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• This study pioneers the use of the Transformer in groundwater research. • The Transformer makes more accurate groundwater level predictions than CNN and LSTM. • The Transformer accurately predict the trends and peak values of groundwater levels. • The Transformer's accurate prediction is attributed to its self-attention mechanism. Groundwater, an essential water resource in Taiwan, is closely linked to land subsidence in the Zhuoshui River basin due to excessive exploitation. Therefore, there is a critical need for robust monitoring and predictive tools to facilitate effective management of water resources. Despite the success of Transformer neural networks in natural language processing, their potential in environmental research remains underexplored. This study explores the feasibility of employing a Transformer-based deep neural network to simultaneously predict groundwater levels at eight strategically positioned monitoring stations in the distal fan of the Zhuoshui River basin in central Taiwan. Utilizing a 20-year dataset with 10-day intervals, we compare the Transformer model with benchmarks established separately by the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), the Long Short-Term Memory neural network (LSTM), and the Feedforward Neural Network (FFNN). Results reveal the Transformer's superior performance in predicting groundwater levels 10 and 20 days in advance. This achievement is attributed to Transformer's self-attention mechanism capable of capturing relationships between factors like rainfall and river flow, enhancing accuracy in predicting trends and peak values. This groundbreaking study underscores the Transformer model's efficacy in groundwater level prediction, emphasizing its significance for sustainable water resource management amid climate change. The findings open new avenues for environmental research and water resource management, not only in Taiwan but also globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sites of ice-stream discharge to the continental slope build trough-mouth fans from glacigenic debris flows (GDFs), subglacial meltwater flows, and suspended sediment. Thus, past ice configurations may be interpreted from the sedimentological record. This study links the records in cores, high-resolution seismic profiles, and multibeam swath bathymetry of Hatton Slope and Fan to the changing glaciological history in Hudson Strait, one of the largest ice streams of the late Pleistocene Laurentide Ice Sheet. 14C-AMS dates, X-ray fluorescence geochemical profiles, and oxygen isotopes in sixteen cores document sediment supply during the last glacial cycle, and earlier history is interpreted from seismic data. The Frobisher Bay slope sector has a long record of GDF deposits from severe glacial periods between MIS 6 and 22, with little impact of meltwater discharge. Mass-transport events and aggrading gravel-floored valleys dominate the northern Hatton slope sector. The central slope sector shows the greatest shelf break progradation by till deposition, with kilometre-spaced gullies heading at 700–730 mbsl from the last major grounding of the ice-stream on the upper slope during Heinrich event 3 (H3). The gullies pass downslope into ∼5 km wide valleys, which have been sites of sediment bypass since widespread meltwater flow in MIS 6 and show little aggradation since MIS 16. Intervening >50 m high ridges show alternating levee accretion and erosion by shallow mass-transport events. Downslope on Hatton Fan, GDFs are common and fill wide erosional channels that lead to the sandy braid plain of the central Labrador Sea. The channels of the southern sector and Saglek Slope have channeled turbidity currents down the NAMOC, and stratified contourite deposits accumulated on the fan. Over the MIS 1–3 period widely represented by cores, ice was grounded in Hatton Basin and on the upper slope to 700 m water depth only immediately prior to H3. Older and younger H events had a floating ice-shelf in Hatton Basin, and sedimentation was dominated by the retreat of that ice shelf to Resolution Island. Distal cores show no systematic difference between the H1–top H3 interval and the base H3–H5 interval. Given the supply of carbonate detritus of consistent composition back to at least H5, any MIS 3 deglaciation of Hudson Bay would require improbably high growth rates of ice sheets in the centre of the continent. • First multibeam swath bathymetric and seismic profiling of the Hudson Strait Ice Stream. • Glacigenic debris flows, and mass-transport events were outlined during MIS 6 and 16. • Glacial ice was grounded in Hatton Basin and on the upper slope to 700 m over MIS 1-3. • Lack of a systematic difference between H1–H3 and H4–H5 events raises the question about the deglaciation hypothesis during MIS 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation lacustrine successions in the rift Luxi sag, Songliao Basin are characterized by mixed siliciclastic-carbonate-tuffaceous and organic-rich deposits. Ten facies were recognized and were formed in fan delta, delta, littoral-sublittoral lacustrine and deep lacustrine environments. A depositional sequence characterized by significant changes in facies and lake regime has been defined, and is divided into lowstand systems tract (LST), transgressive systems tract (TST), and highstand systems tract (HST) that are separated by sequence boundaries, initial flooding surfaces, and maximum flooding surfaces, respectively. During the LST, the delta and fan delta deposits covered the marginal area and extended into littoral-sublittoral lacustrine and deep lacustrine environments, respectively. During the TST, the areas of delta and fan delta decreased and lake areas increased, and the carbonate-dominated shoals and mixed siliciclastic-carbonate shorelines occupied the edge of the Majiapu highland belt. During the HST, the lake areas further expanded, and the fan delta deposits extended into deep lacustrine environments and formed deposits of underflows and turbidites. A depositional model in the rift lacustrine Luxi sag is proposed, incorporating the effects of tectonics and sediment supply, climate and carbonate production, hydrodynamic conditions, and lake-level fluctuations. During the LST, the active tectonic movement, high input of siliciclastic sediments, and subaerial volcanic eruptions resulted in the wide distribution of mixed siliciclastic-tuffaceous sedimentation. During the TST, the brackish lake water controlled by periodic dry and hot climate facilitated the carbonate deposition in shallow water, and tractional currents onto the lake shore carried sediments to form the mixed siliciclastic-carbonate-tuffaceous facies. During the HST, more humid climate and increased runoff allowed formation of widely distributed, mostly oil shale-rich deposits, and the gravity flows carried the sediments into the deeper part of basin to form the mixed siliciclastic-carbonate-tuffaceous facies. The depositional model of mixed deposits in this rift lacustrine basin has been proposed here in order to encourage comparison with other similar basins. • Mixed siliciclastic-carbonate-tuffaceous deposits were preserved in the rift Luxi sag. • Moderate siliciclastic influx and volcanic eruption provide the material for mixed deposits. • Tractional currents and gravity flows are favorable for formation of mixed sedimentation. • Relatively high paleosalinity and rising lake-level are benefit for carbonate production. • Three stages of depositional models of mixed sedimentation in a rift sag were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holocene inner shelf mud wedges are important paleoenvironmental archives because they typically contain continuous and extensive sedimentary sequences that can document past changes in sedimentary processes at very high temporal resolution. Here we investigate the fine-scale, seismic patterns of the Late Holocene Adriatic Mud Wedge (AMW), along the western Adriatic margin, to understand the processes of river-sea interactions and their effects on sediments distribution. While analyzing high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, we documented variations in the architectural stratal stacking patterns of the AMW, largely related to short-term fluctuations in sediment supply during the last sea level high (ca. 6000 years BP). Analysis of high-resolution seismic profiles revealed that the AMW consists of five clinothems (referred to here as "seismic units" SU1 to SU5) that were roughly dated by calibration with the continuous recovery well PRAD2-4. Each seismic unit is bounded by minor floodplains (H1 to H5), reflecting periods of relative sediment starvation at the margin. Our analysis provides an interpretative tool to differentiate the fluvial contribution of marine remodeling processes during the AMW evolution on millennium to centennial timescales. In addition, small-scale geomorphic features such as erosion surfaces, small distributary channels and terminal lobes were identified to provide information on heterogeneities that may impact an unconventional fine-grained delta reservoir, both in terms of continuity and overall hydrocarbon potential. • We document the Late Holocene evolution of the AMW between Conero Promontory and Gargano Promontory. • The first internal subdivision of the AMW at the intra-clinothem scale for almost its entire extent is presented and analyzed. • Evidence of short-lived phases of advancing and retreat of the AMW at the intra-clinothem scale have been observed. • The competition between sediments from rivers and the redistribution by oceanographic processes sees a progressive increase of the latter over time. • New evidence has enlightened the presence of small-scale, shallow water distributary channels across the AMW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the preserved successions of clastic lacustrine systems receiving substantial sediment input from fluvial sources, the boundary between delta-plain and delta-front facies belts marks the position of ancient lacustrine shorelines. Placing and predicting the position of this boundary in nearshore lacustrine deposits of the Triassic Yanchang Formation (Ordos Basin, China) is of considerable applied significance, since sandstone deposits of this succession host numerous geological resources; yet, delta-top and delta-front deposits differ fundamentally in terms of sandstone fraction, sandbody geometries, and petrophysical properties. However, established sedimentological criteria for shoreline identification relevant to marine environments are only partially applicable to this lacustrine setting. For example, in lacustrine systems, (i) water salinity can be considerably lower, (ii) tidal processes are negligible, (iii) wave activity is often limited and of local significance (e.g., distal and lateral delta-front fringes; transgressive periods of delta-lobe reworking), (iv) seasonal fluctuations in water chemistry and biogenic productivity may be common, and (v) the rate, frequency and magnitude of oscillations in base level differ from marine counterparts. Collectively, these factors hinder the differentiation of delta-plain and delta-front deposits in the Yanchang Formation. The establishment of effective criteria with which to make such distinction is important for palaeogeographic restorations, and for resource exploration and exploitation. On the basis of detailed sedimentological descriptions of well cores and outcrop exposures of the Yanchang Formation in the southeastern Ordos Basin, sedimentary facies accumulated as part of different sub-environments and facies belts are studied. Delta-plain deposits can be readily differentiated from those of delta-front origin on the basis of criteria relating to sediment texture, sedimentary structures, palaeontological content, well-log profiles, and vertical facies successions. These criteria are summarized and applied to better characterize the deltaic setting and to reconstruct the evolution of lacustrine shorelines during accumulation of the Yanchang Formation, particularly for the northeastern area of the basin. A key outcome of this study is the development of a