Sediment supply as a control on the variability of sequences: an example from the late Namurian of northern England

Abstract: Currently, variations in accommodation space are seen as the major control on facies stacking patterns and stratal geometries. This paper emphasizes the importance of the sediment supply variable through the use of a regional, stratal surface-based interpretation of the late Namurian stratigraphy of northern England. Late highstand palaeogeographies and stacking pattern variations highlight spatial and temporal variations in sediment supply, which promote the contemporaneous development of prograda-tional, aggradational and retrogradational stacking patterns. This questions the derivation of relative sea-level curves from specific stacking patterns and highlights the potential for miscorrelation in areas with major sediment supply variations. Keyw()rds: Carboniferous, England, sequence stratigraphy, deltas. Most sequence stratigraphic interpretations of clastic deposi-tional systems tend to stress variations in accommodation space as the major control on facies stacking patterns and stratal geometries. This emphasis so strongly underlies current sequence stratigraphic methodology that specific stacking pat-terns are linked to discrete segments of relative sea-leve