scholarly journals The Wishbone Ridge at the Chatham Rise Intersection: Structural Characteristics and Tectonic Implications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rachel Barrett
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Magnetic Data ◽  
The West ◽  
Satellite Gravity ◽  
Gondwana Margin ◽  
Seismic Reflection Profiles

<p>Geophysical data show that the West Wishbone Ridge, offshore of eastern New Zealand, is best described as having previously been a crustal transform fault, which first propagated along the eastern margin of the Hikurangi Plateau as subduction along the New Zealand sector of the Gondwana margin began to slow and reorientate between 105 and 101 Ma. Variation in the strike of the West Wishbone Ridge has resulted in contrasting compressional and extensional zones along the ridge. These regimes reflect the direction of strike offset from the direction of fault propagation, and constrain the sense of motion along the West Wishbone Ridge as having been dextral.  We find evidence that Cretaceous subduction along the Chatham Rise margin extended east of the margin offset at 174°W that marks the edge of Hikurangi Plateau subduction beneath the margin. Rotation of the Chatham Rise margin between 105 and 101 Ma was accommodated by westward broadening of the extensional zone of deformation associated with the West Wishbone Ridge near its intersection with the Chatham Rise. The amount of offset along the ridge indicates that significant transform motion along the West Wishbone Ridge south of ~40.5°S ceased ca. 101 Ma, coeval with the cessation of spreading of the Osbourn Trough, and of subduction of the Hikurangi Plateau.  Additionally, we find anomalously thick oceanic crust adjacent to the WWR and north of the Hikurangi Plateau (>12 km thick). This is attributed to the proximity of this crust to the Hikurangi Plateau Large Igneous Province.  The results of this study are based on seismic reflection and magnetic data recently collected during the 2016 R/V Sonne survey SO-246, as well as previously collected seismic reflection profiles and satellite gravity data.</p>

scholarly journals Inverted Basins by Africa–Eurasia Convergence at the Southern Back-Arc Tyrrhenian Basin

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Maria Filomena Loreto ◽  
Camilla Palmiotto ◽  
Filippo Muccini ◽  
Valentina Ferrante ◽  
Nevio Zitellini
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Magnetic Data ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Sedimentary Sequence ◽  
Initiation Zone ◽  
Arc Setting ◽  
Seismic Reflection Profiles ◽  
Back Arc ◽  
Flower Structures ◽  
Tyrrhenian Basin

The southern part of Tyrrhenian back-arc basin (NW Sicily), formed due to the rifting and spreading processes in back-arc setting, is currently undergoing contractional tectonics. The analysis of seismic reflection profiles integrated with bathymetry, magnetic data and seismicity allowed us to map a widespread contractional tectonics structures, such as positive flower structures, anticlines and inverted normal faults, which deform the sedimentary sequence of the intra-slope basins. Two main tectonic phases have been recognised: (i) a Pliocene extensional phase, active during the opening of the Vavilov Basin, which was responsible for the formation of elongated basins bounded by faulted continental blocks and controlled by the tear of subducting lithosphere; (ii) a contractional phase related to the Africa-Eurasia convergence coeval with the opening of the Marsili Basin during the Quaternary time. The lithospheric tear occurred along the Drepano paleo-STEP (Subduction-Transform-Edge-Propagator) fault, where the upwelling of mantle, intruding the continental crust, formed a ridge. Since Pliocene, most of the contractional deformation has been focused along this ridge, becoming a good candidate for a future subduction initiation zone.

Integrated Geophysical Interpretation of Kerio Valley Basin Stratigraphy, Kenya Rift

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godfred Osukuku ◽  
Abiud Masinde ◽  
Bernard Adero ◽  
Edmond Wanjala ◽  
John Ego
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Data ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Magnetic Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
The West ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
Western Side

Abstract This research work attempts to map out the stratigraphic sequence of the Kerio Valley Basin using magnetic, gravity and seismic data sets. Regional gravity data consisting of isotactic, free-air and Bouguer anomaly grids were obtained from the International Gravity Bureau (BGI). Magnetic data sets were sourced from the Earth Magnetic Anomaly grid (EMAG2). The seismic reflection data was acquired in 1989 using a vibrating source shot into inline geophones. Gravity Isostacy data shows low gravity anomalies that depict a deeper basement. Magnetic tilt and seismic profiles show sediment thickness of 2.5-3.5 Km above the basement. The Kerio Valley Basin towards the western side is underlain by a deeper basement which are overlain by succession of sandstones/shales and volcanoes. At the very top are the mid Miocene phonolites (Uasin Gishu) underlain by mid Miocene sandstones/shales (Tambach Formation). There are high gravity anomalies in the western and southern parts of the basin with the sedimentation being constrained by two normal faults. The Kerio Valley Basin is bounded to the west by the North-South easterly dipping fault system. Gravity data was significantly of help in delineating the basement, scanning the lithosphere and the upper mantle according to the relative densities. The basement rocks as well as the upper cover of volcanoes have distinctively higher densities than the infilled sedimentary sections within the basin. From the seismic profiles, the frequency of the shaley rocks and compact sandstones increases with depths. The western side of the basin is characterized by the absence of reflections and relatively higher frequency content. The termination of reflectors and the westward dip of reflectors represent a fault (Elgeyo fault). The reflectors dip towards the west, marking the basin as an asymmetrical syncline, indicating that the extension was towards the east. The basin floor is characterized by a nearly vertical fault which runs parallel to the Elgeyo fault. The seismic reflectors show marked discontinuities which may be due to lava flows. The deepest reflector shows deep sedimentation in the basin and is in reasonable agreement with basement depths delineated from potential methods (gravity and magnetic). Basement rocks are deeper at the top of the uplift footwall of the Elgeyo Escarpment. The sediments are likely of a thickness of about 800 M which is an interbed of sandstones and shales above the basement.

Gravity and Magnetic Methods

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard M. Carruthers ◽  
John D. Cornwell
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Rock Properties ◽  
Magnetic Data ◽  
Satellite Gravity ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Continental Shelves ◽  
Gravity And Magnetic ◽  
Gravity And Magnetic Data

Lateral variations in the density and magnetization of the rocks within the crust give rise to "anomalies" in the Earth's gravity and magnetic fields. These anomalies can be measured and interpreted in terms of the geology both in a qualitative sense, by mapping out trends and changes in anomaly style, and quantitatively, by creating models of the subsurface which reproduce the observed fields. Such interpretations are generally less definitive in themselves than the results from seismic surveys (see chapter 12), but the data are widely available and can provide information in areas where other methods are ineffective or have not been applied. As the different geophysical techniques respond to specific rock properties such as density, magnetization, and acoustic velocity, the results are complementary, and a fully integrated approach to data collection and interpretation is generally more effective than the sum of its parts assessed on an individual basis. Gravity and magnetic data have been acquired, at least to a reconnaissance scale, over most of the world. In particular, the release into the public domain of satellite altimetry information (combined with improved methods of data processing) means that there is gravity coverage to a similar standard for most of the offshore region to within about 50 km of the coast. Magnetic anomalies recorded from satellites provide global coverage, but the high altitude of the observations means that only large-scale features extending over many 10s of kilometers are delineated. Reconnaissance aeromagnetic surveys with flight lines 10-20 km apart provide a lateral anomaly resolution similar to that of the satellite gravity data. Oceanographic surveys undertaken by a variety of academic and research institutions are another valuable source of data in remote regions offshore which supplement and extend the more detailed coverage obtained over the continental shelves, for example, by oil companies in areas of hydrocarbon interest. Surveys over land vary widely in terms of acquisition parameters and quality, but some form of national compilation is available from many countries. A number of possible applications of the potential field (i.e., gravity and magnetic) data follow from the terms set out by UNCLOS. Paragraph 4(b) of article 76 states, "In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the foot of the continental slope is to be determined as the point of maximum change in the gradient at its base" (italics added).

