The effect of relay ramps on sediment routes and deposition: A review

In subaerial settings, the duration of channel activity in relation to relay ramp evolution strongly depends on the ratio between flow incision rates and tectonic uplift. Drainage direction on the footwall may revert if footwall uplift exceeds incision rates, and the feeding of former depocentres terminates. In the course of rift margin development relay ramp bounding faults may link, causing the breaching of relay ramps and eventually their burial. The effect of continued rifting on ramp remnants and associated syn-rift deposits, however, is not sufficiently known and needs further investigation.