Rivers Estuaries Deltas and Beaches Abstract Book, 6-7 November 2008

Rivers, Estuaries, Deltas & Beaches: Traps for Fossil Fuels
Rivers, Estuaries, Deltas &

Beaches: Traps for Fossil Fuels
6-7 November 2008
The Petroleum Group would like to thank BP,
ConocoPhillips, and ExxonMobil for their
support of this event:
November 2008
Page 1
Thursday 6 November
08:30
Registration + coffee
09:20
Welcome and opening
09:30
Steel, R. and Olariu, C. (University of Texas at Austin)

KEYNOTE: Deltas and estuaries: how do they grow the shelf and shelf-margin prism
Bowman, A., Reynolds, T., and Lowe, S. (BP Exploration)
Lacustrine delta reservoirs of the giant ACG Field, South Caspian Basin, offshore
Azerbaijan
Waters, J., Jones, S., and Armstrong, H. (Durham University)
Sequence Stratigraphic Development of a Pleistocene Fan Delta Complex: Pissouri
Basin, Cyprus
Tea / Coffee
10:15
10:45
11:15
11:45
12:15
12:45
14:00
14:30
15:00
15:30
16:00
16:30
17:00
17:30
Howell, J., Enge, H. and Buckley, S. (University of Bergen)

Quantification of shallow marine, deltaic clinothems from virtual outcrop models:
Examples from the Cretaceous Western Interior of the USA
Olavsdottir, J. (Faroese Earth and Energy Directorate)
Three-dimensional Seismic Sequence Stratigraphic study of Mid-Eocene clinoforms in
the Faroe-Shetland Basin, NE Atlantic Ocean
Lunch
Hampson, G.J. (Imperial College London)
Facies architecture, sediment volumes and dispersal mechanisms across an ancient
shelf: Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway, USA
Blum, M. (Louisiana State University)
New Views on Incised Valleys: Insights from Quaternary Systems of the Gulf of Mexico
Coast and Shelf
Guimares, J.K., and Dominguez, J.M. (Universidade Federal da Bahia)
The Late-Quaternary History of the Sao Francisco River Delta, Brazil: from an incised
valley to an equilibrium-state wave dominated delta
Tea / Coffee
Bristow, C. (Birkbeck College)
Coastal plain sedimentary architecture revealed by GPR
Kieft, R., Jackson, C., Hampson, G. and Larsen, E. (Imperial College London)
Impact of syn-depositional faulting on shallow-marine sedimentation and reservoir
distribution: Hugin Formation, Block 15/3, Norwegian South Viking Graben
Larsen, A.L., Andersson, A., Grunhagen, H., Jackson, C.A.L. and Howell, J.A.
(University of Bergen)
Preserved beach ridges in the Middle Jurassic Brent Group, Horda Platform, North
Viking Graben: Recognition, origin and preservation
Wine Reception
November 2008
Page 2
Friday 7 November
08:30
Registration + coffee
09:00
Paola, C. (St Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota)

KEYNOTE: Scale dependence and independence in depositional systems:
experimental and other evidence
Tornqvist, T.E., Wortman, S.R., Mateo, R.P., Milne, G.A. and Swenson, J.B.
(Tulane University)
Source-to-sink sediment flux during the last sea-level lowstand: Implications for
stratigraphic models
Moore, R., Fint, S., Wolf, J., and Souza, A. (University of Liverpool)
Explaining estuarine sediment dynamics and morphological changes using numerical
modelling and LIDAR analysis techniques
Tea / Coffee
09:45
10:15
10:45
11:15
11:45
12:15
12:45
14:00
14:30
15:00
15:30
16 :00
16:30
17:00
Nichols, G., Hartley, A. and Weissmannm G. (Royal Holloway University of

London)
Are distributary patterns dominant in fluvial deposits in the stratigraphic record?
Jones, S. and Arzani, N. (Durham University)
Constraining temporal controls on alluvial fan activity, Central Iran
Patterson, P.E., Skelly, R.L., Jones, C.R. (ExxonMobil)
Hierarchical Description of Alluvial Strata
Lunch
Yu, Q. (Senckenberg Institute)
Rates of Deposition and Stratigraphical Completeness, a Dynamical Modeling
Approach
Morris, J., Jones, S., McCaffrey, K., Meadows, N., Archer, S., Middleton, J.,
Charles, R. and Waage, H. (Durham University)
Triassic Fluvial Outcrop and Subsurface Architecture: Controls and Correlation
Reesink, A.J.H.and Bridge, J.S. (Brighton University)
Effects of bedform superimposition and flow unsteadiness on cross-strata formed by
dunes and unit bars
Tea / Coffee
Samorn, H., Hurley, N. and McHargue, T.R. (Chevron)
Fluvial reservoir architecture from near-surface 3D seismic data, Block B8/32, Gulf of
Thailand
Forster, C.J., and Archer, S.G. (ConocoPhillips & University of Manchester)
Middle Jurassic Pentland Formation of the Central North Sea: a re-evaluation of
sedimentary environments and facies
Conference end
November 2008
Page 3
Thursday 6 November
November 2008
Page 4
KEYNOTE:
Deltas & estuaries: how do they grow the shelf and shelf-margin prism
Ron Steel and Cornel Olariu, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin
Deltas and estuaries are the key depositional systems that deliver and partition sand and mud
onto the shelf during their regressive and transgressive transits. Deltas and estuaries are
variably affected by waves, tides and currents, and process dominance can vary with location
on the shelf platform, through time within the development of a stratigraphic sequence, and with
bathymetry change across the basin. Process dominance can also be critical if sand is to be
delivered from a shelf-edge into the adjacent deep water area; for example storm swell and
waves, common at shelf margins, appear to be inefficient at delivering large volumes of sand
down onto deepwater slopes. The impact of this process variation on delta sandbody geometry
is illustrated from the Pliocene Orinoco system and from the Campanian Western Interior
Seaway.
Deltas and estuaries have cross-shelf transits (extensive in Icehouse times, less so in
Greenhouse settings) that are driven mainly by accommodation or by sediment supply. These
transits, even on the widest shelves, happen on a time scale of 100ky or less, creating the
tram-line stratigraphy seen on seismic data. Shorter time-scale, autogenic shifting (shifts
without rate changes of the main forcing variables) of channels, mouth bars, and delta lobes is
rampant, but probably tends to occur within the more extensive boundaries of 4th-order, shelftransit units. The effect of autogenic shifting of channels and delta lobes is to spread and
broaden the area of shelf infill in front of the main river system, usually with a lateral spread that
is about twice the width of the pre-existing shelf. This configuration of shelf growth, plus a
tendency for waves to move sediment alongshore, ensures a relatively even accretion of the
shelf margin. Very widely spaced coastal rivers, however, will cause some starved shelf
segments to have slower aggradation, less accentuated shelf-margin clinoforms and therefore
less even basinward accretion. Measurement of rates of aggradation and progradation of
ancient shelf-margin prisms (clastic wedges) can indicate how highly supplied a margin has
been, and help predict the likelihood of large volumes of bypassed deepwater sand.
November 2008
Page 5
NOTES
November 2008
Page 6
Lacustrine delta reservoirs of the giant ACG Field, South Caspian Basin, offshore
Azerbaijan
Andrew Bowman, Tony Reynolds & Stephen Lowe
BP Exploration, Chertsey Road, Sunbury upon Thames, Middlesex, UK
The giant ACG oil field in the South Caspian Basin comprises stacked Pliocene age deltaic
sandstones and mudstones of the Middle Productive Series Pereriv and Balakhany reservoirs.
Analysis of subsurface data and analogue data from nearby exposures onshore in Azerbaijan
has led to a detailed understanding of the depositional system and reservoir architectures
within the field enabling efficient development of the hydrocarbon resource.
Deposition of the Middle Productive Series occurred on a broad, low gradient ramp. Sediment
was sourced from the Russian platform and delivered to the South Caspian Basin by the
Palaeo-Volga River which cut a large canyon system through the North and Central Caspian
Basins when large scale (>2 km) base level fall isolated the South Caspian from the global
oceans at the end of the Miocene forming a large under filled lake.
A large core data base (> 2 km) has allowed the recognition of seven lithofacies within the
Pereriv and Balakhany Suites; five sandstone, a siltstone and a mudstone, each of which can
be further subdivided. These lithofacies are arranged into facies associations that record
deposition in a range of deltaic environments from sandstone prone distributary channels to
offshore lake mudstones. The study of equivalent age Middle Productive Series exposures
onshore in Azerbaijan and the use of analogues, such as the modern Volga Delta, have
enabled an improved understanding of the depositional elements associated with each facies
association. Palynology has been a key tool in differentiating between depositional
environments and understanding the stratigraphic framework of the field.
The Pereriv Suite comprises 5 Units; Pereriv E (oldest) through to Pereriv A (youngest). The
Pereriv B and D are the most productive reservoirs, comprising laterally extensive high net-togross (>0.85) stacked channel sandstones with mudstone barriers and baffles. Average
properties are ~20% porosity and 200-300 mD permeability. Despite the excellent reservoir
continuity and petrophysical properties ten years of production from the Pereriv B and D has
revealed previously unrecognised complexity.
The Balakhany is subdivided into six Suites from the oldest Balakhany X, which overlies the
Pereriv A, through to the youngest, the Balakhany V. All are hydrocarbon bearing but the
principle reservoirs in ACG are the Balakhany X and Balakhany VIII. Compared to the Pereriv
B and D the Balakhany reservoirs are lower net-to-gross (0.35 to 0.55), have slightly lower
porosities (~18-20%) and permeabilities (~70 to150 mD) and contain laterally and vertically
discontinuous sand bodies. The complex reservoir architecture of the Balakhany Reservoirs
has led to them being developed differently to the Pereriv reservoirs.
November 2008
Page 7
NOTES
November 2008
Page 8
Sequence Stratigraphic Development of a Pleistocene Fan Delta Complex: Pissouri

