Basin Research最新文献

{"title":"The Messinian Salinity Crisis Between Italy and Albania: The Peri-Adriatic Depression and Southern Adriatic Basin Records","authors":"Bigi Diego,&nbsp;Lugli Stefano,&nbsp;Manzi Vinicio,&nbsp;Roveri Marco,&nbsp;Milushi Ibrahim","doi":"10.1111/bre.70096","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70096","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We reconstructed the geological evolution of the Albanides during the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), based on the integration of outcrop and subsurface data from both onshore (peri-Adriatic depression, Albania) and offshore (Southern Adriatic Basin) settings. The lowermost MSC deposit consists of primary bottom-grown gypsum accumulated in marginal basins (Rubjekë, Durres inland; Guri i Cifutit, Vlora) of the peri-Adriatic depression. Facies analysis and Sr. isotope signature allow correlating these deposits with the Primary Lower Gypsum unit (PLG). This unit is truncated on top by an erosional surface that can be correlated in deeper settings (Currilla, Durres coast; Kavaje) with a sharp surface separating evaporite-free, organic-rich, and barren shales below from a clastic evaporite unit above. The unconformity can be regarded as the Messinian Erosional Surface and the clastic evaporites as the local expression of the Resedimented Lower Gypsum (RLG). Seismic and geophysical logs allow following this unit offshore in a WNW direction for hundreds of kilometres. While in the marginal settings the PLG are overlain by marine Pliocene deposits, in the deeper settings (Currilla) the RLG unit is overlain by thick terrigenous deposits that can be subdivided into a lower finer-grained barren shale unit followed upward by a rhythmic alternation of conglomerate or sandstone bodies and shales. The uppermost portion of this unit contains a typical Paratethyan hypohaline faunal assemblage yielding a depleted Sr. signature and thus referable to the Lago-mare unit, which records the final stage of the MSC. In turn, these deposits are followed by Zanclean open-marine sediments. These findings are in good agreement with the 3-stage model of the MSC and enable the reconstruction of basin-scale correlations from the thrust-top and foredeep basins of the Albanides and the Apennines, through the Adria foreland.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"38 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70096","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147496218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quantifying Multi-Source Sediment Supply in a Tropical Foreland Basin (Oligocene-Miocene Nyalau Formation, Borneo)","authors":"Ekundayo J. Adepehin,&nbsp;Yi N. Fong,&nbsp;Eduardo Garzanti,&nbsp;Hariri M. Arifin","doi":"10.1111/bre.70099","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70099","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical analyses and 803 published detrital zircon U–Pb ages are here integrated to provide the first quantitative provenance analysis of the Oligocene-Miocene Nyalau Formation in the Sarawak Basin foreland basin, northwest Borneo. Statistical unmixing reveals that simple two-source models are insufficient: three distinct sources contributed sediment—the Malay-Thai Peninsula (58%), the Rajang fold-thrust belt (31%) and a previously unrecognised component (11%) characterised by syn-depositional Oligocene-Miocene volcanic zircons and Neoproterozoic populations absent from the other two established sources. This third source represents contemporaneous magmatic input plus recycled cratonic material from unexposed Bornean basement. Long-distance axial drainage from the Malay-Thai Peninsula dominated over proximal orogenic input from the Rajang fold-thrust belt. Compositional variations record coupled tectonic-climatic controls: quartz-rich intervals with high ZTR indices reflect extensive recycling coupled with prolonged weathering, whereas lithic-rich intervals indicate enhanced transverse input plausibly modulated by relative sea-level and monsoonal discharge variability. This quantitative three-source framework demonstrates that statistical provenance unmixing can reveal cryptic sediment contributors missed by binary mixing models, providing critical insights into tropical foreland basin evolution during major Oligocene-Miocene geodynamic reorganisation.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"38 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70099","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147478178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pockmarks, Mud Volcanoes and Hydrocarbon Seeps in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Trends and Controls on Widespread Fluid and Gas Venting","authors":"Muhedeen A. Lawal,&nbsp;Ann E. Cook,&nbsp;Alexey Portnov,&nbsp;Aditya Kumar","doi":"10.1111/bre.70095","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70095","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The release of hydrocarbons, pore water and fluidized sediments impacts seafloor morphology, marine biogeochemical cycling and subsurface hydrocarbon resources. However, the basin-scale occurrence and controls on fluid seepage remain poorly constrained. Herein, we combine datasets that used bathymetry to map pockmarks and mud volcanoes with water column acoustic data that identified gas seeps in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Then, we map hundreds of new pockmarks and mud volcanoes using newly released industry