Print this pageMEREDITH, DAVID J., Keele University, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England
ABSTRACT: Geological and Geodynamic Evolution of the Black and Caspian Seas
The Black and Caspian Seas of eastern Europe are two of the deepest
basins in the world but the mechanisms that have controlled their subsidence history
remain poorly understood. A lithospheric-scale tectonic modelling application has been
developed to investigate the interplay, of geological and geodynamic processes that have
controlled the evolution of these deep basins. It enables the forward modelling of
extensional 
basin
evolution followed by deformation via subsequent extensional and
compressional events.
Modelling, constrained by results from regional basin analysis of the Black Sea, shows
that the basin cannot be attributed entirely to either extensional or compressional
tectonics. The uniform lithosphere extension mechanism cannot account for the thickness of
sediment fill observed in the basin while the simulation of compressional deformation
around the basin edges does not produce the large magnitude of subsidence in the central
basin. Model results strongly suggest an influence of deep crustal and mantle lithosphere
processes in controlling the evolution of the Black Sea. Combined with basin analysis
techniques, modelling is currently being applied to the southern Caspian Sea, which has a
similar tectonic history to the Black Sea basin, but is much deeper with over 20 km of
subsidence.
It is hoped that the detailed investigation of the basins in conjunction with the
development of the modelling software will: 1) help to elucidate the relative importance
of global theories regarding the subsidence of deep intra-continental sedimentary
basins;
and 2) provide a diagnostic tool in the preliminary investigation as regards the effects
of these processes on depocentre-migration and hydrocarbon generation.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90909©2000 AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid