Post Jurassic shortening in the western Surat Basin relative to underlying basement depth and faulting

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Babaahmadi ◽  
Renate Sliwa ◽  
Joan Esterle
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Data ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Jurassic Rock ◽  
Basement Depth ◽  
Seismic Lines ◽  
Early Late

The Hutton-Wallumbilla (HWF), Merivale (MF), Kia Ora, and Injune faults are the major structures in the western Surat Basin, deforming Palaeozoic to Jurassic rock units. The authors present results from the interpretation of gridded gravity data and open-file seismic reflection data, which provide constraints on the geometry and kinematics of these faults. The interpretation of gravity data indicates that the HWF and MF are expressed by sharp lineaments in moderate to high-amplitude anomalies, indicating a deep-seated nature of the faults. The interpretation of seismic lines shows that the HWF and MF are northeast-dipping and east-dipping reverse blind faults, respectively. Some other faults also displaced and folded the rock units of the Bowen and Surat basins, such as the Kia Ora and Injune faults. The MF, Kia Ora, and the northern part of the HWF acted as normal faults during the early Permian and then have been inverted during the Late Permian–Triassic Hunter-Bowen Orogeny phases, especially during the early Late Triassic. The largest fault throws in the Bowen Basin successions are observed along the southern part of the HWF and its central splay, which are around 350 m and 480 m, respectively. The stratigraphic units of the Surat Basin above it have gently been folded over the major blind faults. The largest amount of shortening in the Surat Basin has taken place over the southern part of the HWF by 0.5%. The basement depth played an important role in the amount of contractional deformation in the Bowen and Surat basins. Where the basement is shallow, the amount of deformation along the faults in both the Bowen and Surat basins is higher.

scholarly journals Mantle-derived helium released through the Japan trench bend-faults

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Oh Park ◽  
Naoto Takahata ◽  
Ehsan Jamali Hondori ◽  
Asuka Yamaguchi ◽  
Takanori Kagoshima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Japan Trench ◽  
Helium Isotope ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Circulation System ◽  
Deep Penetration ◽  
Oceanic Plate ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Reflection Data

AbstractPlate bending-related normal faults (i.e. bend-faults) develop at the outer trench-slope of the oceanic plate incoming into the subduction zone. Numerous geophysical studies and numerical simulations suggest that bend-faults play a key role by providing pathways for seawater to flow into the oceanic crust and the upper mantle, thereby promoting hydration of the oceanic plate. However, deep penetration of seawater along bend-faults remains controversial because fluids that have percolated down into the mantle are difficult to detect. This report presents anomalously high helium isotope (3He/4He) ratios in sediment pore water and seismic reflection data which suggest fluid infiltration into the upper mantle and subsequent outflow through bend-faults across the outer slope of the Japan trench. The 3He/4He and 4He/20Ne ratios at sites near-trench bend-faults, which are close to the isotopic ratios of bottom seawater, are almost constant with depth, supporting local seawater inflow. Our findings provide the first reported evidence for a potentially large-scale active hydrothermal circulation system through bend-faults across the Moho (crust-mantle boundary) in and out of the oceanic lithospheric mantle.

Shallow seismic reflection study of a glaciated valley

Geophysics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1395-1407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Büker ◽  
Alan G. Green ◽  
Heinrich Horstmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Seismic Section ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Northern Switzerland ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Shallow Seismic ◽  
Glaciated Valley

Shallow seismic reflection data were recorded along two long (>1.6 km) intersecting profiles in the glaciated Suhre Valley of northern Switzerland. Appropriate choice of source and receiver parameters resulted in a high‐fold (36–48) data set with common midpoints every 1.25 m. As for many shallow seismic reflection data sets, upper portions of the shot gathers were contaminated with high‐amplitude, source‐generated noise (e.g., direct, refracted, guided, surface, and airwaves). Spectral balancing was effective in significantly increasing the strength of the reflected signals relative to the source‐generated noise, and application of carefully selected top mutes ensured guided phases were not misprocessed and misinterpreted as reflections. Resultant processed sections were characterized by distributions of distinct seismic reflection patterns or facies that were bounded by quasi‐continuous reflection zones. The uppermost reflection zone at 20 to 50 ms (∼15 to ∼40 m depth) originated from a boundary between glaciolacustrine clays/silts and underlying glacial sands/gravels (till) deposits. Of particular importance was the discovery that the deepest part of the valley floor appeared on the seismic section at traveltimes >180 ms (∼200 m), approximately twice as deep as expected. Constrained by information from boreholes adjacent to the profiles, the various seismic units were interpreted in terms of unconsolidated glacial, glaciofluvial, and glaciolacustrine sediments deposited during two principal phases of glaciation (Riss at >100 000 and Würm at ∼18 000 years before present).

