S E Q U E N C E S T R A T I G R A P H Y A N D F A C I E S M O D E L O F AN I N C I S E D
V A L L E Y FILL: T H E G I R O N D E E S T U A R Y , F R A N C E
G.P. ALLEN ~ANDH.W. POSAMENTIER 2
' TOTAL Centre Scientihque et Technique, 78470 St. Remy les Chevreuses, France
ARCO Exploration and Production Teehnology, 2300 ~2,st Piano Parkway, Piano, Texas 75075 USA
AnSTaACr: The Gironde estuary was formed by the Holocene drowning of
a fluvial valley incised during the Wiirm global sea-level fall. A depositional
sequence accumulated in the valley during the eustatic Iowstand, the Ho-
locene rise, and the post-Holocene highstand. The sequence comprises a
diverse assemblage of lithofacies that can be grouped into Iowstand, trans-
gressive, and highstand systems tracts. The lowstand systems tract com-
prises a continuous unit of relatively thin fluvial gravel and coarse sand in
the thaiweg of the incised valley. The transgressive systems tract comprises
the bulk of the incised valley fill and forms a landward-thinningwedge of
tidal-estuarine sands and muds. In the estuary mouth these are overlain
by a thick unit of coarse-grained, estuary-mouth tidal-inlet and tidal-della
sands. The highstand systems tract, initiated at about 4000 BP, forms a
seaward-prograding, tide-dominated estuarine bayhead della that has been
gradually filling the estuary since the post-Holocene stillstand. Coeval with
this filling of the estuary, the adjacent oceanic shoreline has been starved
of sediment and is being eroded by waves, indicating that transgressive
and highstand systems tracts locally can be synchronous.
Several important stratigraphie surfaces punctuate the valley fill: the
sequence boundary,the transgressive surface, the tidal ravinement surface,
the wave ravinement surface, and the maximum flooding surface. The
stratigraphic expression of the sequence boundary depends on its position
within the valley. In the thalweg it separates Iowstandfluvial deposits from
underlying Tertiary carbonates; on the valley walls it is directly overlain
by transgressive estuarine sediments. On the interfluves the unconformity
continues to be enhanced by modern subaerial erosion. As the interfluves
are progressively transgressed by the eroding shoreline, the sequence
boundary is expressed as a wave ravinement surface with transgressive
marine sediments unconformably overlying Pleistocene or Tertiary sub-
stratus.
The stratigraphic expression of the transgressive surface in the valley
thalweg is characterized by onlap of transgressive tidal-estuarine sediments
onto lowstand fluvial deposits. On the valley walls the transgressive surface
merges with the sequence boundary.Tidal scour at the estuary mouth forms
a deeply erosional tidal ravinement surface overlain by thick estuary-mouth
wave- and tide-rewnrked sands. Subsequently these tidal-iulet sands are
eroded by waves associated with the passage of the transgressing shoreline
to produce a wave ravinement surface.
In the distal part of the estuary the maximum flooding surface is ex-
pressed as a downlap surface where the regressive highstand estuarine
muds prograde over transgressive tidal-estuarine muddy sands or estuary-
mouth sands. In the upstream or proximal end of the estuary the maximum
flooding surface separates identical facies, i.e., transgressive and regressive
tidal-estuarine point bars, and would be very difficult to identify.
INTRODUCTION
Incised valleys commonly result from fluvial erosion during fall in rel-
ative sea level, and fill with sediment during stillstand and ensuing rise in
relative sea level. The valley fills form regionally elongated belts of chan-
nelized sandstones and are the subject of considerable interest because
they furnish potentially important new hydrocarbon play concepts (Wei-
JOURNALOFSEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY,VOL.63, NO. 3, MAY,1993, P. 378-391
Copyright(c3 1993,SEPM(Societyfor SedimentaryGeology) 0022-4472/93/0063-378/$03.00
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mer 1984; Krystinik and Blakeney-DeJamett 1990; Blakeney-DeJarnett
and Krystinik 1992).
Many valley incisions attributed to fall in relative sea level have been
documented. Examples include the many Pleistocene valley systems ob-
served on continental shelves around the world, like the Gulf of Mexico
(e.g., Fisk 1944; Suter and Berryhill 1985; Anderson et aL 1990), the
Atlantic margin of the United Slates (e.g., Knebel and Circ6 1988; Mat-
teucci 1984; Harris 1983; Schlee 1964; Uchupi 1970; Veatch and Smith
1939), and the French Mediterranean coast (e.g., Tesson et at. 1990).
Ancient examples include the Namurian section in County Clare, Ireland
(Elliott and Pulham 1991), the Viking Formation in Alberta, Canada
(Boreen and Walker 1991; Allen and Posamentier 1991), and the Penn-
sylvanian and Cretaceous of the western interior of the United States
(Weimer and Sonnenberg 1989; Van Wagoner et al. 1990; Krystinik and
Blakeney-DeJarnett 1990).
The sediment fill of incised valleys can be highly complex (e.g., Allen
et al. 1970; Allen et al. 1976; Reinson et al. 1988; Leckie 1988; Alien and
Posamentier 1991; Leckie and Singh 1991; Borecn and Walker 1991; Boyd
and Honig 1992; Dalrymple et al. 1992), with deposits ranging from non-
marine through esluarine to open marine. For example, incised valleys in
the Pennsylvanian Morrow Formation (Krystinik and Blakeney 1990) and
to some degree Namurian incised valleys of County Clare, Ireland (Elliott
and Pulham 1991) have been shown to be filled completely with fluvial
sediments. At the other extreme, parts of some incised valleys in the Viking
Formation, Canada, are observed to be filled with open-marine deposits
(Allen and Posamentier 1991). The Pleistocene Hudson River incised
valley on the United States continental shelf off Long Island, New York,
is now a partly (?) unfilled incised valley locally up to 50 m deep (Uchupi
1970; Posamentier et al. 1992). Most commonly, however, incised valleys
seem to be filled with a mix of all three depositional environments, with
estuarine deposits tending to be the most common (Allen and Posamentier
1991).
Present-day estuaries typically originated as fluvial incised valleys that
formed during the late Pleistocene eustatic sea-level fall and were drowned
during the subsequent Holocene sea-level rise. Since the post-Holocene
stillstand at about 4000 BP (Fairbanks 1989), most estuaries have been
filling with sediment both from landward fluvial sources and from the
seaward side by tidal-inlet fill and flood-tidal deltas. These modem es-
tuarine complexes probably formed in much the same way as their older
counterparts and thus provide excellent analogues for comparison with
the ancient, as well as for understanding the processes controlling their
infill.
The objective of this paper is to describe the facies and stratal archi-
tecture of the incised-valley fill of the Gironde estuary in southern France,
and to propose a sequence-stratigraphic model for incised-valley fills in
this type of mixed tide- and wave-influenced coastal setting. This study
is based on a compilation of the abundant core, borehole, and hydrological
data published by a number of authors, e.g., Fabre (1939), Allen et at.
(1969), Allen et al. (1970), Feral (1970), Castaing (1970), Migniot (1971),
Allen (1972), Assor (1972), Castaing and Froidefond (1978), Castaing
(1981), and Braud (1986); for detailed core descriptions and discussion of
radiometric data, see these papers.
 (ilROSDE 5EQUESCL STI~417GK,4PHY 379

