Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 233, p. 3-8
by
W. C. Ross
Marathon Oil Company
The evolution of concept development in stratigraphy between 1964 and 1989 is reviewed by comparing and contrasting the contents of the golden book volume on cyclic stratigraphy (Merriam, 1964) with the present volume. Although separated by more than 25 years, both volumes treat strikingly similar subject material with an emphasis on cyclic stratigraphy, time stratigraphy, and the genetics of basin fill. The collection of papers found in the earlier volume reflects the culmination of work from the most prominent stratigraphers of the 1940's through the early 1960's, a period strongly affected by the principles of sequence stratigraphy. Workers from this generation established many of the fundamental stratigraphic concepts that we view as modem. During the mid-1960's and 1970's emphasis shifted to research on facies models, and with few exceptions stratigraphic cyclicity, sequence stratigraphy, and the genetics of basin fill processes were scarcely considered. With the advent of seismic stratigraphy, in the late 1970's, sequence stratigraphy was reborn, and with it a new generation of researchers focusing on the genetics of basin fill. The earlier book and the present volume reflect two distinct episodes of stratigraphic concept development related to two separate episodes in the history of sequence stratigraphy. In contrast to the authors of the golden book, genetic stratigraphers in the present volume have the advantage of computer-based stratigraphic modeling tools. Armed with these tools and the body of knowledge about facies models accumulated in the past 25 years, the geologic community is poised to make great strides in the development of powerful predictive models for sedimentary basin evolution.
An Acrobat PDF file containing the complete paper is available (48 kB).
In 1964 a symposium on cyclic sedimentation was sponsored by the Kansas Geological Survey to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the survey's establishment. The result of that symposium was the golden book volume on cyclic sedimentation (Merriam, 1964), a historically significant collection of papers by the leading stratigraphers of the day. Twenty-five years later the Kansas Geological Survey sponsored a second symposium on a similar topic, entitled "Sedimentary Modeling: Computer Simulation of Depositional Sequences" (Franseen and Watney, 1989). The result of that symposium is the present volume. Although separated by 25 years, the two volumes treat strikingly similar subject matter.
To provide a historical perspective on the subject of stratigraphy, I compare and contrast the content of these two volumes, tracking the evolution in stratigraphic thinking that has occurred over the past 25 years. Both volumes deal with stratigraphic cyclicity, demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the time-stratigraphic relationships in the rocks studied, and attempt to understand the controls on basin fill evolution. Differences lie mainly in the kinds of tools available (namely, computers) and the degree of systematics applied to stratigraphic analyses. Interestingly, the parallels between the volumes speak to two separate episodes in the history of sequence stratigraphy.
The present volume represents the state of the art in stratigraphic thinking as reflected in stratigraphic modeling studies. The conceptual framework for these modeling studies has been strongly influenced by sequence stratigraphy, which (1) subdivides stratigraphy into unconformity bounded units (Sloss et al., 1949), (2) emphasizes the characterization of sediment packages within a strict time-stratigraphic framework, and (3) attempts to define a genetic relationship among basin fill geometry, unconformity development, and relative sea-level changes [for a review of evolving definitions of sequence stratigraphy, see Van Wagoner et al. (1987, 1990)].
Genetic models of basin fill development describe a predictable relationship between relative sea-level dynamics and depositional cycle subcomponents called systems tracts (Brown and Fisher, 1977; Posamentier et al., 1988). Computer simulations [e.g., Lawrence et al. (1987), Helland-Hansen et al. (1988), Jervey (1988), Lawrence et al. (1990), and Ross (1990)] have allowed workers to model the relative contribution of various processes (eustasy, subsidence, and sediment supply) that control basin fill evolution; and the modeling studies presented in this volume further expand the quantitative expression of the new, genetically oriented sequence stratigraphy.
How different are the concepts of the new sequence stratigraphy, manifested in quantitative stratigraphic models, from the conceptual framework developed and utilized by some of the most prominent stratigraphers of the 1950's and early 1960's? Surprisingly, little has changed in the past 25 years.
If we compare modem stratigraphic concepts to the content of the 1964 volume on cyclic sedimentation, the similarities are striking. In fact, many of the fundamental tenets of sequence stratigraphy were laid down by the authors of the golden book (e.g., M. K. Elias, W. C. Krumbein, R. C. Moore, L. L. Sloss, H. R. Wanless, J. M. Weller, and H. E. Wheeler). During the 1940's and 1950's a significant body of work had been assembled to document the existence of regional depositional cycles, so that by the early 1960's the focus of stratigraphic studies shifted from documentation to genetic interpretation. The recognition of repetitive episodes of deposition, often separated by regional unconformity surfaces, was heralded as a significant advance in the subdivision, correlation, and analysis of basin fill sequences [e.g., Wheeler (1958, 1959, 1963) and Sloss (1963, 1964)].
Much of the conceptual framework and terminology that we think of as modem (e.g., sequence stratigraphy, systems tracts, and accommodation space models) had their origins in the studies on midcontinent cyclothems [e.g., Wanless and Weller (1932) and Moore (1936)] and North American Phanerozoic sequences (Sloss et al., 1949; Krumbein and Sloss, 1951; Wheeler, 1963; Sloss, 1963). The abundant evidence arguing for an allogenic base-level control on the late Paleozoic midcontinent sequences was so compelling that the sequences were immediately interpreted as genetic stratigraphic units and termed cyclothems. In the 1930's Moore (1936, p. 29) attempted to define the ideal cyclothem as a model to which other sequences could be compared. Moore proposed a sequence with nine units. Although no complete idealized cyclothem was ever located, the concept was used to determine missing events and to interpret geologic history. Moore's (1964) association of water depth to cyclothem units suggested an orderly relationship between sea level and the development of sedimentary sequences (fig. 1).
Figure 1--Diagrammatic section of successive cyclothems showing typical lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic features, accompanied by interpretation of changes in environment with lapse of time [from Moore (1964)].
Further refinements of the cyclothem model were made by Wheeler and Murray (1957), who related components of the cyclothem to phases of glacial eustasy in a regional cross-sectional context (see their fig. 2), and by Van Siclen (1958, 1964), who described predictable arrangements of facies associations controlled by relative highstands and lowstands of sea level from the Permian basin in West Texas (Van Siclen, 1958) (fig. 2). These two works are an early effort to define a predictable arrangement of the subcomponents of complete sedimentary cycles controlled by base-level oscillations, and as such they are analogous to the systems tracts concept described within the context of the new sequence stratigraphy (Van Wagoner, 1985; Posamentier et al., 1988).
Figure 2--Diagrammatic section showing possible relations of more marine parts of successive cyclic sedimentary bodies [from Van Siclen (1957, fig. 9)]. The bottom diagram (C) demonstrates an acute awareness of distinct facies associations developed during periods of lowered sea level (i.e., a lowstand systems tract).
Early workers saw order in cyclically bedded rocks and were fascinated by it. This fascination led many to speculate on the possible causes of cyclicity and unconformity development using arguments and tools similar to those used today. For example, the Fischer plots utilized by Read et al. (this volume) and Goldhammer et al. (this volume) have their origins in a classic paper by Fischer in the 1964 volume. Accommodation space plots, which sum the effects of eustasy and subsidence to produce relative sea-level or base-level curves (Jervey, 1988; Posamentier et al., 1988; Ross, 1990), were clearly evident in the work of Moore (1964, fig. 44). Although hindered by the lack of high-speed computational tools, these early workers clearly contended with the same kinds of questions that are quantitatively addressed by modem workers in this volume.
It is apparent that sequence stratigraphy, which emphasizes genesis within a time-stratigraphic framework, was in place by the early 1960's and very much in evidence in the papers of the 1964 volume. Yet with few exceptions [e.g., unconformity recognition (Harms, 1966; McCubbin, 1969; MacKenzie, 1971; Chang, 1975) and time-stratigraphic correlation (Weimer, 1960; Asquith, 1970)], only a limited number of geologists exploited the benefits of this new conceptual framework over the next 15-20 years. Why didn't sequence stratigraphy catch on the first time around, and why did it reemerge in the 1970's with an extraordinary following? The reason for the two-stage development of sequence stratigraphy may be that only a few geologists approached stratigraphy from a broad, regional perspective.
Geologists such as Moore, Sloss, Wanless, and Wheeler and their students discerned time lines using biostratigraphic data collected over large areas. Most other geologists during the 1960's and 1970's worked on geographically restricted problems and, because of new developments in sedimentology [see Reading (1986) for a review], focused on depositional facies models. Consequently, the majority of the geologic community was unable to appreciate the significance of sequence stratigraphy in its application to everyday problems. With few exceptions (Vail and Wilbur, 1966; Vail and Sangree, 1971), stratigraphic cyclicity and the genetics of basin fill processes were scarcely considered.
