Contents

 Introduction  Stratigraphic principles

 Unconsolidated clastic sediments  Sequence stratigraphy
 Sedimentary rocks  Sedimentary basins
 Diagenesis  Models in sedimentary geology
 Sediment transport and deposition  Applied sedimentary geology
 Sedimentary structures  Reflection
 Facies and depositional environments
 Glacial/eolian/lacustrine environments
 Fluvial/deltaic/coastal environments
 Shallow/deep marine environments

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 Fluvial/deltaic/coastal environments
Fluvial environments

 Bedrock rivers essentially do not contribute to the stratigraphic

record, contrary to alluvial rivers

 Alluvial fans are relatively steep (>1-2°) cones consisting of

coarse-grained facies and constitute the most proximal fluvial
depositional environments (usually at the break of slope on the
edge of a floodplain)
• Debris flows dominate on small and steep alluvial fans
• Sheetfloods are common on larger and gentler alluvial fans

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Fluvial environments

 Ephemeral rivers are dry during a significant part of the year,

contrary to perennial rivers
 Floodplains are the areas occupied by river channels, as well as
the surrounding, flat (overbank) areas that are subject to
flooding
 Discharge is confined to the channel until bankfull discharge is
reached; from that point on overbank flow can occur,
submerging the entire floodplain

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Fluvial environments

 Channel patterns (fluvial styles) are commonly classified as:

• Braided rivers
• Meandering rivers
• Straight rivers
• Anastomosing rivers
 Fluvial style is primarily controlled by specific stream power (W
m-2) and grain size, but also by bank stability and the amount of
bed load

ρgQs
ω 
=fluid density; Q=discharge; s=slope (gradient); w=channel width
w

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 Fluvial/deltaic/coastal environments
Fluvial environments

 Channel patterns (fluvial styles) are commonly classified as:

• Braided rivers
• Meandering rivers
• Straight rivers
• Anastomosing rivers
 Fluvial style is primarily controlled by specific stream power (W
m-2) and grain size, but also by bank stability and the amount of
bed load

ρgQs
ω 
=fluid density; Q=discharge; s=slope (gradient); w=channel width
w

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Fluvial environments

 Bars are sandy or gravelly macroforms in channels that are

emergent, mostly unvegetated features at low flow stage, and
undergo submergence and rapid modification during high
discharge
 Point bars form on inner banks and typically accrete laterally,
commonly resulting in lateral-accretion surfaces; mid-channel or
braid bars accrete both laterally and downstream
 Braided rivers are characterized by a dominance of braid bars;
meandering rivers primarily contain point bars; in straight (and
most anastomosing) rivers bars are almost absent

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 Fluvial/deltaic/coastal environments
Fluvial environments

 Channel belts consist of channel-bar and channel-fill

deposits; the proportion of the two generally decreases
markedly from braided rivers to straight or anastomosing rivers
 The geometry of a channel belt (width/thickness ratio) is a
function of the channel width and the degree of lateral
migration; values are typically much higher for braided systems
(>>100) than for straight or anastomosing systems (<25)
 Residual-channel deposits are predominantly muddy
(occasionally organic) deposits that accumulate in an abandoned
channel where flow velocities are extremely small

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Fluvial environments

 Overbank environments are dominated by fine-grained facies

(predominantly muds)
• Natural-levee deposits are wedges of sediment that form adjacent
to the channel, dominated by fine sand and silt exhibiting planar
stratification or (climbing) ripple cross stratification
• Crevasse-splay deposits are usually cones of sandy to silty facies
with both coarsening-upward and fining-upward successions, and are
formed by small, secondary channels during peak flow
• Flood-basin deposits are the most distal facies, consisting entirely
of sediments deposited from suspension, and are volumetrically very
important (mainly in low-energy fluvial settings)

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Fluvial environments

 Paleosols (well drained conditions) and peats (poorly drained

conditions) occur frequently in overbank environments and are
important indicators of variations of clastic aggradation rates
and the position relative to active channels
 Lacustrine deposits can be important in overbank environments
characterized by high water tables, and are also found in distal
settings

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Fluvial environments

 Facies successions in sandy to gravelly channel deposits typically

fine upward, from a coarse channel lag, through large-scale to
small-scale cross stratified sets (commonly with decreasing set
height), and finally overlain by muddy overbank deposits
 Facies successions produced by different fluvial styles can be
extremely similar!
 The geometry and three-dimensional arrangement of
architectural elements therefore provides a much better means
of inferring fluvial styles from the sedimentary record

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Fluvial environments

 Avulsion is the sudden diversion of a channel to a new location

on the floodplain, leading to the abandonment of a channel belt
and the initiation of a new one
 Alluvial architecture refers to the three-dimensional
arrangement of channel-belt deposits and overbank deposits in a
fluvial succession
 The nature of alluvial architecture (e.g., the proportion of
channel-belt to overbank deposits) is dependent on fluvial style,
aggradation rate, and the frequency of avulsion

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 Fluvial/deltaic/coastal environments
Fluvial environments

