Browsing by Author "Fletcher, Sean"

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    Stratigraphic characterization of a Cretaceous slope channel complex in the Tres Pasos Formation, Arroyo Picana-Laguna Figueroa outcrop belt, Chilean Patagonia
    (2013-07-18) Fletcher, Sean; Hubbard, Stephen
    Upper Cretaceous strata outcropping in the vicinity of Laguna Figueroa, southern Chile record the sedimentary processes of a deep-water, slope channel depositional setting within the Magallanes foreland basin. The strata investigated is exposed over a 6 km long by 100 m thick depositional dip-oriented outcrop, which is cross cut by numerous gullies that provide strike perspectives. Measured sections, paleoflow measurements, photomosaic interpretations, and geo-referenced stratigraphic surfaces are used to construct a 3-D digital outcrop-based model that consists of a hierarchy of channelform sedimentary bodies. Five mappable channel elements, 10-20 m thick, comprise a single 60 m thick channel complex. The succession of channel element deposits transition from laterally offset to more vertically aligned down-slope over 2 km. Similar architectural transitions are common to conduits that transect topographically complex slope systems on numerous continental margins, including petroliferous regions of west Africa and the Nile Delta.