Publications
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Elliott GM, Wilson P, Jackson CAL, et al., 2012, The linkage between fault throw and footwall scarp erosion patterns: an example from the Bremstein Fault Complex, offshore Mid-Norway, Basin Research, Vol: 24, Pages: 180-197
Studies of normal fault systems in modern extensional regimes (e.g. Basin and Range), and in exhumed, ancient rift basins (e.g. Gulf of Suez Rift) have shown a link between the evolution of fault-related footwall topography and associated erosional drainage systems. In this study, we use 3D seismic reflection data to image the footwall crest of a gravity-driven fault system developed during late Middle Jurassic–to-Early Cretaceous rifting on the Halten Terrace, offshore Mid-Norway. This 22 km long fault system lacks significant footwall uplift, with hangingwall subsidence accommodating throw accumulation on the fault system. Significant erosion has occurred along the length of the footwall crest and is defined by 96 catchments characterised by erosional channels. These erosional channels consist of small, linear systems up to 750 m long located along the front of the fault footwall. Larger, dendritic channel systems extend further back (up to 3 km normal to fault strike) into the footwall. These channels are up to 7 km long, up to 50 m deep and up to 1 km wide. Fault throw varies along-strike, with greatest throw in the centre of the fault decreasing towards the fault tips, localised throw minima are interpreted to represent segment linkage points which were breached as the fault grew. Comparison of the catchment location to the throw distribution shows that the largest catchments are in the centre of the fault and decrease in size to the fault tips. There is no link between the location of the breached segment linkage points and the location and size of the footwall catchments suggesting that the first-order control on footwall erosion patterns is the overall fault throw distribution.
Huuse M, Jackson CAL, Olobayo O, et al., 2012, A sand injectite stratigraphy for the North Sea, Pages: 1082-1086
The North Sea Basin is considered data rich and well understood. Half a century of oil exploration and research has resulted in a world-class hydrocarbon province, but the Cenozoic succession still contains many poorly understood structures and deposits. The economically most important of these is arguably the occurrence of numerous oilfields hosted within remobilized and injected sandstones, totalling 100s-1000s of km3 of sand showing geometries typical of igneous intrusions. The occurrence of injected sands in the North Sea has been known for about 2 decades and their significance is steadily gaining recognition among North Sea explorers who recognise the reservoir and trap potential of injected sands and their significance as migration and leakage paths. Meanwhile, researchers are bewildered as to the underlying mechanisms leading to repeated and basin-wide remobilization of such large quantities of sand. This paper documents the stratigraphy, distribution and geometrical characteristics of injected sand occurrences in the North Sea. Seismic-scale sand injectites can be subdivided into those that are visibly attached to their parent sandbody and those that are detached from their parent sand. In all cases, seismicscale sand injectites form inclined sheets, typically at 15-45 degrees relative to their host strata and between 100-300+m in height.
Dmitrieva E, Jackson CAL, Huuse M, et al., 2012, Palaeocene deep-water depositional systems in the northern North Sea: a 3D seismic and well data case study, North Viking Graben, Block 35/11, Petroleum Geoscience, Vol: 18, Pages: 97-114
Interpretation of 3D seismic reflection data supported by well data provides insights into the geometry of early Palaeogene depositional systems along the eastern margin of the North Viking Graben. The deposits, which consist mainly of sandstones interbedded with claystones and siltstones, are interpreted to document deposition at the edge of a large base-of-slope to proximal basin floor fan system which was sourced from the eastern basin margin. Individual sandstone bodies are up to 80 m thick and occur within four sandstone-prone packages (DU1-4), and well-to-seismic ties indicate that the thicker sandstones (>10 m) are often represented by channellised or sheet-like, high-amplitude anomalies. Both well and seismic data suggest that the sandstones are of limited lateral extent (<1-5 km), implying they were deposited in a series of channels. Channellisation and compensational stacking of sandstones may have been at least partly controlled by differential compaction across previously-deposited sandbodies. The study reveals that deep-water depositional patterns are more complex than is apparent from previous, lithostratigraphically-driven correlations and from regional isochron mapping. In particular, this study has implications for the controls on the distribution and reservoir architecture of deep-water sandstones.
