Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Evolution And Stratigraphic Architecture Of Marine Slope Gully Complexes: Monterey Formation (Miocene), Gaviota Beach, California, Kathleen Surpless, Richard Ward, Stephan Graham

Kathleen D. Surpless

Three small headlands in the sea cliffs west of Gaviota Beach, California, are the remnant fill of three discrete submarine gullies incised into the late Miocene submarine slope environment. These promontories provide excellent, three-dimensional exposure of the gully fill in outcrop, permitting documentation of their complex internal stratigraphic architecture. Detailed study of these exposures elucidates the sedimentologic processes that occur in the filling of slope gullies, guides interpretation of the acoustic records of otherwise unsampled modern gully systems on continental slopes, and provides insight into the heterogeneity that may characterize slope gully petroleum reservoirs. We develop a comprehensive facies scheme …