Geosciences Journal Vol. 8, No. 2, p.

171-177, June 2004

A modified Waldron test based on sliding skewness for determining asymmetric cycle in a turbidite section
Geodata and Database Division, Geological Survey of India, 27, J.L.Nehru Road., Kolkata-16, India Basab Mukhopadhyay Partha Pratim Chakraborty* Department of Applied Geology, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad-826 004, India Tapan Majumder

ABSTRACT: The non-parametric sign-of-difference Waldron test, conventionally used for identifying asymmetric cyclicity (thinningor thickening-up) in turbidite successions, often fails to offer convincing results either when bed thickness distribution is lognormal or where positive and negative cycles are present in equal abundance. A modified Waldron test based on sliding skewness method (taking a number of bed thickness at a time) is proposed here for determining asymmetric cycles in turbidite successions, which appears to be random in their bed thickness distribution based on conventional Waldron test. The method has been tested on two turbidite sections, which belong to two different settings of a single submarine fan system (Andaman Flysch fan) that is known to have a lognormal bed thickness distribution. Application of the sliding skewness methodology reveals thinning-upward asymmetric cycles in both of these sections, which corroborate with the field observations and paleoenvironmental interpretations. Statistical significance for the proposed methodology was determined on the studied sections both through the Z-value and appropriate two-tailed null hypothesis. It is proposed that the result (thickening or thinning upward) is invariant with the interval (number of bed thickness taken for calculation) chosen for the sliding skewness calculation. This new method can be used on bed thickness measurement data from any turbidite succession in addition to other tests for identifying asymmetric cyclicity where non-parametric Waldron Test fails. Key words: turbidite, asymmetric cyclicity, Waldron test, sliding skewness, Z-value, Andaman flysch

1. INTRODUCTION Recognition of regular patterns of variation in lithologic and/or unit thickness and identification of depositional cyclicity (of different orders) are important tools of stratigraphic studies (Davis, 1986; Murray et al., 1996; Diedrich and Wilkinson, 1999). A primary character of sedimentary cycles is that, at some scale, they occur as beds. In a sedimentary system, changes in bedding thickness are considered to be a function of magnitude and duration of generative sedimentary process. This provoked study of the beds, including their thickness, continuity and shape, not only as tool for carrying out conservative estimation of the duration of sedimentation but also for assessing stratigraphic expression of any temporal changes in an operative
*Corresponding author: partha_geology@yahoo.co.in

sedimentary process. The study of bedding thickness variation revealed interesting results in stratigraphic research of ancient turbidite successions, particularly in relation to identification of depositional cyclicities, predictability in their recurrence, and identification of deterministic factor(s) that might underpin them. Most commonly referred are the asymmetric cycles, thinning or thickening upward, which are believed to characterize submarine fan sub-environments such as channels and depositional lobes (Walker and Mutti, 1973; Martini et al., 1978; Eberli, 1991). Identification of asymmetric cycles in ancient turbidite successions is not, however, free from its subjectiveness because of bed amalgamation, human bias in studying pictorial logs, or wrong choice of the bed that defines the base of cycles. Walker (1984) and Hiscott (1981) had also shown that even a sequence with randomly stacked patterns could generate equally convincing cycles with a thickening upward (positive) or thinning upward (negative) trend. Waldron (1987) was the first to device a non-parametric statistical (Runs Up and Down or RUD) test on the bed thickness data to overcome this subjectivity. His proposed model provides a quantitative measure of the cyclicity. In addition, independence of the method on actual distribution of bed thicknesses gives it a great generality. Subsequently, however, Murray et al. (1996) observed failure of the Waldron test in the Cache Creek section, Northern California, where positive and negative cycles are present in equal abundance. For bed thickness pattern with lognormal distribution, Waldron himself found out that skewness of the differences between consecutive thickness values of beds could serve as more powerful statistical tool for identification of cyclicity instead of the RUD analysis. This prompted the present authors to devise a methodology on the basis of skewness in a moving or sliding form (similar to moving average) and to apply it to two turbidite sections in the Upper Eocene-Oligocene Andaman Flysch Group exposed at Kalipur, North Andaman and Corbyns Cove, South Andaman, India (Fig. 1) for identification of any cyclic pattern in deposition. Both of these sections failed to reject the null hypothesis of randomness under the Waldrons test that allowed earlier workers (Chakraborty et al., 2002; Mukhopadhyay et al., 2003) to discard any cyclic

