Structural Development and Major Unconformities of the Nam Conson Basin, Vietnam

Henry Joseph Gerke

The Tuy Hoa Shear Zone, Cuu Long Basin, Nam Conson Basin, and the terminus of the Southwest Subbasin of the South China Sea lie offshore of eastern Vietnam. Investigation of two of these tectonic entities, the Nam Conson Basin and the Southwest Subbasin, was accomplished through the interpretation of a portion of the Geodynamics Research Institute's 13546 km South China Sea Regional Multi-channel Reflection Seismic Data Set, which was obtained from Halliburton Geophysical Services.

Several unconformities have been identified and mapped within the Nam Conson Basin, as well structural elements such as horst blocks, tilted blocks, and inversion structures. Identification and mapping of these unconformities determines the regional and basinwide erosional and depositional events, and interpreting and mapping these structural elements determines rift axes, fault trends, basement structure, and directions of extension and compression. The results provide a means to define and to track the structure, the depositional history, and the tectonic development of this basin through the Cenozoic Era.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #91019©1996 AAPG Convention and Exhibition 19-22 May 1996, San Diego, California