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14 - Geology of Fluvial-Fan Deposits

Facies Patterns, Architectural Organisation, and Implications for Economic Geology

from Part III - Applications in Other Sciences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2023

By
Dario Ventra  and
Andrea Moscariello
Edited by
Justin Wilkinson  and
Yanni Gunnell
Justin Wilkinson
Affiliation:
Texas State University, Jacobs JETS Contract, NASA Johnson Space Center
Yanni Gunnell
Affiliation:
Université Lumière Lyon 2
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Summary

Fluvial fans and megafans are being re-evaluated in terms of their importance for sediment distribution in present-day continental basins, with evidence that their thick alluvial successions have contributed to the aggradation of much larger fractions of the stratigraphic record than previously recognised. Research on active fans worldwide is illustrating processes and dynamics at system scale while also highlighting differences linked to climatic or basin-specific settings. Long-term progradation of these systems produces consistent architectural signatures and trends, such as vertical stacking of laterally extensive units of amalgamated channel fills and overbank fines with minimal erosional discontinuities; poorly developed pedogenic horizons; proximal-to-distal fining of channel fills, and reduction in their volume and connectivity. The predictable spatial organisation of facies associations in fluvial-fan successions, documented from numerous examples, suggests that depositional models for thick alluvial units may relate to their accumulation in fan settings, informing preliminary basin exploration and advanced phases of reservoir characterisation and enhanced recovery. Consideration of fluvial-fan stratigraphy may also improve development of coal, uranium and placer resources, as well as aquifer characterisation. More quantitative data on fluvial-fan sedimentology and architecture are needed to better apply concepts derived from the resurgence of interest in these systems.

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Fluvial Megafans on Earth and Mars , pp. 263 - 286
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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