Although
the distinction may be lost on some, frontal and lateral lobe fringes can be
distinct (see here and here and here). To explore lobes of deep-water
settings. Spychala and others aim to: 1) to establish the
characteristic facies associations that distinguish the different lobe fringe
settings, and 2) to interpret flow processes that produce the observed facies
variability. To do so, they examine the sedimentology and facies architecture
of Fan 4 of the Skoorsteenberg Formation, Karoo Basin, South Africa. The
data suggest that hybrid beds are most common in frontal fringe settings,
whereas ripple-laminated beds dominate in lateral fringe positions,
distinctions interpreted to be controlled by primary flow processes. These
types of constraints on the temporal and spatially variability of lobe fringe
successions aids deep-water fan reconstruction, provides building blocks for
reservoir models, and reduces uncertainty in subsurface evaluation of analogous
reservoirs.
Frontal and lateral submarine lobe fringes:comparing sedimentary facies, architecture, and flow processes by Yvonne T. Spychala, David M. Hodgson, Amandine Prélat,
Ian A. Kane, Stephen S. Flint, and Nigel P. Mountney