Jackson CA-L, Kane KE, 2012, 3D seismic interpretation techniques: applications to basin analysis, TECTONICS OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS: RECENT ADVANCES, Editors: Busby, Azor, Publisher: BLACKWELL SCIENCE PUBL, Pages: 95-110, ISBN: 978-1-4051-9465-5
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Jackson CAL, Kane KE, 2011, Application of 3D seismic data to understanding the structure and stratigraphy of sedimentary basins, Tectonics of Sedimentary Basins: Recent Advances, Editors: Busby, Pérez, Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, Pages: 95-110, ISBN: 9781405194655
Although 2D seismic data are able to provide regional insights into the broad form and fill of sedimentary basins, their limited spatial resolution restricts the detailed analysis of geological features. Improvements in 3D seismic acquisition and processing techniques have resulted in large tracts of sedimentary basins being covered by high-quality surveys. The development of sophisticated software, and low-cost, high-powered workstations, allows the interpretation of these data in unprecedented detail. This chapter focuses on some of the key interpretation techniques available to the seismic interpreter, and will demonstrate how these can be used to gain an understanding of the structure and fill of sedimentary basins at a range of scales. The benefits of analysing structure and stratigraphic thickness maps are considered, as these are important for defining basin structure, and for highlighting the temporal and spatial variability of syn-depositional accommodation, tectonics and erosion. The use of ‘seismic attributes analysis’ to highlight geological features is discussed. These attributes include, amongst others, grid- and volume-based geometric attributes, and grid and volume-derived, amplitude-based attributes. Although seismic attribute analysis is a powerful tool in basin analysis, the answer to a subsurface geological problem does not lie within the workstation or the attributes that can be generated. The workstation is only a tool. The key elements involved in the successful application of seismic data to basin analysis are: (i) a knowledge of the available interpretation tools, (ii) an appreciation of the physical basis of the attributes being used, (iii) an understanding of the impact of data and interpretation quality on the derived attributes and (iv) a thoughtful geological interpretation of geophysical data. With continued improvements in spatial coverage and resolution, seismic reflection datasets have the potential to be as powerful a t
Johnson HD, Alqahtani F, Jackson CAL, et al., 2011, Fluvial reservoir analogues in the Malay Basin: analysis of shallow 3D seismic data of Pleistocene rivers on the Sunda Shelf., Seismic Imaging of Depositional and Geomorphic Systems: 30th Annual GCSSEPM Foundation Annual Bob F. Perkins Research Conference Proceedings, Publisher: GCSSEPM Proceedings, Pages: 328-329
This study focuses on the analysis of Pliocene fluvial depositional systems based on the shallow part (seabed to about 500 m) of a large (>10,000 km2), mega-merge 3D seismic dataset from the Malay Basin, Southeast Asia. The results of a detailed 3D seismic facies analysis, locally calibrated with high-resolution site survey data, will be presented. The Pliocene interval is up to approximately 500 m thick and comprises a range of seismic facies, which reflect changes in fluvial channel style and gross stratigraphic architecture. The succession has been divided into five stratigraphic units, bounded by basin-wide stratal surfaces. The expression of these fluvial systems will be illustrated in seismic sections, stratal and proportional slices, and through various 3D volume extraction displays. This will include the youngest channel complex, which forms part of a major incised valley (approximately 18 km wide and up to 90 m deep), which formed an axial drainage system along the length of the Malay Basin during the latest Pleistocene, when the whole Sunda Shelf was exposed. In other intervals, the coastal plain is characterised by a range of unconfined high- and low-sinuosity fluvial channel systems. Planform geometries and other dimensions have been documented using GIS methods in order to develop a quantitative database of the Sunda Shelf fluvial systems.These data and other observation from the Pliocene fluvial systems are being used to determine reservoir body dimensions, geometries and estimates of connectivity that will aid the interpretation of similar, fluvial reservoirs in the deeper prospective Miocene interval.
Jackson CAL, Larsen E, Hanslien S, et al., 2011, Controls on synrift turbidite deposition on the hanging wall of the South Viking Graben, North Sea rift system, offshore Norway, AAPG Bulletin, Vol: 95, Pages: 1557-1587
Three-dimensional seismic, wireline-log, core, and biostratigraphic data from the South Viking Graben, North Sea rift system, are integrated to investigate the controls on the temporal and spatial development of an Upper Jurassic synrift turbidite system deposited on the hanging-wall dipslope of a salt-influenced half graben. Turbidite deposition was coeval with the initiation and upslope (paleo-landward) migration of activity across a gravity-driven normal fault array. Three main synrift stratal units are identified, and these are mapped using seismic and well data. The lowermost unit (upper Oxfordian) comprises thick amalgamated turbidites, which are restricted to the hanging wall of the earliest, most basinward, growth fault. The middle unit (Kimmeridgian) is more areally extensive than the underlying system, draping the now inactive basinward growth fault and extending upslope into the hanging wall of a newly activated landward growth fault. The uppermost unit (lower to middle Volgian) is more sheetlike and was deposited when activity across all growth faults had mostly ceased and slope topography had been almost fully healed. This study demonstrates that hanging-wall dipslopes within rifts can be characterized by volumetrically significant, sand-rich, gravity flow-dominated depositional systems, and that the reservoir architecture of such deposits can be strongly controlled by syndepositional growth faulting. In addition, this study provides insights into the response of turbidites to tectonically driven changes in bathymetry, which may be applicable in a range of basin settings.
Jackson CAL, Somme TO, 2011, Borehole evidence for wing-like clastic intrusion complexes on the western Norwegian margin, Geological Society of London, Vol: 168, Pages: 1075-1078
Data from a borehole on the Norwegian margin indicate that a strata-concordant amplitude anomaly within the Upper Cretaceous succession represents a 15 m thick sandbody that was either intruded in the subsurface or extruded on the palaeo-seabed. This observation implies that spatially related, strata-discordant anomalies are the seismic expression of sandstone dykes, thereby supporting previous geometry-based interpretations of the origin of these amplitude anomalies. Furthermore, this study indicates that thickness of an intrusion may be overestimated if based solely on seismic reflection mapping, and that this may lead to erroneous calculation of the ratio between depositional and intruded sandstone.
Kieft RL, Hampson GJ, Jackson CAL, et al., 2011, Stratigraphic architecture of a net-transgressive marginal- to shallow-marine succession: Upper Almond Formation, Rock Springs Uplift, Wyoming, USA, Journal of Sedimentary Research, Vol: 81, Pages: 513-533
The upper part of the Almond Formation records the overall retreat of a wave-dominated shoreline and associated lagoons or bays. Exposures of these strata on the eastern flank of the Rock Springs Uplift, Wyoming, U.S.A., enable analysis of their stratigraphic architectures along sections oriented oblique to depositional strike. The upper Almond Formation comprises at least nine vertically stacked regressive–transgressive cycles. The regressive component of each cycle consists of thick (up to 22 m), laterally continuous wave-dominated shoreface and overlying coastal-plain deposits that occur in paleoseaward locations and have abrupt (< 400 m) paleolandward pinchouts. The transgressive component of each cycle consists of one or more bay-fill successions that occur in paleolandward locations and gradually thin in a paleoseaward direction. Transgressive bay-fill deposits in each cycle are thick (up to 18 m) and associated with preservation of surfaces that record, in progressively paleoseaward locations: initiation of a lagoon or bay (transgressive surface), erosional retreat of tidal-inlet channels (tidal ravinement surface) and the shoreface (wave ravinement surface), and marine flooding (marine flooding surface). This architecture records regression of a strandplain or wave-dominated delta, and subsequent transgression of a barrier island and spit with associated lagoon or bay. The occurrence of such thick and fully preserved bay-fill successions indicates that accretionary transgressive shoreline trajectories were developed. Strongly-aggradational-to-weakly-retrogradational stacking of successive regressive–transgressive cycles results in a layered stratigraphic architecture, with laterally continuous shoreface sandstone layers interbedded with bay-fill shale layers. Shoreface sandstones layers pinch out up-dip abruptly (< 400 m) into bay-fill shales and have limited vertical connectivity. Sandstones within bay-fill and coastal-plain deposits occur
Cardozo N, Jackson CAL, Whipp PS, 2011, Determining the uniqueness of best-fit trishear models, Journal of Structural Geology, Vol: 33, Pages: 1063-1078
We show the application of a simulated annealing algorithm to trishear inverse modeling. The algorithm traverses the parameter space in search for best-fit models without being trapped in local minima, and thus sampling for more possible solutions globally. Simulated annealing is a robust and efficient technique to determine the uniqueness of best-fit trishear models; the spread of possible trishear models that can fit a structure. We first apply the algorithm to a decameter-size, contractional fault-propagation fold in west-central Taiwan, for which there is an exceptional exposure of pre-growth and growth strata. Simulated annealing shows that even for this complete fold dataset with low uncertainties, there is a range of models and fault slip/uplift histories that can fit the data, with the consequent implications for the assessment of seismic hazard. We then apply the algorithm to a kilometer-size, extensional fault-propagation fold, the Hadahid monocline, Gulf of Suez Rift, Egypt. In this monocline there is only surface coverage in the footwall anticline areas and the algorithm was used to delimit the range of possible models that can fit the data and their uncertainties, thus avoiding biases in the interpretation. Simulated annealing suggests that the along-strike structural variability of the monocline can result from along-strike variability in fault slip, fault propagation to fault slip ratio and depth of fault nucleation. Both examples illustrate the benefits of searching for a possible range of models rather than a precise best-fit model when modeling fault-propagation folds. In an attempt to understand which parameters control fault development, and also how the spread of possible solutions varies with fold growth, we apply the algorithm to four sequential stages of a published, analog clay model of an extensional forced fold. The inversions of the natural examples and the analog model suggest that the spread of the possible models is a manifestation of
Jackson CA-L, Huuse M, Barber GP, 2011, Geometry of wing-like intrusions adjacent to a deep-water slope channel complex and implications for hydrocarbon exploration and production: a 3D seismic case study from the Maloy Slope, offshore Norway., AAPG Bulletin, Vol: 95, Pages: 559-584
Because of their potentially large volumes and excellent reservoir properties, winglike clastic intrusion complexes may represent stand-alone exploration targets. However, determining the three-dimensional (3-D) geometry of such complexes is problematic because of limited exposure in the field and insufficient seismic resolution and well coverage in the subsurface.In this study, high-quality 3-D seismic reflection data from offshore Norway are used to determine the 3-D geometry of winglike intrusion complexes adjacent to a deep-water slope channelcomplex. Intrusions form sheets or “wings” that are developed almost continuously along both margins of the 15-km(9-mi)-long channel complex. Intrusions dip up to 20° (more ommonly <10°), crosscut up to 90 m (30 ft) (undecompacted) of the overlying stratigraphy and extend up to 1095m(3593 ft) away from the channel complex. Three styles of intrusion are observed: type 1: dikes lacking sills at their upper tips; type2: dikes that pass upward into sills at their upper tips; and type 3: “stepped sills” that consist of linked sill and dike segments. Thesedifferent styles of intrusions pass laterally into one another, leading to extreme complexity both between and along-strike individualintrusion complexes. Although the mechanisms driving initial overpressure development and injection itself are unclear, this study indicates that 3-D seismic data are a powerful tool in understanding the 3-D geometry of winglike clastic injection complexes and suggests that the true geometry of these featuresismore complex than previously documented. This study also has implications for potential reservoir geometries and hydrocarbon exploitation of winglike clastic intrusion omplexes.