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pattern in their depositional motif. In contrast to the earlier observations, the present methodology revealed a distinct signal for thinning-up trend that commensurates with field observations and paleo-environmental interpretations made on these sections by earlier workers (Ray, 1982; Chakraborty and Pal, 2001). 2. GEOLOGY Andaman Group of Islands forms part of an outer arc system with the Indian Plate subducting along the Java Trench on its west. Thick (3150 m; Roy, 1983) sedimentary sequence exposed in these islands (viz. Mithakhari Group, Andaman Flysch Group and Archipelago Group; Table 1) offers a unique opportunity to understand many critical aspects of deep marine sedimentation, particularly important for a subduction margin. The sections studied during this work belong to the Upper Eocene-Oligocene Andaman Flysch Group (750 m thick; Roy, 1983), for which a longitudinal submarine fan model with a detached slope fan lobe has been proposed through facies characterization and detailed paleoenvironmental analysis (Chakraborty and Pal, 2001; Pal et al., 2003). An active and continuous sediment supply has been interpreted despite a rising or high sea level stand during the development and growth of the Andaman Flysch fan. The two studied sections, i.e the Kalipur section of North Andaman and the Corbyns Cove section of South Andaman (Fig. 1), represent parts of a single submarine fan system; which differs in lithology (grain size), clast composition, facies development motif and paleocurrent pattern. The fan system is inferred to be the product of two different paleogeographic settings viz. channel-levee complex of inner fan and basin-floor outer fan (Chakraborty and Pal, 2001). The Kalipur section is composed of grain- and matrixsupported conglomerate, sandstone and shale (Fig. 2a) and dominantly characterized by lenticular facies geometry of channel-levee association of inner fan. On the other hand, the Corbyns Cove section, composed of monotonous succession of centimeter- to meter-thick, rhythmic parallelbedded siltstone/sandstone - shale association with lateral persistence of beds in the scale of tens of meters (Fig. 2b), represents depositional lobe at a distal mid-fan part. Deposits of the Corbyns Cove section reveal a southward pale-

Fig. 1. Generalized geological map of Andaman Islands (after Pal et al., 2001) showing locations of studied sections.

Table 1. Generalized stratigraphy of Andaman group of Islands (after Ray, 1982). Stratigraphic unit (Group) Archipelago Unconformity Andaman Flysch Unconformity/transitional Mithakhari Tectonic/Unconformable Ophiolite Cretaceous Middle to Lower Eocene Oligocene to upper Eocene Age Pliocene to Miocene

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The minimum thickness recorded in the Kalipur section and Corbyns Cove section is about 4 cm and 10 cm, respectively. Besides grain size and sedimentary structure, positive weathering relief of turbidite sandstones and siltstones relative to the intervening shale units helped us to demarcate and measure the event beds, which were only used for further statistical analysis. Special care was taken for demarcation of the top and bottom of the turbidite beds in order to avoid errors in recording the thickness. 4. THEORY AND PREVIOUS STATISTICAL OBSERVATIONS A series of continuously measured bed thickness data in a turbidite sequence may be treated mathematically as a time series, even though the events are not spaced evenly. Taking this into consideration, a number of statistical methods were discussed (Davis, 1986), of which two methods can be regarded as the most powerful statistical tools, namely, Run about Mean (RAM) and Runs Up and Down (RUD). They are capable of extracting presence of asymmetric cyclicity from a sequence of bed thickness measurement data. These tests not only check the randomness in a sequence but also attempt identification of a specific sequence (i.e. thickening or thinning upward) within a continuous succession. Calculation of RAM indicates the prominence of thin or thick beds in a sequence, whereas RUD extracts the presence or absence of local trend and, in turn, the trend of the total sequence. RUD is thus more accurate in identifying the upward thickening or thinning bed cycles. The non-parametric statistical test proposed by Waldron (1987) based on sign of differences between consecutive bed thickness was principally aimed towards characterizing the runs and to identify their distribution for non-random/random character of a sedimentary succession using concept of null hypothesis (Murray et al., 1996). Both RAM and RUD statistics obtained from bed thickness data of the studied sections using Waldron (1987) test failed to identify any cyclicity in thick or thin beds (Table 2; Chakraborty et al., 2002). A Poisson-like stochastic process was interpreted for the Corbyns Cove section from negative exponential bed-thickness frequency distribution (Fig. 5 of Chakraborty et al., 2002) while bed thickness pattern of the Kalipur section (Fig. 6 of Chakraborty et al., 2002) was found to follow power law distribution where N scales with an exponent 0.917. Such differential behavior between the two studied sections those belong to the same submarine fan (i.e., Andaman Flysch fan) was claimed by Chakraborty et al. (2002) as paleogeography-driven based on qualitative field-based facies characterization, subjectivity of which can not be overruled. It is worthwhile to mention that none of the above tests takes into account a series of bed thickness data at a time (i.e., an energy regime at a single go). Instead, they consider

