Showing papers in "Sedimentology in 1997"

Comparison of laser grain size analysis with pipette and sieve analysis: a solution for the underestimation of the clay fraction

Abstract: Classically, the grain size of soil and sediment samples is determined by the sieve method for the coarse fractions and by the pipette method, based on the ‘Stokes’ sedimentation rates, for the fine fractions. Results from the two methods are compared with results from laser diffraction size analysis, which is based on the forward scattering of monochromatic coherent light. From a point of view of laboratory efficiency, the laser sizing technique is far superior. Accuracy and reproducibility are shown by measurements on certified materials. It appears that laser grain size measurements of certified materials correspond very well with the certificated measurements. Tests were also done on a set of randomly selected sediments of fluvial, aeolian and lacustrine origin. Except for the (<2 μm) clay fraction, there is a coarsening of the mean diameter of one to two size classes (0.25 ɛ), caused by the non-sphericity of the particles. The platy form of the clay particles induces considerable differences (eight size classes) between pipette and laser measurements: the <2 μm grain size, defined by the pipette method corresponds with a grain size of 8 μm defined by the Laser Particle Sizer for the studied sediments. Using a higher grain size level for the clay fraction, when laser analysis is applied, enables workers in the geological and environmental field to compare classical pipette analysis with a laser sizing technique.

Lower Jurassic epicontinental carbonates and mudstones from England and Wales: chemostratigraphic signals and the early Toarcian anoxic event

Abstract: Sections through Lower Jurassic epicontinental carbonates from Southern Britain (Junction Bed and equivalent) show a positive carbon-isotope excursion (δ13Ccarbonate), detectable in bulk rock, in the falciferum Zone of the lower Toarcian. Isotopic data from organic matter in more clay-rich sections from Wales and north-east England, together with determinations on belemnite calcite, indicate that highest δ13C values are localized in the upper exaratum Subzone of the falciferum Zone. Levels of particular enrichment in organic carbon were developed in the early to mid-exaratum Subzone and hence pre-date this δ13C maximum. These phenomena reflect the impact of the early Toarcian oceanic anoxic event in the British area. Similar isotopic trends have been recorded in other Toarcian sections from Tethyan Europe and are interpreted as reflecting the chemistry of sea water. On the assumption of isotopic correlation between the English and Tethyan sections, the δ13C maximum would be everywhere dated as latest exaratum Subzone in terms of the north European ammonite scheme. Absolute oxygen-isotope values in carbonates probably reflect both early diagenetic cementation and later temperature-related burial diagenesis, although a palaeotemperature maximum is tentatively identified as characterizing the early falciferum Zone. Subsequent climatic deterioration may have been triggered by drawdown of CO2, related to regional excess carbon burial during the oceanic anoxic event. Using the positive δ13C excursion as a correlative level in sections from different faunal provinces (Britain, Italy and Spain) implies that lower Toarcian zonal stratigraphy is diachronous between northern and southern Europe. There is evidence for partitioning of water masses between the north European shelf and the Tethyan continental margin during the Early Jurassic.

Tsunami sedimentary facies deposited by the Storegga tsunami in shallow marine basins and coastal lakes, western Norway

Abstract: Sedimentary successions in small coastal lakes situated from 0 to 11 m above the 7000 year BP shoreline along the western coast of Norway, contain a distinctive deposit, very different from the sediments above and below. The deposit is interpreted to be the result of a tsunami inundating the coastal lakes. An erosional unconformity underlies the tsunami facies and is traced throughout the basins, with most erosion found at the seaward portion of the lakes. The lowermost tsunami facies is a graded or massive sand that locally contains marine fossils. The sand thins and decreases in grain size in a landward direction. Above follows coarse organic detritus with rip-up clasts, here termed ‘organic conglomerate’, and finer organic detritus. The tsunami unit generally fines and thins upwards. The higher basins (6‐11 m above the 7000 year shoreline) show one sand bed, whereas basins closer to the sea level 7000 years ago, may show several sand beds separated by organic detritus. These alternations in the lower basins may reflect repeated waves of sea water entering the lakes. In basins that were some few metres below sea level at 7000 years BP, the tsunami deposit is more minerogenic and commonly present as graded sand beds, but also in some of these shallow marine basins organic-rich facies occur between the sand beds. The total thickness of the tsunami deposit is 20‐100 cm in most studied sites. An erosional and depositional model of the tsunami facies is developed.

Deglaciation sequences in the Permo-Carboniferous Karoo and Kalahari basins of southern Africa: a tool in the analysis of cyclic glaciomarine basin fills

Abstract: The Late Westphalian to Artinskian glaciomarine deposits of the Karoo and Kalahari basins of southern Africa consist of massive and stratified diamictite, mudrock with ice-rafted material, sandstone, silty rhythmite, shale and subordinate conglomerate forming a cyclic succession recognizable across both basins. A complete cycle comprises a resistant basal unit of apparently massive diamictite overlain by softer, bedded stratified diamictite, sandstone and mudrock with a total thickness of as much as 350 m. Four major cycles are observed each separated by bounding surfaces. Lateral facies changes are present in some cycles. The massive diamictites formed as aprons and fans in front of the ice-grounding line, whereas the stratified diamictites represent more distal debris-flow fans. The sandstones originated in different environments as turbidite sands, small subaqueous outwash channel sands and delta front sands. The rhythmites and mudrock represent blanket deposits derived from turbid meltwater plumes. Cycles represent deglaciation sequences which formed during ice retreat phases caused by eustatic changes in the Karoo and Kalahari basins. Evidence for shorter-term fluctuation of the ice margin is present within the major advance-retreat cycles. Hardly any sediment was deposited during lowstand ice sheet expansion, whereas a deglaciation sequence was laid down during a sea-level rise and ice margin retreat with the volume of meltwater and sediment input depending on temporary stillstands of the ice margin during the retreat phase. The duration of the cycles is between 9 and 11 Ma suggesting major global tectono-eustatic events. Smaller cycles probably linked to orbital forcing were superimposed on the longer-term events. A sequence stratigraphic approach using the stacking of deglaciation sequences with the ice margin advance phases forming bounding surfaces, can be a tool in the framework analysis of ancient glaciomarine basin fills.

