Depositional architecture and formative mechanism of dendritic bars within river-dominated shallow-water delta front
XU Zhenhua1,2, DENG Hang3, WU Shenghe1,2, YUE Dali1,2, LIU Yuming1,2, LI Qing1,2
1 National Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Engineering,China University of Petroleum(Beijing),Beijing 102249, China; 2 College of Geosciences,China University of Petroleum(Beijing),Beijing 102249, China; 3 Petroleum Exploration and Production Research Institute,Sinopec, Beijing 102206, China
Abstract River-dominated shallow-water delta front sands can be categorized into distributary-bar and bar-finger types based on combination relationships between distributary channel and mouth bar. Scholars paid more attention to delta front sands of lobate distributary-bar type and bird-foot bar-finger type. However,the dendritic sand bars that composed of multiple bar fingers has been largely overlooked,and its depositional architecture and formative mechanism are still unclear. This paper focuses on the Rimaozhou deposits in Poyang Lake to explore the depositional architecture and formative mechanisms of the dendritic bars in river-dominated shallow-water deltas,utilizing satellite imagery,Ground Penetrating Radar(GPR)profiles,shallow core sampling,and sedimentary numerical simulations. The findings indicate that dendritic bars consist of a complex network of bifurcating and confluent bar fingers. Distributary channels incise mouth bars,as like walking on the bar. Distributary bays nestle among these bar fingers. According to width,distributary channels within dendritic bars can be divided into chief branches and side branches,where the formers are wide,cover a small number,and distributed at central sand bars;instead,the latter are narrow,cover a large number,and distributed at sides and terminal of sand bars. The development of dendritic bars is driven by the supply of fine-grained,cohesive sediments and high discharge levels. Fine-grained and cohesive sediments contribute to the growth of stable levees and the formation of bar fingers,while high discharge encourages the bifurcation and avulsion of distributary channels,facilitating the formation of dendritic bar fingers. Dendritic bars in river-dominated shallow-water delta reservoirs exhibit low lateral connectivity. The most promising reservoir locations are typically found at the central mouth bar,characterized by distributary channel sands and proximal mouth bar sands.
Fund:Co-funded by the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Fund：Foundation of China(No.42202178)and Science Foundation of China University of Petroleum(Beijing)(No.2462023YJRC034)
About author: About the first author XU Zhenhua,born in 1992,is a lecture in China University of Petroleum(Beijing). He is mainly engaged in sedimentology,reservoir characterization and modeling research. E-mail: xuzhenhua@cup.edu.cn.
Cite this article:
XU Zhenhua,DENG Hang,WU Shenghe et al. Depositional architecture and formative mechanism of dendritic bars within river-dominated shallow-water delta front[J]. JOPC, 2024, 26(6): 1338-1351.
XU Zhenhua,DENG Hang,WU Shenghe et al. Depositional architecture and formative mechanism of dendritic bars within river-dominated shallow-water delta front[J]. JOPC, 2024, 26(6): 1338-1351.
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