Genetic Stratigraphy, Stratigraphic Architecture, and Reservoir Stacking Patterns of the Upper Miocene— Lower Pliocene Greater Mars–Ursa Intraslope Basin, Mississippi Canyon, Gulf of Mexico

Meckel, Lawrence D.; Ugueto, Gustavo; Lynch, H. David; Cumming, Earl W.; Hewett, Ben; Bocage, Eric J.; Winker, Charlie D.; O’Neill, Brian J.

doi:10.5724/gcs.02.22.0113

Cited by 33 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Troika, Macaroni, and parts of Mars (Meckel, 2002) fields typify ponded sheet sand reservoirs. There is much ponded sand in the Gulf of Mexico, however, traps more commonly occur in healed-slope wedges than ponded sheet-sands because healed-slope wedges tend to be in structurally higher parts of intraslope basins and lie directly below top sealing condensed sections (Booth et al, 2002).…”

Section: Intraslope Basinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controls on reservoir distribution, architecture and stratigraphic trapping in slope settings

Prather

2003

Marine and Petroleum Geology

219

154

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Section: Intraslope Basinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controls on reservoir distribution, architecture and stratigraphic trapping in slope settings

Prather

2003

Marine and Petroleum Geology

219

154

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“…Influence of inherited seabed topography alone (e.g., Adeogba et al, 2005;Gamberi and Rovere, 2011;Olafiranye et al, 2013) cannot be the reason as it would be healed over time. Dynamic mechanisms such as salt diapirism and mobile shale (e.g., Barton, 2012;Deptuck et al, 2012;Hay, 2012;Prather et al, 2012aPrather et al, , 2012b, have the potential to create significant and reoccurring accommodation such as in the Gulf of Mexico (Prather et al, 1998;Prather, 2000;Meckel et al, 2002), but are not present in the stratigraphy. Active tectonic structures can also create topographically complex slopes (e.g., Hodgson and Haughton, 2004;Burgreen and Graham, 2014).…”

Section: S L O P E S L O P Ementioning

confidence: 99%

“…We have shown that subtle, but slow, and persistent deformation over a significant area of a slope (many kilometers) with significant periods of sand shut off (e.g., between Units D and E deposition) can modify sediment delivery pathways and consequently sand distribution to an extent comparable to that generated by more obvious mobile substrate and tectonics. This has implications for hydrocarbon reservoir prediction within slope systems (e.g., Western Niger Delta, Deptuck et al, 2012;Gulf of Mexico, Prather et al, 1998, Prather, 2000, Meckel et al, 2002and Offshore Angola, Hay, 2012) which have become increasingly significant as exploration targets in many basins worldwide (e.g., Weimer and Link, 1991;Mayall et al, 2006).…”

Section: Keymentioning

confidence: 99%

Disconnected submarine lobes as a record of stepped slope evolution over multiple sea-level cycles

et al. 2018

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The effects of abrupt changes in slope angle and orientation on turbidity current behavior have been investigated in numerous physical and numerical experiments and examined in outcrop, subsurface, and modern systems. However, the long-term impact of subtle and evolving seabed topography on the stratigraphic architecture of deep-water systems requires fine-scale observations and extensive 3-D constraints. This study focuses on the Permian Laingsburg and Fort Brown formations, where multiple large sand-rich systems (Units A-F) have been mapped from entrenched slope valleys, through channel-levee systems, to basin-floor lobe complexes over a 2500 km 2 area. Here, we investigate three thinner (typically <5 m in thickness) and less extensive sand-rich packages, Units A/B, B/C, and D/E, between the large-scale systems. Typically, these sand-rich units are sharp-based and topped, and contain scours and mudstone clast conglomerates that indicate deposition from high-energy turbidity currents. The mapped thickness and facies distribution suggest a lobate form. These distinctive units were deposited in similar spatial positions within the basin-fill and suggest similar accommodation patterns on the slope and basin floor prior to the larger systems (B, C, and E). Stratigraphically, these thin units represent the first sand deposition following major periods of shut-down in sediment supply, and are interpreted as marking a partial re-establishment of sand delivery pathways creating "disconnected lobes" that are fed mainly by flows sourced from failures on the shelf and upper slope rather than major feeder channel-levee systems.Thickness and facies patterns throughout the deep-water stratigraphy suggest seabed topography was present early in the basin formation and maintained persistently in a similar area to ultimately form a stepped slope profile. The stepped slope profile evolved through three key stages of development: Phase 1, where sediment supply exceeds deformation rate (likely caused by differential subsidence); Phase 2, where sediment supply is on average equal to deformation rate; and Phase 3, where deformation rate outpaces sediment supply. This study demonstrates that smaller systems are a sensitive record of evolving seabed topography and they can consequently be used to recreate more accurate paleotopographic profiles.

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“…14). Basin margins with a stepped profi le during deposition have a major infl uence on sediment dispersal patterns and alternating sections of erosion and bypass (Meckel et al, 2002;O'Byrne et al, 2004;Smith, 2004;Gamberi and Rovere, 2011;Bohn et al, 2012;Hay, 2012;Prather et al, 2012).…”

Section: Figure 12 Maps To Illustrate the Stacking Patterns Of Diffementioning

confidence: 99%

Depositional architecture of sand-attached and sand-detached channel-lobe transition zones on an exhumed stepped slope mapped over a 2500 km2 area

et al. 2014

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The geomorphology and seismic stratigraphy of deep-water clastic systems from slope valleys through channel-levee systems to basin-fl oor fans have been observed and described in modern and ancient sub surface examples around the world. However, the distribution of sedimentary facies, grain size, and small-scale architectural elements remains poorly constrained. Extensive exposures (>2500 km 2 ) of four stacked deep-water composite sequences have been mapped from heterolithic channel-levee systems on the slope to sand-rich basin-fl oor deposits. The data set from Units C-F of the Fort Brown Formation in the Permian Laingsburg depocenter of South Africa permits a unique opportunity to document and compare their depositional architecture at a high resolution for tens of kilometers downdip.Isopach thickness maps indicate that compensational stacking across multiple stratigraphic scales occurs on the basin fl oor, whereas preferred axial pathways were present on the slope, leading to subvertical stacking patterns. Units C and D are sand-attached systems; slope valley systems are mapped to pass transitionally downslope through leveeconfi ned channels to lobe complexes over distances of >30 km. The slope valley fi lls of Units E and F, however, are separated from their downdip sand-rich lobe complexes by a thin, sand-poor tract several kilometers in length and are termed sand detached. Locally, this sand-poor tract is characterized by a distinctive facies association of thin-bedded turbidites with numerous scours mantled with rip-up clasts, and a top surface that includes megafl utes and remobilized sediments. This assemblage is interpreted to indicate a widespread area of sand bypass.This unique data set provides an exploration-scale insight and understanding of how different segments of a prograding slope evolved over time in terms of gradient, physiography, and hence the degree to which sand was stored or bypassed to the basin fl oor, and the evolution from sand-attached to sand-detached systems. The development of sand-detached systems suggests that a steeper gradient formed, possibly related to developing underlying structure, that led to the development of a stepped slope profi le. The study highlights that updip stratigraphic trapping at reservoir scale can occur with minor bathymetric changes.Gold Open Access: This paper is published under the terms of the CC-BY license.on December 9, 2014 geosphere.gsapubs.org Downloaded from Sand-attached and sand-detached slope to basin-fl oor systems on a stepped slope profi le Geosphere,

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Genetic Stratigraphy, Stratigraphic Architecture, and Reservoir Stacking Patterns of the Upper Miocene— Lower Pliocene Greater Mars–Ursa Intraslope Basin, Mississippi Canyon, Gulf of Mexico

Cited by 33 publications

References 0 publications

Controls on reservoir distribution, architecture and stratigraphic trapping in slope settings

Controls on reservoir distribution, architecture and stratigraphic trapping in slope settings

Disconnected submarine lobes as a record of stepped slope evolution over multiple sea-level cycles

Depositional architecture of sand-attached and sand-detached channel-lobe transition zones on an exhumed stepped slope mapped over a 2500 km2 area

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