Table of Contents
Cover
Title page
Copyright page
Contents
Companion website details
Preface to the third edition
PART 1: The foundations of sedimentary basins
CHAPTER ONE: Basins in their geodynamic environment
Summary
1.1 Introduction and rationale
1.2 Compositional zonation of the Earth
1.2.1 Oceanic crust
1.2.2 Continental crust
1.2.3 Mantle
1.3 Rheological zonation of the Earth
1.3.1 Lithosphere
1.3.2 Sub-lithospheric mantle
1.4 Geodynamic background
1.4.1 Plate tectonics, seismicity and deformation
1.4.2 The geoid
1.4.3 Topography and isostasy
1.4.4 Heat flow
1.4.5 Cycles of plate reorganisation
1.5 Classification schemes of sedimentary basins
1.5.1 Basin-forming mechanisms
CHAPTER TWO: The physical state of the lithosphere
Summary
2.1 Stress and strain
2.1.1 Stresses in the lithosphere
2.1.2 Strain in the lithosphere
2.1.3 Linear elasticity
2.1.4 Flexure in two dimensions
2.1.5 Flexural isostasy
2.1.6 Effects of temperature and pressure on rock density
2.2 Heat flow
2.2.1 Fundamentals
2.2.2 The geotherm
2.2.3 Radiogenic heat production
2.2.4 Effect of erosion and sediment blanketing on the geotherm
2.2.5 Transient effects of erosion and deposition on the continental geotherm
2.2.6 Effect of variable thermal conductivity
2.2.7 Time-dependent heat conduction: the case of cooling oceanic lithosphere
2.2.8 Convection, the adiabat and mantle viscosity
2.3 Rock rheology and lithospheric strength profiles
2.3.1 Fundamentals on constitutive laws
2.3.2 Rheology of the mantle
2.3.3 Rheology of the continental crust
2.3.4 Strength profiles of the lithosphere
PART 2: The mechanics of sedimentary basin formation
CHAPTER THREE: Basins due to lithospheric stretching
Summary
3.1 Introduction
3.1.1 Basins of the rift–drift suite
3.1.2 Models of continental extension
3.2 Geological and geophysical observations in regions of continental extension
3.2.1 Cratonic basins
3.2.2 Rifts
3.2.3 Failed rifts
3.2.4 Continental rim basins
3.2.5 Proto-oceanic troughs
3.2.6 Passive continental margins
3.3 Uniform stretching of the continental lithosphere
3.3.1 The ‘reference’ uniform stretching model
3.3.2 Uniform stretching at passive continental margins
3.4 Modifications to the uniform stretching model
3.4.1 Protracted periods of rifting
3.4.2 Non-uniform (depth-dependent) stretching
3.4.3 Pure versus simple shear
3.4.4 Elevated asthenospheric temperatures
3.4.5 Magmatic activity
3.4.6 Induced mantle convection
3.4.7 Radiogenic heat production
3.4.8 Flexural compensation
3.4.9 The depth of necking
3.4.10 Phase changes
3.5 A dynamical approach to lithospheric extension
3.5.1 Generalities
3.5.2 Forces on the continental lithosphere
3.5.3 Rheology of the continental lithosphere
3.5.4 Numerical and analogue experiments on strain rate during continental extension
3.6 Estimation of the stretch factor and strain rate history
3.6.1 Estimation of the stretch factor from thermal subsidence history
3.6.2 Estimation of the stretch factor from crustal thickness changes
3.6.3 Estimation of the stretch factor from forward tectonostratigraphic modelling
3.6.4 Inversion of strain rate history from subsidence data
3.6.5 Multiple phases of rifting
CHAPTER FOUR: Basins due to flexure
Summary
4.1 Basic observations in regions of lithospheric flexure
4.1.1 Ice cap growth and melting
4.1.2 Oceanic seamount chains
4.1.3 Flexure beneath sediment loads
4.1.4 Ocean trenches
4.1.5 Mountain ranges, fold-thrust belts and foreland basins
4.2 Flexure of the lithosphere: geometry of the deflection
4.2.1 Deflection of a continuous plate under a point load (2D) or line load (3D)
4.2.2 Deflection of a broken plate under a line load
4.2.3 Deflection of a continuous plate under a distributed load
4.2.4 Bending stresses
4.3 Flexural rigidity of oceanic and continental lithosphere
4.3.1 Controls on the flexural rigidity of oceanic lithosphere
4.3.2 Flexure of the continental lithosphere
4.4 Lithospheric buckling and in-plane stress
4.4.1 Theory: linear elasticity
4.4.2 Lithospheric buckling in nature and in numerical experiments
4.4.3 Origin of intraplate stresses
4.5 Orogenic wedges
