Incised Valleys in Time and Space

This volume grew out of two SEPM-sponsored events, an SEPM Research Conference that took place in Casper, Wyoming, in 2002 and an SEPM Research Symposium that was held at the AAPG/SEPM Annual Meeting in 2003. Several other papers have been added to broaden the range of examples presented. The theme of the volume, "Incised Valleys in Time and Space", has been chosen because of the comparison of valleys of different ages and in different settings is a valuable approach to understanding the role of the many factors that interact to create the valley and to emplace the subsequent valley-filling deposits. Each example, whether modern or ancient, represents a real-world experiment that lacks the temporal and spatial scaling issues that inhibit the application of laboratory experiments. Of course, the dependent and independent variables cannot be "controlled" in natural systems, but our ability to deduce the approximate values of these quantities (e.g., subsidence, sediment supply, climate) is increasing continually, such that semiquantitative and even quantitative estimates can be made in some cases. Almost all of the papers in the volume discuss more than a single incised valley, comparing two or more contemporaneous valleys, or valleys of different ages in the same geographic area. Such comparisons bring similarities and differences into sharper focus than any collection of individual case studies could, and highlight the relative importance of the many factors that influence the resulting sedimentary succession.

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