Vertical and Lateral Changes in Facies, Bed Thickness, and Grain Size in Submarine Channels from an Ultra-High Resolution Dataset, Western Niger Delta Slope: Implications for Turbidity Current Stratification

Abstract:

Modern seafloor and shallow subsurface studies offer a high-resolution view into the morphology, architecture, and evolution of submarine channels. In addition to architecture derived from seismic data, lithologic and age calibration are needed to constrain the evolution of submarine channels and the properties of the flows that sculpt them. Near-seafloor seismic and core data from the western Niger Delta slope allow for the quantification of lateral and vertical changes in facies, bed thickness, and grain size in a well-constrained channel system. The dataset consists of a 3D seismic volume, high-resolution 2D seismic profiles, 21 sediment cores, and more than 500 grain-size analyses.

Core and seismic data reveal that the channel axis consists of thick-bedded, amalgamated, coarse-grained sands. Channel margin deposits are thin-bedded and heterolithic, and show a pronounced decrease in bed thickness and grain size with increasing distance above and away from the channel thalweg. Margin deposits exist in ‘scallops’ that correspond to bends of an older, more sinuous channel. While individual scallops are disconnected from each other, beds can be correlated over hundreds of meters between cores within the same scallop.

Multiple core transects across the channel demonstrate a rapid decrease in bed thickness and deposition rate (calculated from radiocarbon ages) with increasing height above channel thalweg. Grain size distributions obtained with a laser particle-size analyzer also show a strong fining with height above thalweg. These trends reflect the stratification of grain size and sediment concentration in channelized turbidity currents. Simple theoretical concentration and grain-size profiles match the observed trends, providing constraints for numerical and rule-based modeling approaches.

Although facies models for submarine channels often assume quasi-horizontal fill with rapid lateral facies changes, this dataset suggests that there is a significant difference in elevation between coeval axis and margin deposits. The relationships between grain size, bed thickness, and height above channel thalweg can be used to estimate location of deposition relative to the base of the time-equivalent geomorphic channel when only limited data (e.g., core or outcrop) is available.