined, amalgamated channel-fill facies. Channel fill Fans Dominated by Sheetflooding

width to depth ratio, cross-sectional dimensions,
and overall proportions of gravel to sand and mud
decrease downfan (Fig. 3.8). Braided channels
become increasingly confined and sinuosity in-
creases. Overbank facies increase concomitantly
and may dominate the lower fan succession. Mass
flow deposits, if present, are prominent only in the
steep, proximal fan wedge.
Some fans are dominated by sheetflood processes
throughout, whereas in others the sandflat cov-
ered by sheetfloods is confined to the distal fringe
(Fig. 3.7). Sheetflood facies show evidence of un-
confined flow over a relatively featureless sandflat
and comprise a large proportion of planar lami-
nated sands, locally traversed by broad and very

shallow ephemeral scour channels. Fan size is gen-
erally small to moderate. Sheetflood-dominated
fans are most common in arid regions, such as the
Tarim Basin of China.
Plane beds, with occasional antidune structures
corresponding to flood events, may be followed by
evidence of waning flow. Thin-graded intervals
commence with the coarsest sediment fraction
available, overlain by parallel-laminated sand and
capped by finer ripple-laminated sand (Hardie et
al. 1978). In some fans, scores of these sequences
are superimposed with little interruption apart
from minor erosion, which may remove the
rippled top stratum of each unit. Boundaries be-
tween successive flood increments are accentu-
ated in some examples by chemical precipitates,
pedogenic nodules, burrows, and plant roots,
some of which penetrate to considerable depth.
High-energy sheetflooding associated with the
Roaring River event deposited as many as 15 cou-
plets, each 5-20cm (2-8in) thick, of gravel and
laminated pebbly sand parallel to the 4 fan slope.
These features, attributed by Blair (1987) to re-
petitive antidune development and destruction,
are replaced downfan by plane-bedded granular
sand.
As noted by Blair and McPherson (1993), diag-
nostic gravel and sand couplets and plane-bedded
sand and gravel sheets are present in fans through-
out the southwestern United States. Extensive
tabular sheetflood deposits such as these are also a
conspicuous feature of ancient alluvial fan sys-
tems, for example in Spitzbergen (Kleinspehn et
al. 1984). These are present as proximal fan facies
in Upper Paleozoic fan delta systems, where they
comprise graded, imbricated, clast-supported con-
glomerates interspersed with less well organized
conglomerates in a sandy matrix, and are locally
channeled by cross-stratified units.
In systems deficient in clay, sheetflood deposi-
tion may be most prominent during the final stage
of fan enlargement (Fig. 3.7) when channel en-
trenchment on the upper fan focuses sedimenta-
tion onto the flatter, distal portions (Blair and
McPherson 1993).
Fan Deltas
Fan deltas form when alluvial fans build into a
standing body of water so that they display some
Fan Deltas 41
degree of modification by currents and waves.
They are present in a wide variety of settings from
lacustrine to open ocean, but large fan deltas are
best developed in continental extensional basins
and along convergent plate margins in both conti-
nental and island-arc settings (Wescott and
Ethridge 1980). Some, such as the Yallahs fan
delta (Fig. 3.9), with a subaerial extent of only
10 km 2 (4 mi 2 ), are small but have a larger sub-
merged area. Others such as the Copper River
braidplain fan delta (Fig. 3.10) construct extensive
subaerial fan plains and marginal submerged
platforms.
Much has been written on the terminology
and definition of fan deltas (Nemec and Steel
1988). McPherson et al. (1987) distinguished
between fan deltas, formed at the terminus of
alluvial fans composed largely of mass-wasting de-
posits, and braid deltas, corresponding to their
streamflow-dominated or braidplain counterparts.
This is a valid distinction with important implica-
tions for exploration, but it is accommodated
within the broader geomorphic spectrum of fans
and fan deltas that is presented here. In accor-
dance with systems concepts, we include in fan
delta systems the complete range of facies associ-
ated with subaerial and subaqueous deposition
within the geomorphic fan. Thus, fan deltas have
both aggradational components (subaerial fan)
and progradational components (fan delta front
and prodelta slope).
Fan deltas are characterized by the dominant
subaerial depositional processes, the degree of
marine or lacustrine modification of their fringe,
and the depth of water into which they prograde
(Wescott and Ethridge 1990). The interplay be-
tween the volume and texture of the sediment
supplied and the intensity and duration of shore-
zone, shallow-marine, or lacustrine processes
determines the terrestrial and shore-zone facies
characteristics. Kleinspehn et al. (1984) demon-
strate how channel avulsion, mouth-bar aggrada-
tion, and changes effected by waves and tides
are important controls on fan delta morphology.
Basin depth determines the extent of gravity
resedimentation.
Channel Mouth Processes
Streamflow and braidplain fan deltas are typically
traversed by ephemeral streams or rapidly shifting
braided channels that are broad and shallow.
42 Alluvial Fans
Fig. 3.9. The Yallahs fan, Jamaica, with a wave-modified fan delta margin, (Wescott and Ethridge 1980)
Consequently, channel mouths are ephemeral
and poorly defined. Flow enters the marine or
lacustrine reservoir at high velocity and with
an abundant sediment load as an expanding
inertial jet (Prior and Bornhold 1989, 1990;
Orton and Reading 1993), Where inflow
density approximates that of the water of the
basin, three-dimensional mixing and deceleration
lead to rapid bed-load deposition. In deep water,
depositional oversteepening creates high-angle
avalanche (or Gilbert) foresets. Inertial flow
may carry coarse sediment beyond the channel
mouth and onto the prodelta, forming a subaque-
ous sand or gravel sheet. Where inflow is suffi-
ciently dense, such as during flash-flood or
debris-flow events, or where inflowing waters are
colder, flow remains attached to the bottom and
moves onto the prodelta slope. Sediment-laden
underflows may accelerate downslope into deep
water and evolve into turbulent suspension cur-
rents (Prior and Bornhold 1989; Westcott and
Ethridge 1990). Such subaqueous flow reorganiza-
tion creates an array of submarine chutes, chan-
nels, and lobes (see Chap. 8). Slumping and sliding
commonly disrupt high-angle fan delta front
deposits.
~
WINOS
Modification by Waves and Currents
Tidal processes are generally subordinant to wave
reworking of the predominantly coarse-grained
deposits in most modern fan delta environments
(Ethridge and Wescott 1984; Orton and Reading
1993). The subaqueous characteristics of fan del-
tas are controlled by sediment input and basin-
margin depth profile.
Wave reworking improves sorting and leads to
better rounding of clasts with a unique closely
packed interlocking fabric (Gloppen and Steel
1981). Some reworked conglomerates of this type
show gently inclined fan delta foresets. The
Yallahs fan (Fig. 3.9) of Jamaica (Wescott and
Ethridge 1980) and the small fan deltas of coastal
Honduras (Schramm 1981) have a typical wave-
dominated imprint of beaches, spits, and barriers,
all building onto a progradational shoreface.
Waves and tidal processes may operate in con-
junction, as on the Copper River fan delta (Fig.
3.10). A tidal range of several meters generates
currents of up to 200cm/s (6.6fps) in inlets. Ebb
currents reinforced by river discharge are most
effective in funneling sand across the lagoon and
out of tidal inlets between the stunted barriers.
 If' ~\ ~ c:Z::2C.
-G-~~ I'
~~

................. 60'"
t--J7!
" 00 ''' '
.....-/.. "J
.. '
.. '

.. '
:::J
...A-----\ 300" ........ ... ..... <;:::::J 9 kmlhr M:lx f 2 k I :::J
~ . .. .............. ,Ili.2 fps) , (fS', hr Avg '
..
............... . psi 6J Distributary flow

Tidal currents

~
t Extent of tidol influence (opprox. pre196'l l
.."
ACTIVE PROCESSES -L... ;:l
'"
Dominont swe"
o
~ Storm swell ~
;
~

:::J Morine current

~
Fig. 3.10. The Copper River fan delta , Alaska, showing extensive fan margin modification by tidal currents and waves Ups feet/second). (Galloway 1976) w
44 Alluvial Fans

Strong oceanic swell associated with winter storms ject to wave attack, coastal retreat, and down drift
results in powerful westward longshore drift that growth of spits during the intervening periods.
produces an asymmetric sediment distribution The size and geomorphology of Honduras fan del-
(Fig. 3.10). tas are controlled by the frequency and intensity
Wave reworking commonly alternates in time of storms, the volume and texture of sediment
and space with episodes of fan construction. For brought down to the fan delta, storm-wave direc-
much of the year no drainage from the Yallahs tion and energy, and the magnitude of storm-
River reaches the sea because distributaries are related rise in sea level (Schramm 1981, p. 144).
blocked by wave-constructed berms. The fan delta Maximum progradation and aggradation occur si-
front contains both progradational and erosional multaneously when storm surge raises sea level by
beach segments, reflecting areas of active channel several meters. Shoreline erosion and retreat dur-
mouth and longshore drift deposition (Fig. 3.9). ing normal episodes leaves a lag of large boulders.
In some fan deltas, the relative effectiveness of This boulder stratum is overlain by shoreface and
the competing factors of sediment influx and re- fan-margin deposits of the next storm event. Asso-
working of the margin varies over short timespans ciated spit deposits are well-sorted sand and en-
related to the frequency of storm events. The fan close small lagoons and ephemeral marshes. The
delta plain may build rapidly seaward during fan delta plain is built of stratified sand and gravel
floods and retreat as a result of marine erosion that grades upfan into coarse, poorly sorted gravel
during the intervening periods. Marine influence showing crude horizontal bedding. Progradation
is manifest in beaches, spits, and tidal bars or in would generate an irregularly upward-coarsening
more subtle indicators such as trace fossils or sequence from fine-grained shelf sand to the
benthic forams. The Honduras fan deltas pro- coarse boulder lag at the base of the aggradational
grade rapidly during extreme floods, but are sub- sand and gravel of the fan delta plain (Fig. 3.11).

SEQUENCE ENVIRONMENT /PROCESS SCHEMATIC EVOLUTION

m

-0
3 1-::~~O~"tO~-
~-~ Fan-delta front/wove reworking

5 Fan-delta plain, stream f low

20 4 Fan-delta front, wove/tide

reworking
...,..,.=""'~...",- ------
.-.::. ' .. ... ,
l'_~_'" ',.' ','

3 Channel-mouth bar, moss

movement
F. ::g
.. ;:;z
. ,~:Z::::::-=:-~- - ---
',',
.', .,'
"
..'.', "

, .
10 "" ..
'." ~~~~
,: ,'. :. ~.".': .. -~ .:'. ' ;...: 2 Fan-della front, wove reworking

- - -~
Prodelta, sus pens ion settl i ng

..e
~

"0
c: E
iii "
If)
~
co
c:
0
U

Fig. 3.11. Stratigraphic succession produced by auto cyclic shifting of fan channels across a prograding fan delta. (Kleinspehn et
al. 1984)

Ricci-Lucci et al. (1981) similarly distinguished
a twofold succession consisting of channelized,
upward-fining, stream-dominated fan delta plain
facies and thicker, nonchannelized, upward-coars-
ening fan delta front facies.
Eustatic or lake-level fluctuations may control
the reshaping of the fan delta terminus. A com-
plex interaction of sedimentary processes is ob-
served in some closed intermontane basins where
a rapid rise in lake level may temporarily inundate
the lower fan, modifying the surficial sediments. In
such situations, waves produced by wind stress on
shallow water result in a complex array of small
bedforms that reflect variable wind directions
and water depths and, in some cases, powerful
longshore currents. Intermittent flooding by wind
tides can result in a suite of ripples and small-scale
sedimentary structures comparable to those of
shore-zone tidal flats. These shallow lacustrine
processes, including a diverse range of vertebrate
and invertebrate traces on intermittently sub-
merged distal sheet sands, are well documented in
Karoo Basin sediments of South Africa (van Dijk
et al. 1978).
Ancient Alluvial Fan
and Fan Delta Systems
Contrasting styles of alluvial fan development
dominated by debris-flow, stream, and sheetflood
processes are normally associated with different
geologic and climatic settings, but they can also be
present in the same basin (Mack and Rasmussen
1984). For example, Gloppen and Steel (1981)
observed small, steep alluvial fans consisting
largely of debris-flow deposits on the more ac-
tively subsiding faulted margin; thinner but are ally
more extensive fans deposited by braided-stream
processes were present along the more stable mar-
gin with larger catchment basins and more evenly
distributed runoff.
Debris flow-dominated fan systems can gener-
ally be distinguished in the rock record by their
limited areal extent, poor sorting, and composi-
tional and textural immaturity. Associated car-
bonate-rich paleosoils, evaporites, desiccation
cracks in interlobe mudstone, specialized verte-
brate fauna remains, and evidence of eolian pro-
cesses provide evidence of arid conditions. For
example, the New Red Sandstone of Scotland,
Ancient Alluvial Fan and Fan Delta Systems 45
with its many arid-climate indicators (Steel 1974),
contains debris-flow deposits that were partly
reworked by flood discharge. The Permian
Rotliegendes accumulated in desert conditions,
which extended across northeastern Europe
(Glennie 1972). Bajadas along the flank of
Variscan highlands merged northward into dunes,
sabkhas, and a large lake. Porous wadi sediments
were subject to rapid infiltration, leaving sandy
sieve deposits that were later modified by wind.
Miocene fans of the northern Madrid Basin,
Spain, were highly aggradational and dominated
by mass flows (Alonso Zarza et al. 1992). Distal
fan deposits are interbedded with playa calcretes
and dolocretes.
Stream-dominated alluvial fan systems have
been widely recognized in strata of all geologic
eras. At the scale of most outcrops, many of these
alluvial fan deposits have the general characteris-
tics of fluvial facies but can be distinguished as
alluvial fans by several additional criteria:
1. Uplapping relationship to tectonic highlands
(Fig. 3.8)
2. Lobate isopach patterns that thicken into ba-
sin-margin uplands (Fig. 3.12)
3. Radial sediment dispersal patterns identified
by detailed sand isolith mapping or paleo-
current analysis
4. Rapid downflow channel pattern evolution and
commensurate facies change (Figs. 3.3, 3.8)
5. Radial decrease in maximum clast size and
overall sediment texture
Streamflow fans are present in climatic settings
ranging from arid (Mack and Rasmussen 1984),
with dry-climate indicators such as rhizocretions
and pedogenic carbonates, to humid. A further
distinction is made between humid-glacial and
humid-tropical fans (Evans 1991), the deposits of
which show compositional, textural, and diage-
netic differences. For example, humid-tropical
fans are commonly deeply weathered and contain
a higher proportion of compositionally mature
clasts than humid-glacial fans.
The size, thickness, and preserved cross-sec-
tional geometry of a fan are largely dependent on
the structural setting. For example, stream-domi-
nated fans are a characteristic feature of the steep
footwall margins of Mesozoic and Cenozoic half-
grabens of onshore China. These fans coalesced
along strike and aggraded or backstepped along
the tectonically subsiding margin while inter-
fingering distally with axial lacustrine or fluvial
46 Alluvial Fans
A 8
('0
"9'0'
.>-
~1-(,'
~
.
,.~ :::~:.~j Channel deposlls
~
~ Floodplain
k..
1)\/.\+1 Allu vial fon
1<::1 Pleistocene deposits
Fig.3.12A,B. Topography and surficial geology (A) and thickness of the youngest alluvial wedge (B), which consists of coalesced
alluvial fans deposited at the foot of the Coast ranges. (Modified from Belitz and Heimes 1990)
deposits (Fig. 3.13) or with prodelta shales of the
opposite ramped margin. Figure 3.13 illustrates
the range of cross-sectional fan geometries pos-
sible in this tectonic setting. In contrast, a vast
lower Paleozoic fan system of southern Africa,
comparable in dimensions to the modern Kosi
Fan, built longitudinally down the axis of the Na-
tal Embayment. The Natal Embayment was early
rift, probably representing a line of weakness
along which breakup of Gondwana took occurred
in the Mesozoic (Hobday and von Brunn 1979).
The western half of the basin, preserved on the
African continent, shows fan-head conglomerates
occupying gorges 300m (1000ft) deep. Despite the
lithological variation in the nearby provenance
terrane of Precambrian metamorphics, only near-
spherical quartzite boulders are preserved at the
base, attesting to their selective preservation in a
warm, humid climate that contributed to the disin-
tegration of other rock clasts. Preferential break-
down of labile constituents in this type of
environment has been documented by McGirty
(l991). Clast dimensions decrease upward from a
~
0 10 20 mi
\ 0
I
10 20 30km
~
maximum of 2m (7ft) to 25cm (lOin). Strong im-
brication and transverse alignment of long axes is
apparent. Bedding is horizontal but poorly de-
fined, disrupted by scours and unsorted conglom-
erate pods, which may be remnants of debris
flows. Abrupt downslope interfingering of these
proximal-fan conglomerates with arkosic sand-
stones coincides with a reduction in basement re-
lief. The same lithological change took place
vertically through the aggradational succession
that onlapped the basin margin. These arkoses
show a comprehensive suite of sedimentary struc-
tures, including planar foresets on the margins of
exhumed bars and scour and truncation surfaces
reflecting modification during the falling-river
stage, comparable to modern sandy braided-
stream systems.
Eocene fan systems composing the Chumstick
Formation, Washington, United States (Evans
1991), and the Wasatch Formation of the north-
east Uinta Uplift, United States (Crews and
Ethridge 1993), illustrate typical facies associa-
tions of gravelly streamflow fans. Lenticular, grav-
 Ancient Alluvial Fan and Fan Delta Systems 47

Fig. 3.13A-C. Contrasting pat- A

terns of fault-margin alluvial fan
sedimentation. A Narrow, ag-
graded, back stepping alluvial fan
and fan delta wedges punctuated
by lacustrine expansion. B Broa-
der interfingering alluvial fan and
lacustrine facies . C Basinward tilt-
ing and forced offtap of three
synrift alluvial fan wedges involv-
ing some autocannibalism. (Cour-
tesy of Xu Huaida and Fan
Tailiang, China University of Geo-
sciences)

elly bed-load channel fills characterize proximal
fan deposits in the Chumstick fans. Both systems
are dominated by tabular to sheetlike units of
massive to horizontally bedded clast-supported
conglomerate and cross-stratified conglomeratic
sandstone to sandstone. Minor facies include
pedogenically altered fine sandstone and hetero-
lithic overbank beds.
Cambrian alluvial fan systems of the Van Horn
Sandstone, Texas (McGowen and Groat 1971),
show a similar range of characteristics, but a tran-
sitional midfan facies association is more clearly
defined (Fig. 3.14). This comprises conglomerate-
floored channels containing trough and planar
cross-bedded sandstone and conglomerates with
foresets along the flanks of longitudinal bars. The
conglomeratic facies merges downdip into sand-
stones that reflect a trunk system of large channels
and a network of smaller, radiating channels
consistent with their alluvial fan origin. Alluvial
fans of the Cutler Formation, Colorado, are
similar, although possibly originating in a more
arid environment (Mack and Rasmussen 1984).
Braided-stream facies make up about two thirds
of the sections examined by Mack and Rasmussen,
with subordinant debris-flow deposits and minor
sheetflood facies. Devonian terminal fans found
in several North Atlantic basins are characterized
by their distributary channel patterns that reflect
loss of stream power by evaporation and infiltra-
tion and fluctuating discharge (Kelley and Olsen
1993).
48 Alluvial Fans
" y!;e~
~/~.
t--Y, j~X~', -'.
A~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-=~~~~~~==~~IB
PROXIMAL MID- FAN
Sheetflood-dominated alluvial fans are typically
small and found mainly in regions of flashy sea-
sonal rainfall. The unconfined flow characteristics
are most pronounced on the distal fan surface, but
in some instances they may cover most of the
active fan. The distal parts of the Kuwaiti fans
described by AI-Sarawi (1988) comprise a flat,
sandy surface cut by broad, shallow channels that
lose their identity toward the fan edge where
it is transitional into playa facies. Sheetflood de-
posits consist of planar- and cross-stratified
sand interlayered with distally thickening muddy
intervals.
Sheetflood facies in the Cutler Formation com-
prise only about 5% of the section, but despite
their limited thickness of 10m (33ft) or less, they
are are ally widespread (Mack and Rasmussen
1984). Oxidized, horizontally laminated sandstone
and rippled siltstone predominate with local
gravel lenses, burrows, and root casts.
Fan deltas, widely recorded in basins of all ages,
show a complete gradation from forms dominated
by alluvial and debris-flow processes with little
reworking to wave- and tide-modified varieties.
Some preserve spectacular progradational con-
glomeratic foresets (Gilbert-type fan deltas;
... Fig. 3.14. Idealized cross-section
and plan view through the
streamflow fan system comprising
the Cambrian Van Horn Sand-
stone. (McGowen and Groat
1971)
DISTAL
Ethridge and Wescott 1984; Wescott and Ethridge
1990), while others show more subtle inter-
fingering with lacustrine or marine shelf
or slope and basin facies (referred to by Ethridge
and Wescott as "shelf" and "slope" varieties,
respectively) .
Two varieties of fan delta foresets documented
by Long (1981) in the Canadian Cordillera have
sharp, but nonerosive contacts with lacustrine
sediments. In one type, large conglomeratic
foresets flatten and merge into sandy bottomsets,
reflecting simple avalanching. The second consists
of graded conglomerates that extend beyond
the fan delta front and intertongue with lacus-
trine shales and is interpreted as a product of
density underflows emanating from fan delta dis-
tributaries.
A Miocene fan delta described by Chough et
al. (1990) in southeast Korea includes both
Gilbert and slope components within a full
spectrum from alluvial fan to basin slope and
plain. The subaerial component reflects a combi-
nation of stream and debris-flow processes. Sedi-
ments introduced by braided channels were
carried down the fan delta foresets by avalanching
and cohesionless, sandy debris flows and dumped
 sw NE
GRAY WHEELER HEMPHILL
A MOB EETIE FIE D
28 21 .4
A'
49 48 37 36 23

0
~:'$~8J Granite wosh 0
101m

~ limeSTone 100
!>CO
~ Dolomile 200

IitJi@Sendslone 1000 300

o Shale II

t~;f~:-51 Crystalline basement

Fig. 3.15. Cross-section through the late Paleozoic "granite character of the coarse clastic wedge (Dutton et al. 1982).
wash" fan delta system deposited on the northern margin of (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology)
the Amarillo Uplift (Texas). Note the highly aggradational
50 Alluvi al Fans

- -- ----- - ~

I
IH( MPH l l l .1

'-0,

B---I
,...- ~
4- - --u
-
I
- - -L:..2lI._
RM' OAlL - -
V -_
O
\

MAP

o 20 40 ml

I
I I
t 1
o 20 40 km

H}'/{.=H300 - 1000 fI t:";;:t;q Precombr ian bosement e~posed Contour inlervol vari able :

==
net gron it e wash 0 - 40011 C I. > 100 II
.' , '.' 1hroughout Pennsylvonion

D
'
400 -1200 II C. I ' 200 II
>1 200 II C I >400 It
> 1000 It net gra nite wash Faults
Well control
Fig. 3.16. Isolith map of the late Paleozoic "granite wash" fan delta system (Dutton et al. 1982). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau
of Economic G eology)

as penecontemporaneously deformed, coarse- Lacustrine fan deltas lacking foresets are well
grained toe sets, in contrast to the more typical documented in Pleistocene lacustrine systems of
fine-grained Gilbert bottomsets (Nemec and Italy (Billi et a1. 1991). These shallow, ephemeral
Steel 1984). Slope channels become shallower lakes were bounded by gravelly, stream-domi-
basinward and terminate as lobate distal prodelta nated alluvial fans with an intermittently sub-
bars. merged transitional zone of sand, mud, and

gravel, cut by linear sand-filled channels. These
channels terminated in upward-coarsening sandy
sub lacustrine lobes and are thought to have ori-
ginated by extension of distributaries across the
temporarily emergent lake floor, but they may
have been maintained during higher lake levels
by hyperpycnal flows capable of eroding and
transporting large clasts.
The effects of wave reworking are preserved
in fan delta facies ranging from sandy foreshore
to gravel beach (Ethridge and Wescott 1984;
Kleinspehn et al. 1984). For example, beaches
associated with fan deltas in the Proterozoic
Waterberg Supergroup of South Africa consist of
gently dipping quartzose sandstones that abut
coeval, immature, cross-stratified conglomeratic
sandstones. These fan deltas show evidence of
powerful reworking of the fan delta salients by
waves, while the interlobe embayments reflect a
prevalence of tidal processes (V os and Eriksson
1977}. A comparable fan delta facies association
of fringing beaches and tidal flats is present in the
Lower Paleozoic of the southern Cape of Africa
(Tankard and Hobday 1977).
Fan deltas exhibiting a broad spectrum of depo-
sitional styles may exist within the same basin.
Orton (1988) documented fluvial-dominated,
LOBE
FLANK
_______ 20
/30
o I mi
I
o I km
Contour intervol 10 ft
Control poi nt
Fig.3.17. Sandstone isolith map and interpreted depositional environments of a single fan delta parasequence within the "granite
wash" fan delta system. (Dutton et al. 1982)
Ancient Alluvial Fan and Fan Delta Systems 51
wave-modified, wave-dominated, and braidplain
fan deltas in the Middle Ordovician North Wales
basin. There, delta style was conditioned largely
by variable rates and grain size of supplied sedi-
ment; wave energy was relatively uniform.
Whereas most fan delta systems interfinger
basinward with offshore clastics, upper Pennsylva-
nian to lower Permian fan delta systems in the
Anadarko Basin, United States, exhibit a lateral
gradation from coarse arkoses ("granite wash")
into carbonate-bank and muddy terrigenous shelf
systems (Fig. 3.15; Dutton 1982; Dutton et al.
1982). Several thousand feet of aggradational
sandstone and conglomerate uplap the faulted
margin of the Amarillo Uplift, creating narrow
clastic aprons on each side of the granitic uplift
(Fig. 3.16). The bulk of the fan deposits accu-
mulated within a few tens of kilometers of the
contemporary upland. Component facies include
minor mass-flow deposits, abundant dip-oriented
braided channel-fill sandstone and conglomerate,
and well-sorted fan delta front sandstones that are
reworked into strike-elongate bars and spits (Fig.
3.17).
Broad, relatively low relief braidplain deltas
covering hundreds of square kilometers are docu-
mented in the late Pleistocene Athabasca terminal
_4
52 Alluvial Fans
fan (Rhine and Smith 1988) and the Ivishak Sand-
stone of Prudhoe Bay oil field, Alaska (Atkinson
et al. 1990). In both, an extensive sheetlike
sand body consists of a lower upward-coarsening
progradational succession capped by amalgam-
ated braid channel sand and pebbly sand. The
Athabasca braid delta infilled an arm of glacial
Lake Athabasca and is only 10-15 m (33-50ft)
thick. The Ivishak braid delta, in contrast, built
into a subsiding marine basin and includes several
cycles of progradation and aggradation. The total
thickness exceeds 600ft (200m) and decreases ra-
dially from a depocenter located adjacent to the
upland. The percentage of sandstone/conglomer-
ate shows a similar radial decrease from more than
90% at the depocenter to less than 40% along the
fan fringe.
Basin -Fill Architecture
The external geometry and internal facies ar-
rangement of alluvial fan and fan delta systems
Fig. 3.18. Successive, laterally extensive, upward-coarsening alluvial fan successions in the Devonian fill of the Hornelen Basin,
Norway. (Photo courtesy of Ron Steel, reproduced by permission of Fjellanger Widere)
reflect a hierarchy of external (global or regional)
and internal sedimentary controls. The fundamen-
tal controls are as follows:
1. Tectonics, both within the basin and in the
highland catchment
2. Sediment supply, often closely related to tec-
tonism, but also influenced by provenance
lithology, climate, and vegetation
3. Changes in base level, either eustatic or local
4. Processes inherent in the geomorphic system
Interactions among these controls commonly
produce fan successions with a hierarchical
cyclicity that is reflected in repetitive facies succes-
sions (Fig. 3.18) and textural packaging (Gloppen
and Steel 1981).
Several authors (Wright and Alonso Zarza
1990; DeCelles et al. 1991; Alonso Zarza et al.
1992; Fraser and DeCelles 1992) have emphasized
the importance of bounding surfaces within fan
systems. Prominent surfaces include weakly devel-
oped to mature paleosoil horizons, locally angular
truncation surfaces, and abrupt, commonly highly
channelized facies boundaries. Such surfaces may
extend regionally, most likely reflecting extrinsic

controls, or they may be localized in some fans or
parts of fans, reflecting internal controls.
Tectonic Controls on Alluvial Fan Systems
Alluvial fan systems are common in thrust-faulted
compressional basins, especially forelands, in
basins related to strike-slip faulting, and in ex-
tensional basins. The gross architecture of thick
alluvial fan systems generally owes its character to
waxing and waning of the basin-forming tectonic
activity. Tectonic controls are manifest in the
thick, vertically aggraded and backstepping (Fig.
3.13) fan successions, divergence of seismic reflec-
tors toward active fault margins, and pronounced
unconformities within and separating alluvial fan
successions.
Rust (1978) suggested that the ideal sedimen-
tary response to basin-margin tectonism is an up-
ward-coarsening sequence representing alluvial
fan progradation, followed by an upward-fining
pattern reflecting a gradual return to equilibrium.
At geologic time scales (1 OC 106 years), drainage
basin evolution following a pulse of tectonic uplift
creates a predictable pattern of fan growth and
terminal decay (Fraser and DeCelles 1992). Reju-
venation of the drainage basin initiates a rapid
influx of sediment and consequent rapid fan
growth. Elongation and elaboration of the drain-
age basin maximize relief; discharge volume and
grain size are consequently maximized. However,
fan growth rate subsequently declines and fan size
stabilizes as increasing volumes of sediment are
required for aggradation. With erosional lowering
of the drainage basin and increased valley volume,
sediment is increasingly stored within valleys.
Hence, volume and grain size of sediment sup-
plied to the fan decrease, and upward-fining and
fan retreat characterize the terminal phase of the
fan system. Thickness of such a fan succession
typically ranges from a few hundred meters to a
kilometer or more. Tectonic rejuvenation triggers
evacuation of sediment stored within drainage-
basin valleys, abruptly flooding the fan with pulses
of coarse sediment. Increased rates of erosion
within the contributary basin sustain the pulse of
supply.
Alluvial fan basin fills exhibiting this pattern
are common. For example in the Eocene section
of Utah/Wyoming (Crews and Ethridge 1993), a
basal 400-m (1300-ft) fan succession shows an up-
ward increase in clast size and paleochannel di-
Basin-Fill Architecture 53
mensions, recording the constructional phase of
fan progradation during Laramide thrusting and
uplift of the northern flank of the Uinta Moun-
tains. This is followed by a 250-m (820-ft) upward-
fining sequence of diminishing grain size and
smaller channels recording decreasing sediment
yield during postorogenic reduction of source area
relief. The fan was dominated by a large trunk
channel that migrated across the fan surface after
the manner of the modern Kosi system, together
with several smaller distributary channels. Crews
and Ethridge (1993) note subordinant upward-
coarsening sequences 10-100m (33-330ft) thick
that they attribute to progradation of individual
fan lobes, punctuated by fan-head avulsion. Inter-
nally these fan-lobe sequences contain structural
and textural assemblages reflecting flood erosion,
growth, and migration of bars, in conjunction with
braided-channel processes.
Very similar arrangements of large-scale tec-
tonically controlled sequences with smaller-scale
internal cyclicity were documented by Mack and
Rasmussen (1984) in the Cutler Formation of
Wyoming, but in a basin subject to recurrent nor-
mal faulting during the late Paleozoic. Another
example of this pattern is provided by Gloppen
and Steel (1981) from the Devonian of Norway
(Figs. 3.18, 3.19). This prodigious 25000-m
(80000-ft) thickness of repetitive, basinwide, up-
ward-coarsening aluvial fan sediments of the
Hornelen Basin reflects successive episodes of tec-
tonic subsidence that accentuated the relief of the
bounding highlands. Each major progradational
episode was followed by migration of the active
fault zone away from the basin, resulting in pro-
gressive onlap of basement rocks. In the Little
Muddy Creek Conglomerate of Wyoming, Pivnik
(1990) noted comparable sequences, indicative of
alluvial fan progradation in response to tectonic
uplift and unroofing, followed by reduced sedi-
ment influx and a relative rise in sea level.
System-scale upward-fining patterns above a
basal unconformity are equally common in an-
cient fan delta systems. Vigorous, tectonically in-
duced influx of coarse clastics, often of boulder
dimensions, may be followed by gradually dimin-
ishing flow and finer-grained sedimentation as the
gradient is reduced. During this waning phase of
fan development, fan-head incision is accompa-
nied by migration of isolated channels and vertical
accretion of the fan surface (Kesel 1985). The
coarsest canyon-fill and fanhead conglomerates
commonly overlie a high-relief unconformity and
54 Alluvial Fans

The geometry of basin-margin faults exercises

I-
l!)
Z Z
I.lJ
an important control on fan distribution and
~ ~
lL.
sequence architecture. In many basins, such as
(?
Z I
Z
0 _------10 A the half-grabens of China, alluvial fan systems
-Z Vl
-I
Cl
Z are typically confined to the more active margin.

LL a:: CD
I.lJ
I- "0 l-:--:-S-~~qm

" In other block-faulted terranes, the prograding
alluvial fan wedge may traverse successive
-I 0-=
"- fault blocks and contemporaneously active rifts.
'. ',,'. 1
"- The detachment model of continental extension
.. . . . ,
. :,' "- (Etheridge et al. 1988) illustrates the important
"-
I.lJ
U "- role of alluvial fan systems in continental and pas-
Z "- sive-margin rifts. It also emphasizes the abrupt
I.lJ
Cl
Vl
" along-strike changes that take place, including
CD lateral offsets and polarity reversals, so that the
::>
Vl main boundary fault switches from one side of the
(?
basin to the other. Fan systems may be localized
Z B at transfer zones. Transfer faults also form
z
~
scarps and develop alluvial fans that prograde
w u
i= lOOm longitudinally.
Cf)
a:: The effects of three contrasting basin-margin
a::: w \
<I > \ wedges are illustrated in Fig. 3.20. Intermittent
0 displacement along the same fault plane, such as
0 \
>- \ may be associated with major strike-slip zones,
~ \ leads to aggradation of alluvial fan sediments
I-
Z \
\ within a relatively narrow tract (Fig. 3.20A). Con-
~ \ tinued erosion of a vertically inhomogeneous
::2' '\
0 provenance area produces an "inverted stratigra-
0 \ phy" of clast types. In contrast, limited back-
\
faulting of the basin margin produces onlap and
f mcyccql backstepping accompanied by moderate vertical
L-L---O stacking (Fig. 3.20B). If backfaulting continues,
Fig. 3.19. Vertical succession through a Devonian fan system widespread alluvial fan deposition may occur as
showing upward coarsening at two scales. The thick upward- fans onlap successively younger fault blocks (Fig.
coarsening sequence is an overall response to pulsed tectonic 3.20C).
subsidence. Thinner upward-coarsening sequences were con-
structed by outbuilding fan lobes. Upward fining at the top
reflects decay and abandonment of the fan complex. (Gloppen
and Steel 1981) Effects of Climate

Although tectonism determines the time-space

distribution of most fan systems, climate com-
are followed vertically and laterally by finer, more monly affects the detail of depositional style and
distal equivalents (Fig. 3.6). modulates fan growth.
Rate of differential uplift is a primary determi- Source area climate determines the nature of
nant of the degree to which fan deltas aggrade or weathering and transport processes. Streamflow-
prograde. Miocene fan deltas of the Gulf of Suez dominated fans are characteristic of wet climates,
(Gawthorpe et al. 1990) evolved from are ally lo- at least in the highlands. Debris-flow and ephem-
calized, highly aggradational sequences of con- eral stream fans typify arid settings (Harvey 1989).
glomerate characterized by high-angle (10-25) Gradients of streamflow-dominated fans are
sigmoidal clinoforms to progradational, mixed lower, and consequently their areal extent is typi-
clastic/carbonate braid deltas characterized by cally much larger. This pattern is illustrated both
low-angle (<15) clinoforms in response to in the contrasting Quaternary fans of the eastern
decreasing fault activity. (perennial snowmelt-fed streamflow) and western

Fig.3.20A-C. Contrasting alluvial fan cross-sectional
geometries arising from different basin-margin fault
patterns. A Persistent basin-margin fault zo ne. B
Limited back-faulting. C Repeated back-faulting.
(Heward 1978a)
(ephemeral discharge) Great Valley of California
and in Devonian fans of the Hornelen Basin, Nor-
way (Fig. 3.21). Erratic discharge in arid fans fa-
vors progressive storage of debris within the
drainage basin, punctuated by catastrophic events
that flood the fan with sediment (Beaty 1990).
Streamflow fans, in contrast, are characterized by
relatively uniform or seasonal construction.
Topographically induced variability of micro-
climates affects fan sedimentation (Etheridge et
a1. 1988). Alluvial fans along the steepest rift mar-
gins may be small because the major drainage is
diverted away from the rift, and dry conditions are
prevalent in the rain shadow of many rifts. Similar
conditions prevail in fan systems bordering trans-
fer zones.
Climate also plays a major role in modulating
sediment supply to fans, and climatic oscillations
provide a plausible mechanism for high-frequency
cyclic stratigraphy characteristic of many fan sys-
Basin-Fill Architecture 55
A
terns (Figs. 3.18, 3.19). Changes in net sediment
supply to the fan or in the load to discharge ratio
can trigger complex responses that include
incision of fan-head or cross-fan trenches, leading
to fan-plain abandonment and regional pedogen-
esis or surficial reworking: alternatively, fan
aggradation and expansion , accompanied by in-
crease in grain size, produces upward-coarsening
cycles of fan deposits (Schumm et a1. 1987;
Wright and Alonso Zarza 1990; Koltermann and
Gorelick 1992). For example, Koltermann and
Gorelick (1992) successfully simulated the cyclical
stratigraphy of the late Quaternary Alameda
Creek fan by using quantitative discharge rela-
tionships derived from several modern California
Coast Range basins and a paleoclimate curve for
the last 600000 years. Distinctly different facies
associations, separated by a fanwide composite
scour surface, characterize the shallow strati-
graphy of the Kosi Fan (Singh et a1. 1993).
56 Alluvial Fans

\
I __--~~=--

~
B

(f) (f)
z z
<:{ <:{
IJ... IJ...

z Z
0:: 0::
w W
I I
I- I-
::> 0::
o(f) 0
Z

Fig. 3.2IA-C. Variation in geometry of streamflow (fluvially a radius exceeding 4 km (2.5 mi); debris-flow fans are steeper
dominated; A), mixed fluvial and debris-flow (B), and debris- and have a radius of 1-2km. (Gloppen and Steel 1981)
flow (C) fans in the Devonian of Norway. Streamflow fans have

Though not dated accurately, the two associations
likely reflect glacial versus postglacial climate and
discharge regimes.
Effects of Base Level Change
Base level changes may be extremely large and
abrupt in continental basins where episodes of
progradational offtap, erosional truncation, and
aggradational onlap accompany shrinkage and
expansion of intermontane lakes. Though less
extreme in potential rate and magnitude, sea-
level changes similarly affect marine fan deltas.
Model studies (Schumm et al. 1987, pp. 360-363)
illustrated a variety of processes, including the
following:
1. Progradation and fan delta offtap under condi-
tions of stable or rising water level
2. Backstepping and transgression during acceler-
ated rise
3. Lower fan-valley incision, nick-point retreat
across the fan, fan-plain abandonment. and
deposition of displaced fan delta lobes during
fall of base level
Base level changes such as these are often asso-
ciated with abrupt seasonal or long-term climatic
fluctuations that may magnify or complicate their
effects.
The record of a continuous rise in lake level
is preserved in Pleistocene fan delta systems of
the Red Sea (Sneh 1979). where aggradation and
onlap resulted in an upward-fining sequence.
Prodelta chalk onlaps the fan delta lobes that be-
came inactive during the maximum highstand.
Miocene fans of the same area were capped
by marls and patch reefs during and following
transgressive flooding. Similarly, in the alluvial

fan complex associated with Laramide tectonics
(Crews and Ethridge 1993), the fan surface is
onlapped by wave-reworked conglomerates
followed by lacustrine mudstones.
The fan surface may also be graded to the pro-
file of the through-flowing trunk stream. Aggrada-
tion or lowering of the trunk stream in response to
climate, discharge, or tectonic causes will result in
related cycles of fan-valley incision or fan aggra-
dation. Changes in base level brought about by the
blocking of axial valleys by transverse growth of
alluvial fans can introduce local sedimentological
complexity in adjacent fans. Migration of the axial
stream changes tributary fan gradients. Such
autocyclic sequences comprise localized, complex
three-dimensional facies geometries and stratal
surfaces, contrasting with the more regional,
layered sequences created by external controls.
Intrinsic and Geomorphic Controls
Intrinsic processes that can affect fan and fan delta
stratigraphy and facies distribution include auto-
cyclic fan-head trenching and backfilling, fan-
channel and lobe switching caused by local
aggradation of the fan surface, and pulsed dis-
charge of sediment related to long-term storage
and periodic flushing of sediment from the drain-
age basin (Denny 1965; Hooke 1967; Heward
1978a; Schumm et a1. 1987; DeCelles et a1. 1991;
Fraser and DeCelles 1992). All arise because feed-
back loops operate within the fan system. Various
scenarios are possible:
1. Deposition oversteepens the upper fan, leading
to flow acceleration and incision. Conse-
quently, sediment bypasses the middle or lower
fan, and a lobe of coarse sediment accumulates
rapidly. The resulting reduction in gradient
leads to trench backfilling. The cycle repeats,
creating a fan succession composed of multiple
lobe and trench-fill packets. Such a process was
recorded by Blair (1987) during a flood event
that produced a series of distinct fan lobes. The
controlling mechanism was flow diversion
around sediment deposited on the proximal
fan, creating bypass and progradation of suc-
cessive lobes. As the depositional lobe moved
downfan during outbuilding, the upfan channel
became entrenched.
2. Alternatively, fan lobe construction aggrades
the fan surface, and capture by headward-erod-
Basin-Fill Architecture 57
ing streams or proximal fan-channel avulsion
diverts flow into a more efficient gradient
across a different part of the fan surface. In
both cases, incipient soils or weathering sur-
faces are developed locally on inactive fan sur-
faces (Wright and Alonso Zarza 1990).
3. Interaction between the drainage basin and fan
may also accentuate depositional cyclicity. Fan-
head entrenchment steepens the grade be-
tween the fan and source. Resultant scour
empties sediment stored within the drainage
basin valleys, creating a pulse of sediment sup-
ply that expands fan growth and may lead to
trench backfilling, gradient reduction, and de-
clining sediment supply. Here, weathering and
soil formation may extend across most of the
fan surface during periods of reduced sediment
supply and channel entrenchment. Soil zones
do not readily correlate between different fans,
however.
Each scenario introduces a high-frequency
cyclicity to the fan section.
Although specific causes cannot always be de-
fined in ancient fan systems, 10- to 100-m (33- to
330-ft) facies successions are typical (Fig. 3.19),
and many authors have invoked autocyclic pro-
cesses to explain them. For example, the role of
autocyclic fan lobe switching in generating repe-
titive fan delta sequences was illustrated by
Kleinspehn et a1. (1984), whose interpretation of
evolutionary stages in the internal organization of
one such succession is illustrated in Fig. 3.11. This
diagrammatic representation of successive
changes at a fixed reference location shows:
1. Deposition of a basal fine-grained prodelta unit
following regional transgression
2. Deposition of a prograding, wave-dominated
fan delta shoreline
3. Influx of mass-flow deposits from the relocated
master distributary channel
4. Wave reworking as fluvial influx is reduced
5. Channel avulsion and renewed progradation,
this time of coarse fluvial gravels
6. Wave reworking following diversion of the
active channel to the remote fan delta margin
Nine such fan delta successions are present,
but each differs in internal detail, ascribed by
Kleinspehn et al. (1984) to changes resulting from
combinations of intrinsic and external factors.
Paleogene alluvial fan systems in Washington
State show stacked 1- to 5-m (3- to 16-ft) se-
58 Alluvial Fans
quences of upward-fining character, which are in-
terpreted to be channel fills, arranged in thicker
15- to 40-m (50- to 130-ft) packages of upward-
coarsening and upward-fining character related to
fan progradation and abandonment, respectively
(Evans 1991). Ricci-Lucci et al. (1981) distin-
guished between the effects of external controls,
which generate a correlative, widespread sedi-
mentary response, and the autocyclic changes that
produce lateral interfingering and crosscutting
relationships among fan delta facies. DeCelles et
al. (1991) related local bounding surfaces and
repetetive facies successions to autocyclic trench-
ing and lobe construction, distinguishing them
from regionally correlative, extrinsically con-
trolled surfaces and facies patterns.
Alluvial Fans Through Geologic Time
Prior to the mid-Paleozoic advent of an effective
cover of terrestrial vegetation, alluvial fans were
probably a prevalent depositional system wher-
ever relief was adequate. Alluvial fan deposits are
an important component of some of the oldest
known sedimentary rocks and were particularly
abundant in the vast, unvegetated interior basins
of Archean, Proterozoic, and early Paleozoic age
(Tankard et al. 1982). Block-faulted tectonic set-
tings were typical of many areas, and discrete
basins of various sizes displayed alluvial fans con-
verging from the mountainous rim toward the
fluvial, lacustrine, or marine-embayed center.
Others showed transversely opposed fans feeding
into a longitudinal drainage channel system.
The large proportion of pre-Devonian alluvial
fan systems in comparison with today was attrib-
uted by Schumm (1977) to the wide distribution of
stream and sheetflood deposits before the stabiliz-
ing effects of vegetation. Debris flows are never-
theless a significant component of many of these
ancient fan systems. Rust (1978) pointed out that
the high sediment yield and frequent, probably
severe flooding would have promoted both stream
and sheetflood processes, as well as debris flows in
clay-rich areas. It appears, however, that the early
record is dominated by stream and sheetflood de-
posits, debris flows becoming more prevalent in
certain younger alluvial fan environments. The
organic acids produced by plant roots coupled
with water retention beneath a cover of vegetation
increase the production of clays, which promote
debris flow (Lustig 1965; Blair and McPherson
1993). Enhanced chemical weathering rates in hu-
mid climates would be expected to produce a
greater abundance of mud and debris flows, for
example in Honduras (Schramm 1981), but their
preservation potential tends to be low.
The binding cover provided by grasses since
the Cretaceous and the explosive expansion of
angiosperms would have promoted slope stability
by increasing shear strength and cohesion
(Terwillinger and Waldron 1991). Individual plant
communities affect slope configuration in differ-
ent ways through variable growth density and root
penetration. Blair and McPherson (1993) have
pointed out that oversteepening of slopes by
plants may induce long-term instability when fire
or drought reduces the effectiveness of the cover.
Resource Potential
of Alluvial Fan Systems
The economic significance of alluvial fans as hosts
of petroleum, coal, uranium, and freshwater
has tended to be understated. Stream-dominated
fan systems in the Archean Witwatersrand
Supergroup of South Africa contain the world's
largest gold resource, concentrated along with
syngenetic uranium by sedimentary processes in
several large fan lobes that emerged from canyons
along the tectonically active basin margin
(Pretorious 1976). They are also arc important
repositories of epigenetic uranium (Chap. 14).
Low-cost in situ leach mining is a viable extraction
technology in some younger, highly permeable
alluvial fan systems.
The depositional framework of alluvial fan sys-
tems is now being viewed as important in control-
ling the volume, quality, and mine ability of some
of the world's prime coal deposits. Major propor-
tions of world coal resources are associated with
alluvial fans, especially in Gondwana basins, such
the Mid-Zambezi Valley and parts of the Karoo
Basin of southern Africa, and the Sydney Basin of
Australia.
Alluvial fan systems are also important petro-
leum reservoirs (Chap. 15). Although many an-
cient alluvial fans are not attractive exploration
targets because of poor hydrocarbon charge or
lack of adequate seal, the considerable potential

of stream-flow fan delta systems has been summa-
rized by Ethridge and Wescott (1984), who recog-
nized a range of plays and producing fields. These
include Elk City field, Oklahoma (Sneider et al.
1977), and Mobeetie field in the Texas Panhandle
(Dutton 1982), both of which indicate the impor-
tance of facies control on permeability and pay
distribution. In Alberta, Cretaceous conglomer-
atic braided-stream deposits of alluvial fan origin
Resource Potential of Alluvial Fan Systems 59
contain "deep basin"-type gas in tight reservoirs
beneath permeable, water-saturated strata (Var-
ley 1984), where exploitation requires detailed
geologic characterization of the reservoir.
Finally, large fan systems provide major aqui-
fers for agricultural and municipal use in arid and
subarid settings such as the Great Valley of Cali-
fornia and many intermontane valleys of the
southwestern United States (Chap. 12).
4 Fluvial Systems
Introduction
Fluvial systems primarily collect and transport
sediment into lacustrine or marine basins. How-
ever, in certain basin settings favoring subaerial
accumulation of sediment, such as subsiding
coastal plains, intermontane basins, and tectonic
forelands, fluvial depositional systems may be-
come a major or even dominant component of the
basin fill. Even where their volumes are minor,
fluvial facies are often disproportionately impor-
tant as hosts for mineral fuel deposits, particularly
petroleum and uranium.
Fluvial depositional systems are primarily
aggradational. Localized progradation and lateral
accretion occur within specific environments. The
locus of bed-load deposition and most important
feature of the aggrading alluvial surface is the
channel.
In plan view, channel segments form a spec-
trum ranging from low-sinuosity to high-sinuosity
geometries (Fig. 4.1). Braiding is typical of sand-
bed, low-sinuosity channels in which flow during
the low-river stage weaves among multiple bars.
The channel bars are submerged and become ac-
tive, large-scale bed macroforms during high flow.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, muddy
stream channels display low sinuosity and are
typified by submerged, migrating sand waves or
alternating, side-attached bars (Fig. 4.1). True
straight-channel segments of great length are rare.
The moderately to highly sinuous channels that
fill in the middle of the spectrum are usually de-
scribed as meandering.
Gravel-bed streams are distinct. The armoring
effect of gravel, which requires high stream power
for transport, increases channel stability. Coarse,
gravelly river channels are typically moderately
sinuous (Knighton 1984; Reading and Orton
1991).
Two multiple channel patterns, anastomosing
and distributary, are common in aggrading fluvial
systems. Anastomosing patterns occur where con-
temporaneous branches of a single river weave
around permanent, commonly vegetated islands
or disconnected segments of floodplain (Fig.
4.1). Anastomosing patterns are most common on
extremely low-gradient alluvial plains where
stream power is low and banks consist of muddy,
cohesive sediment or are highly vegetated
(Schumm 1968a; Nanson and Croke 1992).
Individual channel segments within the anasto-
mosing network may be either straight or sinuous.
Distributary patterns are characteristic of
certain types of rapidly aggrading alluvial
surfaces, including deltaic plains and large
alluvial fans and aprons. In both anastomosing
and distributary channel networks, flow separates
into two or more channels. The presence of
contemporaneous multiple channels, if docu-
mented in an ancient fluvial system, has consider-
able paleogeographic and sedimentological
significance.
Depositional Processes
The fluvial system efficiently sorts the heteroge-
neous sediment load that it receives. Several
processes combine to segregate bed load and sus-
pended load into specific depositional environ-
ments and to preferentially trap and retain the
bed-load fraction.
Channel Flow
Flow within a channel, and its effect on the ero-
sion, transport, and deposition of sediment, is
determined by the distributions of velocity and
turbulence. Areas of maximum velocity and tur-
bulence are likely sites of erosion and bypass of
sediment; conversely, areas of relatively low ve-
 Depositional Processes 61

SEDIMENT LOAD
Mud-rich Sand -rich Grovel-rich

.- : . ~
~
/)~(Uj
>-
I-

>-
I- '"
c
.;:
-- ...J
m
<(
l-
e/) ..c '"
o . ~-g e/)
::::> I C
Z '" w
::i! >
I-
<{
...J
W
cr.

"0
-------
----- ......
Channel boundary

Flow
~
o
o~~.-
...J ~
<ZD Bars ...J

<3%
BED L OAD
TOTAL L OAD
------.-. >" %

Low
LOAD
DISCHARGE
- - - - - - - - - -.......- High ------<-- Moderate

Low .. STREAM POWER High

Fig. 4.1. Channel patterns displayed by single-channel segments and the spectrum of associated variables. (Modified from
Schumm 1985; Reading and Orton 1991)

locity and turbulence are likely areas of bed stabil-
ity or deposition.
In a sinuous channel during low-flow con-
ditions, the thread of maximum velocity hugs
the outer or concave banks and cuts diagonally
across the intervening straight reaches (Fig. 4.2).
Maximum turbulence occurs near the base of
the channel against the outer bank. Erosion is
greatest in turbulent areas, and undercutting
with concomitant concave bank slumping is a
common mechanism of stream widening. The
swing of the thread of flow across the channel
and its location near the water surface produce a
second-order helical flow that moves across the
channel floor and up the sloping inner bank.
Thus, sediment in transport tends to move across
the channel, up the inner bank, and into an area
of relatively low velocity and relatively low
turbulence, where it may be deposited. Sediment
eroded from one cut bank moves downchannel
to be redeposited on another meander loop.
Stream meandering, which progressively in-
creases channel sinuosity, is a natural conse-
quence of the asymmetrical distribution of flow
velocity and turbulence within a channel bend.
The increase in sinuosity is interrupted by flood
flows, which tend to straighten flow threads (Fig.
4.2).
In straight channel segments, the thread of
maximum velocity lies near the top center of the
channel, and zones of maximum turbulence occur
along both channel margins (Fig. 4.2). Erosion is
focused along channel banks, where turbulence
is high. Deposition occurs on the channel floor.
Low-sinuosity channels tend to erode laterally and
deposit intrachannel bars.
62 Fluvial Systems
'---+---ill---' B "~---0
~ ' .I "'-
......
.
-~""
Helical Flow
THREAD OF MAXIMUM VELOCITY
'--+-_++-,8 ~8
~
TURBULENCE
Channels adjust their geometry in several ways
to accommodate the prevailing flux of water and
sediment (Schumm 1977; Knighton 1984; Petts
and Foster 1985). Sinuosity, gradient, bed configu-
ration (bedforms and bars), depth, and width (to-
gether defining the cross-sectional area and the
width to depth ratio) change in response to alter-
ations in the fluvial regime.
The volume of water moving through a channel
segment determines the cross-sectional area of the
channel and the average flow velocity. Average
velocity, in turn, is a function of hydraulic head,
which is the actual slope of the water surface
(measured in change of elevation per unit dis-
tance). Thus, increase of flow during flooding has
several predictable consequences. Straightening
of the flow lines increases head by shortening the
Fig. 4.2. Distributions of velocity and turbulence within
a sinuous channel segment
distance between successive points of lower eleva-
tion. Maximum efficiency is achieved by a straight
channel, which has the same head gradient as
the slope of the alluvial surface. Scouring of the
bed and banks increases channel cross-sectional
area. Bank scour and consequent widening of the
channel are accentuated in low-sinuosity channel
segments; conversely, channel deepening tends
to characterize sinuous channels. If scouring and
straightening are inadequate to handle river flow,
water tops the channel banks and spills out into
the surrounding valley floor or alluvial plain.
Channel cross-sectional geometry is further
determined by sediment load. Suspended load
transportation is typically supply limited; bed-load
channels, in contrast, are typically limited by
transport capacity. Shallow channels provide

greater bed shear stress and are more efficient.
Thus, sand- and gravel-bed channels are shallow
and wide. Clay-rich and vegetated banks are
stable and increase bed scour, favoring relatively
deep, narrow channels.
Channel-bed profile is relatively stable on short
time scales. Over geological timespans, the longi-
tudinal profile establishes a dynamic equilibrium
gradient. Although the classic concave, graded
stream profile is best known, actively depositing
fluvial channels commonly exhibit linear or even
convex profiles (Petts and Foster 1985). Concave
profiles form along channels showing progressive
downstream increase in discharge due to tributary
inflow. Trunk channels, which commonly flow
long distances with little additional inflow, show
linear profiles. Streams that lose flow to infiltra-
tion or evapotranspiration have convex profiles.
Overbank Flow
Floodbasin aggradation occurs when sediment-
laden flood waters overflow the river banks and
spill across interchannel areas. The flood water,
which is tapped from the uppermost portion of the
river's water column, contains mostly suspended-
load sediment. Upon topping the bank, flow is no
longer confined, and, perhaps aided by the baffling
effect of vegetation, flow velocity decreases
abruptly. Sediment settles out rapidly - sand and
silt near the channel margin, and fine silt and clay
farther away. The net result is the accumulation of
sediment along the channel margin, forming a
stable ridge, or natural levee, and a slow layer-by-
layer aggradation of the interchannel flood basin
surface.
Crevassing occurs when flood waters pour
through localized breaches or swales in channel
levees. Channeling of flow through the levee may
cause scouring and deepening of the crevasse
channel; consequently, crevasse channels may tap
deeply into the water column and funnel large
volumes of water and sediment out of the main
channel and onto the floodplain (Fig. 4.3). How-
ever, the sediment load of the crevasse is typically
dominated by suspended-load and fine bed-load
material in all but the sandiest streams. Crevasse
flow rapidly dissipates into distributaries or
sheetwash across the splay surface, and sediment
soon drops out (Fig. 4.3). Grain size decreases
systematically from the crevasse axis, but locally
complex internal bedding results from the mul-
Depositional Processes 63
MAIN CHANNEL
- - LOW FLOW
I
. . ,0 (' .",. ,."
v <) o
" 'Q -)
I \
, ::"::'f4S!N0 ;:~', /'l DOMINANT DEPOSITION
n
- BEDLOAD
MIXED BED AND
. . CONFINED FLOW I. SUSPENDED LOAD
- SHEET FLOW t' SUSPENDED LOAD
Fig. 4.3. Processes and depositional framework of crevasse
splays produced by How through breaches in th e natural levee
of a main channel. Example based on splays of th e
Brahmaputra River described by Coleman (1969)
tiple scour-and-fill episodes that occur within the
crevasse splay channels.
In smaller streams that are characterized by
short bursts of extremely high discharge, differen-
tiation of channel and overbank flow, and their
consequent deposits, may be arbitrary. Examples
of sand sheets and gravel sheets and bars depos-
ited upon floodplain muds and soil zones of small
ephemeral and flashy streams of subarid regions
have been described by McKee et al. (1967) ,
Gustavson (1978), and Stear (1985).
Levee and splay deposits accumulate close to
the margins of active channels. Floodplain deposi-
tion, in contrast, may spread up to several kilome-
ters across the alluvial plain. However, rates of
floodplain accretion are typically slow, commonly
averaging a few centimeters per year in deposi-
tionally active systems. Thus, much of the alluvial
surface is deposition ally inactive at any point in
its history.
Channel Abandonment
Aggrading alluvial plains are characterized by re-
peated shifts of active channels. On a local scale,
meander loops may be cut off as flow diverts into
an open chute channel or cuts across the neck of a
64 Fluvial Systems
meander loop. On a larger scale, entire channel
reaches can be gradually or abruptly abandoned
during avulsion or channel diversion. With suc-
cessive flood cycles the active channel builds up
its levees and adjacent floodplain. Channels be-
come perched above the surrounding alluvial
plain. Ultimately, levees are breached, and the
channel establishes (or reoccupies) a more fa-
vorable course across a topographically lower
portion of the floodbasin. Unlike progressive
lateral migration associated with meandering,
avulsion is a geologically abrupt process that
repeatedly punctuates the history of an aggrad-
ing fluvial system. Leeder (1978), for example,
estimated that large-scale avulsion of many
large rivers occurs on the order of 103 -year inter-
vals.
Newly formed channels typically reoccupy
previous channel axes. Controls favoring such
reoccupation, and consequent channel stacking
and amalgamation, include a subtle tectonic influ-
ence on local subsidence rates, the comparative
ease of erosion of sandy deposits of previous chan-
nel axes relative to floodplain muds and soils, and
the presence of imperfectly developed levees at
the nodes where earlier avulsions occurred. Verti-
cal stacking of Holocene channel axes has been
well described by Bernard et al. (1970) in the
Brazos alluvial plain, and it is apparent in the com-
mon occurrence of ancient multistory fluvial
sequences.
Upon avulsion, the abandoned channel typi-
cally becomes the site of a local underfit floodplain
stream or forms a series of isolated lakes. Except
at the upstream end adjacent to the point of avul-
sion, most or all of the abandoned channel is re-
moved from active sources of sediment supply
other than flood basin muds washed in through
minor tributaries or by major floods of the trunk
stream. Consequently, the abandoned channel
probably fills with suspended sediment, in situ or-
ganic debris, or small lacustrine deltas, particu-
larly if the newly occupied channel lies many miles
distant.
Fluvial Environments and Facies
Fluvial depositional systems consist of a mosaic
of genetic facies (Table 4.1), including various
combinations of channel fill, bar, margin, and
Table 4.1. Facies building blocks of fluvial systems
Channel fill
1. Lag
2. Accretionary bedforms
3. Secondary channel
a) Chute
b) Braid
4. Bar
a) Longitudinal
b) Transverse (riffle)
c) Point
d) Chute
e) Alternating and lateral
Abandoned channel plug
Channel margin
1. Natural levee
2. Crevasse splay
3. Sheetflood bed
Floodbasin
1. Floodplain
2. Backswamp
3. Interchannel lake
floodbasin deposits. Channel deposits are, of
course, the most diagnostic component, and
their recognition is the key to interpretation and
mapping of fluvial systems. Channel fills consist
of a variety of lithofacies bounded by bedding
and erosional surfaces (Allen 1983; Miall 1985).
Key deposits of the channel-fill facies include
lags, accretionary bedform complexes, secondary
channels, laterally accreting bars, and foreset
accreting bars. Abandoned channel plugs locally
cap the channel-fill facies. Delineating the details
of channel-fill lithofacies and bedding architecture
requires outcrop or closely spaced well and core
data. With sparse subsurface data, the channel fill
is more realistically identified and mapped as a
single facies.
Channel-Fill Facies
Channel deposits contain most of the bed-load
sediment retained within the fluvial system and
thus form the skeletal framework of the system.
They include both aggradational and lateral accre-
tion depositional units. Internal structure of the
channel fill is determined primarily by the geom-
etry of the channel. Bed accretion by deposition
of braid bars, riffles, and bedform complexes
dominates within low-sinuosity sandy channels.
Lateral accretion of point bars characterizes high-
sinuosity channels.

Sand-Rich Low-Sinuosity Channels
Low-sinuosity channels occur in both sand-rich
and mud-rich fluvial systems (Fig. 4.1), each char-
acterized by a very different type of channel-fill
facies.
Bed-load or sand-rich, low-sinuosity channels
(Fig. 4.4) include a variety of depositional features
including braid channels, transverse bars, and lon-
gitudinal bars. Transverse bars are downstream-
migrating sand bars oriented transverse to flow
and are typical of sand-bed braided channels. At
flood's peak, sediment moves up the sloping, up-
stream bar flank and cascades down the lee side,
producing avalanche foresets or tabular cross-
bedding within the bar (Fig. 4.4, sequence B). The
bar crest displays planar or trough stratification,
though subsequent erosion during bar migration
may remove bar crest deposits. In contrast, longi-
tudinal bars display long axes parallel to the flow
and are common features of gravelly braided
streams (Fig. 4.4). During flood, shallow water
flowing across the bar surface creates horizontal
stratification. Accretion along downstream bar
margins produces low- to moderate-angle cross-
stratification (Fig. 4.4, sequence A). Braid bars
may be dissected by chute channels during floods
and braid channels during low-flow conditions.
Lateral bars or alternating sand bars form along
the margins of low-sinuosity channel segments.
Such bars are exposed during low flow and sub-
merged during floods, when coarse material can
be washed across the bar surface and deposited on
the downstream margin. Primary structures in-
clude planar and low-angle accretionary foreset
bedding (Fig. 4.4, sequence A).
Braid channel-fill lenses interfinger with and
cut through bar deposits. The sandy to gravelly
lenses may be structure less or display trough
cross-stratification, where water depths were ad-
equate for the formation of migrating subaqueous
dunes (Fig. 4.4, sequences A, B). Channel plugs
are volumetrically minor in most coarse-grained
low-sinuosity channel sequences, but they do form
local, thin, discontinuous lenses of sandy mud and
clay that fill abandoned braid channels. Organic
debris is a minor component of many such plugs.
Braided-stream models based on modern
braided or low-sinuosity channels have been de-
scribed by several authors, including Coleman
(1969), Cant and Walker (1978), Crowley (1983),
Doeglas (1962), McKee et al. (1967), Rust
(1972a), Smith (1970), and Williams and Rust
Fluvial Environments and Facies 65
(1969) and were critiqued by Miall (1977, 1978,
1985) and Bridge (1993). A generalized braided
stream model, (Fig. 4.4), exhibits typical aspects
of a low-sinuosity, mixed sand-and-gravel bed,
channel-fill sequence.
The channel facies forms broad, tabular, dip-
oriented, multilateral sand belts with high width to
thickness ratios. Basal scour surfaces are typically
flat and display proportionally low erosional re-
lief. Channel-fill sequences consist dominantly of
sand and are commonly conglomeratic. Sorting
ranges from poor to good. Silt and clay are volu-
metrically minor. Depositional units include inter-
bedded transverse and/or longitudinal bar lenses
laced with abundant braid channel lenses. The in-
ternal structure is complex in detail, but thorough
amalgamation of individual depositional units
produces thick, widespread sand bodies of broadly
uniform composition.
Vertical sequences are commonly poorly orga-
nized within braided-stream channel fills. Minor
textural fining upward occurs within some braid
and chute channel lenses and at the top of the
composite sand body. Coarse sediment is typical
throughout the sequence, which may consist of
numerous incomplete cycles of braid channel and
bar deposition. Multiple, thin upward-fining and
some upward-coarsening packages occur within
the sand body. A relatively simple suite of internal
structures is dominated by horizontal and ava-
lanche stratification and planar cross-stratifica-
tion. Reactivation surfaces are common. Trough
cross-stratification ranges from rare to abundant.
Ripple lamination may occur if sufficient fine sedi-
ment is deposited and preserved, but ripple is gen-
erally a minor component. A multiplicity of local
scour surfaces, discontinuous lags, and diffuse
pebble sheets occurs within the sand body.
Mud-Rich Low-Sinuosity Channels
Mud-rich low-sinuosity channel deposits (Fig. 4.5)
differ greatly from their coarse-grained coun-
terparts. Channel cross-sections are commonly
highly convex and symmetrical. Alternating bars
may form, but during waning flow or channel
abandonment simultaneous bed and bank accre-
tion produces a symmetrically bedded channel-fill
unit. Figure 4.5 illustrates a generalized deposi-
tional model of an anastomosing mud-rich low-
sinuosity channel that combines the descriptions
given by Schumm (1968a), Fisher et al. (1969),
Smith (1983), and Nadon (1994).
66 Fluvial Systems

A 8

AVERAGE E-LOG
STRUCTURES GRAIN SIZE PROFILE
Mud Sand

longltudlnol
bar-avalanche
slratlflcatlon

Channel-
trough cross-
stratificatIOn
Scoured bose

R=~~~~~~ Tronsverse
~~'::":~':'::~~"i bar - tabular
crass- stratification

Channel-
trough cross-
stratification

Fig.4.4. Generalized depositional model, vertical sequences of of a gravelly longitudinal bar. Profile B records deposition of
grain size and sedimentary structures, and electric log (- successive transverse bar cross-bed sets upon a braid channel
LOG; spontaneous potential, SP) profiles produced by a low- fill
sinuosity, braided channel. Profile A is dominated by migration
 Fluvial Environments and Facies 67

A B

AVERAGE E-LOG
STRUCTURES GRAIN SIZE PROFILE
Mud Sand

Levee-
Pedogenic
structures

Complex
lamination

POint bar
trough cross-
strati fical ion

Log
Scoured bose

@
Mud plug

Ripple and porallel

laminations

Channel fill
trough cross-
51 ro Ii f Icotion

Log

~~~~68&3 Scoured bose

Fig.4.5. Generalized depositional model, representative verti- and symmetrically filling channel segments (profile B) of an
cal sequences, and idealized electric log (E-LOG; spontaneous anastomosed channel system
potential, SP) profiles through laterally accreting (profile A)
68 Fluvial Systems
Channel-fill sequences form dip-elongate, nar-
row, lenticular units exhibiting a high-relief basal
scour surface (Fig. 4.5). A low width to thickness
ratio (commonly less than 25: 1; Nadon 1994)
and vertical stacking of channel fills are character-
istic. The average sand-body trend generally par-
allels the depositional slope, but distributing or
anastomosing channel patterns are common and
exhibit considerable directional dispersion. The
channel fill consists of sand with abundant silt and
clay; in finest systems, silt and mud fill dominates.
Coarse material is typically sparse but may include
gravel, intraclasts, and plant debris and is concen-
trated in lags. Pronounced bank accretion is indi-
cated by well-developed asymmetrical bedding
produced in slightly sinuous segments (Fig. 4.5,
sequence A) or symmetrical bedding produced in
straight segments (Fig. 4.5, sequence B). Fine-
grained, low-sinuosity channel fills commonly fine
upward, but the vertical trend may be obscured,
particularly in the subsurface, by the limited range
of grain sizes available (Fig. 4.5, sequence B).
Massive lower channel-fill sands may grade up
into or be abruptly overlain by prominent mud
plugs. Well-developed natural levees flank the
channel fill.
Large- to small-scale trough cross-stratification
dominates internal structures; soft-sediment de-
formation is common to pervasive. Structures
commonly show a poorly developed upward de-
crease in size, especially near the top of the chan-
nel-fill unit (Fig. 4.5, sequence B). Mud plugs
contain wavy, ripple, and parallel lamination; local
bioturbation may be evident. Root disturbance
of primary structures is common and may be
pervasive.
Anomalously coarse-grained anastomosing
streams have been documented where rivers flow
across gravelly Pleistocene glacial debris (Smith
1983) and in the Okavango terminal fan (Sta-
nistreet et al. 1993). In both, stream bank stability
is maintained by dense marsh vegetation, causing
a bed-load channel to act as if suspended-load
rich.
High-Sinuosity Channels
Meandering channels exhibit the features most
popularly associated with fluvial sedimentation.
Local environments, which produce diagnostic
genetic subfacies, include the channel floor, point
bar (Fig. 4.6), chute and chute bar (Fig. 4.7), and
abandoned channel.
The channel floor, or thalweg, is the deepest
part of the channel and the site of deposition of
the coarsest material transported by the river. This
channel lag, which lies on or just above the basal
erosion surface, consists of locally derived mate-
rial such as mudclasts and blocks eroded from the
banks and bottom, waterlogged plant debris, and
coarse bed-load gravel and sand (Figs. 4.6, 4.7, all
sequences). Thickest and coarsest lag collects in
scour pockets produced in areas of maximum ve-
locity and turbulence. Significant thicknesses of
bed load accumulate and may be preserved in an
aggrading channel. Migrating subaqueous dunes
cover the active channel floor; thus, large- to me-
dium-scale trough cross bedding is the predomi-
nant internal structure (Fig. 4.6, sequences A and
B). Sediment transported up gently sloping inner
stream banks into areas of comparatively low ve-
locity and turbulence (Fig. 4.2) is deposited as
laterally accreting point bars (Fig. 4.6).
The cross-sectional area of the channel is main-
tained by concomitant erosion of the convex or cut
bank. Thus, the curvature of the meander tends to
become increasingly exaggerated. Because sedi-
ment is moving up and out of the channel onto the
bar, a vertical decrease in grain size characterizes
the point-bar succession. The accretionary archi-
tecture of the point bar is commonly reflected by
the development of ridge-and-swalc topography
(also known as meander scrolls) on the point-bar
surface (Fig. 4.6) and by poor- to well-defined
sigmoidal lateral accretion bedding (epsilon cross-
bedding; Allen 1970). Fine sediment washed
across the bar surface during floods may pond in
the swales, forming local muddy lenses and plugs.
Older portions of the point bar are commonly
vegetated and capped by fine-grained levee and
floodplain sediment (Fig. 4.6), completing the up-
ward-fining cycle that begins with the coarse chan-
nel lag. Sand transport across lower- and midbar
surfaces is dominantly by dune migration;
hence medium- to large-scale trough cross-stratifi-
cation characterizes this part of the sand body
(Fig. 4.6, sequence A). The size of bed sets de-
creases upward. Tabular cross-stratification may
be rare to common in the middle to upper point-
bar succession. Ripple, climbing-ripple, and tabu-
lar and planar stratification characterize the
finer-grained upper point bar where water depths
are shallow and flow velocities are lower. The bar
surface may be modified by sheetwash and gully-
ing as well as by rooting and burrowing during
periods of subaerial exposure. The upstream end
 A

AVERAGE E-LOG
STRUCTURES GRAIN SIZE PROFILE
Mud Sand
Levee -
Pedogenic
slructures

Complex
lommollon

Loteral accrellon
beddmg

Mid bar
Trou\lh cross -
slrotlflcallon

Lower bor and

channel floor

Log
Scoured bose

Levee -
Pedogenic
slructures

Complex
lamination

Mid bar

Trou9h cross-
slratl ficati on

Lower bar and

channe l floor

Log
Scoured bose

Fig. 4.6. Generalized depositional model, vertical sequences, typical of the mid- or downstream point bar. Profile B illus-
and electric log (E LOG; spontaneous potential, SP) profiles trates the truncated vertical sequence commonly found in the
of a meanderbelt sand body produced by a high-sinuosity chan- upstream end of the bar
nel. Profile A illustrates a complete upward-fining sequence
 B A

AVERAGE E-LOG
STRUCTURES GRAIN SIZE PROFILE
Mud Sand
@
Levee

Chute fills

Lower bor-
trough cross
stra tlflcatlon

Log
Scoured bose

v...~~~~~1 Bar crest
trough and
abuTor cross
stratification

Chule bar front

avalanche
cross stratification

Lower bar and

channel floor

bose

Fig. 4.7. Generalized depositional model, vertical sequences, bar are capped by chute-channel deposits (profile A). Down-
and electric log (E-LOG ; spontaneous potential, SP) profiles stream, the channel and lower point-bar deposits are capped by
of a chute-modified point bar. Upstream portions of the point chute-bar sediments (profile 8)

of the point bar may form a sloping ramp onto
which high-velocity channel flow spreads during
peak discharge. Here, the systematic grain size
variation between lower and upper point bar is
suppressed, and coarse-grained point bar deposits
may be abruptly overlain by fine-grained levee
deposits (Fig. 4.6, sequence B). Planar stratifica-
tion and tabular cross-stratification are likely
structures in the upper part of the sand body.
Chutes and chute bars form during flood stage
as a part of the river flow cuts directly across the
surface of the point bar. When this happens, sig-
nificant amounts of coarse bed-load sediment are
swept up and out of the main channel into one or
more chutes or channels that are scoured into the
upstream end of the point bar (Fig. 4.7). As flow
spreads across the bar surface, bed-load material
is deposited, forming a perched chute bar on the
top of the point bar. The processes, physiography,
and sediments of chute-modified coarse-grained
point bars have been described by McGowen and
Garner (1970), Levey (1978), and Campbell and
Hendry (1987). The chute contains coarse lag ma-
terial typically found in the main channel. Chute
bars consist of relatively coarse sediment depos-
ited by flow separation at the lee side of the bar
crest. Chute bar units are thickest where flow re-
enters the main channel and the bar progrades
into the relatively deep water of the channel or
older chutes. Dominant structures of the chute
complex include imbricated pebble sheets, planar
lamination, and mud lenses in upstream portions
of the chute channel (Fig. 4.7, sequence A). trough
cross-stratification in distal and marginal portions
of the chute, and very large scale tabular or ava-
lanche cross-stratification in the chute bars (Fig.
4.7, sequence B). Cut-and-fill, associated with
scour around vegetation or other obstructions to
flow, is also a common feature of the chute-modi-
fied point bar. The principal result of chute devel-
opment is the deposition of lenticular units of
coarse bed-load sediment and anomalously large-
scale sedimentary structures at the top of the
point-bar sequence.
Two significantly different variations of the
depositional model for sinuous channel-fill se-
quences can be summarized from the numerous
studies of modern fluvial systems (Brown et al.
1973; Collinson 1978; Miall 1985; Schumm 1985).
Such models are distillations of common features
found in many modern rivers; consequently, ac-
tual channel-fill sequences may be expected to
Fluvial Environments and Facies 71
vary from the idealized models presented here. As
pointed out by Jackson (1975, 1978), considerable
variation in composition, vertical sequence, and
internal structure exists within a single point bar,
and many exceptions to the generalized models
exist. Nonetheless, the simple point-bar model
and the chute-modified point-bar model summa-
rize salient attributes of many sinuous channel
fills.
The simple point-bar model (Fig. 4.6) charac-
terizes many sinuous channel systems and is
readily recognized by its highly ordered internal
structure. Well-described modern examples in-
clude the Brazos River, Mississippi River (Fisk
1944; Frazier and Osanik 1961; Davies 1966; Ber-
nard et al. 1970), Red River (Harms et al. 1963),
and Wabash River (Jackson 1975, 1976).
Belts or "beaded" chains of erosionally based
meanderbelt sand lenses are dip oriented. The
upper boundary is commonly, but not always,
transitional into overlying sediments; multistory
and vertically amalgamated sand bodies are com-
mon. Width to thickness ratios of meanderbelt
sand bodies are moderate to high. Medium to very
fine sand dominates the depositional unit, but a
broad range of grain sizes. including gravel and
mud, may occur within the complete sequence.
Mud clasts and blocks and woody plant debris are
concentrated near the base.
The channel-fill deposit consists of channel lag,
point-bar sand and silt, and topstratum sediments
(Fig. 4.6). Lateral accretion beds characterize
these fluvial point-bar sequences (Fig. 4.8). How-
ever, the best development and outcrop expres-
sion of this bedding style occur in fine-grained,
mud-rich channel fills (Jackson 1978, 1981; Smith
1987). Lower dip angles, complex point-bar mor-
phology, and limited outcrop size make its recog-
nition difficult in larger and coarser-grained
meanderbelt deposits. Thin swale-fill mud lenses
may locally cap the point-bar units. Fine-grained
channel plugs record the terminal filling of the
channel following abandonment. Point-bar sands
are characterized by medium- to large-scale
trough cross-stratification with local zones of tabu-
lar, planar, and ripple stratification (Fig. 4.6, se-
quences A, B). Finer-grained sediments at the top
of the sequence contain abundant small-scale
structures, including ripple and climbing-ripple
lamination. mud drapes, and root traces. The aver-
age current vector of internal directional features
parallels the sand-body trend, but considerable
Fig. 4.8. Lateral-accretion bedding characteristic of point-bar deposition within a high-sinuosity channel segment

dispersion and local variability exist. Channel-fill
units of highly sinuous streams are characterized
by a general upward decrease in both grain size
and scale of sedimentary structures, but vertical
trends may be gradational or quite erratic in de-
tail, depending on flow variability of the river,
range of sediment sizes available, position on the
point bar, or other factors.
The chute-modified point-bar model (Fig. 4.7)
illustrates the impact of increasing bank instability
and discharge variability and is commonly appli-
cable to moderately sinuous, relatively coarse
grained fluvial systems that produce sandy, un-
stable levees. Consequently, it has been described
by many authors as the coarse-grained or gravelly
point-bar model.
Sand belts are broad, laterally and vertically
amalgamated, and generally dip oriented. The
width to thickness ratio of the sand body is moder-
ate to high, and development of coalesced multi-
lateral channel fills is common. Channel fill is
composed chiefly of fine to coarse sand; gravel
zones are likely, especially near the base and top
of the sequence at the upstream ends of bars. Mud
clasts and large, fragmental to finely macerated
plant debris are minor constituents. Fine-grained
sediments are limited to thin topstratum and chan-
nel-plug deposits.
Channel lag is overlain by channel-floor and
lower point-bar sands and gravels (Fig. 4.7, se-
quences A, B). The upper bar sequence consists of
interlensing, scour-based chute fill (Fig. 4.7, se-
quence A), and accretionary chute bar sands (Fig.
4.7, sequence B). Large- to medium-scale trough
cross-stratification with some tabular cross-strati-
fication dominates the lower point bar and adja-
cent channel fill. Large-scale avalanche and
tabular cross-stratification, as well as troughs,
scour-and-fill, discontinuous gravel lags, and mi-
nor planar and ripple laminations of the super-
posed chute fills and bars, characterize the upper
part of the point-bar sequence. The average vector
of paleocurrent indicators parallels the channel
trend, but considerable local variability results
from the complex depositional patterns.
In contrast to the trend characteristic of the
fine-grained meanderbelt model, grain size exhib-
its little vertical fining. In fact, some of the coarsest
sediment and largest structures may occur spo-
radically at the top of the sand body in chute and
chute-bar units (Fig. 4.7).
Both the simple and chute-modified point-bar
sand bodies can occur along a single fluvial seg-
Fluvial Environments and Facies 73
ment; however, discharge characteristics and the
nature of the sediment load usually favor one or
the other depositional style. Downstream evolu-
tion of braided channel to chute-modified channel
geometries, reflecting decreasing gradient and bed
load, is widely observed (Schumm 1985; Brierley
1991).
Together, the braided channel, anastomosing
channel, simple point-bar, and chute-modified
point-bar models illustrate the complexity of
framework channel-fill facies and, at the same
time, provide idealized examples of four impor-
tant members of the fluvial spectrum.
Channel-Margin Facies
During flood stage, some bed-load and consider-
able suspended-load sediment is deposited along
channel margins as waters overflow the confining
banks or funnel through local breaches. Such
extrachannel flow is mostly unconfined; conse-
quently, velocity decreases rapidly away from the
channel, and most of the entrained sediment is
quickly deposited. Only the finest suspended
sediment is transported into the interchannel
floodbasins. Two distinct channel-margin environ-
ments occur: natural levees, which bound the
channel, and crevasse splays, which extend into
the flood basin from breaches or low areas of the
levees (Fig. 4.3).
Natural Levee
Fine sand, silt, and some clay is deposited along
the margins of the channels as decelerating. sus-
pended-load rich waters spill over the banks. In-
crements of sediment are built up with each
successive flood, so that levees become major to-
pographic features on the otherwise featureless
alluvial plains of large rivers. The internal sedi-
mentary features of levees reflect brief pulses of
rapid deposition separated by extended periods of
nondeposition and subaerial exposure, multiple
waning flow cycles, and shallow flow depths. Bed-
ding, if preserved, reveals the mounded topogra-
phy of the levee. Sedimentary structures are
dominated by ripple, climbing-ripple, wavy, and
planar lamination, abundant clay drapes, lami-
nated mud layers, and root-disturbed zones (e.g.,
Fig. 4.6, upper portion of sequences A, B). Local
soft-sediment deformation and scour-and-fill
structures also occur. Levees are subjected to
74 Fluvial Systems
repeated wetting and drying; thus, the sediments
are compacted, oxidized, and highly leached. Pe-
dogenic carbonate and iron oxide nodules and
concretions are common.
Crevasse Splay
Local breaches in the levees funnel the flow from
the channel, tapping lower portions of the water
column and providing conduits for suspended-
and bed-load sediment dispersal into near-chan-
nel portions of the floodbasin (Fig. 4.3). Small
anastomosing, distributary, or braided channel
systems extend across the splay surface, and both
channelized and unconfined flow occurs during
flood events. In flashy sand- and gravel-bed
streams, splays may be deposited by unchanneled
sheet flow. Splays build both by offstepping aggra-
dation as bed load and suspended sediment is de-
posited as flow spreads across the splay surface
and by progradation into flooded backswamps and
interchannel lakes (Fig. 4.9). Splays may evolve
into well-defined flood-overflow channels extend-
ing far out onto the floodplain or become the site
of trunk channel avulsion (Smith et al. 1989).
In flood-prone river systems, splays may be-
come quite large, covering several square kilome-
ters and coalescing into broad aprons flanking the
main channel (Fig. 4.10). Sand-isolith maps of
such depositional systems generally depict both
the channel-fill sands and the marginal, genetically
associated splays.
The internal structure of crevasse splays is het-
erogeneous, reflecting their origin by multiple
flood events, shallow, chaotic flow conditions, and
rapid sedimentation rates. Where the floodbasin
consists of permanent interchannel lakes, pro-
gradation of the splay produces a vertical se-
quence analogous to that of a small lacustrine, or
Gilbert, delta (Fig. 4.9). Multiple coalescing depo-
sitional units include small to large splay channels
and scours, interchannel sheetflood remnants,
mud drapes, and paleosoils. Bedding is prominent,
and upward-thickening and -coarsening patterns
capped by upward-fining successions are typical
(Bridge 1984; Farrell 1987). Ripple, climbing-
ripple, planar, wavy, and medium-scale trough
cross-lamination, mud drapes, graded beds, and
local scour-and-fill structures are common. In ad-
dition, splays are sedimentary "garbage piles," ac-
cumulating large amounts of plant debris and mud
clasts. Grain sizes and unit thickness are generally
A A'
T
g"
-- z
~
:il ..
w
PONT BAR
lh
...~
\a~ w
vo ""w w w ~I!'
i 5'"
:>
5
:>
w W
..J ..J
AGGRAOIITIO - LATERAL ACCRETION =-PROGRADATIO
Fig. 4.9. Channel margin and interchannel flood basin deposi-
tional environments include crevasse splays. which may pro-
grade into flooded backswamps and interchannel lakes or
aggrade on the subaerial floodplain. and the levees that flank
fluvial channels. Cross section A-A' shows the bedding geom-
etry of each depositional unit to reflect the aggradational or
progradational history of the facies
less than those of associated channel sequences,
but otherwise they can be quite variable, depend-
ing on the rate of floodplain aggradation, magni-
tude of flooding, effectiveness of the confining
levees, migration history of the channel, and water
depths in the floodbasin. Upper portions of splays
may be highly compacted, oxidized, and leached
where they stand above the local water table.
Paleosoils and root-disturbed zones are com-
monly interspersed through the splay sequence.
Interchannel Floodbasin Facies
Fine bed-load to suspended-load sediment is
washed into interchannel areas during floods. The
amount and texture, and consequent depositional
evolution of the floodplain, depend primarily on
the stream power and sediment character (Nanson
and Croke 1992). Thus, floodplain facies attributes
are in part characteristic of the different channel
types.
The basic depositional unit of the floodplain
facies is a thin bed that has a sharp base, fines up,
and is a few centimeters to tens of centimeters
thick. Overall sedimentation rates are low, and

Fig. 4.10. Sand-isolith map of a large crevasse splay marginal
to a sinuous channel fill. Splay thickness approaches that of the
main channel. The splay deposits are a heteroge neous mix of
reworking by burrowing, plant growth, and pe-
dogenic processes typically destroys primary
structures. In dry climates, where the water table
is low, the floodbasin is a dry floodplain which may
be vegetated by trees or grasses or locally ve-
neered by migrating eolian dune fields. Wet cli-
mates with their characteristically shallow water
tables produce backswamp or interchannel lake
environments in the floodbasin. As will be dis-
cussed in Chapt. 12, location within the groundwa-
ter basin may override climate in determining the
nature of the flood basin. High organic productiv-
ity, low rates of terrigenous sediment influx, and
the shallow water table make certain backswamp
environments ideal for deposition and preserva-
tion of plant debris. Major peat deposits may
therefore accumulate in backswamp-Iacustrine
environments.
Fluvial Environments and Facies 75
'.'Iell
1;:\/ I Chonnel- f ,II fcc- s
I: : : :1: Crevasse splc - ct es
o 500 II
I ,! I I
o 100m
fine to coarse sand and lenses of mud and gravel; Catahoula
Formation. Oligocene. Texas Coastal Plain. (Modified from
Galloway and Kaiser 1980)
Abandoned Channel Plugs
Abandoned channel segments produce a volu-
metrically limited, but important and distinctive
facies typically referred to as the abandoned chan-
nel plug (Fig. 4.11). Channel plugs consist of
muddy sand to nearly pure clay and are character-
istically finer than the channel-fill deposits in
which they are embedded. Plugs may show sharp
or gradational contacts with surrounding active
channel fill, depending upon whether abandon-
ment was abrupt or progressive. Muddy channel
plugs provide a snapshot of actual channel dimen-
sions; thus, the plug is narrow (tens of to a few
hundred meters) and elongate. In complex mean-
derbelt sequences, channel plugs intricately com-
partmentalize upper portions of otherwise
laterally extensive meanderbelt sand bodies (Fig.
76 Fluvial Systems

Fig. 4.11. Abandoned channel (mud) plugs

within a meanderbelt sand body

/
/ '"
............ ./
,;: ,:;:; ,:,)/
;; ; ; ; ; ;.:< ::
:: :.x::: :::

.................
:::::::::::::::::
.................
:::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::

Meander belt

M Ft
o 0

(/)
Q::
..J <I
20 W CD
Z
Z t-
<I Z
J:
u o
c..
10
---L o
40 w
::.::
u
BASE OF OYSTER CREEK I ---;l~~$:::~--L---J (/)~
MEANDER BELT DEPOS ITS I-

60
20

80
Fig.4.12 Spontaneous potential (SP) logs of core holes drilled
through a Holocene point-bar sand body and associated chan-
nel plug in the Brazos River alluvial plain (Texas Gulf Coast,
USA), The exaggerated thickness of the total sand sequence is
due to stacking of the youngest meanderbelt sequence (ap-
proximately 60ft or 20m thick) on the older point-bar sands of
a rising sea level-stage channel. (Modified from Bernard et al.
1970)

4.11). Their geometry, position within or at the top
of channel-fill sand units, and contrasting grain
size provide diagnostic criteria that may be readily
apparent in subsurface geophysical logs (Fig.
4.12). However, densely spaced well data are re-
quired to map individual plugs accurately.
Depending upon climate and depth to the wa-
ter table, abandoned channel segments may form
permanent or seasonal interchannel lakes that
fill with locally derived floodplain sediment,
suspended river sediment washed in during
floods, deposits of intra basinal, commonly muddy
underfit streams, or unusual constituents such as
air-fall volcanic ash or peat. Sedimentary struc-
tures are typical of freshwater lakes and include
steeply dipping delta foresets, load and fluid-
escape structures, fine-scale lamination, and
burrowing and root-mottling.
 Spectrum of Fluvial Depositional Systems 77

Spectrum The basis of Schumm's classification lies in the

of Fluvial Depositional Systems
A depositional fluvial system consists of a skeleton
of fluvial channel-fill facies and closely associated,
but diverse splay and levee facies within a matrix
of floodbasin muds and organics. Fluvial systems
vary widely in such basic parameters as the aver-
age proportion of sand to mud and the dimensions
and geometry of sand bodies. Consequently, they
also vary in their capacity to collect and transmit
groundwater or hydrocarbons. Within a fluvial
system, these same parameters vary systematically
both parallel and transverse to the sediment dis-
persal axis.
Large fluvial complexes tend to produce inte-
grated drainage networks containing one or more
trunk streams of the same type (e.g., meandering,
braided) for significant lengths of the network.
Depositional characteristics of these trunk
streams provide a logical basis for characterizing
the fluvial system. Schumm (1960, 1972, 1977) syn-
thesized relationships in modern streams among
sediment load transported by the channel, channel
geometry, and sediment type deposited by the
channel. These relationships can be quantified in
modern river segments, and they indicate qualita-
tive trends that can be applied to the interpre-
tation and classification of ancient fluvial
depositional systems.
empirical observation of a fundamental correla-
tion between the ratio of bed load to suspended
load transported by a perennial stream and the
cross-sectional and areal geometry of the channel
(expressed as the width to depth ratio and sinuos-
ity). This relationship is independent of other vari-
ables such as slope, discharge, or, within broad
limits, periodicity of flow. Thus, alluvial channels
can be classed as bed-load, mixed-load, or sus-
pended-load types, depending on the sediment
load transported by the channel (Table 4.2). For
each channel type, modern streams are character-
ized by consistent patterns of erosion and deposi-
tion, ranges of sinuosity, and the proportion of
suspended load deposited within the channel pe-
rimeter (Table 4.2). Allen (1965a) graphically il-
lustrated a similar relationship between channel
sinuosity and the proportion of suspended load.
Although quantitative aspects of Schumm's classi-
fication have been questioned, particularly for
very large rivers and for some tropical streams
(Baker 1978), the qualitative relationships seem to
apply over a wide range of geologically significant
channel sizes and climatic regimes and prove use-
ful in the interpretation of ancient fluvial systems
(Ethridge and Schumm 1978; Reading and Orton
1991).
Bed-load and suspended-load channels can be
considered end members of a spectrum of possible
fluvial channel types. At one end of the spectrum

Table 4.2. Classification of alluvial channels

Dominant mode of Channel-fill Bad load Channel stability

sediment transport sediment (% of
and channel type (% silt clay) total load) Stable (graded stream) Depositing (excess load) Eroding (deficiency of load)

Suspended load >20 <3 Stable suspended-load Depositing suspended- Eroding suspended-load
channel. Width to load channel. Major channel. Stream-bed
depth ratio <10; deposition on banks, erosion predominant;
sinuosity usually initial stream-bed initial channel widening
>2.0; low gradient; deposition minor minor
deposition on banks
Mixed load 5-20 3-11 Stable mixed-load Depositing mixed-load Eroding mixed-load
channel. Width to channel. Initial major channel. Initial stream-
depth ratio 10-40; deposition on banks bed erosion followed by
sinuosity usually followed by stream- channel widening
<2.0, >1.3; moderate bed deposition
gradient
Bedload <5 >11 Stable bed-load Depositing bed-load Eroding bed-load channel.
channel. Width to channel. Stream-bed Little stream-bed erosion;
depth ratio >40; deposition and island channel widening
sinuosity usually formation predominant
<1.3; steep gradient

Modified from Schumm, 1977

78 Fluvial Systems
are channels dominated by suspended sediment
load and characterized by low width to depth ra-
tios, high sinuosity, dominance of vertical erosion
and deposition, and a relatively fine grained chan-
nel fill containing abundant mud to fine sand. At
the other end are channels dominated by bed-load
and characterized by high width to depth ratios,
straight to slightly sinuous channel patterns, lat-
eral erosion, bed deposition, and coarse-grained
channel fill. Mixed-load channels occupy the
middle range of this spectrum. Further, bed-load
channels tend to have steep gradients, and sus-
pended-load channels have low gradients. Thus,
the commonly observed decrease in stream gradi-
ent along its length is typically paralleled by a
systematic, downchannel change in channel geom-
etry and type of fluvial deposits.
Absolute dimensions of the channel (and its
resultant channel-fill deposits) are determined by
stream discharge. Because the average width to
depth ratio of stable bed-load channels has been
found to exceed 40: 1 (Schumm 1977), two bed-
load channels 2 m and 20 m deep will be at least
80m and 800m wide, respectively.
Additional factors influence deposition within
each of the broad classes of channel type. Climate
affects the magnitude and frequency of flow
events and the abundance and type of vegetation.
Highly variable, flood-dominated discharge favors
development of unstable, low-sinuosity channel
geometries. In contrast, vegetation stabilizes
channel banks and reduces bank erosion, thus fa-
voring bed erosion during rising water levels. De-
spite these and other variables, considerable data
from modem channels support the basic interrela-
tionships between sediment transport, sediment
deposition, and channel geometry.
Interpretation of Paleochannels
Determination of cross-sectional dimensions or
the original bed-load to suspended-load ratio of
a paleochannel is extremely difficult even under
optimum conditions of exposure. However, chan-
nel-fill composition, geometry, and internal struc-
ture provide a basis for modifying Schumm's
classification of modem channels for application
to the stratigraphic record. The modified classi-
fication utilizes fundamental attributes of any an-
cient depositional system - composition and
geometry of the framework elements - that can be
defined from outcrop or subsurface data, or both.
The well-known fluvial models can be placed
within a spectrum of fluvial depositional systems
analogous to that described by Schumm's classifi-
cation. Importantly, fluvial sequences that do not
readily conform to idealized models can also be
interpreted and placed within a predictive frame-
work. The composition and geometry of aggrad-
ing bed-load, mixed-load, and suspended-load
paleochannel fills are discussed next and are sum-
marized in Fig. 4.13.
Bed-Load Channels
The channel-fill sequence is dominated by sand.
Coarse sand and gravel are commonly present but
are not necessary components; the sequence could
consist exclusively of medium to fine sand. A bed-
load channel is characterized by a high width to
depth ratio and a tendency to erode its banks;
these factors produce a tabular or belted sand
body. Amalgamated, multilateral sand belts result
from rapid lateral shifting of bed-load channels
and may produce fluvial sheet sands (Campbell
1976; Allen 1983). Straight channels are character-
ized by relatively uniform depths of scour along
the base, and this may be reflected in the low relief
on the base of the sand body and by preservation
of laterally continuous sheet or tabular, remnant
floodplain mud units. Internally, bed-load chan-
nel-fill sequences reflect the dominance of bed
accretion units, such as longitudinal, transverse,
lateral, and chute bars, which produce a channel
fill consisting of multiple, interlensed depositional
units (Fig. 4.4) of varying grain size, and display
complex textural sequences. Floodplain facies are
typically sandy. Braided stream models and many
coarse-grained, chute-modified meanderbelt mod-
els document various types of bed-load channel
fills.
Mixed-Load Channel
Mixed-load paleochannel deposits consist of sand
with subordinate silt and clay. The fact that chan-
nels were sinuous, with variable depths of basal
scour along the thalweg, is reflected in the devel-
opment of irregular or beaded belts of sand (Fig.
4.13) and in the preservation of lenticular, discon-
tinuous floodbasin remnants between channel-fill
sequences. A record of mixed bank- and bed-ac-
cretion (point-bar and channel-lag) deposits is
preserved in the channel fill, and a repetitive up-
ward-fining sequence typifies most vertical sec-
tions through the meanderbelt deposit (Fig. 4.6).
 IsE INTERNAL STRUCTURE LATERAL
CHANNEL I COMPOSITION OF /-c _ __ CH ANNEL GEOM ET RY d
TYPE CHANNEL FILL CROSS SECTION J MAP VIEW SAND ISOLITH SECIMENTARY FA8RlcivE RTICAL SEOUENC E RELATIONS

~ "
, .
...J
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z <:::::- __ 7
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<I ~ ~1{'
l: Oomtnonlly sand HtQ'" w ,cUh Idfgttl rotlO
U
0 Lo"", 10
b01001 SCOUf
rnoc:lerote rehe f on
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Jr~ Ji ~/a )~'
:.x Bees accretion dommcnts ~. 0
00' 7 -, ~
<I II udlmenr .nf lll
0
...J
0
UJ
(I)
~ (114
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...J
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z
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<I
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(0$( @!??
. : :-~ / ~ f.l, -
u
0 Mu1tls!or y c.hCl"lnt. ttl rs. (J1
rjI~foll'j' 5utloujtf1Ole' ta >0
V OOefOle w,arh /CtDlh &1"1_ and D~tl o(crelion (p
Mued SOn<3, 511 1, and mud sUlfoundlnQ Chltrbanll!
<5...J 0 110 I)(jrh Drt~t\led In S~I
men' In.r,1I
l ! ~JI depo~l l s
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-t
0 Htgn rl!:ll@'f ot"! basal 'KO,,' Sinuous VO' lely of hn,rq- up >::
LA) orolll!!!. YIIe.1 (llIhtlOO'
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bell
hOM'd"1
0
3
...,
2'1
>::
<:
...J SP lIrtl . i;i'
LA)
z
Z \:J~ -0 (p
<I
u
l:
e=v j~ it ~ . I >0
0
0
~ .... -.J ~.
<I O
OomlllOnfty SrlT ana mtold L Ow 10 vtfy 10 .... wrdTh I
M .u~ I I"'!c)ry cl\onncol fllt'50 ::l
9 depth rOI,O &,,10. OGCre-hQtt (t!r'"~ s ~m OO
r- m~fn(QI Of (]symme1frCClI) ~t\C05oeO In ctrundllftr
0 H'C;h re 'lef '$Cour ", 111'1
t ~ fJff Shcreslrln~ Of ClOG d~lna'H sedl~1'I1 K'r !,11
?~
I
(J Qlil!!rbonlo. mud FJnt1 ej,Q~ (J1
-
sfeep OOnM, some iC9 - MI9.,1:t ~'nvolJ'$ 10 cnc~lo '<
I'M'f'it\ """It> mulllp it mO'lilng C/O
SeQuenCe r1Om1f''IID'ed by (p
Ih(Jl we'Q!. h~ ma lCOrl(ll, I~ ~f'f-
Ilccl ,tenr;1'$ rna)' De 3
Oil !ot:UIe '"
Lll_ - J 1
-..J
Fig. 4.13. Geomorphic and sedimcntary characteristics of bcd-load, mixed-load, and suspended-load channel segments and their deposits. (Galloway 1977) \0
80 Fluvial Systems
Channel meandering and consequent point-bar
accretion, combined with the stacking and amal-
gamation of successive channel fills, commonly
produces a composite sand body that is much
larger than the original channel. The channel plug
provides the best record of true channel dimen-
sions. In modern and ancient mixed-load chan-
nels, the abundance of fine, suspended-load
sediment (89-97% of total load) favors deposition
and preservation of extensive fine sandy to silty
floodbasin muds (Nanson and Croke 1992).
Mixed-load channel fills are typified by the
well-known simple point-bar model and its many
variations.
Suspended-Load Channel
Suspended-load paleochannels were narrow and
confined; erosion occurred primarily at the base,
and surrounding clay-rich sediments formed
stable, steep channel banks. Deposition of chan-
nel fill was dominantly along the banks and may
have been one-sided in highly sinuous channel
segments or symmetrical in straight channel
segments (Figs. 4.5, 4.13). The dominant channel-
fill sediment ranges from very fine sand to silt
and clay, but coarse sediment may form the core
of the channel fill. Sand-body geometry is
highly lenticular in cross-section and forms
sinuous or anastomosing patterns (Fig. 4.13).
Channel-fill units are typically encased in fine-
grained floodbasin deposits and tend to stack ver-
tically. Vertical sequences may fine upward or
show little vertical variation if the range of grain
sizes is limited (Fig. 4.5).
Older delta and lower alluvial plain channels
of the Mississippi and Rhine-Meuse (Fisher et al.
1969; Tornqvist et al. 1993) provide examples
of low-sinuosity, anastomosing, suspended-load
channels. Point bars of the upper Mississippi delta
plain record deposition by a sinuous suspended-
load channel, and good examples of sinuous sus-
pended-load channels are described by Taylor and
Woodyer (1978) and Nanson (1980).
Interpretation of Fluvial Depositional Systems
A fluvial depositional system, or major segments
of a large fluvial system, can be categorized in
terms of the dominant channel type (bed load,
mixed load, or suspended load) and erosional or
aggradational nature of the trunk stream(s). Thus,
classification is based on geometric and composi-
tional attributes of the framework sands, which, in
turn, reflect important characteristics of the sys-
tem as a potential conduit or reservoir for fluids. It
is important to note that a hierarchy of channel
types commonly coexists within a single fluvial
system. For example, crevasse channels flanking
the main channel will likely be enriched in sus-
pended load. Tributaries can range from bed load-
to suspended load-type channels, depending on
their provenance and gradient. The trunk channel
itself may vary in type where it is locally affected
by tributary input, incision into unusually sandy or
muddy substrates, or tectonic deformation. How-
ever, the dominant channel type of the trunk
stream is a first-order basis for interpretation and
categorization of the system.
Large, integrated fluvial systems display a sys-
tematic downflow evolution of process, morphol-
ogy, and depositional facies. The schematic fluvial
system shown in Fig. 4.14 traverses two major
depositional basins. The first is an intermontane
basin opening into an aggrading riverine plain,
such as the Murrumbidgee Riverine Plain of
Australia, described by Schumm (1968a), or the
Gran Chaco of South America's western Amazon
Basin (Baker 1978). The second depositional
basin is a progradational coastal plain. The river
is born as a network of alluvial fans and bed-
load tributaries, evolves in response to down-
stream changes in gradient, sediment supply,
and flow characteristics, and terminates as a
suspended-load distributary channel complex on a
delta plain. The system illustrated may be con-
sidered "complete" in that the entire spectrum
of possible channel types is present. Fluvial
systems may also reach their final depositional
basin (be it lake, inland sea, or ocean) much ear-
lier in their evolution, truncating the development
of mixed- or suspended-load channels. Alterna-
tively, if the provenance of the system provides
dominantly suspended load to the tributaries,
proximal bed-load channels will be absent. Gener-
ally, however, large, integrated fluvial systems will
display a broad range of channel types along their
course.
In addition to the framework of channel-fill fa-
cies, a typical fluvial system consists of variable
proportions of crevasse splay, levee, floodbasin,
and abandoned channel-plug deposits. In the con-
text of a fluvial system, each of these facies is
commonly characterized by a distinctive log re-
sponse, reflecting its lithological composition, tex-
 S L
""'
/

\ //<;'/

/
.-I /
-::;
/<'~ ::.
-'
"

r/).
'0
;:;.
'...."
=3
o
..."
"TI
;::
-<
t------------~~ ~
o
DEL TA
I< FLUVIAL SYSTEM >I FAN '0
Suspended Load Mixed Load Suspended Load Mixed Load Bed Load - - - - -
'o"
~.
* '* *
Coastal Plain 1 Piedmont t ~iverine Plain Montane Plain - - - o::l
Distributaries ~ Distributaries e:..
*>I* r/).
j E - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tributaries ~
Continuous< CHANNEL FLOW ) Flashy
~
Shallow( ) Intermediate WATER TABLE Shallow ( ) Deep
3
'"
'"
Fig. 4.14. Hypothetical fluvial system traversing an intermontane basin riverine plain and then debouching onto a prograding, deltaic coastal plain. The trunk
channel evolves through bed-load, mixed-load, and suspended-load styles as sediment load, gradient, and discharge vary along the system z:;
82 Fluvial Systems
c D
-- - - ---=-c=-=-~-=--
Fig. 4.15. Lateral relationships and comparative vertical se-
quences, as reflected by electric or gamma log response, of the
component facies of an idealized fluvial system. Natural levee
sandy muds and silts (A) flank and overlie channel fill point-bar
sands (C), which are the thickest sand body. Crevasse splay
tural sequence, and relative thickness (Fig. 4.15).
Some facies, such as levee, plug, or splay facies,
may be poorly developed or preserved. depending
on fluvial channel type and aggradation rate. Fol-
lowing identification of the trunk channel facies.
recognized by its sharp base, relatively coarse
grained composition, thickness, and geometry,
surrounding facies can be delineated. In addition
to differing channel-fill facies, ancient aggrading
bed-load, mixed-load, and suspended-load fluvial
systems each display characteristic facies associa-
tions and early hydrologic history.
Bed-load fluvial systems consist dominantly of
channel and channel-flank deposits; floodbasin fa-
cies are typically subordinate and sandy. Associ-
ated eolian deposits may be common, even in
subhumid climates, because broad expanses of
unconsolidated sand are exposed to wind rework-
ing during low water levels. The water table in
interchannel areas may be quite deep, because
such systems commonly occur in the topographi-
(D) and crevasse delta (B) lobes flank the channel fill, forming
heterolithic, commonly upward-coarsening units. Abandoned
channel plugs (F) overlie channel floor lag and lower point-bar
sand. Floodbasin deposits (E) surround the belt of channel fill
and associated facies
cally elevated proximal reaches of the sedimen-
tary basin, and the sandy floodplain and channel
sediments are highly permeable. Sheetflood de-
posits and tabular crevasse splays contain signifi-
cant amounts of bed-load sediment. Sand
percentages for thick stratigraphic intervals along
channel axes range from 50 to 90%. Modern ex-
amples include the Brahmaputra River (Coleman
1969) and the Platte River (Smith 1970; Crowley
1983).
Mixed-load fluvial systems typically preserve
a texturally varied assemblage of flood basin de-
posits, including floodplain muds and silts or
backswamp carbonaceous muds and clays. Sand
percentages may be high along principal fluvial
axes where channel-fill units are vertically stacked
and amalgamated; however, overall sand percent-
age commonly averages 20-40%. Channel fills are
flanked by crevasse splay and levee sands and silts.
The water table is usually controlled by the water
level in the main channels; thus, high-standing
 Eroding Rivers: Stable Channel and Valley-Fill Systems
levee and crevasse deposits are typically leached
and oxidized. Much of the channel fill remains
saturated, and organic debris deposited within
lower point bar and channel lag is commonly pre-
served. Broad, low-lying backswamps also have
shallow water tables, and organic debris, peat, and
syngenetic sulfide minerals are commonly pre-
served within the mud and clay deposited in this
environment. Modern examples are the lower
Brazos River (Bernard et al. 1970) and the Missis-
sippi River (Fisk 1944).
Suspended-load fluvial systems have low sand
percentages. Floodbasin deposits consist domi-
nantly of backswamp and lacustrine muds and
clays. Muddy levees are well developed. Crevasse
splays are prominent and may be volumetrically
important repositories of sand. Sand-isolith maps
commonly show complex anastomosing or dis-
tributary patterns. The low gradients, near-base
level position, and relatively impermeable sedi-
ments typical of suspended-load fluvial systems
result in generally shallow water tables that
intersect the land surface along channels and
in extensive backswamp and lacustrine basins.
Considerable organic debris, bedded peat, and
syngenetic sulfides are commonly preserved.
Modern examples include the lower Mississippi
and Atchafalaya Rivers (Fisk 1947, 1955; Frazier
1967), the lower alluvial plain of the Rhine-Meuse
(Tornqvist et al. 1993), and the lower Magdalena
River (Smith 1983).
Eroding Rivers: Stable Channel
and Valley-Fill Systems
Discussion thus far has emphasized facies devel-
opment in unconfined aggrading fluvial systems.
However, important segments of many ancient
fluvial systems, as well as most modern rivers, are
confined within stable incised channels or ero-
sional valleys (Table 4.1). Stable rivers erode a
channel whose width to depth ratio and cross-
sectional area are adjusted to the discharge and
sediment load of the stream (Fig. 4.16A). Lateral
migration of the channel may broaden the depo-
sitional channel fill facies, but little or no aggra-
dation of the surrounding interchannel surface
occurs. Although such a graded channel system
is unlikely to persist for long time periods, many
channels approximate this configuration. Eroding
83
streams actively cut into the bedrock or older
depositional landscape, sculpting an erosional
topography in which valleys are deeper than
channel flood stage and are separated by inter-
fluves that are depositionally starved and sub-
ject to long-term mass wasting, weathering, and
pedogenesis.
In both stable and eroding systems, channel
cutting is strongly influenced by the substrate, and
overbank deposition is limited (Schumm and
Ethridge 1994). However, stable, incised channels
should be distinguished from valleys. Stable chan-
nels are cut and filled by the same river - external
dimensions and internal sedimentary facies se-
quences of the channel fill are proportionally
matched. Valleys, in contrast, are geomorphic fea-
tures commonly recording extended periods of
landscape modification. Depths of erosion exceed
channel depth, and valleys are filled by fluvial or
other depositional systems that may be very dif-
ferent from the eroding fluvial system. Valley
walls may be terraced, and bounding sediments
will show evidence, such as root traces or weather-
ing profiles, of subaerial exposure. Valley fills are
typically characterized by much greater facies
complexity and external geometry. For example,
multiply stacked fills of channels that occupied the
width of the valley floor may comprise the valley
fill (Fig. 4.16B); alternatively, the valley may be
filled by an underfit fluvial system that deposited
and preserved significant overbank and colluvial
facies (Fig. 4.16C). Valleys flooded by a marine
transgression contain a basal fluvial facies se-
quence overlain by bay fill (Fig. 4.16D).
Fluvial system aggradation or, conversely,
erosion is controlled by several factors. On long
time scales, erosion reflects a fall of base level due
to net uplift or relative fall of sea or lake level to
which the channel is graded. On shorter time
scales, channel incision is favored by decrease in
sediment supply, increase in discharge or peak
flood height, or increase in topographic gradient
(Lane 1955; Schumm 1977, 1993; Blum and
Valastro 1994).
Valley-confined fluvial deposition differs from
unconfined deposition in several important ways:
1. The potential for autocyclic channel avulsion is
reduced. Channel margin and overbank areas
are are ally limited, so the channel axis does not
become elevated relative to the floodplain. Dis-
placement of the channels is further restricted
as the bounding valley walls reach above levels
A

~ Erosiona l log ttJ"!9'l Abandoned channel plug

~ Col luvium a Boy-margin eros ion surface

F== _ I Open boy/estuary fill ~ Wealheri ng profi Ie

Fig. 4.16A-D. Schematic cross-sections and log responses of
incised channel and valley fills. A Incised stable channel fill. B
Valley cut and filled by channel of approximately the same
size. Amalgamated channel facies dominate valley fill. C Val-
ley filled by underfit stream. Channel margin, floodbasin, and
colluvial deposits are all preserved. D Coastal plain valley
flooded during transgression. Lower alluvial deposits are trun-
cated by bay-margin ravinement surface and capped by fossil-
iferous bay fill muds and prograded bay-head delta
 Eroding Rivers: Stable Channel and Valley-Fill Systems 85

t::::::~ Abandoned channel

[liZ] Act ive channel

ffi Point bar

Valley wall

A o 5ml
I I . ' , i I
o !
8 km

h <:I ?: 20 Ft (6m)
1491 Probable thick plug
C. 1. = 10Ft (3m)

8
Fig.4.17A,8. Surficial depositional environments (A) and in- homa, USA). The valley is eroded in Pennsylvanian sandstone
terpreted sand distribution based on water well data (8; net and mudstone. (Tanaka and Hollowell 1966)
sand isolith) in the valley-confined Arkansas River (Okla-

of largest floods. However, local chute and
neck meander cutoffs may form and channel
meandering continues within the confines of
the valley or incised channel.
2. The preservation of channel-fill deposits is
accentuated at the expense of overbank and
floodbasin facies. In relatively narrow valleys
that approximate channel meanderbelt width,
channel facies may fill essentially the entire
valley, leaving only isolated remnants of
floodplain and abandoned-channel mud plug
facies (Fig. 4.17). Large floods may flush the
entire valley, leaving wall-to-wall channel fill
(Nanson and Croke 1992). The resultant facies
assemblage thus accentuates characteristics,
such as a high sand and gravel percentage, usu-
ally associated with bed-load channels.
3. Valley fill commonly consists of a composite,
thick, upward-fining unit, regardless of stream
type (Brown et al. 1973; Schumm 1977). As the
86 Fluvial Systems
channel aggrades and spills out of the valley,
overbank facies are more likely to be preserved
at the top of the fill sequence (Fig. 4.16B). A
valley fill can be distinguished from similarly
upward-fining, meanderbelt sequences prima-
rily by its size. Valley fills are commonly tens of
meters thick and kilometers wide. Only the
world's largest rivers have channel widths in
excess of 1.2 km or depths of 20 m or more.
Recognition of stable channel and valley fills is
truly an exercise in paleogeomorphology. Valleys
provide a record of important tectonic, climatic,
and base level changes within the depositional
basin and its surrounding source terrains.
Fluvial System Stratigraphic Architecture
A fluvial system consists of five basic facies:
1. Channel fill
2. Levee
3. Crevasse splay
4. Floodbasin
5. Abandoned channel plug
In bed-load systems, levee and plug facies
are commonly poorly developed; splay facies may
also be hard to differentiate. Levee deposits are
difficult to distinguish in all types of fluvial sys-
tems. However, within the context of channel size
and type, these facies have logical lateral relation-
ships, relative thicknesses, textural sequences, and
lithological compositions (Fig. 4.15). Detailed log
cross-sections can commonly be interpreted to
show principal fluvial facies by combining log pat-
terns and lateral relationships, and high-resolu-
tion, three-dimensional seismic horizon slice
mapping can display the distinctive geometries of
channel, splay, and plug deposits (Fig. 4.18).
Regional basin analysis requires both delinea-
tion and interpretation of principal fluvial deposi-
tional systems and their component elements and
description of the evolution of fluvial erosion and
deposition through geologically significant inter-
vals of time. Although the system type defines
typical patterns of fluvial facies architecture, ex-
ternal factors such as basin tectonics, climate, and
lake- or sea-level change also control aggradation
rates and facies stacking patterns. A complete
fluvial system consists of contributory, transport,
and distributory segments, commonly grouped
as zones 1,2, and 3 (Schumm 1977). The concave
"graded" profile is typical of zone 1, where tribu-
taries increase discharge downflow (Petts and Fos-
ter 1985). Zone 2 and 3 trunk channels of large
streams commonly show nearly flat, linear pro-
files. Depositional fluvial systems are typically
zone 3 drainage elements. Here, base level change
has a pronounced effect on channel aggradation
rate. However, channels in zones 1 and 2 are pri-
marily effected by climatic or tectonic changes
(Petts and Foster 1985; Schumm 1993; Blum and
Valastro 1994).
The depositional architecture of a fluvial se-
quence includes the following:
1. The three-dimensional interrelationships and
geometries of component channel and valley-
fill sand bodies and bounding facies
2. The distribution of local to regional bound-
ing stratal surfaces of erosion, weathering, or
pedogenesis
3. The bedding geometries and distribution of
sedimentary structures within the component
facies
The architecture thus reflects the type and pa-
leogeography of the fluvial system, the rate and
pattern of creation of accommodation space due
to base level change, and the historical evolution
of sediment and water discharge and runoff char-
acteristics. Studies of Quaternary and ancient
fluvial sequences (Schumm 1977; Mia1l1980; Gal-
I
loway 1981; Allen 1983; Miall 1985), combined
with physical modeling (Schumm et al. 1987) and
computer simulation (Allen 1978; Bridge and
Leeder 1979; Alexander and Leeder 1985; Ross
1990; Bridge and Mackey 1993) illustrate several
important generalizations about fluvial deposi-
tional architecture and its long-term evolution:
1. Basin-scale fluvial sequences typically record
deposition by multiple, contemporaneous
drainage axes, ranging from large extrabasinal
rivers to small streams that drain basin-fringe
or intra basinal areas. A key initial step in basin
analysis is the recognition and delineation of
principal drainage axes and their deposits.
2. The contemporaneous rivers may possess
greatly differing discharge characteristics, sedi-
ment load, and channel geometry. Conse-
quently, each fluvial axis displays differing
facies components and internal sedimentary
features.
3. Large, extrabasinal rivers commonly enter
the depositional basin at structurally or topo-
graphically stabilized points (Potter 1978). Ma-
 Eroding Rivers: Stable Channel and Valley-Fill Systems
Fig. 4.18. Horizon slice map, based on :!I'aP....
",-- ..
three-dimensional seismic survey, clearly -, -~
showing channel fill, marginal splay, and
sinuous abandoned channel plug facies
within a fluvial system. (Modified from
Rijks and lauffred 1991)
jor fluvial axes generally parallel structural
dip and are concentrated along or adjacent to
structural downwarps. Once on the unconfined
alluvial plain of the basin, the river rhythmi-
cally switches its course so that the depositional
surface is uniformly aggraded. Avulsion may
occur at the point of entry into the depositional
basin (nodal avulsion), at a structurally pinned
location, or randomly at any point down-
channel. Consequently, facies maps, such as net
sand-isolith maps, showing deposits that accu-
mulated during a long period of time, exhibit
complex distributing and interweaving pat-
terns. However, long-term stability of the
points of sediment input into the depositional
basin favors vertical persistence or stacking of
fluvial systems and their major component
drainage elements. Net sandstone maps amal-
87
.~ ' .
.......a,'. .
.-.. ,""
.
.
'f
Ph)):::::1Meanderbelt
I@H:mn:1Crevasse splay
Channel plug
gamating multiple genetic channel units display
interpretable patterns that reflect general
paleogeomorphic stability of the fluvial system.
4. Within fluvial axes, the framework channel fa-
cies may stack vertically along relatively nar-
row, persistent trends or may form multilateral
belts up to tens of miles or kilometers in width.
Changes in extrinsic controls, such as subsi-
dence rate or base level, affect the rate of
aggradation (or trigger incision) and thus may
override channel type as a control of sand-body
geometry. A decreasing aggradation rate re-
sults in amalgamation of channel fills and ex-
tensive reworking of overbank deposits.
Conversely, increasing aggradation rate leads
to isolated, multistory sand bodies and well-
preserved overbank facies suites. Figure 4.19A,
B illustrates two Oligo-Miocene fluvial systems
 00
TOP CATAHOULA 00
S ~~ N NE
~ "" TOP CATAHOUL},"""" I
V'j1...J ~ r-... Vi'" ~
/ ~~ ~ "rj
r-- I 2"
<:
1\ / ~ ~ ~
f:.I [
t'-... I I I, I
I: Ii [/J
... .t: ~t ,-
, I
'. ~
I
r--.../ '" : ;,I '<
'"(p
I ill '1 I 'II , 1 ~
I ,..J
~ ., 3
I II I ~1 Ir -; 1:-' I"- ~II tot I 1 I '"
~L , I
~
,
I . ~ i I'
~ I ~
i
I ! I I t
. ~
110"' ',I- ! ~- I I~ I ~ : I I
,~ ~; ri ,- I
I
~ I
I , r' , ~ ~
I 1
~- ~ i-i
i
. I-
iI I -H t
, , ~ ~1-1ti .-. ~I l
I I ~
i . ~ DATUM
tt
BOTTOM CATAHOULA
\
I 1 , ~I\ + I
..... I-'
I
I"" i'o
V t'-
- @)CHITA AXIS
B~TTOM
I III
CAT~Hf'ULf DATUM
, Sand
GUEYDAN AXIS M Ft
500 Channel fill
S
100
Mud /clay
20 Mi
oI I I
+I Multistory sand bodies
o 30 Km
+-+ Multilateral sand bodies

GEORGE WEST AXIS

Fig,4,19A-C. Regional subsurface strike sections through three coastal plain fluvial depositional elements of Oligo-Miocene age, contrasting depositional architecture of different
aggrading rivers (Texas Gulf Coast Basin, USA). The highly aggradational Gueydan bed-load fluvial system (A) contains both multistory, multilateral, and laterally offset channel-
fill sand bodies. The George West axis of the slowly aggradational Oakville bed-load fluvial system (B) displays coalesced multilateral channel-fill sand bodies. The Chit a-Corrigan
mixed-load fluvial system (C) is characterized by laterally offset to vertically stacked channel fills within a thick aggradational section of floodplain deposits. Multilateral sand
bodies at the base of the aggradational sequence lie on a low-relief, subregional unconformity created during glacial-eustatic fall in sea level. (Modified from Galloway 1981)

of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Rapid subsidence
along the axis of a continent-scale bed-load
fluvial system, combined with influx of large
volumes of air-fall volcanic ash, produced
highly aggradational, multistory successions of
Oligocene channel-fill sands encased in thick
floodplain and splay facies (Fig. 4.19A). The
successor Miocene fluvial system, deposited af-
ter volcanism abated, produced broad, sand-
rich belts composed of multilateral braided,
bed-load channel fills (Fig. 4.19B). The Oli-
gocene Chita mixed-load fluvial system shows a
basal zone of multilateral sand bodies (Fig.
4.19C). Soil zones are well developed (Gallo-
way 1977), and local valley incision is indicated.
Upward-fining sequences and internal struc-
tures show these sands to be typical
meanderbelt deposits of mixed-load channels
little different from channel fills within the
aggradational, mud-rich middle and upper por-
tions of the deposit. The rather abrupt evolu-
tion in depositional style within the same fluvial
system likely reflects a late Eocene to early
Oligocene glacial-eustatic fall in sea level, fol-
lowed by stabilization and a return to alluvial
plain aggradation. Such vertical evolution
within a fluvial system may provide important
information on source or basin tectonics and
illustrates the dependence of sand percentage
upon tectonic and base level changes as well as
upon the type of fluvial system.
5. Differential tectonic subsidence or tilting, such
as commonly found along fault blocks, affects
channel pattern and facies preservation. Tec-
tonic tilting forces rivers to migrate by lateral
erosion or stepwise avulsion in the direction of
tilt. Progressive migration favors preservation
of features such as meander loops located on
the up tilt direction. Channel-fill deposits will be
concentrated in the topographic axis of the
trough. This may coincide with the structurally
lowest area adjacent to the bounding fault or
may be displaced up onto the tilted block by
outward building of alluvial fans or aprons
from the bounding upland.
6. Thick successions of fluvial deposits commonly
display apparent cyclicity at several scales as
well as abrupt or progressive changes in tex-
tural composition and sand-body geometry.
Autocyclicity results from the inherent instabil-
ity that results as a river builds up a limited area
of the floodplain. Allocyclicity is readily pro-
duced by cyclic climate change, which affects
Ancient Fluvial Systems 89
the balance between sediment yield, runoff,
and flood characteristics of the drainage basin.
Climatic change plays a major and often under-
recognized role in fluvial system depositional
style.
Fluvial Evolution
Through Geologic Time
Schumm (1968b) discussed the profound impact
of colonization of alluvial plains and upland
source areas by land plants. Increasing plant cover
decreased erosion rates over a wide range of cli-
matic regimes and modified the texture of sedi-
ment entering the drainage network. In addition,
vegetation plays an important role in the stabiliza-
tion of channel margins and natural levees.
Pre-Devonian landscapes were essentially de-
void of vegetation and closely resembled modern
arid terrains. As pointed out by Cotter (1978),
nearly all pre-Devonian fluvial systems have been
interpreted as braided or bed-load types. With
development of vegetated valleys and coastal
plains through the later Paleozoic, channel stabili-
zation was accentuated, and a more representative
mix of straight and sinuous channels appears in
the geologic record. As upland interfluves were
colonized by relatively modern varieties of
flowering plants during Mesozoic time, the effects
of climate on the amount and character of sedi-
ment yield were accentuated, and the diversity of
fluvial channel patterns increased. Development
of grasses in Miocene time completed the evolu-
tion toward the spectrum of fluvial channel mor-
phologies found today.
Ancient Fluvial Systems
Fluvial systems are important hosts of petroleum,
uranium, and coal and are major aquifers. Many
examples will be described in the subsequent
chapters on these mineral fuels. The literature is
replete with additional examples, though basin-
scale integration of large fluvial depositional sys-
tems is less common. Braided, bed-load fluvial
systems of the Archean Upper Witwatersrand
90 Fluvial Systems
Group are a classic example of fluvial sedimenta-
tion in pre-Devonian landscapes. A full spectrum
of fluvial systems are prominent in many late Pa-
leozoic basin fills of the midcontinent of the
United States and Europe and have been region-
ally mapped and described in both outcrop and
subsurface (Chap. 15). Young bed-load fluvial sys-
tems deposited in subarid to subtropical climates
are represented by the Oakville Formation of the
southwest Gulf of Mexico coastal plain (Chap. 14)
and by the Paleogene formations of the intermon-
tane basins of western North America. Addi-
tional, well-known units containing important
fluvial components include the Old Red Sand-
stone of the British Isles, the Mauch Chunk and
Pottsville-Dunkard wedges of the Appalachian
foreland basin in the eastern United States, the
Permo-Triassic sequence of the Karoo Basin,
South Africa, the San Juan Basin, southwestern
United States, and Miocene succession of the Hi-
malayan foredeep.
5 Delta Systems
Introduction
A delta forms where a river transporting signifi-
cant quantities of sediment enters a receiving ba-
sin. In one sense, few processes or environments
are unique to the deltaic setting. However, the
interaction of subaerial fluvial processes and sub-
aqueous processes of marine or lake basins pro-
duces distinctive facies assemblages. A delta is a
progradational river-fed depositional system that
commonly produces a bulge in the shoreline. As
suggested by Fisher et al. (1969) and Moore and
Asquith (1971), a delta system includes all con-
tiguous, genetically related subaerial and sub-
aqueous facies. Excluded by this definition are
prograding linear or simple curvilinear shore-zone
systems, in which longshore or onshore sediment
transport dominates, and drowned river valleys or
estuaries.
Several important corollaries are implicit in
this broad definition. First, the depositional archi-
tecture of a delta system is characteristically
progradational. Second, sediments are derived
from one or more alluvial point sources, although
the apex of the alluvial/delta plain apron may lie
far inland. Third, delta systems develop around
the periphery of a large basin, although deltaic
progradation may ultimately fill the basin. In lin-
ear basins, such as rifts and foreland downwarps,
large deltas tend to prograde axially. Finally, be-
cause fluvial systems are the principal sources of
sediment supply to most basins, delta systems are
prominent depocenters. Delta systems. are com-
monly delineated by sand isopach thicks, particu-
larly in basi~ settings where sediment loading
dominates subsidence.
Delta systems are important hosts of petro-
leum, coal, and groundwater. Because of their
economic importance and geographic significance
along many modern coastlines, deltas have been
the subject of excellent three-dimensional strati-
graphic and sedimentological studies, beginning
with the work of Russell and Russell (1939) and
Fisk and coworkers (1954; Fisk 1955). Emerging
from this body of study is the obvious and impor-
tant observation that modern deltas are tremen-
dously complex and variable in size, geometry,
and composition. Recognition of this complexity
led several authors, including Fisher et al. (1969),
Coleman and Wright (1975), Galloway (1975),
and Orton and Reading (1993), to propose a series
of end-member delta types and discuss their facies
composition and processes.
Delta Process Framework
A delta is produced by an ongoing competItIon
between deposition by constructional processes of
the fluvial system and sediment reworking and
redistribution by reservoir processes. By defini-
tion, in a delta system the river maintains at least
a modest advantage in this interplay.
Constructional Processes
Flow of water from a channel, through an orifice,
and into an unconfined, standing body of water
is one of the few hydrodynamic processes unique
to deltas. Overbank flooding and consequent
floodplain and levee aggradation, as well as pro-
cesses of channel incision, migration, and filling,
are all reflected in deltaic facies that resemble
their counterparts within fluvial systems. How-
ever, other processes inherent in fluvial deposi-
tion, including channel avulsion and crevassing,
assume greater importance in delta systems.
Channel-Mouth Deposition
As flow discharges from a confined channel into a
reservoir, it spreads and mixes with waters of the
92 Delta Systems
basin. The rate and geometry of flow spreading
and mixing depend on the following (Wright
1977):
1. The momentum of the discharged waters,
which is a function of discharge velocity and
density
2. The density contrast between the two water
masses
3. Bed friction, which is in part a function of reser-
voir depth at the channel mouth
In marine basins, density of sediment-laden
river discharge is typically less than that of normal
seawater. Consequently, river water and con-
tained suspended sediment ride out over marine
water as a laterally spreading, buoyant plume
(hypopcynal flow; Fig. S.lB). Mixing occurs pri-
marily at the base of the plume and may result in
flocculation and increased settling of suspended
clay. Development of the saltwater wedge be-
neath the emerging river water, and consequent
flow separation at the channel mouth, results
in rapid and efficient deposition of bed-load
sediment as a buoyancy-dominated distributary
mouth bar (Figs. S.2A, 5.3).
The discharge process efficiently sorts sedi-
ments introduced into the basin by the river. Sand
is concentrated at the channel mouth. Very fine
sand and coarse silt are swept onto the upper
prodelta, where they progressively settle from sus-
pension as velocity and turbulence wane. The
finest suspended material is swept basinward,
where it slowly settles, forming the prodelta slope,
or is caught up in basin circulation patterns.
Flocculolion ond
B seW ing of suspended lood
==={> Bed lood ~ Suspended load
Fig.S.1. A Hyperpycnal flow from an orifice occurs when influ-
ent river water is denser than basin water. Consequently, flow
remains attached to the bottom, sweeping bed load down the
If the basin is shallow or discharge of bed-load
sediment is high, the channel-mouth bar is re-
worked and molded by bottom friction and tur-
bulence into a broad, radial mouth bar. Here,
marginal scours, separated by a middle-ground
bar and flanked by subaqueous levees (Fig. S.2B),
cut across the radial mouth bar. Resultant flow
bifurcation, which may become stabilized by con-
tinued growth of the subaqueous levees, provides
the seed for distributary channel branching. As
would be expected, multiple distributaries charac-
terize sandy deltas prograding into shallow water,
whereas few linear distributaries are typical of
muddy, deepwater deltas.
In contrast, discharge of sediment-laden
water into a freshwater lake, or of very cold or
sediment-laden water into a marine basin
(hyperpycnal flow), causes the denser influent
waters to remain on the bed, forming a density
underflow (Wright et al. 1986; Fig. S.lA). If dis-
charge momentum is high, bed-load sediment can
be swept far beyond the channel mouth. Lateral
size grading occurs as current velocity and compe-
tence progressively decrease. In deep basins with
high-relief, steeply sloping delta fronts, gravity
may, in turn, accelerate the water mass, producing
a density underflow that can spread far into the
basin.
The position of the salt wedge, and consequent
point of flow separation common to most marine
deltas, varies in response to river flow conditions.
During the low-flow stage, the wedge may intrude
far upstream. However, during major floods, sedi-
ment-laden river water sweeps out of the channel
delta front. B Hypopycnal flow occurs when influent water is
less dense and rides out over basin water as a laterally expand-
ing plume. (Modified from Bates 1953)
 Delta Process Framework 93

"/ Flow se paration

Fig. 5.2A,B. Two types of channel mouth bars. A Single, lu- simple mouth bar. B Complex, radial-mouth bars form where
nate mouth bars occur where mud-rich distributaries open into sandy channels empty into shallow water. Here friction-domi-
deep water. Here inflow rides out over the sea water as a nated deceleration results in a broad zone of bed-load accumu-
buoyant plume. Flow separation concentrates bed load as a lation, which is cut by diverging scours

II Subaerial levee [JJ

. .. ..
Winnowing by wove action

~ Subaqueous levee
~ Winnowing by storm waves

Bed load transport by fluvial

1:':':':':':1 Distributary mouth bar ~ currents

[ll:~fJ Distal bar .......... Bed load transport by wave-

generated longshore currents

~%:;:~)~ Frontal s~ay ....... Bed load transport by flood

currents

Fig.S.3A,B. Channel-mouth depositional environments (A) and processes (B). (Modified from Fisher et al. 1969; original figure
from Coleman and Gagliano 1964)
94 Delta Systems
mouth, scouring much of the mouth bar and push-
ing the salt wedge seaward down the prodelta
slope. Bed-load sediment is swept by spreading
currents onto the upper prodelta slope, forming
aprons or lobes of sand called frontal splays (Fig.
5.3A). The highly organized seaward-fining or
stratigraphically upward-coarsening grain-size
trend, which is produced at the low stage, is thus
punctuated by the flood events characteristic of
many fluvial systems.
Crevassing
Crevasse splays formed along delta distributaries
are important in delta plain development. As in
fluvial systems, crevasse splays form during
flood events as water and sediment pour through
breaches in the levees. However, formation of
many delta plain distributary splays is more
complicated than in rivers. The splays may be-
o 10M,
rl--Lo~--T--L-rl I
o 15 Km
Fig. 5.4. Major crevasse splays (labeled A-F in order of forma
tion) of the modern digitate lobe of the Mississippi Delta.
Insets show growth stages of Cubits Gap splay and an isopach
come, In effect, subdeltas that prograde into
marginal interdeltaic embayments (Fig. 5.4).
In the modern birdfoot lobe of the Mississippi
Delta system, a magnificent natural laboratory
for study of delta processes, six major splays
have developed within historical time (Coleman
and Gagliano 1964). The splays prograded onto
the relatively shallow, subaqueous mud platform
constructed by major distributaries into the deep
Gulf of Mexico. The splays have, in effect, fleshed
out the skeletal subaerial delta plain, which
initially consisted of natural levees, by filling
in interdistributary embayments (Fig. 5.4).
Cubits Gap, a major splay initiated during
flooding in 1862, reached mature dimensions
within about 35 years (Fig. 5.4), forming its own
complex of distributaries and prograding channel-
mouth bars (Welder 1959). Splay progradation is
highly sporadic, as new sediment is added prima-
rily during floods.
li -
",
\\'
~ ':'!\
'- ... I" \
\
,/ N~ 1\ '
Isopac0 -;::;--
map of the splay unit. Contours are in feet. (Modified from
Coleman and Gagliano 1964; Welder 1959)

Channel Avulsion and Lobe Formation
As the channel progrades basinward, effective
hydraulic head is continually reduced. Instability
increases with continued channel extension across
a base level depositional surface. This leads to
repeated channel avulsion and occupation of al-
ternative courses across portions of the delta plain
offering steeper gradients. Again, the highly con-
structional Mississippi Delta system illustrates the
importance of this process in delta progradation
(Fig. 5.4). Detailed subsurface investigation and
radiocarbon dating allowed Frazier (1967) to de-
lineate 16 individual Holocene delta lobes con-
structed by the Mississippi River. Together, the
offsetting, partially imbricate lobes have produced
a subaerial delta plain covering several thousand
square miles. Frazier further suggested that
many of the lobes represent more than one
progradational unit. Thus, the Mississippi River
has altered its course by major channel diversion
in the lower alluvial or upper delta plain more
than 16 times during the last 7000 years.
The delta lobe, comprising contiguous facies of
a river and its distributaries deposited during oc-
cupation of a trunk channel course, is the funda-
mental building block of a highly constructional
delta system. Significantly, in a large delta system
such as the Mississippi, active deposition and delta
Alluvial plain
[::::~ Lobes 13-16
~ Lobes 9-12
Fig.S.S. Principal lobes of the Holocene Mississippi Delta sys-
tem. At least 16 lobes have been identified by radiocarbon
dating. Cyclic stratigraphic sequences would be penetrated in
Delta Process Framework 95
construction occupy a relatively limited portion of
the total system. The area of individual lobes of
the Mississippi is on the order of one tenth of the
area of the total delta system (Fig. 5.5). Through
Holocene time, the locus of deposition has repeat-
edly shifted as much as 240km (150mi) along the
basin margin.
Destructional Processes
A variety of basin processes that rework, modify,
redistribute, or remove sediments deposited by
constructional fluvial processes comprise delta
destructional processes. As emphasized by Fisher
et al. (1969), a delta system is the product of the
competing effects of sediment input by a fluvial
system and sediment dispersal by reservoir energy
(Fig. 5.6). Sediment input and deposition by con-
structional processes are influenced by factors
such as the ratio of bed load to suspended load,
the total sediment volume, and the periodicity of
sediment influx. The energy regime of the basin
(Fig. 5.6) includes wave-energy flux, tidal-energy
flux, intruding permanent basin currents, intermit-
tent wind-forced currents, and gravitational po-
tential provided by elevation differences between
the basin margin and floor (Galloway 1975).
'~,"~"'-------
many areas of the modern delta plain, such as at hypothetical
core locations A and B. (Modified from Frazier 1967)
96 Delta Systems
r---T --- -
+ +
MODIFIED BY:
Base-Level Change
Climate
Fig. 5.6. Process framework of delta systems. (Galloway 1975)
Wave and Current Redistribution
Wave energy exists in almost all water bodies,
whether marine or lacustrine. Tides and perma-
nent currents are common in large, marine basins.
Deposition of bed-load sediment in the channel-
mouth bars of delta or crevasse distributaries
places it in optimum position for wave or tidal
reworking. Breaking waves converge on the chan-
nel-mouth bar crest, enhance mixing, create tur-
bulence, and remobilize sand, which is then
transported in the direction of longshore drift
(Fig. 5.3B). Sand deposited at the channel mouth
is thus redistributed laterally. If little sand is
removed, the sand belt produced by channel
progradation is simply broadened. If most of the
mouth bar is reworked, the delta front may evolve
as a series of coalescing, arcuate beach ridges
(sometimes called coastal barriers). Mud is re-
tained in suspension and transported away from
the delta front. In contrast, tidal currents move in
and out of the channel mouth, alternately rein-
forcing and reducing or reversing the river cur-
r---------l
IPLATFORM MORPHOLOGY--1
L---- T ---
-t-- - - - - ,
Intruding + Wind +
Ocean Drift
Currents
rents. Remobilized sediment moves in a dip direc-
tion, forming elongate bars within the distributary
mouth and spreading seaward as a broad, sub-
aqueous delta front platform. Intrusion of marine
waters spreads, retards, and mixes flow, enhancing
deposition of both bed load and suspended load in
the channel mouth and widening the lower dis-
tributary segment to produce a flaring, estuarine
geometry. Both wave and tide reworking of mouth
bar and delta front sediments further improves
sorting.
Permanent marine currents may effectively
redistribute sediment washed offshore into the
prodelta environment. Such currents primarily
affect suspended sediment. For example, most
of the mud deposited by the Orinoco River is
swept by the northwestward flowing North
Equatorial Current into the Gulf of Paria
between Trinidad and mainland South America
(van Andel 1967). The locus of mud deposition
lies about 95 mi (150 km) from the main body
of deltaic sediment in a separate structural
basin.

Compaction and Gravity-Mass Transport
Channel-mouth sediments and their marine-re-
worked delta front equivalents are ideally situated
for modification, disruption, or remobilization
by gravitational potential energy. First, sand is
deposited at the top of a commonly thick, rapidly
deposited, water-saturated, and undercompacted
prodelta mud platform. Second, the locus of depo-
sition lies at the crest of a sloping prodelta apron.
Although delta front slopes rarely exceed a few
degrees, such gradients are unstable in unconsoli-
dated, subaqueous deposits. Third, sediment input
by large fluvial systems is measured in tens of
millions of tons per year and is irregularly distrib-
uted in both time and space.
Rapid deposition of sand at the mouths of ma-
jor distributaries loads underlying prodelta muds,
creating a density inversion; the muds are ductile
under stress because of the high water content,
which may approach 80%. Instability of the
undercompacted low-density, low-permeability
prodelta sediment is further accentuated by in situ
generation of gas from the bacterial alteration
of organic debris (Coleman and Garrison 1977).
Sediment loading results in differential compac-
tion and flowage, or fracturing of prodelta muds.
Mud diapirs (Fig. 5.7), commonly called "mud
lumps," form by lateral and vertical flowage from
Fig. 5.7. Varieties of gravitational resedimentation and defor-
mation seen along an actively prograding delta front.
The map outlines the location and density of the various fea-
Delta Process Framework 97
beneath sites of most active loading (Morgan et al.
1968; Coleman and Garrison 1978). Underlying
muds may extrude vertically as much as several
hundred feet, causing correspondingly rapid sub-
sidence of distributary mouth bar sands, which can
thus accumulate to thicknesses in excess of 300ft
(100m) in the Mississippi Delta (Coleman et al.
1974). Rapid subsidence effectively stores sand of
the mouth bar facies. Shallow radial grabens on
the prodelta slope reflect deep mud extrusion
from beneath the sandy delta lobe.
Deformation on the prodelta slope also pro-
duces a variety of intraformational structural fea-
tures (Fig. 5.7). Peripheral faults and slumps form
near active channel mouths, offsetting mouth bar
sands and associated facies. Large arcuate slump
blocks, which may assume proportions of major,
long-lived growth faults penetrating underlying
shelf and upper slope sequences, develop along
the periphery of the delta platform and upper
prodelta slope (Figs. 5.7, 5.8). Large fault zones
and associated mud flows initiated along the mar-
gin of prograding prodeltaic continental slopes
may affect thick prodelta and underlying slope
sections, resulting in extensive deformation and
expansion of delta front progradational sequences
(Dailly 1976; Crans et al. 1980; Winker and
Edwards 1983). The history of an individual
growth fault zone is typified by three phases:
r;Peripheral fault and
slump zones
~ Zones of graben
~ faulting
, Diapir fields
tures found on the periphery of the active, deepwater lobe
Mississippi Delta system. (Modified from Coleman and Gar-
rison 1977)
98 Delta Systems

Fig.S.8. Growth-faulted delta front progradational sequence exposed in the Triassic of Svalbard. Cliff face approximately 1000 ft
(300m) high. (Photographs courtesy of M.B. Edwards)

1. Rapid deposition at the channel mouth or delta
periphery initiates uneven loading and conse-
quent flowage of underlying muds. In shallower
sediments deformation is accommodated by
development of normal faults commonly show-
ing en echelon patterns. Alternatively, a large
slump may nucleate a growth fault.
2. Continued loading results in creep along the
fault plain and rapid subsidence of the
coastward, down thrown side of the faults. A

delicate balance is maintained with successive
increments of sediment blanketing the fault
scarp and thickening onto the down thrown
block.
3. Ultimately, deformation and compaction of the
deep muds increase their bearing strength, and
deformation slows or ceases. The fault stabi-
lizes and progradation of the delta front ad-
vances the zone of extension further basinward,
until a new zone of instability is activated and
the process renewed.
Growth fault zones commonly form at consis-
tent spacings along the advancing channel mouth
or delta front (Fig. 5.8). Progradational delta front
facies, including channel-mouth bar sands and
their marine-reworked equivalent delta front
sands, show greatest expansion across the fault
zone. Whether large or small, faults effectively
outline the progradational periphery of the delta
platform and even of individual channel mouths
(Fig. 5.7). Complexity of fault pattern in plan view
reflects the depositional complexity of the delta
margin.
Mud flowage, diapiric intrusions, and growth
faulting are characteristic of deltaic prograda-
tion at all scales. Tertiary deltaic sequences of
the northern Gulf Coast and the Niger basins,
for example, exhibit myriads of growth faults,
shale ridges, and shale diapirs produced by differ-
entialloading of deltaic continental margins. Such
features extend for miles horizontally and tens
of thousands of feet vertically. In continen-
tal margin delta systems, growth fault and associ-
ated deformational features constitute principal
traps for hydrocarbon accumulation. In contrast,
faulting displaces only several hundreds of feet
of section in Triassic deltaic sequences exposed
in Svalbard (Edwards 1976). Outcropping
Pennsylvanian strata of the Midland basin dis-
play delta front growth faults that expand by
severalfold the delta front and channel-mouth
bar facies of small delta lobes that are less
than 100ft (30m) thick (Brown et al. 1973).
Chaotic slump blocks and mud diapirs intruded
into thickened channel-mouth bar sands are
also common in these abbreviated deltaic
sequences (Nemec et al. 1988; Martinsen and
Bakken 1990), illustrating the ubiquitous na-
ture of deltaic deformational processes, regard-
less of the scale of deltaic progradation.
In addition to intraformational deformation
and differential compaction, sediment deposited
at the crest of the delta platform is readily
Delta Process Framework 99
remobilized and transported downslope. Surficial
slump, slide, and debris-flow deposits are abun-
dant on actively prograding delta fronts (Fig. 5.7).
Rapid deposition of sediment at the crest of the
prodelta slope may result in oversteepening and
consequent gravity sliding, rotational slumping,
or liquefaction of shallow sediment layers (Hubert
et al. 1972; Kostaschuk and McCann 1987;
Nemec 1990). Slumping and storms periodically
disturb and mobilize shallow delta platform
sediments. Once entrained, sediments move
down the foredelta slope as mass flow or
turbidity currents and accumulate within the
prodelta facies succession or bypass into the
subjacent slope/basin system. Thus, delta front
sequences display a variety of sedimentary fea-
tures such as broadly channelized sand lenses,
oversteepened or recumbently folded beds,
graded bedding, ball-and-pillow, and sole marks.
The same assemblage of features also character-
izes submarine slope systems, and the boundary
between prodelta and slope system facies
may be difficult or arbitrary to define. However,
from a paleogeographic as well as an economic
perspective, the key feature is the development
of an independent subaqueous sediment
dispersal system capable of bypassing large vol-
umes of bed-load sediment from its initial
site of deposition at the crest of the delta platform,
across the muddy prodelta, and onto the lower
slope and basin floor. In steep, tectonically active
basin margins, gravity mass transport becomes a
significant, even dominant, delta destructional
process.
Contemporaneous delta-fed submarine can-
yon/fan couples are common. Quaternary ex-
amples include the Magdalena (Shepard 1973),
Rio Balsas (Shepard and Reimnitz 1981), Missis-
sippi (Weimer and Dixon 1994; Boyd et al. 1989)
and Rhone (Droz and Bellaiche 1985). Other del-
tas, such as the Ebro (Field and Gardner 1990),
prograde onto a broad apron of resedimented
slope deposits. Vertical stratigraphic transitions
from shallow-water delta into prodelta or upper-
slope sequences containing channeled sands and
gravels, slump and mass-flow deposits, and well-
bedded turbidite units displaying partial Bouma
sequences have been documented in many ancient
and modern basins (for example, see Link and
Welton 1982; Cherven 1983; Collinson et al. 1991).
As suggested by Burke (1972), the stratigraphic
distribution of sand in such a couple should be
bimodal, with greatest concentrations at the crest
and base of the progradational sequence. Deltaic
100 Delta Systems
and submarine-fan sand facies are separated by
sand-poor slope and prodelta muds laced with lo-
cal lenticular submarine channel-fill units. Mini-
mum bathymetric relief for development of
contemporaneous slope and deltaic systems need
only be several hundred feet, as illustrated by re-
constructions of basin topography and deposi-
tional systems in the Pennsylvanian fills of the
Midland Basin (Galloway and Brown 1972).
Lobe Abandonment and Cyclic Destruction
Both marine processes and gravity mass transport
continually modify and rework the active delta
margin. However, in delta systems characterized
by prominent lobe growth and abandonment,
destructional and constructional processes tend
to alternate, producing cyclic successions that are
typical of deltaic deposition (Coleman and
Gagliano 1964; Frazier 1967).
Abandonment of a delta lobe abruptly reduces
or terminates the fluvial supply of sediment to the
delta front. However, marine processes continue
to rework and modify the delta margin. Further,
impact of the marine processes expands as contin-
ued compaction of the rapidly deposited, satu-
rated prodelta mud substrate causes subsidence
and transgression of the delta lobe. Basin subsid-
ence may further accentuate foundering. Ulti-
mately, much or all of the surficial sediment of the
inactive lobe can be subjected to flooding, submer-
gence, and marine reworking, completing a facies
sequence that is bounded above and below by
marine shelf units.
Renewed progradation of a new lobe across a
foundered lobe produces another upward-shoal-
ing sedimentary cycle, which, in turn, will be aban-
doned and destruction ally modified. Multiple lobe
formation readily leads to repetitious successions
of similar facies assemblages. For example, hypo-
thetical core sites A or B (Fig. 5.5) in the Missis-
sippi Delta system would penetrate at least three
whole or partial progradational cycles separated
by destructional facies, all deposited within the
last 6000 years.
Delta Environments and Facies
Deltaic systems are constructed around a sandy
skeletal framework of delta front and distributary
channel facies. Together, these facies contain the
bulk of the bed-load sediment preserved within a
delta system and reflect the two critical environ-
ments of any delta - the distributing fluvial trans-
port axes and the marine shore zone (including
channel mouths). A variety of additional environ-
ments and resultant heterolithic to muddy facies
flesh out the sandy skeleton of the delta system.
Environments and facies can be conveniently
grouped into delta plain (subaerial or shallow sub-
aqueous and located on the topset delta platform),
delta front, (marine-influenced, dominantly sub-
aqueous components of the progradational fore-
sets), and bounding delta destructional and flank
assemblages (Table 5.1). Component delta facies
vary greatly in characteristics and volumetric im-
portance between delta types. Only general at-
tributes are reviewed here.
Delta Plain Facies
Distributary channel fills reflect the attributes of
the source fluvial system. The classification of
fluvial channels (Chap. 4) applies to delta plain
distributaries not modified by marine processes.
However, distributary channels on the low delta
plain tend to be straight, and channel geometry
may be further influenced by the dominantly
sandy or muddy composition of the delta front
sediment through which they cut. On high tide
range (macrotidal) coasts, tidal salt wedge intru-
sion produces a seaward-flaring estuarine geom-
etry in distributary channels.
Table 5.1. Facies building blocks of delta systems
Delta plain
1. Distributary channel
2. Levee and floodplain
3. Crevasse splay/subdelta
4. Marsh/swamp/lake
5. Interdistributary embayment
Delta front
1. Channel mouth bar
2. Delta front sheet
a) Beach ridge
b) Tidal sand flat
c) Tidal sand ridge or shoal
3. Prodelta
Bounding
1. Delta destructional marsh/mudflat/bay/shelf
2. Delta destructional spit/barrier/shoal
3. Delta flank embayment
4. Shelf/slope

Crevasse splays, levees, lakes, backswamps,
and floodplain facies flank distributaries on the
upper delta plain and resemble their fluvial coun-
terparts. On the lower delta plain, interdis-
tributary areas include brackish to marine bays
and their infilling progradational crevasse splays,
salt marshes, and mudflats. Crevasse splays can
contain significant volumes of sand; the other en-
vironments are dominantly sites of suspended
load or organic accumulation. Bay, lake, and
mudflat facies consist of laminated to bioturbated
mud and sand sheets. Contained faunas are
commonly restricted by the variable salinities.
Progradational crevasse splays resemble sub-
deltas, with erratic upward-coarsening textural se-
quences and lobate geometries. Marine influence
is further reflected by presence of burrows, fring-
ing sandy to shelly berms, or tidal laminites and
gulley fills. Salt marsh deposits include highly or-
ganic bioturbated muds to muddy sands. Massive
to bioturbated eolian sand sheets occur on some
sand-rich deltas.
Delta Front Facies
Delta front environments include channel-mouth
bars, fringing, wave-reworked spits and beach
ridges, tidal inlets and estuaries, and tidal flats.
Where wave energy dominates, the subaqueous
delta front is a shoreface modified by fluvial pro-
cesses around active channel mouths. In tide-
dominated settings, a subtidal platform with tidal
bars and shoals extends up to several miles sea-
ward of the deltaic coastline. Bed-load sediment is
concentrated and deposited in these shallow envi-
ronments. The delta front sand facies cap, in turn,
a generally muddy prodelta platform. Because the
delta front is the setting of greatest wave and tidal
influence, facies geometry, textural attributes, and
internal structures of delta front facies reflect most
clearly the basin process setting and resulting
delta type.
Prodelta muds form the foundation upon which
the delta is constructed. The prodelta facies re-
flects the rapid deposition of suspended fluvial
sediment, instabilities of the clinoform slope, and
marine setting. Muds are massive or poorly bed-
ded and contain abundant disseminated carbon-
aceous plant debris. Rapid deposition and acidic
pore waters create a facies that is sparsely fossilif-
erous at best. Fossil content and bioturbation de-
crease upward. Sedimentary features resulting
Process Classification of Delta Systems 101
from plastic to brittle syndepositional deforma-
tion and viscous gravity mass transport are
abundant.
Bounding Facies
Destructional facies deposited in transgressive
coastal and shallow shelf environments provide
an envelope surrounding the delta front and
delta plain facies of a progradational lobe.
Destructional units are commonly relatively thin
blankets of sand, mud, and biogenic carbonate
that reflect reworking of existing deltaic facies,
slow rates of sediment accumulation, and shallow
marine influence. Fossil content and bioturbation
are high relative to other delta facies. If preserved,
primary structures reflect influence of wave, tide,
and storm processes.
Delta margins are commonly sites of extensive
embayments, protected by highly prograded lobes
or extensive spits. Depending on climate and de-
gree of isolation from the open marine basin,
embayments may range from nearly fresh to hy-
persaline. Sediment fill is typically muddy, with
variable amounts of bioclastic carbonate and even
evaporites, and may be thoroughly bioturbated to
laminated.
Process Classification of Delta Systems
Review of the process framework and associated
morphology and sediment distribution patterns in
modern deltas shows that three basic processes
determine delta geometry and distribution of
framework sand facies (Galloway 1975):
l. Sediment input
2 Wave energy flux
3. Tidal energy flux
Intruding oceanic or barometric currents serve
primarily to redistribute suspended sediment. By
definition, significant removal of bed-load sedi-
ment by gravitational processes produces slope
depositional systems that are independent of the
delta system. Depositional stratigraphy and facies
geometry are, of course, modified by the morphol-
ogy of the sedimentary basin (deep versus shallow
water) and rate of tectonic subsidence. Delta plain
aggradational facies are modified by climate, in
102 Delta Systems

part through its effect on vegetation cover. How-
ever, the geometry, trend, and internal features of
the progradational framework sand bodies are
largely a product of the interplay between fluvial
sediment input and wave and tidal components of
reservoir energy flux (Fig. 5.6).
The process framework provides the basis for
recognition of a tripartite classification of end-
member delta types (Galloway 1975). These end
members - fluvial-, wave-, and tide-dominated
deltas - form the points of a triangle into which
modem or ancient delta systems can be placed
(Fig. 5.9). Few modem deltas are ideal end mem-
bers. Rather, most deltas, modern or ancient, re-
flect the combined impact of constructional fluvial
and destructional wave or tidal processes. Fluvial-
dominated deltas typically have elongate-to-ir-
regular lobate areal geometries. Wave-dominated

SEDIMENT INPUT

FLUVIAL
DOMINATED

Mahakam

Orinoco
Nile

WAVE TIDE
Mekong
DOMINATED DOMINATED
Rhone Burdekin
VOlu
Keianton
Colorado Fly
Brazos Ganges - Brahmaputra
Sao Francisco Copp.r

WAVE ENERGY FLUX FLUX

Fig. 5.9. Morphologic and stratigraphic classification of delta systems based on relative intensity of fluvial and marine processes.
(Modified from Galloway 1975; courtesy of B.R. Weise)

deltas record the overriding influence of strike re-
working in their regular lobate to cuspate outlines.
Tide-dominated deltas have irregular lobate to
pseudoestuarine outlines. Most importantly, the
morphology of each major type of delta is repro-
duced in the stratigraphy and geometry of its
framework sands and can be recognized and
interpreted on the basis of surface or subsurface
stratigraphic information. Further, absolute sedi-
mentation rates or quantitative coastal energy
regimes (variables that are, at best, difficult to
calculate for modern delta systems and impossible
to measure in ancient depositional systems) are
not of great importance. Rather, the relative im-
portance of each process determines the distribu-
tion of environments and facies geometry of the
delta. Thus, over a broad range of basin dimen-
sions and coastal energy magnitudes, wave-, tide-,
or fluvial-dominated deltas each retain basic
similarities.
Fluvial-Dominated Deltas
In a fluvial-dominated delta system, the rate and
volume of sediment input exceed the capability of
reservoir energy flux to rework and substantially
modify the active delta margin. Depending on the
relative dominance of constructional fluvial pro-
cesses, geometry of delta lobes ranges from highly
elongate and digitate (birdfoot) to somewhat
rounded or lobate. The Mississippi River delta
system provides a well-studied example and, in its
various Holocene lobes, illustrates a variety of
depositional styles that may occur in fluvial-domi-
nated systems. Important descriptions of the Mis-
SISSIppi system include those of Russell and
Russell (1939), Fisk (1955, 1961), Fisk et al.
(1954), Scruton (1960), Coleman and Gagliano
(1964), Coleman et al. (1964, 1974), Kolb and van
Lopik (1966), Frazier (1967), Coleman and Pryor
(1980), and Suter et al. (1987), with a summary by
Coleman (1988).
Environments and Genetic Facies
Distributary mouth bar and subsidiary laterally
reworked delta front sands form the principal
framework facies of fluvial-dominated deltas (Fig.
5.10). Distributary channels are in part sand filled
Fluvial-Dominated Deltas 103
and form a second important family of frame-
work sand bodies that are flanked by heterolithic
crevasse splay deposits. Nonframework environ-
ments include the prodelta interdistributary em-
bayment and submerged delta platform, and delta
plain marsh, swamp, floodplain, levee, and lake
basins, Volumetrically minor, but prominent
destructional bars and beach ridges fringe aban-
doned lobes.
The distributary mouth bar is the focus of sand
deposition and storage in the fluvial-dominated
delta system. In digitate delta lobes, such as the
modern birdfoot lobe of the Mississippi system,
rapid subsidence of the sands into thick prodelta
muds, combined with limited wave energy flux,
results in minimal reworking of mouth bar de-
posits. In plan view, resultant sand bodies form a
digitate complex of narrow, lenticular units
that reflect the geometry of the delta lobe (Fisk
1961; Coleman et al. 1974). In cross-section,
mouth bar sands thin laterally over short distances
into bounding prodelta and delta margin muds
(Fig. 5.11, section A'). Comparatively thin mar-
ginal bar sand may extend laterally and coalesce
with similar reworked sands of adjacent mouth
bars, forming a "webbing" between the bar
fingers.
The mouth bar sequence coarsens upward, as
proximal mouth bar crest, bar front, distal bar, and
upper prodelta deposits are superimposed during
progradation. Upward coarsening may be re-
flected somewhat in average grain size, but is more
apparent in the increasing proportion of sand and
silt relative to mud interbeds, thickness of sand
beds, and scale of sedimentary structures (Fig.
5.12). Distal mouth bar sequences consist of lami-
nated mud, silt, and silty sand and display slide
units, compaction and dewatering structures,
slump and grainflow features such as ball-and-pil-
low, and thin graded beds exhibiting sharp bases
and incomplete Bouma sequences. Such graded
units record the emplacement of both frontal
splays and local turbidity current tongues. Middle
mouth bar deposits commonly consist of massive-
to thick-bedded, clean, well-sorted sands contain-
ing trough and ripple stratification, dewatering
structures, and climbing-ripple lamination. The
uppermost deposits may display planar stratifica-
tion and scour-and-fill structures of the bar crest,
which are capped by finer ripple laminated sands,
silts, and muds of the associated subaqueous
levees. Thick, sharp-based slump masses of mouth
bar sands may occur within distal mouth bar or
104 Delta Systems

...........
...........
.......... ..
...........
.......... ...
...........
..........
.......... ...
...........
...........
.......... ...
...........
..........
..........
........... ..
.......... ...
...........

Active and abandoned

fluvial and distributary channel axes ~ Lake
o 20 40 Mi
Active channel mouth bar _Bay ~I------~i~i------~Ii
o
EJ
30 60 Km
Beach ridge or destructional bar Prodelta

CJ Fluvial and deltaic plain, swamp,and marsh

Fig.S.10. Generalized surficial depositional environments of the Holocene Mississippi fluvial-dominated delta system. (Compiled
from Gould 1970 and other sources)

upper prodelta deposits, punctuating the upward-
coarsening pattern.
Figure 5.12 is an idealized vertical sequence
through the axis of a channel-mouth bar sand
body illustrating features typical of the Mississippi
and other fluvial-dominated deltas. The electric
log profile is one of many upward-coarsening or
funnel-shaped profiles produced in a strandline
setting. It is distinguished by the irregular, serrate
basal transition zone into underlying prodelta
muds, reflecting the abundance of slump, frontal
splay, and turbidite beds common to many highly
constructive channel-mouth bars.
Mouth bar sands and associated silts and muds
contain abundant macerated plant debris, called
"coffee grounds," as well as large chunks of woody
material. Thin, discontinuous mud drapes and
pockets of reworked mud clasts reflect the vari-
ability of fluvial scour and deposition. Burrows
and trails may be present, but are usually sparse
because of high rates of deposition. Figure 5.11
shows a typical subsurface cross-section of a bar
finger sand. Of interest and potential use in de-
tailed facies delineation is the development of the
serrate basal transition zone only in the immediate
position of the sand body axis (and inferred dis-
tributary mouth). The presence of abundant depo-
sitional features indicative of rapid, erratic loading
of the upper shoreface provides strong evidence of
channel-mouth proximity and may be used to dis-
tinguish deltaic settings using both surface and
subsurface data.
The channel-mouth bar sand unit forms an inte-
gral part of the overall progradational facies
sequence. It is underlain by prodelta silts and
muds and overlain by delta platform facies, includ-
ing levee and subaerial delta plain marsh or
swamp. Laterally, mouth bar sands grade into
interdistributary sand, silt, and mud and may be
overlain by crevasse splay sequences. As the dis-
 Fluvial-Dominated Deltas 105

w tI/

o 15 Km
~I------------~I I
o IOMi

Ft M

200~ 50

o 1000 M

o 4000 Ft

8 81

~ Deltaic plain, crevasse splay, and delta margin,

~ mud, sand and peal b?:}:1 Slacked POI nl bar sand

Fig. 5.11A,B. Interpretive facies cross-sections of A progra- lobe. Spontaneous potential (SP) log profiles are based on data
dational channel-mouth bar and B delta plain distributary from the Wilcox (Eocene) Holly Springs delta system of the
channel-fill sand bodies of an elongate, fluvial-dominated delta northern Gulf Coast Basin. (Modified from Galloway 1968)

tributary advances, the mouth bar is partially in-
cised, and distributary fill nests within the upper
bar lens (Fig. 5.11). Following distributary aban-
donment, the channel remnant may fill wholly
or partially with fine-grained sediment, forming a
plug that runs along the spine of the sand body. In
shoal-water basins where compactional subsid-
ence is minimized, subsequent distributary inci-
sion may cut completely through the mouth bar
sand unit, leaving only remnants of the bar margin
106 Delta Systems

STRUCTURES AVERAGE GRAIN SIZE E-LOG PROFILE

Subaqueous levee-
e::~!!~~~ ripple and climbing
ripple laminations

Bar crest-
planar laminations

Proximal mouth
bar-troughs,
deformed bedding

Cl
W
>
a::
w
en
w Frontal splays-
a:: "turbidites," slumps
Cl.

Prodelta

Fig. S.12. Generalized vertical profile through a channel- grain size plot, and the log profile is drawn to represent either
mouth bar sand body. Sedimentary structures are illustrated a spontaneous potential (SP) or gamma-ray curve. -LOG
schematically; grain size increases to the right on the average Electric log

on either side of the distributary channel fill
(Morton and Donaldson 1978). Such mouth bar
incision is characteristic of fluvial-dominated del-
tas in many intracratonic basins (Brown et al.
1973; Brown 1979).
With increasing wave influence, delta geometry
evolves from digitate to lobate, and sands are re-
worked along the upper shoreface and marginal
beaches, flanking active distributary mouth bars to
form a delta front sand sheet. This sand sheet (also
commonly called the delta fringe sand) connects
the branching, dip-oriented distributary mouth
bar framework. Many older, shoal-water lobes of
the Mississippi Delta system, such as the
Lafourche complex (lobe 14, Fig. 5.5) contain ex-
tensive, thin, muddy-sand to fine-sand sheets con-
necting and grading laterally into mouth bars of
the myriad distributaries (Fisk 1955; Frazier 1967).
The delta front sand sheet fines away from as-
sociated mouth bars, commonly consisting of silty
fine sand to sandy silt. In addition, delta front sand
sheets of fluvial-dominated deltas are relatively
thin. Upward-coarsening textural sequences are
well developed and reflect the dominance of
longshore transport and sorting by waves. Typical
sedimentary structures of Mississippi delta front
sands and silts include abundant ripple lamina-
tion, low-angle planar (beach) lamination, and
burrows and trails.
Delta front sands overlie prodelta and delta
platform muds and are capped by aggradational
delta plain or destructional marine facies. Finely
macerated plant debris is abundant; shell material
is commonly present, but rarely preserved.
Distributary channel fills of the Mississippi
Delta system are low-gradient suspended-load
channels. Thousands of miles of anastomosing
and branching distributary channel courses lace
the Holocene Mississippi Delta plain (Fig. 5.13),
reflecting the complex history of progradation, bi-
furcation, and avulsion typical of fluvial-domi-
nated deltas. In addition to their anastomosing
pattern, both active and abandoned distributaries
display the features typical of suspended-load

LAKE
PONTCHARTRAIN
G U L F o F MEXICO
Fig. 5.13. Distribution of active and abandoned distributary channels of the Holocene Mississippi Delta plain. Buried or
submerged distributary trends are not shown. (Kolb and Van Lopik 1966)
channels. In cross-sections, distributary channels
are narrow and deep (Fig. 5.11, section B'). Lat-
eral migration is minimal and levees are promi-
nent. Channel fill consists of interbedded fine
sand, silt, and some mud, and resultant units are
lenticular and nearly symmetrical. Abandoned
channel plugs are prominent and commonly fill
the upper channel. Plugs consist of mud and or-
ganic debris. Although other channel types might
reasonably exist in high-constructional fluvial-
dominated delta systems, large systems such as the
Mississippi rapidly build a broad, low-gradient
delta plain. Thus, in its lower reaches, the trunk
stream likely has lost much of its bed load.
In addition to the suite of primary structures
dominated by trough cross-stratification and rip-
ple lamination (Fig. 4.6), delta distributaries have
numerous features indicative of their rapid depo-
sition on a water-saturated delta platform sub-
strate. Dewatering, differential compaction, and
liquefaction commonly destroy primary cross-
stratification. Slump structures, contorted bed-
ding, and local mud diapirs and injections are
typical, especially in the lower portion of the chan-
nel fill.
Fluvial-Dominated Deltas 107
"
o 20 Mi
Ir------r'
o ~O Km
Vegetation is typically abundant on the delta
plain and is readily incorporated and preserved
in distributary-channel sediments. Shell debris
scoured from underlying delta platform and
embayment facies is common in the channel lag.
Abandoned distributaries of the lower delta plain
may be invaded by saline or brackish water, allow-
ing colonization by marine organisms such as the
mud shrimp (Callianassa).
The geometry of distributary channel sand bod-
ies is complex. Although the average channel
trend is down depositional dip, progradation of
elongate delta lobes and presence of large delta
flank embayments, such as Lake Ponchartrain, re-
sult in considerable dispersion in channel trend
(Fig. 5.13). Distributary segments and even whole
lobes may extend along strike or turn updip. Dis-
tributary and anastomosing channel patterns that
characterize the delta plain are further compli-
cated as avulsion produces new crosscutting or
superimposed channel trends, which, upon aban-
donment and burial, become indistinguishable
from earlier deposits.
Distributary channel fills constitute the sandy
framework of the aggradational delta plain facies
108 Delta Systems
assemblage. They cut down into progradational
facies and are laterally equivalent to levee, cre-
vasse splay, marsh, swamp, and lake deposits of
the active delta plain (Fig. 5.11, section B'). They
are, in turn, overlain by younger aggradational
delta or alluvial deposits, or they may be capped
by a veneer of transgressive destructional
sediments.
Crevasse splays are prominent features of
fluvial-dominated deltas, particularly on the lower
delta plain, where distributary levees are imma-
ture and poorly formed. Consequently, many
splays become subdeltas, prograding into the shal-
low bays of the interdistributary delta platform.
Splays reproduce, on a reduced scale, the environ-
ments and facies of the main delta lobe. Because
wave energy is most likely low in the shallow,
protected embayments, splays exhibit minimal
contemporaneous reworking. However, repetitive
cycles of progradation, abandonment, and de-
struction characterize splay sequences.
Splays form lobate wedges of sediment that
spread from an apex located at the distributary
margin (Fig. 5.4). The depositional architecture of
large crevasse splays is well organized. Overall
thickness of the splay unit thickens away from its
apex, reflecting the depositional gradient away
from the trunk distributary levee (Fig. 5.4). How-
ever, sand content and grain size are greatest near
the apex and typically diminish toward the distal
splay. Channeling and consequent sharp basal
contacts characterize the proximal splay.
Progradation of the splay deposits onto the sub-
merged delta platform produces an upward-coars-
ening sequence that overlies embayment muds
and silts. Stratigraphically, crevasse splay deposits
lie marginal to and largely above the distributary
channel fill of the associated trunk channel. With
the exception of the splay channel or channels that
cut through the levee, the splay depositional unit
and its contained sands pinch out against levee
muds and silts. Even the headward portions of
splay channels may fill with overbank suspension-
load sediment, effectively isolating splay sands
from framework channel-fill sands of the distribu-
tary system.
Splay deposits present a hodgepodge of sedi-
mentary structures, reflecting rapid but sporadic
deposition and intervening reworking by physical
or biogenic marine processes (Elliott 1974).
Graded bedding, climbing-ripple lamination, and
soft-sediment deformation characterize distal
splay interbedded sand, silt, and mud. Proximal
splay deposits exhibit complex sour-and-fill, chan-
neling, and abundant cross-stratification of a vari-
ety of types. Climbing-ripple lamination and or-
ganic debris are common. Progradational splay
sequences may be capped by alternating beds of
sand, silt, and clay displaying abundant root-mot-
tling. Early diagenetic, iron-rich carbonate or py-
rite nodules are plentiful. Carbonaceous mud or
peat may cap the complete splay sequence.
Rapid deposition of suspension sediment sea-
ward and marginal to active distributary mouths
produces a thick sequence of laminated prodelta
and subaqueous delta platform muds across the
shelf and onto the upper slope. Prodelta muds
may reflect their marine origin by dispersed bur-
rows or shells. However, the high sedimentation
rate commonly dilutes the effects of biogenic ac-
tivity on proximal prodelta sediments. Contorted
to massive bedding, intraformational faults and
fractures, and isolated lenses, beds, or block of
sandy sediment reflect mud flow, fracture, and
slumping on the prodelta slope. Prodelta muds are
organically rich, but here again, land-derived or-
ganic material dominates. Resultant acidic pore
waters leach shell material incorporated in the
prodelta sequence.
The prodelta muds form one of the most homo-
geneous and laterally continuous units of fluvial-
dominated delta systems such as the Mississippi.
Thickness is dependent primarily on basin water
depth. The muds grade basin ward and downward
into burrowed, fossiliferous shelf or into upper
slope sediments. Landward, or stratigraphically
upward, prodelta deposits grade either into distal
channel-mouth bar deposits, delta front sands, or
interdeltaic embayment muds and silts deposited
in a shoal-water delta platform setting.
Interdistributary embayments represent envi-
ronments temporarily bypassed by active distribu-
taries. Consequently, their deposits form a veneer
of burrowed, sporadically fossiliferous (restricted
fauna) muds, silts, and some fine sands capping the
progradational delta front and prodelta. Long-
lived embayments can become isolated from the
marine environment, evolving into fresh or brack-
ish lakes filling with mud and organic debris.
Prograding crevasse splay deposits typically fill
embayments.
Aggradational delta plain facies of the lower
Mississippi consist of natural levee deposits of
massive to interbedded silts and mud, marsh and
swamp peat and organically rich clay and mud,
and lacustrine mud and clay. The Mississippi sys-
tem is a major site of deposition and preservation
of reasonably pure peat beds (Frazier and Osanik

1969) that has been successfully utilized as a
model of lignite and coal formation in numerous
basins (see Chap. 13). With the exception of levee
deposits, delta plain facies are relatively thin and
laterally discontinuous. They are segmented by
contemporaneous distributary channel and levee
deposits and randomly cut by subsequent distribu-
tary channel fills.
Surficial environments of the delta system
are, of course, the most sensitive to climate.
However, even in subarid settings, vegetated
interdistributary mud flats produce organically
rich sediments.
Destructional Environments and Facies
Following delta lobe (or, on a smaller scale,
crevasse splay) abandonment, foundering, trans-
gression, and marine reworking produces volu-
metrically minor, but distinctive destructional
Oestructional phase focies
. . . . . Marsh peat and organic mud
Boy mud
A Bar or shoal sand
, Transgressive log and sand sheet
~ Shelf mud blanket
Shoreface erosion surface
Progradational phase facies
=cCJ Delta plain mud, sand and peat
W Distributary sand
~ ~:~:n~~o~to~~~dbar and
'- ......
..........'=-.::::. Prodelta mud
Fig. 5.14. Idealized facies tract produced by abandonment, subsidence, and destructional transgression of a fluvial-dominated
delta lobe
Fluvial-Dominated Deltas 109
facies (Coleman and Gagliano 1964; Penland et al.
1988). In the Mississippi system, a typical facies
tract begins with thin fossiliferous mud and sandy
mud capping distal portions of the abandoned
lobe as waves rework surficial mouth bar and delta
front sands, producing a retreating series of thin,
transgressive beach ridges and barrier bar/inlet
complexes (Fig. 5.14). Transgressive spits and bar-
riers may founder and become reworked into sub-
aqueous shoals and thin sheets. Destructional
sands concentrate the coarsest material available,
including abundant shell. Oyster reefs may grow
on the more stable substrates produced by aban-
doned distributaries and associated levees, and
thin veneers of mud and oyster shell accumulate
in bays. Inland, portions of the delta plain are
flooded, producing an extensive, laterally continu-
ous salt marsh. Resultant peats blanket large areas
and record the most inland impact of flooding.
As shown in Fig. 5.10, arcuate, discontinuous
belts of offshore barrier bars and beach ridges
8
Des I ruchana I
bar or
Marsh Boy
shoal
I I Shelf Prodelta
110 Delta Systems
outline older, abandoned, and partially flooded
lobes of the Mississippi Delta system. Destruc-
tional sand bodies typically are thin, rarely ex-
ceeding 20ft (6m; although locally, barriers such
as Grand Isle exceed 30ft, i.e., 9m), narrow,
and highly lenticular (Fisk 1955; Penland et al.
1988).
The stratigraphic importance of destructional
units lies in their areal continuity and predictable
lateral relationship, which favor their use for cor-
relation within the delta complex. Careful analysis
of thick deltaic sequences usually reveals thin
shale, impure limestone, calcareous muddy sand,
or coalbeds that exhibit unusual continuity and
provide useful markers within the otherwise het-
erogeneous deltaic stratigraphy. In addition,
although a volumetrically minor facies of the
fluvial-dominated delta system, destructional sand
bars are isolated sand bodies encased within im-
permeable muds. Thin shelf and bay mud blankets
are effective seals for fluids trapped within con-
structional sand facies.
1'-", --I Progradational facies F:HH Aggradationa l facies
C2J Destructional shelf. bar,
and strondline sand ~
W Boy silt. clay . and shell
D Levee and floodpla in silt.
mud and cloy G
_.-
Marsh peat or organic-rich
~, .:
mud and cloy ~ Prodelta mud
Fig. S.lS. Depositional architecture and genetic facies relationships along a dip-oriented transect through the Holocene Missis-
sippi Delta system. The section was based on 54 drill holes_ (Modified from Frazier 1967)
Facies Architecture
The facies architecture of fluvial-dominated del-
tas, although complex, is characterized by several
important generalities.
1. Most vertical sequences through the delta plain
reveal its dominantly progradational aspect by
characteristic upward-coarsening textural se-
quences (Fig. 5.15).
2. The upper portion, or even all of the
progradational section, is locally cut out and
replaced by a complex network of distributary
channel fills (Fig. 5.15).
3. The progradational mouth bar and distributary
channel sands together form a highly divergent,
but generally dip-oriented permeable sand
framework of the component lobes of the delta
system. Width of these skeletal depositional el-
ements is increased by formation of laterally
associated delta front sheet and crevasse splay
sands.
I{trn Transgressive facies
Ft
M
Fluvia l or distributary channel
fill and point bar sand
15 50
Distributary mouth bar sand V.E. : 800 ' I
..... Delta- front silty sand to
sandy mud 10 Mi
0
0 15Km

4. Sediment accumulation is autocyclic. Lobe
construction and overextension leads to aban-
donment, foundering, and transgressive
destruction (Fig. 5.15). Delta lobe facies succes-
sions are ideal examples of parasequences
(Boyd et al. 1989).
5. With the exception of destructional facies, lat-
eral continuity of both framework sand and
encasing mud facies is limited. Permeability
pathways are circuitous, and sand bodies are
commonly highly compartmentalized by cross-
cutting muddy beds and lenses.
Channel-mouth bar and delta margin facies
provide the best pathways for fluid flow. Deposi-
tional facies of the modern Mississippi Delta
system are readily recognized in its Pleisto-
cene precursor, which, together with its underly-
ing slope apron, deposited more than 12000ft
(4000m) of sediment in the northern Gulf Coast
Basin (Galloway et al. 1991a).
Wave-Dominated Deltas
In wave-dominated delta systems, most bed load
initially deposited at distributary mouths is re-
worked by waves and redistributed along the delta
o 30 Km
.
I
,
o 20 Mi
Fig.5.16. Generalized depositional environments of the Holocene Rhone wave-dominated delta system, Gulf of Lyons. Contours
outline sand distribution within the system. (Modified from Fisher et al. 1969; courtesy of B.R. Weise)
Wave-Dominated Deltas 111
front by longshore drift. A smooth cuspate to ar-
cuate delta front results, consisting of coalescent
beach ridges. Numerous modern oceanic deltas,
including the Rhone, Magdalena, Tiber, Nile,
Burdekin, Orinoco, Sao Francisco, and Kelantan,
are wave dominated. The Rhone Delta provides a
well-studied Holocene example of a large, wave-
dominated delta system and has been described by
Kruit (1955), Van Straaten (1959), Lagaaij and
Kopstein (1964), Oomkens (1967, 1970), Gensous
et al. (1993), and Tesson et al. (1990, 1993).
Environments and Genetic Facies
The modern Rhone has prograded more than
16km (lOmi) basinward and deposited more than
SOm (160ft) of sediment during the past 6000
years. Consequently, the suite of environments
typical of wave-dominated deltaic systems is well
displayed (Fig. 5.16). The dominant framework
facies consists of beach ridge sands deposited
along the front and margins of the delta. As shown
by the generalized sand isolith of the Holocene
delta system (Fig. 5.16), amalgamated beach ridge
sands impart a first-order strike orientation to the
delta framework. In addition, distributary chan-
nel-fill sand bodies constitute secondary frame-
work elements and impart a dip orientation to
isolith contours that is especially evident on the
C]
N Distr ibutary channel facies
rn:::m Overbank - Interdistributary facies
f I~ ' . 'IMarsh -
D
Lacustrine faCies
Coastal basin fac ies
f::.:...:;.::;:l Coastal barrier sand fac ies
D Open shelf - Prodelta fac ies
_ _ _ 15 -
Sand isolith (meters)
112 Delta Systems
landward side of the system. Nonframework facies
include deposits of the prodelta and shelf,
interbarrier coastal basins, interdistributary lakes
and marshes, and channel-margin levee and
overbank settings (Fig. 5.16).
The Rhone has occupied several discrete dis-
tributary channels during progradation of its
delta. At anyone time, however, flow has typically
concentrated in a single trunk distributary. Unlike
the Mississippi Delta, distributary channels are
moderately sinuous, forming broad meanderbelts
up to 3mi (5km) wide. Width to thickness ratios
range from 100:1 to 1000:1 (Oomkens 1970).
These broad belts branch and generally narrow
basinward. Thus, typical mixed-load channels and
even bed-load channels characterize the wave-
dominated delta plain.
Internal sedimentary structures of the distribu-
taries are also typical of the fluvial channel type.
Rhone distributary channel fills fine upward from
medium to coarse sand into fine sand and silt; they
contain abundant trough cross-stratification that
decreases in scale upward and display common
slump blocks, lenses, and beds rich in mud clasts.
Lateral and basal contacts with surrounding delta
plain and beach-ridge facies are abrupt and domi-
nantly erosional. Detrital plant debris is a com-
mon accessory.
Progressive seaward accretion of the Rhone
beach-ridge complex has produced a strike-elon-
gate delta front sand body up to 30ft (10m) thick
and 30mi (50km) by 12mi (20km) in areal extent
(Oomkens 1970). Although marine energy is pri-
marily responsible for deposition of sand in its
ultimate site of storage along the barrier front, the
influence of fluvial input is apparent locally near
channel mouths, where distributary mouth bar se-
quences accumulate, and in the protruding, lobate
outline of the deltaic coast and consequent vari-
ability in local trend of the coastal sand bodies
(Fig. 5.16). Thickness of the sand body reflects
depth of wave base and marine shoreface develop-
ment, as well as loading and sediment outwash at
the channel mouths. Sites of mouth bar deposition
may be recognized by localized thicks in the
progradational sequence, by the presence of a
more erratic upward-coarsening sequence due to
distal mouth bar frontal splays, turbidite beds, and
slumps, and by the presence of the capping dis-
tributary channel fill.
Delta front sands are better sorted and finer
than associated distributary channel sands. Shell
debris commonly accumulates as thin beds or
lenses, and plant debris is abundantly dispersed
through the delta front sand body. Beach-ridge
and mouth bar sands coarsen upward, as is typical
of sand bodies produced by progradation of a
marine shoreface (Fig. 5.17). Distal-bar deposits
consist of interbedded sand, silt, and mud. Bed-
ding and contained primary structures may be
wholly to partially destroyed by burrowing. Up-
ward, the proportion and thickness of sand and silt
beds increases, burrows become less abundant,
and primary structures, including planar and
ripple lamination, are preserved (Fig. 5.17).
Slumped or contorted beds indicate sporadic grav-
ity-mass flow of sediment down the sloping
shoreface. The interbedded sequence grades up-
ward into hummocky, planar or low-angle trough
cross-stratified sand containing scattered burrows
and discontinuous mud beds and lenses. The com-
plete progradational sequence is capped by low-
angle, planar beach stratification, and uppermost
beds in the sand may show root disturbance, re-
flecting subaerial exposure. The sand body is over-
lain by delta plain marsh or backswamp peat,
carbonaceous mud, or mud (Fig. 5.16). Efficient
strike reworking fills in interdistributary areas,
and storm waves build subaerial beach berms, de-
creasing the significance of interdistributary bay,
lake, and progradational splay facies.
Delta front sands grade basin ward and down-
ward into prodelta and open marine shelf depos-
its, typically muds or silts. They are overlain by,
and grade landward into, the suite of delta plain
distributary, marsh, floodplain, and lake deposits.
The greater intensity of wave reworking in a
wave-dominated delta such as the Rhone results
in widespread dispersal of suspended sediment.
Consequently, a thick, localized prodelta facies
may not be deposited. Rather, mud and silt slowly
accumulate on large areas of shallow basin margin
shelf and slope. These deposits differ little in com-
position, geometry, or accessory features from
typical marine shelf facies. Prodelta deposits of
the Rhone consist of burrowed, sparingly fossilif-
erous mud and silt. Species abundance and diver-
sity, as well as intensity of burrowing, increase
systematically basinward and laterally from the
active delta front (Lagaaij and Kopstein 1964),
reflecting decreasing rates of sedimentation.
Nonframework delta plain facies of the sub-
aerial Rhone Delta system form primarily by
aggradation of overbank fluvial material washed
into the floodplain, lake, and coastal lagoons. De-
posits consist of discontinuous beds and lenses of
 Wave-Dominated Deltas 113

SEDIMENTARY SEQUENCE
COASTAL BARRIER

STRUCTURES AVERAGE GRAIN SIZE E - LOG PROFILE

I;il];~i Delta plain

111;;;;
~ Low 4- planar
stratification

o
w E~~~~~ Troughs
>
0:::
W
en
w
0:::
CL