Jackson CAL, 2011, 3D seismic analysis of megaclast deformation within a mass-transport deposit; implications for debris flow kinematics, Geology, Vol: 39, Pages: 203-206
Three-dimensional seismic reflection data are used to investigate the geometry, scale and distribution of structures within large clasts (megaclasts) contained within a Tertiary mass transport deposit (MTD), Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. Normal faults and folds are observed within the megaclasts, the latter typically being best-developed towards either the frontal or lateral margins of the clasts. The highly variable map-view orientation of these structures, their relative ages and their relationship to the geometry of the basal shear surface indicate that the structures developed during both the motion and arrest of the parent flow. This study indicates that megaclasts may be deformed despite the associated flow being cohesive and lacking turbulence. Deformation is related to local differential shear within the viscous body of the flow and mechanical interaction of megaclasts with the basal shear surface.
Burberry CM, Jackson CA-L, Cosgrove JC, 2011, Late Cretaceous to Recent deformation related to inherited structures and subsequent compression within the Persian Gulf: a 2D seismic case study, Journal of the Geological Society, Vol: 168, Pages: 485-498
The Persian Gulf is part of an asymmetric foreland basin related to the Zagros Orogen. Few published studies of this basin and associated onshore areas include seismic reflection data. We present a seismic-stratigraphic interpretation based on marine 2D seismic data, which reveals the presence of two types of compressional structures within the basin: (1) faulted domes related to salt movement and the offshore trace of a NNE–SSW-trending dextral basement fault (the Kazerun Fault); (2) long-wavelength (16 km), low-amplitude (60 ms two-way travel time) folds relating to the advancing deformation front associated with the orogen. Thinning of age-constrained stratal units across structures related to the offshore trace of the Kazerun Fault implies a distinct pulse of uplift on this fault during the Maastrichtian. The geometry of growth strata across other intra-basin structures suggests a second, later stage of deformation, which began in the Middle Miocene. Thickening and folding of post-Middle Miocene stratal units towards the NE (i.e. towards the Zagros Orogen) is interpreted to reflect rapid loading, subsidence and compression related to southwestwards advance of the orogen. The results of this study have implications for the interaction between pre-existing structures and later compressional events both within the Persian Gulf and elsewhere.
Kieft RL, Jackson CAL, Hampson GJ, et al., 2011, Sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the Hugin Formation, Quadrant 15, Norwegian sector, South Viking Graben, London, Petroleum Geology: from Mature Basins to New Frontiers – Proceedings of the 7th Petroleum Geology Conference, Publisher: Geological Society of London, Pages: 157-176
The Middle Jurassic Hugin Formation has been the target of exploration within Quadrant 15 of the Norwegian South Viking Graben since the 1960s. The Hugin formation comprises shallow-marine and marginal-marine sediments deposited during the overall transgression and southward retreat of the ‘Brent Delta’ systems. Sedimentological analysis of cores across the quadrant has identified six facies associations: bay-fill, shoreface, mouth bar, fluvio-tidal channel-fill, coastal plain and offshore open marine. These facies associations are arranged in a series of parasequences bounded by flooding surfaces, several of which are correlated regionally using biostratigraphic data. Within this stratigraphic framework, facies association distributions and stratigraphic architectures are complicated, reflecting the spatial and temporal interaction of various physical processes (e.g. waves and tides) with an evolving structural template produced by rift initiation and salt movement. The overall transgression was highly diachronous, becoming younger from north to south. The northern part of the study area (Sigrun–Gudrun area) is characterized by a series of backstepping, linear, north–south-trending barrier shorelines and sheltered bays. The central part of the study area (Dagny area) contains stacked, backstepping strandplain shorelines that fringed syn-depositional topographic highs. Local angular unconformities are developed around these highs, implying that they formed above fault-block crests and salt-cored structures. The southern part of the study area (Sleipner area) contains stacked deltaic shorelines that were modified by both waves and tides. Sandbody geometry is closely related to depositional regime and syn-depositional tectonic setting within the basin; a robust understanding of both is critical to successful exploration of Hugin Formation reservoirs.
Massart BYG, Jackson MD, Hampson GJ, et al., 2011, Three-dimensional Characterization and Surface-based Modeling of Tide-dominated Heterolithic Sandstones, EAGE
Faulkner DR, Jackson C, Lunn RJ, et al., 2010, A review of recent developments concerning the structure, mechanics and fluid flow properties of fault zones, Journal of Structural Geology, Vol: 32, Pages: 1557-1575
Fault zones and fault systems have a key role in the development of the Earth’s crust. They control the mechanics and fluid flow properties of the crust, and the architecture of sedimentary deposits in basins. We review key advances in the study of the structure, mechanics and fluid flow properties of fault zones and fault systems. We emphasize that these three aspects of faults are intimately related and cannot be considered in isolation. For brevity, the review is concentrates on advances made primarily in the past 10 years, and also to fault zones in the brittle continental crust. Finally the paper outlines some key areas for future research in this field.
Jackson CAL, Grunhagen H, Howell JA, et al., 2010, 3D seismic imaging of lower delta-plain beach ridges: lower Brent Group, northern North Sea, Journal of the Geological Society of London, Vol: 167, Pages: 1225-1236
Three-dimensional seismic reflection data are used to image littoral deposits within the lower Brent Group, northern North Sea. Seismic attribute maps within the unit indicate the development of parallel, high-amplitude stripes up to 15 km in length, 50–100 m wide and spaced 150–200 m apart. In map view these features trend NE–SW to ENE–WSW and are arranged into ‘sets' that display subtly different orientations. Well data in regions where these anomalies are well developed indicate pronounced anomaly-perpendicular thickness variations in sand-rich beach-ridge facies within the Etive Formation and coals and mudstones within the overlying Ness Formation. Based on these observations, the high-amplitude anomalies are interpreted as the seismic expression of coal-filled swales, whereas the adjacent zones of low amplitude are interpreted to represent the cores of sand-rich beach ridges. The geometry of beach ridges identified in the Etive Formation compares favourably with sedimentological and geometric data from modern beach ridges. The results of this study have implications for (1) the stratigraphic context and preservation of beach ridges, (2) datum selection when attempting stratigraphic correlations within the Brent Group, and (3) the exploration and production of hydrocarbons from beach ridge-type reservoirs.
Huuse M, Jackson CAL, Van Rensbergen P, et al., 2010, Subsurface sediment remobilization and fluid flow in sedimentary basins: an overview, Basin Research, Vol: 22, Pages: 342-360
Subsurface sediment remobilization and fluid flow processes and their products are increasingly being recognized as significant dynamic components of sedimentary basins. The geological structures formed by these processes have traditionally been grouped into mud volcano systems, fluid flow pipes and sandstone intrusion complexes. But the boundaries between these groups are not always distinct because there can be similarities in their geometries and the causal geological processes. For instance, the process model for both mud and sand remobilization and injection involves a source of fluid that can be separate from the source of sediment, and diapirism is now largely discarded as a deformation mechanism for both lithologies. Both mud and sand form dykes and sills in the subsurface and extrusive edifices when intersecting the sediment surface, although the relative proportions of intrusive and extrusive components are very different, with mud volcano systems being largely extrusive and sand injectite systems being mainly intrusive. Focused fluid flow pipes may transfer fluids over hundreds of metres of vertical section for millions of years and may develop into mud volcano feeder systems under conditions of sufficiently voluminous and rapid fluid ascent associated with deeper focus points and overpressured aquifers. Both mud and sand remobilization is facilitated by overpressure and generally will be activated by an external trigger such as an earthquake, although some mud volcano systems may be driven by the re-charge dynamics of their fluid source. Future research should aim to provide spatio-temporal 'injectite' stratigraphies to help constrain sediment remobilization processes in their basinal context and identify and study outcrop analogues of mud volcano feeders and pipes, which are virtually unknown at present. Further data-driven research would be significantly boosted by numerical and analogue process modelling to constrain the mechanics of deep subsurface s
Huuse M, Van Rensbergen P, Jackson CAL, et al., 2010, Subsurface sediment remobilization and fluid flow in sedimentary basins: preface, Basin Research, Vol: 22, Pages: 341-341
Kane KE, Jackson CA-L, Larsen E, 2010, Normal fault growth and fault-related folding in a salt-influenced rift basin: South Viking Graben, offshore Norway, Journal of Structural Geology, Vol: 32, Pages: 490-506
Three-dimensional seismic data were analysed to reconstruct the structural and stratigraphical development of a salt-influenced rift basin and thus gain an understanding of the relationships between normal fault growth, salt tectonics and the evolution of syn-rift depocentres. The Sleipner Basin, South Viking Graben, northern North Sea, is ca. 30 km long by 8 km wide and is bound to the east by a major extensional fault zone (Sleipner Fault Zone). Two types of fault-related fold are identified within the basin: (1) A fault-parallel monocline, interpreted as an extensional forced-fold, which formed through the upward propagation of the Sleipner Fault Zone through ductile evaporites of the Zechstein Supergroup and (2) three fault-perpendicular, salt-cored anticlines that compartmentalise the basin into four sub-basins and are related to displacement gradients along-strike of the Sleipner Fault Zone. Detailed seismic-stratigraphic analysis of pre- and syn-rift stratal units reveals a complex interplay between fault growth and salt movement which strongly controlled the evolution of syn-rift depocentres. During the early syn-rift, a series of depocentres, separated along-strike by the fault-perpendicular folds, were offset into the axis of the basin (ca. 3–4.5 km to the west of the Sleipner Fault Zone) by the fault-propagation fold. Later in the rift event, the influence of the fault-perpendicular folds depleted, resulting in a larger, interconnected depocentre that shifted into the immediate hangingwall of the fault as the surface of the fault-propagation fold was breached. The results of this study have implications for normal fault growth and sedimentary depocentre development in salt-influenced rift basins, and contribute to the general understanding of the controls on salt migration.
