SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY & DEPOSITIONAL

ENVIRONMENT
Lecture: 2 [Unit 1]
SEQUIENCE STRATIGRAPHY & DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT
LECTURES PLAN
 SEDIMENTARY CYCLES.
 Aggradation.
 Progradation
 Retrogradation
 SEDIMENTARY
ENVIRONMENTS &
DEPOSITIONAL
MODELS.
 FLUVIAL
 Alluvial fan
 Straight river
 Meandering river
 Lake
 TRANSITIONAL
 Estuary
 Lagoon
 Bay
 Spit
 Bar
 Beach
 CONT…………….

 MARINE
 SHELF
 SLOPE
 DEEP SEA FAN
 SILICICLASTIC
 CARBONATE (REEF)
 STRATIGRAPHY

 Stratigraphy is the study of successions of stratified (layered rocks) in time and

space. In its classical days, stratigraphy involved simply the study of
lithostratigraphy, that is the succession of rock types in stratigraphic sections.

 Strata were grouped according to lithologic affinity into the following litho-
stratigraphic hierarchy:
 Supergroup

 • Group

 • Formation

 • Member

 • Bed
 Cont………..

 Diachronous formation: a formation may have the sample lithological

properties but formed at different times in different places
 –Subdivisions of Formations:

 Member - rock unit that have a limited lateral extent and are consistently
related to one formation
 Bed - if the bed has particularly distinctive lithology, fossil content or
chemistry it may be given a name within the formation
 Groups – are related formations

 Lithology - field characteristics of a rock

Stratigraphy[Litho & Bio]…………
Grand Canyon Stratigraphy - The Great Unconformity
 Stratigraphic correlations

Stratigraphic correlations can be based on:

 physical changes – lithostratigraphy

fossil assemblage – biostratigraphy

 changes in age – chronostratigraphy

changes in magnetism – magnetostratigraphy

changes in position relative to unconformities – allostratigraphy

 relationships to worldwide unconformities – sequence stratigraphy

 Facies…………..
 Sedimentary Facies: Lithology or group of lithologies characterizing by a specific
set of depositional conditions or environment.
 Facies and depositional environments

Facies analysis is the interpretation of strata in terms of

depositional environments (or depositional systems),
commonly based on a wide variety of observations
Facies associations constitute several facies that occur in
combination, and typically represent one depositional
environment (note that very few individual facies are
diagnostic for one specific setting!)
Facies successions (or facies sequences) are facies
associations with a characteristic vertical order
Walther’s Law (1894) states that two different facies found
superimposed on one another and not separated by an
unconformity, must have been deposited adjacent to each
other at a given point in time.
 SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY

Definition of a Sequence -A relatively conformable, genetically related succession of strata,

bounded by unconformities or their correlative conformities.


Relatively Conformable”
A succession of strata that has only short breaks in time, diatoms. The duration of diatoms within
the succession of strata is much less than bounding unconformities.


“Genetically Related Succession of Strata”
Deposited in response to similar overall regional depositional drivers.

“Bounded by Unconformities or their Correlative Conformities”

Unconformities – surface of non‐deposition or erosion • Generally indicates missing rock
record of a interval of time • Forms a time line or chronostratigraphically significant surface
with which to correlatebetween stratigraphic sections. • Sequence boundary unconformities must
be of regional extent, not local.
Unconformity

Angular conformity: younger sediments rest

upon the eroded surface of tilted or folded
older rocks.

Disconformity: contact between younger

and older beds is marked by a visible,
irregular or uneven erosional surface.

Paraconformity: beds above and below the

unconformity are parallel and no erosional
surface is evident; but can be recognized based
on the gap in the rock record.

Nonconformity: develops between

sedimentary rock and older igneous or
metamorphic rock that has been exposed to
erosion.
Angular conformity& Disconformity
BASE LEVEL
Sequence Stratigraphy – Base Level
 Relative Sea Level
Position of of sea surface relative to a fixed datum near the sea floor which
takes into account two components: eustasy and vertical movement of the
sea floor (tectonism and/or sediment compaction).
Relative Sea Level Rise
 Relative Sea Level Fall

A relative sea level fall tracks the falling position of of sea surface relative to a fixed
datum near the sea floor
 Accommodation - Physical

Accommodation is defined by Jervey (1998) as "the space available for potential

sediment accumulation". This space is the combined product of movement of:
 The sea surface (eustasy: global sea level measured from a datum such as the center
of earth)
 The sea floor (tectonics)

 Changes in rates of sediment accumulation.

