Correlation of Miocene strata on the submarine St. Croix Ridge and onland St. Croix,US Virgin Islands

The nannofossils of an hydraulic piston core from the steep scarp between the St. Croix Ridge and Virgin Islands Basin were restudied. Formerly thought to represent a Pliocene debris flow, we interpret it as an early Miocene (NN1/2) hemipelagic deposit. We correlate the seismic unit sampled by piston core with the Kingshill-Jealousy Formation present on St. Croix. These sediments likely belong to an extensive, thick, deep marine cover of the St. Croix Ridge, deposited on a metamorphic—igneous basement between early Eocene and early Miocene time. Faulting did not evidently affect this sediment cover until the late Neogene.     

Seismic stratigraphy and structure of the area to the southeast of the trobriand platform

The area to the southeast of the Trobriand Platform contains an easterly continuation of the Oligocene to Quaternary Cape Vogel Basin (CVB). Within this area, three major seismic sequences are recognized: sea bed-A, A–B, and B–D. The latter sequence occurs within a depocenter with approximately 3,200 m of sediment. The A–B and B–D sequences were faulted and gently folded in Late Miocene times.To the south and southeast of this depocenter the CVB has been truncated by the Pliocene opening of the Woodlark Basin, an active westward-propagating spreading system.     

Controls on turbidite sand deposition during gravity-driven extension of a passive margin: examples from Miocene sediments in Block 4, Angola

In recent years, exploration of the Lower Congo Basin in Angola has focused on the Neogene turbidite sand play of the Malembo Formation. Gravity tectonics has played an important role during deposition of the Malembo Formation and has imparted a well-documented structural style to the post-rift sediments. An oceanward transition from thin-skinned extension through mobile salt and eventually to thin-skinned compressional structures characterises the post-rift sediments. There has been little discussion, however, regarding the influence of these structures on the deposition of the Malembo Formation turbidite sands. Block 4 lies at the southern margin of the Lower Congo Basin and is dominated by the thin-skinned extensional structural style. Using a multidisciplinary approach we trace the post-rift structural and stratigraphic evolution of this block to study the structural controls on Neogene turbidite sand deposition.In the Lower Congo Basin the transition from terrestrial rift basin to fully marine passive margin is recorded by late Aptian evaporites of the Loeme Formation. Extension of the overlying post-rift sequences has occurred where the Loeme Formation has been utilised as a detachment surface for extensional faults. Since the late Cretaceous, the passive margin sediments have moved down-slope on the Loeme detachment. This history of gravity-driven extension is recorded in the post-rift sediments of Block 4. Extension commenced in the Albian in the east of the block and migrated westwards with time. In the west, the extension occurred mainly in the Miocene and generated allochthonous fault blocks or “rafts”, separated by deep grabens. The Miocene extension occurred in two main phases with contrasting slip vectors; in the early Miocene the extension vector was to the west, switching to southwest-directed extension in the late Miocene. Early Miocene faults and half-grabens trend north–south whereas late Miocene structures trend northwest–southeast. The contrast in slip vectors between these two phases emphasises the differences in driving mechanisms: the early Miocene faulting was driven by basinward tilting of the passive margin, but gravity loading due to sedimentary progradation is considered the main driver for the late Miocene extension. The geological evolution of the late Miocene grabens is consistent with southwest-directed extension due to southwest progradation of the Congo fan.High-resolution biostratigraphic data identifies the turbidite sands in Block 4 as early Miocene (17.5–15.5 Ma) and late Miocene (10.5–5.5 Ma) in age. Deposition of these sands occurred during the two main phases of gravity-driven extension. Conditions of low sedimentation rates relative to high fault displacement rates were prevalent in the early Miocene. Seafloor depressions were generated in the hangingwalls of the main extensional faults, ultimately leading to capture of the turbidity currents. Lower Miocene turbidite sand bodies therefore trend north–south, parallel to the active faults. Cross-faults and relay ramps created local topographic highs capable of deflecting turbidite flows within the half grabens. Flow-stripping of turbidity currents across these features caused preferential deposition of sands across, and adjacent to, the highs. Turbidite sands deposited in the early part of the late Miocene were influenced by both the old north–south fault trends and by the new northwest–southeast fault trends. By latest Miocene times turbidite channels crosscut the active northwest–southeast-trending faults. These latest Miocene faults had limited potential to capture turbidity currents because the associated hangingwall grabens were rapidly filled as pro-delta sediments of the Congo fan prograded across the area from the northeast.     

Late Quaternary Evolution of Amvrakikos Gulf,Western Greece

Amvrakikos Gulf is a Neogene basin, formed during a late extensional tectonic phase within the Plio-Quaternary period. It is a semienclosed embayment, separated from the Ionian Sea by a shallow (< 10 m) channel. The analysis of 3.5-kHz seismic reflection profiles shows that, during the last (Würm) glacial period, the parts of the Gulf that lie at water depths >41 m (below present sea level) were a paleo-lake while the rest were exposed to subaerial erosion. Subsequent offshore depositional sequences accumulated at rates of 1.2–2.3 m/ka.     

Sediment deposition in the northern basins of the North Atlantic and characteristic variations in shelf sedimentation along the East Greenland margin

New seismic data off East Greenland were acquired in the summer of 2002, between 77°N and 81°N, north of the Greenland Fracture zone. The data were combined with results from the Greenland Basin and ODP site 909, and indicate a pronounced middle Miocene unconformity within the deep sea basins between 72°N and 81°N. Seismic unit NA-1 consists of sediments older than middle Miocene age and unit NA-2 contains sediments younger than the middle Miocene. Classification of a thinly bedded succession in the Molloy Basin resulted in a subdivision into four units (unit I, unit II, unit IIIA and unit IIIB). A comparison of volume estimations and sediment thickness maps between 72°N and 81°N indicates differences in sediment accumulation in the Greenland, Boreas and Molloy basins. Important controls on the variation of accumulation included different opening times of the basins, as well as tectonic conditions and varying sources of sediment transport.Due to prominent basement structures and the varying reflection character of the sediments along the entire East Greenland margin, we defined an age model of shelf sediments on the basis of similar sediment deposit geometry and known results from other regions. The seismic sequences on the shelf up to an age of middle Miocene are divided into three sub-units along the East Greenland margin: middle Miocene–middle late Miocene (SU-3), middle late Miocene–Pleistocene (SU-2), Pleistocene (SU-1). The differences in the geometry of the sequences show more ice stream related sedimentation between 72°N and 77°N and more ice sheet related sedimentation north of 78°N. The region south of 68°N is dominated by more aggradational sedimentary strata so that a glacio-fluvial drainage seems the main transport mechanism. Due to the Greenland Inland–ice borderlines, we assume the glaciers between the Scoresby Sund and 68°N did not reach the shelf break. A first comparison of the sediment structure of the Northeast Greenland margin with the Southeast Greenland margin made it possible to demonstrate significant differences in sedimentation along this margin.     

西太平洋晚第三纪钙质超微化石及其古海洋学意义

本文研究了菲律宾海东部,北部“大洋钻探工程”125航次782A和786A二个钻孔晚第三纪的钙质超微化石。本区自下而上划分为13个带(或亚带),存在三个沉积间断:晚渐新世与中中新世之间;中中新世与晚中新世之间以及晚中新世与早上新世之间。据超微化石分析,本区晚第三纪存在4个相对暖水期和4个相对较凉期。根据菲律宾海东部,中部“深海钻探工程”58、59、60三个航次以及我国东海陆架、台湾东海岸及西部地区,南海北缘等地钙质超微化石分带的对比,晚渐新世与早中新世之间以及中、上新世之间的沉积间断在环西太平洋一侧具有普遍性,但形成原因不尽相同。     

Sequence model and its application to a Miocene shelf–slope system in the tectonically active Ulleung Basin margin, East Sea (Sea of Japan)

