Kynedin: Modelling Software That Simultaneously Restores and Forward Models Seismic Sections

Abstract

In this presentation we show our new modeling software, Kynedin, that can be used to simulate basement topography, heat-flow, subsidence and sedimentation patterns during rift and post-rift phases along a given seismic profile. This program gives as output the distribution in time and space of faulting, crustal and lithospheric thinning, heat flow, subsidence and sedimentation, effectively combining results that are traditionally obtained with a combination of section restoration and forward modeling techniques. The model combines a kinematic treatment of sedimentation and upper crustal faulting with a dynamic description of lower crust and mantle deformation. The latter deform as non-Newtonian fluids with a viscosity that depends on strain rate and temperature. The code reproduces whole lithospheric deformation more realistically than traditional forward models based on kinematic approaches, where all lithospheric deformation is prescribed with geometric rules. This is because the feedbacks that occur during rifting between upper crustal faulting and ductile lithosphere deformation depart from the traditional pure-shear (either uniform or non-uniform) kinematic descriptions typically implemented in forward models of lithospheric deformation during extension. Our program includes a user interface where interpreted faults on a given seismic profile can be digitized and given as input for the model. Likewise, crustal and lithospheric thickness, the initial temperature field, and lower crustal rheology and extension velocities are given as inputs to the model. In this presentation we use a seismic line along the magma poor West Iberia margin to demonstrate how the code works and its abilities.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90216 ©2015 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Denver, CO., May 31 - June 3, 2015