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Ponce, J. J., and N. B. Carmona, 2011, Miocene deep-marine hyperpycnal channel levee complexes, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina: Facies associations and architectural elements, in R. M. Slatt and C. Zavala, eds., Sediment transfer from shelf to deep water—Revisiting the delivery system: AAPG Studies in Geology 61, p. 7593.

DOI:10.1306/13271351St613439

Copyright copy2011 by The American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Miocene Deep-marine Hyperpycnal Channel Levee Complexes, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina: Facies Associations and Architectural Elements

Juan Jose Ponce,1 Noelia B. Carmona2

1Instituto Argentino de Oceanografia, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (IADO-CONICET), Bahia Blanca, Argentina
2Instituto Argentino de Oceanografia, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (IADO-CONICET), Bahia Blanca, Argentina

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Eduardo B. Olivero for his support and for the discussions on the subject. J. J. P. appreciates the kind offer of Carlos Zavala to lead the AAPG Hedberg Research Conference “Sediment Transfer from Shelf to Deepwater—Revisiting the Delivery Mechanisms” field trip with Olivero in Ushuaia, where the authors had the valuable chance to discuss the sedimentologic aspects on-site with conference participants. The study is part of the doctoral thesis of J. J. P. (Olivero and Zavala, supervisors). Preliminary versions of the work were presented at the AAPG Hedberg Conference (see Ponce and Olivero, 2008; Ponce et al., 2008b). Dany Martinioni is thanked for the assistance to the authors during the field work, the aid during the early writing of the chapter, and his critical contributions on its final version. Daniel Aureliano, Alvar Sobral, and Jose Contreras helped during field work. Roger Slatt is thanked for his useful review of this chapter. The owners of the estancias Ines and Viamonte granted access through their properties to the outcrops. Financial support for this study was provided by CONICET (PIP-5100 to E. B. Olivero), Agencia Nacional de Promocion Cientifica y Tecnologica (ANPCyT) (PICT-840 to N. B. Carmona), and Total Austral.

ABSTRACT

In the Miocene beds of Cabo Viamonte, deep-marine hyperpycnal channel levee complexes occur at the toe of the depositional slope in sigmoidal clinoforms. The hyperpycnal channel fill is composed of thick packages of transitional and recurrent (vertical and lateral) sedimentary structures without rheologic boundaries, with variable textural ranges, recurrence of inverse-to-normal grading, multiple internal reactivation surfaces, and abundant organic content. This complex internal arrangement allows recognition of three facies associations (FAs) in the hyperpycnal channel fill. The FA1 comprises the coarsest clastic fractions, composed of intraformational boulders, matrix- and/or clast-supported conglomerate, and gravelly sandstone, which results from the combination of inertial flows and turbidity currents generated during the circulation of hyperpycnal flows. The FA2 comprises conglomerate, gravelly sandstone, and coarse- to fine-grained sandstone that results from rapid aggradation from a hyperpycnal turbidity current capable of transporting gravel as bed load and particles up to the size of coarse sand in turbulent suspension. The FA3 comprises heterolithic deposits that result from progressive accumulation by traction and suspension processes of low-density hyperpycnal turbidity currents. The coarse-grained lower channel fill is interpreted as a single sedimentation event. This is suggested by multiple internal erosion surfaces without lateral continuity, the lack of lithologic contrasts between sediment below and above the reactivation surfaces, and the absence of biogenic structures. On the contrary, the fine-grained upper channel fill, deposited mainly during the waning stages of the hyperpycnal flow, may involve more than one sedimentation event. This interpretation is supported by the presence of isolated beds with low-diversity trace fossils within the associated mudstones.

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