Migratory and braided channels in Eocene submarine fan deposits in the French maritime Alps

Conference · Mon Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988 · AAPG Bull.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5848780

Bouma, A H

Large- and small-scale (10-0.5 m) foresets in submarine fan sandstones, with internal bedding or lamination dipping roughly perpendicular to the paleocurrent direction, were observed in Eocene deposits in the Peira-Cava area, French Maritime Alps. The large-scale foresets require that major outcrops be observable. These features can be understood if compared with fluvial point bars. The smaller features can be interpreted in many ways, ranging from small, laterally accreting point bars of small channels in a broader channel complex to festoon-bedded bedforms in braided channels. Large scallops, about 0.5-1 km wide and 30-60 m deep, eroded in underlying shales and filled with nearly horizontal bedding, are present in the Annot and Peira-Cava areas. These erosional scours occur in downdip as well as lateral directions. All of these phenomena can be related to the accretionary channelized part of a submarine fan where large, high-energy sediment flows can result in major downcutting of the channels. The deposits represent all scales of channels from small to large and channel complexes with both meandering and braided characteristics. Recognition of such complexities helps them understand the difficulties in well-log correlations and variations in the depth of the oil-water contact in deep-sea fan reservoirs.

• Research Organization: Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5848780
• Report Number(s): CONF-8809346-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AAPG Bull.; (United States) Journal Volume: 72:8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS
CENOZOIC ERA
CONGLOMERATES
EOCENE EPOCH
EUROPE
EXPLORATION
FRANCE
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MINERAL RESOURCES
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESERVOIR ROCK
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
TERTIARY PERIOD
WELL LOGGING
WESTERN EUROPE