REGIONAL SE'FI'ING

Location

The Gironde Estuary, on the Bay of Biscay in southwestern France,

forms an elongate coastal indentation at the confluence of the Dordogne
and Garonne Rivers (Fig. 1). The estuary tapers landward from a maxi-
mum width of 18 km near its mouth to less than 3 km at the confluence
of the two rivers 80 km upstream. The drainage basin of the Dordogne
and Garonne Rivers covers approximately 75,000 km z and includes the
Massif Central and the Pyrenees Mountains.

Physiography
The morphology of Gironde Estuary is typical of wave- and tide-dom-
inated estuaries and can be divided into three zones (Allen et al. 1973;
Dalrymple et al. 1992): meandering upper-estuary channels with tide-
dominated sand and mud estuarine point bars; a mid-estuary funnel-
shaped channel containing linear tidal sand bars and estuarine mud; and
an estuary mouth with a deeply scoured (35 m) tidal inlet terminating
seaward and landward in sandy tidal-delta shoals (Fig. 2).
Historical records from Roman times and bathymetric charts dating
back to the 17th Century indicate that the estuary is gradually fillingwith
fluvial sediment (Dutrait 1896; Migniot 197 l; Castaing 1981). This inflll
has resulted in the accumulation of several hundred square kilometers of
tidal fiats and marshes that have smoothed the irregular valley margins
that were exposed at the end of the Pleistocene and have considerably
narrowed the estuary during the past several thousand years (Fig. 2). As
the estuary is filling, the adjacent Atlantic coastline is being eroded at 1-
10 m/yr (Penin 1980; Howa 1987) due to strong waves and insutficient
supply of sand to the coast.
A longitudinal section through the present estuary (Fig. 3) shows that FIG.1.--Map of southwest France showinglocationof Girondeesluary.
accretion and aggradation of the modem tidal flats and marshes are re-
sulting in construction of an estuarine coastal plain. This coastal plain limit of tidal currents is always a considerable distance landward of the
coincides with the spring-high-tide level and slopes gently seaward with limit of salt water.
a gradient of 0.038 m/km. The bayline (Posamentier et al. 1988), which
represents the junction between the estuafine coastal plain and the more Sedimentation Patterns
steeply sloping (0.28 m/km) alluvial plain, is about 115 km from the
A large volume of fluvial sand and mud is supplied to the estuary by
estuary mouth.
the Garonne and Dordogne rivers (Castaing 1981). At present, however,
The late Quaternary incised valley of the Gironde forms a large land-
all of the fluvially sourced sand is deposited within the estuary, and none
ward-tapering channel-like erosional feature up to 20 km wide, with a
reaches the estuary mouth or adjacent oceanic coastline (Allen 1972).
seaward-sloping thalweg incised into a Tertiary carbonate substratum (Fig.
Studies by Castaing (1981) indicate that approximately 75% of the fluvially
3). The thalweg of the valley is at a maximum depth of 45 m below mean
sourced suspended silt and clay is deposited within the estuary; the rest
sea level at the mouth of the Gironde and connects landward with the
is evacuated out onto the shelf, where it is accumulating seaward of the
present fluvial thalweg in the vicinity of the bayline. The average longi-
50 m isobath (Fig. 2).
tudinal gradient of the incised valley thalweg is 0.23 m/kin, i.e., approx-
Sediments within the estuary form a distinctive longitudinal facies pat-
imately the same as the gradient of the present alluvial plain.
tern (Allen 1991), with coarse sand and gravel point bars in the rivers
landward of the bayline, tide-dominated sand and mud point bars in the
Waves, Tides, and Hydrological Regime upper estuary channels, and elongate tidal sand bars and estuarine mud
in the mid-estuary funnel (Fig. 2). The estuary mouth contains coarse
The Atlantic coastline is affected by a high-energy wave regime, with sands and gravels that are sourced from the adjacent oceanic coast by
winter storm waves in excess of 8 m (Castaing 1981). This engenders a wave erosion and longshore drift (Castaing 1970). At the estuary mouth
strong littoral drift that introduces large volumes of sand into the estuary these sands and gravels are further reworked by tidal currents to form a
mouth from the eroding oceanic coast (Dugas 1967; Gensous 1971). flood-tidal delta and tidal-inlet fill system, and are in contrast with the
Hydrological studies of the Gironde by a number of authors (Glangeaud muddy estuarine deposits farther landward in the estuary.
1938; Allen 1972; Bonnefille 1971; Castaing 1981) have shown that tides Two facies transitions in the present estuary are of particular importance
in the Gironde are semidiurnal, with amplitudes ranging from 2.5 m during within the incised-valley fill (Fig. 4): the transition from fluvial gravel to
neap tides to more than 5 m during spring tides. During low fiver discharge, tidal-estuarine sand and mud at the landward limit of the estuary, and
tidal-current reversal occurs up to 130 km from the mouth during low the transition from mud to sand at the estuary mouth. The fluvial-to-tidal
river discharge but only as far as 100-115 km upstream during river floods. facies transition at the landward limit of the estuary is situated in the
The salinity intrusion within the estuary varies seasonally, extending land- vicinity of the bayline, i.e., about 115 km landward of the estuary mouth.
ward up to 80-100 km during periods of low fluvial discharge and 40-50 Although tidal currents during low river discharge can extend landward
km during periods of high fluvial discharge. Consequently, the upstream of the bayline, this limit marks the zone where fluvial flood currents are

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 380 G.P. ALLEN A~¢©H. W. POSAMENTIEB

ESTUARY ESTUARY FUNNEL UPPER ESTUARY

MOUTH I CHANNELS..::~:~:~gY
/ :jli •
TIDAL ISLET ,, , I ~ f l H / ,~..:,~/,j__,,
CHANNEL
\, ~ ~,'J"- ~ %~: , ~~/ , , I' ~L I //t .~..'~ " I10kin
1OI I

~ o--..,~~ r'~-'.::~:J and marsh

2"--../
+\ S,,.strat.,m

Bathymetry in meters

10kin
t I

• ~ ~ Fluvial sand
• • and gravel
• . ~ c ~ Tidal estusrlne
• " " sand end mud FIG.Z-Top: Morphologyand de~sitional
environmentsof the presentGirondeestuary;
~ / ~ Sstuerlne mull depth contoursare in meters below mean sea
level. The maximumlandwardlimits of tides
Estuary mouth and salinityalso are indicated,as well as the
and shelf send
location of the bayline(see discussionin text).
l ~ ] Shelf mud Bottom: present-daysedimentdistribution.
Modifiedfrom Allen(1991).

sufficiently damped out by tides so that tidal mud deposited during low
river discharge can be preserved within the channel sands (Allen and
Truilhe 1987). The transition from mud to sand at the estuary mouth
marks the point of convergence of the seaward-progading estuarine muds
and the transgressive landward-migrating estuary-mouth sands. Both of
these facies transitions are preserved as stratigaphic discontinuities in the
valley fill and will be discussed below.
this wedge represents post-Holocene regressive deposits overlying trans-
gressive Holocene and early post-Holocene sediments.
Studies by the aforementioned authors (e.g., Allen et al. 1970; Feral
1970; Allen and Truilhe 1987) have shown that a variety of sediment
types and facies are present within the incised valley. These can be grouped
by lithology and sedimentary structures into three facies assemblages:
coarse fluvial sands and gravels, tidal-estuadne sands and muds, and
estuary-mouth sands. A briefdescription of each faciesassemblage follows.

INCISEDVALLEYFILL
Sedimentary Facies
The sedimentary fill within the incised valley forms a wedge that is up
to 45 m thick in the thalweg of the incised valley under the estuary mouth
and thins landward to 10 m in the vicinity of the bayline (Feral 1970;
Allen et al. 1970; Assor 1972). Analysis of radiocarbon dates (Feral 1970;
Allen and Truilhe 1987), old bathymetfic charts (Migniot 1971), and
archeological evidence (Dutrait 1896), indicate that the upper 10--25m of
Fluvial Sand and Gravel
A continuous bed of massive gavel and coarse sand overlies the thalweg
of the incised valley, with an average thickness of about 10 m (Figs. 5, 6).
At the landward limit of the estuary these coarse sediments merge with
similar modern fluvial deposits landward of the bayline. These deposits
are devoid of marine fauna as well as any evidence of tidal processes, like
clay drapes, flasers, and bidirectional cross-beds (Fig. 6A). The lithological
similarity and physical continuity of these deposits with present fluvial

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 GIRONDE SEQUENCE ST1L4TIGRAPHY 381

50 0 50 100 150km
t T T 1
30 30

20 20

10 10
I~loezn'uAalNem,mJ ~ ~ o0 ~ _ ~
0 MSL I L . .So . ,~'5..,'~"~ 0
EBB'rIOAL
10 DELTA • " 10
Fro. 3.-Longitudinal section throughthe Oi-
20 20 ronde estuary illustratingthe bathymetryof the
modern thalweg, the thalwegof the Wfirmin-
30 30 cised valley,the shorefaceprofileof the adja-
cent coast, and the profile of the estuafine
40 40 coastal plain, the alluvialplain, and the loca-
tion of the bayline.The deposits beneaththe
50m 50m
present thalwegcomprisemainlyHoloeene
1 ,L t L
transgressiveestuarinedeposits overlyingpre-
50 O 50 100 150km Holoceneto Holocenefluvialsedimenls.

deposits suggests strongly that these sands and gravels were deposited in
a fluvial environmentlandward of the bayline. In all of the cores landward
of the estuary mouth, the thickness of the fluvial sand and gravel in the
valley thalweg is on the order of 10 m, i.e., equivalent to the sediment
thickness in the present fluvial channels. This would suggestthat the gravel
and coarse sand at the base of the incised valley records the preservation
of a single fluvial channel section. In the estuary mouth, however, a few
borings indicate that the lop of the fluvial sand and gravel is about 15 m
above the maximum thalweg depth. The possible stratigraphic significance
of this apparent thickening of fluvial deposits will be discussed below.
Owing to lack of carbonaceous material the gravel has not been radio-
carbon dated, but by its stratigraphic relationship with underlying Holo-
cene estuafine deposits and the presence of Pleistocene fluvial deposits on
the valley interfluves it has been interpreted as being of late Wtirm to
Holocene age by a number ofauthors(Fabre 1939; Casming 1970; Feral
1970).
Tidal-Estuarine Sand and Mud
The fluvial gravel at the base of the valley fill is overlain by a landward-
thinning sediment wedge that forms the bulk of the incised valley fill and
comprises three major lithofacies: cross-stratified to rippled sand with
abundant mud laminae, flasers, and drapes (Fig. 6B); estuarine mud (Fig.
6D); and carbonaceous clay with peat lenses (Fig. 6C). Because each of
these facies is now found in the estuary, similar facies observed in the
subsurface are interpreted to have been deposited in a tidal-estuafine
environment similar to that of the present estuary. The first facies shows
typical tidal features (Allen and Truilhe 1987) and was deposited as tidal-

ESTUARY ESTUARY UPPER ALLUVIAL

MOUTH FUNNEL ESTUARY PLAIN

~AVEL [
luvial I
d gravel [
Ek:lal ]
I I ~AFILI AFIU MUU
CARBOI,IAIkCEOUS me~iurn-grain~

I
MARSH MUD rippled and cross-
clay with roots, bedded sand with
plant fragments arid abundant clay laminae,
peat lenses flasers and drapes; Fro. 4.-Schematic facies model for a Gi-
accumulates as tidal
rondo-like macrotidal estuary being trans-
sand bars and
e6tuarine point bars gressed by a high-wave-energy coastline. Modi-
fied from Allen (199 I).

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 382 (;.P. ,tLLEX AND tt. W. PO3~IMENTIER

0 50 100 150km
I I I I

3O A A' 30

20 ~ ALLUVIALPLoAIN 20

,0 --0--oEsT-- 10

20

30
"
:ttL , "
- - I " ~.~'1"~''~"~"~
~ Coarsefluvial sand anti
I - ~! gravel
[" " .--I Tidal send and mud
10
20
30
o o ° o

4010 ~ • . . ",~.. ,-"~ " oo o ~ ' - - " - - | "~Fx

~-"~"
"- M o d--e m:-- ~ Tidal fiat and marsh mud
40
thalvvefl ~ Estuary mouth sand
50m ~ MIjorerosionaaJdame 50m
I I I I
50 0 50 100 150km

EolianDunes 0
B I i i , , 5kin
I
0
10 ,-, 10
20 ShorefaceDeposits
~
" ~.~" • J •
" o~ . "~"
20
30 "j .--.. 30
40 I,~°°1 gravel oo ° o o o 40
Tidal sand and mud
5O m 50 m
Tidal fiat and marsh mud MajorErosion Surface

Estuary mouth send

1Km
C i C'

0
10 10

20 20
30 m 30m

FIG. 5.--Lithofacies distribution and borehole control (vertical lines indicate borehole locations) along an axial (A-A') and two transverse sections (B-B', C-C') in
the Gironde estuary. The cores and borings have been compiled from the work of several authors (see text for references). Section A-A' is drawn along the deepest

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 GIRONDI5 SEQUENCE STRA TIGRAPHY 383

estuarine point bars in the upper-estuary channels and on tidal sand bars
in the mid-estuary funnel. The estuarine muds contain isolated sand lenses
and ripple laminae and were deposited towards the seaward end of the
mid-estuary funnel, whereas the carbonaceous muds represent tidal-flat
and marsh deposits. The existence of these estuarine sediments overlying
fluvial deposits is associated with the onset of the Holocene marine trans-
gression in the incised valley.
Estuary-Mouth Sands
At the seaward end of the estuary the tidal-estuarine sands and muds
are overlain by a seaward-thickening wedge of massive coarse sand with
scattered gravel and shell debris (Figs. 5, 6E). These sediments were de-
rived from Pleistocene fluvial sands and gravels in the estuary mouth and
adjacent coast and transported landward into the estuary by longshore
drift and flood tides (Castaing 1981; Howa 1987). They range up to 25 m
thick adjacent to the inlet channel at the estuary mouth (Fig. 5) and pinch
out approximately 20 km landward of the estuary mouth.
The base of the sand is erosional and paved with gravel and shell lag
(Fig. 6E). The sands are coarse and well sorted, and show internal erosion
surfaces with shell and gravel lag (Assor 1972; Braud 1986). Sedimentary
structures include parallel bedding, bidirectional cross-stratification, and
wave ripples (Braud 1986), indicating a high-energy wave and tidal en-
vironment. The basal surface of these estuary-mouth sands is deeply in-
cised into underlying tidal-estuarine sands and muds. This scoured base
results from tidal erosion in the narrow tidal inlet at the estuary mouth
and can incise locally into the fluvial gravel at the base of the valley fill
(Fig. 5). The sand forms a thick tidal-inlet deposit, which is interpreted
to be transgressive over the underlying tidal-estuarine sands and muds
and separated from them by a tidal ravinement surface (see discussion
below).
On the adjacent interfluves and along the oceanic coast, wave erosion
and shoreface retreat result in a pronounced wave ravinement surface and
erosion of several meters of underlying Pleistocene deposits. Overlying
this surface, a veneer of transgressive nearshore sand is accumulating that
blankets the entire Aquitaine shelf (Castaing et al. 1971; Penin 1980;
Collotte 1985). As the coastline continues to be transgressed in the vicinity
of the estuary mouth, transgressive wave-reworked sands that accumulate
over this wave-eroded surface cut into underlying regressiveestuarine tidal
facies (Fig. 6F).
Geological Model of the Estuary Fill
The Gironde Estuary originated as an incised valley that formed during
the progressive Wiirm sea-level fall between about 100,000 and 18,000
BP (Fig. 7A; Allen et al. 1970). When the maximum eustatic lowstand
was attained at about 18,000 BP (Prell et al. 1986; Fairbanks 1989) the
shoreline was at or near the shelf edge, and the Gironde incised valley
extended about 135 km seaward from the present coast. Eustatic rise began
at about 18,000 BP, and at about 10,000 BP flooded the incised valley in
the vicinity of the present estuary (Feral 1970). Little is known about the
depth of incision of the valley and the nature of its fill beyond the mouth
of the present estuary because of lack of shallow-penetration seismic and
boreholc data on the shelf.
As shown by J4C dating (Feral 1970), the valley-fill succession is Ho-
locene and post-Holocene, with the exception of the basal fluvial deposits,
which are possibly late WUrm in age. The Holocene was characterized by
a rapid rise in relative sea level followed by negligible rise during the post-
Holocene, since about 4000 BP (Fairbanks 1989).
Prior to the Holocene marine flooding of the valley beneath the present
estuary, only fluvial gravel and coarse sand was being deposited in the
valley thalweg (Fig. 7A; Feral 1970). As previously mentioned, the pre-
served thickness of these deposits is equivalent to that of the present fluvial
channels landward of the estuary. This implies that unless the fluvial
deposits were originally thicker and subsequently eroded, there has been
no significant fluvial aggradation in the landward extremity of the incised
valley either during Iowstand or during the subsequent Holocene sea-level
rise. This further suggests that during sea-level rise the valley landward
of the estuary was a zone of fluvial sediment bypass. Consequently, the
only record of fluvial sedimentation in the valley during lowstand and
transgression is a section whose thickness is equivalent to that of a single
fluvial channel. This section lies within the valley thalweg comprising
those sediments that were en route to the fluvial or estuarine mouth and
trapped there as they were transgressed.
The possibly thicker fluvial sediments in the vicinity of the present
estuary mouth could be related to several causes: (1) seaward thickening
of the fluvial deposits due to aggradation of fluvial sediments during low-
stand in the seaward part of the incised valley, (2) localized sediment
thickening due to the presence of deeper scour pools in the incised river,
or (3) presence of alluvial terraces formed during the fall in relative sea
level and subsequently preserved. Evaluation of these possibilities will
require more extensive core and borehole data and radiocarbon dating in
the seaward extremity of the estuary and on the shelf.
The presence of tidal-estuarine deposits overlying this fluvial section
indicates that the Holocene eustatic rise was sufficiently rapid that the
increased accommodation was greater than the fluvial sediment flux. Con-
sequently, the sediments supplied to the valley from upstream during the
Holocene were deposited as aggrading, transgressive tidal-estuarine facies
that onlapped the lowstand fluvial profile as the valley was transformed
from a fluvial valley into an estuary (Fig. 7B). As observed in the present
estuary, this point of onlap and fluvial-to-tidal facies transition corre-
sponds to the bayline (Fig. 8). In a vertical section this facies transition is

observed substratum.SectionB-B' is locatedat the mouth of the presentestuary,and sectionC-C' is located at the upstream extremityof the estuaryabout 75 km
landward from the mouth. Note the presenceof thick erosive-basedestuary-mouthsands in the distal section.The surface upon which these deposits lie is incised
into the underlyingestuarineand fluvialsediments.This relationshipis characteristicof the distalextremityof the estuarinevalleyfill.

Ftc. 6.-Core photographs of sedimentaryfaciesin the Gironde valleyfill. A) Fluvialcoarse sands and gravels:note the sharp erosivecontactbetweenthe fluvial
gravelsand the underlyingTertiarycarbonates.This contactrepresentsthe sequence-boundingunconformity.B) Tidal-estuafinesandsand muds:wellsortedmedium
sands with abundantclay flasers,drapes, and laminae.These tidal faciesappear seawardof the bayfineas estuarinepoint bars and tidal sand bars. C) Carbonaceous
marsh clay: massiveclay with carbonaceousdebris, roots, and peat lenses.D) Estuafinemuds: present in the more distal part of the estuary funnelseawardof the
tidal sand bars (Fig. 4), and consistingof massiveunburrowedmud with rare sand lensesand ripple laminae.E) Estuary-mouthsands:coarsesand with disseminated
pebblesand shelldebris. Note the sharp erosionalcontactbetweenthe sand and the estuarinemud. This contactrepresentsthe tidal ravinementsurface(seetext and
Fig. 9). F) Transgressivebeach and shoreface sands:parallel-stratifiedand cross-stratified,well sorted, mediumsandsoverlyingan erosionalsurfaceincisingorganic
marsh and tidal-flatclay. This erosion surface representsthe wave ravinementsurface(see text).

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 384 G.P. ALLEN AND H. [4" POSA~,i4ENTIER

E
O

D
OLIGOCENE MARL

EI
tJ
O

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 386 G.P. ALLEN A?v© H. W. POSAMENTIER

A) C'~TiOAL OeLrA

TIDAL
UOUNOARV 7 RAVINEMENT
SURFACE

SURFACE

Fio. 7.-Schematic illustrationof the geologicalevolutionof the Girondeestuary duringthe Wiirmeustaticcycle. A) Lowstand:prior to about 18,000 BP coarse
fluvialsedimentbypassedthe incisedvalleyen route to the lowslandshorelinelocatedat the continentalshelf. B) Initiationof transgression:at about 10,000BP the
incised valleywas transgressedand became an estuary, with estuafinecoastal-plaindeposits onlappingonto the alluvialplain as the baylinemigratedup the valley.
C) Maximummarinefloodingoccurred at about 4000 BP and resulted in a blanketof estuarinemud in the funnelzone and landwardmigrationof the tidal inlet at
the estuarymouth. D) Stillstand:sinceabout 4000 BP relativesea level has remainedalmost stable,and a regressivetidal-estuarinebayheaddelta has progradedinto
the upper estuary,graduallyfillingit with sediment.

abrupt and very distinctive, and corresponds to a tidal flooding surface
as the bayline migrates landward over the alluvial plain. This surface is
locally erosional, but in the Gironde it does not appear to be very irregular
or deeply scoured.
During the Holocene sea-level rise, estuary-mouth sands in the form of
a tidal inlet and flood-tidal-delta complex migrated up the estuary (Fig.
7C). The base of the tidal inlet eroded deeply into the underlying tidal-
estuarine sands and muds. As the inlet migrated upvalley during the trans-
gression, this surface formed a major transgressive erosional surface, which
by analogy to the (wave) ravinementsurface formed by erosional shoreface
retreat (Stamp 192 I; Swift 1968) can be termed a tidal ravinement surface.
This surface is an important feature that affects the distal part of the valley-
fill succession. As the valley was flooded by the transgressing sea, the
adjacent open coast also retreated landward because of drowning and
wave-induced erosional shoreface retreat, forming a wave ravinement
surface.
Present sea level was attained at about 4000 BP. This represents the
time of maximum flooding of the estuary (Feral 1970). At that time the
volume of the estuary was significantlylarger than today, because no tidal
flats and marshes had accumulated along the estuary banks (Feral 1970)
and oysters and bioclastic debris extended farther landward in the estuary
than now (Allen et al. 1970). Historical records indicate that even by about
100 AD there had been relatively little infilling in the lower estuary (Dutrail
1896).
Since about 4000 BP the estuary has been gradually infilling seaward
with fluvially sourced tidal-estuafine sand and mud. These deposits have
prograded over the transgressive tidal estuafine sands and muds in the
upper and middle estuary and the estuary-mouth sands in the lower estuary
(Fig. 7D).
Eventually, when the estuary is entirely filled, fluvial sand will be able
to reach the coast and contribute to longshore drift. Since the yearly flux
of fluvial sand is of the same order of magnitude as the littoral drift rates
(Castaing 1981; Castaing and Alien 1981; Howa 1987), it is possible that
transgression eventually may be halted if sea level remains constant. Be-
cause of the high-wave-energyenvironmentof this coast, however, as long
as supply of fluvial sand remains at present levels, a prograding highstand
delta probably will not form.
DISCUSSION
Sequence-Stratigraphic Interpretation
The Gironde estuary constitutes an incised-valley system filled with a
transgressive-regressivesediment wedge that constitutes a nearly complete
Type 1 depositional sequence (in the sense of Mitchum 1977 and Posa-
mentier and Vail 1988) deposited during the Wiirm eustatic cycle. The
basal sequence boundary is expressed as an unconformity at the valley
floor. The sequence is not yet complete because it lacks an upper bounding

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 GIRONDE SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY
W 7
/j'. fAN..Sp_RESSlVE
,L
POINT BARS
I ~ ~ . , L . ~ V /
: . Y T J.t" S,oo,o,.,
EQUENCE
COARSE " "-~,..,~--*"'*'-'~.,.1{ I
FLUVIAL DEPOSITS
unconformity, which will develop when another fall in relative sea level
induces downcutting by the rivers.
This sequence was initiated by the Wfirrn glacio-eustatic fall between
100,000 and 18,000 BP and was deposited between then and now. This
interval represents a high-frequency eustatic cycle at approximately fourth-
order scale (in the sense of Vail et at. 1991). Although the sequence lacks
an upper boundary, it has all the attributes of depositional sequences
described by Posamentier et al. (1988) and Posamentier and Vail (1988),
including a basal sequence boundary (SB), a lowstand systems tract (LST),
a transgressive systems tract fiST), a transgressive surface (TS), a maxi-
mum flooding surface (MPS), and a highstand systems tract (HST).
Figure 9 shows schematically the sequence-stratigraphic interpretation
of the Gironde incised valley fill. In addition to the key surfaces that define
the systems tracts, other significant surfaces, like the tidal ravinement and
wave ravinement surfaces, can be observed.
Sequence Boundary(SB)
At the valley thalweg the sequence boundary overlies Tertiary sediments
that are unconformably overlain by fluvial gravel, whereas on the valley
walls the sequence boundary is overlain directly by transgressive tidal-
estuarine sand and mud. On the interfluves outside the valley the sequence
boundary overlies older fluvial conglomerates interpreted as highstand
deposits of the previous Pleistocene sequence (Fig. 9B). In these areas,
where the sequence boundary is subaerially exposed, the unconformity is
still being enhanced by subaefial processes, whereas at the coast this surface
is being enhanced by wave erosion. Seaward of the coast the sequence
boundary is expressed as a wave ravinement surface (Swift 1968) analogous
to the E/T surface (erosion/transgression surface) described by Plint et al.
(1986).
Lowstand Systems Tract (LST)
The sequence boundary in the valley thalweg landward of the estuary
mouth is overlain by a one-channel-thick deposit of fluvial gravel and
coarse sand. These deposits reflect the lowstand fluvial profile, though
some cut-and-fill fluvial deposits may be deposited during subsequent
transgression. These fluvial sediments are therefore interpreted as the low-
stand systems tract even though some may have accumulated during trans-
gression. The fluvial sands and gravels were preserved when they were
buried beneath the landward-onlapping TST, and consequently are diach-
ronous (younger landward) and locally coeval with the TST. The bulk of
the lowstand deposits are likely to be seaward of the modem estuary, at
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387
SOR,ACE
F~a.8.- Stratigraphicrelationship of asgrad-
ing and transgressiveestuarine coastal-plain
deposits onlappingthe alluvial plain daring the
ceurse of bayline migration landward up the
fluvial profile during the Holocenesea-level
I'iSe.
the outer shelf and beyond, as has been reported for other late-Pleistocene
lowstand deposits (e.g., Suter and Berryhill 1985; Tesson et al. 1990). The
incised valley in the area of the modern Gironde estuary was a zone of
fluvial bypass during fall in relative sea level as well as during lowsland.
The apparent absence of significant fluvial aggradation during lowstand
in the upstream part of the incised valley may be explained by the time
lag between coastal progradation and subsequent upstream fluvial aggra-
dation. Coastal progradation is extremely rapid, as shown by modern
deltaic coasts that have advanced several tens of kilometers or more in
the few thousand years since the end of the rapid Hotocene eustatic rise.
Upstream fluvial aggradation appears to be significantly slower (C. An-
gevine and S. Schumm 1992, personal communication), so there is a time
lag between seaward migration of the coastline and upstream fluvial ag-
gradation. This lag increases landward, because the hydraulic "message"
for the river to start aggrading its floodplain propagates upstream from
the bayline. Therefore, little or no fluvial aggradation would be expected
in the upstream segments of incised valleys unless lowstand conditions
lasted a sufficiently long time. This further implies that the thickness of
the lowstand fluvial deposits in an incised valley would increase down-
stream. This could possibly explain the apparent thickening of the fluvial
deposits at the estuary mouth, mentioned previously.
Transgressive Systems Tract (TST)
With the onset of the rapid Holocene eustatic rise the incised valley
became flooded as the supply of fluvial sediment was overwhelmed by
the addition of new accommodation. The very rapid rate of base-level
rise, combined with the landward-migrating tide limit and its associated
grain-size barrier effect (Allen 1991) impeded transport of fluvial gravel
downstream from the landward-migrating bayline. This resulted in ac-
cumulation of transgressive tidal-estuarine sand and mud deposits step-
ping landward and onlapping the alluvial plain (Fig. 9). We place these
deposits within the TST rather than within the LST as suggested by Van
Wagoner et al. (1990), because the shift from fluvial to estuafine sedi-
mentation clearly suggests that a marine transgression occurred within the
valley. As the sea transgressed the incised valley, most hinterland-derived
sediments were trapped within the incised valley. This eliminated any
fluvial sediment contribution to the littoral drift on the adjacent coasts,
and undoubtedly resulted in accelerated shoreline transgression.
Three facies associations comprise this systems tract: tidal sand and
mud formed in estuarine point bars, tidal bars, and tidal flats; estuary-
mouth sand worked by waves and tides, and wave-dominated transgres-
 388 G.P. ALLEN .4ND H. W. POSAMENT1ER

0 MSL
- - - 2 " -- .- "~. "7 o o
• ' ° ..,..~ o o

40 Hlgl'mtar~Systm Tract SB sam Boundwy 40

,, o o
5011'I ~ y = ::~TS~:tlm~:ralct 50m

0 5kin
I! L , , , . , B' I

0 O

10 10

20 20
• I,,,, b •

30 30

40 40

SO m 50 m

lkm
C i = FluvialDeposits C'
r,~,,,,,~,,~ho I Pmvl°us~lu°ne~
0 0

21) 10

30 20

10 30

(Om 40m

Ro. 9.-Scqucnce-stratigraphie interpretation of the Gironde incised valley fill. Note the presence of key stratigraphic surfaces that bound each facies association,
and the marked differences in facies within the transgressive systems tract in the proximal and distal parts of the valley fill. Locations of sections are the same as in
Figure 5. Unlike Figure 5, however, the longitudinal section (A-A') is drawn through the present estuary thalweg so as to illustrate the bathymetdc relationship between
the landward-migrating tidal-inlet channel and the tidal ravinement surface.

sive shoreface sand. The first two are within the incised valley, whereas
the third is on the interltuves or overlies the estuary-mouth sand facies in
the valley as the coastline migrates landward over the valley fill. These
facies associations are bounded by distinct stratigraphic surfaces: the trans-
gressive surface, a tidal ravinement surface, and a wave ravinement sur-
face.
The transgressive surface forms the base of the TST and separates tidal-
estuarine sand and mud from underlying fluvial conglomerates ofthe LST
(Fig. 9A). This contact represents the updip-migrating bayline position
and will be discussed further below, On the edges of the valley the trans-
gressive surface coincides with the sequence boundary and separates the
TST from deposits of earlier sequences (Fig, 9B),
As the transgression continues, the estuanne sands and muds are sharply
overlain by tidal-inlet sand sourced from the seaward end of the estuary.
The surface between these two facies associations is an erosional surface,
termed a tidal ravinement surface, that originates at the thalweg of the
landward-migrating tidal inlet. As shown in Figures 9A and 9B, this ero-
sional surface can be regionally continuous in the distal part of the valley
fill, and could be misinterpreted as another sequence-bounding uncon-
formity within the incised valley.
Seaward of and lateral to the estuary, a wave ravinement surface de-
velops in response to passage of the shoreline across the estuafine deposits.
Wave erosion associated with retreat of the shoreface can result in removal
of several meters of sediment (Swift 1968; Demarest and Kraft 1987). The

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 GIRONDE SEQUENCE STRA TIGRAPH Y 389

0 Of
011
t 0

/ ~ ~ ,~,~f ,.X ~ I..~____.~J"~. J J FACIES

[~-~#g'~l ~" , ~ 7 - ~ ' / O,~//~ ~ Estuarymouthsand
j " "/ ~ d- t mud
,°.,--,..-°.°°

oo ~ I~] Coarsefluvialdeposits
.. . \
ESTUARINE
POINT BARS
TIDAL SANDBARS

HIGHSTAND

ESTUARINE
MUD
[
- -

'. . . .
I .~,,~,~,~,~. . . . ~ . o O' '/-1"-I I BOUNDARY

TRANSGRESSIVE
/ ESTUARY
-.o,
I .I

LOWSTAND
/
SYSTEMS TRACT

Fit. 10.-Schematic strafigraphicand faciesmodelof an incised-vaUeyfill in a mixedwave-influencedand macrotidallyinfluencedincised-valleyfrill,based on the

Gironde estuary. The lowstand and transgressivesystems tracts will be readilyidentifiable,but in certain parts of the valley frill,it will be difficultto distinguish
betweenthe transgressiveand earlyhighstandsystemstracts and to identifythe MFS (seediscussionin text). The transgressivesurface, the waveravinementsurface,
and the tidal ravinementsurface will be regionallycontinuousand readily idemifiableon well logs and cores, except when the wave ravinement surface directly
overlies estuary-mouthsands. For explanationof abbreviations,refer to Figure9.

wave ravinement surface is overlain by a thin coarse-sand to gravel trans-
gressive lag deposit forming a relatively continuous blanket of sand and
gravel on the Aquitaine shelf (Collotte 1985).
Highstand Systems Tract (HST)
Relative sea level reached its present position at about 4000 BP (Fair-
banks 1989) and has remained approximately at that level since. This halt
of rise in relative sea level has resulted in a halt in the addition of new
space for sediment to fill.The sedimentary response has been a turnaround
from transgression to regression in the incised valley as a prograding wedge
or bayhead delta consisting of prograding tidal sand bars, tidal fiats, and
upper-estuary point bars prograded into the head of the estuary. (The term
bayhead delta may not be quite appropriate here insofar as the physio-
graphic setting is that of an estuary rather than a bay; a term like estuary-
head delta may be more precise. Nonetheless, because the latter term is
not commonly used, only the term bayhead delta will be used in this
paper.) The lithofacies of these regressive HST deposits are similar to
those of the underlying TST tidal deposits. One significant difference is
the presence within the HST of tidal-sand-bar deposits within the pro-
grading bayhead delta. These deposits do not seem to accumulate during
the transgressive phase, because they form only during periods of overall
progradation.
The surface between the HST and the underlying TST is a downlap
surface that represents the maximum flooding surface (MFS) (Posamentier
and Vail 1988). Lithologically this contact can be difficult to recognize, In
the upstream part of the valley the MFS lies between transgressive-phase
and regressive-phase estuafine point bars, and will be difficult to recognize,
or may even be absent owing to local scour by highstand estuary channels.
In the middle part of the estuary the MFS will be recognizable at the base
of massive estuarine muds that downlap onto underlying carbonaceous
marsh muds and muddy-sand estuafine point bars of the TST. Farther
seaward the MFS will be at the downlap surface between the massive
estuafine muds of the HST bayhead delta and the underlying TST estuary-
mouth sands (Fig. 9A).
In time, as the upper estuary fills, cross-sectional areas will decrease

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 390 G.P..4LLEN :tND H. W, POSAMENTIEB
and the landward limit of tides will migrate downstream. This will enable
fluvial gravel to work its way gradually downstream, locally eroding and
replacing the tidal muddy sands. This will result in seaward migration of
the bayline and eventual fluvial aggradation.
CONCLUSIONS
This study documents a Recent analogue for ancient incised valley fills
in a mixed wave- and tide-influenced setting. The Gironde incised valley
was formed by fluvial erosion during the Wiirm glacio-eustatic fall and
was filled during the subsequent lowstand, Holocene rise, and post-Ho-
Iocene stillstand. This eustatic cycle represents a fourth-order cycle in the
terminology of Vail et al. (1991), and the transgressive-regressive sedi-
mentary fill within the valley constitutes a Type 1 depositional sequence,
although the upper sequence-bounding surface has not yet formed. This
fourth-order sequence comprises a wide range of lithofacies that are or-
ganized into the three systems tracts as defined by Posamentier et al. (198 8)
for third-order sequences. Each systems tract is represented by a distinct
suite of facies separated by prominent and regionally continuous strati-
graphic surfaces. These facies as well as the stratigraphic surfaces are
readily identifiable in outcrops, cores, and well logs, and the stratigraphic
surfaces constitute good correlation markers.
The major facies and log patterns formed by an incised-valley fill of
Gironde type are shown schematically in Figure 10. During lowstand the
incised valley landward of the present estuary mouth was a zone of sed-
iment bypass. The Iowstand systems tract (LST) is expressed in this part
of the incised valley as a one-channel-thick unit of fluvial gravel and coarse
sand in the thalweg of the incised valley. These coarse sediments are
trapped during the transgression by the landward-migrating bayline and
are subsequently onlapped by estuarine sands and muds (Fig. 9). This
phenomenon suggests several conclusions regarding lowstand sedimen-
tation: (1) significant fluvial aggradation does not occur during a rapid rise
in relative sea level; (2) the transgressive surface at the top of the lowstand
systems tract is expressed as an onlap surface; (3) in a macrotidal setting
the updip limit of estuarine deposits onlapping onto the transgressive
surface represents the bayline location; and (4) the lowstand systems tract
is in part diachronous, because some of the lowstand fluvial deposits are
replaced during transgression by non-aggrading cut and fill.
During transgression the incised valley became a zone of sediment trap-
ping. As a result, the bulk of the incised valley fill in the Gironde is within
the transgressive systems tract (TST), and comprises three facies assem-
blages: tidal-estuarine sand and mud, estuary-mouth sand, and nearshore
marine sand. The first is fluvially sourced, whereas the latter two are
palimpsest, i.e., result from the transgressive reworking of older deposits.
The transgressive surface at the base of the TST typically is overlain by
the estuarine sand and mud facies. In a vertical section the transgressive
surface will be clearly defined by the abrupt facies change from coarse
fluvial deposits to finer tidal-estuarine muddy sands, in the estuary mouth
and seaward, the tidal-estuarine sand and mud facies is sharply overlain
by thick estuary-mouth sands associated with the laterally and longitu-
dinally migrating tidal inlet.
Commonly there are two widespread and readily recognizable surfaces
within the TST. At the estuary mouth and seaward, tidal currents in the
estuary inlet form a major tidally scoured surface, referred to as a trans-
gressive tidal ravinement surface. This surface is at the base of the thick
estuary-mouth sands and in places cuts through the underlying tidal-es-
tuafine sand and mud facies and into the lowstand fluvial deposits. This
can result in superposition of tidal-inlet sands directly onto lowstand flu-
vial gravels. Because of the progressive landward migration of the tidal
inlet during transgression, the tidal ravinement surface can be regionally
extensive. On the interfluves outside the valley, as well as across earlier
estuarine fill, wave erosion associated with shoreline transgression results
in development of a wave ravinement surface. This surface is characterized
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by a sharp contact of nearshore marine sand overlying either estuary-
mouth sand or deposits of earlier sequences on the interfluves.
The highstand systems tract (TST) comprises an estuafine bayhead delta
with fining-upward tidal-estuarine point bars passing seaward to coars-
ening-upward tidal sand bars. It is noteworthy that while the estuary is
filling with the early highstand systems tract, the interfluve coastline con-
tinues to be transgressed because of lack of sediment supply.
The expression of the maximum flooding surface (MFS) varies according
to location in the valley and generally will be more difficult to identify
than the other stratigraphic surfaces. In the upstream part of the valley it
lies between transgressive-phase and regressive-phase tidal-estuarine point
bars, and will be difficult to recognize, or will even be absent owing to
later erosion. Farther seaward it will be more recognizable at the base of
the massive estuarine muds that downlap over underlying estuarine point-
bar muddy sands and tidal-flat muds of the TST. Still farther seaward the
MFS is expressed as the contact between estuary-mouth sands and over-
lying prograding massive estuarine muds.
The sequence boundary is expressed here as an unconformity, but its
facies expression will be highly variable depending on its paleogeographic
setting. In the valley thalweg the sequence boundary is overlain by low-
stand fluvial gravel, whereas on the sides of the valley it is overlain by
the varied facies of the transgressive systems tract. Landward of the estuary
mouth these facies will comprise tidal-estuarine sand and mud, whereas
at the estuary mouth and seaward, estuary-mouth sand will commonly
overlie the sequence boundary on the valley walls. On the valley interfluves
the sequence boundary landward of the estuary mouth will be overlain by
highstand estuarine deposits, whereas at the estuary mouth and seaward
the sequence boundary will be expressed as a wave ravinement surface
overlain by transgressive nearshore sands.
As shown in this study, incised-valley fills can be complex, comprising
a wide range of facies and a number of widespread and mappable strati-
graphic discontinuities. This suggests that ancient incised-valley-fill suc-
cessions are similarly complex. The Gironde valley fill described here may
therefore provide a useful analogue for the study of similar tide- and wave-
dominated ancient estuarine incised valleys.
ACKNOWLEBGMENTS
We wish to thank P. Castaing, A. Feral, and G. Truilhe for their help in compiling
the data presented in this paper, as well as for the many stimulating discussions
on lhe sedimentology of the Gironde estuary. We also thank D.P. James and D.A.
Leckie for sharing with us their thoughts on incised-valley stratigraphy. Comments
from reviewers J.M Begg,J.D. Bryant, and D.A. Leckie significantly improved
and sharpened the text. Permission from TOTAL S.A. Centre Scientifique et
Technique and ARCO Exploration and Production Technology to publish this
paper is also acknowledged.
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Received 30 June 1992; accepted 24 November 1992.