Ccte d'Ivoire-Ghana margin: seismic imaging of passive rifted crust adjacent to a transform continental margin

During May 1990 and January-February 1991, an extensive geophysical data set was collected over the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana continental margin, located along the equatorial coast of West Africa. The Ghana margin is a transform continental margin running subparallel to the Romanche Fracture Zone and its associated marginal ridge—the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana Ridge. From this data set, an explosive refraction line running ∼ 150 km, ENE-WSW between 3°55'N, 3°21'W and 4°23'N, 2°4'W, has been modelled together with wide-angle airgun profiles, and seismic reflection and gravity data. This study is centred on the Côte d'Ivoire Basin located just to the north of the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana Ridge, where bathymetric data suggest that a component of normal rifting occurred, rather than the transform motion observed along the majority of the equatorial West African margin.
Traveltime and amplitude modelling of the ocean-bottom seismometer data shows that the continental Moho beneath the margin rises in an oceanward direction, from ∼ 24 km below sea level to ∼ 17 km. In the centre of the line where the crust thins most rapidly, there exists a region of anomalously high velocity at the base of the crust, reaching some 8 km in thickness. This higher-velocity region is thought to represent an area of localized underplating related to rifting. Modelling of marine gravity data, collected coincident with the seismic line, has been used to test the best-fitting seismic model. This modelling has shown that the observed free-air anomaly is dominated by the effects of crustal thickness, and that a region of higher density is required at the base of the crust to fit the observed data. This higher-density region is consistent in size and location with the high velocities required to fit the seismic data.     

Clinoform growth and sediment flux into late Cenozoic Qiongdongnan shelf margin,South China Sea

The South China Sea continental margin in the Qiongdongnan Basin (QDNB) area has incrementally prograded since 10.5 Ma generating a margin sediment prism more than 4km-thick and 150–200 km wide above the well-dated T40 stratigraphic surface. Core and well log data, as well as clinoform morphology and growth patterns along 28 2D seismic reflection lines, illustrate the evolving architecture and margin morphology; through five main seismic-stratigraphic surfaces (T40, T30, T27, T20 and T0) frame 15 clinothems in the southwest that reduce over some 200 km to 8 clinoforms in the northeast. The overall margin geometry shows a remarkable change from sigmoidal, strongly progradational and aggradational in the west to weakly progradational in the east. Vertical sediment accumulation rate increased significantly across the entire margin after 2.4 Ma, with a marked increase in mud content in the succession. Furthermore, an estimate of sediment flux across successive clinoforms on each of the three selected seismic cross sections indicate an overall decrease in sediment discharge west to east, away from the Red River depocenter, as well as a decrease in the percentage of total discharge crossing the shelf break in this same direction. The QDNB Late Cenozoic continental margin growth, with its overall increased sediment flux, responded to the climate-induced, gradual cooling and falling global sea level during this icehouse period.     

The continent‐ocean transition on the northwestern South China Sea

Rifted margins are created as a result of stretching and breakup of continental lithosphere that eventually leads to oceanic spreading and formation of a new oceanic basin. A cornerstone for understanding what processes control the final transition to seafloor spreading is the nature of the continent‐ocean transition (COT). We reprocessed multichannel seismic profiles and use available gravity data to study the structure and variability of the COT along the Northwest subbasin (NWSB) of the South China Sea. We have interpreted the seismic images to discern continental from oceanic domains. The continental‐crust domain is characterized by tilted fault blocks generally overlain by thick syn‐rift sedimentary units, and underlain by fairly continuous Moho reflections typically at 8–10 s twtt. The thickness of the continental crust changes greatly across the basin, from ~20 to 25 km under the shelf and uppermost slope, to ~9–6 km under the lower slope. The oceanic‐crust domain is characterized by a highly reflective top of basement, little faulting, no syntectonic strata and fairly constant thickness (over tens to hundreds of km) of typically 6 km, but ranging from 4 to 8 km. The COT is imaged as a ~5–10 km wide zone where oceanic‐type features directly abut or lap on continental‐type structures. The South China margin continental crust is cut by abundant normal faults. Seismic profiles show an along‐strike variation in the tectonic structure of the continental margin. The NE‐most lines display ~20–40 km wide segments of intense faulting under the slope and associated continental‐crust thinning, giving way to a narrow COT and oceanic crust. Towards the SW, faulting and thinning of the continental crust occurs across a ~100–110 km wide segment with a narrow COT and abutting oceanic crust. We interpret this 3D structural variability and the narrow COT as a consequence of the abrupt termination of continental rifting tectonics by the NE to SW propagation of a spreading centre. We suggest that breakup occurred abruptly by spreading centre propagation rather than by thinning during continental rifting. We propose a kinematic evolution for the oceanic domain of the NWSB consisting of a southward spreading centre propagation followed by a first narrow ridge jump to the north, and then a younger larger jump to the SE, to abandon the NWSB and create the East subbasin of the South China Sea.     

Crustal thickness estimation beneath the southern central Andes at 30°S and 36°S from S wave receiver function analysis

We have used the S wave receiver function (SRF) technique to investigate the crustal thickness beneath two seismic profiles from the CHARGE project in the southern central Andes. A previous study employing the P wave receiver function method has observed the Moho interface beneath much of the profiles. They found, however, that the amplitude of the P to S conversion was diminished in the western part of the profiles and have attributed it to a reduction of the impedance contrast at the Moho due to lower crustal ecologitization. With SRF, we have successfully detected S to P converted waves from the Moho as well as possible conversions from other lithospheric boundaries. The continental South American crust reaches its maximum thickness of ∼70 km (along 30°S between 70°W and 68.5°W) beneath the Principal Cordillera and the Famatina system and becomes thinner towards the Sierras Pampeanas with a thickness of ∼40 km. Negative phases, possibly related to the base of the continental and oceanic lithosphere, can be recognized in the summation traces at different depths. By comparing our results with data obtained from previous investigations, we are able to further constrain the thickness of the crust and lithosphere beneath the central Andes.     

A prograding margin during global sea‐level maxima: an example from Mahajanga Basin,northwest Madagascar

The Mesozoic shelf margin in the Mahajanga Basin, northwest Madagascar, provides an example where inherited palaeobathymetry, coupled with sea‐level changes, high sediment supply and fluctuations in accommodation influenced the stacking patterns and geometry of clinoforms that accreted onto a passive rifted margin. Two‐dimensional (2D) seismic profiles are integrated with existing field data and geological maps to study the evolution of the margin. The basin contains complete records of transgression, highstand, regression and lowstand phases that took place from Jurassic to Cretaceous. Of particular interest is the Cretaceous, Albian to Turonian (ca. 113‐93 Ma), siliciclastic shelf margin that prograded above a drowned Middle Jurassic carbonate platform. The siliciclastic phase of the shelf margin advanced ca. 70 km within ca. 20 My, and contains 10 distinct clinoforms mapped along a 2D seismic reflection data set. The clinoforms show a progressive decrease in height and slope length, and a fairly constant slope gradient through time. The successive shelf edges begin with a persistent flat to slightly downward‐directed shelf‐edge trajectory that changes to an ascending trajectory at the end of clinoform progradation. The progressive decrease in clinoform height and slope length is attributed to a decrease in accommodation. The prograding margin is interpreted to have formed when siliciclastic input increased as eastern Madagascar was uplifted. This work highlights the importance of sediment supply and inherited palaeobathymetry as controls on the evolution of shelf margins and it provides a new understanding of the evolution of the Mahajanga Basin during the Mesozoic.     

What feeds shelf-edge clinoforms over margins deprived of adjacent land sources? An example from southeastern Brazil

In southeastern Brazil, the Serra do Mar coastal mountain range blocks the sediment influx from arriving at a ca. 1,500 km long continental margin comprising Santos and Pelotas basins. Despite this deprivation, the margin accumulated a ca. 1 km thick sedimentary succession since the Mid-Miocene. Examination of seismic reflection and oceanographic data indicates that shelf-margin clinoform formation exhibits a regional variability, with major sigmoidal clinoforms developed in the transitional area between both basins. Laterally, poorly developed oblique clinoforms constitute isolated depocenters along the shelf margin. The continuous clinoform development in the transitional area is attributed to the major influence on sediment transport patterns of several ocean bottom currents flowing along the margin, such as the Brazil Coastal Current, the Brazil Current and the Intermediate Water Brazil Current. These currents erode, transport and distribute sediments across the shelf break and upper slope from distant sediment sources located either north or south of the study area. The progressive southward strengthening of the Brazil Current could be responsible for a major southward sediment redistribution from the northern Campos Basin, and/or for sediment entrainment from northward-induced transport by the Brazil Coastal Current, originally derived from the De la Plata Estuary. In the transition between Santos and Pelotas basins, the Intermediate Water Brazil Current splits forming the Santos Bifurcation, allowing for a continuous depositional process and clinoform generation. We suggest that ocean bottom currents may shape other shelf-edge ‘contouritic clinoforms’ in continental margins mainly constructed by along-strike sediment transport largely driven by long-term geostrophic currents.     

Crustal structure across the Grand Banks–Newfoundland Basin Continental Margin – II. Results from a seismic reflection profile

New multichannel seismic reflection data were collected over a 565 km transect covering the non-volcanic rifted margin of the central eastern Grand Banks and the Newfoundland Basin in the northwestern Atlantic. Three major crustal zones are interpreted from west to east over the seaward 350 km of the profile: (1) continental crust; (2) transitional basement and (3) oceanic crust. Continental crust thins over a wide zone (∼160 km) by forming a large rift basin (Carson Basin) and seaward fault block, together with a series of smaller fault blocks eastwards beneath the Salar and Newfoundland basins. Analysis of selected previous reflection profiles (Lithoprobe 85-4, 85-2 and Conrad NB-1) indicates that prominent landward-dipping reflections observed under the continental slope are a regional phenomenon. They define the landward edge of a deep serpentinized mantle layer, which underlies both extended continental crust and transitional basement. The 80-km-wide transitional basement is defined landwards by a basement high that may consist of serpentinized peridotite and seawards by a pair of basement highs of unknown crustal origin. Flat and unreflective transitional basement most likely is exhumed, serpentinized mantle, although our results do not exclude the possibility of anomalously thinned oceanic crust. A Moho reflection below interpreted oceanic crust is first observed landwards of magnetic anomaly M4, 230 km from the shelf break. Extrapolation of ages from chron M0 to the edge of interpreted oceanic crust suggests that the onset of seafloor spreading was ∼138 Ma (Valanginian) in the south (southern Newfoundland Basin) to ∼125 Ma (Barremian–Aptian boundary) in the north (Flemish Cap), comparable to those proposed for the conjugate margins.     

Crustal structure in the Western Somali Basin

Summary. As part of integrated marine geophysical studies in the Western Somali Basin, we performed 118 sonobuoy experiments to define better the crustal structure of the margins and basin created by the separation of Madagascar and Africa. After using T ²/ X ², conventional slope-intercept methods, and slant-stacked t-p techniques to analyse the data, we combined our solutions with all previous velocity information for the area. Velocity functions were derived for the sediment coiumn, and we detected a high-velocity (4.58 ± 0.29 km s^–1) sediment layer overlying acoustic basement. We confirmed that the crust is indeed seismically oceanic, and that it may be considered either in terms of a layered model – layers 2B (5.42 ± 0.19 km s^–1), 2C (6.23 ± 0.22 km s^–1), 3 (7.03 ± 0.25 km s^–1), and mantle (7.85 ± 0.32 km s^–1) were identified – or a more complex gradient model in which layer 2 is marked by a steeper velocity gradient than underlying layer 3. Integrated igneous crustal thicknesses (1.62 ± 0.22 s, 5.22 ± 0.64 km) are significantly less than what is considered normal. We present a revised seismic transect across the East African margin, as well as total sediment thickness, depth to basement and crustal thickness maps.     

Structure and early evolution of the Arabian Sea and East Somali Basin

The Laxmi Ridge is a large-scale basement high buried beneath the sediments of the Indus Fan. The location of the ocean–continent transition (OCT) on this margin has previously been proposed at either the southern edge of the Laxmi Ridge or beyond it towards the India–Pakistan shelf. The former explains the margin-parallel Laxmi Basin as thinned continental crust, the latter as a failed rift of earlier seafloor spreading. To examine the structure of this margin, a reassessment of marine magnetic data has detailed seafloor-spreading magnetic anomalies prior to anomaly 24 in both the Arabian and East Somali basins. The previously identified anomaly 28 is not interpreted as a seafloor-spreading anomaly but as a magnetized basement feature adjacent to, and merging with, the ridge—the Laxmi Spur. New gravity models across the Laxmi Ridge and adjacent margin using ship and satellite data corroborate the existence of underplated crust beneath the Laxmi Ridge and Basin and the location of the OCT at the southern edge of the Ridge. The results are not compatible with the existence of a pre-anomaly 28 phase of seafloor spreading, although large-scale intrusions may be the origin of some of the basement features in the Laxmi Basin. The models also identify the Laxmi Spur as a low-density feature with a natural remanent magnetization (NRM) compatible with serpentinization. The Laxmi Ridge is mapped to the southeast, where it appears to terminate at a point coinciding with the appearance of E–W magnetic lineations and gravity anomalies at 15.5°N. Thereafter it becomes indistinct. This is interpreted as necessary in the reconstruction to the Mascarene Plateau to avoid continental overlap.     

Deep-penetrating MCS images of the South Gabon Basin: implications for rift tectonics and post-breakup salt remobilization

Abstract Rifted margin architecture along part of the southern Gabonese margin is interpreted from four deep-penetration, multichannel seismic reflection (MCS) profiles. A series of synthetically faulted crustal blocks are identified, separated by dominantly seaward-dipping fault zones formed during Cretaceous rifting between Africa and South America. Extensional strain ratios are ≅ 1.5. These faults appear either to transect the entire crustal section or are interrupted by discontinuous zones of midcrustal reflections which may represent detachments.
Outer acoustic basement highs are situated just seaward of the continental slope. On the combined basis of seismic geometry, an associated positive magnetic anomaly and an increase in free-air gravity, these outer highs are interpreted to mark faulted transitions from rifted continental crust to 'proto-oceanic crust', presumably composed of mafic volcanic rocks and possibly slivers of attenuated continental crustal blocks. The outer edge of Aptian salt lies °165 km south-west of the edge of the continental shelf. The salt forms an° 1.5-km-thick horizon overlying the outer highs, and it may be autochthonous there, suggesting salt was deposited contemporaneously with emplacement of proto-oceanic crust.
Differential subsidence and tilting between continental rift-blocks during post-rift margin subsidence has resulted in a sympathetic terrace-ramp geometry in overlying Aptian salt. Salt terraces form above tops of crustal blocks, where salt tends to rise vertically, creating pillows and diapirs. Ramps connecting terraces tend to form above seaward-facing fault zones; salt flowage there has been both lateral and vertical, creating triangular diapirs along the footwalls of growth faults. Most of these growth-faults sole within the salt base, but a few continue into the interpreted synrift succession.     

Late Pliocene–early Pleistocene deep‐sea basin sedimentation at high‐latitudes: mega‐scale submarine slides of the north‐western Barents Sea margin prior to the shelf‐edge glaciations

At high‐latitude continental margins, large‐scale submarine sliding has been an important process for deep‐sea sediment transfer during glacial and interglacial periods. Little is, however, known about the importance of this process prior to the arrival of the ice sheet on the continental shelf. Based on new two‐dimensional seismic data from the NW Barents Sea continental margin, this study documents the presence of thick and regionally extensive submarine slides formed between 2.7 and 2.1 Ma, before shelf‐edge glaciation. The largest submarine slide, located in the northern part of the Storfjorden Trough Mouth Fan (TMF), left a scar and is characterized by an at least 870‐m‐thick interval of chaotic to reflection‐free seismic facies interpreted as debrites. The full extent of this slide debrite 1 is yet unknown but it has a mapped areal distribution of at least 10.7 × 10³ km² and it involved >4.1 × 10³ km³ of sediments. It remobilized a larger sediment volume than one of the largest exposed submarine slides in the world – the Storegga Slide in the Norwegian Sea. In the southern part of the Storfjorden TMF and along the Kveithola TMF, the seismic data reveal at least four large‐scale slide debrites, characterized by seismic facies similar to the slide debrite 1. Each of them is ca. 295‐m thick, covers an area of at least 7.04 × 10³ km² and involved 1.1 × 10³ km³ of sediments. These five submarine slide debrites represent approximately one quarter of the total volume of sediments deposited during the time 2.7–1.5 Ma along the NW Barents Sea. The preconditioning factors for submarine sliding in this area probably included deposition at high sedimentation rate, some of which may have occurred in periods of low eustatic sea‐level. Intervals of weak contouritic sediments might also have contributed to the instability of part of the slope succession as these deposits are known from other parts of the Norwegian margin and elsewhere to have the potential to act as weak layers. Triggering was probably caused by seismicity associated with the nearby and active Knipovich spreading ridge and/or the old tectonic lineaments within the Spitsbergen Shear Zone. This seismicity is inferred to be the main influence of the large‐scale sliding in this area as this and previous studies have documented that sliding have occurred independently of climatic variations, i.e. both before and during the period of ice sheets repeatedly covering the continental shelf.     

The Hatton Bank continental margin—I. Shallow structure from two-ship expanding spread seismic profiles

Summary. The Hatton Bank passive continental margin exhibits thick seaward dipping reflector sequences which consist of basalts extruded during rifting between Greenland and Rockall Plateau. Multichannel seismic reflection profiling across the margin reveals three reflector wedges with a maximum thickness near 7 km, extending from beneath the upper continental slope to the deep ocean basin. We present results of the velocity structure within the dipping reflector sequences at eight locations across the margin, interpreted by synthetic seismogram modelling a set of multichannel expanding spread profiles parallel to the margin. At the top of some reflector sequences, we observe a series of 100 m thick high- and low-velocity zones, which are interpreted as basalt flows alternating with sediments or weathered and rubble layers. At the profile locations, the base of the dipping reflectors correlates with P -wave velocities near 6.5 km s⁻¹. However, elsewhere the reflectors appear to extend significantly deeper than the inferred 6.5 km s⁻¹ velocity contour, indicating that the velocity structure may not be controlled solely by lithological boundaries but also by metamorphic effects. Shear-waves were observed on two lines, permitting the calculation of Poisson's ratio. The decrease in Poisson's ratio from 0.28 to near 0.25 in the upper 5 km of crust may also indicate the effect of metamorphism on seismic properties, or alternatively may be explained by crack closure under load.     

The evolution of the high‐elevated depocenters of the northern Sierras Pampeanas (ca. 28˚ SL), Argentine broken foreland,South‐Central Andes: the Pipanaco Basin

The Pipanaco Basin, in the southern margin of the Andean Puna plateau at ca. 28°SL, is one of the largest and highest intermontane basins within the northernmost Argentine broken foreland. With a surface elevation >1000 m above sea level, this basin represents a strategic location to understand the subsidence and subsequent uplift history of high‐elevation depositional surfaces within the distal Andean foreland. However, the stratigraphic record of the Pipanaco Basin is almost entirely within the subsurface, and no geophysical surveys have been conducted in the region. A high‐resolution gravity study has been designed to understand the subsurface basin geometry. This study, together with stratigraphic correlations and flexural and backstripping analysis, suggests that the region was dominated by a regional subsidence episode of ca. 2 km during the Miocene‐Pliocene, followed by basement thrusting and ca. 1–1.5 km of sediment filling within restricted intermontane basin between the Pliocene‐Pleistocene. Based on the present‐day position of the basement top as well as the Neogene‐Present sediment thicknesses across the Sierras Pampeanas, which show slight variations along strike, sediment aggradation is not the most suitable process to account for the increase in the topographic level of the high‐elevation, close‐drainage basins of Argentina. The close correlation between the depth to basement and the mean surface elevations recorded in different swaths indicates that deep‐seated geodynamic process affected the northern Sierras Pampeanas. Seismic tomography, as well as a preliminary comparison between the isostatic and seismic Moho, suggests a buoyant lithosphere beneath the northern Sierras Pampeanas, which might have driven the long‐wavelength rise of this part of the broken foreland after the major phase of deposition in these Andean basins.     

Crustal structure of the Faeroe–Shetiand Channel

Summary. The deep structure of the Faeroe–Shetland Channel has been investigated as part of the North Atlantic Seismic Project. Shot lines were fired along and across the axis of the Channel, with recording stations both at sea and on adjacent land areas. At 61°N, 1.7 km of Tertiary sediments overlies a 3.9–4.5 km s^-1 basement interpreted as the top of early Tertiary volcanics. A main 6.0–6.6 km s^-1 crustal refractor interpreted as old oceanic crust occurs at about 9 km depth. The Moho (8.0 ° 0.2 km s^-1) is at about 15–17 km depth. There is evidence that P _n may be anisotropic beneath the Faeroe–Shetland Channel. Arrivals recorded at land stations show characteristics best explained by scattering at an intervening boundary which may be the continent–ocean crustal contact or the edge of the volcanics.
The Moho delay times at the shot points, determined by time-term analysis, show considerable variation along the axis of the Channel. They correlate with the basement topography, and the greatest delays occur over the buried extension of the Faeroe Ridge at about 60° 15'N, where they are nearly 1 s more than the delays at 61°N after correction for the sediments. The large delays are attributed to thickening of the early Tertiary volcanic layer with isostatic downsagging of the underlying crust and uppermost mantle in response to the load, rather than to thickening of the main crustal ayer.
The new evidence is consistent with deeply buried oceanic crust beneath the Faeroe–Shetland Channel, forming a northern extension of Rockall Trough. The seabed morphology has been grossly modified by the thick and laterally variable pile of early Tertiary volcanic rocks which swamped the region, accounting for the anomalous shallow bathymetry, the transverse ridges and the present narrowness of the Channel.     

Along‐strike variability in shelf‐margin morphology and accretion pattern: An example from the northern margin of the South China Sea

Interplays among diachronous tectonism, uneven sediment supply, and local marine hydraulic processes make the northern margin of the South China Sea (SCS) an ideal location to investigate the complexity of along‐strike variability in shelf margins. This study examines shelf‐margin morphology, stratigraphy, and sedimentation from the northern SCS using multichannel seismic reflection profiles complemented with the data from commercial and ocean drilling sites. Analysis of seismic reflection profiles reveals three categories of shelf‐margin cross‐sectional profiles, the concave‐up, linear, and sigmoidal, according to which five margin sectors were recognized. Results show that these margin segments differ in relief, shelf‐edge trajectory, submarine canyon development, and long‐term accretion pattern. The westernmost margin sector, or the Yinggehai (YGH)‐western Qiongdongnan (QDN) margin, has appeared to be supply dominated since its commencement at ca. 10.5 Ma, which is characterized by well‐developed prograding clinoforms, low‐angle shelf‐edge trajectories, and an absence of canyons. Presence of concave‐up profiles is also suggestive of high sediment influx. In contrast, the eastern QDN margin was primarily regulated by local subsidence and faulting, leading to a stationary shelf‐edge migrating pattern and linear upper‐slope morphology. Densely distributed slope‐confined gullies indicate the margin’s disequilibrium and erosive nature. Further east, the Pearl River Mouth (PRM) margin formed much earlier (ca. 30 Ma) and experienced a more complicated accretion history, including three phases which were dominated by sequential marginal faulting (before ca. 30 Ma), basement structure (ca. 30–23 Ma), and sediment supply (ca. 23 Ma to the present). The overall sigmoidal morphology and truncated stratigraphy of this margin probably resulted from the sculpting of local marine processes, especially ocean currents and internal waves. The exception of the central PRM margin where concave‐up profiles develop is mainly related to canyon erosion. Overall, this study highlights the vital role of local forcing factors in controlling along‐margin variations and determining the final fates of different margin segments. A comparison between the northern SCS and other well‐established examples reveals that concave‐upward shelf‐margin shapes, which are usually associated with high sediment supply, little influence from hydraulic regimes, or sometimes, high degree of canyon development, may be an indicator of good reservoir potential beyond the shelf edge.     

Crustal structure of the Newfoundland rifted continental margin from constrained 3-D gravity inversion

The rifting history of the Atlantic continental margin of Newfoundland is very complex and so far has been investigated at the crustal scale primarily with the use of 2-D seismic surveys. While informative, the results generated from these surveys cannot easily be interpreted in a regional sense due to their sparse sampling of the margin. A 3-D gravity inversion of the free air data over the Newfoundland margin allows us to generate a 3-D density anomaly model that can be compared with the seismic results and used to gain insight into regions lacking seismic coverage. Results of the gravity inversion show good correspondence with Moho depths from seismic results. A shallowing of the Moho to 12 km depth is resolved on the shelf at the northern edge of the Grand Banks, in a region poorly sampled by other methods. Comparisons between sediment thickness and crustal thickness show deviations from local isostatic compensation in locations which correlate with faults and rifting trends. Such insights must act as constraints for future palaeoreconstructions of North Atlantic rifting.     

Shelf-margin clinoforms and prediction of deepwater sands

Early Eocene successions from Spitsbergen and offshore Ireland, showing well‐developed shelf‐margin clinoforms and a variety of deepwater sands, are used to develop models to predict the presence or absence of turbidite sands in clinoform strata without significant slope disturbance/ponding by salt or mud diapers. The studied clinoforms formed in front of narrow to moderate width (10–60 km) shelves and have slopes, 2–4°, that are typical of accreting shelf margins. The clinoforms are evaluated in terms of both shelf‐transiting sediment‐delivery systems and the resultant partitioning of the sand and mud budget along their different segments. Although this sediment‐budget partitioning is controlled by sediment type and flux, shelf width and gradient, process regime on the shelf and relative sea‐level behaviour, the most tell‐tale or predictive signs in the stratigraphic record appear to be (1) sediment‐delivery system type, (2) degree of shelf‐edge channelling and (3) character of shelf‐edge trajectory through time. The clinoform data sets from the Porcupine Basin (wells and 3‐D seismic) and from the Central Basin on Spitsbergen (outcrops) suggest that river‐dominated deltas are the most efficient delivery systems for dispersing sand into deep water beyond the shelf‐slope break. In addition, low‐angle or flat, channelled shelf‐edge trajectories associate with co‐eval deepwater slope and basin‐floor sands, whereas rising trajectories tend to associate with muddy slopes and basin floors. Characteristic features of the shelf‐edge, slope and basin‐floor segments of clinoforms for these trajectory types are documented. Seismic lines along the slope to basin‐floor transects tend to show apparent up‐dip sandstone pinchouts, but most of these are likely to be simply sidelap features. Dip lines aligned along the axes of sandy fairways show that stratigraphic traps are unlikely, unless slope channels become mud‐filled or are structurally partitioned. Another feature that is prominent in the data sets examined is the lack of slope onlap. During the relative rise of sea level back up to the shelf, the clinoform slopes are generally mud‐prone and they are characteristically aggradational.     

Morphology and sedimentary systems in the Central Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: sedimentary dynamics from shelf to basin

A detailed regional characterization of the physiography, morphology and sedimentary systems of the Central Bransfield Basin (CBB) was carried out using swath bathymetry and high‐ and very high‐resolution seismic profiles. The basin margins show continental shelves with numerous glacial troughs, and continental slopes where relatively wide and flat slope platforms represent the middle domain in an atypical physiographic scenario in glaciated margins. Although the CBB is tectonically active, most of the morphologic features are sedimentary in origin, and can be classified into four sedimentary systems: (1) glacial‐glaciomarine, composed of erosional surfaces, glacial troughs, furrows and draping sheets; (2) slope‐basin, formed by trough mouth fans, slope aprons, the Gebra‐Magia instability complex and turbidity systems; (3) seabed fluid outflow system composed of pockmark fields; and (4) contourite, composed of drifts and moats. The sedimentary systems show a clear zonation from shelf to basin and their dynamics reflects the complex interplay among glacial, glaciomarine, marine and oceanographic processes involved in the entire shelf‐to‐basin sediment distribution. The CBB morphology is primarily controlled by glacial/interglacial cyclicity and physiography and to a lesser extent by tectonics and oceanography. These factors have affected the South Shetland Islands (SSI) and Antarctic Peninsula (AP) margins differently, creating a relatively starved SSI margin and a more constructional AP margin. They have also created two entire sediment‐dispersal domains: the shelf‐to‐slope, which records the glaciation history of the CBB; and the lower slope‐to‐basin, which records the imprint of local factors. This study provides a ‘source‐to‐sink’ sedimentary scheme for glaciated margins, which may be applied to the basin research in other margins, based on the characterization of sedimentary systems, their boundaries and the linkages among them. This approach proves to be adequate for the identification of global and local factors governing the CBB and may therefore be applied to other study areas.     

Fluid flow and pore pressure development throughout the evolution of a trough mouth fan,western Barents Sea

Using a combination of geophysical and geotechnical data from Storfjorden Trough Mouth Fan off southern Svalbard, we investigate the hydrogeology of the continental margin and how this is affected by Quaternary glacial advances and retreats over the continental shelf. The geotechnical results show that plumites, deposited during the deglaciation, have high porosities, permeabilities and compressibilities with respect to glacigenic debris flows and tills. These results together with margin stratigraphic models obtained from seismic reflection data were used as input for numerical finite element models to understand focusing of interstitial fluids on glaciated continental margins. The modelled evolution of the Storfjorden TMF shows that tills formed on the shelf following the onset of glacial sedimentation (ca. 1.5 Ma) acted as aquitards and therefore played a significant role in decreasing the vertical fluid flow towards the sea floor and diverting it towards the slope. The model shows that high overpressure ratios (up to λ ca. 0.6) developed below the shelf edge and on the middle slope. A more detailed model for the last 220 kyrs accounting for ice loading during glacial maxima shows that the formation of these aquitards on the shelf focused fluid flow towards the most permeable plumite sediments on the slope. The less permeable glacigenic debris flows that were deposited during glacial maxima on the slope hinder fluid evacuation from plumites allowing high overpressure ratios (up to λ ca. 0.7) to develop in the shallowest plumite layers. These high overpressures likely persist to the Present and are a critical precondition for submarine slope failure.     

Miocene shelf‐edge deltas and their impact on deepwater slope progradation and morphology,Northwest Shelf of Australia

Late‐middle Miocene to Pliocene siliciclastics in the Northern Carnarvon Basin, Northwest Shelf of Australia, are interpreted as having been deposited by deltas. Some delta lobes deposited sediments near and at the shelf break (shelf‐edge deltas), whereas other lobes did not reach the coeval shelf break before retreating landward or being abandoned. Shelf‐margin mapview morphology changes from linear to convex‐outward in the northern part of the study area where shelf‐edge deltas were focused. Location and character of shelf‐edge deltas also had significant impact on along‐strike variability of margin progradation and shelf‐edge trajectory. Total late‐middle and late Miocene margin progradation is ca. 13 km in the south, where there were no shelf‐edge deltas, vs. ca. 34 km in the north where shelf‐edge deltas were concentrated. In the central area, the deltas were arrested and accumulated a few kilometres landward of the shelf break, resulting in an aggradational shelf‐edge trajectory, in contrast to the more progradational trajectory farther north. This illustrates a potential limitation of shelf‐edge trajectory analysis: only where shelf‐edge deltas occur, there is sufficient sediment available for the shelf‐edge trajectory to record relative sea‐level fluctuations reliably. Small‐scale (ca. 400 m wide) incisions were already conspicuous on the coeval slope even before deltas reached the shelf break. However, slope gullies immediately downdip from active shelf‐edge deltas display greater erosion of underlying strata and are wider and deeper (>1 km wide, ca. 100 m deep) than coeval incisions that are laterally offset from the deltaic depocenter (ca. 0.7 km wide, ca. 25 m deep). We interpret this change in slope‐gully dimensions as the result of greater erosion by sediment gravity flows sourced from the immediately adjacent shelf‐edge deltas. Similarly, gullies also incised further (up to 6 km) into the outer shelf in the region of active shelf‐edge deltas.