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Abstract

AAPG Bulletin, V. 86, No. 8 (August 2002),Copyright ©2002. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

Characterization and recognition of deep-water channel-lobe transition zones

Russell B. Wynn,1 Neil H. Kenyon,2 Douglas G. Masson,3 Dorrik A. V. Stow,4 Philip P. E. Weaver5

1Challenger Division, Southampton Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom; email: [email protected]
2Challenger Division, Southampton Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom; email: [email protected]
3Challenger Division, Southampton Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom; email: [email protected]
4School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom; email: [email protected]
5Challenger Division, Southampton Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom; email: [email protected]

AUTHORS

Russell Wynn is a marine geoscientist working at Southampton Oceanography Centre, United Kingdom. He gained his B.Sc. degree from the University of Southampton in 1996 and a Ph.D. from the same university in 2000. His main research interest is in deep-water sedimentary processes and deposits. His current projects include studies of turbidite depositional architecture, sediment wave generation, and contourites.

Neil Kenyon is a consultant marine geologist who has worked for 37 years on the processes of sand transport, reservoir geometry, and submarine geohazards. He has a D.Sc. from the University of Keele, United Kingdom, and worked latterly at the Southampton Oceanography Centre. Most of his 130 publications have included the use of side-scan sonar. He is coordinator of the UNESCO-IOC Training-through-Research Programme.

Doug Masson has more than 20 years experience in marine geoscience and has worked at the Southampton Oceanography Centre, United Kingdom, since it opened in 1995. His main interests are in marine sedimentary processes, slope stability, and environmental assessment. His expertise is in the interpretation of marine geophysical and geological data, particularly side-scan sonar images, seismic profiles, and sediment core data.

Dorrik Stow is professor of ocean and Earth science at Southampton Oceanography Centre, United Kingdom. He has more than 20 years research experience on deep-water sedimentary systems, both modern and ancient, in many different parts of the world. He currently coordinates the International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP) 432 project on contourites, bottom currents, and paleocirculation and also maintains active interest in downslope processes and their interaction with alongslope processes.

Phil Weaver is head of the Seafloor Processes Division at Southampton Oceanography Centre, United Kingdom. His main research interests are in deep-water sedimentary processes with emphasis on links between climate change and sedimentation. His current projects include studies in the Gulf of Cadiz and leadership of a European Union project (EURO-STRATAFORM) investigating marine sediments from source to sink.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank the ship staff of the RRS Discovery and R/V Gelendzhik for their assistance during data collection. We are grateful to Veit Huehnerbach for helping with data processing. Russell Wynn acknowledges Ph.D. funding from the University of Southampton and Southampton Oceanography Centre (Challenger Division). Dorrik Stow acknowledges tenure of a Royal Society Industry Fellowship. The manuscript was greatly improved by the reviews of Paul Weimer, Carlos Pirmez, and an anonymous reviewer.

ABSTRACT

The channel-lobe transition zone (CLTZ) is an important, but commonly overlooked, element of many deep-water turbidite systems. Recognizing this zone is difficult in both modern and ancient environments and depends largely on the quality and resolution of the data obtained. In this article, three case studies of modern CLTZs are presented, largely based on high-resolution side-scan sonar imagery. These data are then compared to other well-defined CLTZs, both modern and ancient, and the common characteristics identified.

CLTZs occur at canyon/channel mouths and are commonly associated with a break of slope. Most sediment bypasses this zone, and consequently only coarse sands and gravels are deposited, although these are commonly patchily distributed and extensively reworked. The CLTZ is characterized by abundant erosional features, including isolated spoon- and chevron-shaped scours up to 20 m deep, 2 km wide, and 2.5 km long. In areas of more widespread erosion, these merge to form amalgamated scours several kilometers across. Depositional bed forms include sediment waves with wavelengths of 1-2 km and wave heights up to 4 m. The presence or absence of a CLTZ has important implications for hydrocarbon exploration and development, especially in terms of the connectivity between sandy channel-fill and lobe facies.

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