Structural Analysis of Soft-Sediment Deformation in a Paleo-Submarine Slump and Slide Complex and Prediction of Overlying Deep-Water Sandstone Architecture

Robert Amerman
Colorado School of Mines, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering
Golden, Colorado
ramerman@mines.edu

This study’s purpose is to improve understanding of the controls of submarine mass movements on seafloor topography and, in turn, on overlying sedimentary architecture and to determine whether small-scale (cm–m) and large-scale (10s m) soft-sediment deformation features within submarine slumps and slides form coherent, predictable sets that can be related to the topography they produce. The Permian Cutoff Formation contains a ~20,000 km2 by 100+ m thick carbonate submarine slump and slide complex in the Delaware Basin, west Texas. Thickness and lithology of overlying deep-water sandstones (Brushy Canyon Formation) are controlled by the paleo-topography of the Cutoff Formation. Five stratigraphic sections will be measured, and structural data will be systematically collected. Stratigraphic units will be rated for structural content according to a variety of criteria, and structural domains within the outcrop belt will be identified for each stratigraphic unit. Based on these domains, the following will be done: 1) map the distribution of extensional and contractional features across a transect of this complex; 2) determine the number, timing, and kinematics of slump and slide events; 3) correlate the deformed masses and their internal features to the paleo-topography of the complex; and 4) relate the paleo-topography to well-documented thickness variations in overlying gravity flow sandstones. Few studies have been done on internal deformation features of paleo-slump and slide complexes, and no studies have considered how they correspond to paleo-submarine topography and overlying sand deposit geometry. This study will contribute to the understanding of sedimentary basin development and catastrophic mass movements.