Architecture and evolution of syn-rift clastic depositional systems towards the tip of a major fault segment, Suez Rift, Egypt

ABSTRACT This paper investigates syn‐rift stratigraphic architecture and facies relationships along a 7 km long strike section towards the tip of a major, basin‐bounding normal fault segment (Thal Fault) in the Suez Rift, Egypt. In this location, the fault is composed of two precursor fault strands, Gushea and Abu Ideimat, linked by a jog or transfer fault. We document a Miocene syn‐rift succession, deposited more than c. 5.5 Myr after rift initiation, that is composed of a range of carbonate‐clastic facies associated with coarse‐grained deltaic, shoreface and offshore depositional systems. Key regionally correlatable stratal surfaces within this succession define time equivalent stratal units that exhibit variability in thickness and architecture, related to the interplay of both regional and local controls, in particular, the evolution of two, small‐scale (<6 km long) precursor fault strands (Gushea and Abu Ideimat). Integration of structural and stratigraphic data indicates that the boundary (relay ramp) between these two fault strands was a relative high during much of the rift event, with hard‐linkage and considerable displacement accumulation not occurring until at least c. 7.5 Myr after rift initiation. This is because: (i) the preserved stratigraphy is thinner in the hanging wall of the strand boundary; (ii) a eustatic sea‐level fall with an amplitude of 100 m generated more than 25 m of incision at the strand boundary, a region that has a final fault displacement of c. 600 m; and (iii) the fault strand boundary persisted as a footwall low and transport pathway for coarse‐grained deltas entering the basin. This study indicates that variability in stratal thickness and stratigraphic architecture towards the tip of the Thal Fault was related to the linkage history of two small‐scale (c. 6 km long) precursor fault segments. We suggest that similar, small‐scale stratal variability may occur repeatedly along the entire length of major basin‐bounding fault segments due to the process of fault growth by the linkage of smaller scale precursor strands.     

Sedimentary environment evolution in a marine hangingwall dipslope setting. El Qaa Fault Block,Suez Rift,Egypt

Sedimentation in hangingwall dipslope settings is still a relatively underexplored topic in rift basin studies. A better understanding of the evolution of marine sedimentary environments in this kind of settings has to address the variations occurring both along the strike and down the dipslope. Previous work was mainly built on the analysis of subsurface data, relying on the visualization of coarse resolution (10s of m) seismic sections and sparsely located borehole logs (km apart). This study focuses on the sedimentology and stratal arrangement of excellent quality Miocene marine early syn‐rift and rift climax successions continuously exposed for more than 20 km along the strike of the hangingwall dipslope in the El Qaa Fault Block, Suez Rift, Egypt. The integration of traditional sedimentary field techniques and terrestrial LIDAR scanning allowed for a detailed analysis of dip and dip direction for the different depositional units. Three different phases of tilting were identified for the hangingwall dipslope, which controlled the overall evolution of the marine sedimentary environment in the area. The tilt of the hangingwall not only determined variations in facies, thickness and grain‐size of the deposits down the dipslope but also along its strike. The studied exposures of the El Qaa Fault Block dipslope constitute a unique outcrop analogue for marine sedimentation in hangingwall dipslopes.     

Role of fault interactions in controlling synrift sediment dispersal patterns: Miocene, Abu Alaqa Group, Suez Rift, Sinai, Egypt

Although fault growth is an important control on drainage development in modern rifts, such links are difficult to establish in ancient basins. To understand how the growth and interaction of normal fault segments controls stratigraphic patterns, we investigate the response of a coarse-grained delta system to evolution of a fault array in a Miocene half-graben basin, Suez rift. The early Miocene Alaqa delta complex comprises a vertically stacked set of footwall-sourced Gilbert deltas located in the immediate hangingwall of the rift border fault, adjacent to a major intrabasinal relay zone. Sedimentological and stratigraphic studies, in combination with structural analysis of the basin-bounding fault system, permit reconstruction of the architecture, dispersal patterns and evolution of proximal Gilbert delta systems in relation to the growth and interaction of normal fault segments. Structural geometries demonstrate that fault-related folds developed along the basin margin above upward and laterally propagating normal faults during the early stages of extension. Palaeocurrent data indicate that the delta complex formed a point-sourced depositional system developed at the intersection of two normal fault segments. Gilbert deltas prograded transverse into the basin and laterally parallel to faults. Development of the transverse delta complex is proposed to be a function of its location adjacent to an evolving zone of fault overlap, together with focusing of dispersal between adjacent fault segments growing towards each other. Growth strata onlap and converge onto the monoclinal fold limbs indicating that these structures formed evolving structural topography. During fold growth, Gilbert deltas prograded across the deforming fold surface, became progressively rotated and incorporated into fold limbs. Spatial variability of facies architecture is linked to along-strike variation in the style of fault/fold growth, and in particular variation in rates of crestal uplift and fold limb rotation. Our results clearly show that the growth and linkage of fault segments during fault array evolution has a fundamental control on patterns of sediment dispersal in rift basins.     