seismic data. We observe strong water depth-dependent patterns: pockmarks cluster at 330–605 m, while mud volcanoes are most common at less than 1000 m. The downslope decline in the number of pockmarks and mud volcanoes corresponds to the basinward thickening of the gas hydrate stability zone, as well as thicker and broader underlying salt masses, indicating potential controls on fluid seepage. Furthermore, water column gas plumes, pockmarks, and mud volcanoes cluster above salt-cored ridges and associated fault networks, demonstrating that seepage is non-random and controlled by localized geological structures. By scaling the abundance of active seeps against flux rates from representative vents, we make a first-order estimate of total hydrocarbon flux ranging between ~5.6–46 × 10⁷ tons year⁻¹ for the northern Gulf of Mexico. Our analysis further reveals that despite these estimates, a multitude of seeps remain undocumented across the region, indicating that the true extent of hydrocarbon release is most likely greater than currently recognized. Ultimately, these findings are vital for making informed decisions for subsurface hydrocarbon resource exploration, flux estimation, marine habitat assessment, CO₂ sequestration and geohazard assessment in marine sedimentary basins.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"38 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70095","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147462132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Depositional Interplay Between the Ancestral Rocky Mountains and Ouachita–Marathon–Sonora Orogenies: Insights From Provenance Records in the Late Palaeozoic Marfa Basin, West Texas, USA","authors":"Sandra Juárez-Zúñiga,&nbsp;Daniel F. Stockli,&nbsp;Benjamin Johnson,&nbsp;Timothy F. Lawton","doi":"10.1111/bre.70098","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70098","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Marfa Basin in West Texas is a late Palaeozoic synorogenic depocenter associated with regional deformation linked to the Ancestral Rocky Mountains (ARM) and Ouachita–Marathon–Sonora (OMS) orogenies in southwestern Laurentia. Basin strata range in age from Middle Pennsylvanian to the middle Permian and include the Cieneguita, Alta, Pinto Canyon, Rose Mine and Mina Grande Formations. Sandstone petrography and detrital zircon (DZ) U–Pb and (U–Th)/He double dating data from these strata reveal three tectonically driven sedimentation stages: syntectonic ARM deposition, progressive OMS foredeep deposition and an orogenic transition. The Cieneguita and lower part of the Alta Formations exhibit a Mesoproterozoic DZ age signature (~1318 and ~1076 Ma age peaks) and quartzo-feldspathic sandstone compositions sourced from the adjacent ARM-related Diablo Platform basement uplift in the Middle Pennsylvanian to earliest Permian. In contrast, the upper part of the Alta Formation, as well as the Pinto Canyon and Rose Mine Formations, have peri-Gondwanan DZ age signatures, with Mesoproterozoic (~1069–1036 Ma age peaks), Neoproterozoic–Cambrian (~700–490 Ma) and Palaeozoic (~490–300 Ma) age modes and litho-quartzose sandstone compositions derived from the OMS fold-and-thrust belt and orogenic hinterland during the early to middle Permian. The lower to middle parts of the Alta Formation have alternating DZ age signatures and sandstone compositions from both ARM and OMS sources, revealing that the transition in the sediment supply occurred during the middle Wolfcampian. This transition was not characterised by source mixing, but rather by sediment interfingering alternately sourced from the Diablo Platform uplift and the advancing OMS belt. These observations are confirmed by the DZ He ages, which reveal distinct cooling histories for both source terranes. These results document a switch from ARM- to OMS-related syntectonic deposition in southwestern Laurentia during the early Permian, demonstrating that ARM-driven deformation largely preceded the continental collision along the Marathon segment of the OMS orogen.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"38 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70098","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147465000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Post-Salt Evolution of the Offshore Essaouira Basin (Morocco)","authors":"Hala Chebli,&nbsp;Michael. R. Hudec,&nbsp;Asmae Benarchid,&nbsp;Frank Peel,&nbsp;Apps Gillian,&nbsp;Said Chakiri","doi":"10.1111/bre.70094","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70094","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Salt-bearing passive margins represent some of the most structurally complex and economically significant hydrocarbon provinces worldwide. However, these margins are often characterised by substantial uncertainties related to crustal and syn-rift basin architecture and suprasalt tectonic evolution. The Essaouira Basin, a salt-bearing passive margin and a promising hydrocarbon province encompassing all essential elements of a petroleum system, remains geologically complex, with unresolved questions regarding its post-salt gravity-driven deformation and overall tectonic evolution. This study presents an integrated analysis of the post-salt evolution of the Essaouira Basin, utilising 2D and 3D seismic reflection and well data combined with structural restoration. Our results indicate that salt deposition was strongly controlled by basement structural inheritance, evidenced by abrupt lateral variations in salt thickness across the basin. The evolution of the basin proceeded through three distinct phases: (1) An initial phase dominated by gravity-driven deformation, strongly influenced by the Cap Ghir Graben, which functioned as a localised depocenter and disrupted downdip salt flow, resulting in the development of two linked kinematic systems. This early configuration led to a distribution of structures and domains that differs from conventional salt-bearing passive margins; (2) A second phase characterised by halokinesis, primarily manifested through passive diapirism, driven by differential sedimentary loading during the Early Cretaceous; and (3) A final phase, commencing in the Late Cretaceous, marked by contractional deformation related to far-field compressional stresses associated with the Atlas orogeny. Additionally, Late Cenozoic shelf uplift is attributed to plume-related mantle upwelling. This study highlights the role of pre-existing rift architecture and subsequent tectonic events in shaping the Essaouira Basin's complex salt tectonics, providing new insights into the evolution of salt-bearing passive margins.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"38 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147447891","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Slumping and Sediment Storage at the Shelf-Edge: A Case Study From the Kookfontein and Waterford Formations, Tanqua Karoo Depocenter, South Africa","authors":"Ellen Reat Wersan,&nbsp;Cari Johnson,&nbsp;Emma A. Morris,&nbsp;H. DeVille Wickens","doi":"10.1111/bre.70083","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70083","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A low-gradient shelf-edge delta system preserved at the Katjiesberg outcrop in the northern Tanqua Karoo depocenter (South Africa) records the evolution from shelf- to slope-depositional processes in a fine-grained sandstone dominated system. Lateral and vertical facies associated with slumping and other soft-sediment deformation features at near seismic scale (~1 km laterally, ~100 m vertically) are documented. Stratigraphic correlations of these units using measured sections and ~3 km of digital outcrop models document the stratigraphic position of two shelf-edge inflection points, which implies progradation of the shelf-edge. Progradation and aggradation of detached slump deposits and their transition into dominantly in situ deformation features are consistently representative of the evolution from slope-to-shelf through time. The exposed Permian–Triassic Kookfontein Formation prodelta/slope succession at Katjiesberg is likely a time-correlative deposit to clinothem cycles previously described 10s of km up depositional-dip to the southwest. Katjiesberg represents the more distal expression of these cyclothems in the lower Kookfontein Formation, whereas the upper cycles are interpreted as collapse-dominated clinothems that are overlain by basinward prograding mouthbar deposits of the Waterford Formation. This study highlights intra-basinal process regime variability and facies expressions within a preserved shelf-edge delta system. Results underscore the role of slump features in characterising clinothems and signalling clinothem rollover, which is particularly useful in low-gradient systems with subtle clinothem geometry. The characterisation of low-gradient clinothem geometries and variability in this shelf-edge delta system improves our understanding of shelf-margin accretion and deepwater sediment delivery across the shelf and slope.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"38 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70083","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147384028","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-Isochronous Transgression in Dual-Provenance Sedimentary Basins: Insights From Experimental Studies and Geometric Analysis","authors":"Wei Zhang,&nbsp;Junhui Wang,&nbsp;Zhuang Li,&nbsp;Gesi Tao,&nbsp;Li Li,&nbsp;Ranran Xia","doi":"10.1111/bre.70092","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70092","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;In conventional sequence stratigraphy, it is commonly believed that transgression occurs simultaneously across the sedimentary basin experiencing relative sea-level (RSL) rise. As a consequence, the maximum flooding surface is widely utilised as a quasi-isochronous chronostratigraphic marker for regional stratigraphic correlation. The concept of shoreline autoretreat demonstrates that the transgression may occur after a precursory regression. How long the precursory regression would last depends on external forcings including the rate of sediment supply (&lt;i&gt;q&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt;) and rate of RSL rise (&lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;rsl&lt;/sub&gt;) and slope features of the basin. This means within a given basin, the onset of transgression varies in locations with different sediment supply rates and/or slope features. This study aims to analyse the influencing factors of the occurrence time of transgression in dual-provenance basins through theoretical modelling and two-dimensional flume experiments. To investigate these factors, two series of tank experiments were designed. The first series is supply-modulated where the two provenances were different in &lt;i&gt;q&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt;, while the basin slope condition were kept the same. The second series is modulaed