--> Abstract: On the Causal Relationship Between Muddy Debris Flows and Sandstone Body Development in Deep Marine Clastic Systems: Reservoir and Analogue Examples, by A. Hartley and B. Cronin; #90923 (1999)

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HARTLEY, ADRIAN, and BRYAN CRONIN, University of Aberdeen,Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom

Abstract: On the Causal Relationship Between Muddy Debris Flows and Sandstone Body Development in Deep Marine Clastic Systems: Reservoir and Analogue Examples

Muddy or cohesive debris flow deposits form a significant and often overlooked component of deep water clastic deposits. It is well known that they are often overlain by erosive-based sandstone units which are genetically-related (so-called "megaturbidites"), however, apart from a few exceptions, little has been documented regarding these relationships. We illustrate using modern and ancient outcrop analogues together with core and seismic data that muddy debris flow deposits strongly influence sandstone body development and distribution in the following ways: 1) The genetic relationship between muddy debris flow and overlying sandstones suggests that retrogressive slumping of the shelf/delta front accessed unconsolidated sand; 2) The erosive to onlapping nature of the sandstone bodies indicates that residual topography of the debris flows controlled sandstone body distribution; 3) In basins which are tectonically active or have high sediment supply, muddy debris flows may form up to 30% of the basin-fill and represent the principal control on sandstone body development and architecture; 4) Numerous examples of muddy debris flows in reservoirs indicate that they form significant baffles and barriers to fluid flow; and 5) Muddy debris flows form important commonly field-wide markers with chronostratigraphic significance but are often difficult to recognise in core and impossible from wireline log suites.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90923@1999 International Conference and Exhibition, Birmingham, England