--> ABSTRACT: Quantitative Stratigraphic Modeling: The Role of Stratigraphic Data Sets, by W. C. Ross, J. A. May, D. E. Watts, J. A. French; #91003 (1990).

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ABSTRACT: Quantitative Stratigraphic Modeling: The Role of Stratigraphic Data Sets

W. C. Ross, J. A. May, D. E. Watts, J. A. French

Quantitative stratigraphic modeling (QSM) is emerging as a new tool in stratigraphic analysis. By systematically varying the major controls on depositions (e.g., sea level, subsidence, and sediment supply), QSM provides insights into the relative contributions of each variable and offers a means for lithologic prediction. For quantitative models to gain our confidence for stratigraphic analysis and prediction, they must be compared to and calibrated with large, high-quality geologic data sets. Two data sets thus far constrain our model design and model solutions: measured sections along a dip-oriented outcrop belt of the Book Cliffs, eastern Utah, and a subsurface data set from the Washakie/Red Desert basin, south-central Wyoming.

To test and refine the model we devised strategies for (1) describing and decompacting the geologic record for the purpose of model-data comparisons, (2) statistically analyzing the data to determine the range of variability in each depositional system, and (3) adjusting the model design to account for the observed variations. Examples of stratigraphic attributes measured and analyzed include variations in basin-fill style (i.e., area of shallow and deep-water sediments in aggradational vs. progradational sequences), extent and thickness of shoreface sands, depositional topography, and turbidite sand distribution. By examining the interrelationships between these attributes (e.g., basin fill style vs. turbidite sand distribution), model design and model assumptions can be evaluated em irically.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91003©1990 AAPG Annual Convention, San Francisco, California, June 3-6, 1990