Tectono‐sedimentary development of early syn‐rift deposits: the Abura Graben,Suez Rift,Egypt

The thickness and distribution of early syn‐rift deposits record the evolution of structures accommodating the earliest phases of continental extension. However, our understanding of the detailed tectono‐sedimentary evolution of these deposits is poor, because in the subsurface, they are often deeply buried and below seismic resolution and sparsely sampled by borehole data. Furthermore, early syn‐rift deposits are typically poorly exposed in the field, being buried beneath thick, late syn‐rift and post‐rift deposits. To improve our understanding of the tectono‐sedimentary development of early syn‐rift strata during the initial stages of rifting, we examined quasi‐3D exposures in the Abura Graben, Suez Rift, Egypt. During the earliest stage of extension, forced folding above blind normal fault segments, rather than half‐graben formation adjacent to surface‐breaking faults, controlled rift physiography, accommodation development and the stratigraphic architecture of non‐marine, early syn‐rift deposits. Fluvial systems incised into underlying pre‐rift deposits and were structurally focused in the axis of the embryonic depocentre, which, at this time, was characterized by a fold‐bound syncline rather than a fault‐bound half graben. During this earliest phase of extension, sediment was sourced from the rift shoulder some 3 km to the NE of the depocentre, rather than from the crests of the flanking, intra‐basin extensional forced folds. Fault‐driven subsidence, perhaps augmented by a eustatic sea‐level rise, resulted in basin deepening and the deposition of a series of fluvial‐dominated mouth bars, which, like the preceding fluvial systems, were structurally pinned within the axis of the growing depocentre, which was still bound by extensional forced folds rather than faults. The extensional forced folds were eventually locally breached by surface‐breaking faults, resulting in the establishment of a half graben, basin deepening and the deposition of shallow marine sandstone and fan‐delta conglomerates. Because growth folding and faulting were coeval along‐strike, syn‐rift stratal units deposited at this time show a highly variable along‐strike stratigraphic architecture, locally thinning towards the growth fold but, only a few kilometres along‐strike, thickening towards the surface‐breaking fault. Despite displaying the classic early syn‐rift stratigraphic motif recording net upward‐deepening, extensional forced folding rather than surface faulting played a key role in controlling basin physiography, accommodation development, and syn‐rift stratal architecture and facies development during the early stages of extension. This structural and stratigraphic observations required to make this interpretation are relatively subtle and may go unrecognized in low‐resolution subsurface data sets.     

Deep-water sediment transport patterns and basin floor topography in early rift basins: Plio-Pleistocene syn-rift of the Corinth Rift,Greece

Our current understanding on sedimentary deep-water environments is mainly built of information obtained from tectonic settings such as passive margins and foreland basins. More observations from extensional settings are particularly needed in order to better constrain the role of active tectonics in controlling sediment pathways, depositional style and stratigraphic stacking patterns. This study focuses on the evolution of a Plio-Pleistocene deep-water sedimentary system (Rethi-Dendro Formation) and its relation to structural activity in the Amphithea fault block in the Corinth Rift, Greece. The Corinth Rift is an active extensional basin in the early stages of rift evolution, providing perfect opportunities for the study of early deep-water syn-rift deposits that are usually eroded from the rift shoulders due to erosion in mature basins like the Red Sea, North Sea and the Atlantic rifted margin. The depocentre is located at the exit of a structurally controlled sediment fairway, approximately 15 km from its main sediment source and 12 km basinwards from the basin margin coastline. Fieldwork, augmented by digital outcrop techniques (LiDAR and photogrammetry) and clast-count compositional analysis allowed identification of 16 stratigraphic units that are grouped into six types of depositional elements: A—mudstone-dominated sheets, B—conglomerate-dominated lobes, C—conglomerate channel belts and sandstone sheets, D—sandstone channel belts, E—sandstone-dominated broad shallow lobes, F—sandstone-dominated sheets with broad shallow channels. The formation represents an axial system sourced by a hinterland-fed Mavro delta, with minor contributions from a transverse system of conglomerate-dominated lobes sourced from intrabasinal highs. The results of clast compositional analysis enable precise attribution for the different sediment sources to the deep-water system and their link to other stratigraphic units in the area. Structures in the Amphithea fault block played a major role in controlling the location and orientation of sedimentary systems by modifying basin-floor gradients due to a combination of hangingwall tilt, displacement of faults internal to the depocentre and folding on top of blind growing faults. Fault activity also promoted large-scale subaqueous landslides and eventual uplift of the whole fault block.     

The Miocene Saint-Florent Basin in northern Corsica: stratigraphy, sedimentology, and tectonic implications

Late early–early middle Miocene (Burdigalian–Langhian) time on the island of Corsica (western Mediterranean) was characterized by a combination of (i) postcollisional structural inversion of the main boundary thrust system between the Alpine orogenic wedge and the foreland, (ii) eustatic sealevel rise and (iii) subsidence related to the development of the Ligurian‐Provençal basin. These processes created the accommodation for a distinctive continental to shallow‐marine sedimentary succession along narrow and elongated basins. Much of these deposits have been eroded and presently only a few scattered outcrop areas remain, most notably at Saint‐Florent and Francardo. The Burdigalian–Langhian sedimentary succession at Saint‐Florent is composed of three distinguishing detrital components: (i) siliciclastic detritus derived from erosion of the nearby Alpine orogenic wedge, (ii) carbonate intrabasinal detritus (bioclasts of shallow‐marine and pelagic organisms), and (iii) siliciclastic detritus derived from Hercynian‐age foreland terraines. The basal deposits (Fium Albino Formation) are fluvial and composed of Alpine‐derived detritus, with subordinate foreland‐derived volcanic detritus. All three detrital components are present in the middle portion of the succession (Torra and Monte Sant'Angelo Formations), which is characterized by thin transitional deposits evolving vertically into fully marine deposits, although the carbonate intrabasinal component is predominant. The Monte Sant'Angelo Formation is characteristically dominated by the deposits of large gravel and sandwaves, possibly the result of current amplification in narrow seaways that developed between the foreland and the tectonically collapsing Alpine orogenic wedge. The laterally equivalent Saint‐Florent conglomerate is composed of clasts derived from the late Permian Cinto volcanic district within the foreland. The uppermost unit (Farinole Formation) is dominated by bioclasts of pelagic organisms. The Saint‐Florent succession was deposited during the last phase of the counterclockwise rotation of the Corsica–Sardinia–Calabria continental block and the resulting development of the Provençal oceanic basin. The succession sits at the paleogeographic boundary between the Alpine orogenic wedge (to the east), its foreland (to the west), and the Ligurian‐Provençal basin (to the northwest). Abrupt compositional changes in the succession resulted from the complex, varying interplay of post‐collisional extensional tectonism, eustacy and competing drainage systems.     

The Grayling Fingers region of Michigan: soils, sedimentology, stratigraphy and geomorphic development

This paper provides data on the landforms, soils, and sediments within a unique northern Michigan landscape known as the Grayling Fingers, and evaluates these data to develop various scenarios for the geomorphic development of this region. Composed of several large, flat-topped ridges that trend N–S, the physiography of the “Fingers” resembles a hand. Previously interpreted as “remnant moraines”, the Grayling Fingers are actually a Pleistocene constructional landscape that was later deeply incised by glacial meltwater. The sediments that comprise the Fingers form a generally planar assemblage, with thick (>100 m), sandy glacial outwash forming the lowest unit. Above the outwash are several meters of till that is remarkably similar in texture to the outwash below; thus, the region is best described as an incised ground moraine. Finally, a thin silty “cap” is preserved on the flattest, most stable uplands. This sediment package and the physiography of the Fingers are suggestive of geomorphic processes not previously envisioned for Michigan.Although precise dates are lacking, we nonetheless present possible sequences of geomorphic/sedimentologic processes for the Fingers. This area was probably a topographic high prior to the advance of marine isotope stage 2 (Woodfordian) ice. Much of the glacial outwash in the Fingers is probably associated with a stagnant, early Woodfordian ice margin, implying that this interlobate area remained ice-free and ice-marginal for long periods during stage 2. Woodfordian ice eventually covered the region and deposited 5–10 m of sandy basal till over the proglacial outwash plain. Small stream valleys on the outwash surface were palimpsested onto the till surface as the ice retreated, as kettle chains and as dry, upland valleys. The larger of these valleys were so deeply incised by meltwater that they formed the large, through-flowing Finger valleys. The silt cap that occupies stable uplands was probably imported into the region, while still glaciated. The Fingers region, a col on the ice surface, could have acted as a collection basin for silts brought in as loess or in superglacial meltwater. This sediment was let down as the ice melted and preserved only on certain geomorphically stable and fluvially isolated locations. This study demonstrates that the impact of Woodfordian ice in this region was mostly erosional, and suggests that Mississippi Valley loess may have indirectly impacted this region.     

