Architecture of deepwater turbidite lobes: A case study of Carboniferous turbidite outcrop in the Clare Basin, Ireland

ZHANG Leifu,LI Yilong

Table 2 Quantitative architecture characteristics of turbidite lobes.

Architecture unit Width Thickness/ m Characteristics Architecture interface Width Thickness/ m Characteristics Fifth-order architecture Unit tens of kilometers 70-200 Lobate shape on the plane; vertically parallel/subparallel sand-mud interbedded layers; no amalgamation Fifth-order architecture interface tens of kilometers 0.5-20.0 Organic-rich pelagic shale; excellent preservation; depositional time of 1×105-1×106 years Fourth-order architecture Unit thousands of meters 0.6-7.1, 3.1 on average Lobate shape on the plane; compensational overlapping vertically; low degree of amalgamation Fourth-order architecture interface thousands of meters 0.25-1.00 Laminated mudstone with thin- layered siltstone/fine sandstone; good preservation; depositional time of 10-14 ka Third-order architecture unit hundreds to thousands of meters 0.45-3.10, 1.90 on average Lobate shape on the plane; vertically thickening-upward characteristics; moderate degree of amalgamation Third-order architecture interface hundreds to thousands of meters 0.02-0.50 Laminated mudstone with thin siltstone/fine sandstone; average preservation; depositional time of 0.5-5.0 ka Second-order architecture Unit hundreds to thousands of meters 0.02-3.00, 0.32 on average Vertically parallel/ sub-parallel stacking; high degree of amalgamation Second-order architecture interface hundreds to thousands of meters 0.01-0.30 Mudstone with thin-layered siltstone; poor preservation; depositional time from seconds to tens of days