Lowstand rivers need not incise the shelf: An example from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, with implications for sequence stratigraphic models

Abstract

Research Article| January 01, 1998 Lowstand rivers need not incise the shelf: An example from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, with implications for sequence stratigraphic models Ken J. Woolfe; Ken J. Woolfe 1Marine Geophysical Laboratory, School of Earth Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Piers Larcombe; Piers Larcombe 1Marine Geophysical Laboratory, School of Earth Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Tim Naish; Tim Naish 1Marine Geophysical Laboratory, School of Earth Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Richard G. Purdon Richard G. Purdon 1Marine Geophysical Laboratory, School of Earth Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Ken J. Woolfe 1Marine Geophysical Laboratory, School of Earth Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Piers Larcombe 1Marine Geophysical Laboratory, School of Earth Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Tim Naish 1Marine Geophysical Laboratory, School of Earth Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Richard G. Purdon 1Marine Geophysical Laboratory, School of Earth Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1998) 26 (1): 75–78. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<0075:LRNNIT>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Ken J. Woolfe, Piers Larcombe, Tim Naish, Richard G. Purdon; Lowstand rivers need not incise the shelf: An example from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, with implications for sequence stratigraphic models. Geology 1998;; 26 (1): 75–78. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<0075:LRNNIT>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract A key tenet of many sequence stratigraphic models is that sea-level lowering causes widespread fluvial incision of the subaerially exposed continental shelf, and that river-borne terrigenoclastic sediments bypass the lowstand shoreline via canyons to the continental slope and basin floor. Consequently the occurrence of incised channels is considered a fundamental criterion for the recognition of sequence boundaries in ancient shelf successions. Contrary to this, we argue that rivers may not necessarily incise during glacio-eustatic lowstands if they flow out onto a coastal plain flanked by a broad, low-angle shelf. On the Great Barrier Reef shelf, fluvial incision did not occur during the last glacial maximum (LGM), but instead, subaerial accommodation was created and infilled as contemporary rivers graded to the "LGM-bayline." Incision was restricted to the lowstand shelf break, where canyons of limited extent formed by nickpoint retreat. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.