30 m

50 m
Lowstand systems tract braided stream
deposits within broad incised valleys
Transgressive systems tract channel fill
Fluvial Channel Fill
Fine-grained Marine
Sediment
Channel Lag
A)
B)
INFERRED DEPOSITIONAL PROCESSES AND THEIR
RESULTING GEOMETRIES AS THEY PERTAIN TO HIGH-
SEDIMENT SUPPLY FLUVIAL SYSTEMS SUCH AS
THE EAST CHINA SEA, YELLOW SEA, AND ANCIENT
FORELAND BASIN SETTINGS.
BARTEK AND WELLNER, 1996
2














Castlegate
LST
Desert
LST
Desert
TST/HST
Grassy
TST/HST
Grassy HST
Desert TST/HST Buck Tongue
FS
Castlegate SB
Desert SB
Buck Tongue Shale
after Van Wagoner, 1995
Sequence Stratigraphy of the Late Cretaceous Book Cliffs, Utah
0
0
30
10
km
m
Fluvial Sandstones/
Mudstones
Foreshore/upper shoreface
lower shoreface sandstones
Marine mudstones
Sequence Boundary
0
60 0 10
km
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 14 13 12 11 10 15

1

Fluvial to estuarine and coastal plain
sandstones and mudstones
Shallow marine sandstones
Shelf mudstones
Additional well control used to correlate the stratigraphy
but not displayed on the cross section
HST = Highstand Systems Tract
TST = Transgressive Systems Tract
LST = Lowstand Systems Tract
after, Van Wagoner et al., 1990
LST
LST
TST
TST
MFS
LST SB
West East
0
30
60
90
TST
TS
TS

