Research
My current research is focused in three main areas; (i) the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of rift basins; (ii) salt tectonics; and (iii) deep-water sedimentology and stratigraphy.
Tectono-Stratigraphic Evolution of RIft Basins
I use fieldwork and subsurface (i.e. seismic reflection and borehole) research the way in which evolving fault segments, arrays and fault-related folds impact accommodation development in rift basin and, as a result, facies variations in and the sequence stratigraphy of, coeval syn-rift strata. Conversely, because syn-rift facies distributions vary in response to the evolving structural template, I also study how we can 'read' the sedimentological and stratigraphic record to constrain the growth of rift-related structures.
Image above: Time-structure map of the top Oxfordian seismic horizon along the Stavanger Fault Zone, Egersund Basin, offshore Norway. A thick-skinned (i.e. salt-breaching), surface-breaking, SW-dipping fault in the NW loses displacement and passes to the SE, along-strike, into a forced-fold. The footwall of the structure is deformed by a series of thin-skinned (i.e. salt-detached) faults and a salt diapir. For more information see Lewis et al. (2013).
Salt tectonics
I am interested in a range of issues related to the stratigraphic and structural development of salt basins. Current research is focused on: (i) the stratigraphic development of so-called 'saline giants' (e.g. Aptian salts of the Brazilian margin, Messinian salts of the eastern Mediterranean); and (ii) the kinematics and mechanics of salt tectonics.
Image above: 3D perspective of a time-structure map of the top Ariri Fm (top salt), Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. A series of high-relief (>500 m) salt walls are developed that are arranged in a crudely polygonal pattern. Intervening minibasins contain a thick succession of carbonates and clastics. The Ariri Fm in the Santos Basin is unusual because the upper part of this salt-bearing succession is dominated by strongly-layered evaporites. For more information see PhD project of Clara Rodriguez.
Dynamic Subsurface Processes
The movement of fluids (including magma) in sedimentary basins is controlled by and can influence the physical properties and structure of the host rock. Seismic data can aid in determining the interaction between fluids, stratigraphy and structure from a local to a regional scale.
These data, when integrated with well data, allow analysis of the architecture of magmatic systems and clastic remobilisation and injection, as well as the causes and consequences of fluid release following diagenesis. Understanding fluid migration is therefore important in terms of understanding basin evolution and petroleum systems development.
Image above: Seismic section across a series of sills (right and centre) and a laccolith (left) in the Bight Basin, offshore southern Australia. For more information see Jackson (2012) and Jackson et al. (in press). See also research of Craig Magee.
CURRENT Sponsoring/Supporting Companies
- Statoil
- Norsk Forskningsrad (Research Council of Norway)
- Schlumberger-Western Geco
- Petronas
- Petroleum Technology Development Fund of Nigeria (PTDF)
- London Petrophysical Society
- iRock Technologies
- PEMEX/CONACYT
- PGS
- CGG
- Indonesian Education Scholarship (BPI)
Collaborators
Dr Thilo Wrona, University of Bergen, Structural style and kinematics of rift-related normal fault growth, 2016 - 2018
Dr Craig Magee, Imperial College, Seismic reflection analysis of magmatic systems, 2015 - 2018
Dr Mads Huuse, University of Manchester, Soft-sediment deformation and fluid flow
Professor Howard Johnson, Imperial College, Stratigraphic evolution of passive margins
Dr Gary Hampson, Imperial College, Shallow marine sedimentology and stratigraphy in rifts
Professor Rob Gawthorpe, University of Bergen, Structural and stratigraphic development of rifts
Dr David Hodgson, University of Leeds, 3D seismic evidence for the initiation, translation and arrest of mass transport complexes
Professor Al Fraser, Imperial College, Seismic-stratigraphic analysis and petroleum impact of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
Dr Rebecca Bell, Imperial College, Structural evolution of rift basins
Dr Michael Hudec, Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG), University of Texas at Austin, Salt tectonics
Dr Martin Jackson, Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG), University of Texas at Austin, Salt tectonics
Dr Atle Rotevatn, Centre for Integrated Petroleum Research (CIPR), Salt tectonics
Guest Lectures
Terra Infirma; What Has Salt Tectonics Ever Done For Us?, Geological Society of London, London, 2014
Igneous intrusions in sedimentary basins; 3D seismic expression, emplacement mechanisms and implications for hydrocarbon exploration, Aberdeen Geological Society, Aberdeen, 2014
Halfway between the gutter and the scar; a review of mass-transport complexes (MTCs) and look forward, British Sedimentological Research Group (BSRG), Hull, 2013
Hot rocks beneath our feet; studying igneous geology using 3D seismic reflection data, Royal Holloway, London, 2013
Characterisation and origin of anhydrite-rich ‘lateral caprock’ adjacent to halite-cored salt diapirs; implications for prospectivity in salt basins, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, USA, 2013
Tectono-stratigraphic development of salt-influenced rift basins, Schlumberger-WesternGeco, Houston, USA, 2013
Quantitative seismic geomorphology of fluvial depositional systems and implications for reservoir modelling, University of Leeds, 2011
3D seismic imaging of lower delta-plain depositional systems, Brent Group (Middle Jurassic), northern North Sea, University of Bergen, 2011
Why geologists should use 3D seismic data: a case study from offshore Norway, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, 2010
Deposition and large-scale soft-sediment deformation of deep-water channel systems: a 3D seismic case study from offshore Norway, University of Leicester, 2008
Variability of deep-water depositional systems at outcrop, NW Borneo, Malaysia, University of Leeds, 2008
Extensional and compressional deformation above a mobile substrate and implications for petroleum prospectivity: a 3D seismic study from the hangingwall of the South Viking Graben, University of Edinburgh, 2008
Seismic interpretation of structural and stratigraphic features in sedimentary basins, Keele University, 2007
Seismic interpretation of structural and stratigraphic features in sedimentary basins, University of Liverpool, 2006
Research Student Supervision
Abu Bakar,A, Control of rift-related normal faulting and halokinesis on the development of shallow marine depositional systems (completed 2016)
Abu,C, Tectonic controls on deep-water depositional patterns
Al-Balushi,A, Impact of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) on hydrocarbon maturation and migration (completed 2014)
Allen,H, Stratigraphy and Structural Evolution of the Messinian Evaporite Complex in the Eastern Mediterranean (completed 2014)
Alqahtani,F, Quantitative seismic geomorphology of Late Pleistocene fluvial systems, Malay Basin, offshore SE Malaysia (completed 2010)
Astratti,D, Multiscale characterization of halokinetic faults in passive margins
Claringbould,JS, Structural and Stratigraphic Expression of Multiphase Extension in Rift Basins (completed 2016)
Coleman,A, Geometry and kinematics of fault-related deformation in the presence of salt
Dmitrieva,E, Deposition and remobilisation of deep-marine sandbodies in the northern North Sea (completed 2014)
Evans,S, Geometry and kinematics of salt tectonic structures
Holgate,N, A comparative study of controls on shoreline trajectories in rift-margin and rift-interior shallow marine systems (completed 2014)
Kieft,R, Sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of shallow marine sediments in a syn-rift setting: Hugin Formation, South Viking Graben (completed 2010)
Lenhart,A, The role of pre-existing structural fabrics on the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of rift basins (completed 2017)
Lewis,M, Structural and stratigraphic evolution of extensional fault-propagation folds (completed 2014)
Lokman,I, Stratigraphic expression of the syn-rift to post-rift transition in rift basins
Mannie,AS, The rise and fall of diapirs during regional extension and its influence on the deposition of a net-transgressive coastal-plain-to-shallow-marine succession: Middle-to-Upper Jurassic, Norwegian Central Graben (completed 2014)
Massart,B, Improved characterization and modeling of low-permeability sandstone reservoirs (completed 2014)
McAndrew,A, The Origin and Significance of a Major Rift-Related Unconformity (completed 2010)
Miranda Madrigal,E, Salt-related faults and fractures, southern Gulf of Mexico, offshore Mexico
Nugraha,H, Geometry and emplacement of mass-transport complexes
Odeh,I, Reservoir architecture and quality around active salt diapirs
Olobayo,O, Remobilization and injection of clastic sediment in deep-water settings of the Niger Delta and the North Sea (based at University of Manchester; completed 2015)
Ortiz-Karpf,A, Do deep-water channel levees document syn-depositional changes in bathymetry? (based at University of Leeds; completed 2016)
Pan,S, How realistic are numerical models of normal fault system evolution?
Patruno,S, Linkage between shelf and slope depositional systems along the margins of an active rift basin: insights from shoreline trajectories analysis (completed 2013)
Phillips,T, Impact of salt and basement weaknesses on the structural development of rift basins (completed 2017)
Puasa,I, Thin-bedded turbidites in deep-water systems, offshore Brunai
Redpath,D, Geometry and kinematics of relay zones along normal fault systems
Reeve,M, Decoding multi-phase tectonic history from sedimentary basins: a case study from the North West Shelf of Australia (completed 2017)
Steventon,M, Emplacement of mass-transport complexes (MTCs) on passive margins; controls and implications for petroleuem systems development
Suleiman,AA, Sequence stratigraphy, seismic facies analysis and integrated petroleum system analysis of the Nigerian sector of Chad Basin (completed 2017)
Tvedt,A, Kinematics of normal fault growth above evaporite-rich successions (based at University of Bergen; completed 2016)
Whipp,P, Fault-related folding and the growth of normal faults (completed 2011)
Wu,N, The role of mass-transport complexes (MTCs) in petroleum systems development
Zakaria,AA, Sedimentology and reservoir characterisation of Tertiary deepwater sandstones in NW Borneo (completed 2010)
de Boer,J, Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of rift basins - from subsurface to outcrop (based at University of Bergen)