Marine and Petroleum Geology: John W. Counts, Lawrence Amy, Aggeliki Georgiopoulou, Peter Haughton

Marine and Petroleum Geology 132 (2021) 105184
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Marine and Petroleum Geology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpetgeo
A review of sand detachment in modern deep marine environments:

Analogues for upslope stratigraphic traps
John W. Counts a, b, c, *, Lawrence Amy b, c, Aggeliki Georgiopoulou c, d, Peter Haughton b, c
a
U.S. Geological Survey, Geology, Energy, And Minerals Science Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA, 20191, USA
b
School of Earth Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
c
Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG), O’Brien Centre for Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
d
School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton, Lewes Road, Cockcroft Building, BN2 4GJ, Brighton, United Kingdom
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: Isolated, detached sands provide opportunities for large-volume stratigraphic traps in many deepwater petro
Deepwater leum systems. Here we provide a review of the different types of sandbody detachments based on published data
Sand from the modern-day seafloor and recent (generally Quaternary-present), shallow-buried strata. Detachment
Sedimentation
mechanisms can be classified based on their timing of formation relative to deposition of the detached sandbody
Seafloor
Deposition
as well as their process of formation. Syndepositional detachment mechanisms include flow transformation
Petroleum associated with slope failure (Class 1), turbidity current erosion (Class 2), and contourite deposition (Class 3).
Seismic Post-depositional detachment is related to subsequent erosive processes and truncation of the pre-existing
Analog sandbody, either by submarine channels (Class 4), mass-transport events (Class 5), post-depositional sliding or
faulting (Class 6) or bottom currents (Class 7). Examples of each of these mechanisms are identified on the
modern seafloor, and show that detached sandbodies can form at different locations along the continental slope
and rise (from upper slope to basin floor), and between or within different architectural elements (i.e., canyon,
channels and lobes). This variation in formation style results in detached sands of highly variable sizes (tens to
hundreds of kilometres) and geometries across and along the depositional profile, which are dependent upon the
erosive and/or depositional processes involved, as well as the seafloor topography of the area in question. Whilst
modern seafloor systems may not always represent the final stratigraphic architecture in the subsurface, they
provide important insights into the development of detached sandbodies and therefore serve as potential ana
logues for subsurface stratigraphic traps.
1. Introduction decade Cretaceous and Tertiary deepwater turbidite complexes have

been extensively drilled in passive margin settings, especially on both
In deepwater environments, sandbodies may become physically de sides of the equatorial Atlantic (Flinch et al., 2009; Dailly et al., 2013;
tached from more extensive, proximal sandy deposits, leading to updip Kelly and Doust, 2016). Prominent recent discoveries with stratigraphic
pinchouts that have the potential to form stratigraphic traps for fluids in traps (pure or combined), include the offshore Ghana Jubilee Field
the subsurface. These traps are an important target for hydrocarbon (~600 MMBO) (Dailly et al., 2017), offshore Guyana Liza Field
exploration in many basins globally (Pettingill, 1998; Prather, 2003; (800–1400 MMBO) (Alleyne et al., 2018) and offshore Senegal Fan-1
Fugelli and Olsen, 2005; Biteau et al., 2014; Stirling et al., 2018; Dolson discovery (P50 of 950 MMBO) (Dolson et al., 2018).
et al., 2018; Zanella and Collard, 2018; Amy, 2019). This play type offers Widespread success in this play type, however, has been difficult to
the potential for giant world-class oil fields, making them a major focus replicate. For instance, Zanella and Collard (2018) note that out of
in deepwater drilling environments where high-rate, high- sixty-eight post-Jubilee exploration wells drilled on the African Trans
ultimate-recovery reservoirs are required to satisfy economic thresholds form Margin, only two resulted in development projects. The presence of
for commercial success (Weimer and Pettingill, 2007). Over the last a robust trap to prevent updip leakage of hydrocarbons is often
* Corresponding author. U.S. Geological Survey, Geology, Energy, and Minerals Science Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA, 20191, USA.
E-mail addresses: jcounts@usgs.gov (J.W. Counts), lawrence.amy@ucd.ie (L. Amy), a.georgiopoulou@brighton.ac.uk (A. Georgiopoulou), peter.haughton@ucd.ie
(P. Haughton).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2021.105184
Received 30 October 2020; Received in revised form 4 June 2021; Accepted 7 June 2021
Available online 11 June 2021
0264-8172/Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
J.W. Counts et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology 132 (2021) 105184
considered one of the highest risks associated with pinchout plays 2. Methodology and terminology
(Straccia and Prather, 1999; Prather, 2003; Fugelli and Olsen, 2005;
Loizou, 2014). The risks associated with updip pinchout of reservoirs on Literature on seafloor systems was reviewed in order to collate ex
the proximal parts of the depositional profile (upslope stratigraphic amples of detachment at the proximal updip edges of sandbodies in
traps sensu Amy, 2019) is likely to be especially high, given the potential recent deepwater systems. Examples of detachment discussed herein are
for relatively coarse-grained and continuous slope deposits in slope drawn from over 20 localities across the globe (Fig. 1). These span a
channel complexes or canyons. A failure analysis of recently wide range of geologic settings, including passive and active continental
(2008–2017) drilled stratigraphic prospects worldwide concluded that margins, active and inactive depositional systems of varying dominant
one of the major causes of geological failure is the lack of effective grain sizes, and differing proximity to fluvial sources. In this review, we
closures and seals (Zanella and Collard, 2018). Similarly, a 2015 have considered detachment along the depositional profile from the
assessment of exploration well failures in the UK North Sea found that a continental shelf-slope break to the abyssal plain, but have excluded
lack of seal or trap closure was a significant cause of failure (>50%) in shallow marine shelf environments. Here we focus on “recent” systems,
Jurassic deepwater turbidite prospects (Mathieu, 2018). These results including both deposits that are visible on the modern seafloor surface,
suggest that, despite significant advances in seismic imaging, the ability as well as those that are shallowly buried; and outcropping systems are
to predict deepwater stratigraphic prospects with robust closure and generally not considered in this review. Deeply buried (i.e., hundreds of
containment elements remains limited. meters or greater) examples of subsurface stratigraphic traps have
In this study, we provide a review of processes that can cause sand received detailed treatment elsewhere, including by Amy (2019), who
detachment on the seafloor, as suggested by data from modern and comprehensively reviewed and classified numerous examples. Direct
shallowly buried seafloor systems. Seafloor data is able to provide in comparison of the detachment mechanisms described herein with
formation on planform geometries over large areas (tens to hundreds of ancient outcropping deposits is often problematic due to the lack of
km2), usually difficult to achieve in outcrops, with higher resolutions oceanographic and geographic context and uncertainties in the specific
compared to industry seismic datasets. Furthermore, seafloor systems sedimentological processes involved at the time of deposition for the
may be more easily understood with regards to their depositional and latter. Additionally, ancient sandbodies often cannot be accurately
geologic setting, helping to constrain the location of detachment along assessed as being ‘detached’ due to the two-dimensional nature of their
the slope profile and the probable controls on formation. In this review, exposure. Inclusion of such examples would therefore necessitate a
we primarily focus on relatively large-scale, coarse-grained (sand and discussion of these uncertainties that is beyond the scope of this study.