where the two provenances varied in hinterland slopes (&lt;i&gt;γ&lt;/i&gt;) while &lt;i&gt;q&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt; were kept the same. Each series included 2 or 3 runs with different multiples of &lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;rsl&lt;/sub&gt; or &lt;i&gt;q&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt;. Furthermore, a reference run was performed where the two provenances were identical in both &lt;i&gt;q&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt; and &lt;i&gt;γ&lt;/i&gt;. The results reveal that: (1) &lt;i&gt;q&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt; and &lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;rsl&lt;/sub&gt; have similar effect on transgression. As &lt;i&gt;q&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt; increases, the timing of transgression is delayed, while an increase in &lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;rsl&lt;/sub&gt; accelerates its occurrence. Both factors affect the timing of transgression by altering the size of the river-delta system. (2) The occurrence of transgression is closely related to the size of the river-delta system. Guided by the autoretreat mechanism, the fluvial-deltaic system maintains its progradational trend during a constant RSL rise, provided it has not yet reached its critical dimensions. A transgressive retreat is fundamentally postponed until the delta evolves to exceed this intrinsic spatial threshold, at which point the required sediment volume for progradation outstrips the supply. Only when the river-delta size exceeds the critical size does transgression take place. The critical size is controlled by a combination of &lt;i&gt;q&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt;, &lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;rsl&lt;/sub&gt;, and basin slope. (3) Hinterland slope (&lt;i&gt;γ&lt;/i&gt;) affects subaerial and subaqueous allocations of sediment. Larger &lt;i&gt;γ&lt;/i&gt; result in a reduction of subaerial allocations of sediment. As a result, the alluvial realm expands slower but the aggradation rate is higher, by which transgression is delayed. The Canterbury Plain in New Zealand serves as a po","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"38 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147320152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Erosional Modulation of Tectonically-Controlled Shelf-Edge Migration: Insights From Middle Miocene Clinoform Successions, Ulleung Basin, East Sea (Japan Sea), Korea","authors":"Eunhyun Cho,&nbsp;Hoon-Young Song,&nbsp;Jusun Woo","doi":"10.1111/bre.70090","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70090","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Shelf-edge evolution in tectonically active basins reflects complex interactions between structural deformation, sea-level change and sedimentary processes. This study investigates Middle Miocene clinoform successions (14.00–12.50 Ma) in the southwestern Ulleung Basin, East Sea, using 3D seismic data to examine how erosional processes modulate structurally-controlled shelf-edge migration patterns. Eight clinothems were identified, showing cyclic alternations between sigmoidal types (ascending trajectories) and thin-top sigmoidal/oblique types (flat-to-descending trajectories), possibly reflecting high-frequency relative sea-level cycles (4th–5th order). A reverse fault system in the southeast of the study area (DS A) formed monocline structure that created differential accommodation along the shelf margin. The structure caused reduced accommodation space favouring oblique clinothems in the uplifted proximal area and maintained more space resulting in thin-top sigmoidal clinothems distally. Conventional tectono-stratigraphic models often predict that such uplift enhances shelf-edge progradation, producing arcuate shelf-edge geometry in map view. However, shelf-edge migration remained relatively linear without enhanced shelf-edge migration toward the reverse fault system, contradicting these established models. The interaction between the structural deformation and erosional processes on the shelf margins explains these shelf-edge behaviours. The structural deformation (DS A) that controlled clinoform type variation also induced slope oversteepening that promoted erosional features at shelf margins within 20 km of this structure. These erosional depressions formed atop sigmoidal clinothems during early stage of sea-level fall, creating additional accommodation at the shelf margin that moderated shelf-edge advance. This ‘erosional modulation’ process represents a compensatory mechanism where uplift-induced oversteepening creates preferential erosion sites that generate offsetting accommodation, preventing the expected translation of structural deformation into margin architecture. The recurrence of this process across multiple stratigraphic cycles suggests that erosional modulation operates as a persistent architectural control rather than independent random events. These findings provide new insights into how erosional processes can modulate shelf-edge evolution, particularly in tectonically active settings, complementing traditional models that assume direct translation of structural deformation into margin architecture.