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Examine all the data in a reconnaissance fashion before starting to pick horizons. If
a 3-D seismic cube is available, scroll through it in various orientations (timeslices,
arbitrary lines, etc.) to help defi ne the important structural and stratigraphic elements
that could affect the interpretation.
Examine all the data in a reconnaissance fashion before starting to pick horizons. If
a 3-D seismic cube is available, scroll through it in various orientations (timeslices,
arbitrary lines, etc.) to help defi ne the important structural and stratigraphic elements
that could affect the interpretation.
Examine all the data in a reconnaissance fashion before starting to pick horizons. If
a 3-D seismic cube is available, scroll through it in various orientations (timeslices,
arbitrary lines, etc.) to help defi ne the important structural and stratigraphic elements
that could affect the interpretation.
The parasequence is one of the fundamental stratal units
in sequence stratigraphy. Although individual parase-
quences are generally below the resolution of seismic lines, sets of stacked parasequence are distinguishable by their characteristic stratal patterns. Geologists working with well logs base much of their interpretation on the recog- nition of individual parasequences, their vertical and lat- eral facies relationships, and their stacking patterns. Thus the parasequence is of prime importance in recognizing sequences and interpreting depositional and tectonic his- tory from sequence development. The term parasequence itself is a product of the devel- opment of the principles of sequence stratigraphy. Repetitive, shallowing-upward stratal units were usually known as cycles, especially in the field of carbonate facies geology. The word cycle implies a repetitive time series, and seemed inappropriate for repetitive rock units. Van Wagoner introduced the term parasequence in 1985 at the SEPM midyear meeting and later wrote: This usage pre- served the dictionary use of the word cycle by Vail et al. (1977) to indicate a time in which a regularly repeated event occurs and emphasized the relationship between the parasequence and the sequence. It was the development of the concepts of parasequence stacking patterns as building blocks of sequences that made them all-important. The fact that parasequences stack in orderly and predictable patterns controlled by rel- ative sea level enhanced prediction of depositional envi- ronments and made subsurface correlation of time and facies more reliable. Improved correlations produced bet- ter reservoir models, new exploration plays, and more success for the upstream oil and gas industry. In a previous article, I discussed the architecture of sequences, or the manner in which parasequences com- bine in predictable patterns to form sequences. This arti- cle will look in more detail at the parasequence itself, the operative developmental processes, the vertical and lateral facies relationships that result, and the depositional envi- ronments represented. The best guide to this information is still AAPG Methods in Exploration Series, No. 7, Siliciclastic Sequence Stratigraphy in Well Logs, Cores, and Outcrops, by J. C. Van Wagoner, R.M. Mitchum, K.M. Campion, and V.D. Rahmanian. This report will be mostly a synopsis of this excellent 1990 publication. The three fig- ures in this article also come from that source. Characteristics. Parasequences have been identified in all coastal environments where sea-level variation and sedi- ment variability are sufficient to produce recognizably dis- tinct facies. Most parasequences are progradational, and all exhibit shoaling-upward features. Asiliciclastic parase- quence is essentially a miniature highstand systems tract terminated by a marine flooding surface (abrupt increase in water depth). While a systems tract is composed of parasequence sets, the parasequence is composed of bed sets. It might be argued that if the upper boundary (the flooding surface and the thin strata just below it) were examined closely enough, it would have all the charac- teristics of a sequence boundary, complete with uncon- formity, lowstand, or shelf margin systems tract, and a transgressive systems tract. The flooding surface in effect is thus a maximum flooding surface and the shale deposited atop the parasequence is a miniature condensed section. In certain situations the erosional surface associ- ated with the marine flooding surface (usually in the prox- imal region of the parasequence) has been called a transgressive surface of erosion. Further detailed outcrop studies will be required to resolve the true nature of this surface, but the fractal nature of sequence architecture favors the idea that this erosion is the result of sea-level regression rather than transgression. In a significant but little known 1974 paper (Texas Bureau of Economic Geology Circular 74-1), David Frazier pointed out the (now) obvious, that the sediments for parase- quences are delivered by rivers to the coast, and parase- quences build seaward and fill the basin from the shore toward the center. Prior to this, most geologists who hadnt carefully thought the problem through envisioned basins as filling from the middle or from the middle toward the shore. As a case in point, it was widely accepted that transgressive sheet sands were deposited along the shore- line as it migrated landward with the transgressing sea. We now know that there is really no such