gravel) sandbodies with updip terminations, either pinchouts or The concepts of attachment and detachment are applied in this paper
erosional truncations, that could offer analogues for large-scale upslope in a broader sense than generally considered in previous work which has
stratigraphic traps and giant oil/gas field potential in the subsurface. primarily focused on the morphological or stratigraphic continuity be
Examples presented here are generally Quaternary to present age, with tween slope channels and basin-floor fans or lobes due to sediment
the inclusion of selected older examples where necessary. The objectives erosion and bypass by turbidity currents (e.g., Mutti and Normark, 1987;
of this work are to: i) provide an overview of the methodology and Mutti, 1992; van der Mewe et al., 2014; Hansen et al., 2019; Wynn et al.,
terminology used to identify detached sandbodies in modern seafloor 2002a). “Detachment” is defined here as the lack of physical continuity
systems; ii) present a process-based classification scheme for different of slope or basin floor sands with more proximal sand-dominated (or
types of pinchout type exemplified by selected cases; and iii) discuss the other permeable) units, including shelf and fluvial deposits, caused by
processes and location of detachments along the depositional profile, the sediment erosion or by sediment “bypass” (non-deposition) by turbidity
effectiveness and preservation potential of different detachment mech currents or other sediment transporting flows. Sediment erosion may
anisms, the controls on detachment, and the implications for occur contemporaneously with deposition of the detached sandbody, or
exploration. by later events that sever the physical continuity between the up-dip and
Fig. 1. Global map (bathymetry/topography) of selected locations mentioned in this study. Sites color coded by detachment mechanism. Class numbers are defined
in more detail in Fig. 2; basemap from Amante and Eakins (2009). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the
Web version of this article.)
2
down dip sandbodies. For detachment to occur, depositional units or from the proximal shelf by a zone of non-deposition, erosion, or by de
elements (e.g., channel, lobes, sheets, drifts, etc.) must “pinchout” (i.e. posits of fine-grained sediment). “Post-depositional” detachment is the
gradually thin to zero or be abruptly truncated). A “detached deposi result of erosional truncation of an existing attached deposit. Each
tional system” (cf. “Type I of Mutti, 1985; see Van der Mewe et al., 2014, mechanism is described further below with examples from the modern
for a review of terminology) is a turbidite system with one or multiple seafloor and shallowly buried recent deepwater systems.
upslope-detachment points and in the subsurface would offer strati
graphic closure for hydrocarbon accumulation but not necessarily 3. Results
containment (i.e. robust base, lateral or top seal). In contrast, an
“attached depositional system” lacks any upslope detachment points 3.1. Syndepositional detachment processes and examples
from its distal margin to the fluvial or shelf feeder system and thus offers
no updip stratigraphic closure moving proximally upslope. 3.1.1. Class 1: Debris flow transformation
The examples described herein either contain sufficient data that Turbidity currents in the marine environment may be triggered by a
allow detachment of sands to have been interpreted by the original number of processes, including catastrophic slope failure (Mohrig and
author(s) of the cited work, or, where noted, inferred from our own Marr, 2003). In such events, turbulent mixing of mass flows or debris
analysis. Recognized seafloor examples of detached sandbodies are flows with ambient fluid is responsible for turbidity current generation
located downslope of zones of erosion or non-deposition (i.e., where the (Felix and Peakall, 2006) and hydrodynamic segregation of sand,
seafloor is composed of exhumed older sediments or bedrock) or mud- sometimes forming clean sands in more distal locations (e.g., Kastens,
prone facies (e.g., mass transport deposits). Seven main categories of 1984). Many of the largest mass-transport deposits on the seafloor (those
detachment were recognized. Detachment examples were classified, and with high volumes and wide spatial distributions) initially begin as slope
are described below, according to i) their timing of detachment relative failures, and often transition later into debris flows and then turbidity
to deposition, and ii) the processes responsible for detachment (Fig. 2). currents, (Fisher, 1983; see also for example Talling, 2014). Clean, sandy
“Syndepositional” detachment refers to scenarios in which the sandbody turbidites generated through this process can be detached by inter
in question is initially deposited in a state of detachment (i.e., separated vening updip mud-prone mass transport deposits (e.g., slumps and
Fig. 2. Top-tier classification of detachment mechanisms discussed in this paper. Classes are based on timing of detachment relative to initial sandbody deposition;
subclasses (discussed in text) are related to more specific processes and settings that may affect the morphology and sedimentological properties of the final deposit.
Red boxes in Classes 3 and 7 highlight specific process in questions (erosional vs. depositional). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the
reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
3
debrites) and, confined or sealed laterally by fine-grained deposition the Examples of large, detached, failure-generated turbidite deposits
open slope (Fig. 3A) or within a canyon or channel (Fig. 3B). These result with intervening debrites are well-documented in the modern subma
in different scales and morphologies of the failure zone, transfer zone, rine environment. For example, the Holocene reactivation of the Sahara
and resulting sandbody. Open slope failures may have a lower likelihood Slide headwall on the NW African margin (Fig. 3C and D) resulted in
of reattachment compared to in-canyon/channel failures, though the sandy turbidites at distances of over 700 km from the original source,
axes of canyons sometimes contain sand or gravel lags that may promote separated from the shelf by approximately coeval debrites and mud-rich
connectivity, especially in smaller events where the canyon is not hybrid event beds. In this case, the slope failure complex is comprised of
flushed completely. multiple headwall scarps, downdip of which are blocky, thin
Fig. 3. Illustration and examples of Class 1, detach

ment through flow transformation. A) Open-slope
failure unrelated to existing channel-canyon system,
creating large, sometimes basin-scale turbidite de
posits. B) Failure of steep canyon walls or upper
slopes, where sediments are directed into pre-existing
canyon and channel systems. Resulting turbidite de
posits overlie those in the channels and lobes that are
the result of previous turbidity currents. C) Map of the
Sahara Slide and Canary Debris Flow, offshore
northwest Africa, showing scale of deposits inter
preted to have undergone flow transformation and
location of cores containing evidence of differing
downslope processes. Modified from Georgiopoulou
et al. (2009, 2010) and Weaver et al. (1995). D)
Schematic cross-section A-A′ in Fig. 3C, showing
interpreted flow transformation process and slope
gradient for the Sahara Slide. Modified from Geor
giopoulou et al. (2010).
4
translational slide deposits as well as thick, poorly sorted debrites lengths of >10’s to >100 km, implying sustained bypass or erosion over
chaotically mixed with clasts of hemipelagic oozes and rare sands (Frenz a large area. The more proximal bypass zone occurs in association with a
et al., 2009; Georgiopoulou et al., 2009), each with kilometer-length channel-lobe transition zone (CLTZ), discussed further below. Another
scales. These intervening deposits separate the proximal shelf from example comes from the 2016 submarine sediment gravity flow that was
sandy turbidites on the basin floor that consist, in part, of massive or triggered by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake near Kaikōura, New Zealand.
slightly fining-upward, well sorted sands (Bouma Ta and Tb divisions This flow flushed Kaikōura canyon of 360–850 Mt of pre-existing sedi
shown in core profiles in Fig. 3C). A separate, but adjacent debris flow ment and eroded up to 40 m of the canyon floor before depositing a
event (the Canary Debris Flow, illustrated with a dashed outline in detached sandy turbidite downslope in the Hikurangi channel (Mount
Fig. 3C), also resulted in turbidite formation and the segregation of joy et al., 2018).
sands into distinct beds. In this example, deposits referred to as the “B”
turbidite are present on the Madeira Abyssal Plain (labelled in Fig. 3C) 3.1.2.2. Class 2B: Erosion on stepped and complex slope profiles. Erosion
distal to the outlined debrite (Masson et al., 1997; Weaver et al., 1995). and bypass may also occur locally on topographically complex slopes,
Other potential examples include the Storegga Slide complex (offshore where sands fill bathymetric lows on the seafloor but are not deposited
Norway), one of the largest submarine landslides known, which contains in intervening high-gradient areas (Smith, 2004; Brooks et al., 2018,
both updip debris flows (Haflidason et al., 2004) and turbidites with Fig. 4C). In this scenario, the detachment process is the same as that
internal sand-dominated units (Bugge et al., 1987). described in 2 A above, though the differing slope morphology leads to a
different geometry of both the detached deposit and the bypass zone.
3.1.2. Class 2: Turbidity current erosion and bypass The most well-known examples of this are in the Gulf of Mexico, where
The erosive power of turbidity currents is well established (Weaver salt withdrawal at depth creates seafloor depressions (minibasins) in
and Thompson, 1993; Mayall et al., 2006), and turbidity currents that which turbidite sands are ponded, forming thick, sandy reservoir de
bypass or erode proximal parts of their flow path have been identified in posits. Once accommodation is reduced or no longer available, sands
several ancient systems (e.g., Mutti, 1977; Brooks et al., 2018). This bypass and are transported into another downslope minibasin through
process can result in detached sandy turbidite deposits downdip of the incised channels (Fig. 4D; Winker, 1996). Bypass and erosion are com
bypass zone, each of which may have unique characteristics depending mon in these channels, allowing individual minibasin deposits to be
on the exact setting. detached from one another and from surrounding slope sediments
(Prather, 2003). Similarly, complex slope topography and stepped, de
3.1.2.1. Class 2A: Erosion and bypass in channels or canyons. In deep tached minibasins can also result from active margin tectonic processes.
water fan systems, sands may be detached when turbidity currents fully Imbricate thrust zones within accretionary terranes can result in mul
erode or completely bypass parts of the slope system, in contrast with tiple slope-parallel thrust ridges, separated by trench-slope minibasins
Class 1 where detachment occurs due to updip facies changes. In this in which sedimentation is concentrated; uplift of thrust ridges provides a
scenario, detachment may be considered the result of ‘high efficiency’ physical barrier to deposition, facilitating detachment. This scenario is
flows (sensu Mutti and Normark, 1987) that are able to locally transport exemplified on the Hikurangi margin (offshore New Zealand), where the
most of their sediment load basinward without significant deposition subducting Pacific plate creates an accretionary wedge and a
(Fig. 4A). Bypass and discontinuous deposition can happen within a minibasin-thrust ridge system on the eastern side of the island (Lewis,
channel itself when gradient changes in an uneven or stepwise fashion, 1980). Minibasin fill is dominated by fines, but periodically punctuated
as in the case of the Stromboli slope valley system (Gamberi and Marani, by thin, earthquake-triggered turbidites with basal sands, which are not
2007), or in the form of lobate bodies and/or spillover fans in always present on ridge highs (Lewis and Kohn, 1973).
low-gradient areas (Fig. 4B). Repeated erosional flows over time may
result in erosional or mixed (rather than depositional) submarine 3.1.2.3. Class 2C: Erosion within channel-lobe-transition zones. The CLTZ
channels (Clark and Pickering, 1996), expressed on the seafloor by a has often been considered an optimal location for enhanced erosion and
V-shaped cross-sectional morphology and lack of infill (Covault, 2011). sediment bypass and hence a possible detachment point. At this location,
However, channels preserved in the geologic record often show that changes in flow properties resulting from reduced gradient and/or lack
erosional cutting phases are sometimes followed by sediment back of channel confinement may force flows to thicken and slow, causing a
filling, a process that has complex allocyclic and autocyclic controls, hydraulic jump as they move onto the basin floor (Fig. 4E; Komar, 1971;
including base-level changes (MacPherson, 1978; Bruhn and Walker, Mutti and Normark, 1987; Wynn et al., 2002a; Pohl et al., 2019). The
1995; Cronin et al., 2005). Thus, while sands may be deposited in a enhanced turbulence associated with a hydraulic jump is inferred to be
detached state in the course of a single turbidity flow event, full an important process responsible for seafloor features with distinct
detachment of a turbidite lobe, lobe complex, or in-channel sand body morphologies (e.g., scours and bedforms) that characterise some CLTZs
requires that the process occur consistently and be preserved over time. (Normark and Piper, 1991; Wynn et al., 2002a).
