3/12/2018

Turbidite Facies
Turbidites are deposits of a turbidity current (density current moving
downslope on ocean floor driven by gravity that acts on the density difference
between the current and the surrounding seawater due to suspended
sediment)

Turbidity currents can be initiated by earthquakes, rivers in flood, and sediment

failure in rapidly deposited delta fronts.

Major features
• Sandstones and shales are monotonously interbedded.
• Beds tend to have sharp, flat bases, with no indication of erosion of sea floor.
• The sharp bases of beds have abundant markings (tool marks carved by rigid
objects).
• Within sandstone beds, the grain size commonly decreases upward (graded
bedding; see Bouma sequence).

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Turbidite Facies
Walker divided deep water clastic rocks into 5 facies associations:
Classical turbidite
Classical Turbidites: characterized by monotonous interbeds of sandstone and shale, with
no evidence of topography on the seafloor. All sandstones can be described using the
Bouma sequence. In this sequence, deposits fine upward.

Massive Sandstones: Much more evidence of erosion of substrate; beds are commonly
associated with channels many meters deep. The deposits of successive flows also join
together (amalgamation) to make comosite beds (the monotonous aspect of sandstone-
shale interbedding is lost). Most common sedimentary structure of this type is dish and
pillar structure which indicate abundant fluid escape during deposition.

Pebbly sandstone: beds tend to be well graded with internal stratification fairly abundant
and consists of coarse, crude horizontal stratification and commonly channeled and
laterally discontinuous.

Conglomerates: Imbrication features which typified by clasts whose long axes lie parallel
to flow and dip upstream. This signifies that clasts have not rolled on the bed.

Pebby mudstone, debris flows, slumps and slides: Consist of pebbles and distorted clasts
of sandstone and mudstone, dispersed in a silty mudstone matrix.

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Pebbly sandstone
Massive sandstone

Dish and pillar structure

Conglomerate
Pebbly mudstone

Imbrication

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Fasies Model Turbidit

Td
Tc
Tb

Ta

Bouma Sequence

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Tekstur dan struktur sedimen pada satu mekanisme aliran gravitasi

(mass gravity flow), Middleton & Hampton, 1973 diambil dari
Reading, 1978

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Load cast Flame structure

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Flute cast