Axial and transverse deep-water sediment supply to syn-rift fault terraces: Insights from the West Xylokastro Fault Block,Gulf of Corinth,Greece

Deep-water syn-rift systems develop in partially- or transiently-linked depocentres to form complicated depositional architectures, which are characterised by short transport distances, coarse grain sizes and a wide range of sedimentary processes. Exhumed systems that can help to constrain the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of such systems are rare or complicated by inversion tectonics. Here, we document a mid-Pleistocene deep-water syn-rift system fed by Gilbert-type fan deltas in the hangingwall of a rift margin fault bounding the West Xylokastro Horst block, on the southern margin of the Gulf of Corinth, Greece. Structural and stratigraphic mapping combined with digital outcrop models permit observations along this syn-rift depositional system from hinterland source to deep-water sink. The West Xylokastro Fault hangingwall is filled by two distinct sediment systems; an axial system fed by coarse-grained sediment gravity flows derived from fault-tip Gilbert-type fan deltas and a lateral system dominated by mass transport deposits fed from an evolving fault-scarp apron. Abrupt changes in stratigraphic architecture across the axial system are interpreted to record changes in relative base level, sediment supply and tectonics. Locally, depositional topography and intra-basinal structures controlled sediment dispersal patterns, from bed-scale infilling of local rugose topography above mass transport complexes, to basin-scale confinement from the fault scarp apron. These acted to generate a temporally and spatially variable, heterogeneous stratigraphic architecture throughout the basin-fill. The transition of the locus of sedimentation from a rift margin to a fault terrace through the syn-sedimentary growth of a basinward fault produced regressive surfaces updip, which manifest themselves as channels in the deep-water realm and acted to prograde the system. We present a new conceptual model that recognises coeval axial and transverse systems based on the stratigraphic architecture around the West Xylokastro fault block that emphasizes the lateral and vertical heterogeneity of rift basin-fills with multiple entry points.     

Structural controls on non fabric‐selective dolomitization within rift‐related basin‐bounding normal fault systems: Insights from the Hammam Faraun Fault,Gulf of Suez,Egypt

Fault‐controlled dolostone bodies have been described as potential hydrocarbon‐bearing reservoirs. Numerous case studies have described the shape and size of these often non fabric selective dolostone bodies within the vicinity of crustal‐scale lineaments, usually from Palaeozoic or Mesozoic carbonate platforms, which have undergone one or more phases of burial and exhumation. There has been little attention paid, however, to fault‐strike variability in dolostone distribution or the preferential localization of these bodies on particular faults. This study focuses on dolostone bodies adjacent to the Hammam Faraun Fault (HFF), Gulf of Suez. This crustal‐scale normal fault was activated in the Late Oligocene, coincident with the onset of extension within the Suez Rift. Dolomitization in the prerift Eocene Thebes Formation occurred in the immediate footwall of the HFF forming two massive, non facies selective dolostone bodies, ca. 500 m wide. Facies‐controlled tongues of dolostone on the margins of the massive dolostone bodies extend for up to 100 m. The geochemical signature of the dolostone bodies is consistent with replacement by Miocene seawater, contemporaneous with the rift climax and localization of strain along the HFF. A conceptual model of dolomitization from seawater that circulated within the HFF during the rift climax is presented. Seawater was either directly drawn down the HFF or circulated from the hanging wall basin via a permeable aquifer towards the HFF. The lateral extent of the massive dolostone bodies was controlled by pre‐existing HFF‐parallel fracture corridors on the outer margins of the damage zone of the fault. The behaviour of these fracture corridors alternated between acting as barriers to fluid flow before rupture and acting as flow conduits during or after rupture. Multiple phases of dolomitization and recrystallization during the ca. 10 Ma period in which dolomitization occurred led to mottled petrographical textures and wide‐ranging isotopic signatures. The localization of dolomitization on the HFF is interpreted to reflect its proximity to a rift accommodation zone which facilitated vertical fluid flow due to perturbed and enhanced stresses during fault interaction. It is possible that the presence of jogs along the strike of the fault further focused fluid flux. As such, it is suggested that the massive dolostones described in this study provide a window into the earliest stages of formation of fault‐controlled hydrothermal dolostone bodies, which could have occurred in other areas and subsequently been overprinted by more complex diagenetic and structural fabrics.     

Age,stratigraphy, sedimentology and tectonic setting of the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation and its fossil forests,Early Miocene,Lesbos, Greece

The Petrified Forest of Lesbos comprises silicified tree fossils at multiple stratigraphic levels within the Lower Miocene Sigri Pyroclastic Formation. Our objective was to understand the interplay of tectonic setting, structural evolution, volcanological setting and basin evolution in the preservation of this remarkable natural monument. Sections were logged for lithology, sedimentary structures and hydrothermal alteration. Orientations of fallen fossil trees were measured. Samples were taken for mineralogical and geochemical analysis. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating was carried out on mineral separates from four samples. Widespread andesite‐dacite domes, the Eressos Formation, intrude and overlie metamorphic basement and are overlain by the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation, which comprises several hundreds of metres of pyroclastic flow tuffs (unwelded ignimbrites) interbedded with fluvial conglomerate and volcaniclastic sandstone. The Sigri Pyroclastic Formation ranges in age from 21.5 to 22 Ma, where it overlies the lacustrine Gavathas Formation, to younger than 18.4 Ma. Tuffs and fluvial conglomerates in the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation coarsen eastwards, and petrified trees and soil horizons occur throughout the Formation. The recurrence of pyroclastic flows was approximately one every 20 ka, so destructive flows were relatively infrequent, allowing the development of climax vegetation between most eruptions. Conglomerate‐filled channels show that rivers flowed westwards. Tree fall directions indicate NW to N movement of pyroclastic flows, implying a source near the younger Mesotopos–Tavari caldera to the south. The basin, which formed in a NNE‐trending dextral strike‐slip regime, provided some topographic steering. Following the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation at ca. 18 Ma, there was a rapid increase in the pace of volcanic activity, with the eruption of thick lava sequences and welded ignimbrites, and intrusion of dykes and laccoliths in SW Lesbos. Rapid burial by permeable tuffs, silica from alteration of volcanic ash, and later hydrothermal circulation all contributed to the preservation of the petrified trees.     

Hydrocarbon Generation,In-Source Conversion of Oil to Gas and Expulsion: Petroleum System Modeling of the Duwi Formation,Gulf of Suez,Egypt

Natural Resources Research - A multiple forward 1D modeling approach on four wells in the Abu Rudeis-Sidri oil field has been performed in accordance with the plate tectonics and crustal...     

Late Quaternary stratigraphy,sedimentology and geochemistry of an underfilled lake basin in the Puna plateau (northwest Argentina)

Depositional models of ancient lakes in thin‐skinned retroarc foreland basins rarely benefit from appropriate Quaternary analogues. To address this, we present new stratigraphic, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of four radiocarbon‐dated sediment cores from the Pozuelos Basin (PB; northwest Argentina) that capture the evolution of this low‐accommodation Puna basin over the past ca. 43 cal kyr. Strata from the PB are interpreted as accumulations of a highly variable, underfilled lake system represented by lake‐plain/littoral, profundal, palustrine, saline lake and playa facies associations. The vertical stacking of facies is asymmetric, with transgressive and thin organic‐rich highstand deposits underlying thicker, organic‐poor regressive deposits. The major controls on depositional architecture and basin palaeogeography are tectonics and climate. Accommodation space was derived from piggyback basin‐forming flexural subsidence and Miocene‐Quaternary normal faulting associated with incorporation of the basin into the Andean hinterland. Sediment and water supply was modulated by variability in the South American summer monsoon, and perennial lake deposits correlate in time with several well‐known late Pleistocene wet periods on the Altiplano/Puna plateau. Our results shed new light on lake expansion–contraction dynamics in the PB in particular and provide a deeper understanding of Puna basin lakes in general.     

