Jurassic to Early Cretaceous basin configuration(s) in the Fingerdjupet Subbasin,SW Barents Sea

The Fingerdjupet Subbasin in the southwestern Barents Sea sits in a key tectonic location between deep rifts in the west and more stable platform areas in the east. Its evolution is characterized by extensional reactivation of N-S and NNE-SSW faults with an older history of Late Permian and likely Carboniferous activity superimposed on Caledonian fabrics. Reactivations in the listric NNE-SSW Terningen Fault Complex accommodated a semi-regional rollover structure where the Fingerdjupet Subbasin developed in the hangingwall. In parallel, the Randi Fault Set developed from outer-arc extension and collapse of the rollover anticline.N-S to NNE-SSW faults and the presence of other fault trends indicate changes in the stress regime relating to tectonic activity in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions. A latest Triassic to Middle Jurassic extensional faulting event with E-W striking faults is linked to activity in the Hammerfest Basin. Cessation of extensional tectonics before the Late Jurassic in the Fingerdjupet Subbasin, however, suggests rifting became localized to the Hammerfest Basin. The Late Jurassic was a period of tectonic quiescence in the Fingerdjupet Subbasin before latest Jurassic to Hauterivian extensional faulting, which reactivated N-S and NNE-SSW faults. Barremian SE-prograding clinoforms filled the relief generated during this event before reaching the Bjarmeland Platform. High-angle NW-prograding clinoforms on the western Bjarmeland Platform are linked to Early Barremian uplift of the Loppa High. The Terningen Fault Complex and Randi Fault Set were again reactivated in the Aptian along with other major fault complexes in the SW Barents Sea, leading to subaerial exposure of local highs. This activity ceased by early Albian. Post-upper Albian strata were removed by late Cenozoic uplift and erosion, but later tectonic activity has both reactivated E-W and N-S/NNE-SSW faults and also established a NW-SE trend.     

New insights into the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the southern Stappen High and its transition to Bjørnøya Basin,SW Barents Sea

Within the context of the southwestern Barents Sea, the southern Stappen High and its transition to the Bjørnøya Basin are still underexplored. Improved quality seismic reflection data are utilised to describe new insights into the Paleozoic to early Cenozoic tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the area, as well as to discuss the structural inheritance and the rift development. Well-defined syn-rift wedges and better resolution images for both the deep Carboniferous and Permian successions are revealed. In particular, both the mid-Carboniferous and Late Permian-earliest Triassic extensional phases are characterized by widespread NE-SW oriented normal faults that are mostly westward dipping. Although Triassic is mostly considered as a tectonically stable period in the Barents Sea, in the southern Stappen High there is clear identification of a localised depocentre (named herein “Intra Stappen Basin”) where syn-tectonic geometries characterize the upper Paleozoic and Triassic deposits. Regional correlation to Middle and Upper Triassic outcrops in southwestern Svalbard reveals possible progradation from a west-northwest Northeast Greenland provenance as a western sediment source area during the Triassic, in addition to the well-known eastern sediment source area. Thin but distinct Jurassic sequences are expected to be present on Stappen High associated with prominent regional NW-SE extension throughout Late Jurassic that culminated during the earliest Cretaceous. Furthermore, structural and stratigraphic relations are observed within the study area that clearly indicate a distinct early Aptian rift phase with increasing evidence for its occurrence in the southwestern Barents Sea. Upper Cretaceous sequences bounded by major low-angle west-dipping detachment faults are observed in southwest Stappen High. During early Cenozoic, the study area was located at the proximity of the paleo-coastline and paleo-shelf edge for both Paleocene and Eocene gravity mass-waste deposits. These are most probably related to a progressively evolving steep bathymetric gradient between the developing margin, mainly towards the west and to the south, and the uplifted Stappen High.     