Examples of systems with discrete abandoned channels and lobes are Examples of CLTZs and associated features have been documented
found in the modern Congo/Zaire (Babonneau et al., 2002; Manson, from several localities on the modern seafloor, including from early
2009, Picot et al., 2016), Mississippi (Stelting et al., 1986), Bengal studies using side-scan sonar imagery (Normark, 1978). However,
(Schwenk and Speiss, 2009; Emmel and Curray, 1983), and Amazon despite recent advances in the acquisition of seafloor sedimentological
(Pirmez and Flood, 1995; Jegou et al., 2008); at least some of these data, complete, detailed studies of CLTZs in modern environments (with
abandoned elements may be detached from their proximal sources. a full understanding of the processes and deposits involved) are still
Additionally, lobes in the Monterey fan system, offshore California, have uncommon. Wynn et al. (2002a) presented three case studies of CLTZs in
been interpreted as being detached (Fildani and Normark, 2004), of the Atlantic and Mediterranean: the Agadir, Lisbon, and Rhone systems.
fering a modern example of the process. Bypass and erosion can also be Scour morphology and scale differs across each of these systems, and the
demonstrated through bed-scale correlation of a deposit resulting from a size of the CLTZ is proportional to the size of the system, though all are
singular event, as has been documented in the Agadir Basin, offshore of on the order of 10’s of kilometres. Each zone contains erosive features,
Morocco, by Stevenson et al. (2015). Here, bypass is demonstrated by including isolated and amalgamated scours, lineations, and scarps. In
the absence of “Bed 5” (ca. 60 ka) within the axis of the northern dividual scours in these systems are <1–3 km long and 10’s m deep
Madeira Channel System, where its deposits (including fine-grained (Rhone neofan scours shown in Fig. 4F, from Bonnel et al., 2005), and
sands) are present both in more proximal and distal locations, sepa may coalesce into amalgamated scours up to 9 × 6 km, although these
rated by multiple bypass zones (Fig. 4B). These bypass zones may have may contain topographically elevated remnants of past deposits that
5
Fig. 4. Detachment related to erosion by turbidity currents. A) Illustration of in-channel or in-canyon bypass on the basin floor, occurring when the slope gradient
and grain size distribution of a flow favour erosion or non-deposition. B) An example of bypass in the Madeira turbidite system, where identifiable zones of bypass
occur between depositional areas. Modified from Stevenson et al. (2015). C) Illustration of bypass on topographically complex slopes, where sand may pond in
bathymetric lows and bypass slopes between. D) Sand thickness map of a series of salt-withdrawal minibasins in the Gulf of Mexico, showing bypass or reduced
thickness between individual basins. Modified from Winker (1996). (E) Illustration of channel-lobe transition zone (CLTZ) near the mouth of a submarine canyon. F)
Acoustic backscatter image showing possible CLTZ features in the Rosetta lobe of the Nile delta, as evidenced by differential backscatter at the ends of channels.
Modified from Migeon et al. (2010) G) Shaded swath bathymetry image showing CLTZ-related scour features in the Rhone Fan, western Mediterranean, from Bonnel
et al. (2005). H) Illustration of levee breaching and formation of a crevasse splay. I) Backscatter image of a deposit interpreted as a crevasse splay by Gardner (2017).
6
were not fully eroded. In the central and distal parts of CLTZs, patchily
distributed depositional features including sediment waves, mounds,
and sand streaks, may also occur such that the CLTZ is not purely an
erosional zone. MacDonald et al.’s (2011) catalogue of large-scale
erosional scours associated with CLTZs shows that individual scours
can be long-lived (up to 200 kyr) features and can be partially filled with
sediments that may comprise a combination of mass transport deposits,
sandy turbidites and intervening pelagic muds. In the Valencia Fan
(eastern Mediterranean), discontinuous scours are present in conjunc
tion with isolated sand ribbons and dunes (Palanques et al., 1995). These
examples generally show a proximal-distal transition from large to
smaller scours, to coarse-grained sediment mounds, to thin, streaky
reworked sands, and finally to more continuous lobe deposits. In the
most recent deepwater lobe of the Nile deep sea fan, the zone between
the most distal portion of the channel and the generally fine-grained
lobe is characterized by a smaller sandy lobate body (visible in back
scatter in Fig. 4G; Migeon et al., 2010) without clear evidence of
scouring or erosion. Erosion in CLTZs may therefore be incomplete, and
the spatial distribution of sediments likely to change with successive
flow events on account of variable flow characteristics, increasing con
nectivity risks.
3.1.2.4. Class 2D: Erosion or bypass associated with crevasse splay for Fig. 5. A) Schematic illustration of detachment by bottom currents, showing
mation. Breaching of levees in submarine channels can result in the erosive moat and deposition of deepwater sandy contourites. B) Subsurface
seismic amplitude image of kilometer-scale coarse-grained deposits (yellow and
deposition of basin-floor sands in the form of crevasse splays (Fig. 4H) or
red colours) in avulsion lobes. Sands can be reworked by bottom currents from
in the case of spillover due to flow stripping where sand is suspended
these lobes into separate sandbodies that are detached from the main lobate
above the levee crest (Piper and Normark, 1983). Detachment may deposit. Modified from Viana (2008), as seen in Rebesco et al. (2014). (For
occur due to erosion/bypass between the channel and the splay deposit, interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is
or by incomplete breaching of levees, where finer-grained levee deposits referred to the Web version of this article.)
may remain between the channel and splay deposits. Crevasse splays
have been observed on both the modern seafloor (Twichell et al., 1996), features are distributed around the mid-slope into a number of different
and in the shallow subsurface of the Gulf of Mexico (Posamentier et al., provinces, each of which is characterized by dominant morphologies
2007), the northeastern Pacific (Fig. 4I; Gardner, 2017) and the Bay of and sediment types. Contourite depositional systems with a sand
Bengal (Lowe et al., 2019) among other localities. In the Bay of Bengal, component may be present in the form of mounded, sheeted, or elongate
amplitude extraction from 3D seismic data reveals a possible zone of drifts, with scouring and erosional features also common throughout the
bypass in the area closest to the feeder channel, suggesting that splay region (Hernández-Molina et al., 2003). Meter-scale thick, continuous
sands may be detached (Lowe et al., 2019). Avulsion and crevassing may sands are seen in northern and southern arms of the Cadiz Contourite
be followed by further channel development atop the initial splay de Channel, with a general decrease in sand content away from channel
posit, with the latter preserved as a laterally extensive coarse-grained axes (Brackenridge et al., 2018). Other examples of sandy contourites
unit that forms a repeated component of channel architecture (high- are found in the Gulf of Mexico (Shanmugam et al., 1993), the Argentine
amplitude reflection packet, or HARP) in, for example, the Amazon fan continental margin (Bozzano et al., 2011), and in the subsurface
system (Flood et al., 1991; Damuth, 2002). (Pleistocene; location unrecorded); (Viana, 2008). The subsurface
example illustrates the preservation potential of the mechanism, with a
3.1.3. Class 3: Bottom current deposition and winnowing complex of avulsion lobes that have been reworked into smaller, irreg
Once in the marine environment, sand-sized particles may be ular sandbodies (Fig. 5B). These examples each have deposits related to
remobilized and redeposited by deepwater bottom currents, forming both bottom current and turbidity flow processes, forming mixed
bottom-current reworked sands (BCRS) (de Castro et al., 2020), which systems.