Numerical modelling of a mid‐sized gravity flow: the 1979 Nice turbidity current (dynamics, processes, sediment budget and seafloor impact)

Abstract: The 1979 Nice turbidity current is modelled using a visco-plastic analysis of flow velocity because the initial flow concentrations are expected to have been very high The complete history of the failed sediment from debris flow to turbidity current plume is therefore addressed The turbidity current portion is considered as a steady state flow divided into a dense bottom flow and an upper plume Model results show that a dense flow can be generated from the debris flow by the disaggregation of the initial slide The dense flow would be strongly erosive and able to create and maintain a low-density plume at its surface The depth of erosion of the channel floor by the dense flow is predicted to reach 6–11 m in overconsolidated sediments, with the main erosion taking place in Var Canyon and the Upper Fan Valley The eroded volume (108 m3) provides additional material to the sediment mass of the initial failure The dense flow appears able to inject fine sand and silt into the overlying plume during 90 km, and would disintegrate before being able to deposit sediment The extensive sand layer along the travel path of the turbidity current may have been deposited from the tail of the trailing plume: a result of the velocity difference between the plume and the dense flow Observations on sedimentary structures, erosion features and distribution of the sand deposit are quite in agreement with our modelling approach For example, gravel waves can be generated when loose deposits are reworked by the supercritical dense flow The methodology and equations presented here provide a good estimate of the geological consequences of a high-velocity gravity flow undergoing rheological transition

Fabric characteristics of subaerial slope deposits

Abstract: The clast fabrics of certain types of terrestrial slope deposits are reviewed and compared, including the deposits of rockfalls, solifluction, debris flows, dry grain flows, frost-coated clast flows and run-off. The analysis is based on modern deposits in active environments. The study shows that fabric characteristics allow discrimination between ‘collective’and individual movement of rock particles. The individual particle movement generally results in a random clast orientation, whereas the processes of ‘collective’movement typically create distinct preferred orientations. The highest fabric strengths together with low values of spherical variance are found in solifluction deposits. A survey of Pleistocene slope deposits indicates, however, that clast fabric has to be used with caution in the identification of past slope dynamics, because significant post-depositional changes may occur during ageing and burial of deposits. The diagnostic significance of fabric characteristics may also be low due to the overlap of the statistical values that typify different processes.

Relations between dune morphology, air flow, and sediment flux on reversing dunes, Silver Peak, Nevada

Abstract: Relations between wind speed, sediment flux and dune morphology were measured for two reversing dunes situated in the south-western part of the Silver Peak dunefield in Clayton Valley, west-central Nevada. The larger dune was 120 m in length with a height of 12AE5 m and the smaller dune 80 m long and 6 m high. Both dunes were sharp crested, aligned approximately E‐W perpendicular to the dominant wind direction, and had slightly concave stoss profiles. Twenty-seven rotating cup anemometers were placed (0AE3 m elevation) along N‐S transects on each of the dunes. At each anemometer site a passive wedge-shaped sediment trap was used to measure sediment flux. Amplification of wind speed was observed towards the crest on the stoss side of both dunes with speed-up factors (ucrest/ubase) ranging from 1AE50‐3AE19, with a corresponding increase in sediment flux by 1‐2 orders of magnitude. In general, the ratio of crest flux to base flux (qc/qb) increased with increasing incident basal wind speed on both dunes. Direct measurements of the stoss slope variation in sediment flux relative to the dune crest are in good agreement with Owen’s transport model. Friction speed (u * ) was approximated from near surface (0AE3 m) point wind speed. Although not all assumptions of the Owen model are upheld, the modified model performance is sufficiently robust to predict short-term variation in stoss sediment flux on the study dunes. Improved models that adequately account for variation in sediment flux under changing air flow and transport conditions are necessary for the prediction of longterm evolution of dunes. In this regard, further progress in model development will require increased understanding of the spatial and temporal variability of airflow and the short term response of sediment flux to these flow conditions.

Preservation of planar laminae due to migration of low-relief bed waves over aggrading upper-stage plane beds: comparison of experimental data with theory

Abstract: Experimental studies of the formation of planar laminae by migration of low-relief bed waves over aggrading upper-stage plane beds show that the average thickness of laminae at a point increases with both aggradation rate and the variance of the heights of bed waves passing that point. In general, the preserved laminae represent only a small proportion (generally less than 50%) of the height of the largest bed waves in the population. The theory developed by Paola & Borgman (1991), relating the probability density function of stratal thickness to that of bed wave height for the case of no net aggradation, was adapted for aggrading conditions and shown to agree well with data. These results suggest that the theory can be used to estimate, from the distribution of thickness of planar laminae, either the distribution of bed wave heights, mean aggradation rate, mean bed wave length or mean bed wave celerity, provided the other parameters can be estimated.

Gravel antidunes in the tropical Burdekin River, Queensland, Australia

Abstract: The geological record is punctuated by the deposits of extreme event phenomena, the identification and interpretation of which are hindered by a lack of data on contemporary examples. It is impossible to directly observe sedimentary bedforms and grain fabrics forming under natural particle-transporting, high-velocity currents, and therefore, their characteristics are poorly documented. The deposits of such flows are exposed however, in the dry bed of the Burdekin River, Queensland, Australia following tropical cyclone-induced floods. Long wave-length (up to 19 m) gravel antidunes develop during short (days) high-discharge flows in the upper Burdekin River (maximum recorded discharge near the study reach over 25 600 m s in February 1927). Flood water levels fall quickly (metres in a day) and flow is diverted away from raised areas of the river bed into subchannels, exposing many of the high-stage bedforms with little reworking by falling-stage currents. Gravel bedforms were observed on the dry river bed after the moderate flows of February 1994 (max. 7700 m s) and January 1996 (max. 3200 m s). The bedforms had wave-lengths in the range 8-19 m, amplitudes of up to 1 m with steeper stoss than lee faces and crest lines generally transverse to local peak-discharge flow direction. The gravel fabric and size sorting change systematically up the stoss and down the lee faces. The antidune deposits form erosive based lenses of sandy gravel with low-angle downstream dipping lamination and generally steep upstream dipping a-b planes. The internal form and fabric of the antidune gravel lenses are distinctly different from those of dune lee gravel lenses. The erosive based lenses of low-angle cross-bedded gravel with steep upstream dipping a-b planes are relatively easy to recognize and may be diagnostic of downstream migrating antidunes. The antidune gravel lenses are associated with thick (to 1 m) high-angle cross bed sets. Ancient antidune gravel lenses may be diagnostic of episodic high-discharge conditions and particularly when they are associated with high-angle cross-bedded gravelly sand they may be useful for palaeoenvironmental interpretation.