Extensional fault evolution within the Exmouth Sub-basin,North West Shelf,Australia

Structural analysis of the Indian Merge 3D seismic survey identified three populations of normal faults within the Exmouth Sub-basin of the North West Shelf volcanic margin of Australia. They comprise (1) latest-Triassic to Middle Jurassic N-NNE-trending normal faults (Fault Population I); (2) Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous NE-trending normal faults (Fault Population II); and (3) latest-Triassic to Early Cretaceous N-NNE faults (Fault Population III). Quantitative evaluation of >100 faults demonstrates that fault displacement occurred during two time periods (210–163 and 145–138 Ma) separated by ∼20 Myr of tectonic quiescence. Latest Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (145–138 Ma) evolution comprises magmatic addition and contemporaneous domal uplift ∼70 km wide characterised by ≥ 900 m of denudation. The areally restricted subcircular uplift centred on the southern edge of the extended continental promontory of the southern Exmouth Sub-basin supports latest Jurassic mantle plume upwelling that initiated progradation of the Barrow Delta. This polyphase and bimodal structural evolution impacts current hydrocarbon exploration rationale by defining the nature of latest Jurassic to Early Cretaceous fault nucleation and reactivation within the southern Exmouth Sub-basin.     

Structural styles and depositional architecture in the Triassic of the Ninian and Alwyn North fields: Implications for basin development and prospectivity in the Northern North Sea

Interpretation of well-calibrated three-dimensional seismic volumes, sedimentological analysis and electrical well-log correlations from the Ninian and Alwyn North fields challenge the long-held view that Mid-Late Jurassic extensional faults in the East Shetland Basin represent a simple reactivation of older (Triassic) fault systems. Restoration for the effects of the younger, predominantly eastward-dipping, Mid-Late Jurassic structures clearly demonstrates that Triassic precursors had a steep, westerly dip. In contrast to the eastern flank of the Viking Graben (e.g. Troll and Oseberg areas), where the west-dipping Triassic structures are reutilised in the Mid-Late Jurassic, those of the East Shetland Basin have largely been dissected and rotated during the later event. Those west-dipping faults that did see later movement appear to have simply acted as minor antithetic structures to the throughgoing east-dipping ones.The Triassic normal fault patterns actively controlled sediment thicknesses and facies distribution within the Lunde and Teist Formations in the basin. Use of seismic stratigraphic surfaces, calibrated by biostratigraphy and chemostratigraphic markers, provides strong evidence that the Triassic depocentres are spatially offset from their Mid-Late Jurassic counterparts. The combination of structural, stratigraphic and sedimentary effects reveal the existence of an emergent deeper Triassic play opportunity in footwall locations to the Mid-Late Jurassic normal faults, which has the potential to extend the life of what is otherwise mature acreage.     

On the structural evolution of the Central Trough in the Norwegian and Danish sectors of the North Sea

The Central Trough of the North Sea is not a simple rift graben. It is an elongated area of regional subsidence which was initiated in mid Cretaceous times and continued to subside through to the late Tertiary. Its form is not representative of pre-mid Cretaceous tectonics.In Late Permian times the North Sea was divided into a northern and southern Zechstein basin by the E-W trending Mid North Sea-Ringkøbing-Fyn High. The latter was dissected by a narrow graben trending NNW through the Tail End Graben and the Søgne Basin. The Feda Graben was a minor basin on the northern flank of the Mid North Sea High at this time. This structural configuration persisted until end Middle Jurassic times when a new WNW trend separated the Tail End Graben from the Søgne Basin. Right lateral wrench movement on this new trend caused excessive subsudence in the Tail End and Feda Grabens while the Søgne Basin became inactive.Upper Jurassic subsidence trends continued during the Early Cretaceous causing the deposition of large thicknesses of sediments in local areas along the trend. From mid Cretaceous times the regional subsidence of the Central Trough was dominant but significant structural inversions occurred in those areas of maximum Early Cretaceous and Late Jurassic subsidence.     

Structural evolution of the Feda Graben area – A new model

The pre-Cretaceous basin evolution of the Feda Graben area in the vicinity of the Norwegian-Danish basin has been reconstructed utilizing geological and structural interpretation. The analysis reveals that the basin was faulted at its borders prior to the salt deposition in the Late Permian. Salt movement was initiated in Late Triassic and thick Triassic and Lower Jurassic pods were deposited in the graben area due to this movement. Salt pillows were developing along the Feda Graben bordering faults until Middle Jurassic when the pillows were collapsed. Salt diapirs within the study area preferentially occupy the crest of the Feda Graben and their occurrence is controlled by the underlying faulted topography. The diapirs were fed by salt from the central and southern parts of the basin and were developed by different processes i.e. upbuilding, downbuilding. Various raft structures were developed in the graben area hanging wall while some uplift occurred in the footwall during Mesozoic rifting. The Feda Graben area experienced rifting from Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. The most pronounced subsidence episode related with this rifting in the Feda Graben area took place along the eastern bounding Gert Fault. The Mesozoic rifting event is marked by a major unconformity on the seismic sections throughout the study area. Furthermore, the region experienced basin inversion in Late Cretaceous. The effects of inversion are more pronounced in the western part and along the Gert Fault. The inversion phenomenon can be properly understood only when considered together with the geometry of the Late Jurassic half-graben. Due to some inconsistencies in the previously proposed models for the development of the Feda Graben, a new conceptual model has been constructed.     

