Relative Sea-level,

tectonics, and eustasy

 Definition of sea-level

In
order to understand the controls on
sequence development, it is first
necessary to define what is meant by:
Eustasy
Relative sea-level and water depth
 Global Eustasy
Eustasy- the world-wide sea-level regime
and its fluctuations, caused by absolute
changes in the quantity of seawater, e.g.
by continental icecap fluctuations.
See also; glacio- eustatism, sedimento-
eustatism.
 Global Eustasy
Eustasy is measured between the sea-
surface and a fixed datum, usually the
center of the Earth.
It can vary by changing ocean-basin
volume; (e.g. by varying ocean-ridge
volume);
by varying ocean-water volume (e.g. by
glacio-eustasy).
Eustatic vs. relative sea-level
 Relative sea-level
Relative sea-level is measured between the sea-
surface and a local moving datum, such as
basement or a surface within the sediment pile.
Tectonic subsidence or uplift of a basement
datum, sediment compaction involving
subsidence of a datum within the sediment pile,
and vertical eustatic movements of the sea-
surface all contribute to relative sea-level
changes.
 Relative sea-level
relative sea-level rises are due to:
Subsidence
Eustatic sea-level rise

relative sea-level falls are due to:

Tectonic uplift
Eustatic sea-level fall
 Accommodation
Eustasy and subsidence rate together control
the amount of space available for sediment
accumulation termed accommodation space.
It is defined as the space available for
sediment to accumulate at any point in time.
Accommodation is controlled by base level
because In order for sediment to accumulate,
there must be space available below base
level.
 Base level
The base level datum
varies according to
depositional setting.
In alluvial
environments base
level is controlled by
the graded stream
profile, which is
graded to sea-level or
lake-level at its distal
end.
 Base level
In deltaic and shoreline systems base
level is effectively equivalent to sea-level.
In shallow marine base level is sea-level,
although fair-weather wave base can form
a temporary base level in the form of a
graded shelf profile.
 accommodation=
eustasy + subsidence + compaction
Sediment supply fills the accommodation
created and controls water depth.
Sediment supply fills available
accommodation.
If the rate of sediment supply exceeds the
rate of creation of accommodation at a
given point, water depth will decrease:
water depth= eustasy + subsidence +
compaction - sediment deposited
Accommodation through time
To understand how accommodation varies
through time it is useful to consider how
different rates of tectonic subsidence and ,
in this , case, same sinusoidal eustatic
sea-level curve combine to give different
rates of addition and destruction of
accommodation
Orders of cyclicity and global
correlation
A depositional sequence represents a complete
cycle of deposition bounded above and below by
erosional unconformities.
The continental encroachment cycles is defined
by the very largest scale (> 50 my) cycles of
sedimentary onlap and offlap of the super
continents. Two of these cycles in the
Phanerosioc.
They are called first order cycle and are
considered to be the results of tectono-eustatic,
I.e. changes in ocean basin related to tectonic
cycles.
 Second-order (3- 50 my) cycles are the building
blocks of the first-order sequences.
May be caused by changes in the rate of
tectonic subsidence or uplift in the sediment
source terrane.
Third-order (0.5- 3 my) sequence cycle are the
foundation of sequence strat. Because they are
the scale of seismic data.
They are identified by recognition of individual
cycles of accommodation creation and
destruction.
May be controlled by glacio-eustatic.
Fourth-order cycles (parasequences) individual
shallowing upward facies cycles.
May be related to autocyclic processes.