Basin Research

Quiquerez, A.; Allemand, P.; Dromart, G.; Garcia, J‐P.

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2004.00247.xpmid: N/A

A quantitative stratigraphic model of mixed carbonate/siliciclastic continental shelves is presented to investigate the relationships between depositional processes and stratigraphic responses at long‐term, large spatial scales. A diffusion model is combined with a fluid‐flow approach to simulate both long‐term factors, i.e. the processes controlling large‐scale architecture, and short‐term processes, i.e. sediment redistribution by storms. Any net sediment accumulation is the result of the succession of a storm and a fair‐weather period. Sediments are mobilized by waves and advected by low‐frequency currents during storm events. Sediments are then reworked and redistributed downslope by diffusive processes during fair‐weather period. The results are successful in capturing several major characteristics of both modern and ancient depositional systems (geometry, differential preservation, net accumulation rates). The study highlights the importance of waves and unidirectional currents. Depositional geometry and shelf morphology depend on the balance between available sediment supply (generated in situ or detrital) and the transport energy, which is related to the style of sediment transport (diffusive or advective), and to the magnitude and frequency of storms.

Van Sickel, William A.; Kominz, Michelle A.; Miller, Kenneth G.; Browning, James V.

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2004.00242.xpmid: N/A

Backstripping analysis of the Bass River and Ancora boreholes from the New Jersey coastal plain (Ocean Drilling Project Leg 174AX) provides new Late Cretaceous sea‐level estimates and corroborates previously published Cenozoic sea‐level estimates. Compaction histories of all coastal plain boreholes were updated using porosity–depth relationships estimated from New Jersey coastal plain electric logs. The new porosity estimates are considerably lower than those previously calculated at the offshore Cost B‐2 well. Amplitudes and durations of sea‐level variations are comparable in sequences that are represented at multiple boreholes, suggesting that the resultant curves are an approximation of regional sea level. Both the amplitudes and durations of third‐order (0.5–5 Myr) cycles tend to decrease from the Late Cretaceous to the late Miocene. Third‐order sea‐level amplitudes in excess of 60 m are not observed. Long‐term (108–107 years) sea level was approximately constant at 30–80 m in the Late Cretaceous, rose to a maximum early Eocene value of approximately 100–140 m, and then fell through the Eocene and Oligocene.

Finch, Emma; Hardy, Stuart; Gawthorpe, Rob

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2004.00241.xpmid: N/A

We employed a discrete‐element technique to investigate the effects of cover strength and fault dip on the style of fault‐propagation folding above a blind normal fault. Deformation in the cover is initially characterised by an upward‐widening monocline that is often replaced, with continued slip on the basement fault, by a single, through‐going fault. Localisation on a single fault produces hangingwall synclines and footwall anticlines as a result of breaching of the earlier monocline and which do not represent ‘drag’ against the fault. As basement fault dip decreases the width of the monocline at the surface increases. Experiments varying the strength of the overburden material illustrate the control that cover strength has on both fault propagation and folding in the cover. Reduction of the strength of the cover results in: (1) the width of the monocline above the fault tip increasing, and (2) more marked footwall thinning and hangingwall thickening of beds. In contrast, an increase in cover strength results in a narrower monocline and rapid propagation of the basement fault into the cover. In multi‐layer (variable strength) experiments simultaneous faulting of competent layers and flow of weaker layers produces complex structural relationships. Faults in the cover die out up and down section and do not link to the basement fault at depth. Similarly, complex macroscopically ductile characteristics such as footwall thinning and hangingwall thickening can be juxtaposed against simple brittle fault cut‐offs. These relationships must be borne in mind when interpreting the field and seismic expression of such structures. We discuss the modelling results in terms of their implications for structural interpretation and the surficial expression of fault‐related folding in extensional settings.

Jones, Merren A.; Heller, Paul L.; Roca, Eduard; Garcés, Miguel; Cabrera, Lluís

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2004.00244.xpmid: N/A

We propose and test a conceptual framework for evaluating the relative timing of different types of sedimentary indicators of tectonism in alluvial foreland basin settings. We take the first occurrence of a detrital grain from a newly exposed source‐area lithology to provide the best indicator of the onset of tectonic uplift in the source area. Source‐area unroofing may lag behind initial uplift because of the type, thickness and structure of rocks in the uplifted mountain block, drainage patterns and climate. However, once exposed, advective transport disperses grains quickly throughout fluvial systems. Because of increased subsidence rate from thrust belt loading, an increase in sedimentation rate begins coincident with tectonic load emplacement within the flexural half‐width of the basin. However, farther out into the basin increased sedimentation rates lag behind the composition signal because of time lags associated with propagation of the thrust load and attendant sediment loads into the basin. The progradation of syntectonic gravel lags behind all of these signals as a direct function of the relative proportion of gravel fraction within transported sediment and rates and geometry of subsidence, which selectively traps the coarsest grain‐size fractions in the most proximal parts of the basin. We demonstrate this signal attenuation in the syntectonic Horta–Gandesa alluvial system (late Eocene–Oligocene), exposed along the southeast margin of the Ebro Basin, Spain. The results demonstrate that: (1) the time spans between the compositional signal and the progradation of the gravel front can be geologically significant, on the order of more than a million years within as little as 20 km of the thrust front; and (2) time lags between the signals increase with distance away from the deformation front. No lag time was observed between the first appearance of a new clast composition and the arrival of gravel front when the thrust front was within a few tens of metres from the depositional site. In contrast, the time lag was 0.5–1 Myr when the thrust front was about 5–6 km away and it increased to >1 Myr when the deformation front was about 8 km away. At the most extreme position, when the thrust front was 15–20 km away, the gravel front never reached the study area.

