Subsurface and Outcrop Examination of the Capitan Shelf Margin, Northern Delaware Basin

Shelf sandstone reservoirs are becoming a more and more common exploration target. What they are, how they may be characterized, and how they differ from shoreline and deep-water deposits in the subject of this publication. Shelf sands and sandstone reservoirs are among the more poorly understood types of sandstones. Continental, shoreline and deep water sandstones have all been studied in much more depth than have shelf sands and sandstones. However, during the last fifteen years significant progress has been made in understanding shelf sands and sandstones. Studies of modern sediments have allowed us to understand many of the depositional processes active on the shelf. This book is intended to be an up-to-date summary of shelf processes and products. The papers are intended for those new to shelf sands and sandstones as well as the shelf specialist.
Depositional Facies and Cycles in Yates Formation Outcrops, Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico Available to Purchase
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Published:January 01, 1989
Abstract
Four outcrops in the Guadalupe Mountains are investigated in order to evaluate two current models that describe the depositional setting of siltstones and sandstones in the Upper Guadalupian, Yates Formation. The outcrops are described and placed in their relative position along a dip-oriented cross section that is representative of the Yates Formation on the Northwest Shelf. Facies relations and cyclic stratigraphic sequences suggest that the siliciclastics were transported across a very shallow to subaerially exposed shelf during eustatic sea-level low stands and were trapped on the shelf during subsequent sea-level rises. Clastics near the shelf margin were reworked during the sea-level rises.