Three-dimensional geometry and growth of a basement-involved fault network developed during multiphase extension, Enderby Terrace, North West Shelf of Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongdan Deng ◽  
Ken McClay
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Fault Reactivation ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
North West ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Data Volume ◽  
Vertical Linkages ◽  
Fault Network

<div>Basement fault reactivation, and the growth, interaction, and linkage with new fault segments are fundamentally three-dimensional and critical for understanding the evolution of fault network development in sedimentary basins. This paper analyses the evolution of a complex, basement-involved extensional fault network on the Enderby Terrace on the eastern margin of the Dampier sub-basin, NW Shelf of Australia. A high-resolution, depth-converted, 3D seismic reflection data volume is used to show that multiphase, oblique extensional reactivation of basement-involved faults controlled the development of the fault network in the overlying strata. Oblique reactivation of the pre-existing faults initially led to the formation of overlying, en échelon Late Triassic – Middle Jurassic fault segments that, as WNW–directed rifting progressed on the margin, linked by breaching of relay ramp to form two intersecting fault systems (F1 and F2-F4). Further reactivation in the Latest Jurassic – Early Cretaceous (NNW–SSE extension) produced an additional set of en échelon fault arrays in the cover strata. The final fault network consists of main or principal faults and subordinate or splay faults, together with branch lines that link the various components. Our study shows that breaching of relay ramps and/or vertical linkages produces vertical and horizontal branch lines giving complex final fault geometries. We find that repeated activity of the basement-involved faults tends to form continuous and planar fault architectures that favor displacement transfer between the main constituent segments along strike and with depth.</div>

scholarly journals Seismic reflection data reveal the 3D structure of the newly discovered Exmouth Dyke Swarm, offshore NW Australia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Magee ◽  
Christopher A.-L. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Surface Deformation ◽  
3D Structure ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Dyke Swarm ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Dyke Swarms ◽  
Nw Australia

Abstract. Dyke swarms are common on Earth and other planetary bodies, comprising arrays of dykes that can extend for 10's to 1000's of kilometres. The vast extent of such dyke swarms, and their rapid emplacement, means they can significantly influence a variety of planetary processes, including continental break-up, crustal extension, resource accumulation, and volcanism. Determining the mechanisms driving dyke swarm emplacement is thus critical to a range of Earth Science disciplines. However, unravelling dyke swarm emplacement mechanics relies on constraining their 3D structure, which is extremely difficult given we typically cannot access their subsurface geometry at a sufficiently high enough resolution. Here we use high-quality seismic reflection data to identify and examine the 3D geometry of the newly discovered Exmouth Dyke Swarm, and associated structures (i.e. dyke-induced normal faults and pit craters), in unprecedented detail. The latest Jurassic dyke swarm is located on the Gascoyne Margin offshore NW Australia and contains numerous dykes that are > 170 km long, potentially > 500 km long. The mapped dykes are distributed radially across a 39° arc centred on the Cuvier Margin; we infer this focal area marks the source of the dyke swarm, which was likely a mantle plume. We demonstrate seismic reflection data provides unique opportunities to map and quantify dyke swarms in 3D in sedimentary basins, which can allow us to: (i) recognise dyke swarms across continental margins worldwide and incorporate them into models of basin evolution and fluid flow; (ii) test previous models and hypotheses concerning the 3D structure of dyke swarms; (iii) reveal how dyke-induced normal faults and pit craters relate to dyking; and (iv) unravel how dyking translates into surface deformation.

scholarly journals Seismic reflection data reveal the 3D structure of the newly discovered Exmouth Dyke Swarm, offshore NW Australia

Solid Earth ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 579-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Magee ◽  
Christopher Aiden-Lee Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Surface Deformation ◽  
3D Structure ◽  
Dyke Swarm ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Borehole Data ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Dyke Swarms ◽  
Nw Australia

