Spatial distribution and temporal evolution of sediment transport pathway of deltaic deposits in a rift basin: an example from Liaodong Bay sub-basin, Bohai Bay, China

The Liaodong Bay sub-basin is a classic non-marine rift sub-basin in the Bohai Bay, northeastern China. The study area is located on the east side of Liaoxi uplift in the west slope of Liaodong Bay sub-basin. It sits on a draped anticline zone above the paleo-uplift and contains the second biggest offshore hydrocarbon field found in China to date. The sub-basin is bound to the west by the TanLu fault zone, the most active and largest fault active zone in eastern of China, and has been active from the Mesozoic to present. The spatial distribution and temporal evolution of the depositional systems in the lacustrine rift basin were significantly controlled by topography of paleo-uplift and the distribution of sediment transport pathways. Using 3D seismic and densely spaced well data, we systematically analysed the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of sediment transport pathway of the deltaic deposits in the SZ36-1 oilfield in the eastern slope of the Liaozhong sag. Two types of sediment transport pathway, including the fault relay ramps and erosional valleys, were recognised: (i) the fault relay ramps between two sub-parallel faults; and (ii) a series erosional valleys on the uplift, with V-', U-' or W-'shaped cross-sectional patterns. Seismic stratal slices reveal that the erosional valleys branch and converge from upstream to downstream. The paleomorphology of the Liaoxi uplift (e.g., erosional valleys and sub-uplifts) and their evolution control the depositional systems and the pattern of sediment dispersal in the rift lacustrine basin area. The research indicates that paleogeomorphology controlled the direction of sediment transport, the capacity and position of sediment accommodation, influenced the type of sedimentary micro-facies and the spatial distribution pattern of the sediments. Seismic stratal slices and paleogeography maps reveal the erosional valleys shrunk progressively with sedimentary fills, resulting in decreasing gradients of the depositional slope, and provide a gentle geomorphology for a large-scale fluvial-delta depositional system to develop.