Forward Modeling of Stratigraphic Sequences at Continental Margins
Abstract
The goal of the Stratigraphy project of the STRATAFORM program is to understand the creation of the preserved stratigraphic record on continental shelves and slopes as the product of physical processes acting with spatial and temporal heterogeneities. I am using numerical models to provide insight into the formation and preservation of stratigraphic sequences at margins. My goal is to obtain a quantitative understanding of the interactions of environmental parameters and their influence on stratal architecture and facies distribution. I wish to be able decipher the stratigraphy on margins to read the geologic record of the past and predict future stratigraphy. I wish to understand how sea level and other factors control the formation of the stratigraphic record at margins. The stratigraphy at margins is packaged into unconformity-bound sequences whose form and lithology record the active processes at the margin. The influences of individual processes that create these sequences are only partly understood. My aim is to quantitatively determine the system response of margins to different forcing functions sufficiently to be able to both predict stratigraphy and invert observed sequence architecture for geologic history.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA535135
Entities
People
- Michael S. Steckler
Organizations
- Columbia University