Basin, Cyprus
Jen Waters, Stuart Jones and Howard Armstrong, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham
University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
The Pissouri Basin in southern Cyprus exhibits a shallowing upwards succession in the
hangingwall of the Cyprus subduction zone. The stratigraphic succession of shallow marine
silts, to fan delta clastic wedges, culminating in raised beach and alluvial fan deposits were
deposited during a tectonically active period of the Cyprus subduction zone and coeval with a
phase of major climatic change. Structural updoming associated with the locking of the Cyprus
subduction zone by the Eratosthenes Seamount and the emplacement of a large serpentinite
diapir centred on Mount Olympus has been suggested as the main tectonic driver for uplift
since the Pliocene (Maximum 29cm/Ka). The whole of southern Cyprus has been tectonically
active for the last 5 Myrs but was particularly active during the late Pliocene to early
Pleistocene. The effects of high rates of subsidence and sediment supply, associated with uplift
and loading of Cyprus of the Pleistocene fan delta clastic wedges of sediment will be explored.
The influence of climate on alluvial successions is still largely neglected in the literature.
Climatically induced events can produce sedimentary structures, which would typify those of a
tectonically induced derivation, and this paper will delineate between the climatic and tectonic
events.
Two key aspects will be explored investigating the tectonic and climatic interactions in the
Pissouri Fan delta complex, using multiproxy dating techniques (e.g. U-Th; Foraminiferal
biozonation; palaeomagnetics):
i) Sequence stratigraphic analysis has been undertaken of the fan delta, taking into account
sediment flux, subsidence rates and dating of subaerial unconformable surfaces such as
palaeosols. By placing age constraints on the key stratal surfaces a better linkage can be made
with key tectonic events during the uplift of Cyprus. The intercalated palaeosol horizons
suggest periods of reduced accommodation space and potential abandonment of the fan delta.
Moving up through the succession a reduction in accommodation space is evident in the form
of successively thinner beds and a series of primarily aggradational stacked channels,
suggesting gradual infilling of the basin in addition to tectonic quiescence and stable eustatic
sea level. By taking into account the relative sea level curve and field observations a sequence
stratigraphic framework has been derived with a strong preservation of the TST and LST, and
HST and FSST deposits less well developed.
ii) The dating of key correlatable stratal surfaces has played an important role in this research
allowing correlation of dated fan surfaces to offshore sapropels dated as part of ODP (Leg160) in the Levantine Basin. Linkage between these dated surfaces has identified precessional
cyclicity as a dominant control on the sedimentation history of the Pissouri fan delta complex.
This research demonstrates that through dating key surfaces and correlation with well-dated
sapropel horizons a linkage can be made with climatic events, even in a tectonically active
area. Through the use of sequence stratigraphy and the linkage with sapropels improved
temporally and spatially contrained facies models can be created, with important implications
for hydrocarbon exploration of non-marine and paralic environments.
November 2008
Page 9
NOTES
November 2008
Page 10
Quantification of shallow marine, deltaic clinothems from virtual outcrop models:

Examples from the Cretaceous Western Interior of the USA
John Howell, Hvard Enge and Simon Buckley, Centre for Intergrated Petroleum Research,
University of Bergen, Allegaten 41, Bergen, Norway. john.howell@cipr.uib.no
The presence of clinoforms and clinothems within a shallow marine, deltaic sandstone deposit
may significantly impact reservoir performance. However, their geometry and distribution in 3D
is poorly understood and they are rarely included in reservoir models. In addition clinothem
architecture may yield important information on the shoreline trajectory and evolution through
time. A detailed study, based upon high resolution virtual outcrop models of two deltaic
systems, one highstand and one forced-regressive, has been undertaken to address clinothem
geometry and architecture. The studied systems are from the Ferron Formation and Panther
Tongue Member and, both of which lie within the Mesaverde Group outcrops of central Utah,
USA.
A series of quantitative parameters are introduced to describe clinothems. The bed
parametrisation and data analysis are based heaviliy on 3D virtual outcrop models generated
by ground-based laser scanning (lidar). These models have allowed the accurate, spatial
constrained measurement of over 5000 individual bed thickness measurements along more
than 100 individual clinothems from the two systems.
Results illustrate that the Panther Tongue clinothem beds are longer and lie at a lower angle
than their Ferron counterparts. They are however not significantly thicker. Beds in the Panther
Tongue have a mean thickness:length relationship of 1:525 with a range from 1:350 to 1:700 m
for the majority of the beds. The mean dip for almost 80 percent of the beds in Panther is
1.25. The Ferron clinothems have a mean dip of 2.6 and mean thickness:length relationship
of 1:415, with a range from 1:230 to 1:600.
A new parameter (), which described bed thickness decay down depositional dip is described.
In both cases values for this parameter show subtle cyclic depositional patterns in successive
beds. Combined with systematic changes in the dip angle, these cycles define bedsets which
are interpreted to have an autogenic origin related to the evolution and abandonment of mouth
bar complexes within the lower delta front.
The data also have important implications for the correlation and computer based modelling of
subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs, where dipping mudstones associated with clinoforms
generate important barriers and baffles to fluid flow.
November 2008
Page 11
NOTES
November 2008
Page 12
Three-dimensional Seismic Sequence Stratigraphic study of Mid-Eocene clinoforms in

