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Sequence Stratigraphy (sequence + stratigraphy)
Selected AbstractsDEPOSITIONAL HISTORY AND SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY OF OUTCROPPING TERTIARY CARBONATES IN THE JAHRUM AND ASMARI FORMATIONS, SHIRAZ AREA (SW IRAN)JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 2 2004M. Nadjafi The Oligo-Miocene Asmari Formation is one of the most important petroleum reservoir units in the Zagros Basin of south and SW Iran. It mainly consists of limestones and dolomitic limestones with interbedded shales, together with a few intervals of sandstone and gypsum assigned to the Ahwaz and Kalhur Members, respectively. The Asmari Formation rests on the thin-bedded limestones of the Jahrum Formation (Paleocene-Eocene). In this paper, we report on the lithofacies characteristics of these two formations using data from three measured outcrop sections near Shiraz in SW Iran. From field and petrographic data, we have identified four major lithofacies and twelve subfacies which are interpreted to have been deposited in open-marine, shoal, lagoon and tidal flat settings. We show that the Asmari and Jahrum Formations constitute two separate depositional sequences which are separated by a thin palaeosol, representing a type-one sequence boundary which can be correlated with global curves of relative sea-level. Each depositional sequence is composed of many metre-scale shallowing-upward parasequences. This is the first time that the Asmari and Jahrum Formations have been differentiated in the study area. We hope that this study will lead to a better understanding of the Asmari Formation in the subsurface in other parts of the Zagros Basin. [source] CARBONATE DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS, SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY AND EXCEPTIONAL SKELETAL PRESERVATION IN THE MUCH WENLOCK LIMESTONE FORMATION (SILURIAN) OF DUDLEY, ENGLANDPALAEONTOLOGY, Issue 1 2007DAVID C. RAY Abstract:, The Much Wenlock Limestone Formation of the Dudley inliers, West Midlands, contains one of the world's richest and most exquisitely preserved Silurian marine biotas. However, for most museum specimens, little is known of their exact provenance and mode of preservation. Detailed comparisons between outcrops and museum collections allow the identification of five faunal-lithological associations and numerous horizons of exceptional skeletal preservation. The associations are interpreted as a series of transient carbonate mid-platform environments extending from below storm wave-base to above fair-weather wave-base. Erosive surfaces, condensed sections, flooding surfaces and the stacking patterns of genetically related bed-sets (parasequences) have allowed the formation to be interpreted as a single third-order sequence stratigraphic cycle of sea-level change. The articulated preservation of taxa such as pelmatozoan echinoderms and trilobites can be attributed to either rapid burial by obrution deposits close to fair-weather wave-base or smothering by storm sequestered muds in slightly deeper-water settings. Such intervals of exceptional preservation are commonly associated with flooding surfaces, presumably reflecting reduced likelihood of reworking once rapid burial had taken place. [source] Late Carboniferous-Early Permian Sequence Stratigraphy and Depositional Evolution in the Northeast Ordos Basin, North ChinaACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 5 2010YANG Minghui Abstract: Sequence stratigraphical analysis was applied to the Upper Carboniferous-Lower Permian sedimentary succession of the northeastern Ordos Basin, north China based on data acquired from ten entire logging curves and eight outcrops. The facies framework of the lithostratigraphical unit, the Taiyuan Formation comprises seven facies in two facies associations, varying from fluvio-delta to shelf-barrier islands. The facies are presented within a chronostratigraphical framework, linked by systems tract, which in turn are limited by flooding surfaces and sequence boundaries. Six third-order depositional sequences are recognised, bounded by six type 2 unconformities. An upwards-shallowing epicontinental sea sedimentary model is created, which consists of a sandstone, coal seam and carbonate succession. [source] Sequence stratigraphy of the upper Millstone Grit (Yeadonian, Namurian), North WalesGEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 5 2007Rhodri M. Jerrett Abstract The upper Millstone Grit strata (Yeadonian, Namurian) of North Wales have been studied using sedimentological facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy. These strata comprise two cyclothems, each containing prodelta shales (Holywell Shale) that pass gradationally upwards into delta-front and delta-plain deposits (Gwespyr Sandstone Formation). The deltas formed in shallow water (<100,m), were fluvial-dominated, had elongate and/or sheet geometries and are assigned to highstand systems tracts. Two delta complexes with distinctive sandstone petrographies are identified: (1) a southerly derived, quartzose delta complex sourced locally from the Wales-Brabant Massif, and (2) a feldspathic delta complex fed by a regional source(s) to the north and/or west. The feldspathic delta complex extended further south in the younger cyclothem. A multistorey braided-fluvial complex (Aqueduct Grit, c. 25,m thick) is assigned to a lowstand systems tract, and occupies an incised valley that was eroded into the highstand feldspathic delta complex in the younger cyclothem. A candidate incised valley cut into the highstand feldspathic delta complex in the older cyclothem is also tentatively identified. Transgressive systems tracts are thin (<5,m) and contain condensed fossiliferous shales (marine bands). The high-resolution sequence stratigraphic framework interpreted for North Wales can be readily traced northwards into the Central Province Basin (,Pennine Basin'), supporting the notion that high-frequency, high-magnitude sea-level changes were the dominant control on stratigraphic architecture. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Tendaguru Formation (Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, southern Tanzania): definition, palaeoenvironments, and sequence stratigraphyFOSSIL RECORD-MITTEILUNGEN AUS DEM MUSEUM FUER NATURKUNDE, Issue 2 2009Robert Bussert Abstract The well-known Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Tendaguru Beds of southern Tanzania have yielded fossil plant remains, invertebrates and vertebrates, notably dinosaurs, of exceptional scientific importance. Based on data of the German-Tanzanian Tendaguru Expedition 2000 and previous studies, and in accordance with the international stratigraphic guide, we raise the Tendaguru Beds to formational rank and recognise six members (from bottom to top): Lower Dinosaur Member, Nerinella Member, Middle Dinosaur Member, Indotrigonia africana Member, Upper Dinosaur Member, and Rutitrigonia bornhardti-schwarzi Member. We characterise and discuss each member in detail in terms of derivation of name, definition of a type section, distribution, thickness, lithofacies, boundaries, palaeontology, and age. The age of the whole formation apparently ranges at least from the middle Oxfordian to the Valanginian through Hauterivian or possibly Aptian. The Tendaguru Formation constitutes a cyclic sedimentary succession, consisting of three marginal marine, sandstone-dominated depositional units and three predominantly coastal to tidal plain, fine-grained depositional units with dinosaur remains. It represents four third-order sequences, which are composed of transgressive and highstand systems tracts. Sequence boundaries are represented by transgressive ravinement surfaces and maximum flooding surfaces. In a more simple way, the depositional sequences can be subdivided into transgressive and regressive sequences/systems tracts. Whereas the transgressive systems tracts are mainly represented by shallow marine shoreface, tidal channel and sand bar sandstones, the regressive systems tracts predominantly consist of shallow tidal channel, tidal flat, and marginal lagoonal to supratidal deposits. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Sequence stratigraphy of the upper Millstone Grit (Yeadonian, Namurian), North WalesGEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 5 2007Rhodri M. Jerrett Abstract The upper Millstone Grit strata (Yeadonian, Namurian) of North Wales have been studied using sedimentological facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy. These strata comprise two cyclothems, each containing prodelta shales (Holywell Shale) that pass gradationally upwards into delta-front and delta-plain deposits (Gwespyr Sandstone Formation). The deltas formed in shallow water (<100,m), were fluvial-dominated, had elongate and/or sheet geometries and are assigned to highstand systems tracts. Two delta complexes with distinctive sandstone petrographies are identified: (1) a southerly derived, quartzose delta complex sourced locally from the Wales-Brabant Massif, and (2) a feldspathic delta complex fed by a regional source(s) to the north and/or west. The feldspathic delta complex extended further south in the younger cyclothem. A multistorey braided-fluvial complex (Aqueduct Grit, c. 25,m thick) is assigned to a lowstand systems tract, and occupies an incised valley that was eroded into the highstand feldspathic delta complex in the younger cyclothem. A candidate incised valley cut into the highstand feldspathic delta complex in the older cyclothem is also tentatively identified. Transgressive systems tracts are thin (<5,m) and contain condensed fossiliferous shales (marine bands). The high-resolution sequence stratigraphic framework interpreted for North Wales can be readily traced northwards into the Central Province Basin (,Pennine Basin'), supporting the notion that high-frequency, high-magnitude sea-level changes were the dominant control on stratigraphic architecture. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Facies development, depositional settings and sequence stratigraphy across the Ordovician,Silurian boundary: a new perspective from the Barrandian area of the Czech RepublicGEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2006torch Abstract The Hirnantian and Llandovery sedimentary succession of the Barrandian area has been assigned to middle and outer clastic-shelf depositional settings, respectively. Deposition was influenced by the remote Gondwanan glaciation and subsequent, long-persisting, post-glacial anoxia triggered by a current-driven upwelling system. High-resolution graptolite stratigraphy, based upon 19 formally defined biozones,largely interval zones,and five subzones, enabled a detailed correlation between 42 surface sections and boreholes, and enabled linking of the sedimentary record, graptoloid fauna dynamics, organic-content fluctuations and spectral gamma-ray curves. The Hirnantian and Llandovery succession has been subdivided into four biostratigraphically dated third-order sequences (units 1,4). Time,spatial facies distribution recorded early and late Hirnantian glacio-eustatic sea-level lowstands separated by a remarkable mid-Hirnantian rise in sea-level. A major part of the post-glacial sea-level rise took place within the late Hirnantian. The highstand of Unit 2 is apparently at the base of the Silurian succession. Short-term relative sea-level drawdown and a third-order sequence boundary followed in the early Rhuddanian upper acuminatus Zone. Early Aeronian and late Telychian sea-level highstands and late Aeronian drawdown of likely eustatic origin belong to units 3 and 4. Sea-level rise culminated in the late Telychian, which may also be considered as a highstand episode of a second-order Hirnantian,early Silurian cycle. Facies and sequence-stratigraphic analysis supports recent interpretations on nappe structures in the core part of the Ordovician,Middle Devonian Prague Synform of the Barrandian. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] AN AEOLIANITE IN THE UPPER DALAN MEMBER (KHUFF FORMATION), SOUTH PARS FIELD, IRANJOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 2 2010G. Frébourg A laterally continuous, 3m thick oolitic grainstone has been studied in cores from two wells from the South Pars field (offshore Iran). This high porosity but low permeability interval occurs at the top of the gas-bearing succession in the Permian Upper Dalan Member, and is equivalent to the informally-defined K4 unit of the Khuff Formation. This interval can easily be traced between the wells and overlies high-energy marine deposits. It is composed of oomouldic, fine-grained azooic grainstones with cm-thick coarser-grained layers. Horizontal to oblique lamination or steep foresets were observed together with pinstripe lamination. Petrographic observations indicate a clean oomouldic grainstone with very thin chitonic rims associated with pedogenetic imprints as first-generation cements. Later cements include early vadose meniscus and pendant cements in coarser-grained layers and pseudophreatic cements in the finer-grained material with a tighter pore network, prior to ooid dissolution. Rhizoliths were observed in cores and thin-sections. The pedogenic imprints and the early vadose cementation, both related to emergence, as well as the presence of pinstripe lamination, suggest an aeolian depositional setting. This interval is the first aeolianite recorded within the Khuff Formation or equivalent units, and the first hydrocarbon-bearing carbonate aeolianite described in a hydrocarbon-producing unit. The discovery of aeolianites has important implications for regional sequence-stratigraphic interpretations and reservoir volume calculations. These deposits do not conform to classic subaqueous sequence stratigraphy and do not record eustatic variations in the associated marine basin. Their recognition is crucial for well-to-well correlations. [source] Record of sea-level fall in tropical carbonatesBASIN RESEARCH, Issue 2 2009Wolfgang Schlager ABSTRACT Stratigraphic forward modeling and comparison with published case studies have been used to determine the controls and stability domains of two conceptual models concerning relative sea-level fall in carbonate sequence stratigraphy. In the standard model, deposition occurs principally during rise and stillstands of relative sea level; a continuous erosional unconformity develops during sea-level fall. The falling-stage systems tract model (FST) postulates significant deposition during sea-level fall. Sedimentological principles, numerical models and published case studies of tropical carbonate sequences indicate that presence or absence of FST is not simply a function of the rate of sea-level fall but depends on the balance of the rates of erosion, sea-level fall and carbonate production, whereby the FST is favoured by high production, slow erosion and slow sea-level fall. Case studies plotted in the parameter space spanned by these variables support the modeling results. The ranges of rates required for the FST in the modeling runs are common in the geologic record. Consequently, the FST can be expected to be more common in tropical carbonate rocks than published records, particularly seismic data, currently indicate. [source] A Bayesian approach to inverse modelling of stratigraphy, part 1: methodBASIN RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009Karl Charvin ABSTRACT The inference of ancient environmental conditions from their preserved response in the sedimentary record still remains an outstanding issue in stratigraphy. Since the 1970s, conceptual stratigraphic models (e.g. sequence stratigraphy) based on the underlying assumption that accommodation space is the critical control on stratigraphic architecture have been widely used. Although these methods considered more recently other possible parameters such as sediment supply and transport efficiency, they still lack in taking into account the full range of possible parameters, processes, and their complex interactions that control stratigraphic architecture. In this contribution, we present a new quantitative method for the inference of key environmental parameters (specifically sediment supply and relative sea level) that control stratigraphy. The approach combines a fully non-linear inversion scheme with a ,process,response' forward model of stratigraphy. We formulate the inverse problem using a Bayesian framework in order to sample the full range of possible solutions and explicitly build in prior geological knowledge. Our methodology combines Reversible Jump Markov chain Monte Carlo and Simulated Tempering algorithms which are able to deal with variable-dimensional inverse problems and multi-modal posterior probability distributions, respectively. The inverse scheme has been linked to a forward stratigraphic model, BARSIM (developed by Joep Storms, University of Delft), which simulates shallow-marine wave/storm-dominated systems over geological timescales. This link requires the construction of a likelihood function to quantify the agreement between simulated and observed data of different types (e.g. sediment age and thickness, grain size distributions). The technique has been tested and validated with synthetic data, in which all the parameters are specified to produce a ,perfect' simulation, although we add noise to these synthetic data for subsequent testing of the inverse modelling approach. These tests addressed convergence and computational-overhead issues, and highlight the robustness of the inverse scheme, which is able to assess the full range of uncertainties on the inferred environmental parameters and facies distributions. [source] Normal fault growth and early syn-rift sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy: Thal Fault, Suez Rift, EgyptBASIN RESEARCH, Issue 4 2003Mike J. Young This paper investigates the tectono-stratigraphic development of a major, segmented rift border fault (Thal Fault) during ca. 6 Myr of initial rifting in the Suez Rift, Egypt. The Thal Fault is interpreted to have evolved by the progressive linkage of at least four fault segments. We focus on two contrasting structural settings in its hangingwall: Gushea, towards the northern tip of the fault, and Musaba Salaama, ca. 20 km along-strike to the south, towards the centre of the fault. The early syn-rift stratigraphic succession passes upwards from continental facies, through a condensed marginal marine shell-rich facies, into fully marine shoreface sandstone and offshore mudstone. Regionally correlatable stratal surfaces within this succession define time-equivalent stratal units that exhibit considerable along-strike variability in thickness and facies architecture. During the initial ca. 6 Myr of rifting, the thickest stratigraphy developed towards the centre of the array of fault segments that subsequently hard linked to form the Thal Fault. Thus, a displacement gradient existed between fault segments at the centre and tip of the fault array, suggesting that the fault segments interacted, and a fixed length was established for the fault array, at an early stage in rifting. Towards the centre of the Thal Fault the early syn-rift succession shows pronounced thickening away from the fault and towards a series of intra-block antithetic faults that were active for up to ca. 6 Myr. This indicates that a large proportion of fault-controlled subsidence during the initial ca. 6 Myr of rifting occurred in the hangingwalls of antithetic intra-block faults, and not the present-day Thal Fault. The antithetic faults progressively switched off during rifting such that after ca. 6 Myr of rifting, fault-activity had localised on the Thal Fault enabling it to accrue to the present-day high level of displacement. Aspects of the development of the Thal Fault appear to be in contrast to many models of fault evolution that predict large-displacement rift-climax faults to have always had the greatest displacement during fault population evolution. This study has implications for tectono-stratigraphic development during early rift basin evolution. In particular, we stress that caution must be taken when relating final rift-climax fault structure to the early tectono-stratigraphy, as these may differ considerably. [source] Deep-water Fan Systems and Petroleum Resources on the Northern Slope of the South China SeaACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 3 2004PANG Xiong Abstract, The shallow shelf delta/strand arenaceous-pelitic deposit region in the north of the Pearl River mouth basin, sitting on the northern continental shelf of the South China Sea, has already become an important oil production base in China. Recent researched has revealed that a great deal of deep-water fans of great petroleum potentiality exist on the Baiyun deep-water slope below the big paleo Pearl River and its large delta. Based on a mass of exploration wells and 2-D seismic data of the shallow shelf region, a interpretation of sequence stratigraphy confirmed the existence of deep-water fans. The cyclic falling of sea level, abundant detrital matter from the paleo Pearl River and the persistent geothermal subsidence in the Baiyun sag are the three prerequisites for the formation and development of deep-water fans. There are many in common between the deep-water shelf depositional system of the northern South China Sea and the exploration hotspots region on the two banks of the Atlantic. For example, both are located on passive continent margins, and persistent secular thermal subsidence and large paleo rivers have supplied abundant material sources and organic matter. More recently, the discovery of the big gas pool on the northern slope of the Baiyun sag confirms that the Lower Tertiary lacustrine facies in the Baiyun sag has a great potentiality of source rocks. The fans overlying the Lower Tertiary source rocks should become the main exploration areas for oil and gas resources. [source] | ||||||||||