~~~~~~~ Ripple laml

bu rrows

Fig. 5.17. Generalized vertical profile through a coastal-barrier sand body of the wave-dominated delta margin

clay, mud, muddy sand, and some peat. Root dis-
turbance and pedogenic modification are com-
mon. Faunas, if preserved, indicate brackish to
freshwater conditions. Crevasse splays resemble
their fluvial counterparts. The exposed coastal
beach ridges provide a ready source of sand
for eolian reworking, and coastal dunefields are
prominent features of many wave-dominated
deltas, including the Sao Francisco (Brazil) and
Burdekin (Australia) systems (Coleman and
Wright 1975).
Facies Architecture
The physical stratigraphic framework of wave-
dominated deltas is broadly similar to that of
fluvial-dominated deltas. The Rhone Delta system
reveals the same basic facies succession (Fig. 5.18)
seen in the Mississippi Delta system. Shelf and
prodelta muds grade into an upward-coarsening
sequence of delta front beach-ridge sands. In
the wave-dominated system, these sands form a
broad, continuous sheet or apron that reflects the
greater impact of marine redistribution along
strike than seen in the channel-mouth bar/delta
front sand sheet of fluvial-dominated systems.
Single genetic sequences reasonably range
from about 20ft (6m) to a maximum of about
100ft (30m). In actively subsiding basins, cyclic
lobe progradation and abandonment may produce
repetitive, stacked sequences of upward-coarsen-
ing beach-ridge sands (Fig. 5.18). Similarly, thick-
ened, amalgamated delta front sand bodies
accumulate as protruding parts of inactive lobes
are reworked and welded to the delta front. Such
 ...----
PLATFORM DE LTA
m
It
0 0
o i----------------------------------- ('lIse I in g..
C/)
'"
'<
~
(')

3
~

/.-'l
///
//..-- -.---
200 /,r
SHELF-EDGE DE LTA //
/1
///

100

400
Modern Delto Facies
Rc.vinemenl sJrtoce

Lowstand cO<lslol plein surface o Della plain mud and sand

./
~././ Seismtcally tmaged stratel surface prj] Della front - beach ridge

~ Channel I-'::,:~ Distributary channel fill sand

600

I Faull or slumr- plane [ ---J Prodelta -shelf m~d

200

Fig.S.18. Dip-oriented cross-section of the Rhone Delta illustrating the generalized facies architecture produced by progradation of a wave-dominated delta system (right) (original section
based on nine drill holes; modified from Oomkens 1970) and the bedding geometry of the late Pleistocene shelf-edge delta lobe (left). A Lowstand shelf-margin delta lobe; BI transgressive
delta destructional and shelf deposits; B2 aggradational delta plain succession deposited during sea-level rise; CI and C2 Holocene platform delta lobe successions. (Modified from Tesson
et al. 1990)

stacking may greatly increase the thickness of
the delta front sand. Growth faulting can further
expand upper prodelta and delta front succession.
For example, massive and sequences interpreted
to be wave-dominated delta front deposits ranging
from several hundred to several thousand feet
thick occur in the Oligocene Frio and early
Miocene Oakville Formations of the northwest
Gulf of Mexico basin (Galloway et al. 1986,
1991).
The modern Rhone Delta consists of three dis-
crete lobes. Lobe abandonment was followed by
wave reworking of the cuspate distributary head-
land and mouth bar, transport downdrift, and
redeposition of sand as accreting beach ridges.
Internally, coastal barrier sand bodies display low
to moderate angle (1-6), seaward-dipping bed-
ding (Fig. 5.18), reflecting basinward offlap of the
sloping upper prodelta and shoreface. Succes-
sive constructional and destructional phase
beach-ridge complexes amalgamate to form the
delta front sand wedge. Transgressive erosion
(ravinement) surfaces separate the amalgamated
delta front ridge complexes. However, the well-
sorted nature of beach-ridge sands tends to mini-
mize the impact of these internal bedding surfaces
on lateral and vertical fluid movements.
Delta front sands are, in turn, overlain by a
mosaic of inner, aggradational delta plain facies or
perhaps by coastal dune sands. Upper portions of
the beach-ridge complex, as well as delta plain
facies, are cut by distributary channel fills. Mixed-
and bed-load channels typical of many wave-
dominated deltas form broad upward-fining or
uniform sand belts that locally segment the strike-
oriented coastal barrier sand bodies by dip-
oriented facies elements.
Tide-Dominated Deltas
As tide range increases, tidal currents increasingly
modify distributary mouth geometry and redis-
tribute bed-load sediment. In contrast to wave
processes, sediment transport is primarily in the
dip direction, out of the channel mouth and onto
an extensive shoal-water prodelta platform con-
structed by rapid mixing and settling of suspended
sediment. The channel-mouth bar is reworked
into a series of elongate bars that extend from well
within the channel mouth out onto the subaque-
Tide-Dominated Deltas 115
ous delta front platform. Resulting delta plain ge-
ometries are irregular to estuarine.
The facies architecture of tide-dominated del-
tas is less well known than that of other delta
types. Consequently, comparatively few ancient
examples are described in the literature. The es-
tuarine plan form and transgressive nature of most
Holocene coastlines has led to the mislabeling of
drowned river valley estuaries as deltas and to the
conclusion of some authors that tide-dominated
deltas do not form. However, review of modern
deltas shows that actively prograding, tide-domi-
nated delta systems are common. Studies of the
Mahakam Delta (Gerard and Oesterle 1973;
Magnier et al. 1975), Niger Delta (Allen 1965b;
Weber 1971; Oomkens 1974), Ganges Delta
(Umitsu 1993), Klang-Langat Delta (Coleman et
al. 1970), Rajang Delta (Staub and Esterle 1993),
and Colorado River Delta of the Gulf of Califor-
nia (Thompson 1968; Meckel 1975) provide in-
sight into the sediments and facies framework of
tide-dominated deltas. The Colorado Delta will be
used as an example for discussion (Fig. 5.19).
Depositional Environments and Facies
Framework sand bodies of tide-dominated deltas
are the product of deposition in tidally modified
estuarine distributary channels, delta-fringing
tidal sand flats, and tidal current sand ridges and
shoals (Fig. 5.19). The distributary fill and tidal
sand ridge facies merge as distributary mouths
flare and open onto the broad subtidal platform
that fronts most tide-dominated deltas. Subsidiary
sand-bearing facies include crevasse splays, which
are abundant on the lower delta plain in or di-
rectly upstream of the zone of tidal influence, and
tidal channels that do not connect updip to the
active distributary system. Bounding facies in-
clude tidal flat and channel mud and silt, levee and
floodplain mud and silt, tidal salt marsh and
swamp peat and organically rich mud, supratidal
flat and salt pan muds and evaporites, and
prodelta mud, silt, and minor sand.
Tide-dominated deltas display few to many es-
tuarine distributary channels, which are character-
ized by broad, funnel-shaped mouths, and narrow,
sinuous upper reaches. In lower reaches, channels
are symmetrical in cross-section or exhibit mul-
tiple parallel thalwegs separated by elongate bars
(Fig. 5.19, section A). Because the channel mouth
is a locus of bed-load deposition, and tidal trans-
116 Delta Systems
r
r
\\ \
\\\\,.)
\'
\"1\\
\ \ \) ' \
\ \
\ ~
\ J
'- Subaqueous tidal
sand r idge complex
8 8'
Dlstnbutary Tida l flat
port of sediment has a dominant upchannel com-
ponent, estuarine distributaries tend to fill with
sand, forming seaward-thickening and -widening
lenses. In the upper delta plain, channels are nar-
row, sinuous, erosional, and well-defined. Lateral
accretion bedding, reflecting point-bar deposition,
is likely present. Numerous dead-end tidal chan-
nels may extend from estuarine distributary mar-
gins and the delta front into surrounding tidal-flat
and marsh facies. Both width and thickness of the
distributary sand bodies increase downchannel,
reflecting the estuarine form. Thickness decreases
offshore where flow spreads from the channel
mouth across the prodelta platform.
Fig. 5.19. Surficial depositional environ-
tv ments of the Holocene Colorado tide-
/
dominated delta system, northern Gulf
of California. Cross-sections A' and B'
illustrate the subaqueous morphologies
of the lower estuarine distributary and
o delta platform. (Modified from Meckel
I 1975)
o
\
\ \
\ I
Distributary FI M
01 0
15
60
Sedimentary features and vertical sequence
typical of estuarine distributary fills are shown in
Fig. 5.20. The channel-fill deposit is composed of
multiple, superimposed, and variably preserved
upward-fining depositional units. Such units are
interpreted to be the product of lateral migration
of the thalwegs and intrachannel bars present
within lower portions of the distributary. Pro-
gradation results in superposition of deposits of
the more confined, meandering upper distributary
on the top of the facies succession. In the Colo-
rado system, internal depositional units range
from a few feet to as much as 25ft (8m) thick; the
composite estuarine channel sand body may be

STRUCT URES
t~~
II I=:'
~~~
I U======:=3 lamination
I
I I_~=":~-"I;::"~ Small 10 large
I troughs
F==~=""'iiIl Mud drapes
....o
>
....cr
....
<J)
cr
a.
Im':i;;"""""""';""';;;;""~
Fig. 5.20. Generalized vertical profile through an estuarine distributary channel-fill sand body. E-LOG Electric log. (Modified
from Meckel 1975)
80-100ft (25-30m) thick (Meckel 1975). Well-
sorted sand constitutes most of the channel fill and
contains abundant discontinuous mud and silt
drapes, laminae, and clasts, macerated plant de-
bris, and, locally, shell. Primary sedimentary struc-
tures are diverse and show little regularity in
vertical distribution (Fig. 5.20). Cross-stratifica-
tion of both trough and tabular types is abundant.
Well-developed herringbone cross-stratification is
uncommon, but bidirectional dips are apparent if
long cores or adjacent sections are compared. Par-
allel and ripple lamination are common through-
out the sequence. Scattered burrows may also
occur, particularly in muddier intervals.
Estuarine distributary channels are flanked by
diverse facies of the lower and upper delta plain.
Landward, channel fill boundaries are abrupt and
erosional, but in distal portions of the distributary,
where surrounding flats and splays are flooded
Tide-Dominated Deltas 117
AVERAGE GRAIN SIZE E - LOG PROFILE
T i da l flol
Ho" zonlol
Massive bedding
Basal scour
and log
during high tide, channel-fill deposits grade in part
into surrounding finer-grained sediments.
Elongate, usually dip-oriented, tidal ridges or
shoals are present on the marginal shelf or broad
prodelta platform of tide-dominated deltas (Fig.
5.19, section B') and are produced by complete
remolding of channel-mouth deposits by tide-gen-
erated currents. The bars occur in fields or swarms
as part of a widespread, but irregularly distributed
subaqueous sand sheet that breaks up into iso-
lated bars in deep water. Colorado Delta sand
ridges have a maximum relief of about 30ft (10m)
and are regularly spaced at intervals of several
miles (Meckel 1975). Dips of bar flanks are gentle,
averaging only a few degrees. Bars are believed to
migrate laterally in response to changing distribu-
tary mouth positions.
Internal features of a complete tidal-ridge se-
quence are summarized in Fig. 5.21. Interbar and
118 Delta Systems

STRUCTURES AVERAGE GRAIN SIZE E - LOG PROFILE

III1IIII Tidal flol

Dominonlly Irough,
::::'~:::'::-~J2':~rippl e ond parollel
stratification

o
w
>
0:
w
(f)
w
0:
a..
~%iijiimatq
F" Interbedded
and burrowed,mud
I:z=.ci::;z;,::;:r,;:~m;;~ rppi led sand

1!llliilllilllljprodelto -shelf mud

Fig. 5.21. Generalized vertical profile through a tidal current sand ridge based on sedimentary features of the Colorado
subaqueous delta front platform. (Modified from Meckel 1975)

distal-bar deposits consist of interbedded mud,
silt, and sand. An upward-coarsening sequence is
produced as well-sorted mid- and upper-bar sands
are deposited. However, the common presence of
discontinuous mud lenses, beds, and clast zones
suggests that delta-associated tidal sand ridges
contain an erratic vertical sequence that produces
a serrate well log response (Fig. 5.21). Sedimen-
tary structures are dominated by parallel stratifi-
cation and low- to high-angle cross-stratification.
Presence of large two- and three-dimensional
dunes on submerged bars suggests that both tabu-
lar and trough cross-stratification are abundant.
Thin sand and silt beds in the lower-bar sequence
exhibit wavy and ripple lamination and are
burrowed.
Tidal sand ridge and sand flat deposits form a
widespread, modified delta front sheet-sand fa-
cies. Sands grade down - up and basinward into
prodelta and marine muds. They merge landward
into muddy, heterolithic intertidal flat, estuary, or
wave-reworked beach-ridge muds and sands.
Progradation of the delta, and consequent burial
of tidal ridges, will either superimpose tidal-flat
mud and silt on the delta front sand facies (Fig.
5.21) or lead to its incision by advancing distribu-
tary channels.
Delta plain environments of a high-tide range
delta are dominated by upper tidal-flat and salt
marsh and their associated tidal channels and
gulleys. Tidal-flat deposits generally resemble
their counterparts on nondeltaic coasts (Chap. 6).
They consist dominantly of mud with some
interbedded thin sands and crosscutting, mainly
mud- and silt-filled tidal channels. Periodic chan-
nel shifting and changing sediment supply along
the delta margin results in periods of destruction
and erosion of portions of the tidal flat. Thin,

transgressive sand and shell berms or bars, which
are interbedded with tidal-flat muds, reflect such
alternation of constructional and destructional
phases. In wet climates, extensive marsh or swamp
deposits cover the supratidal flats, depositing beds
of peat and organically rich mud (Coleman et al.
1970). In arid settings such as the Colorado Delta
plain, supratidal flats are the site of evaporite
deposition.
Because of tidally enhanced mixing of fluvial
and marine waters, suspended sediment is rapidly
deposited around the margin of tide-dominated
deltas as a prodelta mud facies . Accumulation
of prodelta mud constructs a broad, shallow,
subtidal platform on which tidal sand ridge
and tidal-flat deposits accumulate. The break
in depositional slope from delta platform to
foresets commonly lies up to several miles beyond
the delta shoreline. As in the other delta types,
mass-gravity transport processes and growth
faulting modify prodelta and overlying delta front
deposits.
Facies Architecture
The somewhat schematic cross-sections of the
Colorado Delta system (Fig. 5.22) published by
Meckel (1975) and of the Klang-Langat system
published by Coleman et al. (1970) describe a tide-
dominated deltaic stratigraphy consisting of a
progradational, upward-coarsening prodelta mud
and tidal sand ridge sequence overlain by
w E
D...
CillIill
.........
[Ell
.... ~
Fig. 5.22. Depositional architecture of a tide-dominated delta system illustrated by a cross-section through the Colorado Delta.
The original section was based on five drill holes. W West. E East. (Meckel 1975)
Delta System Recognition 119
aggradational, delta plain tidal-flat, tidal channel,
and marsh/swamp deposits. Aggradational and
upper portions of the progradational facies are cut
by large, dip-oriented, estuarine distributary chan-
nel-fill deposits.
Both distributary fill and delta front facies form
large sand bodies that are quite heterogeneous
internally. Although transmissivity of such sand
bodies would be high, anisotropy and numerous
local permeability barriers likely complicate fluid
flow patterns. Cyclic progradation and destruction
are poorly documented by limited studies of
modern tide-dominated deltas, but is a common
feature of ancient systems (Maguregui and Tyler
1991).
Delta System Recognition
Delta types can be differentiated primarily by the
geometry and orientation of the progradational
sand facies, their spatial relationship to the dis-
tributary channel system and, to a lesser extent,
the geometry of the distributary channel fills
(Table 5.2).
Overall sediment grain size supplied by the
fluvial system and deposited within the delta
strongly influences delta type (Fig. 5.23; Orton and
Reading 1993). The complete range of delta types
is constructed by mixed-load rivers. In contrast,
muddy suspended-load streams tend to build
PLE ISTOCENE
Esluarme dlslributary
channel fli ls [Ill]] Shel f / prode lt a
15Lo
M FI
Tidal sand ridge complex
Coast al barr ier
~o
!
0 AllUV ia l fan
Ti dal f l at o 15
o
IOMi
kM
120 Delta Systems

Table 5.2. Depositional characteristics of deltaic systems

Fluvial-dominated Wave-dominated Tide-dominated

Lobe geometry Elongate to lobate Arcuate Lobate to irregular

Bulk composition
Framework facies
Framework orientation
Common channel type
Muddy to mixed
Distributary mouth bar
and delta front sheet
sand; distributary
Dip-oriented with high
dispersion
Suspended load to fine
mixed load
Sandy
Beach ridge sand;
distributary channel
fill sand
Dominantly parallels
depositional strike;
subsidiary dip trends
Mixed load to bed load
Muddy to mixed
Tidal ridge sand; estuarine distributary
channel fill sand
Parallels depositional slope unless
skewed by local basin geometry
Variable, tidally modified geometry

Modified from Galloway (1975).

,/
,/
,/
/"

Dt/), Proboble della Iypes

Fig. 5.23. Occurrence of various delta types as a function of deltas (see Chap. 3). Delta plain distributary channel type and
grain size. Muddy rivers typically create fluvial- or wave-domi- attributes of the delta front slope are also related predictably to
nated deltas; sand-rich rivers produce fluvial- or wave-domi- sediment texture. (Modified from Orton and Reading 1993)
nated deltas. Very coarse streams produce fan or braidplain

fluvial- or tide-dominated deltas. Fine sediments
accentuate channelization of flow and produce
very low grades; thus tide influence can extend far
up distributary channels, and tidal flow velocities
readily transport fine sand and silt. Conversely,
coarse, bed-load rivers typically feed fluvial- or
wave-dominated deltas. Steep delta plain slopes
limit the inland extent of tidal influence, and tidal
current velocities are ineffective for transport of
coarse bed load.
 Delta System Stratigraphic Architecture 121

Delta System Stratigraphic Architecture based distributary channel and associated splay
sand bodies (Fig. 5.24). Delta plain facies are
capped abruptly by a destructional transgressive-
Facies Organization marine veneer, commonly with a sharp, erosional
or channelized base, or by an unusually wide-
Comparison of the generalized facies organization spread marsh or swamp marker bed.
of each of the three end-member delta types (Figs. Although detailed facies mapping and core
5.15, 5.16, 5.22) reveals basic similarities that examination would be required for specific inter-
characterize delta systems (Fig. 5.24). In each, a pretation of all sand units, generalized facies inter-
muddy, upward-coarsening prodelta succession pretations are readily apparent from stratigraphic
culminates in a relatively continuous, marine-in- position, lateral relationships, and vertical textural
fluenced, delta front sand unit, which is overlain trends. Log patterns and detailed well log cross-
by a mosaic of dominantly aggradational delta sections can provide the critical information for
plain facies, including prominent, erosionally such interpretation (Fig. 5.24). Recognition of the

B c o

o
c:
Q
"0
"0
o
e;.
~
....:~=-..-'~-:';.-:-'..+-.-,...-,........,..,..,..,., :::::::::::::::::::::::::
.............. .. .. ... .. .
.................
..
,
... ....
....... .. .......... ... .
..................... .....
.. ..... ... .... ...........
.........................
.......... ' I'. ....

[11 - 1\ \I [I!l mil u i(~i~'~17:'";:' 1m

Prodelta

..... ..... ........ , ... .

, .... ........... ...... .
::::::::::::::::: ::::
.....................

\t.::: ::
"...

..
..... ... .
.. . ......
... ::::::::
...
........... :)
"l
.... . . .. .
... .. .... ;~

...........
r rr-r- --. ,-
........ , ..

, .. \

Fig.5.24. Basic facies architecture of delta systems. Predicta ble vertical and lateral facies associations are reflected in log patterns
122 Delta Systems
spatial association of delta front, distributary, and
destructional sand bodies enables interpretation
of their genesis and extrapolation of their geom-
etries.
Bedding Geometry
Delta bedding geometry is characterized by large-
scale foresets capped by nearly horizontal topsets
(Figs. 5.18C,D, 5.25). Foreset angles are typically a
few degrees or less, and compaction further re-
duces the original angle. Analysis of modem del-
tas (Orton and Reading 1993) and computer
simulation (Kenyon and Turcotte 1985) shows
that delta foreset angle is correlative with sedi-
ment texture, water depth, and rate of sediment
supply. Sandy delta fronts have relatively steep
slopes, ranging up to several degrees. Muddy
delta slopes are commonly less than 1. Delta
front slope angle and composition, in tum, influ-
ence the resedimentation processes. Muddy delta
fronts are likely sites for hyperpycnal flows, mud
flows, and large slumps and slides (Fig. 5.23).
Sandy delta front slopes fail frequently, forming
recurrent high-density turbidity and grainflows.
Steeper foreset angles and greater gravity
resedimentation are also favored by high rates of
sediment supply and progradation into deep wa-
ter. Thus, coarse-grained, rapidly prograding,
deep-water deltas will most effectively bypass bed
load to the basin floor. Muddy, marine-domi-
nated, shoal-water deltas will have gentlest
fore sets and bypass little, if any, bed load.
Delta System Scale
Because delta systems are principal sites of
sediment entry into many basins, they commonly
produce major sand isopach thicks within time-
equivalent sequences of basin fill. Maximum
thickness of the deltaic successions is a function of
water depth within the reservoir and the rate of
subsidence.
Depth of water affects deltaic sedimentation by
determining the thickness of the prodelta platform
and differential relief between the topset and ba-
sin floor. Greater delta front relief promotes both
gravity resedimentation and deformation. The
comparatively rapid compactional subsidence of a
thick muddy platform allows accumulation and
preservation of the full suite of deltaic facies.
Highly thickened sand bodies can result (Fig.
5.11). In shallow water, foresets are low angled,
delta front relief is limited, and thin pro-
gradational facies are cannibalized by advancing
distributaries. Distributaries may incise below the
base of the progradational facies succession
(Morton and Donaldson 1978). In such settings
vertical sequences are abbreviated, and facies
show considerable lateral offset. Facies displace-
ment and cannibalization by fluvial incision are
further accentuated if delta progradation is ac-
companied by falling sea level.
In divergent continental margins and other
settings where a broad shelf with a distinct shelf/
slope break occurs, inboard platform (shoal-
water) delta lobes evolve basinward into shelf-
margin (deep-water) delta lobes, with concomi-
tant changes in depositional and structural style
(Fig. 5.26). In Quaternary delta systems such as
the Mississippi and Rhone (Fig. 5.18), abrupt,
high-amplitude glacioeustatic sea-level change
has forced delta lobes abruptly back and forth
between lowstand shelf-margin and highstand
platform positions (Suter and Berryhill 1985;
Suter et al. 1987; Tesson et al. 1990; Sydow and
Roberts 1994). Gravity remobilization of sedi-
ment from shelf-margin delta lobes creates a di-
verse array of resedimented slump, debris flow,
grainflow, and turbidite lobes and beds within the
prodelta succession (Mayall et al. 1992) and may
source subjacent slope/basin systems (Field and
Gardner 1990; Satterfield and Behrens 1990).
Sand-rich deltas are characterized by grainflows,
gravity slides, and growth faults; mud-rich delta-
front slopes are prone to initiate slumps and debris
and mixed turbidity flows (Orton and Reading
1993). Most Quaternary delta systems display ar-
eally distinct highstand platform and lowstand
shelf-edge delta lobes because of the high ampli-
tude and frequency of glacioeustatic sea-level
change. However, the basic attributes of shelf-
edge deltas reflect progradation into deep water
and onto a relatively steep substrate. Late Ho-
locene "highstand" deltas prograding onto steep
slopes display the full range of shelf-edge delta
features (Lindsay et al. 1984; Syvitski and Farrow
1989).
Regional basin subsidence has tectonic and iso-
static components. Loading of the crust by a thick
sequence of sediment is followed closely by isos-
tatic adjustment. Regional structural features such
as broad arches or troughs may reflect patterns of
basin filling by deltaic depocenters (Weimer 1970;
Galloway et al. 1991). In ocean basins, isostatic
adjustment produces a broad subsidence bowl
 tJ
g;
(/J
'"'<
CJ>
r;
3
;!2
..,
~
00'
..,
'0
'::r"
n'
fl m Transgressive shelf system [::;::::':1 Delta system ?
" ::::::.::: ..,
o 1 km
D ()
g
T O r;
()
o 0.5 mi 500 -L 250 1: :':.';:);'] Post-delta system shelf/basin
..,2
(1)

Fig. 5.25. Reflection seismic image of the progradational architecture of a delta platform. Clinoforms mark the direction of delta progradation, which is approximately
parallel to the line of section. Small growth faults or slumps sole out on bedding planes. The relatively steep angle (4.5") reflects the very sandy composition of this wave- .....
N
dominated delta system w
124 Delta Systems
Fig. 5.26. Cross-section showing the contrasting attributes of platform and shelf-edge delta successions
where several thousand feet of slope and deltaic
sediment prograde onto thin basaltic crust (Dailly
1975). Many of the great Tertiary deltaic de-
pocenters of the world, such as the Neogene Niger
and Mississippi systems, formed through subtle
tectonic focusing and isostatic adjustment. Such
expanded deltaic sequences produce offlapping
wedges characterized by extreme vertical stacking
of deltaic facies, preserving tens or even hundreds
of cycles of construction and abandonment.
Large-scale development of growth faults and dia-
pirs further expands the delta front framework
sand facies within syndepositional sub-basins.
Flexural depression of the crust extends beyond
the focus of delta loading, creating delta flank
moats that may become preferred sites of periodic
transgression and submarine canyon incision
(Burke 1972; Dailly 1975).
Whereas isostatic subsidence may be consid-
ered passive, subsidence induced by active com-
pression or extension modifies basin geometry
with little reflection of rates or preferred sites of
sediment input. However, if a rough balance be-
tween subsidence and sedimentation is main-
tained, tectonic subsidence can accommodate the
accumulation of thick deltaic systems such as the
Jurassic Brent complex in the North Sea basin
(Graue et al. 1987).
Tectonic stability, coupled with shallow water
depths and cratonic crust, produces thin, elongate
deltas that may traverse hundreds of miles and
several depositional basins. Cratonic basin and
platform deltas are characterized by lateral rather
than vertical development of facies, extensive can-
nibalization of the deltaic facies by the equivalent
fluvial systems, irregular digitate geometries, and
laterally extensive, bounding marine beds that
may produce cyclothemic sequences (Brown 1979;
Brown et al. 1990). Sand distribution maps com-
monly reflect mainly fluvial and distributary chan-
nel deposits, further exaggerating the digitate
geometry. Dramatic lateral changes from thin
elongate deltas to thick, vertically repetitive lo-
bate deltas occurred in the Karoo Basin, where
progradation crossed from shallow, stable plat-
forms into locally subsiding intra basinal troughs
(Hobday 1978a).
Evolution of Delta Systems
Delta systems respond to changes in the relative
intensity of marine processes, sediment input, and
base level. As a delta system progrades into a

depositional basin, changing basin morphology
can systematically modify marine processes. Wave
energy is greatest on the open, deep shelf or at the
shelf edge (Fig. 5.25) but is attenuated by bottom
friction on wide, shallow shelves. Tide range, in
contrast, tends to be amplified on broad, shoaling
shelves. The nature and volume of fluvial input
may also change with time as the tectonic frame-
work, climate, or topography of the source terrain
evolve. A relative fall in sea level can force a delta
to the shelf edge, leaving little progradational
record on the shelf. As demonstrated by early
Holocene lobes of the Mississippi Delta system,
rising sea level can cause backstepping or ret-
rogradational stacking of successive delta lobes
(Boyd et al. 1989). Succeeding delta lobes within a
delta system will reflect such changes. Examples of
evolving delta depositional style described by Gal-
loway and Brown (1972), Duncan (1983), and
Bhattacharya (1988) illustrate common trends.
The thick Oligocene deltaic succession depos-
ited on the northwest Gulf of Mexico margin dis-
plays a common evolutionary history (Duncan
1983). With an abrupt increase in sediment supply
(Galloway and Williams 1991), initial deltaic lobes
prograded rapidly onto a thick prodelta and conti-
nental slope mud platform. High fluvial input
combined with rapid subsidence of delta front
sands into the underlying mud substrate resulted
in deposition of wave-modified fluvial-dominated
deltas. The delta system advanced rapidly to the
shelf edge and actively prograded the continental
margin. As sediment supply began to wane, wave
reworking increasingly modified distributary
mouth bars, producing arcuate beach-ridge com-
plexes. As the source area was worn down, vol-
ume and grain size of sediment input continued to
decrease. Subsidence continued, and successive
delta lobes retrograded onto the foundering delta
platform. Wave reworking increasingly domi-
nated the delta front, and cuspate delta lobes with
highly strike-elongate sand distribution patterns
Evolution of Delta Systems 125
resulted. Bhattacharya (1988) documented a
similar history of delta evolution from fluvial-
dominated birdfoot geometries deposited in
thick, offlapping successions to wave-dominated
cuspate geometries deposited in relatively thin,
backstepping successions of the Upper Creta-
ceous Dunvegan delta system of the Alberta
foreland basin. In addition to the clearly pulsed
sediment supply creating the Dunvegan episode,
relative sea-level fall and rise further enhanced
the outbuilding phase and subsequent transgres-
sion of the system.
Pennsylvanian deltaic systems of the Midland
Basin, Texas, exhibit changes in deltaic deposi-
tional style resulting from progradation across a
shallow, stable platform to the contemporaneous
shelf edge (Galloway and Brown 1972; Brown et
al. 1990). On the platform, progradational depos-
its are thin and poorly preserved due to the shal-
low water depth (ranging from a few feet to tens of
feet) and cannibalization by incised distributary
and trunk fluvial channels. Platform deltas were
fluvial-dominated because wave energy was se-
verely attenuated in such shallow water. Sea-level
fall periodically forced deltas to the shelf edge and
localized fluvial systems within incised valleys. As
deltas prograded across the shelf margin and into
deeper water, several factors changed abruptly.
Wave energy flux increased. Development of a
thick prodelta platform allowed deposition and
preservation of expanded progradational delta
margin facies successions. Further, the presence of
a gentle subaqueous slope with as much as 1000 ft
(300m) of differential relief introduced the poten-
tial for sediment remobilization by gravity-mass
transport. As a consequence of these changes,
thick distributary mouth bar and delta front sand
bodies assumed volumetric importance as lobate
delta geometries evolved. Significant amounts of
sediment, including sand, were resedimented by
grainflows and slumps down the prodelta slope,
forming a delta-fed slope apron.
6 Shore-Zone Systems
Introduction
The shore zone, excluding deltas, comprises the
narrow, high-energy transitional environment
that extends from wave base, commonly at about
10 m (35 ft) to the landward limit of marine pro-
cesses (Fig. 6.1). Although the shore zone is a
narrow, linear zone, shorelines migrate over time
to leave a record of widespread shore-zone depos-
its, with considerable bearing on the distribution
of hydrocarbons, coal, uranium, and other mineral
resources.
The shore zone includes beach, barrier, spit,
inlet, lagoon, estuary, tidal-channel. and tidal-flat
environments. These environments also occur in
delta systems, as deltas clearly possess a shoreline.
However, deltas are distinguished by their focused
progradation, which creates a defined seaward-
convex bulge, and presence of distinct channel-
mouth bar and distributary channel deposits.
Shore-zone depositional systems, in contrast, are
primarily nourished by longshore sediment trans-
port; hence they are strike-fed systems. Shore-
zone sediments are largely derived from the
following:
1. Reworking of abandoned delta lobes or active
delta margins
2. Reworking of channel-mouth deposits of small
coastal plain streams
3. Landward transport of shelf sediments
Minor sediment volumes are derived by re-
sidual concentration during regional coastal plain
transgression and erosion of raised headlands. In
all cases, however, longshore transport is diagnos-
tic of the shore-zone system.
Shore-zone sands are characteristically, but not
invariably, quartzose and may be practically
monomineralic apart from local concentrations of
resistant heavy minerals. Labile components are
reduced or removed by physical and chemical
breakdown that accompanies wave and current
recycling, and the finer fraction is winnowed, leav-
ing sorted, quartz-rich laminae with pebble bands,
shell, and other organic detritus. Interfingering
of some ancient shore-zone systems with coeval
alluvial deposits is accentuated by pronounced
lithological contrasts between quartz-rich strand-
line and lithic coastal plain sandstones, for ex-
ample in the Warrior Basin of Alabama (Hobday
1974). Depending upon provenance, however,
nonquartz lithologies such as volcanic rock frag-
ments, or "black sands," may dominate. Some
shore zones, particularly those characterized
by a large tidal range, are entirely mud dom-
inated. Elsewhere, only gravel clastics may be
available for wave processes to construct shin-
gle beaches with diagnostic fabric and bedding
characteristics.
Barrier-island and strandplain sand bodies
commonly present good porosity and permeabil-
ity and are prime targets for petroleum explo-
ration. Landward and seaward interfingering of
these shore-parallel sands with fine-grained, or-
ganically rich lagoonal and offshore marine sedi-
ments creates updip seals, providing the potential
for stratigraphic entrapment of oil and gas. The
Tertiary of the Gulf Coastal Plain includes excel-
lent examples of shore-zone reservoirs (Chap. 15),
which are also present in different forms and com-
binations in many other petroleum basins of the
world.
Modern barriers are effective in promoting
marsh formation and peat accumulation in estua-
rine and lagoonal margins, as well as on barrier-
fringed abandoned delta plains (Kosters 1989).
The presence of barrier systems enhanced the
development of coals in some ancient coastal de-
posits, as noted by Ferm (1974) in studies of Ap-
palachian coal basins. Despite a tendency toward
higher than desirable levels of sulfur in some
cases, back-barrier seams are mined in a number
of coalfields.
Many other commercial minerals are recovered
from shore-zone systems. Shore-zone sands host
 Spectrum of Shore-Zone Environments 127

........................
. ... .. lo:
::::::::::::::::::::::c

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~!!!!!!!!!! ~tt!! !~::::: ~ ~::::::::; i : : . :. . ::: :COA'ST'AL::::::::::::::::::::

1&1

:::CONTINENTAL .... :::::::::::::::::: ::::. PLAIN":::'::::::::::::::::

::::::~~.~':'.~::::::::::: CONTINENTAI/
.............. IL SHELF ....
\:,. j j j~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ j: ~:: N~,<:::::::::
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : ; : : ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : : : : : : : ~ ~:/ S HO R E \ ~ : ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : : : : : : ~ : :~ ~ : ~ : : ~ ~
~ ~ ~ : ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : : ~ ~ ~ ~ :~: ~ : : : : : : ~ : : ) '
: :::::::::::::::::::
' \ : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :~ : : : :

. .~ . ~::~I~~i":::~;
Z ON E
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :' ~ :::~ ~ ~ :

..... , ....... . ................. . .

,:::::::::::::::::::::::
" .................... .
:::::::::::::: :.:..:::::: :::: :;~
)1'

....1 /
I.&J y , ::::::::::::::::
'~ : ............... .
:::::::::::::::i:;:: j'/ ":~::::::::::: :
:::::::::::::::::./ ~
LLI
DUNE OR
BEACH RIDGES
, ......... .
III
FORESHORE DUNES
: : :HIGH TIDE BEACH
: ::. MSL ...;~:;;.~=~+~.........""':":.~~~;:7,::::::,"" ... .;. ... .;.:-.... . .....
LOW TlDE":'.-: ............ :-:-;.:-:-;.:->:-: .
. .. . . . . . E.f Jl.c.~"
::::S~~~ .. ::::
Fig. 6.1. The shore-zone setting and environments. (Modified from Curray 1969)

commercial epigenetic uranium deposits in the
Tertiary of South Texas (Chap. 14). Diamondifer-
ous beach deposits are worked on a large scale on
the arid southwestern coast of Africa, and Quater-
nary beach sands are mined extensively for heavy
minerals such as monazite, rutile, ilmenite, leu-
coxene, zircon, and garnet.
Spectrum of Shore-Zone Environments
Modem depositional coasts range from embayed,
estuarine shorelines to long, relatively stable
stretches of beach or may display a systematic
coastwise transition from active or inactive deltaic
headlands, through strandplains, to barrier/lagoon
segments. Some stretches may include all three
elements in close proximity. For example, seg-
ments of the modem Texas coast are prograding
while adjoining tracts are undergoing coastal ero-
sion and retreat (Morton 1979). Here, inactive
Quaternary deltaic headlands are flanked by
transgressive late Holocene spits and barriers,
which merge into stable and regressive barriers in
interdeltaic bights. The geographic location of del-
taic depocenters is determined by major, active
fluvial axes. Shore-zone sedimentation, in con-
trast, reflects the ability of marine processes to
concentrate or redistribute the sedimentary input
along the coast and build a broad interdeltaic
coastal plain.
Fundamental controls on coastal morphology
include long-term sea-level history (emergent ver-
sus submergent coasts; Johnson 1919). sediment
supply, tectonic framework, and dominant marine
processes (Curray 1964; Hayes 1975). Boyd et al.
(1992) stress the interplay among these controls
on the distribution of major coastal depositional
features. The prevalent depositional style reflects
the factors of (a) sediment supply, (b) tectonic
subsidence, eustatic change, and compactional
subsidence, which together define relative sea-
level change, and (c) the nearshore energy mix.
Where sediment supply is fine-grained, the
beach and shoreface gradient is gentle, wave en-
ergy is dissipated over a broad area, and ridge and
runnel systems form (Wright et al. 1979; Orton
and Reading 1993). Dissipative shorelines form,
allowing tidal currents to have maximum effect
and favoring progradation. In contrast, coarse-
grained sediment supply favors reflective shore-
lines with steep gradients. Such high-relief
shorelines minimize tidal effects, while concen-
trating wave energy along a narrow zone.
 .....
N
00
MICROTIDAL BARRIER -ISLAND DEPOSITIONAL ARCHITECT
URE
[j)
;J"
o
"1

"
N
o
MUD ::l
[j)
"
'-<
la Lagoon '"
3
"'"
i~::i
-- --
Shelf

SAND
--~-. ~ - _.
---=-t:- ~- - "- --
[ ~ ~ ~] Shoreface - - . ~~ -
--~~~~~---~ ~~~--~-~~
=~~-~:.;~;~~,~~~~.~~~~~--~~~~~~~~~~~
o Borrier core

~~:-:=- ~~.~~;;:--.;- - =:=::--- ~ ~.~--

Inlet fill
-- .~ ~ . - --

P4iiliA ~::;It~:n
Typical scole s B
Imi
I
o Ikm
--
010
-- - :~ - - f~~~
~<.~ - :"-2: < . '
. -~.~ ....,.;..
:"'~.= ...~_ ... ~~"""<"~
50ft 15m
C Qlun

Fig.6.2A -C. Stratigraphy of A progradational, 8 aggradational, and

C transgressive barrierisland sand bodies. (Galloway 1985)

Relative change in sea level, from whatever
cause, is balanced against sediment influx to de-
termine the fundamental stratigraphy of coastal
sedimentation (Curray 1964). Where supply ex-
ceeds relative sea-level rise, the shoreline is
progradational (Fig. 6.2A). Fall of relative sea
level forces coastal regression and, if rapid in com-
parison to sediment accumulation rate, leaves an
incomplete facies record. (The stratigraphic sig-
nificance of forced regression is further discussed
in Chap. 11.) If relative sea-level rise exceeds sedi-
ment supply and accumulation, the coastline is
transgressive (Fig. 6.2C). Where supply and rise
are balanced, thick, aggradational shoreline facies
successions accumulate (Fig. 6.2B). Aggrading
successions are uncommon in Quaternary shore-
zone systems because of the high-magnitude
glacioeustatic sea-level changes. However, aggra-
dational successions are widely represented in
basin settings and geologic times where eustatic
sea-level change is muted.
The full suite of depositional coastal environ-
ments is subdivided by Boyd et al. (1992) on the
basis of overall transgression or regression (Fig.
6.3). Deposition during a fall in sea level (forced
regression) or when sediment supply exceeds the
rate of sea-level rise (depositional regression) cre-
B
Fig. 6.3A,B. The contrast between the embayed coastlines
commonly associated with transgressive coasts (A) and lin-
early prograding coasts (B). Coastwise changes result from
Spectrum of Shore-Zone Environments 129
ates strandplains and tidal flats, along with deltas,
depending on sediment supply and the effective-
ness of waves and tides. Regressive coasts are
dominantly linear apart from deltaic protrusions.
When the rate of relative sea-level rise exceeds
sediment supply, embayed, transgressive shore
zones result, with estuaries and dissected tidal
flats, bayhead spits, and barrier islands and
lagoons.
Shore-zone systems show a range of typical
geomorphic features, including beach ridges,
barrier islands, lagoons, tidal deltas, tidal flats,
salt marshes, and subtidal shoals and ridges,
depending on the relative effectiveness of
waves and tides. Wave effectiveness decreases
with tidal range as the wave energy is dissipated
over the broad intertidal area. Consequently,
tidal range is a major determinant of shore-zone
geomorphology and has been used as a basis
for coastal classification (Fig. 6.4). Barrier islands
and beach ridges and their related environments
prevail along microtidal coasts (tidal range, 0-2 m
or 0-7 ft, assuming a mean wave height of
about 1 m or 3ft), which tend to be wave domi-
nated (Hayes 1975; Davis and Hayes 1984). Tide-
dominated or macrotidal coasts (range, 4-6m or
13-20ft) commonly show flaring estuaries with
WAVE POWER)
.-~ ~'-' ' -'~
-.. .... ::::... ............. _ .............. ~~ ..:.. _ .. _..::. _ _ _ ,.Jo",
variations in the relative power of wave and tidal processes.
(Modified from Boyd et al. 1992)
130 Shore-Zone Systems

BE ACH RIDGES, FLOOD- AND E88- SU8T IDAL SAND

BARRIER TIDAL TIDAL SALT SHOALS AND
ISLANDS INLETS DELTAS FLATS MARSHES RIDGES

Fig. 6.4, Occurrence of shore-zone environments as a function of tidal range. (Hayes 1975)

A B c

Fig. 6.SA-C. Variations in coastal geomorphology as a func- tidal channels, and salt marsh estuaries. C Tidal flats, riverine
tion of a tidal range relative to wave power. A Long, narrow and salt marsh estuaries, and tidal-current ridges of a
microtidal barriers. B Short mesotidal barriers with tidal flats, macrotidal coast. (Barwis and Hayes 1979)

linear sand shoals and ridges. Mixed energy,
or mesotidal, coasts (range, 2-4m or 7-13ft)
have intermediate characteristics, with stunted
barrier islands and tidal flats or marshes (Fig. 6.5).
The absolute tidal ranges are only guidelines; in
very low wave energy coasts, for example, a tide
range of 2-3 m can create features of macrotidal
coasts.
The relative effectiveness of waves and tides is
influenced by the following:

_ PALEOCURRENT VECTOR
Fig. 6.6. Changes in paleoshoreline configuration and correspo nding changes in inferred barrier morphology resulting from
longshore differences in paleotidal range. (Modified from Horne 1979c)
1. The shape of the basin margin, whether
straight, broadly embayed, or narrow and
flaring
2. Nearshore bathymetry
3. Orientation with respect to dominant wave
approach
These factors impart local variations in deposi-
tional process. For example, the brunt of the wave
energy is expended on headlands and open coasts
and decreases in coastal bights and embayments,
where tidal effects are enhanced. Broad shelves
and shallow nearshore profiles similarly dissipate
wave energy, while amplifying tidal range. The
influence of regional paleogeography on the rela-
tive effectiveness of marine processes and result-
ing barrier configuration is illustrated by the
modern German Bight and the Pennsylvanian
shore-zone systems of the southern Appalachian
region (Fig. 6.6).
Shore-Zone Processes 131
KY
- '-'-'
TENN
-
20 40 60 Miles
MEANS
Shore-Zone Processes
Processes that modify the shore zone are tides,
waves, longshore marine currents, and the local
effects of wind. On the subtidal shoreface, waves
rework, texturally sort, and move sediment along
shore. Thus it is wave energy flux that is respon-
sible for the strike-fed systems of shore zones and
creates shore-parallel depositional bars. Tidal cur-
rents modify the alignment of sand bodies from
their predominantly shore-parallel, wave-molded
orientation. Winds rework subaerial coastal sands
and are also important in coastal bays and la-
goons, where they create wind waves and wind
tides capable of constructing bars and spits. Sea-
sonal high-latitude and infrequent tropical storms
have a great impact on the preserved record of
ancient shore-zone systems.
132 Shore-Zone Systems

Waves of bars and steepening of the beach profile,

which becomes reflective after long periods
The transformation of a wave approaching the of low swell. Thus storms tend to produce
shore from a trochoidal to a solitary form, which broad dissipative profiles; fair-weather waves
becomes higher and steeper until it breaks, is "heal" the profile, rebuilding a reflective
caused by gradual shallowing of the inner shelf shoreface.
and shoreface and occurs at the position of a sub- In the swash zone, shallow flow depths and high
merged longshore bar. Orbital wave motion in the velocities contribute to the development of planar
surf zone moves sand landward, but is countered beds with ephemeral bedforms such as antidunes
by seaward-directed rip currents and modified by and rhomboid ripples (Morton and McGowen
longshore currents (Niedoroda et al. 1985; Swift et1980). Heavy minerals are concentrated by storm
al. 1985). Breaking waves span a continuous spec- swash, by sheetflow overtopping the berm and
trum from spilling breakers formed from low- subsequent return flow from the back beach, and
amplitude, short-period waves over a low-angle eolian winnowing. Discoidal pebble shapes result
shoreface to plunging breakers for waves over a from abrasion and shape sorting (Dobkins and
high-angle shoreface (Galvin 1968). Longshore Folk 1970). Seaward-imbricate discoidal and
break-point bars are created by the large-scale blade-shaped clasts tend to be particularly abun-
vortices associated with plunging breakers, but aredant near the hightide line, giving way to a greater
obliterated by spilling breakers (Miller 1976). proportion of subspherical clasts near low-water
Shoreward bar migration is favored by waves of level (Bluck 1967).
intermediate form.
The incoming bore formed by wave collapse is
compensated by backwash in the inner zone of the Tides
upper shoreface. Sand is thrown into suspension
and is transported up the beach foreshore by wave Astronomical tides may be semi diurnal or mixed,
swash. Bores of low initial energy are most effec- with a range which varies from negligible in par-
tive in promoting foreshore accretion (Miller tially enclosed seas to more than 10 m (33 ft) in
1976). Size fractionation in the swash zone results embayments and on broad shelves bounding ma-
in a decrease in mean particle size and an increase jor ocean basins. Tidal currents on the shelf tend
in sorting from low- to high-water mark (Green- to flow parallel to open coasts, reversing with the
wood 1978). tidal phase. As the tidal wave propagates, tidal
These factors of wave climate and sediment flow is directed toward or away from the coast, so
supply lead to the recognition of two general that, in contrast to wave-driven longshore cur-
categories of beach and nearshore profile: rents, tidal flows and resultant sediment transport
reflective and dissipative (Wright et al. 1979). Re- are dominantly onshore and offshore. Flow in and
flective beaches are steep and linear with berms out of estuarine embayments magnifies transport
and beach cusps and reflect much of the incident perpendicular to the regional shoreline trend. Ef-
wave energy back to the ocean. They typically fects of landward convergence and shoaling may
consist of coarse sandy to gravelly sediment. increase tidal current velocities fourfold (Jago
Dissipative systems have a broad, shallow surf 1980). Maximum velocities occur as the tidal bore
zone and a more complex nearshore topography enters the estuary early in the flood, and, during
with bars and rip-current cells. Longshore cur- late stages of ebb withdrawal, as flow is restricted
rents flow along shore-parallel interbar troughs, to a decreasing channel cross-section. During
but at intervals may be deflected seaward as rip neap tide, flow tends to be confined to channels
currents, which cut channels across the adjacent throughout the entire tidal cycle, but during spring
bar. At times the bars are joined to the beach by tide the adjoining marsh and flats may be exten-
transverse shoals. These basic elements may be sively flooded (Oertel and Dunstan 1981).
arranged in different patterns, which change in Offshore topography both influences and is
response to weather and wave climate (Davis influenced by tidal flow (Robinson 1980). Sand
and Fox 1972; Wright et al. 1979). With increasing bars and offshore shoals deflect tidal currents
energy, the break-point bar moves farther from from their normal rectilinear pattern, increasing
the shore, and rip spacing increases. Decrease in their onshore component. These currents trans-
nearshore energy produces shoreward migration port sediment landward, where interaction with

wave processes contribute to beach accretion.
Under macrotidal conditions, shore-perpendicu-
lar transport patterns prevail in estuaries and
embayments. Ebb and flood currents commonly
follow mutually evasive paths, creating distinct
deep flood channels flanked by ebb channels.
Macrotidal estuaries may change from a well-
mixed state during spring tides to a partially mixed
or stratified state during neap tides (Allen et al.
1980). Some macrotidal estuaries are character-
ized by differentially opposed sediment transport
(Culver 1980). In the Bristol Channel in the south-
west of the United Kingdom, for example, sand is
transported seaward as bed load, whereas finer
particles are carried into the estuary as suspended
load. Differential sediment transport may also be
seasonal, particularly off continents with marked
wet and dry seasons (Tucker 1973). Fine material
is carried seaward during the wet season, and
coarse sediment moves up the estuaries during the
dry season.
The shallow subtidal and lower intertidal flats
receive the highest physical energy flux for the
longest period of time, concentrating the coarsest,
winnowed sediment fraction. Submergence time
decreases toward the hightide mark, where pro-
gressively finer grained sediments accumulate in
response to the lower physical energy (Terwindt
1988). Whereas bed-load processes are dominant
on the lower tidal flats, the proportion of suspen-
sion sedimentation increases landward. A broad
intertidal zone is characterized by an alternation
of traction processes and fallout of suspended
sediments during slack water at high tide (Reineck
1967; Klein 1970; Terwindt 1981; de Boer et al.
1989). Rapid, frequent variations in water depth
and current intensity are typical, with intermittent
subaerial exposure resulting in desiccation. Flow
reversal is reflected by small-scale herringbone or
bidirectional cross-stratification and reverse-flow
ripples superimposed on larger cross-bed sets.
During the late stages of ebb-tidal drainage, flow
is deflected by minor bedforms, modifying these
features and forming smaller ripples at right
angles. Mud drapes or flasers record slack water
periods at high or low tide. Diagnostic diurnal and
annual astronomical periodicities are commonly
reflected in the organized patterns of lamination
scale and type within larger cross-bed sets (Nio
and Yang 1991).
Intertidal facies are characterized by an
often distinctive suite of sediments that record
the flow reversal, stagnation, and astronomical
Shore-Zone Processes 133
periodicities that are diagnostic of tidal flows. In
addition, erosional contacts and abrupt lateral fa-
cies changes are prominent. Clearly defined tex-
tural sequences are absent (Terwindt 1981). The
subtidal shoreface reflects the interplay of tidal
currents, which scour subaqueous channels and
chutes and construct tongue-shaped sand shoals
and bars, and wave processes.
Astronomical tides in lagoons are considerably
reduced in comparison with the open coast, and
wind stress is important in generating currents and
fluctuations in water level due to wind setup.
These processes may be periodic, in response to
diurnal wind patterns, with effects very similar to
those of low-amplitude astronomical tides.
Storm Processes
Storms profoundly effect coastal environments.
Effects associated with storm passage include en-
hanced wave attack, elevated tides and related
storm surge, and high winds (Hayes 1967a;
Morton and McGowan 1980). The principal ef-
fects are erosion of the beach and upper shoreface
and mass transfer of sediment landward across the
beach and into bays, estuaries, lagoons, supratidal
flats, and salt marshes and onto the lower
shoreface and inner shelf. Prominent storm beds
are characteristic features of the lower shoreface
and of back shore settings that are protected from
fair-weather reworking.
Storms tend to produce a flat, truncated
beach profile with scarps. The eroded sediment
is transported from the surf zone onto the up-
per shoreface by storm-amplified rip currents
(Shepard et al. 1941). Here it may be transferred
to a second, larger-scale, seaward-moving flow
created by the downwelling inner margin of
the storm flow field (Niedoroda et al. 1984;
Swift et al. 1985). Persistent geostrophic currents
flow more or less parallel to the shoreline.
Shortlived, offshore-directed currents that result
from the passage of shoaling storm waves,
perhaps reinforced by downwelling flows, create
dip-oriented scours and gutters (Duke 1990;
Leckie and Krystinik 1989; Snedden and Num-
medal 1991). Additional seaward transport of
sand is accomplished during the collapse of the
storm surge (the bulge of water piled against the
coast during storm passage) (Hayes 1967a;
Morton 1981). A conspicuous product of storm-
wave processes is hummocky cross-stratification
134 Shore-Zone Systems

(Walker 1984), thought to reflect the residual ef- with the foreshore and tidal inlets, are important
fect of oscillation following the waning of the uni- locally.
directional current component of combined flows
(Cheel 1989).
The storm-eroded beach profile is subsequently Shoreface and Beach
replenished and steepened during fair weather
by swash accretion and landward migration of Nearshore shallowing is accompanied by an in-
nearshore bars, which may emerge in the swash crease in physical energy and a decrease in bio-
zone as ridge and runnel systems (Hayes 1969). logical manifestations. Lower, middle, and upper
shoreface subenvironments are each distinguished
by a particular suite of textures, physical struc-
tures, and biogenic features, the distribution of
Shore-Zone Facies which varies with the energy mix (Fig. 6.7). De-
pending on the wave-energy regime and tidal
range (which amplifies the vertical extent of wave
Shore-zone facies (Table 6.1) show considerable influence), shoreface facies successions range in
intergradation with one another and overlap with thickness from 1-2 m to a maximum of about 25 m
adjacent environments. Facies tend to parallel in modern shore zones.
depositional strike, and even dip-oriented features Lower shoreface deposits accumulate at the
such as inlets migrate alongshore to produce sedi- break in slope where the shoreface grades into the
ment bodies which conform generally to the shelf. The proportion of sand, silt, and mud and
shore-parallel alignment. Regardless of the energy the dominant physical and biogenic structures de-
mix, the primary environment inherent in all pend on the sediment available and the wave-
shore-zone systems is the shoreface, which ex- energy regime (Fig. 6.7). In high wave energy re-
tends seaward from the swash zone as a relatively gimes (Fig. 6.7 A), parallel-laminated sand is
steeply sloping ramp that merges with the inner deposited under conditions of intense bottom
shelf. Additional facies, such as those associated shear (Kumar and Sanders 1976) and may pre-
serve low-amplitude undulations or hummocky
cross-stratification (Walker 1984). Alignment of
Table 6.1. Facies building blocks of shore-zone systems tool marks and elongate fossils perpendicular to
the paleoshoreline reflects the brief, offshore-di-
Shoreface and beach rected flows of combined wave and current origin
1. Lower shoreface
(Duke 1990). Shore-parallel paleocurrents, prima-
2. Middle shoreface
3. Upper shoreface rily recorded in cosets of unidirectional trough
4. Beach (foreshore) cross-beds (Hobday 1974), are consistent with the
5. Tidal sand shoals and tongues powerful shore-parallel geostrophic currents
Barrier island and spit documented by Swift et al. (1987). In coarse-
1. Shoreface
2. Beach (foreshore)
grained shoreface deposits, trough and planar
3. Inlet fill cross-beds aligned more or less parallel to the
4. Flood-tidal delta paleoshoreline commonly occur in the place of
5. Ebb-tidal delta hummocky cross-stratification (Duke 1990).
6. Washover fan Graded Bouma-like beds are common in the
7. Barrier fiat
lowermost sandstones interbedded with shelf
8. Lagoon
Tidal fiat shale in a storm-dominated shoreface sequence
1. Sandy lower tidal fiat (Walker 1984). These sandstones thicken and
2. Upper tidal fiat coarsen upward, with hummocky cross-stratifica-
3. Tidal channel tion and parallel lamination in various combina-
4. Salt marsh or supratidal mud fiat
Estuary fill
tions. Successive sandstone units record multiple,
1. Estuary mouth sand waning-flow storm events. These scour-based
a) Spit or barrier sands with parallel and undulatory lamination
b) Tidal bar and shoal may be overlain by smaller combined-flow and
2. Upper estuary mud and laminite wave ripples marking resumption of fair-weather
3. Bay-head delta
4. Tidally infiuenced stream channel fill
conditions, with the upper few centimeters reflect-
ing prolonged reworking by organisms.
 Shore-Zone Facies 135

Gro in Size E-Log Prof il e Structures

Dune/Marsh
Foreshore
U. Shoreface

A B
l~~~~l L. Shoreface

\
Traflsitiofl

Shelf

Dune / Ma r s h
~~~~ Dune/Marsh ",,'XX)[XXI

I~~~~ Foreshore
I~~~~. Foreshore
Shoreface
~~iaJ U. Shoreface
L. Shoreface

.iili
Transition
~~.~.~..~~~ M. Shoreface
Shelf
. ~

L. Shoreface
T ransi tion

Shelf

Fig.6.7A,B. Typical textural trend and sedimentary features of a prograding shoreface succession with high-energy (A) and low-
energy (B) variations. E-Log Electric log

Low-energy shoreface environments (Fig.
6.7B) typically contain a higher proportion of bur-
rowed mud and silt. Trace fossils include vertical
tubular forms, such as Asterosoma, or a combi-
nation of suspension-feeder and deposit-feeder
traces, such as Thalassinoides and Teichichnus
(Howard 1972; Cotter 1975). Sporadic sands com-
monly preserve an array of ripples and surface
traces. Ripples produced by wave oscillation have
linear or branching crestlines subparallel to the
shoreline. Their profiles are symmetrical, rounded
or peaked, and show internal laminations which
correspond to the external ripple form, dipping in
two directions (Harms et al. 1975). With shoaling,
the effects of directional flow become superim-
posed on the orbital wave motion, the ripple
crestlines become sinuous and less persistent, and
both ripple bedform and internal lamination be-
come asymmetric (Harms 1969).
Middle shoreface environments are subject to
more powerful waves and associated longshore
and rip currents, leaving a complex depositional
record. Longshore break-point bars move land-
ward or occupy the same position over long peri-
ods of time. Bars studied by Davidson-Arnott and
Greenwood (1976) contain low-angle lamination
along the seaward slopes, horizontal lamination
and trough cross-beds in the crestal portions dip-
ping both offshore and onshore, and shoreward-
dipping planar cross beds on the landward side.
Comparable arrangements have been docu-
mented in ancient deposits (Roep et al. 1979).
Some high-energy shorefaces lack longshore bars
and comprise medium-scale foresets dipping
onshore or oblique to the shoreline, subhorizon-
tal lamination, and rare straight-crested ripples
(Clifton et al. 1971). Ancient analogues with the
same suite of structures indicate significant
longshore currents with unidirectional or, rarely,
bimodal, shore-parallel azimuths. Storm deposits
of the middle shoreface are thicker and more
lenticular than their lower shoreface equivalents.
Individual units up to 1 m thick may contain a
sporadic basal lag of graveL shell, or mudclasts,
grading up into massive sand, parallel lamina-
tion, and ripple lamination with burrows.
136 Shore-Zone Systems
Some sandstone units are multistoried or overlap
laterally, with zones of burrows separating the
individual storm deposits. Skolithos, Rosselia,
Diplocraterion, and Ophiomorpha are common
trace fossils in this environment (Howard 1972;
Chamberlain 1978). Broad, shallow channels or
chutes approximately perpendicular to the shore-
line were probably scoured by local convergence
of wave and current effects.
Upper shoreface environments corresponding
to the inner surf zone are dominated by powerful
onshore, offshore, and longshore currents. The
coarsest sediment fraction tends to be concen-
trated toward the stepped inner margin, with a
large proportion of equant pebbles. Alongshore-
directed trough cross-beds are characteristic,
with onshore-dipping planar cross-beds deposited
by bar migration, and irregular truncation
surfaces reflecting storms and rip channels. Obser-
vations by Clifton et al. (1971) indicate that
during fair weather, seaward-dipping trough
cross-beds are deposited off gently sloping
beaches, but with increasingly powerful longshore
Fig. 6.S. Low-angle planar lamination with multiple truncation planes attributed to foreshore deposition overlying cross-bedded
upper-shoreface quartzarenites at level of scale. Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation. Cullman. Alabama
currents, the troughs dip parallel to the shore-
line, as in a number of ancient examples (Hob-
day 1974). Shore-parallel bedforms off steeper
beaches produce more complex stratification dip-
ping either landward or seaward. Scattered trace
fossils comprise long vertical burrows such as
Skolithos.
Foreshore (beach face) environments corre-
spond to the zone of wave swash. The dominant
structure (Fig. 6.8) is planar lamination dipping
gently seaward, with low-angle discordances rep-
resenting adjustment of the beach to changes in
wave regime or sediment supply (Clifton 1969).
Heavy minerals tend to be concentrated in dis-
crete laminae, often alternating with quartzose
layers. Inverse grading is common, with fine grains
and heavy minerals merging upward into a
coarser, quartzose layer. Scattered pebbles are
predominantly discoidal. Seaward-imbricate dis-
coidal and blade-shaped clasts tend to be particu-
larly abundant near the high-tide line, with a
greater proportion of subspherical clasts near low-
water level (Bluck 1967).

Landward migration of ridge and runnel sys-
tems leaves sequences of shore-parallel troughs
overlain by large, convex foresets generated by
the steep landward slipface, capped by parallel
lamination and ripple structures formed on the
seaward surface of the ridge (Hayes et al. 1969).
The dip of the ridge-accretion foresets flattens
where they merge landward into a berm, and shell
concentrations along the berm crest record the
limits of wave uprush.
Backshore environments are separated from
the foreshore by a berm or by a subtle break in
slope. The backbeach or barrier flat slopes gently
landward, and aggrades by storm surge that tops
the berm crest as sheetflow and by adhesion of
windblown grains onto the damp surface. A vari-
ety of structures and lamination types characterize
the backshore (Morton and McGowen 1980; Frey
and Howard 1988). Faint horizontal lamination is
locally disrupted by burrowing, particularly by
crustaceans. Locally, landward dipping avalanche
foresets preserve the record of landward sediment
transport. Low coppice dunes and bare fore dunes
landward of maximum high-tide level can play an
important role in reducing foreshore erosion
during storms. Truncation of the seaward dune
margins during storms supplies sand which accu-
mulates offshore, and it is effective in dissipating
wave energy (Leatherman 1979).
Spit, Barrier Island, and Lagoon
Barrier/lagoon environments have been exten-
sively studied and described (Davis 1994). Classic
barrier coasts include those of Texas (Morton
1994), Georgia (Hayes 1994), and the north-
eastern Atlantic states (Oertel and Kraft 1994).
Barrier coast successions reflect three main envi-
ronments:
1. The shore-parallel barrier island or spit
2. The enclosed lagoon and bay
3. Inlets that facilitate exchange of tidal or storm-
driven circulation
In addition, inlets support ebb- and flood-tidal
deltas, storm surges deposit washover fans behind
the barrier, and wind-blown sand accumulates
dune ridges and back-barrier eolian sheets. Bar-
rier-island development is favored by relatively
flat, low-gradient continental shelves, abundant
sediment supply, and low to moderate tidal range
(Glaeser 1978). Barriers and lagoons are most
Shore-Zone Facies 137
commonly generated during transgression (Boyd
et al. 1992), and many authors equate barrier for-
mation to transgression. However, they are also
characteristic of many progradational shorelines
(Morton 1979).
The origin of barriers has been attributed to at
least three distinct mechanisms (Hoyt 1967; Swift
1975; Wilkinson 1975):
1. The vertical growth and emergence of offshore
bars
2. Downdrift growth of spits
3. Detachment of beach ridges from the mainland
by a rise in sea level
The latter mechanism is most likely in coastal
zones of low relief, a morphology characteristic of
passive-margin coasts (Glaeser 1978). Donselaar
(1989) has shown that the transgressive uncon-
formity that separates back-barrier facies from the
overlying shoreface sands may grade seaward into
conformable deposits, indicative of continuous, as
opposed to stepwise, coastal retreat. This is consis-
tent with the shoreface-retreat model proposed by
Swift (1975) and augmented by Swift and Moslow
(1982) and Niedoroda et al. (1985), among others.
Barriers built by coastwise spit elongation may be
more common along steeper, higher relief coastal
zones of tectonically active margins, but shore-
normal sand transport is also responsible for bar-
rier growth on some deeply embayed coasts (Roy
et al. 1980) and marginal to deltaic headlands
(Morton and McGowen 1980). There is also evi-
dence that some modern barriers originated by
offshore-bar emergence, for example along the
Texas and west Florida coasts (Fisk 1959; R.A.
Morton, personal communication). It is difficult to
distinguish between these various modes of origin,
particularly as many barriers show evidence of
composite development and modification.
Barrier morphology is largely determined by
tidal range. Microtidal barriers tend to be long and
narrow, with conspicuous washover fans and few
inlets. Mesotidal barriers are broader and are cut
by numerous inlets with complex tidal sand shoals
(Fig. 6.5). These stunted barriers typically have a
wide, accretionary up drift end, a narrow midsec-
tion, and a recurved spit at the downdrift end,
producing a drumstick shape (Hayes 1975). The
degree of shoreline stability also exercises control
over barrier morphology. High-profile barriers
(Fig. 6.9) develop along stable or prograding
coasts, whereas youthful, low-profile barriers are
typical along transgressive coasts (Morton and
138 Shore-Zone Systems
A Fig. 6.9A,B. Contrasting high-profile (A)
FORE - ISLAND
DUNES
BACK-ISLAND
DUNES
BARRIER FLAT
8
COPPICE
MOUNDS
'~[m'!flt::::r:::::::~..::'4:!!N:..,..._ _ _ _~_
~ LAGOON
McGowen 1980). Most modern barriers are erod-
ing (Bird 1976). Although human influence has
locally aggravated coastal recession, most barriers
have been retreating since their inception in the
early Holocene.
Inlet Facies
Inlets serve to exchange water between back-bar-
rier and open ocean environments during each
tidal cycle and thus are progressively closer spaced
with increasing tidal range. Microtidal barrier
inlets tend to be widely spaced and ephemeral,
migrating in the longshore drift direction by ero-
sion of the down drift margin, accompanied by
spit elongation on the updrift margin. Deeper
mesotidal inlets are subject to less rapid longshore
migration, but with increasing density may be-
come a major site of sand accumulation and pres-
ervation (Hoyt and Henry 1967).
The deepest parts of most inlets are dominated
by ebb currents flowing over a deeply eroded sur-
face with patches of gravel or shell lag, overlain by
seaward-oriented sand waves producing large-
scale planar cross-beds, commonly showing flood-
tidal reactivation surfaces (Kumar and Sanders
1974). Smaller, flood-oriented bedforms are
present along the shallow inlet margins, with
bidirectional flow orientations characteristic of
bedforms at intermediate depths. Because they
migrate laterally, inlets fill by a complex lateral
accretion capped by the accreting barrier tip spit
(e.g., Siring an and Anderson 1993). Idealized inlet
sequences (Figs. 6.10, profile A, 6.11) will vary
somewhat in response to tidal range, inlet mor-
phology, and hydrodynamics (Hubbard and
and low-profile (B) barrier transects and as-
sociated features. (Morton and McGowen
1980)
Barwis 1976; Tye and Moslow 1993). Some inlets
are entirely flood- or ebb-dominated, producing
essentially unimodal cross-bedding which de-
creases upward in scale (Oomkens 1974). Where
tidal ebb is augmented by fluvial discharge, most
of the cross-bedding will be directed seaward
(Van Beek and Koster 1972). Such sequences
might only be distinguished from fluvial deposits
on the basis of associated facies, marine fauna, or
trace fossils such as sparse callianassid burrows.
Furthermore, obliquity of inlets along some coasts
results in cross-bed orientations almost parallel
to the shoreline (Hubbard and Barwis 1976), mak-
ing these deposits difficult to distinguish from
shoreface facies.
Inlet scour and longshore migration obliterates
much of the typical sequence of barrier-beach and
shoreface sediments, leaving in its place a record
of inlet-fill deposits which may be as much as three
times the thickness of the original barrier sands
(Hoyt and Henry 1967). In transgressive and
stable coasts, inlet migration is limited by the in-
herited coastal drainage patterns and bay/estuary
locations; however, along prograding coasts, mi-
gration and shoreface reworking is likely less con-
strained. Microtidal inlet deposits are typically
20-40ft (6-12m) thick, whereas mesotidal inlet
deposits may attain 75 ft (20 m) but are less per-
sistent along strike. Wave-generated structures,
primarily low-angle swash lamination, reflect rees-
tablishment of the beach profile on the spit
accreting onto the inlet-fill sequence. Along a
prograding coast, tidal-flat, marsh, and lagoonal
deposits are superimposed on the inlet fill.
Barrier and inlet preservation differs greatly
between prograding and retreating coasts, leaving
 Shore-Zone Facies 139

----~-

- _ -_-_ _ - .y ------:-:--- :~:-:-:=:=:-:~~~!'J:--====-==-~::::::::::.:~~~~~ .~

:::-=-::-:-=-3::::=: __CC:_:_::.::: :-- ~ _-_-__:~:n:~ -~--_-: _:=::_:::
-=:=::
_-=:=::=
-=-::=-_~
-_~._.L
--------.:--- - --:--- -------:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:---.:-:----- - -

AVERAGE (-LOG
STRUCTURES GRAIN SIZE PROFILE
Mud Sand
~~~~~
E! low-onghl' p1"onar
SlrO!l flCOllon

~"<'-'<:-':~tl Flood ond

.........,..-7'-:1 ebb-orlenl4!ld f0l4!lsei S

R4!lClCII'llClltOO
""':""':',.,-'-~C4 surfccas

Ebb-oriented
olonor fOf4!lS4!ltS

Log Qrovel

Ripple lamination
and burrows.
Shoreface
sIll and mud
A
I M<I"h
I
I V V V \J Bloturbclred
I U U V kJgoona I mud
I
',
vvvvvv Deslc.cohon cracks
I Ripple lamlnallon
u ..
c cnd bofrows
'">cr
'"'"
.
'"<r HeHl~bane

I
Cr"OSS-SIr'ot . fICQIIOI'\

Shell log

BaCh-barr 1(1 r
peO!

J. A .L~
B

Fig. 6.10. Migrating mesotidal barrier inlet and the inlet-fill peats and lagoonal muds (B). E-LOG Electric log. (In part
sequence (A). The infilled lagoon is traversed by tidal chan- modified from Barwis and Hayes 1979)
nels, which produce upward-fining sequences interspersed with
140 Shore-Zone Systems
two distinctive depositional patterns (Fig. 6.2).
Along prograding coasts, offshore and lower
shoreface deposits are truncated by inlet-fill de-
posits, which are overlain in turn by back-barrier
and alluvial facies. Preservation of large volumes
of inlet fill is typical of prograding meso tidal
coasts. Barrier transgression and concomitant in-
let migration leave an even more complex record.
As the surf zone moves landward across a shore
zone, the subaerial to shallow subtidal portions
are generally eroded, leaving a facies succession
dominated by remnants of landward prograding
or onlapping back-barrier (including flood-tidal
delta and washover aprons) and onlapping lower
shoreface to inner shelf beds (Fig. 6.12). Rem-
~~6~:~~
-~-------- ---- --- -- - -
AVERAGE
STRUCTURES GRAIN SIZE
Mud Sand
~===l L0900n
Laqoon
Fig. 6.11. A microtidal inlet and large flood-tidal delta with
landward-migrating sand waves and an ebb shield, together
with a typical vertical sequences through a flood-tidal delta and
nants of lower inlet fill are commonly preserved as
sediment pods bounded both below and above by
erosion surfaces (Swift 1968; Penland et al. 1988;
Swift et al. 1991; Tye and Moslow 1993). Because
barriers separate landward and seaward environ-
ments of grossly different facies and faunal
character, the transgressive shoreface erosion sur-
face, or ravinement surface, may be accentuated
by a faunal jump, which can easily be miscon-
strued as a significant stratigraphic hiatus. The
sharp lithofacies contrast commonly creates a
strong seismic reflection, particularly in high-reso-
lution data. However, the time gap is brief, and
sediment accumulates both landward and seaward
of the erosional shoreface. Thus, like the facies
E-LOG
PROFILE
lagoonal deposit. E-LOG Electric log. (In part modified from
Barwis and Hayes 1979)

that surround it, the surface is itself time
transgressive.
Fluctuating shoreline advance and retreat cre-
ates a succession of stacked inlet-fill and associ-
ated deposits which might be difficult to decipher
in detail. Barrier-inlet deposits described in Car-
boniferous rocks by Hobday and Horne (1977)
and in the Silurian by Barwis and Makurath
(1978) are both very similar to modern examples,
but differ from one another in internal detail.
Both examples show the typical upward decrease
in grain size and scale of sedimentary structures
from deep axis to channel margin, but whereas the
Silurian example includes a large proportion of
bipolar cross-bedding throughout, these reversals
are restricted to the uppermost parts of the Car-
boniferous sequences. The latter contain other
evidence of periodic fluctuations in current veloc-
ity attributed to tides, e.g., rhythmically inter-
layered thick and thin cross-bed sets, alternating
high-angle and low-angle crossbed sets, and plane
beds interlayered with cross-beds. Reactivation
surfaces and clay drapes are common, along with
rare marine fossils toward the top. These Carbon-
iferous examples were part of a strongly regressive
complex with up dip fluvial influx, whereas the Si-
lurian inlet-fill deposits are transgressive and
formed along the margin of a shallow carbonate-
rich basin. Nested, crosscutting inlet fills are
especially prominent in aggradational barrier
complexes of stable shorelines (Fig. 6.2B), as ex-
emplified by the Oligocene Greta sand (Gallo-
way 1986b).
Tidal Deltas
Constricted, high-velocity flow through barrier in-
lets is suddenly reduced as the currents disperse
into open water at either end, depositing sand as
-
Estuary / Lagoon Barrier
Fig. 6.12. Cross-section of a transgressive shoreline. Shoreface
erosion creates a diastem called the ravinement surface (RS).
Sediment transport is both landward and basinward. On the
Shore-Zone Facies 141
flood-tidal and ebb-tidal deltas (Figs. 6.10, 6.11,
6.13). Tidal deltas can grow laterally in response to
inlet migration and contain large volumes of sand,
with the flood-tidal delta facies in particular hav-
ing good preservation potential. Ebb-tidal deltas
are more readily remolded by waves as the inlet
migrates.
On microtidal barrier coasts, flood-tidal deltas
attain very large sizes in contrast to the poorly
developed ebb-tidal deltas (Fig. 6.5A). These
flood-tidal deltas are broad, multilobate, or digi-
tate sheets thinning landward (Barwis and
Hubbard 1976; Wilkinson 1975; Murakoshi and
Masuda 1991; Siringan and Anderson 1993).
Mesotidal barriers tend to have more or less equal
development of flood- and ebb-tidal deltas (Fig.
6.5B).
In a microtidal situation, flood-tidal deltas
comprise sand transported through the inlet by
storm-wave surge. Normal tidal flows largely
transport suspended sediment. Extensive flat-
topped bars (Fig. 6.11) build landward, resulting
in cosets of planar cross-beds with smaller re-
versed foresets reflecting ebb flow (Hubbard
et al. 1979). Channels are poorly defined. The ide-
alized tidal-delta sequences illustrated in Fig. 6.11
show the sandy deposits of the proximal flood
ramp and the thinner, upward-coarsening pattern
of distal flood-tidal delta sands washed into the
lagoon.
Ancient microtidal flood-tidal deltas recog-
nized by Barwis and Horne (1979) in Carbonifer-
ous rocks in Kentucky consist of proximal,
erosively based quartz-arenite sheets thinning
landward and containing extensive landward-
dipping accretion surfaces which preserve char-
acteristics of the ebb shield. Between these
accretion surfaces are co sets of bimodal cross-
beds.
windward margin of lagoons and estuaries, a secondary
ravinement (E-LRS) diastem may also be created
142 Shore-Zone Systems

INLET
FLOOD-TIDAL
DELTA

AVERAGE E-LOG
STRUCTURES GRAIN SIZE PROFILE
Mud Sand
Low-angle planar
tsS;;F~~ laminatIon

Parallel lamln ahan;

~?::l~;o...;:,.:..:::"j
lobu lar and Irough
~~~~ cross-stratif,cat,on

o
w
>
a:
w
(f)
w
a:
~~~~~
a.
Lower shoreface

~ ~~~~~ rl pple la mInatIon,

interbedded mud,
and burrows

u
u u u u Offshore
mud
u u Uu U
U U U U

Fig. 6.13. Barriers, inlets, and related flood- and ebb-tidal deltas along a mesotidal coast, and the vertical sequence produced by
progradation. E-LOG Elecric log. (In part modified from Ferm and Horne 1979)

Flood-tidal delta deposits of mesotidal coasts
(Figs. 6.10, 6.13) are thicker, but restricted in areal
extent, merging with the adjacent inlet sequences.
Bidirectional or seaward-dipping planar cross-
beds at the base are deposited by ebb-shield de-
flection of flow along ebb channels (Hubbard and
Barwis 1976). Above this level, thick cosets of
landward-dipping planar cross-beds reflect migra-
tion of sandwave fields across the flood ramp.
These sets become thinner upward and are over-
lain by mudflat and marsh deposits. Channels be-
come prominent as the tidal delta merges into the
lagoon, which is commonly muddy and largely in-
tertidal. As Reinson (1979) has commented, how-
ever, the detailed characteristics vary according to
locality and inlet dynamics.
Small complex Carboniferous flood-tidal deltas
comprise wedges tapering landward from thick
barrier-inlet deposits, which, in conjunction with
adjacent tidal-flat facies, suggest a mesotidal
range. Bipolar sand waves and troughs show trans-
verse ripples, reactivation surfaces, and complex,
small-scale intrasets typical of tidal processes
(Hobday and Home 1977).
Ebb-tidal deltas range from small, entirely sub-
aqueous sand accumulations off microtidal inlets

to more substantial, tidally emergent features off
mesotidal inlets. Thicknesses depend largely on
tidal range, modified by barrier evolution and
sediment input. For example, ebb-tidal delta de-
posits of the Texas Gulf Coast studied by Morton
and McGowen (1980) are gradationally based and
up to 12m (40ft) thick off progradational barrier
segments, but abruptly based and only about 6 m
(20ft) thick off transgressive segments. Interac-
tion among tidal currents, wave surge, and
longshore drift, together with segregation of flood
and ebb currents during different phases of the
tidal cycle, control bedform distribution and delta
geometry (Oertel 1974; Reinson 1979; Sha and de
Boer 1991). Successions are commonly up to 20m
(60ft) thick.
Ebb-dominated cross-beds are generally de-
posited in the main outlet channel, with large, sea-
ward-dipping foresets produced by progradation
of the terminal slipface. Flood-oriented trough
and planar cross-beds are deposited in shallow
marginal channels, with subhorizontal, wavy,
ripple, and flaser lamination characteristic of less
active channels and channel-margin shoals. Ob-
served successions (Barwis and Hayes 1979; Sha
and de Boer 1991) show a vertical increase in grain
size, decrease in bioturbation, a change from ebb-
oriented to more variable onshore, offshore, and
alongshore azimuths, and a thick, upper section of
plane beds and subdued "washed out" bedforms
in well-sorted sand (Fig. 6.13). Ebb-delta facies
grade laterally into normal wave- and storm-re-
worked shoreface successions and landward into
the erosionally based inlet fill. However, most
ebb-tidal delta deposits are reworked by shoreface
processes, reducing preservation and making rec-
ognition difficult in ancient rocks.
Washover Fans
Washover fans form by storm surge over the berm
crest, erosion of a wash over channel across the
backshore, and splaying out as thin, landward-
tapering, upward-coarsening depositional lobes.
Over broad barriers, or where overwash is limited,
much of the eroded sediment is deposited subaeri-
ally on back-barrier flats and in interdune areas
(Morton and McGowen 1980), contributing to
barrier aggradation. Washover fans are commonly
associated with abandoned inlets (Wilkinson 1975;
Murakoshi and Masuda 1991). Many ofthe largest
washover fans of the Texas coast are presently
inactive, except during severe storms, and reflect
Shore-Zone Facies 143
positions of abandoned inlets that were present
early in the history of barrier formation.
Despite these differences in scale and level of
activity, most washover fans show a characteristic
suite of sedimentary structures (Andrews 1970;
Deery and Howard 1977; Frey and Howard 1988;
Murakoshi and Masuda 1991). Washover channels
contain shell debris, driftwood, and heavy-mineral
concentrations, with landward-dipping trough and
avalanche cross beds. Landward-dipping planar
foresets form where overwash encounters stand-
ing water in the lagoon (Schwartz 1975) and
may show reactivation surfaces modified by fair-
weather tidal flow. Quartzose sands of the wash-
over fan display subhorizontal lamination and
antidunes produced by upper flow regime trans-
port. Inverse grading of laminae is common, but
some monomineralic layers show normal grading
(Leatherman and Williams 1977). Ripple-lami-
nated sand, deposited during waning flow, may be
destroyed by subsequent overwash. Successive
storm increments tend to be separated by rootlets,
heavy minerals, shell lags, and truncation surfaces
(Leatherman and Williams 1977). Crustaceans, in
particular, cause intense bioturbation or leave dis-
tinctive, curved vertical burrows (Howard 1978).
Adhesion ripples on damp wash over sands have
been recognized in ancient deposits (Hobday and
Jackson 1979). Washover-fan facies most likely to
be preserved are the distal terminations which
interfinger with tidal-flat, marsh, or lagoonal
sediments, leaving thin, upward-coarsening se-
quences. In some cases, increasing mud and or-
ganic content of these distal deposits produces an
almost imperceptible gradation into lagoon or
marsh sediments.
Lagoons
Lagoonal environments are highly variable de-
pending on climate, tidal range, storm frequency,
and sediment supply. Although characterized by a
shore-parallel alignment, many lagoons also have
shore-perpendicular bays and estuaries along
their landward edge. These represent the lower
reaches of drowned river valleys and tend to be
filled longitudinally by small stream-fed bayhead
deltas. Many large lagoons become segmented
into discrete, ovoid waterbodies by spit accretion,
which is most effective in tideless lagoons with
winds of variable direction. Mesotidal lagoons
tend to fill rapidly, resulting in extensive intertidal
marshes traversed by tidal-channel networks (Fig.
144 Shore-Zone Systems
6.5B). Migrating tidal channels (Fig. 6.10, profile
B) produce lateral accretion surfaces analogous to
those of fluvial point bars, but contain a distinct
assemblage of fine textural alternations, trace fos-
sils, flaser and ripple lamination, and bimodal
cross-beds (Reineck 1975; Barwis 1978; Terwindt
1988). Broad tidal flats develop on a platform of
tidal-delta and wash over deposits, their width gen-
erally increasing in proportion to tidal range.
Inner-lagoon muds accumulate by flocculation
and biogenic pelletization of suspended clays
(Pryor 1975) and may be bioturbated or show
varve-like or graded lamination, depending on
degree of substrate oxygenation. Oyster reefs are
commonly elongated perpendicular to the prevail-
ing currents in open bays and lagoons. Lagoonal
muds in the geologic record are typically pyritic,
glauconitic, or dolomitic, with shell fragments,
mainly mollusks. Hypersaline lagoons accumulate
evaporites, laminated algal mud, windblown sand,
and shelly, burrowed mud displaying shrinkage
cracks and mudclasts.
Progradation of lagoon margins generates a
thin, upward-coarsening sequence, with bayhead-
delta sands building from the landward side, and
washover sands and eolian flats along the seaward
edge. Lagoons and bays can also fill by muddy
aggradation or marginal flat accretion. Tidal-chan-
nel and tidal-flat deposits near the top of the se-
quence are overlain by marsh sediments. Similar
sequences are common in the rock record and
have been extensively documented in coal basins
(e.g., Fig. 12.8). Vast Cenozoic lagoonal tracts in
Texas show a full array of tidal-inlet, tidal-delta
and bayhead, and washover facies (Galloway et al.
1979a,b; Galloway 1986b).
Tidal-Flat and Estuary Facies
Barrier islands, spits, and continuous beach ridges
do not develop along macrotidal coasts. The daily
ebb and flow of tides controls facies distribution
and imparts strongly dip-oriented trends to shal-
low subtidal and intertidal environments and their
facies. The importance of tidal processes within
intracoastal waterbodies depends on the degree of
connection with the ocean. Whereas tidal ampli-
tude in lagoons is reduced as it is propagated
through narrow barrier inlets, in funnel-shaped
estuaries the reverse may be true, with a signifi-
cant increase in tidal range in comparison with the
open coast.
Tidal Flats and Marshes
Suspended-sediment concentration increases up
the high-tidal flat as a result of decreasing tidal
current velocities, combined with settling and
scour lag effects (Van Straaten and Kuenen 1957).
Consequently, most progradational tidal flat
succesions show an upward-coarsening progres-
sion from lower sand flat to a muddy upper tidal
flat capped by silty, bioturbated muds of the salt
marsh (Van Straaten 1959; Evans 1965; Terwindt
1988; Frey et al. 1989).
The sandier varieties of tidal flats are generally
traversed by a dense network of migrating tidal
channels. Intertidal sands near low-tide level show
complex bedforms which increase in size with
increasing tidal range. Sand waves, dunes, and
ripples commonly display complex patterns of
superposItIon, with plane-bed surfaces best
developed toward low-tide mark. The dominant
internal structures are cross-beds of simple or
complex geometry, herringbone cross-bedding,
reactivation surfaces, and alternating cross-bed
sets of different scale and foreset dip angle (Klein
1970; Semeniuk 1981). The broad midtidal flats
typically comprise interlayered sand and mud,
with abundant lenticular and flaser bedding and a
great variety of small, wave-generated structures.
Diverse ripples, including ladderback, double-
crested, and flat-topped forms, together with
runzelmarks, rills, and desiccation cracks, reflect
periodic shallowing and emergence (Klein
1963; Reineck 1967, 1972). Migrating channels
produce lateral accretion surfaces analogous to
those of point bars, but are distinguished by
textural alternations, trace fossil types, and bimo-
dal cross beds (Reineck 1975; Barwis 1978).
Mudflats of the uppermost intertidal zone contain
horizontal laminae which become progressively
disrupted by roots, burrowing, shrinkage, crack-
ing, salt crystallization, gas escape, and diagenesis.
Sand and shell layers may be deposited during
storms. Salt-marsh deposits which cap some inter-
tidal sequences comprise a mixture of organic
matter, silt, and clay, which becomes homog-
enized by roots.
On many intertidal flats sand is preferentially
concentrated in tidal channels, which migrate lat-
erally to deposit sinuous, dip-elongate belts with
ebb, flood, or bidirectional paleocurrent indica-
tors and abundant ripple-laminated heterolithic
bedding. On other flats, such as those of Korea,
channeling is not a prominent feature of the broad

macrotidal mudflats (Alexander et al. 1991).
Bioturbation intensity is commonly zoned, but is
different on different tidal flats. Primary lamina-
tions are predominantly wavy, ripple, or flaser
types.
Plants along channel margins and on the upper
tidal flat effectively trap fine-grained sediments,
while suspension-feeding organisms, too, can en-
hance accumulation of muds. As sediment accu-
mulates above the high-tide line, salt marshes
encroach and stabilize. In wetter environments,
high organic production continues across the flats,
leading to accumulation of salt-marsh peat and
dark clays up to and above the spring tide level. In
arid regions, salt marsh is replaced by extensive
evaporitic mudflats containing stratiform gypsum
and salt deposits. On semiarid, tropical tidal flats,
biological activity reaches a maximum over the
midtidal mangrove mudflats, declining above that
level in response to increasing salinity (Semeniuk
1981).
Estuaries
The term estuary spans a range of geomorphic and
environmental features, and the definition varies
greatly among sedimentologists, stratigraphers,
geomorphologists, oceanographers, and biolo-
gists. Coastal embayments called estuaries include
the following:
1. Broad, marine-influenced structural or geo-
morphic reentrants
2. Drowned river valleys that remain connected
to a flowing river
3. Riverine estuaries that connect to stable or ag-
grading river systems
4. Salt marsh estuaries that drain coastal marshes
and mudflats and receive little or no freshwater
inflow
Well-studied examples of drowned valleys in-
clude the Delaware Bay (Fletcher et al. 1990),
James River (Nichols et al. 1991), Cobequid Bay-
Salmon River (Dalrymple et al. 1990), South Alli-
gator River (Woodroffe et al. 1989), Galveston
Bay (Anderson et al. 1990), and Gironde (Allen
1991) estuaries. The Georgia Bight and Kua-
lakurau coast of Malaysia provide numerous ex-
amples of riverine and salt-marsh estuaries (Frey
and Howard 1986; Kamaludin 1993), and both are
prominent features of Holocene tide-dominated
deltas and delta flank coasts such as the Ganges-
Brahmaputra, Mahakam, and Copper (Umitsu
1993; Hayes and Ruby 1994). Because the term
Shore-Zone Facies 145
"estuary" has been widely applied to drowned
river valleys, we will append riverine or salt-marsh
when discussing estuarine channels of other ori-
gins. Mixing of seawater and freshwater in varying
proportions is a feature of the last three types of
estuaries, but may be difficult to document in an-
cient examples.
Variations in sedimentary processes, environ-
ments, and facies of estuaries stem largely from
differences in coastal plain topography, river in-
flow, sediment supply, wave power, and both tidal
and non tidal circulation patterns. A fundamental
distinction has been made between wave-domi-
nated and tide-dominated estuaries (Dalrymple et
al. 1992; Boyd et al. 1992). Wave-dominated estu-
aries are barred on the seaward end by barrier
islands or spits and resemble lagoons, except that
they are dip-elongate, have a dual fluvial and ma-
rine sediment source, and are filled by bayhead
deltas from the landward side and flood-tidal del-
tas and wash overs on the barrier side (Fig. 6.14).
Tide-dominated estuaries (Fig. 6.15) likewise re-
ceive both fluvial and marine sediment, but are
characterized by unidirectional progradation from
the landward apex, primarily in the form of allu-
vial-plain, marsh, tidal flats, and tidal sand bars
(Dalrymple et al. 1992; Boyd et al. 1992).
Most authors (Nichols et a1. 1991; Dalrymple
et al. 1992; Allen 1991) have observed a tripartite
zonation of facies in estuary fills, reflecting conver-
gence of opposing fluvial and marine sediment
sources, but with differences between microtidal
and macrotidal sediment fill, particularly in the
mud-rich facies.
The landward zone may comprise a single
fluvial channel or bayhead delta with associated
meandering tidal creeks, tidal flats, and marsh.
Fluvial sand and gravel introduced at the head of
the estuary by floods alternate with silt deposited
by tidal currents (Fig. 6.15, profile A). In
mesotidal and macrotidal coasts, the tidally
influenced reach of the river is characteristically
sinuous, and deposits of point bars are character-
ized by high-angle, lateral accretion bedding
consisting of sand-mud laminites (Howard and
Frey 1975; Smith 1987; Woodroffe et al. 1989). In
microtidal estuaries, however, the tidal imprint
may be weak to absent. This apical sand wedge
progrades seaward over estuarine muds. In tide-
dominated estuaries, bipolar ripple-laminated and
cross-bedded sands with clay drapes and flasers
reflect periodic changes in current strength and
direction.
146 Shore-Zone Systems
Fig. 6.14. Stages in infilling of a n idealized wa ve-dominated
drowned-valley estuary by seaward-building prograding
bay head deltas and landward -building washov e r sands, fiood-
Within the flaring middle estuary funnel, a
sinuous axial channe l with saline bottom
waters transports marine-derived sediment land-
ward. Mud accumulates rapidly in the turbidity
maximum that develops where the near-bottom
flow changes from a net landward to a net seaward
direction (Knebel et a\. 1988). These muddy
facies of the estuary funnel may contain a range of
small tidal structures such as ripple-laminated
sand lenses, reflecting periodic reversals in current
direction, but in microtidal estuaries, laminated
and bioturbated muds are more characteristic
(Nichols et a\. 1991). Mesotidal shoals may
accrete rapidly to produce upward-fining se-
quences of flood- and ebb-oriented cross-beds
overlain by parallel-laminated sands deposited by
wave swash and shallow flow over submerged
bars.
tidal deltas , and tidal fiats . L eft , pla n v ie w; right, cross-section.
( RoyetaI.1980)
The estuary mouth may be dominated by wave
processes, which construct barrier bars (Fig. 6.14) ,
or by tidal sand shoals and ridges (Fig. 6.15 , profile
A). The seaward, bay-mouth zone is characterized
by complexly interfingering ebb and flood chan-
nels, alternating with sand shoals capped by sand
waves facing both upstream and downstream.
Tidal-inlet and tidal-delta sand displays a range of
tidal and wave structures and scattered shell (Fig.
6.15, profile B).
Estuaries that occupy partially filled , drowned
valleys of extrabasinal rivers that were cut during
Pleistocene sea-level lows uniformly contain
coarse, basal fluvial sands and gravels that accu-
mulated during lowstand (Posamentier and Allen
1993) or initial sea-level rise (Knebel et a\. 1988).
Holocene estuarine evolution displays several pat-
terns, including the following:
 Shore-Zone Facies 147

Tidally
Influenced
AP;,J
Sand Bars
Tida l

Fluvial Channel

o
o . 0 Go

o 0

B Carbonaceous mud ~=~==~

--- Mud V:,.::,.:,:': I So nd ~
~ Gr ovel

STR UCTURES LO G PRO FILE

Sand with complex

lamination, cloy drapes

L aminated and
biolurbated mud

Sand and grovel

E roded bose

Paral le l -laminated and

cross- bedded sand

L am ina led and

bioturbated mud

Sand and grovel

Eroded bose

Fig. 6.15. Tripartite facies association typical of drowned-river valley estuary fills. Convergent, opposed fluvial and shoreface
sources of sand are separated by a zone of mud accumulation within the estuary funnel. (Derived in part from Nichols et al. 1991)

1. Continuous landward migration of the estuary
depocenter as a function of relative sea-level
rise (Fletcher et al. 1992)
2. Contemporaneous reworking and slow
aggradational filling by coarse shelf and mar-
gin-derived sediment (Dalrymple et al. 1990)
3. Rapid muddy aggradational infilling by shelf or
river-derived mud (Woodroffe et al. 1989)
4. Rapid flooding followed by slow pro-
gradational filling by a river-fed estuary-head
delta
Most transgressive estuaries tend to be tran-
sient features (types 3 and 4), unless maintained
by tidal scour (type 2), filling with sediment de-
rived from landward, seaward, or both directions.
148 Shore-Zone Systems
To a degree, all show the first type of facies and
stratal onlap as the record of valley flooding. In
some modern estuaries, the change from trans-
gressive onlap, where additional space was being
created as the sea level rose, to regressive infilling
by progradation of the bayhead delta took place
when the sea level stabilized around 4000 years
ago (Allen and Posamentier 1993).
The fill of estuaries formed by drowning of
fluvial valleys displays distinct facies and stratigra-
phy (Figs. 4.16D, 6.16). With continued rise in sea
level, the estuary expands and an erosional
diastem develops between the aggradational mud
facies of the estuary funnel and the transgressive
wave and tide-dominated estuary-mouth sands
(Fig. 6.16; Fletcher et al. 1990; Allen 1991). This
"estuarine ravinement" experiences concurrent
development of a wave-scoured ravinement sur-
face along the adjoining coast (Allen and
Posamentier 1993). Waves may erode the flooded
valley margin, creating a planar bay-margin
ravinement surface (Fig. 4.16D).
Riverine and salt-marsh estuaries that form as
part of aggrading or prograding coasts display sim-
pler facies patterns (Howard 1975; Howard and
Frey 1975; Fig. 6.17). Estuarine fills are lenticular,
crosscutting, and internally complex. Sand content
Fig. 6.16. Stratigraphy and facies arrange-
ments in a drowned alluvial valley estuary,
showing the basal fluvial sediment of the
lowstand. the onlapping estuarine sand and
mud. the tidal ravinement surface (TR) be-
neath the estuary mouth sand. the wave-
scoured shoreface ravinement surface (WR).
maximum flooding surface (MFS). offlapping
estuarine sand and mud. and progradational
estuary-head delta sediments. (Allen and
Posamentier 1993)
decreases progressively landward because sedi-
ment filling the estuary is derived from the
shoreface and shelf. Tidal and wave energy simi-
larly decrease landward. and bioturbation in-
creases. The overall facies succession fines upward
as open estuary tidal bars and shoals are replaced
by inner tidal channel fill and intertidal flats and
marsh.
As estuaries fill, the area affected by tidal-chan-
nel migration increases. Consequently, shallow
estuary fills may be dominated by tidal-channel
sequences (Howard and Frey 1975; Barwis 1978).
These sequences are upward fining. but differ
from fluvial sequences in lack of coarse sediment,
presence of structures indicative of periodic tidal
flow and reversals, and diagnostic marine biogenic
features. Remarkable exposures of ancient estua-
rine sequences studied by Horne (1979a) show
evidence of several distinct evolutionary stages,
including fluvial abandonment, submergence,
tidal scour, and infilling by tide-dominated
processes.
Although very few trace fossils are unique
to estuaries, they are useful in reconstructing
paleoenvironmental details. In modern estuaries,
polychaete burrows are characteristic of the inner
estuary; abundance and diversity of burrows and
 Shore-Zone Depositional Systems 149

AVERAGE E-LOG
STRUCTURES GRAIN SIZE PROFILE
Mud Scnd

Upper hdel- ftol mud

V V V V OeSICCOhon fea'ures

~:~.~.
~ .
RlpplrJ lominatl0fl5,
burrows

~
"t/ .

. . .. .. . . SubllctOI-
. . . plonar foresers,
. ' . Ifouqhs t compLe;c
Inh'osets

Fig. 6.17. Vertical facies succession produced by progradation of a macrotidal Hat/channel coast. E-LOG Electric log

traces increases seaward (Howard and Frey 1975).
Mollusk and echinoderm traces are locally abun-
dant, and arthropods such as Ophiomorpha leave
some distinctive burrows.
Estuarine alternations of sand and mud com-
monly show small-scale cyclicity consistent with
diurnal, semidiurnal, and spring/neap tidal cycles.
Martino and Sanderson (1993) recognized four
orders of cyclicity in middle estuarine facies.
These comprise discrete arrangements of 2-3,11-
14,24-35, and 100-166 sedimentary layers, which
they related to daily, fortnightly (spring/neap),
monthly (lunar perigee/apogee), and seasonal
(solstitial/equinoctial) variations, respectively.
Shore-Zone Depositional Systems
Depositional shore-zone systems include the
following:
1. Beach-ridge plains, or strandplains (Fig.
6.18A,B)
2. Barrier/lagoon systems (Fig. 6.18C)
3. Barrier/tidal channel systems (Fig. 6.5B)
4. Tidal-flat/channel systems (Fig. 6.5C)
Whereas strandplains are inherently pro-
gradational, barrier and tidal-flat systems can be
150 Shore-Zone Systems
B~-------------- ____________________________-v
C L-______________________________________V
Fig. 6.1SA-C. Microtidal, wave-dominated shore-zone depositional systems. A Sand-rich strandplain. B Mud-rich strandplain
(chenier plain). C Barrier island/lagoon. (Galloway 1985)
progradational, transgressive, or aggradational.
All can occur as either sand-rich or mud-rich sys-
tems, although mud-dominated systems favor
tidal-flat development. Strandplains and barrier!
lagoon systems are present on wave-dominated
microtidal coasts. Barrier!tidal channel systems
typify mesotidal coasts. Tidal-flat!channel systems
are typical of macrotidal coasts.
Strandplains
Broad, sandy coastal facies tracts are produced by
seaward accretion of successive, parallel beach
ridges attached to the subaerial coastal plain.
0Sand body
Where sediment supply is abundant and
dominantly muddy, prograding coastal mudflats
form. Periodic reworking and winnowing of
sand and shell creates narrow beach ridges that,
together with the intervening mudflats, form
chenier plains.
In sandy beach-ridge plains, narrow, marshy
sloughs between berms take the place of lagoons
and create a muddy swale fill facies between the
beach, backshore, and eolian sand facies. As many
as 280 parallel ridges are present across a
strandplain width of 15 km (9 mi) on the Nayarit
coastal plain of Mexico (Curray 1969). These
ridges average 50m (165ft) in width, with heights
typically ranging from 1 m (3 ft) on the crest to

slightly below mean sea level in the intervening
depressions. The Tabascan strandplain of Mexico
reaches 40 km (25 mi) width, with the largest
beach ridges being almost 4m (13ft) high (Psuty
1966). Despite their broad extent, the strandplain
sands are generally thinner than 10m (33ft). Ac-
cording to Curray (1969), beach ridges accrete by
growth and emergence of longshore bars, mainly
under conditions of low wave activity. The beach
ridges grow vertically by washover accretion on
the berm during storms (Psuty 1966), with a result-
ing stratification that dips consistently landward,
comprising gently inclined topsets and bottomsets,
and steep foresets. Beach progradation follows
the resumption of fair-weather conditions, pro-
ducing typical foreshore deposits and widening
of the beach. Alternatively, aggradation of a
strandplain may be accomplished mainly by eolian
processes (Thorn 1964).
The primary building block of the strandplain is
the shoreface facies. Consequently, the dominant
vertical facies succession of a strandplain is that of
a prograding beach/shoreface, coarsening from
shelf silt and mud into quartzose beach sands (Fig.
6.7). Where the strandplain is nourished by mul-
tiple small streams, as along the Nayarit coast of
Mexico, additional facies complexities are intro-
duced by the crosscutting fluvial channel fills, cre-
vasse splays, and local stream mouth bars (Fig.
6.18A). Strandplain facies grade basinward into
open shelf muds and sands, and landward into
fluvial or distal alluvial fan deposits. Tyler and
Ambrose (1986) provide excellent examples of the
three-dimensional facies architecture of Gulf
Coast Oligocene sandy strandplain complexes.
Chenier coasts are a special type of mud-rich
strandplain comprising isolated, shore-parallel
bodies of sand and shell enclosed by prograding
marsh and mudflat deposits (Fig. 6.18B). They
grow in response to fluctuating supply of muddy
sediment within a predominantly regressive facies
framework. Beach ridges are produced by coas-
tal erosion and winnowing during episodes of
reduced longshore sediment supply and are sub-
sequently stranded behind seaward-building
mudflats during episodes of accelerated fine-
grained sediment influx. Long-term variations in
sediment supply are generally related to changes
in the position of an adjacent delta system or
fluctuating sediment influx through associated
streams (Byrne et al. 1959; Penland and Suter
1989). A chenier plain comprises a number of par-
allel beach ridges separated by prograded muds
(Otvos and Price 1979). The chenier plain of
Shore-Zone Depositional Systems 151
Surinam comprises two types of sand accumula-
tion, produced by onshore migration of nearshore
sand bars and by longshore drift from adjacent
depocenters, respectively (Augustinus 1980; Wells
and Coleman 1981). The former variety is coarser
grained and shows landward-dipping cross-beds of
both steep and gentle inclination, whereas the lat-
ter consists of interlayered sand and mud, with
steep landward-dipping foresets and gentle sea-
ward dips. Intervening muds are well laminated.
The Surinam cheniers are fronted by linear, fluid
mud shoals.
Barrier/Lagoon Systems
A barrier coast with adjacent lagoons forms a
more complex array of environments and facies
than a simple strandplain. The wave-dominated
shoreface and beach are, of course, prominent fa-
cies. The lagoonal deposits form a distinct, muddy
facies that grades basinward into barrier sands and
landward into typical coastal plain facies such as
salt marsh, eolian sand sheet, or alluvial plain.
Exchange of water between the lagoon and open
ocean creates tidal inlets, associated flood-tidal
deltas, and storm washover fans. These largely
sandy facies merge with the shoreface and beach
deposits to create irregular, lobate aprons on the
landward side of the linear, strike-elongate barrier
sand body (Fig. 6.19). Inlet scour and fill creates
local sand isolith thicks characterized by sharp-
based, slightly upward fining texture (Figs. 6.11,
6.19).
Barriers and lagoons are particularly common
features of microtidal, transgressive coasts. In the
transgressive setting, shoreface deposits are not
developed or preserved; rather, the shoreface is an
environment of erosional ravinement (Fig. 6.12).
Facies preserved include the landward-building
flood-tidal delta and washover apron along with
the deeply incised inlet fill (Fig. 6.2C).
Barrier/Tidal-Channel Systems
In mesotidal settings, waves are typically capable
of constructing barrier sand bodies. However, the
greater tide range and current velocities produced
cut numerous inlets through the barriers and
transport abundant sediment from the shoreface
into the lagoon, where it aggrades as broad tidal
flats and shoals cut by numerous tidal channels
and estuaries (Fig. 6.13). The Georgia coast in the
152 Shore-Zone Systems
2. Inlet Fill
1
~O
/ /
0 5 mi
i
I i
0 8 km
Fig.6.19. Sand-body geometry and representative log profiles of modern microtidal barrier islands of the Texas coast. CI Contour
interval, 10ft. (Galloway 1985; original data from Bernard et al. 1970; Wilkinson 1975)
United States and Dutch coasts are excellent ex-
amples of the typical environmental and facies
associations produced.
Shoreface facies are cannabilized by the nu-
merous inlets. Thus inlet fill is a prominent frame-
work facies of mesotidal coasts. Flood- and
ebb-tidal delta units are also thick and may be
recognized as distinct facies imparting landward
and seaward bulges to the strike-trending barrier
sand bodies. Washover fans extend into the la-
goon. Behind the barriers, much of the lagoon
facies association consists of a complex mosaic of
heterolithic riverine and salt-marsh estuary, inter-
tidal-fiat, and tidal-channel facies. A broad spec-
trum of primary and biogenic structures and
abruptness of facies change are hallmarks of the
estuarine back-barrier setting (Frey and Howard
1988).
Tidal-Flat/Channel Systems
Macrotidal coasts are normally characterized by
extensive landward tidal fiats, salt marshes, and
o 0
10
5
m 20 It
30
10
3. Barrier Flat I. Shoreface
GALVESTON ISLAND
OA "Z219
riverine and salt-marsh estuaries, as well as
shelfward tidal sand ridges and shoals (Figs. 6.5C,
6.17). The system preserves a complex mosaic of
these facies . Landward reduction in grain size
from subtidal to intertidal sands may be grada-
tional, as in tropical Australia and the Wash of
England (Evans 1965), or it may be abrupt and
limited to a silty or muddy high-tidal fiat, as in the
Bay of Fundy (Knight and Dalrymple 1975). Else-
where, for example on parts of the Korean coast, a
paucity of coarse-grained sediment has resulted
in featureless mudfiats up to 30km (20mi) wide,
lacking the marked seaward textural zonation,
intricate tidal-channel networks, and extensive
suites of small-scale bedforms that characterize
their sandier tidal-fiat counterparts (Alexander et
al. 1991). These Korean tidal fiats show only a
slight seaward increase in sediment caliber. In the
Gulf of California, too, little sand is available, and
silt and clay extend across the fiat , lower interti-
dal and subtidal zone, with water moving across
the fiats as a broad, uniform sheet (Thompson
1975). Finer-grained tidal fiats generate quite
different sequences, with suspension-deposited
 Shore-Zone Depositional Systems 153

silts and clays dominant throughout, and no sig-
nificant vertical change in texture. Alternatively,
progradation of muddy tidal flats of Korean type
creates an upward-fining sequence comprising the
following (Alexander et a1. 1991):
1. Cross-bedded sands and silts of subtidal
channels
2. Unstratified, poorly sorted sand of the low-tidal
fiat
3. Partially bioturbated, parallel to lenticular
laminated silt and sand of the mid-tidal flat
4. Mottled to completely homogeneous mud of
the high-tidal flat
Several such sequences, some only partly pre-
served, may be superimposed in a zone of broad,
fluctuating tidal-flat accretion.
Tidal reworking extends onto the shoreface.
Where present, nearshore tidal sand ridges tend to
be located toward the axes of embayments or at
the mouths of estuaries, where they are aligned by
tidal currents perpendicular or oblique to the
mean shoreline trend. On open, sandy, macrotidal
coasts such as the the German Bight, numerous
sandy tongues and shoals extend across the
shoreface.
Most modern estuaries on macrotidal coasts
owe their origin to marine transgression, reverting

Groin Size E-Lall Profile STRUCTURES

