Abstract
Deepwater stratigraphic architecture is a function of the processes that create it. Here two processes associated with sediment gravity flows are considered using experimental and numerical techniques. The first of these is the filling of diapiric minibasins by turbidity currents. The second is reworking associated with successive submarine debris flows. Seismic evidence has allowed the delineation of a process of "fill and spill" of the diapiric minibasins on the northern continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico. The process of filling is studied numerically and experimentally. A model is developed for determining the locus of sand deposition within a minibasin. The model indicates that even relatively continuous turbidity currents flowing into a minibasin may not be able to spill over to the next basin downdip until the basin in question is nearly full. This is due to the powerful effect of water detrainment within the basin as the sediment forms a settling interface. Seismic evidence concerning the reworking of debris flow deposits by successive debris flows is often ambiguous. In particular, it is often difficult to distinguish between reworking during flow events and post-depositional displacement. A series of controlled experiments reveals the mechanism of reworking, which is mostly displacement by pushing and folding. Reworking appears to be a punctuated process, with the accumulation of several deposits necessary before a major reworking event.