may be isolated in the deep sea and detached from their original sedi
ment input source. Sands are often sourced from nearby turbidite sys
tems, and bottom currents often interact with downslope turbidity 3.2. Post-depositional detachment processes and examples
currents at transverse angles to form mixed or hybrid systems within a
basin (Fig. 5A; Rebesco et al., 2014; Faugères and Mulder, 2011). De A number of mechanisms involving erosion and/or reworking may
tached sands may form at multiple locations within these types of sys detach sands after their initial seafloor deposition. These processes
tems, including the upper and middle slope as slope-parallel currents generally involve only limited depths of erosion to several tens of me
strip sediment from downslope flows and transport it laterally along ters, and typically occur at time scales of 0 (near-instantaneous) up to
contourite-generated terraces. Similar processes occur in more distal 106 years.
locations (i.e., on the lower slope) due to reworking of turbidite lobes
(de Castro et al., 2020). Winnowing of fines by bottom currents 3.2.1. Class 4: Erosion by slope turbidite channels
throughout turbidite systems potentially improves reservoir quality of On the lower slope, many canyons transition into sinuous deepwater
both attached and detached sands (e.g., Fonnesu et al., 2020). channels, which can continue basinward for hundreds or even thousands
Detached sandy contourites have been well-documented in the Gulf of kilometres (Covault et al., 2012) and may incise tens of meters into
of Cadiz (Nelson et al., 1993; Hernández-Molina et al., 2003; Llave et al., the seafloor (e.g., Babonneau et al., 2010; Deptuck and Sylvester, 2018).
2007; Brackenridge et al., 2018; de Castro et al., 2020), where The crosscutting of one submarine channel by another provides a po
mixed-source sediment is moved and redeposited by currents of Medi tential mechanism for the detachment of downdip basin-floor sands. In
terranean Outflow Water exiting the Strait of Gibraltar. Here, contourite this scenario, complete detachment requires: 1) the abandonment of the
initial, earlier sand-dominated channel, 2) crosscutting and erosion by a
7
subsequent channel, to a level deeper than the initial channel, and 3) the processes with some translational component can be found both in the
filling of the later crosscutting channel with muddy deposits conducive subsurface and in more recent settings. International Ocean Discovery
to seal formation (Fig. 6A). In such scenarios, however, many opportu Program (IODP) core acquired within the Tuaheni Landslide Complex
nities exist that may allow detachment to be compromised. Most (offshore New Zealand) reveals the presence of undeformed or lightly
notably, submarine channels often contain coarse-grained lags or bars deformed bedding, including meter-scale beds of sands, within a large
emplaced along their length (Janocko et al., 2013), even those consid MTD that originated on the Hikurangi margin (Pecher et al., 2017;
ered to be in a bypass or erosional regime. Additionally, sands may be Couvin et al., 2020). Bedding (including sands) is interpreted to remain
deposited outside of channel axes through flow stripping and crevassing. relatively organized due to its inclusion in undisturbed or incipiently
If such deposits were continuously present in or around the later slumped blocks of stratified sediment that are transported downslope by
crosscutting channel, they may result in a persistent attachment. the MTD (Fig. 8B), which terminates into a headward scarp (Couvin
On the modern seafloor and in the shallow subsurface, mapped et al., 2020). In the Porcupine Basin offshore of western Ireland, sub
submarine channels within fan systems show numerous instances where surface data has revealed downslope slumping of Lower Cretaceous
younger channels intersect previously abandoned channel segments (e. sediments, creating an upper slope detachment zone that can clearly be
g., those in Fig. 6B; Jegou et al., 2008). However, neither the degree of seen to separate slope deposits from those more proximal (Pedley et al.,
incision nor the nature of channel fill is always clear in these types of 2015, Fig. 8C). RMS amplitude extraction maps for individual horizons
data sets. Evidence for mud-filled channels that crosscut sand-filled show detached lobate bodies interpreted as turbidites; amplitude
channels is best observed in older subsurface systems, where infilling brightening associated with updip closure may suggest the presence of
sediment character along a continuous area can be inferred from seismic potential reservoirs created by this type of stratigraphic trap.
reflection amplitudes (e.g., Fig. 6C).
3.2.4. Class 7: Erosion by bottom currents
3.2.2. Class 5: Erosion by mass transport events Bottom currents may also be responsible for erosion, which may be
Slope failures and subsequent mass transport processes can result in considered distinct from the reworking and reposition described in Class
decameters of erosion on the seafloor of many 10s of metres depth 3. Bottom currents may also erode and winnow fine-grained sediments,
(Eggenhuisen et al., 2010; Dakin et al., 2013; Sobiesiak et al., 2018), and leaving behind sands and coarse-grained particles (Stow et al., 2008). In
can therefore isolate and detach previously deposited sands from the the Gulf of Cadiz, bottom currents are observed to be responsible for
shelf and slope. Mass transport deposits (MTDs), for example, have been deep, erosive, slope-parallel channels and/or moats (100’s of meters
observed to locally erode the proximal portions of slope channels and deep on the present-day seafloor) at the base of slope where currents
lobe complexes, resulting in distal sands that are decapitated from their associated with the Mediterranean Upper Water are forced against the
source through slope erosion and the emplacement of large-scale MTD slope by the Coriolis effect (Figs. 5A and 9; see Rebesco et al., 2014, and
(Fig. 7A). Hernández-Molina et al., 2008 for a review). These linear channels and
Channels terminating updip into MTD and slope failure scars can be moats may separate deposits of the lower slope from those on the upper
clearly seen in the western Nile delta near the Rosetta lobe (Fig. 7B). slope and shelf, including many sandy mixed contourite/turbidite de
Here, multiple slope failures during the Pleistocene-Holocene triggered posits (Hernández-Molina et al., 2016); their slope-parallel orientation
a series of mass transport events originating from east of the Rosetta increases the likelihood that they will intersect sand-dominated down
canyon (Garziglia et al., 2008). While the most recent, active channel is slope delivery systems. Slope contourites in the Argentine Basin are also
not affected by the slide, at least two well defined paleochannels separated from the shelf and upper slope by linear erosive zones; instead
(channel-levee systems 3 and 5 of Garziglia et al., 2008) have portions of of terminating in a basal lobe, slope canyons abruptly disappear into a
their channel axes completely removed by mass transport events. These series of slope-parallel contouritic channels caused by the northward
channels are inferred to be sand-filled downdip of MTD erosion and to flow of Antarctic Bottom Water (Hernández-Molina et al., 2009), illus
terminate distally in sandy lobes (Ducassou et al., 2009). Moscardelli trating their capability to erode sand. Like Class 4, long-term detach
et al. (2006) also document erosional scours up to 30 m deep that were ment due to bottom current erosion is dependent upon the filling of
formed by large mass transport events in offshore Venezuela, helping channels, moats or other eroded zones with fine-grained sediment; this
quantify the magnitude of erosion resulting from these processes. would require some degree of reorganization of bottom currents and a
Erosive mass transport events can also occur within submarine cessation of sand input from the slope.
