{"title":"Crustal Segmentation Between Failed Rift and Successful Rifted Margin Along the NW South China Sea","authors":"Shihao Hao, Lianfu Mei, Guangrong Peng, Lili Zhang, Jing Wu, César R. Ranero","doi":"10.1111/bre.70029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.70029","url":null,"abstract":"Most works propose a genetic “wide-rift” model for the northern South China Sea (SCS) rifted margin, where low-angle detachment faults accommodate significant deformation during crustal extension. However, a new seismic grid along the northern SCS shows along-strike changes in tectonics. At least two distinct tectonic domains, i.e., “wide-rift” Eastern Domain and “narrow-rift” Western Domain, have been revealed, which indicates that the current conceptual SCS rift models are likely too simplistic. Whereas, the Western Domain remains little explored because of the lack of available 3D seismic data and boreholes here. The 3D rift architecture in this tectonic domain is therefore inadequately constrained, which leads to insufficient knowledge of the syn-tectonic rift evolution in this region. Based on an unpublished 2D deep-penetration grid of seismic reflection sections, we have investigated the faulting style, sedimentary structure, and crustal architecture in the Western Domain of the mid-northern SCS. Our data display that the Western Domain contains the Changchang and Heshan Segments separated by a transfer fault zone. The aborted Changchang Segment is characterised by landward-dipping faults and younger T60 breakup unconformity. The neighbouring Heshan Segment, reaching the final continental breakup, is characterised by oceanward-dipping faults and older T70 breakup unconformity. The observations imply abrupt along-strike rifting changes not contemplated by current models, requiring unexplained crustal or mantle heterogeneity during extension.","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"67 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143890169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Basin ResearchPub Date : 2025-04-25DOI: 10.1111/bre.70028
Lucas Peñacorada, Ricardo Gómez, Maisa Tunik, Silvio Casadio
{"title":"Transport and Depositional Processes of Neogene Pumice Fragments in a Distal Fluvial System of the Northern Patagonian Foreland (Argentina)","authors":"Lucas Peñacorada, Ricardo Gómez, Maisa Tunik, Silvio Casadio","doi":"10.1111/bre.70028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.70028","url":null,"abstract":"<p>There are numerous studies analysing volcaniclastic supply to continental environments in distal areas from source volcanoes. However, there are few examples where large pumice fragments are mentioned in distal fluvial deposits. In this work, the Miocene synorogenic deposits of the Northern Patagonian Foreland (Chichinales and El Palo Formations) were studied. The deposits of the latter unit include pumice fragments with diameters of up to 30 cm that were accumulated in a fluvial environment more than 200 km from the Andean volcanic arc. Although previous works mention the presence of pumice in this unit, an analysis of the origin, the transport and depositional processes of these fragments was not carried out. Based on the study of stratigraphic sections along the extra-Andean zone, it was determined that the sediments of the Lower Miocene (Chichinales Formation) were deposited in a low-to-medium energy fluvial environment with development of wide floodplains and palaeosol formation during stability periods. The Middle Miocene?—Lower Pliocene deposits (El Palo Formation) correspond to a moderate-to-high energy braided fluvial system with occasional high discharge periods. The pumice fragments present in this unit were derived from the reworking of primary pyroclastic deposits outcropping at the foot of the Andes, associated with important explosive volcanic activity during the Miocene. These fragments were transported and deposited by both dilute flows and sediment gravity flows with high concentrations of pumice. Petrographic analysis of El Palo Formation sandstones showed a provenance mostly related to the erosion of pyroclastic, arc-related deposits. The main source areas would have been the Andean arc and the North Patagonian Massif. A maximum depositional age of 14.6 ± 1 Ma was obtained in a sample from the El Palo Formation, which constitutes the first U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from this unit in the study area. This age matches with a peak of magmatic activity of the Patagonian Batholith responsible for huge arc-derived ignimbrites recorded at the foot of the Andes.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70028","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143875602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Two Stages of Rifting Control the Crust Thinning and Basin Evolution: Insights From the Southern Qiongdongnan Basin, NW South China Sea","authors":"Jingyuan Yu, Dianjun Tong, Chen Hu, Yancheng Xu, Jianye Ren","doi":"10.1111/bre.70030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.70030","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In rifted margins or rifted basins, the structure of the basin is often complex due to the multistage development of fault systems. As we can only see the result of the basin evolution, it is difficult to judge the influence of early fault activity on the later stages. Here, we present a case study from the southern part of Qiongdongnan Basin (QDNB) where the influence of the early stage can be clearly recognised. Using newly acquired high-resolution 3D seismic datasets, we analyse the prototype and temporal evolution of the study area since the Cenozoic. Three fault systems (FS1, FS2 and FS3) were identified according to fault activities and fault strike. Observation results show a rotation of the stress field at the end of the Eocene, dividing the whole rifting into two stages. FS1 initiated in NW-SE extension at rift stage I (42.5–33.9 Ma), showing a typical basement-involved structure while FS2 and FS3 developed in N-S extension at rift stage II (33.9–23.03 Ma). The faults in FS1 were either crosscut to form a zigzag plane geometry by FS2 and FS3 faults, or became long-lived active faults throughout the rifting period, resulting in a localisation of strain and extremely thinning of the crust. It can also be compared with adjacent basins which have undergone the same regional tectonic evolution history at the northern margin of the South China Sea. The long-lived NE–SW trending faults cause significant variation in the subsidence history, basin structure, and crust thickness along strike in the study area, indicating that faults developed in rift stage I play a significant role in basin evolution at rift stage II.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143875599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Basin ResearchPub Date : 2025-04-17DOI: 10.1111/bre.70027
Maziyar Nazemi, Shahin E. Dashtgard, Chuqiao Huang, Md Jamilur Rahman, James A. MacEachern, Francyne Bochi do Amarante
{"title":"Characterisation and Architecture of Subsurface Strata in the Whatcom Sub-Basin, Georgia Basin, Canada and USA","authors":"Maziyar Nazemi, Shahin E. Dashtgard, Chuqiao Huang, Md Jamilur Rahman, James A. MacEachern, Francyne Bochi do Amarante","doi":"10.1111/bre.70027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.70027","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Outcrops of sedimentary strata that infill the Georgia Basin, Canada and USA have been studied extensively as they record information on the tectonic evolution of western North America. However, these outcrops are situated in only a limited extent of the basin (mainly Vancouver Island) and preserve mainly Upper Cretaceous strata, and so the information that can be derived from outcrops is incomplete and spans less than half of the Georgia Basin's temporal history. The majority of the Georgia Basin, and the complete stratigraphy, occurs in the subsurface in the Whatcom Sub-Basin, which extends below much of the Strait of Georgia, the Lower Mainland of British Columbia (LMBC), Canada and northwest Washington, USA. In this study, we reconstruct the stratigraphic architecture, evolution and palaeogeography of Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic strata in the Whatcom Sub-Basin, and we use these data to develop a more complete record of the depositional history of the Georgia Basin and its evolution relative to major tectonic events along North America's west coast. We focus on the Canadian extent of the Whatcom Sub-Basin, the LMBC, because of the availability of two-dimensional seismic reflection datasets and cored intervals, which enable facies characterisation and provide detrital zircon datasets. The stratigraphy of the Whatcom Sub-Basin is divided into four stratal packages, including: lower Nanaimo Group, upper Nanaimo Group, Huntingdon Formation and Boundary Bay Formation. The few outcrops and a single cored interval suggest that the lower Nanaimo Group is dominated by fluvial strata in the Whatcom Sub-Basin. The upper Nanaimo Group is dominated by fluvial strata in the central part of the Whatcom Sub-Basin and turbidites and deep-marine strata in the west, and this facies relationship indicates that sediment transport was to the west. The Eocene and younger Huntingdon and Boundary Bay formations record re-organisation of the basin, with a shift in sediment transport to the south and southwest. Both the Huntingdon and Boundary Bay formations are dominated by terrestrial strata with evidence of marine influence increasing towards the southwest but decreasing stratigraphically upwards. Changing sediment transport pathways and recycling of Nanaimo Group strata in Eocene time reflect the bifurcation of the Georgia Basin with uplift of the forearc high (i.e., Vancouver Island). Boundary Bay Formation deposits extend further east than do all other stratigraphic units, and detrital zircon-based maximum depositional age estimates indicate that parts of the Lower Mainland probably have experienced active subsidence for at least the past 15 million years. A comparison of our data to tectonic events along North America's western margin indicates that (a) the fill and geometry of the basin evolved due to syn- and post-depositional tectonism, and (b) basin topography and syntectonic activity drove major changes in depositional environments both areally and temp","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"37 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70027","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143840696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Basin ResearchPub Date : 2025-03-25DOI: 10.1111/bre.70025
