ABSTRACT: An Integrated Geological and Geophysical Synthesis of Deep Crustal Structure and the Evolution of Rift Basins in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland

MCALPINE, K. DONALD, KEVIN C. COFLIN, CHARLOTTE E. KEEN, and JACOB VERHOEF, Geological Survey of Canada, Atlantic Geoscience Centre, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

Because of its situation between a transform margin to the south and the Iberia-Labrador-Greenland triple junction to the north, the Grand Banks of Newfoundland is an ideal natural laboratory in which to study the origin and evolution of rift basins and passive continental margins. Coupled with a world-class database derived from deep seismic reflection and refraction studies, supplemented by potential field data, are abundant petroleum industry seismic and well data, thanks to favorable Canadian regulations regarding frontier exploration data acquisition, curation, and public accessibility. Previous geological and geophysical studies of the Grand Banks have, by necessity, dwelt on efforts to delineate its static structural and stratigraphic framework. The scale of these studies exten s from the lithospheric to the reservoir level; examples of products are presented that will form part of the Grand Banks Basin Atlas, the third of the Geological Survey of Canada's East Coast Basin Atlas Series.

Also some highlights of ongoing integrated research into the deep crustal controls and dynamic evolution of this complex area are presented. The information from the diverse data sets is used to reconstruct plate movement and the tectonostratigraphic development of the basins. The resulting extensional models can be compared and calibrated with the geometry of the sediments and their subsidence histories to produce a history of development consistent on all scales of observation.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91012©1992 AAPG Annual Meeting, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 22-25, 1992 (2009)