canyons rather than on open slopes. These are more likely to interact
with existing fan systems, although given their smaller volume, they are 4. Discussion
unlikely to completely destroy the upper parts of sandy turbidite com
plexes. In-canyon wall failures are present in most submarine canyons Previous work on sand detachment in deep-marine environments has
(e.g., Iacono et al., 2011; Chaytor et al., 2009; Janocko et al., 2013; He principally considered connections between seafloor channels and lobes,
et al., 2014, Gardner et al., 2016, and many others), though due to their as dictated by erosion and bypass processes in turbidity currents (Mutti
smaller scale, they are more likely to simply impede connectivity by and Normark, 1987; Mutti, 1992; Wynn et al., 2002a; Van der Merwe
partially eroding and blocking parts of sandy deposits rather than et al., 2014; Stevenson et al., 2015). Here, we have reviewed existing
detaching downdip sands. literature on modern seafloor systems in order to broaden and classify
the range of marine sedimentary processes that can result in updip ter
3.2.3. Class 6: Translational failure of upper slope sandy systems minations of sandbodies based on the process and timing of detachment
Sandbodies deposited onto continental slopes in canyon floors, (Fig. 2). The occurrence of one or more of these processes are a pre
channels and associated deposits, or as lobate bodies may become requisite for the formation of large-scale stratigraphic traps in the sub
disconnected from the proximal shelf if the slope fails (Fig. 8A). In this surface, however, each process may differ in its effectiveness, location
case, we assume that relatively limited internal deformation or disag and preservation potential; all are factors to consider when evaluating
gregation occurs, and that turbidite sandbodies maintain their original trapping risk.
characteristics and reservoir viability. Unlike Class 5, in which the sand
body is truncated by an erosive MTD, here, failure may occur along a 4.1. Detachment effectiveness
subsurface glide or shear plane, or early syndepositional fault, and the
entire sand body may be translated basinward while still maintaining Formation of a robust pinchout or truncation is key to effective
coherency. Detached sands may be contained within slides, slumps, or as detachment. Based on observations reported here, some mechanisms are
coherent blocks within MTDs. Examples of basinward transport considered to be more likely to result in complete detachment than
8
Fig. 6. A) Illustration of the process of crosscutting of submarine channels in a

fan system. Older channel (1) has been backfilled by sand but is being crosscut
by erosional channel (2), which may be abandoned before backfilling occurs,
leading to detachment of lobe (1) as the second, newer channel is filled by fines.
B) Composite map of channels in the deepwater Amazon fan system and
associated features. Instances of crosscutting highlighted in red; however, li
thologies and depths of incision are unrecorded. Modified from Jegou et al.
(2008), Pirmez et al. (1997), Flood et al. (1995), and Damuth et al. (1988). C)
Examples of presumably mud-filled channels in the subsurface that crosscut
sandier channel or fan systems. Upper example (RMS amplitude extraction map
and seismic line) modified from Mayall et al. (2006); location unrecorded.
Lower example (AVO) from the North Atlantic Porcupine Basin (Providence
Resources, 2016), showing bright-amplitude fan deposit cut by later mud-filled
channel (white). Neither exact depths nor locations recorded for either
example. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the
reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
others. These more effective mechanisms include flow-transformation-

related sands (Class 1), especially where downdip clean sands are
separated from shelf sediments by slope collapse zones (MTDs) and
failure scars. Detachments related to MTD erosion (Class 5), where mud-
prone mass flows with seal capacity create deep erosion (e.g. Cardona
et al., 2016), should also form robust detachments. Conversely, while
the CLTZ has been discussed as an optimal site of potential detachment
(Mutti and Normark, 1987; Mutti, 1992; Wynn et al., 2002a; Van der
Merwe et al., 2014; Stevenson et al., 2015), seafloor data indicates that
CLTZ zones are not always present between channel and lobes. When
present, CLTZ’s may contain sand and gravel deposits, often in between
or within erosional scours and small channels (Wynn et al., 2002b;
Stevenson et al., 2015; Postma et al., 2016). Moreover, some CLTZ ex
amples, such as those seen in the Rosetta lobe of the Nile system (Migeon
et al., 2010) are not wide enough to separate channel from lobe deposits.
Given the dynamic nature of this zone, CLTZs may be preserved as
continuous or semi-continuous lag deposits, which have been identified
in outcrop (Van der Merwe et al., 2014; Postma et al., 2015; Hofstra
et al., 2018). Outcrop data suggest relatively high net sand values for
interpreted CLTZ deposits and greater lateral continuity than channel
and lobe deposits (Fryer and Jobe, 2019). Thus, we suggest that
CLTZ-related stratigraphic traps be considered high risk; a supposition
also supported by the lack of examples of stratigraphically trapped
producing reservoirs associated with CLTZ pinchouts (Amy, 2019).
Another critical factor for stratigraphic trapping potential is the
overall amount of net sand in the slope system. Whilst higher net-to-
gross, active margin systems afford better reservoir potential, it may
significantly compromise the chance of stratigraphic trapping (Reading
and Richards, 1994). Analysis of seafloor systems shows that relatively
coarse-grained systems, despite having high gradient slopes, likely have
limited updip pinchout potential. For instance, sands and gravels appear
to form a continuous body of sand and/or gravel within the axes of slope
canyons and channels in the cases of the Var (Klaucke et al., 2000) and
Monterey (Paull et al., 2005) systems. However, detachment of small
scale sandbodies might occur locally in these systems, as associated with
cyclic steps on the Var ridge (Migeon et al., 2000; Cartigny et al., 2011).