Problems interpreting deep crustal reflectors beneath the Moine thrust between Shetland and the Scottish Highlands

1995 ◽  
Vol 132 (5) ◽  
pp. 465-472
Author(s):  
J. H. McBride ◽  
R. W. England
Keyword(s):  
Crustal Structure ◽  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Normal Fault ◽  
Moho Discontinuity ◽  
The West ◽  
Scottish Highlands ◽  
Thrust Zone ◽  
Compressional Deformation ◽  
Seismic Reflection Profiles ◽  
Eastern Edge

AbstractOffshore seismic reflection profiles crossing the Caledonian orogenic front (locally, ?Moine thrust) between Shetland and the Scottish Highlands show a singular coherent east-dipping reflection underlain by a highly reflective dipping zone in the middle crust extending down to the Moho discontinuity. This reflector pattern varies spatially with respect to the eastern edge of the Precambrian Lewisian foreland as well as to previously mapped locations of the Moine thrust. Southwest of Shetland, the reflector pattern coincides with the offshore projection of the Moine thrust, but further south, toward the Highlands, the reflector diverges to the west of the thrust and actually underlies autochthonous Lewisian foreland basement. Where this reflector pattern diverges from the Moine thrust, two interpretations are possible: the prominent reflector is part of a basement imbricate thrust duplex within the footwall (or ‘lower plate’) of the Moine thrust that merges with the thrust zone further north and/or it was originally a Proterozoic normal fault which, further north around Shetland, was reactivated or over-printed by the Moine thrust. The latter interpretation supports the importance of pre-existing crustal structure in controlling Caledonian compressional deformation.

What we know (and what we don't) about the petroleum prospectivity of the Northland Basin, North Island, New Zealand

2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Uruski
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Middle Jurassic ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
The West ◽  
Eastern Margin ◽  
Gondwana Margin ◽  
Jurassic Coal ◽  
Coal Measures

The offshore Northland Basin is a major sedimentary accumulation lying to the west of the Northland Peninsula of New Zealand. It merges with the Taranaki Basin in the south and its deeper units are separated from Deepwater Taranaki by a buried extension of the West Norfolk Ridge. Sedimentary thicknesses increase to the northwest and the Northland Basin may extend into Reinga. Its total area is at least 65,000 km2 and if the Reinga Basin is included, it may be up to 100,000 km2. As in Taranaki, petroleum systems of the Northland Basin were thought to include Cretaceous to Recent sedimentary rocks. Waka Nui–1 was drilled in 1999 and penetrated no Cretaceous sediments, but instead drilled unmetamorphosed Middle Jurassic coal measures. Economic basement may be older meta-sediments of the Murihiku Supergroup. Thick successions onlap the dipping Jurassic unit and a representative Cretaceous succession is likely to be present in the basin. Potential source rocks known to be present include the Middle Jurassic coal measures of Waka Nui–1 and the Waipawa Formation black shale. Inferred source rocks include Late Jurassic coaly rocks of the Huriwai Beds, the Early Cretaceous Taniwha Formation coaly sediments, possible Late Cretaceous coaly units and lean but thick Late Cretaceous and Paleogene marine shales. Below the voluminous Miocene volcanoes of the Northland arc, the eastern margin of the basin is dominated by a sedimentary wedge that thickens to more than two seconds two-way travel time (TWT), or at least 3,000 m, at its eastern margin and appears to have been thrust to the southwest. This is interpreted to be a Mesozoic equivalent of the Taranaki Fault, a back-thrust to subduction along the Gondwana Margin. The ages of sedimentary units in the wedge are unknown but are thought to include a basal Jurassic succession, which dips generally to the east and is truncated by an erosional unconformity. A southwestwards-prograding succession overlies the unconformity and its top surface forms a paleoslope onlapped by sediments of Late Cretaceous to Neogene ages. The upper succession in the wedge may be of Early Cretaceous age—perhaps the equivalent of the Taniwha Formation or the basal succession in Waimamaku–2. The main part of the basin was rifted to form a series of horst and graben features. The age of initial rifting is poorly constrained, but the structural trend is northwest–southeast or parallel to the Early Cretaceous rifting of Deepwater Taranaki and with the Mesozoic Gondwana margin. Thick successions overlie source units which are likely to be buried deeply enough to expel oil and gas, and more than 70 slicks have been identified on satellite SAR data suggesting an active petroleum system. Numerous structural and stratigraphic traps are present and the potential of the Northland Basin is thought to be high.

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