A 3D structural analysis of the Goliat field,Barents Sea,Norway

The Goliat field consists of Middle to Late Triassic reservoirs which exploit an elongate anticline (the Goliat anticline) in the hanging wall of the Troms-Finnmark Fault Complex (TFFC), offshore Norway. The area is affected by a dense network of multiple trending fault populations which historically have inhibited seismic resolution owing to persistent fault shadow. Seismic investigations utilising a multi-azimuth three-dimensional survey (EN0901) allow much crisper delineation of seismic features previously unattainable by vintage single-azimuth surveys. Three dominant fault populations are identified in the area, two of which parallel TFFC segments, the Alke–Goliat (WSW–ENE) and the Goliat–Tornerose (NNE–SSW) segments. The Goliat field is located within a zone of intersection between both segments. A third E–W trending fault population, the Hammerfest Regional population, is likely influenced by the offshore extension of the Trollfjord-Komagelv Fault Complex (TKFZ). A local NW–SE trending fault population, the Goliat Central, affects the Goliat anticline and partitions Alke–Goliat and Goliat–Tornerose subsidiary faults resulting in curvilinear traces. Several cross-cutting relationships between fault populations are observed and may provide fluid compartmentalisation in the reservoirs. Compilation of regional transects and the EN0901 survey provides new insight into the evolution of the Goliat anticline which is underlain by a fault-bound basement terrace that became established in the Late Palaeozoic. The structure is interpreted to have formed due to vertical segmentation of the TFFC and cores the overlying broad anticline. The western limb of the Goliat anticline likely formed by differential compaction, whereas the eastern limb is primarily a result of hanging wall roll-over linked to variable listric to ramp-flat-ramp fault geometry. Rifting took place in the Palaeozoic (Carboniferous to Permian?), and in the Mesozoic, possibly as early as the Late Triassic, with a major event in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. Minor reactivations continued into the Late Cretaceous, and possibly the Early Cenozoic. Mesozoic syn-kinematic geometries in the hanging wall of the Goliat–Tornerose TFFC segment are consistent with deposition during up section propagation of a blind fault, over which, a monocline was established and later breached. Jogs (abrupt orientation changes) in fault traces, transverse folds (associated with displacement maxima/minima) and vertical fault jogs suggest the TFFC existed as a greater number of segments prior to amalgamation during the Late Triassic to Jurassic. A phase of Barremian inversion created local compression structures above blind extensional faults, and deeper seated buttressing against large faults. Polygonal faults affect the Late Cretaceous to Early Cenozoic successions.     

Evolution and character of supra-salt faults in the Easternmost Hammerfest Basin,SW Barents Sea

This study investigates the evolution of supra-salt faults in the Eastern Hammerfest Basin using high–quality seismic reflection data. Traditional techniques of displacement analysis, including the variation of fault displacement (throw) against distance (x), depth (z), expansion and growth indices were adopted. Fault reactivation was assessed using bivariate plots of a) cumulative throw vs. age and b) throw (t) vs. depth of nine (9) representative faults.The interpreted faults are supra-salt crestal and synclinal faults striking NE, E and SE. These faults have complicated t-x and t-z plots and are characterized by considerable stratigraphic thickening in their downthrown section. Faults in the study area have developed over the salt structure since latest Paleozoic times; some of them were reactivated by Early to Middle Triassic through dip linkage of initially isolated fault sets. Along strike, the fault exhibit complex segmentation through coalescence of several subunits linked by local throw/displacement minima. Expansion and growth indices show that the faults of the study area developed during the deposition of Paleozoic to Early Cretaceous sediments by polycyclic growth involving both blind and syn-sedimentary activity.An important piece of information from this study is that fault propagation is controlled by lithological heterogeneity and that both lateral and vertical segmentation of faults are important for hydrocarbon migration within the Triassic to Late Cretaceous interval.     

