Collaborative Research: Experimental and Theoretical Study of Linked Sedimentary Systems

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

The PIs will undertake a three-year program of coupled experimental and theoretical studies of the formation of continental-margin stratal patterns. The program will use the new experimental basin with a subsiding floor where baseline, sediment supply and subsidence rates can be controlled. The experiments will focus on linkages among dynamic sedimentary environments and the relation between morphodynamics and stratigraphy. The studies will test some of the existing models of strata formation. Theoretical modeling of the continental margin's response to controlling factors and the comparison of numerical models with the experimental results will form a basis for refining both types of data.