Disconnected submarine lobes as a record of stepped slope evolution over multiple sea-level cycles

The effects of abrupt changes in slope angle and orientation on turbidity current behavior have been investigated in numerous physical and numerical experiments and examined in outcrop, subsurface, and modern systems. However, the long-term impact of subtle and evolving seabed topography on the stratigraphic architecture of deep-water systems requires fine-scale observations and extensive 3-D constraints. This study focuses on the Permian Laingsburg and Fort Brown formations, where multiple large sand-rich systems (Units A–F) have been mapped from entrenched slope valleys, through channel-levee systems, to basin-floor lobe complexes over a 2500 km2 area. Here, we investigate three thinner (typically