Influence of lithosphere and basement properties on the stretching factor and development of extensional faults across the Otway Basin,southeast Australia

The NW-SE striking Otway Basin in southeastern Australia is part of the continental rift system that formed during the separation of Australia from Antarctica. The development of this sedimentary basin occurred in two phases of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous rifting. The evolution of this basin is mainly associated with extensional processes that took place in a pre-existing basement of Archean, Proterozoic to Paleozoic age. In this study, the total amounts of extension and stretching factor (β factor) have been measured for six transects across the entire passive margin of the Otway Basin region. The results show significant variation in extensional stretching along the basin, with the smallest stretching factors in the easternmost (β = 1.73, 1.9) and westernmost part of the basin (β = 2.09), and the largest stretching factors in the central part (β = 2.14 to 2.44). The domain with the lowest β factor is underlain mostly by thicker lithosphere of the Delamerian Orogen and older crustal fragments of the Selwyn Block. In contrast, the region with the largest β factor and amount of extension is related to younger and thinner lithosphere of the Lachlan Orogen. The main basement structures have been mapped throughout eastern South Australia and Victoria to examine the possible relationships between the younger pattern of extensional faults and the older basement fabrics. The pattern of normal faults varies considerably along onshore and offshore components of the Otway Basin from west to east. It appears that the orientation of pre-existing structures in the basement has some control on the geometry of the younger normal faults across the Otway Basin, but only in a limited number of places. In most areas the basement fabric has no control on the younger faulting pattern. Basement structure such as the north-south Coorong Shear Zone seems to affect the geometry of normal faults by changing their strike from E-W to NW-SE and also, in the easternmost part of the basin, the Bambra Fault changes the strike of normal faults from NW-SE to the NE-SW. Our results imply that the properties of the continental lithosphere exert a major influence on the β factor and amount of crustal extension but only a minor influence on the geometry of extensional faults.     

Structure and evolution of the Northeastern German Basin and its transition onto the Baltic Shield

The post-Permian sequence stratigraphical and structural evolution of the Northeastern German Basin and its transition onto the Baltic Shield has been studied in the Bay of Mecklenburg (SW Baltic Sea) by means of seismic interpretation. Five major sequences have been identified: Middle Triassic, Upper Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Time–isochore maps allowed the identification of several phases of salt pillow growth. The contemporaneity of active salt tectonics and the well studied tectonic evolution of the Northeastern German Basin suggest a causative correlation. The E–W directed extension during the Triassic-Early Jurassic marking the beginning break-up of Pangaea is seen as the trigger process for the first period of salt movement. A fault system outside the limit of the Zechstein evaporates is understood as the consequence of thin-skinned faulting and brittle thick-skinned deformation that accompanied this extension. The observed pronounced erosion of Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic strata is considered to result from the uplift due to the Mid North Sea Doming event in Middle Jurassic times. The seismic data show an undisturbed Late Cretaceous succession which reflects a period of rising sea level, tectonic quiescence and no salt movement. In contrast to the salt pillows which emerged above Triassic fault systems in the westernmost Baltic and western North German Basin, the Cenozoic salt movement activity is the most pronounced. This period of reactivated salt pillow growth started coevally with the onset of the Alpine orogeny at the Cretaceous/Cenozoic transition when the Africa-Arabian plate collided with Eurasia. Generally, no significant faults were identified in the overburden of the salt floored southern Bay of Mecklenburg where ductile Zechstein salt decouples deep rooted faulting from supra-salt deformation.     