Passive margins often favour the development of large, muddy fan sys
tems (Reading and Richards, 1994; Bouma, 2004). Such muddier sys
tems should be more prone to bypass, since it is easier for currents to
suspend and bypass finer-grained particle sizes promoting erosional
regimes on slopes (Mutti and Normark, 1987; Amy & Dorrell, in review),
however, they will also be prone to lower reservoir potential due to the
overall increased amount of fines in the system.
In both detachment scenarios related to bottom-currents, the specific
sediment inputs, current directions and velocities, and basin topography
preclude an overall assessment of detachment effectiveness. Bottom-
(caption on next column) current erosion, however, may be generally more effective and pre
dictable than deposition (assuming the presence of existing sands) as it is
known to occur in slope-parallel moats and channels that may have
9
Fig. 7. A) Schematic illustration of detachment processes and resulting depositional products due to mass-transport erosion. Pre-existing sandy channels and lobes
are shown being decapitated by a large MTD originating from the upper slope. B) Example of the mechanism described in (A), near the Rosetta lobe of the Nile Delta
and Fan in the eastern Mediterranean. Note defined channels terminating proximally into MTD. Modified from Garziglia et al. (2008).
significant relief and temporal persistence (Stow et al., 2008). failure and turbidity current erosion-bypass related detachments. Pre
vious studies using seismic analysis have also made this inference (e.g.,
4.2. Detachment location Hadler-Jacobsen et al., 2005). However, given the complex nature of
these phenomena, there may not be a simple correlation between
The amount and coverage of geophysical data currently does not gradient and slope failure location (e.g., McAdoo et al., 2000; Krastel
allow a quantitative analysis of whether detachment is more likely to et al., 2012; Urlaub et al., 2015). Similarly, though turbidity current
occur in certain locations along the slope, or along certain margin types. erosion and bypass is dictated by the equilibrium profile (Kneller, 2003;
However, while the nature and location of each individual detachment Georgiopoulou and Cartwright, 2013; Amy & Dorrell, in review; Crisó
zone is specific to the sedimentary, physiographic, and oceanographic stomo-Figueroa et al., in press), modern systems suggest that detached
system in which it occurs, some generalizations can be made about the sandbodies related to turbidite erosion (Class 2 A, for example) form
most likely location of erosive, bypass, or transfer zones based on near both higher-gradient active margins as well as on low-gradient
knowledge of the processes involved. Fig. 10A schematically illustrates passive margins (e.g., Congo fan system; Babonneau et al., 2010)
and summarizes the various detachment mechanisms discussed here, (Fig. 10A). Topographic relief leading to ponding and erosion can also
and their relative locations on the continental margin. The review pre be generated locally by different underlying causes (e.g., salt-related
sented here shows that detached sandbodies (depicted in yellow) can subsidence, or deep tectonic processes expressed on the seafloor).
occur widely across the slope, both in profile and laterally on different Similarly, syndepositional sliding and faulting (detachment by trans
margin types. Ultimately, detachment, or lack thereof, is controlled by lational failure) is likely present on continental slopes of both active and
several factors, including: 1) the grain size and sorting of input sediment, passive margins, depending on the gradient and rheology of the slope
2) the height, frequency, and variability of the flows involved, 3) the sediment itself. The final result—detachment in Classes 2 A, 2 B, and
status of the system relative to its equilibrium profile, i.e., whether the 6—is therefore present across a variety of geologic settings.
geometry of the system favours erosion or deposition, 4) the erosive Aside from those processes related to turbidity currents, the con
capability of submarine landslides, and 5) the intensity and direction of trolling factors behind other mechanisms may also lead to them to occur
bottom currents. These are in turn controlled by the larger-scale more frequently in certain settings. Channel crosscutting is most often
geologic and oceanographic setting of the area in question (e.g., active found in the middle and distal portions of deepwater fans, where
vs. passive margins; Fig. 10A), which affect the overall margin geo channels are highly meandering and prone to avulsion. Sand bed
morphology, the slope gradient, the frequency of earthquakes and vol deposition resulting from flow transformation necessitates that the
canic eruptions, and the shelf width. Pinchout location is controlled by sediments incorporated into the initial failure contain a substantial
detachment mechanism and thus, a priori, upper slopes of active margins portion of sand-sized sediment, most likely on active margins or in the
with high gradients might be expected to be probable sites for slope vicinity of large fluvial inputs. Conversely, long-term detachment
10
Fig. 8. A) Schematic illustration of translational slope failure processes, in which sandy units maintain their coherency (but may be deformed) while still moving
downslope and becoming detached from the shelf and/or upper slope. B) Downdip seismic line showing failure of the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand, and formation
of the Tuaheni Landslide Complex. Unit II (orange) contains deformed, fining-upward sand beds, separated from the more proximal slope by the failure scarp shown
here. Modified from Couvin et al. (2020). C) Subsurface horizon with RMS amplitude extraction, showing downslope slumping and detachment of Cretaceous
sediments, offshore Ireland. Modified from Pedley et al. (2015). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web
version of this article.)
Fig. 9. Dip-oriented seismic line showing bottom-current erosion in the form of a slope-parallel moat in the Gulf of Cadiz, southern Portugal. Note also the presence
of onlapping contourite deposits and interaction with turbidites, which frequently co-occur with deepwater bottom-current erosion. Modified from Hernández-
Molina et al. (2010).
necessitates that failure scars be healed by fine-grained sediments, a inherent risk when considering their probability of forming reservoirs or
point that emphasizes the complex nature of detachment and the traps, ancient examples (known from subsurface or outcrop) of each
disconnect between the modern environment and the geologic record. mechanism are present in the geologic record (Fig. 10B). As outlined for
Finally, bottom-current related detachment should be most prominent post-depositional detachment classes, initially attached systems may
on the margins of large open basins and portions of the slope profile evolve to become detached due to subsequent erosion. The opposite may
impinged upon by strong bottom currents, including in and around large also occur, where detached systems become attached prior to burial,
contouritic terraces (de Castro et al., 2020; Hernández-Molina et al., posing a key risk for stratigraphic trap formation. This evolution may
2018). occur, for instance, in cases where detachment is associated with
erosion/bypass by turbidity currents in channel reaches or in the prox
4.3. Preservation potential imal lobe (Class 2 A). Changes in flow parameters through time may
reduce the ability of flows to transfer their coarse load basinward, as
Although each of the mechanisms described here carries some related to their efficiency or equilibrium slope (Mutti, 1992; Kneller,
11
Fig. 10. A) Schematic illustration of the various detachment processes discussed in this review, and their most likely locations on the slope. Not to scale. B)
Table outlining primary (though not all) risks for associated sand detachment for each process, and examples in the geologic record (subsurface or outcrop) where
deposits affected by each process have been preserved. Referenced publications include Capella et al. (2017), Diaz et al. (2011), Faugeres et al. (1999), Godo (2006)
and Henstra et al. (2016).