thing as a trans- gressive sheet sand. It is actually a series of sand bodies deposited as a retrogradational parasequence set, now called a transgressive systems tract. While all parasequences record shoaling-upward con- ditions, they do not all necessarily display coarsening- upward sediments. Van Wagoner and colleagues illustrate three basic parasequence stratal patterns: the beach parase- quence (Figure 1) and the deltaic parasequence (Figure 2), which are similar and coarsen upward, and the tidal flat parasequence (Figure 3), which is fining-upward and com- monly terminates with a coal bed. While the fining-upward tidal flat parasequence is rare, it provides a caveat to the interpreter that geology is never simple. Boundaries. The parasequence boundary is a marine- flooding surface, which represents a relative rise in sea level (unlike the sequence boundary, which represents a rela- tive fall in sea level). If, however, my suggestion is correct that a parasequence can be viewed as a very high-order sequence in miniature, then there is a sequence boundary at its top and the transgressive systems tract is either very thin or absent. The marine flooding surface is then actu- ally the maximum flooding surface/condensed section. The opposing concept that an erosional event at the top of a parasequence is a product of the transgression echoes the old view about the nature of transgressive sheet sands. Van Wagoner et al. devote considerable discussion to the interpretation of transgressive lag deposits and observe that few true transgressive lag deposits have been observed on 1374 THE LEADING EDGE OCTOBER 1998 OCTOBER 1998 THE LEADING EDGE 0000 The parasequence J.W. MULHOLLAND, Littleton, Colorado Editors note: The Geologic Column, a monthly feature in The Leading Edge, is (1) produced cooperatively by the SEG Interpretation Committee and the AAPG Geophysical Integration Committee, and(2) coordinated by M. Ray Thomasson and Lee Lawyer. This article is the third in a series on sequence straigraphy by J.W. Mulholland. The previous arti- cles appeared in January 1998 and June 1998. IICOLUMN G E O L O G I C I marine flooding surfaces. Clearly, this is a topic for fur- ther research. Van Wagoner et al. note that the flooding surface is represented by correlative surfaces both land- ward and seaward of the coastal marine environment. Landward, it passes into the coastal plain and may be identified by subaerial exposure, erosion, and fluvial depo- sition, none of which are readily traceable. On the marine shelf the correlative surface lacks evidence of erosion and is represented by pelagic and hemipelagic deposits. In many situations a sequence boundary may coincide with a parasequence boundary. For example, if a sequence boundary includes incised valleys, the time-stratigraphic surface it represents also exists between the valleys. As there may be no detectable erosion between the valleys, the surface most likely lies atop a parasequence and is coin- cident with the parasequence boundary. As parasequences are commonly topped with sandstone beds that tend to be more resistant to erosion, it follows that on the interfluve areas between valleys the sequence boundary will lie at the top of the intervening parasequence. The parasequence boundary, being a time-stratigraphic surface, is an excellent horizon for correlation purposes. It is generally of relatively local extent, however, and by the nature of sequence architecture is likely to display a sigmoid downlapping pattern if traced regionally. It is these surfaces that produce many of the reflections seis- mic stratigraphers recognize in marine sections. Stratigraphers working with well log cross-sections will use them to define the general geometry of stratigraphic sections prior to working out the details of the fluvial/estu- arine sediment packages (i.e., the reservoirs). Vertical facies relationships. Facies relationships are the provenance of sedimentologists, and the details are not appropriate for this overview. As stated above and in a pre- vious article, parasequences display shoaling-upward char- acteristics. For siliciclastics this generally means facies transitions from deeper-water marine shales through bio- turbated sand-shale interbeds with hummocky bedding of the lower shoreface, to massive trough cross-bedded upper shoreface sands, capped by planar laminated beach sands, 0000 THE LEADING EDGE OCTOBER 1998 OCTOBER 1998 THE LEADING EDGE 1375 WITHIN EACH PARASEQUENCE: Sandstone beds or bed sets thicken upward Sandstone/mudstone ratio increases upward Grain size increases upward Laminae geometry become steeper upward Bioturbation increases upward to the parasequence boundary Facies within each parasequence shoal upward Parasequence boundary marked by: Abrupt change in lithology from sandstone below to mudstone above Abrupt decrease in bed thickness Possible slight truncation of underlying laminae Horizon of bioturbation; burrowing intensity decreases downward Glauconite, shell hash, phosphorite, or organic rich shale Abrupt deepening in depositional environment across the boundary Figure 2. Stratal characteristics of a deltaic parasequence. OSMB = OUTER STEAM- MOUTH BAR DF = DELTA FRONT, PRO D = PRO DELTA SH = SHELF Figure 1. Stratal characteristics of a beach parasequence. WITHIN EACH PARASEQUENCE: Sandstone bed sets and beds thicken upward Sandstone/mudstone ratio increases upward Grain size increases upward Laminae geometry become steeper upward (in general) Bioturbation