Sedimentary environment evolution in a marine hangingwall dipslope setting. El Qaa Fault Block, Suez Rift, Egypt

Abstract

Sedimentation in hangingwall dipslope settings is still a relatively underexplored topic in rift basin studies. A better understanding of the evolution of marine sedimentary environments in this kind of settings has to address the variations occurring both along the strike and down the dipslope.Previous work was mainly built on the analysis of subsurface data, relying on the visualization of coarse resolution (10s of m) seismic sections and sparsely located borehole logs (km apart). This Accepted ArticleThis article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. study focuses on the sedimentology and stratal arrangement of excellent quality Miocene marine early syn-rift and rift climax successions continuously exposed for more than 20 km along the strike of the hangingwall dipslope in the El Qaa Fault Block, Suez Rift, Egypt. The integration of traditional sedimentary field techniques and terrestrial LIDAR scanning allowed for a detailed analysis of dip and dip direction for the different depositional units. Three different phases of tilting were identified for the hangingwall dipslope, which controlled the overall evolution of the marine sedimentary environment in the area. The tilt of the hangingwall not only determined variations in facies, thickness and grain-size of the deposits down the dipslope but also along its strike. The studied exposures in the El Qaa Fault Block dipslope constitute a unique outcrop analogue for marine sedimentation in hangingwall diplsopes.

Digital outcrop modelling using “structure-from- motion” photogrammetry: Acquisition strategies, validation and interpretations to different sedimentary environments

“…Similar sedimentological problems described above were resolved in the past decade using VO and DEMs constructed with airborne LiDAR scanning (ALS) or terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), such as quantification of clinoform geometries (Buckley et al, 2008;Enge et al, 2010;Rittersbacher et al, 2014), measurement of stratal geometries (Hodgetts, 2013;Cawood et al, 2017;Muravchik et al, 2017) and detail morphometric analysis of beach ridges (Houser et al, 2008;Zhou and Xie, 2009;Jewell, 2016). The methodological approach of this work demonstrates the possibility to resolve sedimentary problems using VO or DEMs as similar as LIDAR but with an approach that is easier to use and much more accessible and affordable for the sedimentological community.…”

Deep‐water sediment transport patterns and basin floor topography in early rift basins: Plio‐Pleistocene syn‐rift of the Corinth Rift, Greece

“…The analysis of bedding measurements at fault block scale allowed for the detection of angular unconformities within the stratigraphy of the RDF (Figure ) and the effect of basin‐floor tilting in the evolution of the subaqueous environment (e.g. Ravnås & Steel, ; Muravchik et al, ).…”

“…The fact that the different depositional units in the formation consistently dip towards the NNE, together with the decrease in the magnitude of the dip of the bedding and angular unconformities upwards in the stratigraphy of the RDF (Figures and ) implies that tilting towards the northern boundary fault system at hangingwall scale was a first‐order control in the evolution of the depocentre (e.g. Ravnås & Steel, ; Muravchik et al, ) and that the internal normal faults played a more local role (Figures a, c and ).…”

Evolution of drainage, sediment‐flux and fluvio‐deltaic sedimentary systems response in hanging wall depocentres in evolving non‐marine rift basins: Paleogene of Raoyang Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, China

“…These include drainages associated with the rift axis, drainages associated with the footwall and drainages associated with upthrown portions of the hanging wall dipslope (e.g., Gawthorpe & Leeder, 2000;Hsiao, Graham, & Tilander, 2010;Leeder, 2011;Masini, Manatschal, Mohn, Ghienne, & Lafont, 2011). Examples of such interactions include subsidence rate control on the location of axial depositional systems, or increased interactions of transverse depositional systems with axial depositional systems during the late syn-rift and post-rift stages (e.g., Bridge & Mackey, 1993;Elliott et al, 2015;Gawthorpe & Leeder, 2000;Leeder & Jackson, 1993;Leeder & Mack, 2001;Muravchik, Bilmes, & D'elia, 2014;Muravchik, Gawthorpe, & Sharp, 2018). Studies of these interactions have led to significant advances in understanding how clastic depositional systems distribute and evolve during different rift stages.…”

“…Studies of these interactions have led to significant advances in understanding how clastic depositional systems distribute and evolve during different rift stages. Examples of such interactions include subsidence rate control on the location of axial depositional systems, or increased interactions of transverse depositional systems with axial depositional systems during the late syn-rift and post-rift stages (e.g., Bridge & Mackey, 1993;Elliott et al, 2015;Gawthorpe & Leeder, 2000;Leeder & Jackson, 1993;Leeder & Mack, 2001;Muravchik, Bilmes, & D'elia, 2014;Muravchik, Gawthorpe, & Sharp, 2018). However, most detailed studies to date focus either on transverse hanging wall drainages versus axial drainage evolution, or the manner in which the basin's different footwall drainages interact (e.g., Bridge & MacKey, 1993;Cope et al, 2010;Henstra, Gawthorpe, Helland-Hansen, Ravnås, & Rotevatn, 2016;Leeder & Gawthorpe, 1987;Leeder, Mack, & Salyards, 1996;Mack, Seager, & Leeder, 2006;Marr, Swenson, Paola, & Voller, 2000).…”