 Aggradation

 Vertical build up of a sedimentary sequence. Usually occurs when there is a

relative rise in sea level produced by subsidence and/or eustatic sea-level rise,
and the rate of sediment influx is sufficient to maintain the depositional surface
at or near sea level Occurs when sediment flux = rate of sea-level rise.
 Progradation

 Lateral outbuilding, or progradation, of strata in a sea-ward direction.

Progradation can occur as a result of a sea-level rise accompanied by a high

sediment flux (causing a regression). This latter usually occurs during the late
stages of the development of a Highstand Systems Tract and/or an Falling Stage
Systems Tract.
Lithology Correlation
Sequence Boundaries…….
 Cont……….

 If the relative sea level rises and there is a zero or low sediment flux, then
transgression results.

 If relative sea level rises and there is a low rate of sediment flux, then
retrogradation of the coastal parasequence results.

 If relative sea level rises and the rate of sediment flux matches the sea level rise,
then aggradation of the coastal parasequence results.

 If relative sea level rises and the rate of sediment flux exceeds the sea level rise,
then progradation of the coastal parasequence results.
 System Tracts
A systems tract is a linkage of contemporaneous depositional
systems, forming the subdivision of a sequence (Brown and Fisher,
1977). Systems tracts are interpreted on the basis of stratal stacking
patterns, stratigraphic relations, and types of bounding surfaces.
The central elements in defining sequence stratigraphic concepts are the
Transgressive-Regressive and base level curves.

Transgression: driven by base level rise, where the rates of base level rise outpace
sedimentation rates

Regression:
1.      Normal regression: driven by sediment supply, where the rates of base level rise
are outpaced by the sedimentation rate
2.      Forced regression: driven by base level fall
 Reefs, Platforms, and Carbonate Systems
 Rocks containing calcium carbonate (CaCO3) are common and generally
associated with marine depositional environments influenced by biological
processes.
 Limestones and dolostones occur from the accumulation of muds that contain
organisms, which use calcium carbonate to build shells and exoskeletons.
Temperature, water chemistry, and water depth all influence the buildup of
carbonates, but carbonates can form in a variety of settings so long as water is
available and clastics are in low supply (Nicholas, 2009).
 Climate conditions, tectonic subsidence, and sea-level changes can all affect
the pattern of depositional sequences that occur in a carbonate system.
Typically, carbonates are associated with deposition in relatively shallow seas.
As such, carbonates are often highly fossiliferous and preserve the remains of
marine life. They are extremely important for understanding marine organisms
and sea-level changes in the geologic past and have become increasingly
significant sites of hydrocarbon exploration.
Carbonate Platforms…..
 Platforms
Carbonate platforms are areas of shallow submarine accumulation
of carbonate sediment that vary based on several factors: sediment
production, sediment supply/proximity to a continental landmass,
existing topography, sea level oscillations, and ramp
morphology/slope (Harris, 1986; Fig. 1).
Carbonate ramps are very low angle slopes. Today, they occur in
areas where reefs are absent: cooler water, high salinity, or
contribution of clastics.
Ramps are commonly divided into depth-related zones to better
describe their sedimentation: shallow inner ramps, below fair
weather wave base mid-ramps, and below storm wave base outer-
ramps. Carbonate shelves are flat-topped areas of carbonate
accumulation that sometimes have a barrier to absorb wave energy
(rimmed carbonate shelves).
The main types are carbonate platforms are (1) ramps, (2) non-
rimmed shelves, (3) rimmed shelves, (4) epeiric platforms, and (5)
isolated platfroms
Sequence Boundaries
Termination of strata or seismic
reflections interpreted as strata
along an unconformity surface due
to post-depositional erosional or
structural effects.
Sequence boundaries
EXXON TERMINOLOGY
Sequence stratigraphy & Lithostratigraphy

A B C
Organic Remains on Carbonate rocks
Thank You