Ivana Liq Turb 2013 IAS

Sedimentology (2013) 60, 720762
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3091.2012.01358.x
Can liqueed debris ows deposit clean sand over large areas of sea oor? Field evidence from the Marnoso-arenacea Formation, Italian Apennines
PETER J. TALLING*, GIUSEPPE M ALGESINI*, and FABRIZIO FELLETTI *National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK (E-mail: peter.talling@noc.soton.ac.uk) School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK ` degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 34, 20133 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita Milano, Italy Associate Editor Jaco Baas
ABSTRACT
The Marnoso-arenacea Formation in the Italian Apennines is the only ancient rock sequence where individual submarine sediment density ow deposits have been mapped out in detail for over 100 km. Bed correlations provide new insight into how submarine ows deposit sand, because bed architecture and sandstone shape provide an independent test of depositional process models. This test is important because it can be difcult or impossible to infer depositional process unambiguously from characteristics seen at just one outcrop, especially for massive clean-sandstone intervals whose origin has been controversial. Beds have three different types of geometries (facies tracts) in downow oriented transects. Facies tracts 1 and 2 contain clean graded and ungraded massive sandstone deposited incrementally by turbidity currents, and these intervals taper relatively gradually downow. Mud-rich sand deposited by cohesive debris ow occurs in the distal part of Facies tract 2. Facies tract 3 contains clean sandstone with a distinctive swirly fabric formed by patches of coarser and better-sorted grains that most likely records pervasive liquefaction. This type of clean sandstone can extend for up to 30 km before pinching out relatively abruptly. This abrupt pinch out suggests that this clean sand was deposited by debris ow. In some beds there are downow transitions from turbidite sandstone into clean debrite sandstone, suggesting that debris ows formed by transformation from high-density turbidity currents. However, outsize clasts in one particular debrite are too large and dense to have been carried by an initial turbidity current, suggesting that this debris ow ran out for at least 15 km. Field data indicate that liqueed debris ows can sometimes deposit clean sand over large (10 to 30 km) expanses of sea oor, and that these clean debrite sand layers can terminate abruptly. Keywords Debrite, liqueed, sandy debris ow, sandy debrite, submarine debris ow, submarine fan, turbidite, turbidity current.
INTRODUCTION Submarine gravity ows dominate sediment transport into many parts of the deep ocean and produce submarine fans that include some of the 720
most extensive and voluminous sediment accumulations on Earth (Allen, 2007; Nielsen et al., 2007; Talling et al., 2007a). The scale of these ows can be impressive because a single ow can transport more sediment than the combined
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Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone annual ux from all of the worlds rivers, such as in the largest beds described here (Talling et al., 2007b,c). Ancient ows of this type have deposited thick rock sequences that now hold some of the worlds largest oil and gas reserves. These ows are capable of depositing relatively thick (05 to 3 m) layers of sand across large areas of the deep sea oor, and these layers are a major building block of submarine fans (Nielsen et al., 2007). These sand layers frequently contain thick intervals of relatively clean sandstone with low interstitial mud content that lack sedimentary structures, such as planar or cross-lamination; and these intervals are often referred to as the TA division of the Bouma (1962) sequence. Submarine sediment density ows have proven to be notoriously difcult to study through direct monitoring. The sediment concentration prole of long run-out ows that reach submarine fans beyond the continental slope has never been measured directly, at any location. Understanding what the ows are, and how they transport and deposit sediment, remains a major challenge. Current understanding of these ows is therefore based heavily on the deposits that they leave behind. The origin of massive clean (TA) sand layers has been the subject of particularly vigorous debate (for example, Shanmugam & Moiola, 1995, that resulted in seven separate replies; such as Lowe, 1997) and a number of different processes have been proposed to account for their origin (e.g. Walker, 1965; Kuenen, 1966a; Middleton, 1967; Lowe, 1982; Arnott & Hand, 1989; Mutti, 1992; Kneller & Branney, 1995; Shanmugam & Moiola, 1995; Vrolijk & Southard, 1997; Stow & Johansson, 2000; Leclair & Arnott, 2003, 2005; Mutti et al., 2003; Sumner et al., 2008; Breien et al., 2010). It can be very difcult (or impossible) to determine unambiguously how massive clean-sand intervals are deposited using only information available from a single outcrop, as summarized in a single vertical sedimentary log. This ambiguity is one of the reasons for continued debate over the origin of massive clean sandstone. For instance, Kneller & Branney (1995) concluded that massive sand deposition occurred progressively from a zone of liqueed sediment, but acknowledged that it was not possible to determine whether this sustained liqueed zone is supplied by vertical sediment settling from an overlying vigorously turbulent ow, or by lateral motion of a liqueed ow layer. As noted by Kneller & Branney (1995), the way in which such a liqueed zone is supplied is of profound importance for understanding
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submarine ows, because it determines the location and geometry of massive sandstone intervals, their lateral relations to other types of deposits and the distance that ows run out. The Miocene Marnoso-arenacea Formation is very unusual in that individual ow deposits (beds) can be correlated over a large area (up to 120 30 km) between numerous (up to 109) individual outcrops (Fig. 1; Ricci Lucchi & Valmori, 1980; Amy & Talling, 2006; Talling et al., 2007c). The present authors are aware of no other ancient submarine fan sequence in which individual beds have been correlated in such detail over such a large area. The correlated beds were deposited in a relatively at basin plain without channels (Fig. 2). Bed correlations are made possible by a series of distinctive mega-turbidite marker beds that provide the basis for correlating intervening beds, and by the almost complete lack of erosional bed amalgamation (Ricci Lucchi & Valmori, 1980; Amy & Talling, 2006; Talling et al., 2007c). The marker beds have been mapped out precisely by the Emilia-Romagna, Umbria and Marche geological surveys over many years (e.g. Martelli et al., 1994). Beds are consistently separated by intervals of hemipelagic mudstone (Talling et al., 2007c). Most submarine fan deposits are characterized by far more frequent bed amalgamation that would prevent long-distance bed correlation, even if suitable marker beds (and detailed geological maps of those marker beds) were to be available. The bed correlations in the Marnoso-arenacea Formation are important because they provide the additional information needed to better constrain how massive clean sand is deposited by submarine density ows (Amy et al., 2005; Amy & Talling, 2006). This information comprises the external shape of clean-sandstone intervals and the internal bed architecture, with the latter showing how various types of clean sand in a single bed are arranged in downow trending facies tracts (Mutti, 1992). This additional information provides an independent test of sand depositional models, which are based initially on features visible at the scale of a single outcrop.
Aims
Ricci Lucchi & Valmori (1980) showed that beds in the Marnoso-arenacea Formation could be correlated between 18 sections across an area of 120 30 km. Subsequent work provided more detailed bed correlations between 109 locations for a ca 30 m thick interval of strata immediately
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Fig. 1. (A) Location map showing the northern part of the outcrop of the Marnoso-arenacea Formation. The gure shows the position of measured sections and the transect panels presented in subsequent gures. The Ridracoli Transect is shown in Fig. 3. Sections are numbered as follows (Amy & Talling, 2006): 109 Cabelli River; 1 Cabelli; 77 Mantigno; 3 Aquadalto; 85 Cavalmagra; 84 Marradi 2; 83 Marradi 1; 105 Il bagnato; 76 Gemelli; 78 Fiumicello Zohotecnica; 26 Lavacchio; 71 Corniolo; 73 Ridracoli 2; 74 Ridracoli 3; 106 Ridracoli 4; 40 Pietrapazza; 107 Valanello; 42 Bagno di Romagna; 108 Poggio Pandella; 8 Poggio Dornata; 11 Montefreddo; 12 Bocconi; 14 Monte Roncole; 13 Premilcuore; 28 Badia; 29 Cabelli; 30 Isola; 44 Castel Priore; and 33 Galeata. (B) Palaeocurrent directions measured from utes and grooves at the base of the beds in the interval below the Contessa mega-bed. See Fig. 2 (and Talling et al., 2007c) for a summary of palaeocurrent measurements from beds above the Contessa mega-bed.
above the most prominent mega-turbidite marker bed, called the Contessa Bed (Amy & Talling, 2006; Talling et al., 2007b,c). The rst aim of this article is to outline a detailed bed correlation framework for a second interval of strata immediately below the Contessa Bed (Figs 1, 2 and 3). The new bed correlations document downow changes in bed architecture, or facies tracts in the sense of Mutti (1992). Four types of facies tract occur in the new stratigraphic interval, and only two of these bed geometries were recognized in previous bed correlations.
The most likely depositional process for each type of clean sandstone is then inferred from the information visible at the scale of a single outcrop (Figs 4, 5 and 6). The second aim was to test these models using the external shape and lateral arrangement of the various types of sandstone, using the long-distance bed correlations. Why do some types of clean sandstone with particular distinctive internal textures pinch out relatively abruptly, whilst other types of clean sandstone taper more gradually in a downow direction? The present authors conclude that a certain type
Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone
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Fig. 2. (A) Overview of the Marnoso-arenacea foredeep basin during the Serravallian, including the sources and directions of different ows (after Di Base & Mutti, 2002). (B) Basin plain palaeogeography during deposition of beds above the Contessa Bed. Note the consistent mean palaeoow direction in the 109 logged sections. Also shown is the position of the Verghereto High, where correlated strata thin but ows appear not to be deected strongly. Thrust faulting that post-dated deposition of the correlated beds split the outcrops into structural elements (thrust sheets). The relative position of thrust sheets is shown before thrust motion subsequently narrowed the basin plain. See Talling et al. (2007c) for a full description of basin plain palaeogeography.
of massive clean sandstone with a swirly or patchy texture was deposited by liqueed debris ows.
The third aim was to understand how such liqueed clean-sand debris ows could originate; are they far travelled from outside the outcrop
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Fig. 3. Cross-section along the Ridracoli thrust sheet showing the correlation of the rst 20 thick beds below the Contessa marker bed. Figure 1A shows the location of this transect. The correlation panel is oriented approximately parallel to palaeoow. The palaeoow direction is north-west to south-east for all the correlated beds, but in the opposing direction for the Contessa marker bed.

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Fig. 4. Outcrop photographs illustrating the different types of laminated turbidite sandstone seen in the outcrops, also described in Table 1. (A) Photograph of the correlated interval at Section 1 (Coniale) showing the position of the Contessa and Fiumicello marker beds. This section is the most proximal outcrop for ow deposits that came from the north-west. (B) Ripplescale cross-laminated sandstone (Cs1) in Bed )7 at Section 8 (Poggio Dornata). (C) Parallel laminated sandstone (Cs3) in Bed )7 at Section 8. (D) Stepped laminated sandstone (Cs4) in Bed )26 at Section 44 (Castel Priore). (E) Convolute ripplescale cross-laminated sandstone (Cs1) in Bed )20 at Section 8.
area, or did they form via local ow transformation? It has previously been suggested that liqueed ows of sand are not likely to travel for more than ca 1 km, and are generally restricted to steep (>1 to 3) gradients (Lowe, 1976). Therefore, the question of how liqueed layers of sand could potentially run out for longer distances (tens of kilometres), across much lower gradient (<01) basin plains is discussed here. Two sets of previous studies have inferred that clean sand can be deposited by dense liqueed ow (Mutti, 1992; Mutti et al., 2003, 2009) or debris ow (Shanmugam & Moiola, 1995; Shanmugam, 1997, 2000, 2002), although these studies lacked detailed information on sandstone interval shape to test such models. The fourth aim is to compare clean-sandstone debrites in the correlated beds with the deposits that these authors
described, and to determine whether similar or different criteria are used to infer deposition from liqueed debris ow.
Terminology
The terminology used in this article follows that of Talling et al. (2012b), which provides more detailed denitions.
Turbidity current The term turbidity current denotes a turbulent sediment suspension from which larger grains tend to segregate and settle preferentially, depositing a turbidite; they tend to have lower sediment concentrations than debris ows, liqueed ows or uidized ows. Fluid turbulence is the primary mechanism of sediment support within a turbidity
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Fig. 5. Outcrop photographs illustrating the different types of massive sandstone deposits. See Table 1 for a full description of lithofacies Ms, Sub-facies Cs1 and Cs6. (A) Bed )19 at Section 30 (Isola) that comprises a thin basal clean-sandstone interval (Cs6) overlain by a thick muddy sandstone interval (Ms1). (B) Mudrich sandstone with dispersed mud clasts (Ms1) in Bed )19 at Section 8 (Poggio Dornata). (C) Sharp grainsize break between a massive graded sandstone interval (Cs5) and a crosslaminated interval (Cs1) in Bed 79 at Coniale 1. (D) Basal massive ungraded clean sandstone (Cs6) in Bed )32 at Section 44 (Castel Priore).
current. Turbidity currents are subdivided according to whether they are high density or low density. Sedimentation from low-density turbidity currents is not hindered, and turbulence is not damped signicantly near the bed, often allowing the formation of bedforms such as ripples or dunes. High-density turbidity currents are characterized by elevated near-bed sediment concentrations that are sufcient to damp turbulence and cause sediment settling to be hindered. High-density turbidity currents can generate relatively thin layers of sheared and tractionally reworked sediment on the bed, which are laminar or very weakly turbulent. These thin near-bed layers are termed traction carpets (Hiscott, 1994; Talling et al., 2012b); they differ from laminar debris ows in that they are
driven by the momentum of the overlying turbulent ow, rather than by their own momentum.
Debris ow Debris ow denotes a laminar or very weakly turbulent ow in which sediment is supported mainly by processes other than uid turbulence, which include excess pore uid pressure, grain to grain interactions or buoyancy due to a reduction in the relative densities of clasts and matrix (Talling et al., 2012b). This denition encompasses debris ows of the type described by Iverson (1997), Major and Iverson (1999), Iverson & Vallance (2001) and Iverson et al. (2010) in a large-scale experimental facility. The body of work by these authors emphasizes the
Fig. 6. Textural characteristics of: (A) Sub-facies Cs5 in Bed )6; (B) Sub-facies Cs7 in Bed )3; (C) Sub-facies Cs6 in Bed )10; and (D) Sub-facies Ms1 in Bed 25. Sandstone texture is characterized by measurements of the mean grain size, the coarsest 5% of the grains and the percentage of interstitial mud ner than 20 lm in SEM images. Larger-scale textures are shown by large thin sections, photographed in transmitted light. Samples for Sub-facies Cs5, Cs6 and Cs7 were collected at Section 77 (Mantigno). The sample presented for Sub-facies Ms1 was collected at Section 14 (Monte Roncole).
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P. J. Talling et al. and bentonite, that occur commonly in marine settings (Shaw, 1992; Coussot, 1997; McAnally et al., 2007). Changes in cohesive mud content can alter debris ow yield strength, viscosity and the rate at which excess pore pressures are dissipated by several orders of magnitude (Coussot, 1997; Iverson et al., 2010), thereby controlling run-out distances and processes of sediment deposition (Baas et al., 2009, 2011; Sumner et al., 2009). Non-cohesive debris ows are dened as lacking any cohesive mud particles and have zero cohesive strength. Cohesive debris ows are dened as having muddy pore uid with sufcient cohesive strength to support sand grains within the debris ow matrix indenitely, although this strength may be insufcient to support much larger clasts; this results in en masse consolidation of the matrix sand and mud, and prevents preferential settling of sand grains through the muddy pore uid. Poorly cohesive debris ows contain some cohesive mud, but the cohesive strength of muddy pore uid is insufcient to support sand grains.
importance of excess pore uid pressure in determining debris ow behaviour, and how the down-slope component of sediment weight can sometimes be supported fully by the excess pore pressure (Iverson et al., 2010). A key feature of debris ows is that they are driven down-slope by their own weight and momentum. This feature distinguishes debris ows from traction carpets (e.g. Hiscott, 1994) or sustained liqueed zones (Kneller & Branney, 1995) that are driven primarily by overlying turbulent ow.
Liqueed The term fully liqueed denotes a situation in which excess pore uid pressure is supporting the entire weight of the sediment; the term partly liqueed is used when most of the sediment weight is borne by excess pore uid pressure. The term liqueed is adopted for situations in which it is unknown whether all, or a signicant part, of the sediment weight is borne by excess pore uid pressure. The excess pore uid pressures in liqueed ow originate through consolidation of suspended sediment, and do not involve an external source of uid (Lowe, 1976). The work of Iverson (1997), Major and Iverson (1999) and Iverson et al. (2010) shows how debris ows are sometimes fully liqueed (especially in their central or parts) or partly liqueed. Fluidized Fluidized ow involves an additional external source of uid, unlike liqueed ow (Lowe, 1976). Pore uid passes upwards through the uidized sediment, generating an upward directed drag force that is sufcient to keep the sediment suspended. There is therefore a critical upward uid velocity that will uidize sediment grains of different sizes (e.g. Lowe, 1976). The uidization velocity necessary to support sand would result in very rapid dissipation of excess pore uid pressures if there is no external source of uid. Continuum between non-cohesive, poorly cohesive, and cohesive debris ow The character of debris ows changes profoundly as cohesive mud is added to the sediment mixture (e.g. Iverson, 1997; Marr et al., 2001; Iverson et al., 2010). Cohesion results from colloidal surface electro-chemical bonds that form between ne-mud particles comprising clay minerals, such as illite, smectite, kaolinite, montmorillonite
Debrite Debris ow deposits are termed debrites and debrites can therefore be deposited by fully liqueed or partly liqueed ows. Non-cohesive, poorly cohesive and cohesive debrites are deposited by non-cohesive, poorly cohesive and cohesive debris ows. Debrites lack well-developed tractional structures, such as planar or crosslamination, and can therefore be clearly distinguished from some types of turbidite sandstones forming TB, TC and TD divisions of the Bouma sequence. Debrites with abundant, chaotically distributed clasts and ungraded matrix with unusually high interstitial mud contents provide evidence of en masse consolidation from cohesive debris ows (Wood & Smith, 1959; Haughton et al., 2003; Talling et al., 2004, 2007a; b; Haughton et al., 2009). Clean sandstone and mud-rich sandstone The terms clean sand and mud-rich sand are used in this article to describe the relative amount of interstitial ne mud within sandstone intervals. The amount of ne mud within a sandstone interval is important for two reasons. Firstly, it strongly inuences the permeability and petroleum reservoir quality of the sandstone. Secondly, mud with cohesive properties strongly inuences ow behaviour. Cohesive (colloidal) bonds between mud particles become increasingly
Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone important as grain sizes decrease below ca 40 to 10 lm (McAnally et al., 2007). However, the value of this threshold grain size also depends on mineralogy, as does the strength of the bonds (Shaw, 1992; Coussot, 1997; McAnally et al., 2007). Here a threshold grain-size range of either 20 lm or 30 lm is used for estimating the volume fraction of cohesive ne mud. The authors acknowledge that these measurements do not constrain the mineralogy of the ne-mud fraction, and that some of the ne-mud grains may be non-cohesive. The way in which grain size is measured can cause signicant variations in estimated ne-mud content. For instance, it is difcult to compare measurements of grain diameters made from disaggregated samples or from images of thin sections (in which grains are sliced, thereby reducing their measured diameter), or from images of thin sections with different resolutions made using optical or scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). The approach here is to compare estimates of ne-mud content measured using the same technique for the same beds. Clean sandstone denotes relatively low volume fractions of ne-mud, such as those seen in sandstone intervals deposited by turbidity current. Clean-sand debrites would therefore contain a similar volume fraction of ne-mud as many turbidite sandstones. Conversely, mud-rich sandstone has a higher interstitial mud fraction than that commonly found in turbidite sandstone.
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Sorting Clean sandstone according to the denition adopted here can have large variations in sorting. Many of the clean sandstones described in this article have poor sorting, with standard deviations of 300 long-axis measurements ranging up to 300 lm, for average grain long axes of up to 400 lm (see Fig. 7B and D). As these grain-size measurements are for sliced grains (Johnson, 1994), and do not include the ne tail of grains <20 to 30 lm, the Folk & Ward (1957) equation for sorting of disaggregated grains is not used. Use of standard deviation of long-axis measurements follows that of Sylvester & Lowe (2004). Depositional setting
The Marnoso-arenacea Formation is late Burdegalian to Tortonian in age (ca 17 to 7 Ma) and crops out in the northern Italian Apennines (Figs 1 and 2). It represents one of a series of foredeep basins that progressively migrated to-
wards the north-east, in response to thrust front migration in the same direction (Ricci Lucchi & Valmori, 1980; Gandol et al., 1983; Ricci Lucchi, 1986; Van Wamel & Zwart, 1990; Martelli et al., 1994; Di Base & Mutti, 2002; Mutti et al., 2002; Roveri et al., 2002; Lucente, 2004; Amy & Talling, 2006; Talling et al., 2007b,c). The late Oligocene Macigno Formation and the early Miocene Cervarola Formation represent the ll of older foredeep basins located further to the south-west, and crop out in the innermost belt of the Apennine chain, while the younger Messinian to Pleistocene basin lls are buried below the Po Plain and the Adriatic Sea (Pieri & Groppi, 1981). Northwest to south-east orientated thrust structures subdivide the outcrop area into tectonic thrust sheets, with the major periods of deformation occurring after deposition of the studied stratigraphic interval (Figs 1 and 2; Martelli et al., 1994; Lucente, 2004; Talling et al., 2007b,c). Flows that had different sources traversed this basin plain in opposite directions (Fig. 2). Most ows entered the basin from the north-west and originated from the Alpine and Apennine orogens (Gandol et al., 1983). A number of particularly large ows with a distinctive carbonate-rich composition occasionally entered the basin plain from the south-east, covering the entire outcrop area and producing laterally extensive megaturbidites that are useful as stratigraphic marker horizons (Ricci Lucchi & Valmori, 1980; Martelli et al., 1994). The thickest mega-turbidite is called the Contessa Bed (Fig. 3A) and it is formed of limestone fragments and Apennine-derived lithic fragments. It is an excellent marker horizon because of its unusual thickness, distinctive composition and palaeocurrent direction. The Contessa Bed was deposited between ca 14 Ma and 145 Ma in the earliest Serravallian (Van Wamel & Zwart, 1990) and it is interpreted to have originated from the collapse of a limestone platform that bounded the basin at its south-east margin (Gandol et al., 1983). This study initially presents new correlations for beds in the stratigraphic interval immediately below the Contessa Bed (Fig. 3A). It then incorporates insights from key beds in the previously correlated interval above the Contessa Bed (Amy & Talling, 2006; Talling et al., 2007b,c). Both intervals were deposited in a relatively at basin plan, as inferred from the ability of the ows to transverse the area in opposite directions, the absence of channelization and the continuous sheet-like general bed geometry (Ricci Lucchi &
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Fig. 7. Mean grain size plotted against mud-matrix content and sorting (dened here as the standard deviation of grain-size measurements). Grid counting was used to measure the longest axis of 300 grains in each sample. (A) and (B) Data from scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of thin sections. The mud-matrix content was estimated as the percentage area occupied by grains ner than 20 lm. Samples from a Cs7 interval in Bed 5 at Section 29 are indicated, where the Cs7 interval contains large sandstone clasts (Fig. 10). (C) and (D) Data from optical microscope images of thin sections. The mud-matrix content was estimated as the percentage area occupied by grains ner than 30 lm.
Valmori, 1980; Amy & Talling, 2006; Talling et al., 2007a).
METHODOLOGY
Sedimentary logs
New eld observations are presented for the stratigraphic interval below the Contessa Bed. Nineteen sections were logged in a downow transect along the Ridracoli thrust sheet (Fig. 3), and a further nine sections were logged within the Isola and Pianetto thrust sheets (Fig. 1A). Sections were logged at a scale of 1 : 10 or 1 : 5, and grain size was estimated in the eld using a grain-size comparator. Palaeocurrent directions were measured using utes and grooves on the base of thick beds (Fig. 1B).
A bed-numbering scheme was adopted that is similar to the scheme used by Ricci Lucchi & Valmori (1980) such that thick (>40 cm) beds are numbered sequentially from )1 to )37. Sections on the Ridracoli thrust sheet extended from the Contessa Bed to Bed )20 (Bed A-20 in the scheme of Ricci Lucchi & Valmori, 1980), whilst sections logged on the Isola and Pianetto thrust sheets extended down to the Fiumicello Bed (Bed )37).
Rates of interval thinning or pinch out

Rates of thinning of sandstone intervals can be measured by dividing the change in thickness by the distance between the two adjacent logged sections. Individual outcrops comprise wellexposed strata that are often continuous for tens to several hundred metres, and well-exposed
Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone outcrop can extend in some places for up to 25 km. However, strata are not exposed between these outcrops. This means that only the minimum rate of pinch out can be calculated, by dividing the thickness of the interval by the distance to the next exposed outcrop where the sandstone interval is found to be absent.
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Facies scheme
The facies scheme adopted in this article describes strata hierarchically, initially as lithofacies based on the dominant lithology, and then as sub-facies based on sedimentary structures and grading patterns (Table 1 ). These facies are used to describe the internal architecture of each bed.
Sandstone grading, sorting and mud content

Samples were taken to provide information about the textural characteristics of different sandstone facies, including ne-mud content and vertical grading. Thin-section analysis measures oblique slices through grains, rather than their true longaxis length (Johnson, 1994) but this technique provides a consistent method for documenting relative changes in grain size vertically through a bed (Talling et al., 2004). Such data sufce to document relative changes in grain size (grading) and mud content. Textural data are laborious to measure and few other studies have presented measurements for over 50 samples from ancient submarine sediment density ow deposits (c.f. Sylvester & Lowe, 2004).
Analysis of thin sections using scanning electron microscope images A total of 70 samples were collected for SEM analysis from Beds )2 to )11 in the Mantigno section (section number 77 in Fig. 1) from below the Contessa section. A further 82 samples were taken from Beds 25, 3 and 51 in the above the Contessa interval. Vertical trends in grain size, sorting and matrix-mud content within these sandstone beds were quantied using images from a SEM in backscatter mode. Three images with 150 times magnication were taken for each thin section. The longest axis of 100 grains coarser than 20 lm was measured from each photograph using the image analysis software (Image J, National Institutes of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA). The mud-matrix content was measured for each image as the percentage area occupied by grains ner than 20 lm. This lower grain-size threshold was adopted because the SEM images could clearly image smaller grains much more clearly. Clean turbidite sandstones contained <14% (and typically <10%) mud ner than 20 lm when measured in this way. Visual analysis of large thin sections Translucent slices of rock measuring 10 cm by 8 cm were made from samples of Beds )2 to )11 in the Mantigno section. These large thin sections were viewed and photographed in transmitted light. This technique facilitated the detailed study of sedimentary fabrics that are often difcult to discern in outcrops. See Garton & McIlroy (2006) for a full description of this technique. Large thin sections were especially useful to document the patchy texture seen in Cs7 sandstones, which had previously been problematic to capture using optical or SEM images that produced highly irregular vertical grain-size trends.
RESULTS
Analysis of thin sections with optical microscopy Images from an optical microscope were analysed initially for 171 samples from the above-Contessa interval of beds. These optical images were found to allow more rapid, if somewhat less detailed, data collection via SEM images. Mean grain size was determined by measuring the long axis of 100 framework grains, selecting grains at grid points within a thin section. The percentage of grains at grid points with long axes of <30 lm, as a proportion of clearly detrital grains, denes the ne-mud content of the sample. The grain-size threshold of 30 lm was chosen because it is the minimum size of grains that can be seen in the optical images, which is determined by the thickness to which the thin section is cut. Clean turbidite sandstones contained <10 to 25% mud ner than 30 lm when measured in this way.
Bed correlations
Bed geometry is shown by a series of vertical cross-sections for the new stratigraphic interval immediately below the Contessa Bed. The correlations presented here document bed architecture in a downow trending cross-section along the Ridracoli thrust sheet (Figs 1 and 3). Bed )20 is unusually thick, and was used as a marker bed for
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Table 1. Facies scheme adopted in this article.

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P. J. Talling et al. Sub-facies Ms1. Muddy sandstone deposits are present in a number of thick beds, sandwiched between massive or laminated sandstone intervals and separated from the overlying laminated clean sandstone by a sharp grain-size break.
correlations along the Ridracoli thrust sheet (Fig. 3). Beds were correlated by empirical pattern matching of vertical bed sequences, between sections spaced typically every 2 to 5 km (Fig. 1). Almost all (36 of 37) thick beds were correlated between all of the 31 logged sections in this interval.
Palaeocurrent directions
Palaeocurrent measurements at the base of thick sandstone beds indicate ow from the north-west for all beds in the interval (Fig. 1B), except for the Contessa Bed that shows an opposing ow direction. Palaeocurrent indicators are remarkably consistent and indicate that ow occurred in a direction sub-parallel to the basin margins (Fig. 1B), which is similar to the palaeocurrent directions measured for beds in the previously studied interval above the Contessa Bed (Amy & Talling, 2006). Talling et al. (2007c) provided a detailed analysis of palaeocurrent data and basin plain palaeogeography for the above the Contessa interval (Fig. 2B).
Cross-laminated clean sandstone (Cs1 and Cs2) Ripple scale cross-lamination (Cs1; equivalent to TC) with wavelengths of <20 cm dominates the sandstone component of many thin beds, and occurs in the upper part of the sandstone in thick beds (Fig. 4B and 5C). Ripple cross-lamination tends to occur in ner-grained sandstone intervals (125 to187 lm using a grain-size comparator). Dune-scale cross-lamination occurs more infrequently, either within thick beds or immediately below mud-rich debrite sandstone (Ms). Planar-laminated clean sandstone (Cs3 and Cs4) Two distinct types of planar lamination are observed. Finely (<1 to 3 mm) laminated cleansand intervals (Cs3; Fig. 4C) are a major building block of thicker beds, and occur above massive clean-sand intervals, broadly equivalent to the TB division. The laminations may be planar and subhorizontal, or in fewer cases wavy and more irregular. More widely (3 to 10 mm) stepped laminae (Cs4; Fig. 4D) tend to occur beneath massive clean-sand intervals, at the base of thick beds (Sumner et al., 2012); they occur in coarsergrained sandstone (typically 500 to 750 lm as measured with a grain-size comparator) than the ne planar lamination. These laminae have a stepped grain-size prole and are not inversely graded (Sumner et al., 2012), but are generally similar to the spaced lamination of Hiscott & Middleton (1979, 1980). Normally graded massive clean sandstone (Cs5) Normally graded, massive clean-sandstone intervals (Cs5) commonly form the basal interval of thick sandstone beds (such as Bed )6 in Fig. 6A). The mud-matrix content is relatively low and comprises between 5% and 25% in optical images (Fig. 7A), and 1 to 14% of measurements in SEM images (Fig. 7B). These differences are a result of the much higher resolution of SEM images, as optical images do not resolve grains much ner than ca 30 lm (the thickness of the slide). Scanning electron microscope data are a more accurate record of the percentage of ner grains. Clasts occur along distinct horizons if
Character of different types of sandstone lithofacies at single outcrops

Sandstone layers are rst described based on the features that can be seen at the scale of a single outcrop (Table 1; Figs 4 and 5). In this sequence, there is little lateral variation in the beds across a single outcrop (typically ten to several hundreds of metres wide), such that bed character can be summarized by a single vertical graphical log. It is this type of vertical bed structure at a single location that has previously been available for most turbidite beds in ancient outcrops and cores.
Mud-rich sandstone (Ms1 and Ms2) Swirly weathered, poorly sorted, ungraded mudrich sandstone forms lithofacies Ms. (Figs 5A, 5B and 6D). The characteristic swirly fabric, coupled with a distinctive grey hue and the poor sorting ensure that these deposits are easily recognizable in the eld. Scanning electron microscope thinsection analyses show absence of vertical grading in this deposit type (Fig. 6D) and particularly high (up to 50%) ne mud-matrix content (Fig. 7). Clast-rich (Sub-facies Ms1) or clast-decient (Sub-facies Ms2) deposits are common in the interval studied here. Millimetre to metre-long turbidite mudstone and hemipelagic marl clasts are randomly scattered through intervals of
Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone they are present. This lithofacies is completely structureless and lacks a patchy texture, and dish and pillar structures. Clean massive sandstone is assigned to the Cs5 lithofacies if vertical normal grading is recognizable using a grain-size comparator and hand lens in the eld. This technique tends to record the coarsest 5% of the grain-size distribution seen in thin-section data. For a subset of beds, more precise measurements of grading were obtained from multiple thin sections in a vertical transect through the bed. The thin-section data in most cases conrm the presence and patterns of grading seen in the eld using the grain-size comparator (Fig. 6). However, limits to the precision of both methods ensure that very subtle grading patterns would not be identied. The Cs5 intervals commonly grade upwards into planar laminated (Cs4) clean sandstone without an intervening grain-size break. However, in a smaller number of cases, a grain-size break separates Cs5 intervals from overlying planar lamination (Figs 8 and 9) or ripple cross-laminated sandstone (Fig. 5C).
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Ungraded massive clean sandstone (Cs6) Sub-facies (Cs6) is formed by massive and ungraded clean sandstone, such as in Bed )2 and Bed )10 in Figs 3 and 9. The relatively low mud content is similar to that seen in other cleansandstone lithofacies (Figs 6C and 7). Field observations and subsequent thin-section analysis show an absence of normal grading, within the acknowledged measurement uncertainties. Subfacies Cs6 deposits are usually structureless (Fig. 5D), but in few cases a subtle, decimetrespaced parallel lamination can occur, such as in Bed )2 in Section 26 (Fig. 9). A sharp grain-size break always separates Sub-facies Cs6 from overlying laminated sandstone (Figs 8A and 9). There are no mudstone or sandstone clasts present in Cs6 intervals. Massive clean sandstone with a swirly or patchy texture (Cs7) A swirly weathering pattern distinguishes Subfacies Cs7 in the eld from other massive and normally graded clean sandstones (Figs 10 to 13), which results from contorted areas of coarsergrained and better-sorted sandstone. This patchy or swirly texture can sometimes be subtle and it is not easily recognizable except in good exposure. However, large thin slices clearly show this patchy or swirly texture when viewed in transmitted light (Fig. 6B). Field observations and thin-section analysis show that the Cs7 sub-facies
has similar sorting to other clean-sandstone sub-facies (Fig. 7). The Cs7 sandstone intervals have an irregular grading pattern due to the coarser grain-size patches, which is difcult to capture with traditional thin sections (Fig. 6B). The very uppermost part of the Cs7 intervals can be weakly normally graded. The upper boundary of Cs7 intervals is always a sharp grain-size break. The grey hue usually associated with mud-rich swirly sandstones (Ms lithofacies; Figs 5A, 5B and 6D) is absent for the Cs7 sub-facies. Relatively low mud content (< ca 14%; Fig. 7A) is conrmed by thin-section analyses, and this mud content is similar to that in other clean-sandstone lithofacies (Fig. 7). Small (<5 cm) mudstone clasts often occur chaotically dispersed within Sub-facies Cs7. Large (centimetres to metres) contorted sandstone clasts were seen in Subfacies Cs7 at a single location (Cabelli River; Fig. 14). These clasts comprised unstructured or parallel laminated clean sandstone. The clasts formed most of the Cs7 interval, with the clast size increasing upwards (Fig. 14). The Cs7 deposits comprise the basal interval of a number of thick sandstone beds, although in some cases they are underlain by normally graded sandstone that is up to 20 cm thick (Figs 5, 6 and 15). A sharp grain-size break separates Sub-facies Cs7 from overlying ripple cross-laminated sandstone intervals (Figs 6B, 8 and 15). The swirly or patchy texture is different from dish and pillar structures that have been described previously (Fig. 13A; Lowe & LoPiccolo, 1974), which are relatively common within massive clean sandstones in other sequences, and are inferred to form via dewatering of previously deposited sediment in situ (Fig. 13A). The swirly or patchy pattern observed in Cs7 intervals is more chaotic and lacks the convex-up dishes or systematically sub-vertically oriented pillars (Fig. 13A). Dish and pillar structures were not seen in the correlated beds, although they are well-developed in younger (Tortonian) beds within the Marnoso-arenacea Formation. The swirly or patchy texture also differs from textures formed by convolution of lamination during post-depositional water escape (Fig. 13B), bioturbation or the mixed slurry facies of Lowe & Guy (2000) that is developed in mud-rich sand (Fig. 13D). It lacks well-dened circular or oval areas caused by slices through tubular burrows. Commonly observed trace fossils (Seilacher, 2007) also differ from the chaotic patches and swirls (Fig. 13C).
738
Fig. 8. Detailed bed diagrams showing the lateral variations of lithofacies and grain size along the Ridracoli thrust sheet for: (A) Bed )2; (B) Bed )4; (C) Bed )6; (D) Bed )5; (E) Bed )11; (F) Bed )7; (G) Bed )8; and (H) Bed )10.
Bed architecture and downow facies tracts

After describing the lithofacies seen at individual outcrops, information on larger-scale bed geometry from multiple outcrops is now outlined. The
external shape and internal architecture of the rst ten thick beds below the Contessa marker bed are illustrated in Figs 3 and 8. These diagrams illustrate the variation of thickness, facies characteristics and grain-size distribution for each bed
739
Fig. 9. Downow transect through Bed )2 along the Ridracoli thrust sheet (Fig. 1A).
along the Ridracoli thrust sheet (Fig. 1). The diagrams show a downow distance of 60 km. The beds have a rather complex internal architecture with a wide variety of lithofacies that change both in downow and across-ow directions.
originated through similar processes. The character of these four beds (Fig. 15) is now outlined briey, based on further eld observations, grainsize analyses and more detailed relogging at a scale of 1 : 5 rather than 1 : 10.
Key information from beds containing Cs7 sandstone in the interval above the Contessa Bed Re-analysis of four beds in the stratigraphic interval above the Contessa Bed revealed intervals of clean sandstone with a patchy or swirly texture (Cs7; Fig. 15). These beds provide important information on the origin of Cs7 intervals, for instance through the large exotic clasts that these Cs7 intervals sometimes contain (Fig. 15), or lateral transitions into clean turbidite sandstone. These Cs7 intervals were previously incorrectly thought to have transitional mud content between turbidite sandstone and mud-rich (Ms) debrite sandstone (Amy & Talling, 2006, CMS2 facies of uncertain origin). Further thin-section analysis as part of the present study shows that their matrix comprises clean sandstone. Bed 25 in the interval above the Contessa Bed is also described, which contains a clast-rich mud-rich debrite sandstone interval (Ms2; Fig. 15D). Bed 25 is included because it has a similar architecture of mud-rich debrite sandstone to that of Cs7 sandstone in some beds. It is later discussed whether this similarity suggests that Cs7 sandstone and mud-rich debrite sandstone
Bed 0. This bed is the rst thick bed above the Contessa mudstone (Figs 12 and 15A). A sharp grain-size break always separates the swirly Cs7 sandstone from overlying ripple cross-laminated sandstone. The basal part of the ripple crosslaminated sandstone has locally founded into the underlying Cs7 sandstone, whilst the upper part of the ripple cross-laminated interval is always at lying. The swirl and patchy cleansandstone interval is underlain by a thinner interval of massive clean sandstone that lacks a swirly or patchy texture. This basal interval contains dispersed coarser granules and is coarse-tail normally graded, and weathers out (Fig. 15A). Bed 51. This bed contains swirly and patchy clean-sandstone intervals on both the Ridracoli and Isola thrust sheets (Fig. 15B and C). The Cs7 sandstone interval is always separated from overlying ripple cross-laminated sandstone or turbidite mudstone by a sharp grain-size break. It is commonly underlain by a thinner interval of coarser sandstone lacking a swirly texture, as in Bed 0. The Cs7 interval pinches out between adjacent outcrops that are 1 km (Fig. 15C) or 36 km (Fig. 15B) apart. Close to the pinch out,
740
A
8-P.dornata 12-Bocconi1 14-M.roncole 5-M.Arsiccio 48-Val dAlberto 30-Isola 2 55-S.Agata
Bed 5 - Isola Element
2 Thickness (m) 1,5 1 0,5 0
7-Lutirano
3,0 km
6,1 km
2,9 km
2,6 km
0,8 km
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5,6 km
2 Thickness (m) 1,5 1 0,5 0
16-Fiumicello 17-Ca di Massimo 13-Premilcuore
A
7
N
.
28-Badia 1
56-Betana
Is ol a El em en
12
Flow Direction
to et t an en Pi lem E
14 51,49 15 13 16
C
5 48 55 17 28
0,9 km
121
0,8 km
116,121
5,6 km
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A
30 29,50,52-54
D
2
13-Premilcuore 15-Giumella1 51-Giumella3
Bid ent
e v.
Ri dr
14-Monte Roncole 49-Giumella2
B
ac ol i El em
56
Thickness (m)
1,5 1 0,5 0
2 km
Cs7 sandstone
en
Cs5,6 massive sandstone Cs1 ripple cross-laminated
2,2 km
1,8 km
0,6 km
1,8 km
Ms2 muddy sandstone Turbidite mudstone
2 Thickness (m) 1,5 1 0,5 0
28-Badia 1 29-Cabelli1
52-Cabelli2 53-Cabelli 3
50-La vild 54-Cabelli 4 30-Isola 2
Contorted sand clast Mud clast Planar laminated Cross-laminated Swirly patchy texture Grain-size break
0,9km 0,3km
0,8 km
0,3 km
0,3 km
3,7 km
Figure 10E,F
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Bed 25. This bed comprises an interval of clastrich muddy sandstone with chaotically distributed clasts (Sub-facies Ms1) along the Isola thrust sheet (Fig. 15D). The mud-rich sandstone interval is ungraded, except for a few centimetres at its top. It is separated from overlying ripple crosslaminated sandstone and turbidite mudstone by a sharp grain-size break. There is a sharp or gradual transition over a few centimetres into a basal interval of massive clean sandstone, which is also coarser grained than the overlying mud-rich sandstone. The mud-rich and clast-rich sandstone interval pinches out abruptly (Fig. 15D). Close to the location of this pinch out, the base of the bed comprises much ner-grained ripple cross-laminated sandstone, which is separated from the overlying massive clean sand by a grainsize break. Bed 5. This bed contains an interval of Cs7 sandstone in part of the Isola thrust sheet (Fig. 10), which is equivalent to laminated or massive turbidite sandstone in a crossow direction. The Cs7 interval continues to the end of available outcrop on the Isola thrust sheet, such that it is not known whether it pinches out abruptly in a downow direction. The Cs7 interval contains boulder-sized (up to 12 m) clasts that sometimes comprise three thin beds (Fig. 10E). This sequence of thin beds is not seen beneath Bed 5 at any of the 109 logged sections (Talling et al., 2007c), and cannot have foundered from the ripple cross-laminated sandstone interval that caps the bed at this location. It also differs from the single interval of ripple cross-laminated sandstone that is occasionally seen at the very base of the bed (Fig. 10E). Some boulder-sized clasts therefore originated outside the study area, and travelled at least 7 km. The clasts in this Cs7 interval often comprise ripple cross-laminated sandstone that is deformed and would be relatively easy to disaggregate; this suggests that sandstone clasts were not vigorously tumbled during transport. Bed 5 also contains mud-rich debrite sandstone with
Fig. 10. (Continued).
the base of Bed 51 can comprise ripple crosslaminated sandstone deposited by dilute turbidity currents.
Fig. 10. (A) to (D) Lateral changes between turbidite clean sandstone (Cs1 to Cs6) and debrite clean sandstone (Cs7) in Bed 5 on the Isola thrust sheet. (E) Outcrop photograph of Bed 5 at Section 29 (Cabelli 1). It comprises ungraded basal clean sandstone (Cs6), overlain by Cs7 clean sandstone with 11 to 145% matrix mud content in SEM images (Fig. 7). The Cs7 sandstone interval contains small mudstone clasts and large deformed sandstone clasts (arrowed). A ca 5 cm thick interval of ripple cross-laminated turbidite sandstone (Cs1) overlies the Cs7 sandstone. The top of the bed comprises turbidite mudstone. (F) Outcrop photograph of clast within Bed 5 at Cabelli 1 that comprises three individual thin beds. This sequence of thin beds differs from that seen below Bed 5 in any of the logged sections (Fig. 16). The clast cannot have been formed by foundering of the overlying ripple cross-laminated (Cs1) interval, or erosion of the single ripple cross-laminated sandstone interval seen locally at the base of the bed (Figs 10A to D and 16).
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A
Fig. 11. Outcrop photograph illustrating the characteristic swirly fabric of sub-facies Cs7 (Table 1). (A) Bed 5.1 at section 13 (Premilcuore) that comprises clean sandstone with patches of coarser (labelled c) and ner (labelled f) grains. (B) Patchy areas of different grain size seen in a freshly cut surface of sub-facies Cs7 from Bed 5.1 in section 13.
(Ms1) or without (Ms2) clasts in other parts of the outcrop area, as well as a range of turbidite sandstone facies (Fig. 16; Amy & Talling, 2006; Talling et al., 2012a).
Downow facies tracts The various bed geometries are simplied and synthesized into downow facies tracts (Fig. 17). Individual beds can contain more than one facies tract, along adjacent downow oriented transects, as found by Amy & Talling (2006). Facies tract 1: Beds with Facies tract 1 contain only clean sandstone and turbidite mudstone in downow transects (Fig. 17A and B). Massive clean-sandstone intervals are typically normally graded (Cs5) but can sometimes be visually ungraded (Cs6). Lateral transitions from massive
to planar laminated intervals are common. These beds lack massive sandstone intervals with a patchy or swirly texture (Cs7). The clean-sandstone interval initially thickens to achieve a broad thickness maximum, before thinning distally (Fig. 18). Rates of clean sandstone thinning are up to ca 5 cm km)1, but Facies tract 1 lacks the abrupt pinch out of massive sand intervals seen in Facies tracts 2b and 3 (Figs 17 and 18). Facies tract 1a is characterized by a gradual transition from massive graded or ungraded (Cs5 or Cs6) clean sandstone into overlying laminated sandstone intervals (Fig. 17A). Facies tract 1b locally contains an internal grain-size break that separates massive sandstone from overlying cross-laminated sandstone (Figs 9 and 17B). Massive sandstone below the grain-size break is commonly ungraded (Cs6), but can be inversely

A B
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Fig. 12. Outcrop photographs of Bed 0, which is located immediately above the Contessa Bed (Amy & Talling, 2006). Lateral changes in Bed 0 are summarized in Fig. 15A. (A) The most proximal outcrop of Bed 0 at Section 1 (Coniale) where the bed comprises normally graded clean turbidite sandstone. (B) Bed 0 at Section 85 (Cavalmagra) where it comprises clean sandstone with a swirly texture (Cs7) underlain by more resistant basal clean sandstone with widely dispersed larger sand grains B and overlain by ripple cross-laminated ner sandstone UR. The ripple crosslaminated sandstone has partly foundered into the underlying Cs7 sandstone. Bed 0 is underlain by hemipelagic mudstone HP and then by the turbidite mud cap of the Contessa Bed TM. (C) to (F) Bed 0 at Section 83 (Marradi I). Bed 0 comprises a thick central interval of swirly weathering clean sandstone (Cs7) that is underlain by more resistant basal clean sand with widely dispersed larger sand grains B. Contorted clasts of ner sand C appear to have foundered into the swirly weathering Cs7 sandstone. SW denotes intervals of clean sandstone that have a swirly or patchy fabric (lithofacies Cs7). (G) Bed 0 at Section 68 (Poggio Pan Della) located downow from the abrupt pinch out of the clean Cs7 sandstone. Bed 0 is much thinner and comprises only turbidite mud and laminated silt. CTM is the turbidite mudstone interval of the Contessa megaturbidite.
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P. J. Talling et al. graded massive and laminated sandstone (Cs5 and Cs4) into swirly and patchy Cs7 sandstone, as shown by Beds 0 and 5.1 (Figs 15B, 15C and 17F). Planar laminations have a wavy and discontinuous character near to such transitions, and may be convolute (Figs 10 and 15C). In locations where swirly and patchy clean Cs7 sandstone is absent, the upper part of the bed can contain a mud-rich clast-poor sandstone interval, as seen for Bed 51 in the Isola transect (Fig. 15C). The Cs7 sandstone intervals in Facies tract 3b are underlain by a thin interval of structureless clean sandstone with coarse-tail normal grading, which appears to be associated with the overlying Cs7 sandstone because both pinch out in a similar location (Fig. 15A to C). Close to this pinch out, a thin interval of ripple cross-laminated sandstone can appear at the base of the bed, in a similar fashion to Facies tract 2b. Facies tract 3c displays downow transitions from massive and laminated clean sandstone into swirly or patchy clean Cs7 sandstone, as was the case for Facies tract 3b (Fig. 17G). Beds )6 and )14 are examples of Facies tract 3c, and they lack clear evidence that Cs7 sandstone pinches out abruptly beyond its most downow location (Section 42; Fig. 3).
graded (Cs5) in Bed )2 (Fig. 9; Section 77) or normally graded (Fig. 5C; Beds 2 and 79 above the Contessa interval).
Facies tract 2: This facies tract comprises beds with intervals of mud-rich sandstone (lithofacies Ms; Talling et al., 2012a). Muddy sandstone intervals can be sandwiched between clean-sandstone layers (Fig. 17C and D). Facies tract 2b contains mud-rich sandstone with millimetrescale clasts or without clasts (Ms2), underlain by gradually tapering clean-sandstone intervals that resemble Facies tract 1a (Talling et al., 2012a). The Ms2 sandstone tapers gradually, and there is a downow transition into nergrained normally graded silty mud. Facies tract 2b contains mud-rich sandstone intervals with chaotically distributed larger clasts (Ms1) that pinches out abruptly (Figs 15D and 16D; Talling et al., 2012a). This Ms1 interval is underlain by a thin layer of normally graded massive clean sandstone that pinches out in a similar place to the overlying Ms2 sandstone (Fig. 15D; Amy & Talling, 2006; Sumner et al., 2009; Talling et al., 2012a). A thin ripple cross-laminated interval appears at the very base of the bed close to the overlying massive sandstone pinch out (Fig. 15D). The bed comprises only a thin bed of low-density turbidite and turbidite mud in its distal part. Facies tract 3: This facies tract (Fig. 17E to G) comprises beds containing intervals of clean sandstone with a swirly or patchy texture (Cs7) which are always separated from overlying thin laminated sandstone intervals by a grain-size break. The Cs7 sandstone can locally contain chaotically distributed clasts, and pinches out more abruptly than massive clean-sandstone intervals seen in Facies tracts 1 and 2a (Fig. 18). Pinch out from Cs7 sandstone that is 50 to 160 cm thick occurs between adjacent outcrops that can be as close as 1 km (Fig. 15C). These beds comprise only a thin layer of laminated turbidite sand in distal sections beyond the pinch out of the Cs7 interval. The turbidite mudstone cap in Facies tract 3 is relatively thin, and these beds have relatively high sand to mud ratios (Talling et al., 2007c, g. 4). Facies tracts 3a, 3b and 3c are distinguished by the extent of swirly and patchy Cs7 sandstone. The Cs7 sandstone is continuous from pinch out to the outcrop closest to source in Facies tract 3a, which includes Beds )3, )4, )8 and )9 (Figs 3, 8 and 17E). Facies tract 3b is characterized by (sometimes repeated) transitions from normally
DISCUSSION Depositional processes for laminated clean-sandstone intervals are rst outlined briey, because planar laminated intervals are sometimes laterally equivalent to massive sandstone intervals. The signicance of these lateral transitions is discussed subsequently.
Depositional processes for laminated sandstones

Ripple-scale and dune-scale cross-stratication (Cs1) provide unambiguous evidence for deposition from low-density turbidity currents (Harms & Fahnestock, 1965; Simons et al., 1965; Allen, 1982; Southard, 1991; Baas, 1994; Talling et al., 2012b). Fine scale planar lamination (Cs3) can be formed incrementally by migration of low amplitude bedwaves beneath dilute ows (Best & Bridge, 1992), or repeated collapse of traction carpets beneath high-density turbidity currents (Kuenen, 1966a; Leclair & Arnott, 2005; Sumner et al., 2008). Stepped planar laminations (Cs4) are most likely to be produced incrementally by traction carpets formed in coarser grain sizes

A
745
Dish and pillar structures
beneath high-density turbidity currents (Hiscott & Middleton, 1979, 1980; Lowe, 1982), although in the Marnoso-arenacea Formation they lack inverse grading.
Previous models for deposition of clean massive sandstone

A number of different models have been proposed to explain how intervals of massive sandstone can be deposited. Here, the models are summarized as a basis for inferring the origin of massive Ms, Cs5, Cs6 and Cs7 sandstone intervals (Fig. 19).
Convolute laminations
Patchy (Cs7) texture
Direct suspension fallout beneath high-density turbidity current The experiments of Sumner et al. (2008) and Leclair & Arnott (2003) showed how very rapid sediment fallout can produce direct vertical settling of sediment onto the static bed, without an intervening stage of lateral motion in traction carpets, as suggested by Kuenen (1966a) and Lowe (1982) (Fig. 19A). Traction carpet deposition beneath high-density turbidity current Sumner et al. (2008) illustrated how massive clean-sand intervals can be deposited by repeated collapse of thin (<5 mm) high-concentration near-bed laminar layers of sheared sediment (traction carpets), that freeze from the base upwards (Fig. 19B). As rates of sediment fallout decrease, allowing greater lateral motion and sorting of sediment by traction, there was a gradual change into deposition of clean sand with progressively better dened planar lamination equivalent to Cs4. The annular ume experiments of Kuenen (1966a) showed that massive clean sandstone can form via distinct sharptopped traction carpets, and the experiments of Bannerjee (1977), Arnott & Hand (1989) and Leclair & Arnott (2003) also showed how sufciently rapid sediment fallout rates can produce massive deposits. Sustained liqueed zone beneath high-density turbidity current Lowe (1982) proposed that rapid sediment fallout could form a near-bed layer of liqueed sediment, which resulted in deposition of massive sands through sedimentation from the base of the liqueed layer. Resulting massive sand deposits (the S3 interval of Lowe) were inferred to commonly
Mixed slurried facies of Lowe & Guy (2000),
10 cm
Mud-rich sandstone
Fig. 13. Illustration of the differences between: (A) dish and pillar structures (e.g. Lowe & LoPiccolo, 1974); (B) convolute laminations (as in Fig. 4D); (C) the swirly or patchy texture in Cs7 lithofacies (this study); and (D) mixed slurried facies of Lowe & Guy (2000) seen in subsurface cores from the Britannia Group in the North Sea (from original photographs in gs 11 and 12).
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Fig. 14. Correlation panel illustrating the lateral changes of the four beds immediately below the Contessa marker bed in the most proximal outcrops. (A) Correlation panel between the Coniale section and the Coniale River section. (B) Photograph of the top of Bed )4, Bed )3 and the base of Bed )2 in the Coniale River section. (C) Map of the Coniale area in the Santerno Valley. (D) Photograph of the base of Bed )4 at the Coniale River section and line drawing of the rafted sandstone clasts.
contain dewatering structures, such as dishes and pillars (Fig. 13A; Lowe & LoPiccolo, 1974). Kneller & Branney (1995) and Kneller (1995) further developed this type of depositional model for massive sandstone (Fig. 19C). These authors inferred that rapid and prolonged sediment fallout generated a sustained liqueed zone near the
bed that was non-turbulent and laterally sheared, and within which elevated sediment concentration resulted in hindered settling. This sustained liqueed zone differs from traction carpets in that it lacks sharp upper or lower boundaries. There is a gradual decrease in sediment concentrations from the static bed to the sustained liqueed
747
Fig. 15. Downow transects through Beds 0, 25 and 51 above the Contessa Bed (modied from Talling et al., 2012b). (A) Bed 0 on the Ridracoli thrust sheet. (B) Bed 51 on the Ridracoli thrust sheet. (C) Bed 51 on the Isola thrust sheet. (D) Bed 25 on the Isola thrust sheet.
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Fig. 16. Downow changes in Bed 5 along different thrust sheets, whose location is shown in Fig. 1A. (A) Pianetto, Civorno and Borgo Pace thrust sheets. (B) Isola thrust sheet (Fig. 10). (C) Ridracoli and Pietralunga thrust sheet.
zone, and from the sustained liqueed zone into overlying turbulent ow. Sedimentation from the base of the sustained liqueed zone results in progressive bed aggradation, such that the upper boundary of the static bed gradually rises, leading to formation of a massive sand deposit that is prone to dewatering (Fig. 18C). This type of sustained liqueed zone has yet to be reproduced experimentally, although this may be because it is problematic to generate prolonged (rather than short duration) and rapid sediment fallout in the laboratory.
Kneller & Branney (1995) stated that the thickness of the deposit typically bears no resemblance to the thickness of the ow, implying that the sustained liqueed zone is fed primarily by fallout from a signicantly thicker overlying energetic turbulent suspension. However, Kneller & Branney (1995) acknowledged that it may be difcult to distinguish between deposits of a sustained liqueed zone that is fed by sediment settling from an overlying energetic turbulent suspension, or fed laterally by liqueed ow. The former situation would constitute high-density turbidity current
749
Fig. 17. Generalized facies tracts observed for correlated beds within the Marnoso-arenacea Formation.
according to the terminology herein, as the basal layer is driven from above. The latter situation would comprise a liqueed debris ow according to these denitions, as the liqueed layer is driven by its own momentum. Kneller & Branney (1995) mentioned that this difference in how the sustained liqueed layer is fed could have a profound inuence on the location and external shape of massive sand deposits, and their lateral relations with other types of sandstone.
Massive sand deposition by debris ows A consistent feature of debris ows is that their deposits pinch out relatively abruptly at their
margins (Amy et al., 2005), as observed in experiments and in the eld for subaerial debris ows (e.g. Johnson, 1970; Iverson, 1997; Major, 1997; Major & Iverson, 1999; Iverson & Vallance, 2001; Revellino et al., 2004; Iverson et al., 2010) and submarine debris ows (e.g. Aksu & Hiscott, 1989; Twichell et al., 1992; Gee et al., 1999; Mohrig et al., 1998; Laberg & Vorren, 2000; Bowles et al., 2003; Lastras et al., 2005; Marr et al., 2001; Elverhi et al., 2007; Tripsanas et al., 2008). Abrupt marginal pinch out can occur in debris ows with little or no cohesive mud, due to frictional interlocking of grains at the ow boundaries (Iverson & Vallance, 2001,
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Fig. 18. (A) Shape of sandstone intervals in beds displaying different facies tracts (Fig. 17). (B) Shape of sandstone intervals with abrupt pinch out of Cs7 clean-sandstone debrite. These include Beds 0, 51 and )8 with Facies tract 3a and 3b, Bed )6 with Facies tract 3c, and Bed )2 with Facies tract 2 (Fig. 9). Rates of pinch out in Beds 0, 51 and )8 are minimum values because pinch out occurs within covered areas between adjacent outcrops.
g. 2; Iverson et al., 2010). It can also occur in mud-rich debris ows with greater cohesive strength, if cohesive strength prevents continued motion in thinner marginal areas of the ow (Coussot, 1997; Laberg & Vorren, 2000; Iverson et al., 2010). Dissipation of excess pore uid pressures, sometimes due to coarser-grained margins, can also help to cause abrupt freezing of ow margins for both non-cohesive and cohesive ows (Iverson et al., 2010). The steepness of the marginal pinch out will tend to vary with the cohesive or frictional strength devel-
oped at ow margins, and the gradient of the sea oor.
Non-cohesive liqueed debris ow (Fig. 19D): This type of debris ow lacks any cohesive ne mud. It corresponds to the liqueed ows described by Lowe (1976). Pore uid lacks any cohesive strength, such that sand particles are continuously settling from the base of the ow. Grain interactions cause such settling to be strongly hindered (Richardson & Zaki, 1954). Lowe (1976) proposed that ow would stop once
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Fig. 19. Generalized summary of different process models for deposition of massive sandstone. The thick dotted line denotes the prole of sediment concentration.
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P. J. Talling et al. (Talling et al., 2010), and do not need to hydroplane to run out for very long distances. Such weak cohesive ows will tend to be turbulent on steeper slopes, and may only become laminar debris ows on low gradients (Talling et al., 2007a, 2010). Large (>50 cm) outsize mud clasts can be supported if they are buoyant and have lower densities than the surrounding ow. The cohesive yield strength of such ows will ensure that their deposits have abrupt margins, but the angle of these margins may be reduced by the relatively low strength of the ows (c.f. subaerial debris ows of the type described by Iverson et al., 2010).
the rising boundary between the static bed and overlying liqueed suspension reached the top of the ow (Fig. 19D). Such incremental deposition from the base of the non-cohesive debris ow might be expected to produce massive sand layers with a gradually tapering shape. However, such a conclusion neglects dissipation of excess pore pressure from the frontal and lateral margins of the ow, which may cause the margins of the ow to freeze en masse whilst the centre of the mixture continued to ow. This would most likely result in a clean-sand deposit with abrupt margins. Iverson & Vallance, 2001 (g. 2) provide examples of ows lacking any mud whose deposit has abrupt margins due to en masse freezing. Lowe (1976) suggested that the deposits of noncohesive liqueed ows may be either coarse tail graded or distribution graded, based on the experiments of Middleton (1967) with variable concentrations of rather low-density non-cohesive plastic beads. Middleton (1967) found that sediment volume concentrations of <30% formed distribution grading, whilst settling of more concentrated non-cohesive dispersions generated only coarse tail grading. The static settling experiments of Amy et al. (2006) suggest there is efcient size segregation at volume concentrations of less than ca 20%, and that no segregation occurs at volume concentrations exceeding ca 50%. Hindered settling at intermediate volume concentrations will tend to generate an ungraded or very poorly graded basal interval, with grading only in the uppermost part of the deposit (Dorrell et al., 2011).
Cohesive debris ow (Fig. 19F): Cohesive debris ows are dened here as having muddy pore uid with sufcient yield strength to support sand grains, which remain locked within the matrix (Fig. 19E). Deposition occurs through en masse consolidation of the mixture once ow has stopped, generating ungraded deposits. Basal excess pore pressures will take several orders of magnitude longer to dissipate than for non-cohesive debris ows. The yield strength of muddy uid necessary to support sand can be very low (ca 1 Pa), corresponding to ca 14% volume of kaolin (Amy et al., 2006; Sumner et al., 2009) or smaller concentrations of other clay minerals with stronger colloidal behaviour (Coussot, 1997) found in the Marnoso-arenacea beds (such as illite and smectite from XRD analyses). Debris ows with such low yield strength can still ow as thin (1 to 2 m) ows on gradients of just 005
Poorly cohesive debris ow (Fig. 19E): Poorly cohesive debris ows contain mud, but the muddy pore uid has insufcient strength to keep all sand suspended indenitely. Segregation of sand is efcient for very low mud content (for example, <6% volume kaolin; Amy et al., 2006; Sumner et al., 2009), such that basal sedimentation processes resemble that of non-cohesive debris ow. The incrementally deposited sand is likely to be graded, but grading in the initial part of the deposit may be suppressed if sand-volume concentrations greatly exceed ca 20% (Amy et al., 2006). This is the type of liqueed ow that was studied experimentally by Breien et al. (2010) with 66% volume concentration kaolin, from which sand settled out incrementally to form massive sand. As cohesive mud content approaches that needed to fully support sand, the settling behaviour of the sand changes and becomes more complex (Amy et al., 2006; Sumner et al., 2009). In the static settling experiments of Amy et al. (2006, type 3 with ca 9 to 13% kaolin), grains moved downwards or upwards slowly (<1 mm s)1), leading to the development of regions with variable density that displayed larger scale plume-like movement. Elutriation pipes developed at the boundary between the static basal deposit and overlying convecting grains, and this depositional boundary gradually moved upwards at ca 016 mm s)1. Sumner et al. (2009) described how sand grains can settle from the later stages of a moving ow or, if deceleration is rapid settling, it occurs even after the ow has stopped in sandmud mixtures with ca 11 to 14% volume kaolin. Sand grains that start to settle break bonds between surrounding cohesive mud particles to produce weak zones, leading to the formation of subvertical pipes in which sand settles downwards and water is
Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone expelled upwards. This process forms localized blebs of sand at the base of the pipe. The resulting deposits comprise a basal clean-sand layer that can be either graded or ungraded, and an overlying plug that has a heterogeneous texture and consolidated slowly. Kuenen (1965, gs 1 and 2) reported on similar convection of muddy sand suspensions and formation of trickles of sand. In a laterally moving ow, such sedimentation behaviour would incrementally deposit massive sand in locations closer to source, which may have sharply dened margins where excess pore pressures have dissipated (as was the case for non-cohesive ows). The convecting plug could eventually come to an abrupt halt (freeze) further down-slope on lower gradients to produce a deposit with heterogeneous internal texture that has an abrupt margin.
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of sediment bypass as the turbidity current starts to wane (Kneller & McCaffrey, 2003; Sumner et al., 2008). Graded or ungraded massive clean sandstone could also be deposited incrementally via sedimentation from a non-cohesive or poorly cohesive debris ow. Bed correlations show that the ows contained mud, and were not entirely noncohesive. The sharp grain-size break that overlies ungraded or graded massive Cs5 and Cs6 sandstone intervals in Facies tract 1b (Fig. 16B) could result from a sharp boundary separating poorly cohesive debris ow from trailing turbidity current, such that this is a lateral (front to back) boundary in the ow. However, the gradually tapering shape of Cs5 and Cs6 intervals indicates that they were most likely deposited by high-density turbidity current, rather than debris ow.
Processes of formation for massive clean sandstone in the correlated beds

