Seismic imaging of gas hydrates in the northernmost South China sea

Horizon velocity analysis and pre-stack depth migration of seismic profiles collected by R/V Maurice Ewing in 1995 across the accretionary prism off SW Taiwan and along the continental slope of the northernmost South China Sea were implemented for identifying gas hydrates. Similarly, a survey of 32 ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS), with a spacing of about 500 m, was conducted for exploring gas hydrates on the accretionary prism off SW Taiwan in April 2006. Travel times of head wave, refraction, reflection and converted shear wave identified from the hydrophone, vertical and horizontal components of these OBS data were applied for imaging P-wave velocity and Poisson’s ratio of hydrate-bearing sediments. In the accretionary prism off SW Taiwan, we found hydrate-bearing sediment, with a thickness of about 100–200 m, a relatively high P-wave velocity of 1.87–2.04 km/s and a relatively low Poisson’s ratio of 0.445–0.455, below anticlinal ridges near imbricate emergent thrusts in the drainage system of the Penghu and Kaoping Canyons. Free-gas layer, with a thickness of about 30–120 m, a relatively low P-wave velocity of 1.4–1.8 km/s and a relatively high Poisson’s ratio (0.47–0.48), was also observed below most of the bottom-simulating reflectors (BSR). Subsequently, based on rock physics of the three-phase effective medium, we evaluated the hydrate saturation of about 12–30% and the free-gas saturation of about 1–4%. The highest saturation (30% and 4%) of gas hydrates is found below anticlines due to N–S trending thrust-bounded folds and NE-SW thrusting and strike-slip ramps in the lower slope of the accretionary prism. We suggest that fluid may have migrated through the relay-fault array due to decollement folding and gas hydrates have been trapped in anticlines formed by the basement rises along the thrust faults. In contrast, in the rifted continental margin of the northernmost South China Sea, P-wave velocities of 1.9–2.2 km/s and 1.3–1.6 km/s, and thicknesses of about 50–200 m and 100–200 m, respectively, for a hydrate layer and a free-gas layer were imaged below the remnant and erosional ridges in the upper continental slope. High P-wave velocity of hydrate-bearing sediment below erosional ridges may also indicate high saturation of hydrates there. Normal faults due to rifting in the South China continental crust may have provided conduits for gas migration below the erosional ridges where P-wave velocity of hydrate-bearing sediment in the passive continental margin of the northernmost South China Sea is greater than that in the active accretionary prism off SW Taiwan.     

Velocity structure and gas hydrate saturation estimation on active margin off SW Taiwan inferred from seismic tomography

This paper presents results of a seismic tomography experiment carried out on the accretionary margin off southwest Taiwan. In the experiment, a seismic air gun survey was recorded on an array of 30 ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) deployed in the study area. The locations of the OBSs were determined to high accuracy by an inversion based on the shot traveltimes. A three-dimensional tomographic inversion was then carried out to determine the velocity structure for the survey area. The inversion indicates a relatively high P wave velocity (Vp) beneath topographic ridges which represent a series of thrust-cored anticlines develop in the accretionary wedge. The bottom-simulating reflectors (BSR) closely follow the seafloor and lies at 325 ± 25 m within the well-constrained region. Mean velocities range from ~1.55 km/s at the seabed to ~1.95 km/s at the BSR. We model Vp using an equation based on a modification of Wood’s equation to estimate the gas hydrate saturation. The hydrate saturation varies from 5% at the top ~200 m below the seafloor to 25% of pore space close to the BSR in the survey area.     

A determination of the seismic velocity structure of sediments using both sources and receiver near the ocean floor

A trial experiment proves the power and practicality of using both sources and receivers near the ocean floor to make precise measurements of deep (∼6000 m) ocean sediment velocity structure. A digitally recording ocean bottom hydrophone receiver operating at a sampling rate of 1800 Hz recorded clear arrivals with bubble pulse frequencies of ∼500 Hz from 41b. explosive charges detonated at depths of 5500m along a 4 km long wide angle reflection profile. It is shown that corrections for changes in source depth may be computed without approximation and without prior knowledge of the velocity structure. The experiment was located at longitude 56° W in the trough of the Kane Fracture Zone. The velocity structure of the 1 km thick sedimentary section reveals a 310 m thickness of 3 km s⁻¹ material overlying igneous basement.     