In a broader application of sequence stratigraphic concept to a tectonically active margin setting, this study presents a sequence model that considers all three controls on sequence development (i.e. eustasy, tectonic movement and sediment supply) as independent variables. The model introduces six sequence types (A to F) including type 1 and type 2 sequences defined in the original Exxon scheme. Each sequence shows a variety in number and stacking pattern of its constituent parasequence sets reflecting combined effects of accommodation change and sediment supply. This model is applied to a seismic sequence analysis of the shelf–slope system (middle to upper Miocene) in the southwestern margin of Ulleung Basin which has experienced significant crustal deformation during the Tertiary back-arc opening and subsequent closing of the East Sea (Sea of Japan). The model application delineates four sequence types whose development is closely associated with the tectonic evolution of the Ulleung Basin margin. During the back-arc opening (early to middle Miocene), type A and B sequences were emplaced as a result of steady creation of accommodation space due to a rapid subsidence combined with a tectonic-controlled high to moderate rate of sediment supply. The sequences associated with the extensional tectonism are characterized by active progradation and aggradation without forced regressive phases. In the initiation stage of back-arc closure (middle to late Miocene), subsidence rates were significantly reduced because of a widespread contractional deformation, while subaerial erosion of the uplifted thrust belt resulted in an increase in sedimentation rate. As a result, steady prograding type-E sequences were formed by alternating normal and forced regressions. During the quiescent phase of back-arc closure in the late Miocene, rise-dominant fluctuating relative sea-level change and moderate to low sediment supply gave rise to type-F sequences (similar to type-1 sequences of the Exxon group) reflecting a major control of eustatic sea-level change.     

始新统油气系统:泰国湾东北部油气勘探新层系

泰国湾区域经历了前裂谷期、裂谷期、裂后期的构造演化阶段,形成了多个裂谷盆地。泰国湾区域东北部在渐新世经历了一次明显构造反转,较泰国湾区域大部分地区强烈。通过对比区内钻井,结合地震解释,对该区的沉积特征和构造演化进行了分析,认为这次反转构造导致了反转构造带上构造、沉积特征与邻区有较大的不同。由于这次反转构造,泰国湾东北部在新层系发育新类型的油气系统,即深部的始新统油气系统:烃源岩为中始新统湖相泥岩,储层为上始新统-渐新统三角洲相砂岩,盖层为下中新统三角洲前缘相泥岩和上中新统以上的海相泥岩。该油气成藏系统已被钻井钻遇油气显示,是本区有效油气成藏系统。     

西沙周缘新生代构造演化与盆地充填响应特征

利用南海西沙周缘地震资料,进行了地震相研究,并结合邻区地质资料,进行了南海西沙周缘新生代沉积相分析,讨论了盆地的充填演化历史。研究认为,南海西沙周缘盆地充填断陷期以陆相和海陆过渡相沉积为主;坳陷期以海陆过渡相和海相沉积为主,自下而上充填了一套冲积相-湖相(始新统)-海陆交替相(渐新统)-滨浅海台地相(中-下中新统)-浅海、半深海相(上新统-第四系)沉积序列,盆地的充填历史反映了南海西沙周缘沉积环境由陆相向海相逐渐过渡的过程。通过对油气地质条件分析,认为始新世-渐新世早期是重要的烃源岩发育期;渐新世晚期-中新世中期是储层发育期;中新世晚期后是区域该层发育时期。     

Neogene stratigraphy and the sedimentary and oceanographic development of the NW European Atlantic margin

