3.

Depositional environments
Graduate programm Introduction to Sedimentology
Classification: Internal 2013-11-15
 Sedimentology: Weathering Erosjon
Deposition
Mountain/rocks are Sediments are Sediments are Layer after layer is
broken down transported by air, dumped in a low lying deposited
Weathering water and ice area (ocean/sea) due to the weight,
Erosion Deposition the ocean floor sinks
Small pieces of rock
and more space is
collectively called: Low lying area in ocean &
Sediments made
sea where sediments end
up is called a Stratigraphy
Basin

Due to the pressure,

the sediments
become
compressed and
hard
A rock is born

Classifi 2-
cation:
 Petroleum geology: Essentials

1) Porosity Storage

Cap Rock and

Petroleum system

Trap Reservoir Rock

2) Permeability Producability

150C
Mature Source Migration
65C Rock

TIMING ~100 Myr

Oil
Window

Classifi 3-
cation:
 Tectonic: Types of Faults
Normal Fault Thrust/Reverse fault

Strike-slip Fault

Classifi 4-
cation:
Depositional environments

Classifi 5-
cation:
Classifi 6-
cation:
Depositional environments glacial

Continental
Glacial
lakes
aeolian

Fluvial
Deserts
Shallow and marginal marine
Deltaic
Linear shorelines (Barrier, non-Barrier)
Estuaries
Deep marine
Offshore (continental slope)
Deep marine (basin floor) Examples:
Peon, Norway

9 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Sequence stratigraphy

10 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Fluvial depositional environment facies associations

Channel fill
Floodplain
Levee
Crevasse splay
channel

Flooded
floodplain

floodplain

levee
channel

Crevasse splay
levee

18 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Fluvial planforms
Meandering, braided and anastomosing river planform

Meandering Braided

Note!
Channel belt versus individual streams and bars

Anastomosing

19 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Channel fill of meandering rivers

Lateral accretion

23 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Donselaar
Channel fill of anastomosing rivers

Makaske, 2001

Isolated channel fills

Aggarading vertically
Gravel to silt
Planar tabular cross beds
Downstream dune migration
Small LA sequences

Emery and Myers 1995

24 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Makaske, 2001 Makaske, 2001
Crevasse splay
Breaker point Levee

River
Crevasse channel
channel

Crevasse splay

Floodplain

Huesca, Spain, A. Kulikova, 2013

Breach of natural levee

Rapid deposition on floodplain
Sheet-like sandstone/siltstone bodies
Mudstone interbeds

26 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

River avulsion

Regional new channel is established

Note!
Local meander cut-off ox-bow lake Channel belt versus individual streams and bars

Regional avulsion Local avulsion

Taquari DFS, Pantanal Basin, Brazil

(image FSRG, Buehler et al., 2011)
28 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15
Sandstone body types

Channel fill:
Ribbon-like
Isolated lenses bars
Sheet-like

Floodplain:
Ribbon-like
Thin sheet-like

Amalgamated sandstone bodies

Combinatin of above

Hirst, 1991

30 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Sandstone body types

Sinuous, meandering stream Highly mobile braided stream

Model 4

Point bars - perpendicular to Longitudinal bars - parallel to flow

flow direction direction
Lateral restricted sandstone Multistory/multilateral sheet-like
Poor vertical connectivity sandstones
Good vertical and lateral
connectivity

31 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Depositional environments glacial

Continental lakes
aeolian

Glacial
Fluvial
Deserts
Shallow and marginal marine
Deltaic
Linear shorelines (Barrier, non-Barrier)
Estuaries
Deep marine
Offshore (continental slope)
Examples:
Deep marine (basin floor)
Lomvi, Norway, Rotligent,, UK

36 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

 Desert depositional environment

Aeolian blown sands

Ephemeral lakes/rivers
Alluvial fans

Nichols, 1999

37 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

 Alluvial fans: types

Gravity flow
Sheetflood
Channelised
Corase-grained deposits
Debri flow
Horiz. & cross bedding

Nichols, 1999

Channelised

Nichols, 1999

38 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

 Dune and interdune facies association
High water table no aeolian reworking in wet interdune areas

dune
interdune Metz et al.,
JSR, 2009

dune
interdune

42 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Depositional environments

Continental
Glacial
Examples:
Fluvial
Brent, Cook, Upper Tilje (?), Norway
Deserts
Shallow and marginal marine
Deltaic
Linear shorelines (Barrier, non-Barrier)
Estuaries
Deep marine barrier

Offshore (continental slope)

Deep marine (basin floor)

45 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Delta Classification Mississippi

Galloway, 1975

46 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Fluvial-dominated delta subenvironments
Low wave and tide energy Delta plain:
Various channel fills
Deacrese of velosity at the sea front Crevasse splays
Mouth bar distributive pattern Floodplain facies (peat)
Decrease grains side with depth

Stets & Schafer, 2009

bay

Mississippi
Distributary channel:
Similar to fluvial channel
Prodelta: Subaqueous levees
Suspended fine-grained sediments
Plums into deeper water
Mouth bars:
Interdistributary bay:
Proximal sandy bars
Low energy
Not continuous
Similar to floodplain
Tabular horizontal and cross-bedding
Bay fill by crevasse splays

47 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Delta lobe switching
Each distributary fills the space and migrates to another location

Nichols, 1999

48 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Wave-dominated delta subenvironments
High wave energy Distributary channel:
Delta plain:
Various channel fills Similar to fluvial channel
No subaqueous levees
Difference: Crevasse splays
Do not prograde into the sea
Floodplain facies
Channel do not prograde
Sandy coastal bars
Well-sorted sand

MSN Map

Mouth bars:
Proximal sandy bars
Wave/tides reworking
Tabular horizontal and
cross-bedding

Coastal sandy bars:

Sandy beaches
Continuous
Sand of mouth bars
http://www.seddepseq.co.uk/DEPOSITIONAL_ENV/Deltas/deltas.htm
reworked by oblique waves

Prodelta:
Suspended fine-grained sediments
Paraibo delta, Brazil Plums into deeper water

49 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Tide-dominated delta subenvironments
Lower delta plain (tidal):
High tidal range Upper delta plain (non tidal): Tidal flats
Various channel fills Periodically flooding with tides
Crevasse splays Mangroove
Difference: Floodplain facies

Channel affected by tides

Tidal sandy bars
Tidal indicators
Tidal channels:
Affected tides
Stagnation periods

Tidal sand bars:

Tide modifies mouth bars
Elongate bars
Prodelta: Bidirectional cross-bedding
Suspended fine-grained sediments Mud drapes
Ganges Delta, Bangladesh / India Plums into deeper water

50 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Delta progradation
All types of deltas are progradational in nature River-dominated

Produce shallowing vertical facies succession

B
Delta
plain

Distributary
Channel

Mouth
bar

A well A well log

delta plain B
Delta
front

delta
front
Prodelta

prodelta
Nichols, 1999

51 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Depositional environments

Continental
Examples:
Glacial
Fluvial
Rannoch/Etive/Tarbert (Brent Gr), Upper Ile, Norway

Deserts
Shallow and marginal marine
Deltaic
Linear shorelines (Barrier, non-Barrier)
Estuaries
Deep marine
barrier

Offshore (continental slope)

Deep marine (basin floor)

53 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Wave-dominated linear shoreline (non-barrier)
Beach (foreshore, backshore, dunes) low angle/horizontal bedding
Shorface (above Fairweather wave base) dunes, cross bedding
Offshore transition (above Storm wave base) hummocky cross stratfication

54 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Wave-dominated linear shoreline with barrier islands
Tidal flat, marsh - small tidal range
Lagoon shallow, suspended material from the sea and coastal plain, evaporites
Washovers thin layers of sand in lagoon
Beach (foreshore, backshore) gravel, sand transported by longshore currents
Tidal inlet mesotidal coasts
Flood and ebb deltas made up of barrier sediment, dune cross-bedding, onshore direction
Shorface (above Fairweather wave base)
Offshore transition (above Storm wave base)

Abundant sediment supply

Longshore current
Small tidal range

lagoon

55 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Wave dominated shoreline system with barrier islands

Waddel Sea, Germany

MSN Map
Depositional environments
Continental
Glacial
Fluvial Examples:
Deserts Lower Tilje, Tarbert, Nordmela, Norway
Lacustrine
Shallow and marginal marine
Deltaic
Linear shorelines (Barrier, non-Barrier)
Estuaries
barrier

Deep marine
Offshore (continental slope)
Deep marine (basin floor)

57 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Estuary types

Western Germany, Google Earth

tide
Wave-dominated estuary
Tidal flat
Barrier bar Seocheon Tidal Flat, Korea, http://www.ramsar.org/

Saltwater
Bay-head delta marsh

Bride Brook salt marsh, Wikipedia

61 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Tide-dominated estuary
Tidal channel meandering, suspension, Heterolithic point bar (HIS)
Tidal flat mud flats, salt marshes cut by tidal creeks, periodically flooded
Tidal sand bars sand, gravel, bioclasts
Dune migration, cross-bedding, 2 direct.
Mud drapes

Two path ways for edd and flood tides

Heap et al. 2001

62 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Tide-dominated estuary
Tidal bars and channels
Tidal mudflat
Watsons Creek (http://www.marsh-friends.org/)

http://www.niwa.co.nz/coasts-and-oceans/nz-coast/learn-about-coastal-environments/beach-types/
13-beach-types/reflective-tidal-mud-flats

Tidal creek http://geologicalintroduction.baffl.co.uk

Tidal Creeks at the southern end of Great Bay
(photo by Ben Kimball, http://www.nhdfl.org/)

63 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Bay fill succession
Floodplain/marshes
Marsh Channel fill
Bay-head delta
Subbay
Wave reworked deposits
Bayhead delta
Floodplain/marshes

Channel fill

Bay-head delta

Subbay

Wave-reworked
deposits

Classifi
66
cation:
 Wave influenced bayfill, 30/9-4

Classifi
68
cation:
Depositional environments glacial

Continental
Glacial
lakes
aeolian

Fluvial
Deserts
Lacustrine
Shallow and marginal marine
Deltaic Exmaples:
Linear shorelines Peregrino, Brazil,
Estuaries Tanzania, Angola,
Deep marine King Lear, sta Hansteen, Norway
Offshore (continental slope)
Debri flows
Deep marine (basin floor) Turbidity currents

69 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Slope elements and sediment source
Canyons on the shelf slope may be
Slump on the shelf slope
connected to river source

http://geologycafe.com/landslides/big/25.html
Wikipedia

70 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15 Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institution (MBARI)

 Basin floor

Submarine fan
Sediment from canyons
Spreads out on the lower gradient plain
Lobes forming fan

71 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

 Basin floor
Hemipelagic deposition
fine-grained sediment slowly accumulated on
a basin floor
Pelagic deposition
microscopic, calcareous or siliceous shells
of phytoplankton or zooplankton
Mixture of those

http://research.ncl.ac.uk/caprocks/gallery.htm

72 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

http://nhm2.uio.no/norges/litho/balder.php
Deep-marine submarine fan facies association
Canyon bypass
Proximal fan
Channel fairways Tab HDT plus debrites
Levees Tce,Tde - LDT
Lobes Tae,Tbe - LDT
Distal fan
Frontal splays Tcde,Tde LDT
Hemipelagic/pelagic deposits

http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/fichter/SedRx/subfan.html

http://www.geocaching.com

73 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Deep-marine submarine fan facies association

Ainsa, A.Rittersbacher, Troll field course manual

Nichols, 1999

Ainsa, A.Kulikova

74 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Ainsa, A.Rittersbacher, Troll field course manual
Deep-marine submarine fan facies association

Inner fan.
Channel filled with thick conglomerate and
sandstone turbidites, HDT+debrites

Inner fan.
Thin-bedded levee deposits, LDT

Mid-fan.
Channel on lobe filled with HDT or LDT + debrites

Mid-fan.
Coarsening-up succession of sandy turbidites

Distal fan.
Thinly bedded fine-grained turbidites
Nichols, 1999

75 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

 Sand injectites
Seals and dykes of re-mobilised unconsolidated sands that were forced upward through
overlying impermeable layers.
Associated with deep-water clastic systems Parent sand body
Intrusive traps (could follow faults or bedding)
Enhance reservoir connectivity especially vertically - Seal risk / migration paths

http://nhm2.uio.no/norges/litho/rogaland.php

Thin-bedded turbidites and sandstone dikes, El Chingue Bluff,

southern Chile ( 2010 clasticdetritus.com)
77 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15
Sand injectites
Could be large - detectable on seismic strange geometries
Not necessarily connected to parent body
Sand injectites are widespread in Paleocene to Pleistocene sediments in the North Sea.
The sand injectite play is proven by several oil fields; e.g., Grane, Balder, Alba, Volund and
Mariner/Bressay.

78 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Depositional environments glacial

Continental lakes
aeolian

Glacial
Fluvial
Deserts
Shallow and marginal marine
Deltaic
Linear shorelines (Barrier, non-Barrier)
Estuaries
Deep marine
Offshore (continental slope)
Deep marine (basin floor)

79 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15

Presentation title

Presenters name
Presenters title
E-mail address @statoil.com
Tel: +4700000000

www.statoil.com

84 Classification: Internal 2013-11-15