Reply to comment by Durkin et al.on “Using a modern analogue to interpret depositional position in ancient fluvial-tidal channels:Example from the McMurray Formation,Canada” by A.D.La Croix,S.E.Dashtgard,and J.A.MacEachern

1.Introduction We are pleased to have the opportunity to discuss our paper (La Croix et al.,2019) with Durkin et al.(2020).Their critique demonstrates the wide interest in the McMurray Formation held by both academic and industry geoscientists,especially given the economic importance of the stratigraphic interval.Furthermore,it highlights the various working interpretations for the unit’s paleoenvironmental setting and stratigraphic architecture;two highly contested scientific questions.Durkin et al.(2020) concentrate their criticism around the topics of a lack of data,stratigraphic correlation,sedimentology and geomorphology,and