Loop Head - Ross Formation - Deepwater Sand Sheets with Low Relief Channel Incision
Outcrops between Atlantic shore and north side of Shannon Estuary, Co Clare. These cliffs of the Ross formation are approximately 45-50 m. exposing deepwater sheet sand fan lobes with sparse shallow channeling. Elliot (2000) records how these are the thicker bedded, high net-to-gross, amalgamated sheet turbidites of the lower part of the Ross Sandstone formation turbidite system. shaley partings occur between many of the sands , compartmentalizing these them, separating them in terms of their potential reservoir quality from those above. Channeling may enhance vertical reservoir continuity between the stacked sheets, amalgamating them. At the Bridges of Ross exposure to the north, the fan lobes pass upward into a wide spread slumped sediment horizon. Note the monocline that dissects the line of cliffs from north to south.
Thanks to David Pyles for his helicopter overview of the Loop Head cliffs. Photos by Christopher Kendall, Peter Haughton and David Pyles.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013