The effect of flexural isostasy on delta architecture: implications for the Mungaroo Formation

Abstract

The fluvio-deltaic Triassic Mungaroo Formation, North West Shelf (NWS) of Australia, hosts vast resources of hydrocarbons. However, the mechanisms that generated its 4-6 km monotonous infill architecture (colloquially known as layer cake stratigraphy) remain elusive. The vertical fluctuation between fluvial and shallow marine deposits indicates that accommodation was created simultaneously with deposition. This seems to suggest that the stratigraphic style of the Mungaroo formation was significantly controlled by the isostatic compensation of the sediment load. To test this we use a basin and landscape dynamics model, BADLANDS that combines fluvio-deltaic processes (erosion and sedimentation..