Late Devonian rifting in the central North Sea: Evidence from altered felsic volcanic rocks in the Embla oil field

In the Embla oil field on the northern flank of the Mid North Sea High, the central North Sea, multiple quartz porphyric volcanic beds at ca. 4600 m depth form part of a volcano-sedimentary interval above the Caledonian basement as interpreted from seismic data. Zircon U–Pb laser ablation ICPMS date one bed to 374 ± 3 Ma, indicating that the volcanic rocks and interbedded sediments are early Famennian and correlate to the Buchan Formation. The volcanic rocks have been extensively clay and carbonate altered in a near-surface environment, but high field strength element data show that the protoliths were alkali rhyolites, yielding intra-plate signatures in tectonic discrimination diagrams. Famennian quartz porphyric volcanic rocks have also been reported from well A17-1 on the southern flank of the Mid North Sea High. The Famennian volcanism on the northern and southern flanks testify to an active magmatic environment in the central North Sea in the early Famennian, supporting the existence of a late Devonian proto-Central Graben rift extending northwards into the central North Sea. The rift is likely an early example of strain localisation to a zone of reduced crustal strength along the Caledonian suture between Avalonia and Baltica.     

Modelling of thermal convection in sedimentary basins and its relevance to diagenetic reactions

Mathematical calculations of thermal convection have been carried out using a porous three-player model to simulate pore-water flow in a sedimentary basin with layers of different permeabilities. The calculated flow lines demonstrate that even very thin layers (< 1 m) with low permeability, like shales in a more permeable sandstone sequence, will split potentially larger convection cells into smaller units of clean sandstone beds which may then be too small to exceed the critical Rayleigh number. In a situation where we have horizontal isotherms, a sandstone bed with 1 Darcy permeability must have a thickness of more than 330 m without shale interbeds for convection to occur. This situation is rarely met in sedimentary basins. In the case of sloping isotherms, non-Rayleigh convection will always occur but the flow rate is proportional to the effective thickness of the bed and the slope of the isotherms. Calculations suggest that the flow rates are insignificant for diagnetic reactions except in situations where we have steeply sloping isotherms eg, around salt domes and igneous or hydrothermal intrusions.Analyses of formation waters from sedimentary basins like the North Sea often show evidence of a crude stratification of the pore water with respect to salinity and isotopic composition. This is evidence suggesting that large scale convection, or other types of mixing, does not take place and positive salinity depth gradient may help to physically stabilize the formation water. The fact that many of the shallow reservoir rocks from the North Sea have formation water with low salinity and negative δ ¹⁸O values suggest that this is modified meteoric water and that migration of petroleum from deeper parts of the basin occurred as a separate phase along restricted migration pathways and was not associated with a high flux of pore water. In the absence of thermal convection the total pore water flux through sandstones will be rather small except locally where we may have focused compactional flow through small cross-sections. Diagenetic reactions will, therefore, normally be relatively isochemical during deeper burial.     

Mixed-function oxygenases as biological monitors around petroleum hydrocarbon development sites: Potential for induction by diesel and other drilling mud base oils containing reduced levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The use of oil-based drilling muds has been discouraged in hydrocarbon exploration and production in the marine environment but these muds are presently being used to a considerable degree in the United Kingdom and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea. Field studies in the North Sea have demonstrated only localized impacts around individual drilling sites,^1,2 even including those sites where ‘toxic’ diesel oils were employed as base fluids in drilling muds. Yet the question of disposal of cuttings contaminated with oil from drilling muds remains somewhat controversial. The induction of mixed-function oxygenases (MFO) has been validated on a number of occasions in the field as a sensitive index of low level hydrocarbon exposure (reviewed by Payne),³ including sites in the North Sea where diesel-based muds were used.⁴ The present study demonstrates that any potential for induction by hydrocarbon contaminated cuttings will probably be reduced by substitution of low-aromatic base oils for diesel in drilling mud formulations.     

The atmospheric distribution of lead over a number of marine regions

A data base of 111 filter-collected marine atmospheric particulates is used to describe the distribution of lead over the North and South Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the northern and central Arabian Sea. The distribution of atmospheric Pb is assessed in terms of enrichment factor diagrams, and it is shown that over the marine regions studied in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres the distribution of Pb in the atmosphere is controlled by the mixing of a background component, or components, with crustal material within certain concentration limits. For the Northern Hemisphere samples used in the investigation there is a reasonably well-defined Pb concentration minimum of ～ 0.6 ng m^?3 of air; however, this will be severely decreased in more remote Northern Hemisphere marine regions. Geometric average Pb atmospheric concentrations vary from one marine region to another, ranging from ～ 0.98 ng m^?3 of air for the South Atlantic westerlies to ～ 15 ng m^?3 of air in the North Atlantic westerlies; although the latter reduces to ～ 7 ng m^?3 of air when ‘polluted’ samples are excluded. Lead sea-surface deposition fluxes are calculated on the basis of two deposition velocities (0.25 and 1 cm s^?1), the largest flux (220 ng Pb cm^?2 yr^?1) being found for the westerlies over the eastern margins of the North Atlantic. The distribution of lead over the North Atlantic is assessed in terms of the global lead budget and it is estimated that a maximum of ～ 24% of the total ‘natural’ lead injected annually into the World atmosphere, and ～ 3.5% of the anthropogenic lead injected annually into the Northern Hemisphere atmosphere, are deposited over the North Atlantic sea surface.     

The oxygen isotope composition of water masses within the North Sea

Based on measurements of the ¹⁸O isotope composition of 247 samples collected over a 3-year period we have assessed the oxygen isotope composition of water masses in the North Sea. This is the first δ¹⁸O data set that covers the entire North Sea basin. The waters lie on a mixing line: δ¹⁸O (‰_VSMOW) = −9.300 + 0.274(S) with North Atlantic sub-polar mode water (SPMW) and surface waters, and Baltic Sea water representing the saline and freshwater end members respectively. Patterns exhibited in surface and bottom water δ¹⁸O distributions are representative of the general circulation of the North Sea. Oxygen-18 enriched waters from the North Atlantic enter the North Sea between Scotland and Norway and to a lesser extent through the English Channel. In contrast, oxygen-18 depleted waters mainly inflow from the Baltic Sea, the rivers Rhine and Elbe, and to a lesser degree, the Norwegian Fjords and other river sources. Locally the δ¹⁸O–salinity relationship will be controlled by the isotopic composition of the freshwater inputs. However, the range of local freshwater compositions around the North Sea basin is too narrow to characterise the relative contributions of individual sources to the overall seawater composition. This dataset provides important information for a number of related disciplines including biogeochemical research and oceanographic studies.     

渤海海洋环境中90Sr分布规律的研究

本文根据1980—1981年间渤海放射性调查获得的资料,探讨了渤海环境中~(90)Sr的含量分布及其变化规律。认为大陆径流以及~(90)Sr、~(137)Cs两核素被土壤吸附和从土壤中解吸的能力差异,是影响渤海环境中~(90)Sr分布及造成~(137)Cs/~(90)Sr比值严重反常的主要因素。     

Seismic expressions of deep-shelf depositional and erosional morphologies,Miocene Utsira formation,North Sea Basin

The Middle–Late Miocene Utsira Formation of the North Sea Basin contains a fully preserved, regional marine sand deposit that records a stable paleogeographic setting of sand transport and accumulation within a deep, epeiric seaway which persisted for >8 Ma. The sediment dispersal system was defined by (1) input through a marginal prograding strandplain platform, coast-to-basin bypass, transport along a narrow strait, and accumulation in strait-mouth shoal complexes within a shelf sea; (2) a high-energy marine regime; (3) very low time-averaged rates of sediment supply and accumulation; and (4) consequent high sediment reworking ratio. Sand distribution and stratal architectures reflect regional along-strike sediment transport and local to sub-regional landward sediment transport. Plume-shaped, south-building, submarine sand shoals that formed along the recurved arc of the strandplain margin nourished the shoal system. Very low-angle sigmoid clinoforms and down-stepping, aggradational top sets are distinctive architectures of these strike-fed sand bodies. The combination of strong marine currents and slow but long-lived sand supply from the Shetland strandplain created regional, sandy shelf shoal depositional systems that individually covered 3,500 to 6,000 km² of the basin floor. Defining attributes of the shelf shoal systems include their location within the basin axis, abundance of autochthonous sediment, and sandy marine facies composition. Diagnostic depositional architectures include the along-strike-dipping sigmoidal clinoforms, poly-directional low-angle accretionary bedding at both regional and local scales, and mounded depositional topography. Erosional features include regional hummocky, low-relief shelf deflation surfaces, broad, elongate scours and sub-circular scour pits.     

The continental shelf pump for CO2 in the North Sea—evidence from summer observation

Data on the distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂) were obtained during a cruise in the North Sea during late summer 2001. A 1° by 1° grid of 97 stations was sampled for DIC while the pCO₂ was measured continuously between the stations. The surface distributions of these two parameters show a clear boundary located around 54°N. South of this boundary the DIC and pCO₂ range from 2070 to 2130 μmol kg⁻¹ and 290 to 490 ppm, respectively, whereas in the northern North Sea, values range between 1970 and 2070 μmol kg⁻¹ and 190 to 350 ppm, respectively. The vertical profiles measured in the two different areas show that the mixing regime of the water column is the major factor determining the surface distributions. The entirely mixed water column of the southern North Sea is heterotrophic, whereas the surface layer of the stratified water column in the northern North Sea is autotrophic. The application of different formulations for the calculation of the CO₂ air–sea fluxes shows that the southern North Sea acts as a source of CO₂ for the atmosphere within a range of +0.8 to +1.7 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹, whereas the northern North Sea absorbs CO₂ within a range of −2.4 to −3.8 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ in late summer. The North Sea as a whole acts as a sink of atmospheric CO₂ of −1.5 to −2.2 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ during late summer. Compared to the Baltic and the East China Seas at the same period of the year, the North Sea acts a weak sink of atmospheric CO₂. The anticlockwise circulation and the short residence time of the water in the North Sea lead to a rapid transport of the atmospheric CO₂ to the deeper layer of the North Atlantic Ocean. Thus, in late summer, the North Sea exports 2.2×10¹² g C month⁻¹ to the North Atlantic Ocean via the Norwegian trench, and, at the same period, absorbs from the atmosphere a quantity of CO₂ (0.4 10¹² g C month⁻¹) equal to 15% of that export, which makes the North Sea a continental shelf pump of CO₂.     

Palynofacies investigation of Callovian (Middle Jurassic) sediments from DSDP Site 534, Blake-Bahama Basin,Western Central Atlantic

During the extension of Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Leg 76 a new and previously unpenetrated lithological unit composed mainly of claystones was cored above basalt basement at Site 534 in the Blake-Bahama Basin. The Callovian part of the new unit contains interbedded ‘black shales’ which were hitherto unexpected in this part of the section. This Paper presents a brief palynological examination of lithofacies-kerogen relationships in these sediments and shows that their organic content is almost entirely a function of the re-deposition of terrestial and marine organic matter versus the ambient redox conditions of the depositional environment. Allochthonous organic matter inputs are highest in the interbedded turbidites and decline progressively toward the pelagic black shales in which marine organic matter is comparatively well preserved. The significance of various kerogen and palynomorph indices are discussed. The study emphasizes the absolute necessity for sedimentologically-aware sampling in all palynological and geochemical work on lithologically heterogeneous sequences.     

Morphology,sedimentary infill and depositional environments of the Early Quaternary North Sea Basin (56°–62°N)

The North Sea Basin has been subsiding during the Quaternary and contains hundreds of metres of fill. Seismic surveys (170 000 km²) provide new evidence on Early Quaternary sedimentation, from about 2.75 Ma to around the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary (0.78 Ma). We present an informal seismic stratigraphy for the Early Quaternary of the North Sea, and calculate sediment volumes for major units. Early Quaternary sediment thickness is > 1000 m in the northern basin and >700 m in the central basin (total about 40 000 km³). Northern North Sea basin-fill comprises several clinoform units, prograding westward over 60 000 km². Architecture of the central basin also comprises clinoforms, building from the southeast. To the west, an acoustically layered and mounded unit (Unit Z) was deposited. Remaining accommodation space was filled with fine-grained sediments of two Central Basin units. Above these units, an Upper Regional Unconformity-equivalent (URU) records a conformable surface with flat-lying units that indicate stronger direct glacial influence than on the sediments below. On the North Sea Plateau north of 59°N, the Upper Regional Unconformity (URU) is defined by a shift from westward to eastward dipping seismic reflectors, recording a major change in sedimentation, with the Shetland Platform becoming a significant source. A model of Early Quaternary sediment delivery to the North Sea shows sources from the Scandinavian ice sheet and major European rivers. Clinoforms prograding west in the northern North Sea Basin, representing glacigenic debris flows, indicate an ice sheet on the western Scandinavian margin. In the central basin, sediments are generally fine-grained, suggesting a distal fluvial or glacifluvial origin from European rivers. Ploughmarks also demonstrate that icebergs, derived from an ice sheet to the north, drifted into the central North Sea Basin. By contrast, sediments and glacial landforms above the URU provide evidence for the later presence of a grounded ice sheet.     

Biogenic and pollutant aliphatic hydrocarbons in Mytilus edulis from the North Sea

Capillary gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) have been used to examine the aliphatic hydrocarbon fraction of specimens of the mussel, Mytilus edulis, collected from the legs of a North Sea oil-production platform. In addition to an unresolved complex mixture (UCM) of fossil fuel pollutant hydrocarbons (ca. 64 μg g^?1 dry weight average), the fraction was dominated by large amounts (ca. 21 μgg^?1 dry weight) of C₃₁ and C₃₃n-alkenes with 2, 3 and 4 double bonds. These alkenes have also been identified in the ubiquitous marine alga, Emiliania huxleyi, and in some species of fish taken from the North Sea. The close correspondence in the composition data suggest that, in the mussel, these alkenes arise from a biogenic dietary source, most probably from Emiliania huxleyi. This contention is supported by the identification in the mussel of unusual C₃₇, C₃₈ and C₃₉ unsaturated straight-chain ketones which have recently been shown to be biosynthesised by Emiliania.     

Palaeo-carbonate seep structures above an oil reservoir, Gryphon Field, Tertiary, North Sea

Petrographic and geochemical analyses performed on a North Sea core from the Gryphon Field reveal the presence of palaeo-degassing features surrounded by injected sandstones in the Eocene interval. The injected sandstones are oil-stained and poorly cemented by carbonate and quartz. ¹⁸O isotope analyses indicate that carbonate cementation occurred during shallow burial (likely less than about 300 m). Depleted ¹³C (around –30 V-PDB) carbonate cement suggests that bicarbonate was derived from the microbial oxidation of oil and gas. Late quartz overgrowths enclose oil present in the injected units. The tubular degassing conduits are composed of zoned cements and have ¹⁸O and ¹³C isotope values similar to the injected sandstones, indicating that oil and gas seepage induced the precipitation of authigenic carbonate in the shallow subsurface. Oil inclusions in inter- and intra-crystal cement sites in both injected sandstones and degassing conduits indicate that oil seepage was an ongoing feature at shallow burial. A proposed model involves oil and gas seepage and the formation of the degassing conduits, followed by a sand injection phase. It seems likely that oil and gas continued to leak towards the seabed by exploiting the network of permeable injected sandstones and the horizons of porous degassing features.     

婆罗洲地质构造特征及其对南海南部盆地的影响

南海南部曾母、文莱—沙巴盆地油气资源丰富,已发现一大批油气田及含油气构造。曾母盆地南部与文莱—沙巴盆地油气的生成、运移和聚集与婆罗洲地块息息相关。婆罗洲地块地质特征复杂,自古新世开始,古南海逐渐消失,与婆罗洲地块发生碰撞,中新世开始隆升造山。在这种地质背景下,婆罗洲拉让河和巴兰河为曾母盆地南部与文莱—沙巴盆地的主要物源,发育三角洲相、滨浅海相、浊积扇相、浅海相砂岩储层;同时,压扭型构造发育,不仅形成断块与背斜型油气藏,同时具有良好的油气运移条件。     

晚侏罗世裂谷运动对北海盆地油气富集的控制作用

为了探讨北海盆地油气富集的控制因素,对前人在该区的大量研究成果进行了整理和分析,结果显示,北海盆地三叉裂谷所在的3个地堑具有上下2层不同的结构特征,即晚侏罗世末期的裂谷拉伸运动造就了北海盆地的下构造层,而早白垩世之后的热沉降作用塑造了北海盆地的上构造层;断层主要分布在下白垩统之下的老地层中。北海盆地油气成藏组合主要受下构造层的控制,成藏模式主要表现为中生代砂岩断—背斜油气藏,因此,可以认为,北海盆地油气富集的主要控制因素是晚侏罗世—早白垩世的裂谷拉伸运动。     

Characterization of hydrocarbons in a subsurface oil-rich layer in the Sargasso Sea

The hydrocarbon composition of seawater samples collected within a subsurface oil-rich layer in the southwest North Atlantic Ocean (Sargasso Sea) during February–March, 1978, has been examined in detail. Chromatograms generated through gas chromatographs/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses of saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons are characterized by a narrow unresolved envelope (UCM or unresolved complex mixture) containing isoprenoids as major resolved peaks, suggesting a petroleum source which has undergone moderate biodegradative weathering. Distributions of terpanes, steranes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons corroborate the inferred fossil origin. Stable carbon isotopic compositions (δ¹³C) suggest that the source of these hydrocarbons is enriched in ¹³C in comparison with most petroleums. The results support the previous suggestions (Harvey et al., 1979) that this layer is part of a massive submarine oil seep originating somewhere on the Venezuelan shelf, although its origin cannot be attributed to seepage of a specific oil formation.     

