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Fine-grained turbidite systems (eds) A.H. Bouma and C.G. Stone, 2000. AAPG
Memoir 72 and SEPM Special Pub. 68. Book Review: AAPG Bulletin, v. 86, p.
1133-1134. 2002.

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 AAPG Bulletin, 2002, v. 86, p. 1133-1134

Special Book Review

Fine-Grained Turbidite Systems, edited by A.H. Bouma and C.G. Stone (2000), AAPG
Memoir 72 and SEPM Special Publication No. 68. Published jointly by American
Association of Petroleum Geologists, P.O. Box 979, Tulsa, OK 74101-0979 and Society
for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), 1731 E. 71st Street, Tulsa, OK 74136-5108; 342
pages, hardbound. Price $74.00 members, $103.00 nonmembers. ISBN: 0-89181-353-5

Review by G. Shanmugam
Adjunct Professor
Department of Geology
The University of Texas at Arlington
Box 19049
Arlington, TX 76019-0049
E-mail: shanshanmugam@aol.com

Fine-Grained Turbidite Systems, edited by A.H. Bouma and C.G. Stone, is the first joint
publication by AAPG (American Association of Petroleum Geologists) and SEPM
(Society for Sedimentary Geology). This book is an outgrowth of a field trip that was
organized as a part of the 1997 AAPG/SEPM Annual Convention in Dallas, Texas
(U.S.A.). The purpose of the field trip was to examine the Pennsylvanian Jackfork Group
in Arkansas (U.S.A.) in debating its controversial reinterpretation as deposits of sandy
debris flows as opposed to its conventional interpretation as turbidites in deepwater
environments (see Shanmugam and Moiola, 1995). Because of the implications of sandy
debrite vs. turbidite interpretation to petroleum reservoirs, the 1997 AAPG/SEPM
Convention also sponsored a debate entitled “Processes of Deepwater Clastic
Sedimentation and Their Reservoir Implications: What Can We Predict?” The debate
moderator was H. E. Clifton, and the debate panelists were A .H. Bouma, J. E. Damuth,
D.R. Lowe, G. Parker, and G. Shanmugam. Several field trip and debate participants
contributed to this book.

In his preface to the book, A.H. Bouma states that the reasons for the book were to fill a
gap in the literature on fine-grained (i.e., mud rich) turbidite systems and to address
related nomenclature problems. The book’s 28 chapters are broadly grouped into six
topics: (1) general (Chapters 1-7), (2) seismic characteristics (Chapters 8-12), (3)
stratigraphy (Chapters 13-16), (4) reservoir characterization (Chapters 17 and 18), (5)
sedimentology (Chapters 19-26), and (6) logging (Chapters 27 and 28). The summary
table (inside front book cover) is useful in assisting the reader in quickly finding details of
topics covered in each chapter. In their tradition, AAPG and SEPM have done an
excellent job of producing this book with high quality black and white and color
illustrations and photographs. Large format illustrations are effectively used to
adequately present outcrop data. A CD-ROM version (inside pocket of back book
cover), which contains additional material, complements the book well.

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In this book on turbidite systems with 28 papers, only one paper (Chapter 6) discusses
the topic of turbidity currents and their deposits in detail. Although four papers (Chapters
3, 11, 18, and 22) discuss the Jackfork Group that served as the impetus for this book,
none of them addresses the controversy over its sandy debrite vs. turbidite
interpretation. Most frequently discussed topics are modeling (Chapters 2, 4, 6, 7, 10,
11, 12, 14, 21, 25, and 27), channels (Chapters 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19,
20, 21, and 22), sheet sands (Chapters 2, 9, 10, 14, 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25), and
reservoir characterization (Chapters 8, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 20, 24, 27 and 28). The Karoo
Basin in South Africa has received special attention (Chapters 2, 5, 14, 15, 16, 21, 23,
24, 25 and 27) in comparison to other case studies from the U.S. (Arkansas, Oklahoma,
Texas, and Gulf of Mexico), Nigeria, New Zealand, and Canary Islands. Five chapters
discuss seismic characteristics, but they do not address the problem of distinguishing
fine-grained turbidites from coarse-grained turbidites and debrites. S. M. Hansen and T.
Felt convincingly demonstrate the use of Micro-resistivity images in interpreting deposits
of debris flows (Chapter 28, Fig. 10) and slumps (Chapter 28, Fig. 11).

