A 3D forward stratigraphic model of fluvial meander-bend evolution for prediction of point-bar lithofacies architecture

Abstract

Cite this article as: Na Yan, Nigel P. Mountney, Luca Colombera and Robert M. Dorrell, A 3D forward stratigraphic model of fluvial meander-bend evolution for prediction of point-bar lithofacies architecture, Computers and Geosciences, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2017.04.012 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting galley proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Integration of channel meander abandonment age uncertainty into a stochastic channelized system reconstruction method

“…As the complete method ultimately reconstructs possible temporal evolution time steps of the channel from available evidence, it would also be useful to explicitly model the geometric layout of depositional heterogeneities based on paleo-channels (Yan et al, 2017). The consideration of heterogeneities is of first importance for flow simulation in order to better understand the reservoir architecture (Jacquemyn et al, 2019).…”

A novel approach for prediction of lithological heterogeneity in fluvial point‐bar deposits from analysis of meander morphology and scroll‐bar pattern

“…Despite their common occurrence in modern settings, translating (or 'downstream migrating', sensu Ghinassi et al, 2016) point bars and related counter-point-bar and eddy-accretion deposits remain relatively poorly documented in the rock record (Ghinassi & Ielpi, 2015), except in rare cases for which high-resolution seismic data or planform exposures are available (Hubbard et al, 2011;Ielpi & Ghinassi, 2014;Alqahtani et al, 2015;Wu et al, 2015). The noteworthy control of meanderbend planform transformations on spatial distribution of point-bar sedimentary facies has been recently highlighted through numerical simulations by Yan et al (2017).…”

“…Gaining improved understanding of intra-channelbelt facies heterogeneity has important applied implications, notably the characterisation of styles of compartmentalisation of sands by fine-grained deposits of different types (e.g. Colombera et al, 2017;Yan et al, 2017) and prediction of petrophysical heterogeneity (e.g. Burton & Wood, 2013;Nordahl et al, 2014).…”

Grain‐size variability within a mega‐scale point‐bar system, False River, Louisiana

“…Such issues are also important to the extraction of water from aquifers and to predict the possible spread of contaminants through an aquifer. Although numerical models have been developed that can help predict such characteristics based on the geometries observed in three-dimensional seismic surveys (Yan et al, 2017;Colombera et al, 2018), such models are best used when the lateral extent of facies and grain-size variability is well-constrained. Seismic methods can provide the geometry of the meander externally and sometimes internally Alqahtani et al, 2015) but are weak at constraining lithology.…”

“…Meanders can migrate either through lateral migration perpendicular to the regional river flow direction and/or downstream in the direction of flow. If the direction of propagation of the bend apex changes during migration then this process is called rotation (Brice, 1974;Ghinassi & Ielpi, 2015;Yan et al, 2017). A recent synthesis suggests that both downstream migrating point bars and laterally expanding point bars (where the radius of meander increases as the meander migrates) share several characteristics but that bar-tail deposits differ in downstream migrating point bars (Ghinassi et al, 2016).…”