Controls on the preservation of fluvial strata and implications for paleoenvironmental reconstructions

Liz Hajek, Vamsi Ganti

Over long timescales, the preservation of fluvial sediments is controlled by the balance of accommodation creation and sediment supply in alluvial basins. Recent work has shown that the kinematics and morphodynamics of fluvial systems over shorter timescales – including bedform, bar, and channel migration and avulsion – also play a significant role in the preservation of channel and floodplain deposits. Furthermore, discharge variability may serve to enhance fluvial preservation in some systems. Understanding controls on the preservation of fluvial strata provides important insight into i) the relative contributions of different types of fluvial processes reflected in the stratigraphic record, ii) potential bias and uncertainty in quantitative paleohydraulic reconstructions, iii) the nature of time preservation in alluvial strata, and iv) strategies for correlation and subsurface prediction in fluvial deposits. This session aims to highlight studies of controls on fluvial preservation and the impact of preservation on paleoenvironmental reconstructions of ancient fluvial landscapes. We invite contributions that use field, experimental, and/or numerical approaches to explore controls on preservation in fluvial strata and studies that consider how fluvial preservation may aid or inhibit paleoenvironmental interpretation from fluvial sediments.