Sequence stratigraphy of the Viking Formation in central Alberta

The late Albian Viking Formation was deposited in a foreland basin depositional setting in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The Viking Formation is currently defined on the basis of lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic nomenclature. Both models reside at too broad of a hierarchal scale to facilitate within-field correlations, resulting in an over generalized framework for a significant hydrocarbon producing unit in Alberta. This study proposes a sequence stratigraphic framework for the Viking Formation that utilizes the 4-systems tract nomenclature for the deposits in central Alberta. A high-resolution approach to mapping facies distributions that comprise systems tracts has been undertaken in order to create a regionally consistent model. The result of this work is the identification of four sequences of Viking deposition, with the majority of the work focusing on Sequence 2 due to is stratigraphic and structural complexities. The Viking Formation is mapped at two hierarchal levels that are independent of the scale of study. Low-frequency genetic stratigraphic sequences and high-frequency genetic stratigraphic sequences are both documented in the study area, with the higher-frequency expressions forming the overall stacking patterns of the lower-frequency expressions. By mapping at such a resolution, it was possible to discern two unique stratigraphic architectures preserved in the Viking: i) over-thickened units related to tectonic activity; and ii) coeval deposition of transgressive and regressive units. This thesis discusses the integral role that tectonic activity had on the architecture of the systems tracts deposited during Viking time. Only by recognizing the effect that tectonic activity had on deposition can one accurately map the orientation and distribution of systems tracts in the Viking Formation.