~~~~I
~
__ MHT
salt marsh

Intertidal flal

Fairweather
wove bose
Sand
tongue

Channel floor

Transition

A Shelf

Fig. 6.20A,B. Idealized shoreface to subaerial fa-

Il V V
cies successions in A prograding sandy and B
muddy tidal shore zones. MHT Mean high tide , \J V Shelf
M L T mean low tide, E-Log electric log B
154 Shore-Zone Systems
.J
Ii'
OM1
Km
Fig. 6.21. Sand isolith of a mixed riverine and salt-marsh estu-
ary system, Netherlands coastal plain. Tongue-shaped estuary
fill sands pinch out landward into muddy inner estuary-fill,
tidal-flat, and salt marsh deposits. (Modified from Oomkens
1974)
to a progradational regime only in the past
few thousand years. However, a stable sea level
and active sediment supply from small streams
or longshore from major delta headlands can
clearly produce actively prograding strandplains
composed of tidal flat, salt-marsh estuary, riverine
estuary, and salt-marsh deposits. Examples
include the Kuala Kurau Bight, Malaysia
(Kamaludin 1993), and the northern Bay of
Bengal tidal lowlands flanking the Ganges Delta
(Umitsu 1993). Regression superimposes muddy
shelf, sandy subtidal shoreface, sandy low tidal
flat, muddy upper tidal-flat, and muddy marsh
or supratidal flat facies, producing an upward
cOdsening to fining sequence of the type illus-
trated in Fig. 6.20A. Mud-dominated macrotidal
shore zones concentrate available sand in the
upper shoreface and lower tidal flat position
(Fig. 6.19B). Supratidal facies include salt-marsh
bioturbated carbonaceous muds and sandy muds.
In hot, arid climates, the supratidal deposits are
typically oxidized and deformed by desiccation
and evaporite crystallization. Precipitation of gyp-
sum and halite may elevate the surface to a level
where it is no longer flooded by highest spring
tides.
Landward, lenticular, funnel-shaped sand bod-
ies fill salt-marsh and estuarine estuaries that nar-
row and pinch out into muddy tidal-flat and
salt-marsh deposits. Isolith patterns display nu-
merous landward projecting tongues that thin and
narrow into contemporary coastal plain muds
(Fig. 6.21). Estuary fills display sharp bases, large-
scale internal structures, and upward-fining caps
(Fig. 6.17). Seaward, estuary sands coalesce into
amalgamated tidal flat and shoreface units in
prograding systems, creating a broad, strike-paral-
lel belt of sand that, in detail, shows prominent,
dip-oriented, channel-form thicks that project
landward. The tidal-flat/channel sand belt grades
landward into terrestrial muds and seaward into
open marine muds and sands. On transgressive
coasts, the bulk of the sand is preserved as
drowned-valley estuary fills, commonly overlying
basal fluvial deposits (Fig. 6.15). Where estuaries
project into active river valleys, sandy fluvial
facies will be found within the landward part of
the estuary fill.
Stratigraphy of Shore-Zone Systems
Shore lines are shifting, ephemeral features.
Lateral migration of shorelines may be gradual
and uniform, sporadic, or reversing, in response
to the effects of tectonism, eustasy, the nature
and magnitude of marine energy flux, or changes
in the location and rate of sediment influx
(Curray 1964; Morton 1991; Swift and Thorne
1991). The balance is usually dominated by the
rate of sediment accumulation and rate and
direction of relative sea-level change. In some
cases, the lateral variability in lithology and thick-
ness of shore-zone facies is extreme, whereas in
other circumstances, shore-zone deposits may be
tabular in geometry and relatively uniform inter-
nally. The unifying attributes of all shore-zone sys-
tems are their regional strike orientation and
position between open marine and continental
systems.
Shorelines associated with deltaic systems
along predominantly progradational coasts show
considerable variety. Autocyclic processes associ-
ated with deltaic systems result in abrupt changes
in the style of shore-zone sedimentation in adjoin-

ing coastal tracts. Shore-parallel bands of barrier
sandstone may be totally enclosed by shelf and
lagoonal shales and may overlap or assume an
echelon arrangements. Such patterns may result
from abrupt changes in sediment supplied from
updrift delta systems, which cause intermittent
transgressive reworking and local overstepping
within a predominantly regressive succession. As
well described for the facies architecture of shore-
zone systems associated with the Mississippi delta,
there is a complex, but predictable relationship
between delta and shore-zone evolution (Penland
et al. 1988; Penland and Suter 1989). Transgres-
sive, marine-reworked sands on top of abandoned
delta lobes are prime targets in some exploration
plays because of their high primary porosities and
stratigraphic isolation within mud facies.
Progradational Shore Zones
Progradational shore zones are more commonly
linear to lobate, rather than embayed (Boyd et al.
1992) and result in well-preserved sequences with
a relatively complete range of shore-zone facies.
Log patterns of a regressive shore zone may be
indistinguishable from those of a prograding delta
system, but the seaward-convex to linear, as op-
posed to cuspate, lobate, or digitate sand body
geometries are normally distinctive. Gradational
transitions between strandplains and marine-
dominated deltas can be especially subtle.
Prograding, or accretionary, barriers tend to
have a broad beach and barrier flat, with a ridge-
and-swale topography. Washovers are less com-
mon than on transgressive shore zones and most
terminate subaerially. Galveston Island, a well-
documented example, has prograded locally
almost 2 km (1.25 mi) in late Holocene time (Ber-
nard et al. 1970; Morton 1974; Bernard and
LeBlanc 1975; Fig. 6.19). At its eastern end are
parallel accretion ridges underlain by dated pro-
files recording coastal offlap of a lower shoreface
through foreshore sequence. The typical regres-
sive sequence coarsens upward from alternating
sand and clay of the shelf and lower shoreface to
shelly sand of the upper shoreface and beach (Fig.
6.7). Matagorda Island, another accreting Gulf
Coast barrier, is a uniform, strike-oriented sand
body which interfingers landward and seaward
with lagoon and shelf facies, respectively (Fig.
6.19; Wilkinson 1975; Morton and McGowen
1980).
Stratigraphy of Shore-Zone Systems 155
Extensively drilled and mined barrier reser-
voirs of progradational origin (Fig. 16.2) demon-
strate paleotopographic details such asv
ridge-and-swale deposits on the sandbody surface,
identical to their modern analogues (Galloway et
al. 1979a,b; Galloway 1986; Tyler and Ambrose
1986). The sand-body geometry and vertical tex-
tural sequences (defined by log signatures) of Frio
(Oligocene) and Whitsett (Eocene) Formation
examples allow all major distinct facies elements
to be delineated, including the following:
1. Barrier-core, gradationally based, strike-paral-
lel shoreface and beach sands
2. Erosively based, upward-fining inlet fill
3. Tidal-channel and flood-tidal delta
4. Washover deposits of the back-barrier/lagoon
transition
The width of these prograding Tertiary barrier
sand bodies exceeds 8km (5mi), and they closely
resembles their Holocene counterparts in thick-
ness, areal extent, paleogeographic setting, and
internal character. Although prograding barrier
systems, preserving a landward lagoon, seem
unlikely, they are favored by strong wave
domination and strike transport and sand-rich
sediment supply. Shorelines fed primarily by
longshore, strike-reworking of sediment from a
deltaic headland are forced across the shelf in tan-
dem with the delta margin. As sediment supply to
and within the shore-zone system is primarily
from the shoreface, the area landward of the
delta-flank spit/barrier becomes increasingly sedi-
ment starved. Loading or tectonic subsidence en-
hances the potential for flooding behind the
barrier.
Progradation of sandy macrotidal coasts gener-
ates an upward-coarsening shoreface to tidal sand
flat succession capped by an upward-fining inter-
tidal sequence (Fig. 6.20). The distinct inner, mid-
and outertidal flat textural zones are apparent.
The thickness of such sequences may provide an
estimate of paleotidal range (Evans 1965;
Terwindt 1988), but the overprint of relative sub-
sidence, facies stacking, or erosional truncation
complicate the interpretation. Barwis (1978) ob-
served that the upward-fining pattern generated
by tidal-channel migration (Fig. 6.13B) may re-
semble progradational tidal-flat sequence, and
highly channeled flats greatly complicate the
simple upward-fining succession.
In summary, prograding shore-zone systems
are characterized by the prominence of upward-
156 Shore-Zone Systems
coarsening framework facies successions, which
may have either abrupt or transitional, upward-
fining tops, the formation of broad, strike-parallel
belts or sheets, and the preservation of facies re-
flecting the full array of coastal environments.
Aggradational Shore Zones
In situations of close balance between sediment
supply and relative rise in sea level, shore-zone
facies may occupy a relatively fixed geographic
position while aggrading vertically. Thick, strike-
oriented barrier sand belts of this type are widely
documented in the geologic record, with washover
sands and tidal-channel facies interfingering land-
ward with lagoonal muds and a seaward grada-
tion into shoreface facies. Stacked barrier and
strandplain sands in the Tertiary Frio Formation
of the Texas Gulf Coast, for example, attain ex-
ceptional thicknesses of 1000m (3500ft) or more
(Galloway et al. 1982c). These aggradational bar-
rier deposits typically contain a large proportion
of inlet fill (Fig. 6.10) within the barrier core. The
Greta sandstone of the Upper Frio Greta-
Carancahua barrier/strandplain system (Galloway
et al. 1982c; Galloway 1986) is typically thicker
than 30m (100ft) and displays a blocky log re-
sponse consistent with its uniform texture.
Aggradational barrier/lagoon systems form
along the strongly strike-fed flanks of
aggradational delta headlands. Furthermore,
coastal and shallow shelf sand transport and accu-
mulation are commonly focused along shallow
bathymetric hinges or nick points. Where such
strike-parallel shoals are structurally rooted,
shorelines may stabilize and become, in effect,
structurally pinned. In such situations, active sedi-
ment transport is largely restricted to the
shoreface and inner shelf. If additional sediment
supply across the adjacent coastal plain is limited,
ongoing subsidence causes persistent flooding of
the sediment-starved back barrier.
Vertically amalgamated sequences of tidal-flat
facies are widely recorded in outcrop, particularly
from the Precambrian (Tankard et al. 1982).
Although showing evidence of changes in fre-
quency of tidal inundation and reworking, and
intermittent progradation, the dominant style is
aggradational. Interpreted as macrotidal deposits
(von Brunn and Hobday 1976), these thick se-
quences may alternatively have formed under a
lower tidal range, with facies stacking resulting
from continued subsidence matched by sediment
supply.
Transgressive Shore Zones
Transgression results when the relative rise in
base level exceeds the volume of sediment avail-
able. The facies architecture of transgressive suc-
cessions is highly conditioned by sediment supply
and topography of the transgressed coastal plain
(Demarest and Kraft 1987; Morton 1991; Oertel
and Kraft 1994). Storm washover and tidal
flooding of barriers, and subsequent passage
through the landward-migrating surf zone, leaves
a complex record of back-barrier facies, primarily
washover sands, and truncated inlet fill (Fig. 6.12).
In other circumstances, the only record of trans-
gression may be a wave-eroded disconformity
with a superimposed, thin sediment sheet or
ravinement lag.
Gradual retreat of the barrier coast by
wash over and barrier-inlet deposition, together
with local wind activity, is accelerated by the
breaching of temporary inlets by storms, par-
ticularly along microtidal coasts (Leatherman
1979). In these circumstances, the large volumes
of sand spread landward by flood-tidal deltas pro-
vide a platform for washover fans and windblown
sand.
In contrast to the continued slow transgression
implicit in the shoreface retreat model, discon-
tinuous, stepwise, transgressive overstepping is
proposed by Rampino and Sanders (1981) to ac-
count for upward gradation from back-barrier into
shoreface and shelf facies, without a pronounced
erosion surface intervening. According to this
overstep model, entrapment of land-derived sedi-
ment in the lagoon causes the barrier to be stabi-
lized, then abandoned and submerged, with a new
barrier shoreline forming landward. The drowned
barrier is preserved as one of several linear, shore-
parallel sand bodies. Minor high-frequency cycles
or stepped sea-level rise during overall transgres-
sion creates such stepped coastal sand bodies
(Anderson et al. 1990).
Devine (1991) has illustrated the impact of
transgression on preserved facies architecture
of barrier shore-zone sand bodies. Drowning
of a progradational strandplain produced open
lagoons, which were transformed into tidal
estuaries. Lenticular, estuarine sands erosively
overlie lagoonal, foreshore and upper-shoreface

facies. The composite facies succession resembles
that of a mesotidal barrier/tidal-channel system.
However, the shore-zone system was predomi-
nantly wave-dominated strandplain, sporadically
overprinted by transgressive facies that magnify
tidal influence behind the temporary transgres-
sive barrier. These high-frequency regressive/
transgressive parasequences contain estuarine
sands of good reservoir quality at their updip
edges.
Another common variant involves vertical or
lateral amalgamation of successive transgressive
cycles. For example, in the Cretaceous Cliff House
Sandstone of New Mexico, transgressive barrier
sand bodies occupy a 9-km-wide, shore-parallel
zone of slightly offset sandstone units within a
regionally retrogressive depositional system tract
(Donselaar 1989). Four stacked barrier sand bod-
ies are separated by sharp, transgressive erosional
surfaces. Along the Georgia and Texas coasts,
modern barriers are plastered against landward
counterparts deposited during previous Quater-
nary highstands (Frey and Howard 1988; Morton
1994).
Tidal-flat transgression is accompanied by tidal
scouring which is likely to result in the develop-
ment of a ravinement surface overlain by mud-
clasts and shell debris, followed by subtidal shelf
sands, although incomplete, upward-coarsening
patterns reflecting the landward shift and superim-
position of tidal-flat tracts is apparent in some
ancient sequences. Estuary fills are a prominent
element of transgressive coasts and of the trans-
gressive systems tract of sequence stratigraphic
models. Many modern estuaries inherit their form
from valleys incised during Pleistocene low sea-
level stands. Allen and Posamentier (1993) sum-
marize the characteristic succession of facies and
surfaces that arise from estuarine valley filling
during the lowstand, transgressive, and high sea-
level stages (Fig. 6.15). This model, derived from
the Gironde Estuary, shows an estuarine valley-fill
wedge up to 45 m thick comprising a basal unit of
fluvial gravel, onlapping transgressive estuarine
mud and sand deposited in the estuary funnel, and
estuary-mouth sands up to 25 m thick, which
encroach landward over a tidal ravinement
surface. High-stand deposits of the past few thou-
sand years comprise an apical wedge of pro-
grading tidal sands and offiapping estuarine mud
and sand.
The stratigraphy of transgressive shore-zones is
characterized by the following:
Shore-Zone Systems Through Geologic Time 157
1. Thinned, incomplete facies successions in
which the position of the shoreface is preserved
as a marine erosional diastem - the ravinement
surface
2. Preferential preservation of facies deposited
landward of the shoreline and in inlet and estu-
ary channels
3. Isolation of lenticular framework facies within
muddy facies
4. Abundance of lags, shell concentrations, and
minor erosional surfaces
5. Evidence of accentuated tidal influence
Shore-Zone Systems
Through Geologic Time
Shore-zone systems were undoubtedly affected by
changing dimensions and interrelationships of the
evolving continents and ocean basins, by the evo-
lution of invertebrate organisms, and by expan-
sion of terrestrial vegetation. Nonetheless, some
of the oldest known sedimentary rocks reflect
wave and tidal conditions quite comparable to
those of today (Eriksson 1977). However, the dis-
proportionately large volume of shore-zone de-
posits in some very old successions (Rust 1973;
von Brunn and Mason 1977) may stem from the
generally lower relief of continents as compared
with the present, the prevalence of shallow-ma-
rine platforms and epeiric seas, and the instability
of the unvegetated coasts. Anomalous tidal ampli-
tudes have also been postulated as resulting from
increased lunar gravitational attraction following
early Precambrian capture of the moon (Singer
1970). However, earth-moon relationships appear
to have remained fairly constant, with changes in
structural setting, sediment texture, and degree
of shoreline stabilization by biological agencies
possibly accounting for most of the observed
differences.
Archean shore-zone sedimentation was ini-
tially confined to margins of the small, evolving
continental nuclei (Tankard et al. 1982). The
shore zone was very narrow and separated coarse-
grained fluvial systems from submarine fans. By
late Archean and early-middle Proterozoic times,
progressive cratonization provided broad, sub-
dued landmasses that were intermittently trans-
gressed by shallow seas, leavirig thick sequences of
shelf and tidal-flat deposits. Repetitive upward-
fining regressive intertidal sequences of remark-
158 Shore-Zone Systems
ably constant thicknesses (12-20m, 40-65 ft) are
possibly a reflection of a prevailing macrotidal
range (von Brunn and Hobday 1976). Thick, tec-
tonically controlled, aggradational sequences are
common in other lower Proterozoic deposits,
where they are separated by persistent transgres-
sive unconformities (Beukes 1977).
Prior to the advent of terrestrial vegetation,
larger volumes of sand would have been trans-
ported to the coast, causing rapid progradation
across the shallowly submerged platforms. A
lower proportion of clay, and the absence of sus-
pension-feeding organisms, which were later so
effective in speeding up the accumulation of fine-
grained sediment, may account for the predo-
minantly sandy intertidal sequences of many
Proterozoic basins. However, even in sediments as
old as 3 billion years, algal binding was an impor-
tant process (Mason and von Brunn 1977). Broad,
unvegetated tidal flats were severely reworked by
wind and storm-surge processes.
Barrier coasts, too, would have been rapidly
modified by storms, unimpeded by any vegetation
cover. In the early Paleozoic, such unstable bar-
riers in a subsiding basin supplied by vigorous
bed-load streams accumulated extremely thick
quartzose sand successions, which include shore-
face, foreshore, inlet, and washover-fan facies
(Hobday and Tankard 1978). Preserved late
Paleozoic and younger shore-zone systems in-
clude a larger proportion of clearly defined
progradational and aggradational barrier/lagoon
complexes, and it is not known to what extent the
stabilizing effects of vegetation may have been
responsible. Certainly the emphasis on environ-
ments of coal deposition, as well as bias in hydro-
carbon occurrence toward the younger geologic
section, has led to an increased appreciation of the
diversity and character of shore-zone systems
of the post-Devonian age. From Mesozoic into
Cenozoic times, progressively closer approxima-
tion to the modem configuration of continents and
oceans has increased the opportunities for the re-
construction of paleoenvironments by analogy
with the Recent, particularly at the scale of depo-
sitional systems. This has been especially true of
the Cenozoic barrier and strandplain systems of
the Gulf Coastal Plain (Galloway et al. 1982c;
Galloway 1986), which bear close comparison
with present-day patterns of coastal sedimenta-
tion in Texas and Louisiana.
7 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
Introduction
Terrigenous shelves include both epeiric (epicon-
tinental) platforms and continental shelves with a
mantle of land-derived sediments. Epeiric plat-
forms are broad, shallowly inundated continental
areas. Modern examples such as the North Sea,
Hudson Bay, and Gulf of Carpentaria are small by
comparison with many of their ancient counter-
parts. Continental shelves are submerged conti-
nental margins, dipping very gently (typically
about 1) from the outer edge of the shore zone to
the shelf break, where there is an abrupt increase
in slope. Where the shelf break is not well defined,
the shelf is arbitrarily confined to depths shallower
than 200m (650ft) (Johnson and Baldwin 1986).
Present-day shelves have a complex depositional
and erosional evolution that is dominated by the
rapid early Holocene sea-level rise of more than
100m. Modern early post-transgressive shelves
provide, at best, partial analogues for the diversity
of shelf systems found in the stratigraphic record.
Despite their relatively youthful origin, modern
shelf systems exhibit the array of processes and
facies found in their ancient counterparts. Be-
cause of the rapid Holocene rise in sea level,
deposits of modern shelves are not always in equi-
librium with existing shelf processes. Some shelf
sediment bodies originated in the shore
zone and are now at least partially out of equilib-
rium with shelf processes (Emery 1952). However,
modern studies recognize that most shelves are
subject to dynamic processes at all depths
(Swift 1969; Field 1982; Swift et al. 1991). In situ
modification during and following flooding cre-
ated new sedimentary features and facies that
reflect the shelf process environment. Where sedi-
ment supply is especially high, delta and shore-
zone system progradation is accompanied by
accumulation of shelf mud facies that are produc-
ing early-phase shelf system stratigraphic architec-
tures (Curray 1965). Oceanographic studies have
provided details of shelf circulation, sediment
transport and deposition, and stratigraphic geom-
etry that are applicable to deposits of the vast
terrigenous shelves that dominated large
intracratonic areas during the Proterozoic, early
Paleozoic, and late Mesozoic and which can be
applied to exploration of the hydrocarbon-rich
shelf systems of all ages.
Although the deposits of modern shelf systems
are generally thin, early Proterozoic shelf systems,
such as the 12000-m (39000-ft) thick Transvaal
Supergroup of South Africa, were a response to
progressive cratonization of the earlier unstable
Archean crust (Tankard et al. 1982). Upper Prot-
erozoic and lower Paleozoic shelf deposits locally
attain prodigious thickness, as exemplified by the
SOOO-m (16000-ft) succession in the Precambrian
of Scotland (Anderton 1976) and the 2000-m
(6500-ft) succession of shelf quartzarenites in the
Cambro-Ordovician of southern Africa (Hobday
and Tankard 1978).
Shelves vary in scale and importance according
to their plate-tectonic setting (Shepard 1973).
Shelves along transform and rift-basin margins
tend to be steep and narrow. Such shelves re-
semble carbonate ramps, lacking the flat profile
and morphologically distinct shelf edge. Broad,
flat shelves are characteristic of:
1. Convergent margins, where extensive shelf
seas develop landward of island arcs in a
backarc basin and as foreland basins on con-
tinental crust
2. Divergent continental margins characterized
by broad flexural downwarp
3. Pericratonic downwarps that open to divergent
margins
4. Intracratonic basins and failed aulacogens
Shelf-sediment distribution is strongly influenced
by the climate of adjacent continental land masses
(Hayes 1967b), resulting in a broad climatic zona-
tion of shelf sediments. Glaciated areas are char-
acterized by gravel and silty, chloritic muds; sandy
160 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
shelves are common off temperate and arid land-
masses, and muddy shelves off hot, humid coasts.
Carbonate deposition dominates many shallow
shelves in the subtropical belts where terrigenous
sediment influx is low. Additional authigenic sedi-
ments found on shelves include glauconite, phos-
phorite, and chamosite.
Terrigenous shelf sands have been a prime tar-
get in hydrocarbon exploration. They commonly
have good primary porosity and permeability and
are in close proximity to potential source rocks
of high organic content. Traps are represented by
contemporaneous or early postdepositional struc-
tures and stratigraphic pinchouts. Seals are pro-
vided by shelf or prodelta mudstones. Large
volumes of hydrocarbons are produced from the
Mesozoic Sussex and Shannon Sandstones and
equivalent units, as well as from the Cardium and
Viking Sandstones of Canada - all of which con-
tain well-studied examples of ancient shelf depos-
its. Post-breakup progradation of passive margins
superposes well-sorted shelf sediments on rift-
stage deposits, which include excellent lacustrine
B
Fig. 7.1A,B. Zonation and dominant processes of broad shelves and shelf ramps
source rocks. Restricted shelf and pericratonic
basin shelf systems, such as the Devonian
Woodford Shale of west Texas and the Kim-
meridge Shale ofthe North Sea Basin, provide the
principal source rock for world-class petroleum
plays (Comer 1991).
Shelf Processes
The shelf processes most effective in transporting
bed-load sediments are tidal currents, storm
waves, and wind-forced currents. Locally, semi-
permanent or permanent oceanic currents also
flow across shelves with sufficient velocity to en-
train sand. Interacting with these are weaker
currents related to temperature and salinity gradi-
ents, Coriolis effects, and bottom turbid
(nepheloid) layer flow. Further complexity in
shelf circulation patterns is introduced by
seasonal convective sinking and overturn, up-
\
\
\

welling of bottom waters, and downwelling.
Tidal and storm processes are most influential on
the inner shelf, whereas density stratification,
nepheloid flow, and intruding oceanic circulation
affect the outer shelf (Fig. 7.1).
Tidal Processes
Shelf tides are associated with semidiurnal, diur-
nal, fortnightly, and longer-term fluctuations in
sea level resulting from gravitational attraction
between the moon, sun, and earth. In major ocean
basins, these sea-level changes involve rotation
of tidal bulge, or wave, around a central point of
no tidal variation (Mofjeld 1976; Howarth 1982).
Such amphidromic systems also exist in epeiric
basins such as the North Sea. In the open ocean,
the tidal flow follows an elliptical path, but narrow
rectilinear or reversed current patterns develop
near basin margins. As the tidal wave is propa-
gated from the open ocean onto the shelf it be-
comes asymmetric shoreward, and there is a
tendency for flood velocities to exceed ebb veloci-
ties, resulting in net landward sediment transport.
On the shelf it typically moves alongshelf as a
progressive tidal wave, facilitating longshore sedi-
ment transport. Tidal range and associated cur-
rent velocities are highest fortnightly during
spring tides, with additional reinforcement semi-
annually. Surface tidal currents commonly exceed
1 mls (Belderson 1986), but tidal-current velocity
decreases with depth.
Broad shelves have the effect of increasing
tidal range due to resonance (Redfield 1958;
Howarth 1982). For shelves with widths less
than one quarter of the tidal wavelength (approxi-
mately 250km, i.e., 160mi, or more, depending
on depth), tidal-current amplitude varies linearly
with the distance from shore, reaching its maxi-
mum at the shelf edge. The wider the shelf, the
closer it approaches the quarter wavelength
and the higher the tide range along the shore
zone and the higher the resultant current
velocities. Resonant amplification of the tidal
wave in elongate, semienclosed basins opening
into a major ocean results in maximum tidal
ranges of around 17 m (55 ft). Such embayments
are dominated by high-velocity tidal currents.
In contrast, enclosed seas such as the Mediterra-
nean and Gulf of Mexico have very small tidal
ranges, so tidal energy is modest. However, even
weak tidal currents may be significant when
Shelf Processes 161
augmented by wind-forced or semipermanent
currents.
Tidal-current velocities are accelerated where
flow traverses narrow or shoal-water straits, such
as the Straits of Malacca and English Channel
(Keller and Richards 1967; Howarth 1982). Inter-
action of tidal flow with coastal or submarine to-
pography creates eddies or flow perturbations that
localize sediment deposition (Fig. 7.2; Ferentinos
and Collins 1980).
Most tidal energy is dissipated by bottom
friction, making tidal currents particularly effec-
tive at entraining and transporting sediment
(Howarth 1982). The sand transport rate increases
much more rapidly in proportion to the current
speed. Thus, flood versus ebb current asymmetry,
which is typical of many tidal flows, causes
effective net sediment transport in the direction
of the stronger flow. Superimposition of tidal
flow on other currents accentuates the transport
asymmetry.
Fair-Weather Waves and Swell
Fair-weather waves have little effect on the shelf,
except over the tops of shallow shoals. Shallow-
water waves involve circular orbital motion with a
minor horizontal component. Wave surge over a
shoaling bottom creates brief, high-velocity shore-
ward pulses as the wave crest passes, with longer
but less intense seaward pulses beneath interven-
ing troughs. Dominance of the shoreward pulses
provides a wave-drift residual, causing net on-
shore sediment transport, and crcates the so-
called littoral energy fence (Swift 1969; Swift and
Thorne 1991).
In the mid- to outer shelf, long-period swell,
generated in other parts of the ocean basin, dis-
turbs sediment to depths of 100m or more, creat-
ing diffusive transport (Vincent 1986). The orbital
wave motion places bottom sediment in suspen-
sion where it can be transported by relatively
weak unidirectional currents or as a gravity-driven
nepheloid layer (Komar 1976). For example,
threshold velocities for sediment movement on
the Washington shelf were exceeded during 5 days
of the year at the 550-ft (167-m) shelf break, and
during 53 days of the year at the 250-ft (75-m)
midshelf (Sternberg and Larsen 1976).
Wave oscillation creates ripples that are long
and branching, with sharp or rounded crests and
symmetric to asymmetric profiles (Inman 1957;
162 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
-----.. ~
~
~
- FLOOD
~ 4
c:Z) Linear sand ridges
Areas of mud accumulation
Fig. 7.2. Tidal current circulation, sand ridge development, and mud accumulation along the margin of the Bristol Channel, Sand
ridges accumulate where reversing tidal currents interact with coastal headlands, (Modified from Ferentinos and Collins 1980)
Harms 1969). Ripple troughs are flat or gently
concave. Ripple spacing depends on wave charac-
teristics and grain size and indicates the near-
bottom orbital diameter of waves (Inman 1957),
Crestlines tend to parallel the shore, but on
some shelves they are markedly oblique to the
paleoshoreline.
Stor~ Processes
Geologically significant storms are associated
with tropical cyclones (hurricanes or typhoons),
midlatitude cyclonic low-pressure systems, and
high-latitude meteorological disturbances (Duke
1985; Swift et al. 1986a). The oceanic response to
storms is complex and includes formation of large
waves, strong wind-forced currents, coastal setup,
and offshore-directed bottom flow (Morton 1981;
Csanady 1982; Swift et al. 1986a,b; Wright et al.
1986; Snedden and Nummedal 1991; Keen and
Slingerland 1993),
High-amplitude waves associated with storms
are capable of disturbing the outer shelf to depths
of more than 200m (650ft) (Komar et al. 1972).
0 Km 8
I I I
0 Mi 5
~
..
1111111111 Dunes Direction of sediment transport
HUf! Sand waves
Sediments at the edge of the northwest Gulf of
Mexico shelf are stirred by storm waves every 5
years or so (Curray 1960). Transfer of storm-wave
energy to shelf sediment becomes increasingly
effective as water shallows. On the inner shelf,
storm-wave surge produces an irregularly undu-
lating surface of low hummocks and swales, which
becomes mantled with fine sand or silt settling
from a sediment cloud suspended by passage of
the wave (Harms et al. 1982; Leckie and Krystinik
1989; Duke et al. 1991). The resulting zone of
hummocky cross-stratification (Fig. 7.3) extends
between the storm-wave base, located on the in-
ner shelf, and the fair-weather wave base at the
toe of the shoreface (Fig. 7.4). Hummocky cross-
stratification is largely restricted to very fine to
fine sand; on coarse sand beds, storm waves pro-
duce coarse-grained ripples with decimeter scale
amplitude (Leckie 1988).
Cyclic stresses produced by storm waves also
cause in situ liquefaction and resulting sand
boils and mass flows (Field 1982). Deformed and
massive, poorly sorted shelf deposits in close asso-
ciation with large-scale hummocky cross-strati-
fication record storm-induced liquefaction in
Fig. 7.3. Hummocky cross-stratification showing upward con- show large-scale wave rippling and are overlain by storm-
vexity of laminae (arrows) in Permian inner shelf deposits, graded sand and siltstone beds with burrowed tops
Sydney Basin, Australia. The overlying pebbly sandstones

-;---=--
-. ~-~~ -<....~ ---- FLOW
__-= .. ~- c..,r::::::,~S ____

~~-~~~i~~-~~~===--L~/_D~O~W~N~W~E~L~L~I G ______~

lL.
...J
W
:x: Storm -Graded Sand Beds
en Storm-Graded/Bioturbated Muds
Surf and swash transport

transport

Diffusive swell
transport

Fig.7.4. Storm processes and their depositional products along shelf profile. (Modified from Swift et al. 1986a; Vincent 1986;
the shoreface and inner shelf. Lower panel shows the fair- Swift and Thorne 1991)
weather and storm transport zones of the shoreface and inner
164 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
Permian shelf systems of the Sydney Basin,
Australia.
Storm waves affect shelf sedimentation out of
all proportion to their infrequent occurrence. On-
shore and offshore velocities associated with the
orbital motion beneath steep storm waves are al-
most equal, so the tendency toward net shoreward
transport that characterizes fair-weather waves
is replaced by gravity-driven seaward diffusion.
Thus, storms tend to erode sediment from the
beach and deposit it on the shoreface and shelf
(Niedoroda et al. 1984; Swift et al. 1985; Wright et
al. 1986; refer also to discussion of storm processes
in Chap. 6).
Wind-forced currents are created by the fric-
tional coupling of wind and water at the sea sur-
face. Because induced flow is deflected by Coriolis
forces (right in the northern hemisphere, left in
the southern), the most effective winds for trans-
fer of sediment to the shelf are those that are
approximately shore-parallel. Longshore winds in
the appropriate direction create a coastward sur-
face flow, stacking water up against the shoreface
and creating coastal setup (Fig. 7.4). The resultant
pressure head forces return bottom flow seaward
across the shoreface and onto the inner shelf. Co-
riolis forces again deflect the bottom flow, leading
to a contour-parallel current flowing along the in-
ner shelf. Downwelling and contour-parallel bot-
tom flow form a zone of advective storm transport
(Fig. 7.4). Contour flows exceeding 1 mls have
accompanied tropical storms in the Gulf of
Mexico shelf (Murray 1970; Snedden and Num-
medal 1991). Bottom-return storm flow opposes
the tendency of wave processes to transport sedi-
ment shoreward and is probably the most effective
mechanism for transporting sand from the shore
zone, across the littoral energy fence, and onto the
inner shelf (Morton 1981).
Weaker, but more persistent currents accom-
pany seasonal wind systems. Unidirectional cur-
rents of this type on the Washington-Oregon shelf
exceed 80 cmls (3 ft/s) and transport silt and sand
(Sternberg and Larsen 1976). Storm currents may
be reinforced or counteracted by tidal flow. Wind-
forced currents are therefore important not only
on storm-dominated shelves such as the northern
Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic, but in tide-
dominated basins such as the North Sea, where
they may augment or even briefly overwhelm the
tidal component (Gienapp 1973; Caston 1976).
Wind-forced currents are particularly effective
along storm-dominated coasts, where they act in
conjunction with erosive storm waves. Sediment
entrained by wave surge and rip currents is trans-
ported across the shoreface and onto the inner
shelf. Subsequent storm events recycle this sedi-
ment alongshore, forming an inner shelf sand
prism consisting of an inner hummocky cross-
stratified sand facies and an outer storm-graded
bed facies (Fig. 7.4). Preservation of these storm
event beds is proportional to the sedimentation
rate, storm frequency, and rate of biogenic re-
working (Niedoroda et al. 1989).
Semipermanent Ocean Currents
The outer portions of some shelves are affected
by intruding oceanic circulation systems. The
Agulhas Current of the western Indian Ocean
produces persistent unidirectional flow southward
along the outer shelf of southern Africa (Martin
and Flemming 1986). Velocities are sufficient to
transport large volumes of bed-load sediments,
some of which ultimately cascades down the heads
of submarine canyons, and to construct large
bedforms and bar macroforms. Like tidal currents,
these may interact with coastal or shelf morphol-
ogy, creating eddies and current shadows and de-
positing large sandy bars, shoals, and ponded mud
fills.
Low-velocity oceanic currents create zones
of alongshelf mud transport - the advective mud
streams - that localize zones of mud accumula-
tion on many Holocene shelves. Although weak
and seasonably variable in their direction of
flow, oceanic currents of the northeastern Pacific
shelf are reinforced by storm waves and tidal or
wind-forced currents during winter, transporting
suspended sediment northward and depositing
an extensive outer shelf mud belt (Nittrouer
and Sternberg 1981). The Panama and North
Equatorial currents, too, are highly effective in
transporting fine, suspended sediments along the
shelf.
Biological Activity
The imprint of biological processes on shelf sedi-
ments is inversely related to the level of physical
energy. Bioturbation is prevalent in areas of slow,
fine-grained sedimentation, for example over
much of the northern Gulf of Mexico shelf. On
the higher-energy California shelf, bioturbated

sandy silt occurs below a depth of 20m (65ft)
(Howard and Reineck 1981). On shelves receiving
frequent pulses of coarse, storm-graded sedi-
ment, bioturbation increases upward within each
storm bed.
Faunal changes accompany an onshore textural
gradation from mud to sand (Purdy 1964). On
many shelves, fine-grained seaward facies with a
strong biogenic record grade through a transition
in which physical and biogenic features are
equally represented to shoreface facies in which
physical structures dominate. The largest popula-
tion of invertebrates is commonly found just
below wave base (Howard 1978) or at the inner-
shelf/shore-zone transition. Landward there are
suspension feeders in smaller numbers, while sea-
ward there are few species and individuals of spe-
cialized deposit feeders. On the outer shelf,
generally small horizontal grazing traces are domi-
nant, trails become larger on the inner shelf where
they are interspersed with sparse, vertical burrows
(Rhoads 1975), the proportion of which increases
toward the shore. Horizontal shelf burrows are
typically lobate and branching with back-fill struc-
tures and are accompanied by crawling and resting
impressions.
The Cruziana ichnofacies of Seilacher (1967),
which indicates a feeding pattern most character-
istic of shelf depths, cannot be used as an un-
equivocal shelf bathymetric indicator because
similar combinations of sediment type, energy,
and water chemistry may be encountered at other
depths. However, the gradual offshore change
in burrows such as Rhizocorallium (Ager and
Wallace 1970) from predominantly vertical, to
oblique, and then horizontal is a reliable indica-
tion of relative deepening from the shore zone
across the shelf. Other common shelf ichnogenera
include Thalassinoides, Teichichnus, Phycodes,
Chondrites, and Pelecypodichnus.
Shelf benthic fauna and their activities are
strongly influenced by bottom water chemistry.
Muddy shelf sediments beneath oxygenated
bottom waters tend to be inhabited by bivalves,
echinoderms, and polychaetes representing a
combination of suspension feeders and deposit
feeders. Suspension feeders leave distinctive trace
fossils, while burrowing deposit feeders cause
more intense disruption of the sediment. With
lower oxygen content in the bottom waters, de-
posit feeders are represented by relatively inactive
soft-bodied forms. With further reduction in oxy-
gen content, only suspension feeders are present;
Shelf Processes 165
these ultimately give way to anaerobic bacteria
(Demaison and Moore 1980).
Marine organisms have an important effect on
sedimentation rates on some muddy shelves. Very
fine suspended sediments are concentrated as fe-
cal pellets, which settle more rapidly from surface
water layers (Pryor 1975). Although these pellets
tend to disintegrate or become compacted beyond
recognition, some remain intact and behave
hydrodynamically like sand grains. Glauconite
or chamosite are common diagenetic alteration
products of fecal pellet precursors.
Density Stratification and Upwelling
Density contrasts in water masses can be horizon-
tal or vertical. Horizontal density differences arise
from freshwater inflow, insolation of shallow wa-
ter layers, and evaporation. Lighter, freshened or
warm nearshore waters spread seaward, with
landward flow of deeper shelf waters. During the
summer, the thermocline separating the two lay-
ers is around 30m (100ft) deep (Csanady 1976).
Wind stress affects only the upper layer directly.
Excessive nearshore evaporation may cause sea-
ward underflow of brines.
Seaward outflow of a tapering, warm, freshwa-
ter plume, which overrides the denser, saline
watermass, transports terrigenous clay across the
shelf. These muddy plumes form after periods of
high river discharge and are generally swept along
the shelf as a result of longshore currents. Floccu-
lation speeds settling of clays. Associated weaker
onshore flow of bottom water is capable of moving
sediments entrained by wave oscillation. Where
freshwater with very high suspended concentra-
tions enters the basin, turbid density underflows
can spread onto the shelf, creating a gravity driven
nepheloid flow (Got et al. 1985; Wright et al.
1986).
Upwelling of deeper waters is produced by dis-
placement of surface water layers by offshore and
shore-parallel winds. Upwelling is particularly
marked on the east side of major oceans or where
associated with trade winds or monsoons (Ziegler
et al. 1979). Anoxic conditions commonly arise in
the bottom waters (Fig. 7.5) beneath the nutrient-
rich upwelled layer (Demaison and Moore 1980).
Shore-parallel winds can also operate on a den-
sity-stratified shelf water mass. Longshore winds
accelerate the upper layer, which may be deflected
seaward by the Coriolis force. Compensatory bot-
166 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
W E
UPWELLING
Fig. 7.5. Oxygen depletion zone in shelf bottom waters in response to upwelling. W West, E East. (Demaison and Moore 1980)
tom-layer flow tilts the thermocline, which may
eventually intersect the surface, causing upwelling
(Csanady 1976).
Bioturbated, pelletiferous shelf muds beneath
oxidized shelf waters contrast with the laminated
organically rich muds beneath anoxic bottom wa-
ters. Very high organic productivity in upwelled
waters provides large quantities of organic mate-
rial to the sea bed, causing oxygen depletion in the
bottom water layer. The resulting high organic
concentrations in the substrate, with organic car-
bon values of 20% or more, are ideal precursors to
oil-prone kerogens (Demaison and Moore 1980).
Some shelves and basins, including for example
the vast Jurassic shelf sea of Europe, experienced
periodic changes in bottom water chemistry, pro-
ducing alternations of strata with trace fossils
reflecting the following (Sellwood 1971; Morris
1979):
1. Normal benthic assemblages
2. Restricted deposit feeders
3. An inhospitable, oxygen-poor environment
Extended periods of water mass stratification
and bottom stagnation clearly effected the great
inland Devonian shelf sea of north America
(Comer 1991) and of the Kimmeridge basin,
North Sea (Cornford 1986).
Erosional Processes
Although sedimentologists conventionally view
the shelf as a depositional setting, both local as
well as long-term erosion characterize large areas
of many shelves. Erosion is favored where sedi-
ment supply is low and where energy from waves
ZONE
and from oceanic, tidal, and storm currents is fo-
cused due to shoaling, constriction, or projection
of the shelf surface. Regional erosion is particu-
larly favored when shelf regrading is necessitated
by a relative fall of sea level or when transgression
results in shoreface retreat and shelf sediment
starvation. Relative sea-level fall lowers wave
base and causes vertical and lateral constriction
of flow, accelerating tidal and marine currents.
Transgression increases shelf width, thus increas-
ing the volume of water that must move across the
shelf during a tidal cycle, and may focus flow into
coastal embayments and estuaries. Decrease in
sediment supply allows existing energy fluxes to
more effectively scour and regrade the shelf sur-
face. The stratigraphic significance of shelfal ero-
sion surfaces is further discussed in Chapter 11.
Narrow, dip-oriented gutters, furrows, and
scoured swale-and-ridge complexes are commonly
found beneath shelf storm beds, reflecting local
but intense turbulent flows. Though such features
are individually small, they tend to occur along
specific stratigraphic horizons, indicating periods
or areas of concentrated bottom scour (Miller
1991). Low-relief chute channels, with widths of a
few meters to several hundred meters, lengths of
several hundred meters, and relief of one to a few
meters, are prominent storm deposits of some
high-energy inner shelves (Cacchione and Drake
1984). Such chutes are commonly filled with bands
of coarse sand and shell and rippled sand. Al-
though not widely recorded in clastic shelf depos-
its, similar low-relief chute channels are common
in shallow shelf carbonates (Ricken 1985).
Regional erosional surfaces are formed on
some current-swept shelves by the amalgama-
tion of deflation surfaces between sand bars

Fig. 7.6. Development of a shelf deceleration sheet and progression of bedforms and bar macroforms downftow from a coastal
headland. 3-D Three-dimensional. 2-D two-dimensional
(Belderson and Stride 1966; Swift et al. 1986b;
Thorne and Swift 1991 a). Shelf deflation also oc-
curs where flows are accelerated by projecting
headlands and by the shoaling, along the shelf or
at the shelf margin (Fig. 7.6). Gravel and shell lags,
furrows, isolated gravel waves, and sand ribbons
commonly ornament such shelf deflation surfaces.
Deep scour hollows, 100 m or more deep, are cre-
ated where strong currents are focused through
narrow straits (Belderson et al. 1982).
Shelf Sediment Sources
and Dispersal Patterns
Sediment supply to the shelf is commonly a limit-
ing factor to shelf system volume. Shelf sediment
is either autochthonous (internally derived) or
allochthonous (derived from a contemporaneous
depositional system) (Swift and Thorne 1991).
Autochthonous sediment is derived by erosional
excavation of underlying deposits on areas of the
Shelf Sediment Sources and Dispersal Patterns 167
shelf floor, erosion of the shoreface during trans-
gression, and in situ biogenic or chemical precipi-
tation. Allochthonous supply is imported to the
shelf by storm-generated flows (sand), tidal flows
(mud and sand), delta front bypass (very fine sand
and mud), and coastal deflection plumes (fine sand
and mud). Offshore transport of bed-load sedi-
ment on shelves is typically limited by availability
of energy to the relatively shallow inner shelf or
to narrow, steep ramps (Fig. 7.1). Sand is rarely
transported more than a few tens of kilometers
from its site of entry onto the shelf, and transport
is largely along rather than across the shelf. Sus-
pended sediment, on the other hand, can be
widely dispersed across and along the shelf.
Shelf sediment dispersal is relatively uncon-
fined. Boundary conditions are established only
by the shelf edge and shoreface and by water
depth. Within these very broad confines, water
and sediment flux is constrained and molded by
the complex physics of oceanic circulation and su-
perposition of unidirectional flows, long-period
and short-period oscillating flows, and intense
high-energy events. Several generalizations im-
168 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
portant for understanding and interpreting an-
cient shelf systems and their facies emerge from
study of Holocene shelf sediment dynamics:
1. The shelf surface evolves toward an equilib-
rium profile that is defined by (a) the landward
shoaling of wave base that occurs with progres-
sive energy loss as waves interact with the sedi-
ment surface and (b) the rate of sediment
supply to the shelf (Johnson 1919; Moore and
Curray 1964; Swift and Thorne 1991). Deeper
and steeper ramp profiles reflect high wave en-
ergy relative to sediment supply. As in a graded
river, energy available at all points on the
graded shelf is sufficient to entrain and bypass
all sediment supplied. Net accumulation occurs
wherever sediment must be stored to attain
the equilibrium profile; erosion occurs where
surplus energy is available. A relative rise in
sea level causes predictable erosion of the
shoreface and deposition on the adjacent shelf
(Fischer 1961; Bruun 1962). Transgression thus
favors development of a surface of shoreface
erosion (ravinement surface) and deposition of
shelf facies. Conversely, a relative fall in sea
level causes shelf erosion and bypassing.
2. Shelf sediment transport is both advective and
diffusive (Fig. 7.4). Oscillatory flows (waves
and tides) tend to disperse sediment, creating
broadly contour-parallel textural belts. Unidi-
rectional and strongly asymmetrical flows are
advective, focusing sediment transport and ac-
cumulation. Fine sand to mud tends to be dis-
persed by diffusive transport; coarse sediment
distribution more likely reflects advective
transport.
3. Shelf flows tend to be geostrophic and thus to
parallel bathymetric contour (Csanady 1982).
Shelf systems, like shore-zone systems, are
characteristically strike fed. Cross-shelf flow
occurs due to diffusion and deflection of advec-
tive flows by coastal headlands and bathymetric
features.
4. Regional shelf flow fields are characterized by
zones of convergence and divergence, and sedi-
ment transport by zones of concentration or of
parting (Howarth 1982; Swift et al. 1991).
5. Suspended sediments are concentrated in near-
surface and bottom (nepheloid) layers and also
within the thermocline (Drake 1976). Deposi-
tion of mud (McCave 1972, 1984; Drake 1976;
Stanley et al. 1983; Nittrouer et al. 1986a) is
controlled by near-bed concentration, settling
velocity, and a limiting shear stress, above
which no accumulation is possible. Mud can
accumulate under relatively strong wave or
current conditions provided the suspended
sediment concentration is at least 100mg/1 or
more. Furthermore, flocculation and biological
agglomeration can accelerate the settling of
clay particles and permit accumulation of clay
that would not settle as single particles. At
lower concentrations, waves, and to a lesser
extent tidal currents, inhibit deposition of mud.
On most shelves, the concentrations are nor-
mally 1 mg/l or less, so that mud will accu-
mulate mainly in deeper or protected areas.
Transport and deposition of mud displays
characteristic patterns. Most common is
a nearshore mud belt, with decreasing concen-
tration of suspended mud offshore. Off the
Guiana coast, mud concentrations of up to
300mg/1 result in a shoreface and shelf mud
belt as wide as 40 km (25 mi) (Van Andel and
Postma 1954). Where longshore currents create
an advective mud stream, mid- or outer-shelf
mud belts form. Diffusive processes disperse
deposited muds both onshore and offshore.
High rates of mud influx associated with delta
or piedmont glacial systems create shelfwide
mud blankets. Conversely, narrow, high-energy
shelves may accumulate mud only beyond the
shelf edge, in bathymetrically lowest areas, or
in protected leeside energy shadows.
6. Strike-fed suspended-sediment plumes that
are supplying active Holocene shelf systems are
fed by major deltas, including the Amazon
(Nittrouer et al. 1986a), Mississippi (Curray
1960; Sahl et al. 1987), Yukon (Nelson 1982a),
and Columbia (Nittrouer and Sternberg 1981).
Proximal-to-distal trends along the sediment
plume deposits include decreasing sand versus
mud content, decreasing abundance of lamina-
tion, and increasing degree of bioturbation
accompanied by an increasing infauna to epi-
fauna ratio (Nelson 1982a).
7. Bed-load sediment accumulates as a nearshore
sand belt, plumes and current deflection shoals,
deceleration sheets, and cross-shelf cape, estu-
ary, inlet, and delta retreat shoal complexes
(Swift et al. 1973, 1991). Allochthonous sands
show strong alongstrike facies trends. Autoch-
thonous sands and gravels associated with
transgressive shore zones and shelves are com-
monly more complicated. Individual bar forms
are dominated by strike-parallel trends, but

larger complexes have a pronounced cross-
shelf component reflecting retreat paths of
coastal landforms and availability of trans-
gressed fluvial or deltaic sediment.
8. A predictable succession of bedforms and, in
well-supplied systems, bar macroforms occurs
along bed-load transport pathways (Fig. 7.6;
Belderson and Stride 1966; Belderson et al.
1982). These include an upflow zone of ero-
sional furrows, sand ribbons, and isolated
gravel waves, a depositional sand sheet of large
dunes and sand waves, and a distal rippled sand
sheet, which may grade in turn into mud.
Where sediment supply is abundant, high-re-
lief, flow-parallel sand ridges form in the sand
ribbon zone and flow-transverse sand waves
form in the proximal sand sheet. Sand ribbons
are thin, longitudinal strips of sand that may be
remarkably regular in width and spacing. De-
posits of sand ribbons are unlikely to be volu-
metrically important in the rock record, but
they undoubtedly contribute to coarse, basal
transgressive layers. Sand ridges and sand
waves are complex bar macroforms and consti-
tute major shelf sand bodies. Dune and ripple
cross-stratified sand sheets also form important
shelf facies.
Shelf Facies
Shelf facies (Table 7.1) consist largely of mud or
carbonate sediment. Framework sand deposits are
commonly volumetrically minor, but are of great
economic and interpretive interest. Sediment-
starved shelf beds or surfaces constitute distinctive
condensed units and hardgrounds that may have
regional stratigraphic as well as depositional
significance.
Sand Facies
Shelf sand facies are distinguished by external ge-
ometry, orientation relative to dominant currents,
and internal features reflecting depositional pro-
cess. The principal building block of most shelf
systems is the storm bed, which includes hum-
mocky cross-stratified and storm-graded compo-
nents. Additional facies include discrete bar
macroforms - tidal sand ridges, storm-generated
Shelf Facies 169
Table 7.1. Facies building blocks of shelf systems
Sand and gravel
1. Storm beds
a) Storm-graded beds
b) Hummocky cross-stratified beds
2. Bar macroforms
a) Sand waves
b) Tidal sand ridges
c) Storm-generated ridges
3. Cross-stratified sand sheets
a) Plumes
b) Deceleration sheets
c) Irregular banks and shoals
Mud
1. Bioturbated mud
2. Bedded mud
3. Laminated mud
Biogenic sediments
Lags
ridges, and sand waves. Ripple and dune cross-
stratified sands form distinct plumes, irregular
shoals, and sheets.
Storm-dominated and tide-dominated sands
are end members in the coarse-grained spectrum
of shelf deposits (Brenner 1980). Although tide
and storm processes are readily distinguished on
the basis of certain diagnostic criteria, e.g., evi-
dence of alternating flow directions as opposed to
brief unidirectional pulses, their individual effects
are often difficult to separate. This is because tidal
currents, wave surge, and wind-forced currents
frequently operate in combination. It is also pos-
sible for tidal currents at a particular locality to be
essentially unidirectional or for storm-related cur-
rents to be highly variable in direction.
Storm Beds
Although storm processes are complex, the basic
depositional product, the storm bed, is quite diag-
nostic and widely recognized in modern and
ancient shelf systems (Hayes 1967a; Aigner
and Reineck 1982; Nelson 1982b; Saito 1989b;
Snedden and Nummedal 1991). Landward sec-
tions consist of amalgamated sets of hummocky
cross-stratified very fine to fine sand (or, more
rarely, trough cross-stratified medium to coarse
sand). Storm-graded beds emplaced below the
zone of intense storm wave activity exhibit sharp
to slightly erosional bases, are a few centimeters to
a few tens of centimeters thick, and fine up ward.
Internal structures include wave and current
ripple, small-scale hummocky, wavy, and horizon-
170 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
tal lamination. Mud drapes are common, and beds
may be bioturbated, particularly at the top. Basal
tool marks and a lag of shell may occur. Shell
debris is common in modern storm beds and in-
cludes displaced forms of shoreface and coastal
origin. Storm-graded beds amalgamate, producing
tabular sand bodies tens of meters thick, or can be
interbedded with mud drapes.
The best-known modern example of a storm
bed is the graded sand bed of Hurricane Carla
(Hayes 1967a; Morton 1981; Snedden and
NummedaI1991). The Carla deposit extends more
than 25 km offshore, can be traced nearly 200 km
along shore, and is 2-8cm thick where well devel-
oped (Fig. 7.7). It comprises a basal shelly lag
gradationally overlain by sand in which the pri-
mary structures have largely been destroyed by
burrowing in less than 20 years. These coarse sedi-
ments grade distally into interlaminated sand and
mud and finally into homogeneous shelf mud.
Across the shelf, bed thickness, grain size, and the
number of recognizable storm beds decreases
(Fig. 7.7).
The typical proximal-to-distal gradation of
storm beds (Fig. 7.7) is illustrated by exposures
of the Cretaceous Washita Group of northeast
Texas (Scott et al. 1975; Hobday and Morton
1983). The early Cretaceous East Texas Basin
was a storm-dominated embayment. Sediments
were supplied to the shore zone via small
lobate deltas. Storm waves in the shoreface-
shelf transition, in combination with seaward-
directed currents, developed thick sequences
of hummocky cross-stratified sands. Prolonged
fair-weather intervals are indicated by burrowed
horizons conslstmg mainly of the spiral
Rosse/ia separating successive sets of hummocky
cross-stratification. Graded units deposited
below storm-wave base resemble those left by
Hurricane Carla, except that they are thicker
and less bioturbated, possibly a consequence of
more rapid sedimentation. A variety of shore-
perpendicular sole marks and aligned Turritella in
the basal lag confirm a seaward transport
direction. The 0.2- to 1.3-ft (5- to 40-cm) sandy
intervals are mainly parallel laminated, with
subordinate very low angle foresets merging up
into ripple lamination, including climbing ripples.
The upper parts of the beds are burrowed, with
the intensity of bioturbation increasing into the
gradationally overlying siltstones. Thin, distal
terminations of these sandstones are also heavily
burrowed.
Sand Waves
Sand waves are large, flow-transverse bar
macroforms that form on sandy, current-swept
shelves (Nio 1976; Allen 1980; Granat and
Ludwick 1980; Belderson et al. 1982; Amos and
King 1984; Berne et al. 1989). They may be sym-
metric or asymmetric, and their sense of asymme-
try may be reversed as the tide changes. Opposed
tidal flows of equal effectiveness produce sym-
metrical sand waves, whereas dominance of either
the flood or ebb or of a unidirectional component
produces a steeply inclined (15-30) slipface be-
tween 1 and 10m high (Fig. 7.8A). Wavelengths
range from tens to several hundreds of meters.
Maximum amplitude is about one third that of
water depth. Crests range from long and straight
to highly sinuous and discontinuous, much like
their eolian counterparts. Changing currents
rework slip faces, creating multiple reactivation
surfaces with lower dip angles (typically 5-15).
Ripples and dunes are superposed on the
upcurrent surface and commonly on the slipface
too, leaving a complex record of variable cross-
bedding (Fig. 7.8A).
Wave action prevents the formation of sand
waves at shallowest shelf depths, the landward
limit along the Dutch coast corresponding to the
18-m (60-ft) isobath (McCave 1971). The largest
sand waves form just below this depth and show
the greatest complexity. The maximum depth of
sand-wave development corresponds to the limits
of current effectiveness.
Diagnostic features of ancient sand-wave
deposits (Fig. 7.8A) include large-scale, locally
unimodal foresets with variable, smaller-scale in-
ternal stratification and reactivation surfaces. Clay
drapes, mud clast and shell lenses, and tidal bun-
dling specifically reflect tidal current origin. On a
regional scale, coeval sand-wave deposits com-
monly show bimodal or polymodal patterns of
major foreset azimuths reflecting the different ar-
eas traversed by ebb and flood currents. Alterna-
tively, the major foresets may be essentially unidi-
rectional, reflecting prominence of a particular
current.
Sand waves produced by semipermanent ocean
currents cover parts of the southeast African shelf
(Flemming 1980), where the Agulhas Current
drives giant transverse bedforms up to 17 m (56 ft)
high along the shelf. These sand waves give way
seaward to sand ribbons and gravel. Very large
bedforms of this type are reflected in the Lower
 Shelf Facies 171

Fig. 7.7. A Isopach of the Hurri-

cane Carla storm-graded bed,
northwestern Gulf of Mexico. B
Proximal to distal changes typical TEXAS
-
/0-:<':':
....--:

of storm-graded beds. (Snedden

and Nummedal1991) ~~{
.:;~~
. ... ~ .

o /
I
/

o
~
II
40 km
II
o 25 mi
/
/
I
{
{
I
I
I
\
A

m SHOREZONE I SHELF I SLOPE

o -.--~==~ __---------------------------------------------

100

200
- - - - B e d thickness

- - - - Grain size
_ _- Number of beds

- - -_ _ _ Bioturbation

Pri mary lamination

Hummocky cross lamination

B

Paleozoic Cape sandstones of southernmost Af- Tidal Sand Ridges

rica (Hobday and Tankard 1978); these indicate
deposition by powerful currents flowing along- Tidal ridges are high-relief bar marcroforms that
shore and obliquely offshore. with weak opposed are oriented parallel or subparallel to current flow
flow attributed to tides. (Houbolt 1968; Caston 1972; Kenyon et al. 1981;
172 Terrigenous Shelf Systems

A
ft m

15f 5
oio
_ 0

B
10-30 0

~~I 1~ 10
50 I
2
0
I

o
0

/V2
0
cocoa 2 __

c
ft m

15

o 1 5

Fig. 7.8A-C. Internal features of shelf bar macroforms. Scale surfaces. A Sand wave. B Tidal sand ridge. C Storm-generated
bar shows typical amplitudes; hurizuntal arrow indicates domi- ridge. (Berne et al. 1989; Stride 1982; modified from Swift et al.
nant current direction. Heavy lines show primary stratification 1986b)

Belderson et al. 1982; Amos and King 1984;
Belderson 1986). Their formation requires large
volumes of sand and surface tidal current veloci-
ties exceeding 50cm/s (1.6ft1s). In tidal seas, cur-
rents on either side of the ridges flow in opposite
directions. The ridge migrates laterally in the di-
rection of the weaker current. Offset flood- and
ebb-dominated segments can produce a sinuous
ridge, which may be subsequently breached at the
bend to produce en echelon ridges (Caston 1972;
Brenner 1980). In the Humber Spur region of
the North Sea, linear ridges grade landard into
sigmoidal ridges (Fig. 7.9).
The modal amplitude of tidal ridges is 1O-15m
(30-50ft), but maximum heights reach 40-50m
(130-160m). Like sand waves, tidal ridges occur in
swarms with regular spacing ranging up to several
kilometers (Fig. 7.9). Widths are hundreds of
meters, and lengths range up to several kilome-
ters. Length to width ratios commonly exceed
40: 1. Ridges migrate in the direction of the
steeper flank. They are similar in morphology and
origin to the tidal ridges formed in macrotidal del-
tas and estuaries. However, their open shelf set-
ting results in a dominant strike orientation and a
particularly large scale.
Tidal sand ridges typically consist of well-
sorted fine to medium sand. Shell is a common
accessory. Internal stratification consists of low-
angle (a few degrees) inclined beds deposited on
 Shelf Facies 173

Fig. 7.9. Tidal sand ridge com-

plexes of the southern North
Sea and English Channel. Note
shore-parallel orientation of in-
dividual ridges. Light stipple 96
highlights areas of active sand
wave development. Depth con- Humber
tours in feel. (Houbolt 1968:
McCave 1979) Spur

~-
~
~-
~-
~--
~4J---
'"

o Km 8
I I,' '. I I 1 I I I
o Mi 5
1:-::::\ Sand ridges
1><\ Sand waves

the steeper flank of the ridge (Fig. 7.8B). These
foreset beds contain, in turn, high-angle, meter-
scale cross-stratification reflecting ebb- and flood-
directed dunes that converge upon the active
ridges. Current scouring leaves a gravelly lag in
the interridge swales or may generate smaller
transverse bedforms 2-5m (7.16ft) high, which
migrate parallel to the ridge axis. These bedforms
tend to converge slightly toward the ridges and
ascend obliquely toward the crests, indicating
that swale-to-ridge sediment transfer causes
bar accretion. Ridges migrate onto the swales;
thus they commonly overlie an erosion surface
or hardground and basal lag. As ridges become
moribund due to increasing water depth or altered
current regime, they become increasingly sym-
metrical in transverse profile, and low-angle beds
drape ridge flanks (Fig. 7.8B).
Although the North Sea examples are the best
known, tidal ridges are prominent in the south-
west Yellow Sea (Zhenxia et al. 1989), the East
China Sea (Yang and Sun 1988), and the Bering
Sea (Nelson et al. 1982) and are even found in the
microtidal eastern Gulf of Mexico (Davis et al.
1993). They are conspicuous in transgressive set-
tings, but this may be due to a biased perspective
reflecting the abundance of post-transgressive
Holocene shelves available for study.
Storm Ridges
Linear bar macroforms, typically oriented oblique
(35-40) to storm-generated contour currents,
are common features of many storm-dominated
shelves (Swift et al. 1972, 1986b; Field 1980; Amos
and King 1984; Belderson 1986; McBride and
174 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
Moslow 1991; Rine et al. 1991). Storm ridges have
modal amplitudes of 5-10m (15-30ft), are smooth
crested, and display very gentle flank slopes of less
than 2 (Fig. 7.8C). Lengths are up to 20km
(12 mi), and spacing ranges up to several kilome-
ters (Fig. 7.10). Although storm ridges tend to
occur at the toe of the shoreface, often merging
into it (Fig. 7.10), they are also found in midshelf
where at least some appear to remain active.
Internal structures are dominated by hum-
mocky cross-stratification and very low angle ac-
cretionary storm-graded beds (Fig. 7.9C). The
upflow flank is typically covered by dunes, and
trough to tabular cross-stratification may be pre-
served. Vertical grain-size trends are variable.
Discrete ridges commonly overlie local erosion
surfaces, including the transgressive shoreface
erosion (ravinement) surface, if present.
Many of these features are thought to originate
by inundation and reworking of shore-zone sands
during transgression (Swift 1976), producing a
complex topography of ridges and swales parallel
or somewhat oblique to the shoreline. However,
storm ridges deposited in both Holocene trans-
gressive inner-shelf and Pleistocene lowstand
settings have been documented in Japan (Saito
1989a,b), indicating that such ridges can develop
seaward of prograding shorefaces.
Cross-Stratified Sand Sheets
Where moderate sand supply exists, currents pro-
duce sand sheets that are covered by two- and
three-dimensional dunes and ripples. The resul-
Km
I
Mi
Fig. 7.10. Storm-generated sand ridges of the Delaware/Maryland inner shelf showing assymetric transverse profiles. Depths in
meters. (Modified from Swift and Field 1981)
tant facies is a horizontally bedded, tabular sand
unit exhibiting varying proportions of large- to
small-scale trough, tabular, and ripple cross-strati-
fication. Primary structures may be overprinted by
varying degrees of bioturbation, and storm beds
may be interbedded. Alongshelf flow interacts
with the bed and shore zone in a variety of ways
that lead to flow detachment, eddy cell develop-
ment, deceleration, and convergence. Resultant
sand bodies are largely built up of various combi-
nations of storm beds and cross-laminated sand
sheets. Where currents are sufficiently strong,
larger bar macroforms may be superimposed on
the sand bank or sheet. Various types of sand
sheets are distinguished by shelf position and mor-
phology.
Arcuate sand plumes (Coleman et al. 1981;
Swift et al. 1987) are created by deflection of
nearshore flow onto the inner shelf by a headland.
Resulting seaward-convex, arcuate sand banks
range from 2-20m (6-65) thick, l-1Okm (0.5-
6mi) across, and 5-50km (3-30mi) in length.
Inner shelf bars and shoals form where contour-
flowing storm, tide, or oceanic currents are
deflected by subaqueous scarps or coastal
promontories, forming local leeside eddies and
current shadows that collect sand (Ferentinos and
Collins 1980; Martin and Flemming 1986). Ho-
locene examples include sand bodies tens of
meters thick and tens of kilometers in length.
Many show large-scale accretionary bedding and
consist of cross-stratified to bioturbated sand.
Such units tend to occur singly or as small groups
composed of a few individual bank complexes.
\

Deceleration sheets may be constructed of fine
allochthonous sediment or consist of relatively
coarse autochthonous sediment (Swift and
Thorne 1991). Irregular, sometimes very large,
sand banks form along the retreat paths of trans-
gressive capes and estuary mouths and where
rotary or convergent shelf current systems concen-
trate sediment (Swift et al. 1991). Sable Island
bank is an example of efficient coalescence of sand
from a large area of the shelf, creating a sand
deposit up to 50m (165ft) thick (Amos and
Nadeau 1988).
Mud Facies
Mud facies are distinguished on the basis of
sedimentary features indicative of depositional
energy and degree of mixing of the water mass.
Bioturbated muds indicate well-mixed bottom
water and moderate to low rates of deposition
or marine reworking. Finely laminated muds
indicate stratification of the watermass and
stagnant bottom conditions. Bedded muds con-
taining sparse burrows indicate rapid deposition
or frequent reworking. Hardgrounds and firm-
grounds, indicated by borings, sessile organisms,
and syngenetic cementation or alteration profiles,
reflect nondeposition due to lack of sediment
supply or active current deflation of the sea
floor.
Biogenic Sediments
Shell beds and lenses form lags and coarse sedi-
ment concentrations that are minor facies of some
shelf systems. Generally, shell beds reflect exten-
sive reworking and highest-energy conditions.
In subtropical shelves, decreasing availability
of terrigenous sediment is compensated by in-
creased accumulation of carbonate sediment. A
siliciclastic shelf system way grade laterally into
a carbonate platform system.
Lags
Extensive current scour or winnowing leaves con-
centrates of shell, coarse sand and gravel, mud
clasts, and authigenic sediment such as phosphate
nodules. Such lags may be one or two pebbles
thick or may accumulate to a meter or more 10-
Spectrum of Shelf Systems 175
cally. Some show textural grading consistent with
waning current energy.
Spectrum of Shelf Systems
A variety of rock-body geometries is possible in
terrigenous shelf systems depending on the shelf
configuration, sediment supply, process regime,
and history of relative sea-level change. Modern
shelves are commonly classified on the basis of
process regime, and this proves a useful approach
to classification of ancient terrigenous shelf sys-
tems. Holocene shelves are about 80% storm-
dominated, 15 % tide-dominated, and 5 % ocean
current-dominated (Johnson and Baldwin 1986).
Tidal and ocean currents produce a similar array
of bedforms and bar macroforms; consequently,
their deposits are quite similar in facies composi-
tion and relationships. Storm-dominated shelves
can be subdivided into two end members. Intense
and frequent storms, typically in mid- to high lati-
tudes, disperse sand widely onto the shelf and pro-
duce distinct bar macroforms. Such thoroughly
storm-dominated shelves, with their great diver-
sity of sand facies, can be distinguished from
shelves where fair-weather waves, low-velocity
oceanic currents, and long-period swell create
largely fine-grained shelf systems displaying rela-
tively simple patterns of offshore textural grading
and low-relief shelf profiles. Process classification
of shelf systems thus includes tide/current-domi-
nated, storm current-dominated, and wave-domi-
nated systems (Fig. 7.11). The English Channel
and southeast African shelf illustrate tidal and
ocean current-dominated shelves, respectively.
The northwest Gulf of Mexico is a wave-domi-
nated, though occasionally storm-punctuated
shelf. In fact, some storm beds are typical in wave-
dominated shelf successions. The North Atlantic
shelf of North America, with its complex array of
bar macroforms, exemplifies a storm-dominated
shelf. Many shelf systems illustrate intermediate
types, reflecting the subequal influence of two
or more major process regimes in their facies
composition.
Wave-dominated shelf systems are character-
ized by seaward-fining textural gradients that may
be locally complicated by low-relief shelf plumes,
deceleration sheets, and irregular shoals. Sedi-
mentary successions commonly coarsen upward,
176 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
STORM-CURRENT DOMINATED
N. Amazon
S. E. African Shelf Shelf
English Channel
Bar macroforms -....
_-----------_
.. Storm-graded beds
TIDE/CURRENT WAVE DOM I NATED
DOMINATED
Fig. 7.11. Process classification scheme for shelf depositional systems. (Modified from Johnson and Baldwin 1986)
and fine sand to mud facies dominate. Component
facies (Fig. 7.4) include an innermost shelf zone of
hummocky cross-bedded sand, local cross-strati-
fied to rippled sand sheets, and storm-graded beds
within a matrix of bioturbated, bedded, or lami-
nated mud. Firmgrounds, hardgrounds, and con-
densed beds reflect periods or areas of sediment
starvation, but erosion surfaces are uncommon.
WeB-described ancient examples include the thick
Oligocene and middle-upper Miocene shelf sys-
tems of the northwest Gulf of Mexico (Galloway
and Morton 1989; Morton and Jirik 1989), the
Cretaceous Kenilworth Sandstone, Utah (Swift et
al. 1987), and the Cretaceous La Ventana tongue, a
shelf plume complex (Palmer and Scott 1984).
Storm-dominated shelf systems are distin-
guished by reworking of storm beds into storm
ridges and complex arrays of banks, including
leeside spits, cape and estuary-mouth shoals, and
offshore sand banks. Sands, and occasionally grav-
els, form lenses that may be isolated or encased
within widespread sandy to heterolithic sheets.
N. W. Gulf
of Mexico
Shelf
Hummocky cross-bedding is abundant. Medium-
to small-scale cross-bedding is common to abun-
dant, as is ripple lamination. Bioturbation over-
prints finer-grained and heterolithic facies.
Textural trends are variable, but upward-coarsen-
ing is common. Submarine erosion surfaces and
firmgrounds are prominent and commonly under-
lie sand units.
Mesozoic strata of western North America
(Brenner 1978, 1980; Shurr 1984; Swift and Rice
1984; Tillman and Martinsen 1984; Bergman and
Walker 1987; Downing and Walker 1988; Pattison
and Walker 1992) contain economically important
and well-documented examples of storm-domi-
nated shelf systems. Many of the sand ridges were
deposited over 100km (60mi) seaward of pre-
served coastal deposits and are entirely sur-
rounded by muddy shelf sediments. The sand and
conglomerate ridges are reworked shore-zone de-
posits emplaced at times of lower relative sea level
or were supplied by shore-parallel transport
related to powerful southward-moving storm-
 Stratigraphic Architecture and Evolution of Shelf Systems 177

generated currents, possibly augmented by semi- supply - the quantity and texture of sediment in-
permanent currents (Ericksen and Slingerland put - and creation of accommodation space, which
1990). Sand facies are relatively thin (tens of is in turn the sum of subsidence, eustatic sea-
meters) and occur at welldefined stratigraphic level change, and degree of sediment bypassing
horizons within largely muddy shelf systems. to the slope (Swift et al. 1991; Thorne and Swift
Within sandy intervals, cleanest and thickest sands 1991b). Post-transgressive and muddy shelves
form numerous, subparallel, upward-coarsening are typically broad and flat. Steeply sloping
strike-elongate bar macroforms. Submarine un- ramps are characteristic of sandy, high-energy
conformities, some displaying significant erosional shelf deposition. Both morphologic types display
truncation of underlying strata, are abundant and progradational, aggradational, and transgressive
commonly regionally mappable. - stratigraphies. Both may also develop as erosional
Tidelcurrent-dominated shelf systems display an or marine bypass surfaces.
array of bedforms and bar macroforms. Sand and Progradational shelves (Fig. 7.12A) reflect both
gravel facies are prominent components and occur aggradation and extensive bypassing to the shelf
as isolated lenses, corrugated sheets, and thick, margin. Sediment supply exceeds accommoda-
regional blankets. Internally, abundant cross- tion. Shelf deposits grade into shore-zone and
stratification, giant cross-bed sets, and low-angle slope facies. Progradational shelf architecture is
accretionary bedding are prominent features. produced by the ideal "graded" shelf of Swift
Ripple-laminated heterolithic strata may be com- (1969).
mon. Local to regional erosional surfaces and In a perched progradational shelf (Fig. 7.12B),
firmgrounds are common. the shelf builds across a foundered or over-
The Albian Viking Formation (Alberta, steepened platform. This reflects change in the
Canada) is interpreted in part as a regional tide- shelf regime variables from accommodation to
dominated shelf system deposited during relative supply dominated. The muddy shelf marginal to
sea-level fall that caused regional shelf erosional the Amazon Delta clearly illustrates perched
planation (Reynolds 1994). The Lower Creta- progradational architecture (Nittrouer et al.
ceous Greensand of southern England (Bridges 1986a,b).
1982) provides an example of a tide-dominated Aggradational shelves record balanced supply
shelf where sediment accumulation was slow and and relative sea-level rise. Thick shelf successions
glauconite a prominent authigenic component. result. The successions may consist of stacked
As in the Holocene, many shelf systems reflect cyclic, commonly upward coarsening units, or
mixed energy regimes. The Upper Cretaceous may be homogeneous to heterolithic. Ancient
Duffy Mountain Sandstone, Colorado, is a leeside examples include the thick, muddy wave-domi-
sand bank deposited in a mixed wave/storm-domi- nated Pleistocene Rio Dell Formation shelf sys-
nated system (Boyles and Scott 1982). The Basal tem (northern California; Leithold and Bourgeois
Colorado Sandstone of the Alberta Cretaceous 1989) and aggradational regressive storm-domi-
foreland basin forms an extensive transgressive nated shelf cycles of the Spirit River Formation
sand sheet that consists of mixed storm and tidal of the Alberta foreland basin (Cant and Hein
facies (Banerjee 1989). 1986).
Aggradational shelf quartzarenites in the
Cambro-Ordovician Cape Supergroup of south-
ern Africa attain thicknesses of thousands of
Stratigraphic Architecture meters in two separate fault-controlled shelf ba-
and Evolution of Shelf Systems sins in the south and east (Hobday and Tankard
1978; Hobday and von Brunn 1979). In the south-
ern Cape, they transgressively overlie tidal-flat
Shelf systems form relatively simple, broad sedi- and destructive-barrier facies; in the east, they ac-
mentary blankets. However, internally they dis- cumulated seaward of tide-reworked fan deltas.
playa variety of stratigraphic architectures (Field Tidal sediment transport permitted rapid shelf ac-
et al. 1983; Got et al. 1985; Stanley 1985; Cant cumulation to keep pace with rift subsidence.
and Hein 1986; Leithold and Bourgeois 1989; There is no discernible change in the pattern of
Trincardi and Field 1991). Shelf stratigraphy is tidal sand ridges and channel-fill deposits through
determined by the balance between sediment a thickness of2000m (6500ft). Sediment transport
178 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
............... .. .........
. ..
E
Erosion /bypass - - -...~-
Fig. 7.12A-E. Stratigraphic architectures of shelf systems.
Shelf system deposits are finely stippled. A Progradational
shelf (ramp morphology). B Perched progradational shelf. C
Aggradational shelf. D Retrogradational shelf. E Erosional!
directions were predominantly offshore, parallel
to the axis of the rift basin, which opened into a
major ocean.
Transgressive shelves (Fig. 7.12D) occur when
accommodation dominates supply. Successive
bypassing shelf. Architectures A and B typify progradational
shelf systems. D and E reflect variations of transgressive shelf
stratigraphy. Architecture E is also produced by relative sea-
level fall
shelf units onlap coastal strata, commonly across a
ravinement surface. Where storm and tidal energy
is sufficient, sandy bar macroforms form along the
inner shelf and become moribund as water deep-
ens. Onlapping storm-generated sand ridge com-
 Stratigraphic Architecture and Evolution of Shelf Systems
plexes have been extensively described in the At-
lantic shelf of North America (Swift et al. 1991)
and also occur in Holocene shelf systems of Japan
(Saito and Bilgic 1992).
Thin, graded beds and lags may blanket the
inner shelf and extend onto the upper slope (Saito
et al. 1989). Alternatively, sediment reworked
from the shoreface and transgressed coastal de-
posits along the inner shelf accumulates as wide-
spread autochthonous sand and mud sheets, as
seen in the Holocene Atlantic and North Sea
shelves.
Erosional and bypass shelves (Fig. 7.12E) are
characterized by nondeposition, accompanied by
local to regional current scour, over shallow inner
shelf and shoal areas. Erosional shelves form dur-
ing any of the following conditions:
1. Transgression and relative sea-level rise
2. Periods of relative sea-level fall
3. Periods of decreasing sediment supply or lO-
creasing energy flux
Long-lived bypass shelves occur where negli-
gible subsidence occurs and supplied sediment
is reworked off shelf, where it nourishes a
prograding shelf margin and subjacent slope sys-
tem. Sediment accumulates on the outer shelf and
shelf edge, or locally in deep or protected areas
alongshelf.
A relative fall of sea level lowers wave base,
regrading the shelf by erosion of the inner shelf
(Dominguez and Wanless 1991; Posamentier et al.
1>1 Shorezone and deltaic facies
K~;E3 Shelf facies
~ Downlap
Fig. 7.13. Attributes of progradational shelf systems. The ex-
ample illustrates environments of a storm-influenced, wave-
dominated shelf. induding the open shelf (A), characterized by
suspension and storm deposition, a shelf sand plume (8) cre-
179
1992). (Such regressive ravinement is further
discussed in Chap. 11.) With shelf flooding, tidal
currents may accelerate, creating tidal ravinement
surfaces characterized by widespread, rolling
to broadly channeled submarine topography
(Belderson and Stride 1966; Reynolds 1994). Ero-
sional shelf surfaces are recorded by features in-
cluding bored firm grounds, pebble and shell lags,
phosphate nodule horizons, and common gutter
casts.
Shelf Facies Successions
Shelf facies primarily reflect the energy regime.
The stratigraphy of shelf systems - their stratal
architecture and facies successions - is determined
by the long-term balance among the full array
of supply and accommodation regime variables.
Fundamentally, shelf system stratigraphies are
progradational, aggradational, or transgressive. A
complete interpretation of shelf systems thus in-
cludes classification in terms of process regime
(wave, storm, or tide/current) and stratigraphic
succession (progradational, aggradational,
transgressive).
General stratigraphic features of progra-
dational shelf systems are summarized in Figure
7.13. Shelf facies downlap, at very low angle,
onto underlying strata or gently roll over and
merge into slope clinoforms (Fig. 7.12A).
Facies successions generally coarsen upward and
~ Bioturbation, shell
~ Primary structure
ated by current deflection around the prograding deltaic head-
land, and an inner shelf storm-bed sand prism (C). Scale bar
indicates typical thickness of sandy facies
180 Terrigenous Shelf Systems

form thick (10- to lOO-m), commonly repetItIve
successions. Facies boundaries are transitional
and strike aligned. Allochthonous sediments
dominate, and mud facies are commonly abun-
dant. Facies distribution shows no relationship to
underlying depositional systems and bounding
stratal surface.
A representative prograding wave-dominated
shelf succession is illustrated in Fig. 7.14. Sands
are restricted to inner-shelf deposits forming the
coarse-grained upper part of the succession. Much
of the total thickness is made up of bioturbated,
fossiliferous shelf mud facies with storm-graded
silty laminae. Shelves with anoxic bottom waters
accumulate laminated, carbonaceous muds. Up-
ward passage into laminated, sandy storm-graded
beds is gradual and involves progressively thicker
and more closely spaced sand beds. Parallellami-
nation gives way to hummocky cross-stratifica-
tion and ultimately to broad, low-amplitude

SEQUENCE AVERAGE GRAIN SIZE LOG PR FILE

Troughs

Hummocky
cross stratification

Parol! e I lamination
u u u
- --
u u u Storm-graded
-- beds
u u
u u u
u u
Graded si Ity
u u u laminae
u u Burrowed shelf
muds
v u U
Laminated Fig. 7.14. Idealized vertical sequence
u u carbonaceous and log response of a prograding wave-
muds dominated shelf

SEQUENCE AVERAGE GRAIN SIZE LOG PRO ILE

~~~~~ Thin - bedded

Burrowed interbar
f--=:----..,.......;:---,rt s i Its ton e
Troughs
Planar cross beds

~~~~~~ Thin - bedded

u u
u

v v
Bioturbated
u glauconitic Fig. 7.15. Idealized vertical sequence and log
v si Ity response of a prograding mixed-energy shelf
mudstone
v influenced by storm and tidal processes
 Stratigraphic Architecture and Evolution of Shelf Systems
trough cross-stratification corresponding to the
shore-zone transition.
Prograding mixed-energy shelf successions
(Fig. 7.15) record a combination of storms and
tidal or oceanic currents. Primary sedimentary
structures are abundant, and the sandy facies suc-
cession may vary laterally, reflecting the areal dis-
tribution of bar macroforms and interbar swales.
Progradational tide-dominated successions may
coarsening upward as sand waves and ridges mi-
grate over distal sand sheets (Reynolds 1994).
Transgressive shelf systems (Fig. 7.16) are char-
acterized by their stratigraphic relationships. They
abruptly overlie shore-zone or coastal-plain de-
posits, from which they are separated by the
ravinement surface, and are overlain by marine
beds. Where deposits are sufficiently thick, trans-
gressive shelf strata onlap the basal surface. Trans-
gressive shelf deposits form thin but widespread,
continuous to discontinuous sheets. They consist
of highly reworked, coarse autochthonous sedi-
ment, including both reworked older deposits
and in situ material such as shell debris and glau-
conite. Individual sand units are characterized by
strike orientation, but regional facies distribution
commonly displays dip-oriented salients and em-
~ ==- .~ .=---:--:- - - 7_"- - _ _ -
~ Coastal and nonmarine facies
k</d Shelf facies
- Shoreface erosion surface
-
~ Shelfal erosion surface
___ Onlap and downlap
Ie>o"\ I Log; shell, coarse sand to pebbles, mud clasts, carbonaceous debris
Fig. 7.16. Attributes of transgressive shelf systems. The example illustrates environments of a storm-dominated shelf, induding
a transgressive sheet sand (A) and storm ridge complex (B). Scale bar indicates typical thickness of transgressive sand facies
181
bayments that reflect the landward translation of
transgressive coastal and inner shelf environments
and the inherited dip-oriented distribution of
fluvial, deltaic, and estuarine sediments that are
excavated by transgressive erosion and redepos-
ited as allochthonous shelf sediment. On low-en-
ergy shelves that are starved of clastic input,
transgressive shelf sediments are thin and com-
posed mainly of pelletiferous silts and muds with
little vertical pattern. As water deepens, sandy
inner shelf facies are blanketed by fine-grained
outer-shelf deposits. Many of these outer-shelf
mudstones are glauconitic or phosphatic with
abnormally high organic carbon content, and
some are related to episodes of synchronous
worldwide eustatic transgression (Vail and
Mitchum 1979; Demaison and Moore 1980).
Transgressive wave-dominated shelf succes-
sions generally produce an upward-fining se-
quence from a basal, lag-veneered surface of wave
erosion, through sheetlike hummocky cross-strati-
fied transgressive sands, to an upward fining and
thinning succession of storm-graded beds, capped
by fine sediments representing deepwater shelf
accumulation. Storm-dominated shelf sequences
(Fig. 7.17) contain thick, lenticular sands with
o Bioturbation
I
~ Primary structures
I -10m
182 Terrigenous Shelf Systems
multistoried sets of hummocky cross-stratification
and low-angle accretionary bedding that are
interbedded with and overlain by storm-graded
sand beds. Biological reworking of these graded
beds increases upward through the succession as
the water deepens. Very thin, graded silts give way
upward to homogeneous shelf muds. Maximum
transgressive flooding is commonly recorded by
deposition of an outer shelf condensed unit distin-
guished by abundant glauconite, phosphate, or-
ganic carbon, and planktonic fossils (Loutit et al.
1988).
Transgressive tide-dominated shelf successions
(Fig. 7.18) comprise basal gravels, massive sands,
and cross-bedded sands overlain by finer sedi-
ments deposited by weaker currents in deeper
water. The thickness and relative proportions of
the various units depend largely on the rate of
transgression relative to ongoing allochthonous
sediment supply and energy regime. There may
also be evidence of sequential bar growth, migra-
tion, and decay. For example, very large cross-
beds corresponding to the phase of maximum
sand-wave development could be overlain by
progressively thinner sets with a broad range in
paleocurrent directions. The upper surface is win-
nowed by currents and reworked by burrowing
SEQUENCE
:::::::::::::.:-:.:-:::::::::::::::::;.:. La min ated
u u carbonaceous mud
u
u
u u
u
U Burrowed
U glauconitic
U silty muds
u
u
U
U U u
t:=:::::::::::::::::::::::~ Storm - graded
beds
Hummocky
cross stratification
Large inclined
surfaces with
troughs
Lag
Burrowed or bored
subjacent unit
organisms and is overlain by fossiliferous,
bioturbated shelf silts and muds.
Aggradational shelf systems are characterized
by their thick, commonly repetitive facies succes-
sions. Such thick successions record prolonged fa-
cies stacking, with water depths fluctuating within
shelf limits, and reflect long periods of near bal-
ance between subsidence and sediment supply.
They are commonly underlain by thinner pro-
gradational or transgressive shelf sections. The
most dramatic examples are the thick-shelf sand-
stone blankets, mostly of Paleozoic and Pre-
cambrian age, that contain diverse, large-scale
cross-stratification (Hobday and Tankard 1978;
Cant and Hein 1986). Figure 7.19 illustrates typi-
cal features of such a mixed storm and tide-domi-
nated shelf system.
The Thet sequence (Galloway et al. 1993) of
the East Shetland Platform margin (North Sea)
provides an example of the complex depositional
architecture that can be displayed by a shelf sys-
tem (Fig. 7.20). Sandy progradational shelf depos-
its prograde and aggrade seaward of an earlier
shelf margin. The outbuilding shelf system is, in
turn, planed off by a transgressive erosion surface,
above which lies an upward-fining transgressive
shelf blanket (Sloan 1995).
AVERAGE E-LOG
GRAIN SIZE PROFILE
Mud Sand
Fig.7.17. Idealized depositional sequence and log
response (E-LOG electric log) of a transgressive
storm-dominated shelf. Glauconite and carbon-
aceous shale create a diagnostic high gamma ray
response in some sequences
 Stratigraphic Architecture and Evolution of Shelf Systems 183

Fig. 7.18. Idealized depositional sequence and log re- AVERAGE LOG
sponse of a transgressive tide-dominated shelf GRAIN SIZE PROFILE
SEQUENCE Mud Sand
U
u
U
u
u Bioturbated
u u
Silts and muds
u u
u
u u
u LJ

1-7"--,-'7--7-7"";"" Dis pe rsed cross beds

Reactivatio n

Lorge - scale
foresets

Log

AVERAGE LOG
SEQUENCE GRAIN SIZE PROFILE
Mud Sand

~~~:::;:=S?~ Burrowed silt

K~~~~ Subtidal chute

Lorge foresets
with internal troughs

~~:::Q;;;~~ Burrowed silt

Lorge foresets
J-4,---'~---":----4c~ with internal
troughs
~~~~~ Subtidal chute

Fig. 7.19. Idealized vertical sequence and log re-

sponse produced by a sandy, aggradational mixed
storm and tide-dominated shelf
 .....
00
.j:o.
- -

.. -.J ..... ... ._, ...,

ep
.~.
()Q
ep
~..- -~ . -- ::;
0
c:
en
[j)
::r-
ep
;:;;
[j)
'<:
en
fD
3
en

o 5km
1:>:<:::1Mixed aggrad ing and prograding shel f system shelf system I I
I II
Transgressive erosion surface o 3 mi

Fig. 7.20. Seismic profile across a basinward-downshifted aggradational and progradational sandy mixed-energy shelf system, Thet sequence, North Sea,
Sequence is capped by a thin transgressive shelf sand sheet that overlies the planar shelf erosion surface

Shelf Systems in Marine Basin Fills
Shelf systems reflect a departure from systems dis-
cussed thus far in that sediment input is unfocused
and transport processes are largely unconfined on
all but a regional scale. Shelves thus exhibit a di-
versity of environments that range both in time
and space from depositional to erosional. Sus-
pended sediment supply is abundant, but bed-load
supply is commonly restricted and may be trivial.
Consequently, many shelf systems do not exhibit
framework sand facies. Extensive arrays of large
bedforms and very large bar macroforms are,
however, constructed where sand supply and en-
ergy regime are adequate, and little mud accumu-
lates in some shelf systems. Like shore-zone
systems, shelf system stratigraphy is controlled by
the long-term history of deepening, commonly in
association with coastal transgression, or of shoal-
Shelf Systems in Marine Basin Fills 185
ing, commonly associated with coastal regression.
Shelf morphology reflects the interplay of basin
tectonics, earlier depositional history, and the in-
terplay of syndepositional regime variables. Shelf
morphology in tum has numerous feedback rela-
tionships with the wave, storm, and tidal energy
regimes.
Where present, shelf systems form a broad con-
tact zone between coastal and nonmarine deposi-
tional systems and subaqueous slope and basinal
systems. Because shelf transport processes are not
gravity driven, the shelf system, like the shore
zone, intercepts sediment transport, diverting
sediment from direct pathways from source to
basin center. Further, the shelf is analogous to
a large sorting table, effectively separating sedi-
ment load into multiple size fractions and then
transporting each to separate bins for subsequent
storage.
8 Slope and Base-or-Slope Systems
Introduction
Slope and base-of-slope depositional systems
(simply called slope systems for brevity) occur in
relatively deep water beyond the shelf break.
However, the meaning of "deep" depends upon
basin type and tectonic context. On modern
continental margins the shelf break typically lies
at depths of 90-180m (300-600ft), but in in-
tracratonic, foreland, and continental pull-apart
basins the depth may be less. Furthermore, our
concept of the shelf edge and slope setting is bi-
ased by our Holocene perspective. Contemporary
continental margins lie at depths that increased
abruptly during rapid glacio eustatic sea-level rise
of about 120m (400ft). Pre-Pleistocene shelf
edges probably had a broad, but somewhat shal-
lower depth range; in many basin settings, delta,
alluvial plain, or fan systems prograded directly
into deep water for extended periods of geologic
time, and a distinct shelf and basin ward shelf edge
were generally absent. Slope relief may range
from a few hundred meters to several kilometers.
The minimal relief for establishing a gravity-
driven sediment dispersal system that is clearly
distinct from contemporaneous traction-driven
shelf, deltaic, or shore-zone dispersal systems can
be as little as 100m.
Our understanding of slope and base-of-slope
systems has matured slowly. Several factors have
contributed to the problem:
1. Subsea topography is complicated and, until
recently, was difficult to accurately map.
2. Slope and base-of-slope depositional and
erosional features display a great range of
scales (Mutti et al. 1987). All but the largest
outcrops are inadequate to reveal slope facies
architecture.
3. Modern slope systems are physically inac-
cessible. Only in recent years have new tech-
nologies (side-scan sonar, bathymetric swath
mapping, high-resolution three-dimensional
seismic technology) allowed us to accurately
image and resolve the details of deep-water
environments and facies. The advance of hy-
drocarbon exploration onto the modern conti-
nental slopes has provided both the impetus
and data base necessary to create and test
three-dimensional models on the scale of depo-
sitional systems. The surge of new data and
interest in slope and base-of-slope sediments
is reflected in numerous recent books, such
as Bouma et al. (1985), Pickering et al. (1989),
Weimer and Link (1991), and Mutti (1992).
The complexities of the slope/base-of-slope sys-
tem have led to limited and overgeneralized mod-
els. Even the choice of system name is unsettled.
Slope and base-of-slope systems are variously re-
ferred to as turbidite or gravity-flow systems, fan
systems, and deep marine systems. Each name
emphasizes an important aspect of their deposi-
tion, but is an incomplete expression of the diver-
sity of processes and systems inherent in their
geomorphic setting. The approach here, as in the
discussion of other depositional systems, is to inte-
grate the broad range of geomorphic elements and
subaqueous processes to define an array of slope
and base-of-slope depositional systems. The key
morphologic elements of this setting are the rela-
tively steep, subaqueous slope itself, which is
prone to sediment bypassing and erosion, and the
subjacent base of slope, where sediments prefer-
entially accumulate; hence our designation of the
depositional product as a slope/base-of-slope
system.
Bathymetry and Water Body Structure
The slope is the relatively steeply graded surface
that extends from the shelf break (or in settings
where a shelf is absent, beyond the shoreface) to
the base of slope, which grades into the adjacent
 Introduction 187

basin floor (Fig. 8.1). Deposition is concentrated resuspend fine sediment on the outer shelf, creat-
in the base-of-slope setting. The ubiquitous fea- ing a bottom-hugging suspension cloud called the
ture of the slope setting is the relatively steep nepheloid layer, which flows slowly across the
gravitational potential gradient, which remobi- shelf edge and down slope. Density stratification
lizes previously deposited sediment and accel- within the deeper water mass may deflect such
erates flow down the slope. The prominent slow-moving turbid flows, spreading them as
bathymetric relief of the slope also creates a first- midwater plumes (Fig. 8.1). Fine sediment settling
order hydrodynamic boundary, separating deep- from the various turbid overflows and interflows
basin water masses and circulation systems from creates the ubiquitous hemipelagic rain that blan-
very different water masses and circulation sys- kets the slope and basin floor. Density boundaries
tems of the shelf (Pietrafesa 1983). within the water column focus long-period inter-
Declivity of terrigenous clastic slopes typically nal waves, which break against the upper slope or
ranges from 2-SO, but varies from less than 10 to shelf margin, creating currents that are capable
more than 10 (Schlager and Camber 1986). of both erosion and transport of fine sediment
Depositional slope angles vary directly with sedi- (Hotchkiss and Wunsch 1982; Karl et al. 1986).
ment grain size and rate of deposition and in- Along many basin margins, outflow of surface
versely with the efficiency of bypassing or water creates an upwelling of deep, cold, nutrient-
resedimentation processes (Orton and Reading rich waters. Upwelling commonly leads to en-
1993; Kenyon and Turcotte 1985; Syvitski et al. hanced organic productivity, consumption of
1988). Depositional slopes commonly display up- dissolved oxygen, and rapid deposition of organic
wardly convex profiles (Syvitski et al. 1988), matter. The oxygen-minimum layer may cover
whereas destructional slopes may show little dif- large areas of the slope and basin floor, particu-
ference between upper and middle slope or may larly in small, restricted or silled basins, or may
be slightly convex (Schlager and Camber 1986). form a depth-limited band localized along the
Deep water bodies commonly exhibit density middle to upper slope (Fig. 8.1) in water depths of
stratification resulting from turbidity, tempera- a few hundred meters to more than a kilometer.
ture, or salinity differences. Plumes of turbid fresh Intersection of the oxygen-minimum layer with
water discharged from rivers may extend over the the basin floor enhances organic matter preserva-
slope and basin. Wave, tidal, and other currents tion and limits bioturbation.

SHELF SLOPE BASIN

T]~~r~b~i~l:Jpal~~mffi~~ill.
.1lfill
il....@IQ S.?Q . 0(E. a.lli.il w..su
U
ill. g
ill. .... ill.
ill
gg =
. . . .;;. . ;;. .;;. >~-------f - - - - -
. . ~" "'E, ]j,'''E ' E ' = i.... ~
Resuspension
\~ "
..,
'
.
1
Zl5iITl::::Z:[2l:;;:S~ut~d]BjS~" - __ -----......-
HemipelagiC Sett ling
__ -..-----Internal Waves---------

Oxygen Minimum Zone

Midwater Density Interface

Mass Wasting Flow Deceleration

Flow Accelera lion
Deposition
Erosion/ Bypassing
Progradation Aggradation

~Extension~ ~ Compression ~

Fig. 8.1. Physiography, processes, water mass characteristics, and gravity stress regimes of the outer shelf and slope
188 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
Process Framework
Gravity mass transport processes are the ubiqui-
tous and often dominant feature of slope systems.
Mass wasting in the form of creep, slides,
slumps, and viscous debris flows characterizes the
relatively steep upper slope (Fig. 8.1). Here flows
and density currents accelerate and are prone to
erode chutes and channels. On the decreasing
grade at the base of the slope, flows decelerate
and deposition occurs. The cumulative effect of
mass wasting, flow bypassing, and base-of-
slope accumulation is to reduce average grade
and establish an equilibrium slope profile. If
sediment supply is low, the upper slope retro-
grades until it reaches a stable regime profile.
The upper slope, if well-supplied and construc-
tional, pro grades by outbuilding of large
clinoforms that reflect its dynamic equilibrium
profile. (The concepts of regime and equilibrium
profile are discussed more fully in Chap. 11.) The
substantial vertical relief between the shelf plat-
form and the basin floor also enhances the poten-
tial for gravity tectonics to play a role in mass
redistribution (Fig. 8.1). The shelf margin and up-
per slope are sites of extension, leading to
syndepositional listric normal faults (growth
faults) and enhanced subsidence (Winker 1982;
Winker and Edwards 1983; Damuth 1994). A
compensatory compressional zone lies at the toe
of the slope.
Slope Processes
Subaqueous slope systems are characterized by
the dominance of gravity-mass transport and den-
sity-underflow processes and their depositional
products. The range of slope processes can be
grouped into:
1. Gravity remobilization and mass flow of previ-
ously deposited sediment or of decelerating in-
ertial flows spilling onto the slope
2. Gravity-driven underflows of dense, turbid,
cold, or saline waters
3. Alongslope (geostrophic) permanent currents
produced by temperature and salinity differ-
ences within and between ocean basins
4. Settling from suspension of hemipelagic and
pelagic sediment
5. Currents created by long-period tidal or storm
waves, internal waves, and periodic upwelling
or downwelling events
Because gravitational potential energy is the
principal driving mechanism for mass transport
and density underflow, slope systems are distin-
guished from shelf, shore-zone, and delta systems
by their inherent tendency to deposit coarse sedi-
ment in the bathymetrically lowest areas. The up-
per slope is a zone of sand remobilization and
bypass. This has considerable implications for res-
ervoir distribution and exploration strategy in
slope and base-of-slope systems (Chap. 15).
Gravity Remobilization and Flow
Downslope remobilization of sediment takes
place when gravity shear stress exceeds the shear
strength of the sediment; similarly, gravity accel-
eration of already moving sediment occurs when
gravity shear stress exceeds frictional energy loss.
Transport continues as long as gravitational stress
dominates kinetics of the flow. Inertial flow may
further extend transport onto the adjacent basin
floor.
Gravity-mass transport includes several flow
types (Fig. 8.2), depending on the degree of
fluidity and turbulence of the flow (Walker 1978;
Lowe 1982; Postma 1986; Pickering et al. 1989,
Chap. 2; Mutti 1992, pp. 42-47). In all types, mobi-
lization, transport, and deposition occur as a
geologically brief event, and facies constructed
of gravity-flow deposits are prominently event
stratified.
Cohesive flows retain matrix strength and in-
clude slides, slumps, and cohesive debris flows
(Fig. 8.2). Deposits are relatively compact blocks,
tongues, lobes, or sheets, separated from underly-
ing sediments by discrete bedding or shear sur-
faces. Original bedding and textures are at least
partially preserved, though they may be highly
contorted by body stresses and blurred by inter-
granular movement during flow (Fig. 8.3A). Slide
sheets and slumps exhibit discrete headward, ex-
tensional and compressional toe zones. Top sur-
faces of large mud and debris flows commonly
show hummocky microtopography.
High-density laminar flows occur when internal
dispersive intergranular or fluid pressure briefly
liquefies the sediment. Deposits include mud, de-
bris, and sand flows (Fig. 8.2). Features depend on
 Slope Processes 189

TIDAL, STORM, WAVE

CURRENTS
GEOSTROPHIC THERMOHALINE DENSITY
CURRENT FLOWS

SLIDE /SLUMP

DEBRIS/ MUD/SAND FLOW

DEFLECTION DEPOSITION

HIGH- VISCOSITY REWORKING

LOW-VISCOSITY TURBIDITY FLOW

DEBRIS/MUD/SAND COARSE-GRAINED FINE -GRAINED

SLIDE/SLUMP CONTOURITE
FLOW TURBIDITE TURBIDITE

Fig. 8.2. Slope system processes and their bed-scale depositional products. Arrows indicate possible evolutionary pathways or
flow interactions

A B c D E F G

I-10m 0.5-10 m 0.5-1 m 0.1 m 0.1-0.05 m 0.1 m 0.1-1 m

Fig. 8.3A-G. Typical features of depositional beds produced turbidite with Bouma sequence. E Low-density (fine-grained)
by the various slope processes. A Cohesive slump unit. B De- turbidite .' Contourite. G Tractionite
bris flow. C High-density (coarse-grained) turbidite. D Classic

sediment texture as well as specific processes and
history. The deposits assume a swirled, massive, or
crudely bedded appearance (Fig. 8.3B). Inverse
grading and fluid escape structures are common.
Distinctive massive, unsorted mixtures of mud,
sand, and gravel (if available) are diagnostic.
Basal contacts of beds are sharp, sometimes ero-
sional, and may show tool marks or load casts. The
uppermost parts of beds may be bioturbated.
At higher velocity and fluidity, gravity flows
become turbulent, creating turbidity flows (Fig.
8.2). Turbulent flows may be initiated either by
transformation of laminar flows or through direct
flow ignition by seismic shock, storm surge, storm-
wave loading, sediment load-induced failure, or
rapid gravitational acceleration of hyperpycnal
suspension flows (Fisher 1983; Normark and Piper
1991). Flow transformation occurs as an accelerat-
ing slump or debris flow becomes turbulent, as a
flow entrains additional water, decreasing its vis-
cosity, or as gravitational segregation creates a
dense, laminar underflow and an overriding, less
viscous turbulent flow. Flow ignition (Pantin 1979;
Parker 1982) takes place when the slope gradient
creates gravitational acceleration, so that the flow
entrains new sediment, becoming erosive and self-
sustaining. Ignitive flow is focused at areas of
steepest slope gradient and where sediment accu-
190 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
mulation rates are high. As high-viscosity, dense
turbidity flows decelerate, a laminar underflow
develops and freezes, coarser sediment settles out
of suspension, and the body of the flow becomes
less dense and viscous (Fig. 8.2). Low-viscosity
flows may be sustained by their momentum or by
gentle bottom gradients far onto the basin floor. In
addition, low-viscosity flows may be generated di-
rectly from bottom-hugging hyperpycnal river
plumes and resuspended mud plumes (Fig. 8.2;
Stanley 1985; Normark and Piper 1991). Because
of their diverse origins and flow histories, the vol-
ume, depth, and frequency of turbidity flows are
all highly variable.
In channelized turbidity flows, spillover of the
fine-grained upper part of the flow at channel
bends, a process called flow stripping, may create
separate high-viscosity flows, which decelerate
rapidly, and low-viscosity flows that continue
downslope (Piper and Normark 1983). Such
overbank flows may recombine, particularly
where focused by sea-floor topography, to scour
new intraslope channels with thalwegs well above
the main slope channels and containing distinct
infill assemblages of turbidite facies.
Turbidity flow duration ranges from a few
hours to many tens of hours. Under extended
quasi-equilibrium flow conditions, large-scale
bedforms develop (Shor et al. 1990; Normark and
Piper 1991), and cross stratification is now recog-
nized as a significant, although secondary, feature
of coarse-grained turbidite deposits (Mutti 1992).
Extended periods of flow also allow time for chan-
nel meandering, crevassing, and other processes
more typical of fluvial channels. In general, low-
density flows are slower, thicker, longer-lived,
more prone to channelization and levee accretion,
and more susceptible to Coriolis effects than are
sandy, high-density flows.
Turbidites, the deposits of turbulent liquefied
flows, have been extensively described (Bouma
1962; Walker 1978; Nelson and Nilsen 1984; Stow
and Piper 1984; Pickering et al. 1989, pp. 15-26;
Mutti 1992). Turbidite successions are highly
stratified, and each bed displays a sharp, some-
times erosional base molded by tool marks, loads,
flutes, and flame structures. Coarse-grained tur-
bidite beds (Fig. 8.3C) are the product of high-
density flows and typically consist of sand or sand
and gravel mixtures. The lower part of the bed
consists of massive to faintly horizontally lami-
nated, variously coarse-tail graded sand deposited
as a grainflow or traction carpet. Clasts may float,
and upper parts of the sand bed may show dish
structures and dewatering tubes. The upper bed
boundary is sharp, and bed tops are commonly
eroded by subsequent flows. Mixed mud/sand tur-
bidites (Fig. 8.3D) exhibit a range of features, in-
cluding textural grading, a lower massive interval,
horizontal ripple laminations, and a capping sus-
pension drape, described in the classic Bouma
model. Muddy turbidites (Fig. 8.3E), which are
more abundant than commonly appreciated, are
texturally and compositionally graded. They dis-
play lower couplets of parallel- to ripple-lami-
nated fine sand and silt capped by a variously
lenticular, wavy, convolute, or wispy laminated
mud couplet. Turbidites are commonly capped by
a distinct hemipelagic drape and may be
bioturbated at the top. Individual turbidite beds
typically range from centimeters to less than a
meter in thickness, and average bed thickness
decreases with grain size. However, amalgamation
of turbidites is common, making individual bed
thickness difficult to determine.
Thermohaline Underflows
Density underflows may be created by discharge
of cold or saline water onto the slope (Harms and
Williamson 1988). Nonturbid underflows can
originate, for example, where hypersaline water
bodies drain onto the shelf break or where gla-
cially fed streams drain onto steep, narrow
shelves. Because such flows are relatively long-
lived and do not inherently incorporate suspended
clay and silt, they are more likely to create migra-
tory bedforms. Resulting deposits are commonly
ripple- or cross-laminated beds sometimes called
tractionites (Fig. 8.3G).
Geostrophic Currents and Contourites
Deep contour-parallel, or geostrophic, currents
are present in most basins where significant
temperature or salinity differences develop in
different water masses. Large-scale geostrophic
flows are particularly well known in the modern
North Atlantic, where they are driven by
teperature differences between polar and equato-
rial water bodies, and in the Mediterranean,
where they are driven by surface evaporation and
salinity increase (Hollister and Heezen 1972;

McCave 1984; Pickering et al. 1989, pp. 32-34).
Where currents intersect the basin margin or
are displaced and focused by large-scale bottom
topography, they may erode, rework, transport,
and deposit sediment. Current speeds typically
range from 10 to 30cm/s, but may exceed lOOcm/
s and show bursts or "storms" lasting from a
few days to several weeks. Flow may be locally
diverted across or oblique to the slope where
shoaling or constriction causes convergence and
acceleration. Extensive intraslope unconformities,
large current scours, very large climbing
bedforms, and downflow contourite drifts result
from interaction between these large thermoha-
line flows and bounding slopes (Stow and
Holbrook 1984; Tucholke and Embley 1984;
Barnes 1992). Permanent geostrophic currents
may deflect gravity-driven, low-viscosity
turbidity flows and actively rework tops of fine
turbidites.
Contourites typically lack the distinct bedding
of gravity flow deposits. However, geostrophic
flows are complex, and contourite successions
commonly show meter-scale textural and com-
positional variation (Fig. 8.3F). Contourites may
be sandy or muddy and variously display
bioturbation, irregular lenses and lamina of silt,
sand, or fine shell, and wavy, wispy, to ripple lami-
nation (Stow and Piper 1984; Stanley 1993). Bed
boundaries vary from gradational to sharp. Very
fine contourite sections may consist of massive,
bioturbated mud.
Hemipelagic and Pelagic Sedimentation
Suspended terrigenous sediment entrained in
surface and internal plumes "rains" onto the sea
floor, blanketing the slope, basin floor, and bathy-
metric highs with widespread hemipelagic drapes.
Accumulation rates may be significant under areas
of large mud plumes, and resedimentation of
hemipelagic mud from steep slopes or bathymetric
highs as muddy debris flows, slides, and slumps
is common. Hemipelagic deposits range from
uniformly laminated to bioturbated, fossiliferous
mud.
Pelagic sediment consists of calcareous
or siliceous planktonic biogenic debris with
admixtures of windblown and extraterrestrial
dust and air-fall volcanic ash. Pelagic drapes
record extended periods of terrigenous sediment
starvation.
Slope Processes 191
Slope Erosion and Regrading
Although generally discussed in terms of deposi-
tional processes, submarine slopes, like their sub-
aerial counterparts, are commonly sites of active
mass wasting, erosional incision, and retreat
(Dietz 1963; Embley and Jacobi 1986). The most
spectacular products of slope erosion are subma-
rine canyons. A segment of the Atlantic margin of
Brazil (Fig. 8.4) illustrates the complex erosional
slope morphology typical of many basin margins.
Multiple canyons arise on the mid- to upper slope;
only a few of the largest canyons breach the shelf
break. Nearly half of the upper slope area is
floored by large canyons. The two largest canyons
(labeled 2 and 3 in Fig. 8.4) are structurally local-
ized. Only the Sao Francisco canyon (labeled 3), is
associated with a major river, and only this canyon
supports a fan system. To the north the slope ex-
hibits a broadly embayed shelf margin (area 4, Fig.
8.4). This erosional amphitheater was produced by
a coalescing cluster of small canyons. Eroded sedi-
ment was redeposited at the base of the slope,
forming a low-relief rise or apron. Together, ero-
sional retreat of the upper slope and deposition
on the base of slope create a lower, more stable
gradient.
Slope erosion is largely accomplished by
mass wasting (May et al. 1983; Coleman and
Prior 1988). Slides, slumps, and debris flows
remove sediment and erode underlying material
as they are displaced basinward. High-velocity,
dense turbidity flows, particularly if focused,
also erode the slope. Volumes of sediment
removed by individual large slides, slumps, and
debris flows can readily exceed 1000km' (200mi')
(Embley 1982; Bugge et al. 1987). Slides and
slumps leave steep headwall scars that localize
additional failures, which, in turn, encroach fur-
ther upslope (Bugge et al. 1987; Nemec et al.
1988).
Slope failure occurs when sediment strength is
reduced or shear stress is increased. Various pro-
cesses can trigger either or both, initiating failure
(Embley 1982; Coleman and Prior 1988; Fig. 8.5).
Rapid deposition at the shelf edge and upper
slope results in oversteepening (stress increase)
and may generate excess pore pressure through
burial disequilibrium or biogenic gas generation
(strength reduction). Tectonism plays a major role
in triggering slope failure. Seismic activity causes
abrupt stress increase and is a well-documented
trigger for slope failure. Tectonic tilting or differ-
192 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems

o 40 km -..- -r Basement fault trend

o
/l
f - - I- - - . - - - ' - - - . , - - "