Jackson CA-L, Kane KE, Larsen E, 2010, Structural evolution of minibasins on the Utsira High, northern North Sea; implications for Jurassic sediment dispersal and reservoir distribution, Petroleum Geoscience, Vol: 16, Pages: 105-120
3D seismic and well data are integrated to determine the tectonostratigraphicevolution of the SW margin of the Utsira High, northern North Sea riftsystem. During the Triassic, a series of minibasins formed due to passive diapirismof the evaporite-bearing, Upper Permian, Zechstein Supergroup. Subsequently,during the Jurassic, a series of secondary minibasins developed as the underlying saltwalls collapsed. These minibasins were a few hundred metres deep, bound bysub-circular to elongate salt-cored structural highs and caused the development ofcomplex subaerial topography and submarine bathymetry on the SW margin of theUtsira High. Salt withdrawal may have been related to: (i) partial dissolution of salt;(ii) differential erosion of the salt walls and adjacent Triassic-filled minibasins; or (iii)salt remigration caused by sub- or supra-salt extension or sediment loading. Thisstudy provides insights into the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the SW margin ofthe Utsira High and has implications for (i) facies distribution of the ZechsteinSupergroup within the northern North Sea rift system; and (ii) depositional systemdevelopment, and thus reservoir distribution, within the Jurassic sedimentarysuccession.
Aas TE, Howell JA, Janocko M, et al., 2009, Control of Aptian palaeobathymetry on turbidite distribution in the Buchan Graben, Outer Moray Firth, Central North Sea, Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol: 27, Pages: 412-434
It is widely recognized that palaeobathymetry is a key control on the distribution of turbidite deposits. Thus, the utilisation of palaeobathymetric surfaces as an input for numerical turbidity current modelling offers a potentially powerful method to predict the distribution of deep marine sands in ancient (subsurface or outcrop) successions. Such an approach has been tested on an Aptian turbidite deposit from the Buchan Graben, UK Central North Sea, where modelled sand distributions could be quality controlled against available well data. Palaeobathymetric (base Aptian sand) surfaces are re-created from a surface-based 3D model by stepwise backstripping of post-Aptian overburden and removal of the post-depositional structural overprint. Key input parameters such as; (i) initial porosity and compaction factor assigned to the overburden and underburden; (ii) the restoration of structural overprint; and (iii) and the crustal response to removal of overburden (Airy vs. Flexural Isostasy), are associated with significant uncertainty. Thus, to assess this uncertainty, various palaeobathymetric surfaces are re-created by systematically modelling extreme values of individual input parameters. The effects of single input parameter variability on output surface morphology are quantified by spatial comparison of appropriate surfaces. Out of the 20 palaeobathymetric surfaces that were re-created, 3 were selected as input for process-based, numerical turbidity current simulations. The simulation software (Flow 3D™) uses computational fluid-dynamics (CFD) to model depositional patterns, while the effects of flow turbulence are simulated using the Renormalization-Group (RNG) model. The location of flow introduction into the model (sediment input point) as well as flow input parameters (volume of sediment, duration of flow, velocity, height and width) are fixed for all three surfaces to ensure that differences in flow behaviour and sand distribution can be attributed to spa
Jackson CA-L, Johnson HD, Zakaria AA, et al., 2009, Sedimentology, stratigraphic occurrence and origin of linked debrites in the West Crocker Fm (Oligo-Miocene), Sabah, NW Borneo, Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol: 26, Pages: 1957-1973
The West Crocker Fm (Oligocene-Early Miocene), NW Borneo, consists of a large (>20000 km2) submarine fan deposited as part of an accretionary complex. A range of gravity-flow deposits are observed, the most significant of which are mud-poor, massive sandstones interpreted as turbidites and clast-rich, muddy sandstones and sandy mudstones interpreted as debrites. An upward transition from turbidite to debrite is commonly observed, with the contact being either gradational and planar, or sharp and highly erosive. Their repeated vertical relationship and the nature of the contact between them, these intervals are interpreted as being deposited from one flow event which consisted of two distinct flow phases (fully turbulent turbidity current and weakly turbulent to laminar debris flow). The associated bed is called a co-genetic turbidite-debrite, with the upper debrite interval termed a linked debrite. Linked debrites indicates are best developed in the non-channelised parts of the fan system, and are absent to poorly-developed in the proximal channel-levee and distal basin floor environments. Due to outcrop limitations, the genesis of linked debrites within the West Crocker Formation is unclear. Based on clast size and type, it seems likely that a weakly turbulent to laminar debris-flow flow phase was present when the flow event entered the basin. A change in flow behaviour may have led to deposition of a sand-rich unit with ‘turbidite’ characteristics, which was subsequently overlain by a mud-rich unit with ‘debrite’ characteristics. Flow transformation may have been enhanced by the disintegration and incorporation into the flow of muddy clasts derived from the upstream channel floor, channel mouth or from channel levee collapse. Lack of preservation of this debrite in proximal areas may indicate either bypass of this flow phase or that the available outcrops fail to capture the debris flow entry point. Establishing robust sedimentological c
Jackson CA-L, Johnson HD, 2009, Sustained turbidity currents and their interaction with debrite-related topography; Labuan Island, offshore NW Borneo, Malaysia, Sedimentary Geology, Vol: 219, Pages: 77-96
The Temburong Fm (Early Miocene), Labuan Island, offshore NW Borneo, was deposited in a lower-slope to proximal basin-floor setting, and provides an opportunity to study the deposits of sustained turbidity currents and their interaction with debrite-related slope topography. Two main gravity-flow facies are identified; (i) slump-derived debris-flow deposits (debrites) - characterised by ungraded silty mudstones in 1.5 to >60 m thick beds which are rich in large (>5 m) lithic clasts; and (ii) turbidity current deposits (turbidites) - characterised by medium-grained sandstone in beds up to 2 m thick, which contain structureless (Ta) intervals alternating with planar-parallel (Tb) and current-ripple (Tc) laminated intervals. Laterally discontinuous, cobble-mantled scours are also locally developed within turbidite beds. Based on these characteristics, these sandstones are interpreted as having been deposited from sustained turbidity currents. Cobble-mantled scours indicate periods of intense turbidity current waxing. The sustained turbidity currents are interpreted to have been derived from retrogressive collapse of sand-rich mouth bars (breaching) or directly from river effluent (hyperpycnal flow). Analysis of the stratal architecture of the two facies indicates that routing of the turbidity currents was influenced by topographic relief developed at the top of underlying debrite Turbidite beds are locally eroded at the base of an overlying debrite, possibly due to clast-related substrate ‘ploughing’ during the latter flow event. This study highlights the difficulty in constraining the origin of sustained turbidity currents in ancient sedimentary sequences. In addition, this study documents the importance large debrites may have in generating topography on submarine slopes and influencing routing of subsequent turbidity current and the geometry of their associated deposits.
