DISCUSSION AND REPLY

Depositional facies top of the ramp-bounded shoal complex (or reef top)
was named R5. In addition, I identified and cor-
analysis and modeling related transgressive-regressive (T-R) cycle bound-
aries (R0, R1, R2, R3), as well as the R4 subaerial
of the Judy Creek unconformity, allowing the rimmed-reef phase to
be subdivided into four T-R cycles: R0 to R1, R1 to
reef complex of the R2, R2 to R3, and R3 to R4. In the Ma et al. (2009)
article, these T-R cycles are referred to as R1, R2, R3,
Upper Devonian and R4 (Figure 1). In the cross sections of figures 4
and 5 of the article by Wendte (1992), the ramp-
Swan Hills, Alberta, bounded shoal complex is divided into distinct but
unnamed depositional successions. Later, Yose and
Canada: Discussion Shields (1996) subdivided the ramp-bounded shoal
complex, which they termed R5, into lower, mid-
Jack Wendte1 dle, and upper zones. Ma et al. (2009) refer to these
The article of Ma et al. (2009) in the September zones as R5A, R5B, and R5C (Figure 1).
2009 issue of the Bulletin fails to provide credible Ma et al. (2009) recognize 11 distinct deposi-
evidence or to cite references to support the strati- tional facies. However, they do not provide criteria
graphic framework and facies analysis on which their or cite references for the recognition or interpre-
numerical modeling of the Judy Creek reef com- tation of their facies. Ma et al. (2009) only state
plex is based. that “Eleven depositional facies were interpreted
Ma et al. (2009) subdivide the reef into a lower based on logs from about 350 available wells and
rimmed reef phase, consisting of the R1, R2, R3, calibrated with nearly 6000 m (19,700 ft) of the
and R4 cycles, and an upper ramp-bounded shoal cores” (p. 1241, 4th paragraph). The names of eight
complex, consisting of the R5A, R5B, and R5C of these facies (restricted lagoon, open lagoon, tidal
cycles (p. 1238, 2d and 3d paragraphs). However, flat, beach, reef flat, reef margin, foreslope sand,
they do not present evidence or cite references to and lower foreslope) correspond verbatim to those
support these subdivisions. illustrated on the paleobathymetric profile (Figure 2)
In the Wendte (1992) article, I subdivided the of facies for the rimmed-reef phase of growth in
reef reservoir into two main phases of growth, an figure 3 of the article by Wendte and Stoakes (1982),
underlying rimmed-reef phase approximately 43 m an article summarizing a previous investigation of
(∼140 ft) thick and an overlying ramp-bounded the Judy Creek reef. This paleobathymetric pro-
shoal complex, up to 30 m (100 ft) thick, separated file was also published as figure 3 of the article by
by a subaerial unconformity that I termed R4. The Wendte (1992), as figure 4A of the article by Wendte
and Muir (1995), and as figure 17A of the article
by Wendte and Uyeno (2005). The name of a ninth
Copyright ©2011. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights facies (mid foreslope) is very similar to that on the
reserved. paleobathymetric profile (middle foreslope). A tenth
1
Geological Survey of Canada, 3303–33rd Street N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2L 2A7,
Canada; jwendte@NRCan.gc.ca
facies, their “distal facies,” appears to be a com-
The AAPG Editor thanks the following reviewers for their work on this article: Ashton posite of the two most basinal facies, specifically
Embry, Matthias Grobe, Ernest Mancini, and an anonymous reviewer. the “nodular lime mudstones” and “laminites,” il-
Manuscript received November 5, 2009; provisional acceptance December 4, 2009; lustrated on the paleobathymetric profile. Wendte
revised manuscript received December 18, 2009; 2nd revised manuscript received
February 17, 2010; final acceptance June 8, 2010. (1992) provides a comprehensive discussion of all
DOI:10.1306/06081009177 these facies and those in the ramp-bounded shoal

AAPG Bulletin, v. 95, no. 1 (January 2011), pp. 169–171 169

Figure 1. Schematic cross section of the Judy Creek reef showing the nomenclature of cycle boundaries of Wendte (1992) and of the
cycles (within quotation marks) of the article by Ma et al. (2009). The “R5A,” “R5B,” and “R5C” cycles of Ma et al. (2009) correspond to
the lower, middle, and upper zones of R5 from the abstract by Yose and Shields (1996). Modified from the abstract by Wendte and Muir
(1995).

Figure 2. Paleobathymetric profile summarizing the disposition of facies for the rimmed-reef phase of growth of the Judy Creek reef.
Modified from the article by Wendte and Stoakes (1982).

170 Discussion and Reply

complex. The derivation of an eleventh facies, their
“shoal facies,” is uncertain.
In conclusion, a serious question remains re-
garding the origin of the stratigraphic framework
and facies names in the article by Ma et al. (2009).
Are these the products of original research by Ma
and his colleagues or are they based primarily on
work done by others? If Ma et al. want to claim the
stratigraphic and facies analyses on which their
model is based as their own work, then they must
provide more details on how the requisite data were
collected and interpreted. It is also necessary to pro-
vide an explanation why their stratigraphic frame-
work and names of facies closely match those pub-
lished in the article of Wendte (1992). However,
if these interpretations are based on the work of
others such as myself, then it is important that they
provide the primary references in which these in-
terpretations were first published. The article by
Wendte (1992) is such a fundamental reference.
REFERENCES CITED
Ma, Y. Z., A. Seto, and E. Gomez, 2009, Depositional facies
analysis and modeling of the Judy Creek reef complex
of the Upper Devonian Swan Hills, Alberta, Canada:
AAPG Bulletin, v. 93, no. 9, p. 1235–1256, doi:10.1306
/05220908103.
Wendte, J., and I. Muir, 1995, Recognition and significance
of an intraformational unconformity in Late Devonian
Swan Hills reef complexes, Alberta, in D. A. Budd,
A. H. Saller, and P. M. Harris, eds., Unconformities and
porosity in carbonate strata: AAPG Memoir 63, p. 259–
278.
Wendte, J., and T. Uyeno, 2005, Sequence stratigraphy and
evolution of Middle to Upper Devonian Beaverhill Lake
strata, south-central Alberta: Bulletin of Canadian Petro-
leum Geology, v. 53, no. 3, p. 250–354, doi:10.2113/53
.3.250.
Wendte, J. C., 1992, Evolution of the Judy Creek complex, a
Late Middle Devonian isolate platform-reef complex in
west-central Alberta, in J. C. Wendte, F. A. Stoakes, and
C. V. Campbell, eds., Devonian–Early Mississippian car-
bonates of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin: A se-
quence stratigraphic framework: SEPM Short Course 28,
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Wendte, J. C., and F. A. Stoakes, 1982, Evolution and corre-
sponding porosity distribution of the Judy Creek reef
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