Abstract. Dyke swarms are common on Earth and other planetary bodies, comprising arrays of dykes that can extend laterally for tens to thousands of kilometres. The vast extent of such dyke swarms, and their presumed rapid emplacement, means they can significantly influence a variety of planetary processes, including continental break-up, crustal extension, resource accumulation, and volcanism. Determining the mechanisms driving dyke swarm emplacement is thus critical to a range of Earth Science disciplines. However, unravelling dyke swarm emplacement mechanics relies on constraining their 3D structure, which is difficult given we typically cannot access their subsurface geometry at a sufficiently high enough resolution. Here we use high-quality seismic reflection data to identify and examine the 3D geometry of the newly discovered Exmouth Dyke Swarm, and associated structures (i.e. dyke-induced normal faults and pit craters). Dykes are expressed in our seismic reflection data as ∼335–68 m wide, vertical zones of disruption (VZD), in which stratal reflections are dimmed and/or deflected from sub-horizontal. Borehole data reveal one ∼130 m wide VZD corresponds to an ∼18 m thick, mafic dyke, highlighting that the true geometry of the inferred dykes may not be fully captured by their seismic expression. The Late Jurassic dyke swarm is located on the Gascoyne Margin, offshore NW Australia, and contains numerous dykes that extend laterally for > 170 km, potentially up to > 500 km, with spacings typically < 10 km. Although limitations in data quality and resolution restrict mapping of the dykes at depth, our data show that they likely have heights of at least 3.5 km. The mapped dykes are distributed radially across a ∼39∘ wide arc centred on the Cuvier Margin; we infer that this focal area marks the source of the dyke swarm. We demonstrate that seismic reflection data provide unique opportunities to map and quantify dyke swarms in 3D. Because of this, we can now (i) recognise dyke swarms across continental margins worldwide and incorporate them into models of basin evolution and fluid flow, (ii) test previous models and hypotheses concerning the 3D structure of dyke swarms, (iii) reveal how dyke-induced normal faults and pit craters relate to dyking, and (iv) unravel how dyking translates into surface deformation.

scholarly journals Hydraulic fracturing in thick shale basins: problems in identifying faults in the Bowland and Weald Basins, UK

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
David K. Smythe
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Unconventional Resource ◽  
The Uk

Abstract. North American shale basins differ from their European counterparts in that the latter are one to two orders of magnitude smaller in area, but correspondingly thicker, and are cut or bounded by normal faults penetrating from the shale to the surface. There is thus an inherent risk of groundwater resource contamination via these faults during or after unconventional resource appraisal and development. US shale exploration experience cannot simply be transferred to the UK. The Bowland Basin, with 1900 m of Lower Carboniferous shale, is in the vanguard of UK shale gas development. A vertical appraisal well to test the shale by hydraulic fracturing (fracking), the first such in the UK, triggered earthquakes. Re-interpretation of the 3D seismic reflection data, and independently the well casing deformation data, both show that the well was drilled through the earthquake fault, and did not avoid it, as concluded by the exploration operator. Faulting in this thick shale is evidently difficult to recognise. The Weald Basin is a shallower Upper Jurassic unconventional oil play with stratigraphic similarities to the Bakken play of the Williston Basin, USA. Two Weald licensees have drilled, or have applied to drill, horizontal appraisal wells based on inadequate 2D seismic reflection data coverage. I show, using the data from the one horizontal well drilled to date, that one operator failed identify two small but significant through-going normal faults. The other operator portrayed a seismic line as an example of fault-free structure, but faulting had been smeared out by reprocessing. The case histories presented show that: (1) UK shale exploration to date is characterised by a low degree of technical competence, and (2) regulation, which is divided between four separate authorities, is not up to the task. If UK shale is to be exploited safely: (1) more sophisticated seismic imaging methods need to be developed and applied to both basins, to identify faults in shale with throws as small as 4–5 m, and (2) the current lax and inadequate regulatory regime must be overhauled, unified, and tightened up.

Basement-involved inversion at the Appalachian structural front, western Newfoundland: an interpretation of seismic reflection data with implications for petroleum prospectivity

2004 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen S. Stockmal ◽  
Art Slingsby ◽  
John W.F. Waldron
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Hanging Wall ◽  
Normal Fault ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Apparent Magnitude ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
New Interpretation

Abstract Recent hydrocarbon exploration in western Newfoundland has resulted in six new wells in the Port au Port Peninsula area. Port au Port No.1, drilled in 1994/95, penetrated the Cambro-Ordovician platform and underlying Grenville basement in the hanging wall of the southeast-dipping Round Head Thrust, terminated in the platform succession in the footwall of this basement-involved inversion structure, and discovered the Garden Hill petroleum pool. The most recent well, Shoal Point K-39, was drilled in 1999 to test a model in which the Round Head Thrust loses reverse displacement to the northeast, eventually becoming a normal fault. This model hinged on an interpretation of a seismic reflection survey acquired in 1996 in Port au Port Bay. This survey is now in the public domain. In our interpretation of these data, the Round Head Thrust is associated with another basement-involved feature, the northwest-dipping Piccadilly Bay Fault, which is mapped on Port au Port Peninsula. Active as normal faults in the Taconian foreland, both these faults were later inverted during Acadian orogenesis. The present reverse offset on the Piccadilly Bay Fault was previously interpreted as normal offset on the southeast-dipping Round Head Thrust. Our new interpretation is consistent with mapping on Port au Port Peninsula and north of Stephenville, where all basement-involved faults are inverted and display reverse senses of motion. It also explains spatially restricted, enigmatic reflections adjacent to the faults as carbonate conglomerates of the Cape Cormorant Formation or Daniel’s Harbour Member, units associated with inverted thick-skinned faults. The K-39 well, which targeted the footwall of the Round Head Thrust, actually penetrated the hanging wall of the Piccadilly Bay Fault. This distinction is important because the reservoir model invoked for this play involved preferential karstification and subsequent dolomitization in the footwalls of inverted thick-skinned faults. The apparent magnitude of structural inversion across the Piccadilly Bay Fault suggests other possible structural plays to the northeast of K-39.

