GLOBALLY SYNCHRONOUS COMPRESSIONAL PULSES IN EXTENSIONAL BASINS: IMPLICATIONS FOR HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
J. K. Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Late Eocene ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Seal Integrity ◽  
The North ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Australian Continent

It is possible to interpret many continental stresses on the Global Stress Map (Zoback, 1992) in terms of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics on a constant radius earth predicts a state of zero stress in Australia, except for northerly to northeasterly compression along the northern margin where Australia interacts with the Pacific Plate. However, the continent is everywhere in a state of significant horizontal compression, generally directed towards its centre.In southeastern Australia the current maximum horizontal compressional stress is directed northwestwards. While Gippsland Basin and Bass Basin developed under extensional stress from the Late Jurassic to Recent, there have been pulses of similarly directed compression in the Pliocene to Recent, Mid Miocene, Early Miocene, Late Eocene to Early Oligocene, Early Eocene, Paleocene, Campanian, Late Albian to Early Cenomanian, Aptian and Valanginian(?).Most of these pulses can also be demonstrated in such widely separated areas as the Carnarvon Basin in northwestern Australia, the Capricorn and Surat/Bowen Basins in eastern Australia, southern England, the Viking Graben in the North Sea and Pacific Guatemala. Pulses in the Portlandian, Callovian, Early Jurassic, Late Triassic and Mid Triassic appear to be similarly synchronous while two events in the Early Permian have been recognised also.Near-surface compressional pulses contemporaneous with lower crustal extension can be explained by continental flattening on an expanding earth. Such an interpretation is consistent with the centrewards horizontal compressional stresses observed in the Australian continent since at least the Late Triassic.Since an expansion pulse results in increased ocean basin capacity, compressional pulses have a strong tendency to coincide with the major sea level falls on the Haq et al (1987) global eustatic cycle chart.The orientations of horizontal compressional stresses appear to have varied little since the Late Triassic. If a basin axis is approximately perpendicular to those stresses the basin may record all compression pulses. However, repeated compression sub-parallel to a basin axis may induce movement on wrench faults which can be a threat to seal integrity.

PLATE TECTONICS AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE TIMOR SEAR NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA

1973 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Warris
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Rift Valley ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Complete Separation ◽  
The North ◽  
Australian Continent ◽  
Early Palaeozoic ◽  
Oceanic Plates ◽  
Shelf Sedimentation

The Browse and Bonaparte Gulf Basins in northwestern Australia contain sedimentary sections which range in age from early Palaeozoic to Recent. These basins developed as a result of the rifting and break up of Gondwanaland into two continents. The sedimentary and tectonic histories of these basins clearly reflect the relative movements of these continents.In pre-Permian times, the earliest postulated rifting may have been early Palaeozoic associated with the north-south separation of Gondwanaland from Eurasia which produced the Tethyan Sea. This was followed by Middle Palaeozoic rifting which affected the Bonaparte Gulf Basin, Fitzroy Graben and perhaps also the Browse Basin.A Late Carboniferous-Early Permian rift valley developed between the Kimberley Block and a western landmass. Alternate marine and fluvio-deltaic deposits characterised sedimentation in this rift valley until Early Jurassic time. Marine transgressions inundated from the north where the rift valley opened into the Tethyan Sea.During the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, the western landmass was detached from the Australian continent along a major right lateral wrench fault. At this time the Indian Ocean Basin appeared as a distinct morphological unit and inundated the Browse Basin. Associated with these movements were the emergence of the Ashmore-Sahul Block and Northeast Londonderry Ridge and the development of the Scott Reef-Buccaneer trend. Marine volcanics at Scott Reef and Ashmore Reef may be related to the formation of new ocean crust.At the end of the Early Cretaceous, tectonic events associated with the complete separation of the western landmass from Australia, resulted in a regional northwesterly tilt of the basin and a major marine transgression.During the Tertiary, Australia moved north, away from Antarctica, and eventually collided with the Southeast Asian and West Pacific oceanic plates. Timor uplifted as a Tertiary melange of Australian sediments behind a north-dipping sub-duction zone along the Timor Trough. The Timor Sea remained relatively stable and was the site of carbonate shelf sedimentation.

Depositional facies, diagenetic clay minerals and reservoir quality of Rotliegend sediments in the Southern Permian Basin (North Sea): a review

Clay Minerals ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Seemann
Keyword(s):  
Clay Minerals ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Effective Porosity ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Reservoir Quality ◽  
Burial Diagenesis ◽  
Permian Basin ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The North

AbstractThe Southern Permian Basin of the North Sea represents an elongate E-W oriented depo-centre along the northern margin of the Variscan Mountains. During Rotliegend times, three roughly parallel facies belts of a Permian desert developed, these following the outline of the Variscan Mountains. These belts were, from south to north, the wadi facies, the dune and interdune facies, and the sabkha and desert lake facies. The bulk of the gas reservoirs of the Rotliegend occur in the aeolian dune sands. Their recognition, and the study of their geometry, is therefore important in hydrocarbon exploration. Equally important is the understanding of diagenesis, particularly of the diageneticaily-formed clay minerals, because they have an important influence on the reservoir quality of these sands. Clay minerals were introduced to the aeolian sands during or shortly after their deposition in the form of air-borne dust, which later formed thin clay films around the grains. During burial diagenesis, these clay films may have acted as crystallization nuclei for new clay minerals or for the transformation of existing ones. Depending on their crystallographic habit, the clay minerals can seriously affect the effective porosity and permeability of the sands.

Tectonic evolution of the Mediterranean region from a global plate kinematics perspective: insights from a new deformable tectonic model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Agostini ◽  
Simon Otto ◽  
John Watson ◽  
Roy Howgate
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Plate Model ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Tectonic Model ◽  
The North ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Local Impacts ◽  
Central Atlantic

<p>The tectonic evolution of the Mediterranean is well studied, but the models often cover a limited period of geological time and are not always placed in a wider context. Its evolution is linked to the surrounding African and Eurasian continents and their relative movements.</p><p>A new fully deformable tectonic model of the Mediterranean has been created as part of a proprietary plate model. This work has led to the identification of key global tectonic events influencing the development of the Mediterranean from the Early Permian to the present day. This first fully-deformable plate model of the Mediterranean enables to account for the shortening and extension that occurred in the area at a temporal resolution of 1 Ma. In most available plate models, plates are rigidly rotated back to their paleo-position, meaning they preserve their present-day size and shape. In some recent papers, the extent of deformation has been illustrated for selected time-slices, but these models cannot be considered to be ‘deformable’ because the deformation is not modelled in a continuous manner.</p><p>Following Hercynian orogenesis and until the break-up of Pangea, the Mediterranean was dominated by extensional tectonics along its southern margin, as a series small continental blocks rifted from the northern margin of Gondwana. The opening of the Central Atlantic in the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic led to displacement between Eurasia and Africa south of Iberia and the development of the Alpine Tethys, as the Atlantic initially propagated northwards to the east of Iberia. Rotation of Africa caused by the opening of the South Atlantic in the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous led to a ‘jump’ in spreading to the west, at the Iberia-Newfoundland margin. These larger scale plate motions overprinted the more local impacts of continued extension along the northern margin of Africa (e.g. Pindos Ocean). Opening of the North Atlantic once again changed the relative motion of Eurasia and Africa, and initiated a period of oceanic subduction and collision that culminated in the Alpine orogeny. Crucial to this story is the paleo-position of Apulia/Adria, which remained attached to Africa and was able to act as an indenter into Eurasia during the Alpine compression. Evidence for this connection will be presented and discussed.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

scholarly journals The Upper Triassic - Lower Jurassic Vinding and Gassum Formations of the Norwegian-Danish Basin

1978 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Finn Bertelsen
Keyword(s):  
Lower Jurassic ◽  
Upper Triassic ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
North German Basin ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The North ◽  
Tectonic Events ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
German Basin

The late Triassic-early Jurassic Vinding and Gassum Formations are redefined and mapped within the Norwegian-Danish Basin. The Vinding Formation is a brackish marine shallow water deposit restricted to the Danish Subbasin. It is of late Norian-Rhaetian age. The Gassum Formation is a fluvio-deltaic to near-shore marine, arenaceous deposit carried from north and east into the basin. Its upper part is diachronous, ranging in age from Rhaetian in the basin center to late Sinemurian in the northern margin. It is proposed that the Ullerslev Formation is repealed. The parallelism between the course of sedimentation in the Norwegian-Danish Basin, the North German Basin and the Polish Basin indicates eustatic sea level changes to be of greater importance than local tectonic events.

scholarly journals Short-lived intra-oceanic arc-trench system in the North Qaidam belt (NW China) reveals complex evolution of the Proto-Tethyan Ocean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changlei Fu ◽  
Zhen Yan ◽  
Jonathan C. Aitchison ◽  
Wenjiao Xiao ◽  
Solomon Buckman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Investigation ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Ultramafic Rocks ◽  
Accretionary Complex ◽  
Metamorphic Belt ◽  
Nw China ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The North ◽  
North Qaidam