20mi
Erosional
(,:,
II Erosional/depositional

\
,

~a

C ?V7. b
C
A c ,
A
2000
c N
N 0 20 km o
m
10km
It

d
Y I I
10 mi
~
Y
0
~~~~~~~~~~~
o

T
o
o 5mii ______
d' -
e ve =llx
N N
,
2000 3000 e
m It
c
o
M
P
-----------------------------g
L
F E
A X
N

CANYON/FAN SYSTEM EROSIONAL AMP!THEATER

Fig. 8.4. Atlantic continental margin, Sergipe-Alagoas basin,
Brazil. Numerous submarine canyons engrave the mixed car-
bonate/clastic slope. The largest canyons that extend onto the
shelf include the Real (1), Japaratuba (2), and Sao Francisco
(3). A cluster of canyons (4) creates the Maceio "amphithe-
ater," which em bays the margin. Strike bathymetric profiles
contrast the erosional Maceio amphitheater, which supports no
submarine fan, with the Sao Francisco canyon, which connects
to the broadly convex Sao Francisco fan and its leveed channel
systems. (Modified from Cainelli 1992)

ential uplift leads to oversteepening, increased through its impact on sedimentary loading rate or
shear stress, and failure. Erosion of the lower intensity of cyclic wave loading.
slope by geostrophic currents may cause Submarine canyons are excavated largely by
oversteepening and failure. Storm or tidal waves submarine mass wasting, which commonly nucle-
cause cyclic loading of the sea floor. Eustatic ates on the middle to upper slope (Farre et al.
sea-level change creates slope failure indirectly 1983; May et al. 1983; Dingle and Robson 1985;

Fig. 8.5. Triggering mechanisms
and pathways leading to slope
I DELTA ISHELF IGLACIAL I
DEPOSITION
failure. (Modified from Coleman
and Prior 1988) I MASS WASTING I
CURRENT SCOUR
.-----
SEDIMENTARY LOADIN~
~VERSTEEPENING
rORE PRESSURE
GENERATION
~TRENGTH
Jansen et al. 1987; Carlson and Karl 1988). Mate-
rial removed from the canyon is redeposited at the
base of the slope, and, though volumetrically sig-
nificant, is generally inadequate to form a fan sys-
tem (Fig. 8.4). Once initiated by mass wasting,
some large canyons become effective conduits,
transporting sediment from adjacent shelf, delta,
or shore-zone systems to the basin floor. Turbidity
current flow, internal waves, storm-induced cur-
rents, and deep tidal and barometric currents can
further enlarge canyons.
Bedding Architecture of Slope Systems
Reflection seismic traverses of deep slope sys-
tems provided one of the primary avenues for in-
vestigation of deep marine slope systems. Three
basic stratigraphic architectures characterize
clastic slope systems (Fig. 8.6; see also Fig. 2.2;
Brown and Fisher 1977; Winker 1984; Ross et al.
1995):
1. Outbuilding slope systems display offlap stratal
geometry. Progradational facies successions of
shelf, shore-zone, or delta systems typically cap
offiap clinoforms.
Bedding Architecture of Slope Systems 193
ISEA-LEVELI
CHANGE
ISURFACE
WAVES
I TECTONISM:
TILTING, FAULTING, DIAPIRISM
J
~URFACE l.OADIN~ I-(SEISMIC ACTIVITY
'---
GAS GENERATION
1
REDUCTION STRESS INCREASE
~ ~
SLOPE FAILURE
2. If the upper slope is undergoing destruction by
mass wasting or if the slope gradient is steeper
than the stable depositional grade, base-of-
slope deposition forms an onlap apron that
aggrades against the slope toe. Strata onlap
erosional or depositional surfaces of sedimen-
tary origin. Alternation of offiap and onlap oc-
curs at several scales in many slope systems,
reflecting alternation of outbuilding and retro-
gradation or bypassing phases.
3. In basins where the slope relief and grade are
tectonically determined, slope-base strata up-
lap structural flanks. Uplap patterns are typical
of faulted rift or strike-slip basin margins,
where sediment accumulation is confined al-
most entirely to basin floors, and of divergent
margin slopes where syndepositional gravity
tectonics creates high-relief structures. Use of
the term "uplap" emphasizes the structural
control and relatively high gradients of tectoni-
cally defined slopes.
Sand-prone facies occur at preferred positions
within each of the architectural styles (Fig. 8.6). In
all, however, sandy facies are stratigraphically iso-
lated by lapout or pinchout from superjacent
systems.
Mounding of strata is a particularly common
feature of base-of-slope deposits. Mounding is
194 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems

A B

l\!(~l Sand-prone

~ Slump and debris flow deposits

~ Channel fill

Fig. 8.6A-C. Basic stratal architecture of slope and related Sand-prone faci es are concentrated at the base of the slope or
shelf and basin systems. A Offlap. B Onlap against a strati- in bathymetric lows. (Modified from Brown and Fisher 1977)
graphic surface. C Uplap against a tectonic or bedrock slope .

Line I

South North

Line 2
Fig.8.7. Mounded geometry produced by sand-rich turbidite deposits of the Andrew delta-fed apron . Here, apron turbidites are
concentrated on the floor of the Moray Firth structural trough. (Reinsborough 1993)

identified on seismic cross-sections (Fig. 8.7)
by upward convexity and bidirectional downlap
of mounded strata and onlap of bounding
strata against mound flanks. At the facies
scale, mounding may reflect local accumulation
of sand-rich turbidite lobes, cohesive slump
lobes, and transverse profiles of poorly resolved
channel-levee complexes. At the depositional
system scale, mounding is produced by fan
aggradation.
 Slope Environments and Facies 195

Slope Environments and Facies Channel Fills

Channels are prominent features of many slope

The various bed-scale units are organized into fa- settings. Channels are scoured primarily by high-
cies that reflect the morphology and processes density turbidity currents, but may also be created
active in a variety of deep-water environments. or modified by debris and mud flows. Channels
Because slope depositional processes are diverse, may be erosional, depositional channel-levee
scales range over several orders of magnitude, and complexes, or mixed (Fig. 8.8). Erosional channels
attributes of sediment are highly variable, the ter- typically occur in steepest areas of the slope,
minology of slope facies is extensive and confused. where gravity flows are accelerating. Depositional
Synthesis of studies of both modern and ancient
slope deposits (Stow and Piper 1984; Pickering et
al. 1989; Mutti and Normark 1991; Normark et al. Table S.l. Facies building blocks of slope and base-at-slope
1993; Reading and Richards 1994) suggests that systems
seven basic facies associations comprise the build-
ing blocks of most slope systems (Table 8.1): Turbidite channel fill
1. Levee
1. Turbidite channel fills, along with their associ- 2. Overbank
ated levee and overbank deposits Turbidite lobe
2. Turbidite lobes 1. Sheet lobe
2. Mounded lobe
3. Sheet turbidites Sheet turbidite
4. Slide, slump, and debris flow sheets, lobes, and Mass transport complex
tongues, which together form mass-transport 1. Slide blocks
complexes 2. Slump and debris flow lobes and tongues
5. Low-density turbidite fills and sheets Low-density turbidite fills and sheets
Contourite drift
6. Contourite mounds and drifts Hemipelagic drapes and fills
7. Hemipelagic drapes and fills

SEDIMENT LOAD
Sand I Grovel SandI Mud Mud

(,!)
z
is
o
a::
w

I 10_102 It or m

>----------I 10 2 _10 3 fl or m

1--------------
High ...... Width/ Depth - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - Low
Low Sinuosity ~ Moderate to High
Low Levee Height ~ High
Lo w Stability ~ High

Fig. S.S. The textural spectrum of turbidite channels contrast- ity. levee height. and channel stability parallel the patterns
ing the geometric and depositional attributes of erosional and documented in fluvial channels (see Chap. 4)
depositional types. Changes in the width to depth ratio. sinuos-
 ,.....
'-0
01

[J)
0'
,,'~ "0
(D

~
~
0-
tl:I
~
en
(D

6
';"
[J)
II m 0'
"0
(D
[J)
25 10 '<
:a.
(D
o 10 :3en

Approximate scale

Approximate scale ~:

Fig. 8.9. A,B Outcrop photographs of slope facies, Pliocene Yakataga Formation glacially fed slope system, Gulf of Alaska. C Erosional slope channel fill containing basal
heterolithic debris flow unit overlain by amalgamated coarse turbidites. Upper channel is filled by upward-thinning and fining turbidites, Fine-grained turbidites and thin mud
flow tongues surround the channel fill, D Two prominent slump deposits within a matrix of muddy debris flows and fine-grained to sandy turbidites. The upper slump lobe
lies within a broad, erosional chute and moved as a relatively cohesive mass; original bedding is blurred and folded but remains clearly visible. The lower slump lobe consists
largely of massive, liquefied sand and muddy sand and has both scoured into and deformed the underlying slope muds which it abruptly loaded. Transport direction of both
slump lobes was approximately perpendicular to the mountainside
 Slope Environments and Facies 197

channel-levee complexes form where flows decel-
erate. Like their subaerial fluvial counterparts, a
particular channel segment may shift from ero-
sional to depositional in response to changes in
the sediment load to discharge ratio or to changing
boundary conditions of grade and base level.
Depositional channel cross-section morphology
ranges from broadly concave to flat-bottomed.
Erosional channels may have V-shaped profiles
with terraced or cuspate banks (O'Connell et al.
1991) or may be broad, gently upward-concave
chutes. Though erosional channels are often
called canyons in the literature, we feel that a
fundamental distinction exists between erosional
channels, which maintain a hydraulic cross-section
proportioned to the size of their contained turbid-
ity flows, and canyons, which are produced by
mass wasting as a part of a general erosional
regrading of the slope. Canyon walls may be
stratigraphically significant unconformities within
and between slope systems; channel banks repre-
sent only a short depositional hiatus and are asso-
ciated with depositional successions of strata. Al-
though canyons are typically much larger than
channels, size ranges overlap so that scale alone is
not diagnostic.
Like fluvial channels, subaqueous channels
form a spectrum from sand/gravel-dominated
to mud-dominated types (Fig. 8.8). Coarse-
grained channels are broad with low relief and a
flat base to broadly concave with low sinuosity.
Extremely coarse systems form low-relief chutes
(Prior and Bornhold 1988). Levees are poorly
developed, and channels easily migrate and
shift, forming multilateral to braided belts. With
increasing mud content, levees form, and channel
stability and sinuosity increase. Highly sinuous
channels characterize depositional reaches of
very low gradient, muddy slopes (Clark et al.
1992).
Compared to their fluvial counterparts, subma-
rine channels are large. Typical dimensions range
from hundreds to thousands of meters (Fig. 8.8).
Depths range from tens of meters to more than

A B C o

Slump lobe Low-density turbidite Contourite Hemipelagic accumulation

accumulation accumulation
E F G H

Channel fill Turbidite lobe Channel fill Levee Sheet turbidite

Amalgamated chute fill Sheet lobe accumulation
Turbidite lobe Sheet turbidi te
accumulation

Fig.8.10A-I. Typical vertical facies successions and log responses of slope/basin facies. Note that similar facies successions and
log pattern can represent more than one environment
198 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems

100m. Lengths of channel networks range from a
few kilometers in small basins to many hundreds
of kilometers in oceanic basins. Channel networks
commonly include proximal tributaries, long axial
trunks, and, less commonly, terminal distribu-
taries (Carlson et al. 1989; Kostaschuk et al. 1992).
Avulsion is prominent in rapidly aggrading
reaches of many channel networks (N ormark et al.
1979; O'Connell et al. 1991). Channel diversion
also occurs when mass flows or slides plug or block
channel axes or when syndepositional faulting,
diapirism, or tilting modifies slope morphology or
grade (Droz and Bellaiche 1985).
Channel fills constitute the coarse framework
facies of many slope systems. Channel-fill deposits
consist of variable mixtures of massive to amal-

7525

7500

AMPLITUDE

CJ o to - 0.14

EJ - 0.14 to - 0.52

- 0.52 to - 1.0
~

..,:7: ~ Fault Zone

A

Ul
025
Z
o
()
w
Ul

B
1,0 km

Fig. 8.11. A Seismic amplitude map, based on a three-dimen- of the incised turbidite channel fills. Sand facies create a reflec-
sional survey. of the top of the Marlim turbidite channel-lobe tion polarity inversion. Approximate line location indicated by
complex, Campos Basin. Brazil. B Interpreted seismic profile arrow. (Modified from Peres 1993)

gamated coarse-grained turbidites, mass flow de-
posits, and well-bedded heterolithic turbidites
(Fig. 8.9A). In very fine grained sediment dis-
persal systems, channel fill can consist largely of
muddy turbidites and slump debris (Hackbarth
and Shew 1994). Beds may onlap channel banks,
converge against banks, or thin and grade laterally
into flanking, accretionary levee deposits (Fig. 8.8;
Mutti et al. 1987). Internal bedding is commonly
complicated by intrachannel scour-and-fill, chan-
nel nesting, and stepwise channel migration.
Channel fills may show upward-fining texture and
upward-thinning bedding, reflecting progressive
abandonment of the channel segment (Fig. 8.9A),
or may be abruptly overlain by fine-grained tur-
bidite, mud flow, or hemipelagic deposits. Chan-
nel facies form elongate, dip-oriented belts or
ribbons.
Mixed sand/mud to muddy depositional chan-
nel fills are flanked by finely interbedded sands,
silts, and muds of the levee. Mud-rich levees are
prominently mounded in cross-section, forming
the "gull wings" seen on seismic profiles of chan-
nel-levee complexes. Levee heights may exceed
100m, and steep levee flanks may slump both into
the channel and onto the interchannel plain.
Channel fills grade laterally or are cut into
overbank facies, which are typically fine-grained
turbidite and mass flow deposits.
Log response of coarse channel fills is typically
blocky (Fig. 8.lOE) or may show upward-thinning
(Fig. 8.10G). Mudclast-rich turbidites or debris-
flow deposits suppress gamma-ray or spontaneous
potential (SP) response in parts of the fill. Con-
ventional exploration seismic sections cannot re-
solve the geometry of typical incised channels
or channel-levee complexes, although very large
channel fills can be clearly imaged (Droz and
Bellaiche 1985; McHarque and Webb 1986;
I 10-IO~ ft or m MOUNDED LOBE
1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -.....
Sand I Grovel ....
Law-Maderate ...- -- - - Channeliza tion -----.~ Moderate - Prominent
1- 10 3 mi 2 or km~"'''I----- Area l Exten t - - - - - - - i..~ 10 - 104 mi 2 or km 2
Fig.8.12. Block diagrams illustrating the geometry and characteristics of coarse. sandy and mixed sandy to muddy turbidite lobes
Slope Environments and Facies 19<)
Weimer 1991; Hackbarth and Shew 1994). More
commonly, isolated channels are recognized by
truncation of one or two reflections, the presence
of small trough-shaped reflections, or changes
in waveform amplitude or character (Fig. 8.l1B).
Three-dimensional seismic surveys, which map
such subtle waveform changes, show considerable
promise for channel and other slope facies
resolution (Peres 1993).
Turbidite Lobes
The term "lobe" has been used in a variety of ways
in fan and turbidite systems (Shanmugam and
Moiola 1988). As illustrated in early key papers on
modern and ancient fan systems by Normark et al.
(1979) and Mutti and Ricci Lucci (1972), turbidite
lobes are spatially localized accumulations of
sandy turbidites found at the downstream end of
slope channels (Fig. 8.12). They record focused
aggradation of coarse sediment as turbidity flows
spread and decelerate. Coarse-grained, high-den-
sity turbidites pile up, forming mounded lobes that
have relatively restricted areal distribution and
bathymetric relief (suprafan lobes; Normark et al.
1979). More efficient, muddy flow systems dis-
perse sand far into the basin (Fig. 30 in Mutti
1992), creating sheet lobes. Sheet lobes are transi-
tional into basin plain sheet turbidites, and in
sand-poor systems may spread and lose their iden-
tity as a discrete sand body. Creation of lobes
requires relatively stable channels to focus mul-
tiple flows onto specific sites on the basin floor.
Consequently, depositional lobes are poorly de-
veloped both in gravelly slope systems where
channels are ill-defined and unstable, and in
muddy slope systems dominated by slumps, debris
flows, and highly elongated leveed channel fills.
SHEET LOBE
Sand I Mud
200 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
Features of lobes have been summarized
by Mutti and Normark (1991; Mutti et al. 1987)
and described in outcrop by Kleverlaan (1989).
Mounded lobe facies are rich in sand and gravel
and consist of amalgamated coarse-grained tur-
bidites. Scours and low-relief channels may cut
through bedded turbidites of the proximal lobe.
Mounded lobe sand bodies range from a few
meters to many tens of meters in thickness and
are typically up to a few kilometers in width.
Downflow, thickness, and grain size of turbidite
beds decrease rapidly.
Sheet-lobe facies are generally associated with
mixed to muddy systems and consist of well-bed-
ded coarse to heterolithic turbidites. Textural
grading and organization of internal sedimentary
structures are moderately to well developed. Ar-
eal dimensions are quite variable but commonly
extend up to several tens of kilometers. Sheet-lobe
facies grade into finer turbidites of interlobe and
basin-plain environments. They are typically over-
ridden by the advancing network of small, low-
relief channels.
Together with their associated channel fills, tur-
bidite lobes constitute a major framework facies
of many slope systems. They reflect relatively or-
ganized depositional patterns in both space and
time. Consequently, repetitive vertical bedding
and textural sequences typify lobe facies. Depend-
ing on whether flow volumes through the feeder
channel increased or waned in response to slope
progradation or retreat, changing sediment supply
to the shelf edge, or auto cyclic processes of chan-
nel or lobe shifting, lobe units display upward-
thickening or upward-thinning successions (Fig.
8.lOF,H). Aggradation of sandy lobes at the base
of relatively stable channels may lead to flow di-
version into interlobe areas, creating compensa-
tion cycles that are expressed as repetitive
upward-thickening sand packages (Mutti and
Normark 1991).
Like channels, individual turbidite lobes are
resolved only by high-frequency seismic data.
Characteristics may include subtle mounding and
reflection amplitude changes created by well-
stratified to massive sand intervals forming sub-
circular to elliptical areal patterns within
base-of-slope successions. Although actual sea-
floor relief of mounded lobes is modest, with
burial, differential compaction of the sandy lobe
core and surrounding muddy, interlobe deposits
accentuates the apparent relief.
Channel-Lobe Complexes
While not all channels support discrete turbidite
lobes at their terminus, the association is quite
common. Consequently, the channel-lobe com-
plex (Fig. 8.13) forms a basic framework building
block of many slope depositional systems. El-
ements of the complex include a proximal incised
channel (and any tributaries), a distal leveed
channel, and a terminal lobe, which grades into
fine sediments of the basin floor. In an idealized
channel lobe-complex, each element is charac-
terized by distinctive depositional geometry,
facies associations, textural and bedding succes-
sions, and resultant log patterns (Fig. 8.13).
The incised channel fill is relatively narrow, len-
ticular, coarse-grained, and erosionally inset
within other slope facies. It may also be plugged
with muddy slump debris. Downslope, the
depositional channel broadens the isopach belt,
with extensive levees and overbank deposits.
Channel fill consists of massive, amalgamated,
high-density turbidites. As the channel opens
out at the slope base, flows expand, depositing
aggradational, sandy lobe turbidites. The chan-
nel-lobe transition (Fig. 8.13, location F), which
is created where flow transformation occurs
with abrupt decrease in grade, separates the
thick channel-fill and turbidite lobe facies in effi-
cient systems (Mutti et al. 1987). Distinctive
deposits of the transition zone include fluted
scours, lags, and cross-bedded sands. Mud drapes
on scour surfaces and coarse bedforms are
common. In coarse-grained systems, the mounded
turbidite lobe merges with the lower channel fill
and contains scour, drape, traction current, and
lag deposits in its proximal area (Normark et al.
1979). Low-relief channels may extend across the
lobe surface.
Numerous variants of the ideal channel-lobe
model occur. Through time, the leveed channel
may build out onto the proximal part of the sheet
lobe, particularly in slope settings where syn-
depositional structure or bathymetry focuses flow
(e.g., Prior et al. 1986). A single sediment dispersal
system may create a succession of channels and
lobes as flow passes through local intraslope ba-
sins, which trap ponded lobes (Satterfield and
Behrens 1990). Where mUltiple channels are
closely adjacent, lobes may coalesce into a broad
turbidite apron (Peres 1993; see also Figs. 8.21,
8.24).

Depositionol-Unit Isopoch
Sediment
Source
Incised
Channel
L eveed
Channel
Channell
Lobe
Complex
Distal
L obe
Fig. 8.13. Geomorphic elements, depositional unit isopach, and typical log responses of a channel-lobe complex
Sheet Turbidites
High rates of coarse or mixed sediment supply
favor development of unconfined fluidized flows,
which deposit widespread sheet turbidites. Set-
tings for sheet turbidite deposition include the
base of slope and basin plain, intraslope basins,
and interchannel areas. Sheet-turbidite facies
characteristics include widespread areal extent
and correlatability, development of highly strati-
fied successions (Fig. 8.1OH,!), and preservation of
well-developed upward-fining beds and other clas-
sic turbidite features (Ricci Lucci and Valmori
1980; Pickering et al. 1989, pp. 191-217). Beds are
typically less than 1 m thick, but sand may consti-
tute in excess of 90% of the facies succession.
Downflow, bed thickness, degree of amalgama-
Slope Environments and Facies 201
Typicol Gommo-Log Response
A B
C D E
~
1 ~
~
tion, and grain size of turbidite beds decrease pro-
gressively.
Sheet turbidites grade laterally into muddy ba-
sin-plain deposits or lap out against contemporary
bathymetric highs. Individual beds may correlate
more than 100km. However, ponding of sheet
turbidites within narrow structural troughs or
between depositional barriers such as levees or
slump/debris-flow mounds is common. Here, ge-
ometry of the facies is determined by the configu-
ration of the external boundaries.
Well-described settings for sheet turbidite de-
posits include the following:
1. Basin floors of trench, rift, and strike-slip basins
(e.g., Marnoso-Arenacea Formation; Ricci
Lucci and Valmori 1980)
202 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
2. Large oceanic abyssal plains (e.g., Hatteras
Abyssal Plain; Pickering et a1. 1989, pp. 199-
201)
3. Distal and channel-overbank settings of large,
muddy submarine fans, where the sheet facies
forms a background for localized lobes and cre-
vasse splays (Twichell et a1. 1991)
4. Overbank areas in rapidly aggrading, sand-
dominated slopes where channels range from
braided to unconfined chutes
Seismic expression of the sheet turbidite facies
is typically parallel, low- to high-amplitude reflec-
tions (Sangree et a1. 1978). Lapout and ponding
are characteristic.
Slide, Slump, and Debris-Flow Sheets, Lobes,
and Tongues
Cohesive mass-flow deposits form discrete sedi-
ment packages that have sheet, lobe, and tongue-
shaped geometries. An idealized slump (Fig. 8.14)
exhibits several elements, which are individually
developed to a greater or lesser degree in more
cohesive slides or more fluid debris flows
(Woodbury et a1. 1978; Prior et a1. 1984; Jansen
et a1. 1987; Coleman and Prior 1988; Aksu and
Hiscott 1992). The slump heads in a zone of
extension and slip are characterized by a detach-
ment scarp, evacuation depression, normal
faults, reversed dips, and attenuated beds.
Fig. 8.14. Geomorphic elements and depositional architecture of a large slump
Transport to the zone of accumulation takes
place along a glide plane that merges downslope
into a mildly erosional slump chute. The thickened
accumulation zone is characterized by mounding
and an irregular, hummocky surface. The com-
pressional toe of the slump may show reverse
faults, folding, and overthickened beds. Beyond
the toe, a fluidized turbidite bed may extend
across the basin floor. Less commonly, coherent
blocks of slumped sediment may be propelled
ahead of the toe. In many basins, mass-transport
complexes of regional extent, sometimes called
megaturbidites, occur randomly within the slope/
basin facies succession (Mutti et a1. 1984; Bour-
rouilh 1987; Souquet et a1. 1987). Individual unit
volumes commonly exceed 100km3 (20mi 3)
and thicknesses may reach several tens of
meters.
Debris-flow and slump deposits can be recog-
nized on logs by their texturally mixed composi-
tion, sharp upper and lower boundaries, and
thickness (Fig. 8.10A). Slope sections dominated
by slump, debris flow, and slide deposits are typi-
fied by the lack of correlatability between even
closely spaced wells. Large slumps and slides form
mass-transport complexes that can be clearly
imaged seismically (e.g., Coumes 1987; Weimer
1990); smaller slumps and debris flows produce
discontinuous to hummocky-chaotic reflections
(Sangree et a1. 1978). Irregular, high-relief
mounded geometries are characteristic of cohe-
sive slump lobes.

Low-Density Turbidite Fills and Sheets
Muddy, low-density turbidity flows tend to infill
the lowest areas of the basin plain, intraslope de-
pressions, and interchannel areas of the slope it-
self (Stow and Piper 1984; Stanley 1985; Weaver
and Rothwell 1987). The facies consists of thin to
thick turbidite beds (~1 m) that are individually
widespread. Much of the fine sediment commonly
described as hemipelagic consists, in fact, of such
low-density mud turbidite successions. Like
coarser sheet turbidites, low-density turbidite
units may grade gradually into surrounding
hemipelagic muds or, upflow, into sandy sheet tur-
bidites, or may lap out against contemporary
depositional, erosional, or structural bathymetric
highs.
Log response reflects the muddy composition.
Serrate patterns are produced where sufficient
sand or silt is present to create texturally graded
beds (Fig. 8.10B). Seismic response is typified by
low-amplitude, parallel to divergent, continuous
reflections that form extensive sheets or onlapping
fills (Sangree et al. 1978).
Contourite Mounds and Drifts
Contourite deposits accumulate free-standing
aggradational mounds and laterally accreting
drifts (Stow and Piper 1984; McCave and
Tucholke 1986; Pickering et al. 1989, pp. 219-245).
Geometry of the deposits is controlled by the
current patterns and their interaction with ba-
thymetry. Common facies morphologies include
opposed, flow-parallel mounds, single longitudinal
~
A B
c
Fig.8.1SA-D. Typical cross-sectional geometries of contourite mounds and drifts. Circled symbols indicate direction of current.
(Modified from McCave and Tucholke 1986)
Slope Environments and Facies 203
mounds (produced by opposed currents), and ac-
cretionary drifts that pile up where currents inter-
sect the lower slope (Fig. 8.15). Local drifts also
accumulate in the lee of obstructions or collect
in protected lows. Temporary interruptions in
gravity-flow accumulation may allow contour cur-
rents to rework slope sediments, producing minor
scour surfaces, lags, and veneers of reworked
sediment.
Thick contourite accumulations can be recog-
nized by (a) their accretionary bedding architec-
ture, which can be seismically imaged, (b) their
streamlined, flow-elongate geometry, and (c) their
alongslope facies trend. Development and migra-
tion of very large bedforms also produce a variety
of climbing, sinusoidal to regular, hummocky re-
flection patterns (Figs. 9.11, 9.12 in Pickering et
al.). Log response reflects the dominant textural
composition of the facies, which may range from
mud to sand. Fluctuating current velocities and
flow patterns commonly produce transitional
interbedding of fine and coarse textures as well as
fine-scale heterolithic lamination. SP and gamma-
log curves display variably interbedded to thick
units with gradational boundaries (Fig. 8.10C).
Hemipelagic Drapes and Fills
Hemipelagic sediment typically produces rela-
tively uniform drapes across slope and adjacent
basin-floor topography (Stow and Piper 1984). On
the proximal slope, where suspended sediment
plumes are commonplace, accumulation rates can
be substantial, and suspension deposits play a
major role in slope progradation and aggradation.
204 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems

Hemipelagic deposits thus form both the muddy

matrix within which other slope facies occur, and
the bounding beds that can be widely correlated,
providing useful stratigraphic markers within oth-
erwise complex and laterally discontinuous
slope systems.
Where sediment accumulation rates are very
low, hemipelagic drapes incorporate abundant
pelagic debris and assume distinctive attributes of
condensed beds, including enhanced radioactivity
("hot shale"), high organic carbon content, and A
abundance of pelagic fossils (Stanley 1985).
Where bottom waters are well oxygenated, bio-
turbation may be common; in stratified basins, fine
lamination and dark colors are preserved. Seismic
lines show low-amplitude to reflection-free inter-
vals (Sangree et al. 1978). Condensed hemipelagic
drapes form distinctive, uniform, continuous re-
flections that blanket other units.

Slope System Classification

Slope/base-of-slope depositional system classifica-

tion has evolved from simple fan models to a more
realistic and flexible approach that is based on the
textural composition and areal pattern of sedi-
ment supply to the slope (point source versus line
source) and emphasizes the geomorphology of the
resultant system. The slope can be constructional, c
producing an offiapping succession of paralic, shelf,
slope, and base-of-slope deposits, or destructional,
producing an onlapping base-of-slope apron.
The nature of the sediment feeder system is a
primary determinant of slope system morphology
(Nelson and Nilsen 1984; Heller and Dickinson
1985; Surlyk 1987; Nelson et al. 1991; Reading
and Richards 1994). Slope depositional systems
may have a point source, usually a large, incised
submarine canyon or, more rarely, a tectonically
constrained trough or a large submarine channel
system. Radial sediment dispersal from the mouth
of the canyon creates a submarine fan which, if o
bathymetric ally unconstrained, is oval to elo- Fig.8.16A-D. Patterns of sediment supply and resultant mor-
ngate in plan view (Fig. 8.16A). In contrast, sedi- phologies of slope depositional systems. A Point source (can-
ment may be fed relatively uniformly onto yon). B Arcuate line source (delta front). C Line source (shelf
edge). D Line source (mass wasting of slope). (Modified from
the slope, forming a line-sourced apron. In a Surlyk 1987)
geomorphic sense, an apron is any laterally
extensive deposit lying at the base of or in front
of its source. Three variations of line sourcing
occur:

1. Sediment can spill onto the slope uniformly
along the entire shelf margin (Fig. 8.16C)
2. At anyone time, sediment may be funneled
through a few notches or erosional channels,
with specific sites of supply shifting rapidly and
randomly, so that over geologic time a line
source is effectively created (Fig. 8.16B)
3. An onlapping sediment wedge can be supplied
by widespread mass wasting of material from
the upper slope (Fig. 8.16D)
The depositional product is a strike-elongate
prism of sediment at the base of the slope.
Shelf-edge deltas and fan deltas are important
suppliers of sediment to the upper slope and pro-
vide an intermediate pattern of sediment supply.
Sediment is derived from the oversteepened delta
front and prodelta by gravity remobilization and
may be fed directly from distributary mouths dur-
ing floods to form a delta-fed apron (Fig. 8.16B).
The sediment input is focused to a degree by its
direct association with the active delta front. Over
time, however, delta-lobe switching and marine
reworking create broad delta front complexes that
commonly extend tens of kilometers to 100 km or
more along the basin margin. The second principal
and independent variable controlling facies devel-
opment in slope systems is the texture of the sup-
plied sediment (Nelson 1984; Reading 1991;
Reading and Richards 1994). Sediment texture in-
fluences (a) the occurrence, stability. and mor-
phology of channels and lobes, (b) the frequency,
scale, and fluidity of mass flows. and (c) slope
declivity. Muddy, sandy, and gravelly slope sys-
tems in otherwise similar settings display quite
different morphologies, gradients, environments,
and facies. Combining the two key variables - pat-
tern of sediment supply to the upper slope and
textural mix of the supplied sediment - provides a
spectral classification of gravity-fed slope systems
that distinguishes mud-, sand-, and gravel-rich
fans, delta-fed aprons, and linear aprons (Fig.
8.16).
The stratigraphic architecture of the slope/
base-of-slope system is a final, but important
element that is in part dependent upon the
nature of the sediment source. Slope aprons
provide the most diverse range of stratal archi-
tectures. Constructional aprons, particularly delta-
fed aprons, commonly form the bulk of offlap
slope systems that include the range of
environments and facies located from upper
slope to basin floor. Destructional aprons onlap
Slope System Classification 205
retrogressive continental margins and are con-
structed of resedimented debris reworked from
the shelf margin and upper slope. Bypass aprons
onlap high-relief depositional or erosional slopes
and are constructed of sediment, supplied by shelf,
shore-zone, delta, alluvial fan, or glacial systems,
that bypasses an inherited oversteep upper slope.
Common examples include aprons at the base
of steep carbonate slopes or abutting slope
unconformities carved into consolidated sedi-
ment. Uplap aprons embank tectonically rejuve-
nated and oversteepened slopes. They are major
fill components in rift, transform, and arc-related
basins.
Most submarine fan systems are genetically
linked to large, relatively long-lived, erosional
canyons and onlap the canyon-cut surface. Fans
may aggrade and progressively expand onto the
basin floor, but large canyon/fan systems rarely
create offiap stratigraphic architecture because
the canyon-cut slope is dominated by bypass or
erosion. However, over long time periods, alter-
nating canyon excavation and filling may construct
a fan system as a distinct element of a larger
offiapping apron complex. The Quaternary Mis-
sissippi fan, which has been fed through a succes-
sion of relatively short lived canyons localized
along the east-central Gulf margin, is an example
of such a discrete fan deposited within a larger
offlap apron. Like most depositional systems, dif-
ferent slope systems may be associated in space
and time and occur at a wide range of scales. Fi-
nally, slope and base-of-slope deposition creates
several morphogenetic features that may be volu-
metrically significant elements of the total basin
fill but that do not fit neatly into a spectral classi-
fication. Such features are best mapped and inter-
preted as distinct elements or systems within the
larger context of slope and basin deposits:
1. Submarine canyon fills commonly achieve di-
mensions comparable to those of small struc-
tural basins. The fill is distinctively molded by
the inherited canyon geometry and displays
predictable stratigraphic architecture and fa-
cies relationships.
2. Sea-floor channel systems collect sediment from
tributaries at the base of a slope and form large
trunk channels that extend tens to hundreds of
kilometers across the basin floor or along the
axis of structural troughs. Such channel systems
are analogous to fluvial trunk channels and
serve primarily as sediment-transport conduits.
206 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems

3. Megaslides are very large basin-margin failures
that produce distinct stratal geometries and
discontinuities, as well as facies associations.
Sediment volumes may exceed 100 km3 (20 mi 3)
4. Contourite drifts may accrete hundreds of
meters of sediment in distinctive slope and ba-
sin-floor mounds, ridges, and sheets. These are
unique in their non-gravity-flow origin.
The following sections review and illustrate fa-
cies associations of the main types of fan and
apron systems, as well as of the morphogenetic
systems.
Submarine Fans
Submarine fans are point-sourced systems that
form a spectrum from mud-rich to sand-rich types
(Fig. 8.17). Along steep, tectonically active slopes,
gravel-rich cones also form. However, multiple
cones are commonly sourced by numerous small
canyons or fan deltas and coalesce to form a
strike-elongate apron (Surlyk 1989).
Muddy Submarine Fans
Most of the well-known modern oceanic fans are
large muddy fans. The Mississippi fan (Fig. 8.18) is
one well-studied example with deep coring infor-
mation (Weimer 1990, 1991; Twichell et al. 1991,
1992; Nelson et al. 1992a; Weimer and Dixon
1994); the Amazon, Indus, and Rhone fans pro-
vide additional examples (Damuth et al. 1988;
Manley and Flood 1988; McHarque and Webb
1986; Kolla and Coumes 1987; Droz and Bellaiche
1985). Muddy fans are typically fed by major
fluvial/deltaic systems, and the largest modern ex-
amples occur in tectonically stable basin settings.

SLOPE APRON

Sand Dominant Mud Dominant

Channel/levee development

Slump/ debris flow

Low-relief
channels/chutes
Mounded l o b e s - - - - - - - Sheet lobes

Fig. 8.17. Classification and attributes of slope/basin depositional systems based on sediment texture and geometry of sediment
supply. (Modified from Reading 1991)
 Slope System Classification 2U7

rr(.::::j Channel complex

[SJJ Lobe complex
F:':,'5,,'J
.)! . ~, ....
Slump

D FonplOin

o IOOkm
I i!
o 60 mi

Fig.8.18. Depositional setting. morphology. and environments of the late Quaternary Mississippi canyon and fan . Gulf of Mexico
basin. (Modified from Twichell e t al. 1991)

Sediment transport to the Quaternary Mississippi
fan has been through a series of submarine can-
yons (Fig. 8.19) localized on the southeast flank
of the Pleistocene Mississippi Delta system
(Woodbury et al. 1978; Weimer and Dixon 1994).
The high rate of sediment supply and overall
progradational nature of the Mississippi Delta-fed
slope has caused recurrent excavation of geologi-
cally short-lived canyons localized along a limited
segment of the much broader delta margin. In
contrast, canyons are stable, geologically long-
lived features of the Amazon and Indus prodelta
slopes.
Muddy fans are elongate and display low gradi-
ents. Thus, they extend far beyond the slope and
onto the basin floor. The elongate geometry and
focused nature of sediment supply are reflected in
fan lobe geometry (Fig. 8.18) and isopach pattern
(Fig. 8.19). As typical of mud-rich sediment dis-
persal systems, flow is highly channelized. Proxi-
mal fan channels exhibit high relief and may be
incised (Fig. 8.18). Prominent channel-levee com-
plexes extend across the middle and lower fan.
Channels are variably to highly sinuous, depend-
ing upon fan gradient. Transport of sediment
through channels is highly efficient, and corse
sediment is transported far into the basin. Turbid-
ite lobes are moderately to poorly developed.
Slumps and associated mud and debris flows are
common and often quite large. Deep core drilling
and seismic facies interpretation have defined the
facies composition of the Mississippi as a repre-
sentative example of a muddy fan (O 'Connell et
al. 1985; Stelting 1985; Stelting et al. 1985; Weimer
1991).
Channel fills form the dominant framework fa-
cies. Channels may occur singly, as in the modern
Mississippi fan complex (Fig. 8.18), or several may
208 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
2000 . - - - - - - -_ _-
Fig. 8.19. Isopach of the Mississippi fan system (outlined by
heavy dashed line) and associated base-of-slope apron (to
southwest) showing the location of seismically mapped chan-
nel fills within the body of the fan. Several closely associated
submarine canyons have progressively fed the fan system dur-
ing the past 0.7 million years. The proximal fan has been over-
be present at one time. In the lower fan, channel
width and depth decrease, and channels fre-
quently bifurcate into distributary patterns.
Through time, channel aggradation leads to insta-
bility and repeated avulsion. Consequently, hun-
dreds or even thousands of kilometers of
lenticular channel-fill facies lace through the sedi-
mentary volume of the system, resembling a com-
plex network of veins in a three-dimensional leaf
(Fig. 8.19). Individual channel segments of the
Mississippi system aggrade and migrate laterally.
Seismic facies suggest that sandy channel fills 100-
SOOm (330-1650ft), ranging from 1 to 8km (0.6-
Smi) in width, are typical (Weimer 1991).
Multistory fills are also common. Drilling revealed
more than 200m (660ft) of turbidite sand and
N
o 50 km
I
o 30 mi
Contour interval -= 500 m
~
~/
C"I) /
~/
/
ridden by the salt thrusts of the Sigsbee scarp. Although suc-
cessive canyons have intersected the shelf edge over a 100 km
swath, defocusing the fan. the locus of sediment input has
remained a proportionally small segment of the 500 km
(300 mi) Quaternary Mississippi delta system margin. Contour
interval is 500m (1650m). (Modified from Weimer 1989)
gravel forming a channel fill belt more than 6 km
(3.5 mi) wide in the middle fan (Stelting et al.
1985a, b). Bounding levees are tens of meters to
more than 100m high and consist of interbedded
sandy to muddy turbidites. Amplitude and lateral
dimensions of levees decrease in the lower fan. On
the Mississippi, distal channels become progres-
sively smaller, creating intricate, dendritic
patterns.
Sandy to heterolithic sheet lobes are secondary
framework elements of muddy fans. Lobes extend
from distal ends of channels or as crevasse splays
along channel bends where levees are poorly de-
veloped (Fig. 8.18). Mississippi lobes are relatively
thin (typically less than 40m), elongate sheets
(typical dimensions are 100km by 10km). They

are crosscut by numerous small, bifurcating chan-
nels (Twichell et al. 1991, 1992). Limited deep
core data (O'Connell et al. 1985) suggest that Mis-
sissippi lobes form largely aggradational succes-
sions built of upward-coarsening and thickening
packets 20-50m (65-165ft) thick and upward-
fining and thinning packets about 10m (35 ft)
thick. Muddy, fluidized debris flow deposits are
interbedded with sand beds, creating a sheetlike
unit composed of amalgamated channel-fill lenses
(Nelson et al. 1992a). Successions contain highly
interbedded sandy to muddy turbidites (Fig.
8.10R,!).
Mud and debris flow tongues, which originate
on the slope, upper fan, and steep levee flanks,
form a major facies of the Mississippi and similar
muddy fans (Fig. 8.18). Slump and debris-flow
tongues underlie about one half of the main chan-
nel complexes in the Mississippi fan (Fig. 8.20;
Weimer 1990). The most recent debris flow clearly
funneled down the upper-fan channel before
spreading onto the fan surface, where it blocked
and diverted the fan channel. Clearly, slumping
and debris-flow deposition is a contributing cause
of both channel diversion and localization within
muddy fan systems.
Fine-grained turbidites cover the interchannel
fan plain and are interbedded with sandy turbid-
ites in the distal fan lobes. These include deposits
of large flows that spilled over the levees, distal
deposits of channelized and unchannelized debris
and mud flows, and low-density turbidites sup-
plied directly from the slope.
Hemipelagic sediment is abundant in the area of
large deltas and blankets the fan surface as thick
drapes. Hemipelagic drapes form the principal
sw
- - Hemipelagic drape
~ Erosion surface
Fig. 8.20. Depositional strike cross-section of the Mississippi fan system based on seismic facies analysis. SW Southwest, NE
Northeast. (Modified from Weimer 1989)
Slope System Classification 209
seismic reflections within muddy fan systems and
are frequently used for seismic stratigraphic subdi-
vision and well correlation (Weimer 1990; Fig.
8.19).
Contour currents have the potential to rework
the abundant fine-grained interchannel and lobe
sediment (Kolla et al. 1980). Contourite drift fa-
cies would be a significant element of such a re-
worked muddy fan.
Facies organization of muddy fans is character-
ized by development of channel-overbank-Iobe
complexes (Fig. 8.18), called fanlobes in the Mis-
sissippi system, each with one or more axial chan-
nel-levee complexes. Slump and debris-flow
deposits form a major facies element of many
fanlobes. Fanlobes are enveloped by hemipelagic
drapes and display lateral offset stacking pattern
(Fig. 8.20).
Fan system size and long-term pattern of fan
growth are a direct function of sediment supply
through the source fluvial system (Wetzel 1993;
Weimer and Dixon 1994). Fluctuations in sea level
serve only to determine the specific timing of most
active fan growth (Kolla and Perlmutter 1993;
Wetzel 1993).
Sandy Submarine Fans
Modern sandy submarine fans are represented by
the well-studied Navy fan (Norm ark et al. 1979;
Piper and Normark 1983; Normark and Piper
1985). Sandy fans are typically found along tec-
tonically active plate margins and in small ocean
basins. Canyons are often incised into bedrock or
older lithified sediment, and sediment enters the
canyon from marine-dominated shore-zone, shelf,
T
0
I I
40 km
I
NE
0 20m;
3000 1000
It m
V Channel fill ~Levee-margin slide/slump
,..~ Slump/debris flow TTTT Major condensed section
L:;:::YN Precanyon units
210 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
or small delta systems. Fans are typically small to
moderate in size (<100km), display radial geom-
etries, and have relatively steep depositional gra-
dients commonly exceeding 10 (Nelson and Nilsen
1984). They remain localized at the toe of the
slope. Flow on the upper fan is channelized;
unconfined flow dominates the mid- to lower fan
where mounded suprafan turbidite lobes are
prominent. Component facies include sandy chan-
nel fill, levee, and mounded turbidite lobes, and
muddy fan-plain turbidites and hemipelagic
drapes. Variants of the sandy fan type are summa-
rized in the fan models of Mutti and Ricci Lucchi
(1972) and Walker (1978).
Channel.fill deposits dominate the framework
of the upper to middle fan. Proximal fan channels
are commonly incised, but channel-levee com-
plexes dominate elsewhere across the fan (Fig.
8.21). Channels typically show low to moderate
sinuosity and may even be braided. Morphology
reflects the coarse grain size and steep fan
gradient. Downfan, flow may bifurcate into mul-
tiple channels, and progressive avulsion leaves
abandoned channel segments that fill with rela-
tively fine, overbank turbidites (Fig. 8.21). Typical
channel-fill successions are developed (Fig. 8.
10E,G).
Fig.8.21. Depositional setting. morphology. and environments of the Quaternary Navy fan. California. (Modified from Normark
et al. 1979)
Mounded turbidite lobes form where channels
open out onto a highly aggradational fan plain.
Lobes on the Navy fan are 1-10 km across and
slightly elongate (Fig. 8.21). Through time, lobe
aggradation causes autocyclic channel avulsion
and lobe shifting, forming compensation cycles.
Lobes consist of upward-coarsening and thicken-
ing or massive , blocky turbidite successions (Fig.
8.10E,F).
Fan plain (overbank) facies include levee de-
posits, sheet turbidites, and fine-grained turbidites
that spill out of channels during major flow events
(Piper and Normark 1983). Distal fan deposits
are amalgamated successions of sandy to muddy
sheet turbidites. Flute fills , deposited at the chan-
nel-lobe transition, and secondary channel fills,
created where overbank flows are collected by
bedrock walls or bathymetric focusing , form
additional facies within the fan-plain associa-
tion (Normark et al. 1979; Mutti and Normark
1991).
Although often modeled as progradational or
offlapping facies successions (a much more likely
architecture of a delta-fed slope apron), sandy fan
systems are typically aggradational and onlap or
uplap the slope because of their position at the
mouth of an erosional canyon and active tectonic
_ Channel complex
I~H
,. 1 ,',',
Lobe complex
D Fan plain
E:::=:=j Basin plain
,,
N 10 \un
0
,, ,,
~
I
0 6m,

setting. Clear proximal to distal relationships
occur:
1. Lenticular, channel fills grade basinward and
downward into broadly lenticular, mounded
lobes, which in turn grade into thin, distal sheet
turbidites
2. Grain size and thickness of turbidite beds de-
crease distally
3. Slump and debris-flow units are coarse and
generally limited to the proximal fan. Proximal
channel-fill facies merge upslope into the
coarse, commonly heterolithic deposits of the
canyon fill. Inactive fan-plain expanses are
blanketed by hemipelagic drapes.
Delta-Fed Aprons
Delta-fed aprons, also called ramps by Heller and
Dickinson (1985), occur wherever a delta system
progrades directly into sufficiently deep water for
gravity remobilization to develop an independent
subaqueous sediment dispersal system. Requisite
depths can be as little as I50-200m. Development
of an apron, as a distinct depositional system that
should be distinguished from the delta front and
prodelta facies succession, is indicated by (a) sub-
aqueous rechannelization of flow with creation of
a subaqueous sediment dispersal system that is
distinct from the subaerial delta dispersal system
and (b) preservation of a muddy upper slope/
prodelta facies separating the progradational
delta front sand facies, which caps the offiap suc-
cession, from gravity-deposited sands concen-
trated in the lower part of the offlap succession.
The prodelta merges with the upper slope and is a
zone of bed-load bypass. Here, sand and gravel
may be temporarily stored but are rarely pre-
served. The entire delta perimeter serves as a
source of sediment to the slope (Fig. 8.16B). In
turn, construction of the offiapping apron creates
a foundation onto which the delta can prograde.
Sediment is fed to the slope most directly at dis-
tributary mouths along the front of active delta
lobes. Submarine channels tend to connect di-
rectly to the mouth bar, efficiently transferring
coarse sediment across the steeply sloping
prodelta and upper slope. In front of inactive
lobes, the upper slope and prodelta are subject to
mass wasting, incision, and retreat. Sediment de-
rived from delta-lobe destruction and upper slope
retrogradation is redeposited as a local onlapping
Slope System Classification 211
base-of-slope wedge within the larger context of
the offlap apron. Alternation of thick offlap and
thin onlap units is thus a typical feature of dip
profiles through delta-fed aprons. Allocyclic pro-
cesses such as periodic sea-level change or climati-
cally driven variation in sediment supply further
enhance and regionalize such alternation of offiap
and onlap architecture.
Like fans, delta-fed aprons range from mud to
sand to gravel dominated (Fig. 8.17), depending
upon the nature of the delta front, which is in turn
a function of the ratio of bed load to suspended
load of the river and the marine energy flux. Bed-
load fluvial systems produce sand-rich aprons.
Wave-dominated deltas may produce sand-rich
aprons as most mud is reworked from the delta
front. Muddy fluvial- and tide-dominated deltas
likely construct mud-rich aprons.
Component facies of delta-fed aprons are di-
rectly related to the texture of sediment that con-
structs it. Sand-rich aprons are dominated by
incised to leveed channel fills, turbidite lobes, and
sheet turbidites. Mud-rich aprons are dominated
by slump and debris-flow tongues and lobes, nar-
row, sinuous channel-levee complexes, and thick
fine-grained turbidite and hemipelagic blankets
and fills. Hemipelagic drapes record extended
periods of reduced sediment supply.
Ebro Delta-Fed Apron
The Quaternary Ebro Delta has constructed a
delta-fed slope apron that has been particularly
well described (O'Connell et al. 1987; Nelson and
Maldonado 1988, 1990; Field and Gardner 1990;
Alonso et al. 1990). The Ebro slope is tectonically
steepened (slope of 3-4) and fronts a relatively
narrow (80km, i.e., 48mi) shelf. Before human
influence, the Ebro prograded its delta rapidly
across the shelf and developed extensive shelf-
edge deltas, particularly during periods of low sea
level. The river system provides a mixture of mud
and sand, and the delta geometry reflects moder-
ate wave reworking. Thickness of the youngest
Quaternary slope system ranges from 200 to 450 m
(660-1485 ft) and is relatively consistent for nearly
100 km along strike, coincident with distribution
of the Quaternary Ebro Delta system (Alonso et
al. 1990).
The Ebro apron is morphologically complex
(Fig. 8.22). Multiple incised channels (called can-
yons by most authors, but little different in scale
or temporal persistence from associated deposi-
212 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems

~ Incised channel t Channel / levee complex \\:~ Sheet - lobe complex c:.~j/S lump/debriS flow lobe

o
I
o

\ (! \ \ \ \ \\
\
______ 1
\
\
\ \ \
'\
\ \
Va lencia

INDEX MAP

Fig. 8.22. Depositional setting, morphology, and depositional which includes a deep-sea channel system and basinal fan.
environments of the Ebro delta-fed apron. Index map locates (Compiled from Alonso and Maldonado 1990; Alonso et al.
the delta-fed apron in the regional sediment dispersal system, 1990; Nelson and Maldonado 1988, 1990)

tional channels that lie immediately downslope;
Fig. 8.23), gullies, and slump scars cover about 40
% of the slope. Slope channels are separated by
aggradational interchannel divides (Fig. 8.23), cre-
ating a rugged bathymetry with up to several hun-
dred meters of relief. Channels arise mainly on
the slope; only a few indent the shelf margin (Fig.
8.22). Some are highly gullied internally and have
rounded heads, suggesting ongm by slumping.
The base of slope is characterized by prominent
channel-levee complexes and debris-flow lobes
(Fig. 8.22). Fill of the leveed channels is 250-
400m (825-1320ft) thick, and the complexes are
5-15 km (3-9 mi) wide. Many of the channel-levee
complexes are tributary to the northeast-flowing
Valencia sea valley. Slump and debris-flow lobes
 Slope System Classification 213

Shelf-margin delta

Base-of-slope;
~__
channel/lobe
_ _- - - - ,
~A~
complexes, slump lobes

Basin floor: sheet turbidites, axial channel

A

DIP SECTION

1.0 1.0

1.8 1.8

o 70 km
1.3 1.3

VI
-0 2.0
c:
8
'"
VI Transition
.s o 60 km
'"
.~ 1.7 1.7

a,.,
o,.
I-
\J Channel fill
2.5 + - - - - . , . - ' - - - - - , - - - - , - - - - - - - - , - - - - - , - - ' - 2.5
o 50 km
.~ ~~~~Yc~~~~e~ell
2.1 2.1
~ Slump lobe
- -
---==- -~
~ -- ----------
--------..... ........... .

Base-of-slope --
2.7 2.7
o 40 km
STRIKE SECTIONS
Fig. 8.23. Dip and strike cross-sections, based on high-frequency seismic profiles, of the Ebro delta-fed slope apron. (Compiled
from Nelson and Maldonado 1988, 1990)

form large tongue-shaped mounds that extend
tens of kilometers from the mouths of incised
channels, confirming an origin of some erosional
channels as slump chutes. In addition, large, thick
to thin, local slide sheets occur on channel walls. A
turbidite sheet-lobe complex crossed by narrow,
shallow channel-levee complexes and small debris
flows spreads across the base of slope in the south-
ern area (Fig. 8.22).
Facies architecture of the Ebro slope system
(Fig. 8.23, dip section) displays prominent upper
slope offlap and mixed base-of-slope offlap, onlap,
and aggradation. In strike profile (Fig. 8.23), the
upper slope apron displays an offlap geometry and
consists of erosionally bounded lenses of
aggradational heterolithic channel-fill and fine-
grained interchannel facies. Lower on the slope,
imbricated, broadly lenticular channel-levee com-
214 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
plexes are cut by slump scars or separated by
ponded fine-grained turbidite and hemipelagic
deposits, creating a complex mosaic of laterally
discontinuous facies. At the base of the system,
relatively small channel-levee complexes are
interbedded with well-stratified sandy turbidite
lobes and chaotic slump and debris-flow tongues.
Alternation between onlapping mass wasting
deposits and muddy turbidites, and offlap toes of
channel-levee and hemipelagic deposits is well
documented (Nelson and Maldonado 1988;
Alonso et al. 1990).
Attributes of delta-fed aprons clearly illus-
trated by the Ebro system include the highly cha-
otic, unpredictable, discontinuous lateral
distribution of sedimentary facies and the complex
bedding architectures, which include onlap and
aggradation, within an overall offlapping succes-
sion. The overall vertical succession is, however,
reasonably predictable. Relatively continuous,
sandy channel and lobe facies of the base of slope
(lower clinoform) grade up into highly lenticular,
erosionally dismembered upper-slope facies
(midclinoform), which are largely muddy or
heterolithic but contain narrow, thick sandy chan-
nel fills. These are, in turn, overlain by relatively
muddy prodelta deposits, which coarsen upward
into sandy delta front facies (upper clinoform).
Delta-Fed Aprons in the Stratigraphic Record
Delta-fed aprons are a very common and volu-
metrically important type of slope system. Their
significance has remained largely unappreciated
because they have not been differentiated from
submarine fans in the literature. Numerous ex-
amples illustrate their variety and stratigraphic
range.
The Tyee Formation turbidite system (Eocene,
Oregon) was described by Heller and Dickinson
(1985) using the term "ramp" instead of "apron."
Heller and Dickinson recognized the direct delta
feeding and absence of fan architecture and facies
organization. The sand-rich, probably wave-domi-
nated delta system created an apron that consists
of nearly 75% sandy turbidite lobe and channel fill
facies. Approximately 400-500m (1300-1650ft)
of muddy slope and prodelta sediment separates
the delta front from more than 1 km of apron tur-
bidites.
In the Great Valley forearc basin of California,
late Cretaceous wave-dominated to modified
deltas prograded onto widespread, thick, turbi-
dite sandstones of the Winters "fan" complex
(Cherven 1983). Here, some parts of the slope
appear to have been fed by prominent canyons,
whereas others reflect diffuse sources along the
periphery of the contemporaneous delta systems
and constitute delta-fed slope aprons.
Lower Carboniferous fill of the western Irish
Namurian basin displays a complex interplay
beteen deltaic and slope systems (Collinson et al.
1991). Delta-fed apron turbidites of the Ross
and lower Gull Island Formations were deflected
by a bathymetric trough along the slope toe,
later to be buried by offlapping delta-fed apron
turbidites of the middle and upper Gull Island
Formation.
Upper Paleozoic delta systems of the Midland
Basin (Texas) provided a muddy source for the
Sweetwater slope system (Galloway and Brown
1973). Muddy delta-fed aprons were constructed
basinward of shelf-margin deltas that were pro-
grading into water 500-1300ft (150-400m) deep.
Narrow, coarse turbidite and mud-filled slope
channels connect directly to distributary mouth
bar facies of the delta lobes. At the base of the
apron, channels decrease in size and merge into
irregular sheet lobes. Slump, debris-flow, and low-
density turbidite deposits form the bulk of the
apron.
The Plio-Pleistocene section of the central and
northwest Gulf of Mexico Basin forms one of the
thickest and, because of its hydrocarbon produc-
tion, one of the best drilled, mud-dominated slope
aprons in the world. Slope depositional patterns
are complicated by the complex gravity deforma-
tion of the Gulf continental margin. Dynamic
halokinesis has molded the slope into an obstacle
course of ridges, domes, chutes, and closed de-
pressions. Latest Quaternary sediments of the
slope (Woodbury et al. 1978; Satterfield and
Behrens 1990; Rothwell et al. 1991; Yeilding and
Apps 1994) consist of the following:
1. Submarine channel fills, which are erosional in
areas of steeper slope gradient and leveed in
areas of reduced gradient
2. Sheet lobes that are commonly ponded within
intraslope basins
3. Slide, slump, and debris-flow deposits derived
from the slope, shelf-margin deltas, and salt-
cored bathymetric highs
4. Ponded fine-grained turbidites
5. Thick hemipelagic blankets on bathymetric
highs

Sandy sediment was most actively supplied
by shelf-margin deltas during the last glacial
lowstand; mass wasting continues, however. Oper-
ating over long timespans, submarine- turbitity
flows created broad, elongate, sandy tongues com-
posed of channel-levee and turbidite lobe facies
extending more than 100km downslope from their
source in shelf-margin delta fronts (Fig. 8.24;
Armentrout 1991; Armentrout et al. 1991; Morton
et al. 1991). Within these sandy tongues, detailed
log correlation, core analysis, and three-dimen-
sional seismic displays outline thick, lenticular,
sandy channel fills several tens of meters thick.
Comparably thick turbidite lobes are ponded
within intraslope basins and lap out against salt-
cored bathymetric highs, their geometry molded
largely by bathymetric contour. Chaotic slump
and debris-flow deposits are prominent compo-
nents of the slope apron and also collect within the
intraslope basins. They consist largely of mud or
muddy sand.
Offlapping slope aprons may also be con-
structed by other systems. Glacially fed aprons
(Hill 1984) are quite similar in their rapid deposi-
tional rates, chaotic facies distribution, and abun-
dance of slide, slump, and debris-flow elements.
NET SAND SAND PERCENT
D o sand k::::::::i > 200 ft (120 m)
Fig. 8.24. Net sand, sand percentage, and interpreted deposi-
tional system paleogeography of the early Pliocene genetic
stratigraphic sequence. northern Gulf of Mexico basin. The
shelf-margin delta (a part of the larger Mississippi delta sys-
Slope System Classification 215
Shelf-fed aprons may be dominantly mud or sand
(with variable amounts of carbonate sediment);
depositional rates are relatively slow compared to
delta and glacially sourced systems.
Alluvial Fan-Fed and Fan Delta-Fed Aprons
Along steep, high-relief basin margins such as in
rifts, alluvial fans may extend directly onto the
subaqueous slope. Bypassing of the upper slope
ensues, and an onlapping submarine apron is de-
posited at the base of the slope. If active tectonism
maintains the slope declivity and relief between
the basin margin and adjacent floor, a thick,
aggradational sedimentary apron uplaps the lower
slope. As the apron builds up, reduced slope relief
and gradient create a subsea ramp onto which the
fan delta can prograde (Fig. 8.25). The resultant
delta/apron succession exhibits both onlap or
uplap as well as offlap stratal geometries (Fig.
8.26). Modern fault scarp margins and fjord fans
and fan deltas support a variety of submarine
aprons that illustrate the processes, facies, and
depositional geometries of coarse subaqueous
depositional systems (Ferentinos et al. 1988; Prior
DEPOSITIONAL SYSTEMS
I FI~vial-deltaic
/\ aXIs
I Slope-channel
I axis
tern) fed numerous sandy tongues that comprise the western
part of an extensive muddy slope apron (Modified from
Morton et al. 1991). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Eco-
nomic Geology)
216 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
,
/
, _100 " Bathymetric contour (contour interval 100 m)
I~
r.:. J
1 -. 1 Prodelta-sand and grovel sheets
~
Gravel sheet 10 coalescing grovel-sand chutes
Fig. 8.25. Setting, morphology, and depositional environments of the Bear Creek fan delta-fed apron, Bute Inlet fjord, British
Columbia. (Prior and Bornhold 1989)
and Bornhold 1988, 1989). The fjords provide
natural sedimentation laboratories in which high
rates of sediment supply, deep water, and steep
basin margins mimic the facies and processes of
tectonically active rift, transform, and compres-
sional basins. Facies building blocks are domi-
nantly low-relief, coarse-grained channel and
chute fills, turbidite lobes and sheets, and gravel,
sand, and debris-flow sheets, lobes, and tongues.
Subaerial fans may extend directly beneath the
sea surface, merging with submarine cones.
Coarse debris flows enter the fjord with sufficient
momentum to move en masse down the subaque-
ous slope to the basin floor, forming elongate
boulder streams and sand tongues. Gravel, sand,
o 500m
I ', ' ,,'
o 1500 It
1"\i~:).llncised sandy chules
r<:\>1
Coalesced, hummocky, sandy lobes
D Basin floor
and mud washed down the subaerial fan by
floods or small debris flows mix with seawater and
evolve into subaqueous gravity flows. Requisite
steep depositional slopes limit the areal extension
of gravelly aprons into the basin to a few kilome-
ters. However, continued differential structural
movement may accommodate vertical aggrada-
tion of coarse-grained apron wedges in excess of
1km.
Larger fan and stream systems focus delivery of
large volumes of gravelly to sandy sediment to the
fjord margins, creating a variety of prograding fan
deltas (Kostaschuk and McCann 1987; Prior and
Bornhold 1989). Subaqueous sediment dispersal is
complex in detail (Figs. 8.25, 8.26), but reflects

li:g.~o.1 Sand and grovel
Eo:J Grovel and sandy gravel
D Mixed sand , sill, and gravel
fffl Chaol ic gravel and boulders
Fig. 8.26. Internal stratal architecture and lithological frame-
work of Bear Creek fan delta-fed apron and related basinal
sediments. Older and distal facies onlap the erosional bedrock
general patterns already seen in other aprons and
fans. Inertial flow spreads sand and gravel across a
sloping subaqueous delta front platform and down
onto the upper slope. As gravitational accelera-
tion or remobilization takes over on the steep up-
per slope, flow coalesces into a network of
numerous low-relief channels or chutes (Fig.
8.25). At the slope base, flows spread from chute
mouths, forming coalescent turbidite lobes. Grav-
ity-mass transport deposits complete the bulk of
the lower apron, particularly in its early phase of
upper-slope bypass and lower-slope onlap (Fig.
8.26). Finest sediment is dispersed by low-density
flows onto the basin floor.
In coarse, sandy systems, the muddy upper
slope-prodelta transition is thin and poorly
developed. Inertial-flow deposits extend onto the
slope and merge into the onlapping turbidite
chute fills and lobes (Fig. 8.26). Upbuilding char-
Slope System Classification 217
AXIAL SEA VALLEY
k :J Sand 10 SIll
F')\;;;w:nl Mud, sill and sand
,.-: -,-:<',1L ale Quate r nary mud and sandy mud
margins of the fjord. Progradation of the fan delta and
subjacent apron has created offlap. An axial sea valley extends
along the length of Bute Inlet. (Prior and Bornhold 1989)
acterizes coarse slope aprons deposited along
deep, steep, tectonically active basin margins, cre-
ating coarse clastic wedges that commonly exceed
1 km in thickness. Evolution from onlap and uplap
stratal architecture, typically associated with
thick, chaotic debris-flow lobes, to better orga-
nized prodelta - chute fill - turbidite lobe facies
assemblages displaying offlap is common on both
local and regional scales. The specific distinction
of fan and cone (Fig. 8.17) from apron systems is
largely geomorphic and consequently dependent
on scale and data base. Many small fan-delta
aprons, sand-rich fans, or gravelly cones can coa-
lesce to form a bajada-like composite apron along
the faulted basin margin (e.g., Ferentinos et al.
1988; Surlyk 1989). The Jurassic Brae sandstone in
the North Sea Basin (Turner et al. 1987; Surlyk
1989) is an excellent example of such a coalescent
apron.
218 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems

Retrogressive and Bypass Margin Slope Aprons
In many basin margins, the slope is a zone of mass
wasting, erosion, or bypass that may persist for
millions of years (Dingle and Robson 1985, 1992;
Embly and Jacobi 1986; Poag 1987; Farre and
Ryan 1987). At the base of such destructional or
retrogressive slopes, an apron of sediment onlaps
the slope. Because sediment availability is highly
varied in time and space - retrogressive slopes are
constructed of sediment inherited from preceding
depositional systems that may range from gravelly
fan deltas to muddy shelves - and because pro-
cesses of failure and erosion are commonly cha-
otic, retrogressive apron facies relationships are
among the most complex and unpredictable.
Large, laterally associated slide, slump, and de-
bris-flow tongues and turbidite sheets (Fig. 8.14)
are common. Muddy to sandy turbidites pond
within bathymetric lows between slide blocks and
debris-flow lobes. Channel-fill and turbidite-lobe
deposits may form if a supply of sand exists.
The continental margin off East London, South
Africa, described by Dingle and Robson (1985),

A
SHELF RETROGRESSIVE APRON
A' D Slump complexes

=-_______ S_L_OP_E_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Seo level [-?tj

"
Slump lobe complex

Canyon - cut [~>i;)\l Chute fin and lobe complex

slides and
slumps
D Basin plain
\
Slump Sheet lobe, chute fill,
'" Canyon axis
lobes shee t and ponded
turbid ites . - / Gli de plane Irace

\.r-.... Chute

\\ Ponded or channel turbidites

Fig. 8.27. Regional setting, morphology, depositional environments, and generalized dip cross-section of the East London
retrogressive slope apron, South Africa. (Modified from Dingle and Robson 1985)

illustrates features of a retrogressive slope apron.
An extensive apron, consisting of sediment de-
rived from erosion and mass wasting of the upper
slope and shelf margin, combined with sand spill-
ing over the shelf edge from a high-energy shelf
system, extends more than 200km (120mi) along
strike (Fig. 8.27). The shelf edge and upper slope
are incised by a nearly coalescent series of
small canyons and gulleys. Canyon-floor gradients
average 7-9 0 and show concave-upward, graded
thalweg profiles. The slope consists of a series of
rotated slide and slump sheets, into which canyons
are cut (Fig. 8.27, A-A'). At the base of slope,
stacked, imbricate slump and debris-flow lobes
have aggraded an onlapping sedimentary prism.
Chutes and channels cut across and weave be-
tween slump lobes. A distal apron of sheet lobe
and sheet turbidites extends far out onto the basin
floor. Several broad chutes extend across the distal
apron to the basin plain, where they onlap the
flanks of the Mozambique Ridge. The distal apron
consists of sheet and ponded turbidites, chute fills,
and probably mega turbidite beds.
Stratigraphic relationships show that slumping
of preexisting sediment initiated development of
the apron system. Mass wasting transferred suffi-
cient sediment to expand the apron about 25 km
(15 mi) basinward. The network of erosional can-
yons and channels was then incised into the com-
plex slump topography. Some canyons debouch
onto the rise; others extend across it, forming the
broad chutes (Fig. 8.27), which are interpreted to
be relatively young features. Canyon abundance is
directly proportional to degree of slumping. Sand
driven by the alongshelf Agulhas Current spills
into the canyons and moves downslope within
the canyons and chutes. Finer turbidity flows form
ponded fill in longitudinal channels of the north-
south Natal Sea Valley complex, which extends
along the adjacent ocean floor. Geostrophic cur-
rents also rework fine distal apron sediment.
The Hackberry slope apron (Oligocene, north-
ern Gulf of Mexico Basin) illustrates the strati-
graphic and economic importance of retrogressive
aprons (Ewing and Reed 1984; Cossey and Jacobs
1992). Rotated, displaced slide blocks of delta-
flank and upper-slope deposits, ponded turbidite
fills between slide blocks and contemporaneous
salt domes, and sandy, erosional turbidite channel
fills compose the Hackberry retrogressive apron.
Margin failure was triggered by large-scale salt
evacuation, subsidence, and structural tilting. The
regional embayment in the Oligocene continental
Slope System Classification 219
margin was finally healed by deposition of
offlapping upper slope and prodelta muds. Recog-
nition of the pervasive distribution of slump and
debris-flow deposits in the retrogressive late Pale-
ocene and early Eocene sequences of the North
Sea (Galloway et al. 1993; Shanmugam et al.
1995), long misinterpreted as submarine fans or
turbidite channel-lobe complexes, suggests that
slope aprons are a prominent component of this
commercially important basin fill.
Representative characteristics of retrogressive
aprons include the sliding, slumping, mass wast-
ing, and subsequent channelized incision of the
upper slope, resedimentation of eroded sediment
as an onlapping, low-relief wedge of fluidized de-
bris-flow and turbidity current deposits, and sub-
sequent bypassing of channelized sediment flows
derived from the shelf edge. The retrogressive
apron is thickest at the base of the slope, onlaps
the slope, and onlaps or gently downlaps adjacent
basin-floor deposits. Sediment facies distribution
is extremely disorganized and unpredictable. Ero-
sional surfaces and slump planes disrupt deposi-
tional continuity of the slope and proximal apron,
and facies of the apron reflect the varying location,
composition, scale, and locus of successive sedi-
ment flows.
Submarine Canyon Fill Systems
Submarine canyons are obvious features of most
continental slopes and have been recognized
in many ancient marine (and lacustrine) basin
fills. Their bathymetric relief and fill volume can
approach that of small fault-bounded basins.
Because of their size, many canyons dominate
sedimentation patterns and stratigraphic architec-
ture of the associated slope. Thus, large canyon
fills are usefully differentiated as distinct deposi-
tional elements or even systems within the basin.
Distinctive attributes of large canyon systems
(Normark et al. 1993) include the following:
1. Size. Submarine canyons are very large ero-
sional features that may cut through a variety
of other depositional systems. Vertical relief of
canyons commonly exceeds 1 km, and widths
range from several kilometers to more than
50km (30mi) (Fig. 8.28). Their large scale
makes them particularly amenable to seismic
recogmtlOn and delineation (Fig. 8.29).
Lengths range from tens of kilometers to more
220 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
MODERN CANYONS
GRAND
CANYON
Sao Francisco
Astoria
o IO 1-1---'---'2~r-m-J; km Japaratuba
, ,
1600 Monterey Mississippi
500 ANCIENT CANYONS
It m
Meganos
East Sao Francisco
South Aracaju
Lavaca
I Yoakum
Fig. S.2S. Comparative cross-sections (drawn at or near their
intersection with the contemporary shelf margin) showing the
size and morphology of representative modern (top row) and
ancient (bottom row) submarine canyons. For comparison, a
than 100km. Large size is not, however,
diagnostic of all canyons. Many erosional fea-
tures on continental margins are relatively
small (Fig. 8.4), and a continuous spectrum ex-
ists from simple, short-lived erosional turbidite
channels and slump chutes to complex, long-
lived canyons bounded by stratigraphically
significant erosional unconformities. A parallel
spectrum exists in erosional fluvial systems.
Rivers can display short-term channel-scale
incision, may carve valleys that are bounded
by stratigraphically significant erosion surfaces,
and, in favorable settings, can cut a Grand
Canyon (Fig. 8.28). Consequently, terminology
in the literature is inconsistent; some authors
call all erosional submarine channels canyons,
while others introduce additional terms such
as gulley, valley, and trough to distinguish
a hierarchy of temporal and spatial scales.
Here, we emphasize the combination of
size (spatial scale) and longevity (temporal
scale) to distinguish canyons as stratigraphic,
rather than environmental, features of the
slope.
2. Association with a regional surface of slope
erosion and regrading. Like alluvial valleys,
canyons are products of short-term to long-
term morphodynamic adjustment causing
large-scale erosion, slope regrading, and sedi-
Zemchug
cross-section of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, is shown on the
left. Zemchug is the largest Holocene submarine canyon.
(Modified from Cainelli 1992)
ment bypassing. Many modern submarine can-
yons are interpreted to have histories that ex-
tend well back into the Cenozoic (Shepard
1981; Greene et al. 1991). As with size, how-
ever, stratigraphic scale is not always a clear-
cut criterion for distinguishing canyons from
channels. Canyons have been repeatedly
eroded and filled along the eastern Gulf of
Mexico Quaternary margin (Woodbury et al.
1978; Weimer and Dixon 1994). They are
clearly of canyon dimensions (Fig. 8.28), but
were excavated in the underconsolidated sedi-
ments of the shelf and slope. They filled over
time spans of several tens of thousands of years
and are interpreted to be a morpho dynamic
response to dramatic regime changes during
Pleistocene glacial cycles.
3. Complexity of fill. Large canyons, particularly
mature canyons that breach the shelf edge and
extend onto the shelf, have complex fill histo-
ries (Fig. 8.29). The process and boundary con-
ditions extant during their excavation must
change in a way to lead to sediment deposition
rather than bypass. The canyon itself, because
of its scale, imposes new boundary conditions
that affect the filling processes and facies.
Infilling first requires depositional regrading
followed by progradational healing of the can-
yon-cut embayment in the shelf margin.
 sw NE

o I~
I I I LINE 2 VE.= 1.5
o Ikm -9-
~ .... ._. . __. "' .';.e.::; . . -:--:--~-:-::--;:.: .- . - I ..... .- . , -

...: ...., ;r.::,7 ----

- .. - ~-,--- , '1O ... ........ ' _ -:~ .~~ .~s: ;..!1Jr ..,; t..'; .--~,---- .... '_ .. - .--,.... ~.
: ...
:!01 ----=:-~ - ..
-- ~~.~ - "'~~:;:::~
-t----=:r:"r......:.. _... <:.
~~3"'~:,f~~Z"
. , -.. ..---r--.Cii:
:;.' ",;,",:,,::-...:0.::...- __
-----...
'_. _ _ _
..-.. ..."'::...!: : ... .. _ ,
..:-:,:;;::--...:.,..: ..... ... _..
-- ~'f'" W1E~
~;..._ ::'L":"~ ..:... _~~-;:~ l ,," .. ~ .:::' __ :;~::-:
. ""--'1 ..... -.;.:
""....~

VJ
0-
'0
("!)

VJ
'<
;!l.
("!)

8
s n
Si
C/O
~ Slump or minor growth fault h Disrupted or hummocky reflections
m Mounded reflections C1 Distinct canyon fill
S

, Onlap
g.
;:I

YDownlap

Fig. 8.29. Uninterpreted and interpreted seismic line across the Paleocene Lavaca and Yoakum submarine canyon systems, northwest Gulf of Mexico Basin. Canyon G3
......
fills occur at two stratigraphic levels. Canyon-bounding unconformities are identified by reflection terminations. Marginal slumps (s) and internal mounds (m) are
common features of canyon fills. (Galloway et al. 1991)
222 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
Both size and stratigraphic relationships deter-
mine the significance of canyon fills as discrete
depositional systems within the basin margin. A
clear consequence of the third attribute, however,
is that the infilling of a canyon commonly occurs
under different regime conditions of sediment
supply, energy flux, and relative sea level from
those prevailing during its excavation (Thorne
and Swift 1991b). The three-dimensional array of
depositional systems during canyon formation was
most likely different from that responsible for its
filling.
Canyons occur in a number of settings
(Shepard 1981; May et al. 1983). Large bedrock
canyons are common along tectonically active ba-
sin margins, where they are likely localized by
faulting or other structural features (Greene et al.
1991) or lie on the periphery of shelf-margin deltas
such as the Magdalena and Rio Balsas (Shepard
1973; Shepard and Reimnitz 1981). Along offlap
margins, canyons tend to be found around delta
flanks or shelf-edge reentrants (Burke 1972;
Dailly 1975; Galloway et al. 1991b). Many of the
canyons that breach the shelf edge and extend
across the shelf connect with alluvial valleys,
but many do not (Fig. 8.4). Positions of older
megaslumps and canyon fills also focus later can-
yon incision (e.g., Galloway et al. 1991). Canyons
of all scales are prominent on bypass and retro-
gressive slopes, where they may cut into slightly
older deposits of shelf, shelf-edge delta, offlap
apron, or carbonate systems.
Because slope regrading does not require ongo-
ing sediment supply, many canyons do not support
correlative fan systems (Fig. 8.4). Instead, canyons
feed retrogressive base-of-slope aprons (Fig.
8.27).
The origin of large submarine canyons along
depositional slope settings has been the subject of
numerous studies, which have led to a consensus
process model among most oceanographers
(Farre et al. 1983; Carlson and Karl 1988; Good-
win and Prior 1989). The model is consistent with
morphodynamic and regime concepts in that ero-
sional regrading of the slope most likely occurs
under conditions of reduced sediment supply but
continued availability of gravity potential and
other sources of marine energy (Thorne and Swift
1991a) and with the observations that many can-
yons have no spatial association with fluvial
valleys or submarine fans, that most canyons origi-
nate on the upper slope, well below deepest levels
of sea-level fall, and that slope gradient is a direct
function of rate of sediment supply. Canyon devel-
opment (Fig. 8.30) occurs following creation of
slope instability and consequent localized failure
(Fig. 8.5; Galloway et al. 1991). Instability is com-
monly created by active shelf-edge and upper
slope deposition (Fig. 8.31A) following coastal
progradation or relative sea-level fall. Embryonic
canyons are nucleated as underlying sediment is
loaded and fails, forming a shelf-edge or upper-
slope slump scar (Fig. 8.31B). If the slope remains
an active depocenter, slump scarps are likely
infilled by ongoing deposition (Fig. 8.30). If, how-
ever, sediment supply is reduced, long-term retro-
gressive slumping enlarges the slump scar,
scooping out a youthful canyon. Because reduced
sediment supply to the slope causes or accompa-
nies transgression, a transgressive shelf system
commonly develops as the canyon enlarges.
Headward slumping may breach the shelf
break (Fig. 8.31C), forming a mature canyon that
intersects the zone where both internal wave and
current activity are focused (Fig. 8.1) and where
sediment may be actively moving along shelf. Ex-
cavated and any additional sediment intercepted
from shelf or coastal transport systems is redepos-
ited in the base-of-slope retrogradational apron
(Fig. 8.31C). Canyon walls become gullied, and
tributaries may form. With sufficient headward
advance across the shelf, a few mature canyons
intersect the nearshore sediment transport sys-
tems. Alternatively, renewed shoreline regression
may bring the prodelta or shoreface to the canyon,
which now forms a deep, steep-walled embayment
of the basin margin. In either case, active
basinward flow of captured currents and sediment
further enlarges and grades the canyon profile
(Fig. 8.31D). As positive geomorphic feedback
occurs, a few canyons come to dominate the sub-
marine drainage network, just as a few large rivers
dominate subaerial drainage. At the canyon
mouth, transported sediment constructs a fan sys-
tem that progressively onlaps into the canyon
throat (Fig. 8.31D). Reduced canyon gradient, fan
onlap, and basin aggradational shoaling set the
stage for final canyon infilling, which occurs when
sediment supply overwhelms the declining effi-
ciency of gravitational mass transport. Because
canyon walls are typically steep (10-25 slopes are
common), canyon filling entails much canyon
head and wall bypassing and canyon floor aggra-
dation, and the complete canyon fill consists
of a lower onlap succession overlain by an offlap
succession.
 Slope System Classification 223

Consolidated Material Unconsolidated Sediments

Infilling with No Structural Pervasive Headword Erosion; Development of y

Hemipelagic A Fabric Structural Fabric Side Gullies
Sediment

Capture Shelf/Shorezone/Deltaic M
Flows

Accelerated Erosion and Entrenchment

of Shelf Margin and Upper Slope M

Fig.8.30. Flow chart detailing the initiation and potential evo- and the canyon can fill. E Embryonic phase. Y youthful phase.
lutionary pathways for submarine canyon development. Note M mature phase. A aborted development. (Modified from
the several positions at which canyon development can abort Farre et al. 1983)

Fig. 8.31A-D. Evolution of a submarine canyon highlighting
the important steps to growth of a mature canyon supporting a
submarine fan. A Rapid depositional outbuilding. loading, and
oversteepening creates an unstable slope. B Large-scale slump
on upper slope or at shelf edge forms an embryonic canyon. C
Headward and tributary slumping breach the shelf edge and
form a stepped, youthful canyon profile. D Captured shelf
currents and sediment erode and grade thc canyon profile and
accumulate in the fan system
224 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems

Canyon-fill isopachs (Fig. 8.32) provide a
record of canyon geometry and, along with the
erosional relationship to bounding systems, are
the defining attributes of the depositional system.
Facies associations within canyon fills are quite
variable because rate and texture of supplied sedi-
ment are diverse. Slide sheets and slump lobes
are common. Canyons that tap into fan delta
and shore-zone systems fill largely with coarse
channel fill, lobe, and sheet turbidites (May et al.
1983; Morris and Busby-Spera 1988). Canyons
filled with sediment supplied from muddy delta
and shelf systems contain fine-grained turbidites,
slump and debris flow tongues, and ponded
hemipelagic sediment (Goodwin and Prior 1989;
Galloway et al. 1991b).
Canyon fills are commonly internally complex,
displaying multiple phases of fill and erosion (Fig.
8.29), which may be characterized by heterolithic
composition and distinct facies successions (e.g.,
Morris and Busby-Spera 1988; Goodwin and Prior
1989). Canyon wall morphology strongly influ-
ences gravity transport, forcing flow along the can-
yon axis and constraining turbidite geometries
into elongate sheets or lobes. In fine-grained can-
yon fills, turbidite channel and lobe facies are con-
centrated along the canyon axis (Fig. 8.32) and are
best developed and coarsest within the onlap por-

1<::-\ Sand prone

SC Slump scar
MS Incompletely excavated marginal
slump
c. I. 1000 ft

o 25 km
I ! ,

o 15 mi

LAVACA CANYON

YOAKUM CANYON
Fig. 8.32. Isopachs of the total decompacted sediment fill of marginal slump lobes. c.l. Contour interval. (Compiled from
the Paleocene-Eocene Lavaca and Yoakum canyons. Sand- Galloway et al. 1991)
prone fill includes axial channel-lobe complexes and sandy

tion of the fill. Local sandy pods and tongues occur
where sandy sediment slump and debris-flow
lobes remained trapped within the canyon (Fig.
8.32, Yoakum canyon). Upper offlap fill is largely
mud dominated and corresponds to the muddy
upper zone of delta-fed slope aprons, down-
lapping and isolating the deep-water sand facies
from progradational shoreface or delta front sand
facies that cap the offlap succession.
Megaslide Systems
Submarine canyons and retrogressive aprons are
two common manifestations of basin-scale slope
failure, regrading, and retreat - one highly focused
and one regional. Extremely large slide complexes
are a third manifestation that creates distinct
and significant volumes of deep-water basin fill.
Megaslide architecture is little different from well-
organized slides, as illustrated in Fig. 8.14. What
is important is scale - slide complexes that affect
sedimentary patterns at the scale of depositional
systems, that modify first-order sediment dispersal
patterns, or that create petroleum fairways are
worthy of recognition as distinct components of
the basin fill. Megaslides impact slope deposi-
tional history in four ways:
1. They instantaneously displace large volumes of
sediment.
2. They redefine regional slope topography and
shelf margin position.
3. The slide mass and slide-scar fill exhibit distinct
and predictable facies patterns and stratal ar-
chitecture that distinguish them from the sur-
rounding basin fill.
4. Megaslide systems define world-class petro-
leum plays, such as the Oligocene Hackberry
wedge of the northern Gulf of Mexico Basin.
The Storegga slide of the Norwegian margin
(Bugge et al. 1987; Jansen et al. 1987) and Kidnap-
pers slide, New Zealand (Barnes and Lewis 1991),
illustrate the diagnostic features of megaslides.
Ancient examples, including the model-scale out-
cropping Lower Cretaceous slide described by
Nemec et al. (1988) and Neogene Gulf of Mexico
megaslide systems delineated by Morton (1993),
display diagnostic stratal geometry and facies ar-
chitecture. Megaslides typically originate on
muddy, offlapping shelf margins, during or soon
after periods of rapid depositional loading. Pos-
sible triggering mechanisms for failure are varied
Slope System Classification 225
(Fig. 8.5), but most authors have favored either
seismic activity (Bugge et al. 1987; Barnes and
Lewis 1991) or pore-pressure buildup (Morton
1993). Detachment surfaces are commonly lo-
cated at condensed sections or other disconfor-
mity surfaces and extend basinward as a slightly
erosional chute scour beneath the fluidized slide
and debris-flow tongue (Fig. 8.33A). Headwall
scarps, which embay the continental margin, typi-
cally have dips of 10-20. Consequently, succes-
sive smaller failures take place along the upper
slide margin. Like submarine canyons, megaslides
are characteristic of delta flank settings in diver-
gent-margin basins (Fig. 8.33C).
The slide mass itself forms the first of two prin-
cipal facies complexes of a megaslide system and
exhibits the typical components of slides, includ-
ing rotated slide blocks, thick debris-flow tongues,
and distal turbidite beds (Figs. 8.14, 8.33A). The
Storegga slide headwall scarp forms an embay-
ment that extends more than 290km (175mi)
along the continental margin. Slope failure and
sliding abruptly increased water depths along
the margin and upper slope by several hundred
meters. Gulf Coast Cenozoic slides embayed
the coast for more than 100 km (Fig. 8.33C)
and caused similar abrupt increases in
aleobathymetry. Downslope, fluidized sediment
created an apron of slide debris that may extend
more than 100 km into the basin. Ponded coarse to
fine turbidites, derived from subsidiary slides and
slumps present along the marginal slide scarps,
and tilted slide blocks fill depressions between ro-
tated slump blocks and debris-flow mounds. The
second principal facies assemblage, characterized
by offtap stratal geometry and upward-coarsening
textural succession, fills in the slide-generated
embayment (Fig. 8.33B). The infill consists of sedi-
ments derived from adjacent shelf or delta systems
and is typically muddy, but sandy turbidite chan-
nel-levee and lobe deposits may occur locally.
The slide complex is a stratigraphically discrete
wedge of sediment distinguished by seismically
resolvable surfaces and internal geometries
(Morton 1993). A vertical section through a
megaslide system presents a predictable succes-
sion of stratal surfaces and facies (Fig. 8.34). Typi-
cally transgressive or retrogressive coastal or slope
deposits are truncated by the detachment surface.
Faunas reflect the abrupt paleobathymetric deep-
ening that occurred when the upper continental
slope and outer shelf slid away, leaving a large
amphitheater-like slide scar. Overlying slide
226 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems

Ponded fill
deposits

-- -
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~prOjected originol surface

.......,::::::::"7"-::.:;:;:;;=""'<2~. . . . .~;;;;>'""_ -- --.....

----...--,.,-- ::---.....
~---r......::,,~--=~.-,....; 0 " r-- - --~
.../ ____ )srupted slide debns '-.. "- - "" '"
---- --- - - - "'-""'V JU '\J1.. JV ~~'U ~
Detachment surface
ErOSional discontinu it y

-..
- - - - - - - - - - SLIDE - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - DEBRIS FLOW - -- ---
A

o 80 km
! i

oI "
50 ml

c
Fig. 8.33A-C. Dip cross-sections showing A the early gene megaslide system. C Typical paleogeographic setting and
postfailure morphology and facies architecture and B the final areal dimensions of Gulf Coast Neogene megaslide. (Modified
embayment infill morphology of a northern Gulf Coast Neo- from Morton 1993)

blocks are internally disrupted and show landward
rotation. Variable thicknesses of heterolithic,
ponded turbidites and fluidized debris-flow depos-
its mantle the slide topography. Across a promi-
nent downlap surface, muddy, upper-slope facies
coarsen and shoal upward into progradational
shelf, delta, or shore-zone facies. Clearly, me-
gaslide systems share many elements of history
and facies composition with retrogressive onlap
aprons and canyon fills. The Storegga slide, the
retrogressive South African margin, and the
Probdof Canyon/Bering Sea margin are all rela-
tives within a large family of slope systems
dominated by failure, mass-wasting, and retrogra-
dation. They differ in plan geometry and historical
complexity of the bounding erosional surface and
in the degree of fluidization and removal of sedi-
ment downslope. All are most typically associated
with basin margins characterized by rapid deposi-
tional outbuilding interrupted by reduced sedi-
ment supply and deepening.
Basin-Floor Channel Systems
Although gradients of the basin floor are typically
very low, well-developed tributary and trunk
drainage channels can develop. Numerous large,
solitary deep-sea channels, such as the Cascadia,
North Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel (NAMOq,
and Bounty, extend for hundreds of kilometers
across ocean floors. Smaller but otherwise similar
channels occur in fjords (Fig. 8.26), small ocean
basins (Fig. 8.22), and trenches (Prior et al. 1986 ;
Hesse and Rakofsky 1992). Most head along the
toes of various types of slope aprons. Facies ele-
ments include the channel fill, which may be in-
cised, but is commonly bounded by prominent
 Slope System Classification 227

PALEOBATHYMETRY FACIES STRATAL ARCHITECTURE

Shallow Deep GR or SP

Progradational
deltaic or Topset
shorezone

~
Embayment
fi II
Soow"d-dippio,
clinoforms
~
~

-Oownlap surface -------------"'~

Ponded or channel
Channell infill
levee complex

rV;
Chaotic and
landward-dipping
slump blocks

Marine shelf
~Oetachment surface~
Retrogradational
distal deltaic or
shorezone

Fig. 8.34. Vertical succession of surfaces, facies, and stratal geometries within a megaslide system. (Modified from Morton 1993)

asymmetric levees, and overbank sheet to ponded
fine-grained turbidites. Basin-floor channel sys-
tems feed fans (Fig. 8.22; Maldonado et al. 1985)
or sheet lobes (Prior et al. 1986) on the basin plain,
far from the base of the slope. They can be recog-
nized by their basin floor or axial position, highly
elongated gross or net-sand isopach geometries,
and prominence of a single trunk channel fill.
Contourite Drift Systems
Contourite drifts constitute volumetrically sub-
stantial slope and basin systems not deposited by
gravity flow processes. Numerous examples exist
within modern ocean basins (Stow and Holbrook
1984). They typically consist of current-deposited,
variably stratified, largely fine-grained sediment
drapes, mounds, or ridges up to hundreds of
meters thick. Less commonly, acceleration of geo-
strophic flows around and over shoals or through
bathymetric constrictions may cause currents to
erode broad (tens of kilometers), low-relief (tens
of meters to 100m or more), elongate scours,
which later fill with drifts (Barnes 1992; Marani et
al. 1993) and deposit sand-rich drifts (Nelson et al.
1993). Seismic studies show that the isopach con-
tour patterns of drifts reflect their streamlined,
generally strike-parallel to strike-oblique geom-
etry (Locker and Laine 1992; Fig. 8.35).
Drifts accumulate where flow expands and ve-
locity decreases, behind bathymetric barriers, or
where flow separation from the basin floor or
slope occurs. Largest contourite drifts are found
around the mid- to lower slope and adjacent basin
floor, where currents erode and redeposit fine tur-
bidite and hemipelagic sediment. Many drift sys-
tems are laterally and vertically associated with
muddy fans and aprons (Locker and Laine 1991;
Stanley 1993). Within drift systems, facies are dif-
228 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
Fig. 8.35. Isopach map of the middle Miocene-upper Pliocene
sequence, middle United States Atlantic rise. Current flow was
northeast to southwest along the slope. Note the prominent
strike-parallel to strike-oblique sediment thicks associated
ferentiated by seismic reflection pattern and bed-
ding geometry. Continuous, accretionary bedding
is common (Figs. 8.15,8.35), as are fields of climb-
ing sediment waves and cut-and-fill structures.
Contourite drifts are most readily distinguished
by the following:
1. Aggradational mounded bedding architecture
2. Streamlined, slope-parallel external morphol-
ogy and internal geometry within a setting oth-
erwise characterized by dip-oriented facies
3. Abundance of traction current cross-stratifica-
tion at scales ranging from ripple to kilometer-
scale dunes
4. Abundance of scour surfaces and winnowed
lags
5. Alongslope paleocurrent trends
Slope Systems in Time and Space
The fundamental morphology and depositional
style of the slope and base of slope are determined
by tectonic setting and sediment supply. In diver-
gent margin and stable intracratonic basins, sedi-
Seismic Facies
FAN
r,'.}~:,':<!1 Sub~orollel, voriobl~ .'
; . ..: " amplitude and continUity
DRIFT
r:::-:-:-:j Continuous, low to
:-:-:.:-:- medium amplitude
1:;::;;:::::::1 Sediment waves
BASIN PLAIN
r-;::-='l Continuous flat-lyi ng,
~ moderate to high
- - amplitude
- Fan axis
100 km
with the Chesapeake drift (CD) and Hatteras Outer Ridge
(HOR). Patterns show areas of main reflection types and their
inferred depositional system associations. (Modified from
Locker and Laine 1992)
ment supply assumes the dominant role (Winker
1984), and mixed offlap and onlap slope architec-
tures prevail (Fig. 8.36A-D). Along shallow or
slowly prograding margins, stable offtapping
delta- or shelf-fed aprons develop (Fig. 8.36A).
High-relief margins where sedimentation rate is
high are gravitationally unstable. A distinctive ar-
ray of extensional growth faults, intraslope sags
and diapiric ridges and domes, and lower slope
compressional uplifts form (Figs. 8.1, 8.36B). Such
unstable margins are even more complex where
thick salt is loaded by margin offtap. Delta- and
shelf-fed offlap aprons are interspersed with can-
yon and fan systems. Sandy turbidite channel-
levee and lobe deposits are concentrated in
intraslope depressions. Intraslope basin fills uplap
structural flanks of diapirs or uplifts. Where struc-
tural collapse (such as regional salt withdrawal) or
extended sediment starvation of the margin oc-
curs, slope mass wasting creates broad base-of-
slope aprons that onlap the lower slope surface.
The retrogressive upper slope bypass surface is
commonly engraved by numerous erosional chan-
nels or small canyons (Fig. 8.36C). Megaslides
abruptly create shelf-edge embayments that fill
with geometrically distinct sediment wedges (Fig.
8.36D).
 Slope Systems in Time and Space 229

Fig. 8.36A-F. Slope and base-of-

slope systems and depositional ele-
ments associated with different
kinds of basin margin settings. A
Prograding stable margin. B Pro-
grading unstable margin. C Retro-
grading margin. D Megaslide margin
embayment. E Compressional mar-
gin. F Extensional margin. Features
and depositional elements: A Slope
apron, AS autochthonous slump,
CD contourite drift, CF canyon/fan
complex, CL channel-lobe system,
D diapir, DZ decollement zone, FD
fan delta, GF growth fault, HD
hemipelagic drape, IB intraslope ba-
sin, MS mass wasting surface, OL
onlap, OFL offlap, OSE old shelf
edge, PF ponded turbidite fill, S
slump, SS slide sheet, TC toe com-
pression, UL uplap. (Modified from
Winker 1984)
230 Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
In rift, convergent, and transform margins, ba-
sin depth, slope gradient, and shelf width are de-
fined largely by tectonic history (Surlyk 1989;
Gorsline 1991). Slopes often remain structurally
pinned for millions of years (Ineson 1989). Thick,
aggradational base-of-slope systems are domi-
nated by uplap stratal architectures. Common
features (Fig. 8.36E,F) include bedrock-incised
canyons and fan systems, fan delta-fed aprons,
structurally ponded fills, and various base-of-slope
aprons constructed of sediment that bypassed the
structurally oversteepened slopes together with
autochthonous slumps and debris flows.
In large basins, such as the Paleogene Gulf of
Mexico, there was a diverse spectrum of slope
systems along the basin margin at anyone time,
creating a complex submarine paleogeography.
Defining the array of slope systems and predicting
which may contain sandy facies associations re-
quires, first and foremost, interpretation and map-
ping of the contemporaneous shelf and coastal
systems that supplied them.
Effect of Eustatic Sea-Level Change
Defining the evolutionary progression of slope
systems within a specific tectonic setting requires
definition of the volume, texture, and geographic
distribution of sediment supply to the slope. To
the extent that proxies, such as eustatic sea-level
change, provide a unique definition of the supply
variables, use of such a proxy may improve predic-
tive or explanatory capabilities. Rapid rise in sea
level causes transgression, with resultant deepen-
ing and sediment starvation (and to a varying de-
gree, decrease in marine energy flux, but not
gravitational potential) at the shelf edge and up-
per slope. Interruption of slope deposition results,
and widespread hemipelagic drapes form. How-
ever, complex response histories complicate sim-
plistic models of slope deposition. For example,
in the Quaternary Mississippi system, with its
glacially influenced continental fluvial sediment
source, the transgressive phase is accompanied
by highest rates of sediment discharge and turbid-
ite deposition in fan and delta-fed apron systems
(Kolla and Perlmutter 1993; Self and Scott 1993).
Sandy sheet turbidites were deposited across
the east-central Atlantic basin during glacial
highstands; muddy turbidites accompanied low-
stands (Piper and Savoye 1993). Many submarine
canyon/fan systems, such as the Scripps, Rio Bal-
sas, and Magdalena, continue to be actively fed
sandy sediment through longshore drift.
The pattern of sediment supply is clearly influ-
enced by numerous variables, such as climate
change, terrestrial drainage evolution, and tec-
tonism, many of which lie outside of the immedi-
ate depositional basin and are not reflected in a
single proxy variable. The Mississippi Fan system,
for example, displays three distinct depositional
phases, or episodes, separated by extended peri-
ods of sediment starvation (3-1.9 and 0.4-0.07
million years B.P.; Weimer and Dixon 1994). Nu-
merous eustatic lowstands occurred during the
depositional episodes; nonetheless, sediment was
not supplied to the fan and the system remained
moribund. Late Quaternary slope systems, which
have experienced the same eustatic sea-level his-
tory, exhibit the full range of styles and facies
discussed in this chapter. No universal "transgres-
sive" slope system style exists, just as no universal
"lowstand" slope system style existed during the
most recent glacial lowstand. We need only con-
sider the variability of contemporaneous Quater-
nary slope systems (Mississippi Fan, Navy Fan,
Ebro delta-fed apron, Bute fjord fan delta aprons
and basin floor channel, East London retrogres-
sive apron, Storegga megaslide) and the fact that
many of these systems have persisted in general
form and position for hundreds of thousands to
more than a million years in the face of Quater-
nary glacioeustasy to recognize that slope system
variability in space subsumes variability in time.
Eustatic sea-level change overprints, but does not
fundamentally change, the sedimentary fabric of
slope depositional systems.
9 Lacustrine Systems
Introduction
Lacustrine systems have assumed new importance
with the growing recognition that they contain
some of the richest oil-prone source rocks, which
in many extensional basins are located in zones
of high thermal maturation, in close proximity to
porous synrift or postrift reservoirs. Rift-basin
lake systems underlie many passive-margin basins,
where they may constitute a rich hydrocarbon
source. Apart from their hydrocarbon potential,
lacustrine systems host substantial coal and ura-
nium resources, as well as bedded metalliferous
ores and commercially important evaporites such
as trona. Indeed, the physical and chemical envi-
ronments encountered in lakes produce diverse
mineral associations, some of which are diagnostic
of lacustrine environments. Resources which are
presently being recovered from the East African
rift system, for example, include diatomites, zeo-
lites, sodium silicate, metallic proto-ores, phos-
phates, and coal, while lake-floor sediments of
Lake Kivu contain substantial volumes of meth-
ane, largely of bacterial origin (Tierce lin 1991).
The lingering imprint on the modern landscape
of the Pleistocene Ice Age has placed considerable
emphasis on lakes of glacial origin, which are gen-
erally numerous but small (Hakanson and Jansson
1983). Of the 25 largest lakes by surface area to-
day, however, ten are of glacial origin, seven oc-
cupy cratonic depressions, and four are in rifts
(Smith 1990). In contrast to the modern lacustrine
landscape, over much of the geologic past large
lakes were generally a product of tectonic pro-
cesses. Therefore, despite the diverse range of
modern settings, ranging from glacially scoured
depressions and moraine- or lava-impounded val-
leys to meteorite-impact craters, the lacustrine
systems of greatest interest to oil and mineral ex-
plorers originated in rift basins and structural sags.
Lacustrine models for petroleum exploration
have focused in recent years on the East African
rift system (Fig. 9.1). Some of these lakes are re-
garded as being closely analogous to major oil-
producing provinces, such as Mesozoic rift basins
along the South Atlantic margin (McHargue 1990;
Abrahao and Warme 1990). Given the requisite
tectonic and climatic setting, some of the richest
oil-prone source rocks originated in large, long-
lived lakes of equatorial latitude, low altitude, and
moderate depth in the range of 50-400m (165-
300ft) (Katz 1990), as well as deeper systems com-
parable to the modern East African rift lakes.
Other ancient lake systems are gas prone as a
result of abundant dispersed type III organic mat-
ter of land-plant origin (Smyth 1979; Smyth et al.
1992). Apart from hydrocarbons, the depositional
lake margins provide a platform for peat accumu-
lation and account for some of the world's largest
coalfields, while the geochemical and permeability
contrasts in fluvial and shore-zone systems border-
ing mud-rich lake facies are ideal for epigenetic
uranium mineralization. Lacustrine sediments
also include well-integrated aquifers and conver-
gent groundwater-flow systems, which are a cru-
cial resource in some arid interior basins.
Factors Controlling Lake Geometry
and Hydrology
The overriding controls on lake geometry and hy-
drology are tectonism and climate. The size, con-
figuration, and topographic relief of a lake basin
and its catchment are generally determined by tec-
tonism, while lake level and water chemistry are a
function of climate.
Tectonism
Lakes occupying zones of crustal extension and
wrench tectonics are typically deep and narrow,
232 Lacustrine Systems

//1/
lru
\ \,'kon~
Lake
- 5' N

African
Plate #
W
~/I (. ~
~i
E
~
~
S Lake
Kivu
T ...-:~\
I
N
E "1' R

R Lake
( F
I
- 5' S

Tanganyika
T
N
~Somali
R Plate - 10'

F
T

o 200 km
-15'
I I I
o 100 mi

I
30'

Fig. 9.1. Lakes of the East African rift system, showing distribution of lakes in the arid, volcanic Eastern Rift and more humid
Western Rift. (Modified from Hue et al. 1990; Nelson et al. 1992b)

whereas lakes in cratonic sags, foreland basins, Rift-Valley Lakes

and non tectonic environments tend to be shal-
lower relative to surface area (Katz 1990). Lake
Victoria, for example, occupies a crustal sag and
covers an area of70000km2 (27000mi2) but is only
some 80m (265ft) deep, whereas nearby Lake
Tanganyika, located within the rift valley, is only
one half of Lake Victoria's surface area but is
1500m (5000ft) deep. Tectonism also governs the
drainage area and gradient of inflowing streams,
and therefore the texture and volume of sediment
supplied to the lake basin.
The East African Rift system comprises an east-
ern branch, where syntectonic alkaline volcanism
has resulted in rapid basin filling, and a volcani-
cally less active western branch with deeper lakes.
Thicknesses of Cenozoic fill reach 6km (20000ft)
and 4.5km (15000ft) beneath Lakes Tanganyika
and Malawi, respectively (Tiercelin 1991).
Although some of the rift basins are symmetri-
cal, most are asymmetric half-grabens, with a
steep border-fault escarpment on one side and a

gently sloping ramped margin on the other (Fig.
9.2). The Lake Malawi segment of the East Afri-
can rift system, for example, is ascribed to en ech-
elon extension accompanying wrench motion,
which created a series of half-grabens of alternat-
ing polarity (Tiercelin et al. 1988). Similar patterns
of dip reversal across accommodation zones are
observed in ancient rift basins, for example in the
oil-prone Mesozoic and Cenozoic half-grabens
of eastern China (see Fig. 3.13), where they were
created by transtension along major wrench sys-
tems associated with oblique plate convergence.
Rift basins, commonly containing rich lacustrine
source rocks, also typically underlie passive-mar-
gin sequences on divergent continental margins.
The border-fault (escarpment) margin of half-
graben rift basins is typically narrow, with steep,
incised channels or gorges transporting coarse,
poorly sorted sediment. An elevated rift shoulder
diverts drainage away from the rift; in such situa-
tions no extra basinal sediment supply is available
to the rift basin, and sediment volumes may be
limited as a consequence (Fro stick and Reid
Fig. 9.2. Accommodation zones and drainage
patterns in three rift segments (1-3).1 A half-
graben with axial delta progradation and lat-
eral influx on the flexural or ramped margin. 2
A more symmetrical rift, offset by an accom-
modation zone and receiving sediment
eroded from the elevated backslopes, with
axial filling. 3 Two half-grabens separated by
an elevated accommodation zone with axial
and minor lateral influx. A Accommodation
zone, E escarpment or border-fault margin.
RM ramped or flexural margin. (Modified
from Morley et al. 1990)
Factors Controlling Lake Geometry and Hydrology 233
1989). Graben lake systems may therefore un-
dergo episodes of reduced sediment influx as a
consequence of intermittent tectonic reactivation
of the margins. In the case of half-grabens, drain-
age courses on the ramped (flexural) margin are
longer and of lower gradient, transporting
greater volumes of mixed sediment load. The sedi-
mentological contrast between the opposed mar-
gins of half-graben lake systems, with steep,
aggradational alluvial fans on the faulted margin
and broader deltaic systems on the sloping flank,
is particularly evident in the Mesozoic and Ceno-
zoic extensional basins of eastern China (see Fig.
3.13).
Accommodation or transfer zones (Fig. 9.2),
which compartmentalize rifts into individual
lacustrine segments, vary in size and relative el-
evation and may be starved of clastic sediment
along their lake margins (Cohen 1990). Accom-
modation zones may also act as a barrier to axial
sediment transport between adjacent rift seg-
ments (Lambiase 1990), so that each lacustrine
depocenter develops in isolation. Where faulting
234 Lacustrine Systems
associated with accommodation zones extends
beyond the rift shoulder, however, this serves to
direct sediment transport into the rift basin. Fur-
thermore, large, low-gradient catchment basins
at the ends of rift systems contribute substan-
tial fluvial discharge and lead to axial delta
progradation, which may dominate clastic deposi-
tion (Fig. 9.2).
Lakes Occupying Shallow Cratonic Depressions
The synrift phase of sedimentation is generally
followed by a broad, postrift sag phase which may
contain shallow, perennial or ephemeral lake fa-
cies. Other lakes occupy crustal depressions re-
lated to broad epeirogenic warping. Structural
depressions such as these occupied by shallow
lake systems are commonly enlarged by non-
tectonic processes, for example by wind deflation,
glacial scouring, or impoundment behind moraine
or debris flows. Modern examples include Lake
Eyre in central Australia, Lake Chad, and Lake
Victoria, a possible analogue of Lake Gosiute of
the Eocene Green River Formation (Talbot
1988). Subsidence rates in lakes such as these are
low, sedimentation patterns are crudely concen-
tric, and, depending on climatic conditions, lake-
margin evaporites or peat may encroach
basinward.
Substantial lacustrine systems are associated
with ancient glacial deposits, particularly in
Gondwana, recording progressive deglaciation as
the protocontinent drifted away from the pole.
Lacustrine shales deposited in these vast foreland
and intracratonic basins contain dispersed, gas-
prone organics (Tankard et al. 1982; Smyth et al.
1992).
Climate
Lake distribution and hydrology is affected by
changes in the size, shape, and latitudinal position
of the continental landmasses through geologic
time, and the associated fluctuations in global
temperature, atmospheric circulation, annual pre-
cipitation, and their seasonal variability. During
certain geologic periods such as the Silurian, the
major continents were located toward the poles
(Ziegler et al. 1979), thus limiting opportunities
for lake development. Similarly, at times of unusu-
ally large continental extent, for example prior to
the Mesozoic breakup of the protocontinents,
freshwater lake systems would have been rare in
the interior, but concentrated along the continen-
tal margins (Katz 1990). Tropical aridity, such as
associated with global cooling and glaciation,
could be expected to leave a record of predomi-
nantly alkaline or playa lake sedimentation.
Lakes imply a positive water balance made up
of direct precipitation plus surface discharge and
groundwater inflow, minus evaporation and out-
flow. Climate governs lake level and the degree to
which the lacustrine depression is a closed internal
drainage basin, or is filled to a level that permits
fluvial outflow, and thus an open system. For ex-
ample, a reduction in freshwater input relative to
evaporative loss caused the Shire River outflow
from Lake Malawi to cease temporarily as a result
of low lake level (Johnson and Ng'ang'a 1990).
Climate also determines water chemistry and wa-
ter circulation.
In pointing to the role of paleoclimate in deter-
mining the distribution of lakes in the geologic
past and their hydrocarbon potential, Barron
(1990) outlined a model to delineate positive wa-
ter balance and the stability of the water column.
Climatic variability causes vertical instability in
lakes characterized by the following:
1. Large temperature variations between summer
and winter
2. Large seasonal differences in the balance be-
tween precipitation and evaporation
3. Seasonal changes in surface energy, such as
midlatitude winter storms
Lake depths are a function of climate - which
provides a fundamental distinction between fresh-
water lakes fed primarily by local precipitation and
perennial stream inflow and saline, ephemeral
lakes associated with arid continental interiors
or rain shadows - and are maintained largely by
groundwater discharge. These conditions may not
be constant, but fluctuate episodically, perhaps in
reponse to orbital forcing.
Climate, or more specifically short-term tem-
perature variation, is also a critical variable in de-
termining the degree to which lake waters are
stagnant or mixed. Seasonal overturn introduces
pervasive oxygenation and has an adverse effect
on preservation of organic material, and hence
on kerogen content. This factor therefore down-
grades the oil potential of many high-latitude
lakes, unless they are characterized by extraordi-
narily high organic productivity, but because these
environments are conducive to preservation of

peat and dispersed humic material they may be
gas prone.
Base Level Change
Most lakes are landlocked or subject to only inter-
mittent marine connection, so that glacioeustatic
effects are generally not relevant. Lakes are sub-
ject to short-term changes in water level on the
order of 1 m or more a year in some cases, as well
as longer-term changes of hundreds of meters.
These climatically driven lake fluctuations may
mimic sea-level changes or may show no common
relationship whatsoever. Some Chinese lakes, for
example, record detailed evidence of broad corre-
spondence with first-order changes in sea level
over the Mesozoic, but with a high-frequency
overprint showing far greater variability (Wei
1992).
The effects of base level fluctuation on genetic
sequence stratigraphy are similar to patterns
observed in marine basins (Chap. 11), but with
differences reflecting higher periodicities and
therefore a tendency toward greater facies com-
plexity. The same evolutionary trends in deltas
are observed (Chap. 5), but because of multi-
directional sediment influx, maximum flooding
intervals may be anomalously thick (Xue and Gal-
loway 1993). Furthermore, some lakes dry out
completely and consequently show little corre-
spondence with lowstand marine facies tracts (Xu
Huaida 1995, personal communication).
Sediment Supply
Sediment influx in many lake basins is focused ~
or convergent and thus differs from most marine w 3
o
basins. Furthermore, the response to changes in ::::>
sediment supply may be extremely abrupt, par-
ticularly in shallow lakes. Apart from large, inte- I-
.-J
grated catchments of longitudinal drainage <!
systems and large rivers diverted into lakes along
accommodation zones (Fig. 9.2), many streams
entering lakes are short headed. Lake sediments
therefore tend to comprise a mix of relatively
sorted sands from distant provenance as well as
less mature sediments from the bounding hinter-
land. Tectonism may have the effect of increasing Fig. 9.3. Thermal classification of lakes. Oligomictic lakes are
the volume and texture of sediment or, alterna- experience circulation once or twice a year (monomictic.
tively, of diverting drainage and reducing coarse- dimictic) or at more frequent intervals (polymictic). (Hakan-
grained influx.
Stratification of the Water Column 235
Stratification of the Water Column
Of particular significance to the oil-sourcing po-
tential of lacustrine systems is the development of
a stagnant lower water layer which facilitates lake-
bed accumulation of lipid-rich organic matter.
These limnological conditions are controlled by
factors including latitude, altitude, meteorological
conditions, and lake dimensions. A classification
of thermal lake types with latitude and altitude is
illustrated in Fig. 9.3. Paleolakes that were located
at low elevations in the humid equatorial belt were
probably oligomictic or permanently stratified, or
meromictic and subject to only partial mixing at
certain times of the year. Both oligomictic and
meromictic lake systems may be prospective in
terms of their oil-source potential. Monomictic
lakes are temporarily stratified, with a single epi-
sode of strong circulation each year, while dimictic
lakes are thermally stratified in the summer and
inversely stratified during the winter, with two cir-
culation events annually. Polymictic lakes are gen-
erally at high altitudes where they are subject to
large diurnal temperature variations and strong
winds, so that the waters are well agitated
(Hakanson and Jansson 1983).
6 -r-----------------------------------,
5
4
U
'=2 I-
~
:E
o
z I
o
:E I
: OL IGOMICTIC
o ~---r~~--~~~--~r_--r_~._--._~
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 o
LATITUDE
stratified with rare disturbance. All of the other categories
son and Jansson 1983)
236 Lacustrine Systems
Stratified Lakes
In the equable climatic zones of equatorial re-
gions, stratification of the water column results
from the persistence of a warm surface water
layer, or epilimnion, which is separated from the
cooler hypolimnion by a thermocline or a transi-
tional zone, termed the metalimnion. The depth of
the thermocline may vary, even within the same
lake system. In the East African rift valley lakes,
for example, it typically ranges from 40 to 300m
(130-1000ft), fluctuating with the seasons (Huc et
al. 1990) when some mixing may occur. High lev-
els of dissolved minerals may reinforce stratifi-
cation by establishing a density contrast and
development of a chemocline, which further re-
sists overturn (Katz 1990).
The density contrast between the lake water
and riverine discharge into a lake may result in
overflow of warm and therefore lighter stream
waters, underflow of cold or turbid waters, or
interflow between the hypolimnion and epilim-
nion by waters of intermediate density discharg-
ing over the top of the hypolimnion. Lake
Tanganyika, for example, is subject to both
underflow and interflow of saline or cold, sedi-
ment-laden water (Cohen 1990). These inertial
SEQUENCE E-LOG PROFILE
'4
Rootlets
~~~~~ Desiccation cracks
Climbing ripples
1~i~~~
~
Parallel-laminated
sandstone e;, mudstone
1 - - - - - - - - 1 Wave ripples
~~;;:~=~
j:;
Hummocky
cross stratification
Burrows
Graded beds
Homogeneous
mudstone
currents are deflected by the earth's rotation, pro-
ducing circular flow patterns in the lake. A surface
plume disperses suspended sediment basinward
in a progressively fining pattern. In the case of
interflows, the inflowing waters above the ther-
mocline or chemocline disperse suspended sedi-
ment over large tracts of the lake floor, but the
finest fraction may remain in suspension until it is
released by overturn, producing distinctive varve
couplets (Sturm and Matter 1978).
Wave base, which is a function of wind velocity,
fetch, and duration, is a further factor in addition
to seasonal overturn and underflow in controlling
the degree to which the water column is mixed.
Consequently, deeper lakes are more likely to be
stratified than shallow lakes of comparable surface
area (Olsen 1990). Organic productivity of the tur-
bulent, oxygen-rich upper layer may be very high,
especially where chemical weathering dominates
over physical weathering in the provenance ter-
rain (Katz 1990). Bursts of phytoplankton produc-
tion overwhelm the rate at which organic matter
may be consumed (Crossley and Owen 1988), the
excess sinking as a pelagic rain. On entering
the lower, anaerobic water layer, the residence
time for this organic matter is relatively short,
the abundance of scavenging organisms is limited,
Fig. 9.4. Idealized vertical sequence arising
from shallow lake-margin progradation.
Based on the eastern Karoo Basin. E-LOG
Electric log. (Van Dijk et al. 1978)

and any oxygen introduced from the surface is
consumed by bacteria as well as by reduced
chemical species such as methane (Katz 1990).
The preservation potential of the organic matter
as high-quality type-I kerogen is consequently
high.
Olsen (1990) has also shown that high primary
productivity may in itself bring about lake stratifi-
cation. In temperate regions, for example, water
bodies such as Lake Baikal containing low levels
of organic matter show little or no stratification.
On the other hand, even though Lake Edward
undergoes overturn once or twice a year, the
abundance of organic matter exhausts the avail-
able oxygen, resulting in anoxic conditions below
a depth of 40m (130ft) during the stable lake epi-
sodes (Katz 1990). Indications of anoxia in ancient
high-latitude or temperate lake systems, for
example in some postglacial Gondwana environ-
ments, may therefore have arisen from a super-
abundance of organic material.
Even shallow lakes subject to pronounced ex-
pansion and contraction may maintain a stratified
water column, despite the associated physical dis-
turbance and changes in water chemistry (Anad6n
et al. 1988). Lake Eyre in central Australia dis-
plays evidence of temporary groundwater control
over stratification. This vast but fluctuating lake
system, currently reduced to about one sixth of its
10000 km 2 (38000 ft2) Quaternary extent, is sub-
ject to infrequent but extreme surface flooding,
which lowers the overall salinity dramatically;
however, a saline lower layer replenished by
groundwater discharge may persist below the
spreading freshwater plume (Dulhunty 1981).
Unstratified Lakes
Unstratified or briefly stratified lakes may be deep
and subject to complete seasonal overturn and
mixing, or they may be sufficiently shallow that
the bottom waters are thoroughly agitated by riv-
erine inflow, wind currents, or storm waves. Dis-
charge at the mouths of streams results in complex
circulation patterns depending on lacustrine pro-
cesses and temperature-controlled density con-
trasts. Cold, turbid meltwaters during the spring
thaw may generate underflow and basin ward sedi-
ment transport as sporadic or semipersistent tur-
bidity currents. On the other hand, where the
inflowing and lake waters are of approximately
equal density, rapid three-dimensional mixing
Lacustrine Environments and Facies 237
promotes local deposition of the mixed sediment
load (Chap. 5), contributing to the development of
deltas.
Thorough mixing, oxygenation, and degrada-
tion by scavengers generally limit the potential for
preservation of organic matter and its incorpora-
tion in the rock record. As discussed above, how-
ever, very high organic productivity may provide a
mechanism for stratification. In Lake Malawi, for
example, total organic carbon (TOC) levels in the
lacustrine muds are around 5% and show little
difference in organic content above and below the
chemocline. This may be a consequence of rapid
burial in a reducing substrate, notwithstanding the
presence of oxygen in the bottom waters, from
which the lake-floor sediments are sealed by suc-
cessive layers (Johnson and Ng'ang'a 1990). In
most circumstances, however, shallow or saline
lakes are generally unfavorable environments for
preserving significant lacustrine oil source rocks
(Talbot 1988).
Lacustrine Environments and Facies
Hypolimnic Facies
Lake-floor deposits below the hypolimnion
typically comprise various mixtures of finely
laminated terrigenous, biogenic, and authigenic
minerals. Terrigenous clastics introduced by rivers
may be transported basinward as subaqueous de-
bris flows, turbidity currents, and in suspension.
The deep hypolimnic deposits of Lake Malawi are
made up of turbidite sands (29%) and pelagic mud
(71 %), which is deformed by slumping and bot-
tom currents (Crossley and Owen 1988). In other
lakes, millimeter-thick couplets of light silt or di-
atomaceous fragments and dark organic material
reflect seasonal variations in hypolimnic facies ac-
cumulation. Some contain concentrations of shell
debris, but in lakes with undersaturated bottom
waters the preservation potential of calcium car-
bonate is low (Johnson and Ng'ang'a 1990).
Lakes in arid regions are likely to contain a
higher proportion of autochthonous organic mate-
rial such as amorphous kerogen and algae, in con-
trast to the prevalent land-plant remains in lakes
of more humid regions (Johnson and Ng'ang'a
1990). TOC values in modern rift-valley lakes are
normally in the range of 3-6% by weight (Fig. 9.5)
238 Lacustrine Systems
Total Organic Corban
> 5 percent
i ;lk~ 13 to 5 percent
f\(:.:.j I to 3 percent
~ < I percent
L.....-.<
IOKm
Fig. 9.5. Total organic carbon content in lake-floor sediments
of northern Lake Tanganyika. (Huc et al. 1990)
but may be considerably higher. Preserved or-
ganic matter is predominantly type-lor type-II
kerogen (Tissot and Welte 1984), a mixture of
phytoplankton and bacterially degraded land
plants, with a tendency toward generation of
paraffinic, waxy, low-sulfur crudes (Talbot 1988).
High type-I kerogen content in some lakes is at-
tributed to a range of possible origins, including
abundant lipid-rich algae, bacterial degradation of
land-plant material, selective preservation of lipid
compounds in sediment-starved basins, concen-
tration of microbial tissue, and late-stage organic
diagenesis (Kelts 1988).
Perennially stratified alkaline-lake facies reflect
precipitation from a dense, saline lower layer. Pro-
gressive enrichment of bottom brines results in a
vertical sequence that typically comprises an or-
ganically rich, freshwater unit overlain by alkali-
earth carbonates, followed by gypsum and halite
(Hardie et al. 1978). Clastic-chemical couplets re-
flect punctuati on of chemical sedimentation by
clastic influx, which is probably seasonally con-
trolled. With the dearth of detrital influx, oolite
shoals, algal mats, oncoliths, and bioherms grow
in nearshore areas and on shallow offshore
platforms.
Postglacial, temperate hardwater lakes typi-
cally develop a sedimentary sequence that reflects
progressive reduction in size and encroachment of
marsh and swamp. Basal glacial-drift sediments
are overlain by marls and organically rich clays as
organic productivity of the lake increases. Float-
ing sedge peats extend basinward as the lake shal-
lows (Dean 1981).
Epilimnic Facies
These oxygenated lake environments encompass
perennial, unstratified lakes as well as the upper
water layers of stratified lakes. Deposits are gener-
ally light-colored, green, or red, coarser grained
than the deeper-water facies, and display evidence
of wave or current processes, along with pervasive
bioturbation and plant fossils. Structureless or
poorly laminated muds and silts commonly display
graded couplets resulting from differential settling
and contain wave-rippled and parallel-laminated
sands. Complex arrays of wave and current ripples
provide evidence of dominant wind directions and
shoreline orientation, while associations of plant,
vertebrate, and invertebrate remains allow some
shallow-lake environments to be reconstructed in
detail. The mammal-like reptile Lystrosaurus, for
example, is a common feature of Karoo lake de-
posits, where it occupied a habitat comparable to
the hippopotamus in modern African lakes (Van
Dijk et al. 1978).
Total organic carbon values range from negli-
gible to over 10%, comprising predominantly dis-
persed land-plant material, corresponding to
type-III kerogen. Despite the gas-prone tendency
of land-plant organic material, some may provide
excellent sources for oil, especially in Mesozoic
and Cenozoic basins (Smyth 1979; Shanmugam
1985).
Progressive filling of a lacustrine basin may su-
perimpose epilimnic facies on hypolimnic facies.
Such a succession in the Carboniferous of
Greenland (Stemmerik et al. 1990) is illustrated in
Fig. 9.6, with its salient characteristics. The gener-
 Lacustrine Environments and Facies 239

GAMMA LOG PROFILE

....
_ - - - - - TOe 0/0 HI

10 800
m Coarse -grained
<..)
pebbly sandstone,
-15 erosively based
z

Sandy si Itstone with

plant debris

0..
~s~g~ Silty shale and
fine-grained sandstone
W TOe 05 107%
10 -f-~~~~~ Carbonate bands
Silty shale

Laminated black
mudstone with organic bands,
mica and windblown
quartz
z TOe 2 to /0 %

5
Massive mudstone
with algal bands,
o
0..

>- ~iiiii ostracod

and layers
micritic
limestone

Laminated black mudstone

o
Fig. 9.6. Representative vertical profile of hypolimnic and epilimnic lake filL showing dominant lithologies, gamma log response,
total organic carbon (TOe), and hydrogen index (HI). (Vertical section and organic data from Stemmerik et al. 1990)

ally higher Toe and high hydrogen indices distin-
guish the hypolimnic from the epilimnic facies.
Ephemeral Lake Facies
Shallow lakes of fluctuating depth and areal extent
that are subject to occasional complete desiccation
in response to seasonal or climatic change, are
epitomized by Lake Eyre. Its vast predecessor
developed during a wet phase of the Pleistocene,
but dried out during the aridity associated with
the last glaciation. Subsequent climatic ameliora-
tion and a rise in the water table established the
modern ephemeral system, with an area of
some 16000km2 (6000mi2) but with a catchment
covering one sixth of the Australian continent
(Dulhunty 1981). Over the past 20000 years, the
large but shallow Australian lakes have under-
gone a change from dominantly carbonate to gyp-
sum and halite precipitation, which favors the
accumulation of metals but the destruction of or-
ganics (De Deckker 1988). Such systems would
therefore present poor prospects for hydrocar-
bons, but have been applied as effective models in
mineral exploration.
The deposits of ephemeral lakes reflect climati-
cally controlled changes in depth and extent, with
repeated desiccation leaving layers of evaporites.
The proportion of terrigenous clastics to autoch-
thonous minerals varies from one lake to another,
and even within the same lake system. In Lake
Eyre, for example, Dulhunty (1981) documented
three are ally distinct facies zones:
1. Well-drained playa facies of red and yellow
clay with salt crusts
2. Structureless, flocculated clay and fine organic
material
3. Gypsiferous mud with halite crusts
240 Lacustrine Systems
Evaporites precipitate first either in the zone of
groundwater discharge around the lake margin or
near the lake center. Concentric zonation of facies
around lake-center halite was noted by Handford
(1982). Surface precipitation of halite, trona, or
other salts is accompanied by the growth of
salt crystals in the clastic substrate, which
becomes black and anaerobic as a result of
bacterial reduction of sulfates (Baas-Becking
and Kaplan 1956). These reduced intervals enter
the rock record as pyritic black shales interlayered
with evaporites.
Lake-Shore Facies
Lakes are fringed by a spectrum of shore-zone
features, particularly on their shallow or ramped
margins. Sediment supply on the faulted escarp-
ment margins of lakes may be restricted to the
mouths of incised canyons, where alluvial fans
comprising unsorted talus, debris flows, braided-
stream, and sheetflood deposits prograde as fan
deltas. These coarse, clastic lobes are subject to
slumping and gravity resedimentation, building
sublacustine fans that interfinger with deep-lake
pelagic muds. These coarse, basin-floor clastic
wedges are characteristic of many Mesozoic and
Cenozoic rift basins of eastern China (see Fig.
3.13). The more gentle flexural or ramped lake
margins are characterized by deltaic and shore-
zone facies that reflect competing processes of
fluvial influx and reworking by wind-generated
waves and currents (Fig. 9.4). Although smaller,
the fluvial-and wave-dominated deltas, strand-
Fig. 9.7. Mounded, aggradational sublacustrine channel-levee complex, upper Quantou Formation (Lower Cretaceous),
Songliao Basin, China. (Courtesy of Fan Tailiang)
plains, barrier-lagoon complexes, and wind-tidal
flats along the lake shore may bear close resem-
blance to their marine counterparts. Wind-tidal
flats contain diverse structures resembling those
produced by solunar tides, the only difference being
poorly developed textural zonation due to their
relatively brief life span (Van Dijk et al. 1978).
Lacustrine deltas have variable preservation
potential, and on shallow or ramped margins they
may be truncated by subaerial erosion (Xue and
Galloway 1993). The thin, but are ally extensive
deltaic facies produced during highstand of Lake
Eyre are reworked into eolian dunes as the lake
falls to its normal level. In many ancient lake
systems, however, deltas make up a large propor-
tion of the sedimentary record, for example in
the Gondwana coal basins (Tankard et al. 1982;
Smyth et al. 1992). These may be comparable in
scale and internal architecture to shoal-water or
platform deltas of marine basins; others show clas-
sic Gilbertian fan delta foresets, with a height
reflecting original water depth and inclinations de-
termined by sediment grade and degree of re-
working. Gilbert delta development in lakes is
favored by homopycnal flow involving rapid mix-
ing of waters of equal density. Hyperpycnal
underflows of colder stream water produce a more
complex delta front geometry as a result of partial
erosion and redistribution of sediments. Foresets
of deltas entering Lake Brienz, for example, are
traversed by channels which transport coarse sedi-
ments down onto the deep lake-basin plain (Sturm
and Matter 1978). As these channels switch posi-
tion they deposit massive, well-sorted sands with
pebbly bases. The prodelta comprises alternating

sand, silt, and clay in lenticular and graded ar-
rangements, with the proportion of muddy units
increasing basinward.
Sub lacustrine Turbidites and Associated Facies
Gravity-driven deep-lake sediments show many of
the characteristics of marine slope and base-of-
slope systems (Chap. 8), but differ to the extent
that they are are ally restricted, are subject to mul-
tidirectional sediment influx, display enormous
bathymetric variability, lack the classic shelf/slope
configuration, and may be compartmentalized by
barriers such as accommodation zones. Nonethe-
less, mass-flow processes and underflows are char-
acteristic of many lakes.
Sublacustrine channels, as well as canyons in-
cised during low lake stands, mounded turbidite
lobes, and channel-lobe complexes are commonly
observed. Examples are provided by the Songliao
Basin of China (Fan Tailiang 1995, personal com-
munication), which includes strongly mounded
turbidite lobes and leveed channels (Fig. 9.7). Al-
luvial fan and fan delta-fed aprons and cones are
characteristic of the sublacustrine as well as sub-
aerial faulted margins of many rift basins (Fig.
3.13), coalescing along strike and showing pro-
nounced onlap.
Lacustrine Sequence Development
Dominant Controls
Tectonism and sediment supply are key variables
in the sequence stratigraphy of marine basins
(Galloway 1989a) and apply equally to lacustrine
situations (Xue and Galloway 1993). However,
because of the high relief, proximity of source ar-
eas, and rapid rates of erosion associated with
many lake basins, the effect of any change in ei-
ther of these controls is likely to be more imme-
diate than on passive continental margins.
Furthermore, climatic effects and related base
level changes are of greater consequence in lacus-
trine basins. Water-level changes in lakes are
more frequent and commonly of greater relative
magnitude than in the ocean basins (Scholz and
Rosendahl 1988, 1990), so their influence on lacus-
trine sequence development is more pronounced.
Because of the limited dimensions of even large
Lacustrine Sequence Development 241
lakes, however, facies transitions will be com-
pressed laterally (Rosendahl and Livingstone
1983), with a greater tendency toward vertical
aggradation.
Lake-level changes are most directly attribut-
able to climate, although tectonic and geomorphic
processes such as channel switching or river cap-
ture may occasionally be involved. Annual
fluctuations of 1 m or more, variations of 5 m
(16ft) during the last century, and large-scale
changes of over 350m (1150ft) in the past 75000
years or so have been recorded, often showing
close correspondence in timing and magnitude
between separate lake systems, a feature consis-
tent with climatic control (Johnson and Ng'ang'a
1990; Scholz and Rosendahl 1990). Milankovitch
climatic cycles of 21000, 41000, 100000, 400000,
and 2000000 years are reflected in lake level oscil-
lations (Olsen 1990; Halfman and Hearty 1990).
Although unrelated to oceanic events, the lev-
els of some lakes rise and fall in sympathy with the
rise and fall in sea level, perhaps a response to
major climatic fluctuations which also bring about
eustatic sea-level changes. This relationship does
not hold for all lakes, however, some of which
show opposite tendencies to sea levels (Shanley
and McCabe 1994). Wei (1992) and coworkers
have established a close correspondence between
Cretaceous lake levels in China and the global sea-
level trends at a time when global climate was not
a key factor in eustatic sea-level variation (Gallo-
way 1989).
Climatically induced lowering of lake level will
not only steepen gradients, trigger erosion, and
increase the rate of clastic influx, but it will affect
lake chemistry, in some cases resulting in accumu-
lation of calcite, iron, and manganese (Johnson
and Ng'ang'a 1990), which assists in the interpre-
tation of ancient lacustrine sequences. Some lakes
dry out completely, leaving a record of evaporites,
pedogenic nodules, eolian sands, and subaerial
channels.
"First-Order" Tectonic Sequences
The topographic depression defined by tectonic
uplift of the rift shoulders and accommodation
zone develops during only one phase of basin evo-
lution and controls the distribution and times pan
of large rift-valley lakes (Lambiase 1990). A tec-
tonic model for rift-basin filling (Fig. 9.8) is sub-
stantiated by a number of ancient examples
(Schlische and Olsen 1990; Lambiase 1990; Lin et
242 Lacustrine Systems
Flexural
!/o:. "\j Del la ic
I~:~{:\d Lacustrine
g:==3f~ Fluv ial
Fig. 9.8. Tectonically driven rift succession comprising fluvial facies at the base (I) and top (4 synrift, 5 postrift) with deep lake
facies (2), upward-shallowing lake facies (3) and deltaic facies (4). (Lambiase 1990)
al. 1991). Axial river flow in open-lake systems
implies that rift segments fill sequentially, with
dominantly fluvial successions updip giving way
distally to thicker lacustrine intervals in downrift
segments.
The vertical succession in each rift segment
reflects the tectonic controls on sedimentation
patterns. Fluvial sands at the base represent
through-flowing drainage prior to the establish-
ment of accommodation-zone barriers. Once
lacustrine conditions are established, sedimenta-
tion rates are low except near major fluvial entry
points, generally at the ends, but in some cases
on the ramped margin, or where directed into
the valley by faulting associated with accommo-
dation zones (Fig. 9.2). Lacustrine aggradation
progresses until it reaches the lowest confining
barrier, usually the top of a bounding accommoda-
tion zone. The proportion of fluvial sedimentation
then increases, contributing to basin infilling until
it is converted into a channelized sediment-bypass
zone. The gross tectonostratigraphic sequence of
lake filling thus commences and terminates with
fluvial facies (Fig. 9.8).
Climatic Control on the Pattern of Basin Fill
The effects of climatic variations on lake sedimen-
tation have been well documented and account for
widely observed cyclic patterns of sedimentation
Border
Fault
(Van Houten 1964; Picard and High 1972). The
depositional response to lake-level changes is il-
lustrated in the Triassic Dockum Group (Fig. 9.9),
where a Triassic lake was surrounded by fluvial-
dominated lobate deltas along its more subdued
margins, which characterized high lake stands, and
coarser fan deltas along the steepened margins,
primarily during low lake stands (McGowen et al.
1979). Falling lake levels caused headward erosion
and the development of nickpoints in the high-
stand lake deposits. These ravines were filled with
retrogradational deltaic and valley-fill deposits as
lake level rose.
Climate also accounts for differences in the
overall geometry of basin-fill (Olsen 1990). The
role of climate in the development of three distinc-
tive lake-fill patterns is illustrated in Fig. 9.10. The
Richmond type (Fig. 9.10A) contains a high pro-
portion of fluvial facies, bioturbated shallow-wa-
ter deposits, finely laminated siltstone, and coals
and originated in a humid environment. Large but
low-frequency changes in lake depth allowed the
development of well-defined sequences and sys-
tems tracts comprising stacked delta systems on
the ramped margin, alluvial fans and fan deltas
on the escarpment side, and deeper, axial lacus-
trine silts, muds, and turbidite sands. Lakes
Tanganyika and Malawi are regarded as reason-
able modem analogues for the deep-basin phases
of Richmond-type lake basins. Thick, organically
rich mudstones in rift basins with high geothermal
 Lacustrine Sequence Development 243

o 100M,
I-'-Y-'-I-'--Y--'-I
o l60km

\~~~t
'.. -._._.-
\
NEW MEXICO

TEXAS
~~~

"

MEXICO'.
\
A
\

A' A

B A' 1:~i1 Mudstone w'l:ifl Sandstone

[--:J Siltstone U': :. 'j

. ..' Conglome ra Ie

HEADWARD-
ERODING
STREAMS B' B

C FAN
Fig. 9.9A-C. Convergent deltaic systems of contrasting styles
surrounding an extensive shallow lake of fluctuating depth (A).
Fluvial-dominated lobate deltas were prevalent during high
lake levels (B), whereas fan deltas characterized steep margins,
which were more widespread during low lake levels (C). Note
the subaerial unconformity developed during lowstands.
(Modified from McGowen et al. 1979)
244 Lacustrine Systems

Lacustrine
Atluvial fans

Deltas,
AlluvlOl fans Lacustrine Deltas

Alluvial fans
Mudstones, Eolian
Eolian Evaporites

--

6 Evapontes

Mudstone, laminites

~ Mudstone, massive or mudcrac ked

I.>':'<;:.j So n ds tone

Fig.9.10. Models of climatically controlled lacustrine rift-basin sedimentation. Richmond type (top), Newark type (middle), and
Fundy type (bottom), representing increasingly arid conditions. (Olsen 1990)

gradients and in vertical and lateral contact with
potential reservoirs make Richmond-type basins
attractive oil exploration targets.
In the Newark type, drastic changes in lake
level produced repetitive sedimentary cycles 15-
35m (50-115ft) thick, attributed to Milankovitch
climate changes and producing extreme lateral
continuity in lacustrine sedimentary units (Fig.
9.lOB), apart from stacked alluvial fans along the
margins. Lake Turkana is regarded as the closest
modern analogue. The laminated mudstones
constitute potentially rich, but thin petroleum
source beds. Olsen's third example, the Fundy
type (Fig. 9.10C), resembles the Newark type in

some respects, but evolved in a drier climate, re-
cording alternations of shallow perennial lakes
and playas. Eolian sands and alluvial fan systems
are present along the margins. The organic carbon
content is low, so Fundy-type basins would have
little or no hydrocarbon source potential. Basins
of this type may, however, be prospective for me-
tallic ores (De Deckker 1988).
Lacustrine Depositional Episodes
and Genetic Stratigraphic Sequences
Although founded in marine basins, the precepts
developed by Frazier (1974) of depositional epi-
sodes and genetic stratigraphic sequences (Chap.
11) can be applied equally to land-locked basins.
However, the following qualifications apply to
lacustrine systems:
1. Lakes are not subject to global eustatic
changes, although experiencing major low-fre-
quency changes in water level, superimposed
upon which are high-frequency oscillations
2. Lacking waves of oceanic proportions, wave
effects are nonetheless significant in many lake
basins.
3. Lakes are nontidal but may experience "wind
tides" which may be powerful, periodic, and
affect broad lake-margin tracts.
4. Lakes typically receive sediment from all direc-
tions. Because of their small size and multiple
sediment-input points, a relatively large pro-
portion of lake basin is affected by any change
in the controlling variables of water level, sedi-
ment input, and basin volume. Furthermore, in
lacustrine systems which experience rapid rates
of suspended-load sedimentation during high
lake levels, widespread lacustrine mudstones
associated with maximum flooding, rather than
the thin condensed sections in most continental
shelves, delineate genetic sequence boundaries
(Xue and Galloway 1993).
5. Because sediment input and lake level are both
closely related to climate, they commonly vary
together in a complex manner. For example, in
the Dockum lake system, high lake levels were
associated with relatively wet climate, high
runoff, and abundant sediment input. Low
lake levels corresponded to episodes of drier
climate, reduced sediment supply, ephemeral
stream flow, and internal reworking of lake
sediment (McGowen et al. 1979).
Lacustrine Sequence Development 245
In lakes, the key variables of tectonism, cli-
mate, lake level, and sediment supply are more
closely interdependent than they are in marine
basins. While tectonic uplift in the catchment
basin will have an immediate response in acceler-
ating sediment yield, it could also induce local
climatic change, especially altered rainfall pat-
terns, which will in turn be reflected in base level
and rate of clastic sedimentation.
Following the terminology of Frazier (1974),
lacustrine genetic stratigraphic sequences are
bounded by maximum flooding surfaces or, more
commonly, mudstone intervals and consist of a
progradational (regressive) systems tract, low-
stand complex, and a retrogradationalltransgres-
sive systems tract. Figure 9.11 illustrates the
bounding dark lacustrine mudstones above and
below, deposited when the lake area was at its
maximum; these enclose a sequence comprising
three depositional systems tracts (Xue and Gallo-
way 1993).
Progradational (Highstand) Depositional
Systems Tract
Thick prodelta and delta front facies accumulated
on a narrow lake margin and steep slope undergo-
ing tectonic subsidence at a time when the lake
was experiencing rapid shrinkage. The deltas
were lobate and fluvial dominated, with wave
modification, and display pronounced downlap.
Progradational deltaic and strandplain systems
characterize this phase. Hydrocarbon potential is
limited by an absence of seal resulting from sub-
aerial erosion at the top, but hydrocarbons may be
preserved in distal delta front and mouth bar fa-
cies. In the example illustrated in Fig. 9.11, a wide-
spread subaerial unconformity developed in the
northern and western deltaic depocenters during
maximum lowstand. Displaced water volume
flooded the southern basin margin, creating a
contemporaneous transgressive succession. Pleis-
tocene lowstand unconformities and their correla-
tive conformities below lake base level are also
identified in seismic records of modern lakes
(Scholz and Rosendahl 1988; Cohen 1990).
Lowstand Complex
Forced regression as a result of rapid fall in lake
level reduces accommodation potential and favors
erosion or development of deltas on the ramped
margin and subaerial and sublacustrine canyon
development on the escarpment margin. At low-
246 Lacustrine Systems

A AI

Q1

..... Conglomeratic
sandstone CJ Massive
sandstone D
....
Elongate
sandstone
Well location
[J.. Lenticular
sandstone D Sheet
sandstone D Lacustrine
mudstone

PST

Genetic stratigraphic sequence boundary

_.-._._.- Transgressive surface

~
400m

- - - - - - - Unconformity and its correlative surface

200
II 50 km ~ Alluvial
~ facies
I-:'~ Fluvial and delta-
....... plain facies
D"
.
Delta-front D
facies
Lacustrine
facies

Fig. 9.11. Genetic sequences produced by low-frequency depositional episodes in the Songliao Basin, China. I Lithofacies cross
section. II Interpreted depositional facies associations. (Xue and Galloway 1993)

stand, the Songliao Basin area was reduced to
about 25 % of its maximum extent, and wave en-
ergy was consequently very weak. Fluvial-domi-
nated birdfoot deltas with thick distributary sands
and poorly developed mouth bar, delta front, and
prodelta facies are characteristic.
The ramped margins of half-graben lakes such
as Lake Tanganyika were incised during low-
stands, platform delta deposits were eroded, and
the sediment redeposited in the lake trough as
turbidites (Huc et al. 1990). Precipitation of car-
bonates and other authigenic minerals and the
development of winnowed coquinas may also
characterize times of low lake level. Canyons
on faulted margins transported coarse, poorly
sorted material down the steep subaerial slopes,
building small alluvial fans and fan deltas, and
sub lacustrine debris-flow lobes, turbidites, and
contourite sands.
Lowstand systems tracts are generally regarded
as prime exploration targets because of effective
source and seal relationships (Van Wagoner et al.
1990). In many ancient lake systems, however,
they appear to be secondary to retogradational
systems (Xue and Galloway 1993).
Retrogradational Systems Tract
Lowstand clastics are onlapped during the rise in
lake level by retrogradational (back stepping) del-
taic systems followed by finer-grained clastics, first
oxidized and bioturbated muds and then lami-
nated, deep-lake muds or pelagic oozes (Cohen
1990). In the Songliao Basin example (Fig. 9.12),
backstepping delta systems developed on a gently
dipping paleoslope. Shore-parallel alignment of
the deltaic sandstones is characteristic of wave re-
working, leaving a record of distributary channel
and sheet sandstones. Some delta lobes reflect a
combination of retrogradation and aggradation,
recording a changing balance in the relative rates
of sediment input and lake-level rise.
In rift basins, continued fluvial clastic influx on
the ramped basin margin during rising lake levels,
 Lake Systems Through Geologic Time 247

Fig. 9.12. Contrasting delta characteris-

Progradational Lowstand Retrogradational
tics of the progradational, lowstand, and Delta Prograding Delta Delta

+
retrogradational systems tracts in the
northern Songliao Basin, China. W.-F.D.
Mixed wave and fluvial dominated, F.D. N
fluvial dominated, W.D. wave domi- w
nated, SP spontaneous potential, R resis- Z:x:::
00
tivity, C.l. contour interval. (Xue and
Galloway 1993) ~~
0
~~ o 20km
en ~

F. D. C.I.=Sm W.O.

Slope Delta Platform Delta Platform Delta

S N
en
enO
Z N S N

oi=
a: 0
ow Pro
delta
Delta
Front
Delta
Plain
Pro-
delta
Delta
Front
Delta
Plain
C/) Prodelta

..... Z
eta:
Ow
i= I-
ffi~
>

U.
Oz
z .....
Ow
w
+N

@P..
. ..... .
"

03 ...
. ...
~a:
0 0
O~
...J
o 50 km o 50 km
~ ~

coupled with the low gradients, provides consider-
able freedom for channel avulsion and delta-lobe
switching, resulting in retrogradational deltaic
sandstone encased in interdeltaic mudstones. On
the steeper escarpment margin, the supply of
coarse clastics is likely to be restricted to isolated
ravines, building out localized alluvial fans and fan
deltas, with pelagic muds elsewhere extending to
the faulted basin edge. Vertical facies stacking and
uplap dominate.
Retrogradational system tracts of rapidly sub-
siding basins such as the Songliao contain substan-
tial oil reserves, trapped largely in distributary and
wave-reworked deltaic sandstones (Xue and Gal-
loway 1993). Strike-oriented sandstones molded
by wave action pinch out updip into lacustrine
muds, which provide an updip seal. The wave-
reworked sandstones tend to be better-quality res-
ervoirs than their regressive counterparts.
Lake Systems Through Geologic Time
The generation, consumption, and ultimate pres-
ervation of organic matter in lacustrine environ-
ments underwent continuous change over
geologic time with the evolution and adaptation of
scavenging lake organisms. Sediment reworking
by invertebrates contributes to a reduction in or-
ganic richness; invertebrates have very low diver-
248 Lacustrine Systems
sities in freshwater as opposed to marine environ-
ments, and many modern lake-sediment bio-
turbators appeared relatively late in geologic time,
particularly during the Mesozoic (Olsen 1990).
Older lake systems may therefore contain a higher
proportion of dark, microlaminated deep-water
mudstones, regardless of organic productivity or
oxygen content. Proterozoic lacustrine mudstones
commonly constitute excellent oil-source rocks.
There has been a greater propensity for sediment
mixing with decreasing geologic age, and sedi-
ments of modern lakes are bioturbated under all
conditions other than permanent anoxia. Apart
from their effect on the composition and micro-
structure of bottom sediments, the proliferation of
scavenging lake organisms would have reduced
the potential for stratification of the water column
(Olsen 1990).
A comprehensive review of the distribution of
kerogen-rich lacustrine systems since the Precam-
brian is provided by Smith (1990). Proterozoic and
lower Paleozoic lake deposits are particularly well
documented in Australia (Muir 1983; Donnelly
and Jackson 1988), where they contain a high pro-
portion of black shales rich in type-I kerogen.
Some intervals such as the Observatory Hill Beds
of the Officer Basin originated in shallow lakes
subject to abrupt salinity variations and containing
high concentrations of cyanobacteria, which con-
tributed to organically rich muds, which alternate
with evaporites (McKirdy and Morton 1985). Up-
per Paleozoic lacustrine systems are widely re-
corded in the northern hemisphere, where they
reflect equatorial to subpolar climatic conditions
in basins occupying intermontane, rift-valley,
foreland, and cratonic sag basins (Katz 1990). The
expansion of land plants and their effect on lacus-
trine sedimentation is particularly evident in Up-
per Paleozoic and younger strata, with widepread
lake-margin peat mires imparting a greater degree
of stability to the shore zone and fluvial supply
routes.
Gondwana formations of late Paleozoic and
Mesozoic age in southern Africa, South America,
India, and Australia similarly contain a high pro-
portion of lake deposits. These were present dur-
ing three distinct climatic intervals reflecting drift
away from the pole and progressively warmer con-
ditions (Tankard et al. 1982). The first lacustrine
interval accompanied glaciation, when small mo-
raine-dammed lakes accumulated varved shales
and debris-flow deposits, together showing fea-
tures indicative of periodic freeze and thaw. Some
of these lakes accumulated algal muds which are
now oil sources, whereas others have no preserved
organics other than scattered land-plant frag-
ments. The second interval ensued during the
deglaciation phase when vast lakes 200000km 2
(77 OOOmi2) or more in area spanned tectonic set-
tings from rift-basin to foreland and cratonic plat-
form. This was a time of major peatswamp
development around lake margins, and the lake
shales are rich in dispersed organic matter, pre-
dominantly of terrestrial origin. The third interval
of shallow, well-aerated lakes marked a warm and
increasingly arid environment and is characterized
by red, green, and gray shales. A later set of Meso-
zoic lacustrine environments was contained within
extensional and wrench-related rifts signaling
Gondwana fragmentation. These were compa-
rable in many respect to the modern Lakes
Tanganyika and Malawi, with high organic preser-
vation in anoxic bottom waters.
In North America and Southeast Asia, lacus-
trine basins became more widespread during the
Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Mesozoic rifts of the
Newark Basin display regional and temporal dif-
ferences in lacustrine sedimentation consistent
with their tectonic and climatic setting. In the
western United States, Jurassic lake deposits in-
clude interbedded black shale, carbonate, and an-
hydrite in the San Juan Basin and Rio Grande
Rift. The areal extent of lacustrine deposition ex-
panded in the Cretaceous and Paleogene, with the
Green River Formation and its equivalents depos-
ited under conditions of fluctuating water depth
and energy (Smith 1990). Neogene lakes became
even more widespread, with some such as
Humboldt Lake covering more than 100000km 2
(38 000 mi2).
In China, lacustrine deposits are a ubiquitous
feature of many Mesozoic and Cenozoic hasins,
where they are the primary source of the nation's
oil. The basins of western China were related to
plate convergence and continental accretion, with
lacustrine conditions succeeding predominantly
marine deposition in the foreland depressions of
the Tarim, Junggar, and Tulufan Basins, as well as
in the Ordos Basin farther east. The deep, anoxic
lake centers that accumulated laminated black
muds were bounded by shallower, aerated lake
environments with lighter-colored, mixed sedi-
ments. Lacustrine rift depressions of eastern
China originated under conditions of Mesozoic
and Cenozoic back-arc extension and wrench
motion. Rifting, followed by postrift subsidence,

commenced in Manchuria and progressed south-
ward from the Songliao through the Bohai Bay/
North China Basin, so that Cretaceous lacustrine
petroleum systems in the north are followed
southward by Paleogene systems. These lake ba-
sins are exceptionally prolific oil provinces. The
Lake Systems Through Geologic Time 249
Songliao Basin, for example, has produced over
9 billion barrels of crude since 1960, primarily
from Daqing Field, a semiregional anticline
corresponding primarily to an axial lacustrine
delta system.
10 Eolian Systems
Introduction
Studies of eolian systems have been spurred by
their association with hydrocarbons, for example
in the Permian Rotliegendes of the North Sea, the
Jurassic of the Gulf of Mexico and western United
States, and elsewhere. In other geologic situations,
they host epigenetic and placer minerals of com-
mercial importance. Although commonly not as
thick as other depositional systems, ancient ex-
amples such as the Mesozoic Navajo Sandstone
and its correlatives locally attain 900m (3000ft).
In contrast, the Triassic Botucatu Sandstone of
Brazil, which covers a preserved area over three
times larger than the Navajo, is generally only
1O-20m (30-65ft) thick (Bigarella 1979; McKee
1979c).
Although deserts cover approximately 20% of
the earth's landsurface, the eolian sands popularly
associated with deserts comprise a mere 5% (Tho-
mas 1989), the remainder consisting of alluvial
fans, playas, eroding highlands, and vast stony
plains (regs). Apart from this, loess, representing
the finest accumulation products of eolian defla-
tion, mantles about 10% of the landsurface area.
Most eolian sands are associated with sand seas
(ergs), the distribution of which is illustrated in
Fig. l.l. Thomas (1989) noted that the proportion
of sand cover in arid regions varies from as little as
2% in North America to almost 50% in the Aus-
tralian deserts. It is eolian sands such as these that
are of primary interest as hydrocarbon reservoirs,
provided that they have access to adequate hydro-
carbon charge and are effectively sealed.
Eolian systems range from tropical to polar,
the only requirements being the availability of
noncohesive sediment and sufficient wind trans-
port capacity. Although active eolian processes
are generally restricted to areas receiving less than
150mm (6in) annual rainfall (Wilson 1973), some
dune fields are active in higher rainfall regions
with plentiful sand supply and strong winds
(Kocurek in press). Apart from a copious supply
of sand, factors such intense cold may inhibit
plant growth and promote eolian processes in
humid regions. In most circumstances, how-
ever, adequate rainfall provides an effective
mantle of vegetation, which stabilizes the sub-
strate and limits eolian sediment reworking. Nev-
ertheless, some dunes remain active when as much
as one third of their surface is vegetated (Thomas
1989). Apart from plant cover, other factors
such as a high water table, evaporites, pedogenic
crusts, or surface gravels, may serve to resist
eolian reworking.
The main sites of eolian sediment accumulation
today are the following (Fig. 10.1):
l. Hot, arid, SUbtropical high-pressure regions
2. Midlatitude rain shadows and continental
interiors
3. The western margins of continents bounded by
cold oceanic circulation
Deserts are also present at high latitudes,
where aridity is associated with divergent circula-
tion patterns, for example during Pleistocene arid
phases when glacial sediments were redistributed
by wind to form substantial eolian dune systems in
North America and northern Europe (Glennie
1970, p. 6). Tropical and SUbtropical deserts
likewise expanded greatly during these arid
Pleistocene interludes, with the vast "Kalahari
Sands" extending into parts of the Congo and
Zambezi drainage basins, which today are densely
wooded.
The relative importance of eolian processes has
changed over geologic time. Wind was a more
effective geomorphic agent before the mid- to late
Paleozoic spread of terrestrial vegetation, which
by the Permian had adapted to desert environ-
ments (Glennie and Evamy 1968). Furthermore,
because eolian systems are very responsive to
changes in three key factors - climate, sediment
supply, and relative sea level (Crabaugh and
Kocurek 1993) - they are genetically associated

SAND SEAS
_ Active or
partially active
Fixed
()
Fig. 10.1. Global distribution of sand seas. (Thomas 1989)
with specific geologic episodes and thus occupy
predictable positions within the spectrum of ge-
netic sequences.
Supply and Transport of Eolian Sand
Sand seas are supplied by replenishing sources,
such as shore zones or fluvial outwash plains, or
accumulate downwind from deflating older sedi-
ments. Eolian sands may therefore be far removed
from their source or, alternatively, interfinger with
their fluvial, lacustrine, or shore-zone precursors.
Coastal dunes are are ally restricted, but apart
from supplying sand to inland sand seas, coastal
regression can produce extensive strand plains
capped by eolian blanket sands. During transgres-
sion, coastal dunes provide compositionally and
texturally mature sands that may be reworked by
marine processes and incorporated in thin, but
often extensive, sheet sands.
Along densely vegetated, humid coastal plains,
the coastal dune fringe may be narrow and high,
Supply and Transport of Eolian Sand 251
22.5 N
22.5 S
for example KwaZulu and Mozambique, where it
locally exceeds 200 m (650 ft) and is almost unbro-
ken over hundreds of kilometers. This cordon
was initiated during the last glacial lowering of
sea level, with modification continuing to the
present day (Hobday 1976). Parabolic dunes,
originating from blowouts. extend obliquely in-
land for short distances until halted by the dense
vegetation. On less vegetated coasts such as South
Texas, the dunes are lower and occupy a broader
belt, whereas along desert coasts such as Namibia,
dune migration is unimpeded by vegetation, and
sand is transported greater distances into the
interior.
Sand of fine to medium grade is most readily
transported by wind, primarily as saltating bed-
load (Bagnold 1941), accompanied by creep of
larger particles, suspension of fines, and gravita-
tional transport on slopes. Because of selective
entrainment and deposition, wind is a most effec-
tive sorting agent. Continued physical abrasion
leads to rounding. pitting, and frosting of grains
and is accompanied by temperature-dependent
solution and reprecipitation (Krinsley and
Doornkamp 1973). Selective eolian transport by
252 Eolian Systems
A c
Fig. 10.2A-D. Types of eolian dunes. A Barchan dune. B Sinuous transverse dunes or barchanoid ridges. C Longitudinal or seif
dunes. D Star dunes or draas. (Modified from Collinson 1986)
Table 10.1. The hierarchy of eolian bedforms
Bedform Wavelength (m) Height (m)
Ripples 0.015-2.0 0.0005-0.1
Dunes 3-600 0.1-100
Draas 300-5500 20-450
After Wilson (1972) and Thomas (1989).
size, and also by shape, accompanied by the break-
down and winnowing of unstable particles, typi-
cally results in quartzose sand accumulations, but
depending on sediment availability may include
gypsum (McKee 1966) and clay (Huffman and
Price 1949), which is transported as pellets.
Silt particles are not readily entrained by wind,
but once in suspension the finer fractions can be
transported considerable distances before accu-
mulating as loess, which is characteristically mas-
sive, soft but cohesive, and highly porous. Most of
the widespread Pleistocene loess deposits were
probably derived from areas of glacial outwash or
arid terrain undergoing deflation, as exemplified
by the Dust Bowl clays of the western United
States (Swineford and Frye 1945).
Wind transport of sand generally involves the
development of bedforms such as ripples and
dunes, unless this is inhibited by factors such as
coarse grain size, vegetation, or sedimentary by-
passing, in which case flat and relatively feature-
less sand sheets may result.
Process involved
Grain impact; aerodynamic instability
Aerodynamic instability
Aerodynamic instability
Table 10.2. Facies building blocks of eolian systems
Dune
Interdune
1. Deflationary lags
2. Depositional interdunc flat
Sand sheet
Ephemeral channel and wadi
Playa lake
Eolian Bedforms and Structures
Wilson (1972) categorized eolian bedforms as
ripples, dunes, and draas on the basis of size
(Tables 10.1, 10.2). These bedforms develop inde-
pendently (Thomas 1989) in response to different
factors such as wind regime, rate of sand accumu-
lation, climate, and grain size. Each group includes
transverse and longitudinal components (Fig.
10.2); for example, barchan dunes may consist of
ridges intersecting at right angles. Wilson (1972)

showed that under steady flow conditions the
bedforms, and the airflow pattern with which they
interact, reach equilibrium, so their morphology
may remain fairly constant as they migrate. Since
transverse bedform elements tend to migrate at a
rate inversely proportional to their height, ripples
often overtake the larger bedforms on which they
are superimposed or lose their identity when they
avalanche down the dune slipface. In contrast to
the sudden initiation and rapid movement of
ripples and small dunes, larger bedforms require
progressively longer timespans to develop and
migrate (Kocurek in press). Giant Algerian draas,
for instance, migrate as slowly as 1.6cm (O.6in) a
year (Wilson 1972).
D
_ _ ---~~~::::::::s:~~
- ---
-WIND
------
---
REVERSALS
- ____
-- --------:::::-
Fig. lO.3A-D. Cross-sections through eolian dunes. A
Grainfall deposition on and ahead of the slipface of a small
dune. B Development of a lee eddy and grain avalanche
Eolian Bedforms and Structures 253
Wind Ripples
Wind ripples are generally straight crested, asym-
metric, up to 25cm (lOin) apart and a centimeter
or so high (Sharp 1963), and may be gradational
into larger "megaripples" with longer wave-
lengths, often being characteristic of a wet sub-
strate (Thomas 1989). Ripple formation is related
to saltation of the more readily entrained fraction
and creep of the coarser particles as a result of
the impact of saltating grains (Bagnold 1941;
Anderson 1987).
Wind ripple lamination produced by ripple mi-
gration is an even more common and diagnostic
feature of eolian deposits (Hunter 1977), with
Grainfall fore sets
Avalanche deposits
Wind ri pples
Reactivation surfaces
foresets. C Ripple migration and cross-stratification on a gentle
lee slope without flow separation. D Dune affected by wind
reversals. (Modified from Hunter 1981)
254 Eolian Systems
poorly defined foresets and a concentration of the
largest grains and heavy minerals toward the top
of each set. Inversely graded wind ripple laminae
are typically only a few millimeters thick and are
grouped in sets on a scale of a few centimeters.
Adhesion ripples are another distinctive eolian
bedform produced by adhesion of saltating grains
to the damp sediment surface. Individual adhesion
ripples build upwind as the depositional surface
aggrades, producing an irregular, warty surface
that is commonly recognizable in the rock record.
Eolian Dunes
Larger-scale eolian bedforms comprise a gently
inclined, erosive stoss slope and a depositional lee
slope of variable inclination up to the angle of
repose of 30 or more. Well-defined dunes gener-
ally comprise sand of very fine to medium grain
size, the fraction most susceptible to saltation
(Kocucek 1995). Downwind of the dune crest, the
particles may land directly on the lee face as
grainfall or may settle through the zone of flow
separation, where they are added to the saltating
and avalanching fraction (Fig. 10.3). Hunter
(1977) and Kocurek (in press) distinguished two
varieties of lee-face stratification resulting from
these processes: grainfall and avalanche (grain-
flow or sandflow) laminae.
Grainfall is the process whereby grains over-
shoot the brink and land on the lee face or dune
toe, depositing poorly laminated, downslope-thin-
ning foreset wedges (Fig. 1O.3A). Foresets are up-
wardly concave and typically show long, sweeping,
tangential bases (Fig. 10.4). Individual sets of
cross-strata may attain considerable thicknesses of
30m (100ft) or more, but commonly are in the
Fig. 10.4. Typical large, sweeping tangential
foresets of the eolian Navajo Sandstone, Zion
National Park, Utah

range of 1 m, although superimposed multiple sets
attain considerable thickness. Foreset azimuths
may be unimodal, bimodal, or polymodal. In the
case of larger dunes such as those responsible for
the foresets in Fig. lOA, grainfall deposits are re-
stricted to the upper part of the lee face, whereas
on smaller bedforms they extend to the toe of the
dune and beyond. Some grainfall strata tend to be
massive or comprise laterally persistent, centime-
ter-thick laminae with poorly defined contacts
(Kerr and Dott 1988).
Depositional oversteepening of the lee face
promotes gravity-driven avalanching (sandflow
or grainflow) on the slipface. These avalanche
foresets may be preserved as tabular, upward-ta-
pering wedges (Fig. 10.3B) at the angle of repose,
with inverse grading as well as a concentration of
larger particles toward the toe. Alternatively they
may be preserved as lenticular intercalations be-
tween grainfall strata (Kocurek in press).
When strong winds are accompanied by rain,
the transport rate is reduced, and slumping of the
cohesive sand coupled with grain adhesion pro-
Fig. 10.5. Small-scale faulting in damp coastal dune sands, South Africa
Eolian Bedforms and Structures 255
duces distinctive foresets (Hunter et al. 1983;
Fryberger 1991), which may alternate with the
deposits of dry winds to produce annual cycles.
Deformation features resulting from slumping,
grainflow, loading, and drag (McKee et al. 1971;
McKee and Bigarella 1972) are generally of exten-
sional origin on the upper parts of dune slipfaces
and of compressional origin toward the toe. Dry
sand is subject to gentle folding and blurring of
laminae, whereas damp sand with greater cohe-
sion shows steeper asymmetric folds, rotation of
bedding planes, faults (Fig. 10.5), and brecciation
(Hobday and Jackson 1979).
Dunes with more gently inclined lee faces (Fig.
1O.3C) are characterized by traction processes
across their entire profile. Wind ripples that mi-
grate up the stoss slope maintain their identity as
they continue down the lee slope of the more
slowly moving dune, leaving a record of wind
ripple lamination. Oblique wind incidence results
in air flow along the lee face, eventuating in
alongslope migration of superimposed ripples
(Fig. 10.6).
256 Eolian Systems
Fig. 10.6. Eolian foresets with superimposed ripples directed
at right angles to the forese t dip. (Walker and Harms 1972)
For a migrating dune to leave a depositional
record, it must climb with respect to the accumula-
tion surface (Rubin and Hunter 1982). Where
the angle of climb is low (subcritical), only the
lowermost foresets are preserved as climbing
trans latent cross-stratification (Hunter 1977), but
as the angle of climb increases a larger proportion
of the lee face is preserved.
Biogenic Structures
Despite statements to the contrary, "bioturbation
is a very common, if not ubiquitous, feature of
eolian deposits" (Ahlbrandt et al. 1978), particu-
larly in Carboniferous and younger strata. Many
organisms specifically adapted to eolian environ-
ments leave distinctive traces. Ounefield arthro-
pod burrows, such as those constructed by sand
wasps, wolf spiders, or crickets, are reinforced by
cementation, agglutination, or web collars, while
unwalled burrows can be preserved in damp, co-
hesive sand, and some contain well-defined back-
fill structures. Traces in lee-face and interdune
deposits have the highest chance of preservation
because of rapid burial.
Footprints are preserved in exceptional detail
in eolian deposits (McKee 1979b p. 193). McKee
proved experimentally that these tracks origi-
nated in dry sand near the angle of repose.
Dinosaur tracks are spectacularly preserved in in-
terbedded eolian and sabkha facies (Van Oijk et
aL 1978), and hyena tracks are not uncommon
in the widespread Pleistocene "eolianite" of the
southern African coastal fringe.
Although intense root growth results in com-
plete obliteration of primary structures, plant
roots are preserved in eolian sands as molds or
"dikaka" ranging from horizontal runners to tap
roots 5m (16ft) deep (Glennie and Evamy 1968),
accentuated by mineralized linings. The oldest
known dune plants are preserved in Lower Creta-
ceous eolian deposits in Germany, and by the
Tertiary a number of rooted plant species had
adapted to an arid dune environment (Glennie
1970, p. 115). Ahlbrandt et al. (1978) noted that
contrasted colors between the central and periph-
eral parts are useful in distinguishing root traces
from faunal burrows.
Dune Types
Large bedforms tend to align themselves over
time so that maximum gross transport is perpen-
dicular to the strike of the bedform (Rubin and
Hunter 1987; Kocurek in press). This provides
a. basis for dune classification with respect to
dominant wind transport direction: longitudinal,
transverse, or oblique (Hunter et aL 1983). Alter-
natively, dunes may be classified on the basis of
their plan-view morphology alone, as primarily
linear or crescentic (McKee 1979a).
Bedforms Transverse to Net Sand Transport
Transverse and crescentic dunes (barchans and
barchanoid ridges) are a response to essentially
unidirectional winds and form more or less at right
angles to the resultant sand drift direction (Fry-
berger 1979). Barchans may indicate restricted
availability of sand, with compound barchanoid
ridges or transverse dunes forming with in-
creased sand supply or more variable winds
(McKee 1979b; Thomas 1989). Simple barchans
are up to 12m (40ft) high, corresponding to
around one tenth of the width between horns
(Thomas 1989).
Barchans and barchanoid ridges investigated
by McKee (1957, 1966) show large-scale planar
cross stratification in the axial portions dipping
at angles of 32, but some have complex inter-
nal truncation or reactivation surfaces (e.g., Fig.
10.30) that steepen in the downwind direction,
and multiple troughs representing small blowouts.

Foresets are more gently inclined and the sets
thinner toward the barchan horns. The lower,
windward barchan slope comprises low-angle
laminae, but these have limited preservation po-
tential. Migration of other sinuous barchanoid
dunes produces multiple sets of trough cross-
stratification, as simulated by computer (Rubin
1987). In coastal environments, preservation of
structural detail such as adhesion ripples in
barchan deposits is facilitated by moisture, and in
more arid regions such as the coastal Namib sur-
face precipitation of evaporites plays a similar role
(NagtegaaI1973).
Gradation of barchanoid ridges into transverse
dunes results in a larger proportion of steep,
PLAN VIEW
Fig. 10.7. Plan view and cross-section of a planed-off, sinuous transverse dune showing the relationships of various bedding types.
(Hunter 1977)
Dune Types 257
planar-tabular foresets with considerable lateral
continuity. The internal stratification of a sinuous
transverse dune is illustrated in Fig. 10.7, with
climbing translatent stratification, grainfall stratifi-
cation, and avalanche stratification.
Modification of crescentic dunes can produce
dome dunes, which are circular in plan with no
distinctive slipfaces (McKee 1966). Although
common in coastal regions where moisture and
vegetation contribute to their stabilization, they
are also present in some interior sand seas. The
deposits of dome dunes are distinguished by the
gradation of fiat topset laminae into foresets,
which can dip in every direction (Bigarella 1972),
and numerous cut-and-fill structures. Zibars COffi-
~ Climbing translatent bedding
b:':':::::l Grainfall lamination
~:::J Avalanche cross stratification
~ Strike and dip of cross beds
_ _ Boundaries between sets
o 20ft
I I
o 6m
A'
258 Eolian Systems
prise winnowed eolian mounds of coarse sand or
gravel up to a few meters high, with no slipface
development.
Breaching of partially stabilized transverse
dune ridges produces parabolic dunes, common
features of coastal sand accumulations. The arms
extending from the flanks of the blowout remain
anchored while the lobate dune front migrates
(McKee 1979a). Complex examples of parabolic
dune complexes in South Texas, referred to as
banner dunes (Brown et al. 1977) have smaller,
superimposed barchanoid and transverse dunes
which serve to convey sand from upwind deflation
areas to the downwind parabolic slipfaces (Price
1958), but banner dunes eventually become im-
mobilized by vegetation. Curvature of the lobate
dune front produces broad dispersion of upward-
convex, planar-tabular foresets with abundant
organically rich partings, and soft-sediment defor-
mation (Bigarella et al. 1969).
Bedforms Aligned Parallel
to Net Sand Transport
Linear dunes comprising longitudinal, sand-ridge,
or seif bedforms arise under conditions of bidirec-
tional or dispersed unimodal winds of variable
strength (Fryberger 1979). Longitudinal dune
alignment relative to dominant wind directions is
illustrated in Fig. 10.8. The origin of linear dunes is
uncertain, perhaps resulting from downwind ex-
tension of barchan, parabolic dune, or zibar pre-
-~c:,S~~\' ~~::, ;\'>1
-;~~C;;~~~~i~i!\~~
cursors (Thomas 1989). Broad areas of uniform
sand accumulation and a low water table are most
conducive to their development. Sand-drift pat-
terns are more variable than in the case of trans-
verse or crescentic dunes, and wind velocities are
generally higher - the stronger the winds, the
higher the dunes and the wider their spacing
(Glennie 1970, p. 95).
Linear dunes are typically about 20 m (65 ft)
high and up to 1 km apart, although reaching
heights of 200m (650ft) in some deserts (Tsoar
1983). The crestal portions tend to be active,
whereas the more gently inclined base or plinth is
partly stablized by vegetation. Winds approaching
obliquely are deflected to flow parallel to the lin-
ear dune along its lee slope. Sand is therefore
transported along linear dunes, in contrast to
transport across transverse eolian bedforms (Tho-
mas 1989), although in some cases sand leaving
one side of a linear dune is balanced by sand
arriving from windward (Livingstone 1986).
Livingstone showed that maximum dune height
is achieved when the angle between the domi-
nant wind directions is large, but when the winds
blow perpendicularly to the crestline erosion may
ensue, perhaps only temporarily (Lancaster
1985).
Two varieties of linear dunes are recognized:
seif dunes are characterized by sinuous crestlines
and slipfaces on either side of the dune (Tsoar
1983); linear ridges are lower, straighter, and
asymmetric in cross-section and tend to bifurcate
in the upwind direction. Tsoar (1978) demon-
Fig. 10.8. Relationship of longitudinal dune
systems to causal winds in Australia . Arrows
show the direction of dune convergence to be
coincident with the wind resultant. 1 Great
Sandy Desert, 2 Great Victorian Desert, 3
Simpson Desert. (King 1960)

strated the effects of seasonal wind reversals in
seif development, with downwind-migrating zones
of net erosion alternating longitudinally with
zones of net deposition along both sides. Deposi-
tional steepening of formerly erosional segments
gives rise to alternations of avalanche and
grainfall strata, compound sets, and reactivation
surfaces. The resulting stratification described by
Tsoar (1983) is complex with concave, erosional
set boundaries separating annual depositional
increments of laminae which dip obliquely away
from the dune axis in two directions. Gently in-
clined planar stratification characterizes the lower
flanks, or plinth. Other examples of seif-dune
stratification are more simple, comprising large-
scale, bimodal or bipolar, planar cross strati-
fication dipping away from the dune crest
(McKee and Tibbits 1964), although one mode
may dominate (Glennie 1970, p. 100). Linear
ridges are usually covered in part by vegetation
and have been regarded as inactive or degraded
relicts of other dunes, but in some cases the dunes
crests remain mobile above the vegetated plinths
(Grove 1969).
Star Dunes
Star dunes or draas represent the largest eolian
bedforms and are of compound origin. Although
small crescentic dunes may assume a temporary
star shape as a result of seasonal changes in wind
direction, they are excluded from this category.
Where fully developed, star dunes comprise large
stellate rosettes with a high central peak, radiating
arms, and superimposed smaller dunes of various
forms and orientations (Wilson 1972; McKee
1979a). Star dune heights range from a few meters
to over 400m (1300ft), with a spacing ofO.5-5km
(0.3-3 mi), increasing in areas of sporadic sand
cover (Wilson 1973).
Star dunes are a product of multidirectional
wind regimes in areas of high sand-drift potential
(Fryberger and Dean 1979), developing where
seasonal variations in wind direction and strength
cause smaller dunes to amalgamate and lose their
identity (Nielson and Kocurek 1987). Secondary
wind flow can cause a star dune to accrete verti-
cally provided that it is sufficiently large to with-
stand remolding by the dominant wind. Some of
the largest eolian foresets in the rock record must
have been deposited by migrating bedforms of the
magnitude of star dunes. Wilson (1972) pointed
Interdune Facies 259
out that some Algerian star dunes, although stable
in human terms, have migrated between 20 to
500km (12-300mi) in the past million years.
Interdune Facies
The flats or depressions between dunes vary in
size, shape, and sedimentary character. Ahlbrandt
and Fryberger (1981) recognized two process-re-
lated end members: deflationary and depositional,
both of which include dry, wet, and evaporitic
varieties. Interdune dynamics are, however, ex-
tremely complex and most interdune areas are
characterized by accelerating airflow and are
therefore nondepositional except under particular
conditions relating to a shallow water table or sub-
sidence (Kocurek and Havholm 1993). Flat-bed-
ded interdune facies have been identified in the
subsurface on the basis of dipmeter log patterns
(Lupe and Ahlbrandt 1979).
Deflationary Interdune Tracts
Ranging from broad, featureless plains to narrow,
windswept corridors and gibber plains or regs de-
void of sand-sized clastic accumulations, deflation-
ary interdune tracts are commonly veneered with
regularly spaced ventifacts aligned with the stron-
gest winds and showing a shiny desert varnish.
Depositional Interdune Tracts
These interdune areas range from dry to perma-
nently saturated and are characterized by net ac-
cumulation of gravel and sand. Wadi deposits
and small alluvial fans are common, and the im-
pounded surface flow or groundwater discharge
may result in a series of ephemeral lakes accumu-
lating graded silt-mud laminae and coarser sedi-
ments along their margins (Glennie 1970, p. 58).
Interdune flats with the water table at or near the
sediment surface are characterized by salt ridges,
corrugated surfaces, fracture polygons, and brec-
ciated strata (Fryberger et al. 1990; Crabaugh and
Kocurek 1993).
Interdune playa sediments are highly variable,
depending on the relative importance of clastic
260 Eolian Systems

and chemical sedimentation. Typical mineral Sand Sheets

suites include carbonates, sulfates, halides, bo-
rates, and nitrates, with uranium in some areas.
Gypsiferous sandy layers originate by the adhe-
sion of sand to a wet, salty surface. Deformed
bedding is characteristic, with runzelmarks, etch
marks, rills, and adhesion ripples indicating a
damp surface that subsequently dried to leave
desiccation cracks, raindrop impressions, and
evaporite layers and pseudomorphs (Glennie
1970,1972).
Featureless sandy plains devoid of dunes apart
from zibar are ubiquitous features of all interior
sand seas (Breed and Grow 1979) and, although
often only a few centimeters to meters thick,
they may cover vast areas, for example the
100000km2 (39000mi2) Selima Sand Sheet of the
Sahara (Breed et al. 1987). A further example
documented by Fryberger et al. (1979) occupies an
area of 720km 2 (280mi2) upwind of a dune field
and typically is the first site of sand accumulation

A 8

Mud layer Groinfoll

laminae
Bedload stream deposits

Mud layer Ava lanche

Gravel
Wind-ripple laminat ion

II:!iI
Grove l
Pebbles on upper
eo l ian foresets

'Iii
Subaqueous scour
and fill Eoli an
forese's
Eol ian foresets
I:=::::=~;;:::::;;;::'~:::j Win d -ri pple

lamination
~ Grovel
Desicca t ion cracks
Mud layer

-:7- Wind-ripples
Parallel lamination ~~::;;:::~~I
Wadi grovel OOoOOC)OOOO

Fig.lO.9A,B. Areal distribution and sequences of A eolian sand-sheet and ephemeral stream deposits and B eolian sequences
and gravel-covered supersurfaces. (Modified after Fryberger et al. 1979)

along the transport route. Smaller sand sheets
are common around the periphery of dune fields
(Fig. 10.9), some covering only a few square
kilometers.
Sand sheets rather than dunes may form in re-
sponse to a range of factors such as limited avail-
ability of sand, coarse grain size, a shallow water
table, periodic flooding, surface crusts, and the
effects of vegetation (Kocurek and Nielson 1986;
Fryberger et al. 1988). The enormous Selima Sand
Sheet may, however, be explained in terms of the
complete absence of topographic barriers coupled
with the coarse grain size (Thomas 1989) and has
been ascribed to thin eolian blanketing of a former
fluvial landscape (Breed et al. 1987).
Sand sheets are topographically low and some
are subject to flooding, with streams depositing
coarse sand and gravel and silt accumulating in
temporary ponds. Consequently, sand sheets may
be similar in many respects to the deposits of wei
interdune areas (Kocurek in press). Internal bed-
ding is typically low angle, with a dominance of
wind ripple lamination or subhorizontal layering
in sand and gravel. Complex alternations of coarse
and fine layers show high-index ripples in the
coarser fraction, whereas finer laminae deposited
during sandstorms tend to be graded and up-
wardly convex, although disrupted in parts by bur-
rows and rootlets (Fryberger et al. 1992). Sheet
sand facies, often being transitional between high-
angle dune deposits and noneolian or extradune
deposits (Fig. 10.9), may be useful indicators of
ancient dunefield margins in the rock record
(Fryberger et al. 1979).
Coastal Dune Fields
Coastal dunes form along both arid and humid
coastlines, but are of contrasting morphology. Be-
cause they are largely derived from marine-re-
worked shore-zone sands, coastal dune sands are
on average finer grained and better sorted than
those of interior deserts.
Along desert coasts such as Namibia, eolian
processes are active over a broad coastal zone,
where tracts of seif dunes, barchans, and coppice
dunes are bounded seaward by supratidal sand
flats with adhesion ripples, and inland by expanses
of desert pavement, for example in the vicinity of
Walvis Bay (Nagtegaal 1973). On the southern
Interior Sand Seas (Ergs) 261
Namib coast, beach deflation is supplying sand
trapped in south-facing embayments and trans-
porting it along narrow corridors, marked by
barchan trains which extend 120km (70mi) into
the Namib Sand Sea (Corbett 1993). Corbett
showed that Namib paleodune systems expanded
and contracted in response to marine regression
and transgression, with sand-sea contraction in
evidence today.
On high-rainfall coasts, vegetation and high at-
mospheric moisture content play an important
role in coastal dune development, resulting in di-
verse suites of bedforms including longitudinal,
crescentic, and transverse dunes, coppice mounds,
shadow dunes, fore-island dunes, retention ridges,
dome dunes, and parabolic dunes (Bigarella et al.
1969; McGowen 1979). Surface runoff modifies
dune morphology and produces broad, sandy
ramps or plinths. Clays, hydrous iron oxides, and
humic compounds are carried into the dune sands
by infiltrating waters, accumulating as irregular,
wispy dissipation layers which obscure primary
stratification (Bigarella 1979), as do plant roots.
Planar wedge and trough cross stratification is
widely preserved, however, with dip modes re-
flecting seasonal winds. Broad scour surfaces
record development of blowouts.
Interior Sand Seas (Ergs)
Sand seas develop in topographic regions or under
synoptic conditions of converging or decelerating
winds (Wilson 1971) or in regions of adequate
sand supply and wind strength, regardless of re-
gional aerodynamic conditions (G. Kocurek 1995,
personal communication). The degree of sand
cover depends on the relative rates of sand trans-
port and accumulation. A complete cover replete
with eolian bedforms develops only where the
wind is saturated with sand and accumulation
exceeds net transport (Wilson 1971, 1973).
Fryberger (1979) recognized a distinction between
low-energy sand seas occupying long-standing
barometric pressure cells, for example the Gobi,
Thar, and Sahel, and high-energy sand seas within
the trade-wind belts, including parts of the North
Arabian and Libyan deserts. Sand seas of the
Simpson, Namib, and several other deserts are of
intermediate energy.
Sand may be supplied from the coastal zone,
262 Eolian Systems
for example in Namibia (Lancaster and Ollier
1983), by deflation of playa depressions and fluvial
deposits as in Australia, or by erosion of elevated
older terrain. Such variation in the volume and
texture of supply leads to differences in sediment
continuity and thickness, as well as in the distribu-
tion of major bedforms. Where the sand is suffi-
ciently thick and sufficient time has elapsed, star
dunes develop, for example in the Saharan,
Namibian, Arabian, and Asian sand seas; the
thinner sands of the Australian deserts preclude
draa formation. Whereas deserts such as the Simp-
son and Kalahari characterized by a thin sand
cover show a prevalence of longitudinal dunes
(Fig. 10.8), others such as the Namib display a
downwind transition from barchanoid and trans-
verse, through longitudinal, to star dunes. Others
change from scattered barchans through
barchanoid ridges to higher transverse dunes
(McKee 1979a). Anomalous patterns are not un-
common; for example some star dunes grow atop
coalesced barchan dunes, while others are super-
imposed on longitudinal dunes (Fryberger and
Dean 1979).
Although in many sand seas no regular pro-
gression of dune types is apparent, a gradation is
commonly observed from sand-bypassing eolian
sand tracts (sand sheets) around the borders of
sand seas (Fig. 10.9), through migrating or sand-
moving dunes (barchans and other transverse
forms) on the outer flanks, followed by sand-con-
veying (linear) dunes, culminating in sand-concen-
trating forms (star dunes) in the central portions
(Thomas 1989). According to Kocurek (1995,
personal communication), however, such areal
distributions of eolian bedforms are more likely a
reflection of differences in wind regime, the domi-
nant control, with sediment availability being a
secondary factor.
Dry, Wet, and Stabilizing Eolian Systems
Kocurek and Havholm (1993) recognized dry and
wet eolian systems with different styles of accumu-
lation and facies arrangements and giving rise to
distinctive stratigraphic sequences.
Dry systems are characterized by noncohesive
sand above a deep water table, which has no effect
on accumulation; there are also no other stabiliz-
ing factors such as vegetation to resist deflation.
Accumulation is therefore controlled by aerody-
namic processes alone. Acceleration of flow over
interdune flats makes these areas potentially ero-
sional as loose sand is swept from the interdunes
onto the bounding dunes (Kocurek et al. 1991).
Net accumulation of eolian sand by downwind
deceleration requires that the interdune flats must
first be eliminated by lateral expansion of the
dunes, leaving narrow interdune depressions, at
which stage the dune sands aggrade. Conse-
quently, interdune-flat facies are not a feature of
dry eolian systems (Hummel and Kocurek 1984),
except for rare flood deposits which are rapidly
buried. In the place of interdune facies are wind
ripple laminae that accumulate on basal dune
aprons or in the interdune depressions (Kocurek
and Havholm 1993).
Dry systems are exemplified in the rock record
by climbing cross-stratification, with the set boun-
daries representing truncation caused by migra-
tion of interdune depressions and by tangentially
based foresets such as seen in the Navajo Sand-
stone in Zion National Park, Utah (Fig. 10.4).
Bottomsets represent the dune plinth and perhaps
interdune depressions (Kocurek and Havholm
1993).
Wet systems differ in that they involve grain
cohesion where the water table or its capillary
fringe intersects the surface. Eolian deposition,
bypass, and erosion are controlled by a combina-
tion of aerodynamic processes and moisture
content, and consequently wet-interdune deposits
resist deflation.
Sediment accumulation and preservation of
wet eolian systems requires either a relative rise in
the water table as a result of subsidence or an
absolute rise as a consequence of increased rainfall
or a rise in sea or lake level. If the rise in the water
table outpaces sediment supply, however, sub-
aqueous conditions result. Where the rates are
more or less in balance, sabkha environments pre-
vail, but excess sediment accumulation implies a
change to a dry eolian system (Kocurek and
Havholm 1993).
A static or falling water table triggers bypass
and erosion, respectively, and controls the devel-
opment of widespread disconformities called
supersurfaces between the wet and dry systems,
marking deflation and elimination of interdune
flats (Fig. 10.lOA). However, in circumstances
where the interdune flats shrink gradually at the
expense of the adjacent dunes, transition from wet
to dry eolian accumulation may be marked by
successive thinning of interdune deposits (Fig.
10.10B), with no intervening supersurface.
 Interior Sand Seas (Ergs) 263

Fig. 10.10. Upward transitio n from a wet to dry eolian system.

A Supersu rface represen ting erosion associat ed with a falling
water table and eliminat ion of interdun e flats prior to estab-
lishmen t of a dry system. B Gradual shrinkag e of interdun e
flats and a gradatio n from wet to dry systems marked by thin-
ning of successive interdun e deposits . (Kocure k and Havholm
1993)

a ,
Wet eol ion system
, i
I~
1:9
~ Flat interdun e
Q)
c: areas
>-

i??, ...
:J

:r:> i
Ci "0
0- Alternating thin sands and interdune accumul ations
:J
en $ .... Q)

"E
"E L
Q) C7I
c: Concave interdune
E iii areas

=:a
i5
...
Q)
0
Q)
en

sG \)
Amalgamated interdune accumu lations
Sc;zS;
0
C7I
c:
en0 ~
Q)
Fluctua ting net
L.
0
positive angle
.E of climb

Dry eolian system

5f)~
- - - - -- -- --- -- --- -- --- --- --- --- -- -- ---
Stabili zed eolian system

Fig. 10.11. Dune/in terdune facies architec ture in wet, dry, and
stabilize d systems, showing the reductio n in interdun e width
with increasin g sedimen t supply (left) and the variation s in wet
systems at very low angles of climb (right) with flat interdun e
areas, concave interdun e areas, and a fluctuating angle of
climb. (Kocure k and Havholm 1993)
264 Eolian Systems
Kocurek and Havholm (1993) showed that
geometry and interrelationships of dune and
interdune facies depend on the shape and relative
extent of dune and interdune areas, which are a
factor of sediment availability, as well as the angle
of climb (Fig. 10.11). With increasing sediment
supply, the area covered by eolian dunes shrinks
at the expense of the interdune tracts, and the
proportion of accumulated eolian sand increases
relative to the interdune facies, which are ulti-
mately reduced to zero in dry eolian systems.
Stabilizing systems involve surficial features
such as mud drapes or gravel lag deposits, diage-
netic ally cemented crusts, or vegetation, which
impart varying degrees of stability to the system.
Alternatively, stabilization may be a consequence
Super surface
Increased preservation space
l ' . . .. . . '-'-'- '-';
1",,,==~4?bthz,,I,,,,
-- --- ~
.- -- __ _ __________ --
I 'm,"""
Fig.l0.12. Preservation of eolian sequences as result of a rising
water table or subsidence. A Relative rise in sea level by
eustasy or subsidence, producing a commensurate risc in the
water table and new preservation space. B An interior setting.
of a reduction in sediment budget from positive to
neutral or negative. Stabilization may be a con-
tinuous, progressive, or episodic process, with spo-
radic eolian sand aggradation.
Preservation of Eolian Sequences
The fundamental differences between eolian and
marine systems are in terms of their preservation
potential (Kocurek and Havholm 1993). In marine
systems the base level of erosion approximates to
sea level, so that preservation space equates to
accumulation space, whereas in eolian systems the
sediments that accumulate may not necessarily be
preserved. Many present-day deposits of interior
-- New base.level of
of erosion
Subsidence
with a relative or absolute rise in the water table. C Creation of
new preservation space as a result of subsidence below the base
level of erosion. (Kocurek and Havholm 1993)

sand seas, for example, have little or no preserva-
tion potential.
The presence of eolian sands and interdune
deposits in the stratigraphic column implies the
following (Kocurek 1991; Kocurek and Havholm
1993):
1. Deposition, generally on the lee face of sub-
critically climbing bedforms
2. Net accumulation, with migrating bedforms
leaving a depositional record, generally of their
lower foresets only
3. Preservation, as a result of burial below the
base level of erosion or because of satu-
ration by groundwater or stabilization by
vegetation, gravel, or surface cementation
The complex controls on eolian deposition, ac-
cumulation, and preservation result in a hierarchy
of erosional discontinuities or bounding surfaces
in eolian strata (Brookfield 1977, 1984): flat, first-
order surfaces related to the migration of large
bedforms; inclined, second-order surfaces, which
normally slope downwind and enclose co sets of
cross-strata deposited by smaller dunes superim-
posed on large bedforms; and third-order reacti-
vation surfaces related to erosional modification
of lee faces of migrating dunes. Kocurek (in press)
cautioned, however, that application of this hier-
archical scheme is often impractical because of
difficulties in distinguishing between the various
categories in the field.
Accommodation space for accumulation of
eolian sediments may result from tectonic down-
warping, which provides topographic conditions
leading to flow deceleration and eolian deposition,
as well as the volumetric capacity to accumulate
sediments. Factors favoring eolian sediment pres-
ervation are illustrated in Fig. 10.12. In Fig.
1O.12A. a relative rise in sea level creates new
preservation space as a result of the elevated wa-
ter table. A rising water table may also be a conse-
quence of rapid climatic change or subsidence
(Fig. 1O.12B). Subsidence below the baseline of
erosion (Fig. W.12e) also generates preservation
space (Kocurek and Havholm 1993). Whereas
preservation of wet systems necessitates a rising
water table. dry systems may be preserved be-
cause of subsidence under conditions of a falling
water table.
Eolian Sequences 265
Eolian Sequences
Eolian Sequence Boundaries:
Development of Supersurfaces
Regionally extensive eolian unconformities of
larger scale than Brookfield's (1977, 1984) hierar-
chy of bounding surfaces have been described by
Loope (1985), Talbot (1985), and Kocurek (1988),
who termed them super-bounding surfaces, later
simplified to supersurfaces (Kocurek in press).
These surfaces signal regional interruption of
sand-sea deposition or a change from dominantly
eolian to noneolian processes and thus extend
over the entire sand sea. Supersurfaces therefore
record a change from a positive sediment budget
to erosion or bypass. Such changes are commonly
a response to external controls such as climate, sea
level, or sediment supply and are therefore region-
ally more significant than Brookfield's (1984) first-
order bounding surfaces representing normal
eolian processes of dune expansion or migration
within a sand sea.
A change from wet to dry eolian systems, for
example, may involve deflation of interdune flats
and the development of a supersurface, followed
by dry dune accumulation (Fig. 1O.10A). On
the other hand, accelerated sediment influx may
cause the dunes to expand, leaving a record
of progressively thinner interdune facies (Fig.
1O.1OB) but no supersurface. Supersurfaces in dry
eolian systems are unstable and erode until a
moist or otherwise more resistant substratum is
encountered. for example over parts of the Sahara
with a negative sediment budget (Kocurek and
Havholm 1993). In the case of wet systems, how-
ever, the shallower water table provides a limit to
deflation and thus facilitates stable supersurface
development.
Sediment bypass, implying a neutral sediment
budget, marks termination of net eolian accumu-
lation and may involve dune migration with a zero
angle of climb. Erosion, or a negative sediment
budget, may be a product of deflation as the water
table falls or of dune migration with a negative
angle of climb (Rubin 1987; Kocurek and
Havholm 1993).
In a genetic stratigraphic sequence context,
supersurfaces are the eolian counterpart of
erosive ravinement surfaces along transgressive
coasts and are also analogous to condensed beds
or maximum flooding surfaces in marginal
marine deposits. They are generally flat, hori-
266 Eolian Systems
zontal surfaces corresponding to the former
position of the water table and include features
generally indicative of extended hiatus such
as paleosoils, diagenetic alteration, evaporite
precipitation, and bioturbation. Alternatively,
supersurfaces may be marked by a gravel lag
which forms independently of water table effects,
but which may be effective in interrupting or ter-
minating deflation.
Identification of supersurfaces in dry eolian sys-
tems may be difficult in situations where deflation
has not progressed to the water table. In wet sys-
tems, supersurfaces have many of the characteris-
tics of interdune deposits, from which they are
distinguished only on the basis of their greater
areal continuity (Kocurek and Havholm 1993).
External Controls on Sequence Development
The same allocyclic controls apply in eolian as in
aqueous depositional systems: climate, tectonism,
eustasy, and sediment supply, all of which are to
some degree interdependent. Climate determines
the availability of eolian sand, for example its in-
creased supply during arid or glacial stages, as well
as the wind's capacity for transporting sand as dry,
noncohesive grains without a binding cover of
vegetation (Kocurek and Nielson 1986). Global
climate change is generally accompanied by a
change in sea level, which controls the supply of
sand from the shore zone to coastal and inland
dune fields (Chan and Kocurek 1988). Finally, tec-
tonism provides topographic relief that promotes
erosion and increased sediment supply, as well as
the requisite conditions for eolian sand accumula-
tion (Wilson 1973).
Eolian activity is associated with both high
and low sea-level stands (Pye 1993), although
maximum expansion of sand seas accompanies
coastal regression and exposure of the continental
shelf, whereas sand-sea contraction tends to occur
during marine transgression (Corbett 1993).
Given the gentle slopes, high permeabilities,
and rapid evaporation rates of coastal deserts,
the effects of a change in sea level can extend
considerable distances inland. Deposition of
wet eolian systems and development of
supersequences may therefore correspond to sea-
level fluctuations (Crabaugh and Kocurek 1993)
and thus might correspond with global eustatic
cycles deduced from the marine record. Alterna-
tively, cyclic sequence development may reflect
direct climatic control (Clemmensen and Hegner
1991), which nonetheless may coincide with
eustatic cycles related to glaciation. The associa-
tion between eolian systems and climate is exem-
plified by regions such as the Sahara-Sahel
(Kocurek in press), with constructional episodes
during glacial maxima and destructional phases
during more humid interglacials when lacustrine,
marsh, and fluvial environments expanded over
much of the region. Climatic factors controlling
eolian deposition in the late Paleozoic and Meso-
zoic in the United States Western Interior cor-
responded with glacial cycles during the
Carboniferous and Permian, monsoonal circula-
tion during the late Permian through early Juras-
sic, and hot arid conditions during the middle
Jurassic (Kocurek in press).
The late Pleistocene/Holocene Akchar sand
sea of Mauritania provides an example of sand-sea
periodicity and changing morphology of dunes
(Kocurek et al. 1991), which were periodically ac-
tivated by climatic and eustatic factors. Large
bedforms with a preserved relief of up to 65 m
(215 ft) represent linear dunes formed during
glaciation, with the subsequent stabilization and
supersurfaces a product of interglacial times. Ac-
cording to Kocurek et al. (1991), supersurface
development was a lengthy process recording
dune stabilization, vegetation, pedogenesis, and
deflation until a protective reg formed.
Genetic Stratigraphic Sequences
Thick eolian sequences may represent vertical
amalgamation of individual sand-sea deposits
separated by regional hiatal surfaces (Kocurek
1988). A number of such unconformity-bounded
sequences may be stacked vertically to thicknesses
of as much as 1000m or more. Examples of Per-
mian to Jurassic age from North America and
Europe show similar vertical arrangements com-
prising basal sand sheets overlain by large-scale
cross-stratification (Clemmensen et al. 1994).
These amalgamated sequences all originated in
continental interiors, where climatic fluctuations
from arid to more humid are ascribed to changes
in monsoonal circulation arising from Milan-
kovitch orbital forcing.
Clemmensen and Hegner (1991) recorded
more than 30 superimposed sand-sea sequences
within a 700-m (2300-ft) Permian succession in
Scotland. Each sequence has a preserved thick-

nesses ranging from 6 to 72m (20-238ft), with an
average of 22m (73ft), representing a cycle of
sand-sea accretion and deflation. Internally, these
sequences comprise flat-bedded sandstones of
interdune origin averaging about 3m (10ft) in
thickness, overlain by eolian cross-stratified sand-
stones. Supersequence boundaries, comprising
planar unconformities with minor relief and a ve-
neer of coarse sand or granules, truncate the cross-
stratified sandstone sequences. On a larger scale,
these sequences are grouped in megasequences
62-184m (205-607ft) thick, which in turn are
stacked vertically. Clemmensen and Hegner
(1991) related the sequences and megasequences
to orbital forcing and Permian glacial cycles,
respectively.
Although there is no universal model involving
both textures and structures that can be applied to
the deposits of sand seas, McKee (1979b) deter-
mined that in the rare situations where topsets
are preserved, planar-tabular cross stratification
tends to become thinner and less steeply inclined
upward through a single dune, and the contacts
between successive sets commonly flatten with in-
creasing elevation. Successions such as the Per-
mian Coconino Sandstone, deposited by rapidly
migrating barchanoid and transverse dunes
(McKee 1979c), consist of monotonously stacked
sets of steep, large-scale cross strata. On the other
hand, successions typified by several formations of
the US Western Interior contain thin interdune
lenses of siltstone, mudstone, or limestone be-
tween cosets of eolian cross beds (McKee and
Moiola 1975). These differences serve to illustrate
the distinction between the genetic systems associ-
ated with dry and wet eolian systems (Kocurek
in press).
Sequences in dry systems vary depending on
factors such as tectonic subsidence and changes
in the position of the water table, which may be
linked to eustatic or lake-level change. For ex-
ample, sand-sea growth results from increased
sediment supply and more severe wind conditions
during sea-level lowstands, with a hiatus corre-
sponding to maximum flooding (Kocurek and
Havholm 1993). Although eolian sand accumula-
tion may be self-limiting as aggradation progres-
sively reduces the effects of flow deceleration
(Wilson 1971), additional accumulation space may
be created by subsidence (Kocurek and Havholm
1993). Sequences in dry eolian systems are exem-
plified by the Jurassic Page Sandstone of the Colo-
rado Plateau, a composite of lenticular sand-sea
Eolian Sequences 267
deposits punctuated by the development of
supersurfaces, some of which are related to trans-
gressive events and rising water tables. The Page
Sandstone comprises stacked sets of eolian cross-
stratified sandstone, with sequence boundaries
marked by polygonal fractures and corrugated
relief, indicative of temporarily elevated water
tables (Havholm and Kocurek 1994). The cycle
interpreted by Havholm and Kocurek involved
dry eolian system dune accumulation, elevation of
the water table, deflation down to the new water
table and formation of a supersurface, and a fall in
the water table followed by deflation. Although
important in controlling supersurface develop-
ment during maximum flooding events, the water
table played no role in eolian sand accumulation,
which was controlled by increased availability of
sand during marine regressions and by aerody-
namic factors. In other dry eolian systems such as
the Navajo Sandstone of southwest Utah, provi-
sion of accommodation space by tectonic subsid-
ence resulted in aggrading dune sands without
intervening sabkha beds or other indications of
hiatal conditions.
In wet systems, dune growth may be contempo-
raneous with interdune-flat or sabkha deposition.
The deposits of wet systems vary with eolian sedi-
ment availability, grading ultimately into dry sys-
tems, and with the angle of climb (Fig. 10.11).
Where the angle is low, thin but laterally persis-
tent, cross-stratified eolian sands are contained
within interdune facies (Fig. 1O.llA). In similar
situations but where the interdune depressions
extend below their base, the dunes may be com-
pletely removed during migration, leaving ag-
graded interdune facies (Fig. 10.llB). When the
dunes climb at a low but variable angle, lenticular
dune sands are incorporated in the interdune fa-
cies (Fig. 1O.lle). Thicknesses of both preserved
sand sequences and individual sets of cross strata
increase with the angle of climb (Kocurek and
Havholm 1993). The Jurassic Entrada Sandstone
is an example illustrating eolian accumulation dur-
ing episodes of rising groundwater level and
supersurface development when the water table
was static or falling. Laterally contiguous sabkha
deposits are typically thicker than in dry systems
and enclose small trains of eolian dunes (Cra-
baugh and Kocurek 1993). A shallow water table
was present throughout Entrada Sandstone depo-
sition and fluctuated in elevation in response to
changes in sea level. Eolian sequences and
supersurfaces of the Entrada Sandstone may
268 Eolian Systems
therefore provide a relative sea-level curve
(Kocurek in press).
Associations with Other Depositional
Systems
Much of the available sand for the construction of
eolian systems derives from other environments
such as alluvial fans, beaches, and fluvial tracts.
Conversely, eolian sands are reworked or incorpo-
rated into other systems such as through-flowing
streams, as well as marine sediments during trans-
gression. Systems providing sand to eolian systems
may be coeval, e.g., from the beach foreshore to
the dunes of the Namib Sand Sea (Corbett 1993),
or may be relicts from a preceding higher rainfall
stage, e.g., the long interglacial phase of alluvial
accumulation prior to the last glacial stage of mas-
sive sand-sea construction (Kocurek in press).
Lateral intergradation of eolian and fluvial or
marginal marine systems is widely documented.
Fluvial sediment supply is exemplified by the
Permian of the Colorado Plateau (Langford
and Chan 1989) and the Jurassic of Arizona
(Middleton and Blakey 1983), while a wider range
of environments including lakes, sabkhas, and riv-
ers are reconstructed in the late Triassic and Juras-
sic of Gondwana (Tankard et a1. 1982) and the
Permian of the North Sea (Glennie 1972; Glennie
and Provan 1990). The Permian Rotliegendes of
Europe, comparable in area to the modern Sa-
hara, comprises an association of eolian dune,
playa, and wadi deposits. However, the thickest
part of the Rotliegendes, approximately 1500 m
(5000ft), corresponds to the position of a large
saline lake. Adjacent dune sands were derived
from deflation of alluvial fans (Glennie 1972) and
attain only 200m (660ft). Electrical borehole im-
ages and dipmeter data are useful in distinguish-
ing vertical successions of eolian and fluvial facies
(Luthi and Banavar 1988), and in recons-
tructing crescentic dune migration and interdune
sedimentation.
In some cases the unconformity between eolian
and overlying noneolian systems shows consider-
able relief, which may preserve the original dune
paleotopography, or result from later erosion
(Kocurek in press). Paleotopographic relief of
76m (250ft) is preserved at the top of Permian
dune deposits in Utah, arising in part from inher-
ited dune morphology, which was partially eroded
during marine transgression (Huntoon and Chan
1987). Comparable processes of dune develop-
ment, marine transgression, and relief preserva-
tion are recorded elsewhere. Some coastal dunes
survive passage through the high-energy surf
zone, e.g., the prominent offshore ridges of Pleis-
tocene "eolianite" on the southern African and
other continental shelves accumulated as coastal
dunes during Quaternary low sea-level stands and
are now being onlapped by shallow marine facies.
A contributing factor may have been the very
rapid cementation of coastal dune sands, as ob-
served on the modern K waZulu coast (Hobday
1978). In completely unconsolidated coastal dune
environments, however, higher energy marine
transgression is likely to plane off depositional
highs and redistribute sand landward.
Proterozoic eolian deposits, for example those
documented by Dott et a1. (1986) and Meinster
and Tickell (1975) exhibit an unusually diverse
variety of primary sedimentary structures, possi-
bly a consequence of the absence of vegetation;
but in many respects they are very similar to the
eolian deposits associated with sandy glacial
outwash plains (Kocurek in press).
Hydrocarbons and Minerals
in Eolian Systems
Eolian sands generally have good reservoir
potential, but in many basins lack adequate indig-
enous hydrocarbon source or seal facies. Given
favorable hydrocarbon source, maturation, and
migration conduits, however, chemically ce-
mented interdune facies may provide effective
intraformational seals (Lupe and Ahlbrandt
1979), thereby enhancing the potential of many
eolian sandstones to host petroleum. Where eo-
lian systems are associated with extradune depos-
its of lakes, rivers, tidal flats, and beaches, the
texturally inhomogeneous reservoirs have poor
fluid migration properties (Lupe and Ahlbrandt
1979). Initial porosity contrasts arising from the
finer grain size and relatively poor sorting of
interdune deposits in comparison with the eolian
sands are accentuated during burial and are ap-
parent in resistivity patterns and dipmeter logs
(Fig. 10.13) that distinguish between the steeply
dipping eolian foresets and the relatively flat bed-
 Hydrocarbons and Minerals in Eolian Systems 269

DIPMETER IN FERRED
S.P. R READING ENVIRONMENT POROSITY(%l
STRUCTURE o
a 20 40 60 eo ~ 'P , 2

i ) I :~I~ ~! ~ , !: Non-eolian I
- l -r--I-~"" +'-
'"EF. Non- eOlian
u
eLL

'"c
o

v'"
c:
o
rJ)

<3:..... -c:
Non-eolian
15400 ~
Fig. 10.13. Resistivity (R) contrasts and associated porosity changes in dune and interdune deposits. with lower angle dipmeter
readings of the latter. SP Spontaneous potential. (Lupe and Ahlbrandt 1979)

ding in interdune and associated noneolian facies.
Thin permeability barriers provided by interdune
facies constitute excellent seals in otherwise po-
rous eolian sandstones, for example in the Weber
and Tensleep Sandstones.
Eolian systems associated with impermeable
continental redbeds may lack an indigenous hy-
drocarbon source or access to effective hydrocar-
bon migration routes, while those comprising
thick, relatively homogeneous, arenaceous succes-
sions may lack effective seal.
Eolian systems are also important locally as re-
positories for detrital minerals including zircon,
rutile, monazite, ilmenite, and tourmaline, par-
ticularly in coastal beach dune ridges of Quater-
nary age. Beach foreshore concentrations of
heavy minerals are subject to further winnowing
and enrichment by wind action, permitting large-
scale commercial exploitation. Eolian sands tend
to be excellent aquifers and provide groundwater
migration conduits for mineralizing solutions. Epi-
genetic uranium mineralization in eolian systems
such as those of the Poison River Basin (Galloway
et al. 1979b) requires the introduction of a reduc-
ing agent and is further facilitated by the presence
of permeability barriers. Finally, early-cemented
beach dune ridges of Quaternary age locally en-
close extensive peat swamps, for example along
the southeastern coast of Africa. It is conceivable
that some commercial coals had a similar origin
behind subdued spits and barriers capped by
larger eolian dune systems, after the fashion of
Quaternary lignites of the KwaZulu coast (Hob-
day and Jackson 1979).
11 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence
Stratigraphic Framework
Introduction
Quantitative analysis of sediment supply rate, sub-
sidence and uplift rates, and eustatic sea-level
change demonstrates order of magnitude changes
in the ratios of these regime variables over
timespans of tens of thousands to a few million
years. This chapter focuses on the results of this
history of change - the punctuated accumulation
of depositional systems and their component fa-
cies within a stratigraphic framework defined by
surfaces of nondeposition, bypass, or erosion.
A sequence is a three-dimensional stratigraphic
unit consisting of relatively conformable, gene-
tically related strata bounded in whole or in part
by surfaces of nondeposition or erosion (uncon-
formities). Two broadly different kinds of se-
quences, and sequence bounding unconformities,
exist. Tectonism creates sequence stratigraphic
boundaries that record times of structural
uplift or modification of the depositional
basin (Hubbard 1988). Such tectonosequence
boundaries are characterized by local to regional
angular discordance of strata. Transgressive
facies successions overlie unconformities that
record temporary uplift and emergence of the
basin, but relationships between strata above
and below the unconformity are otherwise not
predictable.
Within basin-fill successions deposited under
relatively uniform tectonic conditions, variations
in sediment supply, subsidence rate and pattern,
and base level create stratigraphic sequences
bounded by largely concordant disconformities
and their correlative surfaces (Vail et al. 1977a,
1991; Galloway 1989a; Van Wagoner et al. 1990).
These stratigraphic sequences are a subset of
the larger family of allostratigraphic units. Strati-
graphic sequences are created because deposition
is inherently discontinuous. Interruptions record
areal contraction or displacement of active deposi-
tional sites, readjustments of grade, or fluctuations
of sediment supply. Within a sequence, there is a
logical lateral and vertical association of deposi-
tional systems, facies, and some kinds of surfaces.
Consequently, not all unconformities are neces-
sarily useful as sequence boundaries. Further, all
strata above a sequence boundary should be
younger than all strata below it - ideally, sequences
are both rock- and time-stratigraphic units.
Many sequences consist of successions of
parasequences or of couplets of progradational
and capping transgressive facies packets that
record short-term pulses of shoreline advance
punctuated by retreat and correspond to deposi-
tional events (Chap. 2). Parasequences are created
both by autocyclic processes, such as delta-lobe
switching, and by allocyclic processes, such as
eustatic sea-level fluctuation or climate-driven
cyclicity of sediment supply.
Two sequence stratigraphic models for
prograding, fluvially fed, tectonically simple basin
margins are widely used. The depositional se-
quence model (Vail et al. 1977a, 1991) emphasizes
the sequential development of facies associations
and surfaces within the context of sea level-driven
deposition. Since its introduction, the elements of
the model and its terminology have been greatly
elaborated. In this model, subaerial unconform-
ities (fluvial incision surfaces) are the sequence
boundaries, and the genetically related strata con-
sist of basal lowstand deposits, transgressive
deposits, and highstand deposits. The depositional
episode described by Frazier (1974) creates a
genetic stratigraphic sequence (Galloway 1989a),
which was introduced in Chap. 2 (Fig. 2.4). The
genetic stratigraphic sequence is bounded by a
composite marine unconformity and condensed
bed created during transgressive flooding and by
groups of successive progradational (highstand),
slope (lowstand), and transgressive deposits
within one sequence (Fig. 2.5). It places greater
emphasis on pulsed sediment input - which may
be modulated by tectonic, eustatic, or climatic
factors - into the basin. The depositional sequence
 Introduction 271

model has found greatest popularity, in part be-
cause of its elaboration of falling stage and
lowstand facies and surfaces.
This chapter presents a generalized sequence
paradigm, rather than a specific model, that will
provide greatest flexibility of use. Because our fo-
cus is on applied recognition, interpretation, and
mapping of facies, such a generalized sequence
should create a genetic stratigraphic unit that:
1. Groups all sediments that record a common
paleogeographic array of depositional systems
2. Is bounded by stratal surfaces that formed dur-
ing major reorganizations in the array of depo-
sitional systems
3. Forms a meaningful, mappable unit that fosters
interpretation of the depositional systems, their
component facies, and historical evolution
The general sequence paradigm must recognize
and incorporate the full range of stratigraphic sur-
faces that are potential sequence boundaries. In
different tectonic and environmental settings, dif-
ferent surfaces are present and offer genetically
and temporally significant breaks in the deposi-
tional record. The general model must have the
flexibility to describe both dip- and strike-fed sedi-
ment dispersal systems. It must recognize that, as
long as sediment is supplied to the basin, all
unconformities merge into correlative facies
successions. Finally, it must accommodate the
ubiquitous influence of sediment supply - volume,
textural composition, and spatial pattern - on
depositional system and facies architecture, as
documented in the preceding chapters.
Geographically associated depositional sys-
tems, the links in the overall sediment dispersal
network, form a depositional system tract (in the
sense of Brown and Fisher 1977, 1980). The array
of contemporaneous depositional system tracts
found within a basin fill records the interplay be-
tween sediment supply and process regime (Fig.
11.1). Terrigenous sediment is supplied domi-

/' '\ "'\

SEDIMENT SUPPLY BASIN PROCESS REGIME
Volume Terrestria I energy fluxes
Wove-energy flux
Textural composition Tidal-energy flux
Geostrophic flows
Geographic distribution of input Gravitational potential
"- ~ ~

I T
I
+
DEPOSITIONAL SYSTEM ARRAY
1
f
+
MODIFIED BY
RELATIVE SEA-LEVEL CHANGE DIFFERENTIAL STRUCTURAL
DISPLACEMENT
(Shelf storage vs. shelf bypass) (Depositional and
Eustasy preservational continuity
Regional uplift/subsidence Basment tectonics
Gravity tectonics

~Ir

FRAMEWORK FACIES
ASSOCIATIONS AND ATTRIBUTES
Volume
Three-dimensional distribution
- oreal pattern and trend
- vertical stocking/offset
- interconnectedness/isolation

Fig. 11.1. Flow chart showing principal controls on the pre- and the history of relative sea-level change modify the systems
served depositional framework of a basin fill. The three-dimen- and, in turn, facies distribution and attributes. (Morton and
sional array of depositional systems is determined by supply Galloway 1991)
and process regime variables. Differential structural growth
272 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence Stratigraphic Framework
nantly by rivers, and river sediment load is a linear
function of the area and the maximum elevation of
the drainage basin, modulated by source area cli-
mate (Milliman and Syvitski 1992). Because these
variables lie largely outside the depositional basin,
sediment supply is a primary independent variable
that has three components:
1. Volume
2. Textural composition
3. Geographic location
Changes in the rate of sediment supply always
influence and may control the time-space distribu-
tion of progradation, aggradation, and transgres-
sion of depositional system tracts. The texture of
sediment supply (gravel/sand/mud) plays a major
role within many depositional systems, influencing
channel formation, geometry, and stability, rela-
tive impact of wave- and tidal-energy fluxes, and
subaerial and subaqueous slope gradients (Read-
ing and Orton 1991). The geographic pattern of
sediment supply defines lateral depositional sys-
tem associations and influences bedding architec-
ture.
The depositional system array is, in turn, modi-
fied by relative sea-level change (or lake-level
change in nonmarine basins) and differential
structural growth. The relative sea-level change
influences, most importantly, the efficiency with
which sediment is stored in basin-margin coastal
plain and shelf settings or is bypassed to the deep
basin center. It also influences facies and para-
sequence stacking patterns and superimposes dis-
jointed, paleogeographically unrelated facies
across stratigraphic discontinuities. Differential
structural growth disrupts stratal and facies conti-
nuity and creates local sediment sources, sinks, or
bypass zones.
Morphodynamics: Concepts of Regime
and Grade Adjustment
Many geomorphic systems create equilibrium sur-
faces that maintain their characteristic shape
through aggradation or erosion. Examples include
the graded stream profile of Davis, the shoreface
profile of Bruun, the graded shelf profile of
Johnson, and the slope profile of Dietz (Swift and
Thorne 1991). Such profiles, or surfaces, maintain
a state of dynamic equilibrium under conditions of
stable governing parameters. The change of a gov-
erning parameter must be compensated for by an
adjustment in other parameters, or a new equilib-
rium profile will be created in response to the
change. Change in the topographic or bathymetric
profile necessitates differential erosion, deposi-
tion, or both. Within a depositional system, dy-
namic equilibrium surfaces are maintained by
aggradation as ongoing subsidence creates accom-
modation space for sediment storage. The grade
of the profile is a response to four regime variables
(Lane 1955; Swift and Thorne 1991; Thorne and
Swift 1991a):
1. Rate of relative base level rise (R)
2. Rate of sediment transport (D)
3. Rate of sediment supply (Q)
4. Rate of change of textural composition of the
sediment (M)
The variables are related through a regime
equation, which can be generalized as an expres-
sion for the depositional regime () as the ratio of
accommodation variables Rand D to the supply
variables Q and M (Fig. 11.2). Where the ratio is
greater than 1, the sedimentary regime is accom-
modation dominated, and transgression, deepen-
ing, and reworking occur. Where the ratio is less
than 1, the regime is supply dominated, and
progradation and shoaling prevail.
Although sediment character, M, may not seem
an intuitive regime variable, the observed direct
correlation between fluvial, delta front, shoreface,
shelf, and slope gradients and sediment texture
(Reading and Orton 1991; Ross et al. 1995) clearly
shows that it is a grade-defining variable. The sedi-
ment transport variable, D, reflects the availability
of energy to reentrain and transport sediment, ef-
fectively creating accommodation space for new
sediment.
Analysis of physical controls that determine the
gradient of terrestrial and submarine surfaces
shows that the slope angles of the succession of
surfaces along flow through a depositional system
tract are alternately direct and inverse functions of
the regime ratio, (Swift and Thorne 1991;
Thorne and Swift 1991a). Five graded surfaces,
approximated as straight lines, characterize a
fluvial coastal plain through the submarine slope
sediment dispersal system (Fig. 11.2). The geo-
morphic slope angle of each surface, 0, is deter-
mined by availability of energy or by transport
efficiency. For example, the alluvial fanlfiuvial
plain gradient is limited by transport energy of the
 Morphodynamics: Concepts of Regime and Grade Adjustment 273

Spill Point Fan/Fluvial Delta / Shore-zone Shelf Slope

System Systems System System

~
I
cp : '\ 8 e
~--~~-.,===-~----------------------~---
=r_"'T:::::::;;;.;F;,;;a;;:i
I esf
t he r wave ba se

I
r:...-;w~ea
Effective wave base

I Fluvial Plain
Coastal I :
I. river energy limited Plain I Shore-I
I I face I Shelf
1.8f a::_' river effi- I
'.(. I ciency limited .wave I wave base
I 8 lenergy I limited

r-------------,. cp a:: ). limited ~eSh a:: Slope

(accommodation) esf a:: ~ :. gravity potential limited
R 0
(regime ratio)
Q M 18s1 a:: t
(supply)

Fig. 11.2. Expression for the regime ratio, , and the relationship of the slope, e, of various depositional surfaces to the regime
ratio. (Modified from Thorne and Swift 1991 b)

river system; 0 is inversely proportional to . An
increase in grain size, M, or in the rate of sediment
supply, Q, decreases , causing an increase in
grade angle. On the low-gradient depositional
strandplain or deltaic plain, channelized flow be-
comes efficiency limited and 0 is directly propor-
tional to . The shoreface profile is wave energy
limited, the shelf profile wave base limited, and
the slope gravity potential energy limited.
The stratigraphic implication of this alternating
relationship between slope angle and regime ratio
is that a change in a regime variable, such as a
decrease in rate of subsidence or change in rate of
sediment supply, causes a cascade of readjust-
ments through the entire depositional system
tract. Erosion, creating diastems and unconform-
ities, and deposition will tend to alternate down-
flow as the different environments of the sediment
dispersal system adjust to the new regime ratio.
The periods of adjustment create a family of con-
temporaneous surfaces and beds that are strati-
graphically useful boundaries separating facies
successions deposited under relatively stable
regime conditions and constituting relatively
homogeneous genetic units. Clearly, a single un-
conformity rarely extends throughout the deposi-
tional system tract because response will differ
from one depositional system to another. A
change favoring gradient reduction (proximal
erosion) in one depositional system profile favors
gradient increase (deposition) in an adjacent
system. Effects in one system may cascade to the
next, further influencing grade response.
Like sedimentary facies, stratal surfaces are
complex, dynamic features of the geomorphic pro-
cess-response system that must be recognized and
sorted out in order to define the key genetic strati-
graphic units. Clearly, no single model or family of
models can encompass the great variety of strati-
graphic architectures and facies associations that
occur. Sequence stratigraphic analysis requires
recognition and interpretation of the surfaces as
well as of the facies associations composing the
depositional systems.
Stratigraphic Surfaces
Sequence boundaries are, by definition, uncon-
formities. Additional surfaces of nondepo-
sition or erosion may occur within a sequence.
Recognizing and defining areal extent and inter-
preting the origin of surfaces is the first step in
sequence analysis. Two end-member families of
surfaces are commonly recognized. Diastems re-
flect local erosional, sediment-starved, or bypass
environments within the process framework of
deposition. For example, a channel-bounding
274 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence Stratigraphic Framework

scour is a diastem. It has little time significance
and is clearly related to the channel fill deposited
above. In contrast, surfaces that reflect re-
equilibration of the depositional regime through
many environments within a sediment dispersal
system are unconformities. The stratigraphic gap
becomes temporally significant and may be mea-
surable paleontologically. Facies above and below
the unconformity are unrelated and may belong to
very different depositional systems. However, as
attention has focused on shorter timespans, the
distinction between diastems and unconformities
has become less well defined.
Six basic kinds of surfaces are recognized
within clastic successions (Table 11.1):
1. Fluvial entrenchment surfaces (Colman et al.
1990; Thorne and Swift 1991b; Koss et al. 1994;
Schumm 1993; Wood et al. 1994) form when
the river channel becomes incised and stable or
degradational in response to fall of base level
or decrease in the load to discharge ratio
(Chap. 4). Fluvial base level is commonly
pinned at sea level, so that relative sea-level
change affects coastal plain streams. However,
the relationship of shelf gradient to fluvial gra-
dient determines whether river entrenchment
or aggradation occurs in response to a sea-level
fall. Valley cutting is favored where the shelf
gradient is steeper than the alluvial gradient. In
most basin margins, both the shoreface and
shelf edge form inflection points, which are in-
cised if exposed by falling sea level. The inflec-
tions form nick points in the channel profile,
which then migrate upstream until a new
graded profile is attained. A lag time exists be-
tween base level lowering and complete re-
grading of the fluvial axis. Alternatively, short-
term gradient changes may be accommodated
by changes in channel sinuosity. Fluvial en-
trenchment surfaces are largely subaerial
unconformities. Coastal and delta plain rivers
may scour directly into shoreface, prodelta,
or shelf facies, abruptly juxtaposing marine
against nonmarine facies (Fig. 11.3B). The
fluvial entrenchment surface is the primary se-
quence-bounding unconformity of the Exxon/
Vail depositional sequence. Generally, the
fluvial unconformity is believed to be chro-
no stratigraphically significant (Table 11.1, Fig.
11.3B), although this is often difficult to docu-
ment in the nonmarine facies association. It
forms when the basin-margin regime ratio is
less than one ( < 1) and is decreasing. Erosion
by trunk streams, tributaries, and local coastal
plain streams engraves older strata with a net-
work of valleys separated by interfluves (Fig.
11.4). Interfluve surfaces in particular display
oxidation and leaching, well-drained paleosoil
profiles, and prominent root disturbance. Val-
leys of extrabasinal trunk rivers contain coarse
basal lags (Fig. 4.16D), whereas valleys of local
tributaries and intrabasinal streams fill with
intraformational debris and mud. Valley width
to depth ratios are low in fine-grained, mixed,
and suspended-load river systems; bed-load
streams tend to incise broad, shallow valleys
that may coalesce, leaving little interfluve and
creating a relatively flat entrenchment surface
(Table 4.2, Fig. 11.3).
2. The transgressive erosion surface, commonly
known as the ravinement surface (Chap. 6, Fig.

Table 11.1. Attributes of principal stratigraphic surfaces

Surface Origin Stratigraphic significance

Isochroneity Time span

Fluvial entrenchment surface Subaerial erosion due to falling base level + +

(including valley-cut surface)
Transgressive erosion
(ravinement) surface
Regressive ravinement surface
Shelfal starvation/erosion surface
Maximum flooding surface
Slope entrenchment surface
Shoreface erosion during base level rise
Shoreface and inner shelf erosion during base
level fall
Reduction or diversion of sediment supply
marine current deflation
Special case of shelfal starvation/erosion + +
surface formed at peak of regional transgression
Mass wasting current scour
 Morphodynamics: Concepts of Regime and Grade Adjustment 275

B A

.~
T50

o c B A

:: : C. : : : - : . >: ".:~. .:.:..~:::i: ~~~sfho:'r~e:fa:~:e';l:l;;6~p~ro~g:'r:a:da:t:io:n:a~1~S~h:el f

,=0z0

B F
E

~
100~_~
80~
F E

___ o c B

~
A

60

40

20

o -L~
Progradational Shelf
________________________________________________________________ ~

[[IJ] Subaerial bypass (tra ns -

gressive an lap) surface
~ Regressive rav inemen t surface ~
~
Shelf starvation/bypass surface
(Max imu m f ol odi ng surface)
EEI'Il'I Fluvial entrenchment
~ Transqress ive rav inement surface
(Condensed sect ion)
I!::J su rf ace

Fig. 11.3A,B. Cross-sections and time-space diagrams based level. Letters indicate location of hypothetical wells (which are
on models of prograding coastal plain successions. A Simple variably displaced) on the section and the corresponding time-
progradation. B Forced regression caused by relative fall of sea space diagram. (Modified from Nummedal et al. 1993)
276 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence Stratigraphic Framework
6.12), is widely recognized in transitional ma-
rine settings (Nummedal and Swift 1987;
Nummedal et al. 1993). Because erosion is
focused at the retreating shoreface, the sur-
face produced is a time-transgressive diastem
(Table 11.1, Fig. 11.4A,B). The ravinement sur-
face separates shore-zone, deltaic, or coastal
plain facies from transgressive shelf deposits. It
is commonly a relatively flat, terraced surface
capping the fluvial or estuarine fill of incised
valleys and may remove the record of interfluve
pedogenesis. Contemporaneous tidal scour,
particularly where focused around inlet or estu-
ary mouths, increases local depth of erosion
and creates broad, dip-oriented chutes and
swales in the surface. The maximum depth of
ravinement is a function of marine energy at
the shoreface and relative rates of sediment
supply, subsidence, and transgressive retreat.
Ravinement surfaces are commonly capped by
a lag of coarse sand, pebbles, intraclasts, or
shell. The surface forms when the regime ratio
exceeds 1 ( > 1).
3. A regressive ravinement surface (Plint 1988;
Dominguez and Wanless 1991; Posamentier
et al. 1992; Nummedal et al. 1993) forms by
nearshore erosion when there is a relative fall
of sea level ( < 1, R < 0, D > 0). Depending on
the specific morphology and sediment dynam-
ics of the shelf and shoreface, the regressive
ravinement surface may be of significant dura-
tion and areal extent (Table 11.1, Fig. 11.3B),
or it may be a diachronous diastem, much like
its transgressive counterpart. The regressive
ravinement surface separates upper shoreface,
beach, and coastal facies from underlying shelf
deposits, producing a sharp-based, commonly
tabular sand body. Gutter casts may be promi-
"'~""'99!'"
- - - - - - - - - Magnitude of base-level f a l l - - - - - - - -
---------Chronostratigraphic reliability - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - Bed load / Suspended load - - - - - - - -
Fig. 11.4. Styles of fluvial entrenchment surfaces. On the left,
deeply incised valleys are separated by weathered interfluves.
To the right, multilateral channel belts produce a low-relief
surface overlain everywhere by channel fill deposits. Deep val-
nent (Hadley and Elliott 1993), or the surface
may be a firm ground or even hard ground.
4. A surface of shelfal starvation and erosion is
created by transgression or other interruption
of sediment supply (Frazier 1974; Kidwell 1988;
Loutit et al. 1988; Banerjee and Kidwell 1991;
Thorne and Swift 1991b; Saito 1994). Sediment
can be stored in the nearshore sand and mud
prism, diverted by currents from large areas of
the shelf (very low Q), or bypassed as marine
processes remove the minor amount of sedi-
ment reaching the shelf (R > 0). Because cur-
rent and storm energy are present over most
shelves, hemipelagic sediment can be swept
away, and widespread erosion (shelf deflation)
may occur (Chap. 7). Diagnostic features in-
clude hardgrounds, oxidized substrates, low-re-
lief truncation of underlying shelf deposits,
glauconite, phosphate, and shell lags, and
lapout of overlying strata. Paleontologic gaps
may be recognizable. Depending on the dura-
tion and cause, the shelf starvation surface
may be a regional, synchronous, stratigraphi-
cally significant unconformity (Table 11.1, Fig.
11.3A,B; e.g., see Copestake 1993).
5. The maximum flooding surface is a particular
type of shelfal starvation surface produced
when extensive transgression of the basin mar-
gin leaves the mid- to outer shelf devoid of
significant terrigenous sediment supply (Fig.
11.3; Frazier 1974; Loutit et al. 1988; Thorne
and Swift 1991b). It commonly forms the
downlap surface for overlying clinoforms.
The maximum flooding surface records the
time when coastal retreat changes to coastal
progradation. It forms when = 1 and reverts
from accommodation to supply dominated.
A marine condensed section is commonly
leys are favored by greater magnitude of base level fall and low
bed load transport. Chronostratigraphic reliability of the basal
fluvial surface is less assured in multilateral systems
 Morphodynamics: Concepts of Regime and Grade Adjustment
associated with maximum flooding surfaces.
In the absence of terrigenous sediment accu-
mulation, chemical sediments such as glauco-
nite and phosphate, biogenic carbonate, and
hemipelagic sediment are concentrated. To-
gether, the maximum flooding surface and con-
densed section form easily recognized,
regionally correlative, chronostratigraphic
markers (for example, see Bhattacharya 1993)
and are the stratigraphic boundaries of
Frazier's depositional episode and genetic
stratigraphic sequence (Chap. 2).
6. A slope entrenchment surface is formed as mass
wasting, density underflows, marine currents,
and internal waves combine to erode and re-
grade the shelf margin and upper slope (Chap.
8). Where erosion is focused by structural,
stratigraphic, or sedimentary process controls,
canyons evolve, bounded by a submarine can-
yon-cut surface (Fig. 8.5; Thorne and Swift
1991 b). Although the vertical relief on the
slope entrenchment surface is commonly hun-
dreds of feet or meters (Fig. 8.28), the timespan
represented is highly variable. Some surfaces
are simple coalesced slump planes; others are
composite surfaces formed by long-term grav-
ity and marine current erosion. Regionally
traceable surfaces may be approximately syn-
chronous (Table 11.1), or multiple, temporally
discrete erosional events may punctuate slope
system deposition. Most continuous mass-wast-
ing surfaces and incipient canyons form during
periods of declining sediment supply and rap-
idly accelerating accommodation following ac-
tive depositional oversteepening (d 0)
(Dietz 1963; Thorne and Swift 1991b). Alterna-
tively, episodic tectonism leading to differential
subsidence, tilting, or frequent seismicity (ef-
fectively increasing R) can concentrate slope
erosion in time and space. Slope entrenchment
surfaces sometimes separate distinctive litholo-
gies, but more commonly they add complexity
and unpredictability to the already complicated
facies architecture of slope and base-of-slope
depositional systems. They are most readily
recognized by truncation of underlying strata
and by onlap of strata above the surface.
Many of the common stratal surfaces display
well-defined relationships to each other and to
associated depositional systems and facies associa-
tions. The depositional system tract, consisting of
fluvial coastal plain, delta, and shelf systems, is
277
a common template (Fig. 11.3). If no relative sea-
level fall occurs during one depositional event, a
simple parasequence consisting of shelf, shore-
face, and fluvial coastal plain facies records shore-
line progradation (Fig. 11.3A). A transgressive
ravinement surface separates fluvial and trans-
gressive coastal facies from transgressive shelf
deposits, which, in turn, are overlain by a shelf-
starvation or bypass surface. If the progradational
event is driven by a relative fall followed by a rise
of sea level, additional surfaces are introduced
(Fig. l1.3B):
1. A fluvial entrenchment surface truncates proxi-
mal shoreface and progradational shelf strata.
2. A regressive ravinement surface underlies dis-
tal shoreface facies, separating them abruptly
from subjacent shelf facies.
In both examples, an additional stratal surface
of condensed terrestrial deposits (paleosoil, peat,
or coal), representing a subaerial bypass surface, is
defined by onlap of transgressive coastal plain
strata. This surface reflects the increasing ten-
dency of the overextended coastal plain rivers to
establish stable equilibrium channels leaving sedi-
ment-starved interfluvial expanses as the shore-
line progrades. The bypass surface is subsequently
buried as rejuvenated coastal plain aggradation
accompanies relative base level rise and coastal
retreat. Superposition of shoreface erosion on the
fluvial-entrenchment surface may create a com-
pound surface (Walker and Eyles 1991).
Surfaces and Facies Associations
Clearly, facies successions become increasingly
segmented by diastems and unconformities with
increasing frequency and magnitude of variation
in regime parameters such as relative sea level and
sediment supply. Moderate to high rates of subsi-
dence and sediment accumulation preserve the
most complete record of such high-frequency
regime oscillations (Fulthorpe 1991). Conversely,
low rates of subsidence and accumulation lead to
superposition of surfaces, with younger erosional
events removing the stratigraphic record of older
erosional intervals. Transgressive ravinement, for
example, commonly scours below much of
the subaerial exposure surface, leaving only rem-
nants of the deeply incised valley fills intact (Fig.
11.5A). Alternatively, fluvial incision during a
phase of relative sea-level fall can largely remove
 278 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence Stratigraphic Framework

A 0.------------------------------------------------------------------,

10

E
OJ

"8
III
20
OJ
<;
E
'g 30
a.c.
<{

40

STRIKE----- mi
50~----------------------------------~----------~~--------------------------------------~

B 0.----------------------------------------------------------------,

50 ----~~;.~~~==~~~---------------- ___

,
o 5km

o 3 ml

DIP---

Fig. 1l.5A,B. Cross-sections of two Quaternary successions
beneath the modern continental shelf. A Strike section from
Southeast US Atlantic shelf. Letters and numbers indicate suc-
cessive Quaternary sequences. Stacked valley fills of trunk riv-
ers are shaded. (Modified from Riggs et al. 1992). B Dip
section of stacked shelf-margin deltas of the Rhone delta
system. Successive sequences. which are numbered. are
bounded by regressive ravinement surfaces. The transgres-
sive ravinement surface, which is preserved only beneath the
Holocene shelf system, is dashed. (Modified from Tesson et al.
1993)

the regressive ravinement surface and associated
progradational shoreface facies. Indeed, dis-
continuities accumulate in such abundance that
the goal of coherent facies mapping and interpre-
tation may seem unattainable. However, studies
of the Quaternary coastal stratigraphic record
(Fig. 11.5), which was formed during a time of
extremely high-frequency, high-amplitude regime
variability, offer reassurance. Similar facies tend
to stack or amalgamate in space through repeated
cycles of deposition, preserving mappable pat-
terns that unambiguously reflect their deposi-
tional setting. For example, on the slowly subsid-
ing southeast Atlantic margin of the United
States, repeated Quaternary sea-level falls have
left a stratigraphic record of amalgamated alluvial
valley-fill deposits cutting across vertically stacked
remnants of transgressive coastal facies (Fig.
11.5A). A dip-oriented sand isolith belt clearly
delimits the position of the trunk fluvial channel,
which was reoccupied during at least five succes-
sive middle Quaternary cycles. The Cretaceous
 Sequence Stratigraphic Paradigm 279

Fall River Formation (Black Hills and Powder of a sandy, wave-dominated delta system. Further,
River Basin, Wyoming) illustrates precisely the the same predictable thickening and facies
same kind of vertical persistence of fluvial and changes occur downdip within each of six units.
delta front environments and stacking of like fa-
cies during deposition of four discrete sequences
(Fig. 11.6). Because of this paleogeographic sta-
bility during multiple high-frequency base level Sequence Stratigraphic Paradigm
changes, lithofacies maps of the entire Fall River
depositional system are both meaningful and
readily interpreted.
Sequence stratigraphy provides a powerful tool
On the Rhone shelf, a repetitious succession of
for depositional system and facies interpretation.
progradational delta lobes accumulated (Fig.
Sequences are fundamental stratigraphic pack-
l1.5B). Although each lobe is bounded top and
ages that are genetically and chronologically sig-
bottom by composite ravinement surfaces, at any
nificant. Sequence interpretation incorporates the
geographic location very similar facies successions
following:
are present in all six parasequences. A net sand
isolith map of the entire 100-m-thick package 1. Depositional systems and their component
would clearly delineate the presence of the stack facies
of delta lobes and outline the general geometry 2. Stratal geometry

A B

1----0.98 km----t--O.73 km---+----O.98 km-----t----O.68 km---4

Ii Tidal-flat deposits I
- -
~
<L Q

m fI ~ ~ ~

1 em
[:::){:}J/\J Estuarine channel deposits .~ Q

.::~
t~/"{{P~l ~B- -
.
15 50 Fluvial channel deposits A
~

Wove-influenced delta front deposits ~ Q .~

~ ~~ ~

o 0 ~ ~ ~
I::::::!:!!::::!:::!:::!::!!!I Outer-inner shelf mudstone - 1-- i -
t-
~
- r - t-
o 8 km
I I
Lakota Formation o 5mi

Fig. 11.6. Four sequences (SCl-SC4) in the Fall River Forma- fluvial and deltaic systems that compose the unit. Line of
tion (Powder River Basin, Wyoming) repeatedly superimpose section AB shown in insert map. (Modified from Dhar-
valley fill and progradational delta front deposits to create a masamadhi 1995)
relatively simple regional facies distribution pattern for the
 280 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence Stratigraphic Framework

3. Geochronology above and below need to be added to reformat the

4. Understanding of the origins of unconformity diagram in the familiar depositional sequence
and diastem surfaces style. As drawn, increments 1-10 and 11-18 record
two depositional episodes. Increments 5-14 con-
Each element contributes to a more complete
stitute a depositional sequence. The first deposi-
understanding of the others. However, sequence
tional episode (units 1-10) was punctuated by a
stratigraphy is still in its youth, with rapid devel-
relative sea-level fall below the shelf margin; the
opment and modification of models, evolving ter-
second episode (units 11-18) was punctuated by
minology, and a heritage strongly rooted in
only a minor relative fall causing regressive
assumptions about the dominance of eustasy and
ravinement, and deposition remained largely on
simplistic sedimentary process models.
the platform. The upper episode model applies
Figure 11.7 is a general sequence stratigraphic
equally to shallow basins lacking a depositional
template, applicable to terrigenous clastic basins
slope and to low-relief clastic ramp margins.
dominated by dip-fed progradational infilling and
with sufficient differential relief between the
System Tracts
progradational platform and basin floor to create
a distinct slope system. The model is drawn in the Within sequences, sedimentary units are grouped
style of Frazier's depositional episode (Fig. 2.4); into highstand system tracts (HST), lowstand sys-
however, only additional depositional increments tem tracts (LST), and transgressive system tracts

- -
Wave influence

Tidal influence
Gravity failure and
==~--TST'---~1~8----------~ Transport
17

6-7
~ 13-16
HST~ ~ST 7 8

~~~
lIE I 3 4 5b
6

1< -::- :I
2 13-15

LST ,~ 9-IO~

~TST 1 -~ ___ _

lIE Likely sites of slope erosion Regressive ravinement surface

~ Shoreline of maximum transgression -v'-MFS
-~-- Transgressive ravinement surface ~FES

.'. :.: ... : . ' . .. ..

'0JjjJ
. ....... .
.. ,' ...
. ... "
.
'

',' ....
' '. " .

FES " :.,' ..

~".,:.':""'.. , ...: .. : ....... ,':: ......... l;!W'

Fig. 11.7. Idealized dip stratigraphic cross-section and time-
space diagram for two genetic stratigraphic sequences (units 1-
10 and 11-18) showing surfaces, stratal architecture, and
system tracts. Units 5-14 compose a depositional sequence.
MFS ------------'
HST Highstand system tract, LST lowstand system tract, TST
transgressive system tract, MFS maximum flooding surface and
correlative condensed section, FES fluvial entrenchment sur-
face

(TST). Sequence system tracts are defined by ge-
ometry and stacking pattern of depositional units,
bounding surfaces, and relationship to a relative
sea-level curve (Van Wagoner et al. 1990; Vail et
al. 1991) and should not be confused with process-
and facies-defined depositional system tracts
(Morton 1991; Thorne and Swift 1991b). HST are
characterized by progradational offlap. HST sedi-
ments are bounded by an underlying downlap
surface, maximum flooding surface, or marine
condensed section and are capped by the fluvial
entrenchment or regressive ravinement surface.
LST strata are bounded by the fluvial entrench-
ment surface and first overlying transgressive
surface. Deposition is displaced basinward
during lowstand deposition, and strata lap out
both landward and seaward. TST strata display
a retrogradational or backstepping stacking
geometry and are bounded below by the fluvial
entrenchment surface landward and first trans-
gressive surface basinward, and above by
the maximum flooding surface or condensed
section.
Many depositional systems persist through two
or even all three system tracts, which, in effect,
record evolutionary phases in the history of the
depositional system. For example, all three system
tracts (units 1-10) of the first depositional episode
in Fig. 11.7 could record the constructional and
retrogradational phases of the same delta and
slope systems. The delta system would show great-
est fluvial influence during deposition of the HST
and LST phases and become more marine domi-
nated in the TST phase. The slope system shifts
Table 11.2. Characteristics of the three depositional phases that compose a sequence
Sequence setting Processes
Highstand (HST) Coastal plain aggradation
Coastal progradation
Shelf aggradation to progradation
Mixed wave and tide influence
Fall and lowstand (LST) Coastal plain bypass or erosion
Coastal progradation
Shoreface and inner-shelf erosion
Increased wave influence
Gravity resedimentation
High-concentration turbidity flows
Transgression (TST) Shoreface erosion
Coastal plain aggradation
Shelf reworking or starvation
Increased tidal domination
Slope starvation accompanied by mass
wasting and regrading
Sequence Stratigraphic Paradigm 281
from a progradational apron during later HST and
LST phases into a retrogradational apron during
the TST phase. HST and LST progradational
strandplain systems commonly evolve into bar-
rier/lagoon or tidal flat/estuary systems in the TST.
Other depositional systems have preferred system
tract affiliations. Transgressive shelf systems are
limited to the TST.
Depositional processes and facies associations
are related to the phases of each depositional epi-
sode in predictable ways. Thus, as summarized in
Table 11.2, each system tract is characterized by
the prominence of particular processes, deposi-
tional styles, depositional system variants, and fa-
cies associations. Marine domination of coasts and
deltas is amplified during transgression because of
declining rate of sediment supply to the basin.
Depending upon the forcing variable, some ele-
ments may be missing or enhanced. For example,
pronounced sea-level fall to, or below, the deposi-
tional shelf margin favors development of incised
fluvial valleys that focus sediment directly onto
the slope, where gravity transport dominates.
Thus, strike-fed depositional systems are poorly
developed or missing entirely. On the other hand,
formation of a sequence due to pulsed sediment
supply rather than relative sea-level fall mini-
mizes the impact of fluvial channel erosion and
stabilization.
Highstand System Tract
The first depositional episode illustrated in Fig.
11.7 begins with rapid progradation across the
Depositional systems and facies associations
Aggradational fluvial systems
Platform to shelf-edge deltas
Strandplain and tidal flat/channel shore zones
Muddy slope apron
Erosional and stable fluvial systems
Shelf-edge deltas
Delta-fed slope aprons with common turbidite
channel-lobe complexes
Sandy fan growth phase
Aggradational fluvial systems
Marine-dominated platform deltas
Barrier/lagoon and valley-filling estuary systems
Transgressive shelf systems
Onlapping slope apron; hemipelagic drape
282 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence Stratigraphic Framework
flooded shelf platform (unit 1), reflecting onset of
a supply-dominated regime. When progradation
reaches the shelf edge, localized and rapid loading
of preexisting slide scars, perched slump and slide
lobes, and gulleys and canyons enhances upper
slope bypassing. In addition, the abrupt increase
in gravity transport potential (D) as progradation
moves onto the slope can sufficiently destabilize
the regime ratio to cause a brief episode of slope
regrading. This combination of instabilities com-
monly creates an upper slope bypass or erosion
surface and discrete base-of-slope lobe of sedi-
ment, characterized by onlap or bidirectional
downlap (unit 1, Fig. 11.7). Note that failure and
regrading occurs whenever progradation reaches
the old shelf margin; in the template this is well
before relative fall and incision of a fluvial erosion
surface. Thus, the deposits are included within the
HST. Were HST progradation slower, this regrad-
ing would not occur until lowstand forced
progradation to the subjacent shelf break. HST
deposition continues through unit 4.
In the second depositional episode, the HST
remains perched on the older platform and con-
sists of a simple offiapping stratal succession (units
11-14). Bypassing of fine sediment by suspension
or low-density underflows to the slope may infill
intraslope depressions such as channels and slump
scars and create a muddy onlap apron at the base
of the slope.
In both episodes, progradational advance of the
shoreline across the shelf leads to decreasing shelf
width and increasing exposure to open-water
waves. Shore-zone and delta systems conse-
quently become more wave influenced. Such an
evolution from a tidal to increasingly wave-domi-
nated coast with onset of highstand progradation
has been described, for example, in the Holocene
shore-zone systems of the Dutch and Texas coasts
(Wilkinson 1975; Beets et al. 1992).
Lowstand System Tract
When a relative fall of sea level takes place, the
area of potential accommodation space for perma-
nent sediment storage collapses inward toward the
basin center. Deposition continues, but most sedi-
ment bypasses the proximal elements of the depo-
sitional system tract, such as fan, fluvial, and delta
plain environments, directly to the shelf and slope
systems. The bypassing surface may be a fluvial
entrenchment surface (above unit 4), a wide-
spread soil horizon or peat bed (above unit 15),
or a regressive ravinement surface (between units
14 and 15). Basin-centered, downshifted sediment
prisms and wedges are deposited (units 5-8, 15-
16).
Several distinct depositional elements are typi-
cal of the LST:
1. Alluvial valley fills (Figs. 4.16, 11.4) and amal-
gamated fluvial channel fills are abundant
above the fluvial entrenchment surface (Fig.
11.7, units 6 and 7; Suter and Berryhill 1985;
Miall 1993; Shanley and McCabe 1993). With
the shift of deposition to basinward systems,
the fluvial reworking ratio is enhanced. Only
the coarsest or most deeply buried sediments
are retained in the valley fill. Whereas valley
incision is associated with base level fall and the
LST, valley filling can occur both during
lowstand and subsequent transgression (Fig.
11.7, unit 9).
2. Shelf-margin deltas (Figs. 5.26, l1.5B) are
prominent components of the upper parts of
the basin-shifted lowstand wedges (Suter and
Berryhill 1985; Tesson et al. 1990; Sydow and
Roberts 1994).
3. Delta-fed slope aprons and offiapping slope
systems (Chap. 8) are major sediment reposito-
ries. Sediment supply to the shelf edge is great-
est during deposition of the LST. Rate of
sediment supply to the upper slope is high,
and coarse sediment is deposited at the crest
of the offlap wedge, oversteepening the
progradational clinoforms. Gravity failure,
generating slumps, slides, and turbidity flows, is
ongoing. Where localized by preexisting can-
yons, tectonic elements, or deeply incised
drainage axes, discrete sediment lobes or fans
may accumulate at the base of the slope (unit 5)
(Ross et al. 1994). However, neither observa-
tion of Quaternary systems (e.g., Saito 1994;
Sydow and Roberts 1994) nor regime concepts
(Thorne and Swift 1991 b) support the elabo-
rate LST model, which initially bypasses all
sediment past the shelf margin and extends the
fluvial entrenchment surface down the slope as
a submarine canyon-cut surface (Van Wagoner
et al. 1990; Vail et al. 1991). As discussed in
Chap. 8, facies architecture of the offlap slope
system is determined largely by the texture of
sediment supplied and is predictable within the
sequence framework only to the extent that the

textural mix and areal pattern of supply are
known or are themselves predictable. Overall
sandiness of the slope system tends to be en-
hanced during the period of valley incision,
because sand tends to be bypassed through the
fluvial systems directly to the slope crest. Onset
of valley infilling temporarily reduces relative
sand supply. However, sandiness of the slope
system reflects both the bed load to suspended
load ratio of the fluvial supply and the degree
of marine reworking and sediment dispersal
along the intervening shoreline or delta front.
Understanding of the complete depositional
system tract is a prerequisite for prediction of
LST slope system facies.
During LST deposition, the shoreline occupies
its most basinward position, faces open water, and
fronts a narrow, deep shelf. Wave and storm re-
working are maximized. However, lack of a shelf
platform may limit deposition and preservation of
shore-zone systems, particularly during periods of
rapid eustatic fall and lowstand. Shelf storm beds
(Fig. 7.7) tend to be well developed during fall and
lowstand, especially if regressive ravinement
occurs (Einsele 1993).
Transgressive System Tract
The TST records accommodation-dominated de-
position during a phase of decreasing sediment
supply or relative rise in base level. In many ways,
TST deposits are the most distinctive elements
of the sequence. Component depositional systems
commonly include a retrogradational slope apron,
transgressive shelf, transgressive shore zone,
destructional delta, and aggradational fluvial
coastal plain. The diagnostic stratigraphic archi-
tecture of the TST is one of retrogradational
backstepping, both at the facies scale and at the
parasequence scale (units 9-10, 17-18).
Distinctive features of the transgressive system
tract include the following (Galloway 1989a;
Posamentier and Allen 1993):
1. Estuarine alluvial valley fills (Fig. 4.16)
2. Landward-stepping transgressive ravinement
surfaces overlain by upward-deepening shelf
facies successions
3. A discrete onlapping wedge or veneer of sedi-
ment deposited beyond the shelf break or at
the base of the slope and consisting of sediment
reworked from the shelf and upper slope
Sequence Stratigraphic Paradigm 283
Response of the fluvial systems to base level
rise is complex. Sinuosity adjusts rapidly to main-
tain channel grade. Trunk channels that transport
a large sediment load aggrade, first filling their
valleys and then building a broad, unconfined
alluvial apron while continuing to construct
back stepping delta lobes (Boyd et al. 1989;
Morton 1991; Wescott 1993; Wood et al. 1993;
Shanley and McCabe 1994). In contrast, other
intra basinal streams that may have incised valleys
but transport little extrabasinal sediment become
embayed, forming estuaries that display distinc-
tive flooding successions of alluvial, bay, and
shoreline facies (Chap. 6, Fig. 6.16) and low-angle
landward onlap (Dalrymple et al. 1992; Fletcher et
al. 1992; Allen and Posamentier 1993). Rising wa-
ter table favors coastal marsh and swamp develop-
ment, enhancing plant productivity and peat
preservation in the TST (Chap. 13).
As coastal retreat creates a broad, shallow
shelf, wave power is attenuated by bottom fric-
tion. Further, transgressive coastlines are typically
irregular, with prominent embayments and head-
lands that reflect the alluvial lowland and inter-
fluve topography of the transgressed coastal plain.
Both the broad shelf and flaring, embayed mar-
gins enhance tidal processes. Transgressive-phase
shore-zone, delta, and shelf systems commonly
contain tidal facies. Maximum landward penetra-
tion of tidal influence is achieved within estuarine
fluvial channels (Shanley and McCabe 1993). Or-
ganically rich black shales can form a basal trans-
gressive bed where flooding creates isolated or
silled basins (Wignall and Maynard 1993).
Locally, increasingly sediment poor density
underflows and mass wasting incise the upper
slope, engraving it with erosional gulleys and
slump and slide scars and chutes (Chap. 8). Signi-
ficant volumes of sand may continue to be re-
worked from the shelf, sourcing sandy facies
within the retrogradational slope apron (Saito et
al. 1989; Kolla and Perlmutter 1993; Self and Scott
1993). However, as available sand supplies are
used up and as the depositional shoreline retreats
further from the shelf margin, progressively finer
sediment is reworked onto the outer shelf and
slope. Upward-fining shelf and slope apron facies
successions typify the TST. Active storage of sedi-
ment within coastal plain and shoreline systems
leads to progressive shelf and slope starvation,
which is further enhanced if transgression is, itself,
a response to decreased sediment supply. Starva-
284 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence Stratigraphic Framework
tion, along with ongoing marine scour, creates the
widespread maximum flooding surface and associ-
ated condensed section across the outer shelf,
slope, and basin floor. Organically rich black
shales are commonly associated with the con-
densed section (Wignall and Maynard 1993).
Lessons of the Quaternary -
Stratigraphic Signature
of High-Frequency,
High-Amplitude Sea-Level Change
Like our models for facies and depositional
systems, our models of sequences rely heavily
on Quaternary analogues. As a time of large
and rapidly fluctuating polar ice volume, the
Quaternary is most analogous to other glacial ep-
ochs of Earth's history, such as the Neogene and
late Paleozoic. Characteristics of such times of
high-frequency, high-amplitude sea-level change
include:
1. Segregation of HST and LST deposits that
display different sediment dispersal patterns
(Ferran and Maldonado 1990; Nelson and
Maldonado 1990). During highstand, sedi-
ments are subject to coastal reworking and
alongstrike redistribution by geostrophic cur-
rents. At lowstand, dip-oriented gravity-driven
transport dominates.
2. Preferential preservation of LST successions
(Field and Trincardi 1991; Morton and Gallo-
way 1991; Thorne and Swift 1991a). Available
accommodation volume for HST sedimenta-
tion is limited. Further, HST deposits are
cannibilized during falling and lowstand depo-
sition. In contrast, accommodation volume
beyond the shelf is effectively unlimited. Sedi-
ment loading, subsidence, and storage are thus
preferentially localized at the shelf margin and
adjacent slope.
3. As timespans of glacioeustatic sequences ap-
proach thousands to tens of thousands of years,
disequilibrium profiles and regime lag times
become important (Schumm 1993; Wescott
1993). For example, valley incision caused by a
rapid sealevel fall begins at the channel mouth
and slowly progresses upstream. In the interim,
the river can most rapidly adjust its gradient by
changing its sinuosity.
Depositional Systems
and Sequences: Examples
Cenozoic strata of the Gulf of Mexico basin, a
divergent continental margin, and upper Paleo-
zoic strata of the intracratonic Midland Basin pro-
vide examples of depositional systems, facies
associations, and stratal architecture of sequences.
In both, a shelf platform prograded into the basin.
Depositional episodes are clearly defined by re-
gional transgressive flooding and deposition of
thin, correlative marine shelf beds.
Cenozoic Gulf of Mexico Sequences
The Cenozoic succession of the northern Gulf of
Mexico, an offlapping divergent margin basin,
provides a well-studied example of sequence de-
velopment in a setting in which the Quaternary is
an excellent model for older strata (Frazier 1974;
Suter and Berryhill 1985; Morton and Price 1987;
Galloway 1989b; Galloway and Williams 1991;
Galloway et al. 1991a; Yeilding and Apps 1994).
Two fundamentally different depositional system
tracts characterize the northern Gulf margin (Fig.
11.8). Large extrabasinal fluvial systems funnel
sediment into dip-fed deltaic headlands. Wave
energy, which is focused on the headlands, re-
works sediment alongshore, creating strike-fed
coastal bights. The deltaic headland tract consists
of fluvial, fluvial- to wave-dominated delta, and
delta-fed slope-apron depositional systems. The
interdeltaic bight tract contains streamplain, wave-
dominated shore-zone, shelf, and slope-apron
depositional systems. In addition, one or more
submarine canyons may locally intersect the sedi-
ment dispersal system, most commonly within
the transition zone from headland to bight, and
periodically bypass sediment to a submarine fan
system. Major paleogeographic reorganizations,
characterized by replacement of dip-fed fluvial!
deltaic axes with strike-fed shore-zone/shelf
bights, occur across prominent flooding surfaces.
Principal depositional episodes exhibited highest
rates of accumulation and load-driven subsidence;
intervals of transgression and flooding are
recorded by lowest sedimentation rates and
subsidence.
Deltaic headland and interdeltaic bight tran-
sects both illustrate a thick progradational sedi-
mentary prism that offlaps the previous shelf edge.
A Extrabasinal stream
l"trabasinal and basin frinoe streams

Interdeltaic Bight
Rfworkino

Deltaic Headland
1 1
t
B Geomorphic or structural focus edge 01 sequence

tJ
.g
o
\ '"a:
g
\ e?.
rJl
~ ~
) (t
~
~
rJl
(1)
.g
(1)

~r'-- ~
@
~
tT1

o 100 mi j(b
1 Location of section I I ' '"
o 150 km QAa6982
N
Fig. 1l.8A,B. Depositional elements of the northwest Gulf of Mexico basin margin. Reworking of deltaic headlands provides sediment for strike- ~
fed coastal bights. Submarine canyons may intercept long-shore transport. (Modified from Galloway et al. 1986)
 PLATFORM DELTA N
SHELF - EDGE DELTA DELTAIC HEADLAND ~
A B C D
l (. ... (. 1(. l. (, (

o
(1)
"0
o
I \, 0 DELTA- FED SLOPE APRON f!;,
\) Q. \ I ,.
~. \It ,~ g.
E ::;
e:.
[JJ
'<
'"(t
A a
'"po
::;
0.
'Ij
po
D,
(1)
c
~~ ~ '"
T,ons9ressive{_________ ~
'- , Apron . _________ ~
..... "-"-.:.
;.
t (~ <... t.. l
5'
po
[JJ
(1)
..c
e
(1)
::;
g
~
....
po
~,
0;;
~
::r
(=i'

~
po

Fig. 1l.9A. Idealized dip cross-section showing the stratigraphic and facies architecture produced by one depositional episode in a deltaic headland setting, A a
(1)

Offiap has occurred in response to a pulse of sediment supply and without a relative fall of sea level. :E
o

*
 Sand-prone facies

( ( ( ( Condensed section

PLATFORM DELTA SHELF-EDGE DELTA DELTAIC HEADLAND ~ Submarine erosion surface

A B C D
W Inlet / estuary fill

Subaerial exposure surface

U Valley fill

V V Incised turbidite channel fill

u Fluvial/distributary chann,,1 iill

SLOPE APRON
~ Slump / growth fault
~ Mass-wasting surface
B
~ Toplap

----- Downlap
~
..:...- Onlap

""""'~:,::: I~
(~'"

Fig. 11.9B. Offlap was accentuated by a relative fall of sea level. Locations A-E are hypothetical wells
 N
SHORE ZONE SHELF INTERDELTAIC BIGHT 00
00
A B c D

t:i
~
SHELF - FED SLOPE APRON >0
o
fA
E ;:;..
o
::;
e:.
( Ie ~ < c ~ \ ~~ C r./J
'<
~
~
i3
fA
Progradational
Prism
0..
Transgressive ;p
A C.
~
fA

~
;.
Er
III
-~ r./J
~
..c
>=
~
::;
~
"
~
;l
g.
.g
~
~
i3
~
~
o
p;-
'"'

Fig. 1l.10A. Idealized dip cross-section showing the stratigraphic and facies architecture produced by one depositional episode in a coastal bight. A Offlap has
occurred in response to a pulse of sediment supply and without a relative fall of sea level.
 SHORE ZONE SHELF INTERDELTAIC BIGHT
A B c D