Structural Relations and Earthquake Hazards of the Crittenden County Fault Zone, Northeastern Arkansas

1992 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony J. Crone
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
Crystalline Basement ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Reverse Fault ◽  
Seismic Zone ◽  
Earthquake Hazards ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Magnetic Basement ◽  
Structural Relations

Abstract A preliminary interpretation of about 135 km of seismic-reflection data provides new information on the structural relations between the the Crittenden County fault zone and the subjacent rift-bounding faults along the southeastern margin of the Reelfoot rift in the New Madrid seismic zone. On the reflection data, the rift boundary is marked by a 4- to 8-km-wide zone of incoherent reflected energy and disrupted reflectors in the lower part of the well-stratified, lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and in the underlying Precambrian crystalline basement. In places, the zone of disrupted reflectors extends into the upper part of the Paleozoic rocks, and, on some lines, disrupted reflectors and distinct faults are present in the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks of the Mississippi Embayment. The Crittenden County fault zone is interpreted as a northwest-dipping, high-angle reverse fault with an up-to-the-northwest throw, which is opposite to the net structural relief in the subjacent graben. The fault zone is at least 32 km long and coincides with the rift margin in southwestern Crittenden County, but to the northeast, it diverges away from the aeromagnetically defined margin of the rift by almost 4 km. Most faults in the Crittenden County fault zone are apparently ancient rift-bounding normal faults that were reactivated with a significant amount of reverse slip during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. On the basis of its apparent connection with the rift-bounding faults, the evidence of its long history of recurrent movement, and its orientation with respect to the modern stress field, the Crittenden County fault zone might be considered to potentially generate major earthquakes. In contrast, the possibility that the Crittenden County fault zone could be a bending-moment fault argues against it being extremely hazardous. Precambrian crystalline basement interpreted on the profiles is commonly deeper than magnetic basement by as much as 2.5 km. This discrepancy between shallow magnetic basement and deeper crystalline basement could be explained by the presence of igneous intrusions in the Paleozoic strata immediately above Precambrian basement.

Labeling long‐period multiple reflections

Geophysics ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. J. Hardy ◽  
M. R. Warner ◽  
R. W. Hobbs
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Multiple Reflections ◽  
Multiple Series ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Zero Offset ◽  
Marine Seismic

The many techniques that have been developed to remove multiple reflections from seismic data all leave remnant energy which can cause ambiguity in interpretation. The removal methods are mostly based on periodicity (e.g., Sinton et al., 1978) or the moveout difference between primary and multiple events (e.g., Schneider et al., 1965). They work on synthetic and selected field data sets but are rather unsatisfactory when applied to high‐amplitude, long‐period multiples in marine seismic reflection data acquired in moderately deep (700 m to 3 km) water. Differential moveout is often better than periodicity at discriminating between types of events because, while a multiple series may look periodic to the eye, it is only exactly so on zero‐offset reflections from horizontal layers. The technique of seismic event labeling described below works by returning offset information from CDP gathers to a stacked section by color coding, thereby discriminating between seismic reflection events by differential normal moveout. Events appear as a superposition of colors; the direction of color fringes indicates whether an event has been overcorrected or undercorrected for its hyperbolic normal moveout.

Hydrocarbon Prospect of Block VI, East Gobi Basin

2013 ◽  
Vol 827 ◽  
pp. 148-152
Author(s):  
Lian Jin Wang ◽  
Yan Jun Chen ◽  
Chou Chou Yang
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Facies Analysis ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Sedimentary Facies ◽  
Western Slope ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequences ◽  
Electrical Data

2D seismic reflection data and magnetism data, gravity data and electrical data together define the overall subsurface structure of the East Gobi basin (EGB), and reflect Jurassic-Cretaceous intracontinental rift evolution through deposition of at least five distinct stratigraphic sequences. Three major NE-SW trending fault zones divide the basin[. In the paper, through strata sequence description and sedimentary facies analysis, as well as zone appraisal for the oil and gas in the study area, we conclude that western step-fault zone of the block VI of EGB was most favorable pay, then the reverse faulted-nose structure in the east, while in the western slope and eastern fault zone, their hydrocarbon prospect need further proved.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document