Obscured by multiple
C)
B)
A)
0
30
60
90 W
a
te
r D
e
p
th
(m
)
W
a
te
r D
e
p
th
(m
)
HST
29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18
010 km
4 SB
1 SB
4
4
SB
COMPARISON OF (A) INTERPRETED SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY FROM NUMEROUS WELL LOGS IN THE MIOCENE OF ONLAND CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN LOUISIANA (AFTER VAN WAGONER ET AL., 1990), (B) INTERPRETED LITHOSTRATIGRAPHY OF THE CASTLEGATE SANDSTONE
FORMATION AND DESERT MEMBER OF THE BLACKHAWK FORMATION, BOOK CLIFFS, UTAH (AFTER VAN WAGONER 1995), AND (C)
INTERPRETED SEISMIC SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY FROM THE HIGH SEDIMENT YIELD EAST CHINA SEA CONTINENTAL SHELF. THE
EAST CHINA SEA SEISMIC DATA SET OFFERS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THE ACOUSTIC EXPRESSION OF COMPLEX BRAIDED
FLUVIAL DEPOSITS, WHICH HAVE BEEN VIEWED PREVIOUSLY IN OUTCROP, DRILLCORE, AND WELL LOGS. THE SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY
OF THE HIGH SEDIMENT YIELD EAST CHINA SEA, PASSIVE CONTINENTAL SHELF MAY ALSO BE A GOOD MODERN ANALOG FOR DEPOSITION
IN ANCIENT FORELAND BASINS AND HIGH SEDIMENT YIELD, PASSIVE CONTINENTAL SHELVES.
BARTEK AND WELLNER, 1996
THIN REGRESSIVE GRAVEL LAG
0
15
30
45
60
75
0
15
30
45
60
75
WEST EAST
SB
SB
TS
HST
HST
HST
TST
LST
SB
GULF OF MEXICO
60
90
45
75
105
120
135
150
W
A
T
E
R
D
E
P
T
H
(m
)
W
A
T
E
R
D
E
P
T
H
(m
)
WEST
LST LST
LST
TS
TS
TS
TS
SB
SB
SB
SB
HST
HST
TST
TST
HST
60
90
45
75
105
120
135
150
EAST CHINA SEA
31 32 33 34 EAST
0 1 km
V.E. = 50 X
LST
TST/HST
SB
0 1 km
V.E. = 38 X
9 8
0 200 km
V.E. = 6X
ATLANTIC OCEAN
OFFSHORE NEW JERSEY
0
6
12
18
24
0
6
12
18
24
NW SW
311
COMPARISON OF INTERPRETED SEISMIC SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIES FROM (A) MIDDLE PORTION OF THE ALABAMA
CONTINENTAL SHELF IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, (B) MIDDLE PORTION OF THE EAST CHINA SHELF, AND (C) INNER-
SHELF ALONG THE MID-ATLANTIC BIGHT OF NEW JERSEY. NOTE THE GREATER THICKNESS AND COMPLEXITY OF
LOWSTAND SYSTEMS TRACTS (LST) FLUVIAL DEPOSITS ON THE HIGH SEDIMENT YIELD ECS SHELF RELATIVE TO
THE LST DEPOSITS FROM THE LOW SEDIMENT YIELD GULF AND ATLANTIC MARGINS. WE SUGGEST THAT THE
ECS STRATIGRAPHY MAY BE A BETTER MODERN ANALOG FOR ANCIENT HIGH SEDIMENT YIELD SHELVES, SUCH AS
THE CRETACEOUS FORELAND BASINS OF THE WESTERN U.S, CARBONIFEROUS OF THE EASTERN U.S., AND HIGH
SEDIMENT YIELD, MIOCENE SHELVES OF THE SOUTHERN U.S.
BARTEK AND WELLNER, 1996
Time 3 Cloverly C Deposition
Time 2 Cloverly B Evolution
Time 1 Cloverly A Evolution
Dubois Thermopolis
N
Lander
N
Lander
Lander
N
Dubois
Dubois
Thermopolis
Thermopolis
Playa Lake
Playa Lake
Playa
Lake Playa Lake
Playa Lake
Playa Lake
Playa Lake
Abandoned
Channel Facies
Divide
Divide
Divide
SCHEMATIC BLOCK DIAGRAMS SHOWING THE PALEOGEOGRAPHY
OF THE CENTRAL TO WESTERN WIND RIVER BASIN REGION DURING
CLOVERLY A, B, AND C INTERVAL DEPOSITION DURING THE LATE
JURASSIC AND CRETACEOUS. NOTE THE BRAIDED NATURE OF THE
FLUVIAL SYSTEM AND ITS SIMILARITY TO THE BRAIDED FLUVIAL
SYSTEM HYPOTHESIZED BY BARTEK AND WELLNER (1996). ALSO
NOTE THE LOCATION OF THE DIVIDE AND ITS CONTROL ON THE
LOCATION AND CHARACTER OF THE FLUVIAL SYSTEM.
A
A'
B
B'
Depositional Shoreline Break



Okinaw
a Trench
Mid-Wisconsin HST
A A'
Sangamon HST
Mid-Wisconsin
Shoreline Late
Wisconsin
Shoreline



Exposed
Mid-Wisconsin
Shoreline
Cheju Is.
Sea Level
Okinaw
a Tre nch
Mid-Wisconsin HST
B B'
Sangamon HST
Sea Level
Incipient
Incised Valleys
Rivers
C
C'
Late-Glacial
Shoreline





Okinaw
a Tre nch
Sangamon HST
Sea Level
Incised
Valley Complex
C Incised Valley Fill

Shelf
Edge
Delta
Drainage from
Yellow Sea
C'
SB1
SB2
D
D'
Late-Glacial/Holocene
Shoreline
Holocene
Shoreline


Okinaw
a Tre nch
Sangamon HST
Sea Level D
Incised Valley Fill

Transgressive
Shelf Delta


Stranded
Shelf Delta

Tidal Ridges
D'
SB1
SB2

E
E'
F'
Transgressive Delta Tidal Ridge
TS

Okinaw
a Tre nch
Sangamon HST
Sea Level E
Incised Valley Fill
E'
SB1
SB2
TS
Flooded
Incised Valley
Complex
Sangamon HST
Incised Valley Fill
F'
SB1
SB2
TS
Late Wisconsin Incised
Valley Complex

Okinaw
a Tre nch
20
60
100
140 Modern Changjiang
Subaqueous Delta
Sea Level
F
F
A B C
F E D
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LATE, MID-WISCONSIN THROUGH PRESENT-DAY STRATIGRAPHIC
ARCHITECTURE ON THE ECS CONTINENTAL SHELF.
A) DELTAIC PROGRADATION ACROSS SHELF DURING THE LATE MID-WISCONSIN SEA LEVEL HIGHSTAND, PRIOR TO THE ONSET OF
LATE WISCONSIN GLACIATION AND SEA LEVEL FALL.
B) LATE WISCONSIN SEA LEVEL FALL (>120 M ) AT ~20,000 YRS. B.P. SEA LEVEL FALL EXPOSES THE ENTIRE SHELF AND A TYPE-1
UNCONFORMITY BEGINS TO DEVELOP. INCIPIENT INCISED VALLEYS DEVELOP AT THE SHELF-SLOPE BREAK.
C) INCISED VALLEYS GROW BY HEADWARD KNICKPOINT MIGRATION, AS WELL AS LATERAL EROSION. INDIVIDUAL INCISED VALLEYS
BEGIN TO COALESCE INTO A VALLEY COMPLEX. A SHELF BY PASS ZONE MAY DEVELOP AT THIS TIME. BRAIDED FLUVIAL DEPOSITION
OCCURS WITHIN THE INCISED VALLEYS.
D) ONSET OF LATE GLACIAL SEA LEVEL RISE, FLOODS OUTER PORTION OF THE INCISED VALLEY COMPLEX. TIDAL CURRENTS WITHIN
ESTUARIES (DISTAL PORTION OF INCISED VALLEY COMPLEX) MAY REWORK THE UPPER PORTION OF THE BRAIDED FLUVIAL DEPOSITS
INTO LARGE TIDAL RIDGES. TRANSGRESSIVE SURFACE BEGINS TO DEVELOP.
E) HOLOCENE SEA LEVEL RISE FLOODS MAJORITY OF COMPLEX. TRANSGRESSIVE SURFACE BEVELS THE UPPER PORTIONS OF THE
BRAIDED FLUVIAL DEPOSITS. FLUVIAL DEPOSITS ARE REWORKED INTO LARGE TIDAL RIDES, THAT LIE ABOVE AND DOWNLAP THE
TRANSGRESSIVE SURFACE. MAJORITY OF FLUVIAL SEQUENCE IS PRESERVED IN PLACE.
F) MODERN CONFIGURATION OF ECS SHELF. NOTE THAT THE DEEPEST PORTION OF THE INCISED VALLEY COMPLEX CAN STILL BE
OBSERVED ON BATHYMETRIC MAPS (SEE 60 M CONTOUR). THUS, THE INCISED VALLEY COMPLEX REMAINS INCOMPLETELY FILLED,
MOST LIKE BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF SEDIMENT DISPERSED INTO THE CHANGJIANG ESTUARY IS CAPTURED BY THE SOUTH FLOWING
CHANGJIANG COLD WATER CURRENT, AND TRANSPORTED TO THE SOUTH INTO SOUTH CHINA SEA.
After May et al., 1995
Bartek and Wellner, 1996
THE YELLOW SEA AND EAST CHINA SEA ARE LOCATED ADJACENT TO EACH OTHER ON THE WESTERN PACIFIC CONTINENTAL MARGIN. THEY
BOTH ARE PROVIDED AN EXTREMELY HIGH SUPPLY OF SEDIMENT FROMTHE HUANGHE AND CHANGJIANG RIVERS RESPECTIVELY. THE
COMBINATION OF HIGH SEDIMENT SUPPLY AND LOW SHELF GRADIENT CREATES THE RAPIDLY AVULSING BRAIDED FLUVIAL CHANNELS
WHICH ARE INTERPRETED TO BE DEPOSITED DURING SEA-LEVEL LOWSTANDS AND ARE THE DOMINANT FEATURE IN THE EAST CHINA SEA.
HEADING NORTHWARD FROMTHE EAST CHINA SEA, THERE IS A GRADATIONAL CHANGE IN THE LATERAL EXTENT OF THE STACKED
