Preliminary Catalog of the Sedimentary Basins of the United States
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PERMIAN BASIN PROVINCE (044) by Mahlon M
PERMIAN BASIN PROVINCE (044) By Mahlon M. Ball INTRODUCTION The Permian Basin is one of the largest structural basins in North America. It encompasses a surface area in excess of 86,000 sq mi and includes all or parts of 52 counties located in West Texas and southeast New Mexico. Structurally, the Permian Basin is bounded on the south by the Marathon-Ouachita Fold Belt, on the west by the Diablo Platform and Pedernal Uplift, on the north by the Matador Arch, and on the east by the Eastern Shelf of the Permian (Midland) Basin and west flank of the Bend Arch. The basin is about 260 mi by 300 mi in area and is separated into eastern and western halves by a north-south trending Central Basin Platform. In cross section, the basin is an asymmetrical feature; the western half contains a thicker and more structurally deformed sequence of sedimentary rock. The Permian Basin has been characterized as a large structural depression formed as a result of downwarp in the Precambrian basement surface located at the southern margin of the North American craton. The basin was filled with Paleozoic and, to a much lesser extent, younger sediments. It acquired its present structural form by Early Permian time. The overall basin is divisible into several distinct structural and tectonic elements. They are the Central Basin Platform and the Ozona Arch, which separate the Delaware and Val Verde Basins on the south and west from the Midland Basin on the north and east, the Northwestern Shelf on the southern extremity of the Pedernal Uplift and Matador Arch, and the Eastern Shelf on the western periphery of the Bend Arch. -
Tectonics and Sedimentation in Foreland Basins: Results from the Integrated Basin Studies Project
Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 30, 2021 Tectonics and sedimentation in foreland basins: results from the Integrated Basin Studies project ALAIN MASCLE 1 & CAI PUIGDEFABREGAS 2,3 IIFP School, 228-232 avenue Napoldon Bonaparte, 92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France (e-mail: [email protected]) 2Norsk Hydro Research Centre, Bergen, Norway. 3Institut de Ciences de la Terra, (?SIC, Barcelona, Spain. Why foreland basins? to a better understanding of some basic interact- ing tectonic, sedimentary and hydrologic pro- Over the last ten years or so, since the Fribourg cesses (More & Vrolijk 1992; Touret & van meeting in 1985 (Homewood et al. 1986), the Hinte 1992). Additional data have also been attention given by sedimentologists and struc- obtained through the development of analogue tural geologists to the geology of foreland basins and numerical models (Larroque et al. 1992; has been growing continuously, parallel to the Zoetemeijer 1993). The physical parameters increase of co-operative links between scientists controlling the forward propagation of d6colle- from the two disciplines. A number of reasons ments and thrusts (fluid pressure, roughness, lie behind this development. Attempting to sediment thickness, etc.) have been determined understand the growth of an orogen without and tested. The relationships between rapidly paying due attention to the stratigraphic record subsiding piggyback basins and growing ramp of the derived sediments would be unrealistic. It anticlines have also been imaged, although the would, moreover, be equally unrealistic to con- lack of deep-sea well control still prevents accu- struct restored sections across the chain without rate sedimentological studies. More significant considering the constraints imposed by the has been the progress in our understanding of basin-fill architecture, or to describe the basin- the role of fluids and pore pressure in the fill evolution disregarding the development of development of thrust belts. -
Longfellow Ranch Geological Report West Texas Overthrust
Longfellow Ranch Geological Report West Texas Overthrust Pecos County, Texas Prepared by: Chris Barden, Registered Petroleum Engineer Wes Franklin, Certified Petroleum Geologist For: Longfellow Exploration Partners Limited (Updated Edition) Table of Contents Introduction 3 General Geology 4 History of Oil and Gas Exploration in the Marathon Overthrust 10 (including recent discoveries) Reservoirs and Gas Production Types 20 Reserves, Economics and Financial Models (Intentionally Omitted) 25 Outlook of the Longfellow-West Ranch Area 27 North Longfellow 27 Future Potential: Pinon to Thistle 28 Recommendations & Conclusions 30 Appendix (Intentionally Omitted) Note: This report was originally prepared in January of 2003. It has been partially updated to reflect more current events since its original production. Introduction The Marathon Overthrust (aka West Texas Overthrust/WTO) is a segment in far west Texas that runs from Canada, through the Appalachian and Ouachita Mountains of the United States, to Mexico. The complete thrust belt has been the site for oil and gas exploration for decades, for it has tectonically over-ridden a number of producing sedimentary basins. But until the last two decades, the complex geology of the thrusts obscured the hydrocarbon potential, and hampered development efforts. Recent discoveries in the Black Warrior Basin, the Arkoma Basin, the Ouachita Overthrust the Fort Worth Basin and the Marathon Overthrust have changed the way the industry views this trend. The WTO trend is characterized by stacked pay zones in multiple reservoirs and horizons. This trend, sourced by organically rich shale beds of Barnett and Woodford age with Total Organic Content/TOC ranging up to 13% is now considered one of the emerging pre-eminent resource plays in North America with larger conventional targets lying above and below it. -
Modeling Subsurface Flow in Sedimentary Basins by CRAIG M
129 Geologische Rundschau 78/1 I 129-154 I Stuttgart 1989 Modeling subsurface flow in sedimentary basins By CRAIG M. BETHKE, Urbana*) With 16 figures Zusammenfassung raines qui se manifestent dans les bassins sedimentaires, et qui resultent du relief topographique, de la convection, de la Grundwasserbewegungen in sedimentaren Becken, die compaction des sediments, de la decharge due l'erosio? et von dem topographischen Relief, konvektionsbedingtem a de la combinaison de ces divers facteurs. Dans ces modeles, Auftrieb, Sedimentkompaktion, isostatischen Ausgleichsbe on peut prendre en con~ideration les effets d~s tr:'nsferts d,e wegungen in Folge von Erosion und v~n ~mbinati~n~n chaleur et de matieres dlssoutes lors de la migration du pe dieser Kriifte gesteuert werden, konnen mit Hilfe quanutattv trole et ceux de I'interaction chimique de I'eau avec les modellierender Techniken beschrieben werden. In diesen roches. Toutefois la precision des previsions que I'on peut en Modellen kann man die Auswirkungen des Transports von deduire est limitee par la difficulte d'estimer I'echelle regia Warme und gel osten Stoffen, Petroleum-Migration und die a nale les proprietes hydrologiques des sediments, de reconsti chemische Interaktion zwischen Wasser und dem grund tuer les conditions anciennes, et de connaitre de quelle wasserleitenden Gestein beriicksichtigen. maniere les processus physiques et chimiques interferent Die Genauigkeit der Modell-Voraussagen ist allerdings a I'echelle des temps geologiques. La modelisation des bassins begrenzt wegen der Schwierigkeit, hydrologische Ei progressera dans la mesure ou la recherche hydrogeologique genschaften von Sedimenten in einem regionalen Rahmen ser mieux integree acelles d'autres disciplines telles que la se vorauszusagen, dem Schatzen vergangener Bedingungen und dimentologie, la mecanique des roches et la geochimie. -
Tsunami Risk Analysis of the East Coast of the United States
Tsunami Risk Analysis of the East Coast of the United States INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY In the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2011 Japan tsunami and Given the large area of the east coast, a rudimentary analysis was performed. corresponding nuclear disaster, much more attention has been focused on coastal Elevation is the most important factor in analyzing the risk of flooding in a coastal vulnerability to tsunamis. Areas near active tectonic margins have a much higher area; the lower the elevation, the greater the potential for damage. Elevation data risk of being hit by a tsunami, due to proximity. People who live in these areas are was reclassified into no risk, medium risk, and high risk zones. These zones were: more aware of the danger than their counterparts on passive tectonic margins. It is 25+ m above sea level, 10 to 25 m above sea level, and below 10 m above sea lev- generally a good assumption that the risk of a tsunami is low in places like the el. Essentially, most land adjacent to the coast that falls in the final category eastern seaboard of the United States. would be badly damaged by a 10m tsunami from the Canary Islands, unless buff- Despite the low risk, the east coast has been hit by tsunamis in the past. Ex- ered by another portion of land blocking the coast. If a larger tsunami were to oc- amples include the Newfoundland tsunami caused by the Grand Banks earth- cur, up to the max wave height predicted by Ward and Day of 25 m, any land ad- quake. -
Bottom Water and Bottom Configuration of the Great Atlantic Deeps. (1) (2)
bOTTOM WATER AND bOTTOM CONFIGURATION OF THE GREAT ATLANTIC DEEPS. (1) (2). (Extract from the Results of the German Atlantic Expedition) by G e o r g WUST. The problem of the origin and distribution of bottom water has been discussed from early times, and often. This results from the fact that more abundant materials of observation exist for the bottom than for the deep layers, because measurements of bottom temperature have been taken not only by exploring vessels, but also by hydro- graphic and cable-laying ships. The remarkably low temperatures of nearly o° C. on the bottom, which were confirmed on each occasion, also early served as the principal foun dation of the hypothesis of the polar origin of the bottom water. The polar bottom currents are consequently members of the deep oceanic circulation, the existence of which had been deduced from the distribution of the temperature before the Challenger expedi tion. If it had been thought before that time that the Arctic and Antarctic currents showed roughly the same development and met at the equator, it became clear, after the Challenger and Gazelle observations, that the principal mass of the bottom waters of the great oceans comes from the Antarctic Basin ; that in the Atlantic Ocean this bottom current chiefly leads into the western trough ; and that it can still be detected in the form of a cold stream as far as the equator (in its last ramifications it even passes the equator and reaches the North Atlantic). These expeditions have also shown the value of bottom temperatures for revealing the first magnitude shapes of the ocean bottom, a value which has been proved for the Atlantic Ocean by two examples which have become classic. -
Kinematics and Extent of the Piemont-Liguria Basin
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-2020-161 Preprint. Discussion started: 8 October 2020 c Author(s) 2020. CC BY 4.0 License. Kinematics and extent of the Piemont-Liguria Basin – implications for subduction processes in the Alps Eline Le Breton1, Sascha Brune2,3, Kamil Ustaszewski4, Sabin Zahirovic5, Maria Seton5, R. Dietmar Müller5 5 1Department of Earth Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany 2Geodynamic Modelling Section, German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ Potsdam, Germany 3Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany 4Institute for Geological Sciences, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany 10 5EarthByte Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Correspondence to: Eline Le Breton ([email protected]) Abstract. Assessing the size of a former ocean, of which only remnants are found in mountain belts, is challenging but crucial to understand subduction and exhumation processes. Here we present new constraints on the opening and width of the Piemont- Liguria (PL) Ocean, known as the Alpine Tethys together with the Valais Basin. We use a regional tectonic reconstruction of 15 the Western Mediterranean-Alpine area, implemented into a global plate motion model with lithospheric deformation, and 2D thermo-mechanical modelling of the rifting phase to test our kinematic reconstructions for geodynamic consistency. Our model fits well with independent datasets (i.e. ages of syn-rift sediments, rift-related fault activity and mafic rocks) and shows that the PL Basin opened in four stages: (1) Rifting of the proximal continental margin in Early Jurassic (200-180 Ma), (2) Hyper- extension of the distal margin in Early-Middle Jurassic (180-165 Ma), (3) Ocean-Continent Transition (OCT) formation with 20 mantle exhumation and MORB-type magmatism in Middle-Late Jurassic (165-154 Ma), (4) Break-up and “mature” oceanic spreading mostly in Late Jurassic (154-145 Ma). -
From Orogeny to Rifting: When and How Does Rifting Begin? Insights from the Norwegian ‘Reactivation Phase’
EGU21-469 https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-469 EGU General Assembly 2021 © Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. From orogeny to rifting: when and how does rifting begin? Insights from the Norwegian ‘reactivation phase’. Gwenn Peron-Pinvidic1,2, Per Terje Osmundsen2, Loic Fourel1, and Susanne Buiter3 1NGU - Geological Survey of Norway, 7040 Trondheim, Norway 2NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway 3Tectonics and Geodynamics, RWTH Aachen University, 52064 Aachen, Germany Following the Wilson Cycle theory, most rifts and rifted margins around the world developed on former orogenic suture zones (Wilson, 1966). This implies that the pre-rift lithospheric configuration is heterogeneous in most cases. However, for convenience and lack of robust information, most models envisage the onset of rifting based on a homogeneously layered lithosphere (e.g. Lavier and Manatschal, 2006). In the last decade this has seen a change, thanks to the increased academic access to high-resolution, deeply imaging seismic datasets, and numerous studies have focused on the impact of inheritance on the architecture of rifts and rifted margins. The pre-rift tectonic history has often been shown as strongly influencing the subsequent rift phases (e.g. the North Sea case - Phillips et al., 2016). In the case of rifts developing on former orogens, one important question relates to the distinction between extensional structures formed during the orogenic collapse and the ones related to the proper onset of rifting. The collapse deformation is generally associated with polarity reversal along orogenic thrusts, ductile to brittle deformation and important crustal thinning with exhumation of deeply buried rocks (Andersen et al., 1994; Fossen, 2000). -
Coupled Onshore Erosion and Offshore Sediment Loading As Causes of Lower Crust Flow on the Margins of South China Sea Peter D
Clift Geosci. Lett. (2015) 2:13 DOI 10.1186/s40562-015-0029-9 REVIEW Open Access Coupled onshore erosion and offshore sediment loading as causes of lower crust flow on the margins of South China Sea Peter D. Clift1,2* Abstract Hot, thick continental crust is susceptible to ductile flow within the middle and lower crust where quartz controls mechanical behavior. Reconstruction of subsidence in several sedimentary basins around the South China Sea, most notably the Baiyun Sag, suggests that accelerated phases of basement subsidence are associated with phases of fast erosion onshore and deposition of thick sediments offshore. Working together these two processes induce pressure gradients that drive flow of the ductile crust from offshore towards the continental interior after the end of active extension, partly reversing the flow that occurs during continental breakup. This has the effect of thinning the continental crust under super-deep basins along these continental margins after active extension has finished. This is a newly recognized form of climate-tectonic coupling, similar to that recognized in orogenic belts, especially the Himalaya. Climatically modulated surface processes, especially involving the monsoon in Southeast Asia, affects the crustal structure offshore passive margins, resulting in these “load-flow basins”. This further suggests that reorganiza- tion of continental drainage systems may also have a role in governing margin structure. If some crustal thinning occurs after the end of active extension this has implications for the thermal history of hydrocarbon-bearing basins throughout the area where application of classical models results in over predictions of heatflow based on observed accommodation space. -
Development of the Rocky Mountain Foreland Basin: Combined Structural
University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2007 DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FORELAND BASIN: COMBINED STRUCTURAL, MINERALOGICAL, AND GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF BASIN EVOLUTION, ROCKY MOUNTAIN THRUST FRONT, NORTHWEST MONTANA Emily Geraghty Ward The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Ward, Emily Geraghty, "DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FORELAND BASIN: COMBINED STRUCTURAL, MINERALOGICAL, AND GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF BASIN EVOLUTION, ROCKY MOUNTAIN THRUST FRONT, NORTHWEST MONTANA" (2007). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 1234. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/1234 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FORELAND BASIN: COMBINED STRUCTURAL, MINERALOGICAL, AND GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF BASIN EVOLUTION ROCKY MOUNTAIN THRUST FRONT, NORTHWEST MONTANA By Emily M. Geraghty Ward B.A., Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, 1999 M.S., Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 2002 Dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geology The University of Montana Missoula, MT Spring 2007 Approved by: Dr. David A. Strobel, Dean Graduate School James W. Sears, Chair Department of Geosciences Julia A. Baldwin Department of Geosciences Marc S. Hendrix Department of Geosciences Steven D. -
Cenozoic Thermal, Mechanical and Tectonic Evolution of the Rio Grande Rift
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 91, NO. B6, PAGES 6263-6276, MAY 10, 1986 Cenozoic Thermal, Mechanical and Tectonic Evolution of the Rio Grande Rift PAUL MORGAN1 Departmentof Geosciences,Purdue University,West Lafayette, Indiana WILLIAM R. SEAGER Departmentof Earth Sciences,New Mexico State University,Las Cruces MATTHEW P. GOLOMBEK Jet PropulsionLaboratory, CaliforniaInstitute of Technology,Pasadena Careful documentationof the Cenozoicgeologic history of the Rio Grande rift in New Mexico reveals a complexsequence of events.At least two phasesof extensionhave been identified.An early phase of extensionbegan in the mid-Oligocene(about 30 Ma) and may have continuedto the early Miocene (about 18 Ma). This phaseof extensionwas characterizedby local high-strainextension events (locally, 50-100%,regionally, 30-50%), low-anglefaulting, and the developmentof broad, relativelyshallow basins, all indicatingan approximatelyNE-SW •-25ø extensiondirection, consistent with the regionalstress field at that time.Extension events were not synchronousduring early phase extension and were often temporally and spatiallyassociated with major magmatism.A late phaseof extensionoccurred primarily in the late Miocene(10-5 Ma) with minor extensioncontinuing to the present.It was characterizedby apparently synchronous,high-angle faulting givinglarge verticalstrains with relativelyminor lateral strain (5-20%) whichproduced the moderuRio Granderift morphology.Extension direction was approximatelyE-W, consistentwith the contemporaryregional stress field. Late phasegraben or half-grabenbasins cut and often obscureearly phasebroad basins.Early phase extensionalstyle and basin formation indicate a ductilelithosphere, and this extensionoccurred during the climax of Paleogenemagmatic activity in this zone.Late phaseextensional style indicates a more brittle lithosphere,and this extensionfollowed a middle Miocenelull in volcanism.Regional uplift of about1 km appearsto haveaccompanied late phase extension, andrelatively minor volcanism has continued to thepresent. -
Use of Sedimentary Megasequences to Re-Create Pre-Flood Geography
The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism Volume 8 Print Reference: Pages 351-372 Article 27 2018 Use of Sedimentary Megasequences to Re-create Pre-Flood Geography Timothy L. Clarey Institute for Creation Research Davis J. Werner Institute for Creation Research Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings Part of the Geology Commons, and the Stratigraphy Commons DigitalCommons@Cedarville provides a publication platform for fully open access journals, which means that all articles are available on the Internet to all users immediately upon publication. However, the opinions and sentiments expressed by the authors of articles published in our journals do not necessarily indicate the endorsement or reflect the views of DigitalCommons@Cedarville, the Centennial Library, or Cedarville University and its employees. The authors are solely responsible for the content of their work. Please address questions to [email protected]. Browse the contents of this volume of The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism. Recommended Citation Clarey, T.L., and D.J. Werner. 2018. Use of sedimentary megasequences to re-create pre-Flood geography. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism, ed. J.H. Whitmore, pp. 351–372. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship. Clarey, T.L., and D.J. Werner. 2018. Use of sedimentary megasequences to re-create pre-Flood geography. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism, ed. J.H. Whitmore, pp. 351–372. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship. USE OF SEDIMENTARY MEGASEQUENCES TO RE-CREATE PRE-FLOOD GEOGRAPHY Timothy L. Clarey, Institute for Creation Research, 1806 Royal Lane, Dallas, TX 75229 USA, [email protected] Davis J.