Impacts of variable channel hydraulics on the stratigraphic record: an example provided from the Tullig Sandstone, Western Irish Namurian Basin

River hydrodynamic conditions are modified where a system approaches its terminal basin, characterized by the onset of non-uniform "backwater" flow. A decrease in boundary shear stress in the backwater region reduces transport capacity and results in sediment deposition on the channel bed. Although such morphodynamic conditions are common in modern fluvial-deltaic channels, the extent to which these processes are prevalent in the stratigraphic record remains unclear. For example, a few studies documenting changes in fluvial sandstone channel dimensions and grain size distributions near a river terminus attributed this variability to backwater hydrodynamics. However, quantitative tests using morphodynamic models bolstered by a variety of field observations, which could then be linked to sediment depositional patterns and stratigraphy, have yet to be produced. Here we calibrate a one-dimensional river flow model with measurements of paleo-slope and channel depth, and use the output to constrain a sediment transport model, with data from the Tullig Sandstone in the Western Irish Namurian Basin. Based on the model results, our analyses indicate that: (1) backwater hydrodynamics influence the spatial variation of sandstone dimensions and grain size across the delta, and (2) backwater hydrodynamics drive channel bed aggradation and progradation of the river mouth for conditions of constant sea level. Field data indicate that the reach-average story thickness increases, and then decreases, progressing downstream over the backwater reach. Based on the inferred transport and depositional processes, the measured deltaic stratigraphy patterns shown here are assumed to be associated with backwater hydrodynamics, and are therefore largely autogenic in origin. These analyses indicate that non-uniform hydrodynamics can generate stratigraphic patterns that could be conflated as arising due to allogenic effects, based on traditional geometric or diffusion-based depositional models. Moreover, the signals of river hydrodynamics preserved in the stratigraphic record can be a useful tool for differentiating between short-term autogenic and long-term allogenic processes.