TY - JOUR

T1 - Non‐uniqueness and symmetry in stratigraphic interpretations

T2 - A quantitative approach for determining stratal controls

AU - Xiao, Jie

AU - Waltham, David

PY - 2019/8

Y1 - 2019/8

N2 - Different combinations of stratal controls could produce identical sequence architectures. Consequently, interpretations of the stratigraphic record, for example to infer paleo-climate and eustatic sea-level history, suffer from non-uniqueness. However, variations in the multiple controls can be encapsulated through discovery of all possible solutions to an interpretation. As this paper demonstrates, a single solution can be directly transformed into an alternative solution that leaves the expected geological outcomes unaltered, which can be regarded as the existence of symmetry in the interpretation. Repetitive application of the symmetry method can therefore allow additional solutions to be rapidly derived given an existing solution. The proposed method has been adapted to a stratigraphic forward model for interpreting the Baltimore Canyon stratigraphy. Modelling results have indicated the ranges of changes in relative sea-level, sediment supply and subaerial erosion from Oligocene to Mid-Miocene. Using these limits, it is possible to determine what appears to be true in the paleo-history, even when a solution is not unique.

AB - Different combinations of stratal controls could produce identical sequence architectures. Consequently, interpretations of the stratigraphic record, for example to infer paleo-climate and eustatic sea-level history, suffer from non-uniqueness. However, variations in the multiple controls can be encapsulated through discovery of all possible solutions to an interpretation. As this paper demonstrates, a single solution can be directly transformed into an alternative solution that leaves the expected geological outcomes unaltered, which can be regarded as the existence of symmetry in the interpretation. Repetitive application of the symmetry method can therefore allow additional solutions to be rapidly derived given an existing solution. The proposed method has been adapted to a stratigraphic forward model for interpreting the Baltimore Canyon stratigraphy. Modelling results have indicated the ranges of changes in relative sea-level, sediment supply and subaerial erosion from Oligocene to Mid-Miocene. Using these limits, it is possible to determine what appears to be true in the paleo-history, even when a solution is not unique.

U2 - 10.1111/sed.12549

DO - 10.1111/sed.12549

M3 - Article

VL - 66

SP - 1700

EP - 1715

JO - Sedimentology

JF - Sedimentology

SN - 0037-0746

IS - 5

ER -