Impact of a pre-existing transverse drainage system on active rift stratigraphy: An example from the Corinth Rift,Greece

Models to explain alluvial system development in rift settings commonly depict fans that are sourced directly from catchments formed in newly uplifted footwalls, which leads to the development of steep-sided talus-cone fans in the actively subsiding basin depocentre. The impact of basin evolution on antecedent drainage networks orientated close to perpendicular to a rift axis, and flowing over the developing hangingwall dip slope, remains relatively poorly understood. The aim of this study is to better understand the responses to rift margin uplift and subsequent intrabasinal fault development in determining sedimentation patterns in alluvial deposits of a major antecedent drainage system. Field-acquired data from a coarse-grained alluvial syn-rift succession in the western Gulf of Corinth, Greece (sedimentological logging and mapping) has allowed analysis of the spatial distribution of facies associations, stratigraphic architectural elements and patterns of palaeoflow. During the earliest rifting phase, newly uplifted footwalls redirected a previously established fluvial system with predominantly southward drainage. Footwall uplift on the southern basin margin at an initially relatively slow rate led to the development of an overfilled basin, within which an alluvial fan prograded to the south-west, south and south-east over a hangingwall dip slope. Deposition of the alluvial system sourced from the north coincided with the establishment of small-scale alluvial fans sourced from the newly uplifted footwall in the south. Deposits of non-cohesive debris flows close to the proposed hangingwall fan apex pass gradationally downstream into predominantly bedload conglomerate deposits indicative of sedimentation via hyperconcentrated flows laden with sand- and silt-grade sediment. Subsequent normal faulting in the hangingwall resulted in the establishment of further barriers to stream drainage, blocking flow routes to the south. This culminated in the termination of sediment supply to the basin depocentre from the north, and the onset of underfilled basin conditions as signified by an associated lacustrine transgression. The evolution of the fluvial system described in this study records transitions between three possible end-member types of interaction between active rifting and antecedent drainage systems: (a) erosion through an uplifted footwall, (b) drainage diversion away from an uplifted footwall and (c) deposition over the hangingwall dip slope. The orientation of antecedent drainage pathways at a high angle to the trend of a developing rift axis, replete with intrabasinal faulting, exerts a primary control on the timing and location of development of overfilled and underfilled basin states in evolving depocentres.     

Three-dimensional-seismic coherency signature of Niger Delta growth faults: integrating sedimentology and tectonics

This case study of growth faults and associated deltaic sedimentation in the shallow‐offshore Niger Delta uses an integrated analysis of three‐dimensional (3D)‐seismic coherence facies and wireline data that supports an evaluation of the sedimentary response to delta tectonics. The study area comprises four fault blocks bounded by a set of kilometre‐scale, basinward‐dipping, synsedimentary normal faults. Correlation of highly variable growth stratigraphy across faults was achieved by a systematic visualization and interpretation of series of coherence horizon‐slices: the detection and matching of erosive and depositional patterns (e.g. channels) across faults allowed the establishment of sedimentology‐controlled links between diverse footwall and hanging‐wall growth successions. At the same time, this interpretation approach helped to visualize seismic‐sedimentological and seismic‐geomorphological features survey‐wide at all depth levels. The integration of this extensive 3D database with lithology information from wireline logs provides a powerful tool for subsurface sedimentology interpretation. Synoptic analysis of the 3D‐seismic sedimentology interpretation with stratigraphy based fault‐kinematic analysis using throw vs. depth plots (Th–Z plots) enabled a discussion of the relation between delta tectonics and sedimentary‐system development, and the evaluation of the Th–Z method for subsurface‐lithology prediction. The interpretation results document that both motion analysis of synsedimentary deltaic faults and Th–Z‐based lithology prediction are only feasible when supported by detailed 3D information on palaeoenvironment and palaeotopography at and around studied fault systems. We therefore recommend the use of fast‐track fault‐kinematic and subsurface‐lithology predictions based on Th–Z plots only when supported by comprehensive 3D seismic‐sedimentological interpretations.     