2003). This process can result in phases of backfilling of erosional along the slope profile, from the upper to the lower slope (Amy, 2019).
conduits with coarse material, as described by evolutionary models for Anecdotally, the significant potential for deepwater stratigraphic traps
canyon and channel stratigraphic development (e.g., Gardner et al., in the subsurface is supported by the recent assessment that more oil and
2000; Samuel et al., 2003; Dalla Valle and Gamberi, 2011; Bain and gas have been discovered in upslope stratigraphic traps than any other
Hubbard, 2016; McArthur and McCaffrey, 2019). Preservation of de type (Myers, 2020). However, it should be noted that only a relatively
tached lower slope or basin floor sandbodies may thus be contingent on small number (~20) of producing fields with upslope stratigraphic traps
the inhibition of backfilling processes. Recent work shows the potential have been reported (Amy, 2019). The paucity of field examples may be
for updip migration of coarse-grained bedforms under supercritical flow attributed to a range of factors, including those that are not geological in
conditions in channels and channel-lobe settings that may facilitate the nature (i.e., confidentiality and/or commercial and exploration
development of updip thief lags or backfill feeder conduits (e.g., Postma strategy).
et al., 2014; Vendettuoli et al., 2019). Similarly, slope failure-related
detached sandbodies (Classes 1 and 6) may become reattached if slope 5. Conclusions
systems continue to deliver coarse material to the area of detachment or
become sites of slope incision exploited by new conduits (e.g., in the The wide array of detached sandbody types found on the modern
Rockall Trough; Elliot et al., 2006). deep seafloor and in the shallow subsurface defines the range of possible
Producing fields with upslope stratigraphic traps demonstrate that stratigraphic closures in buried deepwater systems. Detachment may
the mechanisms described here may be preserved over geologic time occur simultaneously with the event(s) that deposit sandbodies them
spans. Known examples of fields indicate that viable traps can be pro selves, or by subsequent erosive processes that can disconnect initially
duced by detachment Classes 2, 4, 5 and 6 of this study. These include attached systems. Deepwater syndepositional detachment processes
reservoirs whose updip pinchouts are inferred to have been produced by include flow transformation (Class 1), turbidity current erosion (Class
turbidity current bypass (e.g., Alba, Buzzard, and Young North fields) 2), and deposition of sands by bottom currents (Class 3). Post-
and post-depositional erosion by submarine channels (e.g., Marlim, depositional detachment processes include erosional turbidite chan
Marlim Sul, and Shwe fields) or mass transport erosion (e.g., Bud, nels (Class 4), truncation by mass-transport deposits (Class 5), down
Nautilus, Pabst fields) (Amy, 2019). Plays exploiting contourites have slope translational movement due to slope failure (Class 6), and erosion
also been identified by Shanmugam et al. (1993). Examples of com by bottom currents (Class 7). The diversity of these processes results in
mercial hydrocarbon volumes trapped in pinchouts associated with the detachment zones that vary in size and effectiveness, and in detached
other detachment mechanisms (Classes 1, 3 and 7) are lacking; sands that may occur throughout the slope profile and across margin
conspicuously absent are examples of producing fields of upslope types. Whilst recent systems may not represent the final stratigraphic
stratigraphic traps associated with CLTZ processes. As found in modern architecture, they provide important insights into the development of
systems, upslope pinchouts in stratigraphically trapped fields occur detached sandbodies that offer stratigraphic-trap potential in analogous
12
subsurface systems. Couvin, B., Georgiopoulou, A., Mountjoy, J.J., Amy, L., Crutchley, G.J., Brunet, M.,
Cardona, S., Gross, F., Böttner, C., Krastel, S., Pecher, I., 2020. A new depositional
model for the Tuaheni landslide complex, Hikurangi margin, New Zealand.
Declaration of competing interest Geological Society, London, Special Publications 500 (1), 551–566.
Covault, J.A., Fildani, A., Romans, B.W., McHargue, T., 2011. The natural range of
submarine canyon-and-channel longitudinal profiles. Geosphere 7 (2), 313–332.
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
Covault, J.A., Shelef, E., Traer, M., Hubbard, S.M., Romans, B.W., Fildani, A., 2012.
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence Deep-water channel run-out length: insights from seafloor geomorphology.
the work reported in this paper. J. Sediment. Res. 82 (1), 21–36.
Crisóstomo Figueroa A., McArthur A.D., Dorrell R.M., Amy L.A., McCaffrey W.D., (in
press). A new modelling approach to sediment bypass prediction applied to the East
Acknowledgements Coast Basin, New Zealand. GSA Bulletin. ([accepted; details added upon final
publication]).
This research was funded by the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Cronin, B.T., Akhmetzhanov, A.M., Mazzini, A., Akhmanov, G., Ivanov, M., Kenyon, N.
H., 2005. Morphology, evolution and fill: implications for sand and mud distribution
Geosciences (iCRAG) and University College Dublin. Additional support in filling deep-water canyons and slope channel complexes. Sediment. Geol. 179
was provided during manuscript drafting by the United States Geolog (1–2), 71–97.
ical Survey. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive Dailly, P., Henderson, T., Hudgens, E., Kanschat, K., Lowry, P., 2013. Exploration for
cretaceous stratigraphic traps in the gulf of Guinea, west Africa and the discovery of
purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. the jubilee field: a play opening discovery in the tano basin, offshore Ghana.
The authors would like to thank Dr. Josh Long, Evan Bargnesi, Associate Geological Society, London, Special Publications 369 (1), 235–248.
Editor Dr. Roberto Tinterri, and reviewers Dr. Javier Hernández-Molina Dailly, P., Henderson, T., Kanschat, K., Lowry, P., Sills, S., 2017. The Jubilee Field,
Ghana: Opening the Late Cretaceous Play in the West African Transform Margin.
and Dr. Fabiano Gamberi for helpful reviews and comments. Dakin, N., Pickering, K.T., Mohrig, D., Bayliss, N.J., 2013. Channel-like features created
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Marine and Petroleum Geology 132 (2021) 105184

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