--> The Evolution of the South Atlantic Hinterlands from the Late Jurassic to Recent: Mapping Stage Level Changes in Source-to-Sink Relationships, Markwick, Paul; Raddadi, Mohamed; Raynham, Lauren; Tomlinson, Steve; Edgecombe, Emma; Rowland, Dennis; Bailiff, Robert; Galsworthy, Amanda; Wrobel, Neil, #90100 (2009)

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The Evolution of the South Atlantic Hinterlands from the Late Jurassic to Recent: Mapping Stage Level Changes in Source-to-Sink Relationships

Markwick, Paul1
 Raddadi, Mohamed1
 Raynham, Lauren1
 Tomlinson, Steve1
 Edgecombe, Emma1
 Rowland, Dennis1
 Bailiff, Robert1
 Galsworthy, Amanda1
 Wrobel, Neil1

1GETECH Group plc., Leeds, United Kingdom.

The evolution of the South Atlantic hinterlands plays an important role in the depositional history and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the marginal basins along the West African and Brazilian coasts. Palaeogeography provides explorationists with tools with which to examine this role, including: 1. maps to investigate the spatial context and juxtaposition of play elements; 2. as a powerful predictive tool for examining changes in source to sink relationships. These predictions include changes in: sediment composition, through changing hinterland relief, weathering (palaeoclimate) and provenance (changing drainage basin geometries); sediment fluxes; and outfall distribution.

In this presentation we concentrate on the evolution of the
South Atlantic hinterlands from the Late Jurassic to Recent. We show stage level maps illustrating the evolving topography and drainage of both margins and how this may impact sediment supply to the marginal basins. Throughout the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic, the hinterlands of both South America and West Africa were subject to long and short wavelength uplift events. Mantle related topographic changes (long wavelength) appear to have been repeated several times leading to regional changes in drainage geometry and sediment supply. Short-wavelength uplifts, largely associated with Gondwana rifting and Santonian plate reorganization, provided local sediment sources, and may have been important in blocking and isolating existing drainage systems.

These maps are part of a new programme in which we are generating global, stage level, GIS-based palaeogeographic maps for the entire Phanerozoic. These maps include reconstructions of contemporary palaeoenvironments (areas below base-level), tectonophysiographic terrains (areas above base-level), major structures, lithologies, palaeorivers, palaeotopography and palaeobathymetry (as palaeoDEMs). These form a set of atlases of which the first two are for the Cretaceous and Tertiary.


AAPG Search and Discover Article #90100©2009 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition 15-18 November 2009, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil