Fluvial and Deltaic Environment

Agenda
• Fluvial Environments
• Fluvial settings
• Deltaic Environment
• Types of Delta
• Fluvial and Deltaic deposits in the Indus
Basin, Pakistan
 Fluvial Environments

• Fluvial environments
encompass those
environments and
materials related to
the activities of rivers
or streams
 Fluvial settings
• Meandering Rivers
• Braided Rivers.
• Anastomizing River
 Meandering Rivers
• Meander in general is a
bend in a sinuous
watercourse.

• A meander is formed
when the moving water in
a river erodes the outer
banks and widens its
valley
 Meander geometry
• Point bar
• Cut off
• Flood Plain
 Geological Facies
• Lithology
• Meandring river deposits are typically sand,silt and shales

• Floodplains are covered by silt and clay, may also contain Peet &
Coal.

• Point bar contain medium to fine-grained sands interbedded with

thin clay layers.

• Cementing material are silicious or calcareous.

• Sand shale ratio <1

• Poorly to fairly sorted

 Geological Facies
Sedimentary Structure:
• Erosional surface.
• medium scale Cross bedding.

Sequence
• Fining upward Sequence.

Geometry of the Bodies

• Shoestring Geometry.
• Tabular sand unit may be develop.

• Reservoir characteristics
• Good reservoir potential with porosities up to 30%.
 Braided Rivers
• These are streams with
channels split into many
winding pathways by the
deposition of sediment in
the channel

• They occur where a

stream receives a heavy
load and has variable
discharge.
 Geological Facies
• Lithology
• Braided Rivers consist of sand or gravel

• Sand shale ratio > 1

• Placer deposits

• Glauconite is absent.

• Carbonaceous organic matter is very rare.

• Poor to moderate soarting

 Geological Facies
Sedimentary Structure:
• Erosional surface.
• Cross bedding.
• Asymmetrical ripples

Sequence
• Fining upward Sequence.

Geometry of the Bodies

• Sheet-like or wedge shaped deposits of channel
• Multi channel
• Bars
• island

• Reservoir characteristics
• Good reservoir potential with porosities up to 30%.
 Deltaic Environment
• Deltas are large accumulations
of sediment that are deposited
where a river empties into a
standing body of water.

• Deltas are formed from the

deposition of the sediment
carried by the river as the flow
leaves the mouth of the river
 Sub environment
o Topsets (delta plain): sand and silt, nearly
horizontal, cut through with stream channel deposits
and will contain terrestrial fossils.

o Foresets (delta front): grade into silt and

clay, slope seaward, will contain marine fossils,
but also some material washed in from terrestrial
environment

o Bottomsets (prodelta): clay, horizontal

beds, marine fossils dominate
 Geological Facies
• Lithology
• Siliciclastic deposits
• Coal bed
• Glauconite may be present
• Limestone and evaporites may also present
• Grain size is mainly medium sand to clay
• Sorting is medium to well developed
 Geological Facies
Sedimentary Structure:
• Erosional surface.
• Cross bedding.
• Massive bedding
• Bioturbations

Sequence
• Coarsening upward Sequence.

• Reservoir characteristics
• Good reservoir potential with porosities up to 35%.
 Types of Delta
• River dominated
delta

• Wave and tidal currents are

week
• Volume of Sediment carried by
the river is high
• Bird foot delta
• Lobate shape delta

Geometry of the bodies

• Finger or shoestring shape
• Tabular sand
 Wave-dominated deltas

• In wave dominated deltas,

wave erosion controls the
shape of the delta
Geometry of the bodies
• Chevron shaped body
• Sand bodies will tend to
parallel to coastline
 Tide-dominated deltas

• Tidal range is high

• Erosion is also an important
control in tide dominated
deltas
Geometry of the bodies
• Elongated sand bodies in the
direction of the tide
• Mega ripple sand are the main
type of the delta
 Fluvial and Deltaic deposits in
Indus Basin Pakistan
• Upper Indus basin
• Braided river environment (Chinji formation )

• Middel Indus basin

• Fluvial And deltaic environment (Pab sand
stone)
• Lower Indus basin
• Deltaic deposits
Thank you