Quantitative Analysis of Turbidites and Related Sediment Gravity Flow Deposits

格罗青格9506574 请求提供一年的资金，以支持一个试点项目，对沉积物重力流沉积的比例关系进行定量测试。 该计划是为了检验这样一个假设，即具有最小侵蚀截断和合并的水下沉积物重力流沉积物的床层厚度的统计分布应遵守幂律N（h）h-B，其中N（h）是厚度大于h的层数，B是标度指数（如Rothman等人1994年所建议的）。 这表明，至少在某些情况下，沉积物重力流沉积是标度不变的（分形）。 我们将确定（或至少设计一个战略，为未来的研究）是否幂律缩放沉积物重力流沉积物代表一个内在的动力学性质的沉积系统本身（如自组织临界性），或者它是否间接反映了幂律缩放外部，因果机制（如地震，洪水）。 此外，如果它可以证明（无论其原因），沉积物重力流触发和沉积过程确实是规模不变的，然后偏离床厚度的统计数据从预测的幂律可能会被解释为侵蚀和/或非沉积过程，影响地层记录的完整性的定量证据。 研究工作本身将包括一个密切合作的PI的背景是广泛不同的，和研究生研究助理。 将对最近获得的几组数据进行分析。 将收集更多的数据，特别是关于沉积物重力流沉积的时间尺度。 最后，数据收集将与新的、基于物理的理论的发展并行进行，该理论将床层厚度、体积和几何形状联系起来。 这项研究的结果将引起物理学和地球科学界成员的广泛兴趣。此外，该研究与石油工业有明显的相关性，越来越多的证据表明薄层浊积岩储层可能具有重要的经济意义。

Grotzinger 9506574 One year of funding is requested in order to support a pilot project designed to conduct quantitative tests of the scaling relationships of sediment gravity flow deposits. The plan is to test the hypothesis that the statistical distribution of bed thicknesses of subaqueous sediment gravity flow deposits with minimal erosional truncation and amalgamation should obey the power law N(h) h-B where N(h) is the number of layers of thickness greater than h and B is the scaling exponent (as suggested by Rothman et al, 1994). This indicates that, at least in some cases, sediment gravity flow deposition is scale invariant (fractal). We will determine (or at least devise a strategy for future research) whether power-law scaling for sediment gravity flow deposits represents an intrinsic dynamical property of the depositional system itself (e.g. self-organized criticality), or whether it indirectly reflects the power-law scaling of external, causal mechanisms (e.g. earthquakes, floods). Furthermore, if it can be demonstrated (regardless of its cause) that the sediment gravity flow triggering and deposition process is indeed scale invariant, then departures of bed thickness statistics from the predicted power law may possibly be interpreted as quantitative evidence of erosional and/or non-depositional processes that influence completeness of the stratigraphic record. The research effort itself will consist of a close collaboration between the PI's whose backgrounds are widely divergent, and a graduate research assistant. Several recently obtained data sets will be analyzed. Additional data will be collected that pertains specifically to the temporal scaling of sediment gravity flow deposits. Finally, data collection will proceed in parallel with development of new, physically-based theory that relates bed thickness, volume, and geometry. The results of this research will be of broad interest to members of the physics as well as earth science communities. Additionally, the rese arch has clear relevance to the petroleum industry where there is growing evidence that thin-bedded turbidite reservoirs may be of great economic importance.