Jackson CA-L, Larsen E, 2009, Temporal and spatial development of a gravity-driven normal fault array: Middle-Upper Jurassic, South Viking Graben, northern North Sea, Journal of Structural Geology, Vol: 31, Pages: 388-402
Three-dimensional seismic and well data from the South Viking Graben, northern North Sea Basin, is used to investigate the temporal and spatial development of a gravity-driven normal fault array above an evaporite-rich detachment. Two moderate throw (500–900 m), Middle to Upper Jurassic normal faults (the Gudrun and Brynhild Faults) are developed within the study area. Both faults die-out laterally and tip-out upwards at different structural levels within the syn-rift succession. Both faults terminate downwards into Late Permian evaporites (Zechstein Group) and do not offset pre-evaporite basement units. This thin-skinned fault array developed in response to westwards tilting of the hangingwall of the South Viking Graben during Late Jurassic rifting, and consequent westward gliding and extensional break-up of units above the mechanically-weak evaporite horizon. Isochron mapping and well-based correlation of Middle to Upper Jurassic syn-rift units allow constraints to be placed on the temporal evolution of the fault array. Several stages of structural development are observed which document; (i) a period of relatively minor, early (i.e. pre-rift) halokinesis; (ii) variable spatial activity on individual faults within the array; and (iii) the progressive upslope migration of active faulting within the array as a whole. The progressive upslope migration of fault activity is interpreted to reflect progressive “unbuttressing” and extensional faulting of upslope, post-evaporite units. The overall structural style and kinematic evolution identified here shares many characteristics with both ‘rift–raft tectonics’ documented in other rifts developed above an evaporitic sub-stratum and ‘raft tectonics’ described from passive margin basins containing thick mobile salt or shale intervals. This style of fault array evolution differs from that observed in rifts lacking mobile layers at-depth and highlights the importance of these un
Hampson GJ, Sixsmith PJ, Kieft RL, et al., 2009, Quantitative analysis of net-transgressive shoreline trajectories and stratigraphic architectures: mid-to-late Jurassic of the North Sea rift basin, Basin Research, Vol: 21, Pages: 528-558
This paper outlines the use of the shoreline trajectory concept to understand the controls on net-transgressive reservoir distribution and architecture in the highly productive Middle and Late Jurassic plays in the North Sea. Two broad groups of regressive–transgressive sandstone tongue are identified, with distinctive geometries, architectures and values of net-transgressive shoreline trajectory defined by the stacking arrangement of multiple tongues. Shoreface tongues were supplied by longshore-transported, marine-reworked sediment and are associated with low-to-moderate transgressive trajectories (typically <0.2°). These tongues have variable dip extents that decrease weakly as the angle of shoreline trajectory increases, relatively small thicknesses that increase weakly with the angle of transgressive trajectory, and partial or no overlap with underlying and overlying tongues down depositional dip. Deltaic-to-estuarine tongues were supplied directly by fluvial sediment and are associated with moderate-to-very high transgressive trajectories (typically >0.1°). These tongues have small dip extents, variable thicknesses that increase weakly with the angle of transgressive trajectory, and partial to full overlap with underlying and overlying tongues down depositional dip, although vertically stacked tongues are separated by thin mudstones over much of their extents. There is some overlap in geometry and stacking arrangement of these two groups of sandstone tongues. The temporal and spatial distribution of shoreface and deltaic-to-estuarine sandstone tongues reflects linked variations in tectonic subsidence and sediment routing within the evolving rift basin. Deltaic-to-estuarine tongues with moderate-to-very high transgressive trajectories were developed in rapidly subsiding fault-bounded depocentres supplied directly by fluvial sediment, whereas shoreface tongues with low-to-moderate transgressive trajectories characterised slowly subsiding faul
Jackson CA-L, 2008, Sedimentology and significance of an early syn-rift paleovalley, Wadi Tayiba, Suez Rift, Egypt, Journal of African Earth Sciences, Vol: 52, Pages: 62-68
Wadi Tayiba is located along the western margin of the Hammam Faraun fault block, western Sinai, Egypt and is generally thought to contain exposures of the ‘type-section’ for late pre-rift to early syn-rift stratigraphy associated with the Oligo-Miocene Suez Rift. Previous studies have suggested a complex vertical succession of sedimentary facies characterise the late pre-rift to early syn-rift and imply major and abrupt variations in relative sea-level during this time. Detailed sedimentological and stratigraphic analysis of the Wadi Tayiba type-section presented in this study identifies not only a far simpler vertical facies succession than previously suggested but also the development of a major paleovalley system at the base of the early syn-rift succession. It is suggested that this subtle but significant feature is the cause of the complex vertical facies succession previously interpreted. It is concluded that continuous marine sedimentation and only moderate amplitude variations in relative sea-level occurred during the Eocene to Early Oligocene within at least this part of the Suez Rift. A major relative sea-level fall occurred during the middle Oligocene and a regionally developed erosional surface associated with this event marks the contact between late pre-rift and early syn-rift strata. The results of this study have major implications for sub-regional correlations of late pre-rift to early syn-rift stratigraphic units and resultant palaeogeographic reconstructions of the late pre-rift to early syn-rift period.