Sequence stratigraphy was revived in the late 1970's and 1980's with the advent of high-resolution multichannel seismic data, which were utilized predominantly by workers in the petroleum exploration industry [e.g., Vail, Mitchum et al. (1977), Mitchum et al. (1977), Abbott (1987), Bally (1987-1989), and Cross and Lessenger (1988)]. When geologists looked at seismic data, they could see time-stratigraphic relationships, basin fill geometries, and unconformities unobscured by time-transgressive lithostratigraphic information (Vail, Todd, and Sangree, 1977). On a single seismic display time-stratigraphic relationships could be viewed over several tens of miles. The same time-stratigraphic perspective would take a field geologist months or years of regional fieldwork to establish. Suddenly, basin fill architecture on a regional scale was readily apparent. Topset, foreset, and bottomset geometries could be observed to aggrade, prograde, and become incised. Rising base levels were apparent as coastal plain strata onlapping paleotopographic highs. Falling base levels were inferred as coastal plain strata that shifted basinward and onlapped highstand slope surfaces. As a consequence of these observations, the relationships between relative sea level, basin fill geometry, and unconformity development were once again proposed as a unifying concept for stratigraphy, and global eustatic sea-level changes were offered as a means of explaining interregional correlation of stratigraphic cyclicity (Vail, Mitchum, and Thompson, 1977).
The qualitative observations made possible using seismic data seemed to suggest that basin fill processes could be quantitatively represented and simulated by varying a relatively small set of first-order parameters, namely, eustatic sea level, subsidence, and sediment supply. In contrast, observations made at the outcrop scale are dominated by the effects of second-, third-, and fourth-order processes, such as climate, storms, and tides. The computer simulations created by oil industry workers [e.g., Lawrence et al. (1987, 1990), Jervey (1988), Helland-Hansen et al. (1988), and Ross (1990)] emphasized the rise and fall of relative base-level surfaces to create and destroy (accommodation) space for sediment deposition. The conceptual framework of these computer simulations is nearly identical with the ideas presented by Sloss (1962)-again a suggestion that the sequence stratigraphic approach, which came out of the 1940's and 1950's, lends itself to the development of (first-order) genetic models.
Several of the studies that appear in the present volume utilize modeling tools to address general questions about the relative contribution of various input parameters to the development of basin fill geometries and facies belt migrations (e.g., Harris, Matthews and Frohlich, and Kendall et al.). More focused questions about the likely controls on stratigraphic cyclicity, from eustasy, autocyclicity, or sediment supply, are addressed by comparing model output to known sedimentary sections (Kendall et al., Read et al., Demicco et al., Watney et al., Goldhammer et al.) or by quantitatively analyzing sedimentary sections (e.g., Kominz et al., Bond and Kominz, and Bond et al.). Thus the ability of the model output to match the geometry and facies distribution of known geologic sections suggests that the combination of input parameters used is plausible and consistent with physical laws of nature that are built into the modeling software (e.g., conservation laws).
Geologists working with basin simulation programs ultimately gain insights into the interaction of natural processes that were not possible before these programs existed. New insights lead to new hypotheses that can be tested by gathering newly focused observations from the geologic record. The present volume emphasizes the use of stratigraphic data sets to constrain and test quantitative stratigraphic models. The computer has become a sophisticated new tool for geologists to test new ideas in stratigraphy. As a consequence of these modeling studies, geologists will revisit and reexamine old field areas. Their objective will be the collection of new observations to test predictions made by computer simulations. Armed with these tools and the body of knowledge about facies models accumulated in the past 25 years, the geologic community is poised to make great strides in the development of powerful, predictive models for sedimentary basin evolution.
During the last half-century the literature has not reflected a steady, progressive evolution of ideas in the area of stratigraphy. Instead, we see two separate explosive episodes of concept evolution based on sequence-stratigraphic thinking. The first episode was brought about by the work of a small select group of regional stratigraphers who integrated time-stratigraphic observations over continent-wide areas. The second episode occurred through the development of seismic stratigraphy, a tool that would revitalize the discipline of sequence stratigraphy. Genetic basin fill models were born out of each episode, but the latest one had the benefits of sophisticated computer tools. Computer-based basin simulation programs have provided and will continue to provide geologists with new insights into stratigraphy, and their output will provide predictions for geologists to check for generations to come.
The ideas presented here are the result of readings and discussions with numerous individuals over the years. Special thanks go to Evan Franseen, John French, Jeff May, Don McCubbin, Henry Posamentier, Keith Shanley, Patricia Santogrossi, Larry Sloss, Sig Snelson, Lynn Watney, Robert Weimer, and Paul Yarka for their reviews of the manuscript.
