A FAULT-CONTROLLED DEPOSITIONAL MODEL FOR THE ABERYSTWYTH GRITS TURBIDITE SYSTEM

The Aberystwyth Grits Group was the first in a series of southerly-supplied sandstone-rich turbidite systems that invaded the Welsh Basin during the Telychian Stage (late Llandovery; Silurian). Structural and stratigraphical evidence indicates that deposition of the sand-dominated parts of the system was largely restricted to the east by a zone of syndepositional faulting, now marked by a major vergence divide. Downfaulting and reverse drag along the fault hangingwall created a bathymetric low, which focused deposition of high-density, sand-carrying turbidite flows and flow components, allowing substantial thicknesses of sediment to accumulate. In contrast, low-density, mud-rich turbidites were deposited over a wider area, enhancing the topographic relief generated by uplift above the fault footwall, to form a feature which restricted the spread of the coeval easterly-supplied turbidites of the Devil's Bridge Formation.