Fig. 2. Photographs of characteristic turbidite section of Andaman Flysch. (a) Kalipur Section. (b) Corbyns Cove section.

ocurrent and contain a substantial amount of quartz (up to 28.5%) in the clast population while the inner-fan product of the Kalipur section is distinctive in its eastward paleocurrent direction and the absence of quartz (Chakraborty and Pal, 2001). Both the sections, however, show laterally persistent and stratigraphically selective soft-sediment deformation features (slump folds, convolutions, flames, etc.) which were identified as signatures of synsedimentary seismic activity and assessed for active delta shedding from growing orogenic front during the growth of the Andaman Flysch fan (Chakraborty and Mukhopadhyay, 2003). The measured sections of the Corbyns Cove and Kalipur area include 28 and 18 units of such seismite layers, respectively (see Chakraborty and Pal (2001) for detailed section measurement data). 3. DATA COLLECTION Bed thickness measurements were carried out on two studied sections, 175 km apart, by a team of geologists over three consecutive field seasons: 199 beds at the Kalipur section, North Andaman and 250 beds at the Corbyns Cove section, South Andaman were measured. Following initial field observation and graphic log preparation, both the sections were visited by a separate team of geologists to crosscheck the consistency in observation. Data recorded for each turbidite unit included lithology, thickness, grain sizes of base and top, and the thickness of each Bouma division.

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Table 2. Comparative results of the parameters calculated under the new test methodology. (a) Data from the Corbyns Cove section. (b) Data from the Kalipur section. RAM analysis RUD analysis

Cove turbidite (No. of data=250) Kalipur turbidite (No. of data=199) Cove turbidite (No. of data=250) Kalipur turbidite (No. of data=199) Median=80 cm Positive transition=119 Negative transition=124 Ties=6 N=(250-6)=244 m=(N-n)/2=121 and m= ( N + n ) 12 =4.527692 Z =(mm)/m=+0.55215 Median=39 cm Positive transition=99 Negative transition=96 Ties=3 N=(199-3)=196 m=(N-n)/2=97 and m= ( N + n ) 12 =4.062 Z=(mm)/m= 0.12309 Positive transition=118 Negative transition=125 Ties=6 N=(250-6)=244 m=(N-n)/2=121 and m= ( N + n ) 12 =4.527692 Z=(mm)/m=+0.773021 Positive transition=100 Negative transition=96 Ties=2 N=(199-2)=197 m=(N-n)/2=97.5 and m= ( N + n ) 12 =4.0722 Z=(mm)/m0.245563

Fig. 2. Photographs of characteristic turbidite section of Andaman Flysch. (a) Kalipur Section. (b) Corbyns Cove section.