\J \J SHELF-FED SLOPE APRON

.....::=
E
.l ( I <. <. <. <. ( <. ( <' (" <: I( ( , (

Tronsoressive
B Apron -

~ 0
(1)
'0
0
~~~~ ;:;.
'"
O
:;
e..
[/J
'a
c;
3
'"
~
:;
0-
[/J
(1)

.g
(1)
:;
(")
(1)

tT1
'"
>I
~
3
'0
<D
'"

N
Fig. 11.10B. Depositional offlap was accentuated by a relative fall of sea level. Locations of A- are hypothetical wells 00
'D
290 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence Stratigraphic Framework
Each also has two variants, which are illustrated
schematically in Figs. 11.9, 11.10. In the first,
progradation advanced over the shelf margin be-
cause of the high rate of sediment supply; in the
second, eustatic sea-level fall forced deposition
beyond shelf edge.
In the deltaic headland transect (Fig. 11.9a),
initial progradation of the shoreface beyond the
underlying shelf edge loads the upper slope, creat-
ing an unstable grade. Slope loading and over-
steepening cause upper slope readjustment,
sediment remobilization, and sand bypassing.
Onlapping, stratigraphically isolated slump or tur-
bidite bypass lobes are deposited at the base of the
offlap wedge. Relict transgressive-phase slump
scars, shallow growth faults, incised slope chan-
nels, or submarine canyons that formed during the
previous abandonment of the shelf edge enhance
and focus sediment bypassing. With continued
deposition, the slope regrades to the supply-domi-
nated regime conditions, allowing renewed offlap.
As the shelf-edge delta builds into deep water,
ongoing slope failure and gravity resedimentation
deposit a delta-fed apron, which constitutes the
lower part of the clinoform succession. In sandy
deltas, such as that of the Frio Norias delta system
located in South Texas (Fig. 2.8), deep-water
prograding successions are commonly mud lim-
ited, upper-slope sand bypassing is common, and
turbidite channels, lobes, and/or sheets are promi-
nent facies within the delta-fed slope apron (e.g.,
Yeilding and Apps 1994). In mud-rich systems,
sand is stored on the shelf, and the muddy slope
apron contains limited sand in leveed turbidite
channel fills and slump or debris flow lobes.
Growth faulting, which is not shown in the figure,
accompanies slope offlap. Faults commonly sole
on unconformities or condensed sections, but may
penetrate multiple sequences as well.
Coastal retrogradation is accompanied by de-
creasing sediment supply to the shelf margin and
slope. Slope declivity, which is greatest when
depositional rate is highest and sediment is most
coarse ( is very small; Fig. 11.2), is now over-
steepened for the new regime conditions. Thus, it
regrades (0 decreases) by mass wasting and storm
and marine bottom current reworking, creating a
rugose, erosional, upper slope surface. Like fluvial
channels, turbidite channels incise as quantity and
grain size of the sediment load in the flows de-
crease. Debris from the upper slope is deposited at
the base of the slope as an onlapping, heterolithic
to muddy transgressive apron (Fig. 11.9a). On the
shelf, abandoned distributaries, incised alluvial
channels, and interdeltaic embayments may be-
come estuarine and enlarged by tidal currents.
Wave and storm reworking of the shoreface and
shallow shelf create a succession of local
ravinement surfaces, which amalgamate seaward
to form the regional shelf-flooding surface, and
sweep eroded and bypassed sediment off shelf,
where it is added to the muddy transgressive
apron or drapes the slope. As the shoreline and
associated nearshore belt of active sedimentation
shift landward and water depth increases, the
outer shelf and slope become moribund, and a
condensed section of fossiliferous, commonly
glauconitic, hemipelagic sediment accumulates.
If relative sea-level fall punctuates or causes
progradation onto the slope (Fig. 11.10), facies
architecture is similar, with two additions:
1. A discrete foreshelf deltaic wedge is deposited
along the continental margin. This wedge com-
monly is further structurally displaced down-
ward and basinward along growth faults.
2. A fluvial entrenchment surface and associated
subaerial interfluve surface extend updip
through the deltaic and lower coastal plain
fluvial systems.
In the interdeltaic bight transect, pro-
gradational strandplain and barrier sands gener-
ally remain separated from the slope by a muddy,
progradational shelf system (Fig. 1l.lOa). Sedi-
ment constructing these systems is strike-fed along
the shoreface and shelf, arriving at right angles to
the plane of the dip section. Landward, minor
streams construct the coastal plain, which may be
separated from the shoreline by coastal lakes and
lagoons (e.g., Galloway et al. 1982b, 1986; Figs.
15.17, 15.19). Sigmoidal clinoforms dominate
strike-fed successions. Sand facies deposited
within the progradational parasequence sets show
greatest wave influence and have the best
alongstrike continuity. The slower and more uni-
form progradation of the shelf system onto the
slope is less likely to initiate large-scale slope re-
grading and deposition of a discrete bypass apron.
Sea-level fall causes abrupt seaward shift of the
shoreline, enhancing sand bypass across the low-
gradient, mud-rich shelf systems that typify the
Gulf (Fig. l1.lOb). Sea-level fall is recognized by
the following:
1. The laterally discontinuous or thin, sharp-
based shoreface facies (well C)
 Depositional Systems and Sequences: Examples 291

2. Juxtaposition of coastal plain or upper shore- typical of Carboniferous and Permian deposits
face facies on marine shelf deposits across a globally, reflecting glacioeustatic fluctuations. of
marine erosion (regressive ravinement) surface sea level. Their depositional framework, faCIes,
(well B) and sequence architecture are summarized in Gal-
3. Toplap with associated downward shift of loway and Brown (1972) and Brown et al. (1973,
coastal or shelf onlap 1990).
Principal depositional systems (Fig. 11.12) in-
Progradation slows upon reaching deep water
clude mixed-load fluvial and fluvial-dominated
beyond the shelf margin, creating an aggra-
deltaic systems that prograded westward across a
dational prism of stacked parasequences. Aggra-
shallow mixed carbonate/clastic depositional shelf
dational and subsequent retrogradational coastal
platform, a prominent shelf edge defined by thick
facies commonly contain stacked, amalgamated,
carbonate banks, and a well-defined slope system
barrier sand bodies and prominent inlet fills.
consisting of coalescing delta-fed aprons. Fluvial
Shore-zone systems typically expand along the
incision surfaces form narrow valleys that are par-
coast at the expense of the delta systems. The
ticularly prominent in the up dip section (Fig.
transgressive apron at the base of the slope is usu-
11.13). However, interfluve surfaces cannot be
ally muddy.
traced regionally across the outcrop or subsurface.
In a canyon fan axis (Fig. 11.11), focused
Transgressive erosion surfaces are poorly devel-
slumping and erosion first excavate the underlying
oped because the basin was small and the shelf
progradational prism. Headward erosion of the
broad and shallow. Consequently, wave energy
canyon onto the shelf may place it in a position to
was low during both progradational and transgres-
intercept longshore sediment transport on the
sive flooding phases. The most easily identified
shelf or adjacent shoreface. The fully developed
correlative boundaries are provided by flooding-
submarine fan system illustrated consists of sedi-
related condensed beds consisting of dark, fossilif-
ment excavated by canyon incision (resedimented
erous mudstone and muddy limestone; these have
as slump lobes, debris flows, and megaturbidites),
been used to subdivide the section into multiple
overlain by shoreface- or shelf-fed turbidites that
genetic stratigraphic sequences. During and after
are potentially well sorted and sand rich, capped
flooding, the broad, shallow, highstand shelf was
in turn by muddy to heterolithic deposits bypassed
blanketed by carbonate sediment, producing
through the canyon during initial progradation of
widespread limestone strata that merge with the
a subsequent depositional episode onto the steep
marginal bank complex. Thin platform deltas re-
canyon walls, all downlapped and buried by the
newed their progradation onto and across the
muddy deltaic or shelf progradational prism of the
shelf. Falling sea level periodically forced fluvial/
subsequent depositional episode. If the canyon
delta systems across the bank system to the shelf
remains localized on the muddy outer shelf, the
edge, where shelf-margin deltas prograded into
sandy shelf- or shoreface-fed succession is missing.
the Midland Basin, which was several hundred
The fan system onlaps into the throat of the can-
meters deep. Trunk fluvial channels incised into
yon, forming the lower canyon fill. Fan deposits
and through underlying HST and TST facies,
are commonly cyclic due to high-frequency se-
forming prominent valleys that filled largely with
quence or parasequence scal~ modulati?n ~f sedi-
alluvial or, less commonly, estuary deposits during
ment influx and/or autocychc lobe sWItchmg. A
the late lowstand and transgressive phases.
large canyon fan system may persist through ~ev
As is typical of successions with a strong
eral short eustatic depositional episodes, partIcu-
eustatic overprint, sand distribution is geographi-
larly if the canyon axis is structurally stabilized.
cally bimodal (Figs. 11.12, 11.13). Subordinate vol-
umes of sand are stored in HST platform deltas
and in superimposed proximal valley fills. The
Late Paleozoic Cyclothems; Midland Basin bulk of the sand is stored in the LST shelf-margin
deltas and subjacent slope aprons. Importantly,
Pennsylvanian and lower Permian strata of the Brown et al. (1990) found that the paleogeo-
Eastern Shelf of the intracratonic Midland Basin, graphic distribution of HST platform deltas is
north-central Texas, were deposited during the most closely allied to the distribution of the suc-
interval of late Paleozoic glaciation. They display ceeding LST deltas. Thus the HST and LST suc-
cyclic alternation of clastic and carbonate facies cessions, when mapped together as in Fig. 11.12,
 N

SantIprone lac'es
~
CANYON - FAN AXIS \ { f I ( Condensed section
A
-~ Submarine erosion surlace o
(l)
W Inlel l esluary "II '"0
o
\J Fluvial I dislribulary channel hll ~.
"tr Erosional Ian channel
o::l
1J Leveed Ian cIlannei ~
VJ
......... Slump I grOWlh laull
~(l)
~ Masswasllng surlace
___ Toplap
3</>
I')
::l
-... Downlap 0-
,c-4J\1 'Tj
I')
n
(i '
</>

g-
S'
I')

VJ
(l)
.g
(l)

g
~
,...
~
~.
'"0
::.
n
~
I')

3(l)
:<!
~

Fig. 11.11. Idealized dip cross-section showing the stratigraphic and facies architecture produced by successive depositional episodes in a delta margin/
submarine canyon/fan depositional system tract. Fan consists of transgressive, shelf-fed, and delta-fed facies successions, each with potentially different
textural compositions. Locations A-E are hypothetical wells
 HIGHSTAND SYSTEMS TRACT (HST)

~ Fluvial and dehaic (incised Mostly

dunng lowstand) highstand
~ }
coastal
Intertluvial, interdeltaic, plain
~ and prox imal prodehaic

Distal prodeltaic, embayment,} Mostly

EJ2TI] and terrigenous sheH
exposed
N Limestone shelf (& TST)
during o
(I)
E2j lowstand "0
of sea o
Limestone bank/atoll (& TST) level ::;.
'"
[lJ] o
i:l
LOWSTAND SYSTEMS TRACT (LST) ~
Incised valley and ell
shelf-edge della ~
(I)
~
~ Intertluvial, interdeltaic, and 3
~ proximal prodehaic
'"
Delta-fed apron

0..
E2J ell
(I)
~ Basin plain ..0
~ e(I)
SEDIMENT STARVATION i:l
n
(I)
(LSTITSTlHST)
Hemipelagic (starved) basin
plain: mannecondensed
~ ~ section
'trl>:"
~
3
20mi "0
oI Basinward limrt of ro
i ' ~ HST coastal systems
o 30km '"
QAI0741

Fig.U.12. Simplified paleogeographic map for the genetic stratigraphic sequence produced by one late Paleozoic depositional episode, Midland Basin, Texas, Highstand (HST) and tv
\D
l;)
lowstand (LST) system tract features are labeled, Transgressive system tract facies are thin and not mapped. Original map based on approximately 3500 well logs. (Modified from
Brown et al. 1990)
loa

...
;;:LST
~
...
Block shale I dark limestone

II m
1000-....300 III Limestone with interbedded shale

I i I Logged sandstone and siltstone

200
No horizontal scale Red-gray shale
500 D
Extreme vertical exaggerat ion
100
I',_/ I Incised valley
1 T .,.......

Datum bose of Coleman Junction Limestone - Maximum fload i ng surface

0..1-0
Well spacing nol to scale FlUVial incision surface
QAo6980

Fig. 11.13. Regional dip cross-section, based on about 60 wells, showing the depositional architecture of the late Paleozoic Cisco Group, Midland Basin, Texas. Highstand system tract (HST) platform
deltas and lowstand system tract (LST) incised valley fills dominate the updip section. Offlapping LST foreshelf wedges consist of shelf-margin delta deposits capping delta-fed slope aprons. Widespread
shelfallimestone beds were deposited during transgressive and highstand intervals. Length of section is approximately 100mi (160km). (Brown et al. 1990)

present a coherent paleogeographic picture of
each depositional episode. Highstand delta com-
plexes lie directly up dip of each major lowstand
shelf-edge delta complex. Successive maps show
that delta complexes of the previous and subse-
quent sequence commonly occupy different pa-
leogeographic positions on the Eastern Shelf.
Here, grouping highstand and subsequent low-
stand deposits into a genetic map unit best dis-
plays the paleogeography of the depositional
episodes. As in the Gulf of Mexico, major shifts
in deltaic axes take place across the flooding
surfaces.
Sequences in Other Kinds of Basins
The idealized sequence model illustrated in Fig.
11.7 is most appropriate for simple divergent mar-
gin or deep cratonic basin settings with a distinct
shelf and slope, simple tectonic subsidence histo-
ries, and offiap fill geometry. It must be appropri-
ately modified for other kinds of basin settings and
sedimentary successions.
In shallow intracratonic or distal foreland ba-
sins, where water depths are uniformly shallow
and no shelf edge and slope can form, a ramp
sequence model (Van Wagoner et al. 1990;
Einsele and Bayer 1991) is more appropriate.
Slope and base-of-slope deposits of the LST are
absent. Rather, LST deposits are simply the most
basinward deltaic and shore-zone systems. Marine
erosion surfaces, including regressive and trans-
gressive ravinement and maximum flooding sur-
faces, tend to dominate the stratigraphy, although
local incised valley fills or a broad, coalesced
fluvial incision surface may be identified if outcrop
or well and core data are abundant.
Tectonic activity can modulate, deflect, and re-
distribute sediment supply, creating transgressive
stratal surfaces and marine condensed beds, as
well as widespread coalbeds (e.g., Galloway and
Williams 1991; Belt 1993; Copestake 1993).
Changes in subsidence rate or pattern can modify
stacking patterns of successive parasequences or
high-frequency sequences (e.g., Aksu et al. 1987).
Tilting pulses can create subaerial unconformities
that are correlative basinward with flooding sur-
faces (Embry 1993).
In foreland basins, subsidence and sediment
supply are commonly pulsed, and subsidence is
Sequences in Other Kinds of Basins 295
greatest near the thrust front where sediment sup-
ply is greatest. Thus, in contrast to divergent mar-
gins, tilting is toward rather than away from the
hinterland. Depositional episodes, and conse-
quent sequences, are most likely modulated by the
pulses of thrust loading, subsidence, and sediment
influx (Cant and StockmaI1993). Sediment influx
can lag loading and subsidence, allowing forma-
tion of a deep basin that is then rapidly infilled.
Flooding surfaces are prominent as transgression
moves onto proximal areas of the basin, where
subsidence is greatest. Depositional system tracts
include thick fan, fluvial, delta, and shore-zone
systems in overfilled foreland basins. In under-
filled basins, fan, fan delta, slope, and base-of-
slope systems dominate.
Pull-apart basins characterize rift and strike-
slip settings. Source-basin relief is high, basins are
narrow, elongate, and deep, and basin margins are
commonly tectonically oversteepened. Conse-
quently, most sediment bypasses directly to the
basin floor, up lapping or onlapping the basin mar-
gin (Figs. 8.6C, 8.36F). Offlap is characteristic only
of the final stages of basin filling. Areal extent of
transgressive flooding is limited by the high depo-
sitional or structural relief of the basin margin.
Thus, there is little space for storage of HST de-
posits. Fluctuations in sea or lake level can, at
best, briefly interrupt supply of sediment to the
deep basin. The bulk of the preserved basin fill
will, of necessity, bear the attributes of the LST.
High rates of sediment input and small basin area
may preclude formation of well-developed con-
densed sections unless supply is interrupted by
tectonic diversion or climate change. Depositional
episodes are created largely by variation in
sediment supply volume, composition, or input
direction.
In deep oceanic basins, unconformities are gen-
erated by shallow- to deep-water geostrophic
flows (e.g., Poag and Ward 1993; Fig. 8.13) and
gravity-mass wasting or failure. Deep-sea current
patterns and intensity are coupled in complex
ways with global climate, sea level, and ocean
basin geometry. Mass wasting and megaslides
are commonly triggered by tectonic tilting or
seismICIty. Clearly, potential accommodation
space is readily available. Stratal surfaces and beds
instead reflect lack of supply, availability of
current energy to sweep away incoming sediment,
or active erosion by current or gravitational
energy. In basins with slow rates of sediment
supply and high levels of marine energy, little
296 Depositional Systems and Facies Within a Sequence Stratigraphic Framework
Table 11.3. Hierarchy of depositional units and utility of various data bases for their identification and analysis
Depositional unit Conventional High-resolution
seismic three-dimensional
seismic
Sequence E P-E
Depositional system" F-P F-P
Genetic facies association" F-P G-P
Parasequence (cycle) F G
Genetic facies (sand body)" P G-P
Architectural element
Bedset
Bed
E, Excellent; G, good; F, fair; P, poor; -, inappropriate scale.
" Lithofacies defined.
or no sediment may be preserved in coastal
systems. Rather, sediments are reworked into
aggradational or progradational shelf systems,
with sequences bounded by submarine surfaces of
various kinds (e.g., Trincardi and Field 1991).
Depositional episodes and sequences are
also represented within nonmarine basin fills
(Legarreta et al. 1993; Xue and Galloway 1993;
Shanley and McCabe 1994). Regionally devel-
oped, mature paleosoils, widespread coalbeds,
or lacustrine flooding surfaces or beds, and
unconformities that can be traced into concordant
surfaces across which composition, transport di-
rection, or depositional pattern shift abruptly, pro-
vide potentially useful stratigraphic boundaries
(e.g., Mellere 1993; Hamilton and Tadros 1994;
Shanley and McCabe 1994). Regional deposi-
tional episodes and their bounding surfaces are
created by the interplay of tectonism, climate, and
geomorphic thresholds.
Integration of Sequences, Systems,
and Facies
Sequences are the fundamental genetic strati-
graphic units of terrigenous basin fills. Fluvial inci-
sion surfaces, submarine deflation or mass-wasting
surfaces, major flooding surfaces, condensed beds
produced by regional sediment starvation (asso-
ciated either with maximum flooding or with
reduced sediment supply to the basin), and tec-
tonically produced unconformities and correlative
surfaces all form sequence boundaries. Each se-
Exploration Production Core Good two-
well control well control dimensional outcrop
E P
E G G-F E-G
G G-E E-F E-G
F-G E G-P G-P
F E-G E-G E
F G E
E E
F-P E E
quence contains, in turn, an array of depositional
systems that together reflect the paleogeography
through an interval of basin history. Within se-
quences, transgressive ravinement surfaces, local
condensed beds, and parasequences provide addi-
tional mappable subdivisions. Together, the vari-
ous bounding and internal surfaces and
parasequence stacking patterns define HST, LST,
and TST successions. Each system tract records a
particular phase within the history of the deposi-
tional systems that compose the sequence. How-
ever, all three system tracts need not be present in
a sequence or discernible in the portion of a se-
quence available for study. Sequences containing
only HST and TST successions form in any setting
where relative sea-level fall did not occur or was of
insufficient magnitude to produce a stratigraphic
signature that can be reliably identified and
traced.
Each depositional system consists of facies
associations, which commonly show repetitive
development in successions of stacked para-
sequences or cycles. Three-dimensional analysis
of each such parasequence allows interpretation
of individual facies or sand bodies. At successively
more detailed scales of observation, architectural
elements, bedsets, and individual beds can be de-
lineated and interpreted. Each level of analysis
utilizes appropriately scaled data sets that might
include reflection seismic sections, well log suites,
cores, and outcrops (Table 11.3), and each level
addresses specific practical questions. The follow-
ing chapters discuss and illustrate applications of
facies analysis to the exploration for and develop-
ment of hydrocarbon, mineral fuel, and ground-
water resources.
12 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
Introduction
Although a discussion of hydrogeologic processes
and basinal flow systems may seem to be a
departure from this examination of depositional
systems, it is included for several compelling
reasons.
First, the distribution or presence of certain
nonframework facies of many systems is deter-
mined mainly by the configuration of synde-
positional groundwater flow, rather than by
depositional setting. A prime example, and one of
economic interest, is the formation of peat. Plant
detritus can accumulate in any fluvial backswamp
setting. However, the high organic productivity
and subsequent preservation necessary for eco-
nomically significant deposits also requires spe-
cific conditions of regional groundwater discharge.
Thus, a combination of both a depositional envi-
ronment and a hydrogeologic setting defines
exploration targets for coal and many other
syngenetic deposits.
Second, epigenetic deposits, such as sand-
stone uranium ore bodies, are produced by
the concentration of dissolved material from mov-
ing groundwater. Groundwater flow patterns,
which reflect the geometry and distribution
of permeable framework facies, determine sites
of accumulation. Thus, localization of deposits
is indirectly related to facies distribution, but it
is neither controlled by nor uniquely associated
with the depositional environment of the host
unit. In addition, the geochemical preconditioning
or "host preparation" necessary for concentra-
tion can be controlled by syndepositional
hydrogeology. For example, preservation of dis-
persed organic material within fluvial channel-
sand facies is most likely determined by
the depth of the water table during deposition.
Organic debris and early diagenetic iron disulfide
provide the matrix-reducing capacity necessary
to precipitate dissolved uranium from meteoric
groundwaters that may subsequently intrude
the sands. Obviously, understanding and pre-
dicting distribution of epigenetic mineral deposits
necessitate reconstruction of both deposi-
tional environment and groundwater flow
history.
Third, moving groundwaters are thought by
many researchers to play an important part in pri-
mary and secondary migration, concentration and
entrapment, in situ alteration of hydrocarbons,
and diagenetic modification of reservoirs.
Finally, terrigenous clastic sediments include
aquifers that provide groundwater and are subject
to contamination. Efficient development, moni-
toring, or remediation programs require an under-
standing of the three-dimensional "plumbing" and
natural flow dynamics of groundwater systems.
Because data sets are rarely sufficiently abundant
to uniquely characterize the three-dimensional
aquifer matrix, groundwater distribution, and
flow, geologic interpretation is required to cor-
rectly interpolate between data points and con-
strain models and calculations.
Distribution of resources - coal, uranium, pe-
troleum, and water - within a sedimentary basin
thus reflects the combined influence of both depo-
sitional and groundwater flow sytems (e.g., Sharp
and Kyle 1988; Kaiser et al. 1994). Attempts to
understand their distribution will be successful
only to the extent that both kinds of systems are
accurately reconstructed.
Fundamentals of Groundwater Flow
Although many texts review the principles of hy-
drology, few specifically emphasize natural flow in
large hydrologic basins. Excellent texts on the fun-
damentals briefly reviewed here include Freeze
and Cherry (1979) and Domenico and Schwartz
(1990).
298 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
With the exception of a thin veneer capping its
subaerial portions, sedimentary basin fill is satu-
rated by water. Although movement of ground-
water may be slow, even by geologic standards,
long-term stagnation is unusual. More commonly,
groundwater systems are dynamic. Measurement
of movement may be expressed as flux: the vol-
ume of water crossing a unit cross-sectional area
per unit of time. Quantification of flux is given by
the well-known formulation of Darcy's law: Q =
KAlor QIA = KI, where Q is the volumetric flow
rate (VIT), A is the measured or assigned cross-
sectional area (V), I is the hydraulic gradient, or
difference in potential energy, expressed as the
change in elevation of the water level per unit
distance (LlL), and K is a proportionality constant
known as the hydraulic conductivity. Examination
of the equation shows that K has dimensions of
LIT (length and time units). Its value is a function
both of properties of the rock matrix and of the
fluid. Water level may be thought of as the eleva-
tion to which water in the aquifer would rise in an
open well bore. Darcy's law is an empirical expres-
sion that has been validated over a wide range of
matrix types and gradients typical of subsurface
conditions.
Inherent in Darcy's law is the assumption that
flow is laminar, responding to viscous and fric-
tional forces rather than to inertial forces. This
requirement may be violated in media where large
pores, such as fractures, and high head gradients
exist. In materials characterized by extremely
small pore diameters approaching molecular di-
mensions, a threshold gradient must be exceeded
for flow to occur (Swartzendruber 1962; Neuzil
1986).
A singularly important implication of Darcy's
law is that groundwater moves in response to gra-
dients within a potential field. Placement of a wa-
ter particle within such a potential field defines its
energy level and determines the direction in which
it will migrate in order to convert potential energy
to work and move to a lower energy level. A math-
ematical treatment of fluid potential was devel-
oped by Hubbert (1940) in a classic paper. The
magnitude of the hydraulic potential is related to
the hydraulic head by the gravitational constant g.
At any point within the flow system, hydraulic
potential is determined by the sum of two compo-
nents: elevation relative to the base level (usually
sea level) and pressure. A water particle at a
higher elevation has greater gravitational poten-
tial energy, or head, than all particles at a lower
elevation. Similarly, water within a regime of high
pressure has a higher potential energy level, ex-
pressed as a capacity to do work, than water in a
lower-pressure regime. In natural flow sytems, ei-
ther component of the total hydraulic head may
dominate and determine the direction and magni-
tude of fluid flow.
Fluid potential is measured with the piezom-
eter, which in simple form is a tube open at one
end to a point within the saturated portion of the
flow system, and to the air at the other. The level
to which water rises within the tube, measured as
elevation, defines the potential energy or hydrau-
lic head of the groundwater at that point in the
flow system. The water table is a special case of
such a head surface. A series of head measure-
ments, providing a three-dimensional array of
points, describes the potential field. Using the ar-
ray, equipotential contours can be drawn in hori-
zontal or vertical planes to describe the succession
of equipotential surfaces that define the field.
Along such a contour or surface, measured head is
constant. Maximum head gradient is obtained by
flow perpendicular to equipotentials. Thus, direc-
tion of groundwater flow within isotropic media
is uniquely defined by the field; groundwater flow
lines are always normal to equipotentials (Fig.
12.1). The combination of equipotential contours
and flow lines within a plane of section is a two-
dimensional solution to the general equations
of flow within a potential field and describes
both magnitude (flux) and direction of fluid
migration.
The basic unit of analysis is a groundwater flow
system, which may be defined as a coherent vol-
ume of water and earth material characterized by
boundary conditions, volume, flow geometry,
energy conversion capacity, flux, place within a
hierarchy, and a historical context (T6th 1963;
Engelen and Jones 1986). A simple flow system
consists of at least three components (Fig. 12.1): a
recharge area, a zone of lateral flow, and a dis-
charge area. Along flow, potential energy is con-
verted to work and decreases.
Groundwater flow through saturated media
may be either steady state or transient. Steady
state flow occurs when the magnitude and direc-
tion of flow are constant with time, and transient
flow occurs when either magnitUde or direction
changes with time. In conditions of shallow
groundwater flow, recognition of the two flow
types is relatively straightforward. Under steady
state conditions, conservation of mass (as defined

GROUND-
WATER
DIVIDE
RECHARGE REGION OF
AREA LATERAL
FLOW
Evapotranspiration
Fig. 12.1. Simple groundwater flow system within the shallow meteoric regime. Flow lines cross equipotentials at right angles.
indicating isotropic conductivity. (Modified from Galloway et al. 1979b; original from Williams 1968)
by the equation of continuity), combined with
the incompressibility of water, requires that the
amount of water entering or recharging a segment
of the flow system be balanced by an equivalent
volume of water discharging from the flow
segment.
Differentiation of steady state and transient
flow is more difficult when the long-term hydro-
logic evolution of large sedimentary basins is con-
sidered. On a geologic time scale, significant
volumes of water are added to the basinal flow
systems by compaction and mineralogic transfor-
mations, and both gravitational and pressure head
play roles in flow. In general, transient flow char-
acterizes periods when pressure head determines
the direction and magnitude of groundwater flux
within significant portions of the basinal flow
system.
Mass and Energy Transfer
Moving fluids transport both mass, in the form of
dissolved ions, complexes, or colloidal suspen-
sions, and energy, in the form of heat or electri-
cally charged particles. The primary direction and
magnitude of transfer (or flux) of mass or energy
are directly proportional to the volume and direc-
tion of groundwater flow. Solutes can also move
Fundamentals of Groundwater Flow 299
GROUND-
WATER
DIVIDE
DISCHARGE REGION OF RECHARGE
AREA LATERAL AREA
FLOW
Bedrock
through groundwater by molecular diffusion.
Where a concentration gradient exists, dissolved
species move under the influence of their molecu-
lar kinetic energy from areas of high concentra-
tions to areas of low concentration. In saturated
granular media, diffusion is an extremely slow
process, and diffusion flux is typically over-
whelmed by bulk transfer, or advection, of the
constituent by moving groundwater (Freeze and
Cherry 1979). However, in materials character-
ized by very low hydraulic conductivities and ex-
tremely low flux, such as deeply buried shales and
mudstones, diffusion may be an important process
of mass transfer over geologic time.
Advective transport of mass or energy is ac-
companied by gradual spreading and dilution.
This phenomenon is called hydrodynamic disper-
sion and occurs at both microscopic and macro-
scopic levels. Microscopic diffusion primarily
results from molecular diffusion and variability of
pore dimensions and geometries. The larger-scale
mechanical dispersion has been shown to be a
cumulative product of flow variability induced by
nonuniform stratification characteristics, irregular
bedding and reservoir geometries, and textural
inhomogeneities (Schwartz 1977). Thus, degree of
dispersion and mixing in a groundwater flow sys-
tem is determined in part by depositional or facies
characteristics of the host depositional system.
300 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
The high concentration gradients set up when
advective flow through highly permeable portions
of a heterogeneous aquifer bypasses low-perme-
ability zones creates a combined process of advec-
tion-diffusion transport (Gillham and Cherry
1982). Overall concentrations are homogenized,
fingering along permeable zones is suppressed,
and apparent macroscopic dispersion is enhanced.
Resultant concentration plumes thus tend to aver-
age out the effects of small-scale heterogeneities
within the aquifer.
Mass transfer of solutes, as well as thermal en-
ergy, by groundwater provides natural tracers that
may be useful in determining ambient groundwa-
ter flux (Wallick and T6th 1976; Schwartz et al.
1981). If dissolved constituents react with the rock
matrix, a record of cumulative flux geometries
may be preserved and provide insight into the
paleoflow history of the basin.
Properties of the Aquifer Matrix
An aquifer is the medium in which groundwater
flows. In most contexts, the term aquifer is used
only for units within the stratigraphic succession
that have the greatest capacity to transmit ground-
water. In a general sense, an aquifer is any strati-
graphie unit, be it a specific sand body, genetic
facies, depositional system, or composite of any of
these, that is capable of transmitting significant
quantities of groundwater under the conditions
and within the time frame pertinent to the
analysis.
Physical Properties
The fundamental properties of the aquifer matrix
are its porosity and permeability. Porosity () is
defined as the ratio of pore volume to the total
volume of a sample of material. Pore spaces in-
clude primary intergranular pores, open fractures,
and secondary leached pores. Permeability (k) is a
measure of the ease with which a fluid can pass
through a porous material. If the fluid density and
viscosity are specified, then measured permeabil-
ity is an intrinsic property of the media. Perme-
ability has dimensions of L2 and is commonly
expressed as darcys or millidarcys in petroleum
literature and as square centimeters in groundwa-
ter literature. Permeability is related to hydraulic
conductivity (K) in the Darcy equation. Hydraulic
conductivity expresses the combined permeability
and physical properties of water at ambient or
standardized physical conditions. Conductivity di-
mensions (LIT) are commonly expressed in centi-
meters per second or gallons per day per square
foot.
The range of permeability and hydraulic con-
ductivity in natural sedimentary materials (Fig.
12.2) is immense, covering nearly 14 orders of
magnitude. Even sediments within a single tex-
tural class, such as sand, may have a spread ex-
ceeding three orders of magnitude.
Permeability and hydraulic conductivity com-
monly are not uniformly distributed within an
aquifer, and the aquifer is described as heteroge-
neous. Further, the measured value may vary
depending on the orientation of flow. Such an
aquifer is said to be anisotropic. Both heterogene-
ity and anisotropy can vary randomly or can show
an orderly distribution within an aquifer. In sedi-
mentary strata, maximum values of permeability
are commonly parallel to bedding and minimum
values are vertical to bedding. The ratio can be as
much as 10: 1 in clays and shales (Freeze and
Cherry 1979; Dominico and Schwartz 1990) and
even some sandstones (Table 4 in Davis 1969).
Porosity and permeability are interrelated.
Most commonly, permeability correlates directly
with porosity. However, the exact relationship
varies from unit to unit because pores may have
varying sizes, degree of interconnection, and ori-
gins. For example, very small pores are abundant
in mud, but tortuous fluid circulation through the
microscopic pore throats entails more surface con-
tact, and consequent viscous frictional drag, than
less tortuous flow through large, open pore throats
in a sand of equivalent porosity. Isolated second-
ary leached pores may increase porosity, but have
little effect on permeability.
Primary intergranular porosity is largely a func-
tion of sorting, compaction, and cementation. Per-
meability varies with these factors as well as with
grain size. Well-sorted sediments have higher
permeabilities than do poorly sorted sediments of
equivalent average grain size.
Transmissivity
Permeability measures the ease with which fluid
moves through a unit cross-sectional area of the
aquifer matrix. Transmissivity is the product of
 Properties of the Aquifer Matrix 301

Fig. 12.2. Range of values of hy- Unconsolidated k k K K K

Rocks
draulic conductivity and permeabil- deposits (darcy) km 2) (cm/s) (m/s) (gal/day/lt 2 :
ity. (Freeze and Cherry 1979)
10 5 10- 3 10 2
10 6
10 4 10- 4 10 10- 1
(1)
>
0 10 5
10 3 10- 5 10- 2

~I
0
1 10 4
10 2 10- 6 10- 1 10- 3
C
0
en
10 3
10- 7 10- 2 10- 4
-01 C
0
(1)
10
c '"
oc ~u 10 2
",u 10- 8 10- 3 10- 5
~I
",0
o ~
(1)U
>- 10
~~i?1 I
~Oo
ti'i
10- 1 10-9 10- 4 10- 6

E (l)~
~
~ 0 c- Q)
-Q:iPEc
~I
0
10- 2 10-10 10- 5 10-7
~E~-92 -: 10- 1

]
~I E~; -=
(f)
10- 3 10- 11 10- 6 10-8
~I -= 10- 4 10- 12
10- 2
10- 7 10- 9
~I >-0 0
10- 3
I
(lJ
~oo
(1)--
.r: <.>0
10- 5 10-13 10- 8 10- 10

t
0(1)
10- 4

liD"
~ (1)C
c
~o'"
~.~
Co 10-14
~uf; =>E
~.- 0 10-' 10' 10- 5
u~~~
o 0 ~ 0
'2E ~6i
I lO-7 10-15 10- 10 10- 12
10- 6
::>Ec[ lO-8 10-11 10- 13
(1)0-
E- 10- 16

I 10-7

hydraulic conductivity and aquifer thickness and is
the cumulative water-bearing capacity of an aqui-
fer. Its dimensions are volume per unit time per
length, and it is usually expressed as gal/day per ft
in North America. Total transmissivity of hetero-
geneous aquifers may be calculated by summing
the transmissivities of individual permeability lay-
ers. Together, permeability and transmissivity de-
scribe the potential for fluid flow through beds or
facies. However, the actual volume, velocity, and
direction of flow are also determined by regional
hydraulic head. Thus, measurement or calculation
of transmissivity or permeability distributions
within a sedimentary sequence does not, per
se, determine which portions of the sequence
have been flushed by circulating groundwaters.
Rather, they define optimum pathways for
groundwater flow, should an appropriate hydrau-
lic head exist.
Because transmissivity is a product of aquifer
thickness and conductivity, which is in turn con-
trolled by texture and bedding, the three-dimen-
sional water-bearing capacity of a sedimentary se-
quence is closely related to facies distribution.
Framework facies define the highly transmissive
"plumbing." Bounding lithologies form a con-
fining, but leaky matrix around permeable, trans-
missive elements. Consequently, transmissivity
distribution may show both vertical and lateral
gradients as well as abrupt boundaries reflecting
transitional, abrupt, or erosional facies bound-
aries. In most depositional systems, transmissivity
is a highly directional property, reflecting the
trend of framework sand bodies. The importance
of transmissivity anisotropy is illustrated in Fig.
12.3, which shows two equally permeable and
thick sand bodies typical of coastal plain deposi-
tional systems. Although the fluvial channel and
barrier sand body have comparable permeabilities
and thicknesses, only the fluvial sand body pro-
duces a highly transmissive element oriented in
the direction of the basinward hydraulic gradient.
302 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
D 10+ 1 to 10+ 2 darcys UIIO-1
[ ] ] ] 10+ 1 to 10- 1 darcys [W;~RM
Representative order-of-magnltude permeability of unconsolidated deposits
Fig. 12.3. Contrasting geometry, lateral relationships, and
trends of equally transmissive framework sand facies of a
fluvial and a barrier/lagoon system. Both produce highly aniso-
For water to move downgradient through a suc-
cession of barrier sand units, it must cross the
intervening low-transmissivity lagoonal facies.
Flow is across the depositional grain and is much
less efficient.
Regional and local transmissivity maps can be
compiled from quantitative facies maps if suffi-
cient permeability or pump-test data exist to cali-
brate the most conductive facies. Because of the
orders of magnitude differences between conduc-
tivity of coarse and fine end-member sediments,
only the coarsest, most conductive units are likely
to contribute significantly to total transmissivity of
darcys
10-2 to 10- 4 darcys
tropic transmissivity axes; however, the dip-parallel fluvial
channel is the preferred aquifer for the regional coastward
hydraulic gradient. (Galloway et ai. 1979b)
the system (Fogg 1986, 1990). Bounding facies and
even finer-grained framework facies can be ig-
nored. In a series of regional studies of major Ter-
tiary aquifer systems of the northern Gulf Coast,
Payne (1970, 1975) demonstrated straightforward
correlations between average conductivity, aggre-
gate aquifer transmissivity, regional sand trend
and thickness, and depositional facies. Axes of
maximum transmissivity and observed flushing by
groundwater coincide with belts of fluvial channel
deposits. Similar results for Oligocene and Mi-
ocene uranium-bearing aquifers are reviewed
later in this chapter.

Hydrostratigraphy
A hydrostratigraphic unit is a body of rock or
sediment characterized by its porosity and per-
meability (Seaber 1988). Recognition of hydro-
stratigraphic units provides a parallel to
conventional lithostratigraphy and is based on the
examination of basin fills from the perspective
of the water-bearing properties of component
units. Hydrogeologic units function as either
water-bearing aquifers or water-retarding con-
fining beds relative to adjacent strata. T6th
(1978) distinguished a hierarchy of such aquifer
or confining units based on their bulk permeabil-
ity, regional extent, and lithostratigraphy. The
basin hydro stratigraphic framework is defined
by the spatial distribution of all aquifers
and confining units and the various types of
stratigraphic boundaries, including facies
change, lap out, disconformity, and erosional
truncation (Hansen 1971; Belitz and Bredehoeft
1990).
Definition and delineation of basin hydro-
stratigraphy provides the logical starting point
for interpretation of extant groundwater flow
and reconstruction of paleoflow systems. Correla-
tions between aquifer properties and specific
facies, framework isolith maps, and observed head
distributions and groundwater compositions
provide the foundation for such a detailed
hydro stratigraphic synthesis. Though such synthe-
ses are infrequently attempted, a quantitative
three-dimensional hydrostratigraphic framework
clearly offers a powerful and necessary tool for
interpretation and prediction of epigenetic and
diagenetic processes and of contaminant migra-
tion patterns.
Geochemical Properties
Sediments and sedimentary rocks contain various
detrital and diagenetic phases that may react with
circulating fluids. Such reactions change the che-
mical character of both the fluid and the aquifer
matrix. Specific reactions depend upon the chem-
istry of the invading groundwaters, but matrix re-
activity may be defined in four basic ways (see
below).
Soluble constituents that are selectively
leached from the matrix are present in most sedi-
Geochemical Properties 303
ments. Although solubility reactions can be quite
complicated, they are primarily controlled by the
pore-fluid chemistry and availability and grain size
of solid phases within the rock matrix. Reactions
may be as simple as solution of NaCl by fresh
groundwater or as complicated as the dissolution
and replacement of plagioclase by potassium feld-
spar during burial diagenesis. Thus mineralogic
composition is a fundamental property of sedi-
ments that predetermines potential dissolution/
precipitation reactions.
Reducing and buffering capacity are mea-
surements of the matrix oxidation-reduction
potential (Eh) and pH. Matrix Eh is a function
of the content of reactive elemental oxygen as
well as elements such as nitrogen, sulfur,
manganese, and iron that exist in two or more
valence states. Iron disulfide and organic ma-
terial are two common constituents in many
sediments that impact bulk reducing capacity
of the rock matrix. Buffering capacity, or pH
of the matrix, is a function of the abundance of
constituents capable of releasing or consuming
protons. Oxidation of iron disulfide, for example,
releases four moles of hydrogen ions (protons)
for each mole of oxygen consumed. Obviously,
pH and Eh are interdependent electrochemical
properties.
Exchange and adsorptive capacities of a sample
reflect the abundance and reactivity of colloidal-
sized constituents, primarily clay minerals, as well
as certain mineral phases such as zeolites. Electro-
chemical and physiochemical properties allow
these phases to adsorb or take up ions from solu-
tion, commonly releasing other ions in their place.
Exchange capacity and adsorptive capacity are in-
trinsic properties of a sediment, but they vary ac-
cording to the ionic strength and composition of
the species in solution.
Hydration of the aquifer matrix is a sum of
chemically and physiochemically bound water
contained within hydrous mineral phases, such as
zeolite and structured water in clay minerals. Such
water is subject to release upon application of
heat.
Geochemical properties of the aquifer matrix
define the potential for water-rock interactions.
Specific reactions depend upon the degree of
flushing and chemistry of the migrating waters.
Alteration of the aquifer matrix by reactive fluids,
in turn, leaves a record within the aquifer that may
be defined by traditional paragenetic and diage-
netic studies.
304 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
Basin Geohydrology
The geohydrologic framework of a large, actively
compacting sedimentary basin consists of ground-
water systems within several different regimes
(Fig. 12.4). Although the boundaries of the re-
gimes and their local terminology are sometimes
difficult to reconcile (Bogomolov et al. 1978;
Kissin 1978; Kreitler 1989; Harrison and Summa
1991), they nonetheless form important end
members characterized by their relative posi-
tions within the geography and history of basin
development.
The meteoric regime typically occupies the shal-
low periphery of the basin. Waters recharged by
infiltration of meteoric precipitation move toward
the topographic basin center under the influence
of gravitational head. On a geological time scale,
circulation is rapid. Discharge and evaporation
complete the traditional hydrologic cycle (Fig.
12.4).
The compactional regime is characterized by
upward and outward explusion of pore waters
contained within the compacting sediment pile.
Such waters may be evolved connate water, i.e.,
water deposited with the sediment and subse-
quently modified by water-rock interactions, or
may be meteoric water that has been buried below
the zone of active meteoric circulation. Pressure
head, generated by burial loading or compressive
tectonic stress, is the driving mechanism. If circu-
lation is impeded by low vertical transmissivity,
waters in this regime may develop substantial
pressure heads.
The thermobaric regime lies in the deepest por-
tions of the basin fill where temperature and pres-
sure are high. Water is released by dehydration
reactions of clays and other mineral phases. Fluids
move in response to pressure head created both
by phase changes, such as generation of gases, and
by lithostatic loading. However, the extremely low
permeabilities produced by compaction and ce-
mentation of confining units commonly restrict
water circulation and geochemically modify ex-
pelled waters.
Recognition of the thermobaric and COffi-
pactional regimes as important components of
the hydrologic basin requires a larger view of the
hydrologic cycle as it evolves during filling of ma-
jor sedimentary basins. Large volumes of water
are diverted from the meteroric and surface flow
systems and entombed within the sediment fill as
pore or mineral-bound water. These waters dis-
charge into and mix with the meteoric regime
slowly, if at all. Unlike the meteoric systems,
which continually recirculate unlimited volumes
of water, the supply of compactional and
thermobaric waters, though large, is finite. Inter-
preted processes or products ascribed to circu-
lation within these systems must recognize and
accommodate this limitation.
Evolution of the Hydrologic Basin
Basin hydrology begins with deposition. Strata
contain pore water either entombed with the sedi-
ment (connate water) or introduced by meteoric
circulation within the depositional, water table
aquifer. Ongoing deposition leads to burial and
confinement of aquifers. Around the basin mar-
gin, confined flow systems expand the depth of
meteoric penetration and flushing of connate wa-
ters (Domenico and Robbins 1985). Sea-level falls
further increase the range of meteoric flow system
penetration (Harrison and Summa 1991). In the
basin center, burial leads to compaction and
explusion of connate water. Deep burial induces
dewatering of hydrous minerals. These com-
pactional and thermo baric regimes persist as long
as basin subsidence and infilling continue. How-
ever, with cessation of basin subsidence the flux of
compactional waters and thermobaric fluids de-
creases and ultimately ceases. The compactional
and thermobaric regime dissipate. Strata of such a
"mature" basin are increasingly flushed by mete-
oric water recharged along the uplifted margins
(Coustau et al. 1975; T6th 1980). Regional flow is
centripetal toward the topographic floor of the
hydrologic basin. Well-described basins in which
ambient flow is dominated by regional meteoric
circulation driven by gravitational head include
the Paris Basin (Korotchansky and Mitchell 1972),
the Great Lowland Artesian Basin of Hungary
(Erdelyi 1972), and the Mesozoic foreland basins
of Alberta (Hitchon 1969a,b; Schwartz et al. 1981)
and the United States (Belitz and Bredehoeft
1988). Long-term flushing by regional meteoric
circulation replaces residual connate waters with
geochemically evolved meteoric waters (Clayton
et al. 1966; Dominico and Robbins 1985). Uplift
and erosion may create pressure and flow
disequilibrium within deep, confined flow systems
that persists for millions of years (T6th and Corbet
1987). With tectonic stability and erosional level-
 OS?r\.RIC CIRCULAT
~~ -- I~
PreCipi tation

Evapotranspiration ~~
Evaporation

Infll1ration

D Zone of abnormal pressure

Iso therms
I:P
~
V>
S
Cl
(l)
o
::r
'<
0.
'1
o
0"
(JQ
'<

SubSidence
...,
o
Fig. 12.4. Geohydrologic regimes of a large, depositionally active sedimentary basin VI
306 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
ing of basin margin relief, circulation of meteoric
water slows and the hydrologic basin may become
stagnant. The vertical pressure gradient through-
out the basin fill is hydrostatic (Coustau et al.
1975).
Dynamics of Groundwater Flow
The geometry of groundwater flow is determined
by the following:
1. The slope and configuration of the potentio-
metric surface (as defined by the water table in
unconfined hydro stratigraphic systems or by
pressure head within confined systems)
2. The three-dimensional permeability distribu-
tion within the saturated basin fill
In certain settings, density gradients created by
salinity or temperature variation may drive flow.
Water table configuration is a subdued image of
the land surface, rising in areas of greater surface
elevation. Thus, in the meteoric regime, ground-
water flow is a function of topography and geology
(Freeze and Witherspoon 1968). Figure 12.5
(A,B) illustrates two simple situations. In both
models, regional flow of water is to the left, down
the regional hydraulic gradient established by the
slope of the water table. Flow is concentrated or
focused within the confined dipping (model A)
and horizontal (model B) permeable layers that
offer the path of least resistance down the regional
gradient. Recharge can be direct where the aqui-
fer intersects the water table (model A) or can
occur by cross-stratal flow through an overlying
confining unit (model B).
Model C (Fig. 12.5) illustrates the effect of an
irregular water table surface, such as might occur
in the dissected or hilly topography of a basin
margin. Flow is divided into local and regional
cells and multiple zones of recharge and discharge.
T6th (1972) emphasized the importance of hierar-
chical flow systems within a regional groundwater
basin. Figure 12.5E illustrates the effect of a per-
meable layer on a hierarchical flow system. Flow
threads collect within the permeable unit, accen-
tuating development of the regional flow system at
the expense of the local systems.
Flow intersecting a confining layer (Fig. 12.5B)
refracts across the less permeable zone, thus mini-
mizing flow distance within it. This model, com-
bined with models A, B, and E, reinforces the
important concept that fluid flow preferentially
utilizes the most permeable avenues available to
move downgradient. Differentially conductive
materials distort the potential field that controls
flow direction, just as an iron bar within a mag-
netic field distorts the field lines. Relative perme-
ability rather than absolute permeability of the
transmissive and confining zones determines flow
geometry. Volume of flux is, of course, directly
proportional to transmissivities of the system and
to head.
In anisotropic layers, flow along the direction
of maximum permeability is emphasized (Fig.
12.5F). Thus flow typically parallels bedding
within sedimentary sequences, as long as bound-
ary conditions and regional head slope permit.
Note that in anisotropic media, flow lines do not
cross equipotential lines at right angles.
The final two models (Fig. 12.5G,H) depict ef-
fects of continuous and discontinuous buried, or
"blind" aquifers. Buried aquifers efficiently collect
recharge through overlying confining units and
move it in the direction of regional gradient.
Pinchout of such an aquifer results in dispersion
of the collected flow as local increases in hydrau-
lic gradient (indicated by closer spacing of
equipotentials) compensate for the tenfold de-
crease in permeability of the total section. Flow
dispersion or defocusing results in discharge of
fluids to the surface or into adjacent permeable
layers.
Structural features may produce permeable or
impermeable boundaries that crosscut strati-
graphic bedding. Fault and fracture zones, in par-
ticular, may form significant vertical permeability
conduits that connect aquifers. However, it is im-
portant to emphasize that groundwater flow is di-
rected down regional hydraulic gradient and is not
controlled by structural dip. Because the direc-
tions of bed dip and land surface slope often coin-
cide in subsiding basins, flow commonly does
parallel dip. However, if dip reversals occur, flow
direction remains basinward across bedding.
Meteoric Flow Regime
The meteoric regime may extend to depths
exceeding 6000ft (2000m) in confined aquifers
around the margins of subsiding basins and to
greater depths in inactive or uplifted basin fills.
Residence times in the subsurface may be as great
 Regional .,
Intermediate
'f ., I .. , Local
>+------l I+----------+l

A E

Cross -oguitord recharge

--------

\ '-...
--- \ '-
'-.
~~_I
"
B

Discharge ( o
o I~echarg,e, o I~echarg~ I o

c G

Upward
I. recharge

K=IO

~
(l)
o / EXPLANATION H r;
( Equipotentlals - - Flow streamlines +Water table o
::1.
n
Fig. 12.SA-H. Computer-generated cross-sections illustrating the effects of various geologic parameters on the geometry of groundwater flow. A Simple outcrop recharge and ::!l
o
downgradient (to the left) flow within a conductive layer. B Cross-aquitard recharge of a buried conductive layer. Flow moves downward into the conductive conduit, then down ~
the hydrodynamic gradient. C Complex local and intermediate flow systems generated within a homogeneous aquifer by irregular water-table topography. D Upward flow of i'::I
(l)

water across a dipping confining layer and into a shallower conductive layer. E Concentration of regional basin ward flow within a conductive layer. Irregular topography results 1J3.
3(l)
in complex local and intermediate flow systems, particularly within less conductive units. F Accentuation of lateral flow within a layer displaying strong horizontal conductivity
anisotropy. Flow lines are not normal to equipotentials in anisotropic media. G Collection of regional flow in a buried conductive layer. Flow lines originate from several local
cells produced by topographic irregularities. H Flow dispersion and surface discharge produced by downgradient pinch out of a conductive layer. In all models, hydraulic w
conductivity (K) of layers is expressed as a relative value. Absolute values determine the volume but not the geometry of flow. (Modified from Freeze 1969) 8
308 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology

as several millions of years (T6th 1978). However,
all waters originate as recharge by downward per-
colation across the water table and ultimately re-
turn to the surface hydrosphere as discharge.
Development of hierarchical flow systems is
common. Meteoric circulation is responsible for
development of epigenetic uranium deposits,
commonly determines the distribution of swamps,
marshes, and saline soils, affects the secondary
migration and alteration of hydrocarbons, and
controls the migration rates and patterns of natu-
ral or introduced contaminants.
Geochemical Alteration
As it enters and moves through the basin fill,
meteoric groundwater is modified by contact with
the aquifer matrix. Extent of the modification
depends on several factors, including the nature
of the recharge zone, mineralogy of the sediments,
residence time in the subsurface, and cumulative
degree of flushing already experienced by the
aquifers. In addition, the relatively simple
downflow evolution may be abruptly or gradually
modified by mixing with water discharged from
underlying aquifers or from the compactional or
thermo baric regimes.
Initial recharge of the meteoric system is by
downward percolation through the unsaturated
vadose zone (Fig. 12.6). Recharge waters are un-
dersaturated with respect to soluble minerals, con-
tain dissolved oxygen and CO 2 , and are capable
of mechanically transporting very fine clay or col-
loidal particles. Pedogenic features, including
leached zones and accumulations of carbonate
minerals, metal oxides, and clay minerals, are di-
rect products of the downward percolation of infil-
trated waters through the zone of aeration.
Bacterial degradation of plant debris consumes
oxygen and generates CO 2 , which is partly dis-
solved in the water and partly discharged into the
atmosphere. Oxidation is pronounced in well-aer-
ated soils with a deep water table and may be
incomplete in poorly drained soils supporting
abundant vegetation. Addition of CO 2 and deple-
tion of O 2 decrease Eh and increase pH as precipi-
tation collects in surface hydrologic systems and
then infiltrates into shallow aquifers (Fig. 12.7).
The resultant shallow groundwater is typically
slightly oxidizing and mildly acidic to basic.
Once below the water table and in the zone of
lateral flow, groundwater begins a geochemical
evolution that commonly produces a moderately
reducing brine. Regional downflow geochemical
modification of groundwater and development

Y''A' t
O2
Soil
I V' Zone
I
I I I
Orgonic matter A I
~1l CO 2
I
I
~~ i~ I I
:::r:=~-
Accumulation and
?~ ~ I
precipitation
(carbonate, oxides, B I I
"o~.! clay minerals) I Vadose
- .. --- I
- -
- . ..
Q)
C'
0 I I
Zone

:--
or:
0
I I

I
Q)

I
C> 0::
<;' Weathered
- C?: '. .geologic materials, I
' .. -- . , sediments,
- or bedrock
C I I
~.
" I I Fig. 12.6. Geochemical and satura-
o \.o~ ,
~_ ~
.... 0 o. I I tion environments of the recharge
I zone. Soils profiles reflecting leach-
.:~y:'?
/1'/////
-Y('/~/
//~/ ........./~
////////////////
/////////////////
~.////////////////
I

///////Af/////c~///
///////
~//////
I
////////,,//
//////~ / /
Capillary fringe
Water table
ing and dissolution (A), precipita-
tion and accumulation (B), and
/~~
//////////////// ////// y/////// /// partially weathered parent material
/~;:.
//////////////// /////////////////// Zone of saturation
//////////////// /////////////////// (C). (Modified from Freeze and
:::::::;::;:~::;;
'~~ ///////////////////
///// ///////////////////
Cherry 1979, p. 240)

+1000
"-
"-
\
\
U)
"0
>
.-
~
.r::
w
0
-600
Fig. 12.7. Typical Eh-pH fields of precipitation. surface water and seawater, and shallow to deep groundwaters showing the
systematic electrochemical evolution through the hydrological cycle. (Modified from Baas-Becking et al. 1960)
of a succession of hydrochemical facies were first
described by Chebotarev (1955). Although the
specific succession of hydrochemical facies he rec-
ognized does not characterize all sedimentary ba-
sins, the general geochemical trends (Fig. 12.8) are
typical of most meteoric flow systems contained
within clastic aquifers (Back 1966; Galloway et al.
1979; Freeze and Cherry 1979, p. 241; Custodio
1987).
Oxidants, including dissolved O 2 , NO:3, SO~-,
and CO 2 , are consumed downflow by reactions
with reducing organic and mineral components of
the aquifers matrix, thus decreasing Eh (Champ et
al. 1979). Reactions with silicate phases tend to
increase pH as well, producing a mildly basic wa-
ter containing increasing amounts of dissolved
HC0:3. Other major dissolved ionic species in-
clude Na+, Ca 2+, Cl-, and sometimes SO~-. Shallow,
fresh meteoric groundwater is dominated by Ca 2+
cations. Downflow, the Ca2+ replaces Na+ one for
two in exchange sites on clays. Concomitantly, Cl-
is leached from dispersed sites within the sediment
Meteoric Flow Regime 309
;'
/
+ Mean seawater
illJ]] Preci pitation
Surface waters
~ Shallow ground waters
Deep ground waters
~ and connote waters
matrix. The resultant groundwater is dominated
by Na+ and Cl-. Content of total dissolved solids
(TDS) increases as additional salts are leached,
resulting in a moderately saline brine.
Distribution and abundance of sulfur species
are more complex. Moderate amounts of SO~- are
generated in shallow portions of the flow system
by oxidation of sulfide or sulfate minerals or or-
ganic sulfur within the aquifer matrix. DownfJ.ow,
anaerobic reduction of sulfate may produce H 2S
or HS- (Stumm and Morgan 1970; Champ et al.
1979). In the absence of bacterial activity, SO~
persists as a metastable phase at low temperatures
and can increase if additional sulfate minerals are
leached. Both methanogenic and sulfate-reducing
bacteria occur within aquifers and may add CO 2 to
the groundwater (Chapelle et al. 1987).
In addition to geochemical changes, meteoric
groundwater is heated as it moves deeper
basinward. Both the trends in geochemical evolu-
tion and perturbations in isothermal surfaces or
contours (Fig. 12.4) provide traces for interpreta-
310 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology

Low - - - - - - - - - - pH - - - - - - - - - - High
H i g h - - - - - - - - - - Eh 0 Low
High Ca+---------
o Low

Low Na+ ---------0 High

Low CI- High
Variable SO~ H2 S,HS-
Low HC03 High
Moderate Si Low
Low TDS High
Low Temperature/Pressure High

Fig. 12.8. Downfiow hydrochemical evolution of meteoric groundwater

tion of flow dynamics of regional meteoric flow
systems (T6th 1972; Schwartz et al. 1981; Hitchon
1984).
Water-Rock Interactions
As meteoric ground waters evolve by interaction
with the rock matrix, physiochemical and chemi-
cal reactions alter the composition not only of the
water but of the host rock as well, leaving a record
of the passage of the water in the diagenetic min-
eralogy and geochemistry. Examples include
calcite dissolution and precipitation, feldspar dis-
solution and hydrolysis to kaolinite, leaching of
organic matter, neoformation of smectitic clay,
and oxidation of iron sulfide minerals followed
downflow by precipitation of new iron sulfides
(Chapelle 1983; Lloyd and Heathcote 1985, Chap.
9; Custodio 1987; Lee and Strickland 1988). Varia-
tions in flux of waters through various portions of
the aquifer determine the sites at which the reac-
tive waters contact the rock matrix. Groundwater
flux is, in turn, a product of the physical aspects of
the flow system (permeability distribution, flow
boundaries, and hydrologic gradient).
Examination of alteration patterns suggests
that their geometry is significantly controlled by
physical aspects of aquifer systems. One economi-
cally important example of this interplay between
the physical stratigraphy and groundwater flux is
the formation of an oxidation tongue. Because
meteoric groundwaters of many flow systems are
mildly oxidizing at the recharge area, flow results
in oxidation of reductants in the permeable rock
matrix. With time and accumulated transport of
oxidant into the system, portions of the aquifer are
thoroughly oxidized. If there are reasonably uni-
form abundances of reductants (including organic
material, reduced iron and manganese, and sulfide
minerals) in the rock and oxidant within the
groundwaters, the volume of rock oxidized along
a flow line will be directly proportional to the
groundwater flux along that flow line. Areas of
high flux will be characterized by development of
downgradient projections, or tongues, of oxidized
rock matrix.

.-----........ Schematic flow line
- - __ _ Sand axis
_______ Active front
...................
---
Former positions of active front
Passive front
Fig. 12.9. Idealized oxidation tongue produced by the flux of
reactive, oxidizing groundwater through a uniformly reduced
aquifer. A Convergent flow and oxidation salient, B deflected
Figure 12.9 shows oxidizing water recharging a
fluvial aquifer sand unit and moving down the
regional hydraulic gradient. Flow is focused by
converging sand trends into area A. Thus, the flux
of oxidant into this relatively limited portion of
the aquifer is increased, and the oxidation front
migrates most rapidly downflow; producing a
tongue-like salient. Flanks of the tongue are char-
acterized by little cross-flow and appear as poorly
defined boundaries between oxidized and reduced
sediment. Other areas of active cross-flow, such as
B, also form a well-defined geochemical interface,
but less oxidant is imported here than into areas of
flow concentration, so the front migrates less rap-
Meteoric Flow Regime 311
flow, C areas of divergent flow, D bypassed permeable zone.
For further discussion, see text. (Galloway et al. 1979b)
idly. Where flow lines diverge, as at C, front mi-
gration is minimal, resulting in remnant reduced
islands or embayments in the oxidation tongue.
Over time, diffusion will alter these advective flow
remnants. Lastly, large volumes of highly perme-
able, transmissive sand may be bypassed alto-
gether or may lie beyond the reach of the
alteration front (Fig. 12.9, area D).
Discharge Phenomena
Sites of active discharge, particularly of regional
meteoric systems, are of particular significance.
Discharging waters commonly maintain large
312 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology

areas of shallow or even emergent water table,
allowing rapid growth of plants and preventing
oxidation of detrital vegetal matter in the soil en-
vironment. Bogomolov and Kats (1972) estimated
that over 60% of the marshlands of Russia are fed
by groundwater discharge; they further pointed
out that the chemical constituents added to the
marsh deposits by groundwater make them unusu-
ally fertile soils. Development of marsh and asso-
ciated bedded organic debris along the
topographic axis of the arid Great Valley in Cali-
fornia attests to the importance of meteoric
groundwater discharge in the formation and pres-
ervation of marsh and swamp deposits. Coastal
marshes and swamps, though in part related to the
availability of surface water, also occur along what
is inherently a zone of regional groundwater dis-
charge for the coastal aquifer system.
Alternatively, discharge of highly mineralized
groundwaters may prove inimical to vegetation. In
arid settings, evaporative concentration may lead
to intraformational concentration and precipita-
tion of evaporative minerals such as gypsum or
halite. Alkali and soluble metals such as selenium
concentrate in areas of discharge and evaporation
(Deverel and Gallanthine 1989). Discharge com-
monly provides the principal source of water for
playa lakes in closed basins. In contrast, recharge

_ ~ - - Water table
AQUIFER
--------- Flaw streamline

[-I~tegrated Flow
Pattern

- --~---------------

I
Restricted Flow Pattern~

f--C-ir-c-u-'a-t-in-g-1 Stagnan; -~x~ulsive J @ Circulating meteoric ground

water
@ Stagnant or very low flux
Expulsed water from compacting muds

Superimposed Flow
Pattern @ Pirated recharge
@ Rejuvenated meteoric circulation
Aquifer destruction

Fig. 12.10A-D. Evolutionary phases of flow in a terrigenous fined to semiconfined). D Exhumation phase (confined to
aquifer system. A Syndepositional phase (water table). B Early semiconfined). (Galloway 1977)
postdepositional phase (semiconfined). C Burial phase (con-

areas are characterized by a comparatively deep
water table, deficit of soil moisture, oxidation, and
leaching of soluble solids (T6th 1972).
Aquifer Evolution
Beginning with its deposition within the meteoric
regime, an aquifer facies deposited within a terres-
trial depositional system may experience up to
four evolutionary stages during a simple cycle
of basin filling and uplift (Galloway 1977). The
stages, illustrated schematically in Fig. 12.10, con-
sist of syndepositional, early postdepositional,
burial, and exhumation phases.
Syndepositional Phase
Groundwater circulation is directly controlled
by the water table, which fluctuates considerably
in response to seasonal or climatic variation and
defines a complex surface reflecting the topogra-
phy of the depositional surface. Consequently,
flow cells are typically localized, variable, and, in
a geologic time frame, ephemeral (Fig. 12.10A).
However, conductivity of framework and non-
framework facies is at a maximum.
Postdepositional Phase
Groundwater circulation becomes semiconfined
by deposition of low-conductivity units, such as
floodplain, lagoonal, or lacustrine facies, above
permeable framework sands (Fig. 12.10B). Depths
of burial remain shallow (tens or a few hundreds
of feet or meters), conductivities of both frame-
work and nonframework facies remain high, and
recharge is primarily by downward flow of water
through overlying less permeable beds. Concen-
tration of flow into buried transmissive units pro-
duces, for the first time, a well-integrated flow
pattern responding to the regional hydraulic
gradient.
Burial Phase
With further burial of the aquifer, flow is increas-
ingly confined by overlying retarding units, re-
charge becomes more closely linked to outcrop
areas of the aquifer, and hydraulic conductivity of
the aquifer is reduced by compaction and diagen-
esis (Fig. 12.1OC). Faults or fractures affect flow
patterns and assume increasing importance in the
cross-stratal discharge of water from the aquifer
Compactional and Thermobaric Systems 313
across strata. Flow patterns are regionally coher-
ent, but increasing basinward confinement and
decreasing conductivity of the aquifer tend to de-
crease total flux; increased basin margin elevation
and consequent high potentiometric gradient may
counteract this decrease, however. Three ideal-
ized subdivisions of the flow system are possible
within the aquifer:
1. Actively circulating meteoric groundwater
continues to dominate shallow portions of the
aquifer.
2. Areas of stagnation, mixing, or very low flux
develop in parts of the aquifer that lie downdip
from zones of vertical discharge or that are oth-
erwise isolated by structural or diagenetic con-
ductivity barriers.
3. At greater depths, expelled pore waters dis-
charging toward the surface may enter shallow
aquifers and mix with slowly circulating or
nearly stagnant meteoric waters. In coastal
zones, intruding salt water may enter aquifers
exposed on the sea floor.
Exhumation Phase
Erosion of the updip margins of aquifers may be-
gin during the burial phase. Regional uplift or tec-
tonic segmentation of the depositional basin,
resulting in exhumation and drainage incision,
form the climax of the destructional phase of aqui-
fer history. Results include local pirating of re-
gional recharge, rejuvenation of shallow meteoric
circulation due to increased topographic head,
and possible exposure of the aquifer in discharge
zones.
Compactional
and Thermobaric Systems
Thick piles of subsiding sediment provide two
sources for internally derived groundwater. First,
interstitial water trapped between sediment par-
ticles is squeezed out by mechanical compaction.
Second, chemically bound water associated with
hydrous mineral phases is released by reactions
brought on by increasing temperature and confin-
ing pressure.
Because muddy marine sediments are typically
deposited with high porosities (commonly exceed-
ing 50%), physical compaction offers a source of
 314 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology

water equal to the volume of sediment. However,
compactional pore space reduction occurs rapidly
during incipient burial of a few tens to hundreds
of feet or meters. Representative volumes of
water released by successive 1000-m (3300-ft)
increments of homogeneous mud displaying an
average consolidation gradient were calculated by
Bj\Zlrlykke (personal communication) and are
compared graphically in Fig. 12.11. Deposition of
the first 1000m of mud releases over 21000cm3
(0.74 ft3) of interstitial water per cm2 of surface
area. At a depth of lOOOm, average porosity is
reduced by physical compaction to slightly over
20%. Remaining compaction to near zero porosity
at depths of lOOOOm (33000ft) releases a compa-
rable volume of water in decreasing proportions
with depth (Fig. 12.11, column B). Potential up-
ward flux of water across an arbitrary datum (Fig.
12.11, column C) is no greater than the cumulative
release of water by underlying sediment volumes.
The illustration reemphasizes the important fact
that, unlike meteoric water, availability of connate
pore water is finite. However, total volume of pore
water released during basin compaction is large.
For example, Hitchon (1968) calculated that aver-
age porosity of mudstones in fill of the Western

A B C
0/0 Porosity cm 31 cm 2 x 10 4 cm 3 /cm 2 xl0 4
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 20 o 4
I I I I I I I 1 1 I
0 o

I I I I I[I I I [I I I I :~:':I I I I I I I I I I I I I I1 2

:::::Z.2::::

1'0
0
~
::2' -
x

LL

10

12

14

~
I I
I I
I I
1I 16
5
I

32

Fig. 12.11A-C. Volumes of expelled pore water generated by surface area, by consolidation of a lOOO-m-thick column of
burial of a typical marine mud. A Generalized consolidation sediment for each lOOOm of burial. C Cumulative volume of
profile expressed as decreasing porosity versus depth. B Com- fluid remaining to be expelled beneath successive lOOO-m
parative volumes of water generated, per square centimeter of depth levels. (Data provided by Knut Bjrlykke)

Canada sedimentary basin decreased from over
50% to a present value of slighly less than 14%.
Total volume decrease was approximately
175000mP (730000km 3); comparable volumes of
pore water were expelled during consolidation.
Thermally driven clay dewatering releases
large volumes of water in the smectite-bearing
argillaceous sediments of many young basins.
Powers (1967), Brust (1969), Magara (1978, p.
100), and Harrison and Summa (1991) variously
estimated that between 10 and 20% by volume is
released by dehydration of a typical Gulf Coast
mud. Clay dewatering occurs as a function of
temperature, mineralogy, pore water composi-
tion, and confining pressure, typically beginning
at a depth range of 7000-10000ft (2100-3000m),
depending on geothermal gradient.
Flow Dynamics
Confining pressure, supplied by the sediment pile,
is the principal mechanism forcing water up and
out of the basin fill. Volume increase, associated
with release of bound or mineral-phase water, as
well as phase transformations or decomposition
reactions producing fluids, become increasingly
important within the deep, hot core of the fill.
Although the migration pathways and flow history
of both connate and thermo baric waters remain
incompletely known, several key aspects are gen-
erally accepted:
1. In thick, homogeneous sections, expelled wa-
ters rise toward the surface or toward the base
of the meteoric regime (Bredehoeft et al. 1988;
Harrison and Summa 1991). However, as
pointed out by Bonham (1980), water move-
ment is upward relative to stratigraphic hori-
zons only. In a subsiding basin with a normal
compaction profile, the uniformly advancing
fluid front never reaches the surface; in fact, it
is buried under increasing sediment cover.
2. If comparatively permeable beds, such as sand-
stones, are interstratified with the compacting
fine-grained sediments, permeability becomes
highly anisotropic, and flow patterns become
more complicated. Fluids may drain more
readily through the permeable conduits to-
wards their basin-margin outcrop or shallow
sub crop (Magara 1976, 1987; Harrison and
Summa 1991). Locally, flow from the compact-
ing interbeds may drain both up and down to-
Compactionai and Thermobaric Systems 315
ward the closest permeable bed. Evidence
for downward drainage of compaction water
is contained in the consolidation profiles of
mud rocks overlying permeable units (Magara
1978). Once in the permeable strata, waters
migrate updip, thus accomplishing the neces-
sary vertical flow out of the basin. Such flow
channeling by both permeable strata or by
crosscutting permeable structural zones results
in localization of discharge of compactional
and thermobaric fluids around the basin mar-
gin, which is reflected in water chemistry and
temperature distribution (Bodner and Sharp
1988; Cassidy and Ranganathan 1992).
3. In a subsiding progradational sequence, early
compaction and dewatering of subaqueous
muds expels connate waters into interbedded
strandline or delta margin sands. Thus a dy-
namic interface forms between the meteoric
regime, moving waters down slope through
subaerial deposits, and the early compactional
regime, moving waters updip and landward
within elements of the same basin margin
plumbing. Syndepositional structures, such as
growth faults, may provide conduits that local-
ize the upward flow of compaction waters. Dy-
namic mixing zones form and migrate through
aquifers in response to changing burial confine-
ment and relative sea-level change (Meisler et
al. 1984; Custodio 1987).
4. More controversial is the potential of density-
driven convection within the compactional or
thermobaric regimes (Davis et al. 1985; Hanor
1987; Bjorlykke et al. 1988; Phillips 1991). De-
crease in water density with depth due to heat-
ing, possibly augmented by decreasing salinity,
creates a potentially unstable density inversion.
For convective overturn to occur, the density
head must overcome ambient pressure or grav-
ity heads. Convection will be most likely where
very thick, permeable aquifers, steeply dipping
aquifers, or extensively faulted or fractured
sections allow large-scale vertical fluid move-
ment and where flow is otherwise relatively
stagnant.
Development of Abnormal Pressure
Clays and shales are characterized by low perme-
ability (Fig. 12.2). Thus, the assumption of equilib-
rium between physical loading and concomitant
compaction and drainage, and application of over-
burden stress is readily violated in thick, rapidly
316 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
deposited argillaceous units. When drainage is
unable to keep pace with loading, the pore fluid
begins to bear some of the weight of the overlying
sediment pile. Observed fluid pressure gradient
exceeds the normal hydrostatic gradient of about
lOkPa/m (0.45psi/ft). The interval of abnormally
high fluid pressure, which may comprise a large
volume of the basin fill, is commonly called the
overpressure or geopressure zone.
Although numerous hypotheses to explain de-
velopment of overpressure have been suggested,
all rely on hydraulic isolation of the affected sec-
tions. Such isolation commonly reflects the pau-
city and discontinuity of permeable strata within
the section. Under such conditions, fluid drainage
is slow, even in a geologic time frame and in the
face of large cross-sectional areas. As Q (flow vol-
ume) is restricted, pressure head builds.
The simplest explanation for development of
overpressure (and one that seems to apply well in
many Tertiary basins characterized by rapid depo-
sition of deltaic, slope, and coastal plain systems)
is that rate of sediment loading exceeds the poten-
tial for fluid discharge under a modest pressure
head (Dickinson 1953; Bredehoeft and Hanshaw
1968; Harrison and Summa 1991). Consequently,
pressure head builds as interstitial waters assume
a greater share of the weight of the overburden.
Maximum pressure gradients attainable by this
compaction disequilibrium must be less than the
litho static gradient of approximately 22.5 kPa/m
(1.0psi/ft) and are practically limited by the frac-
ture pressure gradient. With time, fluids are slowly
expelled, leading to a long-term dissipation of the
pressure head. Various physical models combined
with the variability of hydrologic properties of
confining units suggest that isolation in a thick
interval may begin very early in the burial history
or may require some minimal burial and compac-
tion before fluid discharge is sufficiently restricted
to initiate pressure buildup (Magara 1978).
Bredehoeft and Hanshaw (1968) first demon-
strated that pressure gradients approaching
lithostatic values could be established and main-
tained in the Gulf Coast basin by compaction dis-
equilibrium. Subsequent calculations by Bethke
et al. (1986) and Harrison and Summa (1991)
have confirmed and elaborated the history of
compactional pressure generation. Requisite
sedimentation rates in mud-dominated sections
can be as low as 0.5-1 m per 1000 years. Iso-
lated permeable lenses, beds, or structural salients
will assume the high pressures generated by the
surrounding mud blanket. High rates of muddy
sediment accumulation are typical of deltaic and
slope/basin systems, and it is in deposits of these
systems that compaction disequilibrium pressure
is typically found.
Additional causes of overpressure include
aquithermal pressurization, clay dewatering, and
hydrocarbon generation. In a perfectly closed sys-
tem with no fluid leakage, the continued burial
and consequent heating of water leads to
aquithermal pressuring (Barker 1972). Such pres-
surization results because density of water de-
creases (and consequently volume increases) with
increasing burial temperature. The condition of
perfect sealing is, however, difficult to attain in
terrigenous clastic systems. Release of bound
water during clay dewatering has also been pro-
posed to cause overpressure development (Burst
1969; Bethke 1986). Magara (1978) convincingly
argued that the mechanism does not explain other
phenomena associated with the overpressure
zone.
Thermal generation of natural gas is a viable
mechanism for producing abnormally high fluid
pressures in low-permeability sediments of geo-
logically old basins (Hedberg 1974; Spencer 1987).
Such a mechanism does not depend on high burial
rates or depositional facies. An abundance of or-
ganic material suitable for generation of natural
gas is required. However, postdepositional tec-
tonic or diagenetic isolation of sand-rich se-
quences must precede pressure generation, which
occurs late in the history of the basin as thermal
gas generation peaks. Natural flow dynamics of
such a two-phase fluid systems is complex. Wells
that penetrate such "tight gas" reservoirs com-
monly produce large volumes of gas, even though
water saturations are high. Unlike other mecha-
nisms of progressive overpressure generation and
fluid explusion, this mechanism produces a pres-
sure pulse late in the history of basin formation.
Abnormal pressure gradients have several ef-
fects on the physical properties of the sedimentary
sequence. Physical consolidation, which affects
primarily the mudrocks, is retarded within the
zone of compaction disequilibrium overpressure.
Thus parameters that measure porosity, including
bulk density and interval travel time, deviate from
normal compaction trends. The amount of devia-
tion provides a guide to the extent of overpressure
if compaction disequilibrium exists. The inverse of
travel time, the interval velocity, can be calculated
from modern common depth point (CDP) seismic
 Compactional and Thermobaric Systems 317

data. Declines or reversals in the velocity/depth
gradient may thus provide indirect indicators and
measurement of overpressure. Shale resistivity
commonly reflects deviations from the hydrostatic
pressure gradient. All of these phenomena are
commonly observed and utilized in basins such as
the Gulf of Mexico, Jurassic of the North Sea, and
McKenzie Delta.
Pressure buildup in the deep section can
autofracture pressurized strata, causing pulsed
fluid expulsion, pressure reduction, and resealing
(Hunt 1990). The sporadic nature of fluid injection
into shallow aquifers from the compactional and
thermobaric regimes is evidenced by zonal miner-
alization and cementation (e.g., Galloway 1982;
Wood and Boles 1991).
Hydrochemistry of Compactiona)
and Thermobaric Waters
The initial chemistry of connate pore waters is
variable, but two end members are common.
Trapped seawater, modified by shallow diagenetic
processes, fills pore spaces of sediments deposited
in shoreface and marine environments. Sediments
deposited at or above sea level are probably
flushed by circulating meteoric waters. Thus,
initial waters range from fresh CaHC03 ground-
water to moderately saline NaCI solutions.
Complexities are introduced in continental basins
filled by fluvial and lacustrine systems. Water re-
leased by thermobaric processes from clays or
other solid phases is free of solutes, but is highly
reactive with surrounding mineral phases.
Long residence times, combined with increas-
ing temperature and pressure, decreasing pore
throat size, and increasing importance of mem-
brane effects resulting from burial initiate a vari-
ety of water-rock interactions that dramatically
change the hydrochemistry and isotopic composi-
tion of connate waters (Land and Macpherson
1992; Hanor 1993). Burial diagenesis of permeable
sand facies includes grain and cement leaching,
precipitation of pore-filling cement, grain replace-
ment or alteration, and reduction. Increasing ther-
mal exposure leads to successive generation of
petroleum liquids and gases, CO 2 , and H 2S, which
act as separate fluid phases or dissolve in associ-
ated pore waters.
Extensive data on deep basin waters are re-
viewed by White (1965), Collins (1975), and Gal-
loway (1982). Hanor et al. (1986), Morton and
Land (1987), Land et al. (1988), and Land and
Macpherson (1989) have added extensive modern
data for the deep regimes in the northern Gulf
Coast basin, which appears similar to many other
depositionally active basins filled by mixed fluvial,
deltaic, shore-zone, and slope depositional
systems.

Table 12.1. Geochemical characterization of principal groundwater regimes of the northwestern Gulf Coastal Basin (mg/l unless
otherwise noted)

Depth Range Meteoric Compactional Thermobaric

(generalized) 0-2000 ft; 5000 + max. 2000-10000ft
(0-600m; 1500 + max.) (600-3000m ) Terrigenous Carbonate
>10000ft >20 000 ft
(>2000m) 6000m)

TDS 10 2_10 4 10 4-10' 10<-10 5 10'

Ca 10-103 10'-103 10 2-10 4 10 4
HCO, 10 2-103 102 10 2 10 2
Si0 2 10"_102 10-102 10-10 2 10-102
Fe 1-1 to <10" <10 10- 1 to 10 10-10 4
Heavy metals (Cu, <10- 1 <10 0 <10- 1 to 10 10-102 (Zn, Pb)
Zn, Pb, Ni)
Se, Mo, As <10-2 <10-2 <10-2 n.d.
U 30 g <10- 1 n.d. <10-' n.d.
S04 <10- 1 to 103 <10-102 10 1-10 2 10-10 2
H 2S, HS- <10 <10 <1O-2 mol% in gases; <10" 10-2 to 10-l mol% + in gases
Eh +500 to -200mV Reducing Reducing Reducing
pH 6.8-8.2 5.5-7.5 4-6.5 4-6

Modified from Galloway (1982); original data compiled from various sources.
Eh, Oxidation-reduction potential; TDS, total dissolved solids.
318 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology

Compactional regime waters are dominantly ducing relative to iron because of the presence of
NaCI brines, with associated hydrocarbon liquids, sulfide and common occurrence of pyrite in the
and gases (Table 12.1). They are evolved marine host sediments. A few careful measurements of
connate waters, modified by methanogenesis and pH suggest that deep, overpressured waters may
sulfate reduction (Kharaka et al. 1977; Land and be strongly acidic (Kharaka et al. 1980).
Macpherson 1989; Hanor 1993). Concentration of Hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide, and CO 2 are
hydrogen sulfide is low; both waters and gases generated by thermal degradation of kerogen at
of the compactional regime are sweet. Produced the temperatures characteristic of this zone. High
gases commonly contain 0.1-1mol% CO 2 The concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, which is ex-
hydrocarbon fraction includes abundant methane tremely soluble in subsurface waters, are typically
plus heavier fractions, distillate, and liquid petro- restricted to carbonate reservoirs. In sand-shale
leum. Most produced hydrocarbons of the Ter- sequences, abundantly available iron reacts with
tiary Gulf Coast Basin, and essentially all oil, are reduced sulfur species to form disulfide.
contained within the eompactional zone. Mea-
sured values of fluid pH commonly range between
6 and 8 (White 1965; Kharaka et al. 1977). Eh is
negative (Fig. 12.7). Host sediments are domi- Hydrology of Depositional Sy.stems
nantly reduced, containing iron disulfide or
dispersed organic material, or both. In the older
Tertiary section, the hydrochemistry of the
Understanding of the natural groundwater flow
compactional regime has been extensively mo-
systems and their controls within active deposi-
dified by injection of thermo baric waters from
tional systems can be applied to hydrologic and
below and intrusion of meteoric waters from
environmental studies, helping guide sampling,
above.
development, monitoring, and remediation in
Thick continental slope, prodelta, and delta
shallow terrestrial and coastal aquifers. Although
margin mudstone and minor sandstone that occur
depositional environment is only one of several
at burial depths below about 3300m (10000ft)
parameters that determine the early hydrology of
form the bulk of the hot, overpressured ther-
sedimentary sequences, paleogeographic recon-
mobaric regime. Thermobaric fluids include wa-
struction provides a logical starting point for inter-
ter, solution gas, and free gas. Cretaceous forereef
pretation of paleohydrologic history and its effects
slope and basinal carbonate and shale units under-
on syngenetic and early diagenetic processes.
lie the Tertiary section. Lying at depths exceeding
Depositional systems form four common hy-
6700m (20000ft), these faulted forereef deposits
drogeologic associations:
are a further source of Ca 2+-rich thermobaric
waters that have invaded parts of the Tertiary 1. Closed and semiclosed terrestrial basins con-
section. taining combinations of alluvial fan, lacustrine,
Thermobaric waters are moderately to highly fluvial, and eolian systems
saline, NaCI brines. Total dissolved solids content 2. Alluvial valleys and basins containing fluvial
ranges from near 10000 to more than 200000mg/l. and alluvial fan systems
Predictably, greatest salinities occur in parts of the 3. Coastal plains constructed of alluvial fan,
coastal plain characterized by salt diapirism; lower fluvial, deltaic, and shore-zone systems
values typify the areas where intruded salt is 4. Submarine basins consisting of shelf and slope/
sparse. Here, pore fluid chemistry more closely basin systems
reflects the relatively low salinity waters that are
derived from clays. Mineral reactions produce a
CO 2 -rich water containing dissolved organic acids Closed and Semiclosed Terrestrial Basins
(such as acetate), Li, Sr, Br, and variable Ca 2+. The
limited data on the trace element content of Hydrogeology of closed or partially closed terres-
thermobaric brines are summarized in Table 12.l. trial basin fills has been extensively studied in nu-
Gases are quite soluble in waters at the high tem- merous settings (Davis et al. 1959; Olmsted and
peratures of the thermobaric regime. Although Davis 1961; Emery et al. 1971; Hardie et al. 1978;
the Eh of these deep waters has not been mea- Wilkins 1986; Anderson 1986; Davis 1988; Duffy
sured, they can be confidently inferred to be re- and AI-Hasson 1988; Belitz and Heines 1990). On
 Hydrology of Depositional Systems 319

the one hand, such basin fills exhibit many com-
mon elements. Groundwater flow is largely cen-
tripetal, reflecting the enclosing topography (Fig.
12.12A,B). Peripheral recharge occurs along
bounding uplands, lateral flow typifies intermedi-
ate environments, and discharge occurs in the ba-
sin center. In closed basins, discharge is by springs,
baseflow into lakes, or evapotranspiration through
a shallow veneer of lacustrine or alluvial plain
sediment. In semiclosed basins, significant base-

Soil, hardpan or
evaporite

c --1- Water table

[/1 Meteoric water

I :.. --:.1 Salt wedge

D ~.
~
Connate sea water

...,,
' - - - Unconfined flow

' '-_ Confined flow

..
E
-i '~~'"~/' 0 Flow out of plane
- -_.-=-..-=-~~~~~~-~-7-~-~-7t;7'':''::''';'' ~< .:~'. ;/.... h~~~ ~ of section
~ Dynamic mixing zone
F

Fig. 12.12A-G. Typical syndepositional groundwater flow sys-
tems in various depositional settings. A Closed terrestrial basin
with alluvial fan and lacustrine (playa) systems. B
Semienclosed terrestrial basin with alluvial fan and axial fluvial
systems. C Alluvial valley fill. D Subsiding alluvial basin fill. E
High-gradient coastal plain with alluvial fan and fan delta sys-
terns. F Low-gradient progradational coastal plain with fluvial-
dominated delta system. G Transgressive coastal plain with
barrier/lagoon system. In coastal plain settings (E-G), typical
distributions of connate, saline, salt wedge, partially flushed,
and meteoric water masses are shown by patterns. See text for
discussion
320 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
flow may enter and/or exit the basin through con-
fined axial alluvial system facies. Base level within
the basin is established by the level of the axial
river or lake. Hydraulic conductivity is complex
but organized. Marginal facies are typically
coarse, massive, and highly conductive. Grain size
and conductivity decrease basin ward (Fig.
12.12B). Basin-center facies are commonly fine
grained and stratified, but they may contain a core
of highly conductive, axially oriented sand facies if
a perennial fluvial system or a large, permanent
lake with well-developed shore-zone facies is
present. On the other hand, tremendous variabil-
ity also exists. Vertical conductivity varies by up to
seven orders of magnitude, and cross-formational
flow is prominent within terrestrial basins. Cli-
mate, which can vary from humid to arid and may
be topographically zoned in intermontane basins,
plays a major role. Topographic irregularities pro-
duced by depositional, erosional, or tectonic pro-
cesses induce local to intermediate scale-flow
systems.
Alluvial Fan Systems
The inherent morphology of an alluvial fan results
in a predictable distribution of recharge, lateral
flow, and discharge zones in the shallow, uncon-
fined to moderately confined fan aquifer sands
(Fig. 12.13). The topographically high proximal
fan is an area of deep water table and active
groundwater recharge. Greatest recharge is from
perennial streams; intermittent streams and the
fan surface may be secondary sources of recharge.
Fan head trenches and fan channels become sites
of groundwater discharge, as currently seen in the
postpluvial Quaternary Rio Grande fan (Fig.
12.13). The distal fan, which is an area of abruptly
decreasing topographic and hydraulic gradient, is
a discharge area. Here, the water table is shallow
or even emergent. Thus distal-fan and interfan
sequences interfinger with marsh, swamp, mudflat,
or evaporative playa facies. In open hydrologic
basins, such as the San Luis Valley, Colorado (Fig.
12.13), discharge constitutes a major source of
base flow into the through-flowing fluvial system.
Even in subarid environments, fan toes are com-
monly sites of relatively luxuriant plant growth
and preservation of organic debris. Conv.ersely, if
evaporation rates are too high, salts and soluble
metals are concentrated in less permeable facies
around the fan fringe (Deverel and Gallanthine
1989).
In addition to their inherent hydraulic gradient
and boundary zones, alluvial fan systems, particu-
larly perennial stream fans, produce highly trans-
missive aquifers. Framework sands are coarse,
thick, well interconnected, and oriented parallel to
the existing hydraulic gradient. The great agricul-
tural areas of the desert southwestern United
States, such as the San Joaquin and San Luis Val-
leys, rely on the tremendous volumes of ground-
water contained in alluvial fan and associated
depositional systems. The great flux of freshly re-
charged groundwater commonly leads to exten-
sive oxidation of upper- and midfan deposits,
particularly in arid settings, where the water table
is comparatively deep (Davis et al. 1959). Oxida-
tion of detrital ferromagnesian minerals and me-
chanical dispersal of colloidal products favor
geologically rapid formation of red beds (Walker
1967). Conversely, shallow water table and re-
gional discharge insulate the distal fan and associ-
ated facies from oxidation in all but the most arid
settings. In contrast, highly vegetated fans of wet
climates with well-developed humic soils and
abundant shallow groundwater may be little af-
fected by early postdepositional oxidation.
Eolian Systems
Dune deposits form highly transmISSIve aquifer
facies. Conductivity tends to be homogeneous and
isotropic, though interbedded interdune flat and
playa deposits may severely reduce vertical con-
ductivity where they occur. The necessity for an
abundant source of dry sand and the topographic
relief of large dunes imply deposition well above
the water table. Consequently, eolian sands are
subject to considerable oxidation and leaching by
downward percolating meteoric waters. Draa to-
pography may create local flow systems, with dis-
charge and evapotranspiration concentrated in
interdraa flats. Eolian sands form extensive, highly
permeable aquifers. Larger interdraa flats may
constitute areas of local groundwater discharge,
evaporative concentration, and precipitation of
soluble salts.
Lacustrine Systems
Central lakes or playas consist largely of fine, low-
transmissivity facies that form confining beds. Pe-
riods of lake-level rise and areal expansion deposit
widespread confining strata that are interbedded
within distal fan aquifers. Evaporative concentra-
tion of dissolved constituents in discharging or

.100 -' Water table elevation
,/
/ Genera lized f low Ime
1:::<1 Deep water table (> 12 ft or 4m ) = recharge
P~--d Shallow wa ter tab le = d ischarge zone
Fig. 12.13. Physical hydrogeology of the Rio Grande perennial
fan, San Luis Valley, Colorado. The modern underfit channel
has incised the fan surface, creating a local focus for discharge.
ponded waters precipitates salt layers and ce-
mented zones that create a highly stratified
hydrostratigraphy and severely restrict vertical
flow. Consequently, most discharge is concen-
trated around the periphery of the central lacus-
Hydrology of Depositional Systems 321
o 10 MI
I 1
I
zone o 10 Km
The regional flow system discharges along the distal fan, creat-
ing marshes and dry lakes. (Modified from Emery et al. 1971)
trine system within arid and semiarid basins (Fig.
12.12A). Further flow complexities arise where
evaporation-concentrated brines create a shallow
density inversion, leading to brine reflux down-
ward into underlying aquifers and outward into
322 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
buried fan aquifers (Duffy and AI-Hassan 1988).
Alternatively, coarse, well-sorted shore-zone
facies formed at the margin of larger, permanent
lakes in humid basins provide a highly trans-
missive element characterized by high water
yields.
Fluvial Systems
Fluvial systems commonly develop along the
axes of semienclosed basins where they serve
as groundwater discharge zones. In ephemeral or
perennial fluvial systems of semienclosed basins,
floodplain facies form confining units, isolating
deeper channel fill, fan, and eolian aquifers. Re-
charge through the overbank deposits results in
rapid soil formation with prominent accumulation
of clays and oxides in the B horizon. Poorly
drained soils in discharge zones develop hardpans
of carbonate, silicate, and iron minerals that
further restrict and localize discharge. Climate
change or tectonic rejuvenation can lead to forma-
tion and subsequent burial of mature paleosoil
horizons that enhance permeability stratification
in distal fan and fluvial facies.
Alluvial Valleys and Basins
Large topographic valleys and elongate intra-
continental sags are common sites for develop-
ment of through-flowing fluvial systems and
constitute a major hydrologic basin type and shal-
low groundwater resource (Heath 1982; Sharp
1988; Larkin and Sharp 1992; Foster and Chilton
1993). They are characterized by thick, water-pro-
ductive sandy and gravelly channel-fill facies that
are in contact with a perennial stream (Fig.
12.11C,D). Hydraulic conductivities commonly
range from 10 1 to 103 m/day and decrease upward.
In a simple valley fill, coarsest sediment with maxi-
mum conductivity lies above the valley floor,
forming a water table aquifer that is locally con-
fined by a top stratum of floodplain, soil, and mar-
ginal colluvial deposits. Preserved terraces may
form secondary, perched water-bearing units (Fig.
12.12C). In depositional alluvial basins, the axial
fluvial system produces a succession of channel fill
belts that are variably isolated by floodplain fines,
depending on the fluvial system type. Transmissiv-
ity of bed-load systems is very high, and that of
suspended-load systems lowest. Deeper aquifers
show at least partial confinement, whereas the
shallow aquifer is hydraulically connected to the
active channel. Conductivity is extremely hetero-
geneous and anisotropic because of the internal
variability and lenticular geometry of fluvial sand
bodies. Orientation of transmissive framework el-
ements is, however, inherently parallel to a com-
ponent of regional flow as both surface and
groundwater respond to the same topographic
gradients.
Regional flow within the deeper, confined allu-
vial aquifer facies parallels the flow within the
trunk stream. Flow in the shallow, water table
alluvial aquifers is more complex. Basin margins
or valley walls are a zone of recharge from tribu-
tary streams and direct infiltration of precipitation
through relatively fine overbank facies. Near the
channel belt, flow is highly variable, responding to
fluctuations in river level (Fig. 12.12C). Discharge
dominates around incised streams; recharge may
prevail in elevated aggradational channels. Conse-
quently, framework facies of fluvial systems may
range from highly leached and oxidizied to car-
bonaceous and reduced. In many channels, a zone
of downvalley underflow develops in the lower
alluvial aquifer (Fig. 12.12D). The proportion of
such underflow is greatest in coarse mixed to bed-
load fluvial systems characterized by shallow,
broad channels and steep valley/channel
gradients.
Coastal Plains and Shore Zones
The coastal plain is a zone of regional groundwa-
ter flow toward the strandline, which is, in turn, a
complex zone of regional meteoric groundwater
discharge and mixing with seawater. Unconfined,
semiconfined, and confined aquifers are com-
monly present and may occur in close vertical
proximity (Fig. 12.12E-G). Water flow and chem-
istry reflect both the physical stratigraphy and fa-
cies-controlled transmissivity distribution and the
history of coastal deposition and relative sea-level
change (Meisler et al. 1984; Engelen and Jones
1986; Custodio 1987).
Regional positioning of the discharge zone is
determined by the flexure between the sloping
water table of the subaerial basin margin and the
horizontal base level established by sea level.
Although confined aquifers may discharge far
basin ward of the strandline, shallow semiconfined
or unconfined aquifers focus discharge along the
shore zone. Common manifestations of regional

discharge include coastal swamp and marsh en-
vironments, shallow lakes, seeps, and springs.
Within the regional coastal discharge zone, com-
plex local meteoric flow systems are produced by
minor elevation variations associated with deposi-
tional features such as natural levees and barrier-
island or beach-ridge dune fields.
Because seawater is more dense than fresh
meteoric water, the boundary between freshwater
and saltwater is a dynamic interface that reflects
topographic head and aquifer stratigraphy. In the
simplest case of a thick, water table aquifer, depth
of freshwater is about 40 times the head. In a
dynamic water table flow system, a salt wedge
penetrates inland beneath the shallow fresh water.
The extent of salt wedge penetration is greatest
within thick, highly conductive facies and is re-
stricted in thin or low-conductivity units (Fig.
12.12E,F). Penetration is further enhanced in fa-
cies where greatest transmissivities are at the top
of the aquifer. Thus, salt wedge penetration in
unconfined aquifers is commonly observed to be
most extensive along active or abandoned dis-
tributary channel or estuary axes. Penetration is
also common beneath topographically low areas
such as coastal lakes, marshes, and mudflats. It is
least beneath high dune or beach ridges.
Coastal flow systems are further influenced by
the dynamic environmental setting of the shore
zone. Tidal fluctuations create oscillating heads
and flood tidal flats, estuaries, and lagoons, pro-
ducing a density inversion as saltwater floods over
fresh meteoric water. Tidal effects propagate in-
land within confined aquifers that are open to the
sea floor, but have limited effect within watertable
aquifers. The result is to expand the mixing zone
between freshwater and saltwater across the
breadth of saltwater flooding. Mixing of two
geochemically diverse water masses provides the
opportunity for a variety of inorganic and organic
reactions. For example, Swanson and Palacas
(1965) documented the flocculation and concen-
tration of soluble humate by mixing of freshwater
and saline water in coastal sands of northwest
Florida. Flooding of broad expanses of low coas-
tal flats by storm tides, waves, and wind-driven
spray also creates density inversions and conse-
quent mixing, especially along arid to subarid
coasts.
Short-term and long-term relative sea-level
changes introduce additional complexity to coas-
tal flow systems. Because sea level forms the base
level for meteoric systems, sea-level change
Hydrology of Depositional Systems 323
changes head gradients, accentuating or reducing
the effect of meteoric flushing and relocating the
discharge zone. Relative sea-level change occurs
both because of water-level rise or fall and ongo-
ing coastal deposition or erosion. In addition,
shore-zone and deltaic systems include facies that
are deposited both above and below sea level and,
consequently, contain both freshwater and seawa-
ter in pore spaces. Fluctuating sea level results in
partial flushing of connate waters, often leaving
residual connate or mixed water masses within
low transmissivity units and isolated, high-trans-
missivity facies (Fig. 12.12F). Again, the overall
effect is to broaden and add complexity to the
mixing zone. At geologic time scales, sea-level
fluctuation along a depositing coastal plain and
shore zone creates repetitious, stacked aquifers
separated and confined by bay, lagoon, tidal flat,
and shelf facies.
Penetration of the salt wedge and of tidal
effects is limited where shore-zone or deltaic
aquifers are insolated from direct contact with
seawater by muddy facies. Thus muddy
progradational successions limit exposure of all
but the shallow shoreface sands (Fig. 12.12F). On
the other hand, transgressive shore zones charac-
terized by active shoreface ravinement expose
older coastal plain facies on the shoreface, where
their outcrops are likely to be veneered only by a
thin, permeable transgressive lag (Fig. 12.12G).
Here, effects of tidal head and saltwater penetra-
tion are maximized.
Fan and Braidplain Delta Systems
On narrow, steep coastal plains, fan and braid-
plain delta systems create thick, conductive water
table aquifers that have a high potential for re-
charge in the inner coastal plain (Fig. 12.12E).
Despite the relatively steeply sloping water table,
extensive salt wedge penetration characterizes fan
axes. Penetration is limited in the finer, interfan
delta facies.
Fluvial-Dominated Delta Systems
Fluvial-dominated deltas produce heterogeneous
water table to confined aquifers (Fig. 12.12F).
Conductive facies are isolated within muddy fa-
cies. Abundant freshwater is available to recharge
framework sands along active distributaries, but
heads are low. Most recharge occurs as base flow
from the associated fluvial system. Most sediment
accumulates in prodelta and interdistributary bay
324 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
environments; thus brackish to saline pore waters
dominate. Pockets of saline to brackish water
are common. All but the shallowest aquifer units
are confined by marine shales deposited during
lobe destruction. Transgressive flooding further
mixes marine and fresh waters. Thick prodelta
muds tend to drain poorly, resulting in early
undercompaction and abnormal fluid pressure.
Tide-Dominated Delta and Shore-Zone Systems
Tidal-dominated deltas and shore zones share
many of the hydrogeologic attributes of fluvial-
dominated delta systems. Mixing of freshwater
and saltwater is further enhanced by tidal flooding
of much of the delta plain. During low river flow,
tides flood far into estuarine distributaries, and
thick, sandy estuary facies of all types are pre-
ferred conduits for salt water wedge intrusion.
However, where conductive distributary, shore-
face, or estuary facies are buried beneath con-
fining tidal flat or shelf facies, saltwater may
overlie long-lived freshwater lenses or tongues.
Wave-Dominated Delta and Shore-Zone Systems
In wave-dominated shore-zone and delta systems,
the highly transmissive shoreface and beach ridge
sand sheet produces a thick, continuous, uncon-
fined water table aquifer. The shallow sand facies
are locally recharged by meteoric water from
beach ridge and coastal dune complexes, creating
local lenses of fresh water (Fig. 12.12G) that may
lie seaward of brackish water below bays and la-
goons. Where the delta front and shoreface facies
are confined by muddy floodplain or transgressive
facies, they are prone to natural or induced salt
wedge intrusion, particularly if they are exposed
on the sea floor during subsequent transgressive
ravinement.
Sediments of shore-zone and deltaic systems
are commonly reduced soon after deposition.
Organic material is abundant in both subaerial
and subaqueous environments. The water table
is shallow, and circulation is dominated by
discharge of regionally evolved meteoric ground-
water, thus inhibiting shallow oxidation of detrital
organic debris. Anaerobic bacterial activity re-
duces sulfate, which is abundant in seawater that
may invade periodically submerged sediments,
producing early iron disulfide minerals (Berner
1970). Syndiagenetic blackening of barrier sands
by dispersed iron sulfide may occur in a matter of
weeks following deposition. Coastal redbeds are
most typical of arid or strongly seasonal climatic
settings where even regional meteoric circulation
systems remain oxidizing and hypersalinity re-
tards both subaerial and subaqueous organic
productivity. Redbeds also characterize humid re-
gions, such as the KwaZulu coastal plain, that
have abundant ferromagnesian minerals and a
fluctuating water table (Hobday 1978b).
Submarine Basin Settings
Aquifers deposited in marine shelf and
slope/basin systems inherently contain connate
seawater. Shelf, and possibly uppermost slope
facies are potentially subject to flushing by me-
teoric water during relative sea-level lowstands.
Rarely, they may discharge regional confined
groundwater flow systems along the slope where
they have been exposed by submarine canyon in-
cision. In actively subsiding basins, both systems
are most likely flushed by compactional waters.
Shelf systems, particularly, may serve as regional
confined aquifers or confining units during late-
stage evolution of basin hydrology.
A variety of early diagenetic reactions modify
the original c~position of the pore waters. Ionic
composition is modified by exchange reactions,
carbonate precipitation or dissolution, and sulfate
reduction by anaerobic bacteria. Sediments may
be oxidized or reduced, depending on abundance
of organic material, degree of physical reworking
and exposure to oxidizing bottom waters, abun-
dance of benthonic infauna, and bottom water
.chemistry. Important early bacterial diagenetic
processes include the convet:sion of organic debris
into kerogen ..
Example of a Confined Coastal Plain
Aquifer System
Freshwater-, uranium-, and petroleum-bearing
Oligocene and early Miocene units of the north-
western Gulf Coastal Plain provide examples of
the complex flow dynamics and hydrochemi-
cal evolution typical of aquifers within a large,
depositionally active basin (Galloway 1977, 1982;
Smith et al. 1980; Morton and Land 1987; Kreitler
et al. 1990; Harrison and Summa 1991).
 Example of a Confined Coastal Plain Aquifer System 325

Older Tertiary aquifers of the Gulf Coastal
Plain have experienced moderate erosional exhu-
mation along their outcrop belt due to basin mar-
gin uplift compounded by low stands of sea level
during the Quaternary. Greatest topographic re-
lief occurs where valleys of extrabasinal rivers cut
across the strike-oriented outcrop belt. The aqui-
fers dip gulfward beneath increasing thicknesses
of younger sediments, and fluvial systems grade
into major deltaic systems in the deep subsurface.
Thus deeper waters show limited effects of exhu-
mation, and aquifers retain waters in part charac-
teristic of the burial phase compactional regime.
Shallow aquifers include the Oakville and por-
tions of the Catahoula sands, which consist of the
deposits of major mixed-load and bed-load fluvial
systems. Pump-test data show that average con-
ductivity of bed-load channel fill sequences is
about twice that of mixed-load fill sand bodies.
Both are much more conductive than bounding
mudstone and splay facies (Galloway et al. 1982b).
At depth, fluvial systems grade into sand-rich
deltaic and shore-zone systems of the Frio (Oli-
gocene) and lower Miocene genetic sequences.
Interpretation and synthesis of vertical and
lateral head, temperature, resistIvity, and
hydrochemical distributions for groundwaters
of the Oakville aquifer reveal flow patterns char-
acteristic of a coastal plain setting (Fig. 12.14).
Factors shown to influence flow directions and
volumes include the following (Smith et al. 1980;
Galloway 1982):
1. Outcrop distribution and topography
2. Distribution and orientation of the permeable
channel axes (as delineated by net-sand isolith
maps
3. Presence and location of small-displacement,
strike-parallel faults and salt diapirs, some of
which appear to serve as loci for discharge of
deeper, confined aquifers
4. The coastward burial and confinement of the
fluvial sands
Local, intermediate, and regional flow systems
are present (Fig. 12.14). Recharge occurs by infil-
tration along the outcrop and through the thin,
updip edge of overlying confining units. Regional
flow extends from the recharge zone basinward
along sand axes toward a broad discharge belt that
lies as deep as several thousand feet below sea
level. There, waters percolate across a broad area
of the overlying confining unit and into shallower
aquifers. Waters typically evolve downflow from
Ca2+- and HCO-- to Na+- and Cl--rich types.
Hydrochemical anomalies characterized by un-
usual abundances of Cl- or SO~- suggest active
leakage of water from underlying aquifers and
typically are encountered along fault zones. The

H'IOOOlOGIC I!(lI"O,IOIIRlES HYDROLOGIC ZONES

~ -~fcU'Z(II'oH S!.-.-~rwd'1arQllQl1l(l
~ Ter,lOtJ'wl, lCMI
~ l~chCf'gQl! tonnbMlbJac.enlCJ:lUlftts [~::.o

/
"0
c::::::::0010......"...
=-o RKl'IQI"oerrom~IfIIj1OQU1t.
~ of~tftntGlO'. fiOlwetib
~ Rt9lOt'1Oldrtel'lOt'Ot.tcw.!
I
o ~ FleI~Ot"'n.o.dc:onnol.l:W.ne ITOSZ1.!500InQ/L'

Fig. 12.14. Modern groundwater flow directions and bound- gradient is gulfward, toward the bottom of the map. Flow lines
aries within the mature, moderately dissected Oakville fluvial- are interpreted both from head and geochemical data. (Gallo-
system aquifer of the Texas coastal plain. Regional hydraulic way et al. 1982b)
326 Depositional Systems and Basin Hydrology
general geochemistry of waters of the meteoric
system is summarized in Table 12.1. Intermediate
flow cells, characterized by flow along strike and
discharge to the surface or into alluvium of major
river valleys, interrupt regional flow for distances
of as much 20mi (30km) alongstrike (Fig. 12.14).
Topographic relief between interfluve highs and
valley floodplains of approximately 100ft (30m)
or less affects the slope of the potentiometric sur-
face, and hence the groundwater flow to depths of
as much as 700ft (210m).
The remnant compactional regime, which was
active during Oligocene through Miocene deposi-
tional episodes that deposited then buried Frio
and lower Miocene strata, extends from depths of
about 3000-4000ft (900-1200m) and exhibits nor-
mal hydrostatic pressure to moderate overpres-
sure. The thermobaric regime remains highly
overpressured and was created during rapid burial
during the Oligocene through Miocene time.
Compactional regime waters are largely NaCI or
CaCI brines with Cl- concentrations ranging from
5000 to 30000mg/1. Na+-rich brines occur in areas
of salt diapirism; Ca2+-rich waters were discharged
from the thermobaric regime within the underly-
ing Tertiary or Mesozoic strata. Sodium acetate
waters locally intrude the hydropressured com-
pactional regime from the thermo baric zone.
Within the thermobaric regime, acetate and Ca2+
are prominent, and water salinity typically de-
creases, reflecting the enhanced water-rock inter-
actions and smectite dehydration. Acetate waters
are further depth limited by high temperatures
below and bacterial degradation within the shal-
low compactional and meteoric zones. Modeling
indicates that penetration of meteoric water was
greatly enhanced during Quaternary lowstands
of sea level, which may explain the presence of
bacterially altered petroleum at depths exceed-
ing 6000ft (1800m), nearly 2000ft (600m) below
present occurrence of meteoric water.
Conclusion
Interpretation and mapping of depositional sys-
tems provides a description of three-dimensional
conductivity distribution - trend, geometry, and
spatial relationships of transmissive conduits - as
well as insight into flow boundaries and gradients
extant during the syndepositional flow phase.
Postdepositional structural and topographic evo-
lution of the basin determine the changing bound-
ary and the head conditions that must be inferred
to interpret later flow phases. The distributions of
natural and introduced solutes and of alteration
zones reflect this historical interaction between
the physical geology and the evolving fluid flow
systems. The subsequent chapters on major sedi-
mentary fuel resources - petroleum, coal, and
uranium - and on aquifer and reservoir character-
ization will repeatedly illustrate this interplay be-
tween depositional and hydrologic processes and
demonstrate the application of facies-based inter-
pretation to practical problems of resource discov-
ery, assessment, production, and restoration.
13 Coal and Coalbed Methane
Introduction
Coal-forming environments have waxed and
waned in extent since the mid-Paleozoic, having
been associated with a restricted range of environ-
ments and hydrologic regimes during relatively
brief geologic timespans. The three major epi-
sodes of coal genesis were the late Carboniferous
and Permian, the late Jurassic through early
Cretaceous, and the late Paleocene and Eocene
(Haszeldine 1989), occupying paleoclimatic zones
from equatorial to near-polar (Fig. 13.1).
Peats form in flat-lying and domed mires and,
if subsequently buried by detrital sediments,
are compressed, thermally insulated, and carried
deeper into the Earth's crust, where they are con-
verted through a series of increasing coal ranks
from lignite (brown coal) through sub-bituminous
and bituminous coal to semianthracite and anthra-
cite. Biological, physical, and chemical changes are
involved in this transformation. Conversion to lig-
nite rank is accomplished mainly by biological ac-
tivity, but maturation to higher ranks involves a
combination of physical and chemical processes
(Teichmuller and Teichmuller 1968a; Stach et al.
1975). The increase in coal rank with depth was
shown by Hilt as early as 1873 to result from in-
crease in carbon and decrease in volatile content.
Of the total volume of sediments in the Earth's
crust, only about 3-4% is potentially coal-bearing
(Fettweis 1979; Clymo 1987). The Upper Carbon-
iferous and Permian contain about 40% of the
world's coal resources, with another 50% or so in
Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks; in the
United States, the figures are 37 and 54%, respec-
tively (Hayes 1979).
The world's largest coal resources are in the
republics of the former Soviet Union, the United
States, China, and Australia. Depending on type,
rank, and grade, most coal is used in steam raising
for electricity generation and in preparing metal-
lurgical coke for steel blast furnaces. Coal type
reflects the basic constituents, or macerals, which
are comparable to the mineral constituents in
other rocks, while rank expresses the level of ma-
turity, or degree of coalification. Mineral contami-
nants, or ash, comprising detrital grains, inorganic
plant material, and chemical precipitates, affect
rank and may restrict utilization.
Coal and dispersed particles of coalified plant
material have long been recognized as a source of
thermogenic gas in many commercial fields includ-
ing the North Sea and Cooper Basin of Australia.
More recently, coal has been seen as a potential
gas reservoir in its own right, leading to the devel-
opment of coal bed methane, a burgeoning new
global resource. Gas produced by biological pro-
cesses on coal-rich organic material has been re-
sponsible for some of the world's largest gasfields,
for example in Siberia, as well as numerous
smaller fields. In certain basins, coal and asso-
ciated dispersed organic matter is also a source
of oil (Smyth 1979; Thomas 1982; Boreham and
Powell 1993), including giant fields such as in the
Gippsland Basin (Shanmugam 1985). The propen-
sity of some coal-rich source rocks to generate oil
in greater volumes than gas is influenced by the
maceral content, or coal composition, as well as
the degree of thermal maturation. Coal's impor-
tance as a fuel has further been extended by its use
in the preparation of synthetic fuels, for example
the commercial production of diesel and gasoline,
which has been in commercial operation since the
1950s in South Africa, and more recently in other
countries.
Relevance of Depositional Systems to Coal
The striking similarities of coal-bearing deposits
on various continents and of various ages demon-
strate that the concepts of depositional systems
have broad application in coal exploration, re-
serve estimation, and mining. The gross character
of a coal basin is controlled by tectonism, sedi-
328 Coal and Coal bed Methane
.,
,~
c Permian
.,
'"
o 60
DeQrees lat itude
Fig. 13.1. Paleolatitudinal distribution of coal over geologic time. (Modified from Diessel 1992)
ment supply, climate, and base level change.
Stratigraphic sequences that are the product of
these external controls (Chap. 11) can then be
analyzed at the progressively more detailed scale
of depositional systems and facies, a procedure
which provides a logical genetic and predictive
framework, obviating the need for elaborate
stratigraphic nomenclature.
This approach to basin analysis, long used in
the petroleum industry, is being adopted in some
quarters by a traditionally more conservative coal
industry, with encouraging results. Consequently,
it is recognized that the depositional system
framework can be a valuable tool in predicting the
distribution of thick coal in sparsely explored coal
basins, for example the Gondwana sequences in
Zimbabwe (Duguid 1986), and also has a bearing
on the composition (Smyth 1979) and therefore
potential industrial uses of the coal. On the more
detailed scale, depositional systems and their com-
ponent facies are a fundamental consideration in
effective mine planning and development (Horne
et al. 1978), particularly in mechanized longwall
operations in deep mines (Guion and Fulton
1995).
Relevance of Coals
in Genetic Sequence Stratigraphy
Thick, persistent coal seams covering thousands
of square kilometers record a pronounced depo-
c=J Late Tertiary
n:':~6S1
.
Early Tertiary
~ Cretaceous
L/j Jurassic
..:.:.:.:.:.:.;.:
.:.'.:.:.;.:.:.:.;
. .
:.:.:.:.:.:-:.:. TriassIc
Carboniferous
~ Devonian
90
sitional hiatus and therefore serve to separ-
ate progradational clastic wedges associated
with individual depositional episodes or events
(Hamilton and Tadros 1994). Following
McCabe's (1984) suggestion that extensive peats
may not be contemporaneous with clastic deposi-
tion, but follow an abrupt cessation of sedimen-
tary influx, major coal seams of regional extent
constitute ideal sequence boundaries, particularly
in nonmarine basins that lack marine flooding sur-
faces. In marine basins, burrowed, fossiliferous
sideritic beds of shallow, brackish or marine
embayments have been traced landward into
thin coals (Hobday 1974), together represent-
ing hiatal surfaces bounding genetic events or
parasequences.
Coals commonly create conspicuous seismic
reflections and are readily identified in wire-
line logs. Furthermore, their distinctive seam
profiles comprising individual plies permit re-
liable correlation in core or outcrop, making
them ideal for the purpose of genetic stratigra-
phic subdivision. Figure 13.2 illustrates the va-
rious scales at which peat-bounded sedimentary
intervals can be defined (Hamilton and Tadros
1994). The broadest regional peat blanket (Fig.
13.2A) arises from abrupt cutoff of sediment by
tectonism and could define the termination of
a tectonically controlled genetic stratigraphc se-
quence. The example in Fig. 13.2B is of subre-
gional extent, on the scale of a depositional event
or parasequence. The third example (Fig. 13.2C)

Fig. 13.2A-C. Various scales of peatswamp development in
response to A sudden basinwide termination of sediment influx
as a result of tectonic tilting, creating a regional hiatus, B
represents local peat accumulation under auto-
cyclic control and is significant only at the facies
scale.
External controls on sequence development
in coal-bearing strata, primarily changes in base
level, climate, tectonism, and sediment supply, are
discussed later in this chapter.
Coal Through Geologic Time
Figure 13.1 suggests that since mid-Paleozoic time,
equatorial and high-latitude coal-forming envi-
Coal Through Geologic Time 329
subregional peat accumulation as a result of persistent sedi-
ment bypass, C localized peat accumulation in an abandoned
meader loop. (Hamilton and Tadros 1994)
ronments have dominated, the equatorial condi-
tions of widely studied Carboniferous coals not
necessarily being representative of other major
episodes of peat preservation. Permian coals are
characteristic of postglacial Gondwana environ-
ments. Most Cretaceous coals also originated
at latitudes higher than 40, while Tertiary coals
span almost the complete paleolatitudinal range
(DiesseI1992).
Widespread peat development only became
possible with the appearance of psilophyte vegeta-
tion during the mid-Paleozoic, which accounts for
the first Devonian coals and then the extensive
Carboniferous seams. Lycopod flora of the late
Devonian and Mississippian were augmented in
330 Coal and Coalbed Methane
the Pennsylvanian by tree ferns, seed ferns, calam-
ites, and cordaites, with lycopods and tree ferns
the dominant swamp forms (Cross and Phillips
1990). According to Ziegler et al. (1987), the late
Paleozoic climatic regime resembled that of today,
with peatlands concentrated in equatorial and
temperate zones of high rainfall generated by
tropical convergence and polar fronts, respec-
tively. Furthermore, the gross configuration of the
Northern Hemisphere protocontinents provided
the hot, humid climatic conditions suitable for de-
velopment of vast peatswamps. Some of these
tropical mires are believed to have had a raised or
domal configuration, with lycopods around the
wet margins and tree ferns dominating the el-
evated interiors (Esterle and Ferm 1994). Permian
forests saw a waning of tree ferns and introduction
of conifers, but most coals of this age originated
in the cold Gondwana region (Fig. 13.1), where
expanding peat mires accompanied deglaciation.
The Gondwana flora had several distinguishing
features. Fernlike vegetation of the Northern
Hemisphere Carboniferous was poorly repre-
sented, with Gondwana peat-forming environ-
ments characterized instead by autumnal
accumulations of leaf litter (Plumstead 1969, p.
41).
Evolving Mesozoic and Tertiary vegetation
occupied an ever-expanding range of environ-
ments. Triassic coals are not significant on a
global scale, possibly because of generally dry
climates and low sea levels, but they are a notable
feature of some extensional basins such as
southwest China, where very thick seams are
present. Jurassic and Cretaceous coals, in contrast,
are widespread in response to global transgres-
sions and development of epeiric seaways in
the Northern Hemisphere and Australia, as well
as in foreland and rift settings. Emergence of
grasses during the Cretaceous, and the diversifica-
tion of angiosperms and their expansion into
wetland environments, led to the modern zona-
tion of herbaceous and arboreal communities
of peat mires. Early Tertiary enlargement of
the ocean basins and development of circum-Arc-
tic marine circulation allowed tropical rainforests
to flourish in regions such as West Africa and
South America. At the same time, Southeast
Asia and Papua New Guinea were converging on
the high-rainfall zone conducive to extensive
peatlands.
Speculation concerning the reasons for the high
proportion of coal-bearing strata in the upper
Paleozoic, middle/upper Mesozoic, and lower
Cenozoic also involves the greenhouse theory of
elevated atmospheric CO 2 levels related to in-
creased volcanic activity, as evidenced by abun-
dant volcanic rocks and limestones in the
preceding epoch (Haszeldine 1989). Haszeldine
further pointed out that carbon fixing in lime-
stones and coal would remove CO 2 from the atmo-
sphere and reduce global temperatures (Gaian
Earth cooling), increasing rainfall over the tropics
and at latitudes above 30o N.
Modern peats span a range of climatic zones
from hot and dry, through the humid tropics, to
arctic. Haszeldine (1989) viewed this Holocene
peat-forming episode, corresponding to wide-
spread cooling and increased rainfall over the past
8000 years, as possibly analogous to the earlier
peaks. Large peat concentrations in northern
cool-temperate regions such as Canada, northwest
Europe, and Russia, and in more restricted south-
ern regions such as Patagonia, are all favored by
low evaporation rates. Tropical peats are region-
ally less extensive, but are accumulating far more
rapidly at rates of up to 3 mm a year (Esterle and
Ferm 1994) compared with rates of OA-0.6mm
in interlobe swamps of the Mississippi Delta
(Kosters et al. 1987). Even semiarid areas with
perennial discharge may develop extensive peats,
for example the Okavango Swamps of Botswana
(McCarthy et al. 1991).
The rate of peat accumulation depends not only
on climate, but also on the type of vegetation,
for example the proportion of woody material.
Ash bands may record prolonged breaks in peat
accumulation as a result of factors such as sub-
aerial denudation, fire, or flooding. Assuming
compaction during coalification to 10% of the
peat thickness, a 1-m (3.3-ft) Carboniferous coal
may represent a timespan in the range of 15000-
100000 years (Haszeldine 1989). Seams ten times
this thick or more are not uncommon, but some
comprise a number of discrete benches separated
by detrital or hiatal ash bands. This implies ex-
traordinary persistence in the location of peat
formation. Clymo (1987) has shown that vertical
growth of raised bogs is self-limiting, with a maxi-
mum of around 15 m (50 ft) in temperate latitudes
and 20 m (65 ft) or so in the tropics; this would
result in coals around 1.5-2 m (5-6.5 ft) thick.
Thicker seams may represent conditions in which
persistent base level rise provides new accommo-
dation space, for example through subsidence or
gradual transgression.

Coal-Forming
Depositional Environments
Globally significant coal resources are associated
with alluvial fan, fluvial, delta, shore-zone, and
lacustrine systems. Within each system, specific
environments and facies associations host the
largest peat accumulations. Thick seams record
predominantly in-place or autochthonous accu-
mulation, although Gastaldo et al. (1993) showed
that allochthonous plant debris can accumulate to
thicknesses of several meters and perhaps provide
a substrate for autochthonous peat development.
Plants of peat mires are generally atypical, hy-
drologically adapted, terrestrial communities that
tend to survive the harsh conditions of peat-form-
ing environments (Cross and Phillips 1990). Peat
accumulates largely by collapse and decay of plant
cover, but in some swamps this is augmented by
settling of rafted vegetation. For a mat of dead
vegetation to be preserved as peat and ultimately
transformed into coal, it must remain protected
from detrital influx, while the water table remains
at, or near, the surface. Clymo (1987) estimated
that in most cases, 99% or more of the original
plant material is selectively lost in the process of
peat formation.
Chemical conditions, especially a low pH, are
critical to peat preservation. As pointed out
by Lamberson et al. (1991), the chemistry of
peatlands is strongly influenced by the proportion
of groundwater inflow, as opposed to direct pre-
cipitation on the swamp surface. Where less acidic
conditions prevail, for example arising from fresh-
water inundation and elevation of pH values to 5.0
and above, the peat is generally subject to severe
degradation (Renton and Cecil 1979). Even a tem-
porary decrease in acidity, as a result of brief sea-
sonal flooding, for example, may degrade the peat
surface to the extent that the minute inorganic
components in the cellular structure of the plants
are preferentially concentrated and preserved as
ash bands in coal seams. Ash bands may also
record inorganic concentration by burning or oxi-
dation during temporary emergence of the peat
surface.
Although often difficult to reconstruct because
of poor preservation and physical mixing, the pa-
leoecology of some ancient coal-forming plant
communities has been reconstructed, especially in
Tertiary coals where direct comparisons with
modern floral communities are possible (Diessel
Coal-Forming Depositional Environments 331
1992). Zonation into open-water, marsh, and
swamp environments is similar to that of today,
although often displaying a narrower range of
floral adaptation.
Sequential colonization of peat-forming envi-
ronments is well documented in the tropical delta
and shore-zone systems (Anderson 1983). On the
tide-dominated coast of eastern Malaysia, for ex-
ample, prograding tidal flats and clastic shore
zones are locally burrowed and oxidized before
being rapidly inhabited by mangroves and Nipa
(Esterle and Ferm 1994). The oxygenated tidal
waters promote rapid decay of plant material and
precipitation of iron sulfide, so that the lowermost
layer of peat is highly degraded, with elevated
sulfur and ash as a consequence. With continued
progradation, the denser vegetation becomes an
effective sediment trap, preventing tidal incursion
except during storms. In the process, the inner
tract of mangrove swamp is gradually replaced by
freshwater peat forest with large trees and a dense
understory. Along the southwest Florida coast
too, peat accumulation has accelerated during the
past 3500 years as the rate of sea-level rise has
slowed to the extent that progradation of man-
grove marshlands has commenced (Parkinson
1989). If these conditions persist, the existing com-
plex of mangrove islands is expected to coalesce
and expand Gulfward, while building vertically.
Away from the tropics, mangroves give way to
the more typical marsh-swamp gradation, with
saline marsh along the tide-affected zone suc-
ceeded landward by brackish and freshwater
marsh, and forested freshwater swamps. Barataria
Bay, of the Mississippi delta system, provides a
good example (Fig. 13.3). Despite high rates of
organic productivity, peat accumulation in brack-
ish and saline marsh is generally very slow as a
result of rapid decomposition under high pH con-
ditions (Kosters et al. 1987). This results in thin or
discontinuous peats rich in hydrogen sulfide and
accounts for the pyritic, high-sulfur coals typical of
the seaward extremities of many coal-bearing fa-
cies. High riverine or groundwater discharge may,
however, allow freshwater marsh to extend almost
to the water's edge.
Freshwater marsh tracts tend to be dominated
by reeds and other herbaceous plants and may
accumulate large quantities of fungal spores. Be-
ing devoid of trees, the resulting peat has little or
no woody material apart from rafted debris. On
the Mississippi delta plain, planar eutrophic peat
is forming in herbaceous marsh and adjacent
332 Coal and Coalbed Methane

o 30 km N
I ! I

o 20 mi

Th ibodaux

F:::::: j Salt ne marsh

k" ~ ;-1 Brack ish marsh
~=====~ Intermediate marsh

Fresh marsh

Forested wetlond (swamp)

e:tL:.ANatural levee

I. I
Barrier islond

D Crevasse splay

~ Hardwood bottomland

Bare to rIo 8csi n

Fig. 13.3. Environmental framework of peat-forming environments in the Barataria Basin, Mississippi Delta, Louisiana. (Modi-
fied from Kosters et al. 1987)

swampy tracts occupied by the forest cypress
Taxodium and the tupelo gum Nyssa (Kosters et
al. 1987). Floating-marsh vegetation ("flotant")
over shallow, stagnant pools accumulates as peat
on root-free underclays (Russell 1936; Frazier and
Osanik 1969) and, as pointed out by Conaghan
(1982), could be mistaken for allochthonous coals
in the rock record. Kosters et al. (1987) described
the sequential development of these semi-autoch-
thonous peat settings in the Mississippi Delta:
1. An open freshwater basin is covered by water
hyacinth, alligator weed, cane, and marsh fern .
2. A rain of organic material from the underside
of the floating mat settles on the lake floor as
gyttja.
3. These lake-floor organics accrete to a level
where they meet the buoyant surface layer.
Peatlands associated with the ice-dominated
Yukon Delta provide another variant, with less
botanical diversity and a higher proportion of oxi-
dized marsh plant fragments than in more temper-
ate latitudes. Klein and Dupre (1980) and Dupre
(1982) distinguished between the following:
1. Lower delta plain peats composed of allo-
chthonous sedge/grass remains with a large
proportion of inorganic material
2. Upper delta plain peats composed of heteroge-
neous sedge/grass, willow, alder, and sphagnum
remains with clastic partings and incipient per-
mafrost
3. "Dry tundra" peats on Pleistocene uplands of
the abandoned delta complex, composed of
autochthonous sphagnum, willow, lichen, and
heath with few impurities

These peats are discontinuous, interfingering
with thaw lake deposits. Resulting coals would be
expected to rich in inertodetrinite, and dull with
local cryogenic disruption. Some of the lowermost
postglacial Gondwana coals show such features.
Finally, the Okavango Swamp of the semiarid
Kalahari Basin, Botswana, nourished by surface
and groundwater recharge from the Okavango
alluvial fan, displays another unique peatland
ecosystem (McCarthy et a1. 1989). The 6000-km2
(2400-mi2) perennial swamp area supports a plant
community consisting mainly of Cyperus papyrus
in the upper reaches and Miscanthus junceum
more distally, with Thelypteris locally and numer-
ous islands supporting large trees.
Flat and Raised Mires
Modern peatlands are of two main types (Moore
and Bellamy 1974):
1. Flat, low-lying, topogenous (surface water-fed)
or rheotrophic (groundwater-fed) mires
2. Raised or domed, oligotrophic (rainwater-fed)
mires
Raised mires are more abundant than the pla-
nar variety today (Clymo 1987; Pierce et a1. 1991).
Domed peat mires, with steep sides and flat tops,
are increasingly emphasized as analogues of seams
showing characteristic upward-dulling petrogra-
phy and anomalously low ash content, despite
proximity to active environments of clastic deposi-
tion. Cecil et a1. (1985) argued that thick, low-ash
peats are restricted to coastal oligotrophic mires,
but Kosters et a1. (1989b) noted that modern pla-
nar, or eutrophic, delta plain peats of the Ho-
locene interglacial have had insufficient time to
evolve into mature analogues of significant coal
deposits. Given protracted accumulation and re-
duction of ash content by leaching, such eutrophic
peat-forming environments may account for the
presence of some widespread, planar seams.
Continued peat growth and development of a
domal form that rises above the adjoining chan-
nels and marshes is contingent on year-round
rainfall and continuously humid conditions that
sustain a perched water table. Raised mires vary
from mossy swamps in cool-temperate regions to
forest swamps in the tropics, typically comprising
a limited number of tree species; for example, one
or two tree species dominate the raised bogs of
Borneo. There, the diversity of tree and shrub
Coal-Forming Depositional Environments 333
species increases toward the sea before merging
with mangrove forest. The Snuggedy Swamp of
South Carolina comprises a domed interior of
acidic, low-ash pre inertinite peat separated from
the surrounding flat, topogenous peats by a nar-
row transition zone (Staub and Cohen 1979). The
low-lying flanks show a subdued system of tidal
channels.
Evolution of Raised Mires
Several evolutionary stages are evident in the de-
velopment of a raised mire. Allochthonous plant
material and partially floating mats of vegetation
may form an initial peat deposit that grows into
an island, diverting flow across progressively
narrower floodways. The emergent peat surface
grows vertically into a domal, ombrotrophic form,
with its own raised water table that remains close
to the surface of the peat dome as it aggrades
(Anderson 1983). Esterle and Ferm (1994) con-
firmed that peat accumulation may commence
as small, isolated topogenous mires (fed by
surface water), which coalesce into extensive
ombrogenous (rainfall-fed) mires. Whereas the
low-lying flanks of raised mires are subject to
flooding and oxygenation, promoting microbial
degradation of peat (Sweet and Cameron 1991),
stagnant waters toward the domed-center mires
are acidic and nutrient-depleted, supporting only
stunted cover. This buildup of humic acids inhibits
bacterial degradation and promotes peat preser-
vation. As the peat becomes progressively more
elevated, however, nutrient supply is reduced
and the water table may be subject to seasonal
fluctuations, leading to an increase in pH and
some degree of oxidation, analogous to the com-
monly observed upward-dulling pattern in seams.
Not all modern mires display this evolutionary
pattern, however, and a similar diversity is appar-
ent in coals, despite the tendency in many seams
for the proportion of dull coal to increase toward
the top.
Lamberson et a1. (1991) and Calder (1993), too,
point to a general evolutionary tendency for mires
fed by surface-water or groundwater discharge to
grow into rain-fed, domal forms, but with "defla-
tion" or reversion to the original planar form com-
monly taking place during the later stages. Similar
patterns are interpreted from the petrographic
profiles of a number of thick coal seams (Esterle et
a1. 1989).
334 Coal and Coalbed Methane

A
/ / / /
Flood, runoff,
and soil nutrients
__ ----- ---==::=:-_---
.... -:;--
::/3Y- 2 /
-..::::-""--
----
- ~-- ---=-.:=--=- ":.------=-=-:..-~;;:
....---
------
_,/l / T 'Ime I'Ines
- ------

B
SUBAQUEOUS SECONDARY FEN TERTIARY RAISED
PRIMARY
Spruce pine Stunted trees
Birch
Alder
Heather

c
Ferns, Lycopod trees Herbaceous
(Sigillaria, Lepidodendron) Pteridosperm stunted
sphenopsid Lycopod

Calamites

-~'::xBR1GHT

Stigmaria roots (rare)

Equisites roots (common) Seatearth
Fig. 13.4. A Raised-mire hydrology, B Lateral plant zonation and temperate raised mire profile, C Carboniferous example
showing upward change from bright to dull coal (floral facies, Westphalian raised mire), (Modified from Haszeldine 1989)

A schematic reconstruction of raised-mire hy-
drology, zonation of vegetation across the sub-
aqueous to domed surface. and a Carboniferous
example interpreted as of raised-mire origin is
illustrated in Fig. 13.4.
their optical properties. Some macerals can have
several possible origins, whereas others reflect
specific botanical precursors, environments, or
burial histories.

Maceral Groups

Coal Petrography Components of the three fundamental groupings

and Paleoenvironment
Microscopic study of coal recognizes morphologi-
cal constituents, or macerals, distinguishable by
of macerals are outlined in Table 13.1, along with
their forms and possible modes of origin.
Vitrinite is the most important maceral group in
most coals, although it is deficient in some
Gondwana seams. It is produced by gelification of
 Coal Petrography and Paleoenvironment 335

Table 13.1. Typical form and origin of the three maceral groups

Macerals Form Origin

Vitrinite group
Telinite Well-preserved cell walls Cell walls of trunks, branches, stems, leaves, roots
Collinite Well-preserved cell fills Cell-fill material
Telocollinite Homogeneous Tissues which have become structure less
Gelocollinite (rare) Homogeneous Formed from a humic gel
Desmocollinite Fragmentary groundmass Fragments of humic material
Corpocollinite Homogeneous, massive circular, or oval bodies Circular or oval bodies are probably plant cells
Vitrodetrinite Fragmentary Detrital fragments of vitrinite
Exinite group
Sporinite Spore exines, well-preserved botanical forms, Skins of spores and pollens
usually compressed except in very low
rank coals
Cutinite Well-preserved botanical forms, sometimes Outer layers of leaves, needles, shoots, stalks,
cellular (often characterized by sawtooth edge) and thin stems
Resinite Pod-shaped, globular, or irregular bodies Resins, oily secretions
Alginite Circular or pod-shaped, well-preserved Algae
botanical forms
Liptodetrinite Fragmentary Unidentifiable fragments of exinite
Intertinite group
Semifusinite Well-preserved cell walls Oxidized cell walls of trunks, branches, stems,
leaves, and roots
Fusinite Well-preserved cell walls As above, frequently charcoaled
Sclerotinite Rounded or oval bodies with well-preserved Fungal remains
cell structures inside
Macrinite Amorphous groundmass, structureless rounded Oxidized gelified plant material
fragments
Inertodetrinite Fragmentary (less than one complete cell) Cell wall fragments, cell fillings
Micrinite Specks, 1-2,11 Controversial

Compiled by Michelle Smyth.

woody tissue and bark in a generally reducing en-
vironment that, because of rapid subsidence and a
consistently high water table, is abruptly sealed
from the atmosphere. As a result, there is no evi-
dence of subaerial degradation. Vitrinite is further
subdivided on the basis of botanical attributes
and postdepositional alteration, for example
telinite, which displays cell walls, through to detri-
tal vitrodetrinite. The soft precursor to vitrinite
found in lignite is known as huminite.
Liptinite, or exinite, originates from specific
botanical components such as spores, cuticles, and
resins, and shows a great diversity of forms. It
has the highest hydrogen content of any maceral
group and therefore provides the most oil-prone
kerogen.
Inertinite may have the same botanical origin as
vitrinite, but underwent oxidative changes during
prolonged subaerial exposure prior to its eventual
burial. This maceral group therefore reflects slow
subsidence and a low or fluctuating water table.
It may also represent charcoal left by swamp
fires, for example fusinite, with its oxidized cel-
lular structure. Alternatively, it may preserve the
oxidized remains of non woody plants. Inertinite
is generally nonreactive during coalification. al-
though reactive forms, gradational with vitrinite,
are common in some basins such as the Karoo of
southern Africa.
The three maceral groups change quite inde-
pendently during coalification. Vitrinite shows a
constant rate of alteration, and for this reason
measurements of vitrinite reflectance are used as
an indicator of coal rank. Intertinite, in contrast,
remains relatively stable during coalification apart
from minor early alteration. Exinite may show
evidence of liquid hydrocarbon emission with ma-
turity and can have the effect of suppressing the
reflectance of vitrinite to indicate misleadingly low
levels of maturity.
Microlithotypes
Microlithotypes are determined from very thin
layers of coal (as thin as 50 J1) and reflect various
336 Coal and Coalbed Methane
combinations of maceral groups. For example,
vitrite and fusite microlithotypes are equivalent
to monomacerals composed of vitrinite and fusi-
nite, respectively. Clarite and durite are bimacer-
als composed of vitrinite plus exinite, and exinite
plus inertinite, respectively. The bimaceral micro-
lithotype vitrinertite is composed of vitrinite plus
inertinite, and the trimacerals clarodurite and
duroclarite are intermediate in composition be-
tween clarite and durite.
Lithotypes
Fine banding on a centimeter scale commonly
develops during the transition from lignite to sub-
bituminous coal. These bands represent an alter-
nation of bright and dull laminae that consist of
four lithotypes: vitrain, clarain, durain, and fusain.
Vitrain, composed of the microlithotypes vitrite
and clarite, is glassy black with conchoidal frac-
ture. Clara in , comprising alternating layers of
vitrite, clarite, durite, and fusite, is black with silky
luster and is finely striated. Durain (durite and
trimacerite) is dull grayish-black and massive, and
fusain (largely fusite) is dull black and sooty
(Stach et al. 1975, pp. 113, 114). Modern macro-
scopic coal-logging procedures record the various
combinations of bright (vitrain plus clarain) and
dull (durain plus fusain) bands.
Environmental Controls on Coal Petrology
Clastic Depositional Environment
Some seams show a strong relationship between
petrography and clastic depositional environment
(Smyth 1979, 1984). Figure 13.5 shows the petro-
graphic differences among lacustrine, fluvial,
brackish, upper delta plain, and lower delta plain
paleoenvironments in the Permian Cooper Basin
of Australia. These interpretations are supported
by the sedimentary characteristics of the associ-
ated clastic facies.
The lacustrine coals are distinguished by a
vi trite plus clarite content of less than 50% and are
typically rich in inertodetrinite and semifusite
(area A in Fig. 13.5). Coals of the fluvial systems
are rich in vitrite and clarite (area B), while coals
associated with the brackish shore-zone environ-
ment are similar but slightly higher in intermedi-
VITRITE+CLARITE
FLY LAKE No.1
.. FLY LAKE No.2
FLY LAKE NO.3
o BROLGA No.1
INTERMEDIA TES INERTODETRINITE
DURITE+
SEMIFUSITE+
FUSITE
Fig. 13.5. Microlithotype composition of coals from explora-
tion wells in the Cooper Basin, Australia. A Lacustrine, B
fluvial, C brackish environment, D upper delta plain, E lower
delta plain. (Modified from Smyth 1979)
ates. Deltaic coals (areas D and E) occupy a broad
range of composition, but are generally lower
in the bright-coal constituents vitrite and clarite
and enriched in the intermediates duroclarite,
clarodurite, and vitrinertite.
Diessel (1986) devised objective criteria for re-
lating coal petrography to depositional environ-
ment. These are expressed as follows:
Gelification index (GI)
vitrinite + macrinite
semifusinite + fusinite + inertodetrinite
Tissue preservation index (TPI)
telinite + telocollinite + semifusinite
desmocollinite + macrinite + inertodetrinite
These indices have been used in conjunction
with other sedimentological data to interpret
environments of peat accumulation, for example
in the Jharia Basin of India (Mishra and Cook
1992). Coals overlying the basal Gondwana
paraglacial facies of debris-flow and stream-domi-
nated outwash fans have low GI and high TPI
ratios, which the authors correlate with dry forest
moor conditions. The overlying Barakar Forma-
tion appears to reflect a change from bed-load to
mixed-load fluvial deposition, with coals of low to
moderate GI ratios and variable TPI along with
Glossopteris and pteridophyte assemblages, to-

gether indicative of peatlands in a seasonal warm,
humid climate.
The changes observed in marsh and swamp
plant communities, each with their own unique
hydrologic conditions, would be expected to give
rise to lateral changes in coal petrography, and
this is apparent in some seams. In other cases,
however, variations in maceral composition are
ascribed to postdepositional factors such as water
table fluctuations, variations in burial rate, or sub-
aerial exposure, which overprint any petrographic
variations arising from the original plant commu-
nity (Hunt 1989).
Peatland Environments
The petrographic characteristics of a coal are a
function of the type of vegetation, rate of accu-
[::::;::1
.t. L i thic aren i te
EB Red-brown sha le
V:---:- IDark-gray shale
~ Rooted dark-
~ gray shale
~ Dull and dull-
~ bonded cool
Fig. 13.6. Reconstruction of a domed peat showing the gradation into bounding clastics and the lateral gradation from dull to
bright coal. (Modified from Staub and Esterle 1992)
Coal Petrography and Paleoenvironment 337
mulation, hydrology, biochemical effects at the
time of peat formation, and early postdepositional
changes. The megascopic distinction between
bright, banded and dull coals can result from dif-
ferences in vegetation (woody versus herbaceous),
or alternatively the origin of the dull bands may
differ only insofar as they were subject to atmo-
spheric exposure before burial. Rapid burial of
woody material under topogenous mire condi-
tions facilitates gelification of humic material, pre-
serving the precursors of vitrinite or bright coal.
On the other hand, aerobic degradation of plant
material leads to preinertinite or dull coal. Paleo-
botanical controls are invoked in explaining the
petrographic characteristics of some coals, for ex-
ample the lignites of Cologne, Germany, as re-
flecting a continuum from open lake to wet swamp
and dry swamp. Other interpretations stress bio-
chemical transformation, particularly as this ap-
2 km
I
o 1 mi
338 Coal and Coal bed Methane
plies to the ombrogenous (domed) mire environ-
ment. In this situation, floral zonation arising from
nutrient availability is viewed as a secondary fac-
tor in determining the petrographic characteristics
of the resulting coal (Anderson and Mackay
1990).
Reconstruction of the original mire setting re-
sponsible for coals of the Carboniferous age has
been achieved by detailed studies of individual
"benches" comprising mappable beds of coal each
covering areas of up to hundreds of square kilo-
meters, separated by ash bands (Staub 1991). An
example is illustrated in Fig. 13.6. These Central
Appalachian coals of an abandoned delta system
show ash and pre inertinite contents that vary in-
versely with bench thickness, and tops and bot-
toms of individual benches that are consistently
dull, with brighter midsections. Furthermore, the
thinner benches are succeeded by thick clastic
partings, and vice versa. Staub (1991) interprets
the thicker, low-ash, dull benches as ofraised-mire
origin, whereas the thinner, high-ash benches
formed in topogenous swamps and preserve a net-
work of small channels. Domed Pennsylvanian
peats that gave rise to the Pocahontas Seam no.
3, among others, were characterized by abun-
dant lycopods on the eutrophic mires or dome
margins, with tree ferns covering a wide range
of environments, but most abundant over the
raised centers. Transformation from topogenous
to ombrogenous mire is reflected in the succession
from basal, telinite-rich coal, a product of lycopod
miospores that resisted decay in the eutrophic en-
vironment, to the overlying gelocollinite-rich
inertinites of degraded tree ferns that occupied
the oxidized, degraded oligotrophic domed mire.
The detailed comparison of the Beckley Seam of
southern West Virginia, provided by Staub and
Esterle (1993), with modern tropical mire evolu-
tion from topogenous to ombrogenous form, illus-
trates another variant. The Beckley Seam
comprises bright, high-vitrinite coal toward the
seam interior, where low ash and sulfur values are
consistent with an elevated surface and dull
lithotypes at the base and around the seam mar-
gins, with lower vitrinite and higher ash and sulfur
values of the flat, topogenous mire. A similar in-
terpretation was arrived at for the Lower Freeport
Seam of Pennsylvania (Pierce et al. 1991), which is
thought to have developed from a topogenous to
transitional domed phase. Lycopod miospores of
the topogenous flanks resisted decay and were
transformed to telinite, whereas the tree ferns of
the raised interior were readily degraded to form
gelocollinite. Mires intermediate between planar
and raised forms are also invoked for Cretaceous
coals of the Fruitland Formation (Roberts and
McCabe 1992). As such they were fed by rainfall,
but were also flooded from time to time.
Coal Rank
Temperature is the dominant control on coal rank,
as demonstrated by the thermal metamorphism of
seams intruded by volcanics and quantified by
source maturation studies in petroleum explora-
tion. Time is important only if the temperature
history exceeds a critical minimum. For example,
because of a very low geothemal gradient and a
current burial temperature of only 50-60C, Car-
boniferous rocks in the Moscow Basin are of
lignite rank. Burial pressure is of secondary im-
portance during coalification, apart from
compactional expUlsion of water during conver-
sion of lignite to bituminous coal, and frictional
heating and local rank elevation during tectonic
deformation. Furthermore, variable pressure con-
ditions can influence the partial pressures of vola-
tile coalification products, thereby providing
anomalies in coal rank (Cecil et al. 1979a).
Rank increase is accompanied by progressive
darkening and increased opacity, calorific value,
and vitrinite reflectance, with a concomitant de-
crease in solubility, oxygen, volatile, and moisture
content. Reversals in some of these trends are
apparent at the coalification break, when the vola-
tile content of vitrinite falls below 30%. At this
stage, the volume of methane increases suddenly
before expulsion as coalification progresses. Con-
sequently, this threshold is an important consider-
ation in the assessment of underground mining
hazards.
The peat stage is achieved by surficial biochemi-
cal diagenesis, which extends to a depth of about
10m (33ft), where purely chemical processes be-
come dominant. Decomposition of dead plant
material is accomplished largely by microorgan-
isms; cellulose and protein are broken down, pro-
gressively concentrating lignin and humic acids
and increasing the carbon content to 50-60%.
Clay minerals are produced in situ by removal of
organic and certain inorganic components and the
concentration of amorphous inorganic plant mate-
rial from woody plant tissue (Renton and Cecil
 Cyclicity in Peat-Forming Environments and Coal-Bearing Strata
1979). The activities of aerobic bacteria, fungi, and
actinomycetes in the surface layers are replaced
with depth by anaerobic bacteria.
The lignite (brown coal) stage is normally at-
tained at depths of 200-400m (650-1300ft) as a
result of compaction and dewatering. Most lig-
nites are of Cenozoic age, but a few are as old as
Paleozoic. Plant remains are often recognizable,
for example in the Tertiary lignites of Germany,
where coniferous and angiosperm species can be
identified (Teichmuller and Teichmuller 1968a).
As rank increases, humic acids condense into
larger molecules forming humines, and the coal
becomes black and lustrous as it is transformed
into bituminous rank by vitrinization.
The bituminous stage generally requires burial
to depths of 1500-4000m (5000-13000ft). By this
stage humic acids have been totally transformed
into humines. In contrast to the gradual transition
from lignite to bituminous coal, the coalification
break at the boundary between high-volatile and
medium-volatile bituminous coal is very abrupt.
Bituminous rank increases by removal of alicyclic
and aliphatic groups and aromatization of humic
complexes. Vitrinite reflectance rises accordingly
to around 1.0%.
Anthracite rank is marked by a strong increase
in reflectance and optical anisotropy. Hydrogen
content is strongly diluted by release of methane
and water. Many coalfields of predominantly bitu-
minous rank contain anthracites in the contact
aureole of igneous intrusions. The alteration zone
is typically narrow, about the same width as the
intrusion, but larger plutons or laccoliths convert
more substantial volumes of coal to anthracite
rank.
Cyclicity in Peat-Forming Environments
and Coal-Bearing Strata
Small-Scale Cycles
Peat mire environments may alternate with "clas-
tic swamps" defined as noncoal intervals that pre-
serve vegetation in upright growth position along
with autochthonous plant debris, abundant root
casts, and siderite nodules. Small-scale cyclicity
of this type was documented in the May Lee
coal zone of the Warrior Basin by Demko and
339
Gastaldo (1992). The thin, basinwide Blue Creek
Seam was interpreted as of planar, eutrophic ori-
gin. Differential compaction caused by uneven
sediment loading was the overriding factor con-
trolling cyclicity and is evident in the effects of
individual storms and even tidal cycles.
Genetic Stratigraphic Sequences
in Coal-Bearing Strata
The ordering, or cyclicity, apparent in most coal
basins was generally referred to as cyclothems in
the earlier literature. This concept is undergoing a
revival as a result of the recent emphasis on se-
quence stratigraphy, now increasingly applied to
coal basins. Indeed, coals occupy specific positions
within genetic sequences (Ryer 1984; Flores and
Cross 1991; Hamilton and Tadros 1994), and in
cratonic or nonmarine basins in particular they
may represent critical reference horizons in se-
quence analysis.
Coal-bearing sequences have been variously
attributed to a number of factors including the
following:
1. Eustatic controls and fluctuating lake levels
2. Tectonism and its effects on base level
3. Climatic changes, especially in lacustrine basins
4. Variations in the rate and texture of sediment
influx, a preeminent control dependent to a
large degree on the first three factors
5. Autocyclic processes inherent in the sedimen-
tary system
In terms of the broad character of depositional
sequences, different combinations of external fac-
tors (items 1-4 above) may give rise to identical
sequences (Chap. 11), and it may not always be
possible to identify the absolute contribution of
specific controls. Furthermore, different factors
may assume importance at different stages in the
evolution of a coal basin. In some cases, however,
the overriding dominance of one or more external
factors may be evident, for example in well-dated
passive margins, in tectonic intermontane basins,
or in lacustrine basins sensitive to climatic
fluctuations.
Pennsylvanian coal basins of North America
have long been the subject of debate and provide
an abundant data base. In a study of this region,
Klein and Willard (1989) attribute the three
different regional patterns of vertical sequences
to differing tectonic and eustatic input. Appa-
340 Coal and Coalbed Methane
lachian-type cycles contain a large proportion
of clastics and are viewed as a response to
episodic thrust loading, with foreland basin
deepening and regional transgression followed
by regression caused by rapid sediment yield
from the uplifted orogen. Midcontinent, or Kan-
sas-type cyclothems, in contrast, are dominantly
eustatic, with periodicities comparable to Milan-
kovitch orbital parameters, while Illinois-type
cyclothems reflect a balance of tectonic and eus-
tatic controls. Complicating this variability are de-
monstrable auto cyclic mechanisms (Ferm and
Horne 1979).
Coals require sufficient organic productivity
and a relative rise in the groundwater table to
provide the accommodation space for their
accumulation and preservation. According to
Bohacs and Suter (1995), high accommodation
rates of the mid-lowstand and mid-highstand
systems tracts provide conditions for laterally
continuous coals in a paralic environment. Boyd
and Diessel (1995) point out that although peats
form at any stage of the base level-controlled
cycle, optimal peat development depends on the
ability of peat growth to keep pace with the provi-
sion of accommodation space by a relative rise in
sea level or local base level, with climatically
controlled peat growth rates decreasing with in-
creasing latitude.
Other coals demonstrate unequivocal tectonic
control on their development by providing the
appropriate accommodation space or by affecting
sediment supply. Coals in the lower unit of the
Fort Union Formation, Greater Green River Ba-
sin, are thickest directly above the major fluvial
axes, which in turn follow tectonic depressions
(Fig. 13.7; Tyler and Hamilton 1994; Tyler et al.
1995). Tectonic control is also evident in coals of
alluvial fan systems showing evidence of tectoni-
cally induced influx followed by a reduction in
stream competency, with coals associated with
low-energy environments of the fan margins and
inactive fan surfaces (Chap. 3).
Eustatic controls on peat genesis during Ho-
locene transgression and highstand progradation
have been documented by Kosters and Suter
(1993) in the Mississippi Delta. The transgressive
system tract that developed from 7500 to 6000
years B.P. is overlain by lagoonal maximum
flooding beds deposited from 6000 to 3500 years
B.P., followed by wave-reworked, backstepping
shore-zone sands, which delineate the maximum
transgression. Landward of this shoreline, the ac-
commodation space provided was occupied by
thick peats fed by focused groundwater discharge
and receiving negligible clastic influx (Fig. 13.8).
Peats associated with subsequent progradation
are thin and impure. Similar patterns of thick
coals behind aggradational or backstepping,
retrogradational wave-reworked sandstones are
well documented in ancient analogues (Ryer 1981,
1984; Cross 1988). Along the western margin
of the Cretaceous Western Interior seaway, for
example, Ryer (1984) recognized major seams
associated with coastal plain and shore-zone ag-
gradation during transgressive and regressive
maxima. Although associated with most regres-
sive pulses, the thickest coals are located land-
ward of markedly aggradational and slightly
backstepping shore-zone systems (Flores and
Cross 1991).
Global sea-level changes were undoubtedly a
factor during deposition of some coal-bearing se-
quences, as evidenced by the close association of
coals with the deglaciation of Permian Gondwana
basins. Furthermore, late Paleozoic transgressive
and regressive depositional events in the Northern
Hemisphere correlated in a broad sense with these
Gondwana glacial episodes. Many intracratonic
coal basins were landlocked, however, and re-
gional cycles may reflect climatically induced
fluctuations in lacustrine base level. This appears
to be particularly true of nonmarine Gondwana
basins, where cycles of similar character but
slightly different age may correspond to the dif-
ferences in timing of deglaciation in various
Gondwana continents.
Arditto (1991) identified six Permian eustatic
cycles in the Sydney Basin of Australia. The cycles
commence with coarse, erosively based clastics
deposited as incised valley fill, which become
finer-grained upward and terminate in regionally
continuous coals ascribed to ponding and peat
aggradation during initial transgression. Above
this are upward-fining clastics deposited during
maximum transgression that are comparable to
the widespread coal units associated with the
Cretaceous of the United States Western
Interior (McCabe and Shanley 1992). These are
followed by upward-coarsening, early-highstand
progradational deposits followed by late-
highstand coastal plain facies containing dis-
continuous, high-ash coals.
The thickest coals may, however, be associated
with regressive intervals, for example in the Upper
Paleozoic of northern China; thin coals are asso-
 Cyclicity in Peat-Forming Environments and Coal-Bearing Strata 341

,0
OAGGETT '0
::c l ~
~:o N
::::lIB
()

Fort Union outcrop [:::::.:.1 <20

~ Thrust fau lt 20-60

_ 60-100
o 30 mi
- Fault
I , i

"---:!o__ Structural contour _ >100

o 40 km
Contour interval 20 It QAa3966c

Fig. 13.7. Thickness of net coal (in meters) in the lower coal- Arch, MA Moxa Arch, PA Pinedale Anticline, RSU Rock
bearing unit of the Fort Union Formation, Greater Green Springs Uplift, SBA Sandy Bend Arch, WA Wamsutter Arch.
River Basin. The thickest coal, exceeding 30m, corresponds to (Tyler and Hamilton 1994) (courtesy of the Texas Bureau of
fluvial axes occupying tectonic depressions. CA Cherokee Economic Geology)

ciated with the transgressive facies tract in south-
ern China (Liu 1990). Similarly, coal-bearing se-
quences in the Karoo Basin of South Africa show
a predominantly regressive framework (Cadle et
al. 1993). In the intensively mined Transvaal
Coalfield of the northern Karoo Basin, coals are
present toward the top of prograding facies suc-
cessions ranging from glacial diamictite and allu-
vial fan outwash below seam no. 2, to lobate shoal-
water deltas below seams nos. 4 and 5 (Fig. 13.9).
The thinner seam no. 5 is located behind a trans-
gressive barrier backed by lagoonal torbanite. Ef-
fects of an irregular pre-Karoo paleotopography,
intermittent uplift of the erosional hinterland, dif-
342 Coal and Coalbed Methane
m C
10
o 25 50 75
~====~ Open-bay facies k)iH
BfQJj Progradational deltaics
~ Ground-water discharge
Fig. 13.8A-C. Genesis of thick, relatively pure peat landward
of shore-zone sands deposited during maximum marine trans-
gression, Holocene-Recent, Barataria Basin, Mississippi delta
complex. A Deltaic progradation from 3000 to 2500 B.P. B
Wave-reworked barrier shore-zone sands, with peat growth
ferential compaction and subsidence, and a rising
base level associated with postglacial warming to-
gether account for the distribution and character
of these major economic seams. In most cases,
bypassing sediment influx accompanied peat
aggradation, with the swamps traversed by fluvial
systems ranging from braidplains 5km (3mi) wide
near proximal entry points to narrow anasto-
mosed systems farther basinward.
Evidence of maximum peat growth on flat,
poorly drained coastal plains during relatively low
sea-level stands is based on Sumatran examples
with ever-wet climates, possibly analogous to
early to mid-Pennsylvanian environments of the
Appalachians (Cecil et al. 1993).
100 125 m
Barrier shore zone
Peat
keeping pace with available accommodation space and with
focused groundwater discharge. C Renewed delta progra-
dation and accumulation of thin, poor-quality peats. (Modified
from Kosters and Suter 1993)
Peats covering perhaps hundreds of square
kilometers form over abandoned deltaic tracts,
where the locus of sedimentation had shifted
to another part of the basin (Chap. 5). These
auto cyclic patterns are distinguished from re-
gionally even more extensive blanket peats that
overlie a range of coeval or temporally distinct
geologic environments and reflect regional
changes in base level or abrupt termination of
sediment influx.
Within this context of regional or global con-
trols, the effects of more local, autochthonous
changes are apparent in most coal basins, although
not in all coal seams. Three-dimensional seam ge-
ometries in certain regions are demonstrably the
 Cyclicity in Peat-Forming Environments and Coal-Bearing Strata
Cool f~:::~:::~:::~1 Siltstone/shale
!5';'i(::i Coarse-grained sandstone
Fig. 13.9. Coal overlying regressive sequences of glacial
outwash below the number 2 seam and fluvial-dominated del-
tas below the number 4 and 5 seams, together with an irregular
paleotopography. A Basement hight. B Major erosive fluvial
result of processes operative in modern sedi-
mentary environments (Ferm and Horne 1979),
for instance lateral migration of fluvial channels
and switching of delta lobes, accompanied by
compactional subsidence. Some seams display
extreme three-dimensional variability, with evi-
dence from clastic splits of contemporaneous ter-
rigenous sediment transport, whereas others
display remarkable lateral uniformity, reflecting
the contrasting effects of autocyclic versus al-
locyclic controls.
In short, the requisite conditions for peat devel-
opment of a slowly rising water table or subsiding
substrate, high organic productivity, and shelter-
ing from clastic influx can arise from marine or
lacustrine transgression, shoreline regression, or a
shift in the locus of clastic deposition. Our view,
expressed in Chapter 11, is that sediment supply is
a dominant factor controlling the gross sequence
character of most terrigenous basin fill. Allocyclic
climate and base level processes punctuate princi-
pal depositional episodes, whereas autocyclic pro-
cesses are responsible for local internal variability.
343
Peat on delta plain
4
3
depression
Fine- to med ium-grained sandstone Peat swamp
Glacial diamictite tzj Basement
+
+
+
+
+
+
axis. C Minor fluvial channel interrupting peat accumulation.
D Delta-plain lake creating break in peat blanket on aban-
doned delta plain. E Reworked shore-zone sands transgressing
abandoned delta system. (After Cadle et a!. 1993)
This is particularly true of coal basins, with their
vertical cyclicity and complex three-dimensional
architecture.
Interplay of External and Local Factors:
A Synopsis
As demonstrated by Ferm and Horne (1979), the
most important factor influencing the areal distri-
bution of peat is the nature of the platform upon
which it accumulates. Requisite conditions of sedi-
ment starvation for peat formation can be met
under conditions of negligible sediment influx,
sediment bypassing, or elevation of mire surfaces,
in a range of clastic depositional environments
from alluvial fan to fluvial, deltaic, lake margin,
and coastal shore zone. Remarkable similarities
exist between the geometries of lithological units,
including coals, in basins of different ages and geo-
graphic settings, but there are also pronounced
differences. These differences stem from the ef-
fects of external controls such as tectonism, sedi-
344 Coal and Coalbed Methane
ment supply, and eustasy, coupled with sedimen-
tologically controlled switches in the rate and lo-
cation of clastic and organic accumulation.
Coals and Hiatal Surfaces
In some basins, the effects of external controls
have created a distinct time break between the
depositional platform and the overlying coals.
This is particularly true of regionally extensive
seams that overlap the boundaries between the
underlying clastic depositional systems, for ex-
ample the Bayswater Seam of the Sydney Basin,
Australia.
McCabe (1984, 1987) has drawn attention to
the fact that modern environments of peat accu-
mulation may not correspond to the underlying
depositional systems, for example the Okefe-
nokee Swamp, which overlies Pleistocene beach
ridges (Cohen 1984). Indeed, some seams overlie
surfaces showing advanced pedogenic alteration
or rest unconformably on demonstrably older and
environmentally unrelated surfaces including
crystalline basement. The hiatus documented by
Frazier (1974) that intervenes between clastic
deposition and the onset of peat accumulation on
the Mississippi delta plain is an example that var-
ies in duration depending on the frequency of
overbank flooding and delta switching (Kosters et
a1. 1987).
Coals and Coeval Clastic Sediments
Lateral interfingering of seams with coeval clastic
sediments is apparent in many basins. Relation-
ships among clastic facies and seam thickness,
lateral continuity, ash, sulfur, and trace-element
content have been rigorously documented in Car-
boniferous rocks of the Appalachian region (e.g.,
Donaldson et a1. 1979; Ferm 1974, 1976; Horne et
a1. 1978; Ferm and Staub 1984). Many of these
relationships are equally valid in post-Devonian
strata elsewhere, such as the Carboniferous of
Europe (Elliott 1975; Steel et a1. 1977b), Permian
deposits of Gondwana (Casshyap 1970; Hobday
1978a, 1987), and the Cretaceous of the western
United States (Marley et a1. 1979; Ryer et a1. 1980;
Flores 1981).
Subsequent reoccupation of the site of peat ac-
cumulation by clastic environments is necessary to
bury the previously sediment-starved peat surface
and bring about its preservation (Kosters et a1.
1989b). Discharging aquifers are effective in pro-
moting and maintaining a peat blanket during
early burial, so the presence of hydrologically
charged, transmissive facies underlying the peat
surface may ensure that it is incorporated in the
rock record.
Depositional Systems and Coal
Coals of Alluvial Fan Systems
Peats and coals are associated with alluvial fan and
fan delta systems in a variety of intermontane and
proximal foreland basin settings such as the San
Luis Basin (Fig. 12.12) and the Great Valley, Cali-
fornia. Fault-bounded basins of extensional and
transtensional origin are a particularly favored lo-
cus for coal-bearing alluvial fan systems. Sporadic
syndepositional tectonism and alluvial fan devel-
opment along footwall fault margins and crosscut-
ting transfer fault zones, together with abrupt,
climatically induced changes in base level, lead to
the juxtaposition and interfingering of coals, con-
glomerates, sandstones, and shales (Fig. 13.10).
Contemporaneous downwarping and prolonged
peat aggradation in areas sheltered from detrital
influx locally results in coals attaining extraordi-
nary thicknesses of 100m (330ft) or more (Long
1981).
Carboniferous pull-apart basins associated with
strike-slip displacement in northern Spain contain
several isolated, linear coalfields (Heward 1978a,
b). Fanhead and canyon-fill conglomerates occupy
paleovalleys up to 300m (1000ft) deep. Deposi-
tion varied markedly from angular scree and col-
luvium to debris-flow conglomerates arranged in
irregular upward-fining sequences. Oxidized con-
glomerates, thought to record a stable episode of
tropical weathering, are overlain by finer-grained
coal-bearing sediments. Coals are also present
with siltstones and fine-grained sandstones depos-
ited in depressions between midfan conglomerate
lobes, onlapping the fan surfaces and presumably
recording episodes of clastic diversion. Distally,
coals alternate with finer-grained sandstones
and thin, root-disturbed beds, which grade basin-
ward into shales. According to Heward (1978b),
the dominant process appears to have been sheet-
flooding, which carried sands into a muddy lake
where freshwater fauna are preserved along with
trees in the upright position. Coals as thick
as 20 m (65 ft) formed along the lacustrine
 Depositional Systems and Coal 345

South North

m.a.s.1.
140

100

60

20

o o 500 m

-20
I I
o 1000 It

Fluvial channel sandstone

shale and coal
[Wi.:;] Sandstone ~~~ Impure
-.2"=' coal

IIIII1IIIJ Rhythmically lami nated

shale
[~=~::===~3 Mudstone I?~~~)"J
9-0 . Conglomerate ~coal
Fig. 13.10. Rift-filling coals and lacustrine mudstones gradational with fault-bounding alluvial fan and overlying fluvial facies,
Neogene of central Poland. m. a.s.l. Meters above sea leveL (Modified from Krzyszkowski 1993)

margin of the fan delta. A similar paleoenvi-
ronmental setting is apparent in the thick Permian
coal of the Mid-Zambezi rift basin, where Duguid
(1986) documented a belt of fluvially deposited
sandstones paralleling the faulted margin, with
the thick, strike-elongate Main Seam following
the fan delta - lacustrine transition, onlapping the
distal fan surface.
The other common setting for alluvial fan coals
is along the orogenic margins of foreland basins,
as exemplified by the Sydney Basin of Australia,
the southern Karoo, and the forelands of Indone-
sia and Papua New Guinea. Coal-bearing Upper
Permian alluvial fan systems of the Sydney Basin
were deposited in an arcuate foreland bounded to
the north and east by tectonically active crystalline
highlands. Fifteen or more seams are present in
the 400-m (1300-ft) succession. Large, cold-cli-
mate gravel fans merged distally into stream-de-
posited sands fringed by lake-margin peatswamps.
Most seams are 1-3m (3-10ft) thick, with a maxi-
mum of 9m (30ft), and individually cover areas
of up to 400km 2 (150mi 2 ). Peat development
commenced on the distal fan and in intralobe de-
pressions, but some seams show evidence of pro-
gressive onlap, so that the coals lie directly on
coarse conglomerates. This suggests sustained
groundwater discharge during the process of fan
abandonment, perhaps augmented by direct pre-
cipitation in a humid, high-latitude environment,
favoring peat growth and preservation. Many
seams are also overlain by conglomerates, sug-
gesting reoccupation by active fans. Smyth (1970)
noted petrographic evidence in the form of up-
ward reduction in the thickness and proportion of
bright bands of a progressively drier peat surface
as it accreted vertically and encroached updip.
Fan deltas supplied by glacial outwash also pro-
vided the appropriate subsiding, waterlogged sub-
strate for Permian peat development on the
cratonic northern margin of the Karoo Basin. Fan
delta foresets 5 m (16 ft) high prograded across
varved lacustrine deposits containing graded
sandstone beds deposited by density underflows
and ice-rafted erratics. The gravel fan surface was
traversed by braided streams, with peats formed
by shrubby Gondwana vegetation on inactive ar-
eas. Resulting coals rest directly on the coarse
glacial outwash facies and locally abut glacial mo-
raine or Dwyka Tillite (Fig. 13.11). The Karoo
foreland differs from the broadly contemporane-
ous Sydney/Bowen basin of Australia in that coals
are less characteristic of the tectonically active
southern margin, although somewhat younger
346 Coal and Coal bed Methane

o ~ Cool ~ Conglomerate
2omLoft
Sandstone

E:::;1 Shole ~ Tillite

Q5 mi
o
o 600m

Fig. 13.11. Basal Permo-Carboniferous coals of the northern Karoo Basin resting directly on tillite and proglacial alluvial fan
deposits. Higher coals were associated with lobate fluvial-dominated delta systems. (Modified from Cadle et al. 1993)

Fig. 13.12. Pattern of peat accumulation adjacent to a mixed-load fluvial channel, with seam thickness and quality deteriorating
toward the paleochannel. (Modified from Ferm and Horne 1979)

seams do overlie parts of the very large, sandy
alluvial fan systems that ultimately prograded
across the entire basin.
Coals of Fluvial Systems
Coal commonly rests on upward-fining sequences
de;"sited by suspended-load or mixed-load
streams or on more uniformly sandy sequences
of bed-load origin, in both cases accumulating
on levee flanks and in backswamps adjacent to
migrating channel tracts (Fig. 13.12). Lateral
gradation from point-bar sands through levee into
backswamp is also represented vertically as la-
teral migration superimposes levee silts and
backswamp peats directly upon the channel-fill
deposits (Chap. 4). Abrupt switching of channel
position to occupy low-lying interfluves typically
produces dip-oriented sands enclosed in carbon-
aceous shales and coals, with a semiregular pat-
tern of lateral offset (Fig. 13.13) apparent in some
coal basins. The thickest seams occupy a position
between the major sandstone axes, often splitting
and thinning toward the channel margins. Calvert
Bluff lignites of the Eocene Wilcox Group of
Texas are typical (Fig. 13.14). There the coals
overlie stacked, thick upward-fining sequences,
but the major, commercially mined lignites are
concentrated in broad interfluvial tracts, where
they are associated with finer overbank deposits
(Kaiser et al. 1980). These extensive, slowly sub-
siding back swamps were occupied by tropical
hardwoods, with woody, low-ash peats accumulat-
ing between channels that were stable over long
periods of time. As with other Gulf Coast lignites,

Fig. 13.13. Lateral offsetting of successive fluvial channel axes, as observed in many coal basins
o
11:::-;,-;;:1 >65% ~60-65%
r--4___..... N umber of lignite seams
Fig. 13.14A,B. Calvert Bluff Formation of Texas. A Sand-
percentage map showing dip alignment of channel sand axes. B
Lignite distribution, reflected in the number of seams. Note
the dip-elongate seams thicken toward the delta
plain transition.
Coals associated with Paleocene and Eocene
fluvial systems of the Powder River Basin of Wyo-
ming and Montana are more persistent laterally
than their Gulf Coast counterparts. Seams up to
10m (33 ft) thick are traced along outcrop for dis-
tances of 20 km (12 mi) or more, with only moder-
Depositional Systems and Coal 347
,
POSITION
OF NEXT
CHANNEL
B 4
relationship to channel sand framework, particularly in updip
areas. (Modified from Kaiser et al. 1980)
ate merging and splitting. Peatswamps developed
on a platform of abandoned-channel and splay
deposits. eventually assuming a domal form that
was immune from flooding. resulting in low-ash
coals that were subsequently transformed by
burial compaction into broad lenses. Fluvial tracts
in the Powder River Basin were flanked by fresh-
water lakes, which Flores (1981) compared to
348 Coal and Coal bed Methane
the modern Atchafalaya Basin of the Mississippi
complex. These lakes accumulated carbonaceous
shales, thin coals, and freshwater limestones, with
upward-coarsening cycles of delta progradation
(Ethridge et al. 1981; Flores 1981, 1993; Tyler et al.
1995).
"Washouts" in coals associated with fluvial sys-
tems result from avulsion and diversion of chan-
nels across adjoining backswamps. Sand washouts
(Fig. 13.15) are produced by infrequent major
floods that cause the river to straighten and
deepen its course, resulting in "low sinuosity"
washouts (Donaldson 1979). Broad, shallow wash-
outs originate during less severe floods and do not
cut through the entire seam. Some temporary
stream diversions during flooding are unable to
scour into the resistant peat mat and are sub-
sequently preserved as elongate, sandy splits
(Cairncross 1980).
I
I
I 0
I 11-----,,---"
10milee
10kllometrea
o Pittsburgh Sandstone >3m thick
Reported cutouts of Pittsburgh coal
Abandoned channel courses such as meander
loops subject to neck cutoff accumulate rafted and
aquatic vegetation together with variable amounts
of inorganic matter. Some are entirely filled with
coal, whereas others contain irregular alternations
of coal and detrital sediments deposited during
episodes of temporary reoccupation by the river.
Coals of mixed-load fluvial systems commonly
attain substantial thicknesses of 20 m (65 ft) or
more, with a dip-elongate geometry, thinning,
splitting, and deteriorating in quality laterally to-
ward the channels. The common association be-
tween ash content and proximity to paleochannels
is illustrated in Fig. 13.16. Roof conditions above
the thicker seams tend to be good, and chemical
impurities are seldom a problem. Other examples
show greater horizontal persistence of seams, a
major consideration in underground longwall
planning. An example is provided by mixed-load
Fig. 13.15. Linear distribution of the fluvial Pitts-
burgh Sandstone and the pattern of reported cutouts
of the underlying Pittsburgh Seam. (Modified from
Donaldson 1979)

D<lm
CJ I-3m
D 3-6m
~ 6-9m
. >9m
A B
Fig. 13.16. A Isopachs of fluvial sandstone in the Van Dyks Drift Colliery area of the northern Karoo Basin. B Ash content of
the overlying seam. (Modified from Cairncross 1980)
fluvial systems of Neogene age in central Poland,
which comprise stacked, 3- to lO-m (10- to 33-ft)
sequences each made up of laterally extensive
channel-fill sands, subordinant fine-grained over-
bank topstratum, and coals (Krzyszkowski 1993).
Such continuity is suggestive of coexisting
autocyclic and allocyclic controls.
The effects of syndepositional compaction
are documented by Mallett et a1. (1983) in the
Bowen Basin of Queensland, Australia, where
back swamp peat was downwarped by the weight
of channel-fill sands, creating a depression
running parallel to the margin of the channel
(analogous to levee-flank depressions adjacent to
thick Mississippi River channel-fill sands; Russell
1936). Channels and associated splays migrated
laterally into these depressions by a process of
auto cannibalism, producing steep dips in the com-
pacted coals along their flanks (Fig. 13.17). The
channel-fill sandstones and siltstones are as much
as 50m (165 ft) thick, with upright trees rooted in
levee siltstones and preserved in growth position
within cross-bedded sandstones, indicating ex-
tremely rapid sedimentation. Other spectacular
examples of oversteepening of coals and produc-
tion of large Pseudoforesets by contemporaneous
compaction of peat are provided by Diessel
Depositional Systems and Coal 349
/
I
o 1m,
If---".--"
o n"
~ High ash
(1992). Diverse examples of interseam bedding
resulting from a combination of lateral accretion,
splaying, and compaction, with variable propor-
tions of fine overbank sediments, are illustrated in
Fig.13.18.
In bed-load systems, generally comprising
drainage networks transporting sediment of sand
size and coarser, dense vegetation is probably a
prerequisite for the development of coarse-
grained meanderbelt systems rather than the
braided systems that prevail on an unstabilized
sedimentary surface. This is supported by associa-
tion of coarse-grained meanderbelt sandstones
with thin, root-penetrated overbank sediments
and coals in several coal basins. One example is
the Eocene Wilcox Group of Texas (Fig. 13.19B),
which comprises thick, multilateral sands ar-
ranged in linear, dip-oriented trends fed by
dendritic distributaries. As in the overlying mixed-
load fluvial system of the Calvert Bluff Formation,
belts of lignite are preserved between the domi-
nant channel sand axes (Kaiser et a1. 1980). Coals
in sandy fluvial systems such as this may be more
tabular than those in mixed-load systems, but they
are locally very high in ash or contain multiple
sandy splits because of ineffectual levee confine-
ment of floodwaters. Thinner, lenticular coals oc-
Fig. 13.17. A Permian seam at Moura Mine, Queensland, Aus-
tralia, showing effects of differential compaction of peat, clay,
and the less compactable crevasse-splay sandstone lens in the
- ----- - - --- --- -- -- -- --- ---- - -- ----- - -- ---- -- --- - ----- - - - - --- -
- -
d
Fig. 13.18a-f. Interseam bedding geometries arising from
syndepositional peat compaction, Moura Mine, Australia.
Cross sections a-c illustrate dipping, sandy distributary and
splay-channel deposits (inclined at up to 30 in example a, with
internal, oversteepened foresets locally exceeding 60) and
finer-grained toesets. Example d illustrates horizontally bed-
middle foreground . This was in response to lateral migration,
toward the left, of the major mixed-load channel system
.
--- ---
; .
. z .
ded overbank fines. Cross sections e and f show multistoried
units resulting from lateral migration of channel sands over
fine-grained overbank facies that overlie coal (example e) and
complex lateral interfingering produced by shifting splay chan-
nels and loading of the peat (example f). (Modified from
Mallett 1982)

Fig. 13.19A-C. Typical log patterns A B
showing A upward-coarsening pro-
DELTA FRONT
gradational delta front facies overlain
by B lignite-bearing delta plain facies.
The blocky pattern represents dis-
tributary-channel sands. C Lignites in
delta flank facies. (Modified from
Fisher 1969)
cupy abandoned channels and chutes. Both roof
and floor conditions tend to be excellent in these
predominantly sandy successions, and coal quality
is generally good apart from the high ash content
in places.
Although often difficult to distinguish from
coarse-grained meanderbelt systems in the sub-
surface, coal-bearing braided stream systems have
been identified in detailed sedimentological stud-
ies of surface exposures. Most braided stream
environments are characterized by variable dis-
charge and fluctuating groundwater levels, result-
ing in a breakdown of accumulated vegetation and
consequently a paucity of associated coals. How-
ever, economically important Permian Karoo
coals (Fig. 13.20) are associated with well-exposed
braided stream facies (Cairncross 1989; Cadle
et al. 1993) showing sedimentary characteristics
identical to those of the modern Platte River. As a
shallow, multichannel system, the Platte has mi-
grating transverse bars that are modified with fall-
ing discharge (Smith 1970). Preservation of peat
in these Gondwana braided stream environ-
ments was probably facilitated by low evaporation
rates and sustained high water tables of the sub-
arctic pro glacial environments that accompanied
deglaciation. Coals are also preserved above up-
ward-fining braided stream deposits of the type
deposited in the Donjek River (Williams and Rust
1969), which in some respects resemble the depos-
Depositional Systems and Coal 351
C
DELTA PLAIN MARGINAL
DELTA FRONT
its of meandering channels (Miall 1978), although
the Donjek deposits are generally coarser grained.
Coal-bearing conglomeratic channel-fill facies re-
sembling the Scott-type of Miall (1978) have been
described by Long (1981). Fluvial conglomerates
2-25m (6-82ft) thick, are followed by plane-bed-
ded and ripple cross-laminated sandstone, lami-
nated and root-disturbed mudstone, and thin
coals.
Some proximal coal-bearing fluvial systems
merge updip into progressively coarser clastics
with decreasing proportions of fine-grained over-
bank sediments. These shales and mudstones are
commonly multicolored, including red, light-gray,
or greenish hues, in contrast to their darker, coal-
bearing downdip stratigraphic equivalents, and
may contain oxidized paleosoils or rootlet beds in
the place of coal.
Coals associated with anastomosed fluvial sys-
tems reflect peat accumulation between channels
stabilized by vegetation. Aggradation of in-chan-
nel sediments accompanies peat growth, resulting
in thick, narrow, dip-oriented sand bodies flanked
by a belt of levee and splay sediments, followed
laterally by extensive peat bodies (Smith and
Smith 1980). Channel-fill deposits of peat-con-
fined anastomosed systems range from fine to very
coarse grained. Several ancient examples have
been identified, including parts of the Tertiary in
the Canadian Cordillera (Long 1981) and the Per-
352 Coal and Coalbed Methane
Coa l
t~:~~~~3 Sill slone/shale
[: :'\i!::;\] Fi ne to medium-grained sandstone
. . ... . Coarse-grained sandstone 1:'-~r;~!I~~~~~~'!!fJ.~~~m~~~M*i{
f":?:~:::j '-
D Swamp Alluvial Plain
~~ Marsh
Fig. 13.20. Braided, bed-load alluvial facies and associated
coals overlying delta plain facies, Natal Coalfield, Karoo Basin.
The thickest seams overlie well-integrated aquifers. A Discon-
tinuous seam above abandoned distributary-channel sand-
stone. B Multiple thin seams separated by bay-fill shales. C
mian Karoo Basin(Cairncross 1980). The Cana-
dian examples contain high-ash coals 20m (65ft)
or more thick. In the Witbank Coalfield of the
Karoo Basin, a complex system of interconnecting
channel-fill sediments is totally enclosed within
a major coal seam (Cairncross 1980). A large
braided system 5 km (3 mi) wide entered the
peatswamp now represented by seam no. 2, cut-
ting into and interfingering laterally with the peat.
High-ash coal flanking the channel margin (Fig.
13.16) is attributed to overbank flooding and clas-
tic contamination. On the other hand, elevated
ash content of thinner coal, which extends over
the top of the sandstone, reflects subaerial expo-
sure of the elevated peat above the coarse deposits
of the abandoned channel, causing degradation
and concentration of the inherent, or plant-
derived, ash fraction. The channels branched
and became smaller basinward, where com-
pactional effects are more apparent. Low compac-
tibility of the anastomosed channel-fill sandstones
relative to the enveloping peats caused local over-
F
Extensive but thin lower delta plain seam. D Thick coal of the
upper delta plain with abundant clastic intercalations in the
vicinity of channels. E Extensive seams originating between
major fluvial axes such as F. (Modified from Cadle et al. 1993)
steepening, resulting in potentially hazardous
mining conditions.
Coals of Deltaic Systems
The coals observed within the spectrum of delta
types molded by the interplay between fluvial and
marine processes (Chap. 5) display significant dif-
ferences in their thickness, geometry, and rela-
tionships with clastic facies.
Wave-dominated deltas normally display shore-
parallel beach ridges with intervening sloughs
and embayments that are converted to peat
swamps as infilling proceeds (Fig. 13.21). Delta
plain coals therefore trend parallel to the shore-
line and connect perpendicularly through aban-
doned channels and inlets. The seams are
interrupted in places by washover fans and may
contain wind-blown sand grains. Seams of the
abandonment phase are likely to be laterally ex-
tensive but still strike-elongate.

BEACH RIDGESL----~~
Fig. 13.21. Strike-parallel peat accumulation between prograding beach ridges of an idealized wave-dominated delta
Coals in the Cretaceous of North America are
ascribed to this wave-dominated deltaic environ-
ment (Leckie and Kalkreuth 1990). The seams are
up to 12 m (40 ft) thick, thin gradually seaward,
and display great continuity. High inertinite levels
are interpreted as a product of a relatively low
water table beneath ombrogenous peats.
Tide-dominated delta systems are not widely
documented in coal basins, which is surprising in
view of the luxuriant swamps that characterize
many prograding tropical, tide-dominated deltas
today, for example the Fly River delta of Papua
New Guinea and the Klang Langat delta of Malay-
sia (Coleman et al. 1970). In the latter, mangrove
swamps are prograding at rates of over 6m (20ft)
a year in places. The 4-m (13-ft) tidal range, aug-
mented by a prevailing northwesterly offshore
current, fashions sand waves up to 12m (40ft) high
in the Malacca Strait, depositing thick delta front
and tidal-channel sands grading upward into finer
grained tidal-flat, with leached mangrove clays at
the top. The overlying mangrove peat forms in
freshwater swamps and comprises up to Sm (16ft)
of decomposing wood fragments in a fine, organic
matrix. An ancient example is the Cretaceous
Horseshoe Canyon Formation in Alberta
(Rahmani 1981).
Fluvially dominated deltas, in contrast, are well
documented as ancient coal-bearing environ-
ments. Seams trending approximately parallel to
depositional dip are associated with elongate
Depositional Systems and Coal 353
_ Peat
@:-d Silt ond mud