the Faroe-Shetland Basin, NE Atlantic Ocean
Jana lavsdttir, Jarfeingi (Faroese Earth and Energy Directorate), Brekkutn 1, Postbox
3059, FO-110 Trshavn, Faroe Islands - E-mail: jana.olavsdottir@jardfeingi.fo; Tel: +298
357031; Fax +298 357001
During the last decade several 3-D seismic datasets have been obtained for the FaroeShetland Basin. These 3-D seismic datasets allow for the detailed interpretation and mapping
of parts of the area. This study is based on seismic sequence stratigraphic
interpretation/mapping of a 3500 km2 mid-Eocene delta in the Faroe-Shetland Basin. The delta
is building out from the Munkagrunnar Ridge which was uplifted and eroded during mid-Eocene
time. Some of the eroded material from the Munkagrunnar Ridge was transported via a channel
in a NE direction and deposited in the analysed delta of this study. Munkagrunnar Ridge is built
up of volcanic material and therefore, the composition of the sediments in the delta, are
interpreted to be volcaniclastic in character.
The internal structures of the delta are examined through seismic sequence stratigraphy
analysis. This method, based on reflector termination in the delta, divides the delta into seismic
facies. The interpretation of the seismic facies, are put in to the sequence stratigraphic
framework according to systems tracts, sequence boundaries and sequences.
The delta is divided into 4 sequences separated by Type-1 sequence boundaries. The four
sequences consist of eight systems tracts. Isochore maps of the systems tracts are produced
showing that the thickest part of the systems tracts is lying on the slope and appear as lenses
or slope front fill structures with a NW-SE orientation. The systems tracts are parallel with each
other where the lowermost and uppermost systems tracts are lying farthest to SW and NE,
respectively.
The type of depositional system and environmental setting of the sedimentary unit is easier to
infer from 3-D data. Out from the geometry of the depositional unit, together with the angular
dip of the clinoforms and comparison with present-day depositional units would suggest that the
sedimentary unit of this study is a wave/input dominated shelf edge delta. The slope gradient of
the delta is approximately 3.0, which is a moderate to high dip that gives indications about a
sandy delta.
From the offlap break point trajectories the delta is exhibiting an aggradational depositional
architecture where relative sea level, sediment supply rate and subsidence of the area have
been moderate during the formation of the wave/input dominated shelf edge delta.
November 2008
Page 13
NOTES
November 2008
Page 14
Facies Architecture, Sediment Volumes and Dispersal Mechanisms across an Ancient

Shelf: Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway, USA
Gary J. Hampson, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, UK
Extensive outcrop exposure and abundant subsurface well-log data in northern Utah and
Colorado allow reconstruction of high-resolution stratigraphy and facies architecture across a
large area (c. 60,000 km2) of the Campanian (Late Cretaceous) shelf along the western margin
of the Western Interior Seaway, USA. The range of sedimentological processes that dispersed
sediment across the shelf is established via analysis of outcrop exposures, while outcrop-tosubsurface mapping allows the resulting sediment volumes to be quantitatively analysed in an
appropriate stratigraphic and palaeogeographic context.
In the lower part of the studied strata, shorelines comprise wave-dominated deltas and
strandplains, but associated offshore mudstones contain evidence of river- and storm-derived
material. Geomorphological reconstructions suggest that at least some intervals contain
compound clinoforms similar to many modern deltas. In this case, an inner, sand-rich
shoreface clinofom is separated by a shelfal mud belt from an outer, sand-poor clinofom that
contains turbidites and hyperpycnites.
The upper part of the studied strata also contains wave-dominated shorelines, but shelfal
mudstones contain an abundance of isolated shelfal sandstones with abundant tidal
indicators. These shelfal sandstones are interpreted as the topsets of large tide-influenced
deltas or as related offshore bars that were deflected sub-parallel to the regional paleoshoreline
by Coriolis- and/or wave-driven currents.
The pronounced change in shelfal facies architecture from compound clinoform delta system
to deflected, tide-influenced deposits is interpreted to reflect an increased interaction between
shoreline depositional systems and basinal hydrodynamic circulation. The change in shelfal
facies architecture is not accompanied by a similar change in the wave-dominated shoreline
deposits, despite the fact that comparable volumes of sand are partitioned between these two
components. These results suggest that shelfal mudstones contain a wide range of sandbody
types, whose character and distribution is poorly predicted by coeval shoreline deposits.
November 2008
Page 15
NOTES
November 2008
Page 16
New Views on Incised Valleys: Insights from Quaternary Systems of the Gulf of Mexico
Coast and Shelf
Mike Blum, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, USA
This paper reviews recent developments in incised-valley concepts as seen from the Late
Quaternary record of the passive margin Gulf of Mexico coastal plain and shelf.
One key issue featured in early models was the concept of incision and sediment bypass of the
coastal plain and shelf during relative sea-level fall, and production of an unconformity.
However, studies of Quaternary systems, where deposits can be mapped and dated
independent of sea-level change, make it clear that valleys are incised in a step-wise manner,
with valley widening and channel-belt deposition common during sea-level fall and lowstand.
Step-wise incision, with lateral channel migration is the process that creates the basal valley-fill
surface and the overall dimensions of the incised valley, and the basal surface and overlying
deposits are genetically-related and the same age. Moreover, sea-level fall and lowstand is a
necessary condition for extension of river systems across the shelf and partitioning of incised
valleys, but the timing of incision and channel-belt deposition on the evolving valley-fill surface
varies between river systems due to upstream controls on discharge and sediment supply.
A second issue concerns links between incised valleys and sediment supply to the shelf margin
and beyond: some interpretive models implied that valley incision and sediment bypass were
necessary to provide the mass of sediments for lowstand fans. Although additional export of
sediment does in fact occur from development of incised valleys, it is a very small fraction
(<<10%) of the fluvial sediment that is always transported from the hinterland drainage basin to
the shoreline, wherever that may be. Moreover, merging of drainages as channels extend
across the shelf may result in increases in drainage area contributing to single point sources at
the shelf margin. Signals of increased or decreased flux of sediment to the shelf margin and
beyond may reflect geomorphic response to sea-level change, the merging of drainages as
they transit a broad shelf, rather than incision and sediment bypass.
Finally, two types of high-frequency cyclical isostatic adjustments should be considered in
incised-valley models. First, the magnitude of sediment removed and replaced in large incisedvalley systems over the course of a glacio-eustatic cycle produces a corresponding cycle of
flexural uplift and subsidence that enhances depths of incision during the lowstand, and the
overall thickness of transgressive to highstand strata. Rates of uplift or subsidence due to
sediment unloading and loading may exceed long-term rates of accommodation change by an
order of magnitude, and affect stratal geometries for distances of 10s to 100s of kilometers
from the depocenter. Second, sea-level fall and removal of water from a broad shelf should
result in hydroisostatic uplift, with the reverse process during transgression and highstand.
River systems are obliged to extend across the shelf during sea-level fall, but they need not cut
valleys that are any deeper than a single channel belt: hydroisostatic uplift may be the driving
force behind the deeper incised valleys that are commonly observed in the Quaternary record.
November 2008
Page 17
NOTES
November 2008
Page 18
The Late-Quaternary History of the So Francisco River Delta, Brazil: From an Incised
Valley to an Equilibrium-State Wave-Dominated Delta
Junia Kacenelenbogen Guimares and Jos Maria Landim Dominguez, 1 Universidade Federal
da Bahia, Curso de Ps-graduao em Geologia, 40170-280, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
email address: juniakg@gmail.com
The So Francisco river delta is usually considered as a paradigm of a wave-dominated delta.
Nevertheless most of the data available are limited to the distribution of surficial late Holocene
sedimentary deposits. Information concerning the depositional architecture of the delta is nonexistent. This work represents the first effort to characterize the 3D architecture of the delta and
its Holocene evolution. 15 SPT (Standard Penetration Test) drills were acquired at the deltaic
plain, with a maximum penetration of 40m. 12 samples were radiocarbon dated (AMS datings).
Data integration shows the presence of a narrow and deep incised valley underneath the
Quaternary plain. An incision depth of 80 m is estimated during the Last Glacial Maximum.
Afterwards the valley was flooded by the rising sea-level and infilled mostly with estuarine
muds. Deltaic progadation began around 8 cal. kyr BP, probably as a result of decreasing rates
of sea-level rise by that time. Regressive sand sheets flanking the river mouth present an
average thickness of 14m, which correspond to the present day wave base.
Shoreline progradation rates averaged 5m/yr between 8 and 5 cal. kyr BP, decreasing
afterwards to 1m/yr. This decrease is probably a result of a combination of factors. Initially
delta construction took place in an embayed shoreline. This situation favored a convergence of
the longshore drift of marine sediments and helped in trapping the fluvial sediments as well,
causing rapid progradation of the shoreline. At this time the delta exhibited an estuarine-like
behaviour importing marine sediments. As soon as the embayment was infilled around 5 cal.
kyr BP a delta cuspid was formed, which generated a divergence of longshore drift resulting in
a more efficient longitudinal dispersion of fluvial sediments, thus decelerating shoreline
progadation. Moreover the delta began prograding in progressively deeper water on the narrow
shelf that characterizes the region. Today the delta front is directly connected with a submarine
canyon which enhances sediment transfer to the deeper basin.
The present day low progradation rates suggests that the deltaic plain has reached an
equilibrium configuration in which a significant amount of sediments are either transported
longshore or bypassed to deeper basinal areas.
November 2008
Page 19
NOTES
November 2008
Page 20
Coastal plain sedimentary architecture revealed by GPR