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146222897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Miocene Siliciclastic-Rich Sabkha Type Deposits of the St. Paul Area: A Regional Reference Model for Sedimentation and Sequence Stratigraphic interpretation in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt","authors":"Mounir H. El-Azabi","doi":"10.1111/bre.70091","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70091","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Extensive deposition of thick marine evaporites occurred during the middle and late Miocene in the Gulf of Suez rift basin, yet their origin remains controversial, particularly regarding marine connectivity, brine sources, and climatic controls. In the St. Paul area, at the western rift margin, stacked, shallowing-upward cycles of shale, mudstone, and evaporite grade landward into conglomerate and sandstone of proximal fan facies. A detailed sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic study offers new insights into the evolution of these Langhian–Serravallian marginal marine evaporites and their basinal equivalents, clarifying the timing of restriction events and proposing viable models for their accumulation. The evaporites, mainly epigenetic anhydrite, occur as nodular forms with chicken-wire and enterolithic textures, indicative of deposition in saline mudflats under a hot, arid climate. This marine-fed, siliciclastic-rich sabkha flat lacks a modern analog due to its uncommon mud matrix. Periodic continental flooding disrupted the sabkha mudflat, leading to the deposition of laminated and fanned gypsum in ephemeral saline pans. The stratal architecture of the evaporites and associated sediments reveals three depositional sequences, each with a lower retrograding deep subtidal shale and basal channelled sandstone, and an upper prograding shallow subtidal to intertidal siliciclastic mud and supratidal evaporites. Sabkha and salina evaporites mark the late highstand facies, while lowstand evaporites formed in the basin centre when it became isolated and hypersaline due to evaporative drawdown. Three major marine flooding events from the Mediterranean had occurred during the Langhian–Serravallian, prior to complete basin isolation from the north. Each event culminated in extensive evaporite accumulation as the basin became temporarily isolated. Rift-related tectonics, global cooling, glacio-eustasy, and changes in basin connectivity were key drivers of temporary restrictions, while arid climate controlled brine concentration. These findings resolve some long-standing debates on the origin of the Gulf of Suez evaporites and their connection to the northern Mediterranean source during the Miocene.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146184376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Deconvolving the Effects of Fluvial Transit and Storage on Preservation of Sedimentary Source Signals Using Heavy Minerals and Terrestrial Biomarkers","authors":"Sophia Dosch,&nbsp;Niels Hovius,&nbsp;Sergio Andò,&nbsp;Eduardo Garzanti,&nbsp;Marisa Repasch,&nbsp;Joel Scheingross,&nbsp;Dirk Sachse","doi":"10.1111/bre.70086","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70086","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Analysis of naturally occurring markers of environmental signals, or proxy analysis, in sedimentary records can yield valuable insights into the geologic past. However, these proxies may be altered between sediment source and sink by selective gain, loss, or transformation of individual organic or inorganic components. To aid interpretation of sedimentary proxies, we must understand physical and chemical processes occurring during transit. We track the provenance and transformation of two commonly used proxies, long-chain <i>n</i>-alkanes and heavy minerals, between source and sink along the Río Bermejo, a lowland alluvial river without significant tributaries or distributaries, traversing the east Andean foreland basin. Our sampling strategy allowed determining the sediment input signal and isolating the effects of long-range transport and transient floodplain storage. Fine-grained sediments present in the suspended load and deposited in floodplains show heavy <i>n</i>C₂₉ <i>n-</i>alkane δ²H values compared to channel bed sediment. Heavy <i>n</i>C₂₉ <i>n-</i>alkane δ²H values indicate that organic matter in suspended and deposited sediments was sourced from low elevations, while light <i>n</i>C₂₉ <i>n-</i>alkane δ²H values indicate upland sources for the bed sediment. These data suggest that organic matter proxies in finer sediment are overprinted during transient floodplain storage, while organic matter travelling near the river bed is transferred downstream efficiently without significant recycling. Meanwhile, a negative correlation of Zircon-Tourmaline-Rutile index and corroded grains of all samples indicates progressive weathering of silicate minerals during transient foreland sediment storage. In particular, sediment deposited on the floodplain is depleted in clinopyroxenes and amphiboles compared to suspended sediment. Combining the physical and chemical characteristics of organic and inorganic proxies can help isolate source area fingerprints and identify the effects of lowland fluvial transit on sedimentary records. This improves our understanding of how source-to-sink processes influence the preservation of proxy signals, their transfer into the stratigraphic record, and the potential impacts of flood basin sediment storage on biogeochemical cycles.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70086","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146135005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}