only the immediately adjacent bed thickness values up and down. The presently proposed test is probably the first of its kind, where a number of bed thickness is taken into consideration in a sliding mode through a statistical measure named the Coefficient of Skewness for checking the randomness/asymmetric cyclicity in a turbidite sequence. Arranging measured bed thickness data from a turbidite section from bottom to top, either by outcrop-based measurement in the field or from borehole logging is a prerequisite of data presentation for this test. Once data is arranged, identification of randomness can be done through measurement of skewness (Sk) on the basis of third central moment calculated in a sliding manner along the measured section (Fig. 3). Measurement of skewness is dependent on the number of bed thickness [i.e. interval, (i)] taken together for calculation. For the present purpose, the intervals (i.e. the number of beds taken at a time for measuring the skewness value) chosen for analysis are 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5, respectively. Considering 5 (five) as a critical number below

which analysis of bed thickness values may not result meaningful skewness values, intervals equal to or less than 4 are discarded from the present analysis. 5. PROPOSED METHODOLOGY For the present study, 250 bed thickness data (values ranging from 10 cm to 11 m) of the Cove turbidites and 199 bed thickness data of the Kalipur turbidites (values ranging from 4 cm to 6 m) were graphically arranged from bottom to top. For an interval (i) 5, calculation of the coefficient of skewness was first carried out by taking bottommost five beds that generated a skewness value S1 (Fig. 3). Subsequently, the same procedure was followed stepping up the data sequence keeping the same interval (i=5) simply by incorporation of one new bed thickness data at each step and dropping one from previous interval. A string of skewness values S2, S3, S4 S(n-5)+1 (where n is the total number of bed thickness data in a measured section) were

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Table 3. Comparative results of the parameters calculated under the proposed sliding skewness method. (a) Kalipur section. Interval (i)=5 i.e., 5 bed thickness data at a time Positive skewness (p)=187 Negative skewness (m)=58 Zero Skewness (t)=1 N (no of measured value)=(p+m)=245 m=(N-1)/2=122 m= ( N + n ) 12 =4.527 As m<m then mc=(m+0.5)=58.5 Z=(mc-m)/m= 14.026 Corbyns Cove turbidite data (250 nos of bed thickness) Interval Interval Interval (i)=6 (i)=7 (i)=8 p=207 p=216 p=221 m=38 m=28 m=22 t=0 t=0 t=0 N=245 N=244 N=43 m=122 m=121.5 m=121 m=4.527 m=4.509 m=4.509 mc=38.5 mc=28.5 mc=22.5 Z= 18.444 Z= 20.625 Z= 21.845 Interval (i)=9 p=225 m=17 t=0 N=242 m=120.5 m=4.5 mc=17.5 Z= 22.888 Interval (i)=10 p=224 m=17 t=0 N=241 m=120 m=4.49 mc=17.5 Z= 22.825

(b) Corbyns Cove section. Kalipur turbidite data (199 nos of bed thickness) Interval (i)=5 i.e., 5 bed thickness data at a time Positive skewness (p)=129 Negative skewness (m)=66 Zero Skewness (t)=0 N (no of measured value)=(p+m)=195 m=(N-1)/2=97 m= ( N + n ) 12 =4.0414 As m<m then mc=(m+0.5)=66.5 Z=(mc-m)/m= 7.5468

Interval (i) = 6 p=143 m=50 t=1 N=193 m=96 m=4.0207 mc=50.5 Z= 11.3164

Interval (i) = 7 p=143 m=50 t=0 N=193 m=96 m=4.0207 mc=50.5 Z= 11.3164

Interval (i) = 8 p=150 m=42 t=0 N=192 m=95.5 m=4.0104 mc=42.5 Z= 13.215

Interval (i) = 9 p=166 m=25 t=0 N=191 m=95 m=4 mc=25.5 Z= 17.375

Interval (i) =10 p=175 m=15 t=0 N=190 m=94.5 m=3.989 mc=15.5 Z= 19.819

thus generated. For other intervals (i), viz. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more, procedure remains the same. A simple computer program written in PLSQL with data taken from a data base (OracleR table) was used to calculate the skewness values in a sliding manner for varied intervals (i). A series of values were generated for each interval (i) consisting of negative (-ve) skewness (m), positive (+ve) skewness (p) and zero skewness (t, ties). Table 3 summarizes the sliding skewness results on measured bed thickness data of the Corbyns Cove and Kalipur sections using different chosen intervals. The Fishers measure of skewness (Sk) is calculated on these skewness values (Table 3) from the third central moment Sk=((tjtm)3)/(n*t3), where t is the bed thickness, tm is the mean, t is the standard deviation, n is the number of bed thickness, and j=1, .., n. Moore and Wallis (1943) devised a simple statistical test in which they provided criteria for identifying departure in a data sequence from randomness by tabulation of the frequency distribution of phase durations or simply by counting the number of turning points (i.e., reversal in direction of movement; N) in the time series. If N is small, such counts for the number of turning points are normally distributed with a mean of (2N-4)/3 and variance (16N-29)/90 or (2N-7)/3 for the number of phases. In cases of sign of difference, these workers calculated exact distributions and tabulated them for different N values. In case of longer series, e.g., N > 12, the negative transitions (m) are approx-

imately distributed with mean m=(N-1)/2(eq. 1) and standard deviation m=[(N+1)/12].(eq. 2), where N represents the measured values, i.e., skewness in the present case. For a sequence of skewness values (derived from the bed thickness data), indications for their randomness or asymmetric character, thinning or thickening upward, can also be obtained through the concept of two-tailed null hypothesis. A sequence of data following null hypothesis can be visualized as randomly ordered or in other sense the bed thicknesses are the products of a random process or, alternatively, the rejection of null hypothesis indicates that skewness values are the product of ordered sequence (asymmetric cyclicity), an upward thickening or thinning of bed thickness. For the present study the skewness values calculated for a particular interval (i) on measured bed thickness data from the studied sections are arranged from bottom to top. This resulted a series of values with positive skewness (p), negative skewness (m) and zero skewness (ties, t). Number of measured values N is represented as m+p. On these skewnes s values mean (m) and standard deviation (m) were calculated using equations 1 and 2 as mentioned above. Following Moore and Wallis (1943) and Waldron (1987) a continuity correction was applied for calculation of normal variate Z. For N>12, the normal distribution provides a satisfactory approximation (Moore and Wallis, 1943) that can be obtained through application of Laplace correction of continuity (subtracting 0.5 from the discrepancy between

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the observed and expected frequency). In other way, as stated by Waldron (1987), the correction is required because m is constrained by an integer function, whereas its distribution is modeled by a continuous function. Thus, when m > m, the corrected value of mc is equal to (m-0.5). Alternately, if m < m, then mc is m+0.5. 6. RESULTS In the present study Z values were calculated for each interval (i) by using equation Z=(mcm)/m (Table 3). Z is modeled in such a way that it is distributed with mean 0 and standard deviation 1. For Z values lying between 3 and +3, it can be summarized with 99% confidence that the skewness values follow a random distribution (neither upward thinning nor thickening), i.e., bed thickness in turbidite is a product of a random process. Z values greater than 3 or less than 3 lead to rejection of null hypothesis and acceptance of alternate hypothesis, i.e., an ordered sequence or asymmetric cyclicity, thinning or thickening up. Z values greater than 3 indicate more negative skewness values, i.e., bed thickness distribution with thickening-upward trend while Z values less than 3 are indicative of more positive skewness values and thinning- upward trend in the turbidite beds. It is noteworthy that for both the sections Z values (for all the intervals) are found to reject null hypothesis. Further, irrespective of any interval, the negative ( ve) Z values obtained from either of the sections suggest that the bed thickness distribution has thinning upward tendency in both the studied sections. 7. DISCUSSION Chen and Hiscott (1999a, 1999b) attempted merit evaluation for different statistical tests commonly used for identifying asymmetric upward thickening and thinning trends or other cyclic patterns through their study on 28 turbidite successions spanning over a wide geological time, tectonic setting, facies characteristics and depositional environments. Results from the study prompted these workers to conclude that asymmetric bed thickness cycles have essentially no statistical significance in turbidite successions and, hence, discrimination between different submarine fan subenvironments should be attempted from other criteria such as facies characteristics, large-scale facies geometry and degree of sand bed clustering. The bed thickness data measured from the two sections of turbidite, which belong to the same submarine fan system (Andaman Flysch Fan) but differ in their paleogeography, are subjected to different statistical analyses by the authors and their coworkers to see suitability of the tests in identifying asymmetric cyclicity and their applicability in identifying specific fan paleogeography. Despite failure of the measured sections in rejecting null hypothesis of randomness under non-parametric tests, the authors could identify