Dr Charlie Bristow, School of Earth Sciences, Birkbeck College, Malet Street, London WC1E
7HX
In comparison with deltas coastal plains have received relatively little attention from
sedimentologists and sedimentary geologists. While deltas are focal points for sediment
deposition the intervening coastal plains are equally important sites of sediment deposition but
they appear to be underrepresented in the sedimentary literature. This may in part be due to a
lack of modern analogues, itself a consequence of the late Pleistocene and Holocene
transgression. However, in those areas where sediment supply from offshore, alongshore or
onshore can keep pace with, or exceed, the rate of sea-level rise coastal plains have been
formed behind prograding coastlines.
In this paper GPR profiles across Holocene coastal plains are used to investigate the
sedimentary architecture of the shallow marine, upper shoreface, foreshore and backshore
sediments preserved within coastal plains. The examples include a prograding coastal plain
with a microtidal regime in South Australia. A barrier beach coast in New Zealand, and recurved
spits on a macrotidal coast in the UK. Despite concerns that GPR might be attenuated by
conductive saline groundwater in coastal environments the results show that this is not the case
in the examples presented in this paper.
The GPR profile across the microtidal coastal plain shows inclined tangential reflections
interpreted as beach progrades. The height of the beach progrades and the angle of dip
increase offshore as the beach progrades into deeper water. Beach progrades are truncated by
bounding surfaces that are interpreted to have formed during storm events. GPR profiles
across the barrier beach coast shows washovers downlapping onto lagoonal and drained
alluvial backshore sediments. The washovers are truncated by beach erosion surfaces and
overlain by beach progrades. The GPR profiles across spits show inclinded reflections from
foreshore sediments (beach progrades) with local truncation and onlap. Truncation surfaces are
interpreted as the product of storm events eroding into the foreshore and backshore sediments.
Onlap occurs where the spits change orientation.
November 2008
Page 21
NOTES
November 2008
Page 22
Impact of syn-depositional faulting on shallow-marine sedimentation and reservoir

distribution: Hugin Formation, Block 15/3, Norwegian South Viking Graben
Rachel Kieft1, Chris Jackson1, Gary Hampson1 and Eirik Larsen2,3
1
Dept. of Earth Sciences & Engineering, Imperial College, Prince Consort Rd, London, SW7
2BP
2
Statoil Bergen, Sandslihaugen 30, Sandsli, 5020 Bergen
3
Present address: Rocksource ASA, Box 994 Sentrum, Olav Kyrres gate 22, N-5808 Bergen.
Syn-depositional faulting can have a marked influence on facies and reservoir distribution within
shallow-marine settings. In settings of low sediment supply, sea-floor topography may develop
across active faults, leading to localisation of depocentres and restriction of certain facies to
these topographic lows. Where sediment supply matches the rate of accommodation
generation, topography does not develop and the same spatial restriction of certain facies may
not occur. An understanding of the relationship between sediment supply and structural
development is therefore important to predict reservoir distribution in shallow-marine settings.
The Hugin Formation (Middle Jurassic) consists of shallow-marine and marginal-marine
sediments deposited during an overall transgression that marked the southerly migration of the
Brent Delta system. This transgression coincided with the earliest phase of extension and
normal faulting in the South Viking Graben related to the Upper Jurassic rift event.
This study focuses on the prospective Hugin Formation in Norwegian exploration block 15/3, in
the hanging-wall of the western boundary fault of the South Viking Graben. Core logging shows
that the formation comprises five stacked parasequences separated by flooding surfaces.
These parasequence typically consist of bioclastic claystones grading upwards into muddy and
sandy bay-fill deposits, which are locally truncated by sand-rich tidal channels, thought to be
connected to the fluvial feeder system to the basin. In the more basinward wells, the bay-fill
deposits are missing, and much thicker (up to 40m) sands are seen sharply overlying the
restricted marine claystone. These are interpreted to be tidal inlets associated with a barrier
system that developed to the west and led to the restricted marine conditions. Remnant sands
of this barrier system are preserved in the most distal wells. Stacking of these coarseningupward parasequences is interpreted to reflect periodic infilling of the restricted marine
embayment.
Seismic mapping and well correlations both show the Hugin Formation thickening from east to
west across the study area, interpreted to be the result of initiation of movement on the grabenbounding fault to the west. Relatively minor thickness changes are superimposed on this
westward-thickening trend, highlighting the subtle influence of smaller, antithetic faults and
halokinesis during deposition. Well correlations demonstrate that such thickness changes are
not necessarily accompanied by facies shifts, and that fault-parallel facies variability also occurs
over comparatively short distances (2-4 km). Correlation of the Hugin Formation
parasequences is possible within Block 15/3, indicating that sediment supply and structurally
controlled subsidence were approximately in balance. However, sand-rich reservoir facies (e.g.
tidal channels and inlets) appear to be focussed within some syn-depositional depocentres,
indicating that evolving structures may have influenced facies architecture at intraparasequence scales, although proximity to sediment transport pathways into the basin is also
important. In this area, a robust sedimentological model integrated with structural mapping
provides the best basis for reservoir prediction.
November 2008
Page 23
NOTES
November 2008
Page 24
Preserved beach ridges in the middle jurassic Brent Group, horda platform, North
viking graben: Recognition, origin and preservation
A.L. Larsen1, A. Andersson1, H. Grunhagen2, C.A.L. Jackson3, J.A. Howell1
1
CIPR, University of Bergen, Allegaten 41, 5005 Bergen, Norway.
2
StatoilHydro, Sandsliveien 90, 5020 Bergen, Norway
3
Department of Earth Science & Engineering, Imperial College, Prince Consort Road, London,
SW7 2BP, UK
The Middle Jurassic Brent Group of the North Sea rift comprises a succession of marginal to
shallow marine units deposited in a large wave-influenced delta. The regional geological
understanding of depositional systems in the Brent Group has mainly come from closelyspaced well data, which indicate that the delta prograded northwards and had a roughly E-Wtrending coastline. A recent study by Grunhagen et al. (2003) in the Oseberg st area of the
Horda Platform, North Sea rift, recognized the presence of a series of straight to slightly
curved, E-W-orientated amplitude anomalies at the stratigraphic level of the Etive Fm. These
anomalies are up to 15 km in length, are 50-100 m wide and have a spacing of 150-200 m.
The anomalies are arranged into sets, with low-angle (<10) intersections between sets of
differing orientations. The authors suggested that these amplitude anomalies are the seismic
expression of preserved beach ridges that represent the presence of a significant topography
at the boundary between the Etive and Ness formations. From an applied perspective, it was
also demonstrated that these depositional features strongly influenced oil production.
Further seismic mapping over a greater area of the Horda Platform, in addition to studies of
well data and comparisons to modern systems on the coast of Florida, supports and expands
upon this beach ridge interpretation. Ridges are interpreted to have initiated as cheniers
during progradation, and to have become modified by subsequent aeolian activity.
Preservation of the beach ridges occurs during base-level rise as the inter-ridge topography
floods, and becomes filled with peat and fine-grained sediment. Understanding the origin of
these ridges has important implications for understanding, correlating and modelling the
reservoirs of the lower Brent Group.
November 2008
Page 25
NOTES
November 2008
Page 26
Friday 7 November
November 2008
Page 27
KEYNOTE:
Scale dependence and independence in depositional systems: experimental and other
evidence
Chris Paola, Department of Geology & Geophysics and St Anthony Falls Laboratory,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55414 USA, cpaola@umn.edu
Because most morphodynamic experiments cannot be fully scaled, their utility for
stratigraphic analysis and prediction depends critically on the extent to which the main
processes are scale independent. Moreover, the general association of scale independence
of depositional processes with self-similar (fractal) geometry of stratigraphic products implies
that a better understanding of scale dependence and independence in stratigraphy would be
extremely useful in stratigraphic prediction for example, interpreting information at
unresolved scales from seismic data, and making stratigraphic analogues more quantitative
and precise.
We review the origins, implications, and limits of scale independence in stratigraphy, primarily
using experimental and field observations. Overall, the case for scale independence in
stratigraphy, first articulated more than a decade ago, is quite strong. One major contributor to
scale independence is that overall morphodynamic evolution appears to depend on fluid flow
patterns only in a relatively generic sense. On the whole, however, with a few exceptions we
have done little to formalize and quantify our understanding of scale independence in
morphodynamics, and the subject has great unexploited potential.
November 2008
Page 28
NOTES
November 2008
Page 29
Source-to-sink sediment flux during the last sea-level lowstand: Implications for
stratigraphic models
Torbjrn E. Trnqvist1, Santina R. Wortman2, Zenon Richard P. Mateo2, Glenn A. Milne3 and
John B. Swenson4
1
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles
Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118-5698, USA, tor@tulane.edu
2
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West
Taylor Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607-7059, USA
3
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
4
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Minnesota Duluth, 1114 Kirby Drive,
Duluth, Minnesota 55812, USA
It is commonly believed that the efficiency of sediment flux from continents to oceans is
maximized during relative sea-level (RSL) lowstands, by means of cross-shelf valleys that are
directly connected to the continental slope and deep-marine environment. While such
conditions have been documented for the last RSL lowstand along several passive margins,
there is increasing evidence that radically different conditions persisted during the Last Glacial
Maximum (LGM) elsewhere, with lowstand shorelines that remained on the continental shelf.
Here, we analyze the relationship between the LGM (21 ka) shoreline and the shelf edge for
the Gulf of Mexico off the United States and the Bay of Biscay off France. A geophysical
model is used to compute shoreline positions corrected for glacio-hydro-isostatic movements,
and the shelf-edge position is quantified by means of curvature. The conditions in the two
study areas differed markedly: throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico LGM sea level dropped
to a point commonly ~40 m below the shelf edge, consistent with conventional sequencestratigraphic models, while in the Bay of Biscay the LGM shoreline remained well landward of
the shelf edge, in places separated by hundreds of kilometers. Preliminary data from the
southern African margin show that similar conditions prevailed there. Such contrasting
responses of continental margins to sea-level forcing challenge conventional views on (1) the
source-to-sink sediment flux from continents to oceans and its variation in time and space; (2)
sequence-stratigraphic models that predict deep-marine sedimentation as being particularly
prominent during RSL lowstands; and (3) the nature and timing of paleovalley formation on
the continental shelf.
November 2008
Page 30
NOTES
November 2008
Page 31
Explaining estuarine sediment dynamics and morphological changes using numerical