Shingling of previously published material is evident in papers that discuss: (1) the
Jackfork Group in Arkansas and Oklahoma (Chapter 3), (2) a process model for the
evolution of submarine fan channels (Chapter 7), (3) the Mount Messinger Formation in
New Zealand (Chapter 13), and (4) the Tanqua Fan Complex (Karoo Basin) in South
Africa (Chapter 14).

In spite of its objectives, this book has contributed its share of nomenclature problems.
For example, C. E. Stelting, A. H. Bouma, and C. G. Stone have classified turbidite
systems into two types (Chapter 1, p. 2): (1) coarse-grained, sand-rich systems and (2)
fine-grained, mud-rich systems. It is confusing when H.D. Wickens and A.H. Bouma first
classify the Tanqua Fan Complex in South Africa as fine-grained system, suggesting a
mud-rich type (Chapter 14), but state that the Tanqua Fan Complex consists of six sand-
rich turbidite systems (p. 153). The other nomenclature problem stems from the
definition of the term “turbidite systems” as the deposits of gravity flows (Chapter 1, p. 2).
This is because conventionally the term “gravity flows” represents sediment-gravity flows
composed of debris flows, grain flows, fluidized sediment flows, and turbidity currents
(Middleton and Hampton, 1973) as well as other gravity-induced mass movements, such
as slides and slumps. Because the term “turbidite” represents deposits of turbidity
currents exclusively (Sanders, 1965; Middleton and Hampton, 1973), in preserving the
original meaning of the term “turbidite”, the term “turbidite systems” should also refer to
deposits of turbidty currents. Otherwise, there is a danger of classifying deposits of
debris flows and slumps under the catchall term “turbidite systems”. Furthermore, C. E.
Stelting, A. H. Bouma, and C. G. Stone state (Chapter 1, p. 4), “In this volume, we prefer
the term turbidite rather than sandy debris flow deposit in order to avoid serious
misunderstanding.” This use of “turbidites” and “turbidite systems” for deposits that are
not products of turbidity currents is a source of confusion.

In summary, the book’s title does not reflect the book’s content. This publication is a
potpourri of papers on a broad spectrum of topics and techniques for studying
deepwater deposits. The turbidite controversy, which prompted the AAPG/SEPM field

2
 trip that led to the publication of this book, and the nomenclature problems remain
unresolved.

Acknowledgements

This is a slightly modified version of my book review published in Episodes (v.24, no. 4,
p. 284, December 2001). Published with written permission from the International Union
of Geological Sciences.

References

Middleton, G. V., and Hampton, M. A., 1973, Sediment gravity flows: Mechanics of flow
and deposition, in G. V. Middleton, and A. H. Bouma, eds., Turbidites and deep-
water sedimentation: Los Angeles, Pacific section Society of Economic
Paleontologists and Mineralogists, p. 1-38.
Sanders, J. E., 1965, Primary sedimentary structures formed by turbidity currents and
related resedimentation mechanisms, in G. V. Middleton, ed., Primary
sedimentary structures and their hydrodynamic interpretation: SEPM Special
Publication 12, p. 192-219.
Shanmugam, G., and Moiola, R. J. 1995, Reinterpretation of depositional processes in a
classic flysch sequence (Pennsylvanian Jackfork Group), Ouachita Mountains,
Arkansas and Oklahoma: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin,
v. 79, p. 672-695.

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