ExpresSed
ABSTRACT
Hunt, D. and Tucker, M.E., 1992. Stranded parasequences and the forced regressive wedge systems tract: deposition during
base-level fall. Sediment. Geol., 81: 1-9.
To overcome inconsistencies in the Exxon sequence stratigraphic model as applied to siliciclastic and carbonate shelf
margins, it is proposed that an ideal sequence should consist of four systems tracts. In addition to the transgressive and
highstand systems tracts, developed during rising base-level, it is suggested that there should be two systems tracts associated
with falling and lowstands of relative sea-level. These are: the forced regressiue wedge systems tract formed during falling
base-level, bounded below by the 'basal surface of forced regression' and above by the sequence boundary, representing the
lowest point of sea-level fall, and the lowstand prograding wedge systems tract, developed as relative sea-level begins to rise
after sequence boundary formation. This systems tract downlaps the basin-floor forced regression deposits in a basinwards
direction and onlaps forced regressive wedge sediments on the slope. The forced regressive wedge systems tract consists of
shallow-water stranded parasequences deposited on the upper slope to the shelf, and basin-floor fan or apron sediments,
deposited at the toe-of-slope and derived from erosion of the stranded parasequences and/or erosion of the previous
highstand shelf and shelf-margin sediments.
Introduction
I n r e c e n t y e a r s a p p l i c a t i o n o f s e q u e n c e stratig r a p h i c m o d e l s to s e d i m e n t a r y b a s i n fills has inc r e a s e d d r a s t i c a l l y with t h e g e n e r a l a c c e p t a n c e o f
t h e s e q u e n c e s t r a t i g r a p h i c a p p r o a c h (e.g. p a p e r s
in P o s a m e n t i e r et al., 1993). T h e driving c o n t r o l s
upon individual sequences, notably the role of
eustatic, tectonic, d e p o s i t i o n a l a n d / o r e n v i r o n m e n t a l factors, however, r e m a i n controversial. A
critical c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e c o n c e p t s o f s e q u e n c e
s t r a t i g r a p h y , p a r t i c u l a r l y as it is a p p l i e d to t h e
s e d i m e n t s d e p o s i t e d d u r i n g b a s e - l e v e l fall a n d
sea-level lowstand, reveals s o m e i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s
in t h e g e n e r a l m o d e l , as e x p o u n d e d by t h e Exxon
D. H U N T A N D M . E . " F U C K E R
EXXON
SYSTEMATICS
1. S T R A T A L
PATTERNS
i
i/,l
I ~
-H~lhstand systems tract
of preceding seque
~ .
Th ~
~
'"-'~:.:.~c..~;~
.....
~
~-~ ~i~Tlk.
L_.
once s ~
"
-..z.................... : . : ~
LSF
sb
Relative sea-level
HST/~
TqT
/~'~'\
~=
I~
KEY
Z ~
2. C H R O N O S T R A T I G R A P H Y
....
Fac,es; [ ~
]
'. . . . .
,~:~?!~:i:!~i;:~i!~:::i~iJ:?~i!:~i~i~i~
--- - . . . . . .
he. facies
[]
sheff-marginfacies
s.Lt
\ + ~ ....
[]
foreslopefacies
meteoric diagenesis
boundary
-~LSF
slumps/debris flows
Fig. 1. Cross-sectionof a carbonate sand-shoal rimmed-shelfshowing facies, stratal patterns, chronostratigraphyand relationship to
relative sea-level change for sediments deposited during a third-order base-level fall with smaller-scale sea-level rises and falls
superimposed upon it. As relative sea-level falls, slope collapse supplies sediment to the basin-floor (allochthonous debris) and
autochthonous slope wedges (stranded parasequences) site progressivelylower down the slope. However, in the Exxon terminology,
the sequence boundary is placed beneath the basin-floor fan (LSF), but above the stranded parasequences.
D. HUNT
"T
........
~
~ m ~ d
HST ~
~
~
~
=
~
~
ST
~
LPWST m
//
........
- ----
.
/"
~.................................................
.:..~..........~
t-A:.~.:.:.:~,~-~
. . . .
. . . . . .
S.12
Forced reg- . . . . . .
edge systems tract
(basin floor component) comprised
of aUocthonous debris
| Lr'WST
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
sequence boundary
superimposed upon basal
surface of forced regression
KEY
~.::!~!::!~........ ~ . ~ . ~ , ? . ~ _ T ~ - ~ . ~ -
FRWST[- ~
.
"':'::i:~(ii?!~i!};:f::.
s.L1
: _ _ , . ,
TUCKER
LPWST
m__,0. . . .
FRWST~
VA
surfaces of forced
regression
a-er~~i~rce
FRWS
~
~
k
M.E.
NEW SYSTEMATICS
AND
. ~ , ~
.e.
basal
of
forcedsurface
regression
.t
A .~\Jt
-. ~
~
1FRWSTI~
-.!
-k
Facies;as in Fig 1
Surfaces
/sb
Fig. 2. Similar cross-section to Fig. 1 but showing a different interpretation, with the stranded parasequences and the basin-floor
fan comprising the forced regressive wedge systems tract beneath the sequence boundary and the lowstand prograding wedge the
first systems tract of the new sequence.
S T R A N D E D P A R A S E Q U E N C E S A N D T H E F O R C E D R E G R E S S I V E W E D G E SYSTEMS T R A C T
The forced regressive wedge and lowstand prograding wedge systems tracts
Sediments deposited during forced regression
(i.e. falling relative sea-level), but prior to the
lowest point of relative sea-level, are placed within
the forced regressive wedge systems tract (FRWST)
(Fig. 2). The base of this systems tract is the basal
surface of forced regression (BSFR) (Fig. 2), a
chronostratigraphic surface separating older sediments of the preceding highstand systems tract,
deposited during slowing rates of relative sea-level
rise and stillstand, from younger sediments, deposited during the base-level fall (Fig. 2). The
systems tract has a slope component, termed the
forced regressive slope wedge (after which the systems tract is named), and a basin-floor component, the forced regressive basin-floor fan~apron.
Both components are schematically illustrated in
Fig. 2.
The slope-wedge component of the FRW systems tract consists of one or more 'stranded'
parasequences bounded below by the basal surface of forced regression and above by the sequence boundary (Fig. 2). Thus, the upper and
lower surfaces are common to both components
of the systems tract (Fig. 2). Slope and basin-floor
elements of the forced regressive wedge systems
D. H U N T A N D M . E . T U C K E R
z" a u t ~ h m o n o u s wedge
AIM
?':!.):i;:::;:?.:!:2:1
........................
lI~s-IOO'S
f metres
All2
eo,oc.,,
co,,.0 . . . . .
~.~:~:::~i~:~i~`:~:~j~:~i~!~:i~ii~
All1
Fig. 3. Two end-member models for lowstand prograding wedge systems tracts for a carbonate platform with a low-angle
mud-supported foreslope (above) and a high-angle grain-supported foreslope (below). As base-level falls, slopes undergo
mass-wasting through slumps and debris flows to give a basin-floor fan (All. 1), of the forced regressive wedge systems tract. Upon
exposure, the shelf undergoes chemical 'reworking'. When sea-level reaches its lowest point the sequence boundary is formed and a
lowstand prograding wedge of autochthonous material may then develop and build out from the slope. The potential for sediment
production is directly related to the available source area (P), and this increases as slope angles decrease. If, as modelled here,
carbonate production rates remain constant then as the wedge builds out, topography increases and a bypass margin to the
autochthonous wedge can develop (All. 2). Such secondary basin-floor allochthonous debris formed after the lowest point of
relative sea-level fall sits above the sequence boundary. The lowstand prograding wedge will show a progradation to aggradation
pattern of bedding geometries as the amount of accommodation space increases when base-level begins to rise more rapidly. The
two slope end-members, high angle and low angle, develop contrasting styles of lowstand prograding wedge. Low-angle slopes
develop wide, volumetrically significant lowstand prograding wedges, whereas high-angle slopes develop narrow autochthonous
wedges. These Iowstand prograding autochthonous wedges onlap the slope and downlap basinwards onto the sequence boundary.
A LPW systems tract will typically show a parasequence stacking pattern or bedding/clinoform
geometry of progradation to aggradation, as the
amount of accommodation space begins to increase. In a carbonate system, much new
shallow-water sediment can be created in a LPW
systems tract. This was the case in the lower
Barremian Urgonian of the Vercors, French Alps
(Arnaud-Vanneau and Arnaud, 1990; Jacquin et
al., 1991; Hunt and Tucker, 1993).
Since the FRW systems tract lies below the
sequence boundary, it becomes the fourth and
final systems tract of a sequence. The first three
systems tracts (lowstand prograding wedge, transgressive and highstand systems tracts) of a sequence are now all formed during times of rising
base-level (Fig. 2) after the lowest point of relative sea-level (represented by the sequence
boundary, Fig. 2). The development and distinction of each of these systems tracts (LPW, TST
and HST) will depend upon the ratio of sedimentation rate to the rate of base-level rise, so that
their boundaries can form at different points on
the relative sea-level rise curve. The fourth systems tract of a sequence (FRW) forms during the
time of falling relative sea-level (forced regression) and is terminated by the sequence boundary
representing the lowest point of base-level (Fig.
2). Thus, in the scheme presented here, the upper
and lower bounding surface to a sequence, the
sequence boundary, is more precisely defined everywhere to form at the lowest point of relative
sea-level.
It could be argued that the megabreccias which
commonly develop during the lowstand of a carbonate rimmed shelf should be attributed to the
forced regressive wedge systems tract. In most
cases, these megabreccias are derived entirely
from the highstand shelf margin and they probably form during the relative sea-level fall. In a
sense they also represent the final stage in a cycle
of deposition, before any new sediment is generated. They should therefore be regarded as the
end of one sequence rather than the beginning of
the next.
In siliciclastic depositional systems the times of
falling and lowstand of relative sea-level are synonymous with increased sedimentation rates and
Acknowledgements
D. Hunt gratefully acknowledges the receipt of
NERC grant G T 4 / 8 8 / G S / 3 0 .
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