加里曼丹岛和马来半岛中生代岩相古地理特征及其构造意义

印支运动以后,在现今的南海及其周围存在过2个古海洋,其中晚侏罗世一早白垩世消失于南海北部陆缘区、北巴拉望-礼乐滩-南沙地块以北的古海洋为“中特提斯”,而早第三纪期间消失于南沙地块以南沙捞越一带的古海洋为“古南海”。它们的结束时间和消失的古地理位置完全不同。对它们的正确识别和区分,对目前进行的南海周边地区中一新生代构造演化研究极为重要。对马来半岛、加里曼丹岛中生代岩相古地理资料的整理和分析结果支持如下结论：中特提斯洋的延伸是从苏门答腊的Woyla缝合线,过婆罗洲的Meratus缝合线。然后绕西南婆罗洲地块至加里曼丹岛的西北(Lupar带或者Boyan带),进入南海西南角(南沙-礼乐滩-北巴拉望地块等以北),再接南海北部陆缘区内的中特提斯缝合线。该区中生代海相地层的分布明显受构造演化的控制,整体趋势是向南退缩。印支运动以前、早-中三叠世的海侵广泛分布于古特提斯带及以南地区,涉及华南,中南地块,马来半岛及以南地区;印支运动基本结束了古特提斯带的海侵,因此晚三叠世一早侏罗世的海侵主要限于中特提斯海域及以南地区,如与中特提斯洋相邻的陆域,包括华南的湘赣粤海湾晚三叠世一早侏罗世的海侵、中南半岛东南部早侏罗世的海侵以及新加坡早侏罗世的海相地层。白垩纪海相地层主要分布于中特提斯以南地区,如加里曼丹岛。     

Thermal maturation, potential source rocks and hydrocarbon generation in Mesozoic rocks, Lougheed Island area, Central Canadian Arctic archipelago

Significant oil and gas accumulations occur in and around Lougheed Island, Arctic Canada, where hydrocarbon prospectivity is controlled by potential source rock distribution and composition. The Middle to Upper Triassic rocks of the Schei Point Group (e.g. Murray Harbour and Hoyle Bay formations) contain a mixture of Types I and II organic matter (Tasmanales marine algae, amorphous fluorescing bituminite). These source rocks are within the oil generation zone and have HI values up to 600 mg HC/g Corg. The younger source rocks of the Lower Jurassic Jameson Bay and the Upper Jurassic Ringnes formations contain mainly gas-prone Type II/III organic matter and are marginally mature. Vitrinite reflectance profiles suggest an effective geothermal gradient essentially similar to the present-day gradient (20 to 30°C/km). Maturation gradients are low, ranging from 0.125 to 0.185 log%Ro/km. Increases in subsidence rate in the Early Cretaceous suggest that the actual heat flow history was variable and has probably diminished from that time. The high deposition rates of the Christopher Formation shales coincide with the main phase of rifting in Aptian-Albian times. Uplift and increased sediment supply in the Maastrichtian resulted in a new sedimentary and tectonic regime, which culminated in the final phase of the Eurekan Orogeny. Burial history models indicate that hydrocarbon generation in the Schei Point Group took place during rifting in Early Cretaceous, long before any Eurekan deformation.     

南海北缘新生代盆地沉积与构造演化及地球动力学背景

南海北缘新生代沉积盆地是全面揭示南海北缘形成演化及与邻区大地构造单元相互作用的重要窗口。通过对盆地沉积-构造特征分析,南海北缘新生代裂陷过程显示出明显的多幕性和旋转性的特点。在从北向南逐渐迁移的趋势下,东、西段裂陷过程也具有一定的差异,西部裂陷活动及海侵时间明显早于东部,裂陷中心由西向东呈雁列式扩展。晚白垩世-早始新世裂陷活动应是东亚陆缘中生代构造-岩浆演化的延续,始新世中、晚期太平洋板块俯冲方向改变导致裂陷中心南移,印度欧亚板块碰撞效应是南海中央海盆扩张方向顺时针旋转的主要原因。     

从地质演化特征探讨墨西哥湾地区油气富集的基本规律

墨西哥湾东部主体经历了中生代裂谷拉张、中侏罗世裂谷和地壳衰减、晚侏罗世洋壳形成及早白垩世的区域沉降4个演化阶段;西部主要受中生代太平洋板块向北美板块的俯冲影响,属弧后拉张。由于持续稳定的沉降,墨西哥湾沉积了巨厚的以海相地层为主的中生代地层,并提供了有利的烃源岩、储层和盖层。大量的构造、地层和复合型圈闭为油气富集提供了有利的场所。墨西哥湾盆地为典型的高演化拉张盆地,巴西东部(包括海区)为中等演化拉张盆地,二者均已成为重要的油气富集区。我国东部海区中生界南部以海相地层为主,北部以陆相地层为主,为一个低—中等演化的拉张盆地。前二者的油气富集规律为我国东部海区中生代盆地的找油提供了借鉴作用。     

Regional constraints of the Sørkapp Basin: A Carboniferous relic or a Cretaceous depression?

