T16 Advancing Seismic and Sequence Stratigraphy: Insights from Testing the Fundamentals

Sunday, 22 October 2017
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Room 307/308

EQUIFINALITY IN DEEP-WATER SAND DELIVERY: INSIGHTS FROM 3-D STRATIGRAPHIC FORWARD MODELS

Paper number: T16-13
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 11:10 AM – 11:25 AM

Authors

Abstract

Eustasy constitutes a key control on continental-shelf accommodation. In order to test the effects of eustatic variation on deep-water sediment delivery rates, we ran two models; one using the New Jersey Margin derived eustatic curve, and the other a base case with no imposed change in eustatic level. We found that the change in eustatic curves resulted in a 0.9% difference in cumulative deep water sand volumes between models. In the eustatic model, maximum deep-water sand accumulation occurred during short-term sea-level falls, but peak sand delivery did not correspond well with the magnitude of the sea-level fall and the timing of peak deep-water sand delivery during falls was highly variable. Further examination of the relationship between rates of relative sea level and deep-water sand delivery show a poor correlation (r2 < 0.1). Large and small amplitudes of sea-level change produced identical magnitudes of deep-water sand delivery. Deep-water sand delivery events of similar magnitude were also observed in the no-eustatic-variation model, thus accounting for the relative invariance to eustatic curve. Overall, this study suggest that the magnitude and timing of peak deep-water sand delivery during sea-level falls may be unpredictable and that autogenic and allogenic processes may be indistinguishable in the geologic record.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-303903

© Copyright 2017 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.