Fault architecture, basin structure and evolution of the Gulf of Corinth Rift, central Greece

The style of extension and strain distribution during the early stages of intra-continental rifting is important for understanding rift-margin development and can provide constraints for lithospheric deformation mechanisms. The Corinth rift in central Greece is one of the few rifts to have experienced a short extensional history without subsequent overprinting. We synthesise existing seismic reflection data throughout the active offshore Gulf of Corinth Basin to investigate fault activity history and the spatio-temporal evolution of the basin, producing for the first time basement depth and syn-rift sediment isopachs throughout the offshore rift. A major basin-wide unconformity surface with an age estimated from sea-level cycles at ca . 0.4 Ma separates distinct seismic stratigraphic units. Assuming that sedimentation rates are on average consistent, the present rift formed at 1–2 Ma, with no clear evidence for along-strike propagation of the rift axis. The rift has undergone major changes in relative fault activity and basin geometry during its short history. The basement depth is greatest in the central rift (maximum ∼3 km) and decreases to the east and west. In detail however, two separated depocentres 20–50 km long were created controlled by N- and S-dipping faults before 0.4 Ma, while since ca . 0.4 Ma a single depocentre (80 km long) has been controlled by several connected N-dipping faults, with maximum subsidence focused between the two older depocentres. Thus isolated but nearby faults can persist for timescales ca . 1 Ma and form major basins before becoming linked. There is a general evolution towards a dominance of N-dipping faults; however, in the western Gulf strain is distributed across several active N- and S-dipping faults throughout rift history, producing a more complex basin geometry.     

Integration of Electrofacies and Hydraulic Flow Units to Delineate Reservoir Quality in Uncored Reservoirs: A Case Study,Nubia Sandstone Reservoir,Gulf of Suez,Egypt

Natural Resources Research - Recognition of reservoir quality is an important objective in reservoir characterization process. By definition, the quality of a reservoir is described by its...     

Normal fault evolution and coupled landscape response: examples from the Southern Apennines,Italy

We present new data addressing the evolution, activity and geomorphic impact of three normal faults in the Southern Apennines: the Vallo di Diano, East Agri and Monti della Maddalena faults. We show that these faults have minimum total throws of ca. 1000–2000 m, and throw rates of ca. 0.7–1 mm year⁻¹ for at least the last ca. 18 ka. We demonstrate that for the Vallo di Diano and East Agri faults, the landscape is effectively recording tectonics, with relief, channel and catchment slopes varying along fault strike in the same manner as normal fault activity does, with little apparent influence of lithology. We therefore use these data to reconstruct the time‐integrated history of fault interaction and growth. From the distribution of knickpoints on the footwall channels, we infer two episodes of base level change, which we attribute to fault interaction episodes. We reconstruct the amount of throw accumulated after each of these events, and the segments involved in each, from the fault throw profiles, and use fault interaction theory to estimate the magnitude of the perturbations and past throw rates. We estimate that fault linkage events took place 0.7 ± 0.2 Ma and 1.4 ± 0.3 Ma in the Vallo di Diano fault, and 1 ± 0.1 in the East Agri Fault, and that both faults likely started their activity between 3 and 3.5 Ma. These fault linkage scenarios are consistent with the observed knickpoint heights. This method for reconstructing fault evolution could potentially be applied for any normal faults for which there is information about throw and throw rates, and in which channels are transiently responding to tectonics.     

Miocene–Recent tectonic and climatic controls on sediment supply and sequence stratigraphy: Canterbury basin, New Zealand

The well‐constrained seismic stratigraphy of the offshore Canterbury basin provides the opportunity to investigate long‐term changes in sediment supply related to the formation of a transpressive plate boundary (Alpine Fault). Reconstructions of the relative motion of the Australian and Pacific plates reveal divergence in the central Southern Alps prior to ～20.1 Ma (chron 6o), followed by increasing average rates of convergence, with a marked increase after ～6 Ma (late Miocene). A strike–slip component existed prior to 33.5 Ma (chron 13o) and perhaps as early as Eocene (45 Ma). However, rapid strike–slip motion (>30 mm yr^?1) began at ～20.1 Ma (chron 6o). Since ～20.1 Ma there has been no significant change in the strike–slip component of relative plate motion. Sedimentation rates are calculated from individual sequence volumes that are then summed to represent sequence groups covering the same time periods as the tectonic reconstructions. Rates are relatively high (>22 mm yr^?1), from 15 to ～11.5 Ma (sequence group 1). Rates decrease to a minimum (<15 mm yr^?1) during the ～11.5–6 Ma interval (sequence group 2), followed by increased rates during the periods of ～6–2.6 Ma (21 mm yr^?1; group 3) and 2.6–0 Ma (～25 mm yr^?1; group 4). Good agreement between sedimentation and tectonic convergence rates in sequence groups 2–4 indicates that tectonism has been the dominant control on sediment supply to the Canterbury basin since ～11.5 Ma. In particular, high sedimentation rates of 21 and ～25 mm yr^?1 in groups 3 and 4, respectively, may reflect increased plate convergence and uplift at the Southern Alps at ～6 Ma. The early‐middle Miocene (～15–11.5 Ma) high sedimentation rate (22 mm yr^?1) correlates with low convergence rates (～2 mm yr^?1) and is mainly a response to global climatic and eustatic forcing.     

Implementation of Rock Typing on Waterflooding Process During Secondary Recovery in Oil Reservoirs: A Case Study,El Morgan Oil Field,Gulf of Suez,Egypt

Waterflooding is one of the most common secondary recovery methods in the oil and gas industry. Globally, this process sometimes suffers a technical failure and inefficiency. Therefore, a better understanding of geology, reservoir characteristics, rock typing and discrimination, hydraulic flow units, and production data is essential to analyze reasons and mechanisms of water injection failure in the injection wells. Water injection failure was reported in the Middle Miocene Hammam Faraun reservoir at El Morgan oil field in the Gulf of Suez, where two wells have been selected as injector’s wells. In the first well (A1), the efficiency of injection was not good, whereas in the other analog A2 well good efficiency was assigned. Therefore, it is required to assess the injection loss in the low efficiency well, where all aspects of the geological, reservoir and production data of the studied wells were integrated to get a complete vision for the reasons of injection failure. The available data include core analysis data (vertical and horizontal permeabilities, helium porosity, bulk density, and water and oil saturations), petrographical studies injection and reservoir water chemistry, reservoir geology, production, and injection history. The quality of the data was examined and a set of reliable X–Y plots between the available data were introduced and the reservoir quality in both wells was estimated using reservoir quality index, normalized porosity index, and flow zone indicator. Integration and processing of the core and reservoir engineering data indicate that heterogeneity of the studied sequence was the main reason for the waterflooding inefficiency at the El Morgan A1 well. The best reservoir quality was assigned to the topmost part of the reservoir, which caused disturbance of the flow regime of reservoir fluids. Therefore, it is clearly indicated that rock typing and inadequate injection perforation strategy that has not been aligned with accurate hydraulic flow units are the key control parameters in the waterflooding efficiency.

     

Normal fault growth influenced by basement fabrics: The importance of preferential nucleation from pre‐existing structures

Reactivation of pre‐existing intra‐basement structures can influence the evolution of rift basins, yet the detailed kinematic relationship between these structures and overlying rift‐related faults remains poorly understood. Understanding the kinematic as well as geometric relationship between intra‐basement structures and rift‐related fault networks is important, with the extension direction in many rifted provinces typically thought to lie normal to fault strike. We here investigate this problem using a borehole‐constrained, 3D seismic reflection dataset from the Taranaki Basin, offshore New Zealand. Excellent imaging of intra‐basement structures and a relatively weakly deformed, stratigraphically simple sedimentary cover allow us to: (a) identify a range of interaction styles between intra‐basement structures and overlying, Plio‐Pleistocene rift‐related normal faults; and (b) examine the cover fault kinematics associated with each interaction style. Some of the normal faults parallel and are physically connected to intra‐basement reflections, which are interpreted as mylonitic reverse faults formed during Mesozoic subduction and basement terrane accretion. These geometric relationships indicate pre‐existing intra‐basement structures locally controlled the position and attitude of Plio‐Pleistocene rift‐related normal faults. However, through detailed 3D kinematic analysis of selected normal faults, we show that: (a) normal faults only nucleated above intra‐basement structures that experienced late Miocene compressional reactivation, (b) despite playing an important role during subsequent rifting, intra‐basement structures have not been significantly extensionally reactivated, and (c) preferential nucleation and propagation of normal faults within late Miocene reverse faults and folds appears to be the key genetic relationship between contractionally reactivated intra‐basement structures and rift‐related normal faults. Our analysis shows that km‐scale, intra‐basement structures can control the nucleation and development of newly formed, rift‐related normal faults, most likely due to a local perturbation of the regional stress field. Because of this, simply inverting fault strike for causal extension direction may be incorrect, especially in provinces where pre‐existing, intra‐basement structures occur. We also show that a detailed kinematic analysis is key to deciphering the temporal as well as simply the spatial or geometric relationship between structures developed at multiple structural levels.