PROCESS-DRIVEN ARCHITECTURAL VARIABILITY IN MOUTH-BAR DEPOSITS: A CASE STUDY FROM A MIXED-PROCESS MOUTH-BAR COMPLEX, DRUMHELLER, ALBERTA, CANADA

摘要

Mouth bars can develop in locations where fluvial distributary channels deliver coarse sediment to the shoreline. As a consequence, they are typically considered, by default, to be fluvially dominated. However, depending upon the relative balance of fluvial, wave, and tidal energies at any given shoreline location, the preserved sedimentary structures, geometry, and internal architecture of the mouth bar will reflect the relative balance of these energies. Hence, mouth bars can be fluvial-, wave-, or tide-dominated and can also exhibit sedimentary structures formed by more than one of these processes. The ability to recognize, and to predict the architecture of these mixed-process systems is important for accurately interpreting the ancient record and has implications for hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation strategies.