The effects of source lithology, transport, deposition and sampling scale on the composition of southern California sand

Abstract: The Transverse Ranges of southern California represent an uplifted and variably dissected Mesozoic magmatic arc, and Mesozoic to Holocene sedimentary and volcanic strata deposited in convergent and transform tectonic settings. Modern sand within part of the Western Transverse Ranges represents: first-order sampling scale of the Santa Monica and the San Gabriel Mountains; second-order sampling scale of the Santa Clara River draining both mountain ranges; and third-order sampling scale of the beach system between the mouth of the Santa Clara River and the eastern Santa Monica Mountains, and turbidite sand of the Hueneme-Mugu submarine fan. Source lithology includes plutonic and metamorphic rocks of the San Gabriel Mountains, and sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Santa Monica Mountains. First-order sands have large compositional variability. Sand from local coastal drainage of the Santa Monica Mountains ranges from basaltic feldspatholithic to quartzofeldspathic. Sand of the San Gabriel Mountains local drainages has three distinct petrofacies, ranging from metamorphiclastic feldspatholithic to mixed metamorphi/plutoniclastic and plutoniclastic quartzofeldspathic. Second-order sand is represented by the main channel of the Santa Clara River; the sand has an abrupt downstream compositional change, from feldspathic to quartzofeldspathic. Third-order sand (beaches and deep-sea turbidite samples) of the Santa Monica Basin is quartzofeldspathic. Beach sand is more quartz-rich than is Santa Clara river sand, whereas turbidite sand is more feldspar-rich than is beach sand. Deep-sea sand has intermediate composition with respect to second-order samples of the Santa Clara River and third-order samples of the beach system, suggesting that (1) the Santa Clara River is the main source of sediments to the marine environment; and (2) local entry points from canyons located near local drainages may generate turbidity currents during exceptional flood conditions. Petrologic data of modern sand of the study area are highly variable at first- and second-order scale, whereas third-order sand is homogenized. The homogenized composition of deep-marine sand is similar to the composition of most ancient sandstone derived primarily from the Mesozoic dissected magmatic arc of southern California. This study of the Western Transverse Ranges illustrates the effects of source lithology, transport, depositional environment, and sampling scale on sand composition of a complex system, which provides insights regarding actualistic petrofacies models.

Effect of bacteria on the elemental composition of early diagenetic siderite: implications for palaeoenvironmental interpretations

Abstract: Many ancient early diagenetic siderite concretions are thought to have been precipitated by microbially-mediated reactions, and their trace element chemistry has been used to infer palaeoenvironments of formation (e.g. marine versus freshwater). In this study, pure cultures of the microorganism Geobacter metallireducens were used to precipitate siderite in the laboratory at a range of temperatures (18–40°C). Magnesium and calcium, in three different ratios (3:1, as in seawater, 1:1, and 1:3 as in freshwater), or manganese were added to some cultures at each incubation temperature to study trace element incorporation. The siderite produced exhibited the rhombohedral crystal form typical of concretionary siderite. However, this microbial siderite did not simply retain the trace element chemistry of the water from which it precipitated, as is assumed in palaeoenvironmental interpretations. Instead, manganese and calcium incorporation were found to be inversely proportional to the rate of microbial activity, which itself is dependent upon the nutritional status of the microorganisms. Magnesium incorporation was found to be rate-independent, and at high Mg/Ca ratios, it caused inhibition of calcium incorporation. In short, the influence of microorganisms on the trace element composition of early diagenetic siderite must be taken into account in order to produce valid palaeoenvironmental interpretations.

Formation of silica oncoids around geysers and hot springs at El Tatio, northern Chile

Abstract: Siliceous oncoids, up to 4 cm in diameter, are common on the laterally extensive sinter aprons that surround the spectacular geysers and hot springs at El Tatio in northern Chile. Many of these complex oncoids developed close to geyser and spring vents that discharge boiling water. Internally the oncoids, which are composed of precipitated amorphous silica, are formed of complex arrays of spicules and concentric laminae as well as detrital volcanic grains. Spicular growth is dominant in most examples. The formation and growth of the spicules and concentric laminae were mediated by a microbial community which included filamentous microbes, mucus, and possibly bacteria. The microbes and mucus were silicified by replacement and encrustation. In some laminae the filamentous microbes lay parallel to the growth surface; in other laminae most filaments forming the thin mats were suberect. Amorphous silica precipitated between the filaments occluded porosity and commonly disguised the microbial fabric. The oncoids grew on the proximal sinter aprons around the geyser vents and hot spring pools. Most growth took place subaerially with the silica delivered to the precipitation sites by splashing water from the geysers and/or periodic shallow flooding of the discharge aprons. Unlike silica oncoids at other geothermal sites, vertical growth of oncoids that formed in some rimstone pools was not limited by water depth.

Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic) coral reefs in Western Europe: reef types and conceptual depositional model

Abstract: Comparative sedimentology and palaeoecology of Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic) coral-dominated reefs of England, France, Italy and Switzerland has been used to: (1) identify and characterize different types of Late Jurassic coral reefs with regard to their litho- and biofacies; and (2) develop a depositional model for these reefs relating different reef types to each other within a palaeoenvironmental framework. Eight generic reef types and one associated reef facies are recognized. These are: (I) biostromal units dominated by platy microsolenids developed within clean limestone facies; (II) biostromal units dominated by platy microsolenids developed within marly facies; (III) reefal thickets dominated by tall dense phaceloid colonies developed within pure carbonate muds; (IV) microbial-coral reefs dominated by massive, branching ramose and phaceloid colonies; (V) large high diversity reefal units associated with large volumes of bioclastic material; (VI) small species-poor reefs developed within mixed carbonate/siliciclastic facies; (VII) microbial-coral reefs dominated by massive colonies; (VIII) reefal thickets dominated by branching ramose colonies with widely spaced branches developed amongst sand shoals and coral debris channels; and (IX) conglomerates rich in rounded coral fragments (the reef associated facies). The development of these different constructional and compositional reef types is interpreted as being primarily a function of light intensity, hydrodynamic energy levels and sediment balance. A conceptual depositional model based on these parameters can be used to predict the spatial and temporal distribution of different reefal carbonates and highlight sedimentological and palaeoecological trends in reef development.

Mid‐cycle condensed shellbeds from mid‐Pleistocene cyclothems, New Zealand: implications for sequence architecture

Abstract: Richly fossiliferous and disconformity-bounded facies successions, termed Mid-Cycle Condensed Shellbeds (MCS), occupy a mid-cycle position within depositional sequences in the Castlecliff section (mid-Pleistocene, Wanganui Basin, New Zealand). These shell-rich intervals (0.1–4.5 m thick) comprise the upper of two loci of shell accumulation in Castlecliff sequences. The lower disconformable contacts are sharp and variably burrowed, and are interpreted as submarine transgressive surfaces formed by storm or tidal current erosion at the feather-edge of contemporary transgressive systems tracts. Above (i.e. seaward) of this erosion surface, macrofossil remains (mainly bivalves and gastropods) accumulated, with little reworking, on the inner-shelf under conditions of reduced terrigenous sediment supply. The upper contacts are sharp transitions from shell-rich to relatively shell-poor lithofacies; parautochthonous shell accumulation was ‘quenched’by downlapping highstand systems tract shelf siltstones and muddy fine sandstones. Castlecliff MCS, together with the basal shell-rich part of overlying highstand systems tracts, occupy a stratigraphic position which corresponds to the condensed section that forms at the transgressive/highstand systems tract boundary in the sequence model of Haq et al. (1987). Palaeoenvironmental analysis indicates that Castlecliff MCS are substantially, if not entirely, transgressive deposits. This study therefore shows that the ‘condensation maximum’within a depositional sequence does not necessarily bracket the transgressive systems tract/highstand systems tract boundary.

Late Miocene Halimeda alga‐microbial segment reefs in the marginal Mediterranean Sorbas Basin, Spain

Abstract: A ∼6 Ma Messinian (late Miocene) Bioherm Unit on the southern slope of the Sorbas Basin, SE Spain, contains numerous biotically diverse lensoid patch reefs that formed on a shelf to basin slope during a cycle of relative sea-level change. Halimeda reefs are the largest and most complex of the patch reefs and are divisible into core, cap, and flank facies. On the upper and midslope they are up to 40 m thick and 400 m long. They become smaller downslope. The core consists of jumbled Halimeda segments, released by spontaneous disaggregation of the alga. The segments were stabilized close to their sites of growth and rapidly lithified by micritic and peloidal microbial crusts. Residual cavities were further veneered by isopachous marine cements. Flank facies, consisting of bedded packstones to rudstones, form wedge-shaped units lateral to the mounds. Cap facies consist of bioclastic calcarenites/calcirudites and microbial carbonates. Synsedimentary lithification assisted rapid accretion and inhibited off-mound export of sediment. Allochthonous reef-derived blocks on the mid-slope reflect penecontemporaneous rigidity of the Halimeda bioherms. Proximal Porites coral frame patch reefs associated with calcarenites were located near the shelf margin during the initial lowstand stage. Halimeda segment reefs associated with calcarenites and silty marls developed on the midslope and bivalve-bryozoan-serpulid reefs formed on the lower slope in silty marls with occasional turbidites. During the transgressive stage, coral patch reefs near the shelfbreak were overgrown by Halimeda. During highstand progradation, cap facies spread basinward as a sheet connecting many of the midslope patch reefs. These ancient analogues differ from most modern Halimeda reefs in being discrete laterally restricted patch reefs, surrounded by marly sediment, and located on a slope. They are, however, broadly comparable in biota, thickness, and depositional depth. Intense early lithification by microbial crusts and marine cements is an important feature of these Messinian segment reefs. It has not been reported from modern examples.

Cross-stratified calcarenites from New Zealand: subaqueous dunes in a cool-water, Oligo-Miocene seaway

Abstract: Cross-bedded, cool-water, bioclastic limestones of the Te Kuiti Group on the North Island of New Zealand are composed primarily of bryozoans, echinoderms, and benthic foraminifers Their prominent, large-scale, unidirectional cross-stratification is interpreted as produced by migrating subaqueous dunes on the floor of a 50–100 km wide, north-east-trending seaway in water depths of 40–60 m These dunes are thought to have developed in response to strong, seaway-parallel, tidal currents combined with a north-east-directed, set-up or oceanic current Cross-stratification is organized into four hierarchical levels: (1) cross-lamination; (2) first-order sets; (3) second-order sets; and (4) cross-stratified successions The levels are based on increasing degrees of internal complexity Distinct attributes such as internal organization, cross-set thickness, foreset shape, and lower bounding-surface shape are used to describe and interpret the cross-stratification All these attributes are here integrated in a new and expanded classification of unidirectional cross-stratification that emphasizes flow and bedform dynamics rather than overall set shape Individual cross-stratified successions are interpreted to have formed by dunes with varying sinuosity, superposition, and flow history, under conditions of different current strength but constant sediment production Horizontally bedded successions are the result of robust, active dune fields that grew during times of vigorous sediment transport Formset successions were produced from large compound dunes and are the expression of languid and decaying dune fields that developed during times of decreasing sediment transport These decaying dunes were gradually smothered by continuously and locally produced bioclastic sediment Formset cross-stratified successions are most likely to develop in carbonates, where the sediment is produced in place, than in terrigenous clastics where the sediment is imported

Hurricane control on shelf‐edge‐reef architecture around Grand Cayman

Abstract: Rimming the outer shelf of Grand Cayman is a submerged, 87 km long shelf-edge reef that rises to within 12 m of mean sea level. It consists of an array of coral-armoured buttresses aligned perpendicular to shore and separated by steep-sided sediment-floored canyons. Individual buttresses have a diverse coral-dominated biota and consist of three architectural elements: a shield-like front wall colonized by platy corals, a dome-shaped crown colonized by head corals, and a shoreward-projecting spur covered by varying amounts of branching coral. Buttresses are commonly fronted by coral pinnacles that, in some areas, have amalgamated with buttress walls to produce pinnacle-and-arch structures. As margin orientation changes, shelf-edge-reef architecture shows systematic variations that are consistent with changes in fetch and height of hurricane waves. Along margins exposed to fully developed storm waves, shelf-edge-reef buttresses are deep, have large amplitudes, and are dominated by robust head corals. These characteristics are consistent with hurricane-induced pruning of branching corals and the flushing of significant quantities of sand from buttress canyons by return flows. Along margins impacted by fetch-limited storm waves, reef buttresses are shallower, have intermediate-amplitudes, and have a significantly higher proportion of branching corals. These characteristics are consistent with less coral pruning and sand flushing by weaker hurricane waves. Along margins fully protected from storm waves, the buttresses-canyon architecture of the shelf-edge reef breaks down producing a series of shallow, undulating, branching-coral-dominated ridges that merge laterally into an unbroken belt of coral. These characteristics correspond with negligible amounts of pruning and flushing during hurricanes. In addition to differences between margins, local intra-marginal changes in shelf-edge reef architecture are consistent with changes in the angle of hurricane-wave approach. Open sections of the shelf-edge reef, which face directly into storm waves, are pruned of branching corals and the fragments swept back onto the shelf producing extensive spurs. By contrast, on more sheltered, obliquely orientated sections, storm-waves sweep debris along and off shelf producing little or no spur development. Instead, the debris shed seawards accumulates in front of the buttress walls and initiates the development of coral pinnacles. Over time, repeated buttress pruning and canyon flushing during hurricanes not only controls reef architecture but may also influence accretion patterns. Vertical accretion is limited by the effective depth of storm-wave fragmentation. Once this hurricane-accretion threshold is reached the reef moves into a shedding phase and accretes laterally via pinnacle growth, amalgamation, and infilling. Consequently, the reef steps out over its own debris in a kind of balancing act between lateral growth and slope failure — a pattern widely recognized in ancient reefs.

Distribution of sedimentary organic matter in a mixed carbonate‐siliciclastic platform environment: Oxfordian of the Swiss Jura Mountains

Abstract: Outcrop sections from the Swiss Jura, consisting of carbonate-siliciclastic deposits spanning the Middle-Late Oxfordian boundary, provide a palaeogeographical cross-section ranging from coastal to shallow platform and intra-platform basin environments. Using a sedimentological and a 3rd order sequence stratigraphic framework based on those sections, the distribution of sedimentary organic matter (palynofacies) has been spatially studied in relation to sequence stratigraphy. The main factors influencing the spatial variations of sedimentary organic matter are the proximity of land, organic productivity, level of biodegradation and hydrodynamic conditions of the palaeoenvironment. These factors determine the distribution of the land-derived, relatively allochthonous organic constituents (phytoclasts, pollen and spores), and marine, relatively autochthonous constituents (phytoplankton and foraminifera linings). Five main palynofacies parameters appear as good indicators of proximal-distal trends: the relative proportion of total phytoclasts; the proportion of fresh, translucent fragments among these phytoclasts; the ratio of marine to continental palynomorphs; and the relative amount and species diversity of dinoflagellate cysts. In lowstand deposits, high-energy hydrodynamic conditions may affect these trends on the shallow platform, where storms tend to increase the proportion of the marine organic fraction landwards. These five palynofacies parameters are largely related to water depth. Therefore, when compared with the established 3rd order sequence stratigraphic framework, their stratigraphic variations indicate relative sea-level changes or, alternatively, proximality changes. Parameters indicative of more distal conditions increase in the transgressive and early highstand, and decrease in the late highstand. The opposite occurs for parameters indicative of more proximal conditions. Foraminifera linings seem to be particularly concentrated near the shelf edge and on the slope. Finally, bisaccate pollen may display cyclicity associated with alternating humid and dry periods. This palaeoclimatic signature may be related to orbital cyclicity.

Architecture of fluvial-dominated valley-fill deposits in the Cretaceous Fall River Formation

Abstract: The Fall River Formation is a 45 m thick layer of fluvial-dominated valley-fills and shore-zone strata deposited on the stable cratonic margin of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway. Fall River deposits in Red Canyon, in the south-west corner of South Dakota (USA), expose a cross-section of a 3.5 km wide valley-fill sandstone and laterally adjacent marine deposits. The marine deposits comprise three 10 m thick upward-shoaling sequences; each composed of multiple metres-thick upward-coarsening successions. The lower two of these sequences are laterally cut by the valley-fill sandstone, and are capped by metres-thick muddy palaeosols. The upper sequence spans the top of the valley-fill sandstone, and is overlain by the Skull Creek Shale. The 30 m thick valley sandstone is partitioned into four distinct fills by major erosion surfaces, and each of these fills contain many metres-thick channel-form bodies. Deposits in the lower parts of these fills are sheet-like, top-truncated channel bodies, whereas deposits in the upper parts of fills are upward-concave, laterally amalgamated channel bodies, more completely preserved heterolithic channel bodies, or wave-deposited sheets. Each valley-fill basal erosion surface records an episode of valley incision and relative sea-level fall, and the gradual progression from fluvial to more estuarine deposits upwards within each fill records relative sea-level rise. All fills are dominantly channel deposits and are capped by marine flooding surfaces. The dominance of channel deposits, the gradual change to more estuarine facies in the upper parts of fills, and the location of flooding surfaces at valley-fill tops all suggest that sediment supply initially kept pace with relative sea-level rise and valleys filled during late marine lowstand and transgression, not during subsequent highstands. Recently proposed facies models have focused on variations in the relative strength of tide, wave and river currents as controls on valley-fill deposits. However, relative rates of sediment supply and basin accommodation change, and the shift in this ratio along the depositional profile during multiple-scale cycles in relative sea-level, are equally important controls on the style of valley-fill deposits.

Evolution of Miocene fluvial environments, eastern Potwar plateau, northern Pakistan

Abstract: The Miocene-Pliocene Siwalik Group records changing fluvial environments in the Himalayan foreland basin. The Nagri and Dhok Pathan Formations of this Group in the eastern Potwar Plateau, northern Pakistan, comprise relatively thick (tens of metres) sandstone bodies and mudstones that contain thinner sandstone bodies (metres thick) and palaeosols. Thick sandstone bodies extend for kilometres normal to palaeoflow, and are composed of large-scale stratasets (storeys) stacked laterally and vertically adjacent to each other. Sandstone bodies represent single or superimposed braided-channel belts, and large-scale stratasets represent channel bars and fills. Channel belts had widths of km, bankfull discharges on the order of 103 cumecs and braiding parameter up to about 3. Individual channel segments had bankfull widths, maximum depths, and slopes on the order of 102 m, 101 m and 10−4 respectively, and sinuosities around 1-1. These rivers are comparable to many of those flowing over the megafans of the modern Indo-Gangetic basin, and a similar depositional setting is likely. Thin sandstone bodies within mudstone sequences extend laterally for on the order of 102 m and have lobe, wedge, sheet and channel-form geometries: they represent crevasse splays, levees and floodplain channels. Mudstones are relatively bioturbated/disrupted and represent mainly floodbasin and lacustrine deposition. Mudstones and sandstones are extremely disrupted in places, showing evidence of prolonged pedogenesis. These ‘mature’ palaeosols are m thick and extend laterally for km. Lateral and vertical variations in the nature of their horizons apparently depend mainly on deposition rate. The 500 m-thick Nagri Formation has a greater proportion and thicker sandstone bodies than the overlying 700 m-thick Dhok Pathan Formation. The thick sandstone bodies and their large-scale stratasets thicken and coarsen through the Nagri Formation, then thin and fine at the base of the Dhok Pathan Formation. Compacted deposition rates increase with sandstone proportion (0-53 mm/year for Nagri, 0-24 mm/year for Dhok Pathan), and palaeosols are not as well developed where deposition rates are high. Within both formations there are 100 m-scale variations (representing on the order of 105 years) in the proportion and thickness of thick sandstone bodies, and tens-of-m-scale alternations of thick sandstone bodies and mudstone-sandstone strata that represent on the order of 104 years. Formation-scale stratal variations extend across the Potwar Plateau for at least 100 km, although they may be diachronous: however, 100-m and smaller scale variations can only be traced laterally for up to tens of km. Alluvial architecture models indicate that increases in the proportion and thickness of thick sandstone bodies can be explained by increasing channel-belt sizes (mainly), average deposition rate and avulsion frequency on a megafan comparable in size to modern examples. 100-m-scale variations in thick sandstone-body proportion and thickness could result from ‘regional’ shifts in the position of major channels, possibly associated with ‘fan lobes’on a single megafan or with separate megafans. However, such variations could also be related to local changes in subsidence rate or changes in sediment supply to the megafan system. Formation-scale and 100-m-scale stratal variations are probably associated with interelated changes in tectonic uplift, sediment supply and basin subsidence. Increased rates of hinterland uplift, sediment supply and basin subsidence, recorded by the Nagri Formation, may have resulted in diversion of a relatively large river to the area. Alternatively, changing river sizes and sediment supply rates may be related to climate changes affecting the hinterland (possibly linked to tectonic uplift). Climate during deposition of the Siwalik Group was monsoonal. Although the deposits contain no direct evidence for climate change, independent evidence indicates global cooling throughout the Miocene, and the possibility of glacial periods (e.g. around 10-8 Ma, corresponding to base of Nagri Formation). If the higher Himalayas were periodically glaciated, a mechanism would exist for varying sediment supply to megafans on time scales of 104-105 years. Although eustatic sea-level changes are related to global climatic change, they are not directly related to Siwalik stratigraphic changes, because the shoreline was many 100 km away during the Miocene.

Fluvial and lacustrine palaeoenvironments of the Miocene Siwalik Group, Khaur area, northern Pakistan

Abstract: The Miocene Siwalik Group (upsection, the Chinji, Nagri, and Dhok Pathan Formations) in northern Pakistan records fluvial and lacustrine environments within the Himalayan foreland basin. Thick (5 m to tens of metres) sandstones are composed of channel bar and fill deposits of low-sinuousity (1·08–1·19), single-channel meandering and braided rivers which formed large, low-gradient sediment fans (or ‘megafans’). River flow was dominantly toward the south-east and likely perennial. Palaeohydraulic reconstructions indicate that Chinji and Dhok Pathan rivers were small relative to Nagri rivers. Bankfull channel depths of Chinji and Dhok Pathan rivers were generally ≤ 15 m, and up to 33 m for Nagri rivers. Widths of channel segments (including single channels of meandering rivers and individual channels around braid bars) were 320–710 m for Chinji rivers, 320–1050 m for Nagri rivers, and 270–340 m for Dhok Pathan rivers. Mean channel bed slopes were on the order of 0·000056–0·00011. Bankfull discharges of channel segments for Chinji and Dhok Pathan rivers were generally 700–800 m3s−1, with full river discharges possibly up to 2400 m3s−1. Bankfull discharges of channel segments for Nagri rivers were generally 1800–3500 m3s−1, with discharges of some larger channel segments possibly on the order of 9000–32 000 m3s−1. Full river discharges of some of the largest Nagri braided rivers may have been twice these values. Thin (decimetres to a few metres) sandstones represent deposits of levees, crevasse channels and splays, floodplain channels, and large sheet floods. Laminated mudstones represent floodplain and lacustrine deposits. Lakes were both perennial and short-lived, and likely less than 10 m deep with maximum fetches on the order of a few tens of kilometres. Trace fossils and body fossils within all facies indicate the former existence of terrestrial vertebrates, molluscs (bivalves and gastropods), arthropods (including insects), worms, aquatic fauna (e.g. fish, turtles, crocodiles), trees, bushes, grasses, and aquatic flora. Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions are consistent with previous palaeoclimatic interpretations of monsoonal conditions.

Messinian stromatolite‐thrombolite associations, Santa Pola, SE Spain: an analogue for the Palaeozoic?

Abstract: Stromatolite-thrombolite associations are the dominant facies forming large portions of the Santa Pola carbonate platform (SE Spain) during deposition of the Terminal Carbonate Complex (TCC). The TCC, the last period of marine sedimentation in the Western Mediterranean associated with the Messinian Salinity Crisis, comprises a NE-SW trending thrombolite reef with occasionally interlayered stromatolite horizons and a predominantply stromatolite and oolite facies in the back-reef area. The stromatolites are mainly dome shaped, but fine-columnar or wavy-undulose forms can occur. The stromatolites form huge bioherms, extending tens to hundreds of metres. They are finely laminated with alternating layers of dolomicrite and dolomicrospar. The dolomicrite layers appear to be a primary dolomite precipitate, whereas the dolomite crystals in the dolomicrospar layers apparently formed around a meta-stable nuclei which was subsequently dissolved or degraded. The low content of sand-sized particles in the stromatolitic layers indicates formation under low-energy conditions, possibly on a tidal flat. As reported from other areas in the Western Mediterranean, deposition of the TCC at Santa Pola was apparently cyclic, whereby stromatolites generally terminate each depositional cycle. Subtidal Conophyton stromatolites, possibly the only known occurrence younger than Palaeozoic, are, however, found on the reef slope at the base of the first TCC depositional cycle. The dolomitic nature of the unadulterated stromatolitic laminations and the association of stromatolites and thrombolites as platform builders were a common feature in the Early Palaeozoic but are unusual in post-Ordovician carbonate facies. We propose that the conditions during TCC deposition were very restricted, possibly reflecting an environment similar to that of the Early Palaeozoic.

Internal architecture and sedimentary evolution of coarse‐grained, turbidite channel‐levee complexes, Early Eocene Regência Canyon, Espírito Santo Basin, Brazil

Abstract: Successions of Early Eocene coarse-grained turbidites up to 400 m thick fill fault-controlled canyons along the eastern Brazilian continental margin. They form part of a Late Albian to Early Eocene transgressive succession characterized by onlapping, deepening-upward sedimentation. In the Lagoa Parda oil field (Regencia Canyon, Espirito Santo Basin) the turbidite facies consist mostly of unstratified conglomerate and sandstone, with interbedded bioturbated mudstone and thin-bedded, stratified sandstone. Within the main Regencia Canyon, the coarser grained facies occur within 38 deeply incised channels. The fills are 9 to >50 m thick, 210 to >1050 m wide and >1 km long. The finer grained facies build asymmetrical levees that are higher and thicker on the left side (looking downstream) of their channels, probably as an effect of the Coriolis force (to the left in the Southern Hemisphere). Nine levee successions up to 50 m thick are associated with the 20 youngest channels. The deposits filling the low-sinuosity Lagoa Parda channels record successive channel abandonment through relatively rapid avulsions. Avulsions of unleveed channels took place randomly, but channels with well-developed levees show preferential avulsion to the right (looking downstream), opposite to the direction of preferential levee growth. Lagoa Parda channels can be grouped into three complexes 20–100 m thick. These complexes have an estimated duration of about 140 000 years. It is suggested that control of the development of individual channel complexes was related to variation in sediment supply, in turn probably related to climatic changes. The deposition of each channel complex would have followed an increase in sediment supply into the Regencia Canyon through delta/fan-delta and littoral drift systems, which in turn would have responded to phases of higher denudation rates in the high-relief, ancestral coastal ranges of south-eastern Brazil. Overall, the three Lagoa Parda channel complexes form a turbidite succession characterized by channel fills that become narrower, thinner and finer grained upward. These trends were induced mostly by a longer term (>400 000 years) decrease in sediment supply, which in turn resulted from the combined effects of a long-term (second-order) trend of sea-level rise, and the decreasing fault activity at the basin margin and source area.

Intra‐ and extrabasinal controls on fluvial deposition in the Miocene Indo‐Gangetic foreland basin, northern Pakistan

Abstract: The Miocene Siwalik Group (upsection, the Chinji, Nagri, and Dhok Pathan Formations) in northern Pakistan records evolving fluvial systems within the Himalayan foreland basin. Sedimentological variations are evaluated with respect to local, regional, and global controls on fluvial deposition and basin filling. Thick (5 m to tens of metres) sandstones are composed of channel bar and fill deposits of low-sinuosity, meandering and braided rivers which formed large, low-gradient sediment fans (or ‘megafans'). River flow was dominantly toward the south-east. The proportion of thick sandstones varies in all Siwalik sections on three scales, and reflects similar variations in palaeochannel size and grain size: (1) small-scale variations are generally tens of metres thick, and reflect the alternation of thick sandstones (channel-belt deposits) and mudstone-dominated strata (overbank deposits) through the section; (2) medium-scale variations are roughly one-hundred to a few hundreds of metres thick, and primarily correspond to changes in channel-deposit thickness, but also to the degree of superposition of channel deposits and/or to changes in the number of channel-belt deposits per unit of section; and (3) large-scale variations (formation-scale) are greater than one km thick, and primarily correspond to changes in channel-deposit thickness. Time-scales of small-, medium-, and large-scale variations appear to be on the order of 104, 105 and 106 years, respectively. The Chinji-Nagri transition is characterized by increases in channel-deposit proportion, sandstone thickness, palaeochannel size and discharge, mean grain size of sandstones, and sediment accumulation rates; and a decrease in avulsion period. The Nagri-Dhok Pathan transition is characterized by decreases in channel-deposit proportion, sandstone thickness, palaeochannel size and discharge, mean grain size of sandstones, and avulsion period; and a further increase in sediment accumulation rates. Formation boundaries across the Potwar Plateau decrease in age toward the west. The Chinji-Nagri transition ranges in age from ∼ 10·9–12·7 Ma, and the Nagri-Dhok Pathan transition ranges in age from ∼9·3–10·1 Ma. Small-scale variations are attributable to repeated river avulsions triggered by autocyclic processes and/or mountain-front tectonism (e.g. faulting, earthquakes). Medium-scale variations are attributable to local changes in the position of large sediment fans, also triggered by autocyclic processes and/or mountain-front tectonism. The Chinji-Nagri transition records the diversion or establishment (possibly due to river piracy) of a larger river system in the area. River diversion or piracy probably took place within the mountain belt and is attributable to increasing and spatially variable mountain-belt uplift rates, and possibly the development of associated mountain-front deformational structures. The Nagri-Dhok Pathan transition records the diversion of the larger river system out of the area and the establishment of a smaller river system. This diversion is attributable to progressively increasing rates of mountain-belt uplift and basin subsidence. The regional palaeoclimate throughout the time interval studied was apparently constant, and eustatic sea level changes apparently had no effect on deposition in the area.

The upper Hawkesbury River, New South Wales, Australia: a Holocene example of an estuarine bayhead delta

Abstract: Holocene deposits of the Hawkesbury River estuary, located immediately north of Sydney on the New South Wales coast, record the complex interplay between sediment supply and relative sea-level rise within a deeply incised bedrock-confined valley system. The present day Hawkesbury River is interpreted as a wave-dominated estuarine complex, divisible into two broad facies zones: (i) an outer marine-dominated zone extending 6 km upstream from the estuary mouth that is characterized by a large, subtidal sandy flood-tidal delta. Ocean wave energy is partially dissipated by this flood-tidal delta, so that tidal level fluctuations are the predominant marine mechanism operating further landward; (ii) a river-dominated zone that is 103 km long and characterized by a well developed progradational bayhead delta that includes distributary channels, levees, and overbank deposits. This reach of the Hawkesbury River undergoes minor tidal level fluctuations and low fluvial runoff during baseflow conditions, but experiences strong flood flows during major runoff events. Fluvial deposits of the Hawkesbury River occur upstream of this zone. The focus of this paper is the Hawkesbury River bayhead delta. History of deposition within this delta over the last c. 12 ka is interpreted from six continuous cores located along the upper reaches of the Hawkesbury River. Detailed sedimentological analysis of facies, whole-core X-ray analysis of burrow traces and a chronostratigraphic framework derived from 10 C-14 dates reveal four stages of incised-valley infilling in the study area: (1) before 17 ka BP, a 0–1 m thick deposit of coarse-grained fluvial sand and silt was laid down under falling-to-lowstand sea level conditions; (2) from 17 to 6·5 ka BP, a 5–10 m thick deposit composed of fine-grained fluvial sand and silt, muddy bayhead delta and muddy central-basin deposits developed as the incised valley was flooded during eustatic sea-level rise; (3) during early highstand, between 6·5 and 3 ka BP, a 3–8 m thick bed of interbedded muddy central-basin deposits and sandy river flood deposits, formed in association with maximum flooding and progradation of sandy distributary mouth-bar deposits commenced; (4) since 3 ka BP, fluvial deposits have prograded toward the estuary mouth in distributary mouth-bar, interdistributary-bay and bayhead-delta plain environments to produce a 5–15 m thick progradational to aggradational bayhead-delta deposit. At the mouth of the Hawkesbury estuary subaqueous fluvial sands interfinger with and overlie marine sands. The Hawkesbury River bayhead-delta depositional succession provides an example of the potential for significant variation of facies within the estuarine to fluvial segment of incised-valley systems.

Numerical simulation of turbidity current flow and sedimentation: I. Theory

Abstract: A computer-based numerical model of turbidity current flow and sedimentation is presented that integrates geological observations with basic equations for fluid and sediment motion. The model quantifies those aspects of turbidity currents that make them different from better-understood fluvial processes, including water mixing across the upper flow boundary and the interactions between the suspended-sediment concentration and the flow dynamics and sedimentation. The model includes three numerical components: (1) a layer-averaged three-equation flow model for tracing downslope flow evolution using continuity and momentum equations, (2) a sedimentation/fluidization model for tracing sediment-size fractionation in sedimenting multicomponent suspensions and (3) a concentration-viscosity model for quantifying the changes in resistance of such suspensions toward fluid and sediment motion. The model traces the evolution of a model turbidity current in terms the layer-averaged flow velocity, flow thickness, sediment concentration distribution, and the rate of sedimentation and sediment size fractionation. It generates synthetic turbidites with downslope variations in thickness and grain-size structuring at each point along the flow path. This study represents an effort to evaluate quantitatively the effects of basin geometry, sediment supply and sediment properties on the mechanics of turbidity current flow and sedimentation and on the geometry and grain size characteristics of the resulting deposits.

The geometry and petrogenesis of hydrothermal dolomites at Navan, Ireland

Abstract: The dolomites at Navan, Ireland, formed in Courceyan peritidal and shallow-shelf limestones. The dolomite body has a plume-like geometry, cross-cutting both lithological boundaries and diagenetic barriers generated by sea-floor cementation and emergence. The dolomitizing fluids rose parallel to major faults to diffuse laterally through the succession, controlled by variations in permeability that reflect both facies variation on deposition and pre-dolomitization diagenesis. Cathodoluminescent zones reveal three principal stages of dolomite emplacement, separated by dissolution surfaces, with each stage reflecting several changes in the character of dolomitizing solutions. The predominance of dull zones indicates burial rather than surface conditions. The dolomites formed some time after burial in response to an areally limited hydrothermally-driven flow. Isotope values (σ18O of — 6σ6 to — 10.4%δ and σ13C of — 0σ2 to +2σ5%δ PDB), and fluid inclusion data, suggest that these fluids had compositions similar to those of Carboniferous seawater. However, these became hotter with time, with temperature increasing from 60 to 160δC. The Navan dolomites are closely associated with Europe's largest zinc-lead deposit. The distribution of the ores follows the same trend as that of the dolomites and paragenetic relationships indicate that dolomitization and mineralization were temporally and genetically related.

Deep-sea avulsion and morphosedimentary evolution of the Rhône Fan Valley and Neofan during the Late Quaternary (north-western Mediterranean Sea)

Abstract: The Petit-Rhone Fan Valley (north-western Mediterranean) is a broad, sinuous, filled valley that is deeply incised by a narrow, sinuous thalweg. The valley fill is differentiated into three seismic subunits on high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles. The lower chaotic subunit probably consists of channel lag deposits that seem to be in lateral continuity with high-amplitude reflections representing levee facies. The intermediate transparent subunit, which has an erosional base and clearly truncates levee deposits, is interpreted to be mass-flow deposits resulting from the disintegration of the fan-valley flanks. The upper bedded subunit shows an overall lens-shaped geometry and the seismic reflections onlap either onto the top of the underlying transparent subunit or onto the Rhone levees. Piston core data show that the upper few meters of this upper subunit consist of thin turbidites, probably deposited by overflow processes. The few available 14C ages suggest that the upper stratified subunit filled the Petit-Rhone Fan Valley between 21 and 11 kyr BP. The upper bedded subunit is deposited within the Petit-Rhone Fan Valley downslope of a major decrease in slope gradient. This upper subunit and the thalweg are genetically related and represent a small channel/levee system confined within the fan valley. Previous studies interpreted this thalweg to be an erosional feature resulting from a recent avulsion of the major channel course. Our interpretation implies that the thalweg is not a purely erosional feature but a depositional/erosional channel. This small channel/levee system is superimposed on a large muddy channel/levee system after the sediment supply changed from thick muddy flows during the main phase of aggradation of the Rhone Fan levees, to thin, mixed (sand and mud) flows at the end of Isotope Stage 2 (∼16–18 ka BP). The pre-existing morphology of the Petit-Rhone Fan Valley played a determinant role in the sediment dispersal leading to the creation of this small and confined channel/levee system. These mixed flows have undergone flow stripping resulting from the changes in the slope gradient along the thalweg course. The finer sediment overflowed from the thalweg and were deposited in the Petit-Rhone Fan Valley. Coarser channelled sediment remaining in the thalweg were deposited as a ‘sandy’lobe (Neofan). As indicated by 14C dating, sedimentation on this lobe continued until very recently, suggesting a further evolution of the turbidity flows from small mixed flows to small sandy flows. the deposition of this study lobe and the sedimentary fill of the Petit-Rhone Fan Valley may be related to widespread shelf edge and canyon wall failures with a resulting downslope evolution of failed sediment into turbidity currents.

Sediment transport and bedforms in a carbonate tidal inlet; Lee Stocking Island, Exumas, Bahamas

Abstract: An active oolitic sand wave was monitored for a period of 37 days in order to address the relationship between the direction and strength of tidal currents and the resultant geometry, and amount and direction of migration of bedforms in carbonate sands. The study area is situated in a tidal channel near Lee Stocking Island (Exumas, Bahamas) containing an estimated 5.5 to 6 × 105 m3 of mobile oolitic sand. Tidal ranges within the inlet are microtidal and the maximum current velocity at the studied site is 0.6 m s−1. At least 300–400 m3 of mostly oolitic sand are formed within, or brought into, the channel area every year. The tidal inlet is subdivided into an ocean-orientated segment, in which sand waves are shaped by both flood and ebb tides, and a platform-orientated segment, where sand waves are mainly shaped by flood tides. The studied sand wave lies on the platformward flood-tide dominated segment in a water depth of 3.5.4.5 m. During the 37 days of observation, the oolitic and bioclastic sand wave migrated 4 m in the direction of the dominant flood current. The increments of migration were directly related to the strength of the tide. During each tidal cycle, bedforms formed depending on the strength of the tidal current, tidal range and their location on the sand wave. During flood tides, a steep lee and a gentle stoss side formed and current ripples and small dunes developed on the crest of the sand wave, while the trough developed only ripples. The average lee slope of the sand wave is 24.2°, and therefore steeper than typical siliciclastic sand waves. During ebb tides, portions of the crest are eroded creating a convex upward ebb stoss side, covered with climbing cuspate and linguoid ripples and composite dunes. The area between the ebb-lee side and the trough is covered with fan systems, sinuous ripples and dunes. The migration of all bedforms deviated to a variable degree from the main current direction, reflecting complex flow patterns in the tidal inlet. Small bedforms displayed the largest deviation, migrating at an angle of up to 90° and more to the dominant current direction during spring tides.

Possible seismic origin of molar tooth structures in Neoproterozoic carbonate ramp deposits, north China

Abstract: The Xinmincun Formation forms the uppermost unit of a thick Neoproterozoic section which accumulated near the east margin of the North China Block and is overlain by two thin nearshore to continental formations below fossiliferous Lower Cambrian sediments. Although tectonically deformed, sedimentary structures are preserved undeformed on cleavage-parallel surfaces, and an 80 m section has been reconstructed by correlation across minor folds and faults in the Golden Stone beach area, 50 km NE of the city of Dalian, southern Liaoning province. The measured section shows 65 m of storm-dominated deposits, consisting of alternations of micrites and sharp-based graded intraclastic grainstone beds (tempestites), some with rudaceous, commonly erosional or guttered, bases. The top 15 m of section shows three alternations of similar subtidal lithofacies with partly to completely dolomitized peritidal deposits (laminated, sometimes fenestral and desiccated, micrite beds, and intraclastic rudite and grainstone beds). Tempestite beds become thinner and less abundant upwards towards a muddy upper shoreface zone. This environment was characterized in part by the occurrence of micrite with thin or streaky lamination (probable storm-resuspended sediment), interbedded tempestites, numerous erosion surfaces, and evidence of liquidization and sediment slumping into hollows. Molar tooth structures are widespread in micrite beds of the Xinmincun Formation and are present in lesser abundance in tempestites and liquefied channel-fills. Originally the structures were sub-vertical cracks, 1–20 cm long, tapering upwards and downwards. Subsequently they became filled with microspar cement and buckled rigidly during compaction of surrounding sediment during burial. Evidence of repeated episodes of cracking, presence of brecciated cracks and localization of cracking within beds, together with variable degree of development and variation of preferential alignment in plan indicates a mechanical origin. Crack generation may have been by seismic surface waves generated by movement along faults defining either the basin's margins or its internal structure, or possibly by wave action during storms. A seismic origin for molar tooth structure is consistent with other Neoproterozoic occurrences. Their preferential occurrence in Precambrian deposits arises from the relative rigidity of micritic sediment at this time related to lack of bioturbation, incipient cementation and possibly microbial binding.