Source to sink studies between the Shaleitian uplift and surrounding sags: Perspectives on the importance of hinterland relief and catchment area for sediment budget, Western Bohai Bay Basin, China

Abstract

Source-to-sink system analysis, a cutting-edge topic in the field of earth science, encompasses the whole system, from erosion and transportation to sediment accumulation on the earth’s surface, and involves multidisciplinary collaboration. This current analysis, based on high-precision 3D seismic data, well logs, and other drilling data, using quantitative characterization of the source-to-sink elements, documents that Archean-Proterozoic migmatitic granite, Cambrian-Ordovician carbonate and clastic rocks, and Mesozoic volcaniclastic rocks are developed in the Shaleitian uplift from south to north across large relief differences (up to 2300 m). The relief and size of the catchment in the source area were calculated by denudation recovery, time-depth conversion and high-resolution interpretation on seismic data. Three types of sediment-transporting channel system and 20 catchment areas ([Formula: see text]) were documented around the edges of the uplift: paleovalley channels, fault-controlled channels, and fault-transfer channels. The Paleogene sink is dominated by near-source coarse-grained depositional systems, with the lithofacies characteristics of low lake level (sand rich), lake transgressive (mud rich), and uplift period (sand rich). Three types of boundary conditions developed in the region of the Shaleitian uplift: fault-related steep-slopes (single or multiple), fault ramps, and slope patterns. The bedrock composition, catchment area, channel systems, and fault-border patterns in the Shaleitian uplift jointly controlled the types and scales of sedimentary sandbodies. The south Shaleitian tectonic zone functioned as a high-efficiency coupling system in which reservoir sandbodies were developed (extensive length distance, with well-sorted and round-grained sediments, but weak physical properties). The coupling system for the southwest and west Shaleitian tectonic zones is subordinate (near source and sand rich, sand and mud interbedded, and weak physical properties). The coupling system of the northeast Shaleitian tectonic zone is lowest in efficiency (relatively mud rich).