Allen, Philip A.; Leather, Jonathan; Brasier, Martin D.

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2004.00249.xpmid: N/A

The <1.5‐km thick Fiq Member of the Ghadir Manqil Formation, Huqf Supergroup, Oman, contains a succession of Marinoan‐age glacially and non‐glacially influenced deposits overlain by a transgressive, 13C‐depleted, deep‐water dolostone (Hadash Formation) that deepens up into the marine shales and siltstones of the Masirah Bay Formation. The Fiq Member and Hadash–Masirah Bay Formations are well exposed in the core of the Jebel Akhdar of northern Oman and provide a valuable insight into the processes operating during a Neoproterozoic glacial epoch and its aftermath. The Fiq Member comprises seven stratigraphic units (F1–F7) of proximal and distal glacimarine, non‐glacial sediment gravity flow, and non‐glacial shallow marine facies associations. These units can be correlated over almost the entire Neoproterozoic outcrop belt (ca. 80 km) of the Jebel Akhdar. Four units contain glacimarine rainout diamictites, commonly at the top of cycles beneath strong lithofacies dislocations suggesting flooding. The units are thought to have been generated by combined glacio‐isostatic and glacio‐eustatic forcing caused by changing volumes of terrestrial glacier ice. The lateral persistence and thickness of massive diamictite units increase upwards in the stratigraphy, the youngest (F7) diamictite being abruptly overlain by the Hadash Formation. Correlation of lithofacies associations across the rift basin and palaeocurrents indicate that siliciclastic sediment and glacially entrained debris were derived from both basin margins. Open‐water conditions existed during interglacials, attested to by the presence of wave‐rippled sandstones in the western part of the basin. The Hadash carbonate also exhibits variations between east and west, showing that despite an overall deep‐water depositional setting, rift margin and intrabasinal structure continued to exert a control on facies development during the post‐glacial aftermath. Onlap of basin margins continued through the deposition of the Masirah Bay Formation. The sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Fiq Member and Hadash–Masirah Bay Formations have a number of implications for the Snowball Earth hypothesis. The overall stratigraphic evolution of the Fiq Member suggests a dynamic, temperate/polythermal style of glaciation, perhaps nucleated on uplifted continental or rift margin topography, with marine‐terminating glaciers. Some transgressions coupled to deglaciations within the Fiq glacial epoch were accompanied by minor deposition of carbonate. However, final deglaciation triggered the deposition of a <8‐m thick, deep‐water dolomite contaminated with siliciclastics, with a lithofacies assemblage still reflecting the underlying bathymetric template, followed by relatively deep marine shales and siltstones. The preservation of relatively deep marine Masirah Bay sediments above the Fiq basin margin suggests either tectonic collapse of the rift shoulder or, more likely, rapid eustatic rise accompanying deglaciation.

Wallinga, Jakob; Törnqvist, Torbjörn E.; Busschers, Freek S.; Weerts, Henk J. T.

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2003.00248.xpmid: N/A

The Rhine–Meuse system in the west‐central Netherlands is a continental‐scale fluvial system bordered by an extremely wide continental shelf. Consequently, late Quaternary eustatic sea‐level changes have resulted in dramatic shoreline displacements, by as much as 800 km. In addition, changes in climate have been severe, given the latitudinal and palaeogeographic setting of the Rhine–Meuse system. We investigated the relative importance of these allogenic controls on fluvial aggradation and incision during the last two glacial–interglacial cycles. We used optical dating of quartz from ∼30 samples in a cross‐section perpendicular to the palaeoflow direction, allowing us to correlate periods of aggradation and incision with independent records of sea‐level change, climate change and glacio‐isostatic crustal movements. We found the long‐term aggradation rate to be ∼8 cm kyr−1, a value similar to previous estimates of tectonic subsidence rates in the study area. Several excursions from this long‐term aggradation trend could be identified for the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Dry climatic conditions with relatively high sediment supply induced aggradation during oxygen‐isotope stages (OIS) 4 and 3. Build‐up of a glacio‐isostatic forebulge during OIS 2 is a likely cause of incision around the Last Glacial Maximum, followed by an aggradation phase during forebulge collapse. Sea‐level highstands during OIS 5 have likely resulted in the aggradation of coastal prisms, but only minor, basal estuarine deposits have been preserved because these coastal prisms were prone to erosion during ensuing sea‐level falls. Overall, the sedimentary record is dominated by strata formed during time intervals when the study area was completely unaffected by sea‐level control, and our evidence shows that the falling‐stage systems tract has the highest preservation potential. Our study highlights the importance of considering the complex interplay of both upstream and downstream controls to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of basin‐margin successions.