 Avulsion is the sudden diversion of a channel to a new location

on the floodplain, leading to the abandonment of a channel belt
and the initiation of a new one
 Alluvial architecture refers to the three-dimensional
arrangement of channel-belt deposits and overbank deposits in a
fluvial succession
 The nature of alluvial architecture (e.g., the proportion of
channel-belt to overbank deposits) is dependent on fluvial style,
aggradation rate, and the frequency of avulsion

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Deltaic environments

 Deltas form where a river enters a standing body of water

(ocean, sea, lake) and forms a thick deposit that may or may
not form protuberances
 The delta plain is the subaerial part of a delta (gradational
upstream to a floodplain); the delta front (delta slope and
prodelta) is the subaqueous component
 Delta plains are commonly characterized by distributaries and
flood basins (upper delta plain) or interdistributary bays (lower
delta plain), as well as numerous crevasse splays
 Upper delta plains contain facies assemblages that are very
similar to fluvial settings

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Deltaic environments

 Mouth bars form at the upper edge of the delta front, at the
mouth of distributaries; they are mostly sandy and tend to
coarsen upwards
 The delta slope is commonly 1-2° and consists of finer (usually
silty) facies; the most distal prodelta is dominated by even finer
sediment
 Progradation (basinward building) of deltas leads to coarsening-
upward successions, and progradation rates depend on sediment
supply and basin bathymetry (water depth)

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Deltaic environments

 Delta morphology reflects the relative importance of fluvial, tidal,

and wave processes, as well as gradient and sediment supply
• River-dominated deltas occur in microtidal settings with limited
wave energy, where delta-lobe progradation is significant and
redistribution of mouth bars is limited
• Wave-dominated deltas are characterized by mouth bars
reworked into shore-parallel sand bodies and beaches
• Tide-dominated deltas exhibit tidal mudflats and mouth bars that
are reworked into elongate sand bodies perpendicular to the
shoreline

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Deltaic environments

 Coarse-grained deltas are composed of gravelly facies and form

where alluvial fans or relatively steep braided rivers enter a
water body
 Delta cycles are the result of repetitive switching of delta lobes,
comparable to avulsion in fluvial environments; this leads to
characteristic vertical successions with progradational facies and
transgressive facies

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Deltaic environments

 Coarse-grained deltas are composed of gravelly facies and form

where alluvial fans or relatively steep braided rivers enter a
water body
 Delta cycles are the result of repetitive switching of delta lobes,
comparable to avulsion in fluvial environments; this leads to
characteristic vertical successions with progradational facies and
transgressive facies

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Coastal environments

 Erosional coasts are commonly characterized by cliffs, whereas

constructional coasts can be formed by clastic, carbonate, or
evaporite facies
 The morphology of constructional coasts is determined by
sediment supply, wave energy, and tidal range, as well as
climate and sea-level history

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Coastal environments

 Beaches form when sand or gravel is available and wave energy

is significant, and result in low-angle cross-stratified deposits
and cross strata formed by wave ripples
 Beaches can either be connected directly to the land and form
strand plains or chenier plains (the latter consisting of beach
ridges separated by muds), or be separated by lagoons or tidal
basins (the latter consisting of tidal channels, tidal flats, and
salt marshes) and form either spits or barrier islands

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Coastal environments

 Beaches form when sand or gravel is available and wave energy

is significant, and result in low-angle cross-stratified deposits
and cross strata formed by wave ripples
 Beaches can either be connected directly to the land and form
strand plains or chenier plains (the latter consisting of beach
ridges separated by muds), or be separated by lagoons or tidal
basins (the latter consisting of tidal channels, tidal flats, and
salt marshes) and form either spits or barrier islands

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Coastal environments

 Barrier islands are especially prolific in environments with a high

wave energy and a limited tidal range, that have experienced
transgression (relative sea-level rise)
 The tidal inlets between barrier islands are sites of deep
erosional scour and are associated with flood-tidal deltas
(lagoonal side) and ebb-tidal deltas (seaward side)
 Washovers can form during major storm events, and are found
elsewhere across barrier islands
 Coastal dunes are common features associated with sandy
beaches

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Coastal environments

 Estuaries are semi-enclosed coastal water bodies where fluvial

and marine processes interact
• Tide-dominated estuaries have tidal channels with bars and tidal
mudflats that contain tidal sedimentary structures (e.g., tidal
bundles, heterolithic stratification)
• Wave-dominated estuaries are partly enclosed by a coastal
barrier and have well-developed bay-head deltas

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Coastal environments

 Carbonate coastal environments can exhibit comparable

characteristics as clastic coasts (i.e., barriers and lagoons),
consisting of carbonate sands and muds, respectively
• Stromatolites (algal or bacterial mats) commonly form on carbonate-
rich tidal flats

 Arid coastal environments are characterized by sabkhas and

salinas, coastal plains frequently inundated by saline water and
hypersaline lagoons, respectively, where evaporites (notably
anhydrite and gypsum) can accumulate

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