CYCOPATH 2D - A 2-DIMENSIONAL, FORWARD MODEL OF CYCLIC SEDIMENTATION ON CARBONATE PLATFORMS

This paper documents CYCOPATH 2D, a FORTRAN computer code for 2-dimens ional modeling of cyclostratigraphic pathways within carbonate platfor m deposits. The code allows the users options over four suites of vari ables: subsidence; sediment production sea level fluctuations; and sed iment transport. CYCOPATH 2D presents an animated display of the chang es in the sediment surface of a carbonate platform during deposition. Al the end of a run, a summary stratigraphic cross-section is drawn on the screen. Data on the sea level history of the run, details of the depositional status of the platform for every time step, and details f or plotting individual stratigraphic columns are saved to output files for each run. CYCOPATH 2D incorporates lateral transport of sediment onto shoreline wedges and can produce autocycles and allocycles. Given the same sets of input, CYCOPATH 2D substantially reproduces the synt hetic stratigraphies produced by the ''Dr. Sediment'' code of Dunn. CY COPATH 2D is the only generally available model of carbonate depositio n that can test hypotheses that include the possibility of autocyclic generation of stacked peritidal shallowing upwards successions. (C) 19 98 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.