DISCUSSION ON SLIDING FLOW OF CARBONATE AND ITS DEPOSITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

There develops a suit of conglomeratic carbonate sediments of gravitational flow origin in the slope facies zone of the early Triassic from southern Guizhou to western Guangxi. This kind of sediments contains a little calcareous clay matrix and pressolution phenomena are developed among the gravels. The sorting of the gravels is poor and the grains are orientationally arranged indicating sliding sedimentation. Judging from the facts observed in the fields and the results of laboratory experiments, we come to a conclusion that this kind of sediments must be resulted from massive flow caused by the sliding among gravels owing to the "lubricating and resistance reducing" effects of the small amount of calcareous mud matrix. On this basis, it is inferred as sediments of sliding flow and a preliminary study has been made on the origin and the supporting mechanism of the sliding flow. This paper also proposes that the carbonate sediments of sliding flow is a special indicator of carbonate slope facies.