Markov Chain analysis of turbiditic facies and flow dynamics (Magura Zone, Outer Western Carpathians, NW Slovakia)

Markov Chain analysis of turbiditic facies and flow dynamics (Magura Zone, Outer Western Carpathians, NW Slovakia)Methods based on the Markov Chains can be easily applied in the evaluation of order in sedimentary sequences. In this contribution Markov Chain analysis was applied to analysis of turbiditic formation of the Outer Western Carpathians in NW Slovakia, although it also has broader utilization in the interpretation of sedimentary sequences from other depositional environments. Non-random facies transitions were determined in the investigated strata and compared to the standard deep-water facies models to provide statistical evidence for the sedimentological interpretation of depositional processes. As a result, six genetic facies types, interpreted in terms of depositional processes, were identified. They comprise deposits of density flows, turbidity flows, suspension fallout as well as units which resulted from syn- or post-depositional deformation.