Depositional processes are inferred initially from features observed at the scale of a single outcrop, and then from sandstone shape.
Graded (Cs5) and ungraded (Cs6) massive clean sandstone Both graded and ungraded massive sandstone could be deposited by high-density turbidity currents through direct vertical settling (Fig. 19A), repeated collapse of short-lived traction carpets (Fig. 19B), or sedimentation from nearbed sustained liqueed zones (Fig. 19C). Most gradually aggrading high-density turbidite sandstones are likely to be graded but steady ow can generate ungraded or very poorly graded deposits. Incremental deposition in this way explains the commonly observed lateral and vertical transitions into laminated clean sandstone (Cs4) that provides a clear record of turbidity current deposition. These depositional processes are consistent with the occasional occurrence of faint planar laminations within Cs6 intervals, which could form via tractional reworking during sporadic periods of lower sediment fallout rates. However, the lack of visible grading would only occur if the turbidity current was almost perfectly steady, as the ows contained a wide range of grain sizes. A steady turbidity current is unlikely to produce the upper grain-size break that separates Cs6 deposits from overlying ner-grained sandstone, but this grain-size break could form during a period
Massive clean sandstone with patchy texture (Cs7) in Facies tract 3 Chaotic and swirly areas of coarser-grained and better-sorted sandstone are common in Cs7 sandstones (Figs 6B, 11 and 12). It was previously concluded that the patchy texture most likely results from pervasive liquefaction. Two possible models are used to explain this liquefaction. In situ liquefaction of turbidite sandstone: Firstly, it can be proposed that the patchy Cs7 texture records pervasive in situ liquefaction of massive sandstone previously deposited by highdensity turbidity current. This is unlikely because it is not clear why such post-depositional liquefaction would cause partial foundering of the overlying ripple cross-laminated interval (as seen in Bed 0; Figs 12 and 15A), and consistently fail to liquefy, or deform at all, the upper part of the ripple cross-laminated interval. Moreover, this model for the origin of the Cs7 sandstone is less likely because the Cs7 sandstone abruptly pinches out, whilst turbidity currents that deposit sediment incrementally would be expected to produce a gradually tapering deposit shape. Local sea oor topography can potentially produce abrupt thinning and ning of turbidite sandstones, and such turbidites could then undergo liquefaction. However, there is no evidence of signicant topography near the pinch out of Cs7 intervals. Turbidite beds immediately underlying and overlying these deposits record no abrupt changes in thickness or grain size (Fig. 3) and there is no evidence of ow reection or deection by local sea oor topography. It is
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P. J. Talling et al. The abrupt lateral pinch out of swirly or patchy Cs7 sandstone intervals (Figs 17 and 18) supports the conclusion that they were deposited by debris ow. Thin intervals of massive normally graded massive sandstone occur below some Cs7 intervals (Figs 15A to C and 17F). These basal graded sands most likely formed by late-stage settling from a poorly cohesive debris ow, as they pinch out in the same location as the overlying debrite sandstone. Alternatively, the basal clast-decient massive sand layer was deposited by a forerunning turbidity current, and the Cs7 sandstone was deposited by a cohesive debris ow from which sand settled en masse. It is equivocal as to whether the Cs7 sandstones were deposited by a poorly cohesive or a cohesive debris ow, but Cs7 sandstone is more likely to have been deposited by poorly cohesive debris ow from which sand could partially settle.
also unclear how post-depositional in situ liquefaction could produce grain-size breaks above the Cs7 or Cs6 intervals (Figs 12 and 15A).
Deposition by poorly cohesive or cohesive debris ow: In the second model, the patchy texture of Cs7 sandstone is inferred to result from deposition by a liqueed debris ow, which is either cohesive such that its muddy pore uid strength can fully suspend the sand grains, or poorly cohesive but from which only very slow or partial settling of sand occurs. Slow convection and elutriation of ne material during this liquefaction process, together with blebs of sand formed by settling down vertical conduits, could form the patchy texture (Kuenen, 1965, g. 1; Amy et al., 2006; Sumner, 2007; Sumner et al., 2009). Such pervasive liquefaction is consistent with occasional foundering of the basal part of overlying ripple crosslaminated sandstone into the Cs7 sandstone (Fig. 12), and the presence of chaotically distributed clasts in some locations (Figs 8, 10, 14 and 16). Experiments suggest that cohesive debris ows in which pore uid strength traps sand tend not to develop a patchy texture, but rather form sub-vertical pipes through which only water is slowly expelled (Type III deposit of Sumner et al., 2009). However, it is unknown from experiments whether cohesive debris ows with higher sand to mud ratios than those studied by Sumner et al. (2009) might produce a patchy texture. Partial segregation of sand needed to produce patches most likely records deposition from a poorly cohesive debris ow, whose pore uid had insufcient cohesive strength to support sand. The upper part of the ripple cross-laminated sandstone is at lying (Figs 12 and 15A), suggesting that pore pressure dissipation from the debris ow was completed during deposition of the rippled interval, which was probably deposited within minutes to hours of the massive sand (Baas, 1994). This would favour relatively rapid pore pressure dissipation from a poorly cohesive debris ow rather than slower pore uid pressure dissipation from a strongly cohesive debris ow (Talling et al., 2012a, g. 21). However, disaggregation of sand clasts eroded locally from the base of the bed, such as those seen in the most proximal part of Bed )4 (Fig. 14), may generate patches of coarser and better-sorted grains. Such a process could cause a patchy texture to form in a fully cohesive debris ow.
Origin of clean sand liqueed debris ows responsible for Cs7 sandstone
Two contrasting hypotheses can be put forward for the origin of the debris ows that formed Cs7 clean sandstone intervals.
Long run out clean-sand debris ows that originated outside basin plain The Cs7 intervals that extend continuously to the most proximal available outcrops (Facies tract 3a) could have been deposited by debris ows that originated outside the outcrop area, and which subsequently ran out for 15 to 30 km across the basin plain (Fig. 17D). The Cs7 intervals can contain chaotically distributed mudstone clasts, and sandstone clasts up to 120 cm in length (Fig. 14). The sandstone clasts in Bed )4 and Bed 5 do not come from massive basal or overlying thinner laminated parts of the same bed. Unless clasts were low density and therefore buoyant, it is likely that they were rafted into place by debris ow, rather than transported by an initial turbidity current. The turbulent nature of an initial turbidity current would also tend to disaggregate soft sandstone clasts, again suggesting that such clasts were rafted into place by debris ow. Clean-sand debris ows originated through ow transformation from turbidity current Some beds with Cs7 intervals have lateral and up-ow transitions from Cs7 sandstone into clean sandstone deposited by high-density turbidity
Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone current (Figs 10 and 15). Beds 0, 5 and 51 above the Contessa Bed display lateral transitions between Cs7 sandstone, wavy or planar-parallel laminated (Cs3) sandstone, and massive graded sandstone (Cs5) (Figs 15A to C and 17F). The more proximal basal part of these beds can comprise either Cs3 or Cs5 sandstone that transitions downow into Cs7 sandstone, without a signicant change in the overall sandstone layer thickness (Fig. 15A to C). The downow transitions from laminated high-density turbidite into Cs7 sandstone suggests that at least some of the poorly cohesive debris ows formed via ow transformation from an initial high-density turbidity current.
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Signicance of lateral transitions into clean sandstone deposited by turbidity current

