The study is based on the post-Messinian depositional sequences of the Ebro continental margin and Nile submarine cone, on the northwestern and southeastern Mediterranean, respectively. This study is based mainly on the interpretation of 3D geometries and stratigraphical relationships observed on 3D and 2D seismic reflection data. These siliciclastic systems evolved along the Mediterranean ‘passive’ margins at approximately the same time, thus experiencing the same post-Messinian eustatic history. However, they have been subject to entirely different local forcing, and present markedly different sedimentation histories. while the seismic profiles of the Pliocene-Pleistocene succession of the Ebro continental margin display a complex pattern of well-developed margin-scale clinoforms, seismic profiles on the Nile cone show a succession characterized by mass-transport deposits and channel-levee systems. Major transformations in the long-term architectural style are recognized in both systems and these are correlative in time at the Plio-Pleistocene boundary, suggesting an externally driven mechanism. Moreover, sediment budget calculations indicate an increase in the amount of sediments delivered to these basins during the Pleistocene. Their architectural development changed not only in response to the effects of changes in external controls on the sedimentary dynamics and sediment transfer processes as the classic sequence stratigraphic model considers, but also through morphodynamic feedbacks. Oversteepening of the depositional profile as these systems prograded into the deeper basins led to mass failures of the shelf margin and deficits of mass in certain portions of the system that led to their complete re-organization. The concepts of slope accommodation, mechanisms of sediment redistribution along the continental margin, and the persistence of significant stratigraphic surfaces, are called into question in these systems.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:509164 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Kertznus, Vanessa Raquel |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=56267 |
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