Fluvial facies architecture in small-scale river systems in the Upper Dupi Tila Formation, northeast Bengal Basin, Bangladesh

Abstract The late stage basin-fill history of the fluvial Dupi Tila Group (Plio-Pleistocene) is described. These rocks have been deposited in the Sylhet trough, a sub-basin of the Bengal Basin, in a foreland basin setting. This outcrop study, carried out in Sylhet, Bangladesh, presents the first detailed facies analysis of the Upper Dupi Tila Formation. Four facies have been identified: trough cross-bedded sandstone (St), ripple cross-laminated sandstone (Sr), finely laminated mud with ripples (Fl), and massive mud with rootlets (Fm). Facies analysis supplemented with embedded Markov chain analysis, reveals small-scale fining-upward cycles (average 4.5 m thick). Facies architectural elements include channel (CH), lateral accretion (LA), sandy bedforms (SB), and overbank fines (OF) with limited vertical and lateral connectivity of the sand bodies. The average channel depth and width is 5 and 30 m, respectively. Sand body geometry ranges from tabular, to sheet, to shoestring with a 0.45 net to gross ratio. This study shows that the Upper Dupi Tila Formation is composed of small-scale, mudstone-reach meandering river deposits. In Bangladesh, the Dupi Tila Formation is the main aquifer presently being utilized. Understanding of facies architecture and sand body geometry of this Formation is crucial in examining the issue of arsenic and other contaminations of ground water in Bangladesh.