Shallow-marine and paralic clastic depositional systems have been widely studied, and the volume of sedimentological, architectural and geomorphological data made available in the peer-reviewed scientific literature continues... [ view full abstract ]
Shallow-marine and paralic clastic depositional systems have been widely studied, and the volume of sedimentological, architectural and geomorphological data made available in the peer-reviewed scientific literature continues to grow. A new database method has been devised that enables the convergence of these datasets into a common descriptive scheme, through collation of data in a standardized format.
The Shallow Marine Architectural Knowledge Store (SMAKS) is a relational database designed to include data on the sedimentary architecture of shallow-marine and paralic ancient depositional systems, and on the geomorphic organization of modern seas. The database incorporates data on sedimentary bodies (lithofacies, architectural elements, sequence stratigraphic units, depositional facies tracts), surfaces and geomorphic units, which are classified on descriptive (e.g. grainsize) and interpretive (e.g. sub-environment) categories, and characterized on a variety of attributes (e.g. geometries, spatial relationships, hierarchical relationships, temporal significance). Depositional systems, and stratigraphic intervals or planform segments thereof, are classified on descriptive parameters (e.g. shelf gradient) and controlling factors (e.g. tidal regime) to allow the selection of relevant outcrop or modern analogues.
The database can be queried to return a quantified characterization of multiple analogues, and data can be synthesized in quantitative facies models that effectively incorporate sedimentological variability captured from many case studies. To demonstrate the wide applicability of the database in areas of both fundamental and applied research, example database output is shown that includes data from wave-, tide-, and fluvial-dominated shallow seas and sedimentary successions, and that covers a wide depositional spectrum, from backshore to shelf-edge settings, at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Example database information is showcased relating to the facies organization of different types of paralic sub-environments, the hierarchical arrangement of architectural elements that form deltaic constructional units in Quaternary deltas, and the geometry of parasequence-scale nearshore sandstone belts from the Upper Cretaceous of the Western Interior Seaway in Utah (USA). The selected output demonstrates the value of the database as a resource that finds various applications in subsurface workflows (e.g. reservoir modelling, well correlation), and as a research tool that can facilitate a meta-analysis approach, whereby the sensitivity of shallow-marine depositional systems to their controlling factors can be tested through consideration of multiple case studies (e.g. to assess the role of sediment supply on parasequence organization, or to detect relationships between maximum tidal current velocity and tidal sand ridge size).
