Post-mid-Cretaceous eastern North Sea evolution inferred from 3D thermo-mechanical modelling

The Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic evolution of the eastern North Sea region is investigated by 3D thermo-mechanical modelling. The model quantifies the integrated effects on basin evolution of large-scale lithospheric processes, rheology, strength heterogeneities, tectonics, eustasy, sedimentation and erosion.

The evolution of the area is influenced by a number of factors: (1) thermal subsidence centred in the central North Sea providing accommodation space for thick sediment deposits; (2) 250-m eustatic fall from the Late Cretaceous to present, which causes exhumation of the North Sea Basin margins; (3) varying sediment supply; (4) isostatic adjustments following erosion and sedimentation; (5) Late Cretaceous–early Cenozoic Alpine compressional phases causing tectonic inversion of the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone (STZ) and other weak zones.

The stress field and the lateral variations in lithospheric strength control lithospheric deformation under compression. The lithosphere is relatively weak in areas where Moho is deep and the upper mantle warm and weak. In these areas the lithosphere is thickened during compression producing surface uplift and erosion (e.g., at the Ringkøbing–Fyn High and in the southern part of Sweden). Observed late Cretaceous–early Cenozoic shallow water depths at the Ringkøbing–Fyn High as well as Cenozoic surface uplift in southern Sweden (the South Swedish Dome (SSD)) are explained by this mechanism.

The STZ is a prominent crustal structural weakness zone. Under compression, this zone is inverted and its surface uplifted and eroded. Contemporaneously, marginal depositional troughs develop. Post-compressional relaxation causes a regional uplift of this zone.

The model predicts sediment distributions and paleo-water depths in accordance with observations. Sediment truncation and exhumation at the North Sea Basin margins are explained by fall in global sea level, isostatic adjustments to exhumation, and uplift of the inverted STZ. This underlines the importance of the mechanisms dealt with in this paper for the evolution of intra-cratonic sedimentary basins.     

Geostatistical inversion of coupled problems: dealing with computational burden and different types of data

Practical application of geostatistical inversion to coupled problems is hampered by a number of difficulties. In this paper, we address two of them: first, the computational cost of sensitivity (Jacobian) matrices and, second, the evaluation of the relative weights of different types of data. Regarding the first, we revise the adjoint state equations to propose a form whose cost is independent of the number of unknown parameters and only grows with the number of observation wells. Regarding the second, we derive expressions for the relative weights of different types of data. These expressions are based on minimizing the expected likelihood, rather than the likelihood itself. The efficiency of both improvements is tested on a synthetic example. The example analyzes a wide range of groundwater flow and solute transport conditions. Yet, the expected likelihood consistently yields the optimal weights. The proposed form of the adjoint state equations leads to one order of magnitude reduction in CPU time with respect to the conventional sensitivity equations.     

Geomechanical model for the post-Variscan evolution of the Permocarboniferous–Mesozoic basins in Northeast Germany

The Permocarboniferous basins in Northeast Germany formed on the heterogeneous and eroded parts of the Variscan orogene and its deformed northern foreland. Transtensional tectonic movements and thermal re-equilibration lead to medium-scale crustal fragmentation, fast subsidence rates and regional emplacement of large amounts of mostly acidic volcanics. The later basin formation and differentiation was triggered by reversals of the large-scale stress field and reactivation of prominent zones of weakness like the Elbe Fault System and the Rhenohercynian/Saxothuringian boundary that separate different Variscan basement domains in the area. The geomechanical behaviour of the latter plays an important role for the geodynamic evolution of the medium to large-scale structural units, which we can observe today in three dimensions on structural maps, geophysical recordings and digital models. This study concentrates on an area that comprises the southern Northeast German Basin, the Saale Basin, the Flechtingen High, the Harz Mountains High and the Subhercynian Basin. The presented data include re-evaluations of special geological and structural maps, the most recent interpretation of the DEKORP BASIN 9601 seismic profile and observations of exposed rock sections in Northeast Germany. On the basis of different structural inventories and different basement properties, we distinguish two structural units to the south and one structural unit to the north of the Elbe Fault System. For each unit, we propose a geomechanical model of basin formation and basin inversion, and show that the Rhenohercynian Fold and Thrust Belt domain is deformed in a thin-skinned manner, while the Mid-German Crystalline Rise Domain, which is the western part of the Saxothuringian Zone, rather shows a thick-skinned deformation pattern. The geomechanical model for the unit north to the Elbe Fault System takes account to the fact that the base of the Zechstein beneath the present Northeast German basin shows hardly any evidence for brittle deformation, which indicates a relative stable basement. Our geomechanical model suggests that the Permocarboniferous deposits may have contributed to the structural stiffness by covering small to medium scale structures of the upper parts of the brittle basement. It is further suggested that the pre-Zechstein successions underneath the present Northeast German basin were possibly strengthening during the Cretaceous basin inversion, which resulted in stress transfer to the long-lived master faults, as indicated for example by the shape of the salt domes in the vicinity of the latter faults. Contrary to this, post-Zechstein successions deformed in a different and rather complex way that was strongly biased by intensive salt tectonic movements.     

地球物理联合反演研究综述

地球物理联合反演由于使反演问题的非唯一性得到有效限制而越来越受到人们的重视。本文概述了联合反演的发展现状及实现的方法，并讨论了其发展趋势及其局限性，指出地球物理联合反演是地球物理数据分析的理想工具，而非线性联合反演方法则是地球物理联合反演发展的方向。     

遗传算法在上地幔速度结构研究中的应用

遗传算法是近年来发展较快的一种求解非线性优化问题的有效方法。本文通过对遗传算法基本原理的介绍，对该方法的特点进行了分析。我们采用ＷＫＢＪ理论地震图作正演，遗传算法作反演，对用体波波形反演上地幔速度结构的方法进行了研究。在ＷＫＢＪ理论地震图的计算中，通过计算主要射线的平均吸收特征时间，考虑了衰减随距离的变化，通过对不同震源引入不同的虚拟界面，同时对多个地震的波形记录进行反演。探讨了观测误差对反演结果的影响。对理论记录的反演表明，用遗传算法研究上地幔速度结构具有较好的效果。