Browsing by Subject "Basins"
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Item Arc-related Mesozoic basins of northern Mexico : their origin, tectonic inversion and influence on ore localization(2016-05) Lyons, James Irwin, 1948-; Kyle, J. Richard; Lawton, Timothy Frost; Cloos, Mark; Horton, Brian K; Elliott, BrentNew structural mapping and radiometric dating in northern Mexico integrated with previous studies indicate the need for revision of current regional tectonic models. The Mezcalera Marginal Basin, an autochthonous Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous basin exposed from southern Arizona to Guerrero replaces accreted terrane models. The lack of significant documentable offsets of this marginal basin provides evidence that contradict proposed major Mexican transform faults in northern Mexico. A left-lateral Cenomanian transpressional fault along which the Caborca and related terranes and offset Bisbee Group strata were displaced is documented by east-directed thrusting of the translated basement and supracrustal strata over the autochthonous Mezcalera Basin strata. Oxfordian (149 Ma) submarine volcanic domes at Batopilas, Chihuahua indicates the Nazas arc of central Mexico migrated across the Mezcalera Marginal Basin, and 124 to 138 Ma dates on Bisbee Group Morita Formation tuffs indicate Alisitos arc volcanism to the west. The well documented Late Cretaceous through Miocene arc migration can thus be projected to the Early Jurassic. Oceanic plate rollback toward the Pacific from the Jurassic through the Early Cretaceous explains the observed arc migration as well as the resulting extension of the Mexican continent. A previously unrecognized intracratonic basin, the Carrizal Basin, a probable northern extension of the Mexican Basin, is documented west of the Chihuahua Basin. The older usage Aldama Platform is divided into the Casas Grandes Platform to the west and the Florida-Aldama Ridge to the east of the Carrizal Basin. Basin inversion as defined by mapping of bivergent out-of-the-basin thrusting along both sides of both the Carrizal and Mexican Intracratonic Basins suggests inversion as the principal tectonic process that produced the Sierra Madre Oriental fold belts. Stratigraphic relationships document the inception of tectonic shortening as Late Cenomanian and a folded 43.7 Ma rhyolite flow at Division de Norte, Chihuahua documents continuing basin inversion well into the Eocene. Previous observations of spatial correlations between structurally complex basin margins and numerous major Cretaceous through Miocene mineral deposits are enhanced by the discovery of the large Cinco de Mayo polymetallic carbonate deposit hosted in stacked west-directed out-of-the-basin thrusting on the west margin of the Carrizal Basin.Item Geological Modeling of Dahomey and Liberian Basins(2010-01-16) Gbadamosi, Hakeem B.The objective of this thesis is to study two Basins of the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), namely the Dahomey and the Liberian Basins. These Basins are located in the northern part of the GoG, where oil and gas exploration has significantly increased in the last 10 years or so. We proposed geological descriptions of these two Basins. The key characteristics of the two models are the presence of channels and pinch-outs for depths of between 1 km and 2 km (these values are rescaled for our numerical purposes to 600- m and 700-m depths) and normal faults below 3 km (for our numerical purposes we use 1 km instead of 3 km). We showed that these models are consistent with the plate tectonics of the region, and the types of rocks and ages of rocks in these areas. Furthermore, we numerically generated seismic data for these two models and depth-migrated them. We then interpreted the migrated images under the assumption that the geologies are unknown. The conclusions of our interpretations are that we can see clearly the fault systems in both models. However, our results suggest that seismic interpretations of the channels and pinch-outs associated with the geology of the Dahomey and Liberian Basins will generally be difficult to identify. In these particular cases, we missed a number of channels and pinch-outs in our interpretations. The limited resolution of seismic images is the key reason for this misinterpretation.Item Geometry and nature of modern and ancient mass transport deposits worldwide(2010-05) Singh, Kadira Analisa, 1986-; Wood, Lesli J.; Fisher, W. L. (William Lawrence), 1932-; Moscardelli, Lorena; Kerans, CharlesMass transport deposits form a significant portion of the rock record in both modern and ancient basins. Their geometry, composition, distribution and genesis are poorly understood, making it difficult to predict anything about these deposits in assessing subsurface basin stratigraphy or modern seafloor hazards. A tremendous effort has been made in the last few years to characterize and better understand seafloor failures in numerous margins of the world. These mass failures have triggered the interests of geologists, particularly in the oil and gas industry, as they can form prominent seals and reservoirs. To increase our knowledge base of mass transport complexes (MTCs), the characteristics of 259 siliciclastic deposits worldwide, were analyzed in terms of their volume, area, length, thickness, lithology, and tectonic settings. In some instances, MTCs were geo-referenced and digitized into ArcGIS and their dimensions were calculated. These data reveal several interesting points and suggest a number of statistically significant predictive relationships. Sand-rich mass transport deposits show a propensity to be short and thick. Muddy MTCs show a propensity to be longer and thinner. The highest number and largest volume of clastic mass transport deposits occur along passive margins. These mega-MTCs are typically muddy with lengths up to 800 km and volumes up to 5000 km3. Sandy and gravelly Quaternary-age MTCs show maximum lengths of less than 300 km and with volumes less than 2000 km3. Pre-Quaternary MTCs are systematically under-documented in literature, but known occurrences are found in passive, active and convergent margins. The largest (30,000 to 40,000 sq km) occur along the older Tertiary margin of West Africa. To date, 41 separate mass transport deposits composed dominantly of carbonate material have been identified in literature. The most extensive and voluminous (7000 km3) carbonate mass transport complexes occur in the Citronens Fjord, Offshore Greenland. They are 200m thick, Silurian-age mega-breccias that were deposited in a convergent margin setting. On comparison carbonate MTCs tend to show longer flows with coarser grain sizes, while clastics show coarser grained deposits to be of more limited length. The Mad Dog area, Gulf of Mexico is a region of active salt tectonics and mass transport processes. Consequently, it was selected to form a focus study area to test the relationships developed during this project. MTCs in this region were grouped into four main types based on their size, geomorphology and internal structure. Their geometries indicate they are comparable to MTCs found offshore Oregon and New Jersey and are most likely muddy in nature.Item The effects of lateral tectonics on a fluvio-deltaic system : an application to the Ganges Brahmaputra Delta(2013-05) Kopp, Jessica Ann; Kim, Wonsuck; Mohrig, David; Hickson, ThomasDeltaic systems have long been recognized for their socioeconomic impacts as well as their high potential to trap and store hydrocarbons. The Sediment Transport and Earth-surface Process (STEP) basin at the University of Texas at Austin has the ability to create large 3D physical experiments, designed for nurturing new understanding of these systems and the parameters that influence their evolution. We explored how a laterally tilting basin influenced a prograding fluvio-deltaic system. The tilting occurs along a rotational axis, bisecting the model’s basement and allowing the delta to experience uplift in one half of basin and subsidence in the opposite half. After six experiments with a range of tilting rates, we observed that varying rates of tilting changed progradation patterns as well as the resultant stratigraphy. The tectonic tilting forced a continuous change in topset slope, which accounts for the evolving behavior of the fluvial system with regards to channel occupation and thus shoreline asymmetry. When slow tilting was applied, the delta advanced faster in the direction of uplift due to the relative decline in basin water depth. This created truncated stratigraphic intervals dominated by active channel cut and fill with thin but laterally linked channel bodies depositing finer material. Behavior was significantly different on the subsidence side of the delta; shoreline migration was stunted while the delta became primarily aggradational, depositing thicker, alternating packages of sands. During higher rates of tilting, deposition at the uplift end was quickly abandoned and instead focused on stacking conformable sequences of delta lobes in the area of increased subsidence, resulting in a complete lack of progradation in any direction. Progressively greater rates of tilting yielded more dramatic steering of channelized flow toward the area of greatest subsidence. Comparing characteristic tectonic and channel timescales proves to be a good predictor of shoreline symmetry along with sediment distribution due to differential subsidence. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that differential subsidence acting on the Ganges-Brahmaputra (G-B) system is responsible for delta asymmetry. The asymmetry in planform shoreline geometry and subsurface stratigraphy of the G-B delta system are extensively similar to the experimental results.