Jackson CAL, Barber GP, Martinsen OJ, 2008, Submarine slope morphology as a control on the development of sand-rich turbidite depositional systems: 3D seismic analysis of the Kyrre Fm (Upper Cretaceous), Maloy Slope, offshore Norway, MAR PETROL GEOL, Vol: 25, Pages: 663-680, ISSN: 0264-8172
Three-dimensional seismic and well data are integrated to investigate the geometry and controls on a series of sand-rich slope systems in the Kyrre Fm (Upper Cretaceous) on the Maloy Slope, offshore Norway. Slope systems were fed by sediments eroded from mainland Norway to the east and transported across a relatively narrow shelf into four canyons developed at the shelf edge. These canyons were not formed through erosional or mass-wasting processes during the Late Cretaceous, but represent a series of underfilled canyons developed during an earlier. Late Jurassic erosional phase. Channels, which are commonly arranged into laterally or vertically stacked channel complexes, were fed sediment through the shelf-edge canyons and may be associated downslope with small terminal fans. The canyons and their associated depositional systems were not active synchronously, with a clear southward migration of the active depositional systems. On the slope, syn-depositional topography was formed via: (i) differential compaction of mudstone-rich strata across underlying Late Jurassic canyons which resulted in the formation of a series of E-W-trending structural lows; and (ii) differential compaction of mudstone-rich strata across the underlying Late Jurassic fault blocks which resulted in N-W-trending structural highs. Both of these features had a variable influence on the incision, fill and overall spatial distribution of slope channels/channel complexes and associated fans. A large fan which overlies the shelf-edge canyons and associated downslope depositional systems represents the final depositional unit within the study area. The fan effectively 'seals' the underlying shelf-edge canyons, suggesting it was not supplied by sediment routed through the canyons. The results of this study support previous studies which indicate that shelf-edge canyons may be a first-order control on the location of sand-rich, turbidity current-fed depositional systems on submarine slopes. Furthermore
Jackson CA-L, Larsen E, 2008, Temporal constraints on basin inversion provided by 3D seismic and well data: a case study from the South Viking Graben, offshore Norway, Basin Research, Vol: 20, Pages: 397-417
Three-dimensional (3D) seismic, well and biostratigraphic data are integrated to determine the timing of inversion on the hangingwall of the South Viking Graben, offshore Norway. Within the study area two, NW–SE to NE–SW trending normal faults are developed which were active during a Late Jurassic rift event. In the hangingwall of these faults asymmetric, 2–5 km wide anticlines are developed which trend parallel to the adjacent faults and are interpreted as growth folds formed in response to compressional shortening (inversion) of the syn-rift basin-fill. Marked thickness variations are observed in Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous growth strata with respect to the inversion-related folds, with seismic data indicating onlap and thinning of these units across the folds. In addition, well data suggests that not only are erosional surfaces only locally developed towards the crests of the folds, but these surfaces may also truncate underlying flooding surfaces towards the fold crests. Taken together, these observations indicate that inversion and growth of inversion-related structures initiated in the late Early Volgian and continued until the Late Albian. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that individual folds amplified and propagated laterally through time, and that fold growth was not synchronous across the study area. This study demonstrates that the temporal evolution of structures associated with the inversion of sedimentary basins can be accurately determined through the integration of 3D seismic, well and biostratigraphic data. Furthermore, this study has local implications for constraining the timing of inversion within the South Viking Graben during the Late Mesozoic.
Jackson CA-L, Kane KE, Kieft RL, et al., 2008, Academia-Industry Collaboration Provides an Improved Understanding of Rift Basin Development in the South Viking Graben, Offshore Norway, AAPG European Newsletter (Vol. 3), Publisher: AAPG
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