Prediction of Margin Stratigraphy

Abstract

A new generation of predictive, process-response models provides insight about how sedimenttransport processes work to form and destroy strata, and to influence the developing architecture along continental margins. The spectrum of models considered in this paper includes short-term sedimentary processes (river discharge, surface plumes, hyperpycnal plumes, wave-current interactions, subaqueous debris flows, turbidity currents), the filling of geological basins where tectonics and subsidence are important controls on sediment dispersal (slope stability, compaction, tectonics, sea-level fluctuations, subsidence), and acoustic models for comparison to seismic images. Recent efforts have coordinated individual modelling studies and catalysed Earth-surface research by:1 empowering scientists with computing tools and knowledge from interlinked fields; 2 streamlining the process of hypothesis testing through linked surface dynamics models; 3 creating models tailored to specific settings, scientific problems and time-scales.The extreme ranges of space-and time-scales that define Earth history demand an array of approaches, including model nesting, rather than a single monolithic modelling structure. Numerical models that simulate the development of landscapes and sedimentary architecture are the repositories of our understanding about basic physics and thermodynamics underlying the field of sedimentology.

Defining the concept of stratigraphic grade and applying it to stratal (reservoir) architecture and evolution of the slope-to-basin profile: An outcrop perspective

“…First, relief of the slope-to-basin profile scaled against angle of slope. This method was used by O'Grady et al (2000) to document the morphology of the slope of modern siliciclastic passive continental margins and O'Grady and to document the morphology of basin margins simulated using a process-response forward stratigraphic model SedFlux (Syvitski et al, 1999(Syvitski et al, , 2007O'Grady and Syvitski, 2001). Second, relief of the slope-to-basin profile scaled against distance.…”

Suspended Sediment and Seabed Modifications Driven by Energetic Waves and a Strong Coastal Current

“…Related to this study, I have contributed towards two chapters of a volume on continental-margin sedimentation [Syvitski et al, 2007;Wheatcroft et al, 2007].…”

Two‐diffusion description of hyperpycnal deltas

“…Among other features, the foresets of hyperpycnal deltas tend to have much milder inclinations than their Gilbert-type counterparts [Kostic et al, 2002]. Such geomorphic influence suggests that turbidity currents have the ability to drive along-bed motions of coarser grains, much like subaerial streams have the power to transport bed load [Syvitski et al, 2007]. Laboratory experiments by A. Cantelli and B. Yu (see the video in chapter 4 of the electronic book by Parker [2004]) confirm that such transport can indeed occur at the base of turbid underflows.…”