Project Report of the Aeromagnetic Survey for the Holitna Basin Area, Western Alaska
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August 6,1998 Price: $23.70 Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys PROJECT REPORT OF THE AEROMAGNETIC SURVEY FOR THE HOLITNA BASIN AREA, WESTERN ALASKA Sial Geosciences IncJ On-Line Exploration Services Inc. August 1998 THIS REPORT HAS NOT BEEN REVIEWED FOR TECHNICAL CONTENT (EXCEPT AS NOTED IN TEXT) OR FOR CONFORhIllY TO THE EDlTORIAL STANDARDS OF DGGS. Released by STATE OF ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys 794 University Avenue. Suite 200 Fairbanks. Alaska 99709-3645 DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL & GEOPHYSICAL S STATE OF ALASKA I Contract 10-98-001 i PROJECT REPORT OF THE IAEROMAGNETIC SURVEY FOR THE HOLITNA BASIN PREA, WESTERN ALASKA ! 1 May 1998 DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL & GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS STATEOFALASKA PROJECT REPORT OF THE AEROMAGNETIC SURVEY FOR THE HOLITNA BASIN AREA, WESTERN ALASKA Contract 10-98-001 Project 97-A03-36 SlAL GEOSCIENCES INC.1 ON-LINE EXPLORATION SERVICES INC. May 1998 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................... 1 2.0 MANAGEMENT OF SURVEY ............................... 3 3.0 SURVEYAREA ........................................ 4 4.0 SURVEYEQUIPMENT .................................... 5 Aircraft ........................................ 5 Digital and Analog Acquisition System .................... 5 Airborne Magnetometer ............................ 6 Compensator .................................... 6 Radar altimeter .................................. 6 Barometric altimeter ............................... 6 Navigation and Flight Path Recovery Systems .............. 7 4.7.1 Video Camera .......................... 7 4.7.2 GPS ................................. 7 4.7.3 Pilot Guidance .......................... 7 Base stations .................................... 8 4.8.1 Main magnetic base station ................. 8 4.8.2 Remote magnetic base station ................ 8 4.8.3 GPS base station ......................... 10 Field Data Plotting and Verification System ............... I0 4.9.1 Hardware ............................. 10 4.9.2 Software .............................. 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont'd) Page 5.0 OPERATIONS . FIELD PROCESSING .VERIFICATIONS ............. 11 5.1 Summary ...................................... 11 5.2 Quality control ................................... 12 5.2.1 Lag ................................. 12 5.2.2 Magnetic ..............................13 5.2.3 Altimeters ............................. 13 5.2.4 Magnetic base data ....................... 13 5.2.5 Differential GPS ......................... 14 5.3 Levelling ....................................... 14 5.4 Gridding and color plotting .......................... 15 6.0 OFFICE COMPILATION ................................. 15 6.1 Total field levelling and gridding ....................... 15 6.2 Altimeters ...................................... 16 7.0 DELIVERIES ......................................... 17 7.1 Maps ......................................... 17 7.2 Digital Data Recording .............................. 18 7.3 Miscellaneous Items ............................... 18 7.4 In-depth Analysis and Modelling ....................... 19 8.0 GEOLOGICALCONTEXT ................................. 19 TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont'd) Page 9.0 INTERPRETATION ..................................... 26 9.1 Magnetic Signatures from some Geological Features ......... 27 9.2 Analysis of the Total Field Magnetic Map ................. 39 9.3 Qualitative Interpretation ............................ 40 9.4 Spectral Analysis ................................. 41 9.5 2.54 Modelling .................................. 51 9.6 Euler Deconvolution ............................... 69 10.0 CONCLUSIONS .......................................75 SELECTEDREFERENCES ..................................... 76 LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: Holitna basin survey area ........................ 2 Figure 2: Base station localization. Sleetmute ................. 9 Figure 3: Tectonic map of the survey area .................. 20 Figure 4: Generalized geologic map of Holitna basin showing gravity trends and surrounding upland terraces ................... 21 Figure 5: Magnetic anomaly shapes ....................... 28 Figure 6: Fault in the underlying rocks (1 ................... 29 Figure 7: Fault in the underlying rocks (2) ................... 30 Figure 8: Belt of volcanic rocks .......................... 31 Figure 9: Serpentinized peridotite sill ...................... 32 Figure 10 Gneissic terrain .............................. 33 Figure 11 Discordant intrusive ( 1) ......................... 34 Figure 12 Discordant intrusive (2) ......................... 35 Figure 13 Weakly magnetic metasediments .................. 36 Figure 14 a-b: Magnetic Mapping of an oil field ................... 37 Figure 14 c-d: Magnetic Mapping of an Oil Field .................. 38 Figure 15: he residual magnetic field . The survey area divided in six blocks ............... 44 Figure 16: Power Spectrum for the North-West part of the survey area 45 Figure 17: Power Spectrum for the North-Centre part of the survey area46 Figure 18: Power Spectrum for the North-East part of the survey area 47 Figure 19: Power Spectrum for the South-West part of the survey area 48 Figure 20: Power Spectrum for the South-Centre part of the survey area49 Figure 21: Power Spectrum for the South-East part of the survey area 50 Figure 22: Location of the 2.5.D modelled magnetic profiles ....... 52 Figure 23: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 1 ................. 53 Figure 24: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 2 ................. 54 Figure 25: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 3 ................. 55 Figure 26: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 4 ................. 56 Figure 27: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 5 ................. 57 Figure 28: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 6 ................. 58 Figure 29: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 7 ................. 59 Figure 30: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 8 ................. 60 Figure 31: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 9 ................. 61 Figure 32: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 10 ................ 62 Figure 33: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 11 ................ 63 Figure 34: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 12 ................ 64 Figure 35: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 13 ................ 65 Figure 36: 2.5.D modelled magnetic profile 14 ................ 66 Figure 37: 2.5.D modelled gravity profile A-A' ................. 67 LIST OF FIGURES (cont'd) Figure 38: 2.5.D modelled gravity profile 6-6' ................. 68 Figure 39: Magnetic field (flux lines) and fall-off rates for various geological models ............................. 71 Figure 40: Euler depth interpretation (dike model) .............. 72 Figure 41 : Euler depth interpretation (step model) .............. 73 Figure 42: Interpretation sketch map ....................... 74 FORWARD A contractor provided this report to us. Upon review, it became apparent that the geologic terminology used is no longer current. The geologic portion of this report (Section 8.0 Geologic Context) is based on data from Cady and others (1955) and a chapter from The Geology of North America (Volunle G-I, The Geology of Alaska, Chapter 14 - Interior Basins of Alaska, by C.E. Kirschner) that are no longer current. Consequently, some of the terminology is outdated and much of the geology of the survey area is not discussed. A brief discussion is included here, and the reader is referred to Decker and others (1994), and references included therein, for a more complete discussion of the regional geology. For exan~ple, Adrain and others (1995) recommended abandoning "Holitna Group" as a stratigraphic term. That term is used in this report. Recent improvements in the biostratigraphic zonation of rocks in the area have shown that several systems (spanning the early and middle Paleozoic) were included in the original definition by Cady and others (1955). The aeromagnetic survey described hcrein corresponds to a portion of the Farewell terrane bounded by the Denali-Farewell fault, the Kulukbuk thrust, and an unnamed northeast-trending fault located wcst of the Big River fault (Decker and others, 1994; see their fig. 1). They considered this part of the Fare\vell terrane as the Holitna basin. Decker and others (1994) describe the Holitna basin as including Proterozoic through Triassic age sedimentary rocks and minor Mesozoic age intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks. Additionally, we disagree with the conclusions reached in this report regarding oil and gas potential in the Holitna basin area. Section 8.0 of this report concludes with a valid statement regarding the petroleum potential of the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata in the vicinity of the Holitna basin. Past studies of the region have suggested poor to fair petroleum potential for Paleozoic strata. However, recently acquired conodont data from the northeastern part of the Holitna basin suggests that Middle to Upper Paleozoic rocks between the Gagaryah River and Lime Lakes region (Lime Hills quadrangle) were heated to maximum temperatures within the oil window (CAIs between 1.5 and 2.0). This suggests that the petroleum potential of Paleozoic rocks in the region llas not been adequately evaluated. Forward written by Dave LePain Works Cited: Adrain, J.M., Chatterton, B.D.E., and Blodgett, R.B., 1995. Silurian trilobites from southwestern Alaska. Journal of Paleontology, v. 69, p. 723-736. Cady, W.M., Wallace. R.E., Hoare, J.M., and Weber, F.R., 1955, The