4.5.1 Introduction to basins at convergent boundaries
4.5.2 The velocity field at sites of plate convergence
4.5.3 Critical taper theory
4.5.4 Double vergence
4.5.5 Analogue models
4.5.6 Numerical approaches to orogenic wedge development
4.5.7 Low Péclet number intracontinental orogens
4.5.8 Horizontal in-plane forces during convergent orogenesis
4.6 Foreland basin systems
4.6.1 Introduction
4.6.2 Depositional zones
4.6.3 Diffusive models of mountain belt erosion and basin deposition
4.6.4 Coupled tectonic-erosion dynamical models of orogenic wedges
4.6.5 Modelling aspects of foreland basin stratigraphy
CHAPTER FIVE: Effects of mantle dynamics
Summary
5.1 Fundamentals and observations
5.1.1 Introduction: mantle dynamics and plate tectonics
5.1.2 Buoyancy and scaling relationships: introductory theory
5.1.3 Flow patterns in the mantle
5.1.4 Seismic tomography
5.1.5 Plate mode versus plume mode
5.1.6 The geoid
5.2 Surface topography and bathymetry produced by mantle flow
5.2.1 Introduction: dynamic topography and buoyancy
5.2.2 Dynamic topography associated with subducting slabs
5.2.3 Dynamic topography associated with supercontinental assembly and dispersal
5.2.4 Dynamic topography associated with small-scale convection
5.2.5 Pulsing plumes
5.2.6 Hotspots, coldspots and wetspots
5.3 Mantle dynamics and magmatic activity
5.3.1 Melt generation during continental extension
5.3.2 Large igneous provinces
5.3.3 The northern North Atlantic and the Iceland plume
5.3.4 The Afar region, Ethiopia
5.4 Mantle dynamics and basin development
5.4.1 Topography, denudation and river drainage
5.4.2 Cratonic basins
5.4.3 The history of sea-level change and the flooding of continental interiors
CHAPTER SIX: Basins associated with strike-slip deformation
6.1 Overview
6.1.1 Geological, geomorphological and geophysical observations
6.1.2 Diversity of basins in strike-slip zones
6.2 The structural pattern of strike-slip fault systems
6.2.1 Structural features of the principal displacement zone (PDZ)
6.2.2 Role of oversteps
6.3 Basins in strike-slip zones
6.3.1 Geometric properties of pull-apart basins
6.3.2 Kinematic models for pull-apart basins
6.3.3 Continuum development from a releasing bend: evolutionary sequence of a pull-apart basin
6.3.4 Strike-slip deformation and pull-apart basins in obliquely convergent orogens
6.4 Modelling of pull-apart basins
6.4.1 Numerical models
6.4.2 Sandbox experiments: pure strike-slip versus transtension
6.4.3 Application of model of uniform extension to pull-apart basins
6.4.4 Pull-apart basin formation and thin-skinned tectonics: the Vienna Basin
6.5 Characteristic depositional systems
PART 3: The sedimentary basin-fill
CHAPTER SEVEN: The sediment routing system
Summary
7.1 The sediment routing system in basin analysis
7.2 The erosional engine
7.2.1 Weathering and the regolith
7.2.2 Terrestrial sediment and solute yields
7.2.3 BQART equations
7.2.4 Chemical weathering and global biogeochemical cycles
7.3 Measurements of erosion rates
7.3.1 Rock uplift, exhumation and surface uplift
7.3.2 Point-wise erosion rates from thermochronometers
7.3.3 Catchment-scale erosion rates from cosmogenic radionuclides
7.3.4 Catchment erosion rates using low-temperature thermochronometers
7.3.5 Erosion rates at different temporal and spatial scales
7.4 Channel-hillslope processes
7.4.1 Modelling hillslopes
7.4.2 Bedrock river incision
7.5 Long-range sediment transport and deposition
7.5.1 Principles of long-range sediment transport
7.5.2 Sediment transport in marine segments of the sediment routing system
7.5.3 Depositional sinks: sediment storage
7.5.4 Downstream fining
7.6 Joined-up thinking: teleconnections in source-to-sink systems
7.6.1 Provenance and tracers; detrital thermochronology
7.6.2 Mapping of the sediment routing system fairway
7.6.3 Landscape evolution models and response times
7.6.4 Interaction of axial and longitudinal drainage
CHAPTER EIGHT: Basin stratigraphy
Summary
8.1 A primer on process stratigraphy
8.1.1 Introduction
8.1.2 Accommodation, sediment supply and sea level