modelling and LIDAR analysis techniques
Rowena Moore1,2, Stephen Flint1, Judith Wolf2 & Alejandro Souza2
1
Stratigraphy Group, Department of Earth & Ocean Sciences, University of Liverpool, 4
Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L69 3GP, UK.
2
Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, Joseph Proudman Building, 6 Brownlow Street,
Liverpool, L3 5DA, UK
The macrotidal Dee estuary (tidal range in excess of 9 m), situated in Liverpool Bay, NW
England, has undergone significant sediment infilling in the last 2 millennia, since Roman
times and particularly in the last 200 years. Asymmetry in the tidal propagation is known to
be a major cause of morphological changes in estuaries. Non-linear tidal distortion caused by
combinations of friction, convergence and continuity in estuaries, can cause a shorter, faster
rising tide (flood dominant) or a shorter, faster falling tide (ebb dominant). This can result in
net sediment import to or export from the estuary respectively. This study has used 3dimensional numerical modelling techniques to simulate tidal propagation in order to
investigate spatially the tidal distortion and flood/ebb dominance in the Dee estuary and
Liverpool Bay. Inferences can then be made to explain the past morphological changes,
present status and possible future development of the Dee. These results are independently
backed-up by recent high resolution time-lapse LIDAR surveys, which provide detailed
information on areas of erosion and accretion. A hypsometric analysis (area-elevation
relationship) was also carried out using the LIDAR data.
The results show that the shallow, intertidal regions were the most tidally distorted and
asymmetric, showing flood dominance. The main conveyance channels of the estuary were
found to be ebb dominant, but only weakly so (the tides here were relatively undistorted). The
overall flood dominance of the Dee and thus net sediment import explains the infilling over the
last century and is in agreement with the LIDAR surveys which show predominantly net
accretion between 2003 and 2006. The hypsometrical analysis suggests that Dee is quite a
mature (infilled) estuary and may be approaching morphological equilibrium (where no net
sediment flux exists) and that the rate of accretion may therefore decrease in the future.
Theory suggests that equilibrium can be reached in a flood dominant, infilling estuary largely
due to the formation and growth of tidal flats which act to reduce the flood dominance, and
can even cause a switch to ebb dominance. Indeed, a further investigation carried out on
idealised estuary modelling (using a highly simplified bathymetric grid) has shown that
increasing the elevation and extent of the intertidal area does seem to decrease the level of
flood dominance. It is suggested, however, that in an estuary with high tidal amplitude to
hydraulic depth ratio (such as the Dee) that the tidal flats would have to be very extensive for
a switch to ebb dominance to occur. This does, however, question the consistency of longterm estuarine infilling (estuaries are regarded as geologically ephemeral entities which
eventually infill entirely). Rather than continued filling of estuarine incised valleys during
long-term sea level rise, it may be that over shorter time-scales many estuaries may switch in
a cyclic manner between ebb and flood dominance, creating periodic sediment flushing onto
the shelf. Therefore the estuary may alternate its role as a sediment source or sink, with
possible effects on sediment supply to the continental shelf.
November 2008
Page 32
NOTES
November 2008
Page 33
Are distributary patterns dominant in fluvial deposits in the stratigraphic record?

Gary Nichols1, Adrian Hartley2, Gary Weissmann3
1
Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20
0EX, UK.
2
Adrian Hartley, Department of Geology & Petroleum Geology, School of Geosciences,
University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, UK.
3
Gary Weissmann, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico,
Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
Most of the rivers we are familiar with have a tributary pattern of channels and they flow into
the sea or a lake. Studies on these modern rivers have provided a lot of information about
transport and depositional processes and a number of facies models for fluvial sedimentation
have been established. We use these facies models to help us interpret the stratigraphic
record and they inform subsurface reservoir models of fluvial deposits. But are the rivers that
we study in the modern day the best analogues for ancient fluvial successions?
A review of modern rivers shows that many of the ones that are occurring in areas where
there is net aggradation of sediment show a distributary pattern. These are variously referred
to as megafans, humid alluvial fans or fluvial fans and form fan-shaped bodies of sediment
a hundred kilometres or more in radius. They consist of both braided and meandering rivers
and show repeated avulsion creating a radial pattern of abandoned channels. In many
modern examples the toe of the fan feeds into an axial river channel that ultimately leads to a
lake or the sea, but in arid regions where the evaporation rate is high much of the water is lost
and there is a reduction in discharge downstream.
Interpretation of some ancient fluvial successions indicates that a downstream decrease in
discharge and a radial pattern of channels may be widespread features. These distributary
fluvial systems have been documented in some detail in the Ebro Basin, Spain, where fluvial
deposition occurred in an Oligo-Miocene endorheic (internal) basin. Other examples from the
stratigraphic record also show a distributary pattern of palaeochannels and a decrease in
channel dimensions down-flow in both endorheic and externally-draining basins.
A distributary pattern of channels would result in a very different three-dimensional
arrangement of channel and overbank facies in the architecture of the fluvial succession,
with clear implications for the prediction of facies distributions and reservoir connectivity in the
subsurface. Furthermore, the frequent avulsion that appears to be a feature of distributary
fluvial systems will have implications for the character of the in-channel facies. Models of
fluvial sedimentation based on non-distributary rivers in settings where there is no long-term
aggradation may not provide good analogues and revised models for fluvial facies are
therefore required.
November 2008
Page 34
NOTES
November 2008
Page 35
Constraining Temporal Controls on Alluvial Fan Activity, Central Iran

Stuart J Jones1, and Nasser Arzani2
1
2
Department of Earth Sciences, South Road, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
Department of Geology, University of Payme Nour, Kohandej Road, Iran
stuart.jones@durham.ac.uk
Alluvial fans are an obvious setting to understand how sediment flux controls the development
of sedimentary geometries and sequences at mountain fronts. In many cases the catchmentfan is a closed system, that will have a well defined tectonic and climatic setting. The
progradation distance of fans is a length control readily identifiable in the stratigraphic record
that can be directly attributed to fault activity, subsidence rates and climate forcing of
sediment supply.
The Plio-Pleistocene to Recent alluvial fans of the Khrud Mountain belt of Central Iran were
affected by interactions between tectonic activity, climatic changes and climatically induced
base-level through fluctuations in playa lake levels. A series of 35 alluvial fans were studied
draining the Khrud Mountain belt into the Ghavkhoni playa lake. All of the fans were affected
by climatically controlled variations in sediment supply and corresponding playa lake levels.
The tectonic activity of central Iran is characterised by large magnitude shallow earthquakes
(>5 Mb) along several of the main Khrud Mountain bordering faults (e.g. Qom-Zefreh fault,
Abbas Abad fault, Deh Shir fault). The fault activity is important in controlling the gross
geometry of the fans and outlet spacing from the mountain front. However, in the proximal
parts of the fans and throughout their stratigraphy, intercalated travertine deposits can be
found. Through age dating of the travertine sediments (e.g. Ur series analysis) an accurate
temporal framework of climate change has been achieved and how the alluvial fans respond
to such variability. In comparison, at the distal portion of the fans, intercalated playa lake
sediments from the Ghavkhoni lake record the rise and fall of the lake level that has had an
important impact on both the erosional modification and progradation of the alluvial fans. The
Ghavkhoni lake level has fluctuated considerably over the last 4 Myrs and was at least c. 220
14
m higher than at the present day. Through the use of detailed C age dating of playa
sediments a further climatic signal is recognised.
This paper will present a detailed temporal and spatial framework for alluvial fans along a
mountain front and identify the key response times within fan sediments to climatic forcing.
This has important implications for understanding the timing and controls on deposition and
sedimentation histories at basin margins.
November 2008
Page 36
NOTES
November 2008
Page 37
Hierarchical Description of Alluvial Strata

Patterson, P.E.1, Skelly, R.L.2, Jones, C.R.3
1
ExxonMobil Production Company, Houston, TX, U.S.A.

ExxonMobil Canada, St. John's, Canada
3
Imperial Oil Resources, Calgary, Canada
2
A hierarchical approach for the description of alluvial strata is proposed based on the physical
characteristics of the depositional elements and their stratal bounding surfaces. This
approach provides a systematic method for the description of alluvial strata and the
interpretation of continental sequence-stratigraphic architecture. It also facilitates the spatial
and temporal comparison of alluvial systems and enables delineation of the intrinsic and
extrinsic controls on alluvial deposition.
The alluvial hierarchy is based on the physical description of the strata and their bounding
surfaces and the recognition of genetically-related depositional elements. It is independent of
the style of deposition, channel planform, channel sinuosity, fill-type, etc., and is applicable at
all scales of the alluvial system. The alluvial hierarchy spans from the smallest depositional
elements of the lamina and laminaset, which may form locally over relatively short time
periods; to intermediate-scale elements of bar sets, channel fills, and channel complexes that
develop over larger areas and are deposited over longer time periods; to the large-scale
elements of sequence sets and composite sequences that span the depositional basin and
accumulate over millions of years.
Stratal stacking patterns of the hierarchical elements and their chronostratigraphically
significant bounding surfaces provide a means of delineating the fundamental sequencestratigraphic architecture. Within this context, a chronostratigraphic framework for an alluvial
setting is based on the recognition of key conformable and unconformable surfaces and the
spatial and temporal relation of the alluvial hierarchical elements within this framework.
Regional conformable and isochronous surfaces across which occurs a change in the stratal
stacking pattern of the hierarchical elements and there exhibits evidence of avulsion or
abandonment of the fluvial system are referred to as abandonment surfaces. These surfaces
form in association with channel-complex, channel-complex-set and sequence-set elements
and develop in response to increased accommodation along the alluvial surface with respect
to sedimentation rates. Although abandonment surfaces also occur in association with
higher-order elements, such as channel-fill elements, their development at this scale is more
directly linked to local autogenic processes rather than more regionally influenced allogenic
processes. Unconformable surfaces that develop in response to regional controls are
sequence boundaries, which are associated with lower-order elements including sequences,
sequence sets, and composite sequences. Sequence boundaries in alluvial systems are
generally composite surfaces that form as a result of repeated erosion and depositional
events. Regional sequence boundaries develop in response to decreased rates of
accommodation along the alluvial equilibrium profile relative to sedimentation rates.
Thus, the hierarchical description of alluvial strata provides a means for comparison of key
depositional characteristics of the alluvial system and is applicable in outcrop and subsurface
reservoir studies. Application of the alluvial hierarchy to subsurface reservoirs enables
prediction of variations in reservoir and seal lithofacies at the local scale; characterization of
reservoir continuity, connectivity, and producibility properties at the field scale; and evaluation
of the relative influence of allogenic controls in the basin-scale depositional history for
identification of untested areas for future exploration.
November 2008
Page 38
NOTES
November 2008
Page 39
Rates of Deposition and Stratigraphical Completeness, a Dynamical Modeling

Approach
Qian Yu, Senckenberg Institute, D-26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Email: qianyu.nju@gmail.com
A large number of empirical measurements show that there is a negative log-linear
relationship between deposition rates and the time span over which they are measured; i.e.,
measured deposition rates are rapid when measured over short time spans and slow over
long time spans. In the present contribution, I attempt to establish a dynamical modeling
approach, to model the sedimentary processes and stratigraphical formation, to study
deposition rates and stratigraphical completeness. With steady subsidence and sediment
supply, the model accounts for sediment deposition and re-suspension by wind waves in
shallow coastal environment. Model has been run 1000 times using different time series of
wind speed, which is generated by Monte Carlo method. It is found that the average
deposition rates linearly decreases with the time span by a slope of -0.28 in log-log
coordinates at the modeling timescale of 101~105 day. Model results also reveal that the main
reason of this negative log-linear relationship is the way to measure the deposition thickness
in sedimentology. Based on sedimentary record, deposition thickness is not the change of
elevation between the start and the end time of the time span, but the difference between the
deepest erosion surface in the span and the elevation in the end time.
November 2008
Page 40
NOTES
November 2008
Page 41
Triassic Fluvial Outcrop and Subsurface Architecture: Controls and Correlation

Jo Morris1, Stuart Jones1, Ken McCaffrey1, Neil Meadows (RedRock International Ltd), Stuart
Archer (ConocoPhillips), Jamie Middleton (ConocoPhillips), Ricki Charles (BG) and Henrick
Waage (Talisman Energy)
1
Department of Earth Sciences, South Road, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
The use of major unconformities, or sequence boundaries, in fluvial successions are

associated with a dramatic change in fluvial style from isolated single story, meandering
streams in the transgressive and highstand systems tract to amalgamated braided-stream
systems in the lowstand systems tract. However, there has been a significant challenge to
this bipartite classification of ancient fluvial systems into meandering versus braided end
members, in large part because these are not mutually exclusive categories. In modern
systems, water discharge, gradient, sediment flux and grain size determine channel patterns.
Gradational differences within and among these variables result in a continuum of channel
patterns. Furthermore the interaction of climate and tectonism has long been recognised as
an important control on fluvial sedimentation, but in recent years the recognition that steadystate processes are more fundamental for shaping fluvial systems than catastrophic has led
to a reappraisal of fluvial sediments in line with climatic controls. The understanding of these
controls has important implications when modelling fluvial reservoirs for correlation purposes
and imputing the correct parameters especially in low-net-to-gross reservoirs.
This research focuses on the Central Iberian Basin (CIB), an intracratonic rift basin in centraleastern Spain developed in Early Permian times. Syn-rift Upper Permian to Middle Triassic
continental fluvial red beds have been studied in two key locations - Riba de Santiuste and
Molina de Aragon, where outstanding quality of outcrops allows a three-dimensional study of
the fluvial systems to be undertaken. The red beds were deposited in once tectonically active
half-grabens with episodically changing rates of basin floor subsidence and many growth
faults controlling sedimentation. Fluvial sedimentation during this time took place in coexisting
braided and meandering channels together with ephemeral episodes. The considerable
vertical (~1 km) and lateral (10s kms) extent provides the closest available analogue to many
of the main Triassic producing sequences in the Skagerrak Formation of the East Central
Graben, North Sea, in terms of both sandbody scale and gross architecture. The interbedding
of fluvial channel sandstones and floodplain facies compares favourably with logged sections
in the Skagerrak sandstone members and therefore provides the opportunity to extend
interpretations away from the one dimensional aspect of the borehole in order to gain an
appreciation of three dimensional reservoir heterogeneity.
This research is at an early stage of evolution but will demonstrate the importance of
understanding the architecture of low net to gross fluvial systems during a syn-rift phase of
basin development. More specifically it shall identify i) key climate proxies to establish
sequence stratigraphic models for the Triassic fluvial successions of the CIB and application
to the Skagerrak and; ii) Recognition of how fluvial systems can change from low-net-to-gross
to high-net-to-gross along strike of a basin margin. These results have a direct application to
the Skagerrak Formation of the Central Graben, North Sea and other rift basins with complex
fluvial successions.
November 2008
Page 42
NOTES
November 2008
Page 43
Effects of bedform superimposition and flow unsteadiness on cross-strata formed by

dunes and unit bars
Reesink, A.J.H.1,2 and Bridge, J.S.3
1
School of Environment and Technology, Brighton University, Brighton, UK

