The effects of glacial-interglacial loading on the 3D pore pressure evolution in sedimentary basins: case study from the Central European Basin System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Frick ◽  
Mauro Cacace ◽  
Volker Klemann ◽  
Lev Tarasov ◽  
Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth
Keyword(s):  
Pore Pressure ◽  
Interglacial Period ◽  
Loading Conditions ◽  
Central European ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Central European Basin ◽  
Central European Basin System ◽  
Basin System ◽  
Pressure Evolution ◽  
Over Time

<p>This study deals with modelling the distribution of the subsurface pore pressure in space and the respective evolution in time in response to variations in hydromechanical surface loading during a full glacial-interglacial cycle. The aim here is to better understand (i) the feedback mechanisms between the atmosphere and solid earth components, and (ii) to which degree this coupling might be relevant for subsurface hydromechanical modelling studies. The study area is the Central European Basin System (CEBS) in northern and Central Europe and state-of-the-art ice reconstructions for the last glacial-interglacial period have been used to model the surface hydromechanical loading conditions. Thereby, investigations on how transient ice coverage influences the pore pressure distribution with depth and over time within a heterogeneous sedimentary cover were carried out. The subsurface beneath the CEBS consists of more than 10 km thick sediments, which have been heavily restructured by salt movements during the whole Mesozoic evolution. Our 3D geological model resolves all major sedimentary and crustal domains, and we relied on the GLAC1-D (1.0 degree longitude by 0.5 degree latitude spatial resolution) ice sheet chronology. Starting from ice-free initial conditions, transient simulation runs are performed (hydraulic vs hydromechanical) which cover the entire last glacial cycle, i.e. encompassing 122ka BP till present day conditions. Results are discussed in terms of pore pressure evolution over time and space. The focus will lie on quantifying subsurface conditions favourable to the establishment and maintenance of overpressure evolution and the related equilibration time within the sedimentary pile. We also investigate how these transient conditions influence the subsurface hydrodynamics, showcasing representative time steps during the evolution of the system. We will finally attempt to quantify the memory effect of such loading conditions on the basin-wide hydromechanics, a feedback mechanism that has been neglected so far in 3D subsurface studies.</p>

scholarly journals 3D reconstruction of salt movements within the deepest post-Permian structure of the Central European Basin System - the Glueckstadt Graben

2006 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Maystrenko ◽  
U. Bayer ◽  
M. Scheck-Wenderoth
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Thickness Distribution ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Central European ◽  
Central European Basin ◽  
Central European Basin System ◽  
Permian Salt ◽  
Early Cenozoic ◽  
Basin System

AbstractThe Glueckstadt Graben is a prominent structure of the Central European Basin System, where the sedimentary patterns are extensively affected by Permian salt movements. The relations of the sedimentary patterns to salt structures have been analyzed through present-day distributions of sediments. In addition, a three-dimensional backward modelling approach has been applied to determine the original salt distribution in response to the unloading due to sequential backstripping of the stratigraphic layers. The results of the modelling reveal the thickness distribution of the Permian salt for 5 time intervals from the end of the Triassic to present day. Spatial agreement has been found between the development of the depleted zone of the Permian salt through time and the observed distribution of the maximum subsidence for the different stratigraphic units above the salt. The sedimentation centres for each time interval are always located above the zone of reduced or depleted Permian salt. In the central part of the Glueckstadt Graben, the depletion occurred already in the Triassic and perfectly correlates with the thickest Triassic. During the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary, the areas of depleted Permian salt shifted towards the basin flanks, and the same occurred with the centres of maximum sediment deposition. Thus, the results of the modelling strongly support the conclusion that salt withdrawal has played a major role during the Meso-Cenozoic evolution of the Glueckstadt Graben and that the progressive depletion of the Permian salt layer, from the central part towards the margins, created the large part of the accommodation space for sedimentation in addition to tectonic subsidence.Furthermore, our study has several important implications for salt behaviour in different tectonic settings. In general, the results of modelling indicate a good correlation between the main phases of salt movements and tectonic events in the area under consideration. During the Triassic, the first stage of diapirism in the Glueckstadt Graben occurred within the central part of the basin. Regional extension may have triggered reactive diapirism and caused the formation of the deep primary rim synclines. Once the salt structures had reached the critical size, buoyancy forces supported their continued growth until the Jurassic when extension-induced regional stresses once more affected the Glueckstadt Graben. The results of the modelling indicate very little salt activity during the late Early Cretaceous-early Late Cretaceous when the area of the Glueckstadt Graben was tectonically silent. Therefore, our study supports the concept of tectonically induced salt movements which can be interrupted during the absence of tectonic forces. Salt movements were reactivated in the marginal troughs by compressional forces during the latest Late Cretaceous-Early Cenozoic. Paleogene-Neogene salt withdrawal led to the growth of N-S oriented salt structures mainly at the margins of the basin. This phase of salt tectonics correlates temporally with almost W-E extension. This indicates a renewed change in tectonic regime after Late Cretaceous-Early Cenozoic compression.

Models of heat transport in the Central European Basin System: Effective mechanisms at different scales

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 315-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth ◽  
Mauro Cacace ◽  
Yuriy Petrovich Maystrenko ◽  
Yvonne Cherubini ◽  
Vera Noack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transport ◽  
Central European ◽  
Central European Basin ◽  
Central European Basin System ◽  
Basin System

scholarly journals Constraints on the tectonic evolution of the Central European Basin System revealed by seismic reflection profiles from Northern Germany

2005 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mazur ◽  
M. Scheck-Wenderoth
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
Northern Germany ◽  
Lower Saxony ◽  
Central European ◽  
Central European Basin ◽  
Central European Basin System ◽  
Compressional Deformation ◽  
Basin System

AbstractA selection of reflection-seismic lines from the southern part of the Central European Basin System and its southern margin were used to establish the spectrum of extensional and compressional deformation structures and to calibrate the timing of these events. The lines are arranged in a N-S and an E-W transect running across the Pompeckj Block and the Lower Saxony Basin in Northern Germany. The structural record provided by the seismic data points to an interplay between far-field horizontal stresses and vertical movements of the basin floor, the latter only weakly correlated with the development of seismic-scale tectonic structures. A detailed seismo-stratigraphic analysis indicates that Late Triassic-Jurassic extension has been the principal control on the structure of the E-W profile, whereas the N-S profile is dominated by compressional structures associated with Late Cretaceous inversion. Overprint effects of extension and inversion tectonics can be classified among a few distinct tectonic events accompanied by movements of the Upper Permian salt: firstly, an episode of subsidence and diapiric rise in the Keuper; secondly, a clear Jurassic-to-Early Cretaceous extension recorded by normal faulting and differential subsidence. The latter was interrupted by a major episode of Late Jurassic uplift. Thirdly, a Late Cretaceous-Early Paleogene basin inversion was associated with approximately N-S compression; and fourthly, recurring extension during the Cenozoic associated with diapiric rise and collapse. The Mesozoic extension is expressed in a number of normal faults that were most active during the Early Cretaceous localised subsidence within the Lower Saxony Basin. The deformation associated with the Late Cretaceous inversion was partly decoupled along the salt. The compressional deformation at the southern margin of the basin was thick-skinned in style, characterized by folding and faulting of the Mesozoic sedimentary fill and pre-Zechstein strata. Further north, towards the centre of the basin, folding and reverse faulting were mostly concentrated above the salt. The tectonic evolution of the investigated area suggests the presence of a zone of crustal weakness along the SW margin of the Central European Basin System which allowed strain localization in response to a favourable oriented stress field.

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