Recognition of any intra-oceanic arc-trench system (IOAS) could provide invaluable information on the tectonic framework and geodynamic evolution of the vanished ocean basin. The Tanjianshan Complex and mafic-ultramafic rocks along the North Qaidam ultra-high pressure metamorphic belt in NW China record the subduction process of the Proto-Tethyan Ocean. Four lithotectonic units, including island arc, ophiolite, forearc basin, and accretionary complex, are recognized based on detailed field investigation. They rest on the northern margin of the Qaidam block and occur as allochthons in fault contact with underlying high-grade metamorphic rocks. The ophiolite unit mainly consists of ultramafic rocks, 527−506 Ma gabbro, 515−506 Ma plagiogranite, dolerite, and massive lava. High-Cr spinels in serpentinite, dolerite with forearc basalt affinity, and boninitic lava collectively indicate a forearc setting. The accretionary complex, exposed to the south of the ophiolite complex and island arc, is highly disrupted and contains repeated slices of basalt, 495−486 Ma tuff, chert, limestone, and mélange. Tuffs with positive zircon εHf(t) values indicate derivation from a nearby juvenile island arc. These lithotectonic units, as well as the back-arc basin, are interpreted to constitute a Cambrian IOAS that formed during the northward subduction of the Proto-Tethyan Ocean. Combined with regional geology, we propose a new geodynamic model involving short-lived Mariana-type subduction and prolonged Andean-type subduction to account for the complex evolution of the Proto-Tethyan Ocean. The reconstruction of a relatively complete IOAS from the North Qaidam belt not only reveals a systematic evolution of intra-oceanic subduction but also advances our understanding of the subduction and accretion history of the Proto-Tethyan Ocean.

The eucnemidae of South-East Asia and the Western Pacific — a biogeographical study

1991 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Muona
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Australian Isolate ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
The South ◽  
Source Areas ◽  
The North ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Australian Continent ◽  
North Eastern

Eighty-nine eucnemid genera occur in the region from South-east Asia to the south-west Pacific. The phylogenies of 84 of these were used together with the present-day distributions of the species to analyse the biogeographical history of the area. Fifty-seven genera shared a pattern coinciding with the traditional model of Laurasia–Gondwana break-up. Six genera showed a pattern contradicting the model. The remaining 21 genera neither supported nor refuted the model. Twenty-five genera were observed to include an Indomalesian clade younger than the South America–Australia connection. This biogeographical unit consisted of present-day South-east Asia and the Sunda islands, but did not include the Philippine Islands and Sulawesi. In addition to this Indomalesian clade, three separate clades involving northern Australia or New Guinea were observed, New Guinea–Australia, New Guinea–Philippines–Sulawesi and New Guinea–Fiji. The possible presence of four separate areas in the general region of New Guinea–north Australia as the result of the Cretaceous geological events is suggested. Three of these, in the area of present-day New Guinea, originally sharing sister-groups with the north-eastern Australian isolate, are regarded as the sources of the New Guinea–Indomalesia, New Guinea–Philippines and New Guinea–Fiji faunas after northward drifting of the Australian continent. During the Oligocene–Miocene these source areas were flooded and their original fauna lost. When the present-day New Guinea emerged, it was invaded from the north-eastern Australian region. This invasion created new New Guinea–Australia connections and brought in the sister-groups of the old New Guinea source areas as well. The eucnemids of Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga are regarded as having originated in connection with dispersal from Fiji. The New Zealand fauna has strong, old connections with that of south-eastern Australia, but other complex connections are indicated. The Eocene Baltic Amber fauna agrees well with the results obtained from extant species. The species belonging to five fossil genera belong to Gondwanan groups that seem to have invaded the Holarctic via Central America. Four other fossil genera showing discordant patterns belong to the group of six genera exhibiting these aberrant patterns even today. The eucnemid fauna of the region is of Gondwanic origin. Only six Laurasian genera have invaded the area, all of them apparently quite recently.

PERMIAN TO LOWER CRETACEOUS PLATE TECTONICS AND ITS IMPACT ON THE TECTONO-STRATIGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MARGIN

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 287 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Jablonski ◽  
A.J. Saitta
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Lower Permian ◽  
Plate Tectonic ◽  
The North ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Northern Edge ◽  
Break Up ◽  
Thinned Continental Crust ◽  
China Region