Nicholas Satur, Andrew Hurst
{"title":"The Value of Outcrops in Understanding the Complexities of Sand Intrusion Reservoirs: Learnings From the Volund Field","authors":"Nicholas Satur, Andrew Hurst","doi":"10.1111/bre.70025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.70025","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The outcrops of the Panoche and Tumey Giant Injection Complexes in California have been instrumental in refining the interpretation of the sandstone intrusion reservoirs in the Volund Field, Norway. Insights from the outcrops enhanced the subsurface team's confidence and understanding of reservoir presence and connectivity during field production. This led to more accurate estimates of hydrocarbon reserves. Learnings from the Volund Field show that historical reservoir models underestimate net reservoir volume and reservoir connectivity. Outcrop data reveal step-like geometry in some intrusions, which potentially explains the lack of seismic resolution of sandstone intrusions in some areas of the field. Failure to recognise this leads to misinterpretation of parts of the field as non-reservoir. In some intervals, well logs interpreted as non-reservoir mudstone-rich units are actually mudstone-clast breccia, which, because of good connectivity within the sandstone matrix, can comprise significant reservoir volumes. The rationale for including sandstone intrusions as reservoirs, although unresolved by seismic or borehole log data in static models, is validated by reference to outcrop data and from recent drilling in the adjacent Kobra Field. Observations of outcrop analogues enhance the interpretation of subsurface data, and the knowledge acquired from outcrops helped justify the drilling of more production wells in areas where reservoir presence and quality were difficult to predict, but almost nearly doubled the hydrocarbon reserves.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"37 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143689896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Basin ResearchPub Date : 2025-03-21DOI: 10.1111/bre.70026
S. S. Husein, G. G. Roberts, A. Fraser, R. Bell
{"title":"Unravelling the Nature and Origin of Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Unconformities Offshore Southwest Britain","authors":"S. S. Husein, G. G. Roberts, A. Fraser, R. Bell","doi":"10.1111/bre.70026","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70026","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Jurassic and Early Cretaceous times were marked by significant changes in Earth's climate and tectonics, most notably the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, which led to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. In Southwest Britain, one of the most prominent features of this time is the Base Cretaceous unconformity representing widespread erosion and non-deposition separating Cretaceous strata from underlying rocks. Despite its widespread presence in Southwest Britain, Iberia, Ireland and conjugate North Atlantic basins, the origin and nature of this unconformity remains enigmatic. To better understand its nature, seismic data was used to map the extent of the unconformities and to establish their relationships with onlapping Jurassic and Cretaceous stratigraphy. We reveal that the Base Cretaceous unconformity is a composite of at least three—Middle Jurassic, Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous and Mid-Cretaceous—unconformities likely generated by erosion and non-deposition. The Mid-Cretaceous unconformity is often assumed to be responsible for the majority of erosion, but our findings suggest otherwise. Onlap patterns of the Lower Cretaceous Wealden Formation on truncated Jurassic units indicate that the Jurassic to Early Cretaceous unconformity was the most significant. Amplitudes of uplift across different basins in SW Britain are shown to be variable. The most substantial denudation occurred following Berriasian uplift, likely linked to shortening associated with North Atlantic opening. The Mid-Cretaceous unconformity is more subtle, primarily observed at basin margins and linked to the rift-drift transition of the Bay of Biscay. Subsidence histories differ across basins; some (e.g., Brittany Basin) can be explained by simple post-rift thermal cooling models, while others (e.g., Melville and South Celtic Sea Basins) require more complex explanations due to substantial missing stratigraphy, including reactivation of Variscan thrusts and sub-plate support. Our results emphasise that spatially and temporally distinct tectonic and denudation events can combine to generate large-scale composite unconformities.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"37 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70026","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143672693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Basin ResearchPub Date : 2025-02-28DOI: 10.1111/bre.70024
Daniel Tentori, Marco Mancini, Francesco Stigliano, Salvatore Milli, Maurizio Simionato, Michele Livani, Massimiliano Moscatelli
{"title":"Integrating Sequence Stratigraphy and Geostatistical Methods for 3D Lithofacies Modelling of the Tiber Alluvial Plain, Rome, Italy","authors":"Daniel Tentori, Marco Mancini, Francesco Stigliano, Salvatore Milli, Maurizio Simionato, Michele Livani, Massimiliano Moscatelli","doi":"10.1111/bre.70024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.70024","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study presents a detailed 3D lithofacies model of the Upper Pleistocene–Holocene Tiber Depositional Sequence (TDS) within the alluvial plain of Rome, Italy, developed using an integrated approach. A deterministic framework was used to establish 1D lithofacies constraints, while geostatistical algorithms, particularly indicator kriging, were employed to reconstruct the stacking patterns and interfingering of lithofacies within systems tracts. This methodology allows for the realistic depiction of depositional trends and stratigraphic architecture while addressing challenges posed by limited data density in unsampled locations. The resulting 3D model demonstrates its ability to honour observed data while enabling meaningful extrapolation of subsurface features. The model captures key evolutionary trends and aligns with the conceptual 2D stratigraphic reconstruction developed in this study and the sequence-stratigraphic framework of the TDS derived from previous studies. Stratigraphic cross-sections and 2D correlation profiles extracted from the 3D model reveal the depositional architecture and constrain the thickness and extent of primary lithofacies associations. Key findings include the identification of braided and meandering channel-belt complexes associated with poorly and well-drained floodplain deposits. The lowstand systems tract (LST) is characterised by extensive braided channel belts with high width-to-thickness ratios, while the transgressive systems tract (TST) exhibits vertically stacked meandering channels associated with poorly drained floodplains. The highstand systems tract (HST) shows increased channel clustering and lateral expansion of meandering channel belts, associated with well-drained floodplain deposits displaying pedogenic features. The findings highlight the strengths and limitations of two-point geostatistical algorithms, with indicator kriging outperforming traditional methods like Truncated Gaussian Simulation and Sequential Indicator Simulation in maintaining geological coherence and lateral continuity. The 3D model enhances our understanding of the Tiber alluvial basin evolution and provides a robust framework for urban geological applications. It serves as a pivotal tool for managing subsoil resources, mitigating geohazards, and preserving cultural heritage in densely populated areas. This approach demonstrates the feasibility of applying efficient, scalable techniques to model sedimentary successions in similar urbanised alluvial settings worldwide.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"37 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70024","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143513854","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Basin ResearchPub Date : 2025-02-27DOI: 10.1111/bre.70023
Jef Deckers, Bernd Rombaut
{"title":"Tournaisian Tectonic Phase With Major Carbonate Buildup Structures in the Campine Basin (Northeastern Belgium)","authors":"Jef Deckers, Bernd Rombaut","doi":"10.1111/bre.70023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.70023","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>By means of seismic interpretations, this study provides improved constraints on a major Tournaisian (lowermost Carboniferous) tectonic phase with faulting across the Campine Basin, northeastern Belgium. Faults are normal with throws below 100 m, except for some larger intra-rift horst and graben structures with throws up to 300 m. In an asymmetric graben structure in the southern study area, an estimated average of 1000 m of Tournaisian sediments accumulated. Outside the graben, Tournaisian thicknesses are in the order of 300–500 m, which agrees with the limited available well data outside the study area of the Campine Basin. There is an uncertainty on fault strikes since the individual fault segments are short compared to the spacing between the seismic lines, but we estimate it to vary between SW–NE and WNW–ESE. The wide range of fault strikes can be related to the reactivation of pre-existing faults in the Cambro-Silurian basement. The SW–NE and WNW–ESE directions of the Tournaisian fault strikes have been identified as lineaments on gravimetric and aeromagnetic maps of the lower Palaeozoic Brabant Massif to the southeast and southwest of the study area, respectively. Such fault strikes imply a roughly NNW–SSE to N–S extensional stress field prevailing in the area during the Tournaisian. The range of fault strikes is very similar to the strike of contemporaneous faults in Ireland and the United Kingdom, which suggests that the NNW–SSE to N–S extensional stress field occurred throughout much of northwestern Europe. The Tournaisian succession of the Campine Basin includes numerous mound-shaped complexes, interpreted as buildup structures. We show examples of major buildup complexes that developed in graben structures. One of them reaches a height of 750 m and is 3 km wide. Given the similarity in timing of formation and size of the buildup complexes in the Campine Basin with buildup complexes in southern Belgium and Ireland, we consider it likely that the buildup complexes in the Campine Basin represent Waulsortian mudmounds.