The Relationship between Depositional Process and Strati- graphic Response: Development of Parasequences in Carbonate/Siliclastic Depositional Systems

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The relationship between sedimentary process and stratigraphic response is still poorly understood. As a result, the origin of stratigraphic parasequences, the fundamental building block of most sedimentary basins, is still highly controversial. We will examine the parasequences of the lower to Middle Cambrian Carrara Formation, a larger-scale sequence which ranges laterally from shallow marine carbonate to shallow marine (and possibly alluvial) siliciclastic sediments. We will: 1) identify and correlate parasequences within the Carrara Formation and its equivalents; 2) Characterize surfaces that bound parasequences for information useful in determining the mode(s) of parasequence initiation and termination; 3) Map specific facies within established parasequences to obtain information on their thickness, geometry, and spatial distribution; 4) Describe and interpret specific facies within parasequences to provide information on the processes of sediment production and dispersal, water depths, paleoclimate, and more local paleogeography. If the diversity and geometry of facies within parasequences are delineated, then the mechanisms responsible for their formation can be more accurately determined and, where possible, quantified. This information could greatly refine models for paleogeography, water depths, sea-level history, subsidence history, paleoclimate, and local or regional tectonic events.