Bt. Cronin et al., Superb exposure of a channel, levee and overbank complex in an ancient deep-water slope environment, SEDIMENT GE, 132(3-4), 2000, pp. 205-216
Excellent exposure of a deep-water channel-fill, levee and associated overb
ank sediments is described from an Eocene-Oligocene unstable slope environm
ent. The exposure allows direct observation of spatial and temporal relatio
nships between successive channel-fills and the channel margin. Levees are
finer grained than adjacent channel-fills and temporally unrelated to them.
Once formed, the levee has acted as a channel margin although not actively
growing. Overbank deposits onlap the levee and can be correlated with a po
st-levee formation channel-fill. Direct observation of sedimentary facies r
elationships shows that published levee characteristics do not necessarily
apply and should be applied with caution in any example where inference of
spatial and temporal relationships is necessary. Levees represent the depos
itional elements formed during low sedimentation rates, possible periods of
abandonment, with the highest preservation potential. Identification of le
vees is thus of importance when reconstructing the stratigraphy of sand-ric
h turbidite systems. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.