Depositional Environments

• De Depo posi siti tion on by wat water er,, wind wind or or ice ice (or (or grav gravit ity) y) • • • • • • •

Alluvial Rive Riverr depos deposit itss (flu (fluvi vial al)) Delt Deltai aic, c, sha shall llow ow mar marin inee Deep Deep mar marin inee (turb (turbid idit ites es)) Wind Wind lai laid d depos deposit itss (aeol (aeolia ian) n) Lake La ke depos deposit itss (lac (lacus ustr trin ine) e) Ice rel relate ated d depo deposit sitss (gl (glaci acial) al)

• Gr Grow owth th in in pos posit itio ion n by by orga organi nicc proc proces esse sess • Plat Platfo form rm car carbo bona nate tess • Coral re reefs

• Pr Prec ecip ipit itat atio ion n fr from om so solu luti tion on • salt • gypsum • anhydrite

The Clastic World lake

alluvial fans braided river

forest

meandering river

tidal flat

shallow marine

swamp

shelf sands

beach barriers

delta

margin & slope

deep marine Governed by: fans Gravity Climate Provenance Sediment supply Subsidence and (eustatic) sea level changes

deep marine

Meandering river 

Braided river 

Point bars

Chute

Oxbow lake

Crevasse splay

Kanuti river Alaska

Sand Gamma Ray 75 150 (API)

    0

     l .  .     g  .     d      d     n    s    e    e     n    u     o    r      i     c    c    m      f     m

6

5

b 1

6

1 5

c

a

2

7

1

b 1

b

6 b 5

6

c 1

a 5

c b b 5

c 6 3

3

1

4

b

1

6

3

c 1

1

c

a

1

a

Vert. scale: approx 1:200 Vert. scale: approx 1:200

a

 Avulsion

Clay plugs New meander  belt

Meander belt buil t up above floodplain

 Allu vial fan breccias

Vertic al accr etion deposits

Meandering s tream deposits show ing lin ear sand bodies ori ented dow n the depositio nal slop e. These porous facies are laid dow n by th e meander belts, and are enclosed wit hin im permeable floodp lain shales.

CONTINENTAL COASTAL

SHELF

DEEP MARINE

Barrier Sands

Mississippi delta (bird-foot delta)

Nile Delta

Lena Delta (Siberia)

Ganges Delta (Bangladesh)

Lower Shoreface Upper Shoreface

Offshore

Fair weather wave base ( FWWB) 5-10 m Storm weather wave base ( SWWB) 15-25 m

Cliff ~ 8 m Th in b e d d e d sa n d y h e t e ro lit h ic s, 4 5 c m c o re  

Hummocky Cross-Stratification

Shoreface deposits showing lateral continuity (ca. 5 kms)

Champion 204 Core - UV Light

Ganges Delta (Bangladesh)

12m

Small-scale, single storey distributary channel sand - East Kentucky

• Re-deposition of sediments in deep water  • Sequence of Major Events 10-100 km

Delta

Canyon

Slope channel Channel levee

Fan lobe

Shelf 

Fan Debris slump, slide

Fan channel(s)

Benin-major    s   m    0    0    5

2 km

Indus Fan

  s   m    0    0    5

2 km

Turb idi tes in the Ain sa basin (Sout hern Pyrenees)

Linear Draa

Stellar Draa

Interdune (flooded)

interdune

Tidal flood surface, and associated sedimentary structures, Guerrero Negro, Mexico. Photo courtesy Steven G. Fryberger.

Grain Cement

Pore Matrix (lime mud)