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Birmingham University,
Birmingham, UK
3
Department of Geological Sciences, Binghamton University, Binghamton, USA
2
Recent experimental and field work on the formation of different types of cross strata in fluvial
dunes and unit bars shows that the geometry and grain-size sorting of fluvial cross strata can
be used to interpret bedform superimposition and flow unsteadiness, and hence formative
flow and sediment transport conditions (e.g. Reesink and Bridge, 2007).
Superimposition of bedforms (e.g., small dunes on large dunes, or dunes on unit bars) is
ubiquitous, and the arrival of a superimposed bedform at a host-bedform crest results in a
temporary change in flow dynamics, sediment transport, bedform migration, and grain-size
sorting of the sediment that is deposited on the lee slope. The arrival of a superimposed
bedform with height exceeding 25% of the host bedform height causes reduction of the host
lee-slope angle. The passage of multiple superimposed bedforms (e.g., dunes) with heights
exceeding 25% of the host bedform height therefore results in the formation of sets of downclimbing, angle-of-repose cross strata. A superimposed bedform with height smaller than 25%
of the height of the host bedform does not reduce the host lee slope and forms angle-ofrepose cross strata. The geometry and grain-size sorting of cross strata formed by
superimposed bedforms can be used to reconstruct the geometry and grain-size sorting of the
host and superimposed bedforms, hence flow and sediment-transport conditions on the back
of the host bedform.
Longer-term flow unsteadiness (i.e., floods) also causes changes in the transport rate and
grain size of the sediment supplied to the host-bedform lee slope, but is primarily expressed
as a change in superimposed bedform type. Cross sets formed by relatively small dunes form
in less time than is involved in an individual flood. Flow unsteadiness is therefore not reflected
in changes in cross strata within an individual cross set. Dune-formed co-sets can be used for
the interpretation of flow unsteadiness if it can be assumed that the co-sets were formed
during a single flow event (e.g., a flood). Single cross-sets formed by unit bars and relatively
large dunes that exist for timescales much longer than individual floods do provide records of
flow unsteadiness because such cross sets are in fact internally composed of cross strata
with a range of geometry and grain-size sorting patterns.
November 2008
Page 44
NOTES
November 2008
Page 45
Topic Fluvial Reservoir Architecture from Near-Surface 3D Seismic Data, Block B8/32,
Gulf of Thailand
Hathaiporn (Goi) Samorn, Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production, Ltd, Tower III, SCB
Park Plaza, 19 Ratchadapisek Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand Tel. 66-2-5456579
E-mail addresses: hsmr@chevron.com
Coauthor
Neil Hurley (nhurley@slb.com)
Timothy R. McHargue (rmch@chevron.com)
This study aims to document the distribution and internal architecture of fluvial sand bodies
using 3D seismic data from the Gulf of Thailand. Results were acquired from seismic time
slices at a spacing of 4 msec in a shallow interval from 104-272 msec. High-resolution time
slices and cross sections through the seismic data clearly image the architecture of valley
systems within the Pleistocene to Holocene section. There is nearly complete preservation of
alluvial depositional elements, including incised valleys, alluvial terraces, channels, neck
cutoffs, and point bars with meander scrolls.
Multiple channel systems are imaged. Compiled measurements from each channel include
channel width, channel-belt width, cumulative length along each channel, channel length,
half-meander wavelength, amplitude, asymmetry, azimuth, sinuosity, point-bar sizes and
volumes, channel gradient, thickness of each channel, width/thickness aspect ratio, and
paleocurrent direction.
The most clearly defined evidence for incised valleys is the presence of small tributaries.
Also, incised valleys tend to be deep and wide systems that cut across older seismic
reflectors. Six sequence boundaries are interpreted in this study interval, based on the
presence of six levels of incised valleys. Channels that are not tributaries to incised valleys or
incised valleys, are classified as unincised fluvial channels. These channels do not have
tributaries. They are also smaller in size, and it is hard to see point bars and other internal
architecture within the seismic data. They are imaged in only a few successive slices, as their
thicknesses are significantly less than the incised-valley systems.
November 2008
Page 46
NOTES
November 2008
Page 47
The Middle Jurassic Pentland Formation of the Central North Sea: A re-evaluation of
sedimentary environments and facies
C.J. Forster and S.G. Archer, The University of Manchester and ConocoPhillips (UK) Ltd
The Middle Jurassic Pentland Formation in the Central North Sea has typically been
encountered during exploration for deeper reservoirs such as the Triassic Skagerrak
Formation. Hydrocarbons have often been discovered serendipitously in the Pentland
Formation however, recent work has identified potential for the Pentland Formation to
become a more significant reservoir target. This study has attempted to identify higher quality
reservoir intervals within the Pentland Formation through an increased understanding of
intraformational facies changes. This information has been used to revaluate the prospectivity
of the Pentland Formation in the J-Block Area, particularly in prospects that lie due west of the
Judy Horst in UKCS Quadrant 30.
Core data from Central Graben wells has been integrated with wireline log data from across
the study area to construct a more detailed subdivision of the Pentland Formation.
Stratigraphic correlation panels have yielded an increased understanding of the regional
architecture of Pentland reservoirs. Sedimentary facies in the Pentland Formation are
predominantly interbedded sandstone, shale and coal, which accumulated in a paralic coastal
plain environment. Fluvial Pentland sandstones in the area of interest have reasonable
reservoir properties with porosity averaging 10-15% and permeability averaging 10s-100s
mD. The sand bodies present tend to be thin and of limited lateral extent, earning the
Pentland Formation the reputation as a ratty reservoir. This, in combination with poor
vertical stacking, indicates the presence of isolated sand body geometries, which most likely
reflect the deposition of ribbon sands within distributary fluvial channel networks. These
aspects combine to suggest poor 3-dimensional connectivity and low production potential
from hydrocarbon-bearing intervals.
Wireline log analysis in this study shows that above upward fining sands of the low net-togross coastal plain strata there are often upward coarsening sands and coals. It is believed
that within the Pentland Formation there is a facies change from a lower coastal plain facies
to an overlying Upper Pentland lacustrine facies. There is often a significant shale unit
associated with this change in facies, informally termed the intra-Pentland shale, which is a
key seismic marker. The upper lacustrine facies comprise better quality, cleaner reservoir
units, with more laterally extensive vertically stacked sands. These progradational lake-fill
sands may have higher 3D connectivity and have greater potential for economic flow rates
and improved recovery factors. This work represents a step towards the identification of
sweet-spots for exploration within the Pentland play.
November 2008
Page 48
NOTES
November 2008
Page 49
Burlington House
Fire Safety Information
If you hear the Alarm
Alarm Bells are situated throughout the building and will ring continuously for an
evacuation. Do not stop to collect your personal belongings.
Leave the building via the nearest and safest exit or the exit that you are advised to
by the Fire Marshall on that floor.
Fire Exits from the Geological Society Conference Rooms
Lower Library:
Exit via Piccadilly entrance or main reception entrance.
Lecture Theatre
Exit at front of theatre (by screen) onto Courtyard or via side door out to
Piccadilly entrance or via the doors that link to the Lower Library and to the
main reception entrance.
Piccadilly Entrance
Straight out door and walk around to the Courtyard or via the main
reception entrance.
Close the doors when leaving a room. DO NOT SWITCH OFF THE LIGHTS.
Assemble in the Courtyard in front of the Royal Academy, outside the Royal
Astronomical Society.
Please do not re-enter the building except when you are advised that it is safe to do
so by the Fire Brigade.
First Aid
All accidents should be reported to Reception and First Aid assistance will be
provided if necessary.
Facilities
The ladies toilets are situated in the basement at the bottom of the staircase outside
the Lecture Theatre.
The Gents toilets are situated on the ground floor in the corridor leading to the Arthur
Holmes Room.
The cloakroom is located along the corridor to the Arthur Holmes Room.
November 2008
Page 50
November 2008
Page 51

Rivers Estuaries Deltas and Beaches Abstract Book, 6-7 November 2008

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Rivers Estuaries Deltas and Beaches Abstract Book, 6-7 November 2008

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Rivers, Estuaries, Deltas & Beaches: Traps for Fossil Fuels