Reflection profiling in the deep ocean using a near bottom hydrophone

A 20 km long high resolution seismic reflection profile was carried out approximately 300 km southwest of Bermuda. The data were collected using a small airgun sound source and a single hydrophone receiver towed 100 m above the seafloor at a depth of 5400 m. Comparisons with nearby conventional seismic reflection profiles show the considerable improvement of resolving power provided by this method, particularly of the basement morphology beneath the 700 m thick sediment column. The data were recorded digitally and selected data examples show the enhancement provided by filtering, stacking, source deconvolution and corrections for hydrophone motion. The precise picture of basement topography that results from this data is compared with deep tow bathymetry profiles of the present day mid-Atlantic Ridge flanks, and is seen to be remarkably similar.     

Ancient buried submarine trough,northwest Gulf of Mexico

A large buried submarine trough crosses the seaward margin of the continental shelf off the southwest coast of Louisiana. Original length was about 90 km, and width at the shelf edge was 16 km. Maximum eroded depth may have been as much as 305 m. Seismic characteristics of the prograded fill indicate cyclically repeated sequences of retrogressive deltaic and partly slumped sediments overlain by well-layered transgressive deposits. Slumping was increasingly prevalent toward the shelf edge. The cyclic sequences indicate that the trough was a passageway for large volumes of sediment onto the continental slope during several stages of lowered sea level.     

Structural Configuration of Mahanadi Offshore Basin,India: An Aeromagnetic Study

Aeromagnetic data collected over the Offshore Mahanadi Basin along the Eastern margin of India display high amplitude magnetic anomalies. The presence of a Cretaceous volcanic sequence masks the seismic response from the underlying basement and results in poor quality seismic data. In this study spectral analysis of the aeromagnetic data collected over this part of the Offshore Mahanadi Basin was carried out. Results of this analysis indicate the presence of a high density, highvelocity (6.45 km/s) mafic layer within the crystalline basement varying from 4–6 km depth. This intra-basement layer seems to have been affected by a number of lineaments, which have played a role in the evolution of the Mahanadi Offshore Basin. The western part of the offshore basin is affected by the volcanism related to the 85°E Ridge, whereas the intense anomaly band (900 nT) offshore Puri, Konark and Paradip is interpreted as a combined effect of crystalline Precambrian basement overlain (i) by Cretaceous volcanic rocks of variable thickness (25–860 m) and (ii) by a mafic layer within the basement.     

Last Glacial - Holocene stratigraphic development at the Marmara Sea exit of the Bosphorus Strait,Turkey

High resolution Chirp and Sparker data allowed definition and mapping of distinct seismic units in the shallow sediment record (~100 ms) acquired from the southern exit of the Bosphorus Strait; a dynamic depositional environment. The bottommost unit observed in the Chirp data (unit-3) is made up of marine-lacustrine sediments thinning seaward and onlaps the basement rocks which are represented by folded strata in the Sparker data, possibly lower to middle Pleistocene age. It is overlain by a series of prograding deposits along the shelf (unit-2) referring to sediment input from the northern sector depending on the water levels of the paleo Marmara lake’s during MIS 3. The uppermost deposits (unit-1) close to the Bosphorus Strait were represented by three separate subunits, unlike to relatively thin drape of sediments observed at the other places in the surrounding regions. The detailed definition of these subunits deduced from the closely-spaced reflection profiles and available radiocarbon ages helped to explain the history of the latest stratigraphic development depending on the connections between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. In addition to the previously proposed major conduits, which controlled the sedimentary deposition at the southern exit of the Bosphorus, namely the Bosphorus Strait and Kurba?al?dere River, another submarine sedimentary pathway at the eastern bank of the strait’s channel seems to have delivered sediments directly into the basin.     

Evidence of slumping/sliding in Krishna–Godavari offshore basin due to gas/fluid movements

The Krishna–Godavari (KG) offshore basin is one of the promising petroliferous basins of the eastern continental margin of India. Drilling in this basin proved the presence of gas hydrate deposits in the shallow marine sediments beyond 750 m water depths, and provided lithologic and stratigraphic information. We obtained multibeam swath bathymetry covering an area of about 4500 km² in water depths of 280–1800 m and about 1260 line km of high resolution seismic (HRS) records. The general lithology of midslope deposits is comprised of nannofossil-rich clay, nannofossil-bearing clay and foraminifera-bearing clay. The HRS records and bathymetry reveal evidence of slumping and sliding of the upper and midslope sediments, which result in mass transport deposits (MTD) in the northwestern part of the study area. These deposits exhibit 3–9.5 km widths and extend 10–13 km offshore. The boundaries of the MTDs are often demarcated by sharp truncation of finely layered sediments (FLS) and the MTDs are characterized by acoustically transparent zones in the HRS data. Average thickness of recent MTDs varies with depth, i.e., in the upper slope, the thickness is about 45 m, while in the lower slope it is about 60 m, and in deeper offshore locations they attain a maximum thickness of about 90 m. A direct indication for slumping and mass transportation of deposits is provided by the age reversal in ¹⁴C AMS dates observed in a sediment core located in the midslope region. Seismic profiling signatures provide indications of fluid/gas movement. We propose that the presence of steep topographic gradients, high sedimentation rates, a regional fault system, diapirism, fluid/gas movement, and neotectonic activity may have facilitated the slumping/sliding of the upper slope sediments in the KG offshore basin.     

Evidence of slumping/sliding in Krishna–Godavari offshore basin due to gas/fluid movements

The Krishna–Godavari (KG) offshore basin is one of the promising petroliferous basins of the eastern continental margin of India. Drilling in this basin proved the presence of gas hydrate deposits in the shallow marine sediments beyond 750 m water depths, and provided lithologic and stratigraphic information. We obtained multibeam swath bathymetry covering an area of about 4500 km² in water depths of 280–1800 m and about 1260 line km of high resolution seismic (HRS) records. The general lithology of midslope deposits is comprised of nannofossil-rich clay, nannofossil-bearing clay and foraminifera-bearing clay. The HRS records and bathymetry reveal evidence of slumping and sliding of the upper and midslope sediments, which result in mass transport deposits (MTD) in the northwestern part of the study area. These deposits exhibit 3–9.5 km widths and extend 10–13 km offshore. The boundaries of the MTDs are often demarcated by sharp truncation of finely layered sediments (FLS) and the MTDs are characterized by acoustically transparent zones in the HRS data. Average thickness of recent MTDs varies with depth, i.e., in the upper slope, the thickness is about 45 m, while in the lower slope it is about 60 m, and in deeper offshore locations they attain a maximum thickness of about 90 m. A direct indication for slumping and mass transportation of deposits is provided by the age reversal in ¹⁴C AMS dates observed in a sediment core located in the midslope region. Seismic profiling signatures provide indications of fluid/gas movement. We propose that the presence of steep topographic gradients, high sedimentation rates, a regional fault system, diapirism, fluid/gas movement, and neotectonic activity may have facilitated the slumping/sliding of the upper slope sediments in the KG offshore basin.     

Pockforms: an evaluation of pockmark-like seabed features on the Landes Plateau, Bay of Biscay

Pockmark-like seabed features located on the Landes Plateau, Bay of Biscay, are depressions up to 1 km across and 50 m deep according to multibeam echo sounder data. Seismic (airgun and TOPAS) profiles show that each feature comprises a stack of identical features which extend down to 300 ms (twt). Three types of depressions, elongate, irregular and circular, appear as non-truncating V-shaped features in the Plio-Quaternary sediments. These features are located above the Parentis Basin where deep faults, basement ridges and diapiric bodies extend upwards across the sedimentary cover, providing ideal migration pathways for any buoyant fluids. Initial inspection suggests that these are classic pockmarks; however, the absence of reflection truncation and the absence of indications of shallow gas beneath the features indicate that they were not formed by the removal of sediment. These are “pockforms” but not “pockmarks”. This paper presents an explanation for the formation of these features, involving collapse and subsidence, sedimentary erosion, and only in some cases the erosion of seabed sediments by probable escaping fluids. These origins are mainly conducted through tectonic fluid dynamics which acted in the area up to the Late Miocene. It might be expected that these features would have been infilled by subsequent sedimentation, but their shape has been preserved because sedimentation in the area mainly comprised muds deposited from low-energy transportation (diluted gravity flows) and settling from hemipelagic suspension.     

Processes controlling very low sedimentation rates on the continental slope of the Gonone-Orosei canyon system,NE Sardinia—terrestrial and oceanic significance

The narrow shelf and upper slope immediately above the Gonone canyon head off NE Sardinia represent areas of very low sedimentation rates. Along the sides of the canyon head (1,600 m water depth), the sediment deposits are homogeneous but show alternating light-grey intervals rich in carbonate and dark-grey ones rich in organic matter, possibly related to distal turbidite processes. Deposits older than 50,000 years are already encountered at core depths of 2.50 m, the sedimentation rates varying from 6–21 cm/10³ years in the lower parts of two cores and from 1.5–3 cm/10³ years in the upper parts. At about 35,000 years BP, both cores show a simultaneous drop in sedimentation rate by a factor of 3, probably in response to local mechanisms of channel avulsion. Lithological, mineralogical and geochemical properties reveal the environmental factors which are responsible for the extremely slow sediment accumulation. The southernmost sector of the coast, and partly also of the shelf, consists of Jurassic limestones which supply only small amounts of fine-grained material transported in suspension. During the last sea-level highstand, the accumulation of the Cedrino River pro-delta remained restricted to the coast, the low siliciclastic sediment yields resulting in poor shelf sediment trapping. The present morphology of the canyon head prevented the occurrence of gravity processes in the deeper part of the canyon system, including the coring sites. Accordingly, deposition was mainly fed by hemipelagic material of planktonic origin, together with only moderate terrigenous inputs. On a wider late Pleistocene timescale, seismic data indicate the occurrence of a coarse-grained, layered turbidite facies, implying a very different architecture of the canyon drainage system probably prior to 60,000 years BP.     

On sediment deposition and nature of the plate boundary at the junction between the submarine Lomonosov Ridge,Arctic Ocean and the continental margin of Arctic Canada/North Greenland

The first seismic reflection data from the shallowest part of the submarine Lomonosov Ridge north of Arctic Canada and North Greenland comprise two parallel single channel lines (62 and 25 km long, offset 580 m) acquired from a 10 day camp on drifting sea ice. The top of southern Lomonosov Ridge is bevelled (550 m water depth) and only thin sediments (< 50 ms) cover acoustic basement. We suggest erosion of a former sediment drape over the ridge crest was either by a grounded marine ice sheet extending north from Ellesmere Island and/or deep draft icebergs. More than 1 km of sediments are present at the western entrance to the deep passage between southern Lomonosov Ridge and the Lincoln Sea continental margin. Here, the uppermost part (+ 0.3 s thick) of the section reflects increased sediment input during the Plio–Pleistocene. The underlying 0.7 s thick succession onlaps the slope of a subsiding Lomonosov Ridge. An unconformity at the base of the sedimentary section caps a series of NW–SE grabens and mark the end of tectonic extension and block faulting of an acoustic basement represented by older margin sediments possibly followed by minor block movements in a compressional regime. The unconformity may relate to termination of Late Cretaceous deformation between Lomonosov Ridge and Alpha Ridge or be equivalent to the Hauterivian break-up unconformity associated with the opening of the Amerasia Basin. A flexure in the stratigraphic succession above the unconformity is most likely related to differential compaction, although intraplate earthquakes do occur in the area.     

Surficial Sediments along the Inner Continental Shelf of Maine

Through 10 years of support from the Minerals Management Service Association of American State Geologists' Continental Margins Program we have mapped along the Maine coast, seaward to the 100 m isobath. In all, 1,773 bottom sample stations were occupied, 3,358 km of side-scan sonar and 5,011 km of seismic reflection profiles were gathered. On the basis of these data, a surficial sediment map was created for the Maine inner continental shelf during the Year 8 project, and cores and seismic data were collected to evaluate sand thickness during Years 9 and 10. Sand covers only 8 % of the Maine shelf, and is concentrated seaward of beaches off southern Maine in water depths less than 60 m. Sand occurs in three depositional settings: (1) in shoreface deposits connected dynamically to contemporary beaches; (2) in submerged deltas associated with lower sea-level positions; and (3) in submerged lowstand shoreline positions between 50 and 60 m. Seismic profiles over the shoreface off Saco Bay, Wells Embayment, and off the Kennebec River mouth each imaged a wedge-shaped acoustic unit which tapered off between 20 and 30 m. Cores determined that this was sand that was underlain by a variable but thin (commonly 1 m) deposit of estuarine muddy sand and a thick deposit of glacial-marine mud. Off Saco Bay, more than 55 million m3 of sand exists in the shoreface, compared with about 22 million m3 on the adjacent beach and dunes. Seaward of the Kennebec River, a large delta deposited between 13 ka and the present time holds more than 300 million m3 of sand and gravel. The best sorted sand is on the surface nearshore, with increasing amounts of gravel offshore and mud beneath the surficial sand sheet. Bedforms indicate that the surficial sand is moved by waves to at least 55 m depth. Seaward of the Penobscot River, no significant sand or gravel was encountered. Muddy estuarine sediments overlie muddy glacial-marine sediment throughout the area offshore area of this river. No satisfactory explanation is offered for lack of a sandy delta seaward of Maine's largest river. Lowstand-shoreline deposits were cored in many places in Saco Bay and off the Kennebec River mouth. Datable materials from cores indicated that the lowstand occurred around 10.5 ka off the Kennebec. Cores did not penetrate glacial-marine sediment in the lowstand deposits, and seismic profiles were ambiguous about the vertical extent of sand in these units. For these reasons, no total thickness of sand was determined from the lowstand deposits, but given the area of the surficial sand, the volume is probably in the hundreds of millions of cubic meters.     

Geophysical investigations of crust-scale structural model of the Qiongdongnan Basin, Northern South China Sea

Rifting of the Qiongdongnan Basin was initiated in the Cenozoic above a pre-Cenozoic basement, which was overprinted by extensional tectonics and soon after the basin became part of the rifted passive continental margin of the South China Sea. We have integrated available grids of sedimentary horizons, wells, seismic reflection data, and the observed gravity field into the first crust-scale structural model of the Qiongdongnan Basin. Many characteristics of this model reflect the tectonostratigraphic history of the basin. The structure and isopach maps of the basin allow us to reconstruct the history of the basin comprising: (a) The sediments of central depression are about 10 km thicker than on the northern and southern sides; (b) The sediments in the western part of the basin are about 6 km thicker than that in the eastern part; (c) a dominant structural trend of gradually shifting depocentres from the Paleogene sequence (45–23.3 Ma) to the Neogene to Quaternary sequence (23.3 Ma–present) towards the west or southwest. The present-day configuration of the basin reveals that the Cenozoic sediments are thinner towards the east. By integrating several reflection seismic profiles, interval velocity and performing gravity modeling, we model the sub-sedimentary basement of the Qiongdongnan Basin. There are about 2–4 km thick high-velocity bodies horizontal extended for a about 40–70 km in the lower crust (v > 7.0 km/s) and most probably these are underplated to the lower stretched continental crust during the final rifting and early spreading phase. The crystalline continental crust spans from the weakly stretched domains (about 25 km thick) near the continental shelf to the extremely thinned domains (<2.8 km) in the central depression, representing the continental margin rifting process in the Qiongdongnan Basin. Our crust-scale structural model shows that the thinnest crystalline crust (<3 km) is found in the Changchang Sag located in the east of the basin, and the relatively thinner crystalline crust (<3.5 km) is in the Ledong Lingshui Sag in the west of the basin. The distribution of crustal extension factor β show that β in central depression is higher (>7.0), while that on northern and southern sides is lower (<3.0). This model can illuminate future numerical simulations, including the reconstruction of the evolutionary processes from the rifted basin to the passive margin and the evolution of the thermal field of the basin.     

A geomorphological seabed classification for the Weddell Sea,Antarctica

Sea floor morphology plays an important role in many scientific disciplines such as ecology, hydrology and sedimentology since geomorphic features can act as physical controls for e.g. species distribution, oceanographically flow-path estimations or sedimentation processes. In this study, we provide a terrain analysis of the Weddell Sea based on the 500 m × 500 m resolution bathymetry data provided by the mapping project IBCSO. Seventeen seabed classes are recognized at the sea floor based on a fine and broad scale Benthic Positioning Index calculation highlighting the diversity of the glacially carved shelf. Beside the morphology, slope, aspect, terrain rugosity and hillshade were calculated and supplied to the data archive PANGAEA. Applying zonal statistics to the geomorphic features identified unambiguously the shelf edge of the Weddell Sea with a width of 45–70 km and a mean depth of about 1200 m ranging from 270 m to 4300 m. A complex morphology of troughs, flat ridges, pinnacles, steep slopes, seamounts, outcrops, and narrow ridges, structures with approx. 5–7 km width, build an approx. 40–70 km long swath along the shelf edge. The study shows where scarps and depressions control the connection between shelf and abyssal and where high and low declination within the scarps e.g. occur. For evaluation purpose, 428 grain size samples were added to the seabed class map. The mean values of mud, sand and gravel of those samples falling into a single seabed class was calculated, respectively, and assigned to a sediment texture class according to a common sediment classification scheme.     