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"37 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143497357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Basin ResearchPub Date : 2025-02-25DOI: 10.1111/bre.70022
Daniel Phillips, Jimmy Moneron, Dan Roberts, Joe Cartwright
{"title":"Multi-Layered Evaporite Flow Induced by Thick-Skinned Deformation","authors":"Daniel Phillips, Jimmy Moneron, Dan Roberts, Joe Cartwright","doi":"10.1111/bre.70022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.70022","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Three-dimensional seismic imaging combined with offshore well data analyses is used to interpret inverted faults underlying a thick Layered Evaporite Sequence in the Southern North Sea. By observing changes in evaporite volume above and away from an inversion structure, we infer that reactivation of thick-skinned normal faults induced multi-layered, trans-structural flow in the overlying evaporites. This flow acted to decouple deformation and prevent stress transmission from below to above the salt. The induced salt flow is layer-dependent, occurring mainly within the halite lithologies of the Layered Evaporite Sequence between a folded anhydrite stringer. This stringer folding predates inversion, which later induced stringer fold amplification and deflection nearer to the top of the evaporite sequence. These findings provide insights into the complexities of stratified evaporite rheologies and the timing of basin deformation, with wider implications for contractional salt tectonics wherever thick- and thin-skinned deformation may be coeval.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"37 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70022","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143481370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Basin ResearchPub Date : 2025-02-22DOI: 10.1111/bre.70018
Michał Jakub Warchoł, Anna Pontén, Anne-Kari Furre
{"title":"Stratigraphic Controls on CO2 Migration at Sleipner: An Example From a Basin-Floor Fan of the Utsira Formation","authors":"Michał Jakub Warchoł, Anna Pontén, Anne-Kari Furre","doi":"10.1111/bre.70018","DOIUrl":"10.1111/bre.70018","url":null,"abstract":"<p>For nearly three decades, Equinor's Sleipner Carbon Capture and Storage project has demonstrated how the application of geological principles, modelling techniques and analysis of repeated time-lapse (4D) seismic data has helped to characterise the CO<sub>2</sub> plume migration within the late Miocene–early Pliocene Utsira Formation. However, the influence of stratigraphic complexity on fluid migration has been rather poorly understood. This has resulted in a significant degree of uncertainty in the geological characterisation of the storage formation, including the distribution of mudstone-rich elements, which may serve as baffles and barriers for migration of fluid, and elements that allow for their bypass. Our study, utilising high-quality 3D seismic data integrated with wireline-logs, time-lapse seismic and regional contextual information, has shown that the Utsira Formation in the South Viking Graben represents a confined, channelized submarine fan system characterised by a complex stratigraphic architecture. The study has highlighted that the intricate interplay between fan lobes, channel erosion, channel infill and draping of lobes, lobe-complexes and channel incision surfaces by mud-rich layers, provides a first-order control on CO<sub>2</sub> storage compartments and exerts a substantial influence on vertical and lateral fluid flow pathways. The latter is well expressed by the morphology of several mapped CO<sub>2</sub>-filled layers. Both generally discontinuous channel-base mud-rich drapes and more continuous lobe-complex and fan mudstone drapes have been locally compromised by processes linked to channel erosion and sand injection, in some cases combined with faulting and fracturing. This complex stratigraphic pattern has probably been exacerbated by post-depositional deformation that triggered fluid and sediment expulsion from the Utsira Formation and the underlying early-Miocene Skade Formation. These factors allowed for increased vertical connectivity between originally disconnected sandstone bodies and fluid migration from deeper to shallower layers, prior to injection of CO<sub>2</sub>, thus serving as preferred pathways post-injection.</p>","PeriodicalId":8712,"journal":{"name":"Basin Research","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bre.70018","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143471091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}