Kempf, Oliver; Adrian Pfiffner, O.

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2004.00246.xpmid: N/A

We present a new palaeogeographic reconstruction of the Helvetic zone based on the palinspastic restoration of 18 recently published and new retrodeformed structural cross‐sections through the Swiss Alps, Haute Savoie (France) and Vorarlberg (Austria). The reconstruction resulted in two palaeogeographic maps, one of the pre‐Mesozoic basement, the other for the sedimentary cover of the Helvetic shelf including the Nummulitic deposits of the Palaeocene–Eocene, which mark the onset of the North Alpine Foreland Basin of the Alps. Based on the palaeogeographic maps and a precise dating of the Nummulitic deposits, we established maps of the facies distribution including the estimated positions of the ancient coastlines and their evolution through time. The North Alpine Foreland Basin started as a narrow flysch basin in Palaeocene–Eocene times. Emplacement of the Penninic nappes led to the formation of a mélange on the active margin of this basin. This early foreland basin and its active margin migrated to the NW in Early Eocene times at a rate of about 10 mm yr−1. The maps also reveal a general progressive north‐ and westward propagation of the Eocene coastline between 50–34 Ma and during the Oligocene until approximately 32 Ma. Coastline propagation reveals strongly varying rates both spatially and temporally, and is ca. 1–2 mm yr−1 between 50 and 37 Ma and approximately 20 mm yr−1 between 37 and 32 Ma. Evolution and orientation of the Tertiary coastlines infers that the early development of the North Alpine Foreland Basin was mainly controlled initially by eustatic sea‐level fluctuations superimposed on flexural subsidence. After 37 Ma, we suggest a tectonically controlled coastline evolution in response to the collision of the European and Adriatic margins.

Gonçalvès, J.; Violette, S.; Guillocheau, F.; Robin, C.; Pagel, M.; Bruel, D.; De Marsily, G.; Ledoux, E.

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2004.00243.xpmid: N/A

A basin model was built to simulate in three dimensions the 248 Myr geological history of the Paris basin, France, i.e. sedimentation, erosion, compaction heat and fluid flow. This multidisciplinary study was based on a detailed stratigraphic database of more than 1100 well logs together with a hydrodynamic database of 1000 data (heads and permeabilities). The region covers a maximum surface area of 700 000 km2. The NEWBAS code of the Ecole des Mines de Paris was used in order to simulate compaction and heat and fluid flow. Three examples of the use of this model are given to illustrate different features of the geological functioning of the basin. (i) By modelling processes such as sedimentation, compaction, fluid and heat flow, the model provides estimates of the hydraulic conductivity fields within one order of magnitude from observations at the regional scale. This permeability field can reproduce the present‐day observed pressures and fluxes in the basin. (ii) Observed excess pressures in the main aquitards are considered as possible consequences of the geological history of the basin. The calculated excess pressures are small and stay within the range of the measured values, between 0 and 2.75 MPa, close to the pressures in the aquifers. However, the weak excess pressures measured in the Callovo–Oxfordian sequence in the eastern part of the basin are not reproduced by the model. Mechanisms other than compaction disequilibrium must be invoked. (iii) This model also calculates regional‐scale palaeofluid flow whose value is currently arbitrarily assumed by geochemists when studying diagenetic processes. Hence, it provides a hydrologic background for diagenetic models. The cementation in the western Keuper reservoirs was investigated. Topographically driven flow during tectonic inversion periods, e.g. the Lower Cretaceous and Early Tertiary, is shown to be a plausible cause of brine migrations. This brine displacement would then explain the high salinities recorded in the fluid inclusions trapped in the Keuper cements. The conditions for the migration would have been most favourable at the time of the maximum burial, i.e. the Early Tertiary and not the Early Cretaceous as previously suggested.

He, Lijuan; Wang, Jiyang

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2004.00245.xpmid: N/A

A two‐dimensional kinematic model is presented for superimposed basins. It is based on a finite‐element algorithm in the Lagrangian system, which incorporates different stages of lithosphere stretching and shortening to simulate alternating extension and inversion. The Jiyang Basin, developed in the North China, is a superimposed basin comprising four proto‐type basins separated by several unconformities. Four‐phase extension and two‐phase inversion have developed in this basin since the Late Mesozoic era. The thermal history of the basin is modelled based on a seismic cross‐section across the basin. Tectonic subsidence (or uplift) histories from backstripping serve as the objective functions, and crustal thickness, as well as heat flow, provides additional constraints. Effects of different Mesozoic erosion on the thermal history are discussed. Modelling results show that the thermal history of the Jiyang Basin since the Late Mesozoic can be divided into six stages, including four phases of heating accompanied by following thermal attenuation, and two phases of cooling with following thermal recovery. The model also implies a variant pattern of thermal regime in the basin. In the deepest centres of the depressions, the maximum heat flow occurred during the Late Mesozoic, but in the slopes of the depressions, the maximum heat flow appeared in the Cenozoic era.

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2004.00bmi.xpmid: N/A