HIGHLY VARIABLE PRECAMBRIAN FLUVIAL STYLE RECORDED IN THE NELSON HEAD FORMATION OF BROCK INLIER (NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA)

摘要

Spectacular canyon exposures of the similar to 1 Ga Nelson Head Formation along the modern Brock River, Northwest Territories, provide a rare opportunity to assess the deposits of pre-vegetation, braided to sinuous-channelized fluvial systems. We analyze the sedimentology, architecture, and depositional evolution of 16 stacked fluvial-channel belts at this site, demonstrating greater variability in sedimentary style and morphodynamics than is typically interpreted for Precambrian rivers. Inferences on fluvial planview based on integrated analysis of depositional architecture and paleoflow reveal complex patterns of channel-planform evolution, and four depositional stages are recognized: (1) floodbasin-splay progradation with bounding episodes of eolian reworking; (2) deposition in wandering-channel belts characterized by deep anabranches and prominent lateral accretion; (3) progressive shift towards shallow, braided-channel belts confined within alluvial valleys and dominated by downstream accretion; and (4) deposition by marine-influenced braided-channel belts with mixed downstream, lateral, and upstream accretion.