Planform sinuosity of Proterozoic rivers

Ielpi, Alessandro; Ghinassi, Massimiliano; Rainbird, R H; Ventra, Dario

doi:10.1002/9781119424437.ch4

Cited by 19 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 179 publications

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“…Fully preserved bar deposits can serve as important flow-depth constraints in ancient rivers, and depending on the precision required for paleohydraulic reconstructions (e.g., Mohrig et al, 2000;Hajek and Heller, 2012;Trampush et al, 2014;Mahon and McElroy, 2018;Lyster et al, 2021;Hartley and Owen, 2022), the scale of bar packages, regardless of preservation, can generally facilitate first-order comparisons of paleo-river size. This may be particularly useful in systems where outcrop extent and exposure limit our ability to collect these data in abundance (e.g., Ielpi et al, 2018) or in subsurface analyses in which seismic or well-log datasets limit spatial resolution (e.g., Bridge and Tye, 2000;Donselaar and Schmidt, 2005;Castelltort, 2018;Yue et al, 2019;Li et al, 2019).…”

Section: Controls On Bar Preservation In Braided River Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fate of bars in braided rivers

Alpheus,

Hajek

2024

Preprint

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Ancient river deposits are important archives of past landscape conditions on planetary surfaces. On Earth, they host valuable groundwater, energy resources, and carbon-storage potential. Reconstructing details of paleochannel forms and movements refines our understanding of the controls on river behavior under different climate, landcover, and tectonic conditions, and improves predictions and models of subsurface reservoirs. While studies have shown detailed connections between channel kinematics and bar-deposit architecture in meandering river systems, similar connections between braided river movements and preserved braided river deposits have not been established. Here we explore the potential for connecting braided river deposits to paleochannel movements, form, and flow conditions, and we evaluate the controls on bar preservation using synthetic stratigraphy generated with a numerical morphodynamic model. We investigate how attributes of channel morphodynamics, like channel widening or braiding intensity, impact bar deposits’ preservation, scale, geometry, and architecture. We then assess how the scale, preservation, and facies composition of bar deposits reflect formative flow conditions of the channel. Our results demonstrate that no diagnostic signature of braided channel morphodynamics is recorded in bar-deposit geometry, facies, or preservation patterns. Rather, the unique local history of thread movements combines stochastically to preserve or rework bar deposits, and the timing of channel avulsion is the dominant control on bar preservation. Our results also show that representative paleochannel flow conditions will likely be accurately reflected in aggregate observations of braid bar deposits within channel-belt sandbodies at a regional or member/formation scale. These results demonstrate the need for broad sampling and statistical approaches to subsurface prediction and paleo-flow reconstruction in ancient, braided river deposits.

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Section: Controls On Bar Preservation In Braided River Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fate of bars in braided rivers

Alpheus,

Hajek

2024

Preprint

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“…Meandering rivers evolve and interact with floodplains for hundreds or even thousand of years (Almeida et al., 2016; Ielpi et al., 2018, 2021; E. Latrubesse et al., 2005; Slowik, 2015; Shan et al., 2018). They generally migrate laterally, upstream and downstream as their banks move due to fluvial erosion combined with mass failure processes (Langendoen, 2000; Motta et al., 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogeomorphology of Asymmetric Meandering Channels: Experiments and Field Evidence

Abad

Motta

Guerrero

et al. 2023

Water Resources Research

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They generally migrate laterally, upstream and downstream as their banks move due to fluvial erosion combined with mass failure processes (Langendoen, 2000;Motta et al., 2014). In fact, meandering patterns get more complex due to the influence of external forcing processes associated, for instance, with groundwater, vegetation, climate and geology (J. Li et al., 2022). Evidence of this complex evolution of meandering rivers (and in-channel processes) is given by the observed natural sedimentary architecture (Jackson, 1976;Shan et al., 2018) and by the artificially reproduced (via experimental and/or numerical work) records (

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Reconstruction of meander‐bend migration from associated channel‐belt architecture recorded in successions of ancient meandering rivers: A case study from the Cretaceous Songliao Basin, China

Lin

Wang

Shan

et al. 2021

The Depositional Record

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Identification of the diverse channel patterns of meander‐bend migration is essential when reconstructing the historical evolution of sedimentary processes in meandering rivers. However, reconstruction of the spatio‐temporal evolution of ancient meandering fluvial deposits for hydrocarbon exploration is difficult due to the limited research on the patterns and styles of meander‐bend migration. To reconstruct the geomorphologic and sedimentary evolution of subsurface meandering palaeochannels, this study proposes an approach based on combining meander‐bend planforms and cross‐sectional architectural elements of clastic sedimentary successions of ancient meandering rivers. The research was applied to meandering fluvial deposits of the lower Cretaceous Quantou Formation in the north‐eastern Songliao Basin, China. High‐resolution satellite images of modern meandering rivers were used to classify and evaluate the meander‐bend planform transformations of expansion, rotation and contraction (also known as bend tightening, i.e. narrowing of the neck of the meander‐bend showing a tendency towards neck tightening or cut‐off). Major meander‐bend transformations were related to cross‐sectional bedding architecture (i.e. bed dipping or bounding surface), which was identified through well‐log and core characteristics, to construct the migration patterns of subsurface meander‐belt deposits. Integration of well‐log and core analysis from a dense array of wells allowed the stratigraphic architecture of ancient meandering rivers and stacking patterns of fluvial sandbodies to be characterised. Furthermore, major reservoir architectural elements and bounding surfaces of meandering channels were identified. Ultimately, the 3D meandering fluvial architecture was represented on 2D vertical sections so that, planform transformations and the evolutionary processes of point bars and meander bends could be elucidated. Reconstruction of meander‐bend migration is of practical value for deciphering ancient fluvial systems and the development of subsurface fluvial reservoir models.

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Planform sinuosity of Proterozoic rivers

Cited by 19 publications

References 179 publications

The fate of bars in braided rivers

The fate of bars in braided rivers

Hydrogeomorphology of Asymmetric Meandering Channels: Experiments and Field Evidence

Reconstruction of meander‐bend migration from associated channel‐belt architecture recorded in successions of ancient meandering rivers: A case study from the Cretaceous Songliao Basin, China

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