The Geology of Fluvial Deposits: Sedimentary Facies, Basin Analysis, and Petroleum Geology / Edition 1

by Andrew D. Miall

Overview

Fluvial deposits represent the preserved record of one of the major nonmarine environments. They accumulate in large and small intermontane valleys, in the broad valleys of trunk rivers, in the wedges of alluvial fans flanking areas of uplift, in the outwash plains fronting melting glaciers, and in coastal plains. The nature of alluvial assemblages - their lithofacies composition, vertical stratigraphic record, and architecture - reflect an inter­ play of many processes, from the wandering of individual channels across a floodplain, to the long-term effects of uplift and subsidence. Fluvial deposits are a sensitive indicator of tectonic processes, and also carry subtle signatures of the climate at the time of deposition. They are the hosts for many petroleum and mineral deposits. This book is about all these subjects. The first part of the book, following a historical introduction, constructs the strati­ graphic framework of fluvial deposits, step by step, starting with lithofacies, combining these into architectural elements and other facies associations, and then showing how these, in turn, combine to represent distinctive fluvial styles. Next, the discussion turns to problems of correlation and the building of large-scale stratigraphic frameworks. These basin-scale constructions form the basis for a discussion of causes and processes, including autogenic processes of channel shifting and cyclicity, and the larger questions of allogenic (tectonic, eustatic, and climatic) sedimentary controls and the development of our ideas about nonmarine sequence stratigraphy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783642082115
Publisher:	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publication date:	12/16/2010
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 1996
Pages:	582
Product dimensions:	8.27(w) x 10.98(h) x 0.05(d)

Table of Contents

1 Introduction.- 2 Historical Background.- 3 Concepts of Scale.- 4 Methods of Architectural-Element Analysis.- 5 Lithofacies.- 6 Architectural Elements Formed Within Channels.- 7 Architectural Elements of the Overbank Environment.- 8 Fluvial Styles and Facies Models.- 9 The Stratigraphic Architecture of Fluvial Depositional Systems.- 10 Fluvial Depositional Systems and Autogenic Sedimentary Controls.- 11 Tectonic Control of Fluvial Sedimentation.- 12 What Does Fluvial Lithofacies Reveal About Climate?.- 13 Sequence Stratigraphy.- 14 Stratigraphic and Tectonic Controls on the Distribution and Architecture of Fluvial Oil and Gas Reservoirs.- 15 Case Studies of Oil and Gas Fields in Fluvial Reservoirs.- 16 Future Research Trends.- References.- Author Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...it acts as a splendid source of research material and problems, because not much has missed Andrew Mialls eagle eye." Jnl of Sedimentary Research

From the Publisher