Geology 103

Deltaic Sedimentation

Lecture 14
Reading Assignment: Boggs, 5th edition, pp. 246-260

I) Deltaic systemsA) Introduction and importance

- Todays topic: deltas, deltaic sedimentation
- Deltas: are part of a marginal marine spectrum that includes deltas, beach and
barrier island systems, estuaries, and lagoons
- Deltas occur where a river or stream enters a standing body of water
- Usually occur on prograding coastlines
- Deltas can occur in lakes too, but we will focus on marine marginal environments
- Deltas form on the continental shelf (water depths less than 120 m)
- Deltas are the interface between continental and marine sedimentation
- Deltas are a major repository for continental sediment (10,000s of feet of sediment in
the Gulf of Mississippi, crust is subsiding under the weight)
- Deltas are very common in modern environments:
- Due to high stand of sea level
- May explain corresponding lack of deep sea fans/turbidity deposits
- Usually occur on passive margins: heavy (suspended) sediment load
- Deltas are very important economically:
- Major petroleum reservoirs are found in deltas (oil, natural gas)
- Some coal, uranium
- Gulf Coast of U.S.: offshore oil drilling is in deltaic deposits from the
Mississippi River
- Exploration is difficult: producing intervals are not continuous
(shoestring sands)
B) Deltaic facies and features:
- Facies present will vary by delta type
- Here are some common deltaic facies:
See Figure 9.12 from Boggs, 5th edition
1) Prodelta (delta slope)
- Beds are called "Bottomset beds" = gently inclined, fine-grained (clays)
- Open marine fauna
- Water depth of 10's to 100+ m
2) Delta front
- Beds are called "Foreset beds" = sand, steeper (10 -25)
- Slump features: slumps, mudflows, GROWTH FAULTS!
- Slump features take a variety of forms:
- Water depth of 10 m or less
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3) Lower Delta plain

- Shallow water, intertidal zone
- Still subaqueous, transitional to subaerial
- May be well sorted (wave and tide action) OR poorly sorted: river processes
dominate
4) Upper delta plain
- This is the subaerial delta:
- Lies largely above sea (water) level
- The largest part of the delta
- Beds are called "Topset beds" = sand and gravel (stream
deposits)
- Little effect by marine or deeper water sedimentation
- Have stream features:
- Channels, marshes, swamps, floodplain, lakes
(may even include coal in ancient deposits!)
- Channels are called distributary channels
C) Classification of deltas:

energy,

- Deltas formation is a balance between climate, water and slope of the shelf, area
of drainage basin, sediment input, winds, sediment supply, wave
tidal energy
- There are 3 types of deltas (Galloways classification system):
Fluvial-dominated, wave-dominated and tide-dominated
- Within each type: grain size (mud-sand-gravel content) further distinguishes
deltas

See Figure 9.3 from Boggs, 5th edition, p. 249

1) Fluvial-dominated deltas
- River is sediment-laden
- River overpowers the effects of tides, waves
- A jet (plume) of sediment-laden water flows into the basin
- Sediment size results in different delta morphologies
(homopycnal, hyperpycnal, hypopycnal flows)
See Figure 9.5 from Boggs, 5th edition, p. 250
a) Homopycnal flow
- River water and basin water have equal density
- Mixing is rapid
- Sediment is deposited quickly, at a high angle (10-20)
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- A Gilbert-type delta forms

- Named after G.K. Gilbert: described a delta in 1885
See Figure 9.4 from Boggs, 5th edition p. 250
See Figure 9.14 from Boggs, 4th edition, p. 303
- Delta has topset, foreset and bottomset beds
topset beds: sandy and gravelly, prograde over top
foreset beds: sandy, steep angle
bottomset beds: finer grained, basin plain deposits (deeper water)
- These deltas are relatively rare
b) Hyperpycnal flow:
- River water has higher density than basin water
- Common during floods
- Deposits have a gentle slope
- Turbidites may form
- Friction is a big factor
See Figure 9.5 C from Boggs, 4th edition, p. 250
c) Hypopycnal flow: Fine sediment is transported by hypopycnal
(buoyant) flow:
See Figure 9.5 A from Boggs, 4th edition, p. 250
- Produces a large delta front
- Shape is elongate to lobate (hypopycnal flow "punches" out into the
ocean water)
- Low gradient (< 1 )
- Coarse sediment (bedload) is dropped quickly, forms a bar crest.
- Natural levees form (subaerial and subaqueous)
- Flocculation is a factor: fine sediment clumps together when it interacts
with sea water
- This is the most common type of fluvial-dominated delta
- Often called a "birdsfoot" delta
See Figure 9.6 from Boggs, 5th edition, p. 251
- Ex: Mississippi River Delta
- Inter-distributary muds encase delta lobes (oil traps)
- Bar finger sands (a common oil term) develop at the mouth of
distributaries
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2) Tide-dominated deltas
- Form when tidal currents are stronger than river flow
- Usually occur where tidal range is high
See Figure 9.7 From Boggs, 5th edition, p. 252
- Ex: Ganges- Bramaputra delta
- Currents are bi-directional (tides go in and out)
- Creates a network of linear longitudinal bars at channel mouth: tidal ridges
- Occurs with high sand input (more bedload)
- Fluvial facies (delta plain) may look braided
- Bars are oriented parallel to direction of tidal flow
See Figure 9.16 from Boggs, 4th edition, p. 305
- An example from the rock record
3) Wave-dominated delta
- River flow is decelerated rapidly by strong waves
- A high energy environment
- Sediment is dumped in a narrow mound near river mouth (doesn't build out) =
arcuate delta form
See Figure 9.8 from Boggs, 4th edition, p. 298
- Delta sediment is moved downshore by longshore drift
- Ex: Brazos (Texas), Sao Francisco (Brazil)
- Bar forms are parallel to shore (perpendicular to river flow)
- Forms a series of parallel beach ridges as delta builds outward
- Interdistributary muds are rare
See Figure 9.15 from Boggs, 5th edition, p. 258
- An example from the rock record
4) Mixed process deltas
- Many deltas are not limited to one type of sedimentation: a mix of processes
occurs
- Ex: Copper River, Alaska: tide and wave processes are both active
See Figure 9.9 from Boggs, 4th edition, p. 299
D) Fan deltas:
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- A combination of alluvial fan and deltaic processes

- Occurs along an active margin, where sediment is delivered by an alluvial
fan system
- Sediment enters a nearby standing body of water, deltaic deposits form
- Relatively rare (need high relief, close source)
See Figure 9.10, 9.11 from Boggs, 5th edition, p. 254, 255
- A variety of alluvial fan and deltaic types may coexist (wave, fluvial or tide
dominated, with humid or arid alluvial fans)
E) Recognizing a deltaic sequence
- Several features or relationships will help identify a deltaic sequence in the rock record:
1) Coarsens upward
See Figure 9.17 from Boggs, 4th edition, p. 306
- As basin fills, fluvial facies prograde outward
- Note: from the perspective of the ocean system (Boggs):
- This is also called a regressive sequence
- Could also be called progradational- from the perspective of the delta
- Note "clinoform" beds: from progradation of prodelta and delta front
- *** Coarsening upward may repeat for several cycles- cycles are common!
See Figure 9.13 from Boggs, 5th edition, p. 257
2) May have a fine cap
- The fluvial (subaerial) facies: swampy, fine-grained sediment and even coal
3) Geometry
- Deltas are often delta shaped (triangular) in map view
- Are wedge-shaped in cross section (seismic etc.)
- Named by Herodotus in 490 B.C. to describe the Nile delta
- Marine deltas range from 1000's of km2 to 125,000 km2
4) Facies relationships
- Vertical changes:
- Vertical gradation from marine to transitional to terrestrial
- Lateral changes:
- High variability (ex: channel to overbank on delta plain)
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5) Sedimentary structures and fossils

- Aren't diagnostic by themselves
- Ripples marks, cross beds, slump structures, bioturbation
- Fossils are the one chance: may grade from marine to non-marine (brackish)
- Fossils are euryhaline: tolerant of a wide variety of salinity
- Fossils include: gastropods, ostracods, bivalves
- Summary:
- Delta morphology varies depending on waves, tides, river input
- Shape facies relations, possibly fossils help to identify a deltaic sequence