Submarine fan lobes
Submarine fan lobes constitute major hydrocarbon reservoirs throughout the world. Therefore, a clear understanding of their geometry and facies relationships is critical for exploring and exploiting these sandstone bodies effectively. However, a multitude of submarine fan lobe terminologies (e.g., depositional lobe, suprafan lobe, fan lobe, erosional lobe, channelized lobe, ponded lobe, leveed-valley lobe, type I lobe, and type II lobe) advocating widely different meanings, has flourished in the sedimentologic literature. A critical evaluation of this problem has resulted in the following suggestions: (1) lobes are considered to be turbidite sand bodies that develop at the mouths of channels in deep-sea fan environments; (2) the term depositional lobe should be restricted to lower-fan deposits of fans that exhibit facies C and thickening-upward cycles; (3) the term suprafan lobe refers to middle-fan deposits of certain small, sand-rich, modern fans that exhibit a convex-upward depositional bulge in seismic reflection profiles; (4) the terms fan lobe, erosional lobe, channelized lobe, ponded lobe, and leveed-valley lobe do not represent true channel-mouth deposits and therefore are potentially confusing; (5) lower-fan sheet sands of large modern fans may not be equivalent to depositional lobes of ancient fans; and (6) popular fan models with lobes are not always applicable because they disregard large modern fans without lobes (e.g., Mississippi fan).
- Research Organization:
- Mobil Research and Development Corp., Dallas, TX (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5969812
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-890404-
- Journal Information:
- AAPG (Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol.) Bull.; (United States), Vol. 73:3; Conference: AAPG annual convention with DPA/EMD Divisions and SEPM, San Antonio, TX, USA, 23-26 Apr 1989
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Types of submarine fan lobes: Models and implications
Submarine fan facies of Upper Cretaceous Strata, Southern San Rafael Mountains, Santa Barbara County, California