Lateral transitions between liqueed debris ow (Cs7) and laminated (Cs3) or massive (Cs5) turbidite sandstone occur without major changes in the overall sandstone thickness (Fig. 10). This nding is signicant because it suggests that ow responsible for depositing the different types of sandstone was similar, at least in terms of the rate and duration of sand deposition. This may suggest that the planar laminated (Cs3) intervals were deposited from relatively high concentration turbidity current (Talling et al., 2012b), instead of dilute turbidity current as has sometimes been inferred (Lowe, 1982).
Are clean (Cs7) and mud-rich (Ms) debrite sandstones formed by similar processes?
Beds within the Marnoso-arenacea basin plain often contain intervals of mud-rich sandstone that were deposited by cohesive debris ow (Talling et al., 2004, 2012a,b; Amy & Talling, 2006). A single bed can contain both clean debrite sandstone (Cs7) and mud-rich debrite sandstone (Ms) in different parts of the basin plain (Fig. 15B and C), which is best illustrated by Bed 5 (Fig. 16). Both mud-rich and clean-sandstone debrites occur in a similar vertical position within beds, such that they are underlain by thin massive sandstone (Cs5 or Cs6), and overlain by ripple cross-laminated sandstone (Cs1; Figs 8, 10 and 15). The geometry of facies tracts containing clean debrite sandstone (Cs7) can also be similar, such as Facies tracts 2b and 3a, or Facies tracts 2a and 3c (Fig. 17). A thin interval of ripple cross-laminated sandstone can
appear at the base of the bed close to where both types of debrite pinch out (Figs 15 and 17), and both types of debrite can be absent in proximal parts of a bed (Fig. 17). These similarities suggest that the depositional processes for mud-rich sandstone debrite and clean-sandstone debrite are broadly similar. Thin (<2 m) mud-rich debris ows can travel long distances over very low sea oor (005) gradients without hydroplaning, due to their low yield strength (Talling et al., 2007a, 2010, 2012a,b). The cohesive strength of their matrix is sufcient to support sand (Fig. 19F). Some mud-rich debrite sandstones in the Marnosoarenacea Formation contain clasts that did not originate through erosion of the underlying substrate within the study area, such as the MS1 interval in Bed 25 (Fig. 15; Talling et al., 2012a). These clast-rich mud-rich cohesive debris ows originated from outside the basin plain, and then ran out for several tens of kilometres across the basin plain (Talling et al., 2012a). However, mudrich debrite sandstones that are clast-poor (MS2) may have originated through ow transformation from an initial turbidity current within the basin plain (Talling et al., 2012b). Such ow transformation has been observed in laboratory experiments (Sumner et al., 2009), and results from development of cohesive bonds between mud particles as the ow decelerates, which suppress turbulence. Clean debrite sandstone tends to occur in beds with higher fractional sandstone content in the above-Contessa interval (Talling et al., 2007b, g. 4F). This suggests that formation of clean debrite sandstones or mud-rich debrite sandstone depends partly on the sand to mud ratio within a ow.
Can liqueed debris ows of clean sand run out for long distances?
An analysis by Lowe (1976) concluded that liqueed ows of sand would run out for distances of less than ca 12 km. The factors that control the run-out distance of a liqueed sediment layer are now discussed for layers that contain increasing amounts of cohesive mud, to explain how liqueed debris ows could potentially run out for longer distances.
Run out of non-cohesive debris ow (without mud) The analysis by Lowe (1976) was based on sediment mixtures that lacked cohesive mud and comprised very well-sorted sand (Lowe,
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P. J. Talling et al. cohesive strength exceeds the shearing force experienced at the base of the ow. Run-out distance is determined by yield strength, ow thickness and density, and sea oor gradient. Schwab et al. (1996) and Talling et al. (2010) showed how thin (<2 m) cohesive debris ows can travel across low (005) sea oor gradients, even when hydroplaning (Mohrig et al., 1998) does not occur.
1976; data from Wallis, 1969; Andersson, 1961). These liqueed ows corresponded to the noncohesive debris ows herein (Fig. 19D). Liqueed non-cohesive suspensions deposit sediment from the base up, such that a rising surface forms, that separates the static bed from the remaining liqueed sediment (Fig. 19D; Lowe, 1976; Sassa & Sekiguchi, 2010, 2011). The run-out distance is determined by the basal sedimentation rate and ow thickness, as excess pore pressure dissipates rapidly from such mud-free sediment mixtures (Terzaghi et al., 1996). Lowe (1976) used rates of between 008 cm s)1 and 167 cm s)1 for basal sedimentation to calculate the time taken for the re-sedimentation surface to travel from the bottom to the top of the liqueed layer. It was inferred that ow would stop once the re-sedimentation reached the top of the liqueed layer (Fig. 19D). This inference neglects replenishment by sediment from the rear of the ow, or changes in elevation of the top of the ow. Run-out distance was calculated as the product of the time taken for the resedimentation surface to reach the top of the ow and the lateral velocity of the ow front. For instance, a 1 m thick liqueed ow travelling at 1 m s)1 would have ow for 60 to 1180 s, and run out for 60 to 1180 m. Although addition of silt to a sand mixture can reduce permeability by orders of magnitude, thereby hindering settling (Bandini & Sathiskumar, 2009), it seems likely that non-cohesive (mud-free) debris ows will not run out for long distances, even on steep slopes.
Run out of cohesive debris ow (in which sand is fully supported by cohesive strength) If sand grains do not settle out and are supported by the cohesive strength of the pore uid, the mixture forms a cohesive debris ow according to the terminology herein (Fig. 19F). The run-out distance of a cohesive debris ow does not depend on rates of basal sedimentation. It may also not depend on the rate at which excess pore pressure dissipates, as this rate of dissipation can be very slow. Major (2000) and Iverson et al. (2010) showed how an increase from ca 1% to ca 4% volume of cohesive mud in a mixture of sand and gravel can reduce its hydraulic diffusivity by ca 10)4 to ca 10)7, thereby increasing the time taken for excess pore pressure to decay by three orders of magnitude. Dissipation of excess pore pressures in 1 m thick cohesive debris ows can range from hours to weeks (Talling et al., 2012b, g. 18). A cohesive debris ow stops when the
Run-out of poorly cohesive debris ow (in which sand is partly supported by cohesive strength) Sand settles out efciently from sediment mixtures with relatively low mud content, such as in the experiments of Sumner et al. (2009) containing <7% of kaolin mud (Fig. 19D). Although the increased viscosity of the muddy uid can reduce settling velocities of sand grains, basal sedimentation rates are still relatively high. Breien et al. (2010) measured rates of bed aggradation of 043 cm s)1 for mixtures that contained 66% volume kaolin mud. Amy et al. (2006) record bed aggradation rates of ca 0017 cm s)1 for mixtures with up to 10% volume kaolin mud. A 1 m thick debris ow travelling at 1 m s)1, with a bed aggradation rate of 0017 cm s)1, would run out for ca 59 km. As the threshold mud concentration needed to fully support sand is approached, the settling behaviour of sand becomes more complex (Fig. 19E), such as in the experiments of Sumner (2007) and Sumner et al. (2009) that contained 7 to 12% kaolin mud. Settling of sand only occurred during the later stages of decelerating ows in these experiments, or sometimes after the ow had stopped moving. Sand tended to settle slowly through pipes in which mud bonds had been weakened (Fig. 19E; Sumner, 2007; Sumner et al., 2009). If sand settling occurs after a poorly cohesive debris ow has stopped moving, its runout distance will resemble that of a cohesive debris ow, as determined by yield strength, ow thickness and density and sea oor gradient. If sand settles out whilst the debris ow is moving, its run-out distance may be inuenced by this rate of settling. However, sand settling will be hindered by the elevated mud content, and the runout distance may approach that of non-cohesive debris ows. Sediment resuspension from the bed The preceding analysis has inferred that sediment is not re-entrained from the static bed. This is important because a balance between upward
Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone re-entrainment and downward settling of sand can lead to a situation in which there is no net loss of sand from the ow, which could then increase the run-out distance of the debris ow signicantly (Fig. 19D to F). Motion of a debris ow will lead to shear at the base of the ow, which may be vigorous enough to move sand. If the debris ow is very weakly turbulent, as can be the case for subaerial debris ows (Costa & Williams, 1984), this can lead to upward diffusion of sand from the bed. Such re-entrainment could also help to generate a patchy texture, if clumps of sand grains are re-entrained together and poorly mixed within the ow.
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the mud-rich cohesive debris ows that deposited facies Ms1 and Ms 2.
Clean sandstone attributed previously to liqueed ow and debris ow Dense liqueed ows of Mutti and colleagues Mutti (1992), Mutti et al. (2009), Mutti et al. (2003) and Tinterri et al. (2003) proposed that submarine ows can comprise an upper turbulent suspension underlain by a much denser layer of uidized sediment, in which sediment is supported primarily by excess pore pressures (Fig. 20). The basal uidized layer produces massive sand layers that can be poorly graded or ungraded, particularly poorly sorted (F5 facies of Mutti et al., 2003), and which can contain mudstone clasts and dewatering structures. Deposition from the basal layer occurs by rapid en masse freezing. The term uidized is used more commonly to denote an external source for the pore uid, rather than upward ow generated by selfconsolidation (Lowe, 1976). It is therefore preferable to use the term liqueed rather than uidized for this basal ow phase. Mutti et al. (2003) proposed that beds containing dense liqueed ow deposits (F5 facies) display one of two facies tracts (Fig. 20). Firstly, a downow transition can occur from the dense liqueed ow into fully turbulent turbidity current (Fig. 20A). The massive F5 sandstone is overlain or laterally equivalent to crudely laminated clean sandstone formed by turbidity current (F7 facies). Secondly, if deceleration was
Run out of clean-sand debris ows in the Marnoso-arenacea Formation Clean-sand debrites in the Marnoso-arenacea Formation typically contain 4 to 8% cohesive mud, and sometimes up to 15% cohesive mud, according to data from SEM images (Fig. 7A and B). This volume fraction differs from the volume fraction of cohesive mud in the pore uid which determines the cohesive strength of the ows (Kuenen, 1966b). However, these ows may have sufcient cohesive strength to support sand grains (as a cohesive debris ow), or intermediate amounts of mud that strongly hinder settling of sand (as a poorly cohesive debris ow). In either case, their run-out distance may exceed that calculated by Lowe (1976) for mud-free liqueed layers. If their mud content prevents or strongly hinders settling of sand, then the run-out distance of clean-sand debris ows may approach that of
Fig. 20. Submarine density ow types and deposits, and evolution between ow types in the model of Mutti (1992) and Mutti et al. (2003). (A) Types of submarine ow and their deposits (F1 to F9). F5 sandstone is deposited by laminar dense liqueed ow. (B) Downow evolution of an initially bipartite ow comprising a basal dense liqueed layer and an overlying more dilute turbulent layer. Sedimentary logs indicate the resulting downow changes in deposit character, after Mutti et al. (2003) g. 17.
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P. J. Talling et al. support mechanism and, unlike Shanmugam, the term debris ow is not used for high sediment concentration near-bed layers driven mainly by the overlying ow. The criteria to identify debris ow deposits in the present study also differ from those of Shanmugam. The eight criteria listed by Shanmugam & Moiola (1995) and Shanmugam (1997) to identify debris ow deposits are: (i) ungraded sand with evidence of basal shearing; (ii) concentration of mudstone clasts at the top of the sand interval; (iii) inverse grading of clasts; (iv) dispersed (oating) larger sand grains; (v) planar clast fabric; (vi) presence of shale clasts; (vii) irregular upper surface and lateral pinch out geometries suggesting en masse freezing; and (viii) relatively high detrital mud matrix sufcient to induce a plastic rheology with nite yield strength. The clean-sand layers that the present study attributes to debris ow deposition have: (i) a swirly fabric indicative of pervasive liquefaction; (ii) a sharp grain-size break at their upper boundary; (iii) abrupt lateral pinch outs; and (iv) sometimes chaotically distributed clasts. This difference in how clean debrite sandstones are identied is important because this article differs from that of Shanmugam in the way in which clean-sandstone debrites are identied. Shanmugam & Moiola (1995) proposed that the Jackfork Group at the DeGray Spillway in Arkansas, and Shanmugam (2002) proposed that the Annot Sandstone in the Piera Cave road section, contain clean-sand debris ow deposits. Based on the different criteria herein and rst-hand eld observations of the DeGray Spillway and Piera Cava road sections, this article does not infer that either of these two sections contains clean sandstones deposited en masse by debris ow, because sandstones in the two sections are often graded and lack a patchy or swirly texture. However, the external shape of individual sandstone intervals is not sufciently well-constrained for either the DeGray Spillway or Piera Cava road section to independently test this conclusion based on features seen at the scale of these single outcrops.
rapid, the F5 sandstone is erosively overlain and laterally equivalent to coarser-grained intervals of planar laminated or dune-scale cross-laminated sandstone (F6 facies) formed by partial ow bypass of ner grains (Fig. 20B). The eld observations for the present study indicate that some clean-sandstone intervals are most likely deposited by dense liqueed ow (debris ow according to the terminology herein). However, the distinctive swirly or patchy texture of such Cs7 deposits in the Marnosoarenacea beds was not described previously by Mutti and colleagues, who did not specify the types of syn-depositional and post-depositional dewatering features (Mutti et al., 2003) that were displayed by dense liqueed ow deposits (F5 facies). This is important because, at the scale of single outcrops, it is only the swirly or patchy texture that distinguishes massive clean sandstone deposited by dense liqueed ows in the Marnoso-arenacea beds from other types of massive clean sand deposited by turbidity current, which can contain other types of dewatering features, such as dish and pipe structures. The facies tracts observed here with dense liqueed ow deposits (Cs7) also differ from the facies tracts of Mutti et al. (2003) in key regards. A downow transition occurs from massive or laminated clean turbidite sandstone (Cs4 or Cs5) into the liqueed debris ow deposits (Cs7) within Facies tract 3 (Fig. 17F and G). The downow direction of this transition has the opposite sense (relative to palaeoow) to that of Mutti and colleagues (Fig. 20). The correlated beds record downow transitions from more dilute to denser ow, rather than from denser into more dilute ow.
Sandy debris ows of Shanmugam Shanmugam & Moiola (1995) and Shanmugam (1997, 2000, 2002) controversially proposed that massive layers of clean sand could be deposited en masse by abrupt freezing of debris ows characterized by: (i) signicant yield strength (non-Newtonian rheology); (ii) laminar ow conditions; and (iii) sediment support through matrix strength, buoyancy and grain to grain interactions. The importance of excess pore uid pressure was not emphasized in these works. However, recent studies of subaerial debris ows have shown how debris ow behaviour is strongly dependent on variations in excess pore uid pressure (Iverson, 1997; Iverson & Vallance, 2001; Iverson et al., 2010). The denition of debris ow used here differs from that of Shanmugam, in that excess pore pressure can be an additional important sediment
CONCLUSIONS The Marnoso-arenacea Formation in the northern Italian Apennines is the only place worldwide where individual ancient ow deposits can be mapped out in detail for up to 120 km. These unusually extensive bed correlations provide new
Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone insight into how submarine sediment ows evolve as they spread across low gradient basin plains. The shape of massive sandstone intervals provides an independent test of depositional processes inferred initially from their internal characteristics at a single outcrop. Three deposit geometries (or facies tracts) occur in downow transects through beds in a newly studied stratigraphic interval below the Contessa marker bed (Fig. 17). Individual beds can contain more than one of these facies tracts. Facies tracts 1 and 2 contain graded or ungraded massive clean-sandstone intervals that taper gradually downow, and these massive clean sandstones were most likely deposited incrementally beneath highdensity turbidity currents. Mud-rich massive sandstone deposited by mud-rich cohesive debris ow occurs in Facies tract 2. Facies tract 3 contains clean sandstone with a distinctive swirly fabric formed by patches of coarser and better-sorted grains. This distinctive fabric most likely records pervasive liquefaction during the later stages of ow. This type of clean sandstone pinches out abruptly, and this pinch out geometry suggests that it was most likely deposited by liqueed debris ow. It is therefore suggested that liqueed debris ows with elevated pore pressures can deposit clean sand over large expanses (up to 30 km) of sea oor. Downow transitions from turbidite sandstone to debrite sandstone (Figs 15A to C and 17F) suggest that clean-sand debris ows are most likely to form through transformation from an initial turbidity current. However, in at least one case, a clean-sand debris ow that contained chaotically distributed clasts (Figs 10 and 14) may have run out for long distances on low gradients across this basin plain.
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ments were made by Graham Blackbourn (Blackbourn Geoconsulting), Harriet Wimhurst-Brookes, Christopher Wilcox and Christopher Nutt whilst at the University of Bristol. We wish to thank Joris Eggenhuisen, Jaco Baas and Suzanne Leclair for their insightful and constructive comments, and two anonymous reviewers.
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Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Valmori, 1980; Amy & Talling, 2006; Talling et al., 2007a).

Rates of interval thinning or pinch out

Sandstone grading, sorting and mud content

Table 1. Facies scheme adopted in this article.

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Character of different types of sandstone lithofacies at single outcrops

Bed architecture and downow facies tracts

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Bed 5 - Isola Element

2 Thickness (m) 1,5 1 0,5 0

2 Thickness (m) 1,5 1 0,5 0

16-Fiumicello 17-Ca di Massimo 13-Premilcuore

14-Monte Roncole 49-Giumella2

Cs5,6 massive sandstone Cs1 ripple cross-laminated

Ms2 muddy sandstone Turbidite mudstone

2 Thickness (m) 1,5 1 0,5 0

50-La vild 54-Cabelli 4 30-Isola 2

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Fig. 10. (Continued).

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Depositional processes for laminated sandstones

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Dish and pillar structures

Previous models for deposition of clean massive sandstone

Patchy (Cs7) texture

Mixed slurried facies of Lowe & Guy (2000),

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

oped at ow margins, and the gradient of the sea oor.

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Processes of formation for massive clean sandstone in the correlated beds

Signicance of lateral transitions into clean sandstone deposited by turbidity current

Deposition of deep-water massive sandstone

Manuscript received 9 October 2011; revision accepted 3 July 2012

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