Abbott, W. O., 1987, Atlas of seismic stratigraphy; in, Atlas of Seismic Stratigraphy, Bally, A. W., ed.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Studies in Geology 27, v. 1, p. 15-71
Asquith, D. O., 1970, Depositional topography and major marine environments, Late Cretaceous, Wyoming: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 54, p. 1,184-1,224
Bally, A. W., ed., 1987-1989, Atlas of seismic stratigraphy: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Studies in Geology 27, 3 v.
Brown, L. F., and Fisher, W. L., 1977, Seismic-stratigraphic interpretation of depositional systems--examples from Brazil rift and pull-apart basins; in, Seismic Stratigraphy--Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration, Payton, C. E., ed.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 26, p. 213-248
Chang, K. H., 1975, Unconformity-bounded stratigraphic units: Geological Society of America, Bulletin, v. 86, p. 1,544-1,552
Cross, T. A., and Lessenger, M. A., 1988, Seismic stratigraphy: Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, v. 16, p. 319-354
Fischer, A. G., 1964, The Lofer cyclothems of the Alpine Triassic; in, Symposium on Cyclic Sedimentation, Merriam, D. F., ed.: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 169, p. 107-149 [available online]
Franseen, E. K., and Watney, W. L., 1989, Sedimentary modeling--computer simulation of depositional sequences: Kansas Geological Survey, Subsurface Geology Series 12, 84 p.
Harms, J. C., 1966, Stratigraphic traps in a valley fill, western Nebraska: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 50, p. 2,119-2,149
Helland-Hansen, W., Kendall, C. G. St. C., Lerche, I., and Kazuo, N., 1988, A simulation of continental basin margin sedimentation in response to crustal movements, eustatic sea-level change and sediment accumulation rates: Mathematical Geology, v. 20, p. 777-802
Jervey, M. T., 1988, Quantitative geological modeling of siliciclastic rock sequences and their seismic expressions; in, Sea-Level Changes--An Integrated Approach, Wilgus, C. K., Hastings, B. S., Kendall, C. G. St. C., Posamentier, H. W., Ross, C. A., and Van Wagoner, J. C., eds.: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Special Publication 42, p. 47-69
Krumbein, W. C., and Sloss, L. L., 1951, Stratigraphy and sedimentation: Freeman Press, San Francisco, California, 497 p.
Lawrence, D. T., Doyle, M., and Aigner, T., 1990, Stratigraphic simulation of sedimentary basins--concepts and calibrations: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 74, p. 273-295
Lawrence, D. T., Doyle, M., Snelson, S., and Horsfield, W. T., 1987, Stratigraphic modeling of sedimentary basins (abs.): American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 71, p. 582
MacKenzie, D. B., 1971, Post-Lytle Dakota Group on west flank of Denver basin, Colorado: The Mountain Geologist, v. 8, p. 91-131
McCubbin, D. G., 1969, Cretaceous strike-valley sandstone reservoirs, northwestern New Mexico: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 53, p. 2,114-2,140
Merriam, D. F., ed., 1964, Symposium on cyclic sedimentation: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 169, 636 p. [available online]
Mitchum, R. M., Jr., Vail, P. R., and Thompson, S., III, 1977, Seismic stratigraphy and global changes of sea level, pt. 2-the depositional sequence as a basic unit for stratigraphic analysis; in, Seismic Stratigraphy--Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration, Payton, C. E., ed.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 26, p. 53-62
Moore, R. C., 1936, Stratigraphic classification of the Pennsylvanian rocks of Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 22, 256 p. [available online]
Moore, R. C., 1964, Paleoecological aspects of Kansas Pennsylvanian and Permian cyclothems; in, Symposium on Cyclic Sedimentation, Merriam, D. F., ed.: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 169, p. 287-380 [available online]
Posamentier, H. W., Jervey, M. T., and Vail, P. R., 1988, Eustatic controls on clastic deposition I--conceptual framework; in, Sea-Level Changes--An Integrated Approach, Wilgus, C. K., Hastings, B. S., Kendall, C. G. St. C., Posamentier, H. W., Ross, C. A., and Van Wagoner, J. C., eds.: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Special Publication 42, p. 109-124
Reading, H. G., 1986, Sedimentary environments and facies, 2d ed.: Blackwell Scientific Publications, Boston, Massachusetts, 615 p.
