Origin and Evolution of Sedimentary Basins and Their Energy and Mineral Resources

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Geophysical Monograph 48
IUGG Volume 3
Origin and Evolution of
Sedimentary Basins and Their
Energy and Mineral Resources
Raymond A. Price
Editor
American Geophysical Union
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
Geophysical Monograph/IUGG Series
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Origin and evolution of sedimentary basins and their energy and mineral
resources.
(Geophysical monograph ; 48/IUGG series ; 3)
Papers presented at the 27th International Geological Congress held in
Moscow in 1984 and at the 19th General Assembly of the International
Union of Geodesy and Geophysics held in Vancouver in 1987.
1. Sedimentary basins—Congresses. 2. Mines and mineral resources—
Congresses. 3. Power resources—Congresses. I. Price, Raymond A.
II. Series.
QE571.075 1989 551.3 89-6549
ISBN 0-87590-452-1
Copyright 1989 by the American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Avenue,
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CONTENTS
Preface
R. A. Price ix
1. Intraplate Stresses and Sedimentary Basin Evolution
S. Cloetingh, H. Kooi, and W. Groenewoud 1
2. Effects of Asthenosphere Melting, Regional Thermoisostasy, and Sediment Loading on the
Thermomechanical Subsidence of Extensional Sedimentary Basins
R. A. Stephenson, S. M. Nakiboglu, and M. A. Kelly 17
3. Relationship of Eustatic Oscillations to Regressions and Transgressions on Passive Continental
Margins
C. L. Angevine 29
4. Contrasting Styles of Lithospheric Extension Determined From Crustal Studies Across Rift
Basins, Eastern Canada
C. E. Keen 37
5. Basement Features Under Four Intra-Continental Basins in Central and Eastern Australia
D. M. Finlayson, C. Wright, J. H. Leven, C. D. N. Collins, K. D. Wake-Dyster,
and D. W. Johnstone 43
6. Deep Crustal Structural Controls on Sedimentary Basin Geometry
D. /. Blundell, T. J. Reston, and A. M. Stein 57
7. Mechanical Models of Tilted Block Basins
H. W. S. McQueen and C. Beaumont 65
8. Crustal Structure and Origin of Basins Formed Behind the Hikurangi Subduction Zone,
New Zealand
T. A. Stern and F. J. Davey 73
9. The Southern San Joaquin Valley as an Example of Cenozoic Basin Evolution in California
E. D. Goodman, P. E. Malin, E. L. Ambos, and J. C. Crowell 87
10. The Mechanism of Formation of the North Sea Basin
E. V. Artyushkov and M. A. Baer 109
11. Volcanism and Igneous Underplating in Sedimentary Basins and at Rifted Continental Margins
R. S. White 125
12. A Low-Temperature Hydrothermal Maturation Mechanism for Sedimentary Basins Associated
with Volcanic Rocks
N. S. Summer and K. L. Verosub 129
13. Hydrocarbon Maturation in Thrust Belts: Thermal Considerations
K. P. Furlong and J. D. Edman 137
14. Tectonically Induced Transient Groundwater Flow in Foreland Basin
S. Ge and G. Garven 145
15. Early Precambrian Crustal Evolution and Mineral Deposits, Pilbara Craton and Adjacent
Ashburton Trough
/. G. Blockley, A. F. Trendall, and A. M. Thome 159
16. Precambrian Sedimentary Sequences and Their Mineral and Energy Resources
I. B. Lambert 169
17. Mechanism of Formation of Deep Basins on Continental Crust
E. V. Artyushkov and M, A. Baer 175
18. Neogene-Quaternary Pannonian Basin: A Structure of Labigenic Type
V. G. Nikolaev, D. Vass, and D. Pogacsas 187
19. Problems of Petroleum Exploration Under Plateau Basalts
M. Benelmouloud and E. Zhuravlev 197
vii
PREFACE
The Internationa] Lithosphere Program was launched in 1981 The second group of five papers is based on presentations at
as a ten-year project of interdisciplinary research in the solid the XXVIIth International Geological Congress in Moscow. It
earth sciences. It is a natural outgrowth of the Geodynamics Pro­ broadens the coverage of the volume, to include Precambrian ba­
gram of the 1970"s, and of its predecessor, the Upper Mantle Pro­ sins as well as additional examples from other parts of the world.
ject. The Program — "Dynamics and Evolution of the Litho­ These papers were assembled and edited by R. W. Hutchinson
sphere: The Hazards"—is concerned primarily with the current and R. W. Macqueen for publication in 1987. Because of the way
state, origin and development of the lithosphere, with special at­ in which they complement the papers from the 1987 Vancouver
tention to the continents and their margins. One special goal of symposium, it was decided to combine the two groups of papers
the program is the strengthening of interactions between basic for this publication.
research and the applications of geology, geophysics, geochemis­ The editors gratefully acknowledge the help of the following
try and geodesy to mineral and energy resource exploration and individuals who critically reviewed one or more of the manu­
development, to the mitigation of geological hazards, and to pro­ scripts:
tection of the environment; another special goal is the strength­
J. Toth G. Quinlan
ening of the earth sciences and their effective application in de­
R. Stephenson L. H. Royden
veloping countries.
J. Oliver C. E. Keen
The origin and evolution of sedimentary basins is an obvious R. Macqueen D. Chapman
focus of the International Lithosphere Program because it is fun­
C. Beaumont K. Furlong
damentally a problem in the dynamics and evolution of the litho­
K. Lambeck D. Finlayson
sphere, and moreover, it provides special opportunities for
B. Wernicke N. Kusznir
strengthening the interactions between basic research and the
C. Angevine W. J. Perry, Jr.
applications of geology, geophysics, geochemistry and geodesy to
L. D. Brown J. Dewey
mineral and energy exploration and development. Accordingly,
W. R. Dickinson R. I. Walcott
at both the XXVIIth International Geological Congress in Mos­
P. Ziegler N. H. Sleep
cow, in 1984, and at the XlXth General Assembly of the Interna­
D. Blundell G. Thompson
tional Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in Vancouver, in 1987,
T. A. Jordan J. Steidtmann
the International Lithosphere Program convened special sympo­
G. Bond R. S. Yeats
sia on the subject of the origin and evolution of sedimentary ba­
P. R. Vail S. Cloetingh
sins and their mineral and energy resources. This special volume
D. Turcotte R. A. Price
presents some of the principal results of those symposia.
J. S. Bell T. A. Cross
The first group of 14 papers is based on presentations made at L. C. Gerhard R. W. Hodder
the 1987 Symposium in Vancouver, which was convened by R. R. W. Hutchinson H. Kent
A. Price and A. L. Yanshin. They have been assembled and edit­ D. W. Morrow R. H. Riddler
ed by R. A. Price. They cover a broad spectrum of topics ranging P. K. Sims G. Thorman
from deep processes controlling the origin of basins, to the hy­
drodynamics of pore fluids within the basins. A variety of differ­ Raymond A. Price
ent basin settings are considered as well as several different per­ Geological Survey of Canada
spectives on the mechanisms of formation of sedimentary basins. Ottawa, Ontario
ix
Origin and Evolution of
Sedimentary Basins and Their
Energy and Mineral Resources
Geophysical Monograph Seri e s Origin and Evolution of Sedimentary Basins and Their Energy and Mineral Resources Vol. 48
INTRAPLATE STRESSES AND SEDIMENTARY BASIN EVOLUTION
Sierd Cloetingh', Henk Kooil, and Wim Groenewoud
Vening Meinesz Laboratory, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
Abstract. Fluctuations in stress levels in the lithosphere can mentary basin evolution [e.g., Sleep, 1971; Watts et al., 1982;
play an important role in basin stratigraphy and may provide a tec- Beaumont et al., 1982]. Furthermore, they have quantified the con-
tonic explanation for Vail's third order cycles in apparent sea lev- tributions of a variety of lithospheric processes to the vertical
els. The gross onlap/offlap stratigraphic architecture of rifted motions of lithosphere at sedimentary basins. These processes
basins can be described by models with changing horizontal stress include thermally induced contraction of the lithosphere amplified
fields. We demonstrate the effect of intraplate stress on vertical by the loading of sediments that accumulate in these basins [Sleep,
motions of the lithosphere for a depth-dependent Theology of the 1971], isostatic response to crustal thinning and stretching
lithosphere with brittle fracture in its upper part and ductile flow in [McKenzie, 1978] and flexural bending in response to vertical
its lower part. Comparison of the outcome of the modeling with loading [Price, 1973; Beaumont, 1978].
previous estimates by Cloetingh et al. [1985] of stress-induced sub- Simultaneously, major advances have been made in the study
sidence and uplift based on an elastic plate model for the mechani- of the stress fields in the plate interiors. Detailed analysis of earth-
cal properties of the lithosphere demonstrates a considerable quake focal mechanisms [Wiens and Stein, 1984; Bergman, 1986],
magnification of the induced vertical motions. These findings have in-situ stress measurements and analysis of break-out orientations
important consequences for the stress levels required to explain the obtained from wells [Bell and Gough, 1979; Zoback, 1985; Klein
observed onlaps and offlaps at sedimentary basins. Similarly, they and Barr, 1986] have demonstrated the existence of consistently
bear on our assessment of the relative importance of lithospheric oriented present-day stress patterns in the lithosphere. Studies of
dynamics versus glacio-eustasy as the controlling factor underlying paleo-stress fields within the plates by the application of analysis
sea-level cycles during periods with a non-icefree world. Modeling of microstructures [Letouzey, 1986; Bergerat, 1987; Philip, 1987]
of the stratigraphy of the U.S. Atlantic margin demonstrates that have expanded these findings by demonstrating temporal variations
the inferred transience in the horizontal stress field is qualitatively in the observed long-wavelength spatially coherent stress patterns.
consistent with expectations based on what is known about plate This work has provided strong evidence for the occurrence of
kinematics during the same time period. The classic Mid- large-scale rotations in the paleo-stress fields and also showed [see
Oligocene unconformity can be explained by a compressional tec- Philip, 1987] that the state of stress can vary enough to produce
tonic phase. The superposition of the stress effect associated with quite different deformations on relatively short time scales of
a major plate reorganization and a glacio-eustatic event might approximately 5 Ma. At the same time, numerical modeling
explain the exceptional magnitude of the Mid-Oligocene lowering [Richardson et al., 1979; Wortel and Cloetingh, 1981, 1983; Cloe-
of apparent sea level. Out-of-phase intrabasinal cycles such as tingh and Wortel, 1985, 1986] has yielded better understanding of
relative uplift at the flanks and increased subsidence at the basin the causes of the observed variations in stress levels and stress
center, as observed for the Gulf de Lions margin, are predictable directions in the various lithospheric plates. These studies have
by the models. The large variations in estimates of magnitudes of demonstrated a causal relationship between the processes at plate
short-term changes in relative sea level between various basins boundaries and the deformation in the plate interiors [e.g., Johnson
around the world are in agreement with predictions of the tectonic and Bally, 1986].
model. Most students of sedimentary basins agree that intraplate
stresses play a crucial role during basin formation. The formation
Introduction of sedimentary basins by lithospheric stretching, for example,
requires tensional stress levels of the order of at least a few kbars
In recent years substantial progress has been made in quantita- [Cloetingh and Nieuwland, 1984; Houseman and England, 1986].
tive modeling of sedimentary basins [e.g., Beaumont and Tankard, On the other hand, however, the effect of intraplate stresses on the
1987]. Modeling studies have highlighted the important role of subsequent evolution of sedimentary basins has been largely
thermomechanical properties of the lithosphere in models of sedi- ignored in geodynamic modeling. However, recent work by Cloe-
tingh et al. [1985], Cloetingh [1986] and Kanter [1986] has demon-
Authors now at Department of Sedimentary Geology, Insti- strated that temporal fluctuations in intraplate stress levels may
1
tute of Earth Sciences, Free University, P.O. Box 7161, 1007 MC have important consequences on basin stratigraphy and provide a
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. tectonic explanation for short-term sea-level variations inferred
from the stratigraphic record [Vail et al., 1977; Haq et al., 1987].
Copyright 1989 by Vail and co-workers traditionally have interpreted their cyclic vari-
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics ations in onlap/offlap patterns in terms of a glacio-eustatic origin.
and American Geophysical Union This preference was primarily based on the inferred global change
1
Geophysical Monograph Seri e s Origin and Evolution of Sedimentary Basins and Their Energy and Mineral Resources Vol. 48
2 STRESS AND SEDIMENTARY BASINS
of the relative sea-level variations and the lack of a tectonic of intraplate stresses suffice to modulate the deflection, and hence
mechanism to explain Vail et al.'s third-order cycles. Although the preexisting basin configuration [Cloetingh et al., 1985]. Cru-
previous authors [e.g., Bally, 1982; Watts, 1982] have argued for a stal stretching or lithospheric flexure in response to vertical loading
tectonic cause for apparent sea-level variations, they were unable are, by their nature, inherently associated with such a preexisting
to identify a tectonic mechanism operating on a time scale deflection of the lithosphere.
appropriate to explain the observed short-term changes of sea level
[Pitman and Golovchenko, 1983]. A problem with the glacio-
eustatic interpretation, however, is the lack of evidence in the geo-
logical and geochemical records for significant Mesozoic and
D 1021
Cenozoic glacial events prior to mid Tertiary time [Pitman and
Golovchenko, 1983]. Hence, plate dynamics, and associated
changes in stress levels in the plate's interiors offer a tectonic
framework for quantitative dynamic stratigraphy.
Conversely, we have explored [Cloetingh, 1986; Lambeck et
al., 1987] the use of the stratigraphic record as a new source of
information on paleo-stress fields. These studies were carried out
using a simplified elastic rheology for the lithosphere. Here we
model the effect of intraplate stresses on lithospheric deflection for
a more realistic depth-dependent theology of the lithosphere
[Goetze and Evans, 1979]. This modeling demonstrates that
significantly lower stress levels are required to simulate the
observed onlap and offlap patterns at the flanks of sedimentary
basins. These findings bear on the scale of the underlying plate
reorganizations versus a more local origin of the stress changes.
More precise estimates of the magnitudes of the fluctuations in
stress level are important for a quantitative assessment of the rela-
tive contributions of eustasy and stress-induced subsidence to the
apparent sea-level record. Note that mechanisms for (thermally
induced) long-term changes in sea level [e.g., Kominz, 1984;
Heller and Angevine, 1985] fall beyond the scope of the present
paper.
Intraplate Stresses and Elastic Deflection of the Lithosphere
In classical studies Smoluchowski [1909], Vening Meinesz [see
Heiskanen and Vening Meinesz, 1958] and Gunn [1944] have 0.8-
investigated the flexural response of the lithosphere to applied hor-
izontal forces. The flexural response of a uniform elastic litho-
sphere at a position x to an applied horizontal force F and a vertical
load q(x) is given by: 0.6 -
Ddd4xw 4d Fe wdx. 2 + (p„,—pi)gw = q(x)
0.4
where w is the displacement of the lithosphere, and D is the flexur
al rigidity ( D = E T3 1 12 (1- v2)), with E the Young's modulus, T
the plate thickness, and v the Poissons's ratio. The axial load F is
equivalent to the product of the intraplate stress cyft, and the plate 0.2 -
thickness T. p,,, and pi are respectively the densities of mantle
material and the infill of the lithospheric depression, usually water
or sediment, and g is the gravitational acceleration. The solution to
this classical equation is easily obtained for some simple loading 0
0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
cases [e.g., Turcotte and Schubert, 1982].
Early studies showed that, in the absence of vertical loads, hor- k [ k m ]
izontal forces alone are quite inefficient at producing vertical
deflections of the lithosphere. For compressional forces below the Fig. 1. (a) Flexural response functions ‘11(k ), in the absence of an
buckling limit the induced vertical deflections of the lithosphere intraplate stress field, for thin elastic plates with various flexural
are close to zero. These results and the lack of evidence for the rigidities D in Nm, plotted as a function of wavenumber k . (b) The
existence of such horizontal forces, at that time, caused their effect of intraplate stresses aA, (tension is positive) on the response
possible effects to be ignored. function. AtY, (k) = `11,(k) - T(k), with `Pi (k) the response function
The situation is quite different in the presence of already exist- for an applied intraplate stress field. Results are given for the same
ing vertical loads on the lithosphere. For example, in sedimentary flexural rigidities for various intraplate stresses crN in kbars. [After
basins constituting significant vertical loads, relatively low levels Stephenson and Lambeck, 1985].