8.1.3 Simple 1D forward models from first principles
8.2 Stratigraphic cycles: definition and recognition
8.2.1 The hierarchy from beds to megasequences
8.2.2 Forcing mechanisms
8.2.3 Unforced cyclicity
8.3 Dynamical approaches to stratigraphy
8.3.1 Carbonate stratigraphy
8.3.2 Siliciclastic stratigraphy
8.3.3 Shelf-edge and shoreline trajectories; clinoform progradation
8.4 Landscapes into rock
8.4.1 Stratigraphic completeness
8.4.2 Gating models
8.4.3 Hierarchies and upscaling
8.4.4 Magnitude-frequency relationships
CHAPTER NINE: Subsidence history
Summary
9.1 Introduction to subsidence analysis
9.2 Compressibility and compaction of porous sediments: fundamentals
9.2.1 Effective stress
9.2.2 Overpressure
9.3 Porosity and permeability of sediments and sedimentary rocks
9.3.1 Measurements of porosity in the subsurface
9.3.2 Porosity-depth relationships
9.3.3 Porosity and layer thicknesses during burial
9.4 Subsidence history and backstripping
9.4.1 Backstripping techniques
9.5 Tectonic subsidence signatures
CHAPTER TEN: Thermal history
Summary
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Theory: the Arrhenius equation and maturation indices
10.3 Factors influencing temperatures and paleotemperatures in sedimentary basins
10.3.1 Effects of thermal conductivity
10.3.2 Effects of internal heat generation in sediments
10.3.3 Effects of sedimentation rate and sediment blanketing
10.3.4 Effects of advective heat transport by fluids
10.3.5 Effects of surface temperature changes
10.3.6 Heat flow around salt domes
10.3.7 Heat flow around fractures
10.3.8 Heat flows around sills, dykes and underplates
10.3.9 Thermal effects of delamination
10.4 Measurements of thermal maturity in sedimentary basins
10.4.1 Estimation of formation temperature from borehole measurements
10.4.2 Organic indicators
10.4.3 Low-temperature thermochronometers
10.4.4 Mineralogical and geochemical indices
10.5 Application of thermal maturity measurements
10.5.1 Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) profiles
10.5.2 Fission track age-depth relationships
10.5.3 Quartz cementation
10.6 Geothermal and paleogeothermal signatures of basin types
PART 4: Application to petroleum play assessment
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Building blocks of the petroleum play
Summary
11.1 From basin analysis to play concept
11.2 The petroleum system and play concept
11.2.1 Play definition
11.2.2 The petroleum system
11.2.3 Definition and mapping of the play fairway
11.3 The source rock
11.3.1 The biological origin of petroleum
11.3.2 Source rock prediction
11.3.3 Detection and measurement of source rocks
11.4 The petroleum charge
11.4.1 Some chemical and physical properties of petroleum
11.4.2 Petroleum generation
11.4.3 Primary migration: expulsion from the source rock
11.4.4 Secondary migration: through carrier bed to trap
11.4.5 Alteration of petroleum
11.4.6 Tertiary migration: leakage to surface
11.5 The reservoir
11.5.1 Introduction
11.5.2 Reservoir properties: porosity and permeability
11.5.3 Primary or depositional factors affecting reservoir quality
11.5.4 Diagenetic changes to reservoir rocks
11.5.5 Reservoir architecture and heterogeneity
11.5.6 Carbonate reservoir quality in relation to sea-level change
11.5.7 Models for clay mineral early diagenesis in sandstone reservoirs
11.5.8 Fractures
11.6 The regional topseal
11.6.1 The mechanics of sealing
11.6.2 Factors affecting caprock effectiveness
11.6.3 The depositional settings of caprocks
11.7 The trap
11.7.1 Introduction: trap classification
11.7.2 Structural traps
11.7.3 Stratigraphic traps
11.7.4 Intrusive traps: injectites
11.7.5 Hydrodynamic traps
11.7.6 Timing of trap formation
11.8 Global distribution of petroleum resources
CHAPTER TWELVE: Classic and unconventional plays
Summary
12.1 Classic petroleum plays
12.1.1 Introduction
12.1.2 Niger Delta
12.1.3 Campos Basin, Brazil
12.1.4 Santos Basin pre-salt play, Brazil
12.1.5 Northwest Shelf, Australia (Dampier sub-basin)
12.2 Unconventional petroleum plays
12.2.1 Introduction
12.2.2 Tight gas
12.2.3 Shale gas
12.2.4 Coal seam gas
12.2.5 Gas hydrates
12.2.6 Oil sands and heavy oil
12.3 Geosequestration: an emerging application
Appendices: derivations and practical exercises
1: Rock density as a function of depth
2: Airy isostatic balance
3: Deviatoric stress at the edge of a continental block
4: Lateral buoyancy forces in the lithosphere
5: Derivation of flexural rigidity and the general flexure equation
6: Flexural isostasy
7: The 1D heat conduction equation
8: Derivation of the continental geotherm
9: Radiogenic heat production
Slab models for radiogenic heat generation
Exponential distribution of radiogenic heat generation
Practical exercise
10: Surface heat flow and the radiogenic contribution
11: Radiogenic heat production of various rock types
Heat generation derived from well logs
12: Effects of erosion and deposition on the geotherm
Instantaneous erosion
13: Effects of variable radiogenic heating and thermal conductivity on the geotherm in the basin-fill
Geotherm for crust blanketed by a radiogenic sedimentary basin
Geotherm for an eroded upper crustal radiogenic layer
Geotherm for a thickened upper crustal radiogenic layer (no sedimentary basin)
Geotherm in a basin with variable thermal conductivity and self-heating
14: The mantle adiabat and peridotite solidus
The mantle adiabat
The peridotite solidus
15: Lithospheric strength envelopes
16: Rift zones: strain rate, extension velocity and bulk strain
17: The ‘reference’ uniform extension model
18: Boundary conditions for lithospheric stretching
19: Subsidence as a function of the stretch factor
20: Inversion of the stretch factor from thermal subsidence data
Maximum thermal subsidence
21: Calculation of the instantaneous syn-rift subsidence
22: The transient temperature solution
23: Heat flow during uniform stretching using a Fourier series
24: The stretch factor for extension along crustal faults
25: Protracted rifting times during continental extension
26: Lithospheric extension and melting
27: Igneous underplating – an isostatic balance
28: Uniform stretching at passive margins
29: Flexure of continuous and broken plates
Deflection of a continuous plate under a point or line load
Deflection of a broken plate under a point or line load
30: The time scale of flexural isostatic rebound or subsidence
Postglacial rebound of Scandinavia
31: Flexural rigidity derived from uplifted lake paleoshorelines
Lake Algonquin
32: Deflection under a distributed load – Jordan solution
33: Deflection under a distributed load – numerical solution of Wangen
34: Deflection under a periodic distributed load
35: Flexural unloading from a distributed load – the cantilever effect
36: Bending from multiple loads: the Hellenides and Apennines in central Italy–Albania
37: Flexural profiles, subsidence history and the flexural forebulge unconformity
38: Bending stresses in an elastic plate
39: In-plane forces and surface topography during orogenesis
40: The onset of convection
41: A global predictor for sediment discharge: the BQART equations
Practical exercise
42: Modelling hillslopes
43: The sediment continuity (Exner) equation
44: Use of the stream power rule
Practical exercise
45: Effects of tectonic uplift on stream longitudinal profiles
Practical exercise
46: Estimation of the uplift rate from an area-slope analysis
Practical exercise
47: Uplift history from stream profiles characterised by knickpoint migration
48: Sediment deposition using the heat equation
Practical exercise
49: Axial versus transverse drainage
50: Downstream fining of gravel
51: Sinusoidal eustatic change superimposed on background tectonic subsidence
52: Isostatic effects of absolute sea-level change
53: Sea-level change resulting from sedimentation
54: The consolidation line
55: Relation between porosity and permeability – the Kozeny-Carman relationship
56: Decompaction
Lagrangian method: porosity-free and real depths
Porosity-free and real depths
Layer thicknesses
57: Backstripping
Backstripping using the void ratio
58: From decompaction to thermal history
59: Advective heat transport by fluids
60: Heat flow in fractured rock
References
Index
