Structural controls on Quaternary deepwater sedimentation, mud diapirism, and hydrocarbon distribution within the actively evolving Columbus foreland basin, eastern offshore Trinidad

Garciacaro, Emilio; Escalona, Alejandro; Mann, Paul; Wood, Lesli J.; Moscardelli, Lorena; Sullivan, Sean P.

doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2010.05.007

Cited by 31 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…(2) Seismic data: the 3D seismic data were acquired by PetroChina Yumen Oilfield Company. Seismic interpretations and reflection facies, such as the onlap, downlap, toplap, truncation termination reflections, and wells with synthetic seismograms, were used to infer and explain sequence boundaries, structural controls on strata morphology, fault distributions, and sedimentary structures (Catuneanu et al, 2009;Garciacaro et al, 2011). And 3 third order sequence boundaries and 3 maximum flooding surfaces were interpreted in the 284.8 km 2 high resolution 3D prestack migration seismic survey of the Qingxi Sag based on horizon tracking and closing.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentation of the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation and its response to regional tectonics in the Qingxi Sag, Jiuquan Basin, NW China

Chen¹,

Wang²,

Wei³

et al. 2014

Cretaceous Research

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a b s t r a c tUnder the constraint of an isochronous sequence stratigraphic framework, sediment infill of the Xiagou Formation reflects the overall control of dynamic tectonic movements and episodic sedimentations in the Qingxi Sag. Structure reactivity during post-depositional processes could cause stratigraphic variations in longitudinal time and lateral space. This study documents sediment infill features and their response to the tectonic evolutions of the Qingxi Sag. The data sets include comparison of cores, well drilling, 3D seismic, inter-well correlation, wave impedance inversion profiles, original strata recovery data, sedimentary facies spatial evolution and their superimposition with paleogeomorphology.The Jiuquan Basin is a Mesozoic-Cenozoic superposition basin comprising an early rifting graben phase and a later compression phase. Since the Early Cretaceous, the basin has undergone four major tectonic episodes: 1) extension during the Early Cretaceous, 2) tectonic inversion caused by northwest-southeast contraction from the Late Cretaceous to the Paleocene, 3) weak extension from the Eocene to the Miocene and 4) contraction from the Miocene to the present. Therefore, the Jiuquan Basin is the product of taphrogenic, collisional and shearing movements.Seismic interpretations of sequence and maximum flooding surface divide the Xiagou Formation into three third order sequences: SQK1g 0 , SQK1g 1 and SQK1g 2þ3 . Five sedimentary facies associations are identified: the shoreland plain, fan delta dominated sedimentary systems, turbidite deposits, shallow lakes and half-deep lake systems. From K1g 0 to K1g 2þ3 , decreased sandstone percentages in three fan delta areas indicate a continuously transgressive process, which shows the transition from proximal to distal sites in most statistic wells and an obvious decrease of fan delta scales. The northeast-southwest faults control the lakeward distributions of delta fronts and turbidite fans.The correspondence of sedimentary infill and its response to tectonic movements have been demonstrated in the Qingxi Sag. The more active eastern part of the northeastern boundary fault has an important influence on the northeastward migration of depocenters in the Xiagou Formation. The topography developed continuously from K1g 0 to K1g 2þ3 , but the diminished subsidence indicates the dominant geological process varying from intense fault rifting in an early period to relatively gentle and overall subsidence in a later period during the Early Cretaceous.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentation of the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation and its response to regional tectonics in the Qingxi Sag, Jiuquan Basin, NW China

Chen¹,

Wang²,

Wei³

et al. 2014

Cretaceous Research

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“…); they formed in response to sediment loading and gravity‐driven extension via large normal faults with thousands of metres throw which bound the western and eastern margins of the basin (Fig. ; Wood, ; Sydow et al ., ; Garciacaro et al ., ; Gibson et al ., , ).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 98%

Storm‐dominated shelf‐edge delta successions in a high accommodation setting: The palaeo‐Orinoco Delta (Mayaro Formation), Columbus Basin, South‐East Trinidad

Bowman

Johnson

2013

Sedimentology

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Pliocene age deposits of the palaeo-Orinoco Delta are evaluated in the Mayaro Formation, which crops out along the western margin of the Columbus Basin in south-east Trinidad. This sandstone-dominated interval records the diachronous, basinwards migration of the shelf edge of the palaeo-Orinoco Delta, as it prograded eastwards during the Pliocene-Pleistocene (ca 3Á5 Ma). The basin setting was characterized by exceptionally high rates of growth-fault controlled sediment supply and accommodation space creation resulting in a gross basin-fill of around 12 km, with some of the highest subsidence rates in the world (ca 5 to 10 m ka À1 ). This analysis demonstrates that the Mayaro Formation was deposited within large and mainly wave-influenced shelf-edge deltas. These are manifested as multiple stacks of coarsening upward parasequences at scales ranging from tens to hundreds of metres in thickness, which are dominated by storm-influenced and wave-influenced proximal delta-front sandstones with extensive, amalgamated swaley and hummocky cross-stratification. These proximal delta-front successions pass gradationally downwards into 10s to 100 m thick distal delta front to mud-dominated upper slope deposits characterized by a wide variety of sedimentary processes, including distal river flood and storm-related currents, slumps and other gravity flows. Isolated and subordinate sandstone bodies occur as gully fills, while extensive soft sediment deformation attests to the high sedimentation rates along a slope within a tectonically active basin. The vertical stratigraphic organization of the facies associations, together with the often cryptic nature of parasequence stacking patterns and sequence stratigraphic surfaces, are the combined product of the rapid rates of accommodation space creation, high rates of sediment supply and glacio-eustasy in the 40 to 100 Ka Milankovitch frequency range. The stratigraphic framework described herein contrasts strikingly with that described from passive continental margins, but compares favourably to other tectonically active, deltaic settings (for example, the Baram Delta Province of north-west Borneo).

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“…The Columbus foreland-basin system, offshore eastern Trinidad, was created as a result of oblique subduction of the South American plate beneath the eastward migrating Caribbean plate since the Miocene (Leonard, 1983;Weber et al, 2001;Huyghe et al, 2004;Garciacaro et al, 2011a;2011b) (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Geologic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grain-Size and Discharge Controls on Submarine-Fan Depositional Patterns From Forward Stratigraphic Models

Hawie¹,

Covault²,

Sylvester³

2019

Preprint

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Submarine fans are important components of continental margins; they contain a stratigraphic record of environmental changes and host large accumulations of oil and gas. The grain size and volume of sediment supply to fans is thought to control the heterogeneity of deep-water deposits; predicting spatial variability of sandy and muddy deposits is an important applied challenge in the characterization of fans. Here, we use DionisosFlow stratigraphic-forward models to evaluate the sensitivity of submarine-fan deposition to a range of grain sizes, with corresponding diffusion coefficients ranging from 10 to 100 km2/kyr for coarse sand to silt/clay, and discharges. In general, finer grains are transported farther in our models because they have larger diffusion coefficients. Coarser grains typical of a sand-rich fan tend to pile up and compensationally stack at the mouth of a proximal feeder channel. Finer grains tend to be distributed across the model domain; however, finer load resulted in fewer channel avulsions because finer sediment did not build topography as high as coarser sediment. Increasing sediment-gravity-flow discharge resulted in a thicker depositional system; however, relatively coarse sediment piled up at the mouth of the feeder channel, which created a slope that promoted basinward sediment transport. Our modeling results can be applied to predict the overall geometry, stacking, and grain-size distribution of submarine fans. Improved understanding of grain-size and discharge controls also informs interpretation of the stratigraphic record of submarine fans. For example, outcrop observations of heterogeneity and compensational stacking of depocenters can be quantitatively related to changing boundary conditions, namely changes in the caliber and overall supply of sediment delivery to deep-water basin margins.

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Structural controls on Quaternary deepwater sedimentation, mud diapirism, and hydrocarbon distribution within the actively evolving Columbus foreland basin, eastern offshore Trinidad

Cited by 31 publications

References 31 publications

Sedimentation of the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation and its response to regional tectonics in the Qingxi Sag, Jiuquan Basin, NW China

Sedimentation of the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation and its response to regional tectonics in the Qingxi Sag, Jiuquan Basin, NW China

Storm‐dominated shelf‐edge delta successions in a high accommodation setting: The palaeo‐Orinoco Delta (Mayaro Formation), Columbus Basin, South‐East Trinidad

Grain-Size and Discharge Controls on Submarine-Fan Depositional Patterns From Forward Stratigraphic Models

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