The post-Lower Permian succession of the Perth Basin and Westralian Superbasin can be directly related to the plate tectonic evolution of the Gondwanan Super-continent. In the Late Permian to Albian the northern edge of Gondwana continued to break into microplates that migrated to the north and were accreted into what is today the southeastern Asia (Burma–China) region. These separation events are recorded as a series of stratigraphically distinct transgressions (corresponding to the initial stretching of the asthenosphere and acceleration of subsidence rates) followed by rapid regressions (when new oceanic crust was emplaced in thinned continental crust causing uplifts of large continental masses). Because the events are synchronous across large regions, and may be identified from specific log and seismic signatures, the intensity of stratigraphically related transgressive/regressive cycles varies, depending on the distance from the break-up centres and these cycles allow the identification of regionally significant megasequences even in undrilled areas. The tectonic evolution and resulting stratigraphy can be described by eight plate tectonic events:Visean (Carboniferous) break-up of the southeastern Asia (Simao, Indochina and South China);Kungurian (uppermost Early Permian) break-up of Qiangtang and Sibumasu;Lowermost Norian uplift due to Bowen Orogeny in eastern Australia;Hettangian break-up of Mangkalihat (northeastern Borneo);Oxfordian break-up of Argo/West Burma, and Sikuleh (Western Sumatra);Kimmeridgian break-up of the West Sulawesi microplate;Tithonian break-up of Paternoster-Meratus (central Borneo); andValanginian break-up of Greater India/India.These events should be identifiable in all Australian Phanerozoic basins and beyond, potentially providing a template for a synchronisation of the Permian to Early Cretaceous stratigraphy.

scholarly journals Origin of the Granite Porphyry and Related Xiajinbao Au Deposit at Pingquan, Hebei Province, Northeastern China: Constraints from Geochronology, Geochemistry, and H–O–S–Pb–Hf Isotopes

Minerals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingquan Liu ◽  
Yongjun Shao ◽  
Zhongfa Liu ◽  
Jianguo Zhang ◽  
Cheng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Gold Deposit ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
North China ◽  
Granite Porphyry ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Granitic Magma ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The North ◽  
North China Plate

The Xiajinbao gold deposit is a medium-sized gold deposit in the Jidong gold province. Ore bodies mainly occur within the Xiajinbao granite porphyry and along the contact zone between the intrusion and Archean plagioclase hornblende gneiss. The zircon LA-ICP-MS age of the Xiajinbao granite porphyry yields 157.8 ± 3.4 Ma, which reflects the metallogenic age of the gold mineralization. Its petrographic features, major and trace element contents, zircon Hf isotopic model ages and compositional features all demonstrate that the Xiajinbao granitic magma is derived from partial melting of the Changcheng unit. The results of H–O isotopic analyses of auriferous quartz veins indicate that the ore-forming fluids are derived from magmatic waters that gradually mixed with meteoric waters during the evolution of the ore-forming fluids. S–Pb isotopic data indicate that the ore-forming fluids were mainly provided by the magma and by plagioclase hornblende gneisses. The gold metallogeny of the Xiajinbao gold deposit is temporally, spatially, and genetically associated with the high-K calc-alkaline-shoshonitic granitic magma emplaced during the Yanshanian orogeny and intruding the Archean plagioclase hornblende gneisses. These magmatic events mainly occurred during the period of 223–153 Ma and comprise three peak periods in the late Triassic (225–205 Ma), the early Jurassic (200–185 Ma) and the middle–late Jurassic (175–160 Ma), respectively. The metallogenic events in this area mainly occurred during the period of 223–155 Ma with the peak periods during the late Triassic (223–210 Ma) and the middle–late Jurassic (175–155 Ma), respectively. Both mineralization and magmatism occurred in a post-collisional tectonic setting related to the collision between the Mongolian plate and the North China plate at the end of the Permian. The magmatism of the early Jurassic occurred during the collision between the Siberian plate and the Mongolian plate, which caused the thickening and melting of the northern margin of the North China plate. The middle and late Jurassic magmatism and metallogenic activities are products of crustal thickening and partial melting during the Yanshanian intra-continental orogeny at the northern margin of the North China plate.

Halokinetic initiation of Mesozoic tectonics in the southern North Sea: a regional model

1994 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Allen ◽  
P. A. Griffiths ◽  
J. Craig ◽  
W. R. Fitches ◽  
R. J. Whittington
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Fault Zones ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Southern North Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Zechstein Salt ◽  
Shape Changes

AbstractThe North Dogger Fault Zone is located at the northern margin of the UK Southern North Sea Basin, at the edge of the mobile Zechstein Supergroup, and was particularly active during late Triassic and early Jurassic times. It resembles geometrically, and is related tectonically to, the Dowsing Fault Zone which was initiated in late Scythian time along the southwestern edge of the mobile salt. It is proposed that both of these basin-bounding fault systems were initiated in response to the buoyant growth of salt swells in the centre of the Southern North Sea Basin. Passive folding of the Triassic strata over the swells, which accommodated the shape changes caused by halokinesis, led to extension on the fault zones at the edge of the mobile Zechstein salt.

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