Processes and products of deep-sea sediment-routing systems from bed- to basin-scale

从河床到盆地尺度的深海沉积物输送系统的过程和产品

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-04223
• 负责人: Hubbard, Stephen
• 金额: $ 3.72万
• 依托单位: University of Calgary
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=712813
• 关键词: Processes; products; deep; sea; sediment

Holistic interpretations of deep-sea paleo-environments from the sedimentary rock record are critical for deducing significant events in the Earth's past, such as triggering of major submarine avalanches, uplift and erosion of mountain belts, and climate-driven variations in sea-level. Moreover, these interpretations provide a predictive framework for the distribution of vast hydrocarbon and water resources, which are widely hosted in rocks of deep-sea origin on the continental margins of Canada, and beyond. The deep oceans have proved to be particularly difficult to study due to their inaccessibility and prevalence of destructive events, such as turbidity currents. Limited observations of deep-sea environments makes interpretations of their deposits in the geological record particularly challenging. In this research program, the record of long-term sediment-delivery through deep-sea channel systems is used to develop and apply novel models that: (1) establish recognition of deposits formed by deep-water sediment transport processes; and (2) use the sedimentary archive of submarine fan-channel systems to deduce long-term variations in sediment supply to sedimentary basins, the generation and destruction of accommodation space for sediment to accumulate, and changes in sediment source areas related to tectonics or climatic fluctuations. Deep-sea deposits provide critical archives of these processes at the ends of continent-draining sediment-routing systems. Exposures of the Cretaceous Nanaimo Group on the Gulf Islands of British Columbia are established as a world-class natural laboratory for the study of deep-sea sedimentary deposits, and are the foundation for the proposed research program. The research program will result in training of 14 highly qualified personnel, including 5 BSc, 4 MSc and 4 PhD students, as well as 1 postdoctoral scholar, each of which will be well positioned to gain employment in industry, academia, or government upon graduation. HQP will use traditional and innovative field methods and laboratory techniques in order to constrain the characteristics and distribution patterns of deep-sea rock units, deduce internal and external controls on formative sedimentary processes, and estimate depositional rates at various scales of investigation. This knowledge is essential for enhanced predictions of the distribution and quality of hydrocarbon-bearing deep-water rocks on continental margins, with significant potential long-term economic implications related to the identification and development of energy resources in eastern Canada. Furthermore, characterization of aquifers hosted in turbiditic bedrock of the Gulf Islands study area will inform better drinking water management strategies for a significant population of British Columbia.

对沉积岩石记录的深海古环境的整体解释对于推论地球过去的重要事件至关重要，例如触发主要海底雪崩，山腰带的隆升和侵蚀以及海平面气候驱动的变化。此外，这些解释为大量碳氢化合物和水资源的分配提供了一个预测框架，这些框架广泛托管在加拿大大陆边缘及其他地区的深海起源岩石中。事实证明，由于其无法获得和破坏性事件（例如浊流）的流行，深海被证明特别困难。对深海环境的有限观察使其在地质记录中的沉积物解释特别具有挑战性。在该研究计划中，使用深海通道系统的长期沉积物传递的记录用于开发和应用新颖模型：（1）建立对深水沉积物传输过程形成的沉积物的认识； （2）使用海底风扇渠道系统的沉积档案来推断沉积物供应沉积物供应的长期变化，沉积物的产生和破坏，以使沉积物积聚，以及与构造或气候波动有关的沉积物源区域的变化。 深海沉积物提供了这些过程的关键档案，该过程在大陆排水沉积系统的末端。在不列颠哥伦比亚省海湾群岛上的白垩纪纳奈莫集团的暴露是世界一流的自然实验室，用于研究深海沉积沉积物，并且是拟议研究计划的基础。该研究计划将导致对14名高素质人员进行培训，其中包括5名BSC，4名MSC和4位博士生，以及1名博士后学者，每个学者都将在毕业后能够在工业，学术界或政府中获得就业机会。 HQP将使用传统和创新的现场方法和实验室技术，以限制深海岩石单元的特征和分布模式，推断出对形成性沉积过程的内部和外部控制，并在各种调查范围内估算沉积速率。这种知识对于增强对大陆边缘上碳氢化合物深水岩石的分布和质量的预测至关重要，并且与加拿大东部能源资源的识别和发展有关的潜在长期经济影响很大。此外，在墨西哥湾群岛研究区的浑浊基岩中托管的含水层的表征将为不列颠哥伦比亚省大量人群提供更好的饮用水管理策略。