Normal faulting as a control on the stratigraphic development of shallow marine syn‐rift sequences: the Nukhul and Lower Rudeis Formations, Hammam Faraun fault block, Suez Rift, Egypt

Abstract

AbstractTectono‐stratigraphic analysis of the East Tanka fault zone (ETFZ), Suez Rift, indicates that the evolution of normal fault segments was an important control on syn‐rift depositional patterns and sequence stratigraphy. Sedimentological and stratigraphic analysis of the Nukhul Formation indicates that it was deposited in a narrow (ca 1–2 km), elongate (ca 5 km), fault‐bounded, tidally influenced embayment during the low subsidence rift‐initiation phase. The Nukhul Formation is composed of transgressive (TST) and highstand (HST) systems tract couplets interpreted as reflecting fault‐driven subsidence and the continuous creation of accommodation in the hangingwall to the ETFZ. The overlying Lower Rudeis Formation was deposited during the high subsidence rift‐climax phase, and is composed of forced regressive systems tract (FRST) shallow marine sandbodies, and TST to HST offshore mudstones. Activity on the ETFZ led to marked spatial variability in stratal stacking patterns, systems tracts and key stratal surfaces, as footwall uplift, coupled with regressive marine erosion during deposition of FRST sandbodies, led to the removal of intervening TST–HST mudstone‐dominated units, and the amalgamation of FRST sandbodies and the stratal surfaces bounding these units in the footwall. This study indicates that the evolution of normal fault segments over relatively short (i.e. <1 km) length‐scales has the potential to enhance or suppress a eustatic sea‐level signal, leading to marked spatial variations in stratal stacking patterns, systems tracts and key stratal surfaces. Crucially, these variations in sequence stratigraphic evolution may occur within time‐equivalent stratal units, thus caution must be exercised when attempting to correlate syn‐rift depositional units based solely on stratal stacking patterns. Furthermore, local, tectonically controlled variations in relative sea level can give rise to syn‐rift stacking patterns which are counterintuitive in the context of the structural setting and perceived regional subsidence rates.