The Sørkapp Basin (NW Barents Shelf) contains a comprehensive sedimentary succession that provides insight into regional tectonics and depositional development of the shelf from the Devonian to the Cretaceous. With its location east of the mid-Atlantic spreading ridge and south of Svalbard, the Basin serves as an important link between the offshore and onshore realms.This study subdivides this sparsely studied basin into six main seismic units (three Paleozoic and three Mesozoic). A metamorphic basement together with assumed Devonian sedimentary deposits form the foundation for a chiefly Carboniferous basin. The Basin forms a syncline with infill showing limited fault-influence. Overlying the early infill are Late Carboniferous deposits which show less lateral variation in thickness but also active growth on the few faults showing significant displacement. The overlying platform deposits of the latest Carboniferous and Permian show a change in depositional geometry, with onlapping deposits towards the east probably resulting from uplift of the Stappen High and regional flooding. Subsequent, particularly Late, Triassic sedimentation shows a more distinctly progradational pattern with a dominantly southeastern source for sediments. During this shallow shelf-filling stage, the Sørkapp Basin is sheltered by the Gardarbanken High, blocking the Early Triassic clinoform development. The High was transgressed in the Middle Triassic and the platform-edge progressively approached the present Svalbard coastline.The youngest Mesozoic unit forms a separate saucer-shaped depocenter west of the Sørkapp Basin, where deposits are truncated by the seafloor in a mid-basin position and across the Gardarbanken High. The depositional pattern for this succession correlates with the outcrop pattern of the Adventdalen Group implying a post Middle Jurassic to Cretaceous age. The Sørkapp Basin has been referred to as a Cretaceous feature based in this depocenter. However, the foundations are much older and the Cretaceous depression is located west of the deeper basin. Accordingly, we propose the informal term Sørkapp Depression for the Cretaceous basin.     

华南中生代岩相变化及海相地层时空分布

在搜集大量资料的基础上，分析了华南中生代地层时代、岩性、岩相对比关系，重点综述了中生代海相地层的时空分布特征。受所处构造部位的控制，华南中生代岩相时空变化总体上可分为3个区：东区(闽西南-粤东-粤北-粤中)、中区(粤西-桂东)、西区(滇西-滇东南)。中区在早三叠世以后完全隆升成陆，仅局部有山间盆地碎屑沉积。海相地层集中于东西两区，但存在明显的东西差异：海侵时间在东区为早三叠世、晚三叠世-早侏罗世和早白垩世，西区为中三叠世和中侏罗世；海侵方向在东区来自东南，西区则为中特提斯滇缅海的-部分。晚三叠世-早侏罗世的粤东海盆发育厚达5000m的海相和海陆交互相沉积，可能向南延伸到台西南盆地和南沙群岛东部，但它与南海西部围区的同时代海盆并不直接相通。     

南冲绳海槽地震反射波特征及其地质解释

对南冲绳海槽进行反射地震调查 ,结果表明 :(1 )海槽盖层主要由反射层组 (时代相当于第四纪 )和反射层组 (时代相当于上新世 )组成 ,推测槽底局部存在中新统。槽底沉积物主要源自中国大陆。轴部目前仍处在裂陷作用阶段 ;(2 )断裂极为发育 ,可分 NE— SW向(西南端转为近 E— W向 )和 NW— SE向两组 ,分别属张性及张扭性断裂 ,后者切割前者 ;(3)岩浆活动十分强烈 ,东南缘岩浆活动尤甚 ,推测其岩性以中、基性岩为主     

Mesozoic rift to post-rift tectonostratigraphy of the Sverdrup Basin,Canadian Arctic

