Sedimentological and ichnological characteristics of modern and ancient channel-fills, Willapa Bay, Washington

• Author / Creator

  Schoengut, Jesse

• Estuarine-associated facies make up a significant component of ancient geological systems, and are exceedingly economically important today for their ability to trap hydrocarbons. While many aspects of estuaries are understood today, little is documented regarding the sedimentological and ichnological character of middle and
  inner estuary channel-fill deposits. These deposits are associated with deposition in entrenched, almost fully marine tidal channels, and are deposited across the width of the channel as a combination of inclined heterolithic and heterolithic strata.
  Willapa Bay provides an excellent locale to compare ancient channel-fill deposits present in Pliocene to Pleistocene-aged terrace deposits to modern examples from tidal
  channels. Sedimentological and ichnological criteria for these channel-fills will be discussed, as will vertical profiles, lateral trends, and the depositional affinity and
  character of these channel-fills. Because channel-fills vary in a transitional and predictable fashion, they act as excellent palaeogeographical indicators when discerning
  ancient estuarine environments.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Inclined heterolithic stratification
  • Willapa Bay
  • Sedimentology
  • Ichnology
  • Channel-fill
  • Eta cross-stratification

• Graduation date

  Fall 2011

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3ZQ15

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.