facies and facies architecture of paleogene floodplain deposits willwood formation bighorn basin wyoming usa abstract paleogene deposits of the willwood formation were analyzed in two areas of the bighorn basin to provide a better understanding of the facies and facies arrangement of floodplain deposits and the various processes that influence floodplain construction and facies variability despite similar facies and facies organization floodplain deposits in the two areas differ in grain size hydromorphy and maturity of the paleosols and scale and organization of ribbon sandstones in the avulsion deposits these differences appear to be controlled by basin position of the study areas and differences in avulsion between the areas two kinds of cumulative floodplain paleosols red and purple paleosols formed on overbank deposits the red paleosols were better drained and formed on less clay rich parent material intense mottling and iron oxide nodules indicate that the purple paleosols which formed on more clay rich parent material were poorly drained the grain size differences reflect basin position in particular distance from a local sediment source avulsion deposits are volumetrically important comprising about half of the floodplain deposits in both areas the avulsion deposits resemble the stage iii splays described by smith et al 1989 smith n d cross ia dufficy j p clough s r 1989 anatomy of an avulsion sedimentology 36 1 24 in terms of characteristics of their ribbon sandstones and the presence of thin sheet sandstones or siltstones paleosols that formed on the fine grained facies show morphologic differences interpreted as developmental differences and attributed to differing rates of avulsion in the two study areas this study shows that avulsion belt paleosols provide a key to understanding avulsion rate in the stratigraphic record other differences between the willwood avulsion deposits in the two areas and between these ancient deposits and the modern avulsion deposits described by smith et al may reflect 1 problems in clearly recognizing ancient avulsion deposits in the field and 2 sampling bias resulting from the areally restricted view provided by the stratigraphic record of an areally extensive modern depositional feature at the same time because exposures are three dimensional the willwood strata reveal aspects of the facies and facies arrangement of avulsion belts not readily observed in the modern ones

fluvial facies model of the ganga river sediments india abstract the river ganga flows from the northwest to the southeast following the lineaments developed in response to the himalayan tectonics ganga sediments show a large number of facies developments throughout the study area from hardwar to kachhla the active channel deposits are marked by the development of large scale facies in gravel and coarse sand small scale facies comprising fine sand silt and clay are developed in inactive channel deposits and overbank deposits the depositional model shows a progressive decrease in particle size thickness of units and scale of cross bedded sets from the lower to the upper parts of sequences as well as from upstream to downstream the sedimentation of the ganga basin is seasonally and tectonically controlled

facies analysis of the kosi megafan deposits abstract the kosi river shows distinct changes in its channel pattern from chatra where the river enters the indogangetic plains to kursela where it joins the ganga river i e gravelly sandy braided zone 1 sandy braided zone 2 and straight zone 3 to meandering zone 4 facies analysis of the kosi channel deposits suggests that in zones 1 and 2 mid channel bars islands side bars 3 d dunes and various types of linguoid dunes are the most common features large linguoid dunes with lengths of up to 1 km and with superimposed smaller 3 d dunes are also common the deeper parts of the channel are probably characterized by longitudinal bars in zone 1 and sandwaves in zone 2 lateral accretion of sandy bars is a significant process in these zones zone 3 is characterized by side bars with deposition by lateral accretion as on point bars linguoid dunes may migrate up a side bar or move across it subparallel to the main channel thalweg the uppermost sedimentary sequence 8 10 m thick of the kosi megafan consists of mainly sands and minor gravels in the proximal northern half and sand and mud 45 vol in the distal southern half of the megafan this downfan trend reflects the change from braided to straight channel pattern numerous spring fed streams rework the surficial sediments of the megafan and produce a fining upward sequence up to 4 7 m thick on top of braided straight channel deposits of the megafan

deciphering holocene sea level history on the u s gulf coast a high resolution record from the mississippi delta published holocene relative sea level rsl curves for the u s gulf coast are in mutual conflict with some characterized by a smooth rsl rise akin to widely accepted eustatic sea level curves versus others including several recent ones that are characterized by a conspicuous stair step pattern with prolonged millennium scale rsl stillstands alternating with rapid meter scale rises in addition recent work in texas and alabama has revitalized the notion of a middle holocene rsl highstand estimated at 2 m above present mean sea level an extensive sampling program in the mississippi delta louisiana focused on the collection of basal peats that accumulated during the initial transgression of the pre existing consolidated pleistocene basement we used stable carbon isotope ratios to demonstrate that many of these samples accumulated in environments affected by frequent saltwater intrusion in the 30 cm zone between mean spring high water and mean sea level and we selected plant macrofossils that were subjected to ams 14c dating nearly 30 sea level index points from a 20 km2 study area on the eastern margin of the delta suggest that rsl rise followed a relatively smooth trend for the time interval 8000 3000 cal yr b p thus questioning the occurrence of major rsl stillstands alternating with abrupt rises given the narrow error envelope defined by our data set any sea level fluctuations if present would have amplitudes of 1 m although a true middle holocene highstand never occurred in the mississippi delta the high level of detail of our time series enables a rigorous test of this hypothesis correction of our data set for a hypothetical tectonic subsidence rate of 1 1 mm yr 1 assuming a constant subsidence rate compared to the tectonically relatively stable adjacent coast of texas leads to sea levels near 2 m above present during the time interval 6000 4000 cal yr b p however this model also implies a rsl position near 2 m around 8000 cal yr b p which is inconsistent both with data of this age from texas as well as with widely accepted sea level data from elsewhere we therefore conclude that a middle holocene highstand for the u s gulf coast is highly unlikely and that the entire area is still responding glacio isostatically by means of forebulge collapse to the melting of the laurentide ice sheet

replacement of base metal sulfides by actinolite epidote calcite and magnetite in the ug2 and merensky reef of the bushveld complex south africa interaction of base metal sulfides pyrrhotite pentlandite and chalcopyrite with aqueous fluids in the ug2 chromitite layer and the merensky reef in the western bushveld complex has produced four common replacements 1 replacement of sulfides and orthopyroxene by actinolite or tremolite 2 replacement of sulfides and plagioclase by epidote 3 replacement of sulfides by calcite and 4 replacement of sulfides by magnetite the first three replacements are directly related to the presence of sulfides in the rocks and occur at the grain scale silicate minerals that are not in direct contact with sulfides are usually not affected the replacement of sulfides by magnetite accompanies regional serpentinization superimposed on the union section platinum group minerals including ru pt and pd sulfides pt and pd tellurides and pd arsenides occur in replacement aureoles around sulfide aggregates as well as within the aggregates suggesting that the platinum group minerals are more resistant to hydrothermal alteration than the associated base metal sulfides redistribution of chalcopyrite at least at the millimeter scale variable losses of s and ni and perhaps decoupling of pt and pd at the centimeter scale took place during secondary hydrothermal alteration these effects should be considered before models of primary mineralization processes can be meaningfully applied

sea level changes an integrated approach sea level changes an integrated approach in october 1985 sepm sponsored a four day conference entitled sea level changes an integrated approach the purpose of the conference was to provide a forum for an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas on sea level changes and to provide an opportunity for integrating various types of evidence in approaching unresolved issues the conference was successful in bringing together scientists from industry academia and government representing all of the major geosciences disciplines presentations of many new papers plus significant releases of data that were previously held proprietary provided fertile ground for discussion this much cited volume represents the best of the material presented at the conference includes the early vail chart

depth to pedogenic carbonate horizon as a paleoprecipitation indicator an analysis of 1168 modern soil profiles from the u s natural resources conservation service yields no correlation between mean annual precipitation and depth to the top of the carbonate horizon r 2 0 03 p 0 001 parent material and soil texture both play negligible roles in this regression when combined with similar published studies n 1481 r 2 improves slightly r 2 0 31 p 0 001 caution is therefore advised in using this or any previously published regression for inferring paleoprecipitation from paleosols however in the combined data set carbonate horizon bearing soils correlate with a mean annual precipitation of 760 mm p 0 05 thus the presence vs absence of pedogenic calcium carbonate is a good indicator of paleoprecipitation above or below this value

meltwater pulse 1a from antarctica as a trigger of the bolling allerod warm interval meltwater pulse 1a mwp 1a was a prominent feature of the last deglaciation which led to a sea level rise of 20 meters in less than 500 years concurrent with mwp 1a was the onset of the bolling allerod interstadial event 14 600 years before the present which marked the termination of the last glacial period previous studies have been unable to reconcile a warm northern hemisphere with mwp 1a originating from the laurentide or fennoscandian ice sheets with the use of a climate model of intermediate complexity we demonstrate that with mwp 1a originating from the antarctic ice sheet consistent with recent sea level fingerprinting inferences the strength of north atlantic deep water nadw formation increases thereby warming the north atlantic region and providing an explanation for the onset of the bolling allerod warm interval the established mode of active nadw formation is then able to respond to subsequent freshwater forcing from the laurentide and fennoscandian ice sheets setting the stage for the younger dryas cold period the melting of continental ice sheets during the last deglaciation provided a freshwater source to the ocean that affected global sea level and the strength of the thermohaline circulation an exceptionally large melting event inferred from far field relative sea level records occurred

holocene evolution of the east texas coast and inner continental shelf along strike variability in coastal retreat rates abstract the low gradient east texas coast and inner continental shelf from sabine lake at the texas louisiana border to the western end of galveston island experienced extreme along strike variations in rates of holocene coastal retreat around 7 7 ka a barrier shoreline was located approximately 55 km offshore toward the western end of galveston island the shoreline retreated 55 km occupying a position on the lagoon side of the island by about 5 3 ka toward the texas louisiana border the shoreline retreated more gradually occupying a position seaward of sabine bank by 5 3 ka between 4 7 ka and 2 8 ka the shoreline at sabine bank retreated 30 km while galveston island prograded seaward bolivar peninsula began to accrete around 1 5 ka heald and sabine banks located on the inner continental shelf above terraced fluvial deposits of the trinity sabine incised valley are the only preserved remnants of these former shoreline positions fluctuating rates of sea level rise were not the forcing mechanism behind episodes of rapid shoreline retreat because these events were localized rather along strike variations in the rate of transgression were caused by the variable inner shelf gradients which increase towards the west and the orientation of the sabine incised valley and associated terraced fluvial deposits which trend northeast southwest parallel to shore as shorelines retreated over fluvial deposits these served as local sand sources that enabled barrier islands to persist figure 1 map of the east texas inner shelf showing locations of sabine heald and shepard banks paleotopographic map of the pleistocene surface thin contours siringan 1993 delineates the trinity sabine incised valley which formed during the last lowstand of sea level thomas and anderson 1994 bathymetric contours are shown as thick lines with bold numbers dots are core locations end page 405 offshore out of equilibrium with sea level once these sand sources became depleted and or sea level reached some critical threshold barrier shorelines became stranded offshore as banks and new shorelines formed landward the geologic setting of coastal areas specifically antecedent topography plays a primary role in controlling coastal evolution to accurately forecast long term centennial to millennial coastal evolution it is essential that impacts associated with variations in the underlying geology of coastal areas be incorporated into coastal forecasting models

geomorphic tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean the importance of small mountainous rivers analysis of data from 280 rivers discharging to the ocean indicates that sediment loads yields are a log linear function of basin area and maximum elevation of the river basin other factors controlling sediment discharge e g climate runoff appear to have secondary importance a notable exception is the influence of human activity climate and geology on the rivers draining southern asia and oceania sediment fluxes from small mountainous rivers many of which discharge directly onto active margins e g western south and north america and most high standing oceanic islands have been greatly underestimated in previous global sediment budgets perhaps by as much as a factor of three in contrast sediment fluxes to the ocean from large rivers nearly all of which discharge onto passive margins or marginal seas have been overestimated as some of the sediment load is subaerially sequestered in subsiding deltas before the proliferation of dam construction in the latter half of this century rivers

avulsion deposits in lower eocene alluvial rocks bighorn basin wyoming abstract eocene alluvial rocks in the northern bighorn basin can be subdivided into three major kinds fine grained deposits on which cumulative paleosols developed lithologically heterogeneous packages associated with immature paleosols and major sheet sandstone bodies the heterogeneous packages which alternate vertically with the cumulative paleosols are dominated by fine grained deposits and also contain ribbon sandstone bodies and thin 1 m sheet sandstone bodies most ribbon sandstones are less than 3 m thick and are more common in the middle and upper parts of the packages cut and fill deposits with fine grained fills are locally important because the lithologic packages are readily apparent in the field because of the immature or simple paleosols developed on the fine grain d facies they are referred to as simple paleosol packages the major sheet sandstones were deposited by meandering trunk rivers and locally overlie and truncate the other deposits contrary to classical models of meandering streams only a portion of the fine grained rocks in the study area were deposited by overbank flooding of a trunk channel on the basis of their stratigraphic position and few ribbon sandstones the upper parts of some simple paleosol packages are interpreted as ancient levee deposits associated with a trunk channel farther from the trunk channel overbank floods deposited alluvium on which the cumulative paleosols formed the greater parts of the simple paleosol packages including their fine grained deposits were deposited rapidly during channel avulsion ribbon sandstone bodies represent ancient splay channels on the avulsion belt simple paleosol packages in the willwood formation support the contention of smith et al 1989 that n many meandering river systems a significant portion of the fine grained deposits were deposited as the trunk channel avulsed deposits that resemble the simple paleosol packages may provide a means of recognizing avulsion episodes in other alluvial sequences

depositional record of an avulsive fluvial system controlled by peat compaction neogene most basin czech republic this paper illustrates the response of a fluvial depositional system to the interplay between peat compaction and clastic sediment supply at a range of spatial and temporal scales as documented by extensive exposures in an open cast mine in the most basin part of the oligo miocene oh e rift eger graben basin system in the czech republic the most basin is characterized by the occurrence of a number of phenomena resulting from syn and post depositional interactions between clastic sedimentary systems and the underlying accumulation of organic material that was the precursor of the main lignite seam of up to 45 m thickness the studied strata are interpreted as deposits of an avulsive mixed load fluvial system the large scale depositional architecture documents an existence of at least five stratal packages up to 1500 m wide and up to several tens of metres thick representing a record of long term evolution of a clastic floodplain bordered by accumulating peat within each of the packages several small scale channel belts were documented individual packages are separated by carbonaceous mudstones indicating a period of reduced clastic input and interpreted as due to avulsion of the fluvial channels out of the floodplain limit two main mutually linked processes controlled the evolution of the studied fluvial system i syndepositional compaction of the underlying peat and ii avulsions of the channels away from the original floodplain resulting in formation of a new floodplain the processes which caused the channels of the hrabak fluvial system to reach the avulsion threshold were i decrease of rate of creation of accommodation leading to increased sinuosity and thus to a decreased channel slope and ii cross floodplain tilting of the channel belt caused by differential compaction of underlying organic rich substratum

a test of models of fluvial architecture and palaeosol development camp rice formation upper pliocene lower pleistocene southern rio grande rift new mexico usa numerical experimental and theoretical models of fluvial architecture and palaeosol development are tested with outcrops of upper pliocene lower pleistocene sediment in the southern rio grande rift new mexico the sediment was deposited and subsequently exhumed in the jornada del muerto basin a westward tilted half graben whose footwall corresponds to the rincon hills and san diego mountain fault blocks the axial river the ancestral rio grande shared time between the jornada del muerto basin and the adjacent corralitos basin the ancestral rio grande entered the jornada del muerto basin via a gap between the footwall blocks periodically flowing southward towards san diego mountain or making a broad northward sweep into the northern fluvial salient towards the rincon hills fault block and unfaulted northern edge of the basin ten logged sections up to 35 m thick are correlated using the top of the formation la mesa surface a 1 59 ma pumice conglomerate and a ground water carbonate opal bed additionally one of the sections is dated by reversal magnetostratigraphy consistent with the model of bridge leeder 1979 and bridge mackey 1993a differential tilting of the jornada del muerto half graben resulted in sections directly adjacent to the faults that consist almost exclusively of multistorey channel sands sandstones whereas more distal sections contain a greater proportion of crevasse splay fine sand and overbank mudstone and calcic palaeosols along the axis of the northern fluvial salient a northward decrease in channel floodplain ratio a decrease in channel recurrence interval from 171 kyr to 685 kyr and an increase in the maturity of calcic palaeosols are consistent with southward tilt of the unfaulted northern edge of the basin an upsection decrease in sediment accumulation rate in the northern fluvial salient from 0 036 mm yr to 0 017 mm yr corresponds to an increase in the ratio of channel floodplain facies and in the number of multistorey channel sands sandstones and is consistent with the model of bridge leeder 1979 in which avulsion frequency is independent of sediment accumulation rate stage ii and iii calcic palaeosols indicate 103 105 year of landscape stability and soil formation between periods of floodplain deposition in response not only to basin tilting but also because the ancestral rio grande had multiple paths within the jornada del muerto basin and shared time between the corralitos and jornada del muerto basins

middle and late holocene avulsion history of the river rhine rhine meuse delta netherlands at present little evidence is available on avulsion rates avulsion frequencies and interavulsion periods of aggrading fluvial systems over time scales of millenia the large number of high quality 14c ages from the holocene rhine meuse delta central netherlands enables a detailed assessment of such avulsion parameters and an evaluation of the factors controlling avulsion frequency 14c histogram analysis indicates that instantaneous avulsion coexistence of successive channel belts for less than a few centuries has dominated in this area interavulsion periods were typically 1000 yr although values of 500 or 5000 yr have also been found avulsion frequency was especially large prior to 4300 cal yr b p indicating a strong control by aggradation rate in turn controlled by sea level rise in addition periods with high avulsion frequency appear to correlate with time intervals characterized by large scale transgressive tendencies the time interval with the largest number of coexisting distributaries corresponds to the period with dominance of anastomosing fluvial style

response of alluvial rivers to slow active tectonic movement alluvial rivers respond to valley slope deformation caused by active tectonics in various ways depending on the rate and amount of surficial deformation and on the type of river on the basis of experimental results and field examples hypothetical models of river response to anticlinal uplift and synclinal subsidence were developed for different types of alluvial rivers an experimental braided channel responded to anticlinal uplift across the channel with degradation and terrace formation in the central part of the uplift with subsidence aggradation in the central reach was the main response transverse bars developed downstream of the subsidence axis an experimental meandering channel responded to slope steepening with a sinuosity increase bank erosion and point bar growth occurred downstream of the anticlinal axis and upstream of the synclinal axis upstream of the uplift axis and downstream of the subsidence axis where the slope was flattened water flooded over bars local convexity in longitudinal profiles of the middle rio grande new mexico is considered to be formed by a domal uplift local aggradation and degradation could be explained by the effect of uplift the san joaquin river california which is now highly controlled does not show clear adjustment to the rapid subsidence due to ground water withdrawal it shows however a channel pattern adjustment to active tectonic subsidence that has been occurring for a long time the san antonio and guadalupe rivers in texas both increase their sinuosity significantly where monoclinal movements steepen valley slopes

the influence of valley aggradation and listric normal faulting on styles of river avulsion a case study of the brazos river texas usa abstract the holocene avulsion history of the lower brazos alluvial valley of east texas usa was studied using 10 drill cores 26 radiocarbon dates aerial photos and a digital elevation model this study shows that two long term processes aggradation and localized valley tilting along a normal listric fault are responsible for generating two styles of avulsion the first process precedes avulsion by progradation while the second process precedes avulsion by annexation as valley aggradation migrated updip over the last 7 5 ka three regional backstepping avulsions occurred along the lower 140 km of the valley and each generated sizable deposits a pattern emerges of landward stepping progradational avulsions tracking the locus of valley aggradation and of valley aggradation migrating inland even after the rate of sea level rise diminishes at the same time several local nodal avulsions occurred between 50 and 55 km updip of the current highstand shoreline but generated no observable deposits geomorphic evidence indicates that since the late pleistocene active movement along a previously undocumented normal listric fault has occurred at the location of the nodal avulsion these two long term processes do not operate mutually exclusive of each other to promote avulsions rather they operate concurrently only aggradation promotes avulsions that affect floodplain alluviation although the total volume of these deposits comprises a small portion of the valley fill

fluvial response to active extension evidence from 3d seismic data from the frio formation oligo miocene of the texas gulf of mexico coast usa tectonic deformation of the land surface is known to influence the gradient water and sediment discharge and the grain size of modern fluvial systems any change in these variables alters the equilibrium of a fluvial system potentially causing a change in channel morphology 3d seismic data from the tertiary miocene age upper frio formation kelsey field south texas in the us are used to examine changing fluvial channel morphology through time during a period of active growth of a rollover anticline in the hangingwall of a normal fault the vicksburg fault the studied interval varies between 22 and 47 m thick and spans several hundred thousand years it consists of an alternation of fluvial sandstones overbank mudstones and coal seismic extractions show the evolution of sinuous fluvial channels during a phase of growth fault activity prior to growth a single sinuous channel is imaged during growth the fluvial system became decapitated by a developing rollover anticline and a highly sinuous drainage network formed with frequent avulsion events headward propagation of streams and related stream capture increased channel sinuosity was spatially associated with increased avulsion frequency in the area down dip to the east of the rollover anticline more than 10 km from the active fault more than 25 m of relative accommodation developed on the flank of the growing rollover anticline compared with on the crest the increased channel sinuosity is interpreted as reflecting an increase in longitudinal valley slope analogous to observations made in flume experiments and modern river systems the increase in avulsion frequency is attributed to increased aggradation as the rivers adjusted back to equilibrium grade following the increase in slope

spatial variation of overbank aggradation rate and its influence on avulsion frequency river avulsions are commonly considered to be driven by the aggradation and growth of alluvial ridges and the associated increase in cross valley slope relative to either the down channel slope or the down valley slope the latter is termed the slope ratio in the present paper therefore spatial patterns of overbank aggradation rate over stratigraphically relevant time scales are critical in avulsion dominated models of alluvial architecture detailed evidence on centennial to millennial scale floodplain deposition has to date been largely unavailable new data on such long term overbank aggradation rates from the rhine meuse and mississippi deltas demonstrate that the rate of decrease of overbank deposition away from the channel belt is much larger than has been supposed hitherto and can be similar to observations for single overbank floods this leads to more rapid growth of alluvial ridges and more rapid increase in slope ratios potentially resulting in increased avulsion frequencies a revised input parameter for overbank aggradation rate was used in a three dimensional model of alluvial architecture to study its effect on avulsion frequency realistic patterns of avulsion and interavulsion periods 1000 years were simulated with input data from the holocene rhine river with avulsions occurring when the slope ratio is in the range 3 5 however caution should be practised with respect to uncritical use of these numbers in different settings evidence from the two study areas suggests that the avulsion threshold cannot be represented by one single value irrespective of whether critical slope ratios are used as in the present study or superelevation as has been proposed by other investigators

factors controlling the holocene avulsion history of the rhine meuse delta the netherlands abstract the avulsion history of the holocene rhine meuse delta the netherlands was reconstructed on a timescale of millenia using detailed paleogeographic maps based on approximately 200 000 lithological borehole descriptions over 1150 14c ages and 36 000 archaeological artifacts gradient lines were constructed for all channel belts these allowed determination of gradients paleo flow direction relative age of channel belts and time correlation of undated channel belt fragments avulsion sites were inferred from the paleogeographic reconstruction at least 91 avulsions occurred over the past 10 000 years of which 82 could be dated with an accuracy of 200 14c years the location and shifting of holocene avulsion sites in the rhine meuse delta in space and time are related to 1 relative sealevel rise in the early holocene avulsions could not take place because rivers were still incised around 7500 yr bp avulsions occurred in the western part of the present delta as a result of backfilling of the late weichselian valley between 7500 and 3700 yr bp the zone where avulsions occurred shifted inland as a result of relative sealevel rise 2 neotectonics between 4900 and 1700 yr bp the location of avulsion sites seems to have been influenced by neotectonic movements of the upthrown peel horst four out of six avulsion nodes in the rhine meuse delta were located in the peel horst fault zones 3 increased discharge and or within channel sedimentation from 2800 until about 1500 yr bp avulsion sites were located all over the delta during this time the number of channels was high and avulsion frequency reached a maximum at a time when aggradation rate decreased with a reduction in the rate of sealevel rise after 2000 yr bp meander wavelength of alluvial channels increased considerably the increased meander wavelength and the high avulsion frequency are attributed to increased bankfull discharge or within channel sedimentation leading to channel widening or both 4 human influence between 1000 and 650 yr bp all the rivers were embanked and avulsions could no longer take place the few that occurred were induced by humans