broadly applicable model for the recognition of sub-environments in river-dominated lacustrine deltaic successions. A generalized workflow is established to demonstrate how techniques in sedimentary facies analysis can be employed to reconstruct siliciclastic lacustrine delta shorelines, and thereby predict reservoir characteristics. • Integration of subsurface and outcrop data enabled reconstruction of the evolution of lacustrine palaeoshorelines through the stratigraphy of the Triassic Yanchang Formation (Ordos Basin). • Recognition criteria of sedimentary texture and structures, palaeofauna and flora, well-log profiles, and facies successions are summarized to differentiate delta-plain and delta-front strata. • A depositional model for the Yanchang Fm. is proposed that synthesizes characteristics of reservoir architecture as a function of position relative to a time-averaged palaeoshoreline. • The results can inform exploration in the Ordos Basin, providing guidance on the potential for extending exploration basinward. • The outlined approach for delineating facies belts and palaeoshorelines can be applied to subsurface studies of similar lacustrine deltaic successions with ramp-like basin margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land-surface quantitative analysis based on digital elevation model (DEM) has been applied for improving the geomorphological mapping of piedmont alluvial fans. Indeed, these fans are frequently along a mountain front, where a series of coalescing fans may eventually occur. The margins of adjacent fans are rather difficult to map, thus preventing accurate and meaningful quantification of fan morphometric properties such as fan area, length, and slope. These morphometric properties are essential for informing on the influence of climatic conditions and tectonic factors on the fan-building processes. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a quantitative digital mapping approach along a stretch of about 50 km in the southern front of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. Here, the Geomorphological Map of Syria at 1:1,000,000 scale (1963) reported at least nine piedmont alluvial fans, but these were poorly characterized in terms of geomorphometric characteristics and construction processes. Adopting the 1-arcsec SRTMv3 DEM, we propose a four-step workflow to analyse the feeding catchments morphology and fan morphometry. In this manner, the identification and geomorphological mapping of coalescent piedmont fans as well as the recognition of the main construction process have been improved. The proposed approach can support geomorphological investigations of wide and inaccessible areas—especially where arid and semi-arid climate conditions prevail—as well as where socio-political issues may prevent effective field work. • Land-surface quantitative analysis is suitable for geomorphological mapping and characterization of piedmont alluvial fans. • Recognition of the construction processes of the alluvial fan is challenging for a remotely-desk study. • Fluvial fans (FFs) are wider, with longer axis, gentle slope, and extended feeding catchment. • Alluvial fans (AFs) are smaller, with shorter axis, steeper slope, and small feeding catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pleistocene–recent transtensional forearc basins and associated island uplift could be driven by sinistral–oblique convergence along the eastern Hellenic subduction zone, Greece, or by simultaneous trench retreat attributable to subduction of Permo-Triassic Tethyan lithosphere. Structural mapping and basin analysis of the Lefkos Basin, Karpathos indicate deformation best related to oblique trench retreat in which Karpathos drifts southeastward more slowly than Rhodes. Lefkos Basin, perched on a corner of the offshore Karpathos Basin, comprised two Early Pleistocene marine sub-basins developed under northwest extension. Unusually long-wavelength hummocky cross-stratification (>10 m) and clinoforms (15–20 m high) constitute distinctive marker facies. Facies architecture reflects inter-related fault-controlled subsidence, syn -depositional uplift/tilting, glacioeustacy, and fan-delta-lobe avulsion. A 230U/234Th coral age of ∼600 ka and a deer mandible date a Middle Pleistocene transition to southwestward fan-delta progradation and basin uplift. Following ∼0.5 Ma fan-delta-plain deposition, the Lefkos Slide dropped a ∼3.7 km2 coastal plain. Subsequent steep north–south dextral–normal faults dominate Lefkos Basin, with subordinate steep east–west sinistral–normal and northeast-trending normal–oblique faults. Faults signify wrench domination based on their steepness, rare slip indicators, slip reversals and co-genetic upright isoclinal folds. These structures are integral to a forearc-scale dextral–normal shear zone, the Lefkos Shear Zone, an active crustal discontinuity spanning the southeastern forearc from eastern Crete through Kasos–Karpathos to Rhodes. Vertical coherence exists between upper-crustal dextral–normal shear in the Lefkos Shear Zone, crustal seismic anisotropy and deeper mantle processes. Hydraulic fractures, fluid-expulsion pipes, and ruptured cobbles record intermittent significant seismicity (Mw ≥5–6) that permeated the entire Lefkos basin fill spanning ∼2 million years, ultimately involving Late Roman–Early Byzantine archeological remains through ∼1000 years ago. This study encourages re-evaluation of seismic, landslide and tsunami hazards in the sector of the Hellenic forearc surrounding the Lefkos and Karpathos Basins. [Display omitted] • Lefkos and Karpathos Basins reveal Pleistocene-Recent Hellenic forearc neotectonics. • Hydraulic fracture, fluid expulsion and ruptured cobbles record ∼2 My of seismicity. • Forearc deformation in Lefkos Basin reflects the regional-scale Lefkos Shear Zone. • Basin deformation signifies oblique retreat of the eastern Hellenic subduction zone. • Seismic, landslide and tsunami hazards around Lefkos/Karpathos Basins need review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term evolution of deep-sea turbidity current activity is closely related to climate and sea level changes; however, the impact of abrupt climate change (e.g. millennial-scale events in high northern latitudes) is poorly known. In this paper, deep-sea turbidite records in the western part of the lower Bengal Fan were identified since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to investigate the effects of abrupt climate change on the development of the Earth's largest deep-sea fan. Our records show a termination of turbidite activity in the western lower fan at 16.6 ka–15.4 ka almost contemporaneous with Heinrich 1 event (a cooling stadial in high northern latitudes). The trigger of this termination in turbidite activity may have been a sharp decrease in erosion rates during a time of relatively stable sea level and rapid source-sink processes. The subsequent episodes of the Bolling/Allerod warm interstadial and Younger Dryas cold stadial and the rapid sea level rise event that followed possibly induced adjustment of turbidity current activities in the Bengal Fan, as indicated by other published records. In summary, we show that close links exist between abrupt climate changes in the high-latitude Northern Hemisphere and deep-sea turbidity current activity in the low-latitude South Asia. • Deep-sea turbidite records in the Bengal Fan since LGM were recovered. • Termination of turbidite in the western lower fan was triggered by HS1 event. • Links between high latitudes climate and low latitudes sedimentation were revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The 47-Hz TPRS resolves wet gas-bearing and light oil-bearing intervals (LOI). • The 47-Hz map images a 154 km2 NEE-SWW oriented stratigraphic play. • The 47-Hz TPRS images phase reversals and seismic-doublets at 170 to 200°F and porosity of 22 to 32 % WGI. • The used workflow has strong stratigraphic implications for field development strategies. Basin floor fans (BFF) of deltaic depositional systems are important stratigraphic traps, which are sourced by the regionally developed meandering channel belts and associated deposits of point bar facies. The vertical and lateral changes in the tectonics and sea level adversely affect the temperature (θ) and porosity constraints of petroleum plays within BFF of the lowstand system tracts. These fluctuations impact the sedimentary controls on thickness, lithology-impedance contrast, phase, and frequency of BFF. As a result of the reliance on full-spectrum seismics, quantifying thin-bedded stratigraphic wet gas-bearing intervals (WGI) and light oil-bearing intervals of petroleum systems becomes extremely difficult. This study utilizes seismic attributes and instantaneous spectral analysis-based temperature-porosity reservoir simulations (TPRS) to quantify the BFF of the Early-Cretaceous delta of the Miano gas field, Central Pakistan. The 47-Hz peak-tuned frequency component of spectral decomposition [SpecDecomp] images a 154 km2 NEE-SWW traversed and regionally developed stratigraphic prospect. Linear regression of R2 > 0.80 between spectral decomposition-based tuning frequency of 47-Hz and gross reservoir thickness of BFF validates the presence of gas-bearing shales. The 47-Hz wavelet-based TPRS has resolved the phase reversals and seismic-doublet signatures for thin-bedded shale PETROS at θ of 170°F to 200°F and porosities of 22 % to 32 % of WGI within BFF. TPRS at 47-Hz SpecDecomp profile between the frequency bandwidth spectrums of 12–62-Hz has reappraised the exact morphology of the continental shelf, shelf-slope, and BFF. A 21 m thick aggradational parasequence of BFF was deposited at an angle of 2° during the onset of subsidence and rapid fall, followed by a subsequent standstill of sea-level at θ of 170 to 200°F, ∼26 to 35 % porosities, and laterally fractured subsidized regimes of WGI.. A 20 m thick retrogradational fluvial-dominated facies was deposited at an angle of 35° during a rising followed by a standstill of sea level at a θ of 140 to 165°F, ∼08 % to 18 % porosity, and poorly fractured uplifted compressional regimes of light oil-bearing intervals. The aggradational WGI of Lowstand System Tracts was completely embedded by retrogradational shales of transgressed system tracts from the top of the aggradational and laterally. The uncertainty analysis has prevailed with a moderate-to-good R2 > 0.75 for BFF and a very poor R2 < 0.1 for fluvial-dominated point bar traps. Our workflow has implications in terms of exploring the tectonics and stratigraphic frameworks within the petroleum systems for imaging the most productive zones in a single snapshot of 47-Hz tuning frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submarine fans play a crucial role in understanding deep-sea sedimentary processes, establishing source-to-sink linkages, and identifying deep-water hydrocarbon reservoirs. Various types of submarine fans have been documented. Here we present findings on the Guangya submarine fan in the Southwest subbasin (SWSB) of the South China Sea (SCS), by analyzing multibeam bathymetric and two-dimensional multichannel seismic data. Bathymetric data reveal that the Guangya fan, covering an area of ~22,500 km2, comprises seven leveed channels, leading to a large composite lobe off the channel mouths. Different from typical submarine fans, the Guangya fan exhibits an elongated shape, extending longitudinally from the shelf edge through the slope to the abyssal plain, while laterally confined within a trough-like morphology in the southwestern tip of the SWSB and beyond. Lacking a typical feeding canyon, the fan appears to be self-fed by the leveed channels that serve as the primary depositional element. In contrast to the radial channel pattern in typical fans, the channels within the Guangya fan form a unique braid to dendritic pattern, genetically linked to channel merging and intersecting effects. Long wavelength and low wave height cyclic steps are identified, highlighting the occurrence of energetic supercritical turbidity currents. Seismic stratigraphic analysis shows that the Guangya fan primarily consists of high-amplitude reflections, indicating its coarser-grained or sandy turbidite-dominated nature. The fan has been evolved since the Pliocene, and mainly comprises depositional elements including channel fills, levees, lobes, and mass transport deposits. The specific tectonic context at the convergence of the conjugate margins, bounding the funnel-shaped SWSB, significantly influences the development of the Guangya fan. The Guangya fan could be originated from a shelf-edge staging area predominantly fed by the Mekong River during sea-level lowstands. • We report a unique elongated channelized submarine fan in the South China Sea. • The fan extends from the shelf edge to the abyssal plain. • The fan appears to be self-fed by dendritic submarine channels. • Tectonics plays a key role in the development of the fan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Butano Sandstone forms part of an Eocene submarine fan deposited in the La Honda basin in central California. The Butano submarine fan has been subdivided into three main facies associations: southern inner-fan deposits, central middle-fan deposits, and northern outer-fan deposits. In spite of homogeneous quartzofeldspathic sandstone composition, these outcrop belts have several compositional and mineralogical differences, likely caused by post-depositional events related to the complex tectonic history of the La Honda basin, and expressed in deep-burial diagenesis and possible hydrothermal alteration. Both compaction and cementation reduced the intergranular volume (lower than 19 %) and the Compactional Index (average 0.9), indicating the major role of compaction in reducing original porosity. The southern proximal-fan and northern distal-fan outcrops exhibit different relative abundance of detrital quartz (Qm 43.5 %) than the middle-fan central outcrop (Qm 50.7 %). Primarily plagioclase and subordinately K-feldspar suffered leaching and intense dissolution during burial, particularly in the central part of the basin, even showing similar and quite constant distribution of alteration degree among the three outcrop belts (dominantly Fpc, Fpd, Fka, and Fkb grain types). Plagioclase abundance decreases in the middle-fan deposits proportionally with the increase of authigenic kaolinite, even where present in moderate amount; in contrast, authigenic kaolinite of inner-fan strata probably formed after partial dissolution of K-feldspar. Diagenetic changes are most abundant in the Butano Sandstone in the central part of the La Honda basin, likely primarily due to hydrothermal effects during deep burial. • Investigating the post-depositional processes affecting the framework composition of the Butano Sandstone. • Compaction play the crucial role, rather than cementation, in reducing the original porosity. • Dissolution affects primarily plagioclase grains and subordinately k-feldspar. • Samples belonging to the central portion of the Butano sandstone exhibits a higher volume of quartz due to diagenetic evolution of composition. • Burial diagenesis and hydrothermal effects influence the detrital mode of the Butano Sandstone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Deep-sea habitats are typically food limited. • Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes are useful tools to track food resources and trophic levels. • Isoscapes help track spatial variation in resource use across canyon and slope environments. • Deep-sea isoscapes provide avenue to understand shifting baselines with climate change. The deep sea is the largest biome on earth, but one of the least studied despite its critical role in global carbon cycling and climate buffering. Deep-sea organisms largely rely on particulate organic matter from the surface ocean for energy – these organisms in turn play critical roles in energy transport, transformation, storage, and sequestration of carbon. Within the deep sea, submarine canyons are amongst the most complex and dynamic environments in our oceans, where varied morphology, powerful currents, and variable nutrient conditions influence the distribution of species and transport of organic material throughout the water column and the seafloor. Significant habitat heterogeneity provides ideal substrates for cold-water corals, making submarine canyons of interest to conservation and management. However, how these and other topographic features in the deep ocean influence energy flow and trophic pathways is poorly known. Thus, submarine canyons serve as model systems to track variability in organic material flux and consequential utilization and assimilation by the benthos. In this study, we used an extensive stable isotope dataset to examine food-web structure in Baltimore and Norfolk submarine canyons and compared them to their adjacent slopes located along the U.S. Atlantic margin. Linear models were used to construct geospatially-explicit consumer isoscapes that predicted variation in carbon and nitrogen isotopes across the canyon-slope seascape, providing a predictive map from which to test hypotheses on the distribution and flow of energy resources, relevant to understanding whole community function. Communities were composed of isotopically diverse feeding groups with photosynthetically-derived organic carbon providing the basal food resource. Canyon communities were distinct from the slope, with canyon consumers significantly 13C-depleted, indicating a greater supply and/or utilization of fresh organic matter compared to the slope. Isoscapes for benthic and suspension feeders were distinct, possibly due to the consumption of different quality organic matter sources (fresh = suspension feeders, old = benthic feeders), each with distinct isotope composition. To our knowledge, our modeled isoscapes represent the first spatially extensive isotopic maps of deep-sea consumers, providing insights into regional-scale variation in stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes for different consumer groups. They provide a baseline for tracking climate-change induced fluctuations in the quality and availability of surface primary production and the consequential impact to benthic communities, which play critical roles in carbon cycling in our world's oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A three-stage alluvial fan pattern was built since MIS3. • Cold-dry conditions promote the aggradation of debris flow deposits. • Warm-humid climate leads to perennial streamflow on the fan surface. • Climate is the main factor controlling the evolution of Xiangpi fan. Alluvial fans in the piedmont zones of mountains respond most rapidly to tectonic activity, base-level conditions, and climate changes. These allogenic signals are effectively recorded by the external morphology and internal sedimentary characteristics of the fan. Based on field survey interpretation and integrated optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology, we selected a case study of the modern Xiangpi Fan on the south bank of Lake Qinghai, NE Tibetan Plateau, and built a three-stage alluvial fan pattern since Marine isotope stages 3 (MIS3), namely, the debris flow lobe building stage (DFLBS), aeolian building stage (ABS), and streamflow reworking stage (SRS). The climatic indicators, such as the total organic carbon (TOC) flux, precipitation, and sediment particle size flux, are highly correlated with the above stages, indicating that the sedimentary process and changes in fan morphology effectively record orbital climate changes in the Lake Qinghai basin. During the DFLBS, the cold-dry climate accelerated the sediment yield sufficiently, leading to many coarse-grained sediments and low TOC flux being imported into the basin through debris flow processes. During the ABS, the extreme dry-cold climate caused the stagnation of fan development, and aeolian processes dominated the transport of fine sediment. In the SRS, warm-humid conditions led to limited sediment yield and perennial stream power, which promoted the transport of fine-grained material and TOC to the basin by braided–meandering channels. This study provides an excellent case showing how an alluvial fan responds to climate oscillations through changes in sedimentology and geomorphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Records of tide-reworked fan delta facies models are rare in literature, attributed to their lower abundances due to complex sediment distribution pattern by two exclusive end-member flows, viz., a seaward directed subaerial to subaqueous debris flow, and dominant tidal current system interfering with and reworking the debris flow. Lack of appropriate analogues of tide-reworked fan deltas makes the ancient examples more significant. The analysis of such rare tide-reworked fan deltas from deep-time, e.g., Mesoproterozoic, turns out to be unique due to the gap in clear understanding of the alluvial-fluvial vs marine processes in non-vegetated land parts. The lower part of the Mesoproterozoic Rajgarh Formation, Lalsot Basin, North Delhi Fold Belt, Aravalli Craton in NW India, provides a rare record of a tide-reworked fan delta depositional system. Sedimentary facies analysis reveals eleven lithofacies grouped under three major facies associations, viz., (i) gravel-rich conglomerate facies association, characterized by stacked debris flow deposits forming a subaerial alluvial fan, representing the delta topset component, followed downslope by (ii) pebbly, cross-stratifed sandstone facies association, characterized by reworking of the subaqueously emplaced debris flows by ebb-tidal currents, to produce the mouth bar and the delta front depositional systems, and finally, (iii) sandstone-mudstone heterolithic facies association, characterized by abundant tidal signatures in pebble-free thin-bedded sandstone-mudstone heteroliths with tidal bundles, herringbone cross-strata and wave ripples, characterizing a stable platformal subtidal-intertidal flat depositional system. The lower-middle part of the succession records an aggradational stratal stacking pattern of the subaerial alluvial fan changing to progradational stratal stacking of the laterally accreted debris-rich tide-led clinoforms producing the delta topset – mouth bar – delta front transiton of a tide-reworked fan-delta under successive regressive conditions, representing syn-rift deposition near the basin margin. A retrogradational stratal stacking pattern overlies the fan-delta succession, and signifies a transgression by landward encroaching tidal flat system over the fan-delta system during post-rift phase in a stable platformal setup, where debris supply is ceased. A regressive-transgressive model characterizing the transition from a fan-delta to tidal flat depositional systems portrays fluctuations in the accommodation conditons in response to complex interplay of basin tectonics and relative sea level changes in the Mesoproterozoic riftogenic Lalsot Basin. • Sedimentary facies model of tide-reworked fan-delta from Mesoproterozoic rift basin. • Syn-rift, aggrading debris flows led to a subaerial alluvial fan (the delta plain). • Progradation of fan delta by subaqueous tide-reworked debris flows (mouth bar). • Post-rift stable platformal transgression by a retrograding tidal flat on fan delta. • Transgressive-regressive cycle by interaction of autogenic vs. allogenic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fill of trench-slope basins is complex, varying temporally, laterally, and longitudinally. New data from the Neogene stratigraphy of the Akitio Sub-basin, Wairarapa, are presented to investigate such fill variation. The preserved basin fill spans an area 70 km long by 10 km wide, representing deposits from a trench-slope basin. Integration of sedimentological, micropalaeoentological, and geological mapping data charts basin fill evolution. Over 15 km of strata were logged, defining 17 lithofacies associations, which were mapped across the basin; these are interpreted to represent both shallow and deep-water environments. The deep-water strata show a temporal evolution from ponded turbidite deposition, to a period of basin spill via conduits connecting to downstream basins, development of aggradational channel-levees, and finally unconfined submarine fan deposition. Shallow marine deposits mostly developed on the up-dip basin margin occur contemporaneously with basinal mass-transport deposits, and in association with the growth of basin bounding structural ridges. Comparison with the evolution of the offshore, actively filling Akitio Trough highlights controls on trench-slope basin fill: a first-order influence of external controls, e.g. tectonism to create the basin; a second-order progression from under- to overfilled; and third-order lateral variation reflecting autogenic process and the effects of local structures on seafloor gradients. These factors combine to vary sedimentation in trench-slope-basins spatially and temporally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We drilled a 210 m-thick succession of Quaternary sediments and extended it 30 m upsection with information that we collected from an adjacent outcrop. In the 240 m-thick succession we identified 12 different lithofacies, grouped them into five facies assemblages, and distinguished two major sedimentary sequences. A sharp contact at 103 m depth cuts off cross-beds in sequence A and separates them from the overlying horizontal beds in sequence B. Although the lowermost facies assemblage of each sequence includes a till deposited during a period of ice cover, the two tills differ from each other. In particular, the till at the base of sequence A is dominated by large clasts derived from the underlying Molasse bedrock, whereas the till at the base of sequence B has no such Molasse components. Furthermore, the till in sequence A bears evidence of glaciotectonic deformation. Both tills are overlain by thick assemblages of subaqueous, most likely glaciolacustrine and lacustrine facies elements. The cross-bedded and steeply inclined sand, gravel, and diamictic beds of sequence A are interpreted as deposits of density currents in a subaqueous ice-contact fan system within a proglacial lake. In contrast, the lacustrine sediments in sequence B are considered to record a less energetic environment where the material was most likely deposited in a prodelta setting that gradually developed into a delta plain. Towards the top, sequence B evolves into a fluvial system recorded in sequence C, when large sediment fluxes of a possibly advancing glacier resulted in a widespread cover of the region by a thick gravel unit. Feldspar luminescence dating on two samples from a sand layer at the top of sequence B provided uncorrected ages of 250.3 ± 80.2 and 251.3 ± 59.8 ka. The combination of these ages with lithostratigraphic correlations of sedimentary sequences encountered in neighboring scientific drillings suggests that sequence B was deposited between Marine Isotope Stage 8 (MIS 8; 300–243 ka) and MIS 7 (243–191 ka). This depositional age marks the end of one stage of overdeepening–fill in the perialpine Aare Valley near Bern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current knowledge of submarine fan deposits has historically relied heavily on qualitative field and subsurface observations and interpretations, but recent studies using statistical analyses have enhanced the understanding of submarine fan sub‐environments, including the degree of confinement, stratigraphic patterns and potential control factors. The purpose of this study is to improve the quantitative understanding of synorogenic submarine fan deposition at foreland basin settings with a statistical approach. A suite of statistical methods is integrated and developed (Hurst Statistics/rescaled range analysis, bed thickness frequency distribution analysis, Markov Chains and time‐series analysis), and applied to the well‐understood Pennsylvanian lower Atoka submarine fan system in the Ouachita Mountains, United States, for this purpose. The results of the Hurst Statistics and bed thickness analyses corroborate qualitative interpretations that: (i) the lower Atoka is lobe‐dominated; and (ii) the south‐eastern (wedge top) portion of the system is more strongly confined than the northern (foredeep) portion. The Markov Chains and time‐series analyses reveal the prevalence (56% of the measured sections) of stratigraphic orderliness and cyclicity; these results are used to discuss potential control signals, which are otherwise difficult to distinguish, on the turbidite sandstone recurrence cycles. The results of this study demonstrate that these integrated statistical methods can be utilized to quantify depositional interpretations and extract hidden information using outcrops with limited exposures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into modern oceans, seas, and their coastal zones, as well as marine ecosystems, provides valuable information for deciphering the geological dynamics. Geological oceanography is, however, not only about the present, as it also includes marine deposits, palaeoenvironments, and fossils, some (if not many) of which do not have modern analogues. Geological oceanography also provides important frameworks for interpreting mineral and hydrocarbon deposits, which occur beneath modern oceans and seas, or are formed in connection to significant ancient water masses. [Extracted from the article]

The evolution of alluvial fans is controlled by the tectonic setting and climatic fluctuations. This study focused on the Lidian alluvial fan in the northern piedmont of Zhongtiao Shan, north China, to study the fluvial responses to paleoenvironmental changes since the late Last Glacial Maximum. In combination with series of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating data on fan sediments, sedimentary analyses indicated that the primary fan accumulation was controlled by episodic millennium-scale debris and sheet flood flow related aggradation during 13.3–13.0, 12.7–11.3, 6.2–4.5, and 4.5–2.8 cal ka BP. Between the accumulation periods, the fan process was dominated by aeolian paleosol-and-loess sequence development and the reworking of fan clasts. Considering regional hydraulic conditions and sediment flux, we proposed that the millennium-scale episodic debris flow related fan aggradation during 13.3–13.0, 12.7–11.3, and 4.5–2.8 cal ka BP was controlled by high-volume sediment influx of the permafrost and physical weathering during cold events. The millennium-scale sheet flood-dominated fan aggradation event during 6.2–4.5 cal ka BP was related to the abrupt coarsening and high sediment yield forced by tectonic uplift. We also suggest that the scattered distributed channelized floods and debris backfilling sediments within the fine-grain layers indicate that the deposition of irregular fan lobe accumulation coincided with hydraulic shifts over shorter temporal scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distal slope and basin depositional systems in deep waters of the Pará‐Maranhão Basin, Equatorial Brazil, are investigated using a high‐resolution 3D seismic volume, borehole data and multispectral satellite imagery. A Neogene calciclastic submarine fan and a series of channel‐levee systems are analysed at water depths of 100–3,500 m. Channel‐levee systems have sinuous and straight morphologies and are of different sizes. Their origin is related to turbidity flows sourced and funnelled from the carbonate shelf to submarine canyons and gullies, as well as from areas with marked slope instability. A mixed calciclastic‐siliciclastic sediment input is recognised with autochthonous calcarenites and calcilutites comprising the bulk of sediment on the mid and outer continental shelf. Minor amounts of siliciclastic sediment sourced from small rivers occur on the inner shelf. Sedimentation processes of a distally steepened carbonate ramp are discussed considering a general depositional setting dominated by fluctuations in relative sea‐level. Cross‐sectional and planar parameters of mixed calciclastic‐siliciclastic channel‐levee systems are compared to their siliciclastic counterparts. Morphological results show similarities between calciclastic and siliciclastic channel‐levee systems. As a corollary, three types of channel‐levee systems are described: (a) channels related to calciclastic submarine fans, (b) low‐sinuosity, aggradational channels, and (c) high‐sinuosity channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose that a more readily studied, secondary source‐to‐sink (S2S) systems can be formed on direct‐fed margins, in which shelf‐edge deltas are 'sources' and deep‐water fans are terminal depositional 'sinks', with channels working as delivery 'conduits' in between. DionisosFlow stratigraphic‐forward model, coupled to seismic and borehole data from middle Miocene Pearl River margin, are used to explore physical and conceptual linkages of delta‐to‐fan S2S systems, with a focus on the predictability of when and how coarse clastics are delivered from the deltas down to the submarine fans. Middle Miocene Pearl River delta‐to‐fan S2S coupling was stratigraphically enacted in three main ways: (a) deltas that lack downdip fans: high sea level or low sediment supply caused coarse clastics to be stored mainly on inner to outer shelf areas; (b) deltas that are linked downdip to fans: coarse clastics were funneled to submarine fans through slope channels, via direct delta‐to‐fan S2S linkages created by delta overreach at shelf break or channels extending back to shelf‐margin prodeltas; (c) fans that lack updip, coeval deltas: coarse shelf clastics were carried laterally by longshore or other shelf currents, but eventually captured by canyon heads, and then delivered directly to the basin floor. Moreover, our DionisosFlow stratigraphic‐forward models suggest that an oscillation in sea‐level behaviour from slowly falling to rapidly falling would result in a within‐system tract surface occurring within the falling‐stage systems tract. This surface is identified as a significant lower‐order unconformity in its proximal reaches and as a correlative conformity distally. Within‐system tract surfaces are identified by a change in shelf‐edge trajectory regimes from flat to slight falling to moderately falling and in architecture from mixed progradation and degradation to dominant degradation. They are coeval with the onset of the deposition of submarine fans linked updip to deltas or lacking updip deltas, highlighting that sandy deposits can be compartmentalized even within a single systems tract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Miocene Serra Palazzo Formation (SPF) was deposited in a foredeep basin in front of the growing Southern Apennines orogenic wedge. A new detailed facies analysis, based on high‐resolution physical stratigraphy, for a 570 m‐thick interval, has been undertaken in order to reconstruct the depositional history. Two phases of development can be recognized. The older one was characterized by the sedimentation of sandy channel‐lobe transition zone (cltz) deposits with various degrees of amalgamation; roughly in the middle, a 26 m‐thick sandy megaturbidite was deposited. At this time, basin topography, including the inbound slope base and topography due to the orogen‐related flexural subsidence, caused significant flow confinement illustrated by a number of sedimentary features, such as syn‐sedimentary deformation structures, hummocky laminations, and differences in the palaeocurrent directions recorded in the same event bed. The younger phase was characterized by the sedimentation of more‐proximal amalgamated sandy channel deposits, followed upwards by an even more‐proximal sequence of thick levees with thin‐bedded and fine‐grained facies. Tectonics was one of the main controls on the stacking patterns of the submarine fans of the SPF basin. Particularly, the outward thrust migration governed the evolution from the cltz deposits to the levee deposits and it might have caused the repeated waxing‐waning flow cycles recorded in the channel deposits and the changes in bed dip angles in the levee deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-resolution seismic, core, and chronological data from the Quaternary Golo deepsea fans, offshore Corsica, France, give new insights into rates of submarine fan growth. Average vertical deposition rates for units that represent the Late Pleistocene glacial periods are 0.1-0.5 m/k.y. Glacial-age deposits are sand rich; in contrast, post-glacial deposits lack a significant sand fraction and are dominated by carbonate-rich mud. As a result, seismically constrained volumetric rates of deposition for glacial periods with low sea level and a subaerially exposed shelf are ~0.23 km3/k.y., 2×-5× higher than rates during interglacials when sea level is high, the shelf is submerged, and sand is trapped in shallowmarine environments. At millennial time scales, variations in deposition rate reflect climatedriven sea-level changes, autogenic avulsion of river channels that extend across the shelf during low sea level, and autogenic avulsion of submarine channels that shift the locus of deposition laterally. Short-term deposition rates range from 8.6 m/k.y. at proximal portions of submarine fans to 0.4 m/k.y. along the distal fringe. Our data show that submarine fans can be dynamic environments with formation and evolution of levee-confined channels and lobe complexes in 103-104 yr, comparable to the time scales needed to form fluvial channel belts and delta lobes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theories involved in gravity flow deposits have become a hot and difficult topic of international sedimentology research. Compared with submarine fan reservoirs, the study on the single sandbody architecture of sublacustrine fan reservoirs is relatively weak, especially the study on quantitative architecture models is still rarely reported. Based on the integrated analysis of the core, well logging and production data, the architectural characteristics of Triassic Chang-6 oil-bearing interval in Heshui area of Ordos Basin were investigated, and the distribution of the single sandbody of sublacustrine fan in depression lacustrine basin was determined. The results show that 6 architecture elements are identified in sublacustrine fan, including main channel, branch channel, lobe, lobe edge, inter-channel and inter-lobe. Based on the single sandbody boundary recognition mark of exploration wells and horizontal wells, the boundary of single sandbody was divided. The lobe complex is composed by multiple individual lobes as the compensational superimposition pattern, which is related to the short-term base-level changing. The single lobe is tongue-shaped on the plane and narrower in the proximal region while wider in the distal region. There is an obvious linear positive correlation between maximum width and maximum thickness, with the aspect ratio ranging from 100 to 160. Finally, according to the analysis results of the architecture in the study area, the three-dimensional architecture model of sublacustrine fan in the depression lacustrine basin is established. The research results have important guiding significance for the adjustment of the oilfield development program and the exploitation of remaining oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alluvial fans are among the principal geomorphological features that have an influence on the development of human societies, particularly in arid regions. In view of the salience of these triangular-shaped deposits to environmental management, an accurate mapping of alluvial fans within a specific region could prove significantly advantageous. This study proposes a method for semi-automated detection of alluvial fans based on the analysis of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The proposed method is a novel Symmetry Model DEM (SMDEM), which extracts alluvial fans the pseudo-basin concept. This method is capable of accurate detection of alluvial fans and all their segmentations (i.e. lobes), apex, and toe when they are delimited by boundary drainage (lateral and toe drainage channels). The method was tested analyzing different environmental scenarios and was evaluated by comparing the output of the model with satellite data. The alluvial fans analyzed with the SMDEM model are the Lannemezan (12,303 km2), Xinhe (5572 km2), and Naien (1668 km2) fans, which are among the largest in Europe, China, and Iran, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep‐water depositional systems are the ultimate sink for vast quantities of terrigenous sediment, organic carbon and anthropogenic pollutants, forming valuable archives of environmental change. Our understanding of the distribution of these particles and the preservation of environmental signals, in deep‐water systems is limited due to the inaccessibility of modern systems, and the incomplete nature of ancient systems. Here, the deposit of a physically modelled turbidity current was sampled (n = 49) to determine how grain size and grain type vary spatially. The turbidity current had a sediment concentration of 17%. The sediment consisted of, by weight, 65% quartz sand (2.65 g/cm3), 17.5% silt (2.65 g/cm3), 7.5% clay (2.60 g/cm3) and 5% each of sand‐grade garnet (3.90 g/cm3) and microplastic fragments (1.50 g/cm3). The grain size and composition of each sample was determined using laser diffraction and density separation, respectively. The results show that: (a) bulk grain size coarsened axially downstream on the basin floor challenging the notion that basin floor deposits fine radially from an apex upon becoming unconfined; (b) no sample composition matched the input composition of the flow, indicating that allogenic signals can be autogenically shredded and spatially variable in sediment gravity flow deposits; and (c) microplastic fragments were concentrated in levee and lateral basin floor fringe positions; however, microplastic concentrations in these positions were lower than input, suggesting microplastics bypassed the sampled positions. These findings have implications for: (a) the development of 'finger‐like' geometries and facies distributions observed in modern and ancient systems; (b) interpreting environmental signals in the stratigraphic record; and (c) predicting the distribution of microplastics on the sea floor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Thick frost on the evaporators of air-source heat pumps and refrigeration systems can degrade system performance. Defrosting in time based on precise frosting state recognition method is of great importance. Indirect measuring recognition method with low accuracy is widely used in commercial systems, for cheapness and simpleness, needing improvement urgently. While accurate direct measuring methods are usually expensive and complicated. Therefore, a novel frosting state recognition method with high accuracy is proposed, which can be realized with a simple current sensor. The method is based on the micro fluctuation in the evaporator fan current (rather than current amplitude) caused by the perturbed air due to frost. An experimental setup is built to obtain fan current samples. Combining three feature extraction approaches and three classifiers, four frost state recognition methods using fan current fluctuation are merged. They are compared and studied based on the experimental samples. Results show original signal + 1D-CNN method has the best identification performance, reaching 95.74 ± 1.73 % accuracy at −10 °C evaporator air temperature. It reveals 94.53 ± 1.06 % accuracy in a temperature range of −5∼-20 °C, and 94.73 ± 1.00 % accuracy for another fan with the same model. The method has significant improvement in performance and good potential for further study and application. • A novel frosting state recognition method is proposed based on evaporator fan current. • It is based on tiny fluctuation in current due to frost rather than current amplitude. • Growing frost changes the wake turbulence, causing the micro fluctuation in current. • Extracted feature + classifier make up recognition methods, four methods are studied. • Original signal+1DCNN has the best recognition accuracy of 95 % in T a range of −5∼-20 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northeastern Eurasia is one of the least explored regions in the world. Very little geophysical data is available for this inaccessible area. Even the exact location of the plate boundary between Eurasia and North America remains a subject of ongoing debate. The effective elastic thickness (EET) of the lithosphere is a proxy for lithospheric strength and can provide insight into the thermal regime and tectonic processes. We have computed a high-resolution map of the EET for northeastern Eurasia using the fan wavelet coherence technique applied to the Bouguer gravity anomalies and topography/bathymetry data, appropriately adjusted to account for the influence of density variations within sediments. The results obtained provide insights into different tectonic regimes within this predominantly understudied region. In particular, we identify the boundary between the Eurasian and North American plates in Siberia as a rheologically weak diffusive zone extending from the Verkhoyansk and Sette-Daban Ranges to the eastern boundary of the Chersky Range. Unlike the Sette-Daban and Verkhoyansk Ranges, which were formed by plate collision and have an EET of 30–50 km, other mountainous regions have much lower EET values, usually less than 15 km. These areas have recently experienced tectonic activity that has weakened the lithosphere. • A high-resolution map of the effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere is calculated for Northeastern Eurasia. • The boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates in Siberia represents a wide transition zone of weak lithosphere. • The origin and tectonics of various mountain belts are reflected in large variations of the effective elastic thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas the effects of high-order relative sea level change (3rd-order and higher) on the formation and architecture of submarine fan systems are relatively well established, a lack of large-scale spatial and temporal data has resulted in the impacts of low-order relative sea level change (i.e. , 2nd-order) eluding characterization. With the aim of revealing the impacts of 2nd-order relative sea level, this study applied regional-scale seismic geomorphology to examine 142 Miocene-aged (21–8.2 Ma) submarine fans in the Baiyun Sag of the Pearl River Mouth Basin (China), integrating a large 3D seismic volume (6000 km2), well logs and core data. By extracting seismic attributes calibrated to well data, architectural elements were interpreted, statistically correlated, and their evolution through time was assessed. The results were as follows: (1) architectural elements of submarine channels and lobes, as well as associated highstand deltas, shelf-margin deltas and incised valleys, were identified based on their seismic geomorphological features and location, revealing that submarine channels shift paleo-seaward from incised valleys and feed lobes; (2) there is a positive correlation between average width of submarine channels and average area of lobes, as well as between the average width of incised valleys and average width of submarine channels; (3) the size of architectural elements is inversely related to proportion of sand; and most importantly, (4) the size variation of architectural elements coincides with changes in 2nd-order relative sea level. Results also indicate that rapid tectonic subsidence played an important control on the size and sandiness of deep-water architectural elements. The findings of this study may inform reconstruction of submarine fan systems and prediction of their petroleum reservoir potential in other systems globally. • Submarine fan architectural elements were identified. • Two positive correlations between the architectural elements were revealed. • Second-order relative sea level had controlled the sizes and lithology of architectural elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) is defined by pressure-temperature-salinity (pTS) constraints of natural gas hydrate (GH) system. It refers to a depth interval which usually extends several hundred meters into the sediment column at sufficient water depths. The lower boundary of the GHSZ often coincides in seismic reflection data with a bottom simulating reflector (BSR), which indicates the transition between the underlying free gas and the overlying no-free gas zone at the thermodynamic stability boundary. The