f::,;,::1 Sand
river-dominated deltas, accumulating along levee
margins and infilled bays. Coals capping the thick,
upward-coarsening delta front and bay-fill se-
quences are extensive, but seldom attain signifi-
cant thicknesses. These seams tend to be relatively
free of washouts because of the limited number of
distributaries, which remain stable while extend-
ing their courses basinward. Detrital splits are
common, however, because of the ineffectiveness
of the low levees in containing sediment-laden
floodwaters.
Coals of lobate deltas accumulate during both
constructive and destructive phases of deltaic sedi-
mentation. During the constructive phase, the
delta plain is traversed by numerous distributary
channels. Peat is restricted to interdistributary
tracts, which in many cases are of limited areal
extent. Coals related to this origin are therefore
characterized by "wants" corresponding to the
positions of active distributary channels. Ash con-
tent can be high because of frequent inundation of
the marsh. Blanket peats, in contrast, originate
during the abandonment phase and can be thick
and remarkably widespread, individual beds per-
sisting over areas of 500 km2 (190mi2) in earlier
lobes of the Mississippi delta complex. The sea-
ward edge of the abandoned lobe is attacked by
waves, creating transgressive barriers backed by
shallow, brackish bays. Peat develops on the more
slowly subsiding delta platform landward of the
area of marine influence, although occasionally
354 Coal and Coal bed Methane

inundated by storms. Subsidence and gradual ma- Peats of the brackish and saline marsh tracts
rine transgression impairs the quality of the result- are poorly developed and discontinuous or totally
ing coals, especially in their upper parts. absent. Pennsylvanian analogues in the Appala-
Barataria Basin, formed between two Missis- chian Plateau are high in sulfur and in places
sippi Delta lobes (Fig. 13.2), illustrates the merge downdip into siderite beds and dark shales
interplay among lobe switching, vegetation, differ- containing nodular iron oxide, burrows, and plant
ential subsidence, and marine flooding in deter- rootlets.
mining the thickness, geometry, and quality of Freshwater marsh peats are generally massive
delta plain peats (Kosters et al. 1987). Peat and apart from clay bands resulting from overbank
organic-rich clays accumulate as abandoned chan- flooding or the concentration of inherent ash by
nel fill, blanket peats over abandoned lobes, and subaerial exposure, episodes of raised pH, or fire.
interdistributary peats. Kosters et al. (1987) noted Banding of these coals is thought to be a product
that areas of inter distributary peat accumulation of compaction and coalification rather than origi-
tend to correspond to the locations of abandoned nal sedimentary layering (Renton and Cecil 1979),
lobes, so that the two categories are intergrada- although microlithotype analysis may indicate
tional. The abandonment phase is marked by a subtle differences in peat burial or subaerial expo-
persistent root-penetrated clay layer with the . sure. The seatearths show little or no root pene-
characteristics of a seat earth. The overlying peat tration, perhaps originating beneath a floating
is thin, representing its brief development span, marsh. Some Gondwana coals of lower delta plain
and has a relatively high ash of almost 20%. How- origin rest directly on laminated mudstones, a
ever, Kosters et al. (1987, 1989) argued that leach- relationship traditionally explained in terms of
ing may remove the soluble-salt components, allochthonous accumulation.
thereby reducing the total ash content by as much Marsh surfaces gradually become firmer and
as one third. more elevated as organic and detrital layers are
Coals of the lower delta plain are generally of added, which permits swamp trees to become es-
modest thickness and may extend over substantial tablished. Corresponding changes are recorded in
areas, except where they are traversed by distribu- many ancient delta plain sequences, where car-
taries or disrupted by splays. Elevated sulfur and bonaceous streaks, rootlet bands, and chemically
trace element content is attributable to marine precipitated ironstones mark the initial stages of
influence. These peats accumulate on a platform marsh formation, followed by woody, or vitrinitic,
of upward-coarsening sediments, which include coals of the swamp community. Reversals in this
prodelta and bay-fill clays and silts overlain by, pattern are common, however, with subsidence of
and laterally gradational into, mouth bar and splay the peat platform and its transformation into open
sands (Fig. 13.22A,B). In strike section (Fig. bays, which accumulate silt and clay prior to
13.23), the delta front sand body is broad and flat- reoccupation by crevasse-splay lobes, revegeta-
based, narrowing upward toward the levee crest. tion, and peat growth. This process generates the
Peat growth commences along the levees and ex- repetitive, thin, coal-capped bay-fill sequences so
tends across the adjoining bays as they shallow characteristic of the lower delta plain (Hobday
and fill. Crevassing is a most effective process in 1973).
expanding the subaerial extent of the lower delta Distributary channels of the lower delta plain
plain, soon becoming vegetated and accumulating tend to be relatively straight and stable, particu-
peat (Fig. 13.24). Marsh surfaces effectively trap larly where the banks contain a high proportion of
later overbank sediments and may inhibit scour by clay and resistant peat mats. Upstream diversion
splay feeder channels, so that splays projected and abandonment of a distributary leads to filling
over the marsh surface soon become inactive as with suspended clays or rafted organic material,
the floodwaters recede. These sandy splay lobes represented by impure channel-filling coals and
subside by compaction of the underlying spongy carbonaceous shales (Fig. 13.23).
peat and clay and soon become incorporated into The marginal delta plain peripheral to active
the growing peat mat (Fig. 13.25). The resulting delta lobes receives sediments by longshore trans-
detrital splits are particularly abundant in lower port. Waves rework the coarser fraction into
delta plain coals, probably because of ineffective cheniers or beach ridges as the strandplain en-
flood confinement by the low levees. large, and peatswamps may form between succes-
 Depositional Systems and Coal 355

.1
HOuston Pet . Co.
A J. Roy MeOormoll a
Co., Inc.
B #1 $tondlonEsl.
Pedro Leol Milam Co.
Webb CO
SP R SP ! R
.~

~
lop
Jackson D
u

':l
Cii"
~llCIIYitY_
~ ~

- noo ~
~
0
J~
__
u

o
<;
n
!:'"
c Vl
o
II>
.x
u
...,o

.
0.
o
o
l:

Yegua Formation
J....~ )
Fig. B.22A,B. Log response of Tertiary lignite-bearing inter- prograding barrier/strandplain ongm. B Eocene Wilcox
vals of the Texas Gulf Coast. Note the fiat spontaneous poten- Group, with coals concentrated in the Calvert Bluff Forma-
tial (SP) response and sharp resistivity (R) spikes of the tion. (Modified from Kaiser et al. 1980)
lignites. A Lower part of the Eocene Jackson Group, of

~ Sandstone ~ Shale W////////h Seoteorth - Coal ! ,I. Rootlets

Fig. 13.23. Transverse section through a fiat-based distributary velop along the top of the bay-fill facies and thicken into the
mouth bar sandstone with typical upward-tapering profile abandoned distributary channel. Carboniferous of the Ohio
grading laterally into upward-coarsening bay fill. Coals de- Valley. (Modified from Ferm and Cavarroc 1969)
 A Fig. 13.24A,B. Infilling of a
bay in the lower delta plain
of the Mississippi by two
large crevasse splays. A Plan
view of splays that occurred
in 1845 and 1958, showing
line of section in B peat-
capped bay-fill above
laterally thinning splay
sands, and peat -filled
crevasse channel. (Modified
from Coleman and Gagliano
1964)

o
I I "
o
I

~ 1845 splay
~ 1958 splay

_ Organics P::/::.:j Sand Ed Sand and silt ~ Clay

15m
LOft
500f!
o
o
BAY

Fig. 13.25. Crevasse-splay

sediments projecting
laterally over bay-fill shales
and coals; Carboniferous of
eastern Kentucky.
~coal If-~3 Shale /:'.;1 Sandstone 14 4: I Rootlets
(Modified from Baganz et
aL 1975)

sive beach ridges. The vertical succession of coal,
shale, and erratic sands of variable grain size and
thickness is illustrated in the sand-rich example in
Fig. 13.22e.
Where unidirectional longshore currents pre-
vail, areas up drift of the delta lobes are the locus
of organic accumulation in a marshy environment.
Such areas may remain starved of clastics over
protracted periods, while active lobes change
position along strike. The geologic record typi-
cally comprises numerous thin, chemically impure
coals separated vertically by a few metres of
sideritic, dark shale and sporadic thin chenier
sandstones.
The transitional area between the lower and
upper delta plain is optimal for the development
of commercially important, thick, laterally exten-
sive coals that are low in sulfur, with generally
stable roof conditions (Horne et al. 1978). The
seams are moderately elongated in the deposi-
tional strike direction. These characteristics are
comprehensively documented in Carboniferous
rocks of the Appalachian region (Baganz et al.
1975; Horne et al. 1978), where extensive three-
dimensional outcrops are supplemented by mine
data.
Detrital rocks of this important coal-bearing
environment have distinctive geometries. Basal
contacts of the elongate sandstones are flat, al-
though locally channelized, suggesting that they
originated as sandy splays or minor mouth bars,
upon which distributary channel deposits were
later superimposed. The lowermost coals onlap
the margins of these sheetlike splays, but are
thickest near the center of the interdistributary
depressions. Upward narrowing of the sandstone
bodies indicates progressive confinement of flow
by levee growth as the distributary established its
position and extended its course. Lateral reduc-
Fig. 13.26. Deterioration of a coal seam by splitting and clastic contamination in the direction of a major distributary channel
sandstone; Carboniferous of West Virginia. (Modified from Howell and Ferm 1980)
Depositional Systems and Coal 357
tion in grain size away from the sandstone axes
reflects a gradation from distributary channel-fill
through levee to bay-fill sediments. Continued
aggradation of channel-fill sands is limited by the
tendency for discharge to be deflected during
storms as splays toward the interdistributary de-
pressions. As a result, multiple splays project lat-
erally from the tops of the distributary sandstones
and are preserved as intraseam detrital splits,
whose effects diminish with increasing distance
from the channel. Coals of optimal thickness and
quality therefore tend to be located in the central
backswamp areas.
Upper delta plain coals are typically thick but
impersistent. They are thickest along interchannel
axes and show a preferred downdip alignment.
Intervening scour-based channel-fill sandstones
splay out in their upper parts, interfingering with
freshwater lake and backswamp facies, including
coal. These splays cause extensive "fishtail" split-
ting of the seams, with coal "benches" extending
off the main seam (Fig. 13.26) separated by thin
shales that coarsen channelward into poorly
sorted sand of the proximal splay (Howell and
Ferm 1980). Viewed along the splay axis the splits
are lenticular, with thin ash partings persisting as
"tails" for considerable distances on either side of
the sandy lens. The thin, uppermost coal com-
monly extends over the top of the channel-fill
sandstone, reflecting abandonment and encroach-
ment of the flanking peatswamp over the subsid-
ing channel axis. The channel depression is
commonly filled with carbonaceous shale and
coal.
New channel courses created by avulsion tend
to occupy the lowest, most compactable zones cor-
responding to the thickest peat. This can result in
systematic lateral offset of successive distributary
channels (Fig. 13.13).
lomGOft
2000ft
o
o 500m
358 Coal and Coal bed Methane
Coals of Shore-Zone Systems
Shore-zone systems are characterized by marsh
and swamp environments, particularly in back-
barrier and tidal-flat settings. Transgressive
phases of coastal evolution favor widespread,
thick, and relatively ash-free peats.
Barriers are commonly backed by shallow bays,
lagoons, and marshes, particularly barriers that
are components of wave-dominated deltas or
strandplain systems or that form as a result of
wave reworking of abandoned, fluvial-dominated
deltas. These lagoonal depressions fill with sedi-
ments supplied from landward and seaward and
evolve into back-barrier marsh. Resulting peats
generally show a pronounced shore-parallel trend
except where they extend up reentrant bays,
former inlets, and abandoned channels.
The Snuggedy Swamp of South Carolina pro-
vides a modern example of back-barrier peat ac-
cumulation behind an abandoned barrier complex
(Staub and Cohen 1979). Several upward-coarsen-
ing lagoonal and tidal-flat sequences are separated
by rootlet beds or salt-marsh peats. These peats
would be preserved as thin, high-sulfur coals and
carbonaceous black shale or "bone coal" (Renton
and Cecil 1979). The thickest peats flank the bar-
2m
Peat
t-=-3 Lagoonol deposit
1,}j~':',YI Ba rrier sand s
rier sands, which provide supplementary freshwa-
ter discharge, or are present as islands over relict
sandy highs. Clays beneath the peat are analogous
to seatearths and are massive and kaolinitic, with
depletion in montmorillonite by acid groundwater
leaching (Staub and Cohen 1979). When peat
growth exceeded the rate of Holocene sea-level
rise, the freshwater peat islands coalesced laterally
to form an extensive peat blanket. At other times
the rates were in balance and the peat grew verti-
cally. Brief episodes of accelerated sea-level rise
transformed the entire area into shallow lagoon
and salt marsh, which subsequently evolved into
freshwater marsh. The relationship of these
onlapping back-barrier peats to the transgressive,
aggradational barrier sands is illustrated in Fig.
l3.27.
Similar relationships are displayed in raised
Pleistocene deposits of K waZulu, where the peat
overlies lagoonal clays containing a typical la-
goonal fauna of oysters, crocodile, and hippopota-
mus (Hobday and Jackson 1979). The lagoonal
facies are traversed by sandy tidal-channel depos-
its, and a few upright tree trunks anchored in the
peat protrude into the overlying, transgressive
wash over sands. Rafted vegetation comprises
poorly aligned, compressed logs of swamp tree
1
n
Fig. 13.27. Simplified cross-section
showing the aggradational/back-
stepping geometry of peat and
associated lagoonal deposits land-
ward of a transgressive barrier.
(Modified from Woollen 1976)

species still extant on the modem coastal plain.
The peat has a very high sulfur content and con-
tains dispersed wind-blown quartz grains and thin
wash over sand partings. Severe contemporaneous
deformation resulted from loading by the thick,
transgressive barrier sands (Fig. 13.28). Buckling,
thrusting, and growth faulting accompanied clay
diapirism and gravity gliding. Some Appalachian
coals that were subject to transgressive onlap by
barrier sands show comparable, although less in-
tense, glide deformation and differential compac-
tion of lagoonal shales.
Many back-barrier coals of the Appalachian
basins are thin, discontinuous, and prohibitively
high in sulfur, but some are commercially impor-
tant. In favorable circumstances, only the top
of the seam is pyritic. On the other hand, back-
barrier lignites of the Oligocene-Miocene
Morwell Formation of the Latrobe Valley, on-
shore Gippsland Basin, Australia, are individually
as thick as 100m (330ft), with cumulative thick-
nesses of 250m (820ft). These coals record peat
aggradation in bays and lagoons behind stacked
barrier sands 400m (1300ft) thick (Fig. 13.29).
The lignitic interval is interrupted by as many as
eight laterally persistent mudstones representing
minor basinwide transgressions (Holdgate 1984,
1985,1987; Holdgate and Sluiter 1991). Along the
landward margin of the lagoon complex, the coals
are gradational into bay-fill clays and sands, in-
cluding varved lacustrine mudstones.
Back-barrier coals and associated clastics are
readily distinguished using a combination of geo-
physical log signature (Fig. 2.7) and isopach maps
1
o
steeply inclined
overturned anticline
Fig. 13.28. Syndepositional deformation of a back-barrier Pleistocene peat as a result of gravity gliding and diapirism of lagoonal
clays beneath transgressive shore-zone sands. (Modified from Jackson and Hobday 1980)
Depositional Systems and Coal 359
(Fig. 13.30). These Tertiary lignites of the lower
part of the Jackson Group, Texas, overlie upward-
coarsening, regressive barrier-strandplain sands
(Kaiser et al. 1980). The shore-parallel alignment
of both sand and lignite (Fig. 13.30) is diagnostic.
In the Pennsylvanian of the southern Appala-
chian region, back-barrier coals tend to overlie
upward-coarsening sequences of carbonaceous la-
goonal shales and siltstones, commonly with root-
lets and burrowed, sideritic clay ironstones (Fig.
13.31A). Restricted brackish fauna and finely di-
vided plant debris are characteristic. These la-
goonal facies are bounded seaward by quartzose
sandstones of barrier origin, with washover, flood-
tidal delta, tidal-flat, and tidal channel-fill deposits
(Fig. 13.31B). In some examples coal seams abut
the landward flanks of barrier sandstones directly.
The example in Fig. 13.32 from the Warrior Basin
of Alabama illustrates back-barrier coal overlain
by stacked washover sandstones. Landward, the
coal-capped lagoonal shales interfinger with bay-
head-delta sediments comprising bay-fill, channel
mouth bar, levee, and splay deposits or merge with
more extensive delta plain coals.
The Beckley Seam of West Virginia originated
behind a compound barrier system and persists
along a shore-parallel trend, with crosscutting
tidal inlets. The coal rests on lenticular, wavy, and
flaser-bedded tidal-flat deposits which in tum
overlie lagoonal shales. As peat expanded across
this shallowing platform, the smaller tidal creeks
became clogged with plant material. Conse-
quently, the coal is thickest over these abandoned
channel trends. The larger channels remained ac-
360 Coal and Coalbed Methane

A A'
m
0

-100

-200
.coal

CJZJ Sand -300

~ Clay
~
~ Calcarenite -400

~ Limestone

t::::::1 Marl and sandstone

-500

-600

N
~ Marine carbonates f%1i\~&l\l Barrier sand o 10 km

~
I
I;djlnner-shelf sand g-~ Peat swamp I
o 6 mi

t::F==~ Fresh-water lagoon A~'Line of section

Fig. 13.29. Cross-section (top) and map view (bottom) of thick barrier sands separating 100m or more of net coal from shelf
limestones; Victoria, Australia. (Modified from Holdgate 1984)
 I
A

~ 30-45% m 15-30% H:::I<15%

-2----- Number of lignite seams

Fig. 13.30A,B. Lower part of the Jackson Group, Texas, showing A sand-percentage map and B lignite isopleths showing
characteristic shore-parallel alignment. (Modified from Kaiser et al. 1980)

lomLft
It

60m

B WASHOVER

Fig. 13.31A,B. Relationships among Carboniferous back-barrier coal and other lagoonal and back-barrier facies, Rockledge.
Alabama. A Observed facies geometries. B Interpreted origin. (Modified from Hobday 1974; Ferm and Horne 1979)
362 Coal and Coal bed Methane
TIDAL
LAGOONAL
SHALE
Fig. 13.32. Landward-thickening Carboniferous coal overlying shore-zone sandstones, overlain in turn by landward-inclined
washover-fan deposits cut by tidal channels. (Modified from Hobday 1974)
tive for longer; they too were eventually aban-
doned, but only after they were largely filled with
detrital sediments. Apart from this marked varia-
tion in thickness, parts of the Beckley Seam
are adversely affected by extensive splay and
wash over development. The back-barrier Sewell
Seam, in contrast, reflects only minor splay activ-
ity, probably because of the lower energy of asso-
ciated channels (Horne et a1. 1978).
More complex Appalachian shore-zone sys-
tems contain coals in association with major estua-
rine scours in a reworked delta plain or back-
barrier setting. These estuaries appear to have
originated by marine modification of large distri-
butary channels during marine transgression.
Tidal sedimentation by currents of fluctuating
strength and direction was followed abruptly by
black, organically rich clay accumulation behind a
littoral bar that extended across the estuary
mouth. Thin seatearths and coals are present in
this barred estuarine facies (Hobday and Horne
1977; Horne 1979a).
Barriers can playa critical role in the preserva-
tion of delta plain peats (Ferm 1974; Kosters et a1.
1987). McCabe and Shanley (1992) suggest that
domed back-barrier peats themselves may con-
tribute to shore-zone stabilization. Apart from
providing partial protection against marine inun-
dation of the lower marshlands during storms,
barrier complexes represent a secondary area
of groundwater recharge that can support peat
growth in the discharge zone along their inner
margins. The relationship between freshwater
marsh, salt marsh, and barrier sands is illustrated
in Fig. 13.33.
In the Karoo Basin, for example, coals that
originated behind a barrier shoreline typically ex-
tend farther basinward than do coals in delta sys-
tems that lacked barriers. The effectiveness of
barriers in this regard is further illustrated in sev-
eral other coalfields, including the Tertiary of
Lower Rhine Bay of Germany and the Latrobe
Valley, Australia. The Rhine Bay area was
shielded by an extensive barrier complex that per-
mitted the zone of maximum peat accumulation to
extend within a few kilometres of the coastline
(Teichmuller and Teichmuller 1968a). Prolonged
peat growth, now preserved as Sam (16Sft) of
lignite, kept pace with aggradation of barrier
sands. The Latrobe Valley lignites show even
more pronounced vertical aggradation of hun-
dreds of meters behind barriers separating
peatswamps from open-marine environments
(Fig. 13.29).
Coals associated with tidal flats and estuaries
are generally erratic and rich in sulfur, but better-
quality deposits have been documented. Pennsyl-
vanian coals associated with tidal-flat deposits in
the Illinois Basin are thought to have originated as
a tropical raised mire on the landward fringe of a
transgressing tidal flat (Kvale and Archer 1990).
Associated clastics show rhythmic alternations
of textures and small-scale structures that the
authors relate to neap-spring tidal fluctuations.
Sedimentary loading of the peat by supratidal
muds followed by intertidal and then subtidal
sands and muds caused peat compaction on the
order of 8m (26ft), preserving upright trees of that
height in the transgressive tidal clastics. The coal
is remarkable for its low sulfur content in this

..... b .
. . .:~
.~ ..
00 Distributary I~I"
~ Fresh-water marsh 1~2...~2.::1
Fig. 13.33. Transgressive shore-zone sands of the Mississippi delta plain enclosing lagoonal embayment, salt marsh, and more
continuous freshwater marsh deposits. (Modified from Penland et al. 1988)
paleoenvironmental context, a feature explained
by Kvale and Archer (1990) as arising from effec-
tive sealing of the peat surface from marine sulfate
by the transgressive clay layer.
Geometry and Evolution of Coal Basins
The generalized succession illustrated in Fig. 13.34
for the Appalachian region (Ferm et al. 1971) is
observed, with some variations, in many other
coal basins. Basal limestones of the Appalachian
model include a spectrum of bioclastic, oolitic, and
micritic deposits and are overlain by shales of shelf
origin, with a typical open-marine fauna. These
grade landward and vertically into shore-zone
sandstones, although the barrier sandstone facies
are erosively based in the vicinity of tidal inlets.
Because of wave reworking, these shore-zone
sandstones are texturally and compositionally
more mature than associated deltaic sandstones.
Back-barrier shales are dark gray with brackish-
water fauna and coarsen upward into washover
Geometry and Evolution of Coal Basins 363
D Subaerial barrier !t!IIII!!1 Salt marsh
I Beach ridges . . Subaqueous barrier D Bay/lagoon
Recurved spits ~ Tidal inlet L:':~': ::1 Sand sheet
and tidal-channel sandstones overlain by thin, sul-
furous coals. In the Appalachian context, some of
these quartzose sands are thought to have origi-
nated on tectonically elevated peripheral bulges
well seaward of the contemporaneous deltas (Tan-
kard 1986).
The succeeding lower delta plain facies overlie
upward-coarsening bay-fill or prodelta sequences
1O-60m (33-200ft) thick. Distributary mouth
bar sandstones are broad-based and generally
conformable, becoming narrower and coarser-
grained upward. Distributary channels cut locally
through the mouth bar into the underlying shales
and show two distinctive types of fill: sandy active
fill and fine-grained or coally abandonment fill.
Laminated and root-penetrated levee facies are
thin and localized, but crevasse-splay sandstones
are more widespread in the upper parts of shaly
bay-fill sequences. These are overlain by persis-
tent lower delta plain coals, some of which extend
over the tops of adjoining distributary-channel
and mouth bar sandstones.
Sandstones of the upper delta plain thicken at
the expense of finer bay-fill deposits, attaining
25 m (80ft) or more. They are typically scour-
364 Coal and Coalbed Methane
SEQUENCE DIP SECTION PLAN VIEW
based and upward-fining, but in the transition
from lower to upper delta plain show a character-
istic "hourglass" shape, with a sheetlike base and
top, narrowing midway. Levee deposits of the up-
per delta plain are thicker and more steeply dip-
ping than their downstream extensions and merge
into adjacent, upward-coarsening pond or lake
deposits that are generally capped by coal.
Gradation into the up dip alluvial plain tract is
indicated by evidence of lateral channel migra-
tion, further thinning of overbank deposits, and
thick but lenticular coals. Some seams give way
landward to oxidized paleosoils.
Despite local differences, the succession illus-
trated in Fig. 13.34 is sufficiently representative of
many coal basins to provide a basis for compari-
son. In many Gondwana basins, for example, the
basal carbonates and barrier facies are thin or ab-
sent, but the deltaic succession is characteristic.
Elsewhere, the vertical succession is less regular or
shows a number of reversals, perhaps due to tec-
Fig. 13.34. Idealized vertical succession typical of sev-
eral Appalachian coal basins, with dip-section por-
trayal of facies geometries from alluvial plain through
upper and lower delta plain, and barrier/lagoon to
open platform. (Modified from Ferm et al. 1971)
tonism or eustatic fluctuations. Further departures
from the general model arise from differences in
delta morphology or fluvial style. Some coal-bear-
ing deposits comparable in geometry to upper
delta plain facies originated in an entirely terres-
trial, fluvially dominated environment with exten-
sive floodplain lakes (Gersib and McCabe 1981),
but these can be distinguished on the basis of their
structural, paleogeographic, and stratigraphic
setting.
Coal basins show large-scale variations that are
controlled by the tectonic setting, of which several
broad categories are recognized. Apart from dif-
ferences in basin-fill geometry and seam develop-
ment, organic matter shows a range in maturation
profiles that are largely contingent on geothermal
gradient; this in turn varies with structural charac-
ter, depth and composition of basement rocks, and
the plate-tectonic origin. These factors are most
apparent in coal basins that extend from active
continental margins into the cratonic hinterland.

Foreland Basins
Asymmetric down warps along convergent mar-
gins contain some of the most important coal-
fields, for example the Variscan, Appalachian,
Rocky Mountain, Indonesian, and Sydney/Bowen
foreland basins. The orogenic margin is subject to
thrust loading and rapid downwarping, receiving
voluminous influx from the adjacent highlands.
These basins are characterized by numerous
seams, most of which are relatively thin; the cumu-
lative thickness of coal may be substantial,
however.
A modern example is the active southwestern
foreland of New Guinea, which is underlain by as
much as 13000m (42000ft) of coal-bearing Ceno-
zoic strata and shows remarkable similarity to the
Permian Sydney Basin of Australia. Hunt (1988)
has shown that coals and associated facies in Per-
mian foreland basins of eastern Australia accu-
mulated rapidly, averaging 500m/million years
(1650ftlmillion years). There, coal makes up 5.5-
8.5% of the 6-km-thick (3.7 mi) foreland basin fill.
The seams are characteristically bright and rich in
vitrinite (Hunt and Hobday 1984), in contrast to
their dull, inertinitic counterparts in the adjoining
craton (Hunt and Smyth 1989).
The Pocahontas and Warrior Basins of the
Appalachian Plateau and the Rocky Mountain
Basin show a comparable asymmetric cross-sec-
tion in which the main coal seams are present in a
major clastic wedge of fluvial and deltaic sedi-
ments extending from the overthrust basin flank.
Progradation typically yields an upward-coarsen-
ing succession of the type illustrated in Fig. 13.34,
grading from marine to continental systems.
Alluvial fan systems fed from the flanking high-
lands merge distally with fluvial systems and deltas
or, alternatively, extend directly into lakes or sea-
ways as fan deltas. Coal may be associated with
the full spectrum of subaerial environments, for
example in the Sydney Basin, but more typically
coal is present in the fluvial and delta plain facies.
Seams in this thick, offlapping clastic wedge are
generally thin and persistent or irregularly shore-
parallel in the lower part, becoming thicker up-
ward at the expense of lateral continuity.
Because of high rates of groundwater discharge
and burial, coals of the proximal foreland are rich
in vitrinite and grade cratonward into duller,
semifusinite-rich, banded coals (Hunt and Smyth
1989). Inertinitic seams are also prevalent toward
the updip basin margin. Some seams show petro-
Geometry and Evolution of Coal Basins 365
graphic cycles of upward-decreasing vitrinite con-
tent consistent with the domed peat model. Fore-
land basin seams anomalously rich in inertinite
and of broad regional extent have been attributed
by Hunt and Hobday (1984) to allocyclic controls
such as tectonism and eustasy. Dull seams in the
upper part of the proximal foreland may also re-
flect declining rates of tectonic subsidence. Ash
and sulfur contents show systematic variation
(Horne et al. 1978), fluvial and upper delta plain
coals generally being low in sulfur but with ash
increasing in the vicinity of channels. Thin, later-
ally persistent ash bands are variously attributed
to air-fall ash (spectacular examples in the Sydney
Basin have preserved the trunks of forest trees in
upright position; Diessel 1980), to degradation of
peat, and to fires. Lower delta plain coals are nor-
mally higher in sulfur, particularly toward their
tops, and sulfur may reach prohibitive levels in
back-barrier peats.
Rapid subsidence through high geothermal gra-
dients, often accompanied by igneous intrusion,
results in high-rank, anthracitic seams close to
the tectonic margin, merging laterally into pro-
gressively lower ranks. Pronounced changes in
coal rank are apparent in the gradation from
semianthracites near the overthrust margin of the
Permian foreland of eastern Australia to bitumi-
nous and sub-bituminous coals toward the stable
craton, and a similar pattern is evident in the Ap-
palachian basins. Although the seams are deeply
buried to several kilometers, thrust-sheet migra-
tion, uplift, erosion, and recycling of proximal
foreland basin sediments elevate many seams to
mineable depths, although faulting and intrusion
are a problem in places.
Rift Basins
Major seams, some attaining 10-100m (33-330ft)
in thickness, are present in extensional rifts
and aulacogens (e.g., southern and central Africa;
Gippsland Basin, Australia), in cratonic grabens
and half-grabens created during plate conver-
gence and subduction (Mesozoic/Cenozoic basins
in China; Oaklands and Blair Athol Basins of
Australia), and in pull-apart basins along regional
strike-slip faults (Cantabrian basins of northern
Spain). Such basins typically involve large vertical
displacements, with alluvial fans along faulted
margins and diversion of flow into longitudinally
flowing fluvial systems, deltas, and lakes. Gross
366 Coal and Coalbed Methane
geometry of the resulting clastic wedge, and hence
the distribution of coal, is controlled largely by
tectonism. Conglomeratic canyon-fill and proxi-
mal alluvial fan sediments may be onlapped by
finer, more distal facies with coals which, under
humid conditions, accumulate in interfan depres-
sions, along the lacustrine margins of fan deltas,
and even on the medial to distal surfaces of fans in
areas of persistent groundwater discharge. The 12-
m-thick (40ft) Main Seam of the Mid-Zambezi
Valley, for example, extends along the down dip
terminations of sandy alluvial fan systems and
pinches out basinward into lacustrine sediments
(Duguid 1986), whereas Cantabrian seams are
thickest in depressions between fan lobes
(Heward 1978b).
In many rift basins, coal-bearing bed-load and
mixed-load fluvial systems overlie the alluvial fan
systems or merge laterally with them. Other rifts
involved mild tectonism and appear to have been
aborted soon after their inception. An example is
the Nongoma graben of KwaZulu, where verti-
cally repetitive sequences of prodelta and bay-
fill facies are overlain by delta front sandstones
and coal-bearing delta plain and alluvial facies
(Whateley 1980). The uppermost seams overlap
the faulted basin margins onto the bounding
craton.
The Gippsland Basin of Australia is a Tertiary
aulacogen containing the Latrobe Valley coals
(Fig. 13.10), individually up to 100m (330ft) thick,
west of aggradational barrier-island sands that iso-
lated the Morwell and Yallourn coal swamps from
the open-marine conditions of the Lakes Entrance
Formation and Gippsland Limestone to the east
(Holdgate and Sluiter 1991). These seams are
remarkably low in ash, possibly because of a
domed-mire origin. Thinner but more numerous
back-barrier coals are present in the Niger Delta
aUlacogen.
In summary, fault-bounded basins contain sig-
nificant coal seams whose locations within the ba-
sin fill are determined to a large degree by the
overriding tectonic control. Coal petrography is
highly variable both within and between basins,
depending on climatic and hydrologic factors.
Many of the thick Gondwana seams in rift set-
tings, for example Blair Athol of Australia and the
Main Seam of the Mid-Zambezi Valley, are pre-
dominantly dull and inertinitic. Some seams are
associated with conglomeratic or sandstone allu-
vial fan systems flanking faulted margins and may
show the effects of contemporaneous faulting on
seam thickness; others such as the Chinese half-
grabens contain multiple seams in delta plain sys-
tems derived from the nonfaulted or ramped basin
flank. In aulacogens, coals are typically present
behind transverse barrier systems or in longitudi-
nally prograding deltaic systems. Most active rift
basins are characterized by high geothermal gradi-
ents, and igneous activity is common, so that rela-
tively youthful coals can achieve high rank.
Cratonic Sag Basins
Broad intracratonic basins characterized by mild
epeirogenic subsidence typically contain a few
thick and laterally persistent seams, some of which
cover areas of 10000km2 (4000mi 2 ) or more, ac-
companied by others of more normal interfluvial
or delta plain dimensions. Some intracratonic coal
basins such as the Cooper lacked any marine con-
nection; the Karoo Basin was briefly linked to sea,
whereas the Chesterian Illinois Basin and the Cre-
taceous Mississippi Embayment remained open to
marine influence at one end. Gondwana cratonic
basins such as the Karoo overlie an irregular, ice-
scoured unconformity, so that the lower seams are
restricted to paleotopographic depressions, pinch-
ing out against the flanks of buried ridges (Le
Blanc-Smith 1980).
Cratonic basin coals tend to be associated with
mixed-load fluvial systems and shallow-water lo-
bate delta systems of vast areal extent and with
multiple small distributaries; major blanket coals
are associated with the delta-abandonment phase
or with eustatic controls. The commercially im-
portant Karoo Basin shows a wider range of
coal-bearing deposits in response to changing
lake levels and a shifting spectrum of environ-
ments accompanying deglaciation (Hobday 1987;
Cairncross 1989; Cadle et al. 1993). There, the
lowermost seams nos. 1 and 2 (Figs. 13.9, 13.11)
generally overlie reworked, coarse glacial moraine
deposited by bed-load meltwater streams that
flowed down preexisting lows, but in places coal
rests directly on Precambrian basement. The coals
are locally truncated by thick, bed-load fluvial
systems up to lOkm (6mi) wide that bifurcated
downstream into a network of bank-stabilized
anastomosed channels preserved as dip-elongate
"shoestring" sand bodies of variable grain size
(Cadle et al. 1993). Farther basinward, lobate del-

tas built out across the shallow platform, coalesc-
ing laterally. Transgressive glauconitic sandstones
record phases of marine transgression after delta
abandonment and in places overlie extensive delta
plain seams, the upper parts of which originated as
a blanket peat over the foundering delta lobe
(Cadle and Hobday 1977).
In shallow cratonic basins, the effects of basin
paleotopography and differential compaction are
reflected in seam quality and thickness. The lower-
most Karoo seams are drastically affected by Pre-
cambrian ridges, terminating against their flanks,
whereas higher seams thin over their tops and
thicken and split over compactable, shale-filled
depressions. These effects are propagated upward
with decreasing effect through several coal-bear-
ing sequences (LeBlanc-Smith 1980). In other
parts of the basin, coal is absent from the elongate
basement depressions, which focused transport of
coarse sediment while peat accumulated along the
shallow margins.
The proportion of coal in cratonic basins may
be high, making up 12-19% of the Cooper and
Galilee Basins of Australia (Hunt 1988). Dull,
inertinite-rich coals predominate because of slow
burial and fluctuating water tables due to the sea-
sonal climates of many interior drainage basins; in
the examples studied by Hunt and Smyth (1989),
the inertinite comprises abundant fragmentary
inertodetrinite that accumulated in oxidizing
freshwater mires.
The fine banding of coals typical of some
cratonic basins has been attributed to seasonal
oxidation, perhaps from subaerial oxidation or
intermittent inundation. The presence of band
macrinite in certain seams is taken as evidence of
intermittent partial oxidation of gelified humic
material (Diessel 1992). Predominantly dull cra-
tonic basin seams may show an upward increase
in vitrinite content toward the top, apparently
signaling a rising water table prior to transgression
by shallow lakes. Brackish or marine inundation
typically produces high sulfur contents in the up-
per parts of seams, which may be pyritic. Ash
content of cratonic coals is normally in the range
of 4-15%, with inherent ash making up around
half of the total in some basins (Hunt and Smyth
1989).
Low to medium ranks are typical because of
low geothermal gradients and limited depths of
burial, except where high temperatures associated
with igneous intrusion have produced pockets of
Coal-Basin Resources 367
high-rank coal at modest depths, as in the Natal
Coalfield of the Karoo Basin, or where seams
overlie radioactive crystalline basement, as in the
Cooper Basin.
Passive-Margin Basins
Clastic wedges of passive or Atlantic-type conti-
nental margins typically contain major coal depos-
its in facies of fluvial, deltaic, and shore-zone
systems (Kaiser et al. 1978, 1980; Ayers and Lewis
1985; Ayers and Kaiser 1987). The Tertiary of the
Gulf Coast, with its voluminous subsurface data
base, has permitted detailed delineation of coals
associated with tributary and trunk mixed-load
fluvial systems and delta plain environments in
units such as the Wilcox (Fig. 13.19B) and Yegua
Groups and in back-barrier and lagoonal facies
associations of shore-zone systems in the Jackson
Group (Fig. 13.19A). Galloway and Williams
(1991) showed that the dominant factor control-
ling the distribution and character of the long-
lived Tertiary genetic sequences was sediment
supply. The coal-bearing strata occur within pro-
gradational and retrogradational intervals within
the sequences, but do not as a rule display the
dramatic expansion characteristic of the hydrocar-
bon-bearing facies successions farther basinward.
Peat accumulation was limited to sites protected
from rapid clastic sediment influx and where sub-
sidence rates were relatively low.
Coals of passive margins tend to be of low rank
as a consequence of low geothermal gradients, for
example the Gulf and Atlantic Coast lignites of
the United States and the vast tract of brown coals
or lignites extending across the southern margin of
Australia. They are nevertheless of commercial
value in electric power generation, as exemplified
by the large Latrobe Valley deposits of Victoria,
Australia, and the Wilcox lignite trend of Texas.
Coal-Basin Resources
Apart from the immense energy resource repre-
sented by coal, the world's primary fuel for power
generation, the other energy resources of oil, gas,
and uranium are commonly associated with coal-
bearing strata, along with various minerals of
368 Coal and Coalbed Methane
placer and epigenetic origin. Notwithstanding the
looming environmental barriers facing coal devel-
opers, new clean-burning technologies are secur-
ing coal's future as a source of stationary power,
especially as a base-load fuel. Major new coal ex-
ploration and development projects are under-
way, particularly with a view to supplying the
burgeoning demand from Southeast Asia over the
next few decades. Demand for metallurgical coal
grades varies with the stage of the economic cycle.
Although the use of coking coal has been curtailed
in some instances by technological innovation, its
future seems assured with the more flexible utili-
zation options available.
Uranium
Low-grade sandstone-type uranium is a common
occurrence in coal basins. Most mineralization of
this type is, however, subeconomic at today's
prices. Many coal basins provide the necessary
conditions of transmissivity to meteoric ground-
water migration, coupled with chemical contrasts
between the sandstone aquifers and the organi-
cally rich intervals, which also act as permeability
barriers (see Chaps. 12, 14). Minor uranium en-
richment is typically noted along the margins of
fluvial channel-fill sandstones, as well as within the
organically rich facies.
Oil and Gas
Coal seams or, perhaps more importantly, dis-
persed coal particles or organic matter represent-
ing type-III kerogen contribute to the gas-prone
source potential of many coal-bearing successions
such as the Cooper Basin and North Sea (Smyth
1979; Forbes et al. 1991). With Mesozoic and Ter-
tiary plant evolution, the proportion of liptinite-
rich maceral groups relative to gas-generative
vitrinite increased and were capable of sourcing
major oil fields such as those of the Gippsland
Basin (Shanmugam 1985). The oil-sourcing poten-
tial of coals and associated strata is reviewed in
Scott and Fleet (1994). Regardless of the argu-
ment that liquids generated by coal kerogens are
not expelled, the abundant field evidence corrobo-
rated by mass balance, and chemical kinetic analy-
ses confirms the importance of coal in sourcing
both gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons in commer-
cial quantities. Early expUlsion of oil from coal
and coal-bearing strata is critical, however, since
its retention results in late gas generation poten-
tial (Boreham and Powell 1993).
Coalbed Methane
Worldwide, the in-place volumes of coalbed meth-
ane are immense, commensurate with the largest
conventional gasfields. Coalbed methane is com-
monly very pure, approaching pipeline quality ex-
cept where contaminated by CO 2 , for example
near igneous intrusions. In distinct contrast to
most conventional hydrocarbons, exploration risk
is low, but commercial development of coalbed
methane may require detailed local geological
knowledge and the application of sophisticated,
site-specific technology (Paterson 1990). Al-
though large-scale commercial production of
coalbed methane is currently restricted to the
United States, where its development was acceler-
ated by tax incentives, the resource is being pur-
sued with vigor in a dozen or more countries
around the world. It would be of particular value
to landlocked developing nations, such as in parts
of Africa, which lack conventional hydrocarbon
resources, as well as in regions where large con-
ventional gasfields are remote from the major
gas markets, for example in China and eastern
Australia.
Early methane-drainage techniques were gen-
erally conducted from in-seam holes drilled from
the mine workings as a means of reducing under-
ground mining hazards and increasing coal pro-
duction, and these methods are still successfully
pursued where mine safety is a primary consider-
ation. With the introduction of high-production
longwall mining, substantially higher under-
ground emissions increased the need to reduce
methane concentrations in advance of mining.
Coal bed methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and
its on-site utilization for local power generation,
rather than venting it to the atmosphere, reduces
greenhouse emissions. Later, as the gas became a
targeted resource in its own right without regard
to coal mining, hydraulically fractured vertical
wells became more common, along with horizon-
tal or deviated wells. Progressively deeper seams
have been targeted, many of which are below the
current commercial limits of underground mining,
and new reservoir completion and stimulation
practices are being employed with growing suc-
cess. Cavity completion, for example, has been

applied outside the United States with encourag-
ing results.
Coal gases are generated in situ during coali-
fication and are stored primarily by sorption on
the large internal surface areas in micropores
(Thimons and Kissell 1973). The sorption process
is pressure dependent, and the gas is held in the
micropores by the pressure of water in the coal
natural fracture network or cleat system (Kolesar
et al. 1990). The sorbed gas is released by reducing
the hydrostatic pressure, generally by pumping.
Dewatering allows the methane to be desorbed
while simultaneously increasing the relative per-
meability to gas, which diffuses through the coal
matrix and then flows as free gas through cleat and
microfractures to the wellbore. Spectacular pro-
duction rates in excess of 10 MMCFD (0.285 x
106 m3/day) have been achieved from the best
wells in the San Juan Basin of Colorado/New
Mexico, where the average production rate from
recent wells is reported to be around 400 MCFD
(11 x 103m 3/day). Elsewhere, for example in the
relatively mature Warrior Basin, production rates
per well are much lower. Commercial thresholds
on the order of 100 MCFD (2.85 x 103m3/day) or
more, depending on infrastructure, fiscal regime,
and gas market, have proved difficult to achieve in
many overseas coalbed methane ventures, at least
at the outset. These failures have underlined the
need to modify the standard testing and reservoir
stimulation procedures to suit local conditions, an
apprQach that is yielding encouraging results.
The play thickness, geometry, and continuity of
seams and their petrographic composition, and
hence their coalbed methane reservoir potential,
are largely determined by the clastic depositional
systems with which they are associated, as well as
by their burial history. Given the requisite thick or
mUltiple seams at appropriate depths, the three
key parameters in coalbed methane development
are as follows:
1. Gas content, which in low-volatile bituminous
coal may attain 20m 3/t (700CF/t) or more
2. Reservoir pressure, relative to the sample ad-
sorption/desorption isotherm, which shows
maximum gas adsorption volumes for a given
pressure
3. Permeability, which typically ranges from
nannodarcys in tight seams to 5-10 md or
higher in productive coal reservoirs.
Reservoir pressure and gas content generally
increase with depth, whereas permeability typi-
Coal-Basin Resources 369
cally declines, albeit with some notable excep-
tions. Target depths therefore involve a com-
promise between these competing factors and
are commonly in the range of 200-1200m (500-
4000ft). Permeability in coals relies primarily on
the cleat network, which tends to be best devel-
oped in bright, bituminous coals. Close and Mavor
(1991) showed that high-frequency bright/dull
banding of highly volatile and greater rank coals is
most conducive to effective cleat development.
Because permeability to gas is affected by the
presence of water in coal and increases during
dewatering, relative permeability is crucial in
computer simulation of coal seam reservoirs.
Relative permeability measurements on core
samples pose many problems (Paterson et al.
1992), but well-testing tools that record gas and
water pressures and flow rates independently over
time offer the prospect of more reliable relative
permeability data (Koenig et al. 1992).
Hydrology is another important factor in
coalbed methane development. Coals are com-
monly effective aquifers, and moderate artesian
overpressuring may be an advantage to coal bed
methane production, although excess discharge
presents problems in dewatering and disposal.
Kaiser et al. (1994) have shown that free gas and
solution gas transported by migrating groundwa-
ter may supplement the sorbed gas resource, with
conventional gas entrapment a factor in some
coalbed methane fields. Although most coalbed
methane is of thermogenic origin, considerable
volumes of gas are also generated by biogenic pro-
cesses at low coal rank.
The flurry of global coalbed methane appraisal
in recent years has shown that gas content is sel-
dom a problem, provided that the target seam
satisfies the basic prerequisites of adequate thick-
ness, a high proportion of vitrinite or bright bands,
and a vitrinite reflectance (Ro) of 0.8-1.5 %.
Undersaturation is not generally a problem either,
apart from seams that were deeply buried and
subsequently uplifted and stripped of part of the
overlying section. The most common impediment
to significant coalbed methane production is low
permeability, ascribed to (a) petrographic factors,
especially poor cleat development in dull seams,
(b) destruction of cleat permeability by secondary
mineralization, generally carbonates, and (c)
high horizontal stresses. Vitrinite has the highest
sorption capacity of the three maceral groups and
has a tendency to form cleats as a result of shrink-
age during the coalification stage. This cleat pro-
370 Coal and Coal bed Methane
vides permeability conduits for gas migration.
Inertinite, on the other hand, has a lower capacity
to adsorb gas and commonly lacks cleat, leading to
low permeabilities unless there are pervasive tec-
tonic fracture networks. Microlithotype analysis
of the Bulli Seam in the Sydney Basin, Australia,
for example showed permeabilities for vitrite-rich
and inertite plies of 30md and 2.3 md, respectively
(Smyth and Buckley 1993). Some coals display
pervasive mineralization of the cleat system, gen-
erally by secondary carbonate, which limits flow of
desorbed gas to the wellbore. This situation is par-
ticularly common in Gondwana coals, but may be
remedied by acid leaching, capable of increasing
permeability by as much as two orders of magni-
tude (Paterson et al. 1992). The in situ stress field
also has a bearing on coal permeability. Face cleat,
which provides the most pervasive permeability
conduits, is generally aligned parallel to the direc-
tion of maximum compressive stress at the time of
coalification. However, high residual horizontal
stress has a tendency to limit seam permeability,
for example in compressional foreland-basin set-
tings such as the Sydney and Bowen Basins
of Australia. Studies by Mallett et al. (1993, per-
sonal communication) have shown that higher
permeabilities may be associated with particular
tectonic elements, so that permeability fairways
can sometimes be identified from detailed struc-
tural analysis. Horizontal stress isotropy has been
shown to limit permeability in coal.
Geologic targeting of thick seams at the appro-
priate depth, with the highest natural perme-
ability, is therefore a crucial exercise in coalbed
methane exploration. A common procedure in-
volves construction of overlay maps showing the
distribution of parameters such as seam thickness,
depth, composition, rank, structure, and hydrol-
ogy. Potential fairways correspond to areas having
optimal combinations of these features. Drill sites
are often selected on the basis of predictions
concerning structurally enhanced permeability,
particularly where the regional stress field is
unfavorable.
Because of their low intrinsic permeability,
most coals require artificial stimulation to achieve
adequate gas flow. Hydraulic fracturing is the
technique most commonly employed to increase
connectivity of the reservoir to the well bore
(Close 1993). The amenability of coal to hydraulic
stimulation is strongly influenced by the stress
regime. Horizontal stress anisotropy and low mi-
nimum horizontal stress relative to overburden
constitute a preferred situation (Enever 1990).
Designing the most effective hydraulic fracture
treatments (the injection rates, fracture fluids, and
proppant loading or concentration required to
maximize gas production at minimum cost) is gen-
erally based on numerical simulation (Jeffrey
1990). Experiments to improve the design of arti-
ficial fracturing programs have involved labora-
tory tests of fracture propagation in blocks of coal
where the three-dimensional stress field can be
quantified, coupled with small-scale field fractur-
ing experiments near underground mines so that
the fractures can be mapped as the coal is mined.
Another more recent stimulation technique
involves cavity completion, whereby alternating
pressurization and depressurization of the seam
induces tensile failure and the development of a
cavity that enhances gas flow to the wellbore.
In summary, coalbed methane represents a po-
tentially enormous resource, but major commer-
cial development requires adequate production
rates, which have generally proved difficult to
achieve. Success rates are improved by detailed
knowledge of local geologic conditions, coupled
with the application of optimal engineering tech-
nologies. Geologic targeting typically involves
synthesis of data relating to seam geometry, pe-
trography, cleat aperture and frequency, relation-
ship between cleat azimuth and prevailing stress
field, degree of diagenetic infilling, the stress
regime, and hydrologic relationships. Application
of the appropriate downhole testing and reservoir
stimulation procedures adapted to local condi-
tions is crucial in a number of new coalbed meth-
ane ventures. Given the technical success in recent
years, coupled with the environmentally beneficial
connotation of coalbed methane extraction, the
global coalbed methane industry can be expected
to grow progressively over the coming decades.
14 Sedimentary Uranium
Introduction
Although not a fossil fuel, uranium shares with
petroleum and coal many similarities in geologic
origin, mode of occurrence, and utilization. Exist-
ing fission reactors consume 235U, producing waste
bypro ducts of the induced fission process. It is
noteworthy that less than 1 % of naturally occur-
ring uranium is the desired 235U isotope, the
remainder consisting predominantly of 238U and
traces of 234U. Nuclear reactors currently produce
approximately 10% of the electricity consumed in
the United States and account for substantial
power-generating capacity in several European
countries and Japan.
Most estimates place approximately 65-75% of
world uranium reserves in sedimentary host rocks,
and the figure for the United States exceeds 90%.
Uranium content averages 2.7 ppm in sedimentary
rocks, 2.7ppm in siliceous igneous rocks, and
1.7ppm in mafic igneous rocks (Gabelman 1977).
Because uranium is a lithophile element, it is most
abundant in the siliceous products of magmatic
differentiation. Granites average 3.6ppm and
rhyolite averages 5.0ppm; such comparatively en-
riched rocks and their pyroclastic equivalents are
inferred to be a primary source of the uranium
that is concentrated within sedimentary strata.
Processes capable of mobilizing uranium and con-
centrating it by orders of magnitude are invoked
to account for ores containing several hundreds to
thousands of parts per million of the metal. Such
processes primarily involve mobilization and con-
centration by surface- or groundwater. Of the two
valence states of uranium at the Earth's surface,
4U and 6U, the latter is highly soluble in oxidizing
surface- and groundwater.
Uranium Ore Deposits
The largest reserves of commercial uranium are
present in three broad categories distinguished
by lithology and geologic age: quartz-pebble
conglomerates, unconformity- or paleosurface-
related vein complexes, and sandstone ores. In
addition, large subcommercial resources are pre-
sent in black shales.
Uraniferous quartz-pebble conglomerates are
predominantly Archean and Proterozoic in age
and rich in pyrite and, in some regions, vast quan-
tities of gold. Younger Proterozoic strata covering
the uraniferous conglomerates include thick,
mineralogically diverse redbeds and banded iron
formations.
Unconformity-related uranium vein deposits lie
within fault breccia or fracture zones immediately
beneath a regional unconformity. Geologic asso-
ciations, discontinuity of the deposits with depth,
and low-temperature alteration all suggest a su-
pergene origin, contemporaneous with, or post-
dating, the erosion surface.
Sandstone-type uranium deposits consist of
elongate mineralization fronts, pods, or lenses
containing uranium in the interstices of detrital
grains. Deposits occur at boundaries between
drab, reduced portions and red-brown, oxidized
portions of the host unit or as localized concentra-
tions in either oxidized or reduced hosts. Associ-
ated metals include molybdenum, selenium, and,
in some districts, vanadium.
These three major types of uranium concentra-
tions exhibit definite patterns of distribution
through geologic time (Fig. 14.1). Quartz-pebble
conglomerate ores represent the interval between
2200 and 2800 million years B.P. The ores com-
prise uraninite and pitchblende paleoplacers
that predate evolution of a highly oxygenated at-
mosphere. Under such conditions, reduced uran-
ium minerals survived surficial weathering and
transport.
372 Sedimentary Uranium

o
Sandstone and

C __ J- other

---
-)
~---- Shale

1000
a.:
CD

--
(/)
'-
0 r-
~ Paleosurface- related

--t:=
~
'0 vein type
2000
in solution
------
(/)
c r-
r--
URANIUM
0 ---rn-d~t7iiUs-- - -
I Quartz pebble
:2;
:) conglomerate

3000
V-

o 400 800 1200 1600 2000

Fig. 14.1. Time-bound distribution of uranium reserves. (Robertson et al. 1978)

Unconformity-related vein-type ore bodies The basic sedimentary uranium enrichment

formed between 2000 and 1500 Ma. These depos-
its apparently required high uranium mobility in
aqueous solution, a condition that arose with the
evolution of a more strongly oxygenated atmo-
sphere around 1500Ma. Unconformity-related
ores reflect a unique process of enrichment as the
abundant uranium in older strata deposited under
oxygen-deficient conditions was exposed and rap-
idly dissolved in an increasingly oxygen-rich envi-
ronment (Robertson et al. 1978).
Sandstone-type uranium is concentrated in
rocks of Permian, Mesozoic, or Cenozoic age, with
smaller amounts in older Paleozoic rocks. Jurassic
and early to mid-Tertiary strata are particularly
favored. Nearly all such deposits reflect solution
transport of uranium in the oxidized form. Exten-
sive, uranium-enriched black shales are predo-
minantly early Paleozoic in age. Together, these
sandstone and black-shale categories of Phanero-
zoic sedimentary deposits are largely the product
of localized concentration of uranium, which is
widely distributed through the Earth's crust. Ura-
nium is continuously recycled through sediments
and waters during the process of basin filling, and
in optimum situations such recycling may result in
selective enrichment of uranium to constitute a
potentially economic resource.
cycle consists of three stages:
1. Leaching of uranium from a low-grade
provenance
2. Transportation of uranium to an accumulation
site by surface or groundwater flow
3. Concentration of uranium by mechanical,
geochemical, or physiochemical processes
More detailed discussions are found in Gallo-
way et al. (1977, 1979b), among other sources.
Classification of Uranium Deposits
Three broad genetic classes of uranium deposits
are recognized based on the timing of primary
mineralization relative to deposition of the host
sediment and relative importance of surface flow
or groundwater systems in transporting uranium
to the site of concentration.
Syngenetic deposits are contemporaneous with
sedimentation (Fig. 14.2). The Archean and Pro-
terozoic quartz-pebble conglomerate ores (Fig.
14.1) originated as detrital placers of uranium
minerals. Uraniferous black shales, peats, and
 Classification of Uranium Deposits 373

Placer
. \,.... " ... ,' -
U~J:t:t~~~;;;~~~~,~;~mi~i,~;{:,~'~~~;,f;:,';~~~i~~~:~f&.~}
SYNGENETIC

Black shales-
phosphorites

Evaporative
prec i pi totes

SYNDIAGENETIC

Lacustrine

Mineralization
front

Tabu lor

EPIGENETIC
Stratal

Vein

~ Uranium concentration

Fig. 14.2. Principal genetic classes of sedimentary uranium deposits and their stratigraphic and hydrologic setting

phosphorites constitute younger syngenetic accu-
mulations formed by extraction from solution of
uranium within surface waters. Syngenetic depos-
its are characteristically both stratiform and stra-
tabound. Uranium content is directly related to
specific depositional facies and correlates closely
with features or components that are also of depo-
sitional origin. For example, Precambrian ura-
nium paleoplacers are associated with relatively
coarse-grained strata displaying traction-current
structures.
Syndiagenetic deposits are the product of circu-
lating, shallow, but partially confined meteoric
groundwater within sediments and involve ex-
treme variation in Eh and pH. Flow direction re-
flects regional topography and stratification of the
host depositional system and its bounding uplands
and basin. Syndiagenetic calcrete uranium depos-
its (Fig. 14.2) form in areas of meteoric discharge,
generally along the lower reaches of fluvial sys-
tems incised into bedrock. Discharge of uranium-
enriched waters across organically rich sediments
374 Sedimentary Uranium
of lacustrine or marsh origin results in stratabound
and locally stratiform uranium mineralization,
which conforms closely with specific depositional
facies. Such deposits are subject to modification by
later exposure to circulating groundwater, so that
enrichment tends to cut across bedding on a re-
gional scale.
Epigenetic deposits are produced by meteoric
groundwater flow following total burial of the host
depositional system, which serves primarily as
passive plumbing for the mineralizing fluids. Such
groundwater flow systems are typically confined
and the waters tend to evolve geochemically along
the flow paths. Resultant deposits are commonly
stratabound, reflecting preferred conduits for fluid
flow, but are only locally, if at all, stratiform. Epi-
genetic deposits assume a number of morpholo-
gies (Fig. 14.2), their geometry and distribution
being a function of the permeability configuration,
the localization of regional recharge, lateral flow
and discharge zones, and the distribution of geo-
chemical traps for dissolved uranium.
Syngenetic Quartz-Pebble
Conglomerate Deposits
Quartz-pebble conglomerate ores form world-
class deposits in the Elliot Lake uranium district,
Canada, and the Witwatersrand Goldfields of
South Africa. Together these account for appro-
ximately 20% of world uranium reserves. Addi-
tional uraniferous Proterozoic conglomerates are
found in Australia, North and South America, and
Eurasia. The geology of quartz-pebble conglomer-
ate ores has been reviewed in detail by Button and
Adams (1981), who interpreted their genesis as a
part of a distinct, time-bounded metallogenic ep-
och. Debate regarding the syngenetic versus epi-
genetic origin of the quartz-pebble uranium and
gold ores continues, but the weight of evidence
still favors placer concentration (Robb and Meyer
1991).
Depositional basins of Archean/Proterozoic
quartz-pebble conglomerates lie exclusively on
Archean cratonic basement gneisses, metase-
diments, and granitoids, the strongest uranium
enrichment being over granite-gneiss crustal
rocks. The Witwatersrand basin exhibits an asym-
metric, yoked geometry, with maximum sediment
thicknesses approaching 7500m (25000ft) along
its fault-bounded northern and western periphery
(Pretorius 1976). Younger strata onlap eroded
basement crust along the margins of the basin.
The Witwatersrand succession was metamor-
phosed to lower greenschist facies and is gently
deformed. Three lithological assemblages are
associated with uranium mineralization in the
Witwatersrand Basin (Button and Adams 1981):
1. A quartzarenite assemblage of medium to
coarse, texturally and mineralogically mature
sand with sericite matrix
2. A sub arkosic assemblage of coarse sandstone
and minor conglomerate
3. Basaltic flows and interbedded volcaniclastics
As emphasized by Button and Adams (1981),
the succession is laced with unconformities which
exerted considerable influence on both deposi-
tional and mineralization patterns. Studies of
weathering profiles and paleosoils reflect limited
contemporaneous chemical weathering in the ab-
sence of land plants and an oxygen-deficient atmo-
sphere. Iron is strongly leached from weathered
zones, indicating mobilization in the ferrous state;
leaching of uranium, along with the presence of
dispersed iron in the ferric state, suggests that the
weathering zone was very slightly oxidizing.
Uraniferous conglomerates of both the Mati-
nenda Formation (Elliot Lake) and Central Rand
Group (Upper Witwatersrand) were deposited in
braided, bed-load fluvial and alluvial fan systems
(Pretorius 1976; Minter 1978; Smith and Minter
1980). Configuration of fluvial systems, as outlined
by the coarse, conglomeratic framework deposits,
was complex and locally included coalescing allu-
vial fans that issued from point sources around the
faulted basin margins (Pretorius 1976), bedrock-
confined valley fills deposited within structural or
erosional lows (Pienaar 1963; Button and Tyler
1979) and widespread, unconfined alluvial fan
braidplains (Minter 1978). Associated deposi-
tional facies include lacustrine or tidally influ-
enced basinal shales and silts, which are separated
from fluvial and fan systems by reworked fan-mar-
gin and shore-zone facies, and thin, transgressive
shore-zone sands.
Extensive disconformities, valley incision, and
planation are all features typical of large alluvial
fans bounding tectonically active terranes. The
sparsity of fine sediment reflects mechanical
weathering of a coarse, crystalline provenance.
Lacking appreciable suspended load or land
vegetation, channels were broad, unconfined,
and rapidly shifting; sheetflow dominated during
floods. The Witwatersrand paleoenvironments

were possibly analogous to the glacial-outwash
sandur plains of Iceland (Boothroyd and Num-
medal 1978), which are of comparable scale
and inferred physical processes (Tankard et al.
1982).
Primary uranium within quartz-pebble con-
glomerate ores occurs as discrete, rounded grains
of thorium uraninite. Uraninite is directly asso-
ciated with other detrital heavy minerals includ-
ing abundant pyrite, brannerite, and, in the
Witwatersrand basin, gold. Associated heavy-min-
eral suites typically show hydraulic sorting, which
along with grain shape supports the generally ac-
cepted detrital origin for the uraninite. In map
view, the highest uranium grades parallel con-
glomerate distribution trends or erosional mor-
phology (Fig. 14.3).
The broad zone of uranium distribution within
a fan, valley fill, or fluvial depoaxis corresponds to
A
'\"'-...
\~
\--
~
\
\
>-- - 40",,,,
Mean vector - - - Pebble size
o 10 Km
I ,f
o 5 Mi
Fig. 14.3A,B. Maps of the Basal-Steyn placer deposit, Central
Rand Group. A Paleocurrent vector means and downfiow de-
crease in maximum pebble size. B Distribution of uranium
Classification of Uranium Deposits 375
a strike-parallel band, up to several kilometers in
width, that represents the drainage element with
the hydraulic properties to concentrate heavy
mineral grains of the appropriate grain size and
density. Typically, the highest concentrations of
uranium occur downflow from maximum gold
concentrations in the Witwatersrand (Minter
1978). The pattern reflects source-controlled grain
sizes and thus the relative hydraulic equivalency
of uraninite and gold particles. This relationship
would not necessarily hold in other provinces.
Although uranium is concentrated in small
amounts in many mineralogically mature Archean
and Proterozoic conglomerates, as is typical of
syngenetic deposits, economic grades are rare.
The richer Witwatersrand ore bodies, for ex-
ample, average only a few hundred parts per mil-
lion uranium; consequently, most uranium has
been a byproduct of gold extraction. The Elliot
k:>1 Low uranium III High uranium
N
1
I
within the placer. In both maps, combined gold-uranium min-
eralization trends are shown by the anastomosing solid lines.
(Modified from Minter 1978)
376 Sedimentary Uranium
Lake province remains unique in that the grade
of large ore deposits averages above 0.1 % U 3 0 g
(Button and Adams 1981).
Syndiagenetic Uraniferous Lacustrine, Swamp,
and Pedogenic Deposits
Uranium concentrations, locally attaining eco-
nomic grades and volumes, are present in basin-
center lacustrine playa and swamp/marsh
depositional facies ranging from the late Quater-
nary lowmoor bogs of Russia and North America
to the Miocene section of the Date Creek Basin,
Arizona, and the Permian Lodeve Basin of
France. Stratigraphy and basin setting, as well as
the nature and distribution of mineralization, sug-
gest that such deposits are probably the product of
syndiagenetic processes.
Lowmoor and pond uraniferous peat deposits
have been well documented (Kochenov et al.
1965; Lisitsin et al. 1967; Johnson et al. 1987) and
provide an example of active syndiagenetic miner-
alization. Lowmoor bogs and interspersed lakes
occupy groundwater discharge centers, which pro-
mote prolific plant growth. Uranium, mobilized in
ground- and surface waters, is concentrated by
adsorption and direct reduction and precipitation
of reduced uranium minerals (Lisitsin et al. 1967)
Fig. 14.4. Geologic setting of the down-faulted Date Creek Basin, Arizona during deposition of the uraniferous Anderson Mine
Formation. (Sherborne et al. 1979)
by the organically rich facies. Areal distributions
of uranium-enriched peat and organically rich
mud are irregular, the highest values being en-
countered toward the base of peat beds, along
the margins of the moor, and above buried per-
meable, oxidized fluvial sediments. Richness is
directly a function of the potential for contact
with upward or laterally flowing groundwater. The
concentration of uranium increases in dry cli-
mates, where circulating oxidized and mineralized
groundwater encounters the slightly acidic, reduc-
ing peat beds.
Comparison of uraniferous peat deposits with
uranium ores in ancient lacustrine systems reveals
many similarities, suggesting a comparable syn-
diagenetic origin. In the northern Date Creek Ba-
sin, for example, uranium enrichment took place
in the Anderson Mine Formation (Fig. 14.4), de-
posited in a restricted lake embayment. Fluvial
arkose and gravels at the base were trans-
gressively overlain by interbedded tuffaceous and
carbonaceous mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, and
limestone, which onlapped the surrounding base-
ment highs. Contemporaneous volcanic centers to
the west filled the main portion of the basin with
volcaniclastic sand and rhyolitic tuffs (Fig. 14.4).
Palynological evidence indicates that the adjoin-
ing highlands experienced a temperate climate,
whereas the depositional basin was semiarid

(Sherborne et al. 1979). The facies variability re-
flects an environmental mosaic of lake-margin and
sub lacustrine settings responding to fluctuating
lake levels, as well as the variable geochemistry
typical of a closed tectonic lake basin. A diversity
of diagenetic products is similarly characteristic of
alkaline saline lakes containing highly reactive
volcanic debris (Hay 1977). Uranium minerali-
zation consists of dispersed, poorly crystalline
coffinite forming low-grade, stacked stratiform
ore bodies that individually are less than 10ft
(3 m) thick and cover areas of about 1 mi 2
(2.6 km2). Most aspects are directly comparable to
mineralization in lowmoor peats.
Calcrete uranium ores, which are best known
from the Yeelirrie district of Australia, offer
another variant of syndiagenetic mineralization
produced by genetically interrelated depositional
and groundwater processes (Mann and Deutscher
1978a,b; Morgan 1993). The general geologic
setting of these calcrete ores resembles that of
the quartz-pebble conglomerate ores, but chemi-
cal processes dominate. The Yeelirrie and similar
calcretes of the Yilgarn Craton are found in
a closed cratonic basin floored by granitoids
and greenstones of an Archean basement complex
(Fig. 14.5). Mineralization is a product of intense
chemical weathering of a low-relief terrain under
an increasingly arid climatic regime during late
Tertiary and Quaternary time. Uraniferous
calcrete is present along the surface drainage
axis of ephemeral streams and around the
margins of playa lakes. Uranium is present in
the oxidized form as the mineral carnotite (Fig.
14.5).
Epigenetic Sandstone Uranium Deposits
Approximately 40% of the world's uranium re-
serves are in sandstone ores (Robertson et al.
1978). Sandstone-hosted epigenetic ores are the
dominant type of uranium mineralization in the
United States, and major reserves are present in
the Former Soviet Union, Niger, and elsewhere.
Ore bodies are typically small and assume a range
of morphologies that reflect the distribution and
internal facies geometry of the host sandstone
unit. A common form of mineralization, particu-
larly in Tertiary sandstones, is termed a roll front.
This type of deposit forms at the boundary of the
oxidation-alteration tongue and is elongate and
sinuous in plan view.
Classification of Uranium Deposits 377
Most sandstone-hosted ore occurs within facies
of terrestrial systems deposited in closed, conti-
nental basins (Stokes 1967; Gabelman 1971). Mar-
ginal-marine coastal plains are a secondary, but
important setting for sandstone deposits. Sand-
stone uranium deposits thus provide examples of
epigenetic mineralization in a spectrum of fluvial,
alluvial fan, and shore-zone depositional systems.
Terrestrial Systems: Wyoming Tertiary Basins
Large uranium districts in late Paleocene and
Eocene units of Wyoming include the Fort Union,
Wind River, Wasatch, and Battle Spring Forma-
tions (Galloway et al. 1979b; Harshman and
Adams 1981). Tertiary uranium mineralization of
the central Wyoming intermontane basins in-
volves oxidation-alteration tongues within Pale-
ocene-Eocene bed-load fluvial and alluvial fan
systems (Fig. 14.6). The larger of the two inte-
grated drainage networks extended along the
Wind River Basin, across the Casper Arch, and
then northward along the axis of the Powder River
Basin. The Gas Hills and Shirley Basin district
ores occur in alluvial fan and proximal fluvial de-
posits of this system. For example, the Puddle
Springs Arkose Member of the Wind River For-
mation (Eocene) was deposited along the south-
eastern margin of the precursor Wind River basin
on a northward-sloping erosion surface (Soister
1968; Love 1970). The Puddle Springs alluvial fan
system consists of two north-northeast-trending
belts of massive sandstone and conglomerate (Fig.
14.6). Tabular sheetflood and braided-channel
facies grade distally into interbedded sand and
mudstone. About one half of the total reserves are
evenly divided between the outer flanks of
the eastern and western lobes (Fig. 14.6). A third
trend, containing about one half of the district
reserves, lies in the center of the fan system,
flanking the western lobe. Regional patterns
and local front trends suggest a rather simple
first-order picture of two north-trending oxida-
tion-alteration tongues centered around the
transmissive, conglomeratic sand lobes, enclosed
within the main mass of the alluvial fan system.
Ore-grade mineralization occurs as classic C-
shaped rolls that follow alteration fronts; ore bod-
ies tend to be concentrated within muddy sand
intervals along the margins of the coarsest facies.
In the Powder River Basin, a broad belt composed
of mUltiple alteration tongues occupies the fluvial
axis in the southwest end of the basin.
378 Sedimentary Uranium

\//[T ~nmJ".:~~
::::::::::::::::::: ..
n
:::::::::::::: :::::: ::Y.::
..........................
.............. ..... ...... .
:::::::::::::: :::::::U[.::
.. .
':::LJJkE WAY::: ::..
..................
.................. ...
',. '::::::::::::::::: .. ::::
.........................
\~~:6~....., .._"".............. .

Uranium mineralization

Defined drainage channel

-" Drainage divide

o 10 Km
I I
o 5 Mi

~ Calcrete D Alluvium,colluvium r:m:mm:~:~ Greenstone EZl Weathered granite

x x
x x x
x x x _ Carnotite m ineralizatian
x x x
x )( )( )(
xxxxxxx Alluvial/ colluvial slope Water lable
)( x )( x
)( x )( )( )( - - Flow lines
)( )( x x
x x x )( )( )( )(
)( )( )( )( )( )(
x x x x )( )( )( Dune
x )( )( )( )( )(
x x )( x x x )(
)( )( x x )( x )(
)( )( x )( )( x x
x )( )( )( x )( )(
x )( )( )( )( )( )(
x )( )( )( )( )( x
II( x x )( x x x )(
x x )( x x x x
)( )( )( )( )( )( )( )(
)( x x x x x )(
II( )( x )( )( )( x )(
x x x x x x )( x

Fig. 14.5. Map and profile of the Yeelirrie drainage basin. discharges along lower reaches of the channel in response to
Western Australia, showing the distribution of calcrete and bedrock ridges or the flattened topography of the lake margin.
contained uranium deposits. Mineralized groundwater con- (Modified from Mann and Deutscher 1978b)
verges on the drainage axis. flows down the channel trend. and

Upon burial, the alluvial fan and fluvial systems margin outcrop belts. Burial of the basins, subse-
became highly transmissive aquifers. Late Eocene quent uplift, and mantling with volcanic debris
tectonism disrupted the drainage network, placing during Oligocene and Miocene time resulted in
portions of the alluvial fan and channel-fill aquifer recharge by mineralized fluids, represent-
deposits in structural and topographic positions ing the dominant episode of alteration and are
suitable for active meteoric recharge along basin- genesis.
~ General Alteration Front

I co.' : "'~ ., Conglomerate and Sand

WIN D :.,
/ ~'
)(
" '""." BAS I N
c:::==J Sand

~.. , Uranium Deposit

. .,., .., x>
" ' , ' ':>.!::' . <:5;;/~ 1S~
~"'"
ZOO- Thlc~ness of Buried W,nd R,ver
SOZOlC
/'
~.

N
I
I
n
iii
~
Si
('1
e;.
\o\~"o ~~\V" ~OJ o
/ :::
t-I01 \\\ Glon,le .7 :, : .~
-- / / o
....,
C
...,
t>l
\ \ E :::
G ~ ().. N I rv s c
o MILES 5 3
t t o
o KM 8 (1)
"0
o
~.
V>
Fig. 14.6. Depositional patterns and distribution of alteration and associated uranium mineralization in the Puddle Springs alluvial
fan system (Gas Hills uranium district). Two major alteration tongues extend through the fan axes, separated by a reentrant within
the intervening, less conglomeratic interfan area. The relative proportion of the total district reserves in the east, west, and central W
-..J
are indicated in the boxes. Outcrop mapping and location of fronts in part after Soister (1968) and DeNault (1974). (Galloway et 'CO

al. 1979b)
380 Sedimentary Uranium
Coastal Plain Systems:
South Texas Uranium Province
Uranium is present within several formations that
comprise the early to mid-Tertiary clastic wedge
of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Productive units include
the late Eocene Jackson Group barrier-lagoon
and deltaic systems, Oligocene to early Miocene
Catahoula Formation fluvial systems, early Mi-
ocene Oakville Formation fluvial systems, and
Miocene Goliad Formation fluvial systems (Riggs
et al. 1991).
The coastal plain forms a one-sided geomor-
phic basin. Consequently, regional groundwater
flow is gulfward. Major fluvial depoaxes occupy
structural troughs, such as the Rio Grande
embayment of South Texas, during most Tertiary
depositional episodes. Strike-parallel growth-fault
zones constitute zones of structural weakness that
propagate vertically; these structural patterns
were initiated largely in Eocene time and affected
both structure and facies patterns in the overlying
uraniferous fluvial systems (Galloway 1977). The
continuing influence of fault zones on both shal-
low and deep fluid migration is reflected in the
suite of unusual diagenetic features, including ura-
nium mineralization, commonly located near fault
zones.
Meteoric groundwater flow within the coas-
tal-plain aquifers has a relatively simple history,
but the ongoing deposition of a thick wedge of
sediment, including thousands of feet of muddy
continental-slope facies, produces an extremely
dynamic groundwater basin in which the com-
pactional and thermobaric flow regimes also play
major roles. The uranium deposits of the fluvial
systems in particular provide examples of sand-
stone-type deposits in which multiple epigenetic
alteration events in the host aquifer have substan-
tially modified the simple mineralization-front
model. The Oakville Formation has been exam-
ined in detail (Galloway et al. 1979a, 1982c; Gallo-
way 1982) and illustrates the depositional
framework and hydrologic evolution of this vari-
ant of the epigenetic mineralization front.
The Oakville Formation was deposited as a
bed-load fluvial system, readily delineated by the
regional Oakville sand lithofacies maps (Fig.
14.7). The George West and New Davy fluvial
axes are thick, fan-like, dispersive sand depo-
centers that form the core of the Oakville system
and provide permeable framework elements.
Floodplain muds and silts are the principal bound-
ing facies. Although the underlying Catahoula
Formation records a peak in deposition of tephra
across the Gulf Coastal Plain, continued volcanic
activity introduced new air-fall ash that was
reworked by Miocene streams, mixed with detri-
tal mud, and deposited within the Oakville
Formation.
The George West bed-load fluvial axis is the
most transmissive element within the Oakville,
the bed-load system corresponding closely to a
regional hydrostratigraphic unit, the Jasper aqui-
fer. Analysis of waterwell pump test results dem-
onstrated a correlation between fluvial channel
facies type and aquifer permeability (Fig. 14.8).
The New Davy axis is downgraded because it
contains abundant mixed-load channel deposits.
Furthermore, significant reduction in average per-
meability is consistently noted in fault-associated
portions of the aquifer. Both depositional facies
and structural features are therefore important in
controlling overall aquifer permeability.
Mobile hydrocarbon and hydrogen sulfide
gases have been implicated as agents of epigenetic
reduction where extrinsic, as opposed to intrinsic
Wyoming-type, reduct ants have been invoked.
Although upward migration of a reducing fluid
is commonly indicated by alteration patterns,
characteristics of sulfidic alteration in South Texas
aquifers negate a model dominated by free-
gas migration. Appropriate reducing and sulfidic
geochemistries characterize deep-basin ground-
waters, and the existing pressure head drives
these waters upward, where they interact with the
supergene environment in the mineralization
process.
Epigenetic Oakville uranium deposits cluster
along laterally continuous, sinuous mineralization
fronts that developed at or near margins of fluvial
axes. Major mineral districts lie near shallow pro-
jections of deep-seated fault zones rooted in both
Cretaceous carbonates and geopressured Tertiary
muds, but faulting is not a prerequisite. District
reserves are directly proportional to the size and
relative transmissivity of the host fluvial axis.
A generalized alteration model for the Oakville
fluvial system, unlike the simple Wyoming roll-
front model, requires at least two geochemically
opposed alteration processes, as indicated by the
fact that epigenetic sulfidization of dominantly
syndepositionally oxidized sediments extends into
aquifers along segments of major fault zones and
that epigenetic oxidation of the sulfidized sedi-
ment intrudes the aquifer from the up flow direc-
 r- '-_'_'_'_'_'-I
I

.. ~ :. i .:.~
~.I .. ~
":."en.
.
,80'"
CJ 00'80'"
0.0. 00'" CI.ZO'"
/
... ~ 0.0' 40...
~zo ...
o ~ . .0'"
CRf>VRF>ORT
CRF VRF> ORT

()
s;-
O/>

5;
g
0'
:;
o
-.
c:...,
~
:;
EXPLANATION c'
6Y Pebble to cobble } Sediment Uranium mine
s
G- Granule to coa rse input axis VRF (Volcanic rock
v
(l)
v ., 20 30,," sand ""0
fragment)
! 10 ZOm ~ Channel trends o0/>
CRF (Carbonate rock
~.
fragment)
CHERT

w
Fig. 14.7. Sandstone percentage map of the Oakville (Miocene) bedload fluvial system, South Texas Coastal Plain, illustrating coarse fluvial entry points 00
......
of the George West and New Davy Axes, the distribution of fault zones, and uranium mines and deposits, (Modified from Galloway et al. 1979a, 1982b)
 382 Sedimentary Uranium

BED-LOAD MIXED- LOAD

FACIES FACIES
its of the Lake Frome area, South Australia. Al-
r 1 though described as roll-front deposits (Ellis 1980;
ft/d mid
Proximol Distal Harshman and Adams 1981), the ore bodies are
50
15 \ distributed as isolated masses within paleovalley
X
Average
systems, such as the Lower Tertiary Yarramba
channel (Fig. 14.10). The valley fill consists of up
Reported to 175ft (50m) of interbedded sand and mud,
40 Fault influenced grading from braided bed-load fluvial facies at the
base to finer-grained, mixed-load stream deposits
at the top (Harshman and Adams 1981), and is
almost entirely oxidized. Cross sections suggest
10 that the uranium ore occurs as irregular masses
and pods, poorly defined stacked rolls, and tabular
.,
30
beds, largely within the lower part of the valley fill.
0> The shape and location are commonly determined
.,>~ by the geometry of unoxidized, less permeable
0

remnants within the valley fill (Fig. 14.10, cross-

'" 20 sections). Patterns of mineralization are reminis-
cent of the tabular Colorado Plateau deposits.

Tabular Sandstone-Hosted Uranium Deposits

10 -.
Fault
influenced
areas
X
o~----------------------------------~---
Fig. 14.8. Average permeabilities for channel-fill facies of
the Oakville fluvial system calculated from well pump tests.
Bounding floodplain deposits contribute little water in relation
to channel and splay facies and can be ignored. Proximal
(updip) bed-load channel-fill sand bodies have the greatest
average permeability, but may exhibit considerably lower val-
ues near shallow fault zones. (Galloway et al. 1982b)
tion (Fig. 14.9A). Specific alteration zones are de-
fined by the oxidation state of the contained iron
and by textural features of the oxidized or reduced
iron mineral phases present. The typical alteration
zonation of middle Tertiary Texas coastal-plain
uranium deposits (Fig. 14.9B) records the super-
imposition of several such episodes of oxidation
and sulfidization.
Incised Valley-Fill Deposits: Lake Frome
A third important class of epigenetic sandstone
ores is present in paleovalley fill, commonly in-
cised in granite and other crystalline basement. In
such highly confined aquifers, the ore bodies are
characteristically tabular and dispersed. The style
of mineralization is illustrated by uranium depos-
In many sandstone uranium deposits, ore is
distributed in pod-shaped, tabular, or irregular
masses showing no obvious relationship to exist-
ing oxidation/reduction patterns. Such ore bodies,
despite their initially random appearance, do in
fact display ordered distributions or trends that
reflect sedimentary facies control or structural
grain.
Deposits of the Westwater Canyon and Salt
Wash Members of the Morrison Formation
(Jurassic) of the Colorado Plateau (southwestern
United States) are classic examples that contain
world-class reserves. Host facies consist of chan-
nel and channel-margin deposits of large bed-load
fluvial and alluvial fan systems that grade distally
into lacustrine facies (Craig et al. 1955; Galloway
1980; Tyler and Ethridge 1983; Turner-Peterson
et al. 1986). The largest deposits occur in asso-
ciation with the most highly transmissive facies
assemblages. Both organic material as well as
vanadiferous clays provided potential reductants
capable of concentrating uranium from oxidiz-
ing groundwaters. The distinctive geometry, and
sometimes enigmatic geochemistry, of the tabular
deposits has led many authors to consider them as
a distinct style of mineralization. Some tabular
deposits formed at an interface between meteoric
and saline groundwaters. Like those in South
Texas, some occurrences may record the sequen-
tial or contemporaneous interaction of oxidizing
meteoric waters with fluids of the deeper ground-
 Classification of Uranium Deposits 383

SANDSTONE ZONATION ' SANDSTONE ZONATION

~ Comp lete ox i dot ion ~;-c-::!Pyritization
t'/"/2 Port iol ox idat ion <,j Gley (sulfide- poor reduced)
b?-?~'1 Uranium and sulfide enrichment ~ Iron enrichment
~:;~\2 Una ffected reduced ~ Unaffected ox id i zed

OXIDATION REDUCT ION

A

E~ Mudstone
t,,-,,,",:,," I Sand
~ Syndepos i tionol oxidation
~ Epigenetic sulfid ization
~ Epigenetic oxidation
~ Uranium and su l f i de enr ichment
I(~ml Resulfidized altered (oxidized)

B
Fig_ 14.9A,B. Geochemical zonations produced by epigenetic
oxidation and reduction of an aquifer. A Idealized zones pro-
duced in a reduced aquifer by circulating, oxidizing, uranium-
bearing meteoric water and in an oxidized aquifer by intrusion
of sulfide-bearing groundwater. (Modified from Shmariovich
1973). B Idealized geochemical zonation typical of mineralized
parts of the Oakville aquifer of the South Texas uranium prov-
ince. (Galloway 1982)

water regimes. Alteration histories were further
complicated by the variety of postmineralization
hydrologic systems within these geologically old
aquifers. As illustrated by the deposits in the
Westwater Canyon Formation of the southern San
Juan Basin, large-scale redistribution of primary
Mesozoic mineralization can be related to mul-
tiple phases of meteoric circulation in Tertiary
time (Saucier 1980).
Genesis of Sandstone Uranium Deposits:
A Summary
Analysis of several major sandstone-type uranium
districts and their depositional setting and hydro-
dynamic evolution suggests a recurrent, general-
ized cycle of uranium mobilization, transport, and
accumulation. A range of geochemical trapping
mechanisms could operate within the context of
384 Sedimentary Uranium

o 0'
I I I I

FI
o
c c'
11111 11111 I I I I

300

,o "O~
B 8'
1111 III II
"--:-------- ----:-:-:-:----------- - - - - ----.:-------- -- - -- - - - - ---

Conlour IOlervol; 20m

o 3 "",
I 1
I
I
o 2 3 4 5 KI'n

- - - Conlours defined from dro ll holes D Reduced sand [f?'>: j Marree Formalion
Conlours Inferred from droll holes
.. --- -~ - and surface geophysIcs H~A OXidized sand

_ Uranium deposl l s ~:~:;::i~ Cloy - Uranium depos"s

Fig. 14.10. Geologic setting of the Yarramba paleovalley and its contained uranium deposits, Lake Frome area, Australia. The
map shows the elevation of the bedrock valley walls and floor. Cross-sections of the valley fill show the dominance of oxidized
sediment and localization of ore deposits adjacent to reduced remnants. (Modified from Harshman and Adams 1981; original
from Brunt 1978)

the general cycle, provided that uranium is redis-
tributed primarily by mass transfer in groundwa-
ter. The cycle consists of two principal phases (Fig.
14.11):
1. A primary or constructional mineralization
phase, during which uranium migration and
concentration is most active, and regional min-
eralization patterns are established
2. A modification phase, in which all or part of the
primary mineralization is redistributed or fur-
ther altered
Some deposits also experienced a period of
entombment during deep burial and exposure
to compactional or thermobaric regimes..
Constructional phase events involve the
following:
1. Uranium release from updip, interbedded, or
overlying source materials. Although debate
about possible source rocks persists, it is signifi-
cant that the primary mineralization epoch
most often corresponds to a period of deposi-
tion of fresh volcanic ash in the recharge area
of the mineralized aquifer. Pedogenesis de-
monstrably causes extensive argillation of glass
and consequent uranium release (Walton et al.
1981).
2. Uranium mobilization into the groundwater
flow system in areas of regional recharge. In
 @ Uranium I,onsported dOwn
hydrodynamic Qfochm In
seml - confined o~tfef
UrOOlum coneenlrOled
near morQln 0' Iron
o... datlQn lonqu!S

.,n
en
en
S;
n
CONSTRUCT IONAL PHASE MODIFICATION PHASE ~
o
;::s
o
...,
o Rt(hx:ed fluvlO. 8 creVOlst focla'S ~ Dispersed mlneratizolM:wl SCALf Yonoble- In CotohOulo mey reno. from : c::..,
0 10
17771 Iron 01,401101"1 1000ue (aspect ot more QenerClI o.'er~ ~ Concentrote4 mmeralizofeon
rL:LLJ ohon pher.omerao) o m;
~ To 0] ml '"c;::s
- Schematic flow h ne~ " fI
50 500 3
o
(1)
'0
Fig. 14.11. Two principal phases of the uranium mineralization cycle typical of many epigenetic roll-type deposits. Constructional events include oen
primary mobilization, migration, and concentration of uranium within a semiconfined aquifer system during or soon after deposition of volcanic ash a'
(or alternative uranium source) in the regional recharge area. Possible modifications of the primary mineralization trends include rereduction of
parts of the alteration tongue and local remobilization or destruction of shallow deposits by surface oxidation at or above the ambient water table. V>
00
Scale of the cycle is a function of the size of the aquifer system . (Galloway 1977) Ul
386 Sedimentary Uranium
areas of regional discharge, dissolved uranium
moves into the surface drainage and is lost to
the epigenetic system.
3. Entry of uraniferous, oxidizing groundwaters
into the regional flow system producing well-
defined salients of altered matrix within region-
ally reduced portions of the aquifer (Granger
and Warren 1978). Potential reduct ants include
intrinsic organic debris and sulfides, extrinsic
reduct ants and their diagenetic products, and
possibly density-stratified reducing brines.
4. Concentration of uranium and associated met-
als where flow crosses from oxidized to reduced
portions of the aquifer. Such geochemical
boundaries occur as elongate, linear fronts
along the margins of reductant-rich pods or is-
lands within pervasively oxidized ground or
at local sites of introduction or collection of
extrinsic reducing solids or fluids. Reducing
conditions prevail at permeability boundaries
where flow crosses from massive sand into
finer-grained facies. However, a geochemical
gradient exists at all margins of the oxidation
tongue, and uranium accumulation is not re-
stricted to zones of facies change or permeabil-
ity contrast. The actual concentrating
mechanism may involve chemical precipitation
or adsorption.
Modification phase events that can affect pri-
mary mineralization trends established in the con-
structional phase of the uranium cycle include the
following:
1. Postdepositional changes in the flow system
caused by compaction and sealing of bounding
aquitards, structural modification, or diage-
netic reduction of permeability in transmissive
sands
2. Outcrop recession, exposing shallow ore de-
posits to oxidation above the water table or to
erosion
3. Geomorphic changes that induce local or re-
gional changes in hydrodynamic gradient, pro-
ducing flow patterns that differ significantly
from those extant during the mineralization
phase or that rejuvenate the meteoric system
4. Invasion of portions of the aquifer by chemi-
cally reactive waters derived from deeper
groundwater regimes
Operation of such a generalized mineralization
cycle is consistent with the known distribution and
geologic relationships of most sandstone-type ura-
nium ores. Application of the conceptual frame-
work allows prediction of the extent and probable
nature of potential mineralization, provided that
the depositional framework and groundwater flow
history of the system can be reconstructed.
Applications to Resource Evaluation,
Exploration, and Development
Large sedimentary uranium deposits can be
syngenetic, syndiagenetic, or epigenetic. Emplace-
ment of syngenetic ore relies primarily on the
depositional environment and surface hydrology
of the host and is strongly facies controlled.
Syndiagenetic and epigenetic ores are of more
complex origin, dependent on the depositional
environment and facies associations and on the
history of groundwater flow. Postdepositional ores
are most likely to be found within, or adjacent to,
facies possessing high transmissivity where there is
the likelihood of groundwater flushing. These
characteristics are determined to a large degree by
the depositional system.
The largest uranium-producing districts are
therefore hosted by a relatively limited suite of
depositional systems, including lake-margin, allu-
vial fan, and bed-load or coarse mixed-load fluvial
systems. Subaerial systems can extensively recycle
sediment and are typically exposed to meteoric
circulation, both during and immediately after
deposition. Alluvial fan and fluvial systems have
an initial topographic gradient that parallels depo-
sitional trends and persists until major tectonic
activity disrupts the configuration of the basin.
Furthermore, alluvial fan and bed-load fluvial sys-
tems are extremely transmissive because of their
coarse grain size and high sand content. Eolian
systems are also permeable, but typically lack the
intrinsic reductants necessary to trap migrating
uranium. Mixed-load fluvial and various shore-
zone systems contain highly transmissive facies
elements, but the framework sands tend to be
bounded vertically and laterally by fine-grained
sediments that isolate the more permeable mem-
bers and restrict total groundwater flux.
Alluvial fan, fan delta, and bed-load fluvial sys-
tems are the preferred targets for exploration for
both syngenetic placer and epigenetic sandstone-
type deposits. Valley-fill, eolian, and lacustrine
systems locally contain significant reserves. Del-
 Applications to Resource Evaluation, Exploration, and Development
taic and barrier-island systems are productive
where stratigraphic relationships provide post-
depositional recharge, for example via permeable
dip-oriented channel-fill facies. Apart from low-
grade, syngenetic black-shale accumulations,
marine shelf and basin systems remain non-
prospective. Intermontane lacustrine basins are
targets for syndiagenetic and low-grade
syngenetic classes of mineralization and are
commonly associated with uraniferous fluvial and
alluvial fan systems.
Regional Exploration Criteria
Within a geologic framework appropriate for ura-
nium mineralization, the relative prospectivity of
a particular stratigraphic unit may be inferred
from the basic mineralization processes. The epi-
genetic, roll-type uranium cycle within a deposi-
tional basin can be compared to an ore-processing
mill (Galloway et al. 1979b), which extracts a dis-
persed element from a large volume of rock and
concentrates it into usable form. The amount of
enriched product (U tot ) is equal to the product of
the volume of uranium-transporting fluid moved
through the system per unit time (Q), multiplied
by the duration of the flux (T), the concentration
of the desired element in the fluid (ppm), and the
efficiency of the extraction process (E):
U tot = Q x T x ppm x E
Precise quantification of this expression is im-
possible in natural systems. Nevertheless, it is ob-
vious that any geologic factor that results in a
positive change in Q, ppm, E, or T constitutes a
positive exploration criterion, e.g.:
1. Thick sequences rich in air-fall volcanic ash
should be interbedded with, or overlie, poten-
tial host sands in the area of regional recharge
of the aquifer system if epigenetic or syndia-
genetic deposits are anticipated. Volcanic ash is
a preferred source in all but the most stable,
geologically long-lived groundwater systems,
because uranium is readily released from vitric
material.
2. Coarsely crystalline igneous rocks such as
granite provide optimal sources where physical
reworking is responsible for uranium concen-
tration. Here, as in the case of the calcrete
deposits of Australia, a low concentration of
uranium in the transporting fluid is compen-
387
sated for by the very long time interval (T) of
mobilization and recycling found in the stable
repository basins. Erosional unroofing and at-
tendant fracturing further promote uranium
release from plutonic sources.
3. Dry climates facilitate recharge through a
thick, aerated phreatic zone and are therefore
most favorable for mineralization by solution
transport processes. Humid climates are less
suitable because they produce reducing, or-
ganically rich, biologically active soils and ex-
cess groundwater that is rejected by regional
aquifers.
4. Regional reduction or multiple concentration
centers are necessary for the efficient trapping
(E) of dissolved uranium in most aquifer sys-
tems and must predate concentration pro-
cesses. Reductants may be intrinsic to the
depositional system, and thus facies related, or
may have permeated the system after deposi-
tion. In this latter situation, the most permeable
facies are most subject to reduction.
5. The depositional system should contain one
or more thick, vertically integrated, highly
transmissive, semiconfined aquifers that are
arranged to allow efficient recharge, down-
gradient flow, and discharge of meteoric water.
The three-dimensional distribution of such
aquifers reflects the volume of surface-water
discharge through the active system and deter-
mines the volume of groundwater (Q) that can
later be transmitted.
6. Syngenetic placer concentrations required
an elevated granitoid provenance, high-energy
bed-load transport over relatively short dis-
tances, hydrodynamic sorting, selective deposi-
tion, and winnowing in an oxygen-deficient
atmosphere.
Local Exploration Criteria
Localization of epigenetic uranium within a single
depositional system is primarily a function of spa-
tial variations in surface- or groundwater flux, Q.
High groundwater flux produces well-developed,
laterally extensive alteration tongues and associ-
ated large concentrations of uranium for the pre-
vailing ppm, T, and E of the system. Thus, within
a particular depositional system, the distribution
and nature of ore deposits tends to follow pre-
dictable patterns that can serve as guides for
exploration:
388 Sedimentary Uranium

1. In axial portions of major sand belts that are

oriented parallel to the regional hydrodynamic
gradient extant during the mineralization
phase, mineralization fronts or clusters of min-
eralized pods may form salients into unaltered
portions of the system. The largest deposits are
likely to be along the nose or distal margins of
such salients, which define areas of maximum
Q (and therefore maximum incursion of oxi-
dant and uranium). Channel axes similarly de-
fine sites of highest depositional energy and
sediment bypass.
2. In both placer and epigenetic mineralization
processes, numerous small- to medium-sized
deposits tend to form where local stratigraphic
or structural features disperse flow.
3. Structures, particularly fault zones and bedrock
topographic features, produce flow boundaries
or discontinuities that modify flow patterns of
both surface flow and groundwaters. In addi-
tion, syndepositional structural features pro- Fig. 14.12. Localized expansion of a mineralization tongue
duce localized facies changes. For example, from its host mixed-load channel-fill unit into the adjacent
vertical flux of groundwater along a fault zone permeable crevasse-splay deposits shown in Fig. 14.10. The
may distort the ideal roll geometry of a miner- crevasse sandstones are dominantly oxidized in wells 1 and 2,
but are entirely reduced in well 9. The diverging splay channels
alization front by accentuating the upper or
offer secondary axes of higher transmissivity producing minor
lower wing or may lead to syndiagenetic miner- downdip salients along the front. (Galloway and Kaiser 1980)
alization in shallow, reduced, or evaporative
facies. Fault zones are likely conduits for dis-
charge of compactional or thermobaric waters
into the shallow aquifers and thus produce improve recovery as well as reduce cost. Enrich-
geochemical traps within shallower aquifers. ment of uranium in lag deposits, either by physical
4. The geometry of framework, high-energy, per- entrapment within large intergranular pores or by
meable facies is commonly reflected in the ge- the increased adsorption on organic material or
ometry of mineralization. Ore bodies tend to clay, may provide localized but high-grade ore
parallel mapped facies boundaries, scour sur- that can be mined selectively. Association of or-
faces, paleotransport directions, or isolith con- ganic debris or reactive clays with certain facies,
tours. For example, Fig. 14.12 illustrates the such as the crevasse-splay deposits (Fig. 14.12),
geometry of an epigenetic alteration front asso- may guide mining to specific but localized facies
ciated with uranium mineralization. The front and enhance prediction of the vertical and lateral
extends from the channel into the body of the irregularities in ore body distribution. Under-
crevasse splay. Local fingers over 200ft (60m) standing the depositional and hydrologic frame-
long project along the diverging splay channel work can also help anticipate problems in mining.
sands. Early recognition of such facies-related Shallow sand bodies that are oriented parallel to
patterns or trends in alteration or distribution hydraulic gradient, for example, may present
of uranium concentration allow interpretation greater problems for mine dewatering than do
or extrapolation of ore bodies using limited strike-parallel sands. In the South Texas Coastal
data. Plain, open-pit mines in fluvial or deltaic channel
facies predictably produce much greater volumes
of water than do pits in the strike-parallel barrier
Applications in Commercial Uranium Extraction systems that grade up and downdip into mudstone
facies.
Careful analysis of host depositional facies before In situ leach mining of uranium commenced
and during mining operations can significantly in the Shirley Basin of Wyoming in 1961, with
 Applications to Resource Evaluation, Exploration, and Development
experimentation relating to well completion
methods, well patterns and spacing, and lixiviant
composition, followed by commercial extraction
in 1963. Rising uranium prices during the 1970s
led to 48 pilot projects by 1983, resulting in 21
in situ leach mining operations. By 1986, this
accounted for 11 % of United States uranium
production. Like other sectors of the mining
industry, however, in situ recovery operations
have been subject to the vicissitudes of uranium
389
prices and the emerging global glut of the past
decade. This technology does, however, offer a
degree of flexibility absent in conventional min-
ing, as well as the possibility of low operating costs
given optimal implementation. Recognition of
permeability anisotropy, aquifer compartmental-
ization, and facies localization of higher-grade
mineralization provides the prospect for improved
leaching methods, lixiviant design, and recovery
factors.
15 Petroleum
Introduction
For the industrial nations of the world, petroleum
has fueled the twentieth century. Despite acceler-
ating depletion of the resource, new technologies
and exploration concepts are contributing to ef-
fective replacement of production, and oil and gas
will remain major contributors to the world en-
ergy supply well into the next century. Because
the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves is an ex-
tremely geology-intensive process, the petroleum
industry has directly and indirectly initiated, sup-
ported, and incorporated much of the accumu-
lated research on sedimentary basins and their
contained deposits. Similarly, the industry has
been the single largest worldwide employer of
earth scientists. This tremendous expenditure of
manpower and research on a particular energy
resource and its geologic environs has led to con-
siderable knowledge of its origins and distribution
patterns. However, answers to many questions re-
main elusive, and petroleum liquids are described
in legal terminology as "fugacious" (fleeting, tran-
sitory), a term which most petroleum geologists
can readily appreciate.
Distribution of Petroleum in Time
and Space
Oil and gas are generated by the thermal matura-
tion of organic matter incorporated within the
sediment of the basin fill. Initial diagenesis of
plant and animal debris produces kerogen. With
further increase in temperature or, more correctly,
with time-integrated thermal flux, kerogen, in
turn, yields hydrocarbon liquids and then gas
(Tissot et al. 1971; Connan 1974; Waples 1980).
Additional quantities of dry gas, consisting almost
entirely of methane, form by bacterial action in
organically rich sediments at low temperature
and shallow burial depths. Such biogenic gas
constitutes the dominant hydrocarbon in several
large basins (Rice 1980; Rice and Claypool 1981).
Following generation, petroleum moves from
fine-grained source rocks into adjacent, perme-
able stratigraphic or structural conduits or reser-
voirs. Once separate-phase oil and gas are in
permeable conduits, they migrate upward
because of their buoyancy until trapped beneath
or against a seal. Size, depth, and composition
of the hydrocarbon occurrence, as well as
matrix properties of the reservoir, all affect techni-
cal and economic recoverability of the resultant
accumulation.
The task of statistical description of petroleum
distribution is simplified by the important obser-
vation that giant fields, defined as those containing
over 500 million barrels (about 70 million tons) of
oil or BTU-equivalent gas, hold 60-70% of discov-
ered reserves (Campbell 1991). Compilation of
data on the giant fields shows that sediments of the
Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras are the most
prolific hosts of petroleum (Barker 1977; Mast et
al. 1989).
Geographic and geologic distribution of hydro-
carbon-rich basins has been discussed by several
authors, including Bally and Snelson (1980),
Klemme (1980), and Carmalt and St. John (1986),
who distinguished basin types on the basis of tec-
tonic and depositional styles:
1. Simple intracratonic basins form wide, shallow
depressions. The Illinois and Michigan basins
are well-known petroliferous examples. Such
basins contain significant volumes of mixed ter-
rigenous clastic and carbonate sediment, but
account for less than 1 % of world hydrocarbon
reserves. Thin, laterally extensive fluvial, del-
taic, shelf, and lacustrine systems are typical of
the basin fill. They are commonly mature hy-
drologic basins, flushed throughout by mete-
oric groundwater.

2. Complex intracratonic basins are characterized
by initial extension followed by broad crustal
subsidence, showing the classic rift-sag configu-
ration. The San Juan, Songliao (China), and
Cooper/Eromanga (Australia) basins are pro-
ductive examples. They share many elements
of the simple cratonic basins, but are deeper
and characterized by greater structural and
depositional relief. Both lacustrine and marine
facies are represented. Braidplain, fluvial, and
deltaic systems are common, along with shore-
zone, shelf, and low-relief slope systems.
3. Continental forelands such as the Alberta and
Appalachian basins are large, linear, and asym-
metric. Sediment influx is predominantly from
the compressional orogen. Basin fill may be
exclusively continental or mixed terrestrial
and marine. Thick alluvial fan, fluvial, deltaic,
shore-zone, and shelf systems are major com-
ponents. Slope and base-of-slope systems are
significant in underfilled foreland basins. Re-
lated compressional sags commonly form adja-
cent to the foreland. Examples include the
Anadarko and Permian basins, which filled
during and following the Ouachita collision
and formation of the Arkoma-Fort Worth-Val
Verde foreland basin. Meteoric invasion is typi-
cally extensive, and a deep, overpressured
basin core may result from hydrocarbon gen-
eration. Such basins contain about 7% of total
hydrocarbon reserves.
4. Compressional continental margin basins are
elongate troughs formed along convergent
margins in association with small ocean basins.
Examples include the famous European Mo-
lasse Basin and the Zagros of Iran. This is an
especially productive basin type. Fill typically
consists of thick successions of deep basinal to
deltaic, fluvial, and alluvial fan deposits. Both
depositional and structural relief are high.
5. Continental rift basins are small, narrow, linear,
deep depressions, such as the Sirte or Re-
c6ncavo basins. Basin fill is dominated by
siliciclastics of continental to subaqueous fan
and fan delta systems in marine or lacustrine
settings. Early formed, bedded evaporite de-
posits commonly develop diapiric intrusions
and related traps. Oil productivity is dispropor-
tionately large for the limited volume of
such basins; they contain about 8% of world
reserves.
6. Divergent margin basins, including the Meso-
zoic Gulf Coast, Sergipe-Alagoas basins, and
Distribution of Petroleum in Time and Space 391
other extensive passive margins, are large,
elongate depressions that fill asymmetrically
from the landward side. Widespread, thick,
fluvial, deltaic, shore-zone, and shelf systems
along the landward margin are built onto an
offtapping foundation constructed of slope de-
posits. Partial to extensive meteoric circulation
penetrates the mixed carbonate-siliciclastic ba-
sin fill; a deeply buried, muddy overpressured
fill may develop in younger examples. Hydro-
carbon reserves are modest, but are growing
rapidly as exploration extends into deeper wa-
ter of modern continental margins.
7. Delta depocenters are often distinguished as a
special case of the divergent margin setting. As
defined, all are young Tertiary basins domi-
nated by a large fluvial delta slope system
tract. Extensive development of overpressured
compactional and thermo baric regimes in
the thick prodelta and slope mud facies and
large-scale syndepositional gravity deforma-
tion characterize deltaic depocenters. Al-
though hydrocarbon reserves are generally
modest, the Mississippi, Niger, and MacKenzie
delta systems host world-class petroleum
plays.
8. Convergent and transform margin basins, such
as the Los Angeles and Central Sumatra basins,
are small, rhomboid to linear depressions that
are filled largely with alluvial fan, fan delta, and
marine slope systems. Intermontane basins
may comprise entirely terrestrial and lacustrine
systems. Structural topography and differential
deformation between source and basin are
extreme. Such basins are oil prone, hosting
about 7% of global hydrocarbon reserves, but
individual basin productivities are extremely
variable.
Although contained depositional systems vary
greatly within each of the basin types, depositional
style is directly related to specific basin configura-
tion and tectonic history. For example, delta
systems are major components of simple and com-
plex intracratonic, continental foreland, compres-
sional continental margin, and divergent margin
basins, but the facies partitioning and stratigraphy
of the delta system differ greatly depending upon
whether progradation is onto oceanic or continen-
tal crust. This contrast is well illustrated at the end
of this chapter by comparison of depositional and
production styles of the Gulf Coast Tertiary and
Midland basins.
392 Petroleum
Depositional Systems and Hydrocarbon
Exploration and Production
The long-recognized critical elements for for
mation of hydrocarbon accumulations include a
source, reservoir, burial history (evolving tem-
perature/pressure regime), migration pathways,
trap, and seal (Demaison and Huizinga 1991;
Magoon and Dow 1994). Depositional system and
facies analysis primarily addresses questions
about reservoir volume, distribution, and char-
acter, but can also provide information about
the probable nature and extent of sources and
seals. Because traps may be produced by
syndepositional structures and by facies changes,
depositional systems analysis may also provide
useful predictions about trapping potential and
style. Delineation of depositional systems is a req-
uisite step toward defining geologically related
plays - families of oil and gas pools that share
common source, reservoir, trap, and hydrocarbon
composition (Galloway et al. 1982a,b). Plays, in
turn, provide a logical foundation for targeting
exploration, assessing the reserve base, and pre-
dicting undiscovered resources (White 1980; Mast
et al. 1989; Houghton et al. 1993). In combination
with structural features, framework sand bodies of
major basin-filling systems provide the three-di-
mensional stratigraphic plumbing of the basin,
thus defining potential petroleum migration path-
ways. Integration with concepts of basin hydrol-
ogy allows prediction or early recognition of
potential hydrodynamic entrapment, reservoir
drive mechanisms, and diagenetic features, all of
which may affect oil and gas production.
Source-Rock Recognition
Prediction, recognition, and delineation of petro-
leum source units are primary tasks in basin evalu-
ation and subsequent exploration (Hunt 1979;
Tissot and Welte 1984; Brooks et al. 1987). Poten-
tial source rocks contain adequate quantities of
the appropriate organic matter to generate signi-
ficant volumes of petroleum. Functional source
rocks, in addition to their initial endowment of
organic matter, have been subjected to sufficient
burial and consequent thermal maturation to gen-
erate oil or gas. The volume and richness of func-
tional source-rock facies are therefore critical to
the ultimate hydrocarbon productivity of a sedi-
mentary basin.
Empirical as well as experimental and theoreti-
cal considerations have led to the use of a variety
of indices of source potential. A relatively simple
measurement of total organic carbon (TOC) con-
tent is widely applied to screen for potential
source rocks (Ronov 1958; Dow 1978). The com-
monly accepted minimal TOC content for a po-
tential source rock is 0.4%; values of 1 % or more
are preferable. TOC is, however, only a crude in-
dex of source potential. Organic carbon may be
recycled from older sediments, possessing little
capacity for further release of hydrocarbons. Con-
sequently, more sophisticated analytical proce-
dures determine the content and composition of
extractable hydrocarbons within the rock matrix.
The amount of organic matter in a sediment is a
function of three variables:
1. The rate of organic productivity of the system
2. The rate of destruction by biological or inor-
ganic processes
3. The rate of dilution by detrital sediment
TOC of a sediment tends to be limited by de-
struction and dilution rather than by biological
productivity of the overlying water column. High
proportions of organic material occur in fine,
muddy, terrigenous marine sediments deposited
under restricted, dysaerobic to anoxic bottom
conditions characterized by moderate rates of
deposition (Ronov 1958; Ibach 1982; Tyson 1987).
The deposits of stratified lacustrine basins may
also be extremely rich in organic carbon (Chap. 9).
Low depositional energy and minimal reworking
favor preservation of organic material; reworking
by currents allows additional time for oxidation by
bacteria or benthonic organisms. Terrigenous
sedimentation dilutes indigenous organic matter,
but may also introduce a significant proportion of
land-derived organic material.
Burial and diagenesis of deposited organic mat-
ter produces kerogen, the precursor of oil and gas.
Kerogen is classified on the basis of chemical com-
position into three types, commonly designated I,
II, and III (Tissot and Welte 1984; Cornford 1986;
Tyson 1987). Type I is an oil-prone kerogen that
consists of algal or amorphous organic material.
Algal-rich varieties typically produce waxy, paraf-
finic crude oils. Type II contains a mix of bacteri-
ally degraded particulate organic material and
is also an oil-rich precursor. Type III consists of
woody or humic material and generates a higher
 Depositional Systems and Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production
proportion of gas upon thermal maturation. Some
geochemists also distinguish type IV (inertinite),
which consists of highly oxidized terrestrial plant
debris with little or no source potential. Interpre-
tation of the depositional facies of source rocks
allows logical predictions of kerogen types and
thus of probable attributes and chemical composi-
tion of any generated petroleum.
The relative source potential of different depo-
sitional systems can be summarized diagrammati-
cally in the context of the complete depositional
systems tract (Fig. 15.1). Alluvial fan and fluvial
systems are typically source poor. However,
coalbeds and dispersed plant matter within distal
fan or fluvial systems, which develop where the
water table is shallow, may provide moderately
large sources of gas or, less commonly, oil (Tho-
mas 1982; Tissot and Welte 1984; Powell 1988;
Boreham and Powell 1993). Lacustrine systems
contain source rock facies that have provided the
hydrocarbon charge for numerous terrestrial ba-
sins (Hedberg 1968; Yang et al. 1985; Powell 1986;
Hu et al. 1988; Kelts 1988; Katz 1990), including
the Uinta in the United States, to the Rec6ncavo
in Brazil, the Gippsland and Cooper in Australia,
and many of the basins of eastern China. The su-
pergiant Daqing Field of the Songliao basin, for
example, is entirely lacustrine sourced. Large,
deep, permanent lakes of low latitude that de-
velop thermal or chemical stratification are most
favorable, although brackish, alkaline, and saline
lakes may also deposit organically rich muds.
Kerogen types tend to be concentrically zoned,
with type-III plant debris forming the landward
zone, degraded type-II kerogen forming a mid-
dle zone, and type-I kerogen occupying the
Lacustrine
Alluvial Fluvial
Fon B.L. M.l.
0
Eolian
l,n,m Kerogen type
Gas-prone
Oil-prone
Fig.1S.1. Source rock potential and of different clastic deposi-
tional systems. Size of the circle reflects the relative importance
of each system as a petroleum source. Fluvial systems are
393
deep, anaerobic lake center. Oils produced from
lacustrine source rocks are typically waxy and
paraffinic.
Various factors interact to produce a common
pattern of organic richness in marine basin mar-
gins (Dow 1978; Tyson 1987; Kuhnt et al. 1990).
Delta systems are sites of in situ organic accumu-
lation, in the form of coalbeds, and input of terres-
trial particulate organic matter into the basin.
However, high sedimentation rates and oxic con-
ditions commonly limit the organic content of
prodelta mudrocks and preserve type-III kerogen.
Open, ventilated continental shelf muds are also
characterized by low TOe. Where an upwelling-
intensified oxygen minimum layer intersects the
outer shelf and upper slope, preservation of type-
II kerogen is enhanced, particularly at low lati-
tudes. Broad, commonly post-transgressive and
barred, dysaerobic to anaerobic shelf systems are
particularly favorable sites for accumulation of
extremely kerogen-rich mud. Stratified shelf sys-
tems of this type provide some of the world's great
oil source rocks, including the Kimmeridge Shale
of the North Sea and the Woodford Shale of the
Permian Basin (Miller 1990; Comer 1991). Conti-
nental slope and base-of-slope deposits may also
be TOC enriched, particularly in local silled ba-
sins. Pennsylvanian basinal muds in the Midland
and Palo Duro Basin are type-II kerogen-rich
source rocks (Dutton 1980b). Terrigenous type-III
organic matter may bypass unaltered to the deep
basin by gravity mass transport. Modest TOC val-
ues in open-ocean bathyal and abyssal settings
result from the very slow accumulation rates
and consequent destruction of deposited organic
matter.
Delta
~
_ _ Slope / Basin
~
~..~..~
Shore Zone
0
divided into bedload (B.L.), mixed-load (M.L.) and sus-
pended-load (S.L.) types
394 Petroleum
Although interpretation of depositional sys-
tems and their component facies provides the ba-
sis for estimation of the potential distribution and
quality of oil- and gas-prone source rocks, the na-
ture of the depositional basin, degree of bottom
water restriction and consequent anoxia, or or-
ganic productivity can vary greatly within any
depositional system. Quantitative analysis of pos-
sible source facies is required for adequate evalu-
ation of the hydrocarbon resource potential and
source-rock characterization.
Trap Prediction
Hydrocarbon traps are produced by geometric
configurations of reservoirs and sealing units that
prevent further upward migration or escape of
gas or oil. Traps have been discussed and classified
by Levorsen (1967), Rittenhouse (1972), and
North (1985). Most classes of traps are products
of postdepositional deformation or reservoir
truncation that is unrelated to depositional pro-
cesses. However, such structural features as
syndepositional faults, diapirs, slides, and differ-
ential compaction and drape are characteristic of
some depositional systems and may be large
enough to form economic traps. Geometry and
distribution of such features are thus closely re-
lated to facies distribution.
Large syndepositional faults, termed growth
faults, which are rooted within thick, overpres-
sured prodelta and continental slope mudstone
sequences, are a characteristic structural and pro-
ducing style of northwestern Gulf Coast deposi-
tional systems ranging in age from Cretaceous
through Miocene (Fig. 15.2). Repeated develop-
ment of growth fault zones along the shelf margin
of successive offlapping systems produces mul-
tiple, coast-parallel series of traps for both gas and
oil. Productive structural configurations include
rollover anticlines in the down-thrown block (Fig.
15.2D), updip sealing against the fault (Fig.
15.2B), coastward pinchout of sands (Fig. 15.2A),
or deep-seated salt domes and associated with-
drawal sags (Fig. 15.2C).
Drape structures in sand bodies are generally
a response to differential compaction, for example
above irregular basement paleotopography or
in sands superposed on other elongate sand
bodies encased in compactable mud. Carbonate
reefs or other large, relatively rigid bulwarks sur-
rounded by mudstone similarly produce large-
scale drape structures in overlying sand bodies. In
the Midland Basin, for example, Pennsylvanian
submarine fan deposits draped across an underly-
ing reef have produced more than 40 million bar-
rels of oil in the Jameson field (Galloway et al.
1983).
Lithological traps seal hydrocarbons by means
of facies changes that terminate, truncate, or re-
duce the permeability of the reservoir. A variety
of specific types exist. Seven types of lithological
traps are primarily products of depositional sys-
tems (Fig. 15.3):
1. Updip pinchout of sand bodies against sealing
facies, such as a point bar against overbank
mud.
2. Gradational updip facies change from a reser-
voir to a sealing facies. Lateral fining of delta
front sands into interdistributary muds, for ex-
ample, may create a barrier to further hydro-
carbon migration where pore throats become
too small or clay plugged.
3. Erosional truncation by processes such as chan-
nel incision of reservoir sands. If the surface is
sealed by fine-grained or poorly sorted sedi-
ment, oil or gas can be trapped against the
erosion surface. On a small scale, mud-filled
channel plugs within fluvial sand bodies can
form traps. Mud-filled submarine canyons,
which truncate multiple sandstone units,
produce multistory stratigraphic traps in the
early Tertiary fill of the Sacramento Basin,
California.
4. Small-volume lenticular sand bodies com-
pletely encased in mud (called isolani by Silver
1973). The porous unit fills with hydrocarbons.
Lateral facies changes and porosity pinchout
preclude migration and loss unless the reser-
Fig. IS.2A-D. Dip cross-sections showing the structural styles
of four growth-faulted. Tertiary shelf-margin deltaic succes-
sions in the Texas Gulf Coast Basin. A Cuero: faulting
and expansion initiated where the Paleocene Wilcox Group
prograded beyond the subjacent. faulted Cretaceous carbonate
shelf margin. B Blessing: repetitious faults with marked land-
ward thickening of sandy Frio (Oligocene) parasequences. C
Pleasant Bayou: combined rollover and faulting in the Frio
Formation reflecting deep salt mobilization. D McAllen
Ranch: prominent decollement within prodelta and delta front
deposits of the Oligocene Vicksburg delta system. Numbers
trace flooding surfaces or marine marker beds across fault
blocks. (Modified from Winker 1982). (Courtesy of the Texas
Bureau of Economic Geology)
 A o 2 3 4 5 MI
-;-- -------- Stuart-City---------- Cook Field South Cook Cottonwood Creek~ II
Trend ~ ~ Field
o 2 3 4 5 5000
,---r---I r-----,6 KM i
:~Et:"";,~~G;"::::~~i~":"7&ifiG~~ ~I
10,000
2
NO VERTICAL 3 1 15 ,000
-=--=-----r~~~~---\-\:-- ------ ------ EXAGGERATION
4
---- ------ ---- ---
--- ~ 20,000
B 5
Millields Field Tidehaven Field E. Blessing Field J 25,000
6
KM FT
'" " .....'\.....................;. '.;':.:': :::::>:,:.:::::::;::::....::':,',:....:.,,:,:::,
-2
f5~ziiiiiJ~L::::~:::::~..:.:f;\
6
~~ -.. -..........: : ~22 ~ ---~~-
4 MAJOR SAND
DEVELOPMENT
~~~:::==::: o
(')
TOP OF "0
GEOPRESSURE o
~:
o
::;
c _ _ _ CORRELATION
MARKER e:..
Danbury Dome Field (salt-withdrawal basin) VJ
'<
~
SEISMIC
------ REFLECTOR 3CJO"
po
::;
l~:~;~:;,;i7!~;:: =~~WI1~{I~ilglW~~i; 0.
J:
'<
0.
....
o(')
po
d-
o
::;
tn
o ;..:
"0
EI Benadito Field McAllen Ranch Field Monte Christo Field
....0-
1 !:?
o
::;
:~::.:: .:.:.:;;:~.:!:~:!?:;.;~~:t.:::'::;_::~::::::::=: ..:':'~:''-'. '.::;::: ....~.:.::::.\~.: ~::-:~.T::: ',: "):~";:.:::::;::: ::>';:.::.\"0.:.. :--. :::.. :...... ;0::': po
::;
~-.~-.-
0.
_~L~:~='~::~:::=:~:':~_ ::,0
o
--------~, 0.
~
/ --------------- ~
o
::;
~~~~s:=:~.:=:
W
--- -- 'D
Vl
--
396 Petroleum
Fig. 15.3A-G. Types of lithological traps. A Pinchout. B Facies change. C Cut and fill. D Isolani (isolated pod). E Lapout (onlap).
F Depositional topography. G Slide and slump lobe
voir is subsequently breached by an erosional
or structural discontinuity. Isolated transgres-
sive shelf and barrier sands commonly form
isolani traps.
5. Lapout of the reservoir against a depositional
or erosional surface. Onlap most commonly
creates a trap, in some cases of substantial
proportions.
6. Depositional sand body topography. In eolian,
shelf, and slope systems, large sand bodies with
prominent relief may be preserved relatively
intact. Such upward convexity is likely to be
enhanced by differential compaction and is
best revealed by mapping the elevation of the
top of effective porosity.
7. Slump mounds or rotated slide blocks. Reser-
voir facies are rotated, folded, or mounded fea-
Hydrocarbon
[\>/1 Reservoir facies
f=~=~=}=~ Low-permeability facies
tures representing displacement into deeper
water, where they tend to be buried by mud.
Any or all of the three stratigraphic features
may occur in association with structural deforma-
tion to produce combination traps.
The inherent geometry or facies associations
of framework sand facies within some deposi-
tional systems predisposes them to development
of various sorts of stratigraphic or syndepositional
structural traps, as summarized in Fig. 15.4. Sus-
pended-load fluvial systems, fluvial-dominated
delta systems, barrier/lagoon systems, transgres-
sive shelf systems, and most slope and basin sys-
tems are particularly favorable for lithological
traps. For example, transgressive shelf systems of
the Cretaceous Rocky Mountain seaway of North
 Depositional Systems and Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production 397

Lacustrine Delta

Alluvial Fluvial Shelf _ _ Slope / Basin

Fan ~---=B""'. l. M. L.

Eolian Shore Zone

LITHOLOGIC TRAP POTENTIAL

facies change
pinchout
lapout
facies change cut and fill
lapout pinchout/cut S. fill isolani pinchout
pinchout
facies change depo. topog. depo. topog.
pinchout slide and slump
c==> isolani
de po. topog.
INTRAFORMATIONAL STRUCTURAL TRAP POTENTIAL
growth faults
diapirs growth faults
mega slides
campactional drape

Fig. 15.4. Relative abundance and types of lithological and intraformational structural traps within clastic depositional systems.
Fluvial systems are divided into bedload (B.L.), mixed-load (M.L.) and suspended-load (S.L.) types

America contain numerous hydrocarbon plays Abnormal Pressure

characterized by facies change, pinchout, and
isolani traps (Fig. 15.5). In such systems, genetic
facies analysis defines both reservoir and trap
distribution.
Delineation of Fluid Migration Pathways
The framework sand facies of depositional sys-
tems are major pathways for fluid migration.
Whereas sedimentary uranium ore deposits
form within the meteoric regime, the genesis and
early migration of petroleum takes place within
the compactional and thermo baric regimes.
Sand content, trend, lateral continuity, and inter-
connectedness of framework sand units and the
relationship of sand bodies to crosscutting struc-
tural elements define the potential migration
pathways, both for expelled pore waters and
generated hydrocarbons. Because fluid migra-
tion is a basinwide phenomenon, only regional
lithostratigraphic description provides an ad-
equate framework for analysis of this dynamic as-
pect of hydrocarbon entrapment.
Development of fluid pressures that exceed the
hydrostatic gradient was discussed in Chap. 12.
Deep drilling for oil and gas commonly penetrates
abnormally pressured portions of basin fill. Ab-
normally high fluid-pressure zones require spe-
cialized drilling and production techniques. Their
prediction and detection are thus important ele-
ments of exploration within some basins.
One common mechanism for generation of
overpressure - rapid deposition and burial of
sand-poor sediment - directly relates to facies
distribution. Expectedly, variations of fluid-pres-
sure gradient commonly correlate with facies
distribution in deltaic, slope, and interdeltaic
shore-zone systems in rapidly subsiding basins
of the young extracontinental downwarp and
deltaic types. In the Gulf Coast Basin, deep-
water prodelta and continental-slope mudstones
are moderately to highly overpressured, as are
interbedded distal delta front and slope sand
facies. In contrast, well-connected delta plain
barrier/strandplain and fluvial facies exhibit
normal or near-normal fluid pressure (Galloway
398 Petroleum
To Strandllne lacies
Contour interval = 20 It
SANDSTONE ISOLITH MAP
Fig. 15.5A,B. Sandstone isolith maps of the Sussex (Creta-
ceous) Sandstone in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. A
Regionally the Sussex forms an irregular, but widespread
et al. 1982a). Stuart (1970) noted a close cor-
relation between paleontologically defined paleo-
bathymetry of mud-rich intervals and the
probability and degree of overpressure.
Correlations between overpressure of other
origins and depositional facies are less predict-
able. However, preservation of abnormally high
fluid-pressure gradients inherently implies the
existence of hydraulic isolation, whether strati-
graphic, structural, or diagenetic, within the basin
fill.
Oil and Gas Migration
Primary migration of petroleum from its site of
generation within organically rich mudrocks into
adjacent permeable units occurs mainly within the
compactional or thermobaric regimes. Pore fluids,
including oil or gas, are most likely to move in the
A B
- Hydrocarbon accumulation
Contour interval = 10 It
,~
,'
\
\ 1
\ \
,I
.
~
-N-
,I
o 20 mi
I I', I " ..
o 20 km ......................
NET "CLEAN" SANDSTONE ISOLITH
sandy sheet. B Porous sandstone is distributed as a series of
elongate, isolated pods forming isolani traps. (Modified from
Brenner 1978)
direction of decreasing pressure. Once in the
permeable conduit, hydrocarbons migrate in re-
sponse to buoyancy and to hydrodynamic flux.
The ultimate distribution of oil and gas fields
reflects the structural and stratigraphic continuity
of framework sand facies. Where the plumbing
is interrupted laterally by facies or structural
discontinuities, lateral migration is limited, but
vertical migration may extend several thousand
feet (Demaison and Huizinga 1991; Morton and
Galloway 1991). In contrast, in structurally simple
intracratonic and passive margin basins character-
ized by stratigraphic continuity of sand bodies,
lateral migration can be extensive. For example,
source rock-oil correlation studies in the Denver
and Williston basins (Dow 1974; Clayton and
Swetland 1980) indicate lateral migration of oil as
much as 100mi (160km) from the thermally ma-
ture basin-center source rocks.

Reservoir Delineation and Characterization
First and foremost, genetic facies interpretation
has been directed toward improving delineation
and prediction of reservoir distribution within
petroliferous basins. Early sand body "models"
were defined to allow recognition of reservoir
origins so that the trend and probable extent of
specific oil- or gas-bearing sands could be extrapo-
lated (Potter 1967; Le Blanc 1972). The applica-
tion of facies analysis to reservoir prediction in
exploration or to reservoir extrapolation in devel-
opment drilling necessitates models that antici-
pate the external geometry of a sand body - its
likelihood of occurrence, trend, lateral extent, or
volume. In many areally extensive fields, external
dimensions of the sand bodies, rather than trap
size, determine the productive limits of the reser-
voirs. In a classic study of the Frio reservoirs (Oli-
gocene) in Seeligson Field, South Texas, Nanz
(1954) described and interpreted the complex dis-
tributary channel geometry of the major reservoir
sand body. In Seeligson Field, reservoir dimen-
sions are are ally delimited by the sand-body ge-
ometries which, in turn, reflect deposition by
upper delta plain distributary channels within a
large, long-lived delta system.
Despite more than 30 years of effort directed at
development and application of sand-body mod-
els, and the newly applied conceptual framework
of sequence stratigraphy, site-specific prediction
of reservoir facies remains a challenging task. One
thesis of this book is that reservoir extrapolation,
like many other applications of facies interpreta-
tion, is best carried out within a depositional sys-
tem framework. Probable dimensions, trends, and
recurrence intervals can then be calibrated for the
system being explored. For example, lateral extent
of delta front sand bodies can vary greatly be-
tween contemporaneous delta systems prograding
into the same basin, depending on the nature of
the source fluvial system and basin physiography.
Models constructed for one delta system may
be poor predictors for another system. However,
within each delta system, trend, lateral extent, and
continuity of delta front sand bodies may be quite
predictable. Facies variability is nonetheless the
rule rather than the exception, and site-specific
facies extrapolation remains at best an interpre-
tive assessment that attempts to accommodate all
available data within the framework of the host
system.
Distribution of Petroleum in Depositional Systems 399
Quantitative facies maps and interpretive
cross sections graphically synthesize data and also
may indicate subtle relationships between reser-
voir geometry and other, perhaps more easily
delineated features such as deeper structure, re-
gional facies patterns, or interval isopach varia-
tion. For example, the location of maximum
expansion along a growth fault may also define a
locus for distributary mouth bar accumulation and
thus guide facies prediction within a delta system.
Qualitative aspects of reservoir development
within each of the major clastic depositional sys-
tems are reviewed in subsequent sections of this
chapter. Delineation of the host system followed
by recognition, description, and calibration of
reservoir facies are keys to facies-directed
exploration.
Distribution of Petroleum
in Depositional Systems
Alluvial Fan Systems
Alluvial fans constitute a proximal, typically sand-
and gravel-rich portion of the drainage network.
Fan systems, particularly perennial stream fans
and braidplains, contain abundant potential reser-
voir facies. The inherent dearth of fine-grained
sealing and potential source facies makes their
overall hydrocarbon productivity dependent on
the nature of surrounding systems. Lateral and
vertical continuity of permeability, combined with
the typical localization of fans near structurally
active margins of the depositional basin, results in
dominance of structural traps. Fan uplap against
basement may provide an alternative trap type.
Fan delta margins, in which coarse, permeable
fan facies interfinger with marine or lacustrine
mudstone or limestone that provide seals, are
particularly favorable sites for hydrocarbon accu-
mulation. Reservoirs display tabular to sheet
geometries (Fig. 15.6). Horizontal stratification
dominates, but units are commonly well con-
nected vertically. Paleosoil horizons or zones of
carbonate, sulfate, or evaporite cementation may
create vertical permeability barriers, but rarely
provide effective seals. Fan and braid delta front
lobes may create broad, tabular reservoir subunits
(Dreyer 1993).
400 Petroleum
Fluvial Systems
As would be expected from the variety of fluvial
depositional styles described in Chap. 4, fluvial
systems constitute diverse hosts for oil and gas. At
one extreme, bed-load systems are reservoir rich
but source and seal poor; conversely, suspended-
load systems may contain only moderate quanti-
ties of reservoir lithologies encased in abundant
mudstone. However, all fluvial systems share sev-
eral common attributes:
1. Principal reservoirs are the channel-fill and bar
sands. Crevasse splay sands are a secondary
reservoir facies.
2. General sand-body trends are parallel to depo-
sitional dip, but considerable local or subre-
gional variation is likely.
3. Reservoir continuity is good to excellent, at
least parallel to the channel. In structurally
simple basins, fluvial channel deposits provide
excellent conduits for regional migration of oil
and gas.
4. Internally, fluvial reservoirs are extremely het-
erogeneous and anisotropic.
5. Backswamp and lacustrine facies of fluvial sys-
tems may contain significant quantities of her-
baceous or woody organic material and thus
provide an internal gas-prone source. How-
ever, fluvial reservoirs most commonly rely on
adjacent systems for oil-prone sources.
Bed-Load Systems
Permeable, framework sand bodies form abun-
dant, well-interconnected reservoirs in bedload
systems (Fig. 15.7 A). Broad sand belts tend to
Fig. 15.6. Three-dimensional geometry, lateral re-
lationships, and internal bedding architecture of
reservoir sand bodies within a braid delta front
(lower) and braidplain (upper) succession. Soil
horizons and precipitation zones of calcrete,
silcrete, or evaporites form potential vertical per-
meability barriers (hatched lines). Arrow shows
direction of river flow
show minimal divergence from regional deposi-
tional dip. Although bed-load channel fills are
internally complex and texturally variable, the
lack of organized stratification or laterally con-
tinuous permeability barriers results in highly pro-
ductive reservoirs that behave homogeneously
to fluid flow at the scale of typical reservoir
development.
Bounding facies are poorly developed. Flood-
plain muds are commonly silty or sandy and dis-
continuous. Thus, potential for well-developed
sealing units or significant internal hydrocarbon
sources is poor. The excellent reservoirs of bed-
load systems are likely to be most prolific where
overlain by sealing facies deposited by another
depositional system. Similarly, source rocks likely
occur as juxtaposed or interbedded facies of an-
other system. The potential for stratigraphic traps
is limited; accumulation is most common in struc-
tural or regional unconformity traps. Several giant
oil fields of the Sirte Basin, Libya, including the
Sarir and more recently discovered MessIah fields,
produce from the updip limit of the Lower Creta-
ceous Sarir bed-load system. The massive, hetero-
geneous fluvial sandstones are up to several
hundreds of feet thick and act as a single inte-
grated reservoir. Where truncated by a low-angle
intra-Cretaceous unconformity, Sarir Group sand-
stone reservoirs are overlain by Upper Cretaceous
marine shale that provides both a seal and prob-
able source rock (Clifford et al. 1980).
Mixed-Load Systems
Increased deposition and preservation of bound-
ing mud facies within mixed-load fluvial systems
 9-
~

5'.
OJ'
so
i::!
o..,
c
~
c:(;
~
3
El"
oco
."
o
~.
o
i::!
eo.
C/l
'<
;!;.
co
~

Fig. 15.7A-C. Three-dimensional geometry, lateral relationships, and internal bedding architecture of reservoir sand bodies within A bed-load, B mixed-load,
~
f--'
and C suspended-load fluvial systems
402 Petroleum
results in greater isolation of the sandy mean-
derbelt sand bodies (Fig. 15.7B). Framework
sands produce well-integrated, dominantly dip-
oriented but sinuous reservoirs. Crevasse splay
deposits form isolated wedges or lobes within
floodplain muds that may, in large fluvial systems,
contain sufficient volume to constitute small but
economic reservoirs. More importantly, splay and
levee deposits together form texturally distinct
"wings" along the reservoir margin that provide
proximity indicators for the main belts of porous
channel fill. Internally, meanderbelt sand bodies
are characterized by well-developed and complex
anisotropy and heterogeneity, particularly in their
upper portion, where hydrocarbons preferentially
accumulate. The systematic upward-fining tex-
tural trend is reflected by upward-decreasing per-
meability. Lateral-accretion bedding introduces
permeability stratification that cuts across the
sand body. The resultant permeability units are
arcuate in plan view. The reservoir may be par-
tially compartmentalized by mud plugs. In addi-
tion, the top of the permeable reservoir lithology
commonly displays buried topography, reflecting
ridge-and-swale and channel plugs.
Potential sealing facies within the system
include levee, floodplain, backswamp, and possi-
bly lacustrine muds. The transitional upper con-
tact with overlying fine-grained units commonly
results in poor definition of the seal and may limit
the total hydrocarbon column because of the
relatively low pore-entry pressures typical of
sandy and silty mudstone. Potential internal
source beds include backswamp and lacustrine
facies. Preservation of organic material depends
primarily on syndepositional groundwater table
elevation.
Mixed-load channel-fill reservoirs commonly
occur in structural, stratigraphic, and combination
traps. A classic production style consists of a
meanderbelt that trends along structural strike.
The series of convex point bar scallops, which are
bounded up dip by mud plugs (Fig. 15.7B), provide
a linear succession of pinchout traps (Fig. 15.4)
that may contain reserves of several tens of million
barrels.
The Cretaceous Woodbine Formation, a major
producing unit of the East Texas Basin, contains
several large structural and stratigraphic fields
that produce from mixed-load fluvial meanderbelt
facies of its component fluvial system (Oliver
1971; Galloway et al. 1983).
Suspended-Load Systems
Greater preservation of muddy facies and conse-
quent isolation of permeable channel-fill facies
make suspended-load systems ideal targets for
stratigraphic trap exploration (Fig. 15.4). Isolated
meanderbelt or anastomosed "shoestring" sand
bodies commonly display great variation in trend
relative to both paleoslope and structural dip (Fig.
15.7C). Mud plugs may create traps where they cut
across channel fill or meanderbelt sands. Al-
though individual traps are typically small, rarely
containing more than a few tens of millions of
barrels of oil or gas equivalent (boe) of producible
hydrocarbons, they may be abundant. Conversely,
channel-fill and associated crevasse-splay reser-
voirs pose great difficulty in exploitation of large,
structurally defined fields because of their limited
dimensions, variable orientation, and erratic
isolation.
Both lateral accretion or symmetric bedding
produce crosscutting permeability stratification
(Fig. 15.7C). The upward-fining textural trend is
reflected in upward-decreasing reservoir quality.
Channel plugs, which are typically muddy,
further compartmentalize the reservoir and, as in
mixed-load channels, may play a major role in
defining the trap. Topography on the top of a per-
meable, hydrocarbon-saturated sand may exhibit
substantial relief, which is usually accentuated by
differential compaction and draping. Because sus-
pended-load systems are commonly present in the
topographically lowest parts of the depositional
basin near hydrologic base level, surrounding
floodbasin deposits can preserve abundant plant
debris. Backswamp coal or lignite beds are com-
mon in suspended-load systems, providing signi-
ficant source rock potential. Where volumetrically
important, associated interchannel lacustrine
muds also provide a source for modest amounts of
oil. However, mudstone facies of adjacent marine
or lacustrine systems are more likely sources for
large volumes of oil.
Although geometry and dimensions of fluvial
reservoirs primarily reflect the channel type, the
accumulation rate, which is controlled by relative
base level rise, also plays a role (Chap. 4). Rapid
accumulation creates vertically stacked channel
fills that are isolated within thick sections of
floodplain mud. Where accumulation rate is
low, lateral amalgamation of channel fills facies
encourages preservation of sheetlike or broadly

tabular reservoirs. Fall of base level leads to valley
incision. Subsequent valley filling tends to create
complex reservoirs consisting of mUltiple superim-
posed channel belts (Bowen et al. 1993; Fig. 15.8).
Marine flooding of the valley may rework and
deposit estuarine channel and bar deposits at the
top of the valley fill. Valley fills create isolated,
highly elongate hydrocarbon plays characterized
by multiple stratigraphic traps.
Delta Systems
Like fluvial systems, the diversity of deltaic depo-
sitional styles leads, in turn, to great diversity in
producing styles. Nonetheless, several important
generalizations are possible:
1. Delta systems are among the most productive
of depositional systems (Fisher et al. 1969;
Barker 1979; Wescott 1992). Large delta sys-
tems, such as the Mississippi, Niger, Mahakam,
Mackenzie, and Orinoco, are volumetrically
large assemblages of juxtaposed reservoir, seal-
ing, and source facies.
2. Two major reservoir facies are represented in
all three types of delta systems. Distributary
channels form a branching network of irre-
gularly dip-oriented, discontinuous reservoirs.
Delta front sands provide more extensive, com-
monly finer-grained, but better sorted reservoir
facies concentrated along the basinward mar-
gin of delta systems.
3. Source facies are typically of low to moderate
quality and contain largely type-III kerogen
Fig. 15.8. Three-dimensional geometry, lateral re-
lationships, and internal bedding architecture of a
transgressed alluvial valley-fill reservoir complex.
Estuary fill caps the succession. Arrow shows di-
rection of river flow
Distribution of Petroleum in Depositional Systems 403
(Fig. 15.1). Consequently, internal sourcing of
delta systems leads to gas-prone production
(Barker 1979). However, tropical Tertiary del-
tas such as the Mahakam system generate much
oil as well. Source-rock quality is primarily a
function of rapid depositional rates and the
abundance of allochthonous herbaceous or-
ganic matter in the prodelta environment.
4. Syndepositional structural traps are common to
all types of delta systems (Fig. 15.4). Their eco-
nomic importance is determined by the scale of
the deltaic progradational wedge. For example,
many late-Tertiary deltaic basins are character-
ized by thousands of feet of progradational
sediment containing growth fault- or diapir-
related traps. Similar features within smaller
delta systems may segment reservoirs within
larger structural traps.
Fluvial-Dominated Delta Systems
Perhaps because of the popularity of the well-
known Mississippi delta model, interpretations
and descriptions of fluvial-dominated deltaic res-
ervoirs are legion. Distributary channel, chan-
nel-mouth bar, and delta front sand bodies are
the principal reservoir facies in productive units
ranging in age from early Paleozoic through
Pleistocene.
As suggested in Fig. 15.9A, reservoir sand bod-
ies of the lower deltaic plain are typically multilat-
eral, branching, isolated, irregularly oriented, and
lenticular in cross section, providing multiple op-
portunities for pinchout and facies traps. Inter-
distributary crevasse splays are a volumetrically
minor but potentially important reservoir facies,
 ~

~
[
CD

Fig. lS.9A-C. Three-dimensional geometry, lateral relationships, and internal bedding architecture of reservoir sand bodies within A fluvial-, B wave-, and C tide-
dominated delta systems

which are likely to be partially or completely iso-
lated from adjacent sand bodies by pinchout or
facies change. In large deltas, a single splay can
contain as much as several million barrels of oil. In
addition, thin local destructional bars constitute
minor, but commonly highly productive isolani
reservoirs. Landward, the upper delta plain facies
assemblage contains primarily channel-fill reser-
voirs, commonly of the suspended-load type (Fig.
15.7C).
Both organically rich delta plain muds and
carbonaceous prodelta deposits surround and
interfinger with potential reservoir sand facies.
The strong fluvial overprint inherent in this vari-
ety of deltaic system favors the dominance of land-
derived, herbaceous, gas-prone organic matter.
Local or regional destructional, transgressive
shales provide seals. Many authors have noted the
preferred association of oil and gas with distal and
uppermost portions of deltaic depositional epi-
sodes (e.g., Fig. 7 in White 1980). In both situa-
tions, deltaic reservoirs are typically capped by
destructional transgressive mud deposits, provid-
ing an effective seal.
As suggested in Fig. 15.9A, delta-fringe reser-
voirs generally consist of nested channel-fill and
mouth bar or delta front sand units. Each sand
facies has distinctly different reservoir properties
and geometry of permeability stratification, which
may be accentuated by subsequent burial and
diagenesis. In some deltaic systems, the coarser
channel-fill sand facies alone may retain adequate
permeability to produce hydrocarbons. Conver-
sely, in a different diagenetic system, the better-
sorted mouth bar sands may provide the only
reservoirs, whereas the associated channel fills are
tight and nonproductive.
Wave-Dominated Delta Systems
With increasing wave reworking, the isolated
channel-mouth bars coalesce, forming laterally
extensive, interconnected beach ridge and coastal
barrier sand bodies (Fig. 15.9B). The abundance
of highly transmissive, well-sorted, strike-oriented
delta fringe and interlaced dip-oriented distri-
butary and fluvial channel sand bodies make
wave-dominated deltas optimum prospects for
high-quality reservoirs. Conversely, the high de-
gree of sand-body interconnection and general
funnel-like sand distribution, which collects into
the axial fluvial system updip (Fig. 2.7), limits op-
portunities for stratigraphic entrapment. Struc-
Distribution of Petroleum in Depositional Systems 405
tural traps, including growth faults and diapirs,
dominate production.
Marine domination results in slower sedimen-
tation rates on the prodelta and adjacent shelf and
slope environments. A greater proportion of
marine organic material can therefore be incor-
porated in, and adjacent to, these facies. This,
combined with greater opportunity for bacterial
alteration of river-derived herbaceous debris, fa-
vors development of mixed type-II and -III source
rocks. As with fluvial-dominated delta systems,
highly prolific oil production likely necessitates
hydrocarbon sourcing from adjacent systems,
whereas gas-rich, light paraffinic oils can be gener-
ated internally. Examples of important produc-
tive wave-dominated delta systems include plays
within the Frio Formation (discussed below) and
the Neogene Niger Delta system (Weber 1971;
Evamy et al. 1978; Doust and Omatsola 1990).
Tide-Dominated Systems
Productive characteristics of tide-dominated delta
systems are less well documented than those of
other delta types. However, their characteristics as
hydrocarbon hosts can be reasonably inferred.
Potential source facies include prodelta muds
(gas plus oil) and delta plain marsh organics (gas).
Although reservoirs are the product of extensive
marine reworking, they are likely to be complex,
lenticular, and discontinuous in all but the most
sand-rich systems. Potential reservoir facies in-
clude: (a) large, basinward flaring distributary
channel fills and associated delta plain splays and
(b) coalescent to isolated tidal flat/shoreface and
tidal current sand ridges of the delta front (Fig.
15.9C). Estuarine distributaries and tidal bars
exhibit dip orientation and complex internal
compartmentalization. Potential for stratigraphic
entrapment by sand body pinchout and facies
change is very high in mud-rich macrotidal delta
systems. Deposition and preservation of mud
beds, drapes, and lenses within tidally influenced
channel and bar sands creates complex permeabil-
ity stratification and heterogeneity (Fig. 15.9C).
The Neogene Mahakam delta system (Kali-
mantan) reflects persistence through geologic
time of the modern tide-dominated deltaic deposi-
tional system (Magnier et al. 1975; Tissot and
Welte 1984, Chap. V.5). Hydrocarbon traps are
dominantly anticlines associated with gravity slid-
ing. Reservoir geometries are complex. Deeply
buried distal prodelta and slope muds contain sub-
406 Petroleum
stantial degraded herbaceous organic matter and
are the likely source of the gas-rich paraffinic
crudes produced at large fields such as Attaka and
Handil. A noteworthy feature of the Mahakam is
the juxtaposition of carbonate reef and prodelta
shelf muds in both the Holocene and late Tertiary
delta systems.
In summary, the various types of delta systems
exhibit quite different pictures of reservoir conti-
nuity and trend, which can be summarized on the
delta classification triangle (Fig. 15.10). The along-
shore transition from delta to shore-zone systems
occurs as fluvial influence becomes insignificant
and tide or wave processes dominate framework
sand body geometry. Shore-zone systems thus re-
flect a spectrum that can be placed at the base of
the triangle (Fig. 15.10). In the absence of distribu-
tary reservoirs, shore-zone systems present a spec-
trum of reservoirs that range from strongly strike
to mixed in orientation and from highly sheetlike
to discontinuous and lenticular.
Shore-Zone Systems
Basin-margin depositional systems typically con-
tain a mix of shallow-water marine or marine-
SEDIMENT SUPPLY
Reservoi r trend
DELTA
SYSTEMS
Tide dominated
~
=
~ SHORE-ZONE
Strandplain
SYSTEMS
~
WAVE ENERGY
FLUX
Fig. 15.10. Expanded coastal depositional system classification triangle showing overall relationships between delta and shore-
zone system types and reservoir facies trend and lateral continuity
influenced mud facies interbedded with potential
reservoir sand bodies. However, sand content can
range from as little as a few percent to nearly
100%. Sealing capacity within shore-zone systems
is naturally inversely rated to sand content. Be-
cause sand bodies deposited along the shoreline
inherently form a belt that parallels depositional
strike, up dip pinchout or facies change is inherent
in most shore-zone systems. Thus, with the excep-
tion of sand-rich strandplains fronting sandy
coastal plains or alluvial fan aprons, all have a high
potential for development of lithological traps,
both on the system scale and on the individual
reservoir scale (Fig. 15.4). Shifting of the shoreline
creates numerous parasequences composed of
shoreface and strandline sands and capped by
transgressive shelf mud seals. In sand-poor sys-
tems, accumulation of bed-load sediment in dis-
connected bars produces isolani traps. Prolonged
reworking characteristic of the shore zone pro-
duces texturally mature sand which initially
possesses optimum reservoir quality. However,
porosity and permeability may be degraded by
burrowing or by pervasive calcite cement pro-
duced by leaching and reprecipitation of con-
tained shell material. Marine-shelf shales can be
interbedded with, underlie, or cap virtually all of
Reservoir continuity
Macrotidal
TIDAL ENERGY
FLUX

the sand-body types and provide direct access to
oil-prone source rocks.
Several common shore-zone facies associations
host hydrocarbon plays.
Transgressive Barrier/Lagoon Sand Bodies
Transgressive barrier and beach-ridge sand bodies
tend to occur as isolated, narrow, strike-parallel
stringers (Fig. 1S.l1A) and are ideal targets for
lithological trap exploration. Sand accumulation
tends to be localized at paleotopographic nick
points or structural hinge lines and discontinuities.
Transgressive reworking concentrates the coarsest
material available; the resultant large pore throats
make such units permeability "survivors," pro-
vided shell debris or mechanically unstable clasts
are minor constituents. The greatest sand volume
is found in beach, washover, tidal inlet, and flood-
tidal delta facies. Linear, strike-elongate sand
bodies are capped and sealed by marine mud-
stone. Hydrocarbons are trapped by abrupt updip
pinchout of the sands; isolani traps are also com-
mon. Preferential preservation of inlet fill may
create local, dip-oriented sand thicks along the
transgressive barrier shoestring; these inlet-fill fa-
cies may also remain as isolated pods encased in
bay or lagoon mudstone and sealed by shelf facies
(Tye and Moslow 1993).
Sand-Rich Strandplain Sand Bodies
Progradational, sand-rich strandplain sands form
excellent, widespread reservoir facies (Fig.
1S.l1B) in which structural traps dominate. Op-
portunities for lithological entrapment are limited
to regional up dip and downdip pinchout into
coastal plain or shelf muds; however, resultant
stratigraphic fields may contain large reserves.
Best reservoir properties occur at the top of the
sand sheet in upper shoreface and beach deposits.
Progradational bedding is likely to occur in the
lower shoreface sequence and might influence
productivity in completely saturated reservoirs.
Frio strandplain reservoirs of Bay City/Markham
field (Texas coastal plain) were well documented
by Tyler and Ambrose (1986).
Progradational Barrier-Bar Sand Bodies
The presence of a protected lagoon, which is in-
herent in barrier-bar formation, effectively iso-
lates sandy bar facies in the landward direction
and introduces internal facies complexities not
Distribution of Petroleum in Depositional Systems 407
present in the simple strandplain. Tidal inlets
produce dip-oriented bulges and isolated thicks
within the generally strike-parallel reservoir unit.
Successive bodies are offset in the down drift
direction. The resultant genetic sand body is a
strike-elongated lens or belt encased in mud and
exhibiting a relatively straight basinward margin,
thin, highly irregular landward aprons of tidal
delta, tidal channel, and wash over sands (Fig.
1S.l1C). With continued basinward tilting and
accentuation of original depositional slope, the
irregular pinchout of back-barrier facies into la-
goonal mudstone defines a succession of potential
stratigraphic traps that together constitute elon-
gate, strike-parallel plays. Thus, while providing
numerous built-in lithological traps, barrier/
lagoon systems tend to store the oil and gas in
thin, highly interbedded, and compartmentalized
landward facies of the reservoir unit. The Jackson
and Yegua (Eocene) Groups of the South Texas
coastal plain illustrate the producing style typical
of barrier/lagoon system plays characterized by
stratigraphic and combination traps (Fisher et al.
1970; Galloway et al. 1983). Vertical stacking of
barrier sand bodies may produce massive, highly
productive reservoirs such as in the "Frio bar"
play (middle Texas coastal plain). Here, well-
sorted, strike-trending, sand bodies created a
system-scale lithological trap in which prolific
multiplay oil and gas fields are localized by struc-
ture (Galloway et al. 1982b; Galloway 1986b).
Progradational Macrotidal Sand Bodies
Sandy macrotidal shore-zone deposits include
nested estuary channel fills and associated sub-
aqueous sand bars and tongues. The resultant
sand body is a regionally strike-elongate, irregular
to discontinuous belt traversed by multiple land-
ward-extending tongues that grade into narrow
sand, silt, and mud-filled channels (Fig. 1S.11D).
The estuary fills form large funnels that open
basinward into the more continuous interbedded
marine muds and subaqueous bar sands and
pinchout landward into muddy, impermeable
marsh, tidal flat, and tidal gully sediments. In con-
trast to tide-dominated deltas, where estuarine
sands grade into distributary channel sands (Fig.
1S.9C), blind estuaries of tide-dominated shore
zones make ideal stratigraphic traps in structurally
simple basins. As in barrier systems, multiple
stratigraphic traps likely occur in elongate, strike-
parallel fairways.
 ~
00
----------
AA

"tl
~ ~ 2
SLO,PE
a(i"
S

Fig. 15.11A-D. Three-dimensional geometry, lateral relationships, and internal bedding architecture of typical reservoir sand bodies of shore-zone systems. A Transgressive
barrier bar. B Progradational, sand-rich strandplain. C Barrier bar and inlet complex. D Estuary and subtidal sandftat complex

Tidally dominated shore-zone sand bodies are
internally complex, highly compartmentalized,
and transected by mud and silt drapes (Fig.
15.11D). Permeability stratification is likely to be
greatest in the mud-rich upper reaches of the inlet
fills. Despite their probable abundance in the
stratigraphic record, reservoirs in macrotidal
shore-zone depositional systems have not been
well described in the literature.
Transgressive Tidal Sand Bodies
Incised alluvial valleys and broad geomorphic or
structural depressions enhance tidal transport
and deposition of sediment during transgressive
flooding of the coastal plain. Reworking of coastal
plain deposits provides sand that may partially
plug the estuary mouth or be reworked into the
estuary as tidal bars or channel fill. Sand facies are
isolated within the drowned valley and commonly
grade up dip into the muddy inner estuary fill (Fig.
15.8). Lithological traps, interspersed along the
drowned valley, dominate transgressive estuary
fills, creating a unique dip-oriented play that may
produce partly or dominantly from shore-zone fa-
Fig. 15.12A,B. Three-dimensional geometry,
lateral relationships, and internal bedding archi-
tecture of reservoir sand bodies within A
progradational storm-dominated and B trans-
gressive mixed-energy shelf systems
Distribution of Petroleum in Depositional Systems 409
cies (Rennie 1987; Clement 1991; Wood and
Hopkins 1992).
Shelf Systems
Reservoir sand bodies deposited in shelf systems,
though a volumetrically minor component of most
basin fills, can contain significant reserves of
oil and gas. Numerous sandstones of the North
American Cretaceous seaway, including the Sus-
sex, Shannon, and Cardium, provide excellent
three-dimensional examples of shelf-sand reser-
voir plays.
Reservoir geometry differs markedly in trans-
gressive versus progradational shelf systems.
Progradational shelf reservoirs occur as wide-
spread sheets or aprons (Fig. 15.12A) that lie sea-
ward or alongstrike from shoreface sand units.
Sheets may thicken into broad shoals or elongate
bars composed of amalgamated storm beds and
cross-laminated sand. Grain size is usually fine to
very fine and gradational both laterally and ver-
tically. Stratification may be prominent and is
generally horizontal (Fig. 15.12A), although low-
410 Petroleum
angle scours may cut across the bedding. Trans-
gressive shelf reservoirs tend to be porous and
permeable lenses or thicks that occur in isolation
or within a regionally developed, irregular sandy
sheet composed of interlaminated or poorly
sorted sand and mud (Fig. 15.12B). Individual
sand bodies occur in swarms and display strong
preferred orientation, usually parallel or oblique
to the adjacent shore line. Vertical textural se-
quences and, consequently, permeability trends
include upward-coarsening and -fining patterns;
alternatively, grain size is relatively consistent. As
suggested in Fig. 15.12B, internal accretionary
bedding and amalgamation of subsequent genera-
tions of subaqueous bars may introduce consider-
able permeability stratification within the sand
body. Reservoir quality may be further degraded
by chemical or mechanical decomposition of un-
stable constituents such as shell debris, glauconite,
or mud pellets.
Associated shelf mudrocks provide ample res-
ervoir seals and may also contain significant type-
II kerogen. Shallow, open, current-swept shelves
that deposit sand, however, are unlikely sites of
anoxia and optimum organic matter preservation.
An exception may sometimes occur on transgres-
sive shelves, where deep, stratified conditions may
superimpose organically rich muds on transgres-
sive shelf facies.
In the Powder River Basin, overpressured hy-
drocarbons occur in several thin, but highly pro-
lific, bar-like isolani traps within the transgressive
Sussex shelf system (Brenner 1978; Hobson et al.
1982; Fig. 15.5). Surrounding sediments form a
broad, irregular, impermeable sandy sheet con-
taining abundant dispersed and laminated mud.
Extensive, thinly bedded, progradational shelf
sand sheets form strike-trending plumes that host
a significant lower Miocene gas play beneath the
modern South Texas continental shelf (Morton et
al. 1988). Shelf storm beds and current-reworked
shelf shoals deposited within a progradational
shelf system constitute a reservoir facies in the
upper Miocene Miri Formation in Seria field,
Brunei (Atkinson et al. 1986).
Marine Slope and Base-or-Slope Systems
Slope systems are highly productive (Weimer
and Link 1991). Lithological traps are especially
prominent because gravity transport processes
that dominate the slope bypass coarser sediment
downslope, creating updip pinchout and lapout of
sand facies that are encased within muddy turbid-
ite, debris flow, and hemipelagic seals (Fig. 15.4).
Mud-filled canyons incised into reservoir facies of
older slope or other depositional systems create
cut-and-fill traps.
Marine slope and basin sand bodies include
at least five well-described, productive reservoir
configurations:
1. The sandy turbidite channel-lobe association is
typical of both slope aprons and submarine
fans. Channel fills are lenticular, commonly
multistory, and generally oriented down depo-
sitional slope (Fig. 15.13A). Isolated, distribu-
tary, and anastomosing multichannel patterns
are observed. Turbidite lobe deposits form lo-
bate to irregular sheets and occur as well-bed-
ded packets (Fig. 15.13A). Channel fills extend
across, and are nested in, the lobe units. Bed-
ding is prominent and dominantly horizontal;
external geometry of individual lobes may
be molded by irregularities in the basin-floor
bathymetry. Well-described examples include
the Miocene Webster zone of Midway-Sunset
Field, California (Hall and Link 1990) and
Pleistocene reservoirs of the deep Gulf of
Mexico (Armentrout et al. 1991).
2. Turbidite channel complexes in sand-rich
aprons and fans produce broad, sheetlike or
tabular reservoir units with a very high width
to thickness ratio (Fig. 15.13B) composed of
amalgamated fills. Internal bedding is complex
and stratified, but sandy turbidites dominate.
Because the sand unit is relatively widespread,
combination or structural traps are commonly
involved. The Paleocene Andrew and Forties
sandstones of the North Sea Basin are excellent
examples of amalgamated sandy channel com-
plexes, although they have commonly been in-
terpreted in the context of fan channel and lobe
models (Kulpecz and van Geuns 1990).
3. Incised turbite channels, commonly found in
upper to middle slope settings, create relatively
narrow targets, bounded abruptly by muddy
facies (Fig. 15.13C). Reservoirs are lenticular
and elongate shoestrings to belts with low
width to thickness ratios. Differential compac-
tion further accentuates lenticularity of the res-
ervoir. Channel fills may be nested, creating
thick units containing more than 100 m of sand.
Internal architecture reflects channel stacking,
and discontinuous reservoir members, or flow
 o
~.

C....-rl- - - - - - - - - _ -_
o ::J.
0-
!::
g.
:::
o...,
"0
a ~
'"1
o
(D
!::
S
S
o
(1)
'0
o
~.
g.
:::
eo.
Vl
'<
(b
'"
S
'"
Fig. 15.13A-D. Three-dimensional geometry, lateral relationships, and internal bedding architecture of reservoir sand bodies of terrigenous slope and basin systems. A
Turbidite channel-lobe complexes of a radial fan and an isolated slump lobe. B Coarse-grained, erosional turbidite channel fill. CFine-grained, erosional turbidite channel -I'-
.....
>-'
fill. D Fine-grained turbidite channel-lobe complex
412 Petroleum
units, are common. In onlapping stratigraphic
settings, where submarine canyons are com-
mon, canyon fill may consist of abundant mud
with individual sand bodies exhibiting up-
channel onlap and pinchout (Fig. 15.13C). The
highly prolific sandstones of the erosionally
based Hackberry Embayment (Oligocene,
Louisiana) illustrate both the depositional and
producing styles of sandy onlapping gorge fills
within a regionally progradational, salt-floored
continental slope (Paine 1971). The North
Sea Eocene Alba reservoir sand (Newton
and Flanagan 1993) is an excellent example of
a dip-elongate, narrow (1-2km), incised tur-
bidite channel reservoir.
4. Leveed mixed-load turbidite channels of the
lower slope and basin floor form a second
group of elongate, dip-oriented, lenticular sand
belts (Fig. 15.13D). Abundance of mud seals,
differential compaction, and reservoir sinuosity
all enhance lithological trap potential. Associ-
ated sandy levee, splay, sheet-lobe, and sheet
turbidites are secondary reservoir facies. Chan-
nels commonly stack, often with lateral offset,
or may interweave and crosscut. Complex,
often discontinuous reservoir flow units or
compartments result. Examples include the
Neogene reservoirs of the offshore Gulf of
Mexico, such as Mars and Green Canyon Fields
(Holman and Robertson 1994; Mahaffie 1994),
Permian Spraberry sands to the Midland Basin
(Tyler and Gholston 1988), and the Yowlumne
sand reservoir of Y owlumne field, San Joaquin
Basin, California (Berg and Royo 1990).
5. Large slump and debris flow units, if sandy, can
provide sufficient volume to form discrete, iso-
lated, lithologically trapped hydrocarbon accu-
mulations (Fig. 15.13A). Reservoir sand bodies
display abrupt, unpredictable margins, irregu-
lar geometry, and complex topography. Inter-
nally, they are heterogeneous; bedding may be
nearly vertical locally, and crosscutting frac-
tures or slip planes further disrupt continuity.
The highly mounded, lobate, faulted, and dis-
continuous reservoir sands in Balder and
Gryphon fields of the North Sea (though com-
monly interpreted as "fans") display abundant
slump features (Jenssen et al. 1993).
Contourite deposits have been suggested as a
secondary reservoir facies in several Tertiary
fields in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Out-
crop features suggest that the reservoir facies of
the Mount Messanger Formation, Taranaki Basin,
New Zealand, are part of a contourite drift system
(Jordan et al. 1994).
Because bed-load sediment in slope and basin
systems is transported by gravity-induced un-
derflow of a dense water mass, transport paths
avoid contemporaneous bathymetric highs. Ac-
tively rising structures, such as salt stocks or fault
blocks, receive little if any sand across their crestal
highs. Consequently, pinchout, lapout, or thinning
of slope reservoirs over or against structures is
commonly observed and may result in a domi-
nance of off-structure production and develop-
ment of stacked stratigraphic traps (MacPherson
1978). Additional potential for stratigraphic en-
trapment exists in structurally simple basins where
inherent upslope pinchout typical of all types of
turbidite channel sand bodies (Fig. 15.13) is pre-
served in the regional dip. The base of the deposi-
tional slope also provides a likely site for updip
wedgeout of basinal fan and channel deposits. On
a larger scale, geometry and trend of slope depos-
its must be recognized as extremely sensitive to
basin configuration. In tectonically active basins,
simple fan morphologies may be highly skewed
(Hsu 1977). Axial transport in elongate subduc-
tion-related and rift basins is an extreme but com-
mon manifestation of the gravity-redeposition
process.
Submarine slope and basin reservoirs are al-
most uniformly characterized by comparatively
low recovery efficiencies. Turbidity-current trans-
port mechanisms are, by their nature, rich in sus-
pended load, and a small but consequential fine
fraction is typically deposited with the bed load.
Nonturbid density or geostrophic current depos-
its, though clean and well sorted, are typically
extremely fine grained. Their already low perme-
ability is readily subject to further reduction by
diagenesis. Although capable of transporting large
volumes of sand onto the slope or basin floor,
slumping and other forms of mass transport churn
and mix sediment indiscriminately, severely de-
grading original reservoir quality. Production effi-
ciency is further decreased by the complex
internal structure and intricate bedding of the tex-
turally heterogeneous channel-fill and suprafan
sand bodies.
Slope and basin reservoirs are likely to be inti-
mately interbedded with oil-prone source facies.
Where traps are available and the deep basin fill
remains un breached by erosional unroofing,
slope-fan reservoirs may be charged with tremen-
 Example: Intracratonic Basin Depositional Systems and Hydrocarbon Occurrence
dous volumes of oil. For example, Yerkes et al.
(1965) estimated that the late Tertiary submarine
fan systems of the Los Angeles Basin contain
about one third of all the oil that was generated
in the surrounding 380mi2 (985km2) of thermally
mature basinal mudstones, which average 3.3%
TOe. In a single, large complex of stratigraphic
traps covering nearly 800miZ (2000km2), the Per-
mian Spraberry Sandstone of the Midland Basin
contains more than 10.6 billion barrels of oil.
However, because of the very low permeability
and complex facies architecture of the fine sand
arid siltstone channel-levee system, less then 10%
of the in-place oil is projected to be recovered
(Galloway et al. 1983; Tyler and Gholston 1988).
Source rocks are the surrounding, organically rich
basinal mudstones (Dutton 1980b).
Eolian Systems
Eolian systems produce extensive blanket reser-
voir sand bodies with excellent and relatively
uniform primary porosity and permeability
(Fryberger et al. 1990). Low-energy transgression
and burial may preserve dune topography, pro-
ducing paleotopographic traps (Vincelette and
Chittum 1981; Fryberger 1984). System-scale fa-
cies change or evaporite or carbonate cements
also provide regional potential for lithological
entrapment of hydrocarbon. Large-scale cross-
bed sets of the dune facies are most produc-
tive (Lindquist 1988; Glennie and Provan 1990;
Goggin et al. 1992). Local interdune wadi or
sabkha deposits are likely to be poorly sorted and
contain fine-grained material or chemical ce-
ments, further restricting permeability and leading
to a generally horizontal permeability stratifica-
tion. First-order bounding surfaces and super
surfaces are associated with reduced reservoir
quality.
Eolian systems must rely primarily on bound-
ing systems for both seal and source facies. The
Permian Rotliegende Sandstone of Europe illus-
trates the associations that can lead to large-
scale hydrocarbon accumulation in eolian systems
(Lutz et al. 1975; Glennie 1972; Glennie and
Provan 1990). Upper Carboniferous coals that
underlie the dune and wadi reservoir facies of the
Rotliegende eolian system provided a source for
the giant reserves of methane-rich gas. Overlying
evaporites of the Zechstein effectively seal the
Rotliegende reservoirs. Traps are structural. The
413
productive area is limited in part by northward
gradation of dune deposits into fine-grained im-
permeable sabkha facies.
Lacustrine Systems
Large lacustrine basins constitute major petro-
leum provinces. Fan delta, delta, shore-zone,
and slope systems provide. reservoir facies that
are analogous to their marine counterparts.
Interbedded evaporite and carbonate units may
also provide seals. Perhaps the most significant
aspect of lacustrine systems, however, is the po-
tential for development of extremely rich source-
rock mudstone facies (Fig. 15.1).
The Uinta Basin of the western United States
was partly filled with highly petroliferous facies of
the Eocene Green River lacustrine system. Along
the lake margin, shore-zone and deltaic sands and
carbonate grainstones yield paraffinic crude at
Red Wash field, a major stratigraphic trap resulting
from pinchout of reservoir facies into lake basin
mudstone (Ryder 1980). The deep, structural ba-
sin center contains the giant Altamont-Bluebell
trend, a complex of thin, widespread lake-margin
sand and siltstone reservoirs, which pinchout up
structural dip into organically rich lacustrine mud-
stones (Lucas and Drexler 1976). The prolific ex-
tensional basins of eastern China such as Songliao
and Bohai Bay contain a spectrum of lacustrine
depositional systems (Hu et al. 1988; Xue and
Galloway 1993).
Example: Intracratonic Basin
Depositional Systems
and Hydrocarbon Occurrence
A network of simple to composite intracratonic
basins developed throughout the Mid-Continent
of the United States during late Paleozoic time.
The extensive occurrence of oil and gas and ex-
tremely dense drilling within these structurally
simple basins provides an unusual opportunity to
examine the interrelationships between genetic
facies and hydrocarbon productivity.
Three generalized tectonic-environmental as-
semblages may be recognized within the Mid-
Continent basins (Galloway and Dutton 1979):
414 Petroleum
1. Shallow seas marginal to block-faulted and up-
lifted basement highlands (Fig. 15.14A). Block-
faulted uplands are most common.
2. Extremely shallow, stable platforms and in-
tracratonic sags (Fig. 15.14B). Average water
depths varied from several feet to a few tens of
feet, although the shallow basins commonly
covered hundreds to thousands of square miles.
Platforms and shallow sags were particular sus-
ceptible to glacioeustatic sea-level fluctuations
that characterized the late Paleozoic. Included
are all of the simple intracrationic basins such
as the Illinois Basin, as well as broad, shallow
shelves adjoining the deeper, moderately sub-
siding Midland, Palo Duro, and Anadarko
basins.
3. Deep-water cratonic seas (Fig. 15.12C). Water
depths ranged from a few feet to several hun-
dred feet and tended to increase over time as a
result of sediment starvation in subsiding basin
centers. Deposition in the deep basin center
was most active during glacioeustatic fall and
lowstand.
Fig. lS.14A-C. Principal producing reservoir facies of
intracratonic basin depositional systems. A Cratonic basin
marginal to block-faulted upland. Reservoirs include braided
channel fill (a), braidplain sheet (b), and reworked fan- and
braid-delta margin sand bodies (c). B Shallow, stable platform
or basin. Incised fluvial channel fill and point bar units (d),
distributary channel fills (e), and deeply eroded estuarine val-
Tectonic-Environmental Assemblages
and Their Reservoir Facies
In basins where faulted uplands bordered a cra-
tonic sea, deposition was strongly influenced by
tectonic activity. Multiple, short-headed streams
produced numerous coarse-grained alluvial fan
and fan delta systems around the periphery of the
uplands. These fan deltas are recognized as lobate
to digitate sand thicks on regional sand isopach
maps (Fig. 3.16). Sand facies deposited in main
braided channels, as braidplains, and on the sub-
aerial delta plain and subaqueous fan margin
constitute major reservoir facies of the fan sys-
tems (Table 15.1). Reworked delta fringe and
destructional sand bars are additional potential
reservoir facies in some fan delta systems (Sneider
et al. 1977). Reservoir facies interfinger over short
distances laterally and vertically with marine
shale, mudstone, and impure limestone which may
provide seal and source units. Adjacent interfan
and profan shelf facies commonly include open-
marine limestones (Dutton 1980a, 1982).
ley fills are principal reservoirs (f). C Deep-water basin with
defined shelf-slope break. In addition to fluvial and distribu-
tary channel-fill reservoirs, delta front and channel-mouth bar
facies (g), turbidite channel fills (h) and lobes (i) all provide
potential reservoirs. (Modified from Galloway and Dutton
1979)
 Example: Intracratonic Basin Depositional Systems and Hydrocarbon Occurrence 415

Table 15.1. Characteristics of principal reservoir facies of intracratonic basins

Thickness (ft) Alongstrike Geometry Common trap types

width (ft)

Proximal upland Settings

Main braided channels 10-20 (may be stacked) 10'_10 4 Belt Structural, lapout
Braidplain 20-100 (may be stacked) 10 4-105 Sheet Structural, lapout
Fan delta margin 10-50 103 _10 4 Sheet, prism, lens Structural
Shallow shelf platform settings
Fluvial channel fill 20-60 10 3_10 4 Belt Stratigraphic, structural
Distributary channel 10-50 10'-103 Anastomosing to Stratigraphic,
distributing dendroid intraformational drape
Valley fill 30-300 103-105 Belt Stratigraphic,
unconformity
Cratonic basin settings
Fluvial, distributary, and 20-60 10 3_10 4 Belt Stratigraphic, structural
valley fill reservoirs 10-50 10'_10 3 Anastomosing to Stratigraphic,
distributing dendroid intraformational drape
30-300 10 3-10 5 Belt Stratigraphic,
unconformity
Channel-mouth bar 20-150 10 3-104 Digitate Structural, stratigraphic
Delta front 20-150 10 3_105 Lobate to ameboid Stratigraphic, structural
Turbidite channel fill 10-50 10'_103 Dendroid, ribbon Stratigraphic
Turbidite lobe Amalgamated to 100 10 3-105 Ameboid to irregular Stratigraphic, lapout,
lobate structural

Modified from Galloway and Dutton (1979) and Brown et al. (1990).

A 0 VALLEY FILL
0 20m; N

~
I
I I
0

Fig. 15.15A-D. Incised valley fill reservoirs of the Red Fork
play, Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma. A Regional paleogeogra-
phy of the Upper Red Fork valley and shelf-edge delta system.
B Individual fields of the Red Fork valley-fill play. C Mapped
segment of the Red Fork valley fill showing areal distribution
of the upper (U), middle (M), and lower (L) valley fill sand-
stone units. Sand isopach values of the highly productive upper
valley fill are also shown. D Stratigraphic cross-section and
type well for the Red Fork valley. Lower and middle units are
fluvial valley fill complexes; upper unit consists of estuarine
sand- and mudstone. (Modified from Clement 1991)
416 Petroleum

In the extremely shallow water of broad, stable
shelf platforms or within shallow intracratonic ba-
sins, thickness of progradational sequences and
marine energy flux were both limited by water
depth. The subaqueous basin filled by aggradation
of suspended sediment or carbonate debris, and
prograding distributary and alluvial channels cut
into or through the thin delta-front and prodelta
deposits. Shore-zone deposition was severely lim-
ited by the low wave energy. In contrast, delta
systems were laterally extensive, and their sand
framework is dominated by the scour-based chan-
nel-fill facies of the superimposed fluvial channels
(Fig. 15.14B). Distributary and fluvial channel-fill
deposits, commonly of mixed- and suspended-
load systems, are a prominent reservoir facies.

0 10mi
I I
I
15 km

Detail maps

~/
~ Slope
Incised Channel <"00 _ _ ~
/00 "'"

Depositional Channel/Lobe ~.~ ~

Complex 5 ~~~ _______ .

" '1
o
I I
1 mi
I
01
100
0

30
o 1.5 km It m

Contour interval variable (ttl

Fig. lS.16A,B. Reservoir facies of a Cisco (Pennsylvanian)
shelf-edge delta and delta-fed apron, Midland Basin, Texas. A
Net sandstone maps of the shelf-edge delta and of the
subjacent apron. Note that the maps have been offset to clarify
individual contour patterns. Circles show the location of de-
tailed maps of representative reservoir units in Flowers field. B
Isopach maps of individual reservoir sandstone bodies and
representative log showing their stratigraphic position within
the delta lobe and apron. (Compiled and modified from
Neuberger 1987; Brown et al. 1990)
 Example: Frio Depositional Systems, Northern Gulf Coast Basin
Valley-fill deposits that back-filled valleys, which
were incised through the thin delta and shelf units
during major eustatic sea-level falls and
lowstands, form prominent, complex, and highly
prolific hydrocarbon plays (Fig. 15.15, Table 15.1).
Where progradation advanced into deeper wa-
ter, the complete progradational sequence, includ-
ing prodelta, channel-mouth bar, delta front, and
delta plain facies, was preserved (Fig. 15.14C). In
the open basin, increased wave energy flux re-
worked the shelf-edge deltas. The moderately
deep, stable basins of the Mid-Continent filled by
intermittent progradation of shelf-margin deltas
and their subjacent slope aprons. A distinct
morphologic break separated the crest of the
depositional shelf platform from the deep basin
center, and pronounced clinoform or offtap stratal
architecture is preserved (Fig. 11.14). Where dif-
ferential relief between the platform and basin
floor exceeded 300-400ft (90-120m), the upper
slope became a zone of bed-load bypass, and tur-
bidite channel and lobe facies were developed,
providing an additional family of reservoir facies
and lithological trap plays (Fig. 15.16). In areas of
lesser terrigenous influx, the platform margins
were preferred sites for accumulation of carbon-
ate reef or bank deposits. As suggested in Fig.
15.14, stable platform and deep-basin settings
were often coeval components of a single sedi-
ment dispersal system, reflecting high and low sea-
level conditions, respectively (Brown et al. 1990).
Together, the platform and deeper-water depo-
sitional systems of Mid-Continent intracratonic
basins created a great variety of fluvial, deltaic,
and slope reservoir facies. Low-relief structural
and combination traps are abundant, along with
numerous lithological traps.
Example: Frio Depositional Systems,
Northern Gulf Coast Basin
The Frio Formation (Oligocene) is one of the
major progradational wedges of the Gulf Coast
Tertiary Basin. Several hundred meters of aggra-
dation of the subaerial coastal plain accompanied
progradation of a prism of coastal and slope sedi-
ment more than 15000ft (4500m) thick and up to
50mi (80km) wide. In the Texas coastal plain, the
Frio has produced nearly than 20 billion boe of
hydrocarbons. Using regional stratigraphic map-
417
ping such as illustrated in Figs. 2.7-2.9, Galloway
et al. (1982a,b) synthesized the depositional
framework (Fig. 15.17) and hydrocarbon distribu-
tional patterns of the Frio in the Texas coastal
plain. The following discussion is derived largely
from these papers and subsequent updates (Gallo-
way et al. 1983; Galloway 1986b; Kosters et al.
1989).
Structural and Depositional Framework
Major progradational wedges of the Gulf Coast
basin, such as the Frio Formation, consist of an
updip and relatively shallow section of inter-
bedded continental and marginal-marine facies
overlying several thousand meters of abnormally
pressured slope and basinal mudstone. Under-
lying oceanic crust rapidly subsided when sub-
jected to sediment loading. Resultant instability
within the undercompacted, water-saturated, and
gently inclined slope wedge resulted in large-
scale, syndepositional down-to-the-basin faulting
and intrastratal deformation. Two structural
provinces are defined by their syndepositional
deformational style and nature of the diapiric ma-
terial intruded into shallower sediment. At the
northeast end of the Texas coastal plain the broad,
ill-defined Houston embayment was characterized
by mobilization of thick Jurassic salt. To the
southwest, salt is thin or absent; consequently,
shale tectonics dominated, and discontinuous
belts of strike-parallel growth faults and deep-
seated shale ridges and massifs occur. The
Vicksburg flexure, a uniquely continuous, narrow
fault zone characterized by extreme vertical dis-
placement in the deep stratigraphic section, forms
the updip limit of significant deformation of the
Frio Formation and coincides with the position of
the buried shelf margin of a major older Eocene
depositional episode (Fig. 15.18).
Division of the Frio Formation into several
depositional systems was based on regional differ-
ences in sandstone distribution patterns, position
within the basin, and areal and vertical log facies
distributions as defined on maps and stratigraphic
cross-sections. The principal delta systems, infor-
mally named the Houston and Norias delta
systems, occupy the two broad structural
embayments (Fig. 15.17). The Houston delta sys-
tem is characterized by numerous small, laterally
offset lobes, in contrast to more clearly defined,
vertically stacked lobes of the Norias delta to the
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.", """ M~ ,,~,~. .~~<~ .",,~ .~, '. ""_'.~ ,_ "'" _
.:.
,' , :
. . ,' i.':1
... ,.. . " '. .
'!{.,"."~ l{;.- . .j[!r'j',' Gil" , " " , , " Flood.pl,,,n and locust""'....
0 I '. ~~ "",,_ _ '"
_~ ~_
~"""~.,"' ~, ~
. ,.. ,,,_ '=_. ,'"
~" ' . "'~'''''. ~..,".'.~ . "'-'>W
,'. '. . . .. "'-'
"'-, ,_, . , 00... _ . _ "'"
...,....
t" .'.., A'~
'.'" ;~,<"~""
, .'.'''''2-ic<,.~.~W oo,~
~ M..,
_~"",,.,._ _ _.....
""., }__ .,.. _ _. ::'
r~ .~;.~~~~~~'&,~~ l:':.__l strandplain faCIes (mlddle.u!'per FriO) ___ Fno
c-9
= Shelf plalform faCIes , 'f i , ____
.
-'="""",.~.~
~;~"'"
. &"'..l.1'-~'7:;".~"
. "'~"""'~'" ~r
= ,.... ,.. , , -- ..
,~
L~wer
Fig.IS.17. Depositional systems of the Frio (Oligocene) depositional episode, Texas Gulf Coast Tertiary basin. (Galloway et al. 1982a). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology)
 Example: Frio Depositional Systems, Northern Gulf Coast Basin 419

south. The Chita-Corrigan fluvial system consisted nent-scale bed-load river (Galloway 1977). Sepa-
of several mixed-load rivers that fed downdip into rating the two fluvial-deltaic facies tracts was a
the Houston deltaic axes. To the south, the coastal plain that was traversed by numerous
Gueydan fluvial system, which is also the host minor streams. The Choke Canyon/Formation
of large uranium deposits of the South Texas streamplain system was dominated by silt and
uranium province, records deposition by a conti- mud accumulation between widely spaced, mean-

22 JIMHOGGCO. ISTARR CO'I HIDALGO CO.

p
i J we
<.) ~

~j~ I ~ f~
<d ~ ~~~ :::>~
"". ~ I,m :>-
:r ..

')

II
I
" I"
""""'"
""
'--_ _ _ _ _ _...:.>0 -
"'"

SANDSTONEDEFINED FACIES
f:"lm FlUVIal (agQfadallonal)
. Lower della plain and delta margin
......J (progradational 011<1 aggradational)
O Della Ir001 (dominantly progradDtJOnal)
c:J ==~ slCJd(ed d.structlOnal baI
LJ Inlr.sIope basin
r-= Prod"',. and upper slope muds'one
Top of geopf8SSI.K8
; G.. producing m'orval
: Oil producing in,orval

Fig. 15.18. Dip cross-section through the Gueydan fluvial and boundaries of the oil maturation window, and distribution of
Norias delta systems, South Texas Frio trend. Section illus- oil and gas reservoirs in fields lying near the line of section.
trates relationships between genetic facies assemblages, princi- (Galloway et al. 1982a). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of
pal growth faults, depth of the top of substantial overpressure, Economic Geology)
420 Petroleum

derbelts belts of minor coarse-grained streams.
Strike-fed shore-zone sediments derived largely
from the adjacent deltaic headlands combined
with wave-reworked sediments of the small rivers
of the stream plain to build up the massive, do-
minantly aggradational system of Frio coastal
barrier and strandplain sands (Fig. 15.19).
The strike-parallel Greta/Carancahua barrier/
strandplain extends almost 150mi (240km) be-
tween the deltaic depocenters (Fig. 15.17). The
similar, but smaller Buna strandplain system
lies on the eastern flank of the Houston delta sys-
tem and extends across the Louisiana border.
Basinward, Frio depositional elements include a
shelf fronting the interdeltaic coastal plain and a
broad, unstable, offlapping slope apron. The ex-
tensive, deepwater Hackberry wedge of Louisiana
extends into the northeastern corner of the Hous-

17
-'
liVE OAK co. SAN PATR'CIO
'= NUECESCO. w 0: ' 7'
!.I w
I~
-' Q. CO. -' w
i5 11:_
::l .. >-.1 ...........
:g ~
o!!
~~ Zt '.. :l! ~~~~
:; ~l
~ ;
!!' .. I~~ ""~
~c
~~
a:~
w
~~ "t ~~O 'i>-~ ~~. ~ g;o.~ (J)~g~

w_
"".
~:I!
0~-.. .,0:_ .. t. E1
"' ..
Q-
~
;
~::;;
to; ~B:i"'E!
t-UIl.~eJ,,-
1lI
1....
I~li)
"
:3U:ii;
,",w_
<:0: ..
11:
~:S_
"0"
~U5~~
-
u- <-
_a..,

SANDSTONE - DEFINED FACIES

~ SIr.am plain (aggradational)
OoIla front (dam,nanily progradalional)
., SlOcI<od bar... (do"';nan.'y 8gg<><1olionoJ)
fQIl BatriM f/onl (dominantly pogmdabonal)
Inl'O$IOpOWSin (_ada"""')

~ Shell and upper slope mudstcme

D LogoonaI / bay mud<k>n<I

!
Top of oeopressure
Gas produang inlO1VaI
Oil producing in1erval

""" ..,.

Fig. 15.19. Dip cross-section through the muddy streamplain stratigraphic, and hydrocarbon distribution patterns with those
facies and sand-rich Greta barrier system of the Frio Forma- shown in Fig. 15.18. (Galloway et al. 1982a). (Courtesy of the
tion in the Middle Texas Coastal Plain. Compare structural, Texas Bureau of Economic Geology)
Table 15.2. Attributes of Frio depositional systems

System Total volume Sand volume Reservoir Reservoir Potential source Degree of Hydrocarbon type' Yield factor
(mP) (mP) facies quality facies thermal maturity (106 boe/mP)h

Gueydan fluvial 1700 370 Bed-load to Good Floodplain mud Immature Moderately gas prone 5.5
system mixed-load
channel fill
Crevasse splay Fair
Choke Canyon/ 200 400 Mixed-to Good Floodplain and Immature Dry gas prone 0.5
Flatonia streamplain bed-load lacustrine mud
system channel fill
Chita/Corrigan 3400 9OO Meanderbelt Excellent Floodplain, Immature Dry gas prone <0.5
fluvial system and crevasse back swamp, and
splay lacustrine mud
Norias delta 132oo 2800 Distributary Fair Delta plain, Mature oil to Highly gas prone 1.0
system channel/splay prodelta, and gas zone
upper slope mud
Coastal barrier Fair
tTl
Proximal delta Fair >I
III
front 3
'1:)
Distal delta Poor ?f
front "rj
::l.
Greta/ 9600 2100 Barrier bar and Excellent Laggon, shelf, Mature oil zone Mixed 4.5 o
Carancahua strandplain and upper slope downdip tJ
(D
'1:)
barrier/strandplain association mud o
system Distal Fair ~.

shoreface/shelf
o
::>
Houston delta 4700 1000 Distributary Excellent Delta, plain, !:'.
Mature oil to gas Moderately prone 5.0 C/J
system channel prodelta and zone downdip '<
~
(D
Delta front and Excellent upper slope mud 3
mouth bar .'"
Delta flank Good z
o
::4-
From Galloway et al. (1982b).
g
....
'Calculated on an energy-equivalent basis. ='
a
b Barrels of oil or gas equivalent; total energy-equivalent producible hydrocarbon yield per volume of sandstone. E.
...,
Q
III
~
1:0
III
'"s

.,.
tv
"'"
 ~~~~~~~~~~ - /,
.{"
\- - - -- -I, ~~ ,
"
." " ,
/ ' \ . /'--
.
J I ,v "-
'iZIl
J ,y' \, \
) <::::?
.I' \ r/ '
,\,/
'\ j ',,- (
/J' . . . . . (
(
O J,. . . . . , . . .\'.,'.l /' ' ~
,) /'
'\ ' , r
/ 'v, ( "
'\ ,
---- /' \.J / .'
/""", -- '.1
CUt.,.
----__ _ _ V.., ~
.\.... ,V
0,. .... , .~ ~ "' ,.!l ,
,"" "<!""""C"o - - _ ............ ~ r' / ;1.: 7;..
// /'" -. ---- ~aJ""
/' IYi Play boundaries
/ ---
\ / D Gas field
/
. / Oilfield
{ I
I o ~-
I ;.. '.'
\. I
;
V.,,, . . , ,,/"
/'