A regional correlation of Neogene stratigraphy has been attempted along and across the NW European Atlantic continental margin, between Mid-Norway and SW Ireland. Two unconformity-bounded successions are recognised. These are referred to as the lower and upper Neogene successions, and have been dated as Miocene–early Pliocene and early Pliocene–Holocene, respectively, in age. Their development is interpreted to reflect plate-wide, tectonically driven changes in the sedimentary, oceanographic and latterly climatic evolution of the NE Atlantic region. The lower Neogene succession mainly preserves a record of deep-water sedimentation that indicates an expansion of contourite sediment drifts above submarine unconformities, within this succession, on both sides of the eastern Greenland–Scotland Ridge from the mid-Miocene. This is interpreted to record enhanced deep-water exchange through the Faroe Conduit (deepest part of the Southern Gateway), and can be linked to compressive inversion of the Wyville–Thomson Ridge Complex. Thus, a pervasive, interconnected Arctic–North Atlantic deep-water circulation system is a Neogene phenomenon. The upper Neogene succession records a regional change, at about 4 Ma, in the patterns of contourite sedimentation (submarine erosion, new depocentres) coeval with the onset of rapid seaward-progradation of the continental margin by up to 100 km. This build-out of the shelf and slope is inferred to record a marked increase in sediment supply in response to uplift and tilting of the continental margin. Associated changes in deep-water circulation may be part of an Atlantic-wide reorganisation of ocean bottom currents. Glacial sediments form a major component of the prograding shelf margin (shelf-slope) sediment wedges, but stratigraphic data indicate that the onset of progradation pre-dates significant high-latitude glaciation by at least 1 Ma, and expansive Northern Hemisphere glaciation by at least 3 Ma.     

Thermal maturity of Miocene organic matter from the Carpathian Foredeep in the Czech Republic: 1D and 3D models

A three-dimensional reconstruction of burial and palaeogeothermal conditions is presented for Miocene sediments of the Carpathian Foredeep beneath the Outer Western Carpathians fold and trust belt in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. The sedimentary units involved include autochthonous Paleozoic sequences, Miocene deposits of the Carpathian Foredeep and of the Western Carpathian nappe system. Reservoir rocks with economic oil and gas accumulations occur in the fractured crystalline basement and in the Neogene Carpathian Foredeep. The studied Vizovice area, is characterized by rocks representing both Variscan and Carpathian orogenic cycles. The 3D thermal maturity and subsidence model presented allows the significance of both tectonic events to be evaluated. The model, calibrated by vitrinite reflectance from eight boreholes proved that eroded units related to the Variscan orogeny approach, in amount, those eroded during the Carpathian orogeny. The thickness of the eroded rocks does not exceed 300 m in either case. Vitrinite reflectance data from representative core samples of the Miocene organic matter show that R_r values increase with depth from 0.36 to 0.58%. A re-evaluation of archival data on the quantity and quality of organic matter shows that total organic carbon ranges from 0.20 to 2.92 wt%, and residual hydrocarbons (S₂) from 0.04 to 8.48 mg HC/g rock. These results lead to the conclusion that Neogene Unit II that was interpreted as coastline-through to shallow-marine deposition environment within the Carpathian Foredeep in the Czech Republic is potential source rock for hydrocarbon accumulations.     

A giant (5.3 × 10 m) middle Miocene (c. 15 Ma) sediment mound (M1) above the Siri Canyon, Norwegian–Danish Basin: Origin and significance

A large-scale enigmatic mound structure (M1) has been discovered in middle Miocene strata of the Norwegian–Danish Basin, c. 10 km east and updip of the Central Graben. It is located about 1 km beneath the seabed and clearly resolved by a 3D seismic data set focused on the deeper, remobilised, sand-filled Siri Canyon. M1 comprises two culminations, up to 80 m high and up to 1400 m long, constituting a sediment volume of some 5.3 × 10⁷ m³. It is characterized by a hard reflection at the top, a soft reflection at the base, differential compaction relative to the surrounding sediments, and 10 ms TWT velocity pull up of underlying reflections, indicating a relatively fast mound fill, attributed to the presence of sand within the mound. Internal seismic reflections are arranged in an asymmetric concentric pattern, suggesting a progressive aggradation to the NW, downstream to a mid-Miocene contour current system. Numerous elongated pockmarks occur in the upper Miocene succession close to the mound and indicate that the study area was influenced by gas expulsion in the mid- and late Miocene.The reflection configuration, velocity, dimensions, regional setting, and isolated location can best be explained by interpreting the mound as a giant sand volcano extruded >1 km upward from the Siri Canyon during the middle Miocene (c. 15 Ma). The likely causes of this remarkable structure include gas charge and lateral pressure transfer from the Central Graben along the Siri Canyon reservoir. While this is the first such structure described from this part of the North Sea, similar-aged sand extrudites have recently been inferred from seismic observations in the North Viking Graben, thus suggesting that the mid-Miocene was a time of widespread and intense sediment remobilization and fluid expulsion in the North Sea.     

Geological evolution of the Gulf of Saros,NE Aegean Sea

 The Gulf of Saros is an Upper Miocene transtensional basin in NW Anatolia, formed by the interaction between the North Anatolian Fault and the N-S extensional tectonic régime of the Aegean. The present configuration of the basin evolved mainly during the Plio-Quaternary under the increased activity of the North Anatolian Fault. During the late Miocene-late Quaternary, no sedimentation took place on the shelves. After this long hiatus, an important change in tectonic style about 0.2 Ma BP allowed sedimentation to resume in the gulf. Received: 14 February 1997 / Revision received: 12 November 1997     

Submarine canyon development in the Izu-Bonin forearc: A SeaMARC II and seismic survey of Aoga Shima Canyon

SeaMARC II sidescan (imagery and bathymetry) and seismic data reveal the morphology, sedimentary processes, and structural controls on submarine canyon development in the central Izu-Bonin forearc, south of Japan. Canyons extend up to 150 km across the forearc from the trench-slope break to the active volcanic arc. The canyons are most deeply incised (1200–1700 m) into the gentle gradients (1–2°) upslope on the outer arc high (OAH) and lose bathymetric expression on the steep (6–18°) inner trench-slope. The drainage patterns indicate that canyons are formed by both headward erosion and downcutting. Headward erosion proceeds on two scales. Initially, pervasive small-scale mass wasting creates curvilinear channels and pinnate drainage patterns. Large-scale slumping, evidenced by abundant crescent-shaped scarps along the walls and tributaries of Aoga Shima Canyon, occurs only after a channel is present, and provides a mechanism for canyon branching. The largest slump has removed >16 km³ of sediment from an 85 km² area of seafloor bounded by scarps more than 200 m high and may be in the initial stages of forming a new canyon branch. The northern branch of Aoga Shima Canyon has eroded upslope to the flanks of the arc volcanoes allowing direct tapping of this volcaniclastic sediment source. Headward erosion of the southern branch is not as advanced but the canyon may capture sediments supplied by unconfined (non-channelized) mass flows.Oligocene forearc sedimentary processes were dominated by unconfined mass flows that created sub-parallel and continuous sedimentary sequences. Pervasive channel cut-and-fill is limited to the Neogene forearc sedimentary sequences which are characterized by migrating and unconformable seismic sequences. Extensive canyon formation permitting sediment bypassing of the forearc by canyon-confined mass flows began in the early Miocene after the basin was filled to the spill points of the OAH. Structural lows in the OAH determined the initial locus of canyon formation, and outcropping basement rocks have prevented canyon incision on the lower slope. A major jog in the canyon axis, linear tributaries, and a prominent sidescan lineament all trend NW-NNW, reflecting OAH basement influence on canyon morphology. This erosional fabric may reflect joint/fracture patterns in the sedimentary strata that follow the basement trends. Once the canyons have eroded down to more erosion-resistant levels, channel downcutting slows relative to lateral erosion of the canyon walls. This accounts for the change from a narrow canyon axis in the thickly sedimented forearc basin to a wider, more rugged canyon morphology near the OAH. About 9500 km³ of sediment has been eroded from the central, 200 km long, segment of the Izu-Bonin forearc by the formation of Aoga Shima, Myojin Sho and Sumisu Jima canyons. The volume of sediment presently residing in the adjacent trench, accretionary wedge, and lower slope terrace basin accounts for <25% of that eroded from the canyons alone. This implies that a large volume (>3500 km³ per 100 km of trench, ignoring sediments input via forearc bypassing) has been subducted beneath the toe of the trench slope and the small accretionary prism. Unless this sediment has been underplated beneath the forearc, it has recycled arc material into the mantle, possibly influencing the composition of arc volcanism.     

