--> Abstract: Fault Array Evolution as a Control on Syn-Rift Stratigraphy and Play Development: Examples from the Gulf of Suez and North Sea, by Rob L. Gawthorpe, John R. Underhill, Ian Sharp, Ian Carr, Mike Young, and Aileen McLeod; #90914(2000)
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Rob L. Gawthorpe1, John R. Underhill2, Ian Sharp3, Ian Carr1, Mike Young1, Aileen McLeod2
(1) The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
(2) Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
(3) Norsk Hydro ASA, Bergen, Norway

Abstract: Previous HitFaultNext Hit array evolution as a control on syn-rift stratigraphy and play development: examples from the Gulf of Suez and North Sea

Field data from the exceptionally-exposed, Oligo-Miocene Suez rift, Egypt, and Previous HitinterpretationNext Hit of well-constrained 3D seismic data from the Late Jurassic of the North Sea illustrate the interplay between Previous HitfaultNext Hit array development, landscape evolution and syn-rift stratigraphy. The development of Previous HitfaultNext Hit arrays is characterised by three main phases: i) an initiation phase characterised by isolated segments, ii) a stage where Previous HitfaultNext Hit growth and interaction are dominant, and iii) a final stage characterised by major crustal-scale Previous HitfaultNext Hit blocks. Each phase has a distinctive Previous HitstratigraphicNext Hit response and sequence architecture.

Depocentres in the initiation phase are isolated growth synclines, a few kilometres long and up to 2 km wide, located in the hangingwalls of blind Previous HitfaultNext Hit segments. At this stage sequences are dominated by non-marine and shallow marine facies and are strongly influenced by growth folding above propagating faults. During the interaction phase some depocentres enlarge by segment linkage, while others become inactive. Relay ramps become the loci for coarse-grained sediment input along border Previous HitfaultNext Hit zones. Due to propagation and linkage of Previous HitfaultNext Hit segments, the locus of maximum displacement migrates, which strongly affects the temporal and spatial development of coarse-grained facies. By the localisation phase, major crustal-scale Previous HitfaultNext Hit-blocks are dominant physiographic features, and deformation is focused on border faults. Major sequence variation around these Previous HitfaultNext Hit-blocks is related to spatial variations in subsidence and uplift.

Reconstructing the propagation and linkage history of normal Previous HitfaultNext Hit segments can increase predictive capability for subtle Previous HitstratigraphicTop plays in rifts in general.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90914©2000 AAPG Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana