Principles of Sedimentary Basin Analysis Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH Andrew D. Miall Principles of Sedimentary Basin Analysis Third, updated and enlarged edition With 468 Figures and 24 Tables Springer Professor Andrew D. Miall University of Toronto Geology Department 22 Russell Street Toronto, Ontario MSS 3Bl Canada e-mai!: [email protected] ISBN 978-3-642-08506-2 Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Miall, Andrew 0.: Principles of sedimentary basin analysis / Andrew D. Miall. - 3., updated and en!. ed. ISBN 978-3-642-08506-2 ISBN 978-3-662-03999-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-03999-1 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in date banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is only permitted under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2000 Originally published by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York io 2000 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 3rd edition 2000 The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and re­ gulations and therefore free for general use. Production Editor: Christiane Messerschmidt, Rheinau Typesetting: Fotosatz-Service Köhler GmbH, Würzburg Cover design: Design & Production GmbH, Heidelberg Cover: Models of overfilled and underfilled foreland basins (from Jordan, 1995; see Fig. 7.31) superimposed on a sand isolith map of an ancient river-dominated delta (from Bhattacharya, 1991; see Fig. 5.6) SPIN: 10723024 32/3020 - 5432 1 0 - Printed on acid-free paper Por Charlene Preface Basin analysis is a proeess that requires the eolleetion and integration of a wide variety of different types of data. Many review articles and books are available that deal with some of the individual speeialized fields that together eonstitute basin analysis, such as stratigraphie methods, facies analysis, geophysical methods, sedimentation and teeto­ nics, and sequence stratigraphy; but this is one of the few books that has attempted, now through three editions, to show how these different types of data and the varying types of analytical methodology used in basin analysis need to be brought together to tackle specific basin-analysis problems. The emphasis in this book continues to be on the traditional geologieal skills of observation, deseription and synthesis. Some of the major components of basin analysis have stabilized over the last de­ eade. Facies analysis and the definition of proeess-response models (Chap. 4) consti­ tute an area that has reached a level of maturity and stability to the extent that only minor refinements are now to be expeeted, although many more case studies explor­ ing local variability will continue to be generated. The methods of lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy (Chap. 3) have also ehanged little in reeent years, whereas the widespread aeceptance of sequenee-stratigraphie principles and the introduction of allostratigraphie mapping methods (Chap. 6) have led to fundamental changes in the nature of regional basin analysis. These developments, in turn, have lent support to the continuing complex, interdisciplinary effort to improve the aceuraey and preci­ sion of the geological time scale and its practical applieability to loeal and regional problems of dating and correlation (Chap. 3). Many questions about the extent and origins of stratigraphie sequences require precise chronostratigraphic correlation, and much remains to be done in this area. The refinements in data eollection brought about by the inereasing resolution of the reflection -seismic method (Chaps. 5,6) con­ tinue to demonstrate a complexity in the preserved stratigraphie record that challen­ ges our powers of description and interpretation. Methods for numerieal and graphical modeling of sedimentary basins and basin fills continue to provide exciting new insights, such as the new links em erging between climate, sediment supply and basin subsidence rates, but the causes of crustal subsi­ dence and uplift and the relationship of these motions to mantle processes and plate tectonics seem to have been largely worked out. The most signifieant ehanges in basin analysis methods sinee publication of the se­ cond edition of this book are in the area of sequenee stratigraphy (Chap. 6). The defi­ nitions of systems traets had only just appeared when the last edition of this book was being eompleted, and the applieation of sequence models to an analysis of the evolv­ ing paleogeography of a basin was a subject in its infancy. In addition, we now have a mueh more eomplete base of case studies from which to assess the many and varied mechanisms that generate stratigraphie sequenees, so that the rather simplistic ideas about global eustasy that were popular a decade ago can now be re-evaluated. All this has required complete rewriting of Chapters 6 and 8 of this book, whereas the remain­ ing chapters have been substantially rewritten while retaining their original form, and have been updated with new and useful case studies. Developments in such fields as dynamic topography and basin inversion have been added to Chapter 7, and improve­ ments in our understanding of foreland basins and in the tee tonic processes of the Preeambrian eonstitute some of the more substantial ehanges to Chapter 9. VIII Preface Much work remains to be done in the area ofbasin analysis. The search for non-re­ newable resources will continue into the foreseeable future, with many frontier basins remaining to be explored, while the task of extracting additional petroleum reserves from the heterogeneities in mature fields provides basin analysts with some of their most complex challenges. The development of water resources, the search for sedi­ ment-hosted minerals, and the need to integrate basin histories into broad-based stu­ dies of regional, national and continental geologieal histories will continue to create a demand for basin analysis and the skills with which to perform it. The need for this new edition of the book is therefore clear, and it is to be hoped that it will continue to provide a useful reference manual and resource of ideas for advanced students and professionals. Acknowledgments. The writing of the first edition of this book took about 3 years, but the ideas and experience on which it was based had been accumulating since I first discovered geology at the age of 15 years, during an optional one-period-a-week course at Brighton Grammar School. I am deeply indebted to the late Arnold Berry, geography master at the school, for his lectures and field trips, which rapidly con­ vinced me I had found my vocation. I received every encouragement during my undergraduate years at the University of London (Queen Mary and Westfield College), where instruction in stratigraphy and historieal geology was given by Professor Kirkaldy. My introduction to modern sedimentological principles came through the stimu­ lating graduate seminars held by Brian Rust at the University of Ottawa. Later, the op­ portunity to gain extensive practical experience was made possible by Don Stott, who took me on staff at the Geologieal Survey of Canada. Writing of this book began shortly after I moved to the fertile academie climate of the University of Toronto, an appointment brought about by the efforts of Frank Beales, Geoff Norris, and David Strangway. Many colleagues helped me formulate my ideas on basin analysis during the 1970s and 1980s, and I am grateful to them for their stimulating company over the years. Foremost among these are Don Campbell and John Stuart-Smith at J.c. Sproule and Associates and my former Survey colleagues Jim Dixon, Ashton Embry, Ulrieh Mayr, Ross McLean, Ray Thorsteinsson, and Hans Trettin. More recently, my understanding of sequence stratigraphy has been aided by contact with individuals such as Phil Allen, Makoto Ho, Dale Leckie, Dag Nummedal, Guy Plint, and Roger Walker. For specific advice relating to specialized parts of this book, I am indebted to Norm Evensen (radiometrie dating), Gary Jarvis (geophysical basin models and plate pro­ cesses), George Klein (backare basins and shelf depositional systems), and Geoff Norris (stratigraphie methods). Photographs were contributed by Jim Dixon, Ashton Embry, Rolf Ludvigsen, Brian Pratt, A. Easton Wren, and the Royal Ontario Museum. My particular thanks to David Rudkin at the museum for his assistance with the photographs of fossils in Chapter 2. Neil Ollerenshaw and the staff at GSC, Calgary, are thanked for assistance in obtaining two illustrations for the sections on the dipmeter. About one-third of the figures in the book were drafted by Subash Shanbhag and the remainder in the first edition were re­ produced from other sources by photographer Brian O'Donovan. Their efforts and their patience during the long gestation of the manuscript are much appreciated. During preparation of the first edition, Geoff Orton and Winston Mottley worked as research assistants for short but crucial periods. Typing and word processing were carried out by Diane Gardner and Naomi Frankei, with the final text prepared at the University of Toronto Secretarial Services unit under the supervision of Vera Baker. The text of the second and third editions were prepared by the author, thanks to the magie ofWindows '95 and Microsoft Word. Andy Baillie and Tony Tankard undertook the task of critieally reading the entire manuscript of the first edition. Their comments were most useful and are much ap­ preciated. In addition, the author is grateful to Roger Walker (who read parts of Preface IX Chap.