Gerhard Einsele

Sedimentary Basins Evolution, Facies, and Sediment Budget

With 269 Figures

Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York London Paris Tokyo Hong Kong Barcelona Budapest

Contents

Part I Types of Sedimentary Basins l 1 Basin Classification and Depositional Environments 3

1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Tectonic Basin Classification 4 1.3 Pre- , Syn-, and Post-Depositional Basins 10 1.4 Basin Morphology and Depositional Environments 10

Part II Depositional Systems and Facies Models 17 2 Continental Sediments 19

2.1 Glacial Deposits of Lowlands and Shallow Seas 19 2.1.1 Continental Glacial Deposits 19 2.1.2 Glaciomarine Sediments 25

2.2 Fluvial Sediments, Alluvial Fans, and Fan Deltas 29 2.2.1 Bed Forms, Sedimentary Structures, and

Facies Elements 29 2.2.2 Alluvial Fans and Fan Deltas 37 2.2.3 Various River Systems and Their Sediments 43 2.2.4 Large-Scale Lateral and Vertical Evolution of

Fluvial Systems 51 2.3 Eolian Sediments 54

2.3.1 Introduction 54 2.3.2 Eolian Sands 55 2.3.4 Clay Dunes 63 2.3.5 Eolian Dust, Loess 64

2.4 Volcaniclastic Sediments (Tephra Deposits) 66 2.4.1 General Aspects and Terms 66 2.4.2 Tephra Deposits on Land and Below the Sea 67 2.4.3 Volcaniclastic Sediments in Basins of

Various Tectonic Settings 74 2.4.4 Alteration, Diagenesis, and Metamorphism

of Volcaniclastic Rocks 76 2.5 Lake Sediments 77

2.5.1 Different Lake Systems and Their Sediments 77 2.5.2 Recent and Ancient Examples of Lake Sediments . . . . 90 2.5.3 Specific Features of Lakes and Lake Sediments 92

3 Coastal and Shallow Sea Sediments (Including Carbonates) . . . 94 3.1 Beach and Shoreface Sediments 94

3.1.1 Coastal Processes, Beach and Shoreface Sands 94 3.1.2 Storms and Storm Deposits (Tempestites) 100

3.2 Sediments of Tidal Flats and Barrier-Island Complexes . . . . 109 3.2.1 Tidal-Influenced Environments and Sediments 109 3.2.2 Sediments of Barrier-Island Complexes 121

vra Contents 3.3 Sediments of Shallow Seas (Including Carbonates) 125

3.3.1 Predominantly Siliciclastic Sediments 125 3.3.2 Carbonate Buildups and Reef-Lagoon Complexes . . . . 133

3.4 Sediments of Marine Delta Complexes 147 3.4.1 Types of Marine Deltas 147 3.4.2 Sedimentary Processes and Facies of

Various Delta Types 149 3.4.3 Facies Architecture, Constructional and

Destructional Phases 155 4 Sediments of Adjacent Seas and Estuaries 161

4.1 Introduction 161 4.2 Water Circulation and Sediments 161 4.3 Sedimentary History of Some Modern Adjacent Seas 170

5 Oceanic Sediments 177 5.1 General Aspects 177 5.2 Water Circulation in the Oceans 179 5.3 Hemipelagic and Pelagic Deep-Sea Sediments 185

5.3.1 Overview 185 5.3.2 Deep-Sea Carbonates and Carbonate Dissolution 187 5.3.3 Red Clay and Manganese Nodules 191 5.3.4 Sediments in Zones of Upwelling 192 5.3.5 Siliceous Sediments 193 5.3.6 Marine Phosphorite Deposits 198 5.3.7 Sediments on Marginal and Oceanic Plateaus,

Ridges, and Seamounts 203 5.4 Gravity Mass Flow Deposits and Turbidites 206

5.4.1 Gravity Mass Flows 206 5.4.2 Turbidites and Deep-Sea Fan Associations 214

5.5 Frosion and Reworking of Deep-Sea Sediments 231 6 Special Depositional Environments and Sediments 233

6.1 Green Marine Clays 233 6.2 Oolitic Ironstones 235 6.3 Red Beds 238 6.4 Marine Evaporites 242

6.4.1 Models for Evaporite Deposition 242 6.4.2 Sequences, Sedimentary Structures, and

Sedimentation Rates 253 6.4.3 Diagenesis and Geochemical Characteristics

of Evaporites 257 6.4.4 Salt Structures 259

6.5 Nonactualistic (Precambrian) Depositional Environments . . . 264 6.5.1 The Evolution of the Atmosphere, Hydrosphere,

and Climate 264 6.5.2 Precambrian Sediments 267

7 Depositional Rhythms and Cyclic Sequences 271 7.1 General Aspects 271 7.2 Special Features and Examples of Rhythmic Bedding 278 7.3 Depositional Cycles in Lakes, Fluvial and Deltaic Systems . . 286

7.3.1 Cyclic Sequences in Lakes 286 7.3.2 Sediment Successions in Fluvial and Deltaic Systems . . 287

7.4 Sea Level Changes and Sequence Stratigraphy 288 7.4.1 General Principles and Terms 288 7.4.2 Changes in Sea Level and Storm Wave Base in

Shallow Basins 291

Contents IX 7.4.3 Sequence Stratigraphy in Continental

Margin Settings 297 7.5 Long-Term Cyclic Phenomena in Earth's History 304 7.6 Superposition of Cycles of Various Orders and

Differing Origin 307

Part III Subsidence, Denudation, Flux Rates, and Sediment Budget 311 8 Subsidence 313

8.1 General Mechanisms Controlling Subsidence 313 8.2 Methods to Determine Subsidence of Sedimentary Basins . . . 320 8.3 Modeling of Rift Basins and Observed Subsidence Curves . . 327 8.4 Passive Continental Margins 332 8.5 Subsidence of Basins Related to Tectonic Loading,

Subduction, and Strike-Slip Motion 341 9 Denudation: Solute Transport and Flux Rates of

Terrigenous Material 345 9.1 Weathering and Soils 345 9.2 Chemical and Mechanical Denudation Rates from

River Loads 348 9.2.1 Chemical Denudation Rates 348 9.2.2 Mechanical Denudation from Solid River Load 356 9.2.3 Chemical Versus Mechanical Denudation Rates 362

9.3 Mineralogical Composition of Suspended River Loads 363 9.4 Long-Term Denudation Rates from the Sediment Budget

of Various Basins 366 9.5 Tectonic Uplift, Denudation, and Geomorphology 376

9.5.1 Long-Term Denudation Rates from Changes in Topography 376

9.5.2 Geomorphological Consequences of Denudation 378 9.5.3 Interrelationship Between Tectonic Uplift

and Denudation 381 10 Sedimentation Rates and Organic Matter

in Various Depositional Environments 10.1 General Aspects 385 10.2 Average Sedimentation Rates 388 10.3 Production and Preservation of Organic Matter 393

10.3.1 General Aspects 393 10.3.2 Organic Matter in the Oceans 394 10.3.3 Organic Matter Preservation and Black Shales 398

11 The Interplay Between Sediment Supply, Subsidence, and Basin Fill 409

11.1 Introduction 409 11.2 Simple Relationships Between Source Area on

Land and Basin Fill 410 11.3 Different Modes of Basin Filling 414 11.4 Vertical and Lateral Facies Associations (Overview) 422

X Contents

Part IV Basin Evolution 427 12 Basin Evolution and Sediments 429

12.1 Rift Basins 429 12.1.1 Rift Structures 429 12.1.2 Examples of Young Rift Zones 434 12.1.3 Sediments of Rift Basins 435 12.1.4 Transition from Rift Basins to

Continental Margin Basins 438 12.2 Continental Margin and Slope Basins 442

12.2.1 General Aspects 442 12.2.2 Sediment Successions of Continental Margin Basins . . 445 12.2.3 Sediment Successions on Continental Slopes 453

12.3 Intracratonic Basins Associated with Mega-Rifting 455 12.3.1 Permian to Mesozoic Basin Development

in Europe (Overview) 455 12.3.2 Mesozoic Sediments Between the North Sea and the

Western Tethys 456 12.4 Continental or Intracratonic Sag Basins 459 12.5 Deep-see Trenches, Forearc and Backarc Basins 461

12.5.1 General Features 461 12.5.2 Deep-Sea Trenches 663 12.5.3 Forearc Basins 474 12.5.4 Backarc Basins 479 12.5.5 Preservation and Recognition of Ancient

Subduction-Related Basins 484 12.6 Remnant and Foreland Basins 485

12.6.1 Remnant Basins with Flysch 485 12.6.2 Foreland Basins with Molasse 488

12.7 Pannonian-Type Basins 492 12.8 Pull-Apart Basins 495 12.9 Basin-Type Transitions (Polyhistory Basins) 501

Part V Diagenesis and Fluid Flow 507 13 Mechanical and Chemical Diagenesis 509

13.1 General Aspects of Mechanical and Chemical Diagenesis 509

13.2 Compaction, Compaction Flow, and Other Flow Mechanisms 515

13.3 Principles of Chemical Diagenesis 532 13.4 Thermal History of Sedimentary Basins and

the Onset of Metamorphism 548 13.5 Special Methods and Processes in Diagenesis 551

14 Hydrocarbons and Coal 557 14.1 Source Rocks, Kerogen Types, and

Hydrocarbon Potential 557 14.2 Generation of Hydrocarbons 560 14.3 Examples of Hydrocarbon Habitats 565 14.4 Evolution of Coal 572

References 577 Subject Index 615