Ross, W. C., 1990, Modeling base-level dynamics as a control on basin-fill geometries and facies distribution--a conceptual framework; in, Quantitative Dynamic Stratigraphy, Cross, T. A., ed.: Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, p. 387-399
Sloss, L. L., 1962, Stratigraphic models in exploration: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 46, p. 1,050-1,057
Sloss, L. L., 1963, Sequences in the cratonic interior of North America: Geological Society of America, Bulletin, v. 74, p. 93114
Sloss, L. L., 1964, Tectonic cycles of the North American craton; in, Symposium on Cyclic Sedimentation, Merriam, D. F., ed.: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 169, p. 449-460 [available online]
Sloss, L. L., 1988, Forty years of sequence stratigraphy: Geological Society of America, Bulletin, v. 100, p. 1,661-1,665
Sloss, L. L., Krumbein, W. C., and Dapples, E. C., 1949, Integrated facies analysis; in, Sedimentary Facies in Geologic History, Longwell, C. R., chair: Geological Society of America, Memoir 39,p.91-124
Vail, P. R., and Sangree, J. B., 1971, Time stratigraphy from seismic data (abs.): American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 55, p. 367-368
Vail, P. R., and Wilbur, R. O., 1966, Onlap, key to worldwide unconformities and depositional cycles (abs.): American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 50, p. 638-639
Vail, P. R., Mitchum, R. M., and Thompson, S., III, 1977, Seismic stratigraphy and global changes of sea level, pt. 3--relative changes of sea level from coastal onlap; in, Seismic Stratigraphy--Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration, Payton, C. E., ed.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 26, p. 63-97
Vail, P. R., Todd, R. G., and Sangree, J. B., 1977, Seismic stratigraphy and global changes of sea level, pt. 5--chronostratigraphic significance of seismic reflections; in, Seismic Stratigraphy--Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration, Payton, C. E., ed.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 26, p. 99-116
Vail, P. R., Mitchum, R. M., Jr., Todd, R. G., Widmier, J. M., Thompson, S., III, Sangree, J. B., Bubb, J. N., and Hatlelid, W. G., 1977, Seismic stratigraphy and global changes of sea level; in, Seismic Stratigraphy--Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration, Payton, C. E., ed.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 26, p. 49-212
Van Siclen, D. C., 1958, Depositional topography--examples and theory: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 42, p. 1,897-1,913
Van Siclen, D. C., 1964, Depositional topography in relation to cyclic sedimentation; in, Symposium on Cyclic Sedimentation, Merriam, D. F., ed.: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 169, p. 533-539 [available online]
Van Wagoner, J. C., 1985, Reservoir facies distribution as controlled by sea-level change (abs.): Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Annual Midyear Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, v. 2, p. 91-92
Van Wagoner, J. C., Mitchum, R. M., Campion, K. M., and Rahmanian, V. D., 1990, Siliciclastic sequence stratigraphy in well logs, cores, and outcrops: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Methods in Exploration Series 7, 55 p.
Van Wagoner, J. C., Mitchum, R. M., Jr., Posamentier, H. W., and Vail, P. R., 1987, Pt. 2--key definitions of sequence stratigraphy; in, Atlas of Seismic Stratigraphy, Bally, A. W., ed.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Studies in Geology 27, v. 1, p.11-14
Wanless, H. R., and Weller, J. M., 1932, Correlation and extent of Pennsylvanian cyclothems: Geological Society of America, Bulletin, v. 43, p. 1,003-1,016
Weimer, R. J., 1960, Geometric patterns, Upper Cretaceous sandstones, Rocky Mountain region (abs.): American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 44, p. 1,260
Wheeler, H. E., 1958, Time stratigraphy: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 42, p. 1,047-1,063
Wheeler, H. E., 1959, Unconformity bounded units in stratigraphy: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 43, p. 1,975-1,977
Wheeler, H. E., 1963, Post-Sauk and pre-Absaroka Paleozoic stratigraphic patterns in North America: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 47, p. 1,497-1,526
Wheeler, H. E., 1964, Base level transit cycle; in, Symposium on Cyclic Sedimentation, Merriam, D. F., ed.: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 169, p. 623-630 [available online]
Wheeler, H. E., and Murray, H. H., 1957, Base-level control patterns in cyclothemic sedimentation: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 41, p. 1,985-29011
Kansas Geological Survey
Comments to webadmin@kgs.ku.edu
Web version March 2010. Original publication date 1991.
URL=http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/Bulletins/233/Ross/index.html