decreases upward to the parasequence boundary Facies within each parasequence shoal upward Parasequence boundary marked by: Abrupt change in lithology from sandstone below the boundary to mudstone or siltstone above the boundary Abrupt decrease in bed thickness Possible minor truncation of underlying laminae Horizon of bioturbation; bioturbation intensity diminishes downward Glauconite, phosphorite, shell hash, organic rich shale, shale pebbles Abrupt deepening in depositional environment across the boundary estuarine tidal bars, and coal beds. For carbonates, the facies (depending strongly on the environmental setting) are commonly represented by transitions from offshore marine mudstones through nearshore skeletal wackestones to ooid grainstones or algal stromatolites and tidal flats. Lateral facies relationships. Walthers law applies here, and the lateral facies transitions are the same as the verti- cal facies transitions. Parasequences are constructed of beds and bed sets, and the facies changes occur bed by bed. In the seaward direction, facies change from beach to shoreface to offshore marine shale. Parasequences termi- nate seaward by thinning, shaling out, and downlapping onto the sea floor. Parasequences terminate landward in one of three ways: (1) by onlap onto a sequence bound- ary; (2) by local or regional erosion due to coastal plain streams or sequence boundary formation; and (3) by ter- mination of facies, such as a flood tidal delta, into the non- descript coastal plain complex. Because a parasequence represents a fairly small time slice and includes a full range of depositional environments from coastal plain to marine shelf, it makes a good map- ping unit. A geologist attempting to map a larger strati- graphi c package wi l l be i ncl udi ng a number of parasequences offset from one another according to their stacking pattern, and both facies and isolith maps will be smeared representations of the actual paleogeography. The concept of the transgressive sheet sandstone discussed above is an excellent historical example of this error. Effective paleogeographic mapping will confine itself to a single parasequence. To properly map a complete sequence, the geologist must map the paleogeography parasequence by parasequence, which will reveal the same depositional patterns translated across the shelf and back again as sea level rises and falls through the transgressive and regres- sive systems tracts. Processes. Parasequences form when the rate of genera- tion of accommodation exceeds the rate of sediment sup- ply to the coast. Because relative sea level is always in a state of change, accommodation is also. As accommoda- tion declines due to failing relative sea level or the rising sediment wedge, sedimentation patterns change from aggradational to progradational. A relatively abrupt rise in relative sea level (caused by sediment compaction in prodelta muds due to channel avulsion, tectonic subsi- dence, or eustasy) restores accommodation, generates a flooding surface terminating the parasequence, and the cycle repeats. Parasequence sets. Aparasequence set is a succession of genetically related parasequences forming a distinctive stacking pattern bounded by major marine-flooding sur- faces and their correlative surfaces. (Van Wagoner et al.) As discussed in a previous article on sequence architec- ture, parasequence sets are related to and named accord- ing to the state of relative sea level for the sequence they belong to. Stacking patterns and hence parasequence sets may be either aggradational, retrogradational, or progra- dational, and are known respectively as shelf margin, trans- gressive, and highstand systems tracts. Summary. The parasequence is the fundamental unit in the architecture of sequences of third, fourth, and fifth order. Parasequences are progradational, shoaling-upward stratal units that occur in all shoreline environments. Most are also coarsening-upward, with one noted exception. Parasequence boundaries are marine flooding surfaces, which are time-stratigraphic horizons. As such they make good correlation surfaces both in well log cross-sections and in seismic sections. Seismic interpreters will see parasequences only as reflections, and the arrangement of those reflections will allow them to identify sequences. Geologists working with outcrops, cores, well logs, and cross-sections will immediately recognize them as shoaling and/or coarsen- ing-upward stratal units. It will be important for them to be able to recognize where they fit in a sequence model and to understand what happens to them laterally in order to make correct correlations. The parasequence is the key to valid geologic mapping and it is the link between sed- imentology and stratigraphy. L E Corresponding author: J. W. Mulholland, 7725 West Walker Drive, Littleton, CO 80213. 1376 THE LEADING EDGE OCTOBER 1998 OCTOBER 1998 THE LEADING EDGE 0000 WITHIN EACH PARASEQUENCE: Sandstone beds or bed sets thin upward Sandstone/mudstone ratio decreases upward Grain size decreases upward Bioturbation increases upward to the parasequence boundary Parasequence boundary marked by: Abrupt change in lithology from mudstone or coal below the boundary to sandstone above the boundary Abrupt increase in bed thickness Truncation (several 10s of feet or less) of underlying strata Abrupt deepening in depositional environment across the boundary Figure 3. Stratal characteristics of a tidal flat para- sequence. SBT = SUBTIDAL INT = INTERTIDAL SRT = SUPRATIDAL