西湖凹陷输导体系特征及其对油气成藏的控制作用

输导体系是东海西湖凹陷油气勘探研究中的重要内容之一。断裂、砂岩层和不整合面作为西湖凹陷输导体系的基本要素,共同构成了盆地各成藏单元流体纵、横向运移的复杂输导网络系统。根据断裂、砂岩层、不整合面等输导要素在空间和时间上的组合关系,总结出顺向断层阶梯型、反转断层丘型、调节断层"Y"型和"T"型4种典型输导体系样式。输导体系对油气成藏的控制作用主要表现为:输导体系类型及分布样式决定着油气藏层位的分布;输导体系组成地质要素控制着油气藏类型的分布。     

北海北部盆地储层特征及其成岩作用分析

北海北部油气区的储层发育范围很广,自断裂基底至始新世均有发育。主要储层有5套:①二叠系风成或河成砂岩;②三叠系河流相砂岩;③中、下侏罗统河成、三角洲以及边缘海砂岩;④上侏罗统浅海和深海浊流砂岩及砾岩;⑤上白垩统—下古新统白垩和古新统深海浊积扇砂岩。古新世—始新世砂岩成岩作用有限,在3 100 m之下,渗透性逐渐变差,先是由于钾长石的溶解作用,约3 700 m之下伊利石是主要影响因素,约4 000 m之下则是次生石英的影响。主要储集层的分布是北北海油气远景区的重要控制因素。     

Structure of the basins of the White Sea rift systems

For the first time, the structure of the sedimentary basins of the Late Proterozoic rift system in the White Sea is characterized based on a set of new marine geological geophysical data such as the results of the common depth point seismic method, gravity and magnetic data, and seismoacoustics. The main tectonic structures in the topography of the heterogeneous basement within the basin of the White Sea are distinguished and described. A structural tectonic scheme of the basement surface is presented. The thicknesses of the sediments are estimated and the stratigraphic confinement of the seismic units recognized is done.     

The influence of quasi resonant internal waves on the radar imaging mechanism of shallow sea bottom topography

During previous field experiments in the North Sea it was often assumed that the water column in such shallow coastal tidal waters is vertically well mixed and stratification was neglected when discussing the Normalized Radar Cross Section modulation caused by the sea floor. In this paper the influence of quasi resonant internal waves with the sea bed on the radar imaging mechanism of submarine sand waves itself is investigated. In situ data of the tidal current velocity and several water quality parameters such as sea surface temperature, fluorescence, and beam transmittance were measured in the Southern Bight of the North Sea in April 1991. Simulations of the total NRCS modulation caused by sand waves and internal waves as a function of the current gradient or strain rate induced by the internal wave current field at the sea surface have been carried out using the quasi-steady approximation and linear internal wave theory. As a first approximation the strain rate depending on stratification was calculated using the two-layer model. These simulations demonstrate that at least a density difference between the two layers of the order of Δρ ≈ 1 kg m^–3 is necessary for a sinusoidal thermocline to effect the total NRCS modulation considerably. The NRCS modulation as a function of wind friction velocity has been calculated independently and is discussed with regard to the strain rate of the surface current field caused by the superimposed imaging mechanisms of sand waves and internal waves. It turned out that the existence of a surface roughness-wind stress feedback mechanism cannot be excluded.     

低勘探程度盆地模拟研究——以南黄海盆地北部坳陷为例

盆地模拟已成为当前沉积盆地研究的重要工具。南黄海盆地北部坳陷自裂陷期演化以来沉积了巨厚的中-新生代碎屑沉积,近年来的地质调查获取的数据为其盆地模拟研究提供了条件,本次研究在收集相关基础数据的基础上,首先对盆地构造热演化史进行了模拟,重建了盆地热史,模拟结果显示其古热流在中-晚侏罗世平均值约为61mW/m²,在约145-74Ma间不断上升至约80 mW/m²,随后缓慢下降至65 mW/m²,并持续到渐新世末期,据此将盆地演化阶段划分为裂前期、裂陷期及裂后期。盆地模拟结果显示北部坳陷在白垩纪逐步进入强裂陷演化阶段并经历快速沉积过程,至晚白垩纪裂陷发育程度中等,在此基础上,对研究区进行了三维盆地模拟,结果显示北部坳陷生烃门限深度大致位于古近系阜宁组顶部,下伏的侏罗系及白垩系烃源岩基本完成生排烃过程,其中侏罗系烃源岩生排烃主要发生在盆地发育的裂陷期及裂后期,而白垩系及古近系烃源岩生排烃主要发生在裂后期。尽管研究区尚处在低勘探程度阶段,但盆地模拟结果已能为研究区下一步的勘探提供重要的信息,此外,本次研究对模拟过程中的主要不确定性也进行了分析。