Large phillipsite crystal as ferromanganese nodule nucleus

We report here the occurrence of, to date, the largest (21 × 10 × 8 mm) phillipsite crystal forming the nucleus of a diagenetically formed ferromanganese nodule from the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB). Assuming an average rate of ferromanganese nodule accretion as ~ 2 mm/Ma and that of phillipsite growth as ~ 0.65 mm/Ka, the nucleus material appears to have been growing for ~4.5–5 Ma. Originally surfaced as a rock fragment from late Miocene volcanism, this nucleus was later altered to phillipsite under alkaline, silica-undersaturated, low-temperature conditions through the length of the Neogene sedimentary hiatus.     

Mapping sediment-dispersal characteristics using seismic geomorphology: Late Paleogene to Neogene,Qinan Sag,Huanghua Depression,China

The main objective of this article has been to demonstrate the utility of stratal slice images for exploring the sequence stratigraphy and sedimentology of complex depositional systems. The seismic-geomorphology study and sedimentary interpretation were performed to map sediment-dispersal characteristics from late Paleogene to Neogene in Qinan Sag, located in Huanghua Depression of China. The Qinan Sag is underlain by a non-marine Mesozoic and Cenozoic-age stratigraphic section. Main data types in this study area are lithology, wire-line logs and 3D seismic. The main study strata, Member one of Shahejie Formation to Minghuazhen Formation, divided into two second-order sequences and four third-order sequences. The older of the two second-order sequences, SE, corresponds to the formations from Kongdian to Dongying. The younger of the two second-order sequences, SN, correspond to Guantao and Minghuazhen formations. Guided by third-order sequence-stratigraphic correlations from seismic and wireline-log data, we prepared stratal slices from a three-dimensional seismic volume to reveal high-resolution (10-m) sediment dispersal characteristics in a relative geologic-time domain. Using techniques of 3-D seismic geomorphology, we defined four types of depositional systems: braided deltas, deltas, braided rivers and meandering rivers. Stratal slices indicated that the depositional evolution of these interest sequences was from braided-delta front to delta front, braided river and finally meandering river system. Many factors related to the structural evolution history controlled the sediment-dispersal characteristics, such as the basin type, dynamic mechanism, faulting activity, subsidence rate and paleo-high.     

Evidence for multiple Quaternary ice advances and fan development from the Amundsen Gulf cross-shelf trough and slope,Canadian Beaufort Sea margin

The seismic stratigraphy and sedimentary architecture of the Amundsen Gulf Trough and adjacent slope, Canadian Beaufort Sea margin, are investigated using a grid of 2-D seismic reflection data. The inner-shelf of the Amundsen Gulf Trough is interpreted to be composed predominantly of exposed or near-surface bedrock, overlain by a spatially-discontinuous veneer of glacimarine to open-marine sediment. There is a seaward transition from exposed bedrock on the inner-shelf to a thick (up to 500 m) outer-shelf prograding wedge of acoustically semi-transparent sediment. Eight seismic sequences, divided into four megasequences, are described from the outer-shelf stratigraphy. Eight till sheets are identified from Megasequences A to C, providing evidence for at least eight Quaternary ice-stream advances through the Amundsen Gulf Trough to the shelf break. A trough-mouth fan with a minimum volume of about 10,000 km³ is present on the adjacent slope. The Amundsen Gulf ice stream probably represented the most northwesterly marine-terminating ice stream of the Laurentide Ice Sheet through much of the Quaternary, providing a major route for ice and sediment transfer to the Arctic Ocean. The youngest till sheet within the Amundsen Gulf Trough, Megasequence D, was probably deposited by a subsidiary ice stream, the Anderson ice stream, subsequent to retreat of the last, Late Wisconsinan Amundsen Gulf ice stream. This provides evidence of dynamic ice-sheet behaviour and the reorganisation of the northwest Laurentide Ice Sheet margin during the last deglaciation. A number of buried glacigenic landforms, including palaeo-shelf break gullies and a grounding-zone wedge with a volume of 90 km³, are described from the Amundsen Gulf Trough stratigraphy. Lateral grounding-zone wedges are identified at the northern and southern lateral margins of the Amundsen Gulf and M'Clure Strait troughs, respectively, and are interpreted to have been formed roughly contemporaneously by ice streams in Amundsen Gulf and M'Clure Strait.     