Fig. 15.20. Distribution of significant Frio oil and gas fields in the Texas coastal plain. Producing plays are outlined and identified by Roman numerals. Smaller rectangles enclose particularly
productive areas within each play that were used for undiscovered resource calculations. (Galloway et al. 1982a). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology)
 Example: Frio Depositional Systems, Northern Gulf Coast Basin 423

ton delta system, This thick, erosionally based, Hydrocarbon Distribution

onlapping slope wedge occurs within the middle
Frio section and is highly productive of oil and
gas (Paine 1971; Galloway 1986b). The lower
Hackberry wedge consists of an apron of rotated
slump blocks, debris flows, and turbidite channel-
lobe complexes that onlap a broad, erosional
embayment in the lower Frio margin that was cre-
ated by salt withdrawal and retrogressive slope
failure (Ewing and Reed 1984; Cossey and Jacobs
1992). Smaller, intraslope basins produced by salt
or mud diapirism localized accumulation of sandy
turbidite channel-lobe complexes. Total sediment
and sand volumes of each of the principal Frio
depositional systems of the Texas coastal plain are
summarized in Table 15.2.
Hydrocarbon production in the Frio is geographi-
cally widespread, but can be subdivided into ten
geologically defined plays (Fig. 15.20), seven of
which contain most of the producible oil and gas.
Defining characteristics of plays include the host
depositional system and dominant reservoir facies
assemblage, structural style, and type of hydrocar-
bon produced. Although the three are typically
interrelated, a single dominant characteristic may
define a play. For example, play III consists of
fields producing from broad anticlines that lie
along the Vicksburg growth fault zone. Plays V
and VI are distinguished by their positions on the
shelf and lagoonal sides of the axis of the Greta

1.5

gs
..
5

l-
t.)

"-
. / Inclusive
of Ploy m 0;;-
j:;jE
4>=~
.0
cr.o
~Q
cr-
w
If)
w
3 cr

0-'------'=

Fig. 15.21. Whole rock and reservoir yield factors for each of system, B.S. barrier system, S.S. strandplain system. (Galloway
the Frio depositional systems of the Texas coastal plain. Play et al. 1982a). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Economic
III bridges the Gueydan and Norias systems; its production has Geology)
been apportioned accordingly. F.S. Fluvial system, D.S. delta
424 Petroleum

Depositional Depositional Stratigraphic Depositional Depositional

System Environment Surfaces Environment System

Condensed section
Shelf Maximum flooding
Transgressive Transgressive


shelf shelf
Ravinement
Retrogressive Transgressive
delta barrier

Delta plain Bock-barrier

Delta
Lagoon

Platform delta
Flooding

Shelf- margin
Flooding
Progradational
barrier or
strand pia in

delta
Progradational
shelf
Upper slope

Slump scar or
canyon cut
Canyon Fill
Turbidite channel
Delta-Fed fi II
Apron

Turbidite channel /
lobe complex
Slope

Fig. 15.22. Typical Gulf Coast Cenozoic producing facies associations and their stratigraphic position within genetic stratigraphic
sequences

barrier system (Fig. 15.17). Evaluation of produc-
tion style, history, and geochemical characteristics
within each play or in groups of plays reveals
trends that are lost in more general compilatioHs,
but which are significant for interpretation of the
source and migration history of Frio oil and
gas (Galloway et al. 1982a) and for projection of
remaining undiscovered hydrocarbon volumes
within the Frio (Galloway et al. 1982b). The plays
have provided the basis for defining exploration
strategies and analysis of exploration potential by
others (Railsback 1987; Schuenemeyer and Drew
1991).
The geographic (Fig. 15.20) and vertical distri-
butions of oil and gas (Figs. 15.18, 15.19), as well
as comparative productivity (Fig. 15.21) of each
depositional system is explained by relationships
among reservoir volume and geometry, seal avail-
ability, and trap configuration within the system,
combined with the dynamic history of hydrocar-
bon generation, and migration, and alteration.
Clearly there is no "magic" environment for reser-
voir sandstones within the Frio, or in other pro-
ductive units of the Gulf margin for that matter. A
number of facies associations within delta, shore-
zone, and slope systems dominate production
(Fig. 15.22). Secondary production occurs in volu-
metrically minor sandstones of progradational
 Example: Frio Depositional Systems, Northern Gulf Coast Basin
and transgressive shelf systems. In fluvialldelta-
apron axes, sand facies of basal progradatio-
nal shelf-edge deltas, which are highly faulted, as
well as overlying, thinner platform and capping
retrogradational delta lobe parasequences are
particularly favorable for hydrocarbon accumula-
tion (plays I, II, VIII, and IX). Destructional and
transgressive shelf sands at the top of the deltaic
succession are favorable reservoirs as well. Tur-
bidite channel-lobe complexes, collected within
intraslope basins, are the deepest reservoir target
(deep play II). Upper-slope turbidite channel
fill or slump lobes are local, secondary reservoirs.
In strike-fed interdeltaic bights, a variety of bar-
rier, strandplain, and shelf facies provide reser-
voirs (Fig. 15.22). Lower progradational and
upper retrogradational barrier and strandplain
parasequences are major hosts for hydrocarbons
within the facies succession of a depositional
episode (play V). Where well-developed lagoonal
deposits are present, back-barrier sands form
numerous pinchout traps (play VI). Both pro-
gradational and transgressive shelf units are sec-
ondary targets and define a few Gulf Coast plays
within other genetic sequences. Slope deposits are
typically muddy. However, transition zones be-
tween delta and slope systems are most likely sites
for canyon, megaslump, and retrogressive
embayments in the upper slope and shelf margin.
Where developed, turbidite channel and lobe res-
ervoirs are encased within the fill (deep play X).
Within all systems, the center of the mass of
reservoired oil and gas lies above the top of
425
geopressure and commonly several thousand feet
above the corresponding maturation window.
This, combined with the high productivity of the
shallow, source rock-poor and thermally imma-
ture Gueydan fluvial system (Table 15.2; plays III
and IV, Fig. 15.20), provides a strong case for
large-scale vertical migration of hydrocarbons.
Growth faults and salt diapirs play major roles in
controlling hydrocarbon distribution by acting
both as principal migration pathways as well as
creating traps. Not surprisingly, lithological traps
are relatively unimportant in the Frio Formation,
except within the updip barrier/lagoon system
play and within the Hackberry onlap slope system,
which is most productive in adjacent western
Louisiana. The significant upward migration of oil
and gas obscures simple facies production associa-
tions and results in multiple reservoirs that pro-
duce over several hundreds or even thousands of
feet of section (e.g., Figs. 15.18, 15.19, fields K14
and N38).
In summary, analysis of the Frio Formation
shows that hydrocarbon productivity varies widely
among different depositional systems within the
same basin or even the same stratigraphic unit
(Fig. 15.21). Further, types of hydrocarbons, as
well as styles of production, commonly show rela-
tionships to the genetic stratigraphic setting. How-
ever, in complex hydrocarbon systems such as the
Gulf Coast basin, the dynamic history of subsid-
ence, thermal alteration, structural modification,
and fluid expulsion and migration all playa part in
determining the final product.
16 Facies Characterization of Reservoirs and Aquifers
Introduction
A trend in applied facies sedimentology during
the late the twentieth century is the shift in focus
from hydrocarbon exploration, with its need for
reservoir prediction and extrapolation, to detailed
reservoir characterization. As many older oil
and gas fields reach maturity, they must be rede-
veloped and advanced production technologies
applied if recovery is to be maximized. At the
same time, the burgeoning processing power of
reservoir simulators requires sophisticated, quan-
titative description of the three-dimensional dis-
tribution of porosity and permeability and of
bounding impermeable layers. Emphasis is on the
internal facies and bedding architecture of reser-
voir sand bodies and on accurate quantification of
flow properties. Genetic facies analysis is being
successfully applied to this process. Well log, core,
and, increasingly, three-dimensional seismic data
are being used to map, interpret, and quantify
reservoir architecture. Production history, in ef-
fect a long-term fluid flow experiment, is used to
test, refine, and calibrate the sedimentological
characterization. The goal is to predict fluid-flow
response at each existing or proposed well loca-
tion within the reservoir.
In a classic study of the Frio Sandstone (Oli-
gocene) reservoirs of Seeligson Field in South
Texas, Nanz (1954) described the complex dis-
tributary channel geometry of a major producing
sand body, demonstrating the application of facies
interpretation to reservoir management. Weber
(1971) illustrated the internal complexities of res-
ervoir sand bodies that are composites of distribu-
tary channel, coastal barrier, and meanderbelt
facies of the Tertiary Niger Delta system. The
variable trend and continuity of individual deposi-
tional units result in multiple oil-water contacts
and areal configurations for productive intervals
in the structurally trapped fields. In addition to
demonstrating lateral and vertical relationships
among different reservoirs, Weber showed that
single reservoirs, as defined by well log correlation
and uniform fluid contacts and pressures, com-
monly consist of a mosaic of individual genetic
units. Sneider et al. (1978), in a study of Pennsyl-
vanian reservoir sandstones in the Elk City Field
(Anadarko Basin), provided another early ex-
ample of the genetic complexity inherent in many
large reservoirs. Detailed stratigraphic analysis
of one reservoir zone revealed highly variable
thickness and distribution patterns that reflected
an equally complex facies composition. Core,
log pattern, and isolith data were combined to
differentiate and map alluvial channel fill,
distributary channel fill, delta margin, and barrier-
bar sandstone facies and to demonstrate system-
atic vertical permeability trends within each
facies. Distribution of these facies affected the
efficiency of well completion and recovery
practices.
Within a single genetic facies, heterogeneities
are introduced by bedding and spatial variability
of textural parameters. Bedding produces stra-
tified permeability that restricts cross flow and
channels fluids within the more permeable beds
(Alpay 1972). Early studies (e.g., Zeito 1965) indi-
cated the potential for internal permeability strati-
fication and showed the geometry and continuity
of bedding to be correlative with interpreted
depositional environment of the sand body. In ad-
dition, systematic lateral variation in permeability
was indicated by studies of modern sand bodies
(Pryor 1973).
Paralleling this refocusing of attention to the
internal attributes of petroleum reservoirs is the
increasing need for hydrogeologists, environmen-
tal scientists, and regulatory agencies to accurately
predict, delimit, and devise remediation strategies
for contaminants that have invaded aquifers.
Again, questions asked are commonly site specific,
and answers require highly sophisticated descrip-
tion of hydrogeologic properties of subsurface
volumes of sediment or sedimentary rock. Davis

(1969) was among the first to provide quantitative
data relating permeability and hydraulic conduc-
tivity to sediment grain size and texture. Freeze
(1969) created a series of dimensionless models
that illustrate the effects of permeability heteroge-
neity on flow patterns. Galloway et al. (1979) and
Freeze and Cherry (1979) discussed the implica-
tions of heterogeneity (sand-body trend, layering,
and internal discontinuity) for natural and artifi-
cial groundwater flow systems.
Building upon these early studies, numerous
authors have compiled a large body of informa-
tion on modern sand bodies, outcrop analogs, and
case histories demonstrating that genetic interpre-
tation allows prediction of a hierarchy of param-
eters that affect reservoir or aquifer response.
After introducing the basic concepts that have
evolved from this work, this chapter will discuss
attributes of important reservoir and aquifer fa-
cies that condition fluid flow within each deposi-
tional system.
Types and Scales of Heterogeneity
Sedimentary media are inherently inhomo-
geneous. Heterogeneity is created in a variety of
ways:
1. External facies boundaries create discontinu-
ous units that normally have a well-defined ori-
entation and trend.
2. Permeable units show varying degrees of
interconnectivity.
3. Within permeable units, porosity and perme-
ability may show lateral or vertical trends or
spatial partitioning.
4. Permeable units may be internally stratified.
Such stratification may be horizontal or in-
clined relative to the top and bottom bound-
aries of the unit.
5. Variably continuous impermeable layers, or
baffles, may occur within permeable units.
6. Permeability is commonly anisotropic. Typi-
cally vertical permeability is substantially less
than horizontal permeability in sedimentary
reservoirs or aquifers.
Detecting, delineating, and quantifying the
three-dimensional distribution of porosity and
permeability, defining patterns of anisotropy, and
delineating the sedimentary features that create
Styles of Heterogeneity 427
external and internal heterogeneity are the goals
of reservoir and aquifer characterization. Our
thesis, shared by many petroleum geologists,
hydrogeologists, and engineers, is that this exact-
ing task is most efficiently and accurately accom-
plished within the context of a genetic facies
framework. Facies interpretation allows selection
of appropriate analogs, guides interpolation of
quantitative data, indicates the requisite sample
densities and boundary conditions for statistical
characterization, and geologically conditions real-
istic input parameters for flow simulations (Smith
and Schwartz 1981; Gillham and Cherry 1982;
Davis 1986; Weber 1986; Bryant and Flint 1993;
Martin 1993; Slatt and Galloway 1993).
Styles of Heterogeneity
Reservoir and aquifer systems display three pat-
terns or styles of facies and, consequently, flow
unit complexity (Fig. 16.1; Weber and van Geuns
1990). "Layer cake" reservoirs are characterized
by lateral continuity, gradual lateral thickness
change, relatively simple correlation, and sheet to
lobate geometries. "Jigsaw puzzle" reservoirs are
compartmentalized by complex, crosscutting re-
lationships. In such situations, correlation and de-
lineation of the overall producing zone may be
relatively simple, but internal correlation is diffi-
cult. "Labyrinth" reservoirs consist of numerous
partially to completely isolated permeable units,
with internal and external correlation both being
difficult. In its extreme development, dimensions
of labyrinthine flow units are significantly less than
closest existing or viable well spacing, and statisti-
cal approaches to quantification of sand-body dis-
tribution and interconnectivity are a necessary
prerequisite to flow modeling (Fogg 1986; Stanley
et al. 1990; Hirst et al. 1993).
A verage well spacing necessary to establish a
deterministic description of facies geometry and
permeability distribution varies according to res-
ervoir type. Weber and van Geuns (1990) esti-
mated that about one well per km (640-acre
spacing) is adequate for layer cakes, two to four
wells per km (120- to 60-acre spacing) are needed
for jigsaw puzzles, and ten to 30 wells per km (20-
to S-acre spacing), or more, are needed for laby-
rinths. Comparable data point density is required
for accurate deterministic modeling of aquifers.
428 Facies Characterization of Reservoirs and Aquifers

LAYER CAKE JIGSAW PUZZLE LABYRINTH

Lateral continuity Compartmentalization Partial to complete isolation of

Gradual thickness change Abrupt textural (k) contrasts pods, channels, or prisms

External and internal correlation External correlation simple; External correlation difficult
simple internal correlation difficult

Fig. 16.1. Three styles of reservoir heterogeneity and flow unit organization. Complexity increases from the layer cake to the
labyrinth. (Modified from Weber and van Geuns 1990)

Scales of Heterogeneity ability commonly observed within most subsur-

Heterogeneities occur over a broad range of
scales. Two scaling factors are important: (1) natu-
ral scaling of sedimentary processes and facies
(Miall 1988, 1991; Van Wagoner et al. 1990; Jor-
dan and Pryor 1992) and (2) the range of well
spacings found in petroleum production well and
hydrologic test well grids. Scaling terminology de-
rived from Alpay (1972), Haldorson (1986), and
Krause et al. (1987) combines the two to define
five levels of heterogeneity:
1. Gigascopic heterogeneity is expressed at the
scale of depositional systems and of system
tracts. Gigascopic heterogeneity is most com-
monly the focus of resource exploration or re-
gional aquifer studies.
2. Megascopic heterogeneity describes the
external geometry and interrelationships of
permeable and impermeable units. Such het-
erogeneity is typically defined at the scale of
the producing field or a potentially affected
area of an aquifer. Where sand-body dimen-
sions are small, or well spacing especially large,
megascopic heterogeneity may descend to the
interwell scale.
3. Macroscopic heterogeneity occurs at the facies
scale. This is the fundamental interweil vari-
face data sets. It must be accurately delineated
if deterministic simulation of fluid flow is to be
achieved.
4. Mesoscopic heterogeneity reflects lithofacies,
bedding, and lamina-scale variation. It occurs
within genetic facies or large macroform units
and is reflected as intrawell variability.
5. Microscopic heterogeneity is present at the
scale of individual grains and pores. It is prima-
rily determined by sediment texture and diage-
netic overprint.
Scaling of sedimentary units, and its translation
into reservoir volumes and levels of heterogene-
ity, is illustrated by a Mississippi River mean-
derbelt described by Jordan and Pryor (1992).
The megascale unit is the meanderbeIt, which is
encased in overbank mudstone and has dimen-
sions of 15 x 15mi (25 x 24km) and a sand volume
of 9 million acre-ft (11 x 109 m3). Individual
point bars, which are in part isolated by
abandoned channel plugs, form the largest
macro scale units. Dimensions are 5 x 5 mi (8 x
8km), and sand volume averages 1.2 million
acre-ft (1.5 x 109 m3). Internal macroscopic
heterogeneity within point bars is created by
individual lateral accretion units, with average
sand volume of 450 acre-ft (5.5 x 105 m 3). Bed

sets within accretion units have volumes of less
than 10 acre-ft (12000m3 ) and create mesoscale
heterogeneities. Within bed sets, various types
of primary stratification create the smallest
mesoscopic heterogeneity.
Trends in microscopic heterogeneity are pre-
dictable because of the close correlation between
pore size, pore geometry, and pore volume and
sediment texture (Beard and Weyl 1973; Pryor
1973). Porosity varies with sorting, is theoretically
independent of grain size, and is directly propor-
tional to grain angularity. Permeability is highly
sensitive and directly proportional to both grain
size and sorting. Thus the systematic textural
trends and heterogeneities that characterize many
genetic facies, such as the upward coarsening and
increased sorting of a progradational shoreface
succession, provide qualitative predictions of po-
rosity and permeability pattern and heterogeneity.
Capillary pressures and hydrocarbon saturations
reflect pore-size distribution and interconnection,
providing clues to internal heterogeneities within
sand bodies (Fig. 16.2).
Mesoscopic heterogeneity varies as a function
of stratification type. In general, the degree of
mesoscopic heterogeneity is greatest in wavy lami-
nated and micaceous, ripple-laminated sands, and
heterolithic laminites. Trough, swaley, and hum-
mocky cross-stratification cosets display moderate
heterogeneity. Wind ripple, grain flow, and planar
lamination are least heterogeneous. Relative per-
meability is also related, on the mesoscopic scale,
to sedimentary structure type (Dreyer et al. 1990;
Hopkins et al. 1991; Lowry and Jacobson 1993;
Davies et al. 1993; Barton 1994). Given equal
grain size, relative permeability is highest in mas-
sive fluidized and grainflow beds, intermediate in
planar, tabular, and trough cross-stratified sets,
and least in ripple-laminated beds, hummocky
cross-bed sets, and bioturbated beds. Presence of
muddy laminae in flaser and heterolithic cross
strata substantially reduces permeability. Within
large cross-bed sets, permeability anisotropy is
highly structured (Weber 1982; Hartkamp-Bakker
1993). Toesets are relatively tight. Maximum per-
meability parallels foreset laminae.
Microscopic and meso scopic heterogeneities
have scales of millimeters to tens of meters. Con-
sequently, they must be described statistically in
most applications and stochastically distributed
in simulations. Several approaches have been ap-
plied or developed for statistical analysis and pre-
diction of geologic information (Neuman 1982;
Styles of Heterogeneity 429
Hohn 1988; Mackay and O'Connell 1991). They
include calculation of transition probabilities, use
of geostatistical techniques such as kriging and
variograms, and conditioning of statistical realiza-
tions by observed data or measurements.
Macroscopic Heterogeneity
Delineation and quantification of macroscopic
heterogeneity - the site-specific variation of all
transmissive and bounding units within the three-
dimensional volume of investigation - is critical
if fluid flow is to be understood and accurately
predicted. Because variability occurs at the
limit of spatial resolution of the typical subsur-
face data base, interpretations must be guided, or
conditioned, by predictive, quantified facies
interpretation.
Macroscopic heterogeneities include the
following:
1. Compartmentalization. Internally, reservoir
and aquifer sand bodies consist of a mosaic of
vertically or laterally amalgamated genetic fa-
cies, architectural elements, and beds separated
by bounding depositional surfaces or erosional
diastems. The sheetlike sand body shown in
Fig. 16.3, for example, actually consists of bar-
rier shoreface, inlet fill, flood-tidal delta, chan-
nel-fill, and transgressive shelf sand sheet and
bar facies. Erosional diastems separate barrier,
inlet, tidal channel, and transgressive facies.
Most sand bodies are, in fact, such three-
dimensional composites of discrete facies.
2. Permeability distribution. Each facies has dis-
tinct patterns of vertical and lateral textural,
and hence permeability and, to a lesser extent,
porosity distribution. Specific successions of
sedimentary structures typify many sandstone
facies. Bioturbation gradients also may create
systematic trends of reservoir properties. Pat-
terns may differ abruptly across facies bound-
aries and diastems. For example, oil reservoirs
(Fig. 16.4) that are directly analogous to the
schematic facies of Fig. 16.3 show the coarsest
and most permeable cross-bedded sands of
the inlet fill juxtaposed against the finest,
bioturbated, and least permeable lower
shoreface sands of the barrier.
3. Stratification. This commonly reflects organized
textural interbedding, creating sheetlike, tabu-
lar, or lenticular units separated from adjacent
 392 344 340 367 350 331 473 411 218 419
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

~:;,.: ;;;,::.;.;;, -.. .C . ,.,...... .:C ..i.: <;;:~.."c

owe Ind 10<> {

I P 72 BOPO 7151361462 I P 58 BOPO 6011351505 I P 126 BOPO I.P 93 80PO 31180/258 I P 149 BOPO
53193/1094 711137/766 5931411683 6021311 14 120177/500 85/8311552 31/871483 15/97/B333
3319611696 4211591850 132181/500
Vertical scole
II
Dalum resistivity, minimum o o
@\ Perforoted interval
ilm -Sw(%l
I Gas lone
!Of1.m (odd log scoles) 20
Horizontal scole
Production tests Genetic
36/94/1026:: BOPD/Wtr.Cut/GOR
Main 55 Zone o 500 1000 II +,00
o 10
i I 't i '( 40
ResistIVity scole o 100 200 300 m
llm
-c::-::~::~~- 29 < Average Sw
6O---L-200

24
396 428 403
1 1 1
20

210 18
(f!:.;,!g('f#_Jit.U.fJte i;:!;;l1 37/9612945 I P 95 80PO I P 71 BOPD I P 13680PO
I P 68 BOPO
49/92/489 36/9613000 4219514357 27199115,592
47194/1085 41/9614439 12/99129,166

A-A'
395 429 354 295 369 401
1 1 1 1

""'."';'~;';';:;O;';'.'.'

I P 100 BOPD I P 12680PD I P93BOPD 2312115565

18/97/1111 831901518 112/851285
14/9B/1071 81/921765 103/86/116

8-8'
Fig. 16.2. Distribution of irreducible water saturation within a progradational barrier/inlet fill reservoir sand body (41A sand, West Ranch field). Section A-A' is a dip section across the barrier core
and shoreface. Greatest hydrocarbon saturation occurs in the upper shoreface and beach facies. Saturation compartments display a seaward (right) dipping imbricate pattern reflecting progradational
offiap facies architecture of the reservoir. Section B-B' extends along strike from an inlet fill (wells 354-401) to the barrier bar (wells 429-395). The inlet fill displays complex saturation distribution
reflecting its crosscutting, lenticular architecture. In contrast, the barrier shows uniform alongstrike saturation. (Galloway and Cheng 1985). (Courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geologyz)
 Styles of Heterogeneity 431

Compartmental ization:
a Facies boundary

I]

Diastem
Low
Permeability gradient:
High
Permeability stratification: ~ Bedding planes

~ Shale beds (baffles)

2
3

Fig. 16.3A,B. Types of heterogeneities (A) and potential flow inlet fill (unit 3), superimposed tidal channel fill (unit 4),
units (B) of a progradational barrier bar sand body capped, onlapping shelf sand sheet (unit 5), and accretionary shelf bar
across a ravinement surface, by transgressive shelf facies. Com- (unit 6)
ponent facies include barrier shoreface (flow units 1 and 2),

units by permeability changes or drapes. Bed-
ding can be horizontal, or nearly so (Fig. 16.3,
shoreface and onlapping transgressive shelf
sand sheet), or may cut across the sand body
(Fig. 16.3, inlet and tidal channel fills and shelf
bar). Organized bedding imparts anisotropy. A
distinct type of stratification is created when
bed surfaces are draped with mud. Such shale
baffles strongly restrict cross-flow, and defining
their orientation, abundance, and lateral conti-
nuity in relation to the scale of the reservoir or
aquifer and of well spacing is important (Zeito
1965; Weber 1986).
Together, the external geometry, internal com-
partmentalization, sedimentary structure and tex-
tural gradients, and stratification constitute the
architecture of the reservoir. Facies architecture
 .j:o.
A-427 A-423 w
N
0(%) 0(%)
10 20 30 40 10 20 30 4
I I I I I ! I I

X K (md) X K (md)
10 100 1000 10,000 10 100 1000 10,000
I I I I I I I I ~
0)'
3~ ,R 5700 R '"
'---px n
P'
~
40 10 ...,
~
(')
I X
57501 X- -~
~ 20 ::1,
---r-X-X~ N
"a
601 30 0'
1:1
701 ~ 40 g,
~
(0
5750 00
801 (0

~
90' 60 o
~.

5800
~ 70
~
1:1
0-

10 80 .g>
20 90
~
~~lli;fil~f.l ;;!

30 5800

40 10
I depth in feet
5850 20

Fig. 16.4. Log profiles and vertical porosity and permeability distributions in two adjacent wells in the 41A barrier reservoir, West Ranch field,
A-427 penetrates the barrier core (beach and shoreface), Maximum permeability and hydrocarbon saturation (inferred from resistivity curve)
are at the top of the sand body, A-423 cores inlet fill. Permeability and hydrocarbon saturation decrease upward through the channel sand body,
(Galloway and Cheng 1985) (courtesy of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology)
 Styles of Heterogeneity 433

is a direct product of depositional process and
environment. Consequently, overall hydrocarbon
recovery efficiency varies predictably among de-
positional systems (Tyler and Finley 1991). Com-
partmentalization affects reservoir continuity and
sweep efficiency, permeability trend and zonation
affect horizontal sweep efficiency, and bedding
and shale baffles primarily reduce vertical sweep
efficiency (Weber 1986). Groundwater flow and
contaminant migration are similarly sensitive,
on the local scale, to the distribution both of
high- and low-transmissivity facies. The three-
dimensional flow field is focused through zones
of greatest transmissivity (Fogg 1986; Phillips
1991). Aquifer heterogeneities accentuate macro-
scopic dispersion (Skibitzke and Robertson 1963;
Gillham and Cherry 1982).
Flow Units
reflected clearly in the bimodal saturation pattern
shown in cross-section A-A' in Fig. 16.2. Satura-
tion compartments are, in fact, useful guides to
flow unit architecture.
Three typical facies and flow unit configu-
rations are illustrated in Fig. 16.5. A laterally
accreted channel point bar may consist of three
flow units. The coarse basal lag is poorly sorted
and muddy. It provides a relatively homogeneous
but low-permeability unit. The middle point bar
sands, with their large-scale cross stratification,
contain the highest vertical and lateral permeabil-
ity. Fluids will move most readily within this flow
unit. The upper point bar, characterized by mud-
draped, high-relief lateral accretion bedding, has
intermediate but highly anisotropic permeability.
Shale drapes form baffles that restrict flow across
the bar. A prograding shoreface succession com-
monly comprises two flow units. The coarse,

The combination of facies-based reservoir charac-

terization and empirical observation of reservoir
property distributions, flow test results, and well
production histories has led to definition of a fun-
damental operational volume for reservoir analy-
sis, called the flow unit (Hearn et al. 1984; Ebanks
et al. 1993). A flow unit is a mappable volume of
the reservoir in which geologic and petrophysical
properties that affect fluid flow are similar and
predictably different from the properties of other
volumes. A flow unit is composed of one or more
reservoir-quality lithofacies, any incorporated
nonreservoir rock, and contained fluids. To be
operationally useful, flow units must be correla-
tive and mappable at the interwell scale, and they
must be recognizable from a subsurface data base.
Flow units may be isolated or in communication
with other flow units.
Each facies-defined reservoir compartment is a
potential flow unit. For example, in Fig. 16.3 each
facies element of the barrier-bar sand body is a
potential flow unit characterized by a unique
combination of permeability distribution, bed-
ding, and geometry. However, not all facies neces-
sarily differ sufficiently to constitute distinct flow
units. Washover/barrier flat and flood-tidal delta c
deposits may merge laterally and possess compa-
rable reservoir properties. Conversely, a single fa- Fig. 16.SA-C. Three simple genetic facies and their common
flow unit configurations. Roman numerals indicate contained
cies, such as the layer-cake barrier shoreface
flow units. Arrows show the rela tive directional permeability
interval shown in Fig. 16.1, may display signifi- within each flow unit along and across the trend of the sand
cantly different subdivisions and appropriately be body. A Suspended-load channel point bar with basal lag. B
subdivided into two or more flow units. This is Progradational shoreface. C Sand-rich turbidite channel fill
434 Facies Characterization of Reservoirs and Aquifers

well-sorted, massive upper shoreface has high expressed at the scale of well spacing and field
and relatively isotropic permeability. The fine, dimensions.
bioturbated, and bedded lower shoreface has Figure 16.7 (Barton 1994) illustrates the hierar-
relatively low permeability that is strongly aniso- chical complexity found in most reservoir and
tropic. A simple turbidite channel fill likely aquifer facies. The permeable, transmissive sand
constitutes a single flow unit characterized by pro- body is bounded above and below by prodelta and
nounced horizontal permeability stratification. delta plain mudstone beds. Lateral pinchout of the
Each flow unit is characterized by the delta front sand unit creates megascopic heteroge-
following: neity. The sand body itself consists of a delta front
sand sheet and crosscutting distributary channel
1. Its external geometry and dimensions
fill. The boundary between the two sandstone fa-
2. Its porosity and permeability attributes
cies is a large-scale macroscopic heterogeneity.
3. Its internal flow boundaries or baffles
The distributary fill and delta front sandstones will
4. Its fluid saturation
most likely be individual flow units. Within the
Flow units, like genetic facies, have a variety of distributary sand body, two periods of channel
geometries (Fig. 16.6), ranging from more or less occupation are reflected by an upper and lower
equidimensional sheets, lobes, and pods to elon- sandstone lens, separated by a thick mudstone
gate belts, prisms, and ribbons. Geometries are bed. Each of the channel fills is a potential flow

Reference Area (1-10 km2)

Ribbon
(Channel)

Pods
Conve)(
Concave
Lunate

Prisms

Belts

Lobe

~--~ Sheet
Fig. 16.6. External geometries of flow units. Refer-

lID~Il lD I l DI !D !I !l Dl lUl l I " 'JlI I Il~ ence study or field area with typical well spacing may
range from 1 to 10 km' (0.4-4 mi2)
 Styles of Heterogeneity 435

Delta Plain

o 100 ft

Grain size I I
Permeability (md)
FMC VC o 30m
1200 1000 600

1:== ::: : 1 Ripple lamination

1----------.....1 Trough cross-stratification

~ Reactivation surface

B Plant debris and siderite

100000, Lag
Accretion surface

Scour surface

Distributary
~
channel
fi II

Delta front

Prodelta

Fig. 16.7. Facies, bedding architecture, and representative ver- fluvial-dominated delta system, Utah. F Fine, M medium, C
tical permeability profile of an outcropping distributary chan- coarse, VC very coarse. (Modified from Barton 1994)
nel and subjacent delta front sand body, Ferron

unit. Within each fill, through-going bedding
planes outline smaller sandstone lenses bounded
by scour surfaces that are plastered with pebble
lags or plant debris. Diagenetic siderite is concen-
trated on the surfaces, creating thin, low-perme-
ability baffles. Additional baffles occur where silt
and plant debris plaster accretion surfaces. A rep-
resentative permeability profile, based on hun-
dreds of minipermeameter measurements, shows
that each macroscale channel fill and each mesos-
cale lens creates a complex, heterogeneous but
patterned permeability distribution. Details of
permeability commonly vary over distances of a
few meters to tens of meters, reflecting changing
436 Facies Characterization of Reservoirs and Aquifers
texture and sedimentary structures and creating
statistically definable mesoscopic heterogeneity.
Clearly, both delineation of flow units by facies
mapping and statistical characterization of macro-
scopic and mesoscopic heterogeneity within those
flow units are required to correctly model fluid
flow through such complex plumbing.
Depositional Systems, Genetic Facies,
and Fluid Flow
This section briefly reviews results of outcrop and
field studies that have characterized the facies
architectures, permeability distributions, hetero-
geneities, and fluid flow patterns of well-studied
sandstone facies.
In general, eolian dune and thick, pro-
gradational shoreface facies of barrier, strand-
plain, and wave-dominated deltas most closely
approach the ideal of homogeneity and provide
the simplest reservoirs or aquifers (Tyler and
Finley 1991; Lewis et al. 1993). Heterogeneity in-
creases with increasing tidal influence, chan-
nelization of flow, and muddiness of the sediment
dispersal system (Table 16.1). Reduction in the
scale of these depositional systems presents
greater complexity given the limited range of eco-
nomically viable well spacings.
Facies dimensions control both the lateral ex-
tent of permeable units in labyrinthine reservoirs
and aquifers and continuity of flow units within
jigsaw puzzle reservoirs. Outcrop studies have de-
fined typical width to thickness ratios for several
common reservoir sand bodies (Fielding and
Crane 1987; Dreyer 1990, 1993; Cowan 1991;
Lowry and Raheim 1991; Bryant and Flint 1993;
Barton 1994). Greatest effort has focused on
fluvial channels of various types. Results (Fig.
16.8) show a broad range of scatter, but do suggest
some trends. As expected, sand-body width to
thickness ratios are greatest for braided (largely
bed-load) channels and least for low-sinuosity,
stable (largely suspended-load) channels and
delta distributaries. Limited data suggest that
channel-mouth bars of fluvial-dominated deltas
form broad prisms in which width is proportional
to thickness. Stream-dominated fan delta front
sands display a similar width to thickness trend.
Shelf sand bars, the only marine sand facies for
which systematic data have been published, oc-
cupy a broadly rectangular area on the cross-plot.
Individual turbidite beds within lobes or sheets
are relatively thin and laterally extensive. Clearly,
in a specific depositional system or carefully de-
fined genetic association of environments, statis-
tically significant relationships exist. However,
creation of a family of general templates for all
principal reservoir facies will require far more
data than are currently available.
Because thin shale beds act as baffles, creating
anisotropy and influencing drainage efficiency,
their abundance and lateral continuity have been
examined in outcrops (Zeito 1965; Weber 1982,
1986; Geehan et al. 1986; Schuppers 1993). As
expected, the lateral extent of shale units is related
to depositional origin of the sand body (Fig. 16.9).
Channelized flow creates discontinuous shale
beds; increasing marine influence creates laterally
continuous shale beds. Presuming that shale-bed
length mirrors sand-bed length, turbidite shale
beds are extremely continuous in muddy to mixed
turbidite successions but become short within
channelized or coarse, sandy to gravelly systems
(Chapin et al. 1994; Cook et al. 1994; Cossey
1994). Here, too, quantification is based on a few
often-cited studies of a limited number of genetic
facies. Published values need much additional
documentation.
Alluvial Fan, Fluvial, and Valley-Fill Systems
Channel fills are the permeable reservoir and
aquifer framework of alluvial systems (Fig. 15.7).
Channel-body geometry and facies organization
reflect the nature of sediment load and conse-
quent channel type (Fig. 16.8). Bed-load domi-
nated systems typically produce sheet or broad,
tabular belt reservoir geometries, mixed-load sys-
tems form irregular belts, and suspended-load sys-
tems tend to form isolated ribbons. Stacking and
degree of amalgamation are determined by the
combination of channel type and regional aggra-
dation rate. Individual channel units, though
amalgamated, may remain compartmentalized.
Permeability boundaries may be present at chan-
nel-on-channel contacts because of weathering or
clay infiltration of the underlying channel deposit
or deposition of a mud drape or mud clast lag
along the scour surface. Mud plugs and floodplain
drapes form additional horizontal and vertical
flow barriers (Hartkamp-Bakker and Donselaar
1993).
Table 16.1. Comparative degree of lateral and vertical heterogeneity of reservoir facies and implications for drainage efficiency and recovery strategy

Vertical Lateral heterogeneity Drainage efficiency/recovery strategy

heterogeneity
Low Moderate High Low High

Low Wave-dominated Channel-mouth bar Fluvial-dominated Mobile oil

delta front delta front recovery
Barrier core and Mud-rich strandplain Back barrier efficiency: Very high Low
shoreface
Sand-rich strandplain Mixed-load meanderbelt Suspended-load Residency of Compartmentalized, uncontacted
meanderbelt mobile oil: and laterally bypassed
Recovery
strategy: Excellent enhanced Targeted infill drilling
recovery candidate
Moderate Cross-stratified Shelf bars, alluvial fan Bed-load braided
sand sheet channel fill
Eolian dune Fan delta Tide-dominated
Wave-modified Distal shoreface, delta front
delta front tidal estuary fill
High Turbidite lobe Coarse-grained Turbidite channel fill Mobile oil
meanderbelt recovery
Sheet turbidite Sandy tidal flat Transgressive alluvial efficiency: Low Very low Ij
valley estuary .g
Shelf sand sheets Braid delta lobe Residency of o
:a.
and plumes mobile oil: Vertically bypassed Uncontacted and bypassed o
::l
Recovery E..
strategy: (/l
Profile modification, Targeted infill, waterflood
';;i
waterflood redesign, redesign, profile modification,
recompletion recompletion a'"
.'"
Q
Modified from Tyler and Finley (1991). C1>
::l
C1>
;:t.
n
'T1
~
n
(D'
Y'
~
::l
0..
:!l
E.
0..
:!l
o
:Ii!

.j>.
W
-..J
 1000

]:
J::

""
j
>-
"0
0
..0
U
C
c
(f) 100

a 10 20 30 40
Sand-body thickness (m)

I<>j Shelf bars 1:;.:::;);::::1

.........: .. Braided channels 1/:.<1 Low-sinuosity, suspended-load channels

~ Sand-rich turbidite lobe sand packets

Fig. 16.8. Cross-plots of sand-body thickness and width based on outcrop studies. DC Distributary channel, DMB distributary
mouth bar, FDF fan delta front. Compiled from numerous published sources (see text)

(m)
o 150 300 450 600
100

Wove-dominated delta front

L.
Q)

.2'" 50
c
Q)

l:
Q)
a..

Turbidite channel fill

o
o 500 1000 1500 2000
Shale bed length (ftl

Fig. 16.9. Plot of measured shale-bed lengths based on outcrop studies. Compiled from numerous published sources. (Modified
from Zeito 1965; for additional sources, see text)

Braided (generally bed-load) and meandering
(typically mixed-load) fluvial reservoirs are typical
jigsaw puzzles (Jordan and Pryor 1992; Martin
1993). There is a tendency toward increasing res-
ervoir heterogeneity with decreasing scale of fa-
cies units and with increasing proportions of shale
in the system. Small meandering rivers and stable
mud-rich, low-sinuosity channel systems create
labyrinths (Fielding and Crane 1987; Dreyer 1990;
Dreyer et al. 1990; Bryant and Flint 1993; Davies
et al. 1993). In our experience, some bed-load
fluvial systems of braided or coarse-grained
meanderbelt origin are remarkably homogeneous
sand reservoirs with thin, sporadic silty shale
bands and no evidence of subaerial diagenetic al-
teration. These units show minimal vertical or lat-
eral variability. On the other hand, some braided
channel facies display pronounced mesoscopic
heterogeneity. Here, discontinuous horizontal
shale baffles, lateral and vertical lithofacies vari-
ability, and presence of cemented zones combine
to reduce overall recovery efficiency (Davies et al.
1993; Himyr et al. 1993; Martin 1993). Even in
these, however, overall recovery efficiency is gen-
erally high because baffles are discontinuous and
overall permeabilities are high. Mixed- and sus-
pended-load channel fills are heterogeneous and
complex to a greater degree. Vertical and along-
channel textural changes and lithofacies partition-
ing and the dipping shale baffles in the upper point
bar potentially create two or three flow units
within a single point-bar sand body (Fig. 16.5A).
Low-sinuousity suspended-load channels com-
monly consist of a lower active fill and an upper
abandonment phase fill, creating two flow units
(Weber 1982).
Because of the strong partitioning in fluvial sys-
tems of permeable, transmissive facies (channel
fill) and confining facies (floodbasin), flow pat-
terns are markedly conditioned by channel con-
nectivity (Fogg 1990). Connectivity is related,
in tum, to overall sand percentage. Computer
simulation studies by Bridge and Mackey (1993)
suggest that channel units are isolated where
the amount of channel facies (sand) is less than
40%; connectivity increases as channel percentage
increases from 40 to 75%, and channels are fully
connected where channel percentage exceeds
75%. Fogg (1986) analyzed a mixed-load fluvial
aquifer and found that sand bodies are isolated
where sand percentage is below 20% and are
effectively amalgamated where sand exceeds
60%. He demonstrated the significance of inter-
Depositional Systems, Genetic Facies, and Fluid Flow 439
connectivity by a series of flow simulations using
various assumptions regarding lateral intercon-
nectivity of sand bodies (Fig. 16.10). When an
average horizontal conductivity was applied to
the model interval, the flow field responded
largely to head gradients. When horizontal con-
ductivity was spatially varied according to mapped
sand percentage, the flow pattern was greatly
modified. The two simulations give markedly dif-
ferent predictions about contaminant migration
from the proposed waste storage site in Oakwood
salt dome in Texas.
Paleosoil zones may form widespread horizon-
tal permeability barriers. Soils are characterized
by horizons of chemical or mechanical accumula-
tion of pore-filling material that reduces perme-
ability, adversely affecting reservoir performance.
Paleosoils have been shown to limit downward
percolation of pollutants (Meehan and Schlemon
1994).
The influence of facies geometry on flow pat-
tern is even more dramatically expressed within
incised valley fills. Valley walls are strongly ex-
pressed as flow boundaries. Even where perme-
able facies are juxtaposed, weathering profiles,
diagenetic and infiltrated clay, and colluvial
drapes retard cross-flow. Further, the com-
plex and often cyclic history of valley incision
and filling creates internal compartmentalization
and flow-unit differentiation within the valley fill
itself. Figure 16.11 illustrates how mapping of
Quaternary valley geometry and its alluvial
fill readily explain the separation of a chloride
plume into two lobes. Early recognition and
mapping of the valley fill accounted for the
complex hydrochemistry of the water table aqui-
fer, guided location of additional monitor and
remediation wells, and minimized the number of
wells needed.
Delta and Fan Delta Systems
Delta systems form a diverse and often complex
assemblage of reservoir facies (Fig. 15.9). Conse-
quently, they have been the subject of much
detailed study in both outcrop analogues and pro-
ducing fields (Weber et al. 1972; Sneider et al.
1978; Weber et al. 1978; Mijnssen et al. 1990;
Lowry and Raheim 1991; Mijnssen 1991; Falkner
and Fielding 1993; Lowry and Jacobsen 1993;
Barton 1994). Fan delta front facies are also a
significant and equally complex reservoir type
440 Facies Characterization of Reservoirs and Aquifers
Fig. 16.10A,B. Comparison of groundwater flow simulations
prepared to predict potential contaminant transport from
Oakwood salt dome, Texas. Arrows denote direction and ve-
locity of flow. A Aquifer is presumed to consist of intercon-
nected sand bodies. B Transmissive channel sand bodies are
assumed to be unconnected in areas (shaded) where the sand
A B
Fig. 16.11A-C. Effect of Quaternary valley fill geometry and
facies on observed migration of a chloride plume infiltrating
from the adjacent waste pit. A Elevation contours on valley
(Sneider et al. 1977; Mijnssen et al. 1990; Mijnssen
1991; Dreyer 1993).
In all delta types, two basic reservoir facies as-
sociations are present:
1. Delta front sands, including channel-mouth
bars, beach ridges, and tidal-flat and sand-ridge
complexes
2. Distributary channel fills
Delta front and channel sands have very differ-
ent geometries, lithofacies, bedding, and textures
percentage is less than 20%. There, aquifer transmissivity is
controlled by muddy floodplain and splay deposits. Note the
considerable difference in rate and direction of predicted flow
in the sensitive area east of the dome. (Modified from Fogg
1986)
~. 11..
Pit
c I
2000 fl
floor and walls. B Net-sand isopach of valley fill. C Isochloride
contours. Note that the plume splits into two tongues that
project along the sandy valley-fill axis
and form a duet of flow units. Even where chan-
nels scour into delta front sands, cross-flow is com-
monly restricted by lags, drapes, infiltrated fines,
or diagenetic haloes.
Multistory and multilateral reservoirs typify
deltas. Individual parasequences are commonly
separated by laterally continuous marine shale
beds, severely limiting vertical fluid movement.
Delta front facies may be compartmentalized
vertically by crosscutting growth fault or slump
planes.

Reservoir type, flow unit architecture, sand-
body interconnectivity, and types of heterogene-
ities vary with delta system type.
Fluvial-dominated deltas produce labyrinth or
complex jigsaw puzzle reservoirs, depending on
the size of the delta and degree of wave modifica-
tion. Potential flow units include the following
(Fig. 16.7):
1. Distal mouth bar sands, which form C-shaped
prisms containing multiple shale baffles
2. Proximal mouth bar sands, which form a core
prism incised or split by the nested distributary
channel fill and display prominent internal
mesoscopic heterogeneity
3. Distributary channel fill ribbons, which
also have complex internal mesoscopic
heterogeneity
Mouth bar sands within individual delta
systems show good correlation between width
and thickness (Fig. 16.8). Delta plain distributary
channel fills commonly have low sinuosity and are
narrow and incised, displaying geometries typical
of suspended-load fluvial channels. Bay-fill cre-
vasse splays are an additional reservoir facies in
fluvial-dominated deltas. They form lobate, stra-
tified, upward-coarsening flow units. Wave-re-
worked delta front sheet sands form broad lobes
to sheets that contain widespread mud baffles
(Fig. 16.9).
Wave-dominated deltas create jigsaw puzzle
reservoirs consisting of distributary channel-fill
and progradational beach-ridge flow units. The
beach-ridge complex is a sheet or broad belt
which, in turn, may be subdivided into lower
shoreface and upper shoreface units (Fig. 16.5B).
Shale lengths are greatest of the delta facies types
(Fig. 16.9). Delta plain distributary channel fills
may be either meandering or straight.
Tide-dominated deltas produce complex jigsaw
puzzle reservoirs. Tidal sand ridge, sand-flat, and
estuarine distributaries likely produce different
types of flow units that have pod, sheet, and prism
or belt geometries, respectively. In all, shale
baffles are likely to be prominent; however, no
quantitative data have been published. Mesoscale
heterogeneity is also prominent and limits recov-
ery efficiency in all but sandiest, wave-modified
tide-dominated delta systems.
Fan delta facies architecture is quite variable,
but it commonly produces layer-cake reservoirs
(Fig. 15.6). Limited study suggests a positive cor-
relation between width and thickness of delta
front sand bodies (Fig. 16.8).
Depositional Systems, Genetic Facies, and Fluid Flow 441
Shore-Zone Systems
Common reservoir associations include pro-
grading strandplain, barrier, and tidal-flat/estuary
complexes and transgressive barriers and estuary
fills (Figs. 15.8, 15.11). Detailed studies have em-
phasized facies geometry, permeability trends,
and compartmentalization (Pryor 1973; Sneider et
al. 1977; Galloway 1986; Tyler and Ambrose 1986;
Jackson et al. 1991).
Shore-zone facies are often present as highly
repetitive, stacked parasequences that may be
may be vertically amalgamated or separated by
thin, continuous shelf mud facies. Shoreface sand
bodies are commonly separated from each other
and from surrounding facies by regressive or
transgressive ravinement surfaces (and possibly
occult sequence boundaries), which commonly
exhibit shelly, coarse lags and early diagenetic ce-
mentation. Such shale units, surfaces, or diage-
netic baffles create laterally persistent barriers to
vertical flow that may lead to flow fingering and
production problems (Hurst 1993).
Progradational shoreface successions display
low-angle accretionary stratal architecture that is
expressed as textural interbedding in the lower
shoreface and interlensing of coarse beach-ridge
and finer-grained swale deposits at the top. Com-
monly, two or even three flow units are present
within the upward-coarsening shoreface succes-
sion (Figs. 16.3B, 16.5B). Bedding-parallel subdi-
vision of a progradational shoreface sand body
may be produced by thin bioturbated or carbon-
ate-cemented layers produced during temporary
stillstand or reworking phases. In contrast, stratifi-
cation is horizontal in transgressive units. Variable
carbonate cementation and textural mixing due to
bioturbation may create inhomogeneities.
Microscopic heterogeneity largely reflects
depositional process. Wave-dominated succes-
sions are well sorted and display relatively system-
atic partitioning of lithofacies and sedimentary
structures. Heterogeneity is minimal. In contrast,
tidal flow creates small-scale textural heterogene-
ity, diverse sedimentary structures and lithofacies,
and channelized flow systems, all of which add to
meso scopic heterogeneity.
Simple strike-fed, sand-rich strandplains form
layer-cake reservoirs. Fluvially fed strandplains
and prograding barriers create external sheet sand
bodies that are jigsaw puzzles internally. Crosscut-
ting fluvial channel and inlet fills compartmental-
ize the shoreface sand body and create separate
flow units. Superimposed fluvial channels, incised
442 Facies Characterization of Reservoirs and Aquifers
during periods of lower sea level or ongoing
coastal plain progradation, can further segment
shore-zone reservoirs (Jackson et al. 1991). Shale
bed continuity is likely similar to that of wave-
dominated delta front sand bodies (Fig. 16.9).
In muddy strandplains, sandy beach ridges can
form isolated pod or ribbon flow units. Transgres-
sive barriers are typified by their limited sand
volume and lenticular prismatic geometry. Rem-
nant inlet fills form pods that are separated from
superjacent barrier flow units by the. ravinement
surface.
Progradational tidal-flat and salt marsh estuary
coasts form complex jigsaw puzzles. Channel-fill
belts, ribbons, and pods cut across tidal-flat and
shoreface sheets. Tidal shoal and bar macroforms
form upwardly convex pods. Each facies has a
distinctive array of sedimentary structures, bed-
ding architecture, and textural trend. Abrupt fa-
cies changes across erosional diastems enhance
macroscopic heterogeneity. Transgressive estuary
fills may create isolated pod-shaped flow units
(Hopkins et al. 1991).
Shelf Systems
Progradational storm-dominated shelf sand units
form layer-cake reservoirs with a sheet geometry.
Detailed outcrop studies show the sheets to con-
sist of laterally continuous thin to thick tabular
sand beds, with intervals of lenticular, amalgam-
ated hummocky cross-stratified beds in the middle
and upper parts of the upward-coarsening and
-thickening succession (Brenchley et al. 1993).
Bed thickness typically ranges between a few cen-
timeters and 3 m. Tabular beds (and presumably
the shaly interbeds) commonly extend from a hun-
dred to several hundred meters. In contrast, len-
ticular hummocky units are discontinuous over
distances of tens to a hundred meters.
Most studies of shelf reservoirs have focused on
sand bodies of transgressive shelf systems (Hearn
et al. 1984; Krause et al. 1987; Tillman and
Martinsen 1987; Bryant and Flint 1993). Reser-
voirs are typified by development of pod- to
prism-shaped flow units created by the spatial par-
titioning of lithofacies within the shelf units and
bounded in part by marine erosional diastems.
Shale baffles display their greatest continuity (Fig.
16.9). Limited data show a poor correlation be-
tween sand-body thickness and width (Fig. 16.8),
suggesting that a more careful subdivision of shelf
system type is necessary for meaningful statistical
characterization.
Slope and Base-of-Slope Systems
Despite their great diversity and importance as
reservoirs (Fig. 15.13), relatively few reservoir
characterization studies describe turbidite systems
(Tyler and Gholston 1988; Cutler et al. 1990;
Kulpecz and van Geuns 1990; Slatt and Hopkins
1990; Slatt et al. 1993). Bed thickness and length
statistics have been compiled by Chapin et al.
(1994) and Cossey (1994). Schuppers (1993) and
Cook et al. (1994) compiled shale-bed length sta-
tistics from outcropping sand-rich turbidite chan-
nel complexes, and their data are included in Fig.
16.9. Because of their large size, the scale of tur-
bidite sand bodies is difficult to measure in out-
crop studies.
The event stratification produced by turbidity
flows overprints most reservoir facies. Organized
stratal packaging that characterizes turbidite
lobes, ponded sheets, and many channel fills fur-
ther creates reservoirs that are subdivided into
fieldwide zones or layers. Muddy drapes recording
temporary reduction in sediment supply most
commonly separate the layers. Within layers, flow
units are likely related to the specific turbidite
or mass-flow facies types. Commonly, turbidite
reservoirs and outcrop analogues are divided
into channel-fill, sand sheet, and thin-bedded
lithofacies (Chapin et al. 1994; Mahaffie 1994).
Channel fills have highest permeability. They
form belts, prisms, or ribbons, depending upon
the grain size and scale of the transport system.
Within coarse channel fills, amalgamation of
coarse turbidite and grainflow units creates a rela-
tively uniform flow unit with few baffles (Fig.
16.5C). In muddier systems, upward decrease in
grain size, bed thickness and degree of amalgam-
ation, and number and continuity of shale baffles
may create a second flow unit. Internal architec-
ture can become quite complex, with crosscutting
scour lenses, interbedded debris flows, and thin-
bedded units all exhibiting bed lengths averaging
only a hundred meters (Cook et al. 1994). Levee
deposits comprise a thin-bedded reservoir facies
that may form additional flow units marginal to
channel fills.
Lobe and sheet turbidite units have lower ag-
gregate permeability, greater stratification, and
abundant baffles to vertical flow. Layer-cake flow
 Sequence Stratigraphic Applications to Reservoir and Aquifer Characterization
units reflect thickness, grain size, and shaliness of
component turbidites. Mesoscopic heterogeneity
is typically high, but horizontal heterogeneity is
less pronounced. Where small channel fills cut
through the lobes, jigsaw puzzle reservoirs result.
Sand and gravel-rich fans and aprons display
the best vertical and lateral connectivity; indi-
vidual bed and shale lengths are limited (Fig.
16.9). Muddy systems produce highly stratified
reservoirs and complex channelization and result-
ant compartmentalization. Initially modest per-
meabilities and high proportions of interbedded
shale baffles further reduce drainage efficiency.
Eolian Systems
Permeability distribution within eolian facies
has been extensively described by Lindquist
(1988), Chandler et al. (1989), and Goggin et al.
(1992). Applications to reservoir development are
presented by Weber (1987) and Lahann et al.
(1993).
Grainflow strata are most permeable, with
wind-ripple strata significantly less so. Interdune
deposits are least permeable and, where silty or
cemented, may form prominent flow barriers. Be-
cause rippled beds are concentrated in the toesets
of large eolian cross strata, permeability tends to
be horizontally stratified. Very large dune bed sets
may extend between closely spaced wells. Large-
scale permeability stratification is further en-
hanced by the low-permeability interdune strata
separating foreset units and by the horizontal to
--__--~~------~--~----~~--r-------==~_r------~~--~----CS
L>.~>l
k<:::J
Transgressive shelf
Shoreface sand
Fig. 16.12. Subdivision of sandstone bodies of a depositional
episode into potential flow units by stratal surfaces. Basic sand
facies include progradational shelf storm beds (Sh), shoreface
(Sf), valley fill (VE), and transgressive shelf sheet (Tr). Bound-
ing surfaces of potential flow units include a regressive
443
gently dipping bounding surfaces. Flow units are
sheets or broad pods characterized by dominance
of interdune facies, ripple cross-strata, or dune
cross-strata. Internally, they are relatively uni-
form, having statistically well-defined patterns of
mesoscopic heterogeneity.
Sequence Stratigraphic Applications to
Reservoir and Aquifer Characterization
Sequence stratigraphic concepts provide a power-
ful tool for reservoir and aquifer characterization
that complements conventional facies analysis in
several ways (Cross et al. 1993; Eschard et al.
1993):
1. Sequence analysis provides a high-resolution
correlation framework in which lithofacies can
be mapped and interpreted.
2. Sequence analysis focuses attention on the
presence and distribution of stratal surfaces
that may have direct and indirect influences
on flow unit distribution and relationships.
Surfaces may constitute flow boundaries sepa-
rating facies with substantially different
fluid-flow properties. Paleosoils, diagenetic
cementation layers, and hardgrounds are asso-
ciated with subaerial exposure surfaces, trans-
gressive surfaces, and flooding surfaces. For
example, Gibbons et al. (1993) found that 70%
of flooding surfaces and 60% of sequence
t.~='"""'"..."...,.."FS
TR
FS
FS
F~~'FS
RR
1m Volley fill
lui Progradational shelf
m
30
o
1 0
100
ravinement surface (RR), major and minor flooding surfaces
(FS), fluvial entrenchment surfaces (FES) , and transgressive
ravinement surface (TR). Flow units within the same facies are
sequentially numbered. The result is a jigsaw puzzle reservoir
architecture
444 Facies Characterization of Reservoirs and Aquifers
boundaries within a mixed tide-dominated
shelf/shore-zone system reservoir assemblage
were characterized by early diagenetic carbon-
ate cementation. Taylor et al. (1995) related
carbonate cementation layers to overlying
parasequence flooding surfaces. Transgressive
beds commonly form impermeable seals be-
tween reservoir units or compartments. Chan-
nel-floor and ravinement lags likewise may
represent impermeable layers or baffles.
3. The various system tracts contain different as-
sociations and proportional volumes of genetic
facies. The different kinds of facies and their
proportional volumes are, to a degree, predict-
able within their systems tract context (e.g.,
Barton 1994).
Sequence analysis is particularly useful in distal
fluvial, deltaic, shore-zone, and shelf system reser-
voir associations. Figure 16.12 illustrates com-
monly observed stratal surfaces and their log
response that may subdivide paralic and adjacent
shelf reservoirs of a single depositional episode
into multiple flow units. Each of the eight flow
units identified is separated from adjacent flow
units by various types of erosional surfaces or
diastems, including the regressive and transgres-
sive ravinement surfaces, major and minor
flooding surfaces, and fluvial entrenchment sur-
faces. Lithofacies analysis alone would distinguish
only three or possibly four potential flow units:
(Sh-1 and Sf-I; Sf-2 through Sf-4; VF-1 and 2; Tr-
1). Accurate reservoir simulation might require
input for all eight flow units.
Summary
Together, genetic facies and sequence analysis
provide the foundation for organizing, quantify-
ing, and extrapolating many of the elements of
mesoscopic through megascopic heterogeneity
that are fundamental to reservoir and aquifer
characterization. Simply stated, depositional fa-
cies are the fundamental units of reservoir analy-
sis. These facies are bounded by stratal surfaces
that may abruptly juxtapose facies of very differ-
ent character or that themselves constitute flow
boundaries. Although hydro geologists have been
more reticent than petroleum geologists in the
application of facies, depositional system, and se-
quence analysis, many have recognized that the
deterministic delineation of hydraulic conductiv-
ity is a useful prerequisite for accurate prediction
of flow history and solute transport.
Much remains to be learned about the applica-
tion of facies interpretation and mapping to un-
derstanding, simulating, and predicting fluid flow
in reservoirs and aquifers. Genetic facies models
are largely adequate for qualitative prediction of
most macroscopic and mesoscopic heterogeneities
and for anticipating potential flow units. Current
data bases for quantification of scale and perme-
ability pattern are, however, limited, and many
genetic facies that are important as reservoirs and
aquifers are not yet adequately documented. The
goal is in sight, and considerable success has al-
ready been achieved.
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Subject Index

Abnormal fluid pressure see 391, 393 Calcrete 45, 377

Overpressure deserts 250, 261,262 California
Accommodation space 177,245,265, Eromanga Basin 391 Death Valley 36
267,272,277,284,340,342 Gippsland Basin 327, 358, 360, 365, Great Valley 59,312,344
Accommodation zone 233, 234, 235 366, 368, 393 Kern River fan 33, 34
Aggradation 9-13,41,57,60,83,91, Lake Frome 382, 384 shelf 164
101,106,108,112,115,119,129, Latrobe Valley, Victoria 359,362, Trollheim alluvial fan 36, 37
156,177,210 367 Campos Basin 198, 199
Agulhas current 164,170,219 Sydney Basin 58, 163, 344, 345, 365, Canada
Alabama 370 Alberta foreland 177
coal seams 126, 361, 362 tidal flats 152 Bay of Fundy 152
Warrior Basin 126,359,365,369 Yeelirrie district 377, 378 Cordillera 48,351-352
Alaska Autocyclic processes 57-58, 83, 89, Elliot Lake district 374, 375,
Copper River fan delta 41-43 154, 200, 270, 329, 339, 340, 342, 376
Scott alluvial fan 37, 39 343-344, 349, Canyon see Submarine canyon
Alba reservoir sand 412 Avalanche laminae 253,255,259 Cape Supergroup 177
Alberta Basin 59, 125, 177,391 Avulsion 64,83,87,198,210,348,357 Cardium Sandstone 160
Algeria 253 Catahoula Formation 75, 88-89, 325,
Allocyclic processes 11, 14,89,210, Baja California 36 380
211, 266, 329, 339, 340, 343-344, Bajadas 29, 30, 45 Central Africa
349, 365 Barataria Bay 331, 332, 342, 354 debris flow 32
Allostratigraphic units 12, 14, 89, 270 Barchan 256--258 Channel-lobe complexes see
Alluvial fan systems Barrier inlet 134,137-143,156-157, Submarine channel-lobe
fluid flow 436-439 359,361,363,407,408,442 complexes
resource potential 58-59 Base level 25-27 Channel plugs 64,65,67, 71, 75-76,
Alteration front, tongue, zone 311, Basin-floor channels 226 82,84,87
377,380,383,385,387,388 Bay of Bengal 154 Chenier 151,357
Amarillo Uplift 49 Bay of Fundy 152 China
fan delta systems 49-51 Bear Creek apron 216 Bohai Basin 249, 413
Amazon Basin 80, 168, 177,206 Beckley Seam 338, 359-362, 362 Coal consumption 3
Anadarko Basin 21,51,391,414,444 Bedding geometry see Depositional Junggar Basin 248
Anastomosing channels 60,65,67,74, architecture Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins 45,
106,342,351,352 Bering Sea 173, 226 54,233,240,248,365,393,413
Andrew delta-fed apron 194 Bioturbation 101, 143, 144, 145, 146, Ordos Basin 2, 248
Anoxia 165, 175, 181, 187,236,248 164, 166, 168, 170, 175, 176, 187, Sichuan Basin 2
Appalachian Basin 126,338,344,357, 238,246,248,256,429,441 Songliao Basin 241,245-246,247,
359,362,363,364,365,391 Bohai Basin 249,413 249,391,393,413
Beckley Seam 338,359,362 Botswana Tarim Basin 248
Lower Freeport Seam 338 Okavango fan 39, 68 Tulufan Basin 248
Pennsylvanian seams 354 Okavango swamp 330, 333 Upper Paleozoic coals 340-341
Pocahontas Seam 338, 365 Botucatu Sandstone 252 Chita fluvial system 88-89
shore zones 131 Bouma sequence 99, 134, 189 Chumstick Formation 46, 47
Apron see Submarine apron Bowen Basin 349, 350, 365, 370 Chute 70,73
Aquifer 300-303, 313, 369, 378, Brae sandstone 217 Cisco Group 294,416
426-444 Brahmaputra River 82 Climatic controls 29, 36, 45, 46, 54--56,
Arizona Brazil 159,234--235,244,250,266,320,
alluvial fans 32 slope morphology 191, 192 327,329,330,339,340,376,387
Atchafalaya River, basin 83, 348 Brazos River 64 Coal
Athabasca braid delta 52 Brent complex 124 in alluvial fan systems 344--346
Australia Bristol Channel 133 in deltaic systems 352-357
Bowen Basin 349, 350, 365, 370 Burdekin Delta 111, 113 in fluvial systems 346--352
Cooper Basin 327,336,366,368, Bute Inlet fjord 216, 230 in lacustrine systems 231
486 Subject Index
Coal (Contd.)
in shorezone systems 358-363
petrography see Coal petrography
rank 338-339
Coal petrography 334-337
lithotypes 336
maceral Groups 334-335, 365, 369-
370
microlithotypes 335-336, 370
Coalbed methane 368-370
Coastal dunes 251,261
Coconino Sandstone 267
Cohesive gravity flows 188
Colorado Delta 115-119
Colorado
San Luis Valley 320,321,344
Compactional groundwater
regime 304, 308, 313-318, 326,
380,388,397,398
Condensed beds see Condensed section
Condensed section 13, 15, 204, 225,
276, 277, 284, 286-293
Connate water 304,315,317-319,324
Continental shelf 159
Contourites 190-191, 197,203,209,
227-228,246,412
Cooper Basin 327,336,366, 367, 368,
391,393
Copper River fan delta 41-43
Coriolis force 160, 165
Cratonic basins 124, 159, 186,231,322
Cretaceous
Western Interior seaway 340,396-
397,409
Crevasse splay 63-64, 74, 82, 87, 91,
94-95, 101, 354, 356, 357, 388, 400,
402,403,405
Cubits Gap crevasse 94
Cutler Formation 47, 48, 53
Darcy's Law 298
Date Creek Basin 376-377
Dead Sea 36
Death Valley 36
Debris flow 6, 30, 32-33, 36-38, 42,
45,191,193,201-202,209,212,
213-219,225,226,291,410,412,
442
Deep-basin gas 59
Delaware Bay 145
Delaware shelf 174
Delta systems
classification 102-103, 120
coal in 91
delta-front sands 106, 112, 354, 440
delta plain 108-109, 119-119
destructional facies 109-11
distributary channels 106-108, 112
distributary mouth bar 103-106,
354, 355, 441
fluid flow 439-441
interdistributary embayments 108
petroleum in 91,403-406
platform delta 122, 124
shelf-margin delta 122, 282, 294
Density stratification 164, 166, 175,
187,204,235-237,238,248,392,
393
Denver Basin 399
Depositional architecture 9-10,27,
86-90,110-111,113-115,119,121-
122,128,176-179,193-195,401,
403,404,408,409,410,414,430,
431,435,436
Depositional episode 11,14,17,271,
277,280,405,443
Depositional event 11
Depositional sequence 11,27,270-
271
Depositional system
definition 6
Devonian shelf sea 166
Diapir 97, 124
Dipmeter 18, 28, 259, 268, 269
Divergent margin 391
Dockum Group 242, 243, 245
Domed peat 330,331,333-334,337,
338, 347, 362, 366
Donjek River 351
Draa see Star dune
East African lakes 231-235,236-237
East China Sea 173
East London continental margin 218-
219, 230
East Shetland Platform 182
East Texas Basin 402
Eastern Shelf see Midland Basin
Ebb-tidal delta 134,137,141-143
Ebro Delta 99,211-214,230
Ebro submarine apron 211-214
Electric logs see Well logs
Elk City Field 59
Elliot Lake district 374, 375-376
English Channel 161, 173
Entrada Sandstone 267
Eolian supersurfaces 264-266, 267
Eolian systems
dry systems 262-263
fluid flow 443
petroleum in 413
stabilizing systems 263-264
wet systems 262-264
Epeiric seaway 157, 159, 161, 330
Ephemeral lake facies 239, 240
Epigenetic ore 374,377-383,387,
388
Epilimnic facies 238, 239
Equipotential lines 298, 306, 307
Erg see Sand sea
Eromanga Basin 391
Estuary 133, 134, 145-149, 151-154,
157,283,324,362,403,405,407,
408,409,415,442
Eustatic sea level 27, 45, 122, 127,
129,177,181,186,192,230,266,
272,280,284,290,291,323,326,
339,340,358,414,417
Eutrophic mire 331-333,339
Facies
architecture see Depositional
architecture
map 16, 26, 27
models 8-9,399
Fall River Formation 279
Flood-tidal delta 134, 137, 141-143,
151,156,407
Flooding surface 15, 20
Florida
peat 331
Flow unit 433-436, 444
Fluid-migration pathways 397-398
Fluvial systems
petroleum in 400-403
Fluvial-dominated delta 102-111
Fluvial entrenchment surface 274-
276,290
Forced regression 129, 245, 275,
290
Foreland basins 186, 248, 295, 330,
345, 365, 370, 391
Fort Union Formation 341,377
Frio Formation 20,22-27, 141, 155,
156,290,325,326,394-395,399,
405,407,417-425,426
Galveston Bay 145
Galveston Island 152, 155
Gamma logs see Well logs
Ganges Delta 115, 145, 154
Gas Hills uranium district 379
Genetic facies 8-9
Genetic sequence see Genetic
stratigraphic sequence
Genetic stratigraphic sequence 1, 14,
27,113,266-268,270-272,273,277,
284,291,295-296,328-329,339-
344,424
Geohydrology 304-306
Georgia coast 151
Geostrophic currents 133, 168,190-
191,227,412
German Bight 131
Germany
Rhine coalfields 362
Tertiary lignites 337, 339
Gigascopic heterogeneity 428
Gippsland Basin 327,358,360,365,
366, 368, 393
Gironde Estuary 145
Gobi Desert 261
Goliad Formation 380
Gondwana 234, 240, 248, 268, 328,
329, 330, 333, 336, 340, 344, 345,
351, 354, 364, 376, 370
Graded profile 272-273
Grainfalliaminae 253, 254, 255, 259
Great Valley 39, 59, 312, 344

Green River Basin 234,248,340,341,
413
Greta sand see Frio Formation
Groundwater flow system 298-299
Groundwater regimes
compactional 304, 308, 313-318,
326, 380, 388, 397, 398
meteoric 304-313,315,319-326,
358, 373, 374, 378, 380, 383, 386,
387, 397
thermobaric 304-305, 308, 315-318,
326, 380, 388, 397, 398
Growth fault 97-99, 115, 188, 394-
395,403,405,417,419,420,425
Gueydan fluvial system 88-89, 423
Guiana coast 168
Gulf of Alaska 196
Gulf of Aqaba 36
Gulf of California 36, 115, 152
Gulf of Carpentaria 159
Gulf Coast Basin 12, 13, 20, 22-25,
87-90,99,125,126,158,176,214,
220,221,225,230,250,284,285,
302,315,316,317,318,324-326,
346,355,367,380-382,394,397,
410,412,417--425
Gulf Coast Neogene megalide 225-
226
Gulf Coastal Plain see Gulf Coast
Basin
Gulf of Mexico 164,171,173,175
Gulf of Mexico Basin see Gulf Coast
Basin
Gulf of Suez
Miocene fan deltas 54
Hackberry embayment 219,412,420,
423, 425
Hatteras Abyssal Plain 202
Hemipelagic drapes 203-204
Hiatal surface 15, 276, 344
Honduras
alluvial fans 31,38,41,42,44
Hornelen Basin 52-55
Hudson Bay 159
Humboldt Lake 248
Hurricane Carla 170, 171
Hydrostratigraphy 303, 306, 321
Hyperpycnal flow 92, 120, 122, 189,
190,237,240
Hypolimnion 237-238
Hypolimnic facies 237-239
Hypopycnal flow 92
Iceland
alluvial fans 36, 38
sandur 375
Illinois Basin 362-363, 366
In-situ mining 388-389
India
Jharia Basin 336
Indonesia 354
Indus Fan 206
Inlet see Barrier inlet
Interdune facies 259-260
Intracratonic basin 390-391, 413-417
Irish Namurian Basin 214
Isolani 394,396,397,405,406,410
Italy
Pleistocence fan deltas 50
Reno Fan 39
Jackson Group 267,355,359,361,
380, 407
Jamaica
Yallahs fan delta 41,42,44
Jharia Basin 336
Kalahari 39, 250, 262, 333
Karoo Basin 45,58,90, 124,238,341-
342,345,346,349,351,352,362,
366, 367
Kelantan Delta 111
Kentucky
coal seams 356
Kern River fan 33, 34
Kerogen 166, 368, 390, 392, 393, 394,
403,410
Kimmeridge Shale 160, 166
Klang Langat delta 115, 353
Korea
Miocene fan delta 48
tidal flats 152-153
Kosi alluvial fan 31,33,39,46,53,
55
Kuwait
alluvial fans 29, 38, 48
KwaZulu
coal 269,358-359,366
eolian systems 251, 268, 267
Nongoma Graben 366
redbeds 324
Lacustrine systems
hydrology 231-237
petroleum in 413
stratification 236-237
thermal classification 235
Lafourche delta complex 106
Lagoon 134,137-145,358,359,361,
363
Lake
Baikal 237
Brienz 240-241
Chad 234
Edward 237
Eyre 234, 237, 239, 240
Humboldt 248
Kivu 231, 232
Malawi 232-234, 237, 248
Tanganyika 232,236,246,248
Turkana 232,244
Victoria 232, 234
Lake Frome uranium 382, 384
Latrobe Valley 259,262,26
Lavaca Canyon 220,221,224
Subject Index 487
Levee 4, 69, 70, 74, 82, 91, 93, 101,
346, 357
Libya 261
Messiah Field 400
Sarir Field 400
Sirte Basin 391, 400
Linear dune 258-259
Lithologic traps 396
Lithofacies 8-9, 27
Little Muddy Creek Conglomerate 53
Littoral energy fence 161
Lodeve Basin 376
Loess 252
Longitudinal dune 258-259
Los Angeles Basin 413
Lower Freeport Seam 338
Lower Cretaceous Greensand 177
Maceral groups see Coal petrography
Macroscopic heterogeneity 428, 429,
431
Macrotidal coast 100, 129-131, 152-
154,172
Magdalena Delta fan 111,222,230
Mahakam Delta 115, 145,403,405,
406
Malaysia
estuaries 145, 154
Klang Langat Delta 115, 353
peat 331
Marine flooding surfaces see Flooding
surfaces
Marlim channel-lobe complex 198,
199
Mass flow see Debris flow
Mass wasting 188, 191, 205, 211, 214,
218, 219, 226, 277
Matagorda Island 152, 155
Maui Field, New Zealand 22
Mauritania sand sea 266
Maximum flooding surface 13-15,20,
245, 267, 276-277, 295, 328, 340
McKenzie Delta 317
Mediterranean Sea 161
Megascopic heterogeneity 428
Megaslide 206, 225-226
Mesoscopic heterogeneity 428
Mesotidal coast 139, 142, 146, 151
Messiah Field 400
Metalimnion 236
Meteoric regime 304-313,315,319-
326,358,373,374,378,380,383,
386, 387, 397
Mexico
Nayarit coastal plain 150-151
Tabascan strandplain 151
Microscopic heterogeneity 428
Microtidal coast 129, 131, 141
Midland Basin 99, 100, 125, 214, 284,
291,294,393,394,412,413,414,
416
Mid-Zambezi rift 58, 345, 366
Milankovitch cycles 11, 244, 266, 340
488 Subject Index

Mineralization front see Alteration Pennsylvania 2 San Joaquin Valley 34,320

front Pennsylvanian 85 San Juan Basin 248, 369, 383, 391
Mississippi coal basins 85,339-340,342 San Luis Valley 320,321,344
Basin 124, 168 coal seams 354 Sand plumes 174-175
Canyon 207 shore zones 131 Sand ribbons 169
Delta system 27,94-95,97,125, Permian Basin 391 Sand ridges 176
155,207,331-333,340,342,353, Pittsburgh Seam 348 Sand sea 250,261-262,267,320
354,356,363,391,403 Platte River 82, 351 Sand sheets
Fan 205-209,230 Playa 29,30,234,206,259,319 shelf 174-175
River 83, 349, 428 Po River basin eolian 260-261
Mobeetie Field 59 Reno fan 39 Sand waves 170, 182
Moray Firth structural trough 194 Pocahontas Seam 338, 365 Sandstone - type uranium 371, 372,
Morrison Formation 382-383 Poison River Basin 269 377-386
Mouth bar see Distributary mouth bar Poland Sandurs 36
Mud diapirs 97, 124 Neogene coal basins 348-349 Sarir Field, Libya 400
Mud plug see Channel plug Potentiometric surface 306, 326 Sao Francisco Delta 111, 113
Murrumbidgee Plain 80 Pottsville Formation 90 Sao Francisco Canyon 191-192
Powder River Basin 347,377-378,398 Scotland
Namib Desert 251,258,261,262,268 Pribilaf Canyon 226 eolian sequences 266-267
Natal Embayment 46 Prudhoe Bay oil field New Red Sandstone 45
Natural levee see Levee Ivishak Sandstone 52 Scott alluvial fan 37, 39
Navajo Sandstone 262,267 Puddle Springs alluvial fan 377-379 Scripps fan 230
Navy Fan 210-211, 230 Seeligson Field 399, 426
Nayarit coastal plain 150-151 Quartz pebble conglomerate ore see Seif dune 258-259
Nepheloid layer 160, 161, 165, 168, Syngenetic ore Seismic facies 19
187 Seismic profiles 123
Netherlands 170, 282 Raised mire, bog see Domed peat Seismic stratigraphy 19-21
New Guinea 330, 365 Rajang Delta 115 Selima sand sheet 260-261
New Red Sandstone 45 Ravinement 15, 115, 140, 148, 157, Sequence stratigraphy 4,235,241,
New Zealand megaslide 225 168,181,267,274-278,283,291, 245-247,265-267,279-284,339,
Newark Basin 248 295, 323, 441, 442 443-444
Niger Basin 99, 124 Rec6ncavo Basin 391, 393 Sergipe-Alagoas Basin 191-192
Niger Delta 391,403,405,426 Red Fork, Anadarko Basin 415 Shannon Sandstone 160
Nile Delta 111 Red Sea Sheet turbidites 201-202
Norias delta system 290, 423 Pleistocene fan delta 56 Sheetflood 30,33,35,36,40-41,48.
North Wales Basin 51 Reflection amplitude map 22 64, 344, 377
North Sea 111,124,159,160,161,164, Reno Fan 39 Shelf system
166,170,172,173,182,184,217, Reservoir characterization 4, 426-444 aggradation 182
219,317,327,368,393,410,412 Reservoir compartmentalization 429, break 186, 222
Norway 53 431,433 classification 175-176
Reservoir heterogeneity 427-444 fluid flow in 442
Oakville Formation 90, 325, 380-382 styles 427-428 petroleum in 160
Officer Basin 248 Rheotrophic mire 337 Shirley Basin 388
Okavango fan 39, 68 Rhone Delta 99,111-115 Shore zone system
Okavango swamp 330, 333 Rhone Fan 206 coal in 126
Ombrogenous mire 333-334 Rhone shelf 279 facies 134-149
Ombrotrophic peat 333-334, 348 Rift basins 231, 246, 248, 295, 330, fluid flow in 441-442
Orinoco Delta 96, 111 345,365-366,391,412 petroleum in 126,406-410
Overpressure 97, 316--317, 324, 369, Rio Balsas Fan 230 Shoreface 134-137,155,174,407,433,
397-398,417 Rio Grande Embayment 248, 380 434
Rio Grande Trough 20, 22-24 Simpson Desert 258, 262
Page Sandstone 267 Roaring River flood 32,35,41 Siberian gas 327
Paleochannel classification 78-83 Rotleigende Sandstone 45, 250, 268, Sirte Basin 391,400
bed-load channels 78-79,81 413 Slope
mixed-load channels 78-80, 81 Russia entrenchment surface 277
suspended-load channels 79-80, 81 marshlands 312,330, 376 facies 195-204
Paleosoils 45, 52, 74, 266, 276, 296, Moscow Basin 338 fluid flow 442-443
322, 351 petroleum in 410-413
Palo Duro Basin 393,414 Sable Island 174 Snuggedy Swamp 333, 358
Papua New Guinea 345 Sacramento Basin 394 Songliao Basin 241,245-246.247,249,
Parasequence 12, 15, 22, 25, 111, 157, Sahara 260,266,267,268 391,393,413
278,283,291,328,406,444 Sahel 261, 266 Source rock 392-394
Passive margin see Divergent margin Saltation 251,253,254 South Africa

Cape Supergroup 177
East London continental
margin 218-219,230
Karoo Basin 45,58,124,238,341-
342,345,346,352
Natal Embayment 46
synfuels 327
Waterberg Supergroup 51
Witwatersrand Supergroup,
Basin 30, 58, 89, 374-375
South Texas uranium provice 380-382
Spain
Cantabrian basins 365, 366
Madrid Basin 45
Spitzbergen
Upper Paleozoic fan deltas 41
Spraberry Sandstone 412,413
Star dune 259
Storm ridges 173-174
Storm effects 160, 162, 166-167, 169,
181,283
Storrega megaslide 226, 225, 230
Straits of Malacca 161
Strandplain 149-151,407,408
Stratal architecture 12-15
Stratal geometries 11
Stratified basin see Density
stratification
Stratigraphic architecture see
Depositional archtecture
Streamflood 33
Submarine apron 191-194,204-206,
211-219,282,283,286-289,410
Submarine canyon 191-193,197,204-
211,219-225,277,291-292,410,
412
Submarine channel-lobe
complexes 200-201
Sumatran peat 342
Surinam cheniers 151
Sussex Sandstone 160, 398,409,410
Sydney Basin 58, 163, 344, 345, 365,
370
Syndiagenetic ore 373,376--377,387
Syngenetic ore 371, 372-376, 387
Systems tract 280-284,291,293,296,
340, 444
highstand 242, 245-247, 270-271,
281-282,284,291,294,295,296,
340
lowstand 146,215,230,245-246,
270-271,281-284,291,294,295,
296
retrogradational 246--247
transgressive 147, 148,245,270,
281,283,284,296,340
Tabascan strandplain 151
Tarim Basin
sheetflooding on fans 41
Tectonic controls 231-235,242,245-
247,266,270-271,295,296,340,
364-367, 414
Tectonostratigraphy 241-242
Temperature stratification see Density
stratification
Texas
Brazos River 64
Catahoula Formation 75, 88-89,
325,380
dunes 251
East Texas Basin 402
Frio Formation 20,22-27, 141, 155,
156,286,325,326,394-395,399,
405,407,417-425,426
Galveston Island 155
Jackson Group 267,359,361,380,
407
Matagorda Island 155
Midland Basin 99, 100, 125,214,
284,291,294,393,394,412,413,
414, 416
Oakville Sandstone 90, 325, 380-
382
uranium 380-382
Van Horn Sandstone 47,48
Washita Group 170
Wilcox Group 105, 346, 349, 355,
367, 394-395
Yegua Group 13,367,407
Thar Desert 261
Thermobaric groundwater
regime 304-305,308,315-318,
326, 380, 388, 397, 398
Thermocline 165, 168, 236
Thet sequence, North Sea 182, 184
Three-dimensional seismic 19,20,28,
199,426
Tidal delta 128, 130, 141-143
ebb 130, 134, 137, 142-143
flood 128, 130, 134, 137, 139, 140,
141-143, 407
Tidal flat 134,144-145,149,152-154,
156,157,158,359,362,407,409
Tidal inlet see Barrier inlet
Tidal processes 132-133, 161
Tidal sand ridge 118, 153, 162, 171-
173
Topogenous mire 333
Trace fossils 135-135, 148-149, 166,
170,256
Transform margin 391
Transmissivity 300-303, 322, 323, 368,
380,382,386,387,429,433
Transvaal Coalfield 341-343
Transvaal Supergroup 159
Transverse dune 258
Trap prediction 394-397
Trollheim alluvial fan 36--37
Turbidite 189, 190, 195, 199-203,208-
215,237,290,291,410,411,412,
433,434,442,443
Turbidite channel-lobe complex 200-
201
Turbidite channels 195-199
Turbidite lobes 199-201
Subject Index 489
Tyee Formation 214
Uinta Basin 393,413
Unconformity-related uranium 371,
372
Underflows see Hyperpycnal flow
Upwelling 161, 165, 166, 187
Uranium
exploration criteria 387-388
Valley fill 83,382,403,415,439
Van Horn Sandstone 47,48
Vegetation 58, 158, 329-330, 333
Vicksburg Formation 394-395
Viking Sandstone 169, 177
Wadi 33,45
Warrior Basin 126,359,365,369
Wasatch Group 46,170
Washington
Paleogene fans 57-58
shelf 161, 164
Washita Group 170
Washover 143,151-152,155-156,352,
359, 362, 363, 407
Waterberg Supergroup 51
Wave-dominated delta 102,441
Wave processes 132
Well logs 16-19,22,25,26,27-28,66,
67,69,70,82, 105, 106, 113, 117,
118, 121, 139, 140, 142, 148, 152,
153, 155, 180-183, 197, 227, 328,
236,239,351,355
West Ranch Field 432
West Vir gin a
coal seams 357
Westphalian mire 334
Wilcox Group 105,346,349,355,367,
394-395
Williston Basin 398
Wind River Basin 377,379
Wireline logs see Well logs
Witwatersrand Basin 30, 58, 89,
374-375
Witwatersrand goldfields 374
Woodbine Formation 402
Wyoming basins
Powder River Basin 347, 377-378
Shirley Basin 388
uranium 377-379
Wind River Basin 377,379
Yakataga Formation 196
Yallahs fan delta 41,42,44
Yeelirrie district 377, 378
Yegua Formation 13,367,407
Yellow Sea 173
Yoakum Canyon 221,224,225
Yukon Delta 168
peat 332
Zibar 257-258
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