Jurassic to Tertiary Basin Inversion in Southern South America
Gabriel O. Grimaldi
Texas A&M University,
Department of Geology and Geophysics
College Station, TX
[email protected]
Basin inversion commonly occurs in compressional tectonic settings and may have far-reaching effects on petroleum systems. Extensional basins and fault systems that underlie many foreland settings may experience tectonic inversion. Tectono-stratigraphic relationships across the foreland region are commonly used to document the timing of inversion and related deformation.
Tectonically inverted basins are distributed across the Andean foreland of South America between 20° and 46°S. This basin inversion occurred during Jurassic through Cenozoic time, which suggests some relationship with coeval convergence along the southwestern margin of Gondwana. Timing and structural styles associated with each inverted basin, however, were strongly influenced by the configuration of each preexisting basin.
Proprietary seismic and well data from part of the Andean foreland (Neuquén Basin, Argentina), published literature, and public-domain data will be used to analyze styles, timing, location, and intensity of basin inversion across the Andean foreland of southern South America. Detailed structural and seismic-stratigraphic analysis in the Neuquén Basin will document the nature of early foreland deformation associated with compressional/transpressional events. Styles and timing of inversion and strain distribution patterns will be compared with other basins across the foreland. Observations will be related to variations in structural styles within the Andean Belt, pre-Andean configuration of individual basins, kinematics of plate convergence, and timing of subduction or collision of inferred seafloor features on the subducted Nazca plate. Expected results will contribute to our understanding of foreland deformation across southern South America and may be applicable to other foreland settings where basin inversion is common.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90033©2004 AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid