Difference between revisions of "Example: mapping depocenters through time"

From AAPG Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(15 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 6: Line 6:
 
  | part    = Critical elements of the petroleum system
 
  | part    = Critical elements of the petroleum system
 
  | chapter = Sedimentary basin analysis
 
  | chapter = Sedimentary basin analysis
  | frompg  = 4-1
+
  | frompg  = 4-24
  | topg    = 4-123
+
  | topg    = 4-24
 
  | author  = John M. Armentrout
 
  | author  = John M. Armentrout
 
  | link    = http://archives.datapages.com/data/specpubs/beaumont/ch04/ch04.htm
 
  | link    = http://archives.datapages.com/data/specpubs/beaumont/ch04/ch04.htm
Line 17: Line 17:
  
 
==GOM basin depocenter time intervals==
 
==GOM basin depocenter time intervals==
<gallery>
+
<gallery mode=packed heights=200px widths=200px>
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-4.png|{{figure number|1}}Major sand influxes into the northern Gulf of Mexico from Late Cretaceous to recently. After Winker;<ref name=Winker1982>Winker, C. D., Cenozoic shelf margins, northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Gulf Coast Assoc. of Geological Societies Transactions, vol. 32, p. 427-448.</ref> courtesy Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies.
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-4.png|{{figure number|1}}Major sand influxes into the northern Gulf of Mexico from Late Cretaceous to recently. After Winker;<ref name=Winker1982>Winker, C. D., Cenozoic shelf margins, northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Gulf Coast Assoc. of Geological Societies Transactions, vol. 32, p. 427-448.</ref> courtesy Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies.
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-6.png|{{figure number|2}}Tectonic map of the GOM basin. Modified from Buffler;<ref name=Buffler1991>Buffler, R. T., 1991, Early evolution of the Gulf of Mexico basin, in D. Goldthwaite, ed., An introduction to central Gulf Coast geology: New Orleans Gulf Coast Geological Society, p. 1-16.</ref> courtesy New Orleans Geological Society.
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-6.png|{{figure number|2}}Tectonic map of the GOM basin. Modified from Buffler;<ref name=Buffler1991>Buffler, R. T., 1991, Early evolution of the Gulf of Mexico basin, in D. Goldthwaite, ed., An introduction to central Gulf Coast geology: New Orleans Gulf Coast Geological Society, p. 1-16.</ref> courtesy New Orleans Geological Society.
Line 24: Line 24:
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
In the northern GOM basin, depocenters prograde ([[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-4.png|Figure 1]]) over the transitional crust ([[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-6.png|Figure 2]]) and deform the underlying salt into a complex network of salt-cored anticlines and salt-withdrawal synclines ([[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-8.png|Figures 3]] and [[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-9.png|4]]). Late Neogene depocenters of the Mississippi River, the largest source of sediment to the northern Gulf of Mexico, developed during five time periods from the latest Miocene through Holocene (from Piggott;<ref name=ch04r75>Piggott, N., Pulham, A., 1993, Sedimentation rate as the control on hydrocarbon sourcing, generation, and [[migration]] in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico: Proceedings, Gulf Coast Section SEPM 14th Annual Research conference, p. 179–191.</ref> see also Goldthwaite.<ref name=ch04r38>Goldthwaite, D., 1991, Central Gulf Coast stratigraphy, in Goldthwaite, D., ed., An Introduction to Central Gulf Coast Geology: New Orleans Geological Society, p. 17–30.</ref>) Following are the five depocenter intervals and their time periods.
+
In the northern GOM basin, [[depocenter]]s [[Well_log_sequence_analysis#Parasequence_stacking_patterns|prograde]] ([[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-4.png|Figure 1]]) over the [[transitional crust]] ([[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-6.png|Figure 2]]) and [[Deformation|deform]] the underlying salt into a complex network of salt-cored anticlines and salt-withdrawal synclines ([[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-8.png|Figures 3]] and [[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-9.png|4]]). Late Neogene depocenters of the Mississippi River, the largest source of sediment to the northern Gulf of Mexico, developed during five time periods from the latest Miocene through [[Holocene]] (from Piggott;<ref name=ch04r75>Piggott, N., Pulham, A., 1993, Sedimentation rate as the control on hydrocarbon sourcing, generation, and [[migration]] in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico: Proceedings, Gulf Coast Section SEPM 14th Annual Research conference, p. 179–191.</ref> see also Goldthwaite.<ref name=ch04r38>Goldthwaite, D., 1991, Central Gulf Coast stratigraphy, in Goldthwaite, D., ed., An Introduction to Central Gulf Coast Geology: New Orleans Geological Society, p. 17–30.</ref>) Following are the five depocenter intervals and their time periods.
  
 
{| class = "wikitable"
 
{| class = "wikitable"
Line 41: Line 41:
 
|}
 
|}
  
<gallery>
+
<gallery mode=packed heights=200px widths=200px>
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-13.png|{{figure number|5}}Paleogeography of the Mississippi River depositional system from approximately 6 Ma to 4 Ma (interval A). After Piggott and Pulham.<ref name=ch04r75 /> Copyright: Gulf Coast Section SEPM.
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-13.png|{{figure number|5}}Paleogeography of the Mississippi River depositional system from approximately 6 Ma to 4 Ma (interval A). After Piggott and Pulham.<ref name=ch04r75 /> Copyright: Gulf Coast Section SEPM.
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-14.png|{{figure number|6}}Paleogeography from approximately 4 Ma to 3 Ma (interval B). After Piggott and Pulham.<ref name=ch04r75 /> Copyright: Gulf Coast Section SEPM.
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-14.png|{{figure number|6}}Paleogeography from approximately 4 Ma to 3 Ma (interval B). After Piggott and Pulham.<ref name=ch04r75 /> Copyright: Gulf Coast Section SEPM.
Line 51: Line 51:
  
 
==Formation of high island-east breaks depocenter==
 
==Formation of high island-east breaks depocenter==
Between 2.5 and 2.0 Ma, the major northern GOM basin depocenter was focused offshore of western Louisiana and eastern Texas. The westernmost part of this depocenter appears to have been the input area for the ancestral Mississippi River system. The resulting depocenter, the High Island–East Breaks depocenter, has more than [[depth::16,000 ft]] (4875 m) of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene sediments deposited during a succession of highamplitude sea level cycles.
+
Between 2.5 and 2.0 Ma, the major northern GOM basin [[depocenter]] was focused offshore of western Louisiana and eastern Texas. The westernmost part of this depocenter appears to have been the input area for the ancestral Mississippi River system. The resulting depocenter, the High Island–East Breaks depocenter, has more than [[depth::16,000 ft]] (4875 m) of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene sediments deposited during a succession of highamplitude sea level cycles.
  
 
==Timing of petroleum generation==
 
==Timing of petroleum generation==
<gallery>
+
<gallery mode=packed heights=300px widths=300px>
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-32.png|{{figure number|9}}After Piggott and Pulham.<ref name=ch04r75 /> Copyright: Gulf Coast SEPM.
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-32.png|{{figure number|9}}After Piggott and Pulham.<ref name=ch04r75 /> Copyright: Gulf Coast SEPM.
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-33.png|{{figure number|10}}After Piggott and Pulham.<ref name=ch04r75 /> Copyright: Gulf Coast SEPM.
 
file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-33.png|{{figure number|10}}After Piggott and Pulham.<ref name=ch04r75 /> Copyright: Gulf Coast SEPM.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
Each of the isopach maps in this section is annotated with the area of active petroleum generation and migration. These comments are based on the [[modeling]] of Piggott and Pulham<ref name=ch04r75 />), illustrated and discussed along with [[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-32.png|Figures 9]] and [[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-33.png|10]].
+
Each of the isopach maps in this section is annotated with the area of active [[petroleum generation]] and migration. These comments are based on the [[modeling]] of Piggott and Pulham<ref name=ch04r75 />), illustrated and discussed along with [[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-32.png|Figures 9]] and [[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-33.png|10]].
  
 
==Interval A paleogeography==
 
==Interval A paleogeography==
Line 74: Line 74:
  
 
==Depocenter summary==
 
==Depocenter summary==
[[file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-3.png|thumb|{{figure number|11}}Jurassic to recent sediment thickness and hydrocarbon occurrences in the GOM basin. From Winkler & Buffler;<ref name=WinkerandBuffler>Winker, C. D., and R. T. Buffler, 1988, [http://archives.datapages.com/data/bulletns/1988-89/data/pg/0072/0003/0300/0318.htm Paleogeographic evolution of the early deep-water Gulf of Mexico and its margins, Jurassic to middle Cretaceous (Comanchean)]: AAPG Bulletin, vol. 72, p. 318-346</ref> courtesy AAPG.]]
+
[[file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-3.png|thumb|300px|{{figure number|11}}Jurassic to recent sediment thickness and hydrocarbon occurrences in the GOM basin. From Winkler & Buffler;<ref name=WinkerandBuffler>Winker, C. D., and R. T. Buffler, 1988, [http://archives.datapages.com/data/bulletns/1988-89/data/pg/0072/0003/0300/0318.htm Paleogeographic evolution of the early deep-water Gulf of Mexico and its margins, Jurassic to middle Cretaceous (Comanchean)]: AAPG Bulletin, vol. 72, p. 318-346</ref> courtesy AAPG.]]
  
Mapping age-specific isopach thicks defines laterally shifting sites of maximum deposition along the margin of the basin. Each of these depocenters has a unique history of accumulation with consequent variations in [[maturation]], migration, and entrapment histories. Evaluation of depocenter maps should include comparison of the results with the largerscale isopach maps ([[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-4.png|Figures 1]], [[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-3.png|11]]).
+
Mapping age-specific isopach thicks defines laterally shifting sites of maximum deposition along the margin of the basin. Each of these [[depocenter]]s has a unique history of [[accumulation]] with consequent variations in [[maturation]], [[migration]], and entrapment histories. Evaluation of depocenter maps should include comparison of the results with the largerscale isopach maps ([[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-4.png|Figures 1]], [[:file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-3.png|11]]).
  
 
===GOM depocenter summary===
 
===GOM depocenter summary===
In the case of the northern Gulf of Mexico, the depocenters prograde over the transitional crust and deform the underlying salt, forming a complex network of salt-cored anticlines and salt-withdrawal synclines. Between 2.5 and 2.0 Ma, the major northern Gulf of Mexico depocenter was focused offshore western Louisiana and eastern Texas. The westernmost part of this depocenter area, the High Island–East Breaks depocenter, appears to have been the input area for the ancestral Mississippi River system. The resulting depocenter has more than [[depth::16,000 ft]] (4875 m) of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene sediments deposited during a succession of high-amplitude sea level cycles (see section C, Depositional Sequences).
+
In the case of the northern Gulf of Mexico, the depocenters [[Well_log_sequence_analysis#Parasequence_stacking_patterns|prograde]] over the [[transitional crust]] and deform the underlying salt, forming a complex network of salt-cored anticlines and salt-withdrawal synclines. Between 2.5 and 2.0 Ma, the major northern Gulf of Mexico depocenter was focused offshore western Louisiana and eastern Texas. The westernmost part of this depocenter area, the High Island–East Breaks depocenter, appears to have been the input area for the ancestral Mississippi River system. The resulting depocenter has more than [[depth::16,000 ft]] (4875 m) of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene sediments deposited during a succession of high-amplitude sea level cycles (see section C, Depositional Sequences).
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 
* [[Depocenters]]
 
* [[Depocenters]]
* [[Mapping and analysis of depocenters]]
 
 
* [[Example: mapping fluvial input]]
 
* [[Example: mapping fluvial input]]
  
Line 96: Line 95:
 
[[Category:Critical elements of the petroleum system]]  
 
[[Category:Critical elements of the petroleum system]]  
 
[[Category:Sedimentary basin analysis]]
 
[[Category:Sedimentary basin analysis]]
 +
[[Category:Treatise Handbook 3]]

Latest revision as of 18:17, 22 February 2022

Exploring for Oil and Gas Traps
Series Treatise in Petroleum Geology
Part Critical elements of the petroleum system
Chapter Sedimentary basin analysis
Author John M. Armentrout
Link Web page
Store AAPG Store

Mapping age-specific isopach thicks in the northern GOM basin defines laterally shifting sites of maximum deposition (Figure 1). Methods of mapping are clearly presented in Tearpock and Bischke.[1]

GOM basin depocenter time intervals

In the northern GOM basin, depocenters prograde (Figure 1) over the transitional crust (Figure 2) and deform the underlying salt into a complex network of salt-cored anticlines and salt-withdrawal synclines (Figures 3 and 4). Late Neogene depocenters of the Mississippi River, the largest source of sediment to the northern Gulf of Mexico, developed during five time periods from the latest Miocene through Holocene (from Piggott;[6] see also Goldthwaite.[7]) Following are the five depocenter intervals and their time periods.

Interval Time period, ma
A 6–4
B 4–3
C 3–2.5
D 2.5–1
E 1–Present

Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 are maps of depocenters and paleogeography for intervals A, B, D, and E. These were constructed by correlating wells using fossil extinction events and grids of interpreted seismic reflection profiles. The High Island–East Breaks study area is shown on each map.

Formation of high island-east breaks depocenter

Between 2.5 and 2.0 Ma, the major northern GOM basin depocenter was focused offshore of western Louisiana and eastern Texas. The westernmost part of this depocenter appears to have been the input area for the ancestral Mississippi River system. The resulting depocenter, the High Island–East Breaks depocenter, has more than depth::16,000 ft (4875 m) of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene sediments deposited during a succession of highamplitude sea level cycles.

Timing of petroleum generation

Each of the isopach maps in this section is annotated with the area of active petroleum generation and migration. These comments are based on the modeling of Piggott and Pulham[6]), illustrated and discussed along with Figures 9 and 10.

Interval A paleogeography

Figure 5 shows the paleogeography of the Mississippi River depositional system from approximately 6 Ma to 4 Ma (interval A). Deposition consists of net sand isopach thicks on the shelf and intraslope basins that are interpreted to be deepwater “fan” complexes.

Interval B paleogeography

Figure 6 paleogeography from approximately 4 Ma to 3 Ma (interval B). Shelf and intraslope basin thicks are potentially sand prone. (Note the shift westward from the previous depocenter location.)

Interval D paleogeography

Figure 7 shows paleogeography from approximately 2.5 Ma to 2 Ma (interval D). Again, shelfal net sand thicks and intraslope basin isopach thicks interpreted to be deepwater “Tan” complexes are the dominant depositional environments. Note the depocenter has shifted to offshore western Louisiana and Texas. The High Island-East Breaks study area occurs within the western part of this depocenter.

Interval E paleogeography

The paleogeographic map in Figure 8 represents time from about 1 Ma to the present (interval E). Canyons are interpreted from incised and back-filled geometries on seismic reflection profiles. Note the depocenter has shifted back to offshore eastern Louisiana from the preceding location offshore eastern Texas/western Louisiana.

Depocenter summary

Figure 11 Jurassic to recent sediment thickness and hydrocarbon occurrences in the GOM basin. From Winkler & Buffler;[9] courtesy AAPG.

Mapping age-specific isopach thicks defines laterally shifting sites of maximum deposition along the margin of the basin. Each of these depocenters has a unique history of accumulation with consequent variations in maturation, migration, and entrapment histories. Evaluation of depocenter maps should include comparison of the results with the largerscale isopach maps (Figures 1, 11).

GOM depocenter summary

In the case of the northern Gulf of Mexico, the depocenters prograde over the transitional crust and deform the underlying salt, forming a complex network of salt-cored anticlines and salt-withdrawal synclines. Between 2.5 and 2.0 Ma, the major northern Gulf of Mexico depocenter was focused offshore western Louisiana and eastern Texas. The westernmost part of this depocenter area, the High Island–East Breaks depocenter, appears to have been the input area for the ancestral Mississippi River system. The resulting depocenter has more than depth::16,000 ft (4875 m) of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene sediments deposited during a succession of high-amplitude sea level cycles (see section C, Depositional Sequences).

See also

References

  1. Tearpock, D., J., Bischke, R., E., 1991, Applied Subsurface Geologic Mapping: Prentice-Hall, 648 p.
  2. Winker, C. D., Cenozoic shelf margins, northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Gulf Coast Assoc. of Geological Societies Transactions, vol. 32, p. 427-448.
  3. Buffler, R. T., 1991, Early evolution of the Gulf of Mexico basin, in D. Goldthwaite, ed., An introduction to central Gulf Coast geology: New Orleans Gulf Coast Geological Society, p. 1-16.
  4. Antoine, J. W., R. G. Ray, Jr., T. G. Pyle, and W. R. Bryant, 1974, Continental margins of the Gulf of Mexico, in C. A. Burk and C. L. Drake, eds., The geology of margins: New York, Springer-Verlag, p. 683-693
  5. Hall, D. J., B. E. Bowen, R. N. Rosen, S. Wu, and A. W. Balley, 193, Mesozoic and early Cenozoic development of the Texas margin: a new integrated cross-section from the Cretaceous shelf edge to the Perdido fold belt: Selected Papers, Gulf Coast Section SEPM 13th Annual Research Conference, p. 21-31.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Piggott, N., Pulham, A., 1993, Sedimentation rate as the control on hydrocarbon sourcing, generation, and migration in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico: Proceedings, Gulf Coast Section SEPM 14th Annual Research conference, p. 179–191.
  7. Goldthwaite, D., 1991, Central Gulf Coast stratigraphy, in Goldthwaite, D., ed., An Introduction to Central Gulf Coast Geology: New Orleans Geological Society, p. 17–30.
  8. Weimer, P., 1990, Sequence stratigraphy, facies geometries, and depositional history of the Mississippi fan, Gulf of Mexico: AAPG Bulletin, vol. 74, p. 425-453.
  9. Winker, C. D., and R. T. Buffler, 1988, Paleogeographic evolution of the early deep-water Gulf of Mexico and its margins, Jurassic to middle Cretaceous (Comanchean): AAPG Bulletin, vol. 72, p. 318-346

External links

find literature about
Example: mapping depocenters through time
Datapages button.png GeoScienceWorld button.png OnePetro button.png Google button.png