白令海Navarinsky海底峡谷地震剖面解译

第五次北极科学考察在北极区的白令海首次进行了高分辨率单道地震作业。Navarinsky峡谷头部测线BL11-12剖面中部识别出不对称沙波,陡的一面朝向陆架,波高约为9m、波长约为882m。结合站位U1345的沉积速率及站位U1344表层纵波速率推测沙波沉积可以追溯到中更新世(距今约0.258Ma),同时近陆架的洼地逐渐填平。将地层分为3个沉积层,分析沉积物变化情况,结合0.25Ma以来白令海海平面变化历史,推测最大海退事件对应的界面。结合沙波的地理位置及海平面变化情况,认为内波对沙波的形成起主要作用。     

广东台山淤泥质海岸高分辨率地震资料解释

根据广东台山广海湾150km高分辨率地震资料,研究岬湾型海岸起伏多变的基底和上覆的第四纪沉积层序、沉积演化以及复杂的新构造作用。该区晚第四纪自下而上发育有5个层序：（1）滨海相杂色粘土,下部为河道充填;（2）河道冲积砂;（3）内大陆架粉砂质粘土;（4）滨海相潮坪沉积;（5）河口湾淤泥质沉积。研究区基底形态起伏较大,主要为黑云母花岗岩风化壳及少量变质岩。NNE和NEE向两组断裂系统最为发育,它们控制了盆地发展并经历了两期活动。     

Sedimentology of the New Hampshire Inner Continental Shelf Based on Subbottom Seismics,Side-Scan Sonar,Bathymetry, and Bottom Samples

Typical of glaciated environments, the inner continental shelf of New Hampshire is composed of bedrock outcrops, remnants of glacial deposits (for example, drumlins), sand and gravel deposits, as well as muddier sediments farther offshore. A number of previous studies have defined the general trends of the New Hampshire inner shelf from the coarser deposits nearer the shore to the muddier outer basins. Most recently, a seismic survey (150 km of side-scan sonar and subbottom seismic profiles), as well as bottom sediment sampling (74 stations), has provided a detailed bottom map of the southern New Hampshire shelf area (landward of the 30-m contour). The surficial sediments within this area range from very fine sand to gravel. Bedrock outcrops are common. The seismic survey indicated several large sand deposits exceeding 6-8 m in thickness that occur relatively close to the coast. These sedimentary units, which are within 3 km of the shoreline, are composed of fine to medium sands. Examination of the general morphology and depositional setting indicates at least some of these features are probably relic ebb tidal delta shoals. However, a large eroding drumlin occurs between two of the sand bodies and may represent the source of these deposits. Additional work is needed to verify the origin of these sediment bodies.     

Structural evolution of the northern East China Sea Shelf Basin interpreted from cross-section restoration

The northern East China Sea Shelf Basin consists of three depressions (the Domi, Jeju, and Socotra Depressions), separated by basement highs or rises. Reconstruction of depth-converted seismic reflection profiles from these depressions reveals that the northern East China Sea Shelf Basin experienced two phases of rifting, followed by regional subsidence. Initial rifting in the Late Cretaceous was driven by the NW?CSE crustal stretching of the Eurasian plate, caused by the subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the plate margin. Major extension (~15 km) took place during the early phase of basin formation. The initial rifting was terminated by regional uplift in the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene, which was probably due to reorganization of plate boundaries. Rifting resumed in the Early Oligocene; the magnitude of extension was mild (<1 km) during this period. A second phase of uplift in the Early Miocene terminated the rifting, marking the transition to the postrift phase of regional subsidence. Up to 2,600 m of sediments and basement rock were removed by erosion during and after the second phase of uplift. An inversion in the Late Miocene interrupted the postrift subsidence, resulting in an extensive thrust-fold belt in the eastern part of the area. Subsequent erosion removed about 900 m of sediments. The regional subsidence has dominated the area since the Late Miocene.