| Title | Quantifying the three-dimensional stratigraphic expression of cyclic steps by integrating seafloor and deep-water outcrop observations |
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| Author | Englert, R G; Hubbard, S M; Cartigny, M J B; Clare, M A; Coutts, D S; Hage, S; Hughes Clarke, J; Jobe, Z; Lintern, D G ; Stacey, C; Vendettuoli, D |
| Source | Supercritical-flow processes and products; by Slootman, A (ed.); Ventra, D (ed.); Cartigny, M (ed.); Normandeau, A (ed.); Hubbard, S (ed.); Sedimentology vol. 68, issue 4, 2020 p. 1465-1501, https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12772  Open Access |
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| Year | 2020 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20200364 |
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf; html |
| Province | British Columbia |
| NTS | 92B/13; 92B/14; 92F/01; 92F/07; 92F/08; 92F/09; 92F/10; 92F/14; 92F/15; 92F/16; 92G/02; 92G/03; 92G/04; 92G/05; 92G/06; 92G/11; 92G/14 |
| Area | Squamish; Howe Sound; Gabriola Island; California; Monterey Bay; Santa Cruz; Canada; United States of America |
| Lat/Long WENS | -125.5000 -123.0000 50.0000 48.7500 |
| Lat/Long WENS | -122.6917 -121.5044 37.1953 36.3636 |
| Subjects | marine geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; stratigraphy; sedimentology; geophysics; Nature and Environment; Science and Technology; cyclic processes; depositional cycles; depositional environment;
marine sediments; sands; turbidity currents; sediment dispersal; bedforms; sedimentary structures; geophysical surveys; acoustic surveys, marine; bathymetry; deltaic deposits; bedrock geology; lithology; sedimentary rocks; sandstones;
paleoenvironment; submarine features; submarine canyons; channels; Squamish Delta; Monterey Canyon; Nanaimo Group; Phanerozoic; Cenozoic; Quaternary; Mesozoic; Cretaceous |
| Illustrations | location maps; graphs; diagrams; tables; stratigraphic columns |
| Released | 2020 06 17 |
| Abstract | Deep-water deposits are important archives of Earth's history including the occurrence of powerful flow events and the transfer of large volumes of terrestrial detritus into the world's oceans. However
the interpretation of depositional processes and palaeoflow conditions from the deep-water sedimentary record has been limited due to a lack of direct observations from modern depositional systems. Recent seafloor studies have resulted in novel
findings, including the presence of upslope-migrating bedforms such as cyclic steps formed by supercritical turbidity currents that produce distinct depositional signatures. This study builds on process to product relationships for cyclic steps using
modern and ancient datasets by providing sedimentological and quantitative, three-dimensional architectural analyses of their deposits, which are required for recognition and palaeoflow interpretations of sedimentary structures in the rock record.
Repeat-bathymetric surveys from two modern environments (Squamish prodelta, Canada, and Monterey Canyon, USA) were used to examine the stratigraphic evolution connected with relatively small-scale (average 40 to 55 m wavelengths and 1.5 to 3.0 m wave
heights) upslope-migrating bedforms interpreted to be cyclic steps within submarine channels and lobes. These results are integrated to interpret a succession of Late Cretaceous Nanaimo Group deep-water slope deposits exposed on Gabriola Island,
Canada. Similar deposit dimensions, facies and architecture are observed in all datasets, which span different turbidite-dominated settings (prodelta, upper submarine canyon and deep-water slope) and timescales (days, years or thousands of years).
Bedform deposits are typically tens of metres long/wide, <1 m thick and make up successions of low-angle, backstepping trough-shaped lenses composed of massive sands/sandstones. These results support process-based relationships for these deposits,
associated with similar cyclic step bedforms formed by turbidity currents with dense basal layers under low-aggradation conditions. Modern to ancient comparisons reveal the stratigraphic expression of globally prevalent, small-scale, sandy
upslope-migrating bedforms on the seafloor, which can be applied to enhance palaeoenvironmental interpretations and understand long-term preservation from ancient deep-water deposits. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 327076 |
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