Jurassic-Cretaceous rift successions and basin geometries of the Sverdrup Basin are reconstructed from a review and integration of stratigraphy, igneous records, outcrop maps, and subsurface data. The rift onset unconformity is in the Lower Jurassic portion of the Heiberg Group (approximately 200–190 Ma). Facies transgress from early syn-rift sandstones of the King Christian Formation to marine mudstones of the Jameson Bay Formation. The syn-rift succession of marine mudstones in the basin centre, Jameson Bay to Deer Bay formations, ranges from Early Jurassic (Pleinsbachian) to Early Cretaceous (Valanginian). Early post-rift deposits of the lower Isachsen Formation are truncated by the sub-Hauterivian unconformity, which is interpreted as a break up unconformity at approximately 135–130 Ma. Cessation of rift subsidence allowed for late post-rift sandstone deposits of the Isachsen Formation to be distributed across the entire basin. Marine deposition to form mudstone of the Christopher Formation throughout the Canadian Arctic Islands and outside of the rift basin records establishment of a broad marine shelf during post-rift thermal subsidence at the start of a passive margin stage. The onset of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province at approximately 130 Ma appears to coincide with the breakup unconformity, and it is quite typical that magma-poor rifted margins have mainly post-rift igneous rocks. We extend the magma-poor characterization where rifting is driven by lithospheric extension, to speculatively consider that the records from Sverdrup Basin are consistent with tectonic models of retro-arc extension and intra-continental rifting that have previously been proposed for the Amerasia Basin under the Arctic Ocean.     

渤海湾及沿岸盆地的构造格局

渤海湾及沿岸盆地面积约20万平方公里,包括河北省,山东省北部和西部、辽宁省南部、河南省北部、天津市和北京市等陆地面积约12万7千平方公里,渤海海域面积为7万多平方公里。陆地面积大部被第四纪冲积层所覆盖。渤海最大深度为70米,平均深度为18米。这是一个大型的第三纪断陷-坳陷沉积盆地,是继大庆油田开发之后,在我国东部地区所开发的另一个重要的含油气盆地(图1)。     

Investigation on the tectonic significance of Izmir,Uzunada Fault Zones and other tectonic elements in the Gulf of Izmir,western Turkey,using high resolution seismic data

Active faults at a range in scales are observed in different directions (E-W, N-S and NE-SW) in the extensional tectonic regime of the Aegean region, western Turkey. However, mechanisms and types of faults in the Gulf of Izmir have not been investigated properly. Tectonic setting in the gulf together with the origin and characteristics of faults were studied in this study by integrating interpretation from various very high resolution acoustic data (multibeam bathymetry and CHIRP very high resolution seismic) acquired in the Gulf of Izmir.The Gulf of Izmir has thick, unconsolidated, stratified sediment cover. The water depth increases from the inner part (SE) to the outer part (NW) of the gulf with complex sea floor morphology. However, northeastern part of the coastal region is very shallow because of the sedimentary influx transported by the Gediz River. The western margin and the southern part of the gulf were formed under the influence of Uzunada (Uzun Island) and Izmir Faults, respectively. In the southern offshore, there is only one, E-W directional normal fault dipping through the north and corresponding to the offshore segment of the Izmir Fault Zone to the west. The acoustic data enable identification of the Uzunada Fault Zone extending as a simple lineament from near Guzelbahce in the south but bifurcating toward the NE of the Cicek Archipelago and terminating with left-lateral slip in the E-NE of the Hekim Island. After the sinistral strike-slip, the fault re-extends in the NW direction untill the mid of Uzunada as a single fault segment. Then, the fault is observed as a bunch of many active fault segments (like horse-tail splays) to the east of Uzunada with N-NW elongation through the outer gulf. These segments were chronologically succeeded from the east to the west. This progradational pattern is attributed to westward extension of the Gulf of Izmir with anti-clockwise rotational escape of the Anatolian Plate. In addition, progradation of faults was controlled by the NE-SW directional tear faults which may have played a key role in the shoreline extension and general pattern of the outer gulf islands. A very young graben in the central part of the gulf, also dislocated by the tear faults was observed parallel to the Uzunada Fault Zone as another indicator of ongoing fan-shaped opening of the gulf. These tectonic elements are consistent with earlier interpretation of GPS-based observations indicating a four-wheel gear system of rigid-body rotations. Additionally, a new fault extending from the far offshore of Foca to Suzbeyli village to the south was identified in this study. Its NW-SE extension is angular to the previous tectonic elements. All these elements apparently project at least 10 km farther northward, in the offshore Foca where the earthquake epicenters cluster.