Sediment dispersal and quantitative stratigraphic architecture across an ancient shelf

Abstract

Two large (200 to 300 km), near-continuous outcrop transects and extensive well-log data (ca 2800 wells) allow analysis of sedimentological characteristics and stratigraphic architecture across a large area (ca 60 000 km2) of the latest Santonian to middle Campanian shelf along the western margin of the Western Interior Seaway in eastern Utah and western Colorado, USA. Genetically linked depositional systems are mapped at high chronostratigraphic resolution (ca 0·1 to 0·5 Ma) within their sequence stratigraphic context. In the lower part of the studied interval, sediment was dispersed via wave-dominated deltaic systems with a 'compound clinoform' geomorphology in which an inner, wave-dominated shoreface clinoform was separated by a muddy subaqueous topset from an outer clinoform containing sand-poor, gravity-flow deposits. These strata are characterized by relatively steep, net-regressive shoreline trajectories (>0·1°) with concave-landward geometries, narrow nearshore belts of storm-reworked sandstones (2 to 22 km), wide offshore mudstone belts (>250 km) and relatively high sediment accumulation rates (ca 0·27 mm year-1). The middle and upper parts of the studied interval also contain wave-dominated shorefaces, but coeval offshore mudstones enclose abundant 'isolated' tide-influenced sandstones that were transported sub-parallel to the regional palaeoshoreline by basinal hydrodynamic (tidal?) circulation. These strata are characterized by relatively shallow, net-regressive shoreline trajectories (<0·1°) with straight to concave-seaward geometries, wide nearshore belts of storm-reworked sandstones (19 to 70 km), offshore mudstone belts of variable width (130 to >190 km) and relatively low sediment accumulation rates (ca ≤0·11 mm year-1). The change in shelfal sediment dispersal and stratigraphic architecture, from: (i) 'compound clinoform' deltas characterized by across-shelf sediment transport; to (ii) wave-dominated shorelines with 'isolated' tide-influenced sandbodies characterized by along-shelf sediment transport, is interpreted as reflecting increased interaction with the hydrodynamic regime in the seaway as successive shelfal depositional systems advanced out of a sheltered embayment ('Utah Bight'). This advance was driven by a decreasing tectonic subsidence rate, which also suppressed autogenic controls on stratigraphic architecture. © 2009 The Author. Journal compilation © 2009 International Association of Sedimentologists.