LOWSTAND DEPOSITS, WITH A MARKED REDUCTION IN THE RELATIVE EXTENT OF LOWSTAND DEPOSITS. THE HYPOTHESIS HERE IS
THAT THE LOCATION OF THE PALEO-HUANGHE CHANNEL AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE YELLOW SEA IS DETERMINED BY THE LOCATION
OF THE IGNEOUS-METAMORPHIC GRANITE-GNEISS BASEMENT OF THE NORTHERN SHANTONG-LAOYEHLING MASSIF, WHICH UNDERLIES
THE SHANDONG PENINSULA. THE SHANDONG SUBAQUEOUS DELTA IS CURRENTLY FORMING FROM SEDIMENTS DERIVED FROMTHE
YELLOW RIVER IN A LOCATION WHERE THE CURRENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR SEDIMENT TRANSPORT REDUCE VELOCITY AFTER ROUNDING
THE TIP OF THE SHANDONG PENINSULA. THIS LOCATION IS DETERMINED BY SEA-LEVEL, COASTAL CURRENTS, AND THE TOPOGRAPHY OF
THE SHANTONG-LAOYEHLING MASSIF. THE MASSIF ACTS AS A BARRIER TO YELLOW RIVER AVULSION DURING SEA-LEVEL LOWSTANDS AND
LIMITS THE EXTENT TO WHICH LOWSTAND DEPOSITS ARE FOUND. THIS CAN CLEARLY BE SEEN IN A QUALITATIVE SENSE IN THE SEISMIC
SNAPSHOTS LOCATED ON PANEL THREE.. FUTURE WORK ON THIS DATASET WILL INCLUDE A QUANTITATIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF
THE LATERAL DISTRIBUTION OF SEISMIC FACIES IN A STOCHASTIC MODEL. MARKOV PROCESS ANALYSIS WILL ALSO BE EMPLOYED TO
EXAMINE VERTICAL SUCCESSION OF FACIES IN A QUANTITATIVE MANNER, AND THE STATISTICS GENERATED BY THESE EXERCISES
SHOULD REINFORCE THE QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT PRESENTED HERE. SINCE COASTAL, TIDAL AND OCEANIC CURRENTS VARY WITH
CHANGING SEA LEVEL, AND THE DIRECTION OF SEDIMENT SOURCE HAS ALSO VARIED QUITE A BIT THROUGH TIME, THE LOCATION OF
IGNEOUS-METAMORPHIC BASEMENT AND OTHER PALEOTOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES REMAIN A VIABLE CANDIDATE AS THE DOMINANT
MECHANISMWHICH CONTROLS THE PREFERENTIAL LOCATION OF VERTICALLY STACKED PARALLEL REFLECTION SEISMIC FACIES WHICH
ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF HIGHSTAND DEPOSITS, OR CHAOTIC, INCLINED REFLECTION FACIES INDICATIVE OF LOWSTAND DEPOSITS.
ADDITIONALLY, A COMPARISON OF EAST CHINA SEA ANDYELLOW SEA DEPOSITIONAL GEOMETRIES WITH THOSE FOUND IN FORELAND
BASINS INDICATE THAT THE HIGH SEDIMENT SUPPLY FOUND IN EACH CASE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FORMATION OF WIDESPREAD,
RAPIDLY AVULSING BRAIDED FLUVIAL SYSTEMS, WHICH TEND TO STACK ON TOP OF EACH OTHER. THE WIDESPREAD NATURE OF THESE
