--> Comparison of Paleogene Cycle Charts from the North Sea Central Graben and Faeroe Basin: A Case for Tectonic Modification of Depositional Systems, by J. M. Armentrout, S. M. Mitchell, L. B. Fearn, J. M. Vizgirda, and G. Beamish; #90986 (1994).

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Abstract: Comparison of Paleogene Cycle Charts from the North Sea Central Graben and Faeroe Basin: A Case for Tectonic Modification of Depositional Systems

John M. Armentrout, Stephen M. Mitchell, Larry B. Fearn, Joana M. Vizgirda, Gareth Beamish

Depositional onlap/offlap patterns occur in response to the fundamental forcing factors of tectonics, sediment flux, and sea level. Paleogene depositional

cycle charts for the Central Graben of the North Sea and the Faeroe Basin allow for correlation of stratal geometries on the east and west sides of the Shetland Platform. Internally consistent biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic calibration demonstrates that the occurrence of depositional sequences is distinctly different in the Faeroe Basin from the Central Graben.

The cycle charts for each basin were independently generated from integrated stratigraphic analyses of regional seismic grids, wireline logs, and biostratigraphic data from wells. Within the Paleogene interval, twenty type-1 depositional cycles were recognized in the Faeroe Basin compared to only nine in the Central Graben. Part of this variance is due to the thin Danian section in the North Sea making recognition of cycles difficult. However, within the Thanetian strata which are similarly thick in both basins, ten cycles are recognized in the Faeroe Basin compared to only six in the Central Graben.

Considering the similarity in paleolatitude, age of the studied strata, and in the depositional processes in both study areas, differences in climate and eustatic factors are inferred to be minor. Therefore, the differences in cycle patterns are probably caused by differences in sediment flux and tectonics. We are investigating the impact of both factors using iterations of stratigraphic simulation and tectonic subsidence modeling. Preliminary results suggest that differences between the depositional cycle patterns result from differences in the tectonic history of the two basins.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90986©1994 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado, June 12-15, 1994