some non-random trends in pronounced fluctuation or clustering of thin and thick beds in both the sections, which tallied well with the paleogeographic inferences drawn by the authors from their field observations. The non-random character of facies organization in these sections is reflected in Z parameter of Hurst K value of original section and mean and standard deviation of K values of shuffled sections generated through Monte-Carlo simulation (Mukhopadhyay et al., 2003). Extrabasinal seismic forcing has been conceived behind such non-periodic, irregular length grouping of bed thickness in studied turbidite successions (Chakraborty and Mukhopadhyay, 2003). The interpreted sub-environment for the Corbyns Cove section under Hurst test, i.e., basin floor sheet sand, corroborates well with the field-based observation, but the method did not work well for Kalipur section. The field-based channel-levee interpretation for the Kalipur section did not match well with lobe-interlobe interpretation obtained through Hurst (1951, 1956) statistics. This discrepancy in paleogeographic interpretation of the Kalipur section between field observation and statistical analysis technique has been explained through active growth of the Andaman Flysch fan during a sea level highstand that might have resulted in poor bed amalgamation and lower sand: mud ratio in proximal fan environment (Mukhopadhyay et al., 2003). Encouraged by this finding the authors went for more refined statistical procedure which can reveal signatures for asymmetric cyclicity in bed thickness distribution of turbidite successions those appear to be random on apparent look. The application of sliding skewness methodology on bed thickness data of both the studied sections of Andaman Flysch fan revealed Z values less than 3, indicating thinning-upward bed thickness pattern, which corroborates well with the field observations and paleoenvironmental interpretation. This certainly indicates operation of autocyclic processes such as channel and/or lobe switching and abandonment, irrespective of paleogeography of the Andaman Flysch fan, enhancing the understanding on both the sections made by Chakraborty and Pal (2001) from their field study. While Chakraborty and Pal (2001) demonstrated thinning- and fining-upward packages in drawing inference of inner fan channel-levee association for the Kalipur section, field-based study could not bring out any asymmetric cyclicity in basin-floor sheet sands of middle fan described by them from the Corbyns Cove section. Identification of these asymmetric cycles in the present methodology also strengthens the view of active growth of the fan during a rise or highstand of sea level (Chakraborty and Mukhopadhyay, 2003) when channel or lobe abandonment is likely to be more common. 8. CONCLUSIONS The observations made by the authors by analyzing the

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dataset of both the measured sections through the newly devised sliding skewness methodology are as follows. 1) Z values for all the intervals and for both the sections reject null hypothesis and accept alternate hypothesis. Z values in all the cases are less than 3, indicating thinningupward bed thickness pattern. In other words, the depositional process is non-random. This observation corroborates the view of Mukhopadhayay et al. (2003). 2) Irrespective of any interval, the Z values behave in the same fashion, indicating bed thickness is thinning upward. Thus, the result is invariant with the interval taken. This conclusion is further strengthened as the interval is increased; the increase in Z value signifies further departure from null hypothesis and acceptance of alternate hypothesis. Thinning-upward cycles in both the sections, irrespective of their paleogeography, are inferred from the present study. 3) It is worth mentioning that for the turbidite sections, where conventional non-parametric Waldron Test failed in determining asymmetric cyclicity, the new methodology can extract the occult cyclicity in the sequence without splitting the section as proposed in many earlier methods (split moving window method or maximum likelihood method) adopted by different workers (Webster,1980; Radhakrishnan et al., 1991; Chen and Hiscott, 1999a and others). It is proposed that the sliding skewness methodology proposed in the present study can be deployed to those turbidite sections where other methodologies failed to reveal any cyclical patterns.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors are thankful to T.Pal and T. Dutta Gupta for their assistance in the fieldwork. PPC acknowledges the financial help rendered by Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. Infrastructural help in Indian School of Mines is thankfully acknowledged.

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