SEDIMENTS IN THE YELLOW SEA AND EAST CHINA SEA LEAD TO IT'S CONSIDERATION AS AN APPROPRIATE MODERN ANALOG FOR
SEDIMENTATION PATTERNS AND PROCESSES IN ANCIENT FORELAND BASINS.
HYPOTHESIS
H
ya
tti
S
e
q
u
e
n
ce
W
o
o
lg
a
ri
S
e
q
u
e
n
ce
M
ytilo
id
e
s
S
e
q
u
e
n
ce
F
e
rro
n
e
n
sis
S
e
q
u
e
n
ce
upper Tununk Member
lower Tununk Member
STRATIGRAPHIC CROSS SECTION ALONG DEPOSITIONAL DIP OF THE FERRONENSIS SEQUENCE
SHOWING CORRELATION AND FACIES RELATIONS IN MID-CRETACEOUS STRATIGRAPHIC
SEQUENCES OF CENTRAL UTAH. NOTE THE SIMILARITY OF THE FERRONENSIS SEQUENCE,
WITH IT'S STACKED FLUVIAL PACKAGES , TO CARTOONS ON THIS PANEL FROMTHE EAST
CHINA SEA AND SEISMIC DATA FROMTHE YELLOW SEA ON PANEL 3.
AFTER GARDNER, 1995
SUMMARY
HIGH RESOLUTION SEISMIC RECORDS FROMTHE YELLOW SEA INDICATE
THAT THERE IS A GRADIENT FROMTHE NORTH TO THE SOUTH ACROSS
WHICH CHAOTIC, INCLINED SEISMIC FACIES (INDICATIVE OF FLUVIAL
LOWSTAND DEPOSITS) INCREASE IN LATERAL EXTENT RELATIVE TO THE
PARALLEL TO SUB-PARALLEL SEISMIC FACIES WHICH CHARACTERIZE
HIGHSTAND AND INTERFLUVIAL DEPOSITS THE COMPLEX STRATIGRAPHIC
ARCHITECTURE SEEN IN THE YELLOW SEA (AS ILLUSTRATED IN SEISMIC
DATA FROM PANEL THREE) . SEISMIC FACIES FOUND IN THE SOUTHERN
PART OF THE YELLOW SEA ARE VERY SIMILAR TO THOSE FOUND IN THE
EAST CHINA SEA, WHICH IS ADJACENT TO THE SOUTH AND ENJOYS A
SIMILARLY HIGH SEDIMENT SUPPLY AND A SIMILARLY LOW SLOPE
GRADIENT TO THE SHELF-SLOPE BREAK. RAPIDLY AVULSING BRAIDED
FLUVIAL SYSTEMS ARE THE INTERPRETED MECHANISMS FOR THE
LATERALLY EXTENSIVE STACKED LOWSTAND FLUVIAL DEPOSITS SEEN
IN THE EAST CHINA SEA AND THE SOUTHERNYELLOW SEA.
THIS COMBINATION OF PERSISTENTLY HIGH SEDIMENT SUPPLY AND EXTREMELY
GENTLE SLOPE OF THE CONTINENTAL SHELF (WHICH IS ITSELF A PRODUCT OF
HIGH SEDIMENT SUPPLY AND PALEOTOPOGRAPHY) MAKE THE YELLOW SEA-
EAST CHINA SEA SYSTEM AN EXCELLENT MODERN ANALOG FOR SEDIMENT
DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS IN ANCIENT FORELAND BASINS, AS CAN BE INFERRED
FROM A COMPARISON OF CROSS SECTIONS FROMWELL-KNOWN FORELAND
BASINS WITH HIGH RESOLUTION SEISMIC RECORDS FROMYELLOW SEA-EAST
CHINA SEA.
ADDITIONALLY, A HYPOTHESIS WAS PRESENTED WHICH PROPOSES THAT
THE LOCATION AND PALEOTOPOGRAPHY OF THE SHANTUNG-LAOYEHLING
MASSIF IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RELATIVELY LIMITED EXTENT OF THE
LOWSTAND DEPOSITS IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE YELLOW SEA AS
COMPARED WITH THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE YELLOW SEA AND THE
EAST CHINA SEA.