GHSZ in geological systems is dynamic and can shift in response to sedimentation processes and/or changes in environmental conditions such as bottom water temperatures, hydrostatic pressure, and water salinity. The appearance of multiple BSRs has been interpreted as remnants of former GHSZ shifts which have persisted over geological timescales. In this study, we numerically simulate the sedimentation-driven development of multiple stacked BSRs in the Danube deep-sea fan in the Black Sea. We show that in this dynamic sediment depositional regime sufficient amounts of residual gas remain trapped in the former GHSZ, given sufficiently high initial gas hydrate saturations, so that paleo-BSRs could persist over long time scales (∼ 300 kyr). In particular, the formation and persistence of multiple BSRs in the Danube Delta is controlled by the sequence of sedimentation events of the levees induced by sea-level change. The kinetics of methane phase transitions between gas hydrate, dissolved methane, and free gas plays a key role in the coexistence, location and timing of the multiple BSRs. Thus, For a given permeability, distinct multiple BSRs appear only for a narrow range of GH formation (10 − 14 < k f mol / m 2 Pa s ≤ 10 − 12) and dissociation rates (10 − 16 < k d mol / m 2 Pa s < 10 − 14). • This study simulates the sedimentation-driven development of multiple stacked BSRs in the Danube paleo-delta, Black Sea. • Multiple BSR formation in Black Sea is controlled by the sequence of sedimentation events of levees due to sea-level changes. • Kinetics of phase transitions plays a key role in the coexistence, location, and timing of the multiple BSRs. • Development of multiple BSRs is possible only under a narrow range of parameters, unique for the Danube delta setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is (i) to re-assess the presence of submarine fan systems of Middle and Late Miocene age (Moki and Mount Messenger formations) previously mapped on the continental slope in offshore southern and central Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, and (ii), to demonstrate the occurrence of two newly mapped Late Miocene submarine fans in the deep-water part of offshore western Taranaki Basin, based on accepted seismic stratigraphic criteria for submarine fans. In our work we have found that the fans previously mapped amongst canyons and channels in the Moki and Mount Messenger formations on the upper and middle continental slope in southern and central Taranaki Basin do not fulfil established stratal criteria for submarine fan deposits. Moreover, detuning of 3D seismic reflection volumes for the Moki and Mount Messenger formation intervals ahead of amplitude attribute extraction, shows that the strata previously mapped as submarine fans based on amplitude alone, are merely artifacts of bed thickness. The two new fans systems of Late Miocene age that we map here, both attributed to the Mount Messenger Formation, principally comprise mudstone and represent a minor proportion of the Late Miocene succession that accumulated in southern and central parts of the basin. Our remapping of slope canyons and channels in the southern part of the basin and the identification of the two new fan systems in the western part of the basin are embodied in three new paloegeographic maps for the Middle and Late Miocene development of Taranaki Basin. A modern analogue for the two new Late Miocene fans in Taranaki Basin is the Hikurangi Fan at the terminus of the Hikurangi Channel, located outboard of the modern subduction zone of the Hikurangi margin along Eastern North Island. The new Taranaki Basin deep-water fans documented here, may have significance for hydrocarbon exploration in deep water parts of Taranaki Basin, which is largely unexplored. • New seismic geomorphologic mapping of the upper Moki and lower Mount Messenger formations in Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. • Critical reassessment of previously published submarine fan systems in southern and central Taranaki Basin and their dismissal on standard seismic stratigraphic criteria. • Seismic mapping of two new submarine fan systems in western Taranaki Basin. • Updated Taranaki Basin palaeogeographic maps for ∼14 Ma, ∼12 Ma and ∼6 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fine siliciclastic rocks of the Early Permian Shoushangou Formation in West Ujimqin Banner, central Inner Mongolia are a hot spot for Late Paleozoic oil and gas exploration and hold key implications for the tectonic evolution during the closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO). Therefore, the sedimentary characteristics of the Shoushangou Formation in West Ujimqin Banner, along with the geochemical and Sm–Nd isotopic characteristics of the clastic rock samples in Well MXD1, were investigated to privde additional constraints on its provenance and tectonic background. The mudstones contain large proportions of quartz, feldspars and igneous debris, and the CIAcorr (0.52–0.66), the A–CN–K plot and the lack of Ce anomalies in REE show a weakly weathered provenance and the chemically unaltered parent rocks, suggestive of the proximal deposition and rapid burial. Slip-roll beddings, gravity flow, Bouma sequences and the (trace) fossil assemblages in the profile indicate that the Shoushangou Formation is mainly a shallow- (semi-)abyssal submarine fan and the lithological information indicates the presence of microfaces including main and lesser water supply channels, interchannels, lobes, natural levees. Furthermore, a narrow continental shelf above the submarine fan and the concentrated zircon age population of the Shoushangou formation suggest that the tectonic background is most likely a retroarc basin. The Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 ratio (19–24, average 22), the multivariable principal element source identification diagram and the plots of Th/Sc vs. Zr/Sc and Co/Th vs. La/Sc indicate that the source is mainly felsic, with a minor proportion of intermediate rocks. Trace elemental characteristics (e.g., Th, Zr, Sc, Co, Nd, and REE) deomonstrate that the tectonic setting of the Shoushangou Formation is confined by continental arcs. The whole rock Sm–Nd isotopic spectra of the Carboniferous and Permian strata indicate that the Baolidao arc is the main source of central Inner Mongolia. Additionally, the comparison of the Nd model ages and the zircon U–Pb ages of the Baolidao arc and other entities in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) is in support of a prolonged subduction of the PAO since ∼510 Ma, suggesting that the Baolidao arc was developed from the southern continental arc of the original South Mongolia microcontinent. Accordingly, it is suggested that the Shoushangou Formation was deposited in a retro-arc basin which was strongly influenced by the steep subduction of the PAO and the results collectively suggest that the PAO terminated no earlier than the middle to late Permian. • Proposed a submarine fan model for the gravity flow system in central Inner Mongolia. • The Shoushangou Formation is deposited in the retro arc basin semi-confined by the Baolidao continental arc. • The siliciclastic rocks in the Shoushangou Formation are mainly derived from the Baolidao arc. • Sedimentary and geochronological evidences suggest that the PAO terminated no earlier than middle-late Permian. • The Nd isotope data indicate the affinity of the Baolidao arc with other entities in the eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connection between deltaic clinothem growth and the formation of down-dip deep-water systems on continental margins has been extensively discussed as a crucial component of sequence stratigraphic theory. However, in lacustrine settings, the growth of deltaic clinothems and outlying deep-water fans remains comparatively poorly understood. In the southwestern Bozhong Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, China, both lacustrine deltas and outlying sub-lacustrine fans were developed during the Oligocene, providing an opportunity to investigate the connection between lacustrine deltaic clinothem growth and the formation of outlying sub-lacustrine fans in deep-lacustrine systems. We employ 3D seismic data, well data, core data, and sandstone grainsize data to analyze the stacking patterns and internal architectures of these two sedimentary systems in the lower and upper successions of our study interval, SQE d 2 L. In addition, elemental geochemical parameters were utilized to reveal the paleoclimatic signature of the different stratigraphic successions. Our results suggest that there are two main types of deltaic clinothem stacking patterns in the lower and upper successions of SQE d 2 L, respectively: (1) in the lower succession, progradational to aggradational stacking patterns have a flat to steeply rising rollover trajectory, and (2) in the upper succession, aggradational to progradational and degradational stacking patterns have a slightly rising to flat and slightly falling trajectory. Meanwhile, the sub-lacustrine fans with straight channels and thick lobe complexes are coupled with progradational and aggradational (PA) deltaic clinothems in the lower succession. In the upper succession, small-scale sub-lacustrine fans with sinuous channels and thin lobe complexes are coupled with aggradational to progradational and degradational (APD) deltaic clinothems. The sediment connectivity between lacustrine deltas and sub-lacustrine fans stands in stark contrast to their counterparts in marine basins (such as marine APD clinothems coupled with large-scale deep-water fans, while marine PA clinothems rarely produce deep-water fans). In addition, two contrasting paleoclimatic stages have been identified in SQE d 2 L, namely the earlier humid stage in the lower succession and the later semiarid climatic stage in the upper succession. A comprehensive analysis of the differences between lacustrine and marine basins indicates that climatic variations play a pivotal role in deep-lacustrine deposition. Consequently, a climate-cycle-driven, sediment-supply-dominated sedimentary model of delta-to-fan sediment connectivity is proposed that incorporates the efficiency of terrigenous sediment dispersal into deep-lacustrine floors and the architecture of sub-lacustrine fans. The findings of this study further refine the implementation of the sequence stratigraphy paradigm and enhance the understanding of delta-to-fan sediment connectivity in deep-lacustrine depositional systems. • The scale of deep-water fans is coupled with various lacustrine deltaic clinothems. • Sediment connectivity of delta-to-fan in lacustrine basins is opposite to marine. • Climatic variations regulate sediment-supply and deep-lacustrine deposition. • Humid climates led to increased sediment connectivity between deltas and fans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The western Ordos Basin is located at the intersection of multiple tectonic units and is a key area in the restoration of the palaeogeographic pattern of the East Asia region. The stability of the area and well-developed Paleozoic strata in the basin provide ideal conditions for revealing the relationships among the tectonic processes apparent there. However, within the constraints of extensive post-depositional modification, poor-quality seismic data, and a lack of wells, sediment dispersion differences, source attribution, and source-to-sink processes are still unclear. In this study, we integrated sedimentology, mineral, and geochemical data obtained from marine, continental, and marine-continental transition sedimentary environments in the study area in order to reveal the evolution from source-to-sink. The results show that the western Ordos Basin was predominantly supplied by the Alxa block, Yinshan orogenic belt, Qilian orogenic belt, and the North Qinling orogenic belt during the Late Paleozoic era. As a result of the closure of the Paleo Asian Ocean, the Alxa block and Yinshan orogenic belt became the primary source areas to the north, being composed of granite and alkaline basalt and some sedimentary rocks. In the southern area, the Qilian and the Northern Qinling orogenic belts were subjected to the PaleoTethys remnant ocean basin subduction during the Early Permian. Granite and alkaline basalt were the source rocks of the North Qinling orogenic belt, which became the source area during the Shanxi period. The Qilian orogenic belt contains some sedimentary rocks. The continuous uplift of the southern and northern orogenic belts. The tectonic setting of the northern source area transitions from a passive continental margin to an active continental margin with a mixture of continental arc. The tectonic setting of the southern source area transitions from a mixture of passive continental margin and active continental margin to an active continental margin and continental island arc. The climate changes gradually from humid to semi-arid and then to arid, and meanwhile, the sea level shows a decreasing trend, leading to an increasing distance of advancement for each source-to-sink system, and gradually converged in the central and eastern regions of the basin. Tidal and fan delta sandy sediments in the study area were transformed into fluvial delta sandy sediments in the northern two source-to-sink systems. The southern source-to-sink systems gradually changed from scattered sandbarrier and coastal sandy sediment to fluvial sandy sediment after the Shanxi Formation. • No apparent source from the North Qinling Belt before Shanxi Formation. • Subduction/collision time difference between Ocean Basins create a north-south difference in dispersal of sandy sediments. • Sandy sediments dispersal in marine-continental transition influenced by climate, sea-level, and basin accommodation space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unusual sedimentary deposits such as stromatolites, thrombolites, dendrolites, and giant ooids are widely distributed in the Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB) successions of shallow platform facies worldwide. These microbial fabrics, however, are rarely present in the same section. The genesis of these PTB microbialites and the oceanographic conditions linking to the end-Permian mass extinction still remain disputed despite intense study. Here, we report a stromatolite-dendrolite-thrombolite-giant ooid association from the PTB beds of the Yudongzi section on the northwestern margin of the Yangtze Platform, South China, which was situated in low latitudes during the Permian-Triassic (P-Tr) transition. The Yudongzi microbialites rest on an irregular contact with underlying Permian bioclastic limestone and are comprised of lower bedded stromatolite, digitate dendrolite, upper bedded stromatolite, and thrombolite units. The bedded stromatolite is characterized by undulating laminated structures and various amalgamated and layered clots. The digitate dendrolite is made up of digitate-like branches, formed by clots distributed in an arched arrangement, and characterized by abundant branching dendroids. The thrombolite displays distinct clotted textures that comprise a mixture of dark-colored microbial fabric and light-colored interstitial sediment. In microbialite, columnar structures identified as Gakhumella -like calcimicrobe are very abundant. Each individual of Gakhumella -like structure has densely arranged segments forming a columnar- to fan-shaped micro-structure. Single segments are arch-shaped and form a thin chamber between segments. Coccoid-like, bacterial clump-like, and other spheroidal aggregates are also commonly present and suggestive of a biogenetic origin for the Yudongzi microbialites. Moreover, distinct aragonite crystal fans are also for the first time found in the PTB microbialites in South China, suggesting that the fans may have resulted from high inorganic carbon concentrations, and thus high levels of carbonate dioxide in the seawater. The Yudongzi microbialites are capped by shelly grainstone and a massive giant oolite, implying that the demise of the Yudongzi microbialites may be due to destruction by strong wave currents in a high energy setting. Some ooids are coated unevenly by micritic laminae (or envelopes) indicating the possibility of a microbe-related origin. These microbial-coated giant ooids, together with the massive microbialites, may imply the long-term of microbial bloom in the oceans immediately after the end-Permian extinction. The co-existence of abundant Gakhumella-like microorganisms and oxygen-dependent invertebrates, together with some coccoid-like spheroids, aragonite cement crystal fans, and pyrite framboids indicative of oxygen-poor conditions, implies that oxygenation state of the PTB microbialites is much more complex than previously recognized, demonstrating need for continued multidisciplinary examination of facies changes associated biotic mass extinction. [Display omitted] • PTB microbialite complex comprises bedded stromatolite, digitate dendrolite, thrombolite and giant ooids. • Microbial fabrics include undulating laminated structures, digitate-like branches, and clotted textures. • Ooids are coated by micritic laminae indicating the possibility of a microbe-related origin. • Columnar structures identified as Gakhumella are very abundant and belong to the benthic Pleurocapsale cyanobacteria. • Aragonite crystal fans are distinct, and may have resulted from high bicarbonate in the seawater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) was a major disruptive event in Earth's history involving all Earth's systems - hydrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere. Approximately six million years ago, the entire Mediterranean Sea turned into a hypersaline basin when the Gibraltar gateway to the Atlantic Ocean narrowed and evaporation exceeded fresh water input. Consequently, marine fauna died and massive deposition of salt on the seafloor had led to the formation of the world's youngest salt giant. A fundamental observation related to this enigmatic period is a remarkable erosional surface, associated with 100 s-of-m deep canyons that were incised across the Mediterranean's continental margins during the crisis. Such canyons across the Levant margins were described in the 1970s and, later, in the 2000s they were shown to be the gateway for shallow, sinuous, submarine channels that continued towards deeper parts of the basin. Though it could have been assumed that these channels end as terminal sedimentary lobes in the Levant Basin, we show here that they contributed to a much wider sedimentary system in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: farther west, they merge into a nearly 500-m-deep and ∼ 10-km-wide canyon, which we name after the nearby Eratosthenes Seamount. This remarkable canyon was excavated at the beginning of the MSC prior to salt deposition. We suggest that incision took place during Stage 1 of the MSC, but we cannot rule out faster incision (10s of ky) at the end of Stage 1 (∼5.60 Ma), or at its very beginning (∼5.97 Ma). Regardless of its exact age, we show that the Eratosthenes Canyon was excavated subaqueously and suggest that incision was caused by gravity currents, such as sediment-laden turbidites and/or dense brines. We argue that the increased salinity at the beginning of the crisis and a possibly limited sea level fall - whose amplitude should be investigated - had triggered these gravity currents, destabilizing the continental margin and carving the seabed wherever it was steep enough. • Discovery of the Messinian Eratosthenes Canyon (EC) in a deep Mediterranean basin. • The canyon is located 200–300 km away from the Levant continental margin. • Incision occurred at the beginning of the MSC before salt accumulation. • The EC formed sub-aqueously by dense gravity currents. • We describe the environmental conditions leading to halite precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submarine channel mouth settings are hardly preserved in the stratigraphic record. Although they are still poorly known with respect to other segments of turbidite systems, conceptual models are being refined in the light of new discoveries in modern and ancient examples. Still, some questions such as the transition between expansion zones and the traditional Channel-Lobe Transition Zone (CLTZ) remains open in ancient systems. Upper Eocene deposits of the Colombian Caribbean (San Jacinto Fold Belt) are interpreted here as a fan-delta-fed, submarine, coarse-grained channel-lobe system. It displays a well-preserved channel inception stage in the shelf break represented by sigmoidal to lens-shaped gravels, and planar cross-stratified pebbly sandstones (foreset and backset) interpreted as cyclic steps in an expansion zone. In a later stage, a classical channel-levee complex was developed, represented by channel fill elements showing sharp- and erosional-based, fining-upward sequences that are meters thick, having basal massive matrix-supported pebble conglomerates (hard—extrabasinal—clasts, rip-up clasts, coastal bioclasts), vertically evolving to liquefied massive to planar-laminated coarse-grained sandstones with phytodetrital carbonaceous laminae. They are interpreted as concentrated flow deposits (high-density turbidites) coming from continental areas or from coastal systems (i.e., delta reworking). Undifferentiated channel belt thin-bedded turbidites associated with levees and terraces deposits are related to these confined systems. The channel-lobe transition zone is characterized by debrites from cohesionless debris flow in a channel-mouth bar setting, representing bypass processes that developed distally into low-angle, planar cross- and sigmoidally-stratified (upstream antidune) pebble-size to coarse-grained sandstones that fill low-angle scours (cut-and-fill structures) in an antidune field setting with supercritical conditions. When the currents lose channel confinement, the setting is characterized by changes from Froude supercritical to subcritical flow conditions in an inner lobe to lobe off-axis environment. Large seasonal fluctuations in precipitation favor high sediment concentrations, promoting the formation of volumetrically significant fan deltas and coarse-grained submarine channels with high erosive capacity; therefore, their record helps refine interpretations of depositional processes, providing criteria for recognizing areas of the turbiditic systems that are hardly preserved. The particular aggradational conditions for the preservation and stratigraphic characterization of the rare exhumed submarine channel mouth systems make it possible to decipher sediment dispersal patterns and thus connect the models proposed here, from supercritical systems to the traditional models of turbiditic systems. • Sedimentary facies from confined to unconfined flows • Evolution of a coarse-grained system from supercritical to subcritical flows • Depositional cyclic steps with supercritical conditions • Debrites to antidune field settings with supercritical to subcritical conditions • Inner lobe to lobe off-axis in subcritical conditions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is increasingly affecting human well-being and will inevitably impact on occupational sectors in terms of costs, productivity, workers' health and injuries. Among the cooling garment developed to reduce heat strain, the ventilation jacket could be considered for possible use in workplaces, as it is wearable without limiting the user's mobility and autonomy. In this study, simulations with a sweating manikin are carried out to investigate the effects of a short-sleeved ventilation jacket on human thermophysiological responses in a warm-dry scenario. Simulations were performed in a climatic chamber (air temperature = 30.1 °C; air velocity = 0.29 m/s; relative humidity = 30.0 %), considering two constant levels of metabolic rate M (M 1 = 2.4 MET; M 2 = 3.2 MET), a sequence of these two (Work), and three levels of fan velocities (l f = 0; l f = 2 ; l f = 4). The results revealed a more evident impact on the mean skin temperature (T s k ) compared to the rectal temperature (T r e) , with significant decreases (compared to fan-off) at all M levels, for T s k from the beginning and for T r e from the 61st minute. Skin temperatures of the torso zones decreased significantly (compared to fan-off) at all M levels, and a greater drop was registered for the Back. The fans at the highest level (l f = 4) were significantly effective in improving whole-body and local thermal sensations when compared to fan-off, at all M levels. At the intermediate level (l f = 2), the statistical significance varied with thermal zone, M and time interval considered. The results of the simulations also showed that the Lower Torso needs to be monitored at M 2 level, as the drop in skin temperature could lead to local overcooling and thermal discomfort. Simulations showed the potential effectiveness of the ventilation jacket, but human trials are needed to verify its cooling power in real working conditions. • Simulations on a sweating manikin to evaluate the effectiveness of a ventilation jacket. • A more evident impact on the mean skin temperature than on the rectal temperature. • Significant decrease in trunk skin temperatures: a greater drop recorded in the Back. • Significantly improved whole-body and local sensations at the highest fan velocity. • Lower Trunk temperature drop needs to be monitored: it can lead to thermal discomfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Geomorphology of the Paghman and Chaman faults were described based on fieldwork and satellite data. • A reverse fault was mapped west of and almost parallel to the left-lateral Paghman fault. • Based on field observation, the approximate length of surface rupture due to 1505 earthquake is ∼30 km. • The Paghman and Chaman faults could produce an earthquake of Mw 7.3–7.8 in the Kabul Basin. The city of Kabul, Afghanistan, lies within the Kabul Block, which is bounded by the Sarobi, Gardez and Paghman fault, the northern extension of the Chaman fault, accommodating oblique convergence between the Indian and Eurasian plates. In this paper, we describe the geologic structure and tectonic geomorphology of the northeast-striking Paghman fault and a ∼10-km-long portion of the Chaman fault using a combination of field observations and remote sensing data, and assess evidence for rupturing in the 1505 historical earthquake. The Paghman fault is predominantly a left-lateral strike-slip fault with a minor dip-slip component along the eastern margin of the Paghman Mountains. The Chaman and Paghman faults displaces Paleogene to Quaternary units with clear displacement of recent deposits. Continuous left-lateral movement of the both faults have caused stream deflection, capturing, abandonment, and finally, incision of alluvial deposits inside the Kabul Basin. We identify several stages in the alluvial fan development and displacement that were once a continuous unit displaced left-laterally as a single fan but are now incised by beheaded and offset stream channels. An approximately 30-km-long active fault trace is identified with geomorphic evidence of recent faulting and vertical offset ∼0.5–3 m, which we interpret is related to the historical 1505 earthquake in the area along the Chaman and Paghman faults. Our observations indicate significant along-strike variations in faults trace geometry. The seismic event comprises several fault segments separated by discontinuities such as stepovers. The two faults have accumulated enough elastic strain to cause a larger earthquake since the 1505 quake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A new workflow integrating intelligent inversion and lithology model is proposed. • This method improves the seismic resolution and prediction of tight sandbodies. • The results provide reliable geological information for horizontal well drilling. Lacustrine gravity-flow deposits are common in sedimentary basins, and sand bodies formed in the basin center mingled with organic rich mudstone may form excellent tight reservoirs of hydrocarbons. However, the complex architecture and intensive heterogeneities of lacustrine gravity-flow deposits commonly pose great risks for hydrocarbon exploration and development. To address this problem, a new workflow for predicting tight sandstone is proposed in this work. The workflow combines well log analysis, intelligent seismic inversion and 3D geological modelling to improve the prediction effectiveness of tight sandstone and sedimentary facies. The original 3D seismic data was firstly decomposed into three components with low, middle and high frequencies to improve the resolution of seismic inversion, and a nonlinear relationship between well logs and the decomposed 3D seismic data was then established by using an algorithm of support vector machine. A 3D lithofacies model was subsequently established integrating well logs and the seismic inversion result. The distribution of sand thickness was imaged relying on the lithofacies model. Correlations between the actual and predicted sand thickness based on the seismic attributes and the seismic inversion result was improved from 0.66 to 0.79. The prediction of sand bodies was further improved through the 3D lithofacies modelling, especially for these thin sandstone layers. Sedimentary facies of the Chang_7 member in the Qingcheng Oilfield, Ordos Basin, were characterized based on the distribution of sand bodies. Fan-shaped sand bodies are mapped in each zone of the Chang_7 member, revealing that the entire Chang_7 successions are of sub-lacustrine fan in origin. The Chang_7 member mainly contains six sedimentary architectural elements: main channel, branch channel, lobe, lobe edge, slump body and inter lobe/inter channel. The distribution of sedimentary facies is different in different zones, and appears to be largely related to the change of base-level. A horizontal well was designed according to the prediction of sand bodies, which show a higher probability of drilling into sandstone by approximately 10% compared with that of other horizontal wells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The early Miocene Burqan Formation is a deep-marine syn -rift succession. • Facies analysis indicate deposition in proximal to distal fan settings. • Depositional parameters (grain size and detrital matrix) exert dominant control on reservoir quality. • Diagenesis plays only a minor role on reservoir quality. • Mid-fan channel deposits are interpreted as excellent quality reservoirs. Understanding the distribution of sedimentary facies, their texture and diagenetic alterations in deep-marine rift systems are critical for improved reservoir quality predictions in the subsurface. Syn-rift deep-marine sandstones of the Miocene Burqan Formation, deposited by various sediment gravity flow types in the Midyan Basin (Red Sea, Saudi Arabia) are characterized using detailed sedimentological and petrographic analyses. Six distinctive lithofacies (F1-F6) have been identified within the Burqan Formation and grouped into three broad facies associations namely proximal, medial, and distal facies of a submarine fan. The proximal fan facies consists of disorganized conglomerate (F1) and structureless sandstone (F2). The medial fan facies are represented by graded bedded and channelized sandstone (F3) and sandstone dominated heterolithics (F4). Deposits of distal fan facies consist of mudstone dominated heterolithics (F5) and structureless mudstone (F6). The sandstones are predominantly arkoses and lithic arkoses with a low degree of diagenetic modification (Eo- and Telo-diagenesis; ≤ 2 km and ≤ 70 °C temperature) and low to moderate volumes of carbonate cement (mean = 7%). The structureless sandstone (F2), sandstone dominated heterolithics (F4) and mudstone dominated heterolithics (F5) have poor reservoir quality due to the presence of authigenic cement and matrix. Graded bedded and channelized sandstone (F3) lithofacies consists of excellent reservoir sandstone due to the least proportion of cement and virtual absence of detrital clay. The observed variability in composition and textural parameters within Burqan Formation indicates that sedimentological transport processes control the depositional reservoir quality which in turn dictates diagenetic modification in deep-marine sandstones with important implications for prediction of reservoir quality in deep-marine systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Forties Sandstone Member is an important deep-water reservoir in the Central North Sea. The role of depositional characteristics, grain-coating clays, and diagenesis in controlling the reservoir quality of the sandstones is poorly understood. The main aim of the study is to understand the role of depositional characteristics, grain-coating and pore-filling clays, and diagenesis in controlling the reservoir quality evolution of turbidite-channel sandstones. The study employed a multi-disciplinary technique involving thin section petrography and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the impact of grain size, clay matrix content, mode of occurrence of grain-coating chlorite and illite, and their impact in arresting quartz cementation and overall reservoir quality in the sandstones. Results of our study reveal that porosity evolution in the sandstones has been influenced by both primary depositional characteristics and diagenesis. Sandstones with coarser grain size and lower pore-filling clay content have the best reservoir porosity (up to 28%) compared to those with finer grain size and higher pore-filling clay content. Quartz cement volume decreases with increasing clay-coating coverage. Clay coating coverage of >40% is effective in arresting quartz cementation. Total clay volume of as low as 10% could have a deleterious impact on reservoir quality. The Forties Sandstone Member could potentially be a suitable candidate for physical and mineralogical storage of CO2. However, because of its high proportion (>20%) of chemically unstable minerals (feldspar, carbonates, and clays), their dissolution due to CO2 injection and storage could potentially increase reservoir permeability by an order of magnitude, thereby affecting the geomechanical and tensile strength of the sandstones. Therefore, an experimental study investigating the amount of CO2 to be injected (and at what pressure) is required to maintain and preserve borehole integrity. The findings of our study can be applied in other reservoirs with similar depositional environments to improve their reservoir quality prediction.

• Thermodynamic based design of injection gas based on CO2 and additives for. • Safe CO 2 storage. • Reduction of natural hydrocarbon leakages from hydrate and conventional hydrocarbon seeps. • Possibilities for clean energy production as H 2. • Possibilities for stand-alone clean energy production that can make a revolution in use of remote areas. Huge amounts of hydrocarbons are leaking into the oceans and into air. Methane is a stronger greenhouse gas than CO 2. Even though the lifetime of methane in the atmosphere is limited to roughly 7 years there are constant sources of additional methane. Some of these sources are natural gas hydrates that dissociate through inflow of seawater. Other sources of methane fluxes are also controlled by hydrate when the seafloor conditions are inside hydrate formation conditions of temperature and pressure. In this work we propose a new concept which addresses three environmental concerns. Injection of CO 2 dominated gas in hydrate filled sediments, and into sediments controlling leakage from conventional sources into seafloor at hydrate forming conditions will contribute in sealing these leakage sources. This can substantially reduce worldwide leakage fluxes of hydrocarbons to the oceans and to air. A critical element of the approach is a thermodynamic analysis that ensures that the injection gas dominates hydrate formation at local sediment conditions. The associated carbon dioxide storage, and related reduction in leakage fluxes of hydrocarbons are two environmental benefits. A third benefit can be gained by adding steam conversion of the hydrocarbons to hydrogen and carbon dioxide (for re-injection). The concept is discussed using geoscience data from the Black Sea and from Nyegga area offshore Norway. We conclude that between 3.4 and 4 mol of hydrogen gas can be produced for every mole of carbon dioxide stored safely in these two regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]