花东盆地晚中新世以来沉积演化特征

利用近年来在台湾东部海域采集的多道地震和多波速测深资料,对该海域花东海盆区晚中新世以来的沉积充填演化特征进行描述和分析。通过对花东海盆区域地形特征描述、层序地层格架的建立和地震剖面的解译,在本区晚中新世以来的沉积充填中刻画出6种典型地震相类型,并分析其对应的沉积相类型,包括浊积扇、浊积水道充填、块体流、沉积物波、海底峡谷－伴生沉积物滑塌变形－充填、深水扇沉积。结合地震相平面分布及垂向沉积相叠置关系,将晚中新世－第四纪沉积充填演化划分为3个阶段:晚中新世晚期开始受到块体流冲蚀阶段,到海底峡谷冲刷－沉积物失稳－峡谷充填－再侵蚀阶段,到峡谷输送的大量沉积物在上新世以来主要堆积发育了沉积物波、浊积扇、深水扇等沉积体系阶段。     

Neogene history of Bone Gulf,Sulawesi, Indonesia

Bone Gulf is one of the inter-arm basins of the unusual K-shaped island of Sulawesi. Its age, character and origin are disputed. This study is based on recently acquired 2D seismic lines, seabed multibeam mapping and limited well data, and is linked to stratigraphy on land. The gulf is probably underlain by pre-Neogene volcanogenic, sedimentary, metamorphic and ultramafic rocks, and includes crust of Australian origin. We favour basin initiation in the Miocene rather than Eocene, by extension associated with strike-slip deformation. The main basin trends N–S and is divided into several sub-basins and highs. The highs segment the gulf and their WNW–ESE orientations reflect pre-Neogene basement structures. They are interpreted as strike-slip fault zones active at different times in the Neogene. A southern high was active relatively early, whereas further north there is evidence of young displacements during the Late Neogene. These are visible on the seabed above a high linked to the Kolaka Fault on land. Early basin-bounding faults are oriented NNW–SSE and record extension and strike-slip movements, like the sub-parallel Walanae Fault of South Sulawesi which can be traced offshore into extensional faults bounding the young and narrow Selayar Trough. Sediment in the basins came mainly from the north with contributions from both west and east. Carbonate deposits formed at the margins while deeper marine sediments were deposited in the axial parts of the gulf. An Early Pliocene unconformity can be mapped across the study area marking major uplift of Sulawesi and subsidence of Bone Gulf. This regional event caused major influx of clastic sediments from the north, development of a southward-flowing canyon system, and back-stepping and drowning of carbonates at the basin margins. Hydrocarbons are indicated by seeps, and Bone Gulf has potential sources, reservoirs and seals, but the complex faulting history is a risk.     

Offshore Atlas Project: Methodology and Results

The Offshore Atlas Project (OAP) grouped 4,325 Miocene and older and 5,622 Pliocene and Pleistocene productive sands in the Gulf of Mexico into 91 chronostratigraphic hydrocarbon plays to aid the oil and gas industry with regional hydrocarbon exploration and field development. OAP has produced a two-volume atlas series entitled Atlas of Northern Gulf of Mexico Gas and Oil Reservoirs. Volume 1 comprises Miocene and older reservoirs, while volume 2 comprises Pliocene and Pleistocene reservoirs. Chronozones (Reed et al., 1987) were used to define geologic ages in the Gulf of Mexico. A chronozone is a time-stratigraphic unit defined by a particular benthic foraminifera biostratigraphic zone. The 26 chronozones identified by Reed et al. (1987) were further grouped into 14 Cenozoic and 2 Mesozoic chronozones for OAP. A composite type log (CTL), which shows the chronostratigraphic relationship of all productive sands in a field, was constructed for each of the 876 proved federal fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Depositional facies (retrogradational, aggradational, progradational, and submarine fan)were next identified on each CTL. The four facies were identified primarily according to characteristic SP-curve shapes, paleoecozones, and sand content. The chronozones and depositional facies identified on each CTL were then correlated among fields across the Gulf of Mexico. All productive sands correlated to the same chronozone and depositional facies were then identified as a unique play. Both federal and state fields in the Gulf of Mexico contain original proved reserves (sum of cumulative production and remaining proved reserves) estimated at 12.481 Bbbl of oil and condensate and 156.466 Tcf of gas (40.322 Bboe [sum of liquids and energy equivalent gas]). Of this, 9.943 Bbbl of oil and condensate and 122.263 Tcf of gas (31.698 Bboe) have been produced. Miocene plays contain the most total original proved reserves with 41.9 %, followed by Pleistocene plays (36.2 %), Pliocene plays (18.6 %), Mesozoic plays (2.9 %), and Oligocene plays (0.4 %). Miocene plays have produced the largest amount of total hydrocarbons, as well, at 43.5 % followed by Pleistocene plays (36.5 %), Pliocene plays (19.1 %), Oligocene plays (0.5 %), and Mesozoic plays (0.4 %). Just over two-thirds of the Gulf of Mexico's total original proved reserves are contained in progradational facies (67.4 %),with the remainder comprising submarine-fan facies (18.5 %), aggradational facies (9.9 %), retrogradationalfacies (2.4 %), combination facies (1.7 %), and caprock and reef reservoirs (0.1 %). Total cumulative production from the different facies closely mimics the distribution of original proved reserves. Of the 91 plays, the lower Pleistocene progradational play (LPL P.1) contains the most original proved gas reserves (10.5 %) and has produced the most gas (11.4 %). However, the upper upper Miocene eastern progradational play (UM3 P.1B) contains the most original proved oil and condensate reserves (18.9 %) and has produced the most oil and condensate (21.4%). Several technical studies resulting from OAP have been published. Hunt and Burgess (1995) described the distribution of OAP plays deposited by the ancestral Mississippi River delta system in the north-central Gulf of Mexico over the past 24 million years. The lower Miocene plays are restricted to the westernmost portion of the Louisiana shelf. In the late middle Miocene, the depocenter migrated east of the present-day Mississippi River delta. During the late upper Miocene, the depocenter began migrating back to the west and prograded basinward, and it continued to do so throughout the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Lore and Batchelder (1995) discussed how OAP plays can be used to find exploration targets and assess undiscovered resources. As an exploration tool, OAP play maps can be used to identify conceptual submarine-fan plays downdip of established shallow water producing facies, and to identify wells where a known producing facies or chronozone has not yet been reached. As an assessment tool, the extensive data sets associated with each OAP play can be used to infer statistically the size of undiscovered resources in a play to determine if exploration in that play is economically justifiable. Lore et al. (1995) estimated the amount of undiscovered conventionally recoverable resources in the Gulf of Mexico, basing their assessment on previous work performed for OAP. Mean level estimates show that, by far, submarine-fan plays have the greatest potential for additional oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, with 75.1 % and 70.4 % of the total oil and gas resources, respectively. Mean level estimates for the 13 OAP Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene chronozones show that upper Pleistocene plays have the most oil resource potential (24.3 %), while lower Pleistocene plays have the most gas resource potential (20.6 %).