Delta-Linked Deepwater Depositional Systems

This field trip + core workshop compares three very different deepwater depositional systems that have one thing in common – they are linked to a delta. The first of these represents a mud-rich end member and was deposited in a distally steepened outer ramp several 10s of kilometers from the coeval shoreline. The second represents coarse-grained fan delta deposits and their sub-aqueous counterparts. The third system is not visited in the field but at the United States Geological Survey in Denver as a series of closely spaced well cores and represents a sand-rich shelf margin delta. Teaching objectives are for participants to celebrate the diversity in geometry and dimensions of deepwater channels and lobes. We will be showing several seismic, log, borehole images and core examples at every stop such that participants can relate what they see in outcrop to the day-to-day tasks around the office such as picking horizons, mapping, and correlation. This course is particularly relevant for those of you working turbidite reservoirs that are fed by a delta up-slope such as the Lange, Lysing, or Knurr of the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the Sembar and Lower Goru in Pakistan, or the Wilcox in the Gulf of Mexico. If you are based in the US and want a shorter version with a greater emphasis on seismic stratigraphy, here’s another option.

Please bear in mind that this is not a field-trip focused on delta front collapse – if that is what you are interested in we can create a tailor-made field trip for you.