--> ABSTRACT: Preservation Potential and Facies Architecture of the Texas Shoreface and Inner-Shelf Sand Bodies, by Antonio B. Rodriguez and John B. Anderson; #90906(2001)

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Antonio B. Rodriguez1, John B. Anderson2

(1) University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
(2) Rice University, Houston, TX

ABSTRACT: Preservation Potential and Facies Architecture of the Texas Shoreface and Inner-Shelf Sand Bodies

The Texas shoreface and inner-shelf sand bodies were examined from Sabine Pass, at the Texas-Louisiana border, to South Padre Island, near the Texas-Mexico border. Shoreface transects (30 in total) extend out to 16 m water depth, and were created from an eco-sounding profile and, on average, seven sediment cores. Shoreface architecture and evolution is extremely variable along the Texas coast. Shoreface gradients increase from 2.25 m/km in east Texas to 3.50 m/km in south Texas. Shoreface sands coarsen towards south Texas. The depth of the transgressive ravinement surface varies along the coast from -6 m in east Texas to -15 m in south Texas. East and south Texas shoreface deposits are thin and retrograding while central Texas shoreface deposits are thicker and prograding. Stacked shoreface successions and an absence of inner-shelf banks and ridges characterize Central Texas. In east Texas, lower-shoreface sands are preserved offshore in banks that represent submerged paleoshorelines. In south Texas, preservation of shoreface deposits is low, and storm/current generated ridges exist on the inner shelf. Although eustatic fluctuations and accommodation space have a strong impact on overall shoreface evolution and preservation potential, along-strike variations in sediment supply and wave energy are the main factors controlling shoreface architecture.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90906©2001 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado