Mass Balance Effects in Depositional Systems

Chris Paola
CSE Distinguished Professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
([email protected])

Net deposition is accompanied by systematic loss of sediment mass from the transport system. How is this mass loss reflected in the deposits, and to what extent can it be used to predict streamwise facies changes? We review mass-extraction analyses of laboratory experiments on fluvial channel stacking; experimental and field turbidites that show a change from channel-dominated to lobe-dominated deposits at about 80% total mass extraction; and experimental, theoretical, and field studies that show a close connection between rate of mass loss and rate of downstream grain-size fining. Applied thoughtfully, depositional mass balance provides a framework for quantitative prediction and comparison across basins of varying scale and shape.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90159©2012 AAPG Foundation Distinguished Lecturer Series 2012-2013.