Sedimentology

Cao, Binfeng; Luo, Xiaorong; Wang, Xu; Zhang, Liqiang; Shi, Hui

doi: 10.1111/sed.13071pmid: N/A

Calcite‐cemented concretions can reduce reservoir quality and form important low‐permeability baffles for fluid flow in sandstone hydrocarbon carrier beds/reservoirs. Understanding the origin and distribution patterns of concretions has important implications for characterizing reservoir heterogeneity and developing fields. The origin of calcite concretions in non‐marine sandstones lacking detrital carbonate to source the cement is poorly studied. The practical difficulty of obtaining the precipitation temperature of the concretions prevents the precise determination of the source of cement components, solute flux, pore water type and the geochemical microenvironments in which cement precipitated. Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry can give unique constraints to the temperature of concretionary cement precipitation. This study focused on outcrops of the Lower Cretaceous non‐marine Qingshuihe Formation in the Urho area, on the north‐western margin of the Junggar Basin (West China). Four depositional facies associations were recognized, corresponding to channel, mid‐channel bar, abandoned channel and overbank floodplain environments. Calcite concretions occur only in sandstones and include spherical, ellipsoidal and tabular forms. They are isolated and/or mutually aligned in layers that tend to be either at the top, base, or within channel and mid‐channel sand bodies. The clumped isotope temperatures for the concretionary calcite range from 31 to 45°C with a standard error of <3°C. The calcite has highly variable, low δ13C values ranging from −16.91 ± 0.01 to −2.93 ± 0.02‰ (Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite). The 13C‐depleted bicarbonate source was linked to biodegradation of migrated oils at shallow burial owing to tectonic uplift and erosion. Calcite δ18O values are very consistent and fall between −12.30 ± 0.04 to −9.79 ± 0.31‰ (Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite). Introduction of meteoric water was a dominant mechanism for the pronounced 18O‐depletion in the oxygen isotopes of pore water, along with water–rock interaction during alteration of volcaniclastic materials in sandstones. Meteoric groundwater flushed the Qingshuihe sandstones as confined aquifers down the regional palaeo‐slope, biodegrading the migrated oils and enabling a sufficient solute flux for precipitation of concretions.

Reguzzi, Simone; Marini, Mattia; Felletti, Fabrizio; El Kati, Imad; Zuffetti, Chiara; Tabyaoui, Hassan

doi: 10.1111/sed.13070pmid: N/A

The sedimentary architecture of channelized turbidites can be highly complex as it reflects the response of submarine channels to several interplaying factors. Although intensively investigated through seismic imaging, turbidite channel fills are not convincingly calibrated for sedimentary facies at a sub‐seismic scale. This contribution addresses the sedimentary architecture and the controls on the evolution of a ca 20 m thick channel‐levee complex of the Tachrift turbidite subunit (Upper Miocene, the Melloulou Formation), which accumulated along the southern slope of the Neogene Taza‐Guercif Basin (Rifian Corridor of north‐east Morocco). Facies and architectural analyses indicate that the studied channel‐levee complex is the result of three‐fold evolution. From base to top, it is comprised of: (i) a ca 7 m thick lower mud‐prone interval containing relatively small and vertically stacked channel fills with poorly developed muddy levees; (ii) a ca 4 m thick and >1 km wide sandstone‐rich middle interval made of lateral accretion packages that become progressively less amalgamated and fine‐grained and is overlain by ca 5 m of thin‐bedded mud‐rich turbidites intercalated with hemiplegic marlstones; and (iii) an up to ca 9 m thick upper interval constituted by aggradational channel fills with well‐developed levees and variously directed lateral accretion packages. This organization suggests that, following a phase of inception (lower interval), the channel underwent extensive meandering with very minor vertical aggradation, prior to being blanketed by ‘retrogressive’ muddy lobes (middle interval) during a phase of reduced sediment input. In turn, the uppermost interval records a late phase of channel re‐establishment and aggradation that likely terminated as a result of up‐dip avulsion. It is suggested that the observed change of architectural style reflected the feedback of changing sediment input, slope equilibrium profile and channel morphodynamics.

Baker, Megan L.; Baas, Jaco H.

doi: 10.1111/sed.13072pmid: N/A

Sediment gravity flows exhibit a large range of flow behaviours, making their flow dynamics hard to predict and the resulting deposits a challenge to interpret. Cohesive sediment gravity flows containing clay are particularly complex, as their behaviour is controlled by the balance of turbulent and cohesive forces. A first set of laboratory lock‐exchange experiments investigated the effect of adding 25% very fine sand by volume to high‐density cohesive sediment gravity flows with strongly suppressed turbulence. This caused these mixed clay–sand flows to become more cohesive, have shorter runout distances, and have lower head velocities than the original pure‐clay flows, despite the increase in density difference and the non‐cohesive properties of the sand. Yield stress measurements confirmed that adding the non‐cohesive very fine sand increases the cohesive strength of dense clay suspensions. This higher cohesive strength outcompetes the enhanced density difference and reduces the flow mobility. A second set of experiments across a larger range of clay concentrations showed that, for low‐density cohesive sediment gravity flows dominated by turbulent mixing, the addition of 25% very fine sand increased the head velocities because of the enhanced density difference and weak cohesive forces. Thus, the addition of very fine sand may increase or decrease the mobility of cohesive sediment gravity flows, depending on the initial type of flow and the balance between turbulent and cohesive forces. In the natural environment, this study proposes that very fine sand can only increase the cohesive strength and reduce the flow mobility of cohesive sediment gravity flows that have a sufficiently strong matrix strength to fully support the sand particles. The contribution of very fine sand to the cohesive strength of high‐density cohesive sediment gravity flows may have important implications for flow transformation on submarine fans, especially in distal regions where transient–turbulent, cohesive flows are particularly common.

Shan, Xin; Dalrymple, Robert W.; Shi, Xuefa; Jin, Lina; Liu, Shengfa; Liu, Chenguang; Liu, Shihao; Qiao, Shuqing; Zhou, Qingjie; Fang, Xisheng

doi: 10.1111/sed.13076pmid: N/A

Coastal mud belts, which lie parallel to the coast just seaward of the shoreface, are one of the most important settings where shallow‐marine muddy deposits accumulate. However, sedimentary processes and facies distributions of coastal mud belts remain largely uninvestigated. This study uses process‐oriented sedimentology, coupled with provenance analysis and organic geochemistry of sedimentary records at the northern entrance to the Taiwan Strait, to investigate one of the largest such systems in the world, the Changjiang coastal mud belt. Carbon‐14 dates indicate that deposition has been intermittent throughout Marine Isotope Stages 1, 2 and 3, with several cryptic gaps in the muddy succession as a result of exposure or transgressive erosion during periods of lower or rising sea level, respectively. The palaeowater depth of each depositional unit was roughly estimated based on a global sea‐level curve and the elevation and age of the depositional units. Integrated provenance and sedimentology studies suggest that an incised valley most likely cut by the Minjiang, a nearby river draining the Chinese mainland, probably during Marine Isotope Stage 6, was filled with shelf mud during Marine Isotope Stage 3. These results demonstrate that deposition of mud on the Changjiang coastal mud belt was influenced by sea‐level changes that controlled water depth and flow patterns through Taiwan Strait. The Changjiang coastal mud belt migrates landward when sea level rises and moves seaward when sea level drops. In addition, changes in oceanic circulation associated with opening and closing of Taiwan Strait due to sea‐level changes causes significant changes in the source of the mud, with an alternation between sediment contributions from the Changjiang in the north, the nearby Minjiang, and the island of Taiwan to the south‐east. This study also reveals that the Changjiang coastal mud belt deposits are composed of both shallower‐water and deeper‐water facies. The shallower‐water facies predominantly comprises abundant fluid‐mud beds generated by waves and tidal currents. The deeper‐water facies contains shell‐rich mud and bioturbated mud, which were likely deposited by the Chinese coastal current and Taiwan Warm current. The bed types and interpretation of sedimentary processes of the Changjiang coastal mud belt are useful for recognition of ancient deposits of coastal mud belts elsewhere.

Wilkin, Jonathan; Cuthbertson, Alan; Dawson, Sue; Stow, Dorrik; Stephen, Karl; Nicholson, Uisdean; Penna, Nadia

doi: 10.1111/sed.13073pmid: N/A

The transition between the slope and basin floor is typically marked by a slope break, in some cases causing channels to terminate and turbidity currents to undergo a loss of confinement. It is thus essential to understand how these slope breaks and losses of confinement influence the hydrodynamic evolution of turbidity currents and impact their depositional variability within natural scale channel mouth settings. Flume experiments, utilizing Shields scaling, are conducted to study how channel slope angle (3°, 6° and 9°) and initial suspended sediment concentrations (12 to 18% by volume) impact the hydrodynamics and deposit geometries of high density turbidity currents, subject to a simultaneous break of slope and loss of confinement. Measured velocity and concentration profiles indicate that turbidity currents are supercritical, with mean velocities between 0.80 m s−1 and 1.04 m s−1 and depth‐averaged basal concentrations between 9.2% and 23.9%, yielding bed shear velocities between 0.050 m s−1 and 0.064 m s−1. Upon encountering the slope break and loss of confinement, turbidity currents exhibit increases to their densimetric Froude numbers and shear velocities. This is due primarily to two factors: firstly, turbidity currents continue to accelerate during an initial period of velocity lag as their residual momentum gradually dissipates; and, secondly, expansion via flow relaxation collapses their structure towards the bed. The corresponding depositional geometries of these processes reveal that turbidity currents produce elongate channel–lobe transition zones that disconnect channel and basin deposits. The length to width ratios of channel–lobe transition zones decrease as the initial sediment concentrations of turbidity currents increase, while a reduction in the channel slope break angle reduces their length to width ratios. Corresponding, lobe elements are observed to increase in length, width and thickness with increasing initial sediment concentrations, while a reduction in channel slope break angle reduces their dimensions due to enhanced slope deposition.

Dijk, Gijs; Maars, Jasper; Andreetto, Federico; Hernández‐Molina, F. Javier; Rodríguez‐Tovar, Francisco J.; Krijgsman, Wout

doi: 10.1111/sed.13074pmid: N/A

The evolution of marine gateways and sea straits exerts major control on bottom current depositional systems. A well‐known interval in geological history characterized by frequent changes in marine connectivity is the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.97 to 5.33 Ma) when the Mediterranean allegedly experienced major (>1 km) sea‐level drawdown followed by a catastrophic marine replenishment at the base of the Zanclean. Controversy exists around the timing and mode of this event as unambiguous flood deposits have so far never been drilled or recognized in outcrops. In the Sicilian Caltanissetta Basin (Italy), the Messinian/Zanclean boundary is directly underlain by the Arenazzolo Formation. This 5 to 7 m thick sandy sedimentary interval may reveal a genetic link with the abrupt refilling of the Mediterranean, but at present a detailed study to understand its origin is lacking. In this work, the Arenazzolo Formation at Eraclea Minoa has been studied by a multi‐method approach, employing detailed facies description, grain‐size analyses, petrographic analyses and palaeocurrent analyses. Palaeogeographical reconstructions and facies associations show that the Arenazzolo Formation sands were deposited on the northern flank of the Gela thrust front by persistent bottom currents, flowing parallel to the regional slope physiography, during a transgression. It is hypothesized that these currents are associated with the active circulation of surface and intermediate water masses coeval with a terminal Messinian flood, when basin margins overtopped and a reconnection between western and eastern Mediterranean was created. The Arenazzolo Formation is a unique example of a contouritic deposit formed by bottom currents that establish during the reconnection of major isolated water bodies.

Ohata, Koji; Cala, Isabel; Dorrell, Robert M.; Naruse, Hajime; McLelland, Stuart J.; Simmons, Stephen M.; McCaffrey, William D.

doi: 10.1111/sed.13075pmid: N/A

Sedimentary bedforms such as ripples and dunes are generated both by river flows and sediment‐laden gravity currents. Gravity current deposits are usually parameterized using existing bedform phase diagrams which are based on data from laboratory experiments and field observations of open‐channel flows. Yet, it is not evident that open‐channel flow bedform phase diagrams are applicable to gravity current deposits. Gravity current hydrodynamics are dependent on vertical density variation, that is density stratification, and therefore are fundamentally different from open‐channel flows. New experiments to produce gravity current deposits are conducted and compared to existing open‐channel flow data. It is shown that a parameter phase‐space based on the lower layer of stratified gravity currents (i.e. that part below the velocity maximum) significantly improves the prediction of bedform type compared to bedform phase diagrams derived from layer‐averaged parameters. These results confirm that bedforms produced by gravity currents can only be predicted accurately using the characteristics of the lower layer of stratified flow.

Unger, Tanja; Saillol, Matthieu; Aretz, Markus; Lokier, Stephen; Mueller, Mathias; Karius, Volker; Immenhauser, Adrian

doi: 10.1111/sed.13078pmid: N/A

During the Middle Devonian, reef growth reached an acme, and corals and stromatoporoids colonized depositional niches commonly considered unfavourable for reefal organisms. This paper documents the detailed facies architecture and palaeoecology of a stratigraphically thin (ca 12 m, ‘carpet reef’), lower Givetian reefal body exposed along the walls and ceilings of the labyrinthine passages in the Klutert Cave in western Germany. The cave exposures (ca 26 000 m2 of rock surface) and data from short cores, neighbouring caves and outcrops document the growth and demise of an autoparabiostrome. The reef forms part of a parasequence with a lower carbonate and an upper clastic unit, bounded by flooding surfaces. Despite the comparatively small study area (ca 1 km2), the exceptional exposure quality reveals facies changes over relatively short distances both vertical and lateral. The sedimentary matrix of the reefal build‐up contains between 20 to 95 wt.‐% of clay and quartz of silt to sand fraction. Based on this observation, the corals and stromatoporoids thrived in murky waters and under sediment‐stressed conditions. Stromatoporoids, for example, display irregular ragged flanks, a feature that is in agreement with a sediment‐stressed environment. No evidence of reduced growth rates, decreased calcification rates, or lower numbers of species is found. In fact, coral diversity and density are highest within one of the two biostromal units that show peak clastic matrix values, indicating a remarkable adaptation of reef builders to sediment‐stressed conditions. The initial settlement of rugose phaceloid corals took place on a mixed clastic–carbonate substrate (the basal flooding surface). Up‐section, a succession of coral–stromatoporoids is present that is here described in great detail. Reef collapse occurred when